I'm BAAAAAAACK!

This has been on my to do list for quite some time now. So it's happening. Here we go.

November

The month of November was a lot of fun. We took our first trip to Disney with Jon, Stacie, Sam, Evan, Grandpa Bob, Grandma, Grammy and Grandpa Larry.  Don't get me wrong, vacation with a 2.5 year old is still exhausting for us but we had a blast. Miles was a pretty good sport with all of the activities and sensory overload going on. Ben and I agreed that we would definitely go back but probably not until naps and strollers are not needed. That would make it so much easier and feel like we are really soaking it all in. One BAD thing that came from the trip was losing his puppy. I was in tears over it and I thought Ben might be for a second. We were at the Magic Kingdom at night and he was kind of in and out of his stroller the whole time with eating, doing rides, etc. There were pretty close to 5.5 billion people there watching the lighting of the castle for Christmas and the fireworks. Ben and I had had enough and ready to head back to the hotel. We got to the bus stop and no puppy. I knew he had probably dropped it amongst the crowd when we were watching fireworks. On the bus ride back to the hotel, I am frantically googling disney lost and found to try to put a call in. They were closed so I would have to wait until morning. Thankfully I had packed one of our extra puppies (we have two extras, they're just not quite as loved as the original) in my suitcase. He kept asking for puppy and just was saying "no new puppy". We never really talked about it being lost but he did okay with the newer, less abused one. I called the lost and found the next morning and no luck. I left a claim with them so that they would call me or mail it to me if they ever found it. I'm telling myself that a kid who needed some love picked it up and it gives him/her the safety that Miles felt with it. :( He has now fully adjusted to his "new" puppy and I don't think even really knows that we lost one.

Then we had Thanksgiving with my parents coming over for brunch and going to Grammy Marcia's for dinner. It was a great day and fun to be able to spend the holiday with our families.

December
December is always crazy with this year being no exception. I always tell myself I want to have my shopping done by December 1st but it just can't happen, so I'm not going to set myself up for failure any more. We did some fun things with Miles including taking him for a Polar Express train ride from Fishers to Noblesville. Santa was on the train and it was a perfect snowy day. He loved it and still talks about it. The Hillenburg Christmas was cut a little short because Miles was sick that day. We took him anyway hoping no one pregnant, elderly, or little (as in Reid or Remy) would get sick. He was running a fever and just felt bad. Uncle Ted was sweet and came through in the clutch when Miles randomly says "I need a sucker". Ted was down getting suckers at his house and back within 20 minutes. It made for a much more pleasant ride home than it could have been. That Monday we kept Miles home from school just not to make him any worse, especially going into the holidays. That Monday night, we were downstairs playing and I was sitting in the chair, ben was playing hoops on the 3 ft. playskool rim, and Miles was just being Miles running around, knocking things over, having a good old time. He knows how to turn the treadmill on by flipping the button to make it beep and then pressing the green button to make it go. Before I go any further, when it does turn on, it goes 0.5 miles per hour, a pace that is even boring to him. He likes to stand on the belt and jump off at the end. I looked over and he was looking underneath the treadmill for something. In the blink of an eye he touched his fingers to the belt and they got caught underneath while the treadmill was on. I wanted to slit my wrists. I ran over and pulled the cord to unplug it and ben got his hands out. I can't even explain how much pain I think he was in. He was shaking, screaming, kicking his legs, etc. It was bad. Real bad. I just held him for a good 30-45 minutes until he calmed down enough for me to even look at his fingers. By that time my shirt was wet from how much they had seeped water. He had blisters from the pads of his fingers to his palm on his middle and ring fingers. Ben called the St. V's childrens hotline which was about as helpful as "tits on a boar" hehe. Then he called his cousin John who gave us better advice. We finally got them bandaged up for the night with lots of gauze, tape, and neosporin.
The next morning his cough (from being sick the weekend before) still didnt sound great so I thought I better take him to the Dr. She checked him out and turns out the had a touch of bronchitis and an ear infection. When we checked in the receptionist said "aww, do you have an owie (on his fingers)? I have an owie on my fingers too" as she held up her bandaged hand. He replies "i got owie on da twedmeel". She looked at me for an explanation and I didn't have one, so I quietly took a seat to wait with Miles. Once we go back, Dr. Glass came in right away. She also asked what happened and I told her and she said okay looks like you did what you should have done but I better take a look. She unwraps his bandages and I had not gotten enough neosporin on the gauze that the gauze is ripping his skin off because it is stuck to it. At this point I hated myself and was close to an all time low. She dabbed some water on it and finally got the bandages off. She said yeah those are 2nd degree burns and I should give you some prescription cream so it heals nicely (although she agreed with John with the neosporin for the night prior). She got him bandaged back up and we were done. He had tears down his cheeks and was so upset. We walked out of the room and saw her in the hallway and he looks at her with tears in his eyes and says "fank you dr. gwass" I wanted to squeeze him. Dr. Glass looked at me and whispered "can I give him a sucker?" I said you can give him ANYTHING.
Meanwhile, it was my morning to open the store so Ben opened for me until I could get back to him with Miles. One of those days I had to repeat to myself "this too shall pass" but at the same time I wanted to freeze his sweetness and innocence.

