The Carter Family

Project 52:4 :: Moments

2012-01-27T07:38:00.001-05:00

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If you want to know more about my Project 52, you can read about it here.

Check out more P:52 over at Styleberry Blog, Firecracker mama, bugs and boo boos, Finding Joy, lucas and mahina, Hope for Baby Bennett and Wicked Kate.

If anyone else out there is doing a P:52 and wants to join in on the link fun, let me know and we can link each other up! :)

A trip to the ER and other germs

2012-01-25T17:09:00.000-05:00

Ahhh...now that the sickness *seems* to be leaving our house, I'm finally getting a chance to sit down and update this 'ol blog.

I'll start with our scare.

Saturday morning, at about 4am, I was woken up by Derrick calling me over his monitor. "Mommy, I'm breathing," he was saying in a somewhat urgent tone. ("I'm breathing" is what he says when he's breathing hard or can't catch his breath.) My heart was pounding as I flew up the stairs to his room. He was sitting up in bed on the verge of crying, and he kept saying, "Mommy, I'm breathing."

I scooped him up and took him to his chair to rock. I figured he had probably had a bad dream or maybe his latest coughing spell had left him feeling breathless, so rocking should calm him down enough to go back to sleep. He was lying in my lap completely still and kept opening and closing his eyes and repeating, "Mommy, I'm breathing."

I started to panic. He never says this while he's sleeping. He never falls asleep while I'm holding him and he certainly never falls into and out of sleep as he's talking. Derrick is an all or nothing kid. He's sleeping or he's awake. If you wake him up it's over. He's up and often there's no going back to sleep.

I decided to take him downstairs and check his sats (oxygen saturation). I didn't want to freak anybody out, but I was worried. Justin came into the living room with us and when we turned on the lights we could see how pale Derrick's face was. He was completely void of any color. We watched the pulse ox, then watched Derrick. Watched the pulse ox, then watched Derrick. His sats were right at 80 which is great for him. I think we were both waiting to see his sats go down, but they didn't. As we were sitting there Derrick was still saying, "Mommy, I'm breathing!" over and over. He was saying it like he was trying to get me to help him, but neither of us could figure out what in the world was wrong. As he was saying this, he kept slowly closing his eyes. He'd open them and close them back, like he was trying to stay awake but he was losing consciousness. This had both of us terrified so we called Justin's parents to come over and stay with Jenny Kate so we could take Derrick to the ER.

In the car he wanted to sleep but I kept talking to him to make sure he was ok. He's normally a very light sleeper, but I had to shake his leg and call his name over and over to get him to respond to me while we were in the car. Once we got to the hospital I got him out of his car seat and he popped his little head up and said, "Mommy, I feel better."

Seriously?

We were really glad, but really confused. We went to check in and as I turned Derrick away from the receptionist, Justin heard her say to the other girl, "Um, do you see his lips?!" We kind of chuckled and told them about his heart and that he always looks this way. (The color in his face had come back by now.) Would you believe that we didn't wait in the waiting room more than about 30 seconds before they were calling us to triage? It's amazing how quickly little blue lips will get people moving! :)

We got to a room and Derrick was his normal self. He watched tv, played with Lightning McQueen, talked. He was fine. We were stunned.

They checked him out, did a chest x-ray that came back clear, and gave him some Powerade and a popsicle. He was hooked up to the pulse ox the whole time and his sats were fine. They told us to follow up with our pediatrician that afternoon and sent us home. They had no idea what had happened. We were both relieved that he seemed better, but not having an answer was not comforting at all.

When we got home Derrick ate some eggs, drank his chocolate milk and had another popsicle before we headed to the peds office. The doctor listened to him again (this was the 3rd trip in 11 days to the peds office for cough/yuck) and heard a little wheezing when he coughed. He started looking pale again so she wanted to check his iron. Last time his iron was checked it came back in the normal range, but his cardiologist wanted it higher so he's been taking an iron supplement. She wanted to make sure that was working.

The nurse came in with the iron checking paraphernalia on a tray, and she also had a glucose monitor. At that point it hit me. Derrick had insisted on eating a few bites of banana before we headed to the hospital that morning. I wouldn't let him have much because I was afraid he would choke since he was zoning in and out of consciousness, but he did have about three bites. The drive to the hospital took about 15 minutes, and when we got there he was completely fine. Hmmmm.

His iron tested fine and his blood sugar was 77. That's normal, but on the low end of normal. And it seems a little low after having a popsicle and chocolate milk about 45 minutes before checking it. So, we left the doctor's office with a little more information but no definitive answer as to what in the world had happened to Derrick that morning.

We have a follow-up for Derrick's ear infections on Friday and we plan to talk to his pediatrician more about this whole blood sugar thing. We both feel at peace about thinking that it was the blood sugar and not his heart, which of course was our initial thought. We need a plan, though. Him bottoming out randomly is not ok with us. He's been sick since the beginning of January, so that could be a factor. And of course he never eats like he should, but he didn't eat much of anything Friday because he was feeling pretty bad. But still. This mama needs answers!

After all of the excitement that morning, that afternoon we all got hit with the stomach virus. This lovely stomach virus was on top of Derrick's double ear infection with round 2 of antibiotics, this time the vicious Augmentin ES, and his awful cough and congestion, and Jenny Kate's unexplained virus complete with cough, congestion, sleeplessness, and rash. After she just got over her strep throat, of course. We were quite worried that round 2 of the stomach virus was coming for Derrick, but we're pretty sure that it's the aftermath of each dose of Augmentin, despite the Florastor. That stuff is brutal!

The good news is that we're on the mend! Things seem to be getting better around here and I'm hoping that the windows being open on this beautiful almost-70-degree-day will free the rest of the germs from our house!

I'm so thankful that this scare with Derrick doesn't appear to be because of his heart. It's always my first thought when anything strange happens with him and it always throws me into quite a panic on the inside. It did bring me back to reality though. The reality is that we'll never know what's coming and most times don't know why. Not just with a special heart, but with anybody. It made me realize that taking care of sick, non-sleeping children is still a blessing, no matter how tough and patience-pressing it is. Every single day is a blessing. It's a gift, and it's really easy to lose sight of that. While I would prefer to not have to be reminded through trips to the ER, I am thankful for the nudge from the Lord to enjoy life right now. Snotty noses and all.

These pictures are from our morning in the yard, soaking up the beautiful January sunshine! (Yes, in mis-matched pajamas! :)

Project 52:3 :: Germy

2012-01-19T23:41:00.001-05:00

This may be the only picture I've taken since my P:52 last week.

There's no better word than GERMY that could describe life lately. The germs have filled our house to the brim and they don't seem to be going anywhere any time soon. Derrick had an ear infection and three days later we were at the doctor's office again, this time with Jenny Kate having strep. We've officially finished both rounds of antibiotics and already have appointments for both of them this afternoon. They've both been coughing and snotty for weeks and our little nebulizer friend has been visiting, but doesn't seem to be doing his job. Ugh!

Bring on the sunshine. This winter business is for the birds!

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If you want to know more about my Project 52, you can read about it here.

Check out more P:52 over at Styleberry Blog, Firecracker mama, bugs and boo boos, Finding Joy, lucas and mahina, Hope for Baby Bennett and Wicked Kate.

If anyone else out there is doing a P:52 and wants to join in on the link fun, let me know and we can link each other up! :)

Project 52:2 :: Sleepless

2012-01-12T16:42:00.001-05:00

I got one of each...one fantastic napper and the other...not so much. She sleeps when she wants to sleep, not when you want her to sleep. But who can be upset that these big blue eyes just want to get up and play?

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If you want to know more about my Project 52, you can read about it here.

Check out more P:52 over at Styleberry Blog, Firecracker mama, bugs and boo boos, Finding Joy, lucas and mahina, Hope for Baby Bennett and Wicked Kate.

If anyone else out there is doing a P:52 and wants to join in on the link fun, let me know and we can link each other up! :)

A Little Photog?!

2012-01-10T07:59:00.000-05:00

He no longer wants to be my little model, but he sure did want to take pictures of Jenny Kate! He grabbed his camera before we went outside the other day and said, "Mommy! I want to take pictures of Jenny Kate!"

He shot away, too. Well, for about 2 minutes, then he was bored. I got his camera when we came back inside and was going to upload his pictures to the computer so we could really see them. What a BUMMER to find that he never turned the camera on while he was doing his little photo shoot!

He toughed it out, yucky nose and all, just to get some shots of "Nudy" (That's the latest...don't ask! :) He got none, but he did let me get ONE, just one, of him!

This boy is growing up WAY TOO FAST!

SEVEN months!!

2012-01-08T21:48:00.000-05:00

Well...I wrote all of this ON your 7 month birthday, Jenny Kate. I really did. And I'm so glad because you've been doing so much more since then and I would have everything all confused. Anyway, better late than never, right?

My Jenny Kate, where oh, where does the time go?! You are now SEVEN months old! How did this happen?

You have become quite a BUSY girl! Your biggest accomplishment this month is that you're now mobile. You are crawling everywhere! And you LOVE it! You are so happy with your new-found independance.

There isn't one second of the day (that you're awake) that we cannot not have an eye on you. We can turn for one second and you're into something.

Your favorite thing to play with is whatever Derrick is playing with. You LOVE his cars and will tear up his train track any time you can reach it. You'll laugh after you jerk his track apart. It's funny, but you're starting to drive him crazy! :)

You keep going after the plant that's on the fire place. (I'm trying to think of a new home for it, just haven't figured that out yet.) The other day I had to run into the kitchen and grab something and told Derrick not to let you get near the plant. I was gone maybe 15 seconds, and when I rounded the corner I saw him pulling you backwards by your legs. Neither of you saw me watching, so I just let you go for a minute. You would crawl a few feet forward and Derrick would grab your feet and pull you backward. As soon as he let you go, off you went again and the cycle continued. I have to admit, it made me laugh. I did make him stop, but it was really funny.

You've gotten a little better about letting me get out of your sight for a second without having a fit. That's made life a little less stressful!

You're still enjoying your exercauser, but I have a feeling that's going to end soon since you know you can get around now. I really hope you'll enjoy it a little longer because it sure does make it easier when I'm getting ready in the mornings. You play right beside me and love it when the air from the blow dryer hits your face. Let's just keep thinking that's fun, k? :)

You've started experimenting with puffs. You like them but haven't quite figured them out yet. You don't have the fine motor skills to pick them up and get them directly into your mouth, but sometimes you accidentally hit your target. That pleases you and confuses you at the same time. You're so funny to watch.

Now that you can attempt to feed yourself, I can contain you some in your high chair. That is helpful the nights daddy is working and I'm trying to get dinner ready. You'll usually let me get the food ready, but you don't allow for extra time like cleaning the dishes. I guess I'll take what I can get!

You put EVERYTHING in your mouth. Seriously, someone has to have an eye on you at all times. You especially like to eat paper.

You are definitely our more nosey child. You are so busy and want to grab everything in your sight. You can grab a plate or cup in a split second, leaving whoever was holding you in quite a predicament. You enjoy tasting everything you can reach and you are definitely going to put all of those child-proofing devices to the test.

It's amazing how different two children with the same genetic make-up can be. Derrick had to have speech therapy because he didn't like things in his mouth. Part of our homework was trying to get him to put toys in his mouth. You...we can't keep anything out of your mouth! You are definitely keeping us on our toes!

You're starting to make the "d" sound.

This picture screams 'Jenny Kate!' A cute little outfit with the ribbon already torn off and dirt everywhere. That's my girl! :)

You are thinking about pulling up. You'll crawl over to something and reach up with one arm. We think you'll be walking a little sooner than we'll be ready for. Then we'll really be in for it! Ha!

You still think Derrick is the funniest thing in the world. You're crazy about him and can't keep your eyes off of him. You love to try to be involved in everything he does. And for the record, even though you're starting to bother him by taking his toys, he still loves you to death. He's so gentle when he takes his toys away from you and almost always has another (safer) toy ready to put in your hand.

You get angry when we take things away from you. I mean like red-faced, screaming angry. You like for everyone to know when you don't like something.

You love to spit. Especially when you're eating baby food. And most especially if it's orange. And stains.

You love eating baby food. You're eating a stage 2 container of food twice a day and take 6-8 ounces of formula four times a day. I think you're about ready to be eating three "meals" a day.

You have turned into a good sleeper. You sleep for about an hour in the morning and for around 2 hours in the afternoon. You're ready for bed by 8:30 at night and usually wake about 8:30 or 9 in the morning. Sometimes we struggle to get that morning nap right with the running around we do, but when you're home you're pretty much scheduled.

You're curious about the presents under the tree and have successfully torn the paper on several of the gifts. We didn't even bother with the bows as they were sure to be an attraction.

You are a happy little girl. You love to smile and laugh and you're also into dancing! Any time you hear music you start bouncing and flapping. You like to be included in whatever is going on and you love it when people talk to you.

Jenny Kate, you are so full of personality and so much fun! You have turned into such a little person. You're not a "baby" any more. That makes me sad and happy at the same time. It's sad that you're growing up so quickly but you're so much fun! You've gotten snuggly and daddy and I both love when you'll put your head on our shoulder and let us just snuggle with you. It doesn't happen very often, but we sure love it when you'll share that sweet, snuggly side you have. You are such a blessing to our family and I don't think any of us can remember life before you were here. We're proud of you and we love you more than words can say. Slow down girlfriend, we love this new stage you're in. We'd like to enjoy it!

We love you to the moon and back, sweet girl!

Mommy, Daddy & Brother

Project 52:1 :: Hardheaded

2012-01-04T15:36:00.005-05:00

I've decided to do a Project 52 this year. For Project 52, you take a picture each week that tells a story. Mine is a story of my life right now, with the theme of 'Motherhood'. I've seen several in cyber-world {my favorite being Shawna's on 'motherhood' over at Styleberry}. I thought it would be fun to participate and 'motherhood' pretty much sums up a large majority of my world right now, so that seems most fitting for me. I'm excited to have this to look back on at the end of the year and hopefully print it into a book that I can keep forever. I like the challenge it will bring to take the time to really look at what I see through my lens and what it says about life, right now. One day these "mom of two, two and under" thoughts won't be so fresh in my mind, but they're definitely something I don't want to forget.

And as usual, I'm insanely behind, so all kinds of Christmas posts will be drizzled in as these babies give me a chance to get them together! :) Hope you all had a happy New Year!

Check out more P:52 over at Styleberry Blog, Firecracker mama, bugs and boo boos, Finding Joy, lucas and mahina and Wicked Kate.

If anyone else out there is doing a P:52 and wants to join in on the link fun, let me know and we can link each other up! :)

Christmas Eve, 2011

2011-12-29T10:33:00.000-05:00

We had a really fun, but very busy Christmas this year! Christmas Eve morning we headed over to Justin's parents' house.

