Surgery

I still need to post pictures from our trip to Omaha!!  I decided on a whim to take C up there to go to the zoo.  We had so much fun!  But, that post will have to wait.  I've been running around crazy today trying to get things packed before my surgery tomorrow.  I'm having surgery on my finger.  I have a tumor underneath my nail on my right ring finger.  Isn't that just the craziest thing you've ever heard?  In fact, after I'd been referred to a hand surgeon and he didn't know exactly what it was I called my mom to tell her that he ordered an MRI of my finger.  She asked, "Do you think it's a tumor?"  And I replied rather sarcastically, "Yeah, mom, it's a tumor.  Seriously.  Who gets a tumor under their fingernail?!?"  Um, that'd be me.  So, tomorrow C is off to Grandpa's and Papa is taking me to the hospital where they will knock me out, cut out a small piece of the mass, biopsy it, and most likely remove it all.  Good times.  So, if my next post is missing alot of o's and l's you can assume they just took the whole finger.  (I kid...hopefully) 

First Sleepover!

So what if Mommy was in attendance too...it still counts as his first sleepover, right?!?  On Saturday evening we headed over to my friend Allison's house...where C spent lots of quality time with his betrothed um..friend, Kennison.  (People keep saying that if you try to plan it, it will never work out...so I've got to quit talking about it!) 

I'm definitely not saying anything about how cute they look together or how adorable my grandkids would be...nope, not gonna do it!

C had fun playing with Jack and Colton too (and baby Charlie!) 

Can you tell these two are up past their bedtime?

All ready for bed in their tent. They snuggled into their sleeping bags, I read them some books, turned out the light, and they peacefully drifted off to sleep...an hour and a half later!!! What was keeping them up? We'll never know all that went on during their little slumber party, but the baby monitor gave us a glimpse into their little world.

K: We're supposed to go to sleep now.
C: Let's play one more game.
K: Ok
C and K: Ouch, ouch, swish! Ouch, ouch, swish!

Pitter patter (the sound of little feet coming up the stairs)
C: Mommy, are you ok?
Mommy: Yes, I'm fine.
K: Mommy, are you ok?
Allison: Yes, I'm ok.

C: crying
pitter patter
C: Mommy! Kennison said no! She said no holding hands.

C and K: Oohing and ahhing and giggling.

K: C. C! Open your eyes C! Open your eyes!
C: Mommy! She's scratching my face!

K: (crying) C is smooshing me.

C: You don't want to cuddle with me?

C: Mommy! Mommy I smell peepee!
I go downstairs to check it out. The tent is empty and the bathroom light is on. I find C sitting on the floor with his sleeper half off and Kennison pulling at it.
K: I'm trying to help him.
Hmm...was she helping him in or out of his pj's? We'll never know. I'm just glad I got there when I did. ;)
C: I just had to go peepee.
Mommy: Ok. You went in the potty?
C: Yep, I did.
K: Yeah, he did.
I help C get his sleeper zipped back up.
K: But, he needs to go potty!
Mommy: I thought you just said he already went?
K: I need to wash my hands.

About an hour into their shenanigans we decided to get serious. Allison told Kennison that if she came up again or Daddy had to go down, then she was off to her own bed. It quickly became clear that I needed to tell C the same thing. You come up or I come down again you're sleeping alone buddy!
After telling him the new rule I told them they needed to go to sleep now and started to shut the door.
C: Momma wait! I just want to tell you something real quick.
Mommy: What is it C?
C: Um, I want to talk about woodpeckers!
K: I like purple frogs!
Mommy: Ok, well why don't you tell each other those stories and then go to bed.

On one of their many trips upstairs.  Kennison needed her Daddy to rock her.  And well, you can't rock one without the other.

Finally asleep.  This lasted until about four in the morning when C decided to crawl into bed with me.  Shortly after, Kennison woke up and went upstairs to her mom and dad's room.  Imagine my surprise when she showed back up a few minutes later (unfortunately while C was standing up on the bed naked as I changed him into a dry pull-up..."what's C doing?") and said she wanted to sleep in the tent.  Turns out she just went upstairs to go potty and then came back down.