After that December was smooth sailing, his fingers healed in about a week with changing bandages once or twice a day.

Christmas was wonderful, we spent the day in Huntington for the last hurrah on Clear Creek Road. One story while we were there. There are deer in the backyard all the time. Christmas eve there was a deer with an obviously broken leg. The kids loved watching it and the adults were talking about the broken leg. Christmas morning he woke up and we said "Miles did Santa come??!!" and he replied "No.... his reindeer was broken."  So sweet.  I will miss that place on Clear Creek but the memories that my mom and dad will make here will add to the joy and memories of the old house.

New years was, well, new years. Ordered a pizza and everyone was asleep by 10:30.

January
January flew by as we got ready for the baby and for Miles 3rd Birthday.

That's today. We stopped on the way to school to take donuts for his class and teachers. We had his party on Saturday with family and close friends. It was a great weekend and tonight will be a few more gifts from Ben and I and just some hanging out at home. Miles has taught us more in three years than we could have possibly imagined. He brings life to our family like no one else could. He keeps us on our toes, laughing, and moving (aka chasing him around with him yelling "try again!" with an ornery look on his face). He is cuter, smarter, funnier, and sweeter than I could have ever imagined. He will hit you with his fishing pole one second and want to be rocked the next minute. He loves to hear stories about his grandpas and his cousin Sam. He knows (as much as a three year old can) about Jesus and only wants to be sang Jesus Loves Me when we rock him. I know the first few weeks/months will be challenging bringing a new baby home but I know he will rock the big brother status and be proud. We love you so much Miles Benjamin, you are truly one of a kind and God has blessed us abundantly by letting us be your parents.

Our cup is full.

miles-isms

he is getting good at this whole talking thing. but there are a few words i don't correct him on. i feel like it enhances his personality.

"cancake" = pancake
"bobtat" = bobcat
"ewobay" = elevator

and my favorite:

"earpad" = ipad

chatty

Well we finally got the kid to talk. And we think we are happy about it but we are learning more and more about his personality. He will repeat almost anything you say or that he hears on the tv. For example, we had the news on the other day and they said something about a market. Miles yells "market, set, go!!!!" He comes up with some pretty good lines, like most two year olds.  Here are a few of his favorites:

"no i not!" (miles, you ready for bed? he replies no i not!!!)

"i heee someping"

"where noemie go?"

"aw shoot."

"i need paci. paci puppy?" (his two favorite things he asks for all at once)

He started preschool last week and is off to a good start. No tears for drop off the first day so I will call that a success. Mrs. Tammy and Mrs. Jolie seem really nice and I think he will have a good time. He goes Monday and Thursday mornings until 1. Then home for a big stinkin nap. He is still loving trains and construction equipment. Loves Curious George and pb & j's. Hates getting his face washed, diaper changed, or taking his jammies off. Still hasn't had a real haircut. Thinking that is going to come this fall when his hair starts getting straighter because of the weather. It looks fine when he has curls but I am fearful it would be half way down his back if it went straight.

I'm at work and don't have any pictures on this computer so I'll have to post those later.

This and that.

It's been a busy summer around here. We seem to be on the home stretch with bens work hours winding down. Our summer babysitter, Haley, has been great and we will be sad to see her go in a few weeks (heading to Tulane in new Orleans). Miles seems to have lots of fun with her and of course that's about the time she has to leave. However, our favorite lady Linda is coming back on the scene to watch miles one day a week starting late August. Then he'll go to north view church school two days a week.
Here are some random tidbits about "bits" over the last month.
-he's developed a love for cinnamon toast. (himmin toast)
-he's finally on a roll with speech. Saying phrases and will attempt to repeat just about anything adults say. Scary thought.
-is starting to say things I didn't know he knew (mainly including naming things on the tv)
-loves his jump shot and shouting "nice shot!!" even if it is an air ball.
Every time we pass a golf course says "dad?"
-still loves diggers and backhoes.
-loves playing with the hose and watering the plants.
Here are a few recent photos:
























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A day in the life.

This is a "normal" experience at Target. This was a week or so ago. And then Ben went with us last weekend and said he won't do it again. He said next time he'd stay home with Miles and I could go alone. I almost died. Target? By myself? It's a real mom's dream.

(Miles obviously adores the place.)

Catching up

I know its been forever since I've blogged. At least I've been ok about instagramming pics of miles. So far we are loving summer. We are done with primrose and we have a girl named Haley that just graduated high school that is watching miles two days per week. It is awesome so far. In the fall hell start going to our church school two days per week. Today we went to the neighborhood pool for the first time this year. We had a blast. He loved every minute of it and was a good listener.