I made these little santa hat brownies. I didn't think these up, the idea came from here, and hers were much, much cuter. But I was in a hurry and had to let the type-a-ness go and just go with it. Brownies cut in a little circle (which isn't so easy using a shot glass as a cookie cutter since I didn't have a little circle cutter), top it with some cream cheese icing and stick a strawberry on top. They may not look pretty but boy did they taste good!

Once we got to Mamaw and Papaw's, Jenny Kate dove right in. She was pretty excited about her first Christmas! There was no keeping this girl away from the tree.

We had fun playing with this crazy hat. It weighed about ten pounds and wouldn't sit on D's head straight. Ha! Don't let his sad little face fool you; he had fun with it! He's just so silly in front of the camera these days.

It was nice out so we were able to hang out outside while Papaw grilled steaks for lunch. JK enjoyed her lovin' from Aunt Danielle.

The boys played and played.

And they had fun on their make-shift slide!

Silly Carter! He and Derrick play so well together!

Derrick really had fun this year with Christmas! He "gets it" now. We made sure he understood WHY we celebrate Christmas. We talked over and over about Jesus' birth and why Christmas is special because we definitely want him to know the REAL reason for Christmas. I asked him on Christmas Eve who's birthday was tomorrow and he said, "Jesus!" Then he cocked his little head to the side, wrinkled his eyebrows and said, "Mommy, is it Santa's birthday tomorrow too?" Ha! I have to admit, having that *magic* and excitement back at Christmas time sure is a lot of fun!

He got a real "picture" from Mamaw and Papaw. He loves taking pictures with my phone (which is pointless because I still have an old-timey phone. You can barely see the picture and I can't even get it off the phone if I wanted to!). We thought he would enjoy having a camera that takes real pictures. And we can upload them to keep forever. It'll be fun to see the world through Derrick's eyes.

He also got this cute belt that Danielle made for him. Complete with all of his "best friends".

He loved the matching Mickey and Minnie chairs. We'll see if he lets Jenny Kate have her Minnie chair of if he tries to keep her for himself!

Jenny Kate enjoyed tasting her presents.

But she did get into her book.

We all gave Mamaw and Papaw a big photo of all of the grandchildren together. They loved it! It was hanging in the living room by Christmas Eve night.

It was a little sentimental this year with Nana gone, and Justin and Danielle were each surprised with something special of hers. Danielle got one of her wedding rings, and Justin was given the birthstone ring she always wore. This one was a total surprise!

On the last trip we made to Tennessee before Nana had her stroke, she had some cleaning she wanted us to help with. She wanted us to dust under her bed and to go through the covers and all through the bed because she was looking for her birthstone ring. We cleaned and searched, but there was no ring. Debby and Aunt Shirley looked everywhere for that ring after she passed away, but they never found it. Fast forward to a few weeks ago. Aunt Shirley had been praying about the ring. She knew how much it meant to Nana and she really wanted to find it. They were vacuuming out their van and she had this intense feeling to look under the seat of the van.

When she did, there was Nana's ring.

None of us knew she had found it until Justin opened it up on Christmas Eve. Needless to say it was a pretty sentimental, special moment. God has perfect timing, doesn't he?!

After the presents were finished we had a little more fun it was time to head to Gong Gong's house.

It was well after nap time when we arrived at Gong Gong's, so needless to say we had two exhausted little ones. Jenny Kate played with her cousins for a few minutes, but she was pooped! Poppie took her and maybe two minutes later, we saw this. Worn out!

I got caught up in the busyness and didn't take another picture! I hate that! But we had a great time eating and playing with all of our cousins.

Once we got home, we opened one gift...our new pajamas!

Derrick was a little bummed that it was pajamas, so he had to open Jenny Kate's too. She was fine with that as long as she got her paper to chew on!

We got ready for bed, decked out in new pjs, and prepped the things Derrick had promised Santa.

Jenny Kate wasn't interested, so she did what she does best....stayed BUSY!

D finished Santa's snack just like he promised. Cookies, "spicy", and a little something for the reindeer (white chocolate covered chex mix with a side of dog treats. Yummy, right?!).

We wrote a little note to Santa, which read:

"Dear Santa, I hope you like the cookies. I'm sorry, but I'm going to taste a cookie. I have tried to be a good boy. We are leaving stuff for dog food for Rudolph. Santa, don't forget 'Yo ho ho' is the pirate password."

All of this, per Derrick. He was telling me what to write as he was eating the chocolate kiss off of one of the cookies he left for Santa. Such a mess!

Christmas Card, 2011

2011-12-23T20:38:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas, friends!!

May your days be filled with joy, and may you remember the REAL reason for the season!

{Or, as Derrick said in his prayers tonight, "Thank you for Jesus' burp." :) We're trying!}

I don't have a digital copy of our Christmas card and our scanner has a mind of it's own, so here's a picture of our card. Please excuse the terribleness of a picture of a picture!

Merry Christmas!!!

A pretty awesome day...

2011-12-20T17:16:00.000-05:00

26 blankets, one for each heart kid's bed.

The Ronald McDonald House, where families are cared for and fed.

Delicious dinner from Texas Roadhouse with all of the sides.

Great support for Hope for BraveHEARTS spreads HOPE for babies' lives.

It was an honor. It was a blessing. It was a reminder of the battles we've fought and the ones waiting just over the horizon. It was a glimmer of HOPE.

Thank you.

Dear Santa,

2011-12-14T15:16:00.000-05:00

"Dear Santa,

My name is Derrick and I am not three. I have been a good boy this year. I would like some cars, chips, and tools up in the sky.

My baby sister, Jenny Kate, would like cars too. She would also like some puffs, a hair bow, and a baby sister.

I would also like some purple candy. Can you bring some food for the dogs? They don't want cars.

We will make you some cookies and leave you some spicy to drink. We will leave the reindeer some dog food.

I love you!

Love,

Derrick Palmer Carter"

footnotes:

1. These are all Derrick's words. I asked minimal questions to help him get going (i.e. "what is your name, how old are you, have you been good, what do you want for Christmas, what does JK want, what about the reindeer?"

2. "Spicy" is any carbonated beverage, mainly Mt. Dew.

3. Jenny Kate asking for a baby sister was quite a surprise when it came out of his mouth. Neither of us were aware that JK was asking for a baby sister, however D has mentioned it several times since writing this letter. We hope that Santa doesn't give our kids everything they're asking for. At least not this Christmas!

4. Neither of us have any idea what "tools up in the sky" means.

Our Advent Calendar & Other Randomness

2011-12-11T16:25:00.001-05:00

We finally have our Advent Calendar up and running this year. It only took three Christmases to get to this point, but we're here, nonetheless. Derrick's first Christmas I saw one online (that was pre-Pinterest, so I have no idea where I saw the idea) and decided that we had to have one. Of course since he was only seven months old, there was no need in trying to do one right away. Last Christmas I bought the little boxes and scrapbook paper and had most of the boxes covered by about eerrr, New Year's Day. Between being preggo and moving into our house, I'm ashamed to admit that all of this sat on our dining room table for oh, two months or so. I was happy this year when we pulled out the Christmas decorations that these little boxes were finished...but they weren't attached to anything. I went to our office (which will be under major construction after the new year *I hope*), pulled out this baby, and hot glued the boxes right to the glass. Done! And we've only had one casualty. :)

So, better late than never...our Advent Calendar:

Derrick has thoroughly enjoyed opening the "boxes" every morning to see what's inside for the day. We have an activity or outing every day, but I think his favorite part is simply opening the box. It's a good thing, because sometimes we struggle to actually get the activity done. I guess this year is our practice run because I know next year he won't let us forget a thing!

Flint has been busy keeping an eye on D and Jenny Kate. We find him in interesting situations often, and Derrick loves looking for him every morning and after nap time. He enjoys him being around, however he does not enjoy being reminded that Flint is watching him and reporting back to Santa daily.

In other news, this girl has surely been keeping us busy! She is now MOBILE!! She hasn't perfected her crawl quite yet, but it's only a matter of days. It's funny to watch her crawl. She's so focused and deliberate in her moves. Until she hits the floor, then she's just a mad woman! There's no turning your back on her now.

She wants EVERYTHING Derrick has. Everything. And when he's not looking,

she goes in for the steal. She never wants the 'bathtub' car that we give her that's all rubber and has no parts that come off. She usually goes for the Cars cars. Derrick's favorite, or course.

He's getting a little taste of what it's really like having a younger sibling. Ha! He has no idea what's coming!

Being the little rascal he is, he's also decided that he doesn't want his picture taken anymore. At all. Here he's saying, "No, mommy! Don't take my picture!" I don't know where that's coming from because he's had a camera in his face since the day he was born. That's one battle he's not going to win! :) Although that means we're probably stuck with a lot of strange-faced-memories while the battle continues.

Advent activities we've completed coming soon! :)

He's Baaa-aack!!

2011-12-05T15:54:00.000-05:00

Oh, yes! Flint is back! I'm so glad he decided to show up because we sure have had some ummm...difficult behavior lately!

He came with a note explaining everything to Derrick since he probably didn't remember him from last year.

Derrick has been somewhat excited, but sometimes he really doesn't care whether Flint is watching or not. The other day during a particularly rough bout of not listening, I reminded Derrick that Flint was watching him and that he'd be reporting back to Santa about his behavior. He looked at me and said, "I think he's not!" Hmmmm....

Flint is a silly guy and has been in a few interesting spots to keep his watchful eye. Even if Derrick doesn't think so, Justin and I have a fun time looking for Flint every morning. ;)

And just because I thought they were hilarious, a few outtakes from our Christmas card attempts. (Please excuse them, I didn't bother with the editing!)

SIX Months Old!!

2011-11-29T12:44:00.000-05:00

Jenny Kate, you are officially half way to your first birthday. Oh, my! How did you get to be so old?!

I do realize you turned 6 months old last week, but I'm just shooting for getting your monthly updates done at some point within the month. I hope that works for you. ;)

You weigh 14lbs, 3.5 oz (20th %) and are 26.25 inches long (75th %). You wear 3-6 month clothes and size 3 diapers (mainly because we ran out of 2s and the 3s fit! :).

You will finally go to sleep without throwing a fit. We've had several nights and naps where you might whimper for a minute or not even make a sound at all. It sure is easier putting you to sleep without you screaming!

You got your hat off this week!! We don't think it bothered you, but we sure are glad it's gone! It being gone may be part of the reason you're going to sleep a little easier. It sure is nice to see your whole face again and to be able to kiss you without looking for a place to actually reach you. And I love that you can wear bows again! :) We're so proud of how well you tolerated your hat, Jenny Kate! You did such a good job!

You LOVE Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It's crazy! When you hear it you start flapping around and making your little squealing noise. It's so funny! How does a 6 month old like a TV show so much? No worries, you two are only allowed to watch Mickey Mouse twice a day. We can't have little TV junkies around here! I'm pretty sure you would become one if we'd let you. :)

You're doing a really good job eating your baby food. I think it's safe to say that you have mastered the spoon. You're not picky (so far) with what you eat. I guess anything is better than that yucky Nutramigen.

I thought you were getting two teeth, but I'm not so sure. You still have those little white spots on your gums like they're thinking about coming through, but they've been there for weeks and haven't changed. I'm not sure what they're waiting for but you sure are chewing like crazy to try to get them to break through. Maybe you're not teething, who knows. You love to chew though!

You put EVERYTHING in your mouth! If you can reach it, it goes straight to your mouth. Always.

You LOVE your brother! He can make you laugh and smile like nobody else. All he has to do is look at you and you get excited. When he's talking to you you go crazy! I could just watch the two of you play together all day. Its so sweet!!

BUT....you're starting to get on Derrick's nerves a little too! It's no big deal, it's your job as the little sister. He's starting to realize you will take his things, and when you do, they go in your mouth. He's not so fond of you putting his things (especially DD) in your mouth.

You had your first (and I really hope last for a really, really long time) hospital stay this month. It turned out that you had salmonella. Yuck! We have no idea how you got it, but you were a sick little girl for three weeks. It was pitiful, but you were a trooper. You're a tough little girl! We're so thankful that you're all better now and hope we don't ever have to experience anything like that again.

Your favorite thing to do is blow "raspberries." You do that constantly. You should really wear a bib all the time because of all of the spit you get everywhere. You're such a mess! :)

You're kind of attached to me right now. You cry when you see me leave the room or if I walk away from you when someone else is holding you. You even reached for me yesterday.

You are a dancer! Any time you hear music you start bouncing around. It's pretty funny! We'll have to get that on video.

You are a wiggle worm! You're kind of difficult to hold sometimes because you're so wiggly. Even Dr. B told us we had a wiggly one.

Your absolute favorite time of day is bath time. Once we start the water you start bouncing around, squealing and laughing. You get SO excited!! I think you'd stay in the bathtub for hours if we let you. You love it!

Jenny Kate,

You are such a joy for our family. We absolutely love you and your bouncy, active little self. You are so full of personality. It seems like you've grown up so much just in the last few weeks. I sure wish you could slow down! We love you more than words can say, sweet girl! We're very proud of how well you've handled all of the little bumps that have come your way; you've handled them like a champ.

We love you to the moon and back, Girlfriend!

Mommy, Daddy, and D

Randomness

2011-11-16T15:59:00.001-05:00

Wow! It's been two weeks since I've posted on our blog. We're all doing well, just busy. Here's a purge of random things that have been going on around here.

Jenny Kate's physical therapy has has decreased to once every two weeks!! That's an AMAZING thing considering we used to go twice a week, now we are going twice a month!

We have a tentative date of JK losing the DOC Band for next Wednesday! Whoo hoo!! She's almost outgrown the band and it has made significant changes in her head shape so we should be released from our once a week trips to Charlotte as of next week. Oh, how awesome it will be to be finished with all (or at least some) of these appointments! :)

I earned my 4,238th nomination for mom of the year this weekend when I failed to bring SHOES for my 2 1/2 year old on our trip to Tennessee. Really. We took a two night trip away and Derrick had no shoes. Mom of the Year.

I walked into the kitchen the other day to find Derrick playing with some toys. Too bad he didn't like this thing when he was a baby! Now he'll climb in it and watch tv. Silly boy!

Minnie Mouse visits our house frequently. If you do not hold the door open for her or include her in your plans, Derrick will get very upset with you. She is his best friend and she leaves the Club House to come to Derrick's house on a regular basis.

Justin's mom gave Derrick a pot holder that has Minnie Mouse on it. (I have no idea why! :) He carried that pot holder everywhere and was proudly declaring that it was his "best friend." Thankfully we can now just take Minnie along with us without having the pot holder version of her. That one was a little more difficult to explain to other people.

Jenny Kate having her first sip of water from a cup. She was a big fan!!

