Sick Again!

It's seems to be the story of our life these days...

After enjoying 2 or so WONDERFUL weeks of good health, sickness has come to our house yet again. (Warning - This is a long post about how our week of sickness/hospital stay came to pass.)

It started last Friday with Forrest. He was a little congested - frustrating for him but one of those little colds that you really can't do anything about. We went on about our weekend - a birthday party Saturday morning, seeing the Bulldogs play Saturday afternoon for Wilson and me (along with some nice adult conversation!) and a play day at May-May and Bubby's for the boys. I kept Forrest home from church Sunday morning but Wilson and Andrew went on and were great. But when Andrew woke from his nap that afternoon he was coughing. I commented to Wilson that Andrew must have caught Forrest's cold. Well, Monday morning, after a terrible night's sleep, Andrew was coughing more but still talking and playing. He began to get worse though, and at about 10:00 we gave him a breathing treatment because we could hear a little wheezing. He was breathing better for a little while, but he soon was having trouble again. The breathing treatments should be spaced at least 4 hours apart, but by noon, only 2 hours later, Andrew was wheezing again - and BAD! We had called after the 1st breathing treatment and made him a doctor's appt. with his allergy/asthma doctor - and boy, was I glad we had made it! Wilson had gone to work but was going to come home about 1:00 to pick up Andrew for the doctor - I was going to keep Forrest, still congested, at home. Andrew's wheezing scared me terribly - it's awful seeing your baby having such a hard time getting a good breath - and I probably called/texted Wilson 10 times within the hour. (Wilson has always had asthma/allergy issues himself and knows how to handle this with Andrew - i'm always at a loss as to what to do.) Wilson got home and agreed that Andrew did need a treatment. We gave him one and then they left for the doctor.

Wilson calls me from the doctor to report that after another breathing treatment and oral steriod, Andrew is still not doing good. The doctor sent them for a chest x-ray suspecting pneumonia! I begin praying that this would not be the case and worrying about my sweet boy. Later, Wilson calls... the chest x-ray didn't show anything but Andrew's oxygen levels are still low, he isn't responding to yet another breathing treatment, and he's very lethargic. (wilson later tells me how pitiful andrew was. :( - poor thing.) The doctor still thinks it could be an early case of pneumonia and thinks we should go to the hospital. As much as we hated to take Andrew to the hospital, the Lord gave me a total peace about it. I knew that was the best place for him. I would have been on pins and needles had we been at home watching him struggling to breathe all night.

So, we had a 2 night stay at UMC children's hospital. After IV antibiotics, fluids, around-the-clock breathing treatments, and oxygen, Andrew was much improved by Tuesday night. They treated him as a pneumonia patient although it was never clearly diagnosed - 2 more x-rays still came back clear but his symptoms were that of pneumonia.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers!! We really felt them and were so thankful how quickly Andrew responded to the meds. They sent us home on lots of meds but we were so glad to be at home! Andrew still has a yucky cough but is overall much better. Of course, Forrest hated to miss out on all the excitement. After being up all night with him Thursday night, I knew something wasn't right - Forrest is my baby who sleeps! I took him to the doctor only to find BOTH ears were infected - just what I suspected. We are a little tired - no, ALOT tired - but happy that these illnesses can be treated and thankful to have our babies home with us.

We had to take a few pictures of our hospital stay to document the time there...

Once Andrew was able to be off of oxygen Tuesday afternoon, we could walk around the 4C block and pull him in the wagon. He LOVES going on wagon rides (we have the same on at home) so this was really a lifesaver!

This picture is a little blurry, but can you see the smile on Andrew's face? Poor, sweet boy... he truly made the best of it. He made friends with all the nurses & staff, as well as other patients on the floor. Andrew's nurses couldn't believe how well he did with his IV. He was such a big boy about all of his treatments. We were very proud of him.

Yea! We're going home!!

Never would I have thought that we would have made 2 trips to the 4th floor of the Children's Hospital within 6 months (remember Forrest's stay)! Since being a mom, I've heard a wise thought from older moms at my Bible study - be thankful for those long, routine days at home with little ones... even though they sometimes are hard, those days mean that for the most part everyone is well and happy. Be thankful for those days of good health and not having greater struggles. We are so anxious for good health and routine now!

The Big Day!

We had so much fun celebrating Andrew's 2nd birthday. He has been feeling lots better lately which made the day even more fun with this sweet boy!