His speech is drastically improving. He even is stringing a few words together now and then.

Oh yeah, and we celebrated dads day on Sunday. Ben as a dad is a constant reminder to me of gods love, and miles and I are so thankful for him. After Ben went to work we went to see grandpa bob and his trains. Seeing grandpa bob is pure entertainment for miles, and it seems as if they speak the same language sometimes. Happy belated fathers day to all you sweet daddi-os.



He is so funny. Wanted to carry the bag to the ebar while shopping for a fathers day gift.




I think his love of diggers and construction equipment is here to stay for a while. He squeals from the backseat every time he sees one. He'd rather keep his eye out for construction sites than watch the DVD player.

So I took miles to a park one day that I didn't realize was a splash park. Here is how we left. For some reason I don't get embarrassed about this kind of stuff. I couldn't have cared less that my kid was the only one there playing in his diaper. I mean, he was seriously having the time of his life and I wasn't going to let my unpreparedness stop him!!


I'll try not to let it go so long before I blog again!

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spring fever!!

we haven't been up to a whole lot lately but I realized I haven't blogged in a month so I better give it an update. ben and i got away for a weekend to go with ted and ashely to the masters. missed miles like crazy but it was nice to go on a little road trip. he had a great time with his grandmas. we came home to a new book, a new thomas (that talks and lights up), a few new diggers, and one happy boy with a big smile on his face.

we are doing speech therapy through first steps which is getting better. he wasn't a huge fan of his therapist the first several weeks but he finally started warming up to her. she is much more structured than we are but I am seeing that it may be good for him. he's upped his vocabulary to no, whoa, go, yes, and a hard to understand "airplane". he's making progress though. you might think that if he doesn't talk much it is hard to communicate with him. It's crazy but I think he is super easy to communicate with. You can reason with him, he follows pretty good directions, and points to what he wants. Who needs talking?!?! Just kidding. We are hoping and praying we can have some fun and articulated toddler conversations with him soon. I know he has a lot to say, right now its just in his own dialect.  :) Sweet boy.

this weekend ben is away for a golf trip with a few college friends. i'm heading to pick miles up in a bit and we are going to go get some cupcakes for a shower I'm having tomorrow. so, grammy will be back up to keep the little wild guy. i am hoping this weekend for miles and i will be full of playing outside, trips to the park, ice cream, and lots of laughs and smiles.

BIGGEST boy.

I made a bit of a mistake the other night. I cut Miles' hair. I've cut it before but this time it made him look sooooo different. He really went from baby curls to looking like he's in kindergarten. It made me tear up a bit getting him out of bed the next morning and seeing no curls. It was a spur of the moment decision. We had given him a bath and I was combing his hair wet. It seemed so long so I grabbed the scissors (I really do have shears because I trim my own bangs all the time). He was watching thomas so he didn't know what I was doing. It was still wet when I finished so it was pretty fluffy. Then it dried and the curls were gone. Oh well, it's hair, it will grow back. I just can't get over how different he looks. Sorry the pic is a little blurry but you get the point.

A while back a photographer from Z-Ville emailed me wanting to do a photoshoot with Miles and I at the store. She said since she was asking me it wouldn't cost anything, she just thought it would be a fun shoot. Here is another pic (another blurry one) of M before she arrived. Oh the hair. the smile. the chambray....

Then last night Jon, Stacie, Sam and Evan came over to watch the game. Pretty sure these two are going to be best buds (and Evan too once he realizes how entertaining the ipad is!) And Sam's lucky red socks sure did the trick for IU, even though Sam asked if it was Christmas.

Other than that we have just been having a blast and trying to be patient for spring. I'm trying to look at the bright side with this weather: 1. i don't have to shave my legs yet. 2. ben isn't having to go back to work. 3. crock pot meals that don't sound so good in the warmer weather.

That's all I've got. Happy Weekend!

CVS

Today time hit me in the face. I had a brief moment at cvs that I felt like a mom to a kid. Not a baby. Or even a toddler. I was picking up a prescription for miles ear infection when I bent down and said "hey miles, see that blue chair over there? Can you sit right there and wait for mommy to get your medicine?" And guess what? Carrying his puppy, he marched his little booty over and climbed up in the chair and sat and waited. I knew he knew what I was talking about but I didn't think he'd actually do it. Seems insignificant and not worth writing about but it's the little things in life that are sometimes really the biggest.

Griswold Family Vacation

We made it. Our first family vacation flying with Miles. This blog post may be a long one because I have a lot to recap so I can look back at the memories and laugh. hysterically.

Sunday morning our flight left at 9:30. By the time we were ready to board, Ben had already spilled two cups of coffee. One in the car on the way to the airport and one at the airport waiting to board. We laughed and said he was off to a good start.