We found out the 'type' of salmonella that plagued Jenny Kate. I don't remember how to spell it and I don't see the paper I wrote it on right in front of me, but when I looked it up on the CDC's website, it was a type that typically came from water frogs and aquariums. Blows my mind. We don't have an aquarium and I can assure you that JK hasn't been outside playing with frogs, so I have no idea where that came from. I was very happy that it wasn't from raw chicken or eggs because that would have made me feel way more guilty since it could have come from our kitchen. I sure can't explain the water frog/aquarium thing though.

Poor girl! This was right before she went to the hospital. If this doesn't show you how bad she felt I don't know what would.

Our insurance company has decided that they don't want to cover Jenny Kate's hospital stay because it wasn't "necessary." The letter we received said "The five month old was admitted to receive Nutramigen formula and diagnostic testing." Seriously! Doesn't it sound like she was admitted to the hospital so she could get some formula?! Ha! I assured the insurance company that I would much rather spend $25 on a can of formula than over $3,000 for a night in the hospital just to get those little 2 oz bottles of Nutramigen. So far they aren't giving in to little old me, so I guess we'll fight them for a while. Ugh! I'm super thankful for insurance, but all of the petty stuff is insane. We'll get it straightened out, but not without a fight, I'm sure.

I've done several photo shoots lately and am loving it! I love being home with my babies but having something that makes me leave home every once in a while is nice too. I can do it when it works for our family and I love it. Couldn't ask for anything better right now.

I've been taking a sewing class at church for the past several weeks. I'm kinda bummed that tonight is the last night. We've been working on an apron that was supposed to take 2 weeks and it's taken about five. Ha! It's lots of fun and I can't wait to sit down and make something I really want to make. I still don't really have a clue how to read a pattern but they make seam rippers for a reason, right?! :)

I've had a few craft sessions with some friends lately and have a new coffee filter wreath and some painted pumpkins. I never got around to painting the big one and never got around to taking a picture of the wreath either. You can see a little bit of it in the corner of the picture. (Both of these ideas came from Pinterest. Is anyone else as hooked as I am!?) It's almost time to pull out the Christmas decorations, so I'm really excited about that! We have a rule in our house that we can't decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving, so once Thanksgiving dinner has settled in our bellies, out come the trees! I'm so excited!

And Justin...let's see...he's been working hard. We keep him pretty busy on his days off so he's probably glad to have work to go to so he can have a little rest. Ha! He played in a basket ball game at church, the guys in our Sunday School class vs. the senior youth boys. It was entertaining! Our guys won but I think they all realized that they're getting old! Justin did, anyway! :)

He also made Derrick a Kitchen Helper! I've been eying one of these for a long time and was almost ready to take the plunge and order one when I came across plans to make your own! (Ana White, the brains behind all of these plans, is awesome!!) Derrick absolutely loves it and it only cost us $50 to make vs. $130 to buy!

Kitchen Helper in action. ~~Eating~~ Making his first pizza. (Sorry for the terrible photo.)

We've been decluttering and have an enormous pile of boxes in our garage that are being taken to the thrift store. It's driving us both crazy that we've been living in our house for a year now and things still aren't all unpacked and everything doesn't have a home. It's time to get busy!

That's probably enough randomness for now. I have so many things that I need to record on here, so expect some serious photo overloads soon. It's my goal to catch up on everything I need to record here and get our computer cleared of the 30,000+ pictures by the end of the year. I better get busy!

I think decluttering and getting organized will be my New Year's Resolution. But I've never been successful at the New Year's Resolution thing...have you?

And Now We Know

2011-11-02T09:35:00.001-04:00

Monday morning I called Jenny Kate's pediatrician to let them know that the hospital said her cultures all came back negative so they could get the ball rolling on the GI referral. They called a few hours later to tell us that they had just gotten off the phone with the hospital and that they were cancelling the GI referral. Jenny Kate has SALMONELLA!

Wow. First of all, I have no idea how she got that. Gross. Makes me feel terrible. I hung up the phone with the nurse and immediately bleached the kitchen, rewashed all of her bottles, and they are now stored in a cabinet as far away from the sink as possible.

Second of all, Justin spoke with the "Chief Resident" on Sunday and he told him that everything came back negative. Although he also told Justin to "just give her some Mylicon." No lie. Apparently the cause for crazy amounts of diarrhea, sometimes bloody, is GAS. Hmmmm. We probably shouldn't have believed him anyway.

So there's nothing you do for salmonella in a child Jenny Kate's age. Her cultures have been sent to the state department to determine the 'type' of salmonella she has, which I'm assuming will help us figure out where it could have come from. Justin is convinced that it's from our pumpkin. The way the pumpkin patch was laid out, there were farm animals above the pumpkin patch, and salmonella can come from farm animals, not just raw chicken and eggs. We took pictures of Jenny Kate with the pumpkin and it never even crossed my mind to wash the thing. For some reason when it comes straight out of the garden it feels clean to me. At least until we're ready to eat it. Dumb, maybe. I'll now have a new paranoia to add to the list. Bringing produce into my house without scrubbing it first. Remember the cantaloupe outbreak a little while back!

Anyway, it could have come from anywhere. Someone touching her, her grabbing something (which she does ALL the time), anywhere. It kills me to think it came from our kitchen. Honestly, I can't even remember the last time I cooked chicken! I feel terribly guilty that that's a possibility for what's caused her all of this pain. I'd like to blame the pumpkin, but who knows.

On a much lighter note, she is feeling MUCH better. She's been laughing and smiling and flapping those chunky little arms around like the old Jenny Kate. We're so, so glad she's feeling better. She's had a lot less yucky diapers and her diaper rash is finally having a chance to clear up. Whew!

Thanks for praying for our girl! I'm going to finish bleaching, just in case and then we're starting paci boot camp. I've got to convince her that her fingers are NOT the way to go!

Of course I'm behind on posting all of the fun fall things we've done lately, so they're coming. Y'all didn't think I'd actually be on time, did you? :) Here's a sneak peek of our little baker and cupcake at trunk-or-treat Sunday. Derrick refused to let me take his picture (and he's missing part of his costume) so better ones are coming soon. This was the best I could get in the dark with him running away from me.

The Cake Boss

and his little cupcake! :)

What is wrong with Jenny Kate?!

2011-10-30T14:58:00.000-04:00

So, yes, we're home. Nope, we still don't have an answer as to what is going on with Jenny Kate.

I guess I should start with a really watered down version of what in the world landed us in the hospital in the first place. For some this may be TMI, but I know some of you want to know the story. If you don't like diaper talk, stop reading now. There's your warning. :)

Jenny Kate started having diarrhea last Friday (9 days ago). We really started paying attention on Saturday when I realized that in fact it was her fifth poopy diaper and the day wasn't over. Saturday night and Sunday morning she was running a fever of about 101 and we decided if she was still running a fever Monday morning she would go in to see the doctor. Saturday night she also had a tiny bid of blood in her stool so we thought maybe she was having an allergic reaction to the squash she had been eating for the past two days. We stopped all baby food to rule that out.

Sunday she was kind of pitiful and still having issues so we thought maybe she had a stomach virus. Monday her fever was gone but she wouldn't really drink her bottle (which is totally unlike her) so Monday night we decided that if she didn't want to eat Tuesday morning I would take her to the doctor. I noticed Monday that her bottom eye teeth were trying to poke through, so we decided maybe what we were dealing with was a teething issue. Those were the WORST teeth for Derrick, so maybe they're torturing Jenny Kate too. (Strange teeth to be the first ones, huh?)

Anyway, Tuesday in the wee hours of the morning Jenny Kate woke up (with a terrible diaper, of course) ready to eat. All day Tuesday she wanted to eat, so again I didn't take her to the doctor. Wednesday morning she woke up, drank her bottle, and started screaming. We couldn't get her to calm down until finally she went to the bathroom. This time there was more blood. We were supposed to be headed to Charlotte for her DOC Band adjustment, but instead we went to the pediatrician's office.

At this point she had been impossible to keep clean and dry at all for about five days so you can't even imagine how terrible her diaper rash was. I feel terrible that it took this long for me to actually get her in to see the doctor, but honestly, we kept thinking oh, it must be this, or if she's still doing ..... tomorrow then we'll take her in, then she'd stop doing that so we thought it was getting better. And really, this time of year and having a little baby and a heart baby, the doctor's office is more of a risk than anything unless it's absolutely necessary. Well, Wednesday morning it became necessary.

The doctor checked her out and said that because of her age and how long she'd been having diarrhea, she was on the fence about admitting her. We talked a little more and decided that would be the best option. So off to the hospital we went. {And a ridiculous side note...D stayed with Justin's aunt and uncle who were visiting from TN while we took JK to the doctor. They called us when we were on the way to pick him up and told us he had thrown up! OMG! Turns out that he'd probably had a few too many cookies and was fine, but we took him with us to the hospital just in case he was getting JK's mess too! Ha!}

At the hospital my very first concern was getting her some super awesome diaper rash cream. Thankfully they gave us some and we could start the mending process for that. Seriously, it still makes me hurt looking at it. I think the aftermath of childbirth comes second to how that must feel.

Since Jenny Kate had an "unknown" reason for blood in her stool, she was on "contact precaution" at the hospital. I kind of got a kick out of that. Everyone came in her room with a blue gown on and she got her very own stethoscope as to not contaminate anyone else, and she and Derrick were not allowed to go to the playroom. I'm sure she was bummed about that. I totally understand why, but I kind of think that if she were contagious that one of us would have caught whatever it is by now. I agree that we should be better safe than sorry but it was really quite funny.

So they did an ultrasound to check for intussusception, which is where part of the bowel 'telescopes' into itself. That came back negative, but they said it could possibly still be that even if it wasn't caught during the ultrasound. If it was/is, then it was correcting itself so it was/is ok. They also did lab cultures to test for e coli, salmonella, and all of those other lovely bacteria that could potentially be causing the issues. Most of the day Wednesday she continued to have blood in her stools and she was pretty miserable. We did get a few smiles of her which are what you saw in this post. Those were a rarity this week so I'm glad I caught some on camera.

We hung out in the hospital Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon they sent us home. They told us that it would be a few days before the labs were back and that we may never know what's caused all of this. They told us that if she was still having the same issues in a WEEK that we..I guess would test further? I don't even remember what they said. But that would be a total of almost two weeks of this agony before anything else was done. That can't be healthy on a whole lot of levels. They did tell us to follow up with our pediatrician on Friday. Thankfully.

Friday we went in for a follow up and Dr. B (who was out the day she was admitted) said that we will not "just wait and see what happens." Thank you! He checked her over, gave us some burn cream for her poor tush, and told us if this wasn't completely gone by Monday and if the labs came back negative that we were being referred to a GI doctor.

Well, it's Sunday. It's not better. Justin just got off the phone with the hospital and all of her labs came back negative. Looks like we're going to see a GI doc. I'm PRAYING that they figure out what's wrong with our girl. It's mighty hard to watch her in pain and not be able to do anything about it. She's usually such a happy girl and there are some times where she's in pure agony. I'm not sure how much more of this my heart can take.

I'm sorry this was so long. But there you have it. The past week summed up in about 8,000 words. :) If you made it this far you deserve a picture.

I know this is a terrible, terrible picture, but we thought this was so funny. I was feeding Jenny Kate the other night and Derrick had to feed his baby too. Ha! He's gonna be a good daddy, you just wait. And they're both totally engrossed in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Oh, my!

We're Home!

2011-10-27T23:19:00.001-04:00

Wow, how easy it is to forget how draining it is to spend the night in the hospital...and how GREAT it feels to be home, even after just one night.

Here are a few pics I couldn't help but post. We have a follow up with JK's pediatrician in the morning and I'll give some details of what's going on with our girl. Thanks so much for the prayers for her!! We appreciate them so much!!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse time. They BOTH love it!

They're a team, that's for sure.

Until Derrick got annoyed with Jenny Kate touching him. Already. :)

Now since the kids are finally settled, I'm off to sleep in my own bed. Ahhhh..... :)

Guess where we are!!

2011-10-26T20:47:00.000-04:00

Yep. Jenny Kate decided to throw us for a loop and get admitted to the hospital. She's been having some major tummy issues for about 5 days. First we thought she had a stomach virus, then we thought it was teething, and now we're at a total loss. We took her to the doctor this morning and she thought the best thing to do was admit her so they could run some labs and figure out what's wrong with our girl. As of right now they've ruled out an obstruction so we're waiting on labs to find out what's causing this mess.

Praying they figure out something soon so we can get this girl well and get outta here! :)

A Half-Birthday!!

2011-10-24T14:38:00.000-04:00

Birthdays are a big deal around here. A big, big deal! So since they're such a big deal, I decided that we should be celebrating half birthdays too!

Derrick turned TWO & a HALF on Thursday!

My, oh my where has the time gone?!

He got out of bed Thursday morning telling me that it was time for his birthday party. Poor thing. It's a good thing he doesn't completely understand that because he would have been a little disappointed! :)

No birthday party, just cake.

And apparently, cake was enough.

Now this was his cake, so I let him decorated it however he wanted.

It was an eat-at-your-own-risk kind of cake.

For real.

I asked if I could help make the cake a little more, you know, presentable?

Afterall, I had to make sure Derrick and I were NOT going to be the only ones eating this thing!

He was ready for cake!

Jenny Kate wasn't sure what all of the excitement was about.

Before we could dig in, D had a little more decorating to do.

He carefully placed the gummy bears on his cake. (Poor guy kept calling them vitamins! What kid of message are we sending our children feeding them gummy bear vitamins?! :)

Jenny Kate was getting super excited about the cake now!

A little more...

And by this point he had consumed so much sugar that he could hardly stand it!

So he got this decorating over with the easy way.

D made the cake absolutely perfect!

His final product...

When it was finally time to eat the cake,

all he wanted were the "vitamins" on top. I guess he knows what's under all of that icing!

Mom, Elizabeth, Justin....You had no idea what you were eating, did you?! ;)

Jenny Kate is FIVE months old!

2011-10-19T07:18:00.002-04:00

Ja, Ja, Ja, Ja, Ja, Ja, Ja, Jenny Kate!! Ja, Ja, Ja,, Jenny Kate! (That's our song. :) You are FIVE months old today!! Girl, the time has flown by so quickly that I missed doing your four month update! I know, I know. I'm so sorry. So this update is is a little combo of what you've been doing for the past two months. Hold on to your pants because you have changed SO much since your three month update!

You weigh around 12 1/2 pounds now. You can still wear some of your 0-3 month clothes, but you're wearing 3-6 month ones too. You're still wearing your size 2 diapers and I've had no luck keeping shoes on you and I haven't tried any lately so I'm really not sure what size shoe you're wearing. I think size one. You drink about 8 ounces four times a day and you usually sleep for about 12 hours at night. I'm so, so glad you sleep all night!

You LOVE to laugh! You are a smiley, giggly girl and I love it! I hope you stay that way. You seem like such a happy girl (except when you're not happy because then you're really not happy!! Ha!).

