Hectic times results in little blogging

Please don't take the lack of blog posts as evidence of calmness.  In fact, it has been the exact opposite.  I didn't realize what all had happened in the 1st 22 days of this month until I took a few minutes to download the pictures from the camera.  As I was downloading the camera tonight, I realized that I had only captured about 15 pictures this month, which means we have been so busy that most events were just captured on Ryan's phone.  Ahhh...the good life of spring.

Here is our March to-date through pictures.

We started the month with nice snowfall of 4 inches, that was melted by that afternoon with the 50+ degree temps.  That is what I call the perfect snow!

Then we had the "stitches" incident.  We got the dreaded call from daycare that Jake had fallen into the side of a bookshelf and cut his lip/cheek.  He only cried for a few seconds but they said it looked deep enough to need stitches.  Off to the ER we headed and a dose of versed, lidocaine, and the best nursing staff ever, Jake had 3 stitches on the left side of his lip/cheek.  The main reason for the actual stitching is that the cut crossed over his lip line.  He was an incredible trooper, only crying out a few times.  The versed causes them to be drunk, which was quite hysterical looking back.  The only problem from the day is the monster that surfaced as he was coming off the anaesthetic.  We are not sure if he had a bad reaction or if his reaction was still within the normal limits (to be discussed with his doctor at his 2 year appointment) but he was uncontrollable.  This resulted in me strapping him into his car seat and driving around for 2+ hours until it wore off and he woke from his nap.  Not fun but the only measure I could think of.  Soon after we got home, we were playing with the bubbles and he fell against the stone bench in our driveway.  He was fine but my stress level was at an all time high.  The good news is that the new bump on his forehead completely shadowed the stitches in his lip :)  I believe that is called the silver lining!

Cut pre-stitches at the hospital

 Waiting for the "operation".  Thank goodness for the IPad.

 And the bump...his 1st of many (stitches too).  The good news is that we LOVE the new Children's Hospital that is 2 miles from our house :)

Other than the drama of our 1st set of stitches, we have been enjoying the INCREDIBLE weather, rain and shine.  I got to enjoy a little girl time last weekend in Nashville with my best friends so a big thank you goes our to Ryan and Judd and Jen for keeping the kiddos.  We crossed over a big hurdle with Jake staying away...YEA!!!  I feel like a new person with the freedom of knowing that he too can enjoy a night away with the cousins or Aunt Granny and Uncle Pal.  What a great feeling.

Here are some pictures from our picnics, errands, and everything else fun that has been happening.

 Jake popped a 102 degree fever one day at school (but no ear infection, strept, etc) which resulted in a day at home with daddy the next day.  Since he was feeling better, they joined Kate and several of her friends for lunch at school.  Big day for our girl.

 One of our many picnics.  Don't you just wish you could hear the conversation between Jake and Brooks?

 Well, it takes time to master some skills...like umbrella holding.  We laughed so hard this morning as he totally got the need for the umbrella but just couldn't figure it quite out.  Love these types of memories.

Have a wonderful week.

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet Boy

With any birthday comes reflection upon the past 12 months.  Today this smiling little boy turns 2 and it brings tears to my eyes to think of all the changes we have experienced since 3/22/2010 at 3:22 p.m.  While it warms my heart to look back at the past year and think about all that we have overcome, it is also a bit overwhelming to think back at several of the months when Ryan and I questioned if we could do it with 2.  Since there is no other option, of course we knew we could do it.  But wow...I didn't expect it to be quite this hard.  I have stated so many times that 12-18 months is by far the hardest stage of childhood for me to handle.  After having Kate, I expected 12-18 months to be hard with Jake but even with the expectation set, I didn't know it would really be this hard.  As we were driving to grab a quick bite last night and I looked back at Jake dancing in his car seat along side Kate with the wind blowing his blonde hair, I said to Ryan, "man, I love 2 already!!!"

Most of the challenges from this past year stemmed from the developmental delay with Jake's walking and speech.  Thankfully he started to walk around 17 months and then in September of 2011, we were referred to First Steps to start speech therapy with a wonderful therapist named Sherry.  She worked with him every week for 6 months and we are proud to say that a few weeks ago, he tested average or above for all communication/understanding skills.  She called me this past week about potentially discharging him from therapy.  Music to my ears as I reflected upon where we were last fall with his lack of communication.  Tantrums and frustration are the norm for a 1 year old but having one that couldn't walk and therefore, couldn't communicate even the most basic of needs was really, really hard.  I look back now and think, "no wonder I was so grumpy...he was so grumpy".  We are so thankful for Sherry and will continue to work on all the activities that she will give us upon his discharge from therapy this month.  We love hearing him attempt to repeat every word, which continues to get more clear by the day.  Jake, we are really proud of how you responded to therapy!  You are a strong little boy.

With Jake now feeling so much better and able to communicate most needs, his precious little personality shines through on a daily basis.  He is funny and charming, laid back but busy, and most of all, sweet.  He fears the unknown but quickly joins in once he knows it is safe (or he sees his sister do it).  His favorite things in this world are the following:
1) Any type of ball to throw, shoot into the basket, or kick down the driveway
2) Bubbles (or bubby's as he calls it).  It is great to watch Kate get Jake's "bubble station" all set up in the driveway each afternoon.
3) Cheetos, marshmallows, and jelly beans.  No worries, he likes everything but meat right now, which includes all his fruits and veggies :)
4) Emptying out the cutting board cabinet and hiding them behind the water cooler.  And as of this morning, emptying out the drawer under the oven (pots and pans/lids) and organizing them across the middle of the floor.  At least he now understands (thanks to Sherry) to put them all back :)

As I was putting him down last night I told him, "just like your sister, you have what it takes to accomplish whatever it is that you want to in this world".  Of course, he just looked at me and smiled but one day, I will be able to say that to him and he will understand what I mean.  Until that day, I will continue to try and enjoy all the fun times and lean on Ryan during the difficult ones.

Here is a video from our small little celebration tonight.  Doesn't look like we will attempt the candles/signing on Sunday at his party.  We will just have Kate play "Happy Birthday" on her guitar and the dig into the cake.  Enjoy.