So it's been quite a month! Here's what's been happening...

Our friends the Carney's moved. It was so fun to have them here and sad to see them go. Maddy loved her little friend Lexi.

Recently, the local grocery store had a kid safety day. They brought in the Life Flight helicopter, police cruiser and dog, fire truck, ambulance, etc. Maddy mostly enjoyed seeing all the vehicles, however she did cry in the helicopter. The longest most grueling line though was for the balloon animals, of course! I waited in line while Ethan entertained Maddy. I do have to admit, that guy made the most amazing balloon animals I've ever seen. If you look close in the last pic, you can see Maddy's ladybug, it even had a little balloon bracelet that attached to her wrist... yes amazing!

Maddy also turned 2. She's such a big girl, literally... 30lbs and 36 inches. Still in the 95th percentile. Go Maddy! She's growing leaps and bounds. Her 2 cutest new developments are ...playing pretend with her barbies and stuffed animals... and trying to sing. The singing is hillarious. I'm still trying to get it on camera. She's also getting more and more into coloring. She'll "draw" a picture and identify different scribbles... clouds, fish, rain, and various shapes are her most "drawn." I've included a labeled drawing.

Sadly, we missed Maddy's official birthday and Mother's Day. Yes, many of you know that I ended up in the hospital. It was absolutely crazy. Here's the ordeal...

So I've been sick, really sick this pregnancy but I was trying to keep a stiff upper lip and keep pushing through the fatigue, vomiting, backache, swollen lymph nodes, etc. Well, we are still not quite sure what ultimately happened, but I got to a point (on Maddy's birthday) where I wasn't keeping down food, water, or even stomach acid. Ethan called the obgyn (because I was a mess) and they told us to go to the hospital for an IV. So Karen and Mike took Maddy and we headed off to what we thought would be a few hours in the hospital getting an IV then leaving. When we got to the ER they took one look at me and they were immediately worried, I must have looked like a wreck! We cut everyone in the ER and they took us right in. They started running a billion tests, it was literally like a House episode, except everyone there was really nice. I definately was severely dehydrated, that they knew and I got at least 6 IV bags (I lost count). Over what turned out to be a 4 day stay at the hospital they ran a ton of test... Maybe it's a UTI, no... unknown infection, no... mono, no... strep, no... mumps...no. At one point the lymph nodes on my neck got so huge Eth said it looked like I had a goiter and you could tell from across the room that they were inflamed. It was pretty painful. I almost went home a day earlier... but when I was taking a walk in the hall with Eth I started to black out. It was the weirdest feeling... things going black, hearing was fuzzy, eye sight went blurry, went limp... etc. I never lost conscienceness, but everyone freaked. But as soon as they laid me down in bed my blood pressure went back up and I was totally fine. The good news is after my hospital stay there's been no more fainting, no puking, and I'm gaining weight again. I feel better and occasionally have nausea and fatigue, but I'm dealing with it. Unfortunately, they still don't know what happened. I did test positive for an auto immune reaction and my thyroid function is a little low. My doctors aren't too worried, they are just still running tests and watching me. They did a sonogram and the baby is looking good and is a boy! He also kicks like a little ninja in there! Hooray. So all is well... no worries family and friends things are looking up!

So, after all the hospital drama we still needed to have Maddy's birthday party. We had 50+ hot dogs in our fridge and Eth's mom made like a million cupcakes... we were having that party no matter what!!!! It was great. We had it at a park that had a little gazebo, a field, and a playground. The weather was great... it was a perfect party. Lots of Maddy's friends and our family came. Maddy had so much fun and was so exhausted she cried going home, went to bed over an hour early, and even slept in the next morning. I was super tired, so I didn't take many pictures and Ethan stepped up and took a few. Sorry Maddy... we'll do better next birthday!

As an additional "gift" Maddy has now gotten a new big girl room. She's actually been sleeping in it for a while, but I just officially finished decorating and moving over all her clothes. She transitioned right into a big girl bed no problem. The dresser and night stand are hand me downs that I painted and put new knobs on. I think it turned out really cute! Its a small room so getting pictures was a little difficult. She likes to climb in her bed and play with her toys.

Maddy's OCD has continued... her newest thing is "fix it." She'll start whinning that her toy, balloon, lollipop, etc. is broken and needs to be fixed. So she'll give it to me, I'll hold it for a second, then hand it to her. That cycle will continue until she loses interest in the item or I take it away. This is NOT a fun phase.

We love all of you and are grateful for your thoughts and prayers during this crazy month.

