January what?

Well, folks, I'm not gonna lie. It's been a bitterly cold winter. January was the worst.
We had two weeks where the high was 12.
Snow on the ground everyday.
Smog in the air almost every day, due to the crazy inversion.


Yet there have been some bright spots:

He smiles almost every morning when he wakes up.
I love his smile.

He looks very super hero-ish in this pajama outfit.

But my heart was sad when he was so sick in January. I believe it was the flu. It came on all of a sudden. High fever, 103 and 104, crying because he hurt and loss of appetite. He had the first flu vaccine in November and was suppose to have another in January, but they ran out.

He had a blessing from his father. I was going to take him into the doctor, but something inside me told me he would be ok.
I think it was because, even though he wouldn't eat any solid food, he still nursed. And nursed and nursed.

There was a time when he was very little that I almost gave up nursing him. He was a few weeks old and the doctor told me he had breast milk jaundice. He wasn't gaining weight, he was losing it! He struggled to latch on and would cry and wimper because it was frustrating. I supplemented with a bottle and part of me just wanted to let go of the whole nursing business. It was hard! It hurt! It was frustrating!

But I prayed and prayed about it and felt that I should keep trying. Eventually the jaundice went away and Ike became stronger.
I sang "I am a Child of God" every time he latched on properly and nursed. Then when he had trouble latching on, I would sing the song and I think it helped "remember" how to latch on.
Anyhoo, a routine was forming and things were going well for a few months. Until teeth started to come. Then we had a whole other  set of problems and I almost gave up again.

But this month, I'm so glad I didn't give up earlier. I truly believe it helped prevent a hospital visit. After 5 days Isaac was fever free and eating solid food again. Two days later he was running and jumping and playing.

Don't they look alike?


There were plenty of opportunities to play and build in the snow.


Sometimes we just like to be inside.



I celebrated another birthday. Gettin' old.


My wonderful parents took Elise and Sam to Hawaii.








Rough, right? They had a great time! They brought back a little aloha with them.

Anna and Claire pretended they were in Hawaii. It was awesome, in their mind.


So, while we remain firmly in winter's grip here in Utah, I count my blessings this month. And there are many.