Andrew woke up in a great mood... I think he knew it was a special day. :) He and Wilson went to the donut shop and brought home donuts for breakfast. Andrew had donut holes, and we put candles in them and sang.




This is the cookie cake I made for Andrew to take to Mother's Morning Out. When I asked him earlier in the week what snack he wanted to take to "school" for his birthday, he would say "cake." Well, the MMO director, Mrs. Laurie, said the only rule for b-day snacks is no icing. I can understand that... 2 year-olds & icing can be quite messy. So, I decided to make a cookie cake (with a little icing). I made it Wednesday night after church so it's not the cutest, but it did taste good.

Eating cake at "school" with his friends...


Birthday lunch!


Some cuddle time before naps. (Wilson took the day off and was with us all day to celebrate!! What a sweet daddy!)


After naptime, Andrew opened his presents from me and Wilson. Isn't it funny how the little, least expensive things are the best things? These balls from Target were his favorite!


But the big surprise was.... a Thomas train table!! May-May and Bubby got it for him, and Wilson and I started a set of train and tracks for him. Andrew was thrilled to say the least. We look forward to many fun times with Thomas!

What a wonderful day to celebrate a very sweet boy!

Vroom, Vroom.... A cars & trucks party!

Andrew loves cars and trucks so a transportation themed party was an obvious choice for his 2nd birthday! We played outside and in the garage with cars and trucks and then had a parade (see post below)! Andrew had a lot of fun - and so did we! Our families, a few neighbors, and some family friends joined us for the celebration. Here are a few pictures taken with family...

Birthday Parade!

The birthday parade was so cute! All of the children brought their "wheels" for the parade. We decorated them with balloons and off we went. We paraded around the cul-de-sac and came back to the house for cake and ice cream!

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

Our sweet boy is 2 today! We have had the most fun celebrating his birthday. I'm a bit tired from all the excitement and will have to post pictures and share about his birthday tomorrow. But, I couldn't let the day go by without a quick post saying how much we love this little fella. I can hardly believe he's been a part of our lives for 2 years... yet, on the other hand, it feels like he's always been with us! We feel amazingly blessed. Happy birthday, sweet Andrew!

"Happy Camper"

When I picked Forrest up from the nursery tonight, one of the workers commented, "He's just a happy camper, isn't he?"

It's very true... this is one happy boy!

Here are a few smiles for you...

Just a spoonful of sugar...

helps the medicine go down!

Andrew has taken so much medicine lately that we've had to become creative in the ways to give it. Some of it just smells terrible so we're sure it tastes terrible, too! He had to take what Dr. Clay called the worst-tasting antibiotic 3x a day for 2 weeks earlier this summer. Anyway... like I said, we've had to spice it up a little. Well, his favorite way to take medicine now is to have a squirt of whipped cream (like Redi-whip in a can) on the end of the medicine dropper - it works every time! Afterwards he usually wants more "cream", too. How can we resist a boy so cute and sweet who has felt so crummy lately?? I took a little film tonight of this... Sorry it's a little wiggly - I was holding Forrest, the camera, and squirting the whipped cream! Oh, and as you can see from the video, our little boy is finally starting to feel better! :)

Forrest's Baptism

Sunday, August 10th was a special day for our family... the baptism of Forrest Hastings Shirley... at our church, Highlands Pres. We praise God for his covenant promises to bless not just individuals but families (Gen. 17: 7 & Acts 2: 38-39 - see below), and we are thankful to have Forrest come into this blessing. We pray that God will bring Forrest and Andrew to Himself at an early age and that they will grow into Godly young men - leaders among their friends, in their community, and one day even of their own families.

Forrest was baptized by our pastor, Joseph Wheat, but my dad, an elder at First Pres., said the prayer for Forrest following his baptism (Forrest is Dad's namesake). He prayed for Andrew in his baptism, too, and this made the baptisms extra-special! Thank you, Dad, for taking part in their baptisms and for praying for our boys and for Wilson and me as we endeavor to raise our boys "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord". One thing that I love that Joseph does in baptisms is he asks the congregation, as they vow to help the parents raise their child being baptized, to say a prayer for that child sometime that day. How wonderful to think that Forrest was lifted up in prayer by so many members of our church that day!

We felt so blessed and loved to have our families with us for Forrest's baptism. It was special to have them with us at church and then for lunch afterwards at our home.