You absolutely, head over heals, love your brother. You're always watching him, touching him, smiling and laughing at him. You just can't get enough of him. And he can't get enough of you either, girl. He loves you so much! By the time you read this you'll probably find that hard to believe, but I'm here to tell you, he LOVES you!

You're rolling over!

You immediately roll over as soon as we lay you down. You can't roll back over, but you're definitely a pro at getting on your tummy.

You are almost sitting all by yourself. You can prop sit, but you haven't mastered the balancing act that it takes to lift your hands off the floor. You're really, really close.

You're ready to stand. I think you want to just skip all the baby stuff and go right to running with Derrick. Slow down girl, I can't let you grow up quite so fast! You have strong little legs and love it when we help you stand.

You're doing pretty well with your DOC band. Much better than we thought you would. Sleeping is when you have the real issues, but most of the time even then it doesn't seem to bother you.

Girl, you've graduated to once a week therapy! Oh how happy I was when they told us we didn't have to come twice a week anymore! Great work, chica!

You've gotten a tad better with napping. The problem is that you like to get up from your morning nap about an hour before Derrick is ready to take his nap. Then you're not ready to go to sleep while he's sleeping. That makes it a little tough for me, but I'll take it! I love that we're able to spend some time together with just the two of us. :)

You cry as soon as we walk in your room. You know it's time to go to sleep when we go in there. Even when you're super sleepy you cry when we put you in your crib. Rocking or holding you doesn't even help. You just have to cry yourself to sleep. There's nothing we can do about it. I guess you just don't know what to do with yourself when you're sleepy, but I hope you grow out of that soon!

You LOVE bath time! You start kicking your feet and squealing when I start the bath water. Bathing is your second favorite activity.

Your very favorite thing to do is chew on your feet!! I think you would have your feet in your mouth every second of the day if you could. If you can reach them you're pulling them in your mouth.

You've started eating solids! You absolutely hated the rice cereal. HATED it. You love to eat though! We tried green beans and you were sold! You've had green beans, apples, peas, and peaches. You're a great eater and sometimes you panic between bites because the spoon isn't at your mouth waiting when you've swallowed what's in your mouth. You're such a silly girl!

You're starting to notice when I'm not holding you. You don't care if someone else holds you, but if I walk by you or if you see me walking away you'll whine a little. I think it's funny and sweet and it seems crazy that you're noticing that already. I think you're really going to be a daddy's girl, but for right now you're kind of a mama's girl. I'll take it while I can because I know you'll turn on me because you'll be able to get anything you want out of your daddy!

Girlfriend, you are an awesome little girl! We love you so, so much and can hardly remember life before you. You round out our little family just perfectly. You're feisty, funny, and you know what you want, but you sure are a sweet girl. We love to watch the new things you're learning and doing and can't wait to see the little girl you're going to become. (But please, not so fast!) Happy five months, girlfriend!! We love you to the moon and back!!

Mommy, Daddy, & Brother

The First Attempt

2011-10-11T17:31:00.001-04:00

How did my baby girl get big enough to try something other than a bottle??

She was amazed that the spoon in her face was really for her.

And she wasn't quite sure what to think about it.

She questioned Daddy for putting that gooey stuff in her mouth,

and then she lost it!

We have no idea why, but she was ANGRY!

This eating on a spoon thing takes it all out of you.

And she's not so sure she likes it.

Favorite

2011-10-10T17:11:00.000-04:00

We've been loving this beautiful weather, spending as much time outside as we can.

I LOVE the change of seasons, although fall and spring seem a little short around here. We're talking advantage of the little bit of fall we're having.

Derrick would spend every single day for hours on end using this sprayer if we'd let him. We thought it was an interesting toy when Mamaw gave it to D, but it has turned into his absolute favorite thing to do.

And it's just one of those little things that I want to remember.

Difficulties and Suckers

2011-10-05T15:08:00.001-04:00

One of the most difficult parts of parenting that I've dealt with so far has to be separation anxiety. And Derrick has it. BAD. It hurts me so bad to leave him when he's crying, but I know that's the only way we'll ever get through this. We always tell him exactly what's going on because I don't believe in trying to "sneak away" so he doesn't cry. First of all, he's too smart for that and second of all, I don't want him to not trust us.

Saturday night we started with the church prep/pep talk. We told him that he was going to go see Ms. Debbie (whom he LOVES...as long as she's holding him) and that he was going to go to Sunday School and play with friends until we got out of our Sunday School class and church. When I finished telling him everything he said, "And Derrick will not cry."

That's right, Buddy. No crying.

Sunday morning he and Justin worked out a deal over breakfast. Justin told him that if he would be a big boy and not cry while we were gone, and if he would sit in his own chair during Sunday School instead of Ms. Debbie's lap, that they would watch Cars and eat popcorn and cookies when he got home from work. Derrick was SO excited about this deal! {He thinks you only watch Cars in the car on long trips, so watching it inside is a treat, ha!}

When we got to church he went with Ms. Debbie but he did cry when we left. We decided that didn't really count because lots of kids cry when they're dropped off. When I went to get him after church he was playing! (Not with other kids, but he wasn't in anyone's lap either!!) As soon as he saw me he told the girl in the nursery, "Mommy's here!" He came running to me and said, "Mommy, I did not cry! I did not cry! We can watch cars inside!"

I gave him a big hug and told him I was proud of him. He looked up at me and said, "Thank you, Mommy."

I asked the girl he was with in the nursery how he did and she said he was good. He did sit on her lap for a while during Sunday School, but he got down some too. (He always picks those cute high school girls to cling to! He's no dummy, I tell you!) Before I left, I said, "So he did well? He did some things on his own?" The other lady in the nursery said, "Well, he was pretty clingy. I wouldn't really say he did a lot on his own."

Hmph.

On the way to pick up Jenny Kate we ran into Ms. Debbie. She assured me that he had done much better and that she thought he earned his movie night. Thank goodness. I know he's not a kid that will just run off and jump in a group and start playing. He's shy and he doesn't like to be left. But we're working on it, and I really appreciate those special people like Ms. Debbie who will take the time with my little man to make sure he feels secure and loved.

On the way home we decided to go see Justin at work so Derrick could tell him how he had done at church. We walked in and he proudly said, "Daddy, I did not cry! We can watch Cars inside!" He got to go behind the counter with him and Justin was showing him around (even though he's been there a million times) and he looked at Justin and said, "Daddy, do you have aspirin?" Ha!

On the way out a customer came up and started talking to Derrick. She asked him how old he was and he replied, "Twenty-one." What?!

This boy is a mess. One minute he's crying like a baby and the next minute he's 21. Literally....well, so he thinks.

We have a lot of work to do with the separation anxiety, I know. But we're keeping at it. I want him to go to preschool next year and I can't bear the thought of him crying and clinging like that. So, we're working. And praying about it, because I'm telling you, I think it hurts me even more than it does him!

Well, It's Not Bedazzled.....

2011-09-30T23:57:00.000-04:00

...but I think it'll work. What do you think?

We can't be accused of trying to hide it, huh? Ha!

And please excuse these pictures...they were taken in the dark! We had to wake this poor girl up to give her her new zebra crown. Can't tell that by the eyes, can you? :)

An Explanation...

2011-09-27T17:18:00.000-04:00

So I guess I forgot to mention that Jenny Kate actually had to get banded, huh? We've been running around like chickens with our heads cut off around here so I guess I just failed to actually record that we were banding our girl. {That sounds really strange, huh?}

Anyway, we went to an initial appointment in Charlotte about a month ago, hoping that Jenny Kate's "flat spot" was better and that they'd tell us that she didn't need to be banded after all. The "flat spot" turned out to be the very least of their concerns. Hmp! (Not that she has any thing terrible going on, but for her, the "flat spot" wasn't the issue.)

As it turns out, Jenny Kate's torticollis has caused a few little issues that we weren't aware of. Because her left neck muscle was so tight, it caused the left side of her face (ear and eye) to not grow forward with the rest of her head. It kind of held everything back. It's not that noticeable if you're not aware of it, but once they pointed it out we could both definitely see what was happening. Here's the crazy way they showed us:

See how uneven the therapist's fingers are? They're in Jenny Kate's ears. I'm sure the picture isn't completely straight so they probably aren't quite that bad, but you get the idea. Once we saw that, we were convinced. It's more than just a "flat spot" that her hair would cover up. It's actually affected the structure of her face. And beyond the annoyance of having to make her glasses crooked for them to fit on her face, the bone structure of her face not being symmetrical can cause issues later (like TMJ and some other things that I can't remember!). So, we were sold. Our little chica would have a new accessory.

We went last week to have Jenny Kate's band made. It's so crazy the way they do it. They held her upright on a stool and 15 cameras all around her took pictures at once. That gave them the shape of her head so they could make her band exactly how she needs it. I was going to take a picture of the whole setup but never got a chance. It's kind of crazy! I figured they'd make a mold of her head but nope. Pictures.

We picked up the band Monday. When the lady sat down in front of Jenny Kate to try it on her she giggled like crazy. It was so funny! I have no idea why Jenny Kate thought it was so funny to be doing this! I hope it was her way of telling me, "Mommy, it's gonna be FINE!"

We made it through night number one and JK slept more than I was afraid of. She woke up about an hour after I put her down, but went back to sleep. She woke up again this morning at 5, so I rocked her and took the band off so she could get some comfortable sleep. Hopefully tonight she'll make it through the night. Nap time hasn't been so promising, but I'm crossing my fingers! She likes to sleep on her side and the side of the band digs in her face a little from the pressure of that angle. If she'd sleep on her back it wouldn't be an issue, but the girl loves sleeping on her side. I guess if that continues we'll have a chat about that when we go back on Monday and see if there's anything they can do. If any of you reading this have any suggestions or experience, I'd love to hear it!

Overall, Jenny Kate is doing very well with everything. We're still going to therapy twice a week, but I'm really, REALLY hoping they'll cut us down to once a week since we're driving to Charlotte once a week for band adjustments (and that's a 4 hour round trip drive). Our girl keeps us busy, that's for sure! That's ok though. She's totally, absolutely, without a doubt worth it.

And all that driving to Charlotte...there IS an awesome advantage. IKEA is minutes away. And I mean, you can't drive 4 hours just for a 15 minute appointment, right? It only makes since for us to stop at our favorite store! :)

Now, off to bedazzle that band. Ideas?

Today Was the BIG Day...

2011-09-26T20:18:00.000-04:00

Banded!!

We better CUTE-N this thing up a bit, don't you think!? ;)

Ok, Y'all!!

2011-09-21T07:43:00.001-04:00

I'm taking the plunge...

You can check out the website at creativelycandidphotography.com and find my Facebook page HERE. Whew. I'm nervous and EXCITED all at the same time! Wish me luck!!

And you locals...I'm going to be doing some mini-sessions for Christmas cards! Let me know if you're interested. Details for that coming soon. :)

And the inspiration for my love of photography....

Love.
So much love between two little people.
Way, way more than I ever thought possible.
Isn't it great that God doesn't always answer your prayers? Because, really, I didn't even ask for them to love each other this much.
But as always, He did so much better! :)
Love these babies!

Back-ups Don't Always Work!

2011-09-19T22:49:00.001-04:00

Derrick had a little accident today during nap time and of course I forgot to wash his sheets until right before bedtime. We threw DD in the wash just in case he was a little messy too. It was time for Derrick to go to bed and I was just moving the wet clothes over to the dryer. I decided to pull out the "back-up DD" we bought about a year ago, knowing that we'd need it someday. Today was the day.

I snuck upstairs and got Derrick's pillows and covers ready. I turned the lights off and threw "back-up DD" on the bed just like he always leaves DD. We read downstairs so that we could go upstairs and never turn on the lights because back-up DD is about a shade darker than DD and doesn't have his name monogrammed on it. I knew he would notice those things for sure.

While we were rocking minute and saying our prayers, I noticed that he kept messing with "back up DD." I was nervous. (I was nervous before we even walked upstairs because Derrick does not sleep without DD!) I did "1,2,3, DD" and pulled the covers up like always. I had my hand on the doorknob when Derrick said, "Mommy, fix DD." "What's wrong with DD?" I asked. "He doesn't smell good," Derrick told me. "What do you mean he doesn't smell good?" I asked him. "He just doesn't smell good."

Shoot! I KNEW it! He's TWO! How in the world?!

I tried not to laugh too loudly as I called to Justin downstairs. I asked him to "throw DD in the dryer because he didn't smell good" and I waited with Derrick upstairs. About 30 seconds later DD came flying upstairs. A little damp, but at least he "smelled good."

I covered Derrick up with the 'real DD' and he was happy as a lark. Whew! Thank you for a good working dryer, because seriously, back-ups don't always work!

DD deserves the loyalty...he's been there from the start!

How Often Do You....

2011-09-13T07:10:00.001-04:00

get to lie on an incredibly cozy pillow-bed,

while being fed,

having your neck rubbed,

& holding your favorite toy?

Never, you say?

Me either.

But Jenny Kate...she lives the good life! Ha!

Therapy...get some. ;)

Our Weekend

2011-09-12T07:10:00.000-04:00

Whew! I think we need another weekend to catch up from our weekend! We had a busy weekend, but had lots of fun!

It started out with a photo shoot of this sweet girl, who happens to be Jenny's niece. Love this girl, her big blue eyes, and her family! Saturday night we celebrated her FIRST birthday with her. She had a great party, complete with the Carolina football game (which Justin was glued to) and a bouncy house (which Derrick was glued to).

We had two baby showers this weekend, so I made these diaper wreaths. Justin's sister made one for us before Derrick was born and I loved it! They've become my go-to present for baby showers. It's definitely never a surprise what I come walking in with at a baby shower. Ha!

We did sneak in some play time at home. Derrick loves his ball pit, although typically it gets used as a place to play with trains. He can't tear himself away from the balls, so he has to bring toys into the ball pit. You know, so he can have the best of both worlds.

This girl has become a Bumbo bum. She sure does love the independence the Bumbo brings and LOVES hanging out in it. Chillin' in the Bumbo, drooling the day away.

This weekend we came across the finishing touch to Jenny Kate's bedroom. I still haven't been able to call it complete, but hopefully by the end of the week I'll be able to.

Seriously, almost 4 months old and it's not "finished" yet. I know, girl! I know!

This week's project...

I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to post the AFTER pictures by next Monday! I know this is just what I've been waiting for.

It's Been AWESOME Outside!

2011-09-09T17:01:00.000-04:00

Oh, how I wish we could have 80 degree weather every day, or at least for a whole month! Poor Derrick stopped asking to go outside months ago because it's just been too hot for him to handle. He'll look out the window at night and say, "It's not hot outside." Poor guy. The only time we've been out to play lately has been when it's almost too dark to see.

Until THIS WEEK! I went to get him up the other morning and I was SO EXCITED for him to hurry because it was actually COOL outside! We hurried and had breakfast and went straight outside to play.

