Mother of the year!

So over the past year Bridgers' eating habits have gotten worse. I didn't think anything of it but started noticing he had bad breath more frequently also. Once again, I ignored it. About a month ago he started snoring, and I mean so loud that it kept Jeremy and I awake at night across the hall in our room. Around that same time we finally convinced him to sleep in his bed which he had never done before. He always slept on the floor next to his bed in his sleeping bag, so I thought maybe that caused a change in his sleeping habits. Than a few weeks ago he started complaining of his neck hurting, yep you guessed it, I wasn't concerned.
My mom stayed the night at our house and convinced me I needed to get him checked out because he was snoring so loud and having sleep apnea. We took him to our family doctor Friday and she didn't even open his mouth very wide and yelled "his tonsils are huge," I wanted to crawl under the table but it gets better. Next she ran her fingers along his neck on both sides and said she could feel swollen lymph nodes all the way down into his shoulders- hence the sore neck. Oops! I felt like the worst mother ever!
Our family doctor got him into a specialist Monday and even he was quite shocked how bad Bridger was. As Dr Davis was sitting there talking to us, he pointed out that Bridger was breathing with his mouth open causing it to be labored which is abnormal and a sign a person can't breathe very well. That put me over the edge about my wonderful parenting or should I say lack of :)
The soonest they could get him into surgery was next Wednesday so we planned on that. Yesterday I received a phone call saying there was a cancellation for today and the ENT Dr was encouraging us to go forth with it. So that's what we did today.
Bridger went into surgery around 9:20 and Dr. Davis was out to talk to us at 9:55 saying he was doing well and he just needed to wake up from anesthesia than we could go see him. He also mentioned multiple times how big his tonsils and adeniods were and how we will notice a huge difference in everything with him! Good news! Of course I was a nervous wreck the whole time he was in surgery and cried like a little baby when we went back to him. He was confused and in pain and I couldn't handle seeing my little Bridger that way. I wanted to make it all better right there but I knew it was needed to help him feel good again. Tonight he is healing as expected. He threw up most of the first 5 hours we were home. We continue to remind him not to get upset because that will make the pain worse. The pain medication is working to allow him to stay hydrated by eating popsicles, ice cream, and drinking fluids. It will be a rough few days but he will be back to normal in a jiffy especially after Grandpa Jed gave him a blessing this afternoon!
Connor is so concerned about Bridger- he can sense something is wrong and is being a little caretaker for him. Connor has been handing him a drink and wants to be right in his face which is causing Bridger to be upset at times. Grandma Joyce took Connor while we were with Bridger, she said he missed Bridger like crazy. They bought him treats and lots of new toys! Connor was giving them all to Bridger at once which was a little overwhelming but they were both so cute. Tonight they snuggled up on the couch and Connor was very careful not to hurt Bridger. It made me cry and grateful for such sweet boys!

*side note* They were running a little behind for surgery and Bridger turned to Jeremy and said "I think my tonsils need to stay in and we should just go home quick!" We giggled.

You can see the before picture and the after with anesthesia and drugs on board, poor kiddo! Than you can see little Caretaker Connor and how close he sits so he can keep a good eye on his brother!

The weekend

We spent the weekend in Red Lodge, Montana. We rented a house with some friends and had a blast. Jeremy and Bridger went up the mountain on Saturday, Jeremy went snowboarding and Bridger had his first try at skiing. Once he got the hang of it, he really enjoyed it. He is such a motivated little buster, he puts his mind to something and will keep trying until he can do it without fail. Connor and I hung out in the lodge. We were all able to enjoy both nights relaxing in the hot tub, Connor is still not a fan of water since his near drowning experience about a month ago.
On Sunday morning Lucas drove over from Billings with Kennedy and Rowan and we were able to sled for a bit. Connor loved sledding. Lucas and Jeremy would put him in the sled and send him down the hill all by himself and he would just giggle! When he reached me at the bottom, he would quickly say "again!" Bridger, Rowan, and Kennedy enjoyed playing in the snow and making/throwing snowballs.

We also walked around the wildlife preserve and saw many rescued animals. Connor about jumped out of his clothes when the donkey started "heeeee hawing." He made sure to hold onto Jeremy the rest of the trail.

Lucas and I had flashbacks when we came upon a buffalo. About 9 years ago, Lucas and I worked one summer spraying weeds along buried oil lines. We had to go on a ranch with about 300 buffalo roaming around us. We learned real fast they aren't super friendly. Lucas had about 30 of them chasing him-luckily the 4 wheeler he was on went 35mph and buffalo only run up to 30 mph so no permeant damage was done, just a traumatic experience and lesson learned. Anyway, today at the refuge, we were only about 5 feet from the rescued buffalo and the only thing between him and us was a chain link fence, so we quickly walked passed.
The boys are both sound asleep as we drive back to Gillette.
Here are a few pictures....

I love them!

I honestly can't get enough of these boys.

They have been sick this week which is not fun for anyone! Connor wore one of Bridgers' ties to church and refused to let me take it off of him. Bridger is busy learning how to play racquetball from Jeremy and is loving every minute of his daddy time! As for me, I'm officially halfway thru my pregnancy and am feeling good for the most part. My lower back aches terribly after I work, especially if I am super busy and stay on my feet most of the 12 hours. I cannot believe a whole month has already came and gone in 2012!