I had no idea what to expect with Miles on the plane so I packed my bag carefully. All of the things were new he had not seen before. Here's what I took (not that you care but so I don't forget):

-thomas the train
-a toy with gears you turn
-thomas book
-a slide book (one where he slides the windows to match up animals)
-sippy cup, fruit snacks, m&m's, goldfish, teddy grahams.

We were seated in row 11 behind another fam of 3 with another fam of 3 beside us. Their kids were also anywhere from 18 months to 2 1/2 so we were excited about that. Actually all three of the kids did awesome. Miles loved watching out the window during takeoff until he couldn't see the ground anymore, and by that time we could turn on the ipad, which we had loaded up with Curious George, Super Why and Daniel Tiger episodes, Despicable Me, Thomas the Train & Toy Story movies. He watched it off and on between snacks and just taking it all in. Not one fuss or scream the entire way. He didn't sleep either, he was just happy.

Next comes the arrival at Fort Lauderdale. The weather was awesome. 85 and sunny. Just what we've been waiting for. We got the rental car and M fell asleep driving to the hotel, which is what we planned on doing. The hotel was nice but busy with all kinds of internationally traveling people. We got changed and hung out at the beach the rest of the day.

This was the first time Miles stayed in a hotel with the two of us (I had taken him to Chicago once before and stayed with him but this was his first real experience with a hotel) so we scooted the two queen beds together and let him sleep in the middle. He was in heaven.

Fort Lauderdale was okay in some parts and the beach was nice but it was not a kid friendly florida town to visit. Actually we both said we'd never go back to southern florida. Let's just say lots of adults in their 40's acting like they're on a college spring break. Dining in bikinis (when most shouldn't have worn bikinis in the first place), drinking out of funky shaped glasses with super long straws, popping "wheelies" in their "crotch rockets" down A1A. We ended up doing carryout for a few meals because we had a hard time finding restaurants with high chairs or kids meals. :/

Looking cute before dinner:

On Monday morning Ben had a tee time at 8:00 to play golf about an hour away. He got up super early and left. I had planned to take M to breakfast and hang out at the pool with him until Ben got home around noon. Ben calls at 8:08 and here is how the convo went:

Ben: kristyn?? ummm...... i've got some issues.
Me: okaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy......
Ben: I stopped to get a cup of coffee and went out to the car to tuck my shirt in. and....... I set my wallet on the top of the car.
Me: okaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy......
Ben: and now I can't find it. It's not in my pocket. Actually I think I left it on the car and I've already been back to the gas station to look for it and its not there.

I suddenly felt like I was in a real life game of Clue. Therefore I start in with 20+ questions. I wasn't on Ben's case by any means because I felt terrible for him. It really could happen to anyone. His brain just farted.

So I tell him I really don't think it makes sense for him to go ahead and play golf and he should go back to the gas station (which was 2 miles from the golf course) and park the car and walk the way he drove to look again. He agreed and headed back to the gas station. Then he calls back about 8:30:

Ben: new developments, i'm finding some of my cards along the road. but not any good ones, an expired credit card, an insurance card, a costco card, and a golf handicap card. the wallet is either right around here or someone picked it up.
Me: okay well i just read online that since you'll need some sort of id to get back then if you can't find it you'll need to file a police report and take a copy of it with you to the airport when we leave.

So he looks and looks and looks and no wallet. I knew what was in there. Miles birth certificate. I've seen too many Datelines about people stealing babies identities and you don't know it until their adults and try to get a credit card or apply for a loan. I wanted to cry but didn't say anything to Ben because I knew he was on the verge of going crazy. Considering the kind of people we saw hanging out in fort lauderdale, i was pretty sure someone was thinking they struck gold and were on their way to get their green card or visa or whatever they wanted to get. At that time he was thinking maybe someone got the wallet and threw out the cards that they didn't want. He did say the cards he found were in where his cash was, not in a credit card slot. The next few hours he spent at the police station and then back at the gas station with the po po.

Meanwhile, back in the hotel:

Finally he heads back to the hotel. Miles and I were then back in the room. I ask Ben to see the cards he found and there were notches out of them. Another clue. So I said. Ben, you couldn't do this kind of damage to a card. This has been ran over. If your wallet was ran over, it could have flipped several feet off the road if someone hit it at a decent speed. I told him I know he looked everywhere but it was time for Miles to nap so I said let's put miles in the car and he can nap and lets go back and look. It was like I needed to look for myself.


He said okay so we took quick showers and I went to grab my phone/bag. There was a missed call. From Rhonda. at the State Farm office. in Indianapolis. She had left me a voicemail saying someone had called their office and has Ben's wallet with everything in it. Everything but the cash but we are pretty sure it flew out when those other cards flew out. I had tears in my eyes. Rhonda gave ben a number for Joseph Ryan in West Palm Beach. Ben called him and he said he had the wallet and we could come get it anytime. He was an emt teaching a class at ITT Tech of West Palm. Wow. What a good man. He told Ben he was going to mail it but then he called his wife and she told him he best be going through that wallet and make some phone calls. THANK GOD this man has a woman in his life to tell him the sensible thing to do. :) :) :)

Ready to get dads wallet!!! (he has a purple paci because that's all cvs had)

We drove up to West Palm, got the wallet, and finished our vacation with smiles on our faces. Here is a pic of the scene and the deal goin down. The blonde is just a bystander. She had no role in this episode.