Jenny Kate was excited too, don't let her fool you!

It was so cool that she stayed comfy and cozy in her pjs.

She just took it all in.

Derrick wanted to start in the swing. WITH smarties, of course.

This was the view from my swing. OMG.

All the while, Jenny Kate just watched.

And talked about what she saw.

"Anda-belle" enjoyed being out with us.

Derrick had a lot of work to catch up on.

He had to check out our poor, pitiful garden. The okra are hanging on (since we put a fence around the garden...we have some hungry deer around here!).

Our cute little watermelon is growing right along too. We'll hope this one doesn't burst like the last one did. Sure would be fun to cut it open and taste it!

The herbs have done well.

After being out for a while Annabelle decided it was getting a little hot for her taste.

She had a blast at the pool!

Derrick had to water the plants,

which was pretty hard work.

But somebody's gotta do it, right?!

Eventually the time came and we had to load up our tools and head inside.

Because when sister says enough's enough, enough's enough. It's over for all of us. :)

But that's ok. We put Jenny Kate to bed and Derrick started a painting project. Because he loves to paint almost as much as he loves playing outside.

Labor Day Fun!

2011-09-06T09:00:00.000-04:00

We started our Labor Day fun with a little pool party Sunday night at my aunt's house. Maddy was SO excited to see Jenny Kate!! She has a baby doll named Jenny Kate, so after feeding her and spending time with her, she now has new material for her JK play. :) I seriously think that's one of the cutest things ever!

Jenny Kate was a big hit with all the girls!

Derrick took advantage of a little pool time. He blew us all away by actually swimming under water! Now, by no means is he a "swimmer" but he certainly impressed us with his skills! I guess he really has learned a lot this summer. Hopefully we'll have a pretty good starting point next summer. Yay!

Monday morning we went to the Chapin Labor Day parade. It's a pretty big deal around here. Derrick and Jenny Kate have never been to a parade and we thought they might enjoy it.

Can't you see this girl enjoying herself so much she can hardly stand it?! Ha!

I had to take Derrick up to the front and show him why kids actually like parades. CANDY!! He's SO SHY! There was a couple behind us who kept grabbing candy and giving it to Derrick. They said he was so polite. :) He kept saying "thank you" every time he got a piece of candy. Ha! Next year I'm sure he'll really get the idea, but this year I had to give the evil eye to a few big kids who would grab the piece he was going for right before he got it. Sometimes they'd give him the candy after they saw my face. Don't mess with mama! Ha! {But seriously, these were 7-ish year olds with a bucket full of candy and they saw my two year old coming for ONE piece. Rude! ;)}

Some of the floats had popsicles. Brilliant! OMG it was humid!!!!

Derrick loved his little American flag. He was so adorable waving it around.

Did you like the parade, Derrick? "Yeah!!!"

We ran into a few friends while we were waiting in line at the ATM. We never have cash, ever, and apparently no one else does either. I bet there were at least 20 people in line. I should have taken a picture. It was pretty funny!

The next line we stood in was for the SWINGS! Well, they weren't exactly swings, but I don't know what they were. They were swing-like. Derrick was pretty excited, but I think Justin was MORE excited!

He had a blast!

Derrick looks like such a big kid. I can't believe he's growing up so fast!

After the parade we went to Justin's parents' house for some Beaufort Stew. Derrick LOVED the sausage! He ate so much sausage he didn't save room for banana pudding.

We had such a fun weekend with family!
I'm so happy to say good bye to summer....bring on the fall!

Mommy, I'm "Sree"!

2011-09-01T07:22:00.002-04:00

Derrick is fascinated with gum. He's always asking to touch it when he notices that I'm chewing it. {Gross, I know.} When he first started asking for it I told him that he could have gum when he turns three. Now every time he sees gum in my mouth he says, "Derrick can have gum when I am sree!"

Tonight he crawled up in my lap, got really close to my face, and said, "Mommy, I'm 'sree! Yes, Mommy, I am!"

How can you argue with that? He seemed so sure of himself!

He's a master at chewing food and never swallowing, so I figured, what the heck?! I gave him a little piece.

The boy was so, so excited!

He just chewed and chewed. Mouth wide open. Smile plastered on his face.

When it was time to go to bed Justin took him in the kitchen to spit out his gum. He opened the trash can but no gum came out. "It's not in my mouth," is all he would say. Finally, after asking several times if he swallowed his gum he proudly said, "Yes, I did swallow it!"

Shucks! And I thought we just might get to break the "sree" rule.

Three Months...(and one week...oops!! ;)

2011-08-25T20:59:00.001-04:00

Oh, my sweet Jenny Kate. It's already begun. I'm late. I know by the time you read this you will totally understand, or already know, or be just like me. Usually late. I'm so sorry, we've just had too much going on lately for me to sit down at the computer and think in silence. After all, you've decided to only nap while Derrick is awake if you nap at all. And that, my girl, makes it impossible to do a blog post! :)

Anyway, I'm super happy to tell you that you are THREE MONTHS OLD already! You're growing so quickly that I literally cannot keep up!

You weigh right around 12 1/2 pounds now (according to our bathroom scale). You look like you're growing like crazy. Every time I look at you you look bigger! You're wearing size 2 diapers (mainly because we ran out of ones and these work just fine) and you wear 0-3 month clothes. I can't keep shoes on you. Your little narrow feet won't even hold your size newborn shoes on, so you just go barefooted all the time.

You love attention. Any time anyone talks to you or looks at you you smile that big 'ole smile. You have little dimples too. Um, adorable!

You've started laughing. It's so insanely cute! Sometimes Derrick will fake laugh at you and you will laugh like crazy back at him. We can't get enough of your laugh!

You've been sleeping in your crib in your room for the past two weeks! You did great with the change; I don't think you minded a bit! You have a whole lot more room to move around in the crib.

You've decided that you don't really like to nap. You'll take a 30 minute nap in the morning and a short little nap in the afternoon, but for the most part you don't want to sleep during the day. If you do it's in your swing. You refuse to sleep in your crib or in the pack-n-play in our room during the day. At all. I'm having a hard time adjusting to this no-nap-time-for-mommy thing you've been pulling. It makes it a little difficult to get things done around here. I have to say though, I do love those quiet moments where it's just the two of us. You'll just sit and stare and smile while I talk to you. It's priceless. {I'm not sure daddy thinks it's so priceless when he's trying to get dressed for work in the mornings and doesn't have any clean white t-shirts because I can't put you down to do laundry, so we're going to have to figure out something, ok?}

When you are ready to sleep, you're ready. And everybody knows it. When about 8pm hits you start screaming. You don't stop until you get a bottle and you usually fall asleep about half way through it. You don't particularly want to be held as you fall asleep, but you can't lie down until 30 minutes after you eat (because of your reflux), so you usually fall asleep in the swing. If we do try to hold you to fall asleep you squirm a lot. You'd much rather lie down on your side to sleep.

You typically drink 6 ounces of milk four times a day. When I finish feeding you Derrick always says, "Did she drink 4 'bounces'?" Ha! I had no idea he was paying attention to how much you were taking, but apparently he does! Your daddy and I were stressed a few weeks ago when you were only drinking 4 oz, so we'd always ask the other how much you drank. I guess that's where the "4 bounces" comes from. So your brother is concerned about how much you eat! :)

You LOVE your big brother! You watch every move he makes and if he's close to you you're always smiling at him. He's pretty smitten with you too, girl! The way the two of you love each other already makes my heart smile. I hope it stays that way!

You love it when we read. You're usually in my lap while I read to Derrick. When we open up the books you start cooing and kicking your feet and waving your arms. You seem pretty excited at story time! I sure hope you keep that love of books!

Therapy is going well. Both of your therapists say you're improving a lot. We didn't realize just how much you couldn't move your head until you started therapy and we saw the change in how you move. You seem to like therapy ok. You get a lot of attention there, so that makes you pretty happy! You do tend to throw up like crazy while you're there though. Poor Deb and Emily! They smell like yucky old formula all day long on Tuesdays and Thursdays! You get them every time.

You throw up. A lot. I'm seriously considering keeping a change of clothes for myself in the diaper bag, or the car, or somewhere. I don't know, maybe the combination of black raspberry vanilla lotion and baby throw up works for me. I'll have to ask your daddy. ;)

You're tolerating tummy time a little more than you used to. {I guess it helps that you can actually lift your head now. Your muscles were too tight for you to do that before therapy.} You still don't like it, but you don't cry immediately, so that's progress.

You are a very loud sleeper. You sigh a lot while you sleep, and you also slam your legs a lot. I'm not sure what you're doing, but in the morning when we go in to get you you're usually at the foot of your crib.

You possibly rolled over. I say possibly because you were playing on the floor with one of your hanging toys and you were lying on your side. I ran to the kitchen and when I came back you were on your tummy. I was only gone for a few seconds, but "someone" was sitting beside you when I walked back into the room. I asked him if he helped you roll over and got mixed responses. All he would tell me is that you were having "tummy time." You may have rolled over, but neither daddy or I saw it with our own eyes, so only Derrick knows. And he's not telling. If you didn't, you're so super close that it'll be really, really soon!

You sleep for about 12 hours straight every night and have been for about two weeks! (Guess I can't complain about the napping, huh?! :)

Jenny Kate, you are such a joy to our family! You've developed a sweet little personality and love to be included in whatever the rest of us are doing. We've had so much fun watching you grow and learn and can't wait to see what's in store as you continue to develop that little personality. We are beyond blessed to have you in our lives and love you more than words can say.

To the moon and back, sweet girl!

Mommy & Daddy

Cardiologist Update

2011-08-24T07:03:00.001-04:00

Derrick had his three month cardiologist appointment last Wednesday (yes, clearly I'm so far behind, I'm sorry!!) and it went very well!

He's getting to be such a big guy. {Well, big as in old, not as in large!!} He got to stand on the 'big scale' for his weight and to check his height this time instead of sitting on the scale and lying on the table for measurements. Unfortunately, he STILL weighs 20 pounds. 20.6 to be exact, but he had clothes on. That means Derrick hasn't gained a bit of weight since his last cardiologist appointment three months ago. Sigh. I totally wasn't surprised about that.

When Dr. S walked in the room the first thing he said was, "Not a big eater, are we?" Ha! This is really the first time he's brought up D's weight. We've discussed it countless times, but it's always initiated by us. "Most kids like him are usually small," is what we hear from him most of the time. Apparently Derrick has exceeded the smallness of "most of the kids like him." We had a little chat about things we could try to do to get his weight up some, but realistically, there's only so much we can do. Thankfully, Dr. S said that too. (I mean, besides a tube, which we absolutely hope to avoid!) We can't shove food down his throat- if he doesn't want to eat, he's not going to. We're talking about a very strong minded kid who can hold chewed food in his mouth for hours and never give you any sign that there's half a meal in there. It's ridiculous!

Anyway, we've started adding vanilla Carnation instant breakfast to his milk along with his normal chocolate syrup for some added calories. Whew! That stuff is RICH! He LOVES it! ;)

As we were having this discussion about his weight, Dr. S asked, "So, when does he turn three?" "April," we told him. "With the really small kids we don't usually wait until they hit the 30 lb mark to do the Fontan. What we're really looking at is chest cavity size anyway."

I'm hoping the punch in the gut didn't sound as loud as it felt. Three? Totally wasn't expecting to hear that, but I have to admit I wasn't ready to ask if that was what he was implying either. I'd rather be blissfully ignorant for another three months. Maybe then we'll tackle that question. Apparently Justin got the same impression I did from that conversation and wasn't ready to open that can of worms either. We like it in this happy place. For now, anyway.

Back to the appointment.

All of Derrick's vitals were great, heart sounded great, etc. Woo hoo! He asked to sit on the "bed" when he found out it was time to check his sats, which never happens (and for some crazy reason his sats are always higher in their office than they are at home!). The nurse asked him if he knew what she was doing and he said, "Checking my numbers." And in the same breath he looked over at me and whispered, "I get a sucker!" We all rolled! This boy will perform for a sucker!

Derrick's echo went great too. The tech was going to let him put the probe on himself to start the echo, but he wouldn't do it. He kept saying, "No. Mommy do it!" So I started the echo. It was kind of fun! Ha! It seemed to take forever, which made us a little nervous, but Dr. S said everything looked great. We got a "heart function and valves look good, we'll see you back in three months!" and we were out the door.

{I was so disappointed when I pulled out the camera and it died immediately, so I missed out on lots of good pictures at the appointment...especially Derrick and his 'mater teeth' sucker. I'll definitely have to give him another one and take pictures. It's pretty cute! So here's Derrick today, modeling his and Justin's monster they built while Jenny Kate was having therapy.}

Whew! Another one down. In November I think we'll have to have "the talk." Not looking forward to that one! But until then, we'll feed this boy every single thing he'll eat. Suggestions are always welcome!

Intuition

2011-08-22T06:54:00.001-04:00

Sometimes, I believe, God gives us gentle pushes to do things that we need to do. We may not know it at the time, but looking back we can see that those unexplainable urges were most likely little pushes from Him so that we didn't miss out on something important.

When we were driving down to the beach last month, Justin and I were talking about how we needed to go visit Nana. We had both been thinking about it for several weeks but hadn't said anything to the other until then, so we decided we'd go up to Tennessee the next Sunday night after Justin got off work.

We arrived sometime after midnight that next Sunday night, chatted with Nana, Aunt Shirley and Uncle Gary, and made plans to spend our Monday and Tuesday doing absolutely nothing other than spending time together. We had a relaxing two days just hanging out {and eating, because you can't leave Nana's without gaining at least four pounds, no matter how short of a time you're there! :)}. We helped Nana do a few chores, and I'm sure Justin reset her clock, which is something he's done every time we've ever visited Nana for as long as I've been around.

Once we arrived home, we called to check in, telling them that we'd arrived home safely. We both had an unsettling urge to speak to Nana before we hung up the phone. We each spoke to her, told her we loved her, and hung up.

Four days later, we received a call that Nana had a catastrophic stroke.

We loaded up the kids and drove to TN that night. We visited her in the hospital, where she was barely able to whisper and unable to open her eyes. When it was time for us to come back home we were telling her good-bye and that we loved her, and before we walked away she whispered, "I love your babies too."

Later that week Nana was taken home where she could be comfortable and taken care of by her family. We drove back to TN, anxious to be able to see her again. When we got there she was much more responsive than the days before. She opened her eyes and reached out her hand to us. When we brought the kids in to see her she perked up and kept rubbing and patting their arms and legs. She was so happy to see them. She couldn't show it in the real Nana way, but we could tell how much she loved seeing them. We spent the next day and a half with her, soaking in every second we had with her.

This past weekend we went to see Nana again, only this time it was to say our final earthly good-byes. She had a beautiful service that celebrated her life. The line to see her was long and the church was packed. This came at no surprise because everyone who met Nana loved her. She was "Nana" to every person who didn't call her "mom."

