The worst experience of my life....

I feel like I can say that i have been through quite a bit in my life, but nothing that has happened to me can compare to watching your children suffer. As long as it is me who is going through things I feel as though I am somewhat in control, however these last 3 weeks we have felt helpless.

It started November 7 when Kinson came home from school running 102.5 fever and just wanted to be held. It continued all weekend with the addition of a terrible cough. We had to wait until Monday to see his dr because when he has respiratory issues I will only see his dr because of his history. Diagnosis: something viral...they always do bloodwork on him also because of his repeated history. So we went home with precautionary antibiotics and additional breathing treatments on top of his normal treatments. This continued until Thursday when I spent all night with him running 103-104 temps so we called back and got him seen again. Well as soon as we got there I started panicing when the nurse looked at me and said how long has he been breathing that way. I told her a few days and it is getting much more rapid and labored. She ran to get the dr and the pulse oxygen meter to check his levels. He was only registering 90 so they proceeded to do test which showed RSV+. Well initially I thought no big deal because he has had it 2 times last year. They did a treatment and the dr listened and just gave me look and asked which hospital we wanted to go to. This was the beginning of what turned out to be a 11 day hospital stay with not just 1 kid but the next day Cohen got tested and she was positive also!! Luckily they got to share a room but what an adventure. Kinson ended up with double pneumonia and Cohen had pneumonia in her right upper lobe.

They had to stay under these mist tents as much as possible which was easy when they felt bad but after 4 days Kinson started becoming WILD (thanks to the steroids) and it became difficult to keep him in bed and if he got up he had IV wires and an oxygen sensor on his foot. CRAZY!! Luckily he got to go home Tuesday after 5 days. However it hit Cohen pretty hard. She couldnt keep her oxygen levels above 85 without oxygen and even then they kept having to turn it up. Finally the following Monday she made it 18 hours without oxygen and she was discharged.

Oh what a wonderful morning when we all got under our roof at home. So needless to say we had sooo much to be thankful for on Thanksgiving and it was nice to just be the 4 of us that day (thay couldnt be around too many people yet.)

Here are a few pics of Cohen, I didnt get any of Kinson because I did not want to disturb him when he finally got under the tent.

They have both received clean bills of health right now but we will continue breathing treatments for awhile and have to be very cautious of early signs of respiratory illness. We are so thankful for all the prayers, phone calls, meals, and thoughts that everyone provided.

Doesn't he just look mischievious!!

I love to take pictures but I haven't had time to upload and edit in a long time, so here a few are as I am trying to still learn my new software!

Big Brother

It started off too good to be true...Kinson would be really sweet to "Baby", but how quickly things have changed! Cohen can not be put in the swing at all if Kinson is home, he thinks that it is for him and he climbs in it and swings it side to side screaming "weeee!" The bouncy seat must require supervision, he thinks he needs to demonstrate his strength as he picks it up and tumps it over. As far as just sitting and holding her, out of the question! He will just climb up in your lap and sit on her!

He does have his nicer moments (or as Kinson says in his most Southern accent "Ni-ice") he hates to hear her cry and runs to get her paci and proceeds to shove in her mouth and when she wont take it he puts it in his mouth, the same with her bottle, he thinks he should taste it to make sure it is safe for her! His cutest moment that I am sure he learned at school is when you tell him "baby is sleeping", he will look at you and put his finger up his nose and say "SHHHH!" I dont think he really knows what "SHHH!" really means!!

This is Bear's favorite picture as he says it captures Kinson's mind scheming and Cohen sitting in fear of what is to come!!

Cohen's First Halloween

She didnt go trick or treating with us, Nana came over to give out candy and watch her while Kinson had all the fun. But we did take her to Kinson's Halloween lunch at school....while she looked cute she really was into sleeping!

Special Delivery!!

Kinson has so much fun this year for Halloween! At first he had no idea why we actually letting him go up to people's door but he finally got the hang of it. He wouldnt let people put candt in his pumpkin, he had to do it, and then it would sit and want to dump out all the candy and take inventory!! We only made it around the block but it took over an hour and he had plenty of candy and fun!