So things have been a little busy around here... and boy are we glad for a little break. We had a crazy busy week, Ethan's little brother Zach married his high school sweetheart Kylea. There was a bridal shower, endowment, sealing, family dinner, reception... and so on. It was fun and exhausting. I mostly survived... aka no puking at the temple or in public.

We also got to meet Taylor's fiance, Abby. In June we are heading out to Utah for their wedding. Hopefully I'll be feeling better by then.

This past week Taylor (and Abby) graduated from BYU. Hooray!! Sadly we missed it, but I think it would have been too much for me to handle. I'm still puking and losing weight, bah!!! Today at church my friend said, ohh it looks like you've lost weight... YIKES!!! Maddy has even picked up the charming habit of making puking noises. The semi good news is, I am about 4 months now so hopefully I should be getting better soon... cross your fingers.

Ethan has been doing well, besides a bout of stomach flu. He gained a little more sympathy for me!!! He even man-ed the office by himself this week. It was really busy, and ended up working late, but it went well.

Maddy is quickly approaching her 2nd birthday. She is quickly becoming more and more quirky, maybe a better way to put it is OCD. Examples...

1. When given a snack she always counts the snack and lines up each, say cracker, in a straight line.

2. When putting her magnets back on the fridge, she lines them up in a straight line.

3. She must shut all doors in the house.

4. When playing with blocks each row of her towers are organized by color.

5. She has a stuffed animal in the corner of her crib, one night I moved it to a different corner and she freaked until I moved it back to the correct corner.

6. When leaving anywhere, she says good bye to the people and things there, over and over.

Is this normal? I'd like to think so...

So you might be wondering... Where has Liz gone!? Few phone calls, rarely on facebook, finally updating the blog after TWO months... Well there are 2 reasons.

First my Grandmother died after fighting cancer for over a year. I am grateful I could go to Idaho and attend her funeral and spend important time with family. Thank you dad for getting all of us there. She was a wonderful, jovial woman who will stand as a great example to me through out my life. Love you Grandma.

Second, as a few of you know we're...



Yup, Zmoos #2 is on it's way and is due October 12th. I'm almost 13 weeks and while today is a good day I've had quite a few rough days. Thus me falling off the face of the Earth!!! We are very excited!!!

Maddy of course has no clue what is going on, other than Momma puking and laying down a lot. She's been a source of sweetness... hugging me and patting me on the back after puking. And a source of comedy... saying in a confused manner after I puke things like, "Momma potty" and "Ah-choo, bless you." We told her that she is going to be a big sister and asked her if she wants a baby in the house, to which she smiles and responds "ok."

Thanks to Ethan, Mike, and Karen for picking up the slack... honestly I've been a disaster on many days!!!

We're glad to share this exciting news with you all. Now, if you have time, keep reading... I've done a lot of updating.

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Hello friends and loved ones, I hope you all enjoyed this wonderful Easter Sunday. I know we did! Maddy has been enjoying the build up to Easter as well. She saw several Easter Bunnies, which she LOVED. As soon as she sees the bunny she starts saying "oh bunny" and immediately tries to hug, cuddle, and climb on the bunny. Sorry to all Cedar Rapids Easter Bunnies!!!! Her reaction is so hillarious, I had to post several pictures!!!

If you look carefully at this pic, the bunny is kinda pushing Maddy off of her!



We had heard that there was going to be a Bunny trail/Easter egg hunt. So I started prepping Maddy for it. I'd hid hid eggs in our living room and help her find them and put them in her basket. Sadly, the Bunny Trail just had baskets full of just eggs. Totally lame. We'll have to do a really egg hunt next year.


Easter morning was a little anti-climatic. Her basket had a new slinky, ring pops, a Wall-e bubble blower, and more!!! As soon as she saw the chocolate she was gone.

Things you've missed, because I've been a lazy blogger... and since I'm extra lazy and loaded the pics out of order, enjoy this backward journey through March then February!

Last Sunday Maddy wore he fabulous Chinese dress Taylor got her on his mission. It was a hit, so we had to include a picture!

March came and brought fabulous weather! I couldn't believe it, in a snap of your fingers winter was over and spring was here. So we've been spending as much time outside as we can. It's crazy how big Maddy has gotten. She can do many of the things at the park on her own. She even does the big corkscrew slide and goes on the big kid swings!!! Brave girl.


In February we also took a trip to the Iowa Children's Museum. I'd totally go more, if it wasn't 30 min away. Maddy loved her first carousel ride. She didn't quite like being a mailman, but she enjoyed "driving" the ambulance, being a dentist, and playing in the "physics" room launching balls off ramps.

In February we got in one more sledding trip. We got to go with Maddy's BFF Lexi Carney. Maddy loved sledding, Lexi... no so much!