Nana was an incredibly Godly woman. She was a wonderful example of how I would like to be. She spent time in the Word every single day, but not only did she read it, she lived it. She was patient, she was giving, and most of all, she was loving.

She was also the definition of a southern lady. She kept her company well fed. She always had a freshly baked cake waiting if she knew someone was coming and was embarrassed if someone showed up without her knowing and she hadn't had time to bake that cake. She rarely came out of her room without being fully dressed including lipstick and jewelry and would never even think about walking out the front door not fully made up. She kept a spotless house and a full fridge. She was the "card queen," never missing a holiday and often sending them "just because." She never raised her voice, never said anything rude, and never lost her patience. She was full of smiles and liked to giggle. And if you got her alone she had a little wild side to her...a ladylike wild side, of course.

She made famous fried pies and the world's best red velvet cake with throw-up icing. Everyone fought over the corners of the red velvet cake, so she made an extra bowl of throw-up icing so that we could all have corners. She never sat down at the table until every person had everything they could have possibly wanted; only then would she stop to eat. She had a funny little squeal that always made us laugh. She was appalled that Justin would try to wear his pajama pants to take her to Walgreens at 10pm. I'm not sure she ever let him get away with that, although he tried quite a few times.

She loved her grandchildren. She loved, loved, loved her great-grandchildren. All eight of them.

She loved her husband and missed him terribly in the years she lived without him. They had an incredible relationship, one like Justin and I pray we can have. I never had the privilege of meeting him, but the stories are real-life fairy tales. And they're really real-life.

There's an impressive stack of paper in Nana's room that contains every word and every picture that has been posted to carolinacarters.com. This is probably the first post that ever hit this blog that she doesn't have in print.

I am beyond thankful that God gave us that little nudge to drive up and visit Nana the days before her stroke. There's not a doubt in my mind that that's what it was. He was giving us that last chance to spend special time with her. To let her hold and play with her youngest great-grandson and only great-granddaughter one more time. To let her tell us in several different subtle ways that she was ready to go Home when it was time. To give her grandson a special peace to make it just a tiny bit ok to have to say goodbye to such a special lady that has an enormous piece of his heart.

We love you Nana.

The picture that we almost didn't take, but are beyond thankful that it was snapped right before we walked out the door!

"Wook, Mommy! Wook!"

2011-08-16T16:57:00.001-04:00

"Wook, Mommy! Wook! It's Micky Mouse!"

We aren't afraid of bribery around here, especially if it means getting a few extra calories in this boy of ours. ;)

He's done a great job potty training so Justin picked out a special prize for him.
{We won't tell him that Justin picks out things he likes so he can eat them when D isn't looking! ;)}

He's been wearing big boy "unda-way-as" while he's awake and gets mad when he has to put on a diaper to sleep. What can I say, I'm just not ready to wash sheets every day!

He has woken up several times with a dry diaper, though. :) But I'm still not quite convinced.

We had the potty chart, where he got a sticker each time he went and after five stickers he earned a sucker. That got to be a little much, especially considering he always wanted to cash in on the suckers 30 seconds before bedtime. He's no dummy!

So for now, Derrick has been enjoying a pack of Pez candies every evening for having a good potty day. He still hasn't figured out why Mickey stops spitting out candy after a while.

That makes for quite an unhappy little man!

He'll probably be an unhappy little man tomorrow too, when we go to his cardiology appointment and he realizes he has to have an echo. No worries, his fear will most likely be calmed by a ring pop. Mine on the other hand, not so much. I'm starting to think these appointments never get any easier.

And P.S. Yes, we brush his teeth.

Derrick's Heart Story

2011-08-15T08:00:00.003-04:00

Shortly after celebrating our second anniversary we found out we were going to have a baby. We were ecstatic! The pregnancy was perfect...I wasn't sick, wasn't worried. I felt fine other than being worn out by the time I got home in the afternoons. Everything was going exactly as planned.

We blissfully went to the 20 week ultrasound, ecstatic to find out if we were going to be shopping later that day for pink or blue. The ultrasound tech happily announced that we were having a baby boy. That was our main focus of the appointment. We were told that they were going to do another ultrasound at my next appointment in four weeks because they couldn't see all of our little boy's heart, and that hopefully he would be cooperative then. We didn't think a thing about it. We were completely fine with having another ultrasound because it meant that we would be able to see him again soon!

When it was time to go back four weeks later, I began to get a little nervous. It felt like a lot of pressure that they were only looking at Derrick's heart. What if he didn't cooperate? I don't know that I felt that something was wrong, it just felt like a lot of pressure.

When the ultrasound started we got a quick peek at our little guy's face, then the quest for checking his heart began. After what seemed like forever, we asked the tech if everything was ok. She said that he still wasn't cooperating and she was going to get one of the other technicians who was "good at getting the babies to move" to come and help her.

You could feel the tension in the room as both girls watched the monitor as they continued to slide the probe all over my belly. Finally they finished and again I asked if everything was ok. "The doctor will talk to you," one of them said.

We still weren't worried, but did think that the whole experience was a little strange. After what seemed like forever we were called into the doctor's office. We sat down across from him...this still makes my heart race...

"There's something wrong with your baby's heart," he said.

At first I thought he was joking. I have no idea why I thought he would joke like that, but I quickly realized that he wasn't. I felt the blood rush to my head and my whole body was on fire. I couldn't breathe, much less think. Justin and I looked at each other and I couldn't stop the tears from pouring down my face.

My doctor said he wasn't exactly sure what was going on and that he was going to send us to a pediatric cardiologist to get the details on our guy's little heart. He said there was a great possibility that we would need to deliver at the Medical University of SC in case he needed heart surgery right away. My doctor made us an appointment for the next afternoon with the pediatric cardiologist so we could find out exactly what was going on.

I don't remember a whole lot about the rest of that day. I was devastated; we both were. All I could think about was that this really couldn't be possible. This baby was moving around inside me all the time. He kicked and squirmed, he had the hiccups and he got wild and crazy when I would eat chocolate. He had to be fine, I would tell myself. But I would catch my mind wandering to dark places...things I didn't want to imagine, that I couldn't bear to think about. But I did. I had only heard of one heart defect: HLHS. I didn't know much about it other than it was not good. When I was in college a classmate's niece was born with HLHS and I had followed her story very closely. It ended in heartbreak, and I prayed (or maybe begged God) that Derrick didn't have HLHS. Looking back, I'm pretty sure my fascination with Miss Emily Mae and her story was no coincidence. I think Someone was gently preparing me for my own journey.

The horrible day finally ended and we found ourselves in the parking lot of the pediatric cardiologist's office. I don't think I even realized we had such a doctor in Columbia, much less ever thought I would be going to see one. But here we were, both of us sitting, neither had the courage to open the door and get out of the car for fear of what they would tell us about our son. We held hands and Justin prayed aloud. He prayed that we would be given hope during this visit and that there would be something they could do for our son.

We had a very thorough fetal echocardiogram and the cardiologist came in to explain the findings. Derrick was missing one of his ventricles. The cardiologist wasn't 100% sure about which ventricle, but he was sure that he only had one. He gave us three options: 1.) Derrick could undergo a 3-staged series of surgeries that would allow him to live a fairly normal life, but not "fix" his heart. There was no "fix." 2.) We could deliver the baby and take him home to provide "compassionate care." 3.) We could terminate the pregnancy.

We had asked God to give us something the doctors could do to save Derrick's life. Obviously numbers two and three simply were not options. Derrick's heart didn't fit nicely into any specific congenital heart defect, but he told us it was not HLHS. Similar, but not HLHS. We didn't leave that appointment with a specific diagnosis, but we did leave with hope.

Over the next four months we went to appointment after appointment. It seemed that every time someone looked at Derrick's heart they told us something different was wrong. It was heartbreaking enough to know that his heart was broken, but to hear something new every. single. time. someone looked at it was really hard to deal with.

There were many, many tears shed for this child, and even more prayers said. We had hope. We painted his room, bought his furniture, had baby showers and created a perfect little nursery for him to come home to. His clothes were washed; hanging in his closet and folded neatly in his drawers. His toys were in a basket and his blankie waiting for him in his crib. As we did all of this preparation, sometimes I had a terribly heavy heart. Sometimes, secretly, it killed me to prepare for his arrival. I was so afraid that he would never come home. I was afraid that he wouldn't wear the clothes, sleep in the crib, or snuggle with his blankie. Sometimes the thought of it was simply too overwhelming. I was much more satisfied with the idea of him staying in my belly for the rest of my life than facing what was to come.

April rolled around and it was time for Derrick's arrival. At

6:31 pm on April 20, our little miracle, Derrick Palmer Carter, was born. I held my breath as I listened for his cry. That first cry was one of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard.

Derrick's BIRTHday, April 20, 2009

Derrick was immediately whisked away by a pediatric team before I even able to catch a glimpse of him. Justin was able to go along as they got him cleaned up and hooked up to his monitors. He took pictures so that I could see our baby boy. About an hour later, Derrick was brought to my room for us to get a quick peek at him. I finally got to see my beautiful boy. He looked perfect. It would have been impossible to know that anything was wrong with him if he wouldn't have been in the incubator and covered with wires. We were able to open the tiny door to touch his sweet little hand. My arms ached to hold him, but I knew better than to even ask. They still weren't exactly sure what secrets Derrick's little heart held, so there was no time for us to waste. After a few minutes, my brand new baby was taken away.

Derrick, the first time we met, about an hour after his birth.

The days went on with testing, echos, blood draws, questions, and learning more about Derrick's "complex little heart" as the doctors called it. We shed many tears, said many prayers, and spent many hours by our little man's side holding his tiny hands, reading to him, watching monitors, and listening to the beeping of the PCICU.

Just waiting for surgery, two days old

When Derrick was four days old we were able to hold him for the first time. We were told that we wouldn't hold him until the night before surgery, so this was a great surprise for us. When the nurse put him in my arms I lost it. The world could have crashed down around us and I wouldn't have cared. I was holding my baby! I cannot describe the overwhelming emotions I was experiencing. All of those days of having to look at our baby and not be able to pick him up to comfort him when he cried, to feed him, snuggle with him; all of those moments disappeared once he was finally placed in my arms.

Our first time holding Derrick, 4 days old.

That moment was short lived because four days later it was time for Derrick's first heart surgery, the BT Shunt. That morning we gathered around his bed, took pictures of him, touched him, prayed over him, and talked to him. All I could do was cry. Even in my silent prayers, all I could say was, "Please, God." There were no other words that would come to my mind. All I could do was beg God to bring Derrick back to me. That day, April 28, 2009, I did the first most difficult thing I had ever done. I sent my precious, tiny baby away with two complete strangers for open heart surgery. Watching his tiny body swaddled in his crib, hearing the click of them unlocking it, and watching him disappear down the hallway was grueling. I collapsed in Justin's arms, and we cried.

Surgery took (a long) seven hours but went very well; "textbook," his surgeon called it. While they were in his chest they were able to see what all his "complex little heart" was hiding, and he was diagnosed with having: a single right ventricle, dextrocardia, transposition of the great arteries, pulmonary stenosis and mitral valve atresia. We were glad to have some answers, but boy could we understand why they kept calling Derrick's little heart "complex"!

Seeing him for the first time after surgery was difficult, but under all of the tubes and wires we could still see his precious face.

Derrick, 8 days old, BT Shunt surgery

Derrick's recovery was great and he was discharged from the hospital when he was sixteen days old; a short eight days after his first heart surgery. We were amazed at his strength and determination, and so very thankful that God had blessed us with a smooth recovery and HOPE that Derrick would be ok.

Being home was nice. It was pretty scary at first, but we adjusted quickly. Doctor's appointments filled our weeks and we lived life to the fullest, knowing that another surgery loomed in the very near future.

When he was six months old, Derrick spent three nights in the hospital for at UTI that made his oxygen saturation drop really low. It was around this time that he started physical therapy to develop his weak upper body because he was unable to spend time on his stomach without turning blue, and he also started feeding therapy for his inability to gain weight. He was, and still is, very small for his age...but don't be fooled because he's quite strong!

Derrick, 6 months old, during his first *and hopefully only* non-surgical hospital stay

After the UTI episode we walked on pins and needles waiting for the time for the Glenn surgery to come. He had two heart catheterizations to see if he was ready for surgery, and after the second one they determined that it was time.

Two days before his nine month birthday, we handed Derrick over for surgery once again. It was no easier than the first time, but just like before, we could feel the prayers from friends and family and the peace that only God can provide. Again Derrick's surgery and recovery both went well. He only spent one night in the PCICU and was moved to the floor the next evening. He spent a total of eight days in the hospital, but the length was due to having a chylothorax His heart was great but he had to be put on a fat free diet for six weeks to allow the chylothorax to heal.

Bi-directional Glenn surgery, 9 months old, January, 2010

Since the Glenn, Derrick has done exceptionally well. He has celebrated his first and second birthdays, talks non-stop, jumps or runs everywhere he goes and has an endless supply of energy. He recently became a big brother to a little sister whom he adores.

Currently, Derrick sees his cardiologist every three months for check-ups for his special heart. We are awaiting the Fontan, which will most likely take place when he is around 30 lbs (which could be ten years away the way he gains weight! ;).

This "heart world" life is definitely not something we would have chosen for our family. If we could, in a heartbeat we would take away all of the pain and suffering that Derrick has experienced and all that is to come for him. However, we wouldn't change a thing for us.

Derrick,15 months

Having Derrick has deeply strengthened our faith. Having to fully rely on God; to have no choice but to give Derrick completely over to Him has been a very humbling experience. It hasn't been easy and I still catch myself trying to control our situation, but I am quickly reminded that I have no control and God has all of it planned perfectly. This heartache has been a blessing beyond our wildest dreams. We have been blessed with one of the most amazing miracles and we won't take that for granted; not even for a second.

Derrick, 2 years & 4 months

Hilton Head Island, 2011

2011-08-12T07:09:00.002-04:00

We took our annual trip to Hilton Head in July and I'm a total slacker since I'm just now going through the pictures (although I'm really going to show how on top of things I am when I post D's birthday party pictures in a few days-from APRIL, but you know, this is our family scrapbook/photo album, so it has to be done!).

I was pretty bad about taking pictures of our week this time. I guess I was a little side tracked with Jenny Kate, and when there was free time I was more interested in joining in on the fun than taking pictures.

This year D was able to join in on some of the activities out at the pool. Every day they have different things kids can do, and guess what the first activity Derrick did was?

He made a water shirt!

Another day he went cookie decorating. Doesn't this look so super yummy?! Ha!

Bubble baths in the big tub were a hit this year.

We enjoyed sitting out on our deck that overlooked the lagoon. But in the lagoon lives...

Obviously people have been feeding this guy. There was a guy with a golf club trying to "scare" the gator back in the water. The picture on the right was his response. Looks super scared, huh?