Introducing....

Cohen Marie Smith, born Sunday, October 19, 2008. She weighed 7lbs, 10oz, 19.5" long.


This is the oh-so-excited "Big Brother!" He really hasn't got all into anything other than pointing and saying "Baby" but that is better than being mad!

Nothing new going on

Well here it is OCTOBER, the month we have been waiting on and didnt think we would make it to. And guess what, Cohen is at a stand still! I have been dilated 3 cm the last week and half and got off the medicine last week and NOTHING!! No more contractions, pain, nothing! My dr is out of town so I am seeing the nurse practitioner and I was really hoping that I would make enough progress to make her schedule my section earlier with another dr! But now Cohen has gotten comfortable and wants to hang out! I go back Monday hoping to hear some progress has been made if not we have scheduled the C-section for October 22 (yes it changed) at 7:00am!

If you can believe it things with Kinson has calmed down a bit too, of course we have been on medicine until yesterday....so anyday now we will be back at the dr! He has been getting in a little trouble at school, he has started wrestling and pinning down the other kids in his class. He is not trying to hurt them, he thinks it is hilarious. Just Monday he started pinning them down and KISSING them! He is starting young!

I never update yall on Bear, but he does have some exciting news....he has signed up for The Mississippi Blues Half-Marathon in January. He is very excited as well as the rest of us as we support him through his training. He is very dedicated so we know he will finish without a problem! Good Luck Papa!

Latest Updates

You think that a woman on bedrest could at least update her bog...well I got put on modified bedrest! Which means I can get up and do normal things just try and take it easy. Tomorrow was our goal date of 36 weeks and it looks like we will make it! I will be able to go off the medicine on Monday and from there it will just be a waiting game. We did get some disappointing news....I have to wait until Oct 21st for my c-section unless she arrrives on her own earlier. Apparently my dr is going to be out of town everyday in Oct except the 21-22, so i am scheduled the first one on the 21st. We were hoping for a little earlier but I know she cant stay in there forever!

Now to my other sick one, yes we went back to the dr last week with fever and congestion after being off antibiotics 4 days. Well they sent us to Baptist and did a CT of his sinuses which showed a severe bacterial infection in all 4 sinus cavities as well as blocked. We were relieved that they found something...at least they dont think that we are crazy drug-seekers! The new plan is a 21 day round of Vantin, nose sprays, decongestant, bronchodialators, and steroids in hopes to kill the bacteria. After the meds are finished he will get off of everything for a week then repeat the CT scan to see if the bacteria has cleared up or is reappearing. If it has not cleared up we will proceed with sinus irrigation and possible adenoid removal. I know I never would want Kinson to have to have surgery but from everybody we have spoken to the surgery seems to be the best option as far as long term. So in a way if the meds don't work it is ok with us. We are only hesitant because all of this should happen about the time of Cohen's big arrival. She isn't even in the world yet and they are already fighting for attention!

I have no new pics because the camera is packed in Bear's hospital bag considering our frequent trips there....he is the only one packed and ready to go (you think that i would learn my lesson!)

Hospital stay...again, however

this time it was for ME!! I finally called my dr Tuesday after Bear had been encouraging me to call since I started feeling contractions on Friday. They kept coming and going and were never really consistent...plus I was only 33 weeks, she wasn't ready. So it was much to my surprise when they hooked me up to the monitor and i was having contactions every 2 mins!! And even more surprising, i was already dialated 2 cm (I didnt even get that far after 12 hours with Kinson!) So it was a mad dash to get every scenario prepared for. I was started with 3 Terbutaline shots that shot my Heartrate up to >150 so thay had to spread it out further than they would like. Then they hooked me up to the magnesium sulfate pump and gave me shots of steroids to help develop Cohen's lungs in case she was to show up. We stayed through the night and the contractions slowed to every 8 mins but dialation had not progressed so they took me off the pump and started me on Procardia. It didn't change or decrease anything just maintained the contractions. So now we are home and on strict bedrest until she shows up....our goal is at least 2 wks so she can be 36 weeks. We go back to the dr Monday hoping to find nothing alarming or any further progress. I am just so sad because this weekend is my 10 year class reunion! Maybe we will sneak off and go to just Saturday night and stay seated the whole time....that can't hurt too much, can it?