Forrest and I in the nursery before church - dressed and ready. He wore the same gown that Andrew wore, and we had it monogrammed with an "S" in the center of the top section. Then, we had Andrew and Forrest's full names and dates of baptisms monogrammed on the slip of the gown. How special to think of starting a family gown for our children, and hopefully one day, their children, to wear for baptism - it's kind of a symbol of how God does bless us thru families.

Me and my boys after church.

Andrew was so sweet during the baptism. Wilson went and got him from the nursery just before the baptism so he didn't realize that all of our family was there. When we went to the front, Andrew looked out to see all of his grandparents and aunts and uncles! He went down the row and waved to every single person! He actually did this very quietly because I didn't even know he was doing it... they told me after church!

The Bratley Family - Andrew, Dad, Wilson, Forrest, Me, Rebecca, Bryan, Elizabeth, and Mom

The Shirley Family - Debbie, Andrew, Ricky, us, Tory & Michael with their girls, Elizabeth & Alexa, and David & Kim

Our friends, Scott & Maggie Jones, had their cute Lucy baptized the same day as Forrest. Notice how Forrest is sleeping in this picture!

"I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you." Genesis 17:7

"Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call."
Acts 2:38-39

Bye-bye, See ya...

Today Andrew said, "Bye-Bye" and "See ya" (if you know Andrew you've heard him say this) to his tonsils and adenoids! Thank you to everyone for your prayers. The surgery went well and Andrew is doing great so far. Praise the Lord! Dr. Clay said Andrew had "whopper adenoids" and that they were the hidden culprit to blame for a lot of his troubles. We are now praying for a quick, easy recovery and that the surgery will give our little one relief from his sinus and sleep troubles. We feel so blessed and thankful for our sweet families and friends. What wonderful love and support you have shown Andrew and our family! Andrew is sleeping soundly right now... hopefully he'll get a good night's rest. The main goal is to keep Andrew drinking and to keep him hydrated. I think that if we can do that and keep him comfy then we'll be on the road to recovery! Here is a picture of him recovering today at home. I imagine he'll spend a lot more time like this in the next few days.... in his chair with his "blankie" and "cars" watching "Einstein" or "Baby Praise".


Check out that top ticker... our baby will be 2 in just one month!

Happy 4 month birthday, big boy!

Time is going by too fast - Forrest is 4 months old today!! He's as sweet and cute as ever, and on top of that, he's setting the curve for the growth charts! Today at his 4 month check-up he weighed 19 pounds and was 27 inches long - that put him off the chart for weight (greater than 100%) and right at 100% for height. Oh my goodness... we knew he was big, but 100% and greater in both!?! I didn't expect that... no wonder this little guy has been waking up at night again... he's hungry. We'll be starting cereal this week and getting some food in that little belly of his. Stay tuned for pics!

Here he is today post-doctor's visit. Wilson's getting pretty excited about his future athletic career. :) No, I'm kidding... or maybe not! We sure do love our big boys!

Andrew & Luke

We had a fun time with Matt, Katie, and Luke Humphreys last Saturday! Wilson and Matt roomed together 3 years at State. We always love seeing them, and it's especially fun since our boys, Andrew and Luke, are just about 2 weeks apart in age! Here are a couple of pictures of our playtime at the park on Saturday...

Future MSU Roommates??!!

Looking forward to hanging out with the Humphreys again soon!!

Sweet Andrew

After my last post about Forrest, I wanted to dedicate one to Andrew! What fun we are having with this little one - not so much a baby anymore, he's definitely becoming a little boy.

He's everything you hear about little boys being... curious (what makes this work? what happens if I push this button? what's in this drawer? etc!), stubborn (or is this just a toddler? - we often say he gets this honestly... I'll let you guess who from?!!), active (he's on the go all the time! we'd spend our whole day outside if he was in charge, pushing cars up and down the sidewalk), car/truck/train lover (really any type of transportation vehicle is very cool to him right now), and oh so sweet (he gives hugs, kisses, and little pats on the shoulders, and says "mama" with the sweetest inflection in his voice). I'm sure there are lots of things to add to that list... the main thing is that we love this fellow so much! It's been amazing to watch him grow and change.


He's really added lots of words to his vocabulary in the last couple of months - and we notice a new word almost every day. One of his new favorites is to say "Look, Mama" "Look, Dada". He's also started sleeping in a big bed. And, he's really learning to play well by himself - trains, cars, and legos are his favorites.


He's been a very sweet big brother to "Torrest", as he calls him. They play at the exersaucer together and he always gives Forrest hugs and kisses before bedtime. We love watching the 2 of them interact together. We feel so blessed!