We broke a few rules on this trip including changing his diaper in the airport gift shop (it was much cleaner than the bathroom) haha and letting him indulge in his first iced chai. We told him it was Grammy and Grandma's favorite!!!

Thank goodness the rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, except for driving to an outlet mall which was the most ghetto establishment I'd ever seen. When it was all said and done, it was good to get away with our little fam. Miles seemed to love it and we will never forget it!

Oh just hanging out on the floor of the plane on the way home.

Tuesdays

Tuesdays are my days off with Miles. I am so blessed to have this day with him. As much as I THINK he likes hanging out with me, it is truly good for my soul to hang with him. I learn more about him everyday. I feel more connected with him. I just love spending time with him. Don't get me wrong, there are meltdowns along the way as we have come upon the terrible twos. As Ben likes to say "throw up the deuces!!!" It's been a good winter for the three of us to hang out on Tuesdays and it won't be the same when Ben goes back to work. This week we went to the children's museum. I wish it was closer because its such a great place for him to explore. He runs wild in there. It's just not so easy trying to keep him awake on the way home. In a toddlers mind, I think a 10 minute car snooze is equivalent to a 2 hr nap in bed. So as long as we can get home without any dozing off in the back seat, we are golden. I usually keep him going with snacks just long enough to make it to Wendy's for his guilty pleasure: a $.99 hamburger with cheese an ketchup. I won't lie, I usually have a bite (or two).






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clean up on aisle 4.

bitty has been well, bitty. he's totally fine after his experience with croup. back to school and his normal self. tuesdays i am home with him. i truly do like running errands with him (call me crazy) but it gets us out of the house, we see and talk about new things, and i think it is important for him to know that sometimes you just have to run errands with your old lady.

so tuesday i load him up to head to michaels at traders point. i'm finding all the supplies i need and he was being pretty good. he wants in the cart. he wants out of the cart. he wants to walk. he wants me to carry him. he wants to lay in the aisle. he wants to carry around large plastic tubs he grabs off the shelf. thats all fine and i can deal with all of that and take it in stride. its finally time to go so we head to the front. there was only one cashier and about five people in line. he did pretty good waiting in line and then it was finally our turn. i had bought erin 12 little canisters she wanted me to hunt for. the cashier wasn't the quickest girl i had ever seen. I'm thinking in my head "its gonna take her all day to wrap up these canisters". miles was out of the cart at that point starting to get to the end of his rope. he's trying to push the cart around while i'm trying to hold it still so it doesn't run into things. i see him walk away from me, look over his shoulder, make eye contact with me, and push over a 5 or 6 ft. cardboard display of boxes of candy hearts. imagine 50 boxes of candy hearts all over the floor, blocking the aisle for anyone else to get in line. i whipped him around and told him no. then quickly finished paying. parked the cart, walked around to the employee picking them up, and insisted on her letting me do it. she wouldn't let me so i apologized profusely and got the heck out of there. it was my first truly embarrassing experience with him, and i don't feel like i get embarrassed easily. i know the people in line were thinking "why did she bring her kid to feed her craft addiction?"

haha, i'll laugh about it now. ben said if it was him he would have hyperventilated. actually i laughed on the way to the car but that kid is a stinker to the core. he knew it was wrong but just wanted to see what i was going to do to him.

turns out i gave him teddy grahams on the way home.....got me again. at least in my mind i feel like i had a valid and purposeful conversation with him about how he can't knock things over. in public. full of candy hearts. twice is size. with people watching......

Learning Experience

Trust me, we really have a good winter here at the Davidson house. We have just had a few, maybe, hiccups? Well this week was the biggest. Here's the story:

Monday 11 p.m. - Miles woke up coughing and crying, like he had drainage that he couldn't get out. We got him a drink of water and calmed back down, and put him back to sleep around 12 a.m. He slept until his normal 6:30-7 so we thought he must have just been annoyed overnight. He coughed a few times that morning but nothing too out of the ordinary.

Tuesday a.m. - I called the dr. to tell her about the cough and she said just watch him and use a humidifier, which we already do.

Tuesday noon - I was working so Ben brought Miles to the store to have lunch and get some fresh air. Miles maybe felt a little warm but nothing serious, and the cough wasn't any worse either. Ben then took him home and put him down for a nap.

Tuesday 4 p.m. - Ben called and said Miles slept about an hour and a half but was continuing to get worse as far as coughing/breathing issues. I could hear Miles in the background breathing while Ben was talking to me. I hung up and called the dr. back and told the nurse. She said he needed to be seen same day but they closed at 4:30 and she didn't have any more appts. during that day but she suggested take him to the immediate care in their building. I call Ben back and say I'm closing the store, pick me up and let's head to immediate care.