What do you get when the dr says you are healthy?

A trip to Gattitown!!! Yes that is right, Kinson finally got a clean bill of health Friday! Lungs seemed clear, no congestion, fever, etc. Thank you to everybody for all of their support and prayers through his illness. But needless to say that after 2 weeks of seeing only our house, the dr office, or the hospital, he was STIR CRAZY!! He still has to continue with breathing treatments at least until December when he will start further testing to determine allergies, triggers, etc. But we are still guarded because his trend is to be well for about 2 weeks and fall into this rut again, but hopefully we are on top of it!

Here is is hanging out in the cartoon room!

He loved the bulldozer!

He attempted to play ski-ball, but he decided he just wanted to climb up the ramp and put the balls in the holes himself!!

What about our new bundle of joy?

I had my 32 week check up Thursday which of course is everything but normal. I have had lots of tests run throughout this pregnancy and one showed that she would be a greater risk for a heart arrhythmia at birth....after researching the chances are 50% but 90% that if she does have it that it will resolve on its own within 10 days of birth. So it is good to know to be prepared but hopefully nothing too alarming. She and I are right on track with measurements s (which is a first). So the after speaking with the dr she feels like the longer she cooks it will greatly decrease the risk of any other complications so that if need be her heart will be the main focus. So we decide Oct 12 is the earliest possible day (38wks 2days), well guess what...she is out of town from the 9-19!! The earliest she can do it is Oct 21...3 days before my due date!!! We didnt schedule anything yet because she gave me some things to think about and we are weighing the options to schedule with another dr on the 12, bedrest from the 12-21st to possibly delay labor until she returns, or just continue with life as is and if she hasnt arrived by the 21st just do it then.
After everything going on with Kinson and realizing he was 4 weeks early it can't help but cross our mind that all of his respiratory issues are due to his prematurity. So in my mind I would like her to stay put to develop as much as possible however if I listen to my body, I want to schedule with whoever will do it the earliest!!

Does this look like a sick kid?

This is Kinson on Saturday, the day after a stay at UMC that included a round of IV antibiotics. He goes through spurts of feeling GREAT and WILD to feeling TERRIBLE and PUNY!! This is one of the good moments.

To catch everybody up Kinson woke up Friday morning throwing up, labored breathing, and fever of almost 103. After 2 rounds of his breathing treatments his respirations had not improved so off to the ER we went. UMC was wonderful! The dr was very thorough especially concerned with the progressive severity of his attacks. Our poor little boy had every test run on him one which included a catheter. Needless to say we had to let the nurses take him to do all these tests without us because he usually does better without us. By time we got him back he was exhausted and had a cast applied to protect the IV. He fell straight to sleep so he was put in his own little crib where he slept and got his antibiotic. He did perfect until it was time to take it off and then he just was so confused about where we were. The test results showed that his WBC went from 4700 on Monday to 20000. It definitely indicated a bacterial infection however the source was unknown. So he was treated as aggressively as they could for a bloodstream infection. they released us to return to our regular ped that afternoon where he explained that this is something completely new and different than what they had been treating. The first 3 weeks of illness was viral based on his WBC and now it had moved to bacterial. He was to return Saturday morning for repeat bloodwork along with another round of antibiotics.
Saturday: Kinson wakes up WILD!!! A completely different child and his tests explained why. His WBC dropped to 12000 overnight (low-end of infection range)!!! So we got to forgo the IV!!! Just a new antibiotic that hopefully will help.
To summarize what they think is going on is possibly a lower immune system dealing with his lungs due to asthma and allergies. Which is what we knew for the last couple of months but now is getting serious enough that we will be trying to limit exposure to possible triggers and possibly immune deficiency testing. So the saga continues.....

Poor kid...he is soooo tired of being at home and so tired of me and Bear, however he still can not return to school this week and we will follow up Friday to lay out the next weeks plan.