3 Month Fun

Forrest has been such a joy to have in our lives! This has been a really fun month . He's been growing and changing so much and is becoming his own little person. He loves being held and talked to and he gives the sweetest smiles and coos back at you. He's a great baby. We traveled about 5 of his first 12 weeks and he did wonderfully - stayed on the same sleeping schedule (in his pack-n-play), did good in the car, ... basically just rolled with the punches... so sweet.

The week he turned 3 months he started sleeping thru the night! He sleeps an average of 11 hours a night!! Wow - I had no idea a baby could do this. (Andrew was only sleeping 8 straight hours at 5 months.) He's also become so playful in the last couple of weeks. He loves sitting in his Bumbo watching Andrew plays cars and trains. He loves his Einstein playmat. And he LOVES his Einstein exersaucer! Here are a few pictures...

This picture was taken on his 3 month birthday. The next 3 are more recent, from the past week or so.

Can you tell how much he loves this?! He even plays with all the toys - pushes the buttons to make animal sounds and spins the wheels - so cute.

Tummy time in the crib - oh, he rolled from tummy to back for the first time yesterday!

and i think we're working on a tooth, too!! His hands are in his mouth ALL the time and you can see he's put the ring in his mouth too.
(He is usually dressed... this picture was taken yesterday when we lost power for awhile. We were both hot so I let him swing in just his diaper.)

What a fun month it's been with this little man. I love him so! Can't even begin to imagine our lives without him.

Sweet Times

Welcome Forrest! (just a little belated)

We finally finished the video welcoming Forrest into the world and wanted to share it with you. I think we enjoy the video a lot more now that we can look back and reflect on yet another huge blessing in our life.

On another note, this is our 100th blog post!

The Boys... Together!!

The boys were so cute yesterday and we FINALLY got some good pictures of them together. Andrew has definitely taken more of an interest in Forrest lately. He loves giving him a kiss on the forehead and singing him a song... always "Row, row, row...". He also likes sitting by Forrest on a blanket or on the playmat with toys. And Forrest is never without music when in his bouncy seat... Andrew makes sure to keep it going for him... what a sweet big brother! :)

I know I've posted alot of pictures, but we were so excited to have 2 happy boys that we took lots of pics!

A couple of cute things about Andrew during this time...

1. the way he "wrapped" the boppy around him - like the way he's seen me do

2. After we had stopped taking pictures and Wilson had taken Forrest with him to another room, Andrew was sitting on the floor playing with the boppy. I heard him say "cheese". So cute! We've said "Say cheese" a couple of times to him recently when taking his picture. I heard him say "cheese" again and I looked over to see him grinning from ear to ear. So, of course, I grabbed the camera to take his picture! It's the one of Andrew by himself.

Breakin It Down!

Just wanted to share with you Andrew's new dance moves. We still can't quit laughing and we promise this was totally his doing, no prompts from us. We are also baffled at where he learned his moves. We think it may be from Bratley DNA. We have tried other dance songs like "Brick House" but only "Hamster Dance" seems to turn the switch on. When he was very little and crying uncontrollably Wilson used to put him in front of the computer and play the dancing hamsters with the terribly annoying music...for some reason he loved it - so here you go!

2 Beautiful Boys, 1 Talented Photographer...

Andrew and Forrest had their pictures made by Allison Muirhead last Tuesday - Forrest's 3 month b-day. My mom has several outfits that my dad wore as a baby boy, and it worked out that 2 of them fit the boys right now- a cute little "sailor" button-on suit fit Andrew and a sweet yellow bubble fit Forrest - it was perfect! Mom has been planning this for a while and was hoping that it would work out that the clothes would fit the boys at the same time so they could get their picture made in "Bubby's" clothes.

Allison has posted some pictures on her blog and I thought you might like to see the boys... she is so talented and is just great with children.

It was so funny because Andrew is actually in kind of an anti-camera stage. Whenever I want to take a picture of him he'll rarely look at me or the camera. Mom and I were unsure how he would do with Allison, but he was great! And Forrest who is such a laid-back baby and smiler was the one who was fussy. But she was wonderful with him and still got him to smile. We can't wait to see the proofs!

In the pics on the blog, Andrew is wearing Bubby's outfit... We love the "vintage" look of the photo. Forrest is actually just in his diaper. She took some basic 3 month photos of him while we were there and that is what she posted of him.

* hope to post some july pics later this week!