The next morning Allison made the yummiest cinnamon rolls.  Which were enjoyed with eggs...by most everyone...except my son.  He started to gag a little bit on the first bite but got it down fine.  I wondered if he just wasn't used to the texture.  So, when he finished his cinnamon roll and asked for some more I should've known better than to ask him to take two more bites of egg first.  Yep, he thew up, at the breakfast table.  Pretty much awesome...and not embarassing at all...not at all.  After I got him cleaned up in the bathroom he marched back down the stairs and declared, "I don't like eggs.  They make me throwup."  Just in case anyone missed it.  All was forgiven and the kids entertained us with a little musical medley.  I'm not sure what we've got going on in this picture.  Looks like Kennison's got a little wheels-on-the-bus going on...C is rocking out the itsy-bitsy-spider...and I'm pretty sure Colton was singing BINGO. 

C had such a great time with his friends.  And I had a great time with mine. 

Farewell Free Zoo

Last Friday was our last chance to visit the zoo before our membership expired.  So, you know I was going to get my money's worth and go!!  It was an extra special trip because C got to bring along a friend.  I wish I could have recorded their conversations throughout the day.  These two came up with some crazy stuff!

I love how they have almost the exact same expression in this picture.

I can't believe we've never tried this before...lots of fun!

Emily was not such a big fan of the carousel at first.  I told her, "I'll be right back, I'm just going to go take C's picture."  She started crying.  The ride operator said, "Everybody ready?!"  And she yelled "NO!"

Show me your buddha belly!

Not much else beats a day at the zoo with two sweet little ones. :)

What a weekend!

We have had a very busy, very fun weekend!  Playdates, sleepovers, and overnight getaways!  It has been great...except for when my car broke down twenty minutes from home and I was stuck in a turning lane for over half an hour with my emergency flashers on (which, by the way, did not deter cars from getting right up on my bumper and then honking their horns when the light turned green.  Yep, that's right, I just like to drive with my flashers on because it's cool...I certainly don't have them on because my car is DEAD you idiots!)  Anyway...we got home late, C got in bed late, and I'm worn-out!  So, all you get is a photo teaser tonight.  More on our weekend to come...hopefully before my surgery on Wednesday...who knows, I might come home missing a finger after that.  (I know, I know...I need to write a post about that too)

Time

Oh, these hands...these little hands.  Hands that now prefer to hold mine with our fingers intertwined...hands that love to play with trains and squeeze my face until it hurts...hands that can actually clap on the beat...hands that don't really care for coloring but love to paint...hands that never pass up a sandbox...hands that always tuck themselves under legs in the car...hands that hold big boy cups full of water and get into the cabinets for snacks...hands that do so many things without any help from me...hands that are getting bigger all the time.

After we lost Wesley, time could not move fast enough for me. I made it one week...one month...longer without him than the time I was pregnant with him...six months...one year...I begged time to be my friend...just get me through another day already. Time was on my side. Time eased the heartache and made life more bearable. Hurry time, hurry. Get me to the place where I feel whole again. This is how I have felt for much of the last year.

And then one day I woke up!  What the hell was I thinking?!?  Urging time to move faster?!?  I should be pleading with time to slow down.  To let me soak up every ounce of every day with this precious child that I have been given time with here on earth.  To give me more shared moments...more baking days, trips to the zoo, snuggles in the middle of the night, hugs and kisses, conversations, games of make-believe, reading books, singing songs...more time.  Time with this child who holds my heart in his hands...hands that will only be so little for so long. 

Time...I'm begging you...stand still....

Red Robin

Tuesday night=Kid's night!

Papa

Fact...this boy is going to miss his Papa.

Obsessssed

I think our grand total is up to 13...and that's just the giant stuffed variety.

The faux hawk!