How do you keep an 18 month old at home...

for a whole week maybe longer? Yes Kinson is on isolation this week until we return to the dr on Friday. He has a viral form of pneumonia that must be pretty contagious for the dr to give us strict instructions to get comfortable at home! They also finally gave him the definite diagnosis of asthma. In the past he was classified as a "wheezer" in hopes that he would outgrow this. But after looking at Kinson's records from June 28 until today there were only 10 days that he was not on an antibiotic and since birth there are multiple documented periods of bronchitis and 2 cases of RSV.
So now it is official and the new medicine regimen is pretty aggressive for the next 2 weeks and then it will gradually taper off to a preventative daily regimen. But me and Bear were a little concerned when we heard what the next two weeks will consist of: 2 breathing tx of steroids, 4 breathing tx of bronchodialators, 2 doses of oral steroids, a dose of a new allergy medicine, along with antibiotics twice a day! This is what is going into our 26lb little boy each day! We did question all the medicine and the only one that is optional is the antibiotic because it is viral and we had been on multiple ones for the last 2 months!
So we are now on the path to get better and what is the most exciting is maybe having a preventative regimen in place. The dr did speak to us already regarding him being tested after his birthday for specific allergies and possibility of shots. He also was excited to put Kinson as the first person on the list for the flu vaccine! So even if there is a shortage Kinson is covered!!

With all this being said, if anybody feels the urge to expose themselves to everything we have harboring in our home Kinson would love to see other faces besides me and Bear's. No I am really just kidding!

Another Sick Post :(

Yes Kinson is sick again--and we havent even finished the first round of antibiotics we got last week! Daycare called early Friday morning to tell us that Kinson had almost 102 degree fever (does it look bad that they are calling us at 9:00 and we just dropped him off at 7:30 and didn't notice a fever?) Bear went and picked him up and it really made him see how much they really care for Kinson--they were trying to get him to eat or drink something and just babying him until we got there. I called the nurse at the dr's office because he was still on antibiotics for his URI. She is always real nice and called me back concerned that his fever was so high while on ABT, so she wanted to speak with the dr and get back with us. After it was all said and done they decided his meds weren't strong enough for whatever bacterial infection he had. So straight to a new med with lots of precautions to watch for because he had never had this before and it could have lots of side-effects. He slept for 3 hours Friday afternoon woke up long enough for some toast and then cuddled up on the couch and was asleep by 6:15! At about 8:00 we went to check on him and he was on fire-- taking temp on him is an ordeal so it is never accurate but it hit 103 and was still rising when he started throwing a fit. Of course who do you call on a Friday night?! So we sat with him as he slept and whined and he finally woke up long enough to get some fluids, get his stuffed animals, and take us to his room to tell us he wanted back in his bed (he loves his bed!) We are blessed that he is a better sleeper than usual while he is sick so we got up periodically to check on him and his fever seemed to break around 3am.

Saturday he just wasnt himself and had a slight fever that broke during his 4 hour nap! Then he woke up coughing uncontrollably and this has led to throwing up in the past so we have not been able to leave the house. Now it is Sunday morning and he has been sleep for 1.5 hrs and coughing, coughing, coughing. I guess we are just soooo frustrated! He has not been well for a month straight since he was 4 wks old. As soon as he finishes a round of ABT with 2-3 weeks something new is going on. We have been discussing all morning what we should do with him because he can't got to school in the state that he is in, but he isn't scheduled to return to the dr until Friday! Oh well I guess I just need to vent because all I can think about is cohen arriving in the next 6 weeks being exposed to all of this and then it will be 2 sick kids!!

Sweet, sweet friends!

Last weekend was my baby shower for Cohen. Yes I know that some disagree with a shower for the second child but all I can say is that I have some of the GREATEST friends. My mom's "Beach Bunnies" were kind enough to throw a brunch Saturday morning for my closest friends. They are always such a fun group to be around and they have been a wonderful support group for my mom and me through the years! I will say that this one was a little more fun than the one I had for Kinson. Not sure because it was girly stuff or just that it was sooo cute. My first shower was very practical (definitely what I needed at the time), but this one was just for adorable, cute stuff for Cohen to play dress-up in! However, it will take some time for me to adjust to this cutesy attitude!

