Today has been pretty nice out. We bought Andrew a swing to hang in my mom's tree. He though it was really fun. We were able to play outside for a little while today. We also got to skype Brandon. He is doing alright down in the Dominican Republic. He just said he is really homesick and ready to be back. But at least it's a big blessing that his health has held up while he has been gone.
We have been busy having lots of fun here in Utah. Yesterday I got to go and yoga with my mom in the morning and went shopping. Then we picked up my brother Erik and we went rock climbing. My mom and brothers are really into rock climbing and are really good. I had lots of fun and am pretty sore today. Andrew really liked to climb on the wall. I forgot the camera though; he was so cute! I also got to go and see the Hunger Games with my mom. It was super good. I loved it! I haven't been to the movies in a long time. Bryant and Elly are going to come over for dinner tonight so I will get to meet her. I'm really excited :) The time is going so fast here, it is almost time for us to go home again. I miss Brandon and am really excited to see him though. But it sure is nice to get some much needed sleep and give my arms a rest from carrying Andrew around all day.
Andrew and I arrived safely in Utah yesterday evening. Andrew was really good on the plane. He was able to take naps and he had lots of fun playing and looking at everyone. He especially loved to flirt with the cute girls sitting around us. He would give them the biggest smiles and laugh, haha. He was cute. Our flight was pretty good and I didn't get sick like I usually do; so it was a big blessing.
Andrew loves my family's dog and cat. He tries to pull out the cats fur and the cat takes it like a champ. He laughs hysterically when the dog barks and eats her food. At first it was a nervous laugh but now he really likes the dog. He also has just learned to start banging on stuff. So he has been whacking everything around lately. I also definitely see a white tooth coming through the bottom gums. He has been teething for a while but finally the tooth is starting to show. I can feel the sharp point on his gums now. He will have a new tooth to show his daddy when he gets home :)
Andrew is getting closer to crawling. The other day he got up on his knees. But he hasn't quite figured out the hand and leg coordination yet. I can hardly put him down in his crib anymore. He rolls immediately onto his stomach and starts kicking around and rolling all over the crib. It is hard to get him to stay still long enough to take a nap! I put him in the crib and come back one minute later to find him at the very top or bottom sideways and kicking his mobile, haha. He is pretty funny these days. Brandon's tests came back and he does not have malaria for sure now. The doctor is going to refer him to an internal medicine doctor who will do a complete workup on him sometime soon. So that at least is good. But he still isn't feeling too great. He is still determined to go to the Dominican Republic this week though. The doctor says he probably shouldn't but if he does his whole Capstone project will be practically done so it is a hard decision for him.
Brandon is still really sick. We don't know what to do anymore. He spent last night in the emergency room but they hardly even checked him at all. We are waiting for the results of the malaria test to come back right now but we don't think that it will be positive. He has had 4 malaria tests now and they have been negative. His poor arms are so bruised from all the blood they have been taking. He is still having high fevers and night sweats, and now he is really itchy all over. He is home sleeping now but we are really at a loss of what to do next. The doctor doesn't seem to care at all about Brandon and it is really frustrating. We are all exhausted and just really want to find out what is wrong. He had a blessing yesterday but is still not feeling well. It has been a rough couple of weeks for us.
Brandon is feeling better all of sudden. The malaria tests came back negative and they had no idea what else it could have been. But we are grateful he is feeling better! Still no teeth for Andrew but he is biting everything he can get a hold of. Tomorrow I am having my first primary open house with all the parents so I hope it all goes well. We are also leaving for Utah next Friday. I am excited to go and visit my family and get a change of scenery! Andrew and I have been trying to be very social this past week. We spent time at the beach with some friends and visited a few other friends as well. I'm starting to not feel so isolated anymore, which is great :) It just has taken me a while to become better friends with the ladies here.
Well this week has been a little crazy. Brandon got really sick again so we have been trying to figure out what he has. He has had a fever of at least 102 every day and he has had some really bad night sweats. The poor guy is just exhausted and shakes all day. We went to the doctor and they did a chest x-ray and took some blood but they haven't figured it out yet. Brandon went back to the doctor today so we will see what they say. We think it is malaria that he may have gotten from the Dominican Republic when he was there.
Andrew is also really teething now. He bites anything he can get his mouth on. His teeth have been hurting him pretty bad. He is so upset all day long. I have tried giving him Tylenol but it doesn't seem to be helping at all. He loves chew anything right now. He especially likes mango's and the little rhythm band drumsticks I got him. Today I gave him an unwrapped candy cane to just bite on and somehow he got it open and just loved it, haha. So I let him make a mess with it. I also took him to South Beach this week, but the waves and jellyfish are too bad right now to go swimming over there. But he has started to love playing in the sand, which is great :) Andrew also has started to figure out splashing. He did it for the first time when I filled his highchair tray with water. He has not quite figured it out in the pool or bathtub yet, but I'm sure he will soon.
This week we took Andrew to Olive Garden. He loved to sit in the highchair seat and cause mischief, haha. I brought a ton of toys for him to pull off the table but he really just liked to chew on the table and the cardboard drink saucer things. He also liked to smile at all the ladies behind us. He is such a ladies man! It has been chilly here again so we haven't been able to go swimming or out very much. Andrew gets very upset when he doesn't get to go swimming in a day. All day yesterday he kept air swimming everywhere I finally just took him out to the pool even though it was freezing. He just sat in his floaty for about 15 minutes. I tried to let him swim but he was too cold and didn't like it. It's too bad the pool isn't heated just a little here. Andrew also went to his first birthday party this past weekend over on South Beach. He had lots of fun except then he saw the fountains and wanted to go swimming so bad again. I had to take him to the ocean and let him swim around for a minute for him to be happy. He would just spend all day swimming if he could.
This is how I found him in his crib this morning, haha. He is often upside down and sideways these days. I don't know how he does it; I can't seem to catch him when he moves around.
Yesterday Andrew and I had lots of fun at the beach. We went to Key Biscayne with some of the ladies in the ward. Andrew loved to swim in the ocean. I think he is going to be a really good swimmer. Andrew also had lots of fun playing with my 1st counselors little girl. She is about 1 but Andrew is the same size as her. He also ate some sand, haha. It was nice to get out and visit with some other women for a change :) I also had a long Spanish conversation with one of the maintenance workers here who was fixing our baseboards. He is from Peru and is super nice. He asked me a little bit about the church and if we have more than one wife and things. So I set him straight saying no we can't be a member of the church if you have more than one spouse. He was surprised that what he had heard was not true. So it was nice to have a little missionary moment :)