We enjoyed lots of fun family time,

and lying in the grass just taking it all in.

Of course being the monkey he is, Derrick enjoyed his first tree-swinging experience. Now that he knows he can swing from trees there will most likely be more of this to come.

Jenny Kate wasn't a huge fan of being outside. Everywhere was a little bright for her! Ha!

Justin and I celebrated our five year anniversary while we were there. I was greeted that morning with these beauties.

LOVED them!! They survived the ride home and I was able to enjoy them on the kitchen table for almost two weeks!

Mamaw and Papaw kept the kiddos while we went out and had a nice lunch and spent the afternoon shopping. I love our dates!

Derrick's absolute favorite thing to do while we were at the beach was to swim in the pool. He went swimming at least twice a day and we had to drag him out every time. The great part? While most people dislike when the pool feels like a bathtub, this little guy loved it because he was able to swim with no wetsuit!

He loved every minute of it. {And I love those eyelashes!}

Jenny Kate enjoyed lounging by the pool in the evenings.

She's counting down the days until next year!

We had a great time! It was nice to get away, spend time together, and enjoy the sand between our toes. Sandy pics to come. :)

P.S. Derrick and Jenny Kate are in a photo contest on Facebook. If you'd like to vote for them you can click here and "like" their pictures. They're the first two pics. ;)

Precious

2011-08-10T16:24:00.001-04:00

We've been kind of MIA for the past couple of weeks. We've made three trips to Tennessee in two weeks to spend precious time with precious people.

Sometimes you have to trust those gut feelings. I'm so glad we did. :)

Making memories...that's what it's all about.

And because I think these pictures of my babies this morning fall under the "precious" category, I have to post them too...

Wordless Wednesday...Poolside

2011-08-03T10:02:00.000-04:00

I may be a little biased

2011-07-28T16:32:00.000-04:00

but I think this may be one of the cutest faces I've ever seen! :)

This was Jenny Kate this morning while we were waiting to be called back for therapy. She was pretty stoked that her therapist said she could see some improvement!

"Unda-way-as"

2011-07-25T07:22:00.000-04:00

Unda-way-as,

it's what we're working on!

P.S. Thank you all SO MUCH for all of the sweet comments, emails, and phone calls about Jenny Kate. It's great to know that so many of your babies have already gone through torticollis and they're all just perfect! That's one of the greatest things about blogging...sharing stories and support. I love it!

A Curve Ball

2011-07-20T15:46:00.000-04:00

I'm glad y'all enjoyed the pics of our girl! She's growing and changing so quickly I can hardly stand it. Of course, as she grows, she's also started with the curve balls...

The other day we had to take Jenny Kate in to see Dr. B for her reflux. She was still screaming right before she'd throw up what appeared to be about half of her bottle every time she ate, and she was just plain miserable. He increased her Axid and she's been a much happier little girl ever since.

(Derrick likes to lie on the table with Jenny Kate at the doctor's office. I think now he thinks that we only go to Dr. B for Jenny Kate. Uh oh! :)

While we were there (this visit was only supposed to be a weight check b/c of the reflux), Dr. B checked her over quickly and then asked me if I'd noticed anything about her head. I told him that I noticed that she always sleeps with her head turned to the right and that I thought her head seemed a little flat on that side. I started to get a little nervous when he got quiet and was studying her as he moved her head from side to side.

"She has torticollis," he told me.

Torta what?! I was thinking to myself. He went on to explain that it's a condition where the child has limited neck motion because of shortening of the neck (sternocleidomastoid) muscle. Ugh. He said it was probably caused by the way she was positioned in utero and was totally treatable with therapy. He said hopefully as she grows and gains more movement in her neck that her head shape would self correct. He told me a therapist would contact us and we would go from there.

Two days later we were at the pediatric orthopedic clinic for therapy. The therapist evaluated her and gave us a lot of exercises to do at home. She asked us if Dr. B had talked to us about banding to help correct her head shape and I told her that he said hopefully it would self correct. I didn't like the way she said, "Oh, ok."

During the evaluation the therapist said Jenny Kate had some asymetrical movements, that it appeared that the left side of her torso was shorter than the right, and that one leg (can't remember which one) turned out instead of lying like it was supposed to. She said that torticollis can be the reason her eyes are still crossing sometimes. She said she's a little behind on head control and that she wasn't tracking as well as she should. (I asked Dr. B about all of the issues mentioned while we were at her well visit and he was not concerned with any of them, which made me feel better.)

On the bright side, Jenny Kate had a massage during therapy to help loosen up her neck muscles so we could work on getting her to turn her had all the way to the left.

It was crazy to see how her neck responded and her head turned so much easier while she was being massaged. ( I got a little jealous that she got a massage and I had to watch. Ha!) We left the clinic with a plan of coming to therapy twice a week.

I am going to be completely honest here. When we were at the desk checking out it hit me. I don't know if it was knowing we were going to have to have therapy twice a week, if it was the price that this therapy was going to cost, if it was the fact that there was no way we could do therapy on the days Justin works because Derrick would NOT be able to control himself around all of the "fun" therapy contraptions that were hanging from the ceiling, if it was the realization that again, our child is not "normal" or if it was the postpartum hormones that are still hanging around, but I stood at that checkout window and cried.

Ridiculous, I know.

Poor Justin. He probably wanted to pretend that he didn't know me.

I really wanted to throw a pity party for a minute. I wanted to ask why in the world we couldn't have a child that only needed to go to the doctor for well visits and an occasional ear infection, why our schedule had to again revolve around therapy appointments instead of play dates, and why Justin and I couldn't just make a whole, perfectly normal baby. And then it was over.

I know this is not a big deal. I know in a few months this will be just one of those things that we had to do. I know this is not life threatening and will not cause us to wait in a waiting room on pins and needles because we don't know if our child will live. I know this is physical therapy, not chemotherapy. I know. This is NOT a big deal and it's nothing to get upset about.

When we were in Tuesday Dr. B decided to go ahead and refer her to the banding people. I guess her head is bad enough that the yucky feeling about the "Oh, ok" from the therapist was correct. We're waiting on a call from them to schedule her appointment. They'll probably do measurements the first visit and see her back in a month to see if there's been any change. I guess we'll see what happens from there. Most likely she'll be in a helmet within the next few months. I'm going to pray that her head fixes itself though. It's too H~O~T to have to wear a helmet 23 hours a day!

So there you have it. Our first curve ball thrown by Miss Jenny Kate. That's ok, because we may swing, but we will NOT strike out.

TWO Months Old Already?!

2011-07-19T17:59:00.001-04:00

Dear Jenny Kate,

I seriously cannot believe you are already TWO months old! Wow time is flying!

You had your 2 month well-visit today and had your first round of shots. Whew! All I can say is I'm so glad I took pictures of you yesterday! Otherwise, this is all we'd get...

You are growing like a champ. You weigh 10 lbs 13 oz and are 22 inches long, which puts you in the 50th percentile for both. Your head is in the 75 percentile (but don't worry girl, it doesn't look big! :).

You're eating about 4 ounces every 2.5 to 3 hours during the day. I think we're going to pull out the big bottles tonight and try to do a little more. You've been polishing off those bottles for the past two days.

You took your first trip to the beach last week. You got to put your feet in the ocean but I don't think you were super impressed. You were able to sit by the pool a couple of times but spent most of your days in the condo. This South Carolina weather is pretty intolerable if you're not IN the water! Next year it will be so much fun when you can join Derrick in the water and sand. *Pictures coming soon!

I think you're trying to suck your thumb. I've tried and tried to get you to take a binky but most of the time it's a flop. I'm going to keep trying. A binky is much easier to take away than a finger! I was a finger sucker but the germs of that freak me out now! We'll have to start a binky mission!

You are ~~incredibly~~ slightly dramatic.

I think we've finally tamed the reflux. The third formula and an increase in your medicine seems to have done the trick. I'm sure hoping that stays under control because you have been so much happier. You'll actually lie down now without screaming. It's heavenly.

You love to be held. I think being at the beach for an entire week with family intensified that a bit. That's ok though; we love holding you. You're a good little snuggler. We better soak it up too, because you've most likely completed our little family.

You are a great sleeper. Most nights you sleep from about 10:30pm until 6:30am. It's so awesome! You used to only sleep that long on Daddy's nights to get up with you. I'm so glad you've decided to sleep that long every night! Now if only we'd learn to go to bed when you do.

You go to sleep on your own. We put you in your bassinet and you'll kick around and talk yourself to sleep most of the time. I think you actually prefer to be able to stretch out and get comfy to fall asleep. Derrick did the same thing and we love it. I sure hope you keep these sleeping habits!

You love your brother. You watch him so intently sometimes. You don't fuss when he holds you (which he loves to do) even though it can't be comfortable for you most of the time. I cannot wait to see the special relationship the two of you develop. He already calls you his friend. :)

My absolute favorite thing that you've started doing is smiling! You have an adorable little smile! You even wrinkle your nose and squint your eyes sometimes. It's so, so sweet!

Jenny Kate, you are a precious girl. I cannot believe there's enough love to love two little people as much as we do. It's incredible. You are a feisty little thing and you know what you want, and often times it should have been done ten minutes ago. This sometimes proves to be difficult, but once you get what you want you flash that little smile and it's all forgotten. Your daddy says that's how girls are, but I don't think I believe that. ;) We love you so, so much sweet girl. We are so excited to watch you grow!

To the moon and back...

Mommy & Daddy

Precious Moments

2011-07-15T07:09:00.001-04:00

A couple of nights ago as I was getting ready to go to bed, I heard a train going by. Derrick had been asleep for hours, but somehow he has supersonic ears and I guess the train woke him. I heard, "Mommy, Mommy." Strangely, I was excited to hear his little voice calling my name over the monitor at 1 am.

I tiptoed up the stairs, quietly closed the gate, and opened his door. There he sat, holding DD right under his nose with one had, reaching for me with the other. Neither of us said a word as I picked him up and took him to his chair to rock.

He was back asleep almost immediately, but I couldn't help but stay for a while. It's been so long since I held him sleeping. It was such a perfect moment for a not-so-perfect day. His little legs were curled under his body, his head on my shoulder, and his freshly cut hair soft but spiky against my cheek. His breathing was slow and steady, obvious that he was good and asleep, letting out a little whimper after every few breaths.

We just rocked; my mind going through the past two years of his life and the emotions that holding him in that chair brings. I kept wrapping my arms a little tighter around his sleeping body snuggled in DD.

I finally decided to put him back in bed. I knew he would wake up, and as I laid him down in his bed he sleepily opened his eyes and said, "DD." I had to do "1,2,3, DD" and tuck DD around him. He pulled DD's satin ribbon right under his nose and I whispered to him, "I love you Cheeks."

"I wuv you," he said softly. And I closed the door.

He's growing up way too quickly. I don't know how many more times I'll be able to hold him in my lap and rock him back to sleep. I spend way too much time worried about doing way too many things that really don't matter, when right before my eyes both of my children are growing up so quickly.

I just don't want to miss, or forget, these precious moments.

Derrick asleep on the couch (for the first time ever) waiting for a thunderstorm to pass.

Water Shirts

2011-07-13T07:00:00.003-04:00

If you have been to our house in the last three months I'm sure you've seen the "water shirt." If not, may I present to you....

The Water Shirt.

We bought this (obviously) when we went to the Great Wolf Lodge. It quickly became D's favorite shirt and he pretty much wants to wear it 24/7. He sleeps in it, wears it anytime we're home, and tries to bargain with us to let him wear it in public. {He doesn't win.} He probably has a good three to four years before his "water shirt" actually fits him and by then I'm sure it will be completely worn out from the constant washing it gets.

Anyway, while Justin was still off work after Jenny Kate's birth we were able to squeeze in a little project. We decided since D loves tie-dye so much that we would let him make a water shirt that actually fits him. He was so super excited he could hardly stand it, so he got to work.

We looked all over Walmart for the RIT dye and had no luck {to later find out that it was in the laundry section..so obviously we didn't look everywhere} so we bought this cool little tie-dye kit. It came with three colors, rubber bands, and squirt bottles. Exactly what we needed.

Not to be left out, Jenny Kate was waiting her turn for her first water shirt too! (Whoa, look how much she's changed!!)

D, being the good big brother that he is, made the perfect one for Jenny Kate with her favorite color, pink! :)

And the finished product (a mere month and a half after the shirts were complete!)...

My "water shirt-ed" babies!

I kinda wish they would have made one for me!

Cheese!!

2011-07-11T14:38:00.000-04:00

One...

Two...

Three....

Ch.....

Chee....

Cheese!!!

And of course the best one is out of focus!

Wordless Wednesday...Popsicles

2011-07-06T06:56:00.002-04:00

Our New Look

2011-07-01T06:21:00.002-04:00

We've been in desperate need of a face lift on this 'ol blog for quite a while now. The pictures in the header were over a year old and didn't include our sweet girl anywhere. Not to mention, I was reminded by several of you that Jenny Kate's name was not in the signature...and to be completely honest, until someone brought it up I hadn't even thought about that one, so thanks! :)

I thought about having a new look ready to go before she was born so I could just plug in a picture but that didn't happen. Yesterday both kids took a nap at the same time (woo hoo!!) so I was able to update our look.

I changed the comments to use Disqus again. I had it here a while back and didn't like it, but I thought I'd give it a shot again. It's super easy for anyone to leave a comment, even if you don't have a blog. I really like that you can kind of have a conversation using Disqus. Sometimes we've gotten questions and had no way to answer them directly to the asker, so this should remedy that. :)

I made a new button for Derrick too, in case you want it for your blog. {Of course it wouldn't be this BIG...I just love this picture! It totally shows his personality. Ha!} The code is on the sidebar. The one I've had here was pretty outdated, but if you have it and don't want to change it that's ok. It still works!

We're still in the process of getting all of the little details changed, but playtime is over! We'll finish this weekend...hopefully!

Feedback is always welcome, and thanks, y'all, for looking out for Jenny Kate! :)

So...what do you think?!

Movie Night

2011-06-29T07:05:00.002-04:00

Last night we had our very first movie night.

Derrick went with me to the store to pick out the snacks...white cheddar popcorn...mmmm....

The must see movie...

CARS! He hadn't seen it yet so it was a must see since Cars 2 came out this week. He loves all of the characters but didn't have a clue who they were until tonight. Mater is his fave!

This guy was so excited he could barely stand it. Not as much about the movie as the snacks!

In the beginning he was all about it, but about 20 minutes was all this little busy body could stand.

It looks like we'll probably be waiting until Cars 2 comes out on dvd. Ha!

Jenny Kate wasn't super thrilled about the movie either.

She did wake up for the last inning of the College World Series to hear that the Gamecocks are the National Champs!!

For the second year in a row! Woo hoo!!