Now I just need to get the nursery started so all this stuff will have somewhere to go!

Happy Early Birthday to Me!!

It came a week early but my birthday present from Bear and Kinson got here Wednesday. I have been looking for a certain type of breakfast table for the last couple of weeks (really years, but it has taken this long for Bear to agree to get rid of his bachelor table!) I could find chairs at one store or a table at another that didnt go with the chairs, etc. Finally last weekend we went shopping and within 15 minutes I selected and purchased the PERFECT set and it was reasonable--always a plus!!

Excuse the towel, we are still trying to figure out how to get the straps to the booster seat to fit correctly on the chair!

Still at Work so I fugured that I would update!

It is always a crazy day in the medical field when a member from the State Health Department shows up at your work. Well they decided to show up today at 8:00am and they are still here. Department heads are to stay until they leave, so here I sit-- up-to-date on every piece of paperwork I can find, gone to every website that I usually waste time on, and if you have ever been to the VA nursing home than you know that it is best to stay couped up in your office rather than look available on the halls until they leave!! So I decided that I needed to update the last week:

Kinson had a terrible upper respiratory and sinus infection last week that they think is all triggered by his allergies. He has been on Zyrtec for 6 months now but they just added Singulair to the mix so we are trying to see if this helps. We still arent sure what he is really "allergic" to because they don't want to do any testing until he is 2, because they think that most are outgrown by this point. By Sunday we finally began to see the real Kinson come back. And actually the last couple of days he has been an angel...we will see how long this lasts!!
I passed my Gestational Diabetes test on Tuesday!! For those who dont live close, Tuesday we had a terrible storm and the dr's office I was at lost power 55 min after the test started. Wellthe test consists of fasting 12 hours prior to the test, taking your blood sugar, drink a bottle of glucola (sweet syrup water) and test every hour for 3 hours! Well I freaked when the power went out because the meter ran off electricity and I did not want to start over. Well finally oneof the technicians decided they could draw vialsof blood and store it to be tested later, so that is what they did-- drew blood in the dark from my poor little arm that was already bruised from tests earlier in the week. I really didnt mind that she missed a few times just because I didnt want to do it again! Well needless to say I passed the final hour by 1 POINT!!! Yay me! They did suggest a few diet modifications so nothing too bad.

I still need to update on my baby shower but soon as I get the pics I want to show everyone what SUPER SWEET friends I have!!

What a wonderful weekend....

and then we had to come home! Bear and I had a great time in New Orleans....we went to the Aquarium, French Quarter/Market, Jax Square, and all up and down the streets of downtown! I will say that being pregnant did put a damper on indulging in all of the fun but we still had fun. That is until we got home.

We get a phone call from Nana while we were in McComb on our way home asking if we had anything to give Kinson because he was coughing...enough that he could not nap. Well by time we got home he had gotten a fever and was just plain grumpy. We tried to get him to nap so we resorted to strapping him in the carseat and took off. Not 5 miles away from home he starts throwing up everywhere. Well we stopped at a gas station, stripped him down, and cleaned him up. We then broke the law and let him lay in my lap on the backseat until we got home, his fever was up to 102. At least he fell asleep! So this morning I went to work super early trying to squeeze in as many patients as possible before I could call the dr. Well the only appt was at 9:40 so I got back home around 9:15 to leave and had to change his clothes....well he HATES his clothes being changed. He started throwing a fit and ended up slamming his eye into the corner of his toy box! I didnt notice until we got in the car how bad it was....I am sure the dr thinks we beat him!

Here are a few pics of the black eye (if you can see it) but sorry no pics of New Orleans!

This is what Kinson does when we say "cheese" so it has become his CHEESEFACE and he loves to do it even when there is no camera!

I failed!!!