A couple of weeks ago at church my friend Kayla commented on how cute C's hair looked spiked up.  I told her I loved styling it that way but was too scared to have it shaved into a full-on mohawk.  She very matter-of-factly replied, "Get him a faux hawk."  A faux hawk?  What the heck is a faux hawk?  "It's like a fake mohawk" she says.  Oh.  So, I could spike it up into a mohawk...but it would still look normal if I didn't?  "Yeah."  Well, what do I tell them at the hair place?  "Tell them you want a faux hawk."  Ok, then.  Easy as pie.  I did do a little google images research before taking the plunge.

Ok David, you convinced me.

So, with images of David Beckham er...faux hawks in my head, we headed back to Great Clips.   This time C saw a much more personable stylist.  We were actually able to confirm that she had teeth due to the fact that she exposed them several times while smiling. ;)  We waited about 20 minutes for our turn.  Then she called us back.  She asked me "So, what are we doing today?"  Well, I...um...I kindof want...uh...can you do a faux hawk?  "Yeah.  How short do you want the sides?"  Ok, so I am the only person this is new to.  I asked C if I could go sit back down.  "Yeah, you go sit in those chairs over there and wait for me."  Ok, then.  Easy as pie.  The look on his face as he strutted toward me after he was done was priceless.  So proud of his new "mohawk."  I told him how cool he looked and he asked, "Can I have my cookie now?"  The child forgets nothing.  That morning when he asked for another cookie I told him he could have one after his haircut. 

Enjoying his reward...

Looking all grown up!  Doesn't he look cool Daddy? 

Today he told me "mohawks are for kids."  That's good because I certainly don't want one in the future...and I know "some" Dads that don't have enough hair for a mohawk.  Indeed, "mohawks are for kids."

Disney on Ice

Pictures as promised...on our way...

Blaze the lightning bug...his chosen souvenir.

Cars

The awestruck face was for this little lady excuse me, fairy.  Fawn is his favorite.

I'm not sure Uncle J shares the same love for Tinkerbell and her gang.

Waving goodbye to Tinkerbell as she flies up and away.

Joy.

What's the hubby up to?

I realized I hadn't written about what hubby has been up to in awhile.  And I know all 5 of you are just dying to know.  He is in California completing an army leadership school.  He graduated from the second phase a few days ago and jumped right into phase three. 

Several of his friends from his unit back in Kansas are there.  He liked his roomate at first, but now says he's weird. 

They got to spend the day "in town" after they graduated from the second phase of the school.  He and some other guys were climbing on the big rocks near the water to look into the little pools of water for crabs, etc.  All of a sudden a huge wave crashed onto the rocks and soaked them from the waist down.  The only place to find shorts and shoes was a surf shop.  Can you just imagine 5 or 6 guys walking around together in their matching touristy beach shorts and flip-flops?  They got to eat at a place overlooking the water.  But, then a soldier showed up drunk for the bus ride back to base...so they all got smoked when they got back. 

They've been doing lots of classroom work and then spending time doing field missions.  He got poison oak on one of their little trips up the hillside.  He said it wasn't that bad at first, but the other day he noticed it was oozing through his pants.  (Sick, I know!)  So, he went to the px (little shop on base) and they didn't have any guaze. 

Him: So, I got pads.
Me: Like period pads?
Him: Yes.
Me: Oh my gosh.
Him: It's all they had!
Me: Did you get super?
Him: I don't know.  I got the thicker of the two kinds they had.  That's what I told everyone...that I was having a heavy day.
Me:  How did you get them to stick on your leg?
Him:  Medical tape.
Me:  Oh my gosh.  You are walking around with pads taped to your leg?
Him:  Yeah, I had to use like six of them.
Me:  I can't wait to blog about this.

He is busy and puts in long days.  So, we don't get to talk very much.  It's usually in five minute bursts when he has a little down time.  And we've only webcammed twice, I think.  He is two hours ahead out there, so by the time he is done for the day C is usually already in bed.

That's pretty much it.  I really only wrote this post as an excuse to share the pad story anyway.  C and I are off to Disney on Ice tonight.  Pictures to come!

Completely Unacceptable