This is where it gets scary...

He picks me up around 4:15 and I hop in the back with Miles. It was terrible listening to him. We are talking nostrils flaring, chest expanding, neck "sucking in". I told Ben I was having a real hard time because I thought he could turn blue any minute. Of course we get behind a freakin' student driver that is going the same route we are. The kind that sits at stop signs for a looooong time before they go. We pull in to immediate care (practically on two wheels) and I hopped out and went in to tell them what was coming. Ben brought him in and suddenly a nurse pops out (within seconds) and brings us straight back. No paperwork, nothing. They take his oxygen level and listened to his chest. The nurse runs out to get the dr. and another nurse. Miles is hysterical with so many people touching him, let alone just trying to breathe. They give him a breathing treatment which relaxed him a little. The dr. says something along the lines of  "he really needs to go to the e.r., and we would suggest you go by ambulance." The tears started rolling down my face. I couldn't look at Ben. He was shaking as it was trying to remember our name, address and phone numbers for the paperwork.  The next few minutes was the nurse talking us through what was about to happen. The fire department. The emt's. The stretcher. Protocol type of stuff. They all arrived and put me on a stretcher holding Miles. Ben had to sit in the front. Miles, me, and the emt in the back. The emt said "I just want to give you a heads up we are going with lights and sirens on since it is rush hour." I said "if we're gonna ride, let's ride". In other words, I know these "rides" aren't cheap so you best be hightailing it down to 86th street" I gave Miles another breathing treatment and oxygen on the way to Peyton Manning Children's Hospital on 86th. The E.R. room was ready and my mom and Aunt Carolyn were there when we arrived. This time a stronger breathing treatment, Epinephrine. Then steroids. Then ibuprofen for fever. Then another Epinephrine breathing treatment. Finally he was breathing easier. And we were also. They gave us the news that he would be staying overnight, which we were kind of relieved to hear. It took about 3 hours to get into a room. In the meantime my mom and dad entertained Miles to the max. He was up and walking around, throwing plastic ducks around the room, iphone apps, playing trucks, etc.

The hospital wasn't what we pictured a children's hospital stay would be like. As Ben said "this aint no clarian north". We told our same story to 10-15 people during our stay there. I wanted to say "are you not looking at his chart right now?" A doctor could come in and make him hysterical by looking in his ears, mouth, etc. and everything would look clear and within minutes someone different would come in and do the same thing as if they didn't know he had just been checked. Like I said we waited for hours in the E.R. to get an overnight room. We finally are taken to the next floor to our room and we walk by the nurses station and they were all sitting, chatting at the desk, eating sandwiches. I know it was probably not their problem but I'm pretty sure I gave them the stink eye. Then the overnight nurse (I'm totally venting right now) would come in, wake him up, make him cry, try to get his oxygen level, not get it, and say "oh well I don't want to make him any more upset." I was about to come unglued with her, which I don't feel that way about people often. I know she was just trying to do her job but I wanted to say "do you need these stats? if so, you need to get some help so you can get this done. If you don't need them, then leave him alone." When it was all said and done, they did make him better in a relatively short amount of time which I am obviously grateful for. I think everyone was doing their best but at a time like that, from a mom and dads standpoint, their best just isn't quite enough. He did not need any more breathing treatments through the night (thank the LORD) so we were discharged around 7 a.m. with a prescription to give him steroids at home for the next two days. It was awful. All of it. I'm digging deep to find any good out of this. It's a stretch but I guess I'll call it a learning experience. Here is some of what we learned:

-When a baby is involved there is not much waiting, anywhere.
-There is a button in the front of the ambulance for them to change the stoplights.
-Those hospital "pull out couches" are worthless. We would have been better off putting blankets on the floor. The three of us slept on a cot that was not bigger than a double bed. I couldn't put Miles in the hospital "crib". It looked like something to cage wild animals, not for my precious baby.
-Epinephrine breathing treatments cannot be done at home, so if he regresses (like hopefully NOT tonight), we have to go back to the E.R. for another treatment.
-Croup can have a quick onset.
-The virus that causes Croup would just give an adult a cold or a sore throat. Our throats are just big enough to handle a little swelling. Kids under 3 are usually ones who get Croup because they don't have any room in there to spare for swelling.

I will end my rant by saying the nurse and doctor at the immediate care were ANGELS. I'm going to send them a note, and let's be honest, probably a Starbucks gift card for how great they were to us. I've heard people refer to immediate cares as "docs in a box" but not these sweet ladies. They were qualified, quick, and best of all gave us priceless parent advice to just go ahead and take the ambulance. I not only heard their words but more importantly I felt their honesty. The nurse was older and she looked me straight in the eyes and said "kristyn, no matter if you were going to st. v carmel, you can't predict if something would happen in the car, and you'd never forgive yourself." She was so right. I finally got the words out of my mouth to say "he IS going to be alright, right?" She looked back at me and with the most caring look on her face she said exactly what I needed to hear. "Yes."