My gestational diabetes test that is!! So that means I have to do the long 3 hour test on Tuesday :( The good news we got today was that little Miss Cohen has caught up and surpassed her estimated due date! 3 weeks ago I was measuring 2 weeks behind...well today I am measuring 1.5 weeks AHEAD!! She weighs 3lbs 5oz and was LONG (her height was measuring 32 weeks...I am only 29 weeks!). Still keeping my weight in check, I am up about 10lbs, not where they would like it but the baby is doing great so they didnt say too much about it right now. As far as all the other tests that had to do, we will not find out anything until next week to see what it means for me, obviously itis not affecting her :)

I am also excited because tomorrow me and Bear are leaving for New Orleans for the weekend. Bear accumulated 50000 Marriot points while he traveled for those 8 months at KPMG so we booked a very nice room that we would have otherwise never have splurged on. We are guessing that this might be our last kid-free vacation for awhile. Nana is coming over to "watch" Kinson while we are gone. I am sure he will get whatever he wants for 2 straight days!

Little Baby Cohen

I have made it to the third trimester with my fair share of complications. But hopefully these last 9-10 weeks will be tolerable and FAST!! Even though I am no where near prepared! We go back to the dr Thursday to get her measurements to see if she has grown to an appropriate size...I have been measuring 2 weeks behind at my visits so we will see. If everything looks ok and because of my history they hope to do section at 37 weeks, but it will all be based on her size. Also I thought I have had what the drs thought was the "pregnancy rash" to my upper arms, which I also had while pregnant with Kinson, but they finally did a skin biopsy last week and it shows a little more. So I will also be having some more tests run because of that this week too. So needless to say i would like just to have a routine visit just once and if possible a routine delivery, but I guess that would just be too easy!! I will definitely update when we ge done Thursday!

Kitty Rowdy

A couple of years ago I decided that i wanted a cat (this was way before I though I wanted kids so soon). Well if you can believe it CARA denied me to adopt a cat!! They said that I had already adopted a dog (Sunny) from them and they did not feel that she was appropriate to have cats around her. Well that did not stop me. I was traveling back and forth to Kosciusko at the time, and the PTA up there kept telling me her cat had kittens and something kept getting them in her barn. Well that was all it took for me to say please bring me one. Well of course a wild, barn kitten that was only 4 weeks old would have every imaginable disease possible. We bathed him daily and had to feed him with syringes and give him medicine daily. And years later I just love that cat.....Bear on the other hand says he does not share my feelings but I have caught him cuddling with the cat when he is napping on our bed!

Rowdy is the cats name and boy is it appropriate! He brings us presents on a weekly sometime daily basis. He can catch anything that runs! However the one thing he will not run from or harm is Kinson. Kinson loves his "tat!" Rowdy will be curled up at the window or on a chair when Kinson decides he will make his move. But Rowdy lets him! Now he will meow but he never tries to scratch or runaway when he gets free, he just lets Kinson jump on him again! This is why Bear thinks that the cat is dumb! This is what it looked like last Saturday morning!

Cabinets and Tupperware!

How many times a day can I clean up Tupperware in 1 day? Well the answer is yet to be determined....we are up to at least 10!! This is what my kitchen looks like at least 10 times a day.

Kinson loves the idea of pulling ALL of the Tupperware out of the drawer and then getting in the drawer himself. The idea that it might be fun to put all of the tupperware back IN the drawer has never crossed his mind.

This is his other favorite thing to do....

This is in the cabinet in my vanity in our bathroom. Notice that the cabinet is empty...he did that months ago. Now he likes to just get in there and sit in the mornings while we are getting dressed.


Thanks to all you mommas who responded to my discipline dilema. Lots of you ladies like wooden spoons! I did buy some the other day at Target but Bear has only used them to bang and make loud noises on the counter...that has scared him for the time being!! I got lots of good suggestions and realized that whatever route we choose we just need to be consistent.

Calling all moms...I need help!!

