Aunt Susie's Memorial

It's so hard to believe that my Aunt Susie passed away on Easter Sunday.  We had gone to Florida last June and visited with her and then Uncle Jack & Aunt Wilma at their beach house.  Uncle Jack died unexpectedly from an aneurysm less than 3 weeks after our visit.  Aunt Susie died 9 months after our visit.  She had gone to her doctor with "bronchitis" and the doctor sent her to the E.R. where she was admitted.  The doctors thought she had an upper respiratory infection, but then her enzymes didn't look right on the 3rd day.  After several tests, it showed she had a mild heart attack within the last couple of days (possibly the first day she was admitted).  They told her the blockage wasn't too bad and gave her some meds and sent her home.  A day later, she had to rush back to the hospital because she wasn't able to breathe well.  We then found out she had been diagnosed with C.O.P.D two years earlier, but had told no one. And now she had pneumonia present in one lung.  And then two lungs.  And then she suddenly had respiratory failure and passed away.  She was only 69.  My mother was in Florida & had just returned from a cruise with my dad that morning.  They rushed to the hospital in time to say goodbye and watch her fade away.

I had recorded a video message from the boys to her where Alex says "I love you, Susie" a few times.  My cousin DeLeigh played it for her a couple of days before she passed and said Aunt Susie said "I love you, too!"  I'm so glad she got to hear our love for her.  The funeral was held this past Saturday.  We drove down Friday, stayed Saturday, then drove back home on Sunday.

That was a long trip for 3 days.  The boys were super great travelers and did excellent in the car on the long trip.  We were able to see lots of cousins and my great aunt, Wilma. I was going to sing, but got laryngitis on Friday on the way down.  Jim led the service for his mom, I played Amazing Grace from YouTube through Vince's blue tooth speaker, and my cousin, Marc, said a few Bible verses.  It was a nice ceremony.

After the service, we went to the Wildlife Survival Sanctuary that Jim runs and my aunt volunteered at daily.  We went through old pictures and let the boys visit all the animals.  (Alex still tells me about the tigers.)  Our cousin, Lenore, flew in from out west, whom we haven't see in 18 years.  It was great to see relatives despite the dire circumstances.

 Alex walked with Nathan to see the big cats.

 Aunt Susie's friend flew in late due to bad weather, but was able to say a few words at the sanctuary after the funeral.

 Aunt Susie's son, Jim.

 Aunt Susie's daughter, DeLeigh.

 My nephew, Nathan.

These are some pictures of Aunt Susie.

 This one had Uncle Jack & Aunt Susie in it.

We love & miss you Aunt Susie.  Florida will never be the same.

Since I-95 northbound was dead stopped on Friday, we opted to take I-75 back home on Sunday.  It was a nice alternative and we stopped at a peach orchard for ice cream and peach pie.  In Atlanta, we stopped for dinner at the Varsity. It was a quick trip, but we made some good memories.

Evan's Big Boy Bed

Alex transitioned into his "big boy bed" several months ago, several days after he started climbing out.  He stays in bed all night (with the help of a pool noodle under his sheet to keep him from rolling out).  We took the front rail off of his crib to transform it into his toddler bed.  Evan has been able to crawl out of his crib for 2 years, but doesn't typically try to do so.  Recently, he started trying to climb out shortly after waking, so we decided to let him try a "big boy bed" as well. We went through a few phases to get him ready for this.

Phase 1 - Evan had been held or rocked to sleep since birth.  We rarely laid him down so he never put himself to sleep.  A month before transition, I placed him in his crib and had to keep laying him back down each time he sat up.  We did this for 10 - 20 minutes as I said "night night" until he stayed down.  This took about 2 weeks to get him used to laying down without sitting up or trying to climb out of bed.

Phase 2 - Evan sleeps much more erratically than Alex and needed something more sturdy (and less harmful if bitten) than a pool noodle.  I ordered him an expensive wedge that is made for the bed to keep kids from rolling out.  We placed this in his crib for about 10 days before taking down the rail to get him used to having it next to him.

Phase 3 - We took down the crib rail!  Evan helped daddy with the drill while Alex inspected the work. We started a routine every night to go straight to the bed, crawl in, and lay down.  Lights go out & doors are closed.

The first two nights Evan rolled out of bed and slept on the pillows I had placed directly in front of his crib.  He had a bad diaper one of those nights so I think it woke him up.  I adjusted the crib wedge further in so it couldn't be pushed over and he has not fallen out since! 

He is such a big boy now.  He walks right in so proud of his bed and snuggles in waiting for me to cover him up.  He does not get out of bed in the morning, either.  He usually waits for me to get Alex so Alex can come wake him up.  Both of my boys are now in toddler beds!

Easter 2016

Easter Sunday was a bit different for me for many reasons. I didn't have to buy a dress this year or worry about what to wear.  I volunteer for the 3 year old class every other month and it fell on the odd month this year, so I wore jeans and the church t-shirt, along with our ID badge.  I did dress up the boys, but didn't get a full family picture since I wasn't dressed up along with them. I cooked a Boar's Head ham in the crock-pot and it turned out excellent. Hopefully, next year I will get to dress up again. While we were at church, we learned of my Aunt Susie's sudden passing.  I'll blog about her in a follow-up post.  Needless to say, it was a solemn and reflective day for us.  The boys did get to go on a neighborhood Easter Egg hunt and the church Easter Egg hunt.  They had a blast.  Evan wanted to open every egg when he found it & dump out the candy. Alex yelled out "eggs!"

They enjoyed their Easter baskets - Evan for 10 seconds and Alex for 10 days.

They LOVE the Easter bunny.  Alex wants him to talk and keeps asking him to talk. 

Happy Easter!