NYE 2012

One word. Overrated. We did not stay up until midnight nor did we attend any parties that required sequins. That's okay. We hung out at home and made salmon from fresh market. That was the extent of it!

Christmas 2012

I'm going to have to play catch up here for a bit to get up to date. Christmas was a complete whirlwind this year. Starting with my birthday on the 21st. We had the Davidson family Christmas that day with just the immediate family. We picked Miles up from school around 3:30 and when I picked him up he was having a snack and playing. We wished the teachers a Merry Christmas and hopped in the car to head to Greenwood. We have a DVD player in the car that kept skipping so Ben handed Miles his phone for something to look at on the trip. A few minutes after we had been on 37 it starts. Miles starts coughing and then starts projectile vomiting everywhere. And by everywhere it was on the car door. Ben and I look at each other like "uh, what now?" I called Grammy Marcia and told her to get the towels ready, because we were going to need a few, or a lot. We got him there and it was a tag team effort. Marcia and I cleaned him up and Ben and Larry cleaned the carseat/car. After he was clean and his clothes were changed (thank goodness we had thrown his pajamas in a bag), he was good as new. We think he got car sick from looking down at the phone. We won't let him have a phone in the car again. It ended up being a fun night and we were relieved he wasn't really sick.

The 22nd we just hung around home and then the 23rd we went back to Greenwood for the Davidson/Hillenburg Christmas. It was great. The kids were all in good moods and we had a fun time. We got home and put Miles to bed and went to bed. About 3:30 a.m. I woke up with a stomach ache thinking "no, I'm just going to go back to sleep and it will go away." Well that didn't happen. I threw up from 3:30 - 9:30 on Christmas Eve. Miles and Ben were fine. It was one of those days I was so happy to be married to Ben. He totally took over. Played with Miles in the basement most of the day while I stayed in bed. I was bummed we were missing Christmas Eve church and our Oliver Christmas. Before I knew it Ben had gone to Panera to get soup, gave Miles a bath, and had put his Christmas pajamas on him. Sounds like not a big deal but it brought tears to my eyes. After Miles went to bed, I managed to get up and help Ben get Miles' Christmas stuff set up for morning......

Christmas morning Miles was underwhelmed. He is a little too young to understand Santa and presents so I think Ben and I had more fun getting him a few things than he did. My parents brought us food on Christmas Day (their leftovers from Christmas Eve). We ended up doing our Oliver' Christmas on Friday of that week. It was just as fun but not quite the same without it being Christmas Eve.

Thanks and giving.

I came across this blog post tonight and I just had to share. What a perfect time for this to put me in my place. It's so hard to always be grateful when you are so easily distracted by other things in life, many of which are not important. I'll be honest, I get a bit annoyed with the daily Facebook posts about being thankful. Those peeps need to head to Barnes & Noble (or Oliver's Twist, whichever is closer) and pick up a Gratitude journal ASAP. However, I understand the shift in attitude from complaining to gratitude and for that you've got to respect their thinking. This thanksgiving, I'm thankful for:
1. Reading this post to help me put things in to prospective.
http://www.handsfreemama.com/2012/11/20/today-let-me-appreciate/
2. Our health.
3. This precious little person who has spunk like no one I've ever seen.


4. Grandparents who love miles to pieces.
5. A job I love.
6. A husband I love even more. He's my BFF, my partner in crime, my Starbucks deliverer, and the best dad. Life is so much easier with him around and I'm so blessed to have him.
7. A perfect God and the freedom to worship Him.

Cheers to a great thanksgiving twenty twelve.


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too cool for school.

We did it. Tomorrow will be the end of our first two weeks at Primrose. Miles has been a big boy. Here's a recap.
Day 1: Wednesday, November 7th.
-We were all a little depressed about the election results but it was nice to have something to take our minds off of Miles starting school. Ben worked open until noon so it was me to take Miles. He was great all morning. We went there and he sat with me for a bit in the room and then would go play and come back to make sure I was still there. I sat with him for about 10 minutes and chatted with his teachers. I told "Miss Beth" that next time he got up to play I was going to jet outta there. Thats exactly what happened. I am thankful no one was in the office because I didn't want to stop to talk. I wasn't upset but I knew it would make it harder if I stopped to chat at the office and could hear him crying in the room. I called to check on him around lunch and they said he was doing great but was upset at lunch time. He didn't want to eat and didn't want to sit at the table. Ben went to get him early with it being his first day and walked in the room, looked around, then looked down and saw Miles passed out curled up on a cot. Breaks my heart. So he left and they called him when he woke up and Ben went back to get him.
Day 2: Friday, November 9th.
-We went to breakfast and loaded Miles up with food for fear that he wouldn't eat at school. Then I took him over, preparing myself for the worst. I remember when I worked there and it was always the 2nd and 3rd days that were the hardest for kids because the first day they kind of think it might be a one time thing. The following days they realize this is becoming a routine. Miles did great at drop off. Kind of the same thing. I took him in, sat down for a few minutes, and got up and left when he went to play. When I went to pick him up they said he had a bit of a rough day and didn't eat much and it took them a while to get to sleep. That was expected, I was just glad we made it out of the first week with no injuries or throw ups.
Day 3: Wednesday, November 14th.
-I took Miles to school again and Ben picked up. It was a great day. He sat at the table and ate lunch, took an hour and a half nap, and they said he was in a good mood all day. Ben went to pick him up and he immediately started blowing kisses to his teachers and friends. I think he will really like it once he gets used to their schedule.