Kinson is going to be the death of me! I know that he is all boy and into everything but there has to be a point where it is not funny or cute anymore...just plain BAD!!! He has started to throw temper tantrums EVERYWHERE! He screams to get out of his high chair, you get him out he screams to get back in...yesterday he pulled it over on top of him and gave him a HUGE bruise on his head. He throws himself out of buggies at stores, screams when getting in the carseat, when we change him, bathe him, etc. I have heard that many people spank and I just don't understand that because either he laughs at us or it just makes the situation worse. So we have tried timeouts because they use the "Sad spot" at school, but how the heck do you get a 17 month old to sit still/down? He just either throws himself out screaming or gets up and runs off!

I know this is just a "stage" but I hate to think that we can't go anywhere these last few months before the new baby gets here because he will act so out of control. I also am thankful that this is starting before Cohen arrives so I know it is not because of her (but I guess it could still get worse when she gets here)! But I guess my question is what has worked for yall in the discipline department? You can email me if you dont want to leave a comment: brandy_trebotich@hotmail.com

Sorry for the lack of pictures lately...as you have read, i don't really have a free hand to take pics!!

Just a bunch of Thoughts

I realized today that I have not officially announced the name of our new daughter. We have decided that her name will be Cohen Marie Smith. Of course it is different and people look at me funny when I tell them--you either love it or hate it. It is the same way with Kinson's name. But growing up with an unusual last name--Trebotich-- I have to love the fact that you are instantly recognized. Well with the last name Smith....I don't even have to say anything else.

I also need to congratulate The Crawfords (http://tkcrawford.blogspot.com) on the arrival of their little boy Cole Harrison today. I do not know all the details yet but we can't wait to meet him.

And I need to welcome one of my bestest friends from high school--Bo Maurer-- to the blogging world!! I am fortunate to be going through this pregancy at the same time as her so we can complain together :) Check her cute family out!

Happy Father's Day!!!

We had the best Father's Day this year. Bear is very deserving of a day to himself as he is a a better "papa" than I could have ever hoped for. He has pulled his fair share of getting up in the middle of the night, diaper changes, babysitting, all while still being the best husband I could ask for. I can't thank God enough for bringing him into my life.





We started out the day with breakfast at Joe's Diner, it is very small-town and Bear knows that I just love the ideas of "regulars" and the waitresses already knowing what you want. Then we took my Daddy and Kinson to the zoo. Kinson has never been to the zoo and my dad says he hasn't been in probably 20 years. I think that they both enjoyed it!

Kinson called every animal "dog!!"

We even rode the train and we had it all to ourselves! Kinson was exhausted by time we got on it and he fell asleep before we even were halfway through!

It only took 7 days....

before I got my first phone call from school!

I looked down at my phone and see that Kinson's school is calling. For some reason I didn't panic. I heard Miss Angie on the other end telling me that she was calling to let me know that Kinson had gotten into a fight at school and had been scratched. My first response was like "Ok, that is pretty normal", but then I realized that I should probably sound concerned, so I asked if he and the other child were fine and she said yes. She said that it is policy that they call if the children's injuries are a result from another child and that they do not encourage this behavior. So we ended the conversation after knowing he was fine and I would pick him up as normal.

Well I called Bear on my way to pick him up and I told him what I had understood had happened. We both felt as though kids would be kids and things like this would happen, but of course we did not want our child known as the bully of the school. Well I told Bear that this was definitely a Father/Son moment and he could address it.

I don't know if I didn't hear Miss Angie right or just didn't understand what happened, but when I got to his classroom she was holding him and giving him extra attention. Well after seeing him I understood why. Kinson not only got into a fight but got his first butt kickin! She was very concerned that I would be upset about his scratches but again I really wasn't. She told me that they were coming in from recess and another child pushed him down and tried to take away the toy and the other child's behavior was addressed appropriately. I told her that I understood that things happen and he would survive. She never told me which child it was and I didn't ask...I didn't want to hear that it could have been a girl!!

Kinson might look a little rough but he has a had a rough 2 weeks and I will try and update everyone soon on all of his mishaps, but here are the latest war wounds!