A Wetsuit

2011-06-24T06:58:00.000-04:00

Back in March, when we went to the Great Wolf Lodge, I had a little reality check. We were so excited to take Derrick to an indoor water park where the temperature was regulated at a toasty 84 degrees. Derrick LOVES the water. The problem is, other than at bath time, the water is usually too cold for our very slim, less-than-perfect-circulation little guy.

Derrick loved playing in the water, but after only a few minutes our little blueberry would be shivering and asking for a "towvel" because he was too cold. I must admit that after wrapping him up over and over I couldn't help but look around at all the kids laughing and squealing and enjoying the water so much and not have a pang of jealousy...a little pity, and a lot of heartbreak. I stood there holding D in his wet towel and had to hide my head because I couldn't stop the tears. It wasn't fair that he couldn't even enjoy an indoor water park!

There are many things that we are well aware of that Derrick will not be able to do. He won't be able to play football, run cross country (most likely), or play seriously competitive sports. His heart won't let him. We've known all of these things from the very first day we found out the details of his heart before he was born, and we can deal with that.

No one ever told us about the difficulty he would have with regulating his body temperature. A large part of that is probably due to his lack of body fat, but I'm sure some of it is because he has a much lower oxygen saturation than the "normal" person. My boy LOVES the water. We will have to tell him "no" to so many things, but to swimming too? The one thing he really, really loves? No way!

The first night we were at the Great Wolf we went out on a search. Justin was determined that we could find a solution to the problem. We searched every store that sold swimming or surfing gear and found nothing that would work for a 20lb kid. One guy working in one of the stores, who was a surfer, tried so hard to help us. We typically don't go around telling everyone all the details of Derrick and his heart unless it comes up for some reason because we don't want anyone feeling sorry for him. He wanted to know why we were looking for a wetsuit for him (because we obviously don't fit the surfer "stereotype"), so we told him about D's heart. You could see the pain in his eyes for our little D who loves the water so much, because this guy loved it too. He gave us a lot of great ideas about how to get a suit for D and what to look for, and the search began.

As soon as we got home Justin got online and found a few options. Not many of them were exactly what we were looking for (and we now had a lot of knowledge from the surfer guy we met), but there was one definite winner.

Is this not the most adorable little wetsuit you've ever seen?!

It came from Buell Wetsuits and it is AWESOME! Seriously, it has saved our summer! :) In his wetsuit he doesn't get blue and shivery. He doesn't ask to get out of the water...he gets ANGRY when he has to get out! And it's super bright so you can spot him from anywhere. It is perfection!

Bring on the pool!! :)

Somebody's Looking at Me!!

2011-06-23T07:00:00.001-04:00

Yesterday Justin was in the kitchen and said he felt strange, like someone was watching him. He looked out the window and saw this guy...

I ran to get the camera and this was the best shot we could get of him (especially through the really-needs-to-be-cleaned window). As soon as I opened the door to try to see him better he was gone. Owls do have great ears! We'll have to keep an eye out for him. I don't think I've ever seen an owl in real life that wasn't at the zoo. One of the fun things about living out in the woods I guess!

I'm glad y'all liked yesterdays picture. Ha! To answer a few questions...

We're not actively potty training yet, although D loves to "pee pee in the potty." He's done it a few times and on occasion will tell us he needs to go, but I'm just not ready to tackle that hard core yet. I need a few more weeks...is that bad? He does love to "pee pee outside" and takes advantage of that as often as possible! Another perk of living in the woods. ;) And maybe it helps keep the deer away from the garden....yeah, that's why we let him do it!

Anyway, when the picture was taken he had just gotten out of the bathtub. He ran in the kitchen and jumped up on the stool and asked for some cheese. We both thought those little cheeks were too cute and just too funny not to keep forever. I know, I know, he's going to hate this blog one day!

And just because I love 'em...

Here's Jenny Kate on free smoothie day enjoying her nap in the fresh air. I love the "jeggings" but I saw on the Today Show that they're so "last year." That's ok, I think they're adorable! :) She'll probably only get one more wear out of them anyway.

And Derrick and his latest boo boo...

He earned this one going down the bumpy slide at the park head first. He ate some wood chips for that one! This boy is going to be one big scar before he's four! I do realize that he has his shirt on inside out and backwards, but he dressed himself so I let go. And you know what? That happens to be a "watershirt" (tye-dye...more on that coming soon) which is also so "last year" according to the Today Show. I guess we're pretty behind, huh? Ha! Oh well!

Wordless Wednesday...Waitin' for Sanck

2011-06-22T07:32:00.000-04:00

Jenny Kate's First Month

2011-06-20T23:54:00.000-04:00

Dear Jenny Kate,

You are ONE MONTH old today!

(Well, technically it was Sunday, but you'll learn quickly that I'm ALWAYS late! ;)

I can't believe it. We have enjoyed this first month of your life so, so much sweet girl. It's been quite a transition going from one to two, but we're figuring it out. You're a little trooper and pretty much go with the flow...unless it's time to eat!

As of today you weigh 9 lbs, 12 ounces. You're quickly outgrowing your newborn clothes and can wear some 0-3 month outfits now. They're still a little big, but the newborn clothes are getting snug so we're moving on. You've also outgrown your newborn diapers and are officially in size one.

You are an eater and I love it! You eat between 3 1/2 and 4 ounces at each feeding. There's no playing around when you get hungry and you're pretty much like clockwork. If you start screaming we can tell precisely what time it is...exactly three hours from the last time you ate!

You go from sleeping to screaming with no warning in between. According to your cry, when you're hungry we should have gotten your bottle ready thirty minutes ago. No warnings...no whimpers, moans, squirming...just all out belting! But as soon as we give you that bottle you're a happy girl.

You've gotten some pretty good front-to-back head control. You lift that head and look around like a big girl. The side-to-side control isn't quite there yet, but you're working on it.

I'm pretty sure you love your big brother. He loves to hold you, and even though he's not the best baby holder in the world, you don't usually fuss when you're on his lap. (And seriously, there's not way you could be comfortable most of the time.) You just lie there and look at him, taking him in. I think the two of you have a pretty strong bond already and that is a huge answered prayer for daddy and me!

You are loud! You make noise all the time, especially when you're sleeping or eating. When you cry, everyone anywhere close by knows you're not happy. When we were at your two week check up Dr. Bonnett told us we had "a loud one" when you started crying. Oh yes, we know! :)

You've started "talking" a little. When you're happy and awake you'll look at us and "ooh" and "ahh." It's such a sweet little sound.

You're a pretty good sleeper at night. You usually sleep around 4.5 hours at a time and fall right back to sleep after your 4:30 feeding. Usually. {Let's not change that just because I'm writing it, ok?!}

Everyone is so amazed by your hair. I'm surprised you still have any because no one can keep their hands out if it, especially Derrick! I was able to get one of the little alligator clip bows in it this weekend and it actually stayed for a while. It's gotten thicker and a little lighter since you were born. I wonder if it will stay dark...

You were officially diagnosed as a reflux baby today. :( I was hoping that you'd be able to avoid that, but we have some medicine for you and hopefully it will start getting better very soon. I hate to see you cry when you eat (and I'm not a fan of all of the vomiting either!). We'll get you better soon, girl!

Jenny Kate, you are such a sweet baby and we all love you so much. You are the perfect addition to our family and are exactly what and who I imagined you would be. You are a feisty little thing already and you know exactly what you want and how to get it (which you demonstrated quite well even while you were in my tummy!). Even though you're only a month old, I have a hard time remembering what it was like before you were here. You make our little family just perfect!

We love you to the moon and back!

Mommy and Daddy

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-20T00:11:00.000-04:00

to the very best daddy we know!!!

Summer Fun and a Lesson Learned

2011-06-17T07:31:00.001-04:00

I was so proud of myself a couple of weeks ago taking both of the kids (that still sounds so weird!) out alone. Justin was working and he was going to meet us over at Jess and Scott's for a cookout once he got off.

The kids had a great time playing in the pool,

throwing water balloons,

blowing bubbles,

and just hanging out.

Until disaster struck.

We had to call for back up.

Jenny Kate had a blow out. And guess what I never finished putting in the diaper bag the night before? Yep, you guessed it! A change of clothes. Ugh!

It took three of us girls to get her cleaned up. How something so little can do something so big just blows my mind!

Justin had to go home and bring clothes for this girl before he came to eat. So she sat snuggled on the deck, watching the big kids play until her clothing arrived.

Lesson learned.....

Always have a change of clothes AND

never think you actually have it together!

Got it...the hard way. Oops! :)

Splish Splash She Was Taking a Bath!

2011-06-16T07:31:00.003-04:00

Our girl got her first real bath yesterday!

Isn't this froggy cover genius!? {Thanks Reagan! :) }

I think she was a little confused at first,

but she didn't mind getting scrubbed on.

Jenny Kate already understands how great it feels when someone else washes your hair.

Our girl all fresh and clean!

And daddy enjoyed soaking it all in!

Wordless Wednesday...I am Jenny Kate, Hear Me ROAR!

2011-06-15T07:15:00.000-04:00

Dreamnight at the Zoo!

2011-06-12T17:05:00.000-04:00

I was so excited when Derrick received his invitation to Dreamnight at the Zoo again this year. We went last year for the first time and had an amazing time but D was a little too young to really enjoy it. This year I knew he would have a blast!

In case you've never heard of Dreamnight, it's an international event held the first Friday in June where "chronically ill/ disabled children" and their families are invited to spend an amazing evening at the zoo. {I still have a difficult time believing my child fits into this category, but there's nothing like seeing it in black and white that brings you back to reality!}

We dropped Jenny Kate off with my mom and headed to the zoo. Thankfully, the blistering South Carolina heat had died down a little by the time the Dreamnight party started. We kicked it off right with Derrick's favorite...

He had his own cup of lemonade, which he LOVED!

He's all about drinking out of cups with no tops now. We figured it was his night, so we were going to let him have some freedom. And besides, maybe if he spilled a little lemonade he would wash some of the ice cream off of his hands and arms!

We walked around and checked out some confused animals. It was past their bedtime and I think they were wondering why there were people still there visiting! Several of them had already gone in for the night. That's ok though, there was plenty to do! We'll just have to go back again soon to visit the animals.

Next we went to the petting zoo. One of the goats was out making his rounds and D enjoyed petting him.

The pony, however, was a whole different story. Once he started snorting at D he wanted NOTHING to do with him!

After that we went to get Derrick's face painted. I really didn't think he would sit there and let someone paint his face, but he shocked me. He's not a fan of strangers getting that close, but he picked out his design and sat there like a big boy. It didn't hurt that daddy was there for support!

My big boy was proud of his turtle!

In addition to the face painting, Derrick had another new experience at Dreamnight.

He sure did try!

All night as we walked around we avoided one area....the bubbles. Our intention was to take him to the bubbles last because we saw WAY too many soaking wet kids running around to do it early. Unfortunately, we waited a bit too late. By the time we got to the bubbles they were turned off and there was no one in sight. Derrick didn't let that ruin his fun though!

Thank goodness he had no idea what he missed out on, because the bubbles were awesome! Next year this probably won't fly. He'll want the real deal.

I really have no idea how this works, but there's something set up on a pole that constantly pours out bubbles.

The bubbles can pile up taller than the kids, and judging from the squeals, laughter, and large crowd, they had a blast making their way through them.

I'd love to know how they do it and what they use. This would be lots of fun in the back yard!

Thankfully, the remnants of the bubbles were enough for this guy. And he ended up getting his pants wet anyway. See why we waited until the end? He ended up having to ride home with no pants!

By the time we left it was almost dark and past bedtime. (Hence the blurry picture.)

We had a GREAT time at Dreamnight! Once again, it was a humbling experience looking around at all of the children and families who were there. There were obviously so many obstacles for many families to overcome to simply come to the zoo, and here we were chasing our "chronically ill" child around struggling to keep up with him. It was a big reminder for me that when I get caught up in the 'what ifs' and the moments when I really, really wish Derrick was a "normal" child, that I don't have to look very far to see someone who has it WAY worse. We were able to chase our child around the zoo. He played in the bubbles, he danced and hula hooped, he ate and he laughed...all incredible blessings that we sometimes take for granted. I know He knows that sometimes we need that little knock back into reality. Not necessarily the reality of there being something wrong with our child, but the reality that there are so many things that are just right.

We Took the Plunge

2011-06-10T11:57:00.000-04:00

These two were concerned

that we didn't have a way to spend our summer doing lots of fun things since there are two of them now.

So they got together and convinced us that they needed a new ride.

We took the plunge and came home with this bad boy.

D was so excited he could barely control himself.

He's excited to get going

and as you can tell, so is Jenny Kate!

Wordless Wednesday....More Fun the Second Time Around!

2011-06-08T00:08:00.000-04:00

Whew!

2011-06-06T17:07:00.000-04:00

I have to admit, this whole two-baby-thing is much tougher than I imagined it would be!

I've forgotten how difficult it is to function on 3 1/2 hours of sleep.

I had no idea what it was like for a baby to actually want to eat. This girl goes from sleeping to screaming in a tenth of a second. And she's NOT patient while you're getting her bottle! That should have been done ten minutes ago in her mind. :)

I never thought about how difficult it may be to try to go somewhere alone. Somewhere as simple as the post office. I had to mail a BraveHEART Basket today. The boxes we mail them in are kind of large. I thought the drive-thru post office was closed (because I wasn't going down the street far enough, duh!) and couldn't figure out how on earth I was going to mail this box and take both of the kids inside the post office with me. I'll admit, I had a mini-meltdown in the car, then I told D we were going home to get his shoes (yes, I took him without shoes because we weren't getting out of the car!) and then going to the post office. I told him he had to be a big boy and walk inside ~~holding on to~~ helping me "carry" Jenny Kate's car seat. I figured it would end in sweat and tears but I was pleasantly surprised. Derrick walked like a big boy and other than a few pitiful looks from strangers...their eyes saying, "Bless your heart," we made it. I have a teensy bit more confidence that I can do this. I think I can, I think I can!

I didn't realize how much I was used to going out doing whatever I wanted to do. I miss heading to Target just to browse around! Life with one child was easy...two, not so much. Not yet anyway. I know it will get easier and to speed things up, I'm going to learn how to use this Moby wrap that my friend Neysa sent me. Putting two kids in the cart doesn't leave any room for the fun part of Target (or the grocery store)! I will conquer this. I will.

I have no idea how people with three and four children young children function. Especially if they don't look like walking zombies. The other night we were at the zoo (more on that soon) with Derrick. We walked by a lady and she looked at D, smiled at me, and said, "You look tired!" Seriously?! Thanks lady.

I know things will get easier. I know this is just a season and that before long I'll look back at think, how did my babies grow up so quickly? I'm enjoying it, I really am. And I wouldn't trade a single minute for anything. Even an extra hour of sleep!

Yes, I need to clean my oven door and my child, but I thought this face was too cute not to share!

And this one too! :)