His teachers are as sweet as can be. On Wednesdays he has Miss Beth and Miss Kelly and on Fridays he has Miss Beth again and Miss Ashley.  I think he is closest to Beth because he is with her both days. I am nervous for her though. Miles loves to grab peoples noses and she's got her nose pierced. I want to warn her but don't want her to think I don't like her piercing. I'll just wait and hope he doesn't do it. She is seriously the friendliest girl ever. She has been sitting with him in the rocking chair two out of the three times we have picked him up so far. Also, last week was just rough in that class. Out of 10 toddlers in the room, they had 4 new ones starting last week. Those poor teachers.  He also has a friend named Alexis in his class. She just looks like a funny girl and like she has an awesome personality. She gave Miles a hug while I was there on the first day and she always has some sort of animal on her shirt that Miles is always intrigued by. Yesterday it was a bunny. The first day it was a cat (a true match made in heaven).

That's the recap of the first few days! I am relieved that it is over and going to get better from here, aside from a few colds here and there. Next up, Thanksgiving!!! Yay!!!

Photos to come. I'm on my new computer and haven't figured out where they all go yet. :)

Friends are friends forever.....

This is why erin and I are such good friends.







And I still need to blog about miles debut at school, but instead I'll wait until day 2 is over with tomorrow.

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Myrtle.

We are suckers for good, nice, local places we can shop. Altums is one of those places. I love an excuse to go there, partly to look and partly so miles can visit with their cat, myrtle. He's so gentle with him and just smiles in his face and points to his nose. I've told Ben before about how miles loves myrtle and altums. Today was bens stay-at-home dad day with miles. He said he took miles to altums today to talk to myrtle and buy pumpkins. How sweet is that? It just put a smile on my face to pull in the driveway to see three pumpkins awkwardly spaced out on the porch, one for me, Ben and a little one for miles in the middle. Happy fall y'all!



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20 months!

This month will be busy, but in a hopefully good way. This weekend I'm having a garage sale and a shower and Ben goes on a fishing trip. Then the third weekend Ben is off so we are heading to Chicago for a night just for fun. Linda and her family are going to Greece for an extended fall break so Grammy Marcia is going to help out a few days here and there while she is gone. In November, big Miles makes his debut at Primrose. I'm sure he'll do fine when he gets used to it, but I'm gearing myself up for some big tears from all of us those first few days. I don't feel like he is a shy boy and I think he plays pretty well with others but he is always with people he knows well, and these will be new faces for him. We will see. I'll try dropping him off the first day but hopefully I'm not back by noon to pick him up! He's so funny lately and I feel like he is finally to the point where you can kind of talk to him/reason with him a little. For example, he gets in the car better if you tell him we're going to drive to look for horses. Then when I slow down and roll his window down, he leans up and says "oooooohhhhhhhhhh" if he sees a horse. If he doesn't see one and they are in the barn, he puts his hands up in the air and mumbles something like "where are they?"
As far as food goes, he still doesn't like real fruits and vegetables but his new thing is he loves pretty much anything dipped in ketchup, bbq sauce or ranch. Tater tots, french fries, chicken, pork, hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, grilled cheese. I started giving him some peanut butter and he loves it. He also loves chocolate milk and milk shakes (duh, who doesn't).
Last weekend I took him to Huntington with me because Ben had to work open to close for a few consecutive days (is it winter yet??) We left at his nap time so he slept for about an hour of the way. Then Erin let me borrow her dvd player so he watched a baby einstiein. *Side note: After borrowing that little piece of gold, I sent Ben to target and he came home with a 2 pack of dvd players. Love him. Anyways, Miles loved Huntington. A huge yard to run around, and a grandpa giving him EVERYTHING he wants. I told my dad miles likes bobcats and dozers so one of the driveways didn't even need it but dad said "well, I guess I could grate the driveway" so Miles stood and watched the bobcat go back and forth for quite some time. I got some cute pictures of him while he was watching. Now I think whenever he sees a bobcat he thinks grandpa is in it.




Watching grandpa.


Snooze on the way to Huntington.


Parkin' with Linda.


Mowing grandpas driveway.


Loving salsa.


Playing in rice!!!