I do want to add again that Bear and I were/are not upset in the fact that Kinson got hurt at school (lord knows how much he has gotten hurt under our watch) because we know very well that we could have easily had the child that did the instigating and that it is not a reflection of anything he has been taught or wasn't receiving proper care. It is just that his classroom is filled with 12 energetic, curious toddlers and kids will be kids!!

pictures from first day

This was when he didn't know any better and he thought he was headed to Kathy's!!

Days 2 & 3

I get a phone call from Bear Tuesday morning and all I hear is "It was worse!" Yes, the second morning of school was TERRIBLE!!! He said he threw himself on the floor and screamed! Bear said that he just turned around and left, that was all that he could do. We knew that it would be tough and hard, but not this bad! I left to try and pick him up by 3:00, his morning teacher leaves at 3, so I could ask how it went. I got there and peeked in the window and he was just hugging and kissing all over Ms Angie!! He was having so much fun!! The teachers said that they all fight over him because he loves to give hugs and kisses!! Needless to say I felt much better!!
Day 3-- Bear called and said that the drop off went better, but there were still tears, but better! He was having a blast when I went to pick him up this afternoon, so it is definitely looking promising!!

I will get some picture up as soon as I can of his first day of school!!

First Day of "School"

You might remember me posting that we had gotten "THE" call from Hope Learning Center. Well initially it was for a spot in August, but she called in May and offered us a spot in June. I did not know what to do, but after talking to Kathy and Bear about it we decided that he would love a summer with playtime outside and that he was ready to make the change.

Friday we had to say our tearful goodbye to the oh-so wonderful Mrs. Kathy. I can not say enough good things about her and how she has made Kinson a better child in his first 15 months of life. We love her so much that we made sure that we have a spot for our little girl!!

I dreaded today all weekend and I think that Kinson sensed it. Bear and I decided to take him together in fear that if he cried we would need the support of each other to ensure that we left him there and did not put him back into the car and drive to Kathy's!! As soon as we pulled up he looked up at me and said "ome" (home!) and I said No we werent home. And then the tears began to fall, the cries got louder, and his grip around Bear's neck only got tighter! We met sweet Miss Kirby who was telling us about what his day would be like and I was giving her my list of details about Kinson. This whole time Kinson was just crying and crying! Finally after about 10 minutes she said that some parents just run in and drop them off and it makes it a little easier. I guess that was my hint that he was never going to quit crying as long as I was still there. Bear had already walked outside and I followed him and then the tears began to fall harder...only this time they were MINE!!! I cried all the way to work, not because I thought he wasn't cared for, but because he didn't understand what was going on. I made Bear call him only 1 time during the day (I couldn't in fear of crying on the phone.) Please tell me that I am not the only one!

Some days I come home before I go pick up Kinson and clean up a little or just have a little "mommy" time, but by 2:00 I had all that I could take. I left work and went and picked him up. As soon as he saw me he started crying and running to me! Don't you just love that?! He did look as though he had a blast throughout the day. His "report card" said he did great and he colored me a purple picture. The teachers said that he did fine and he took a 2 1/2 hour nap!!

Now that the trauma of the first day is over, it makes me only dread tomorrow worse. He will know where we are going as soon as we get in the car. But this is why I make Bear take him, so I can look like the hero when I come and pick him up! I will keep yall updated!

Boy was I wrong!

I would have bet money that I knew exactly what gender baby was developing inside of me and I was already calling the baby a "he." Well I guess I was WRONG!! We are definitely having a GIRL!!! Bear couldn't be more excited that he will get a daddy's little girl. I think that I was in shock that I was wrong but I am definitely excited. I have walked through many of stores longing to walk over to the soo soo cute girls clothes and have someone to buy for, and now I get to. Watch out!!

Uh-oh!!

There are times when I definitely wish that I would have picked a different profession since becoming a mommy because I feel like I know way too much about development and milestones and disorders, etc. (Seriously though I absolutely LOVE my job!!) You name it and I will analyze Kinson in everyway. So lately it has been language and oral development. We all know that boys are slower in language than girls, but it seemed as though Kinson was further behind than normal. The only thing he would say was "iga", which is Tiger. But he is very receptive and will run to whatever we say or ask him if he wants anything. Well this past weekend he learned 2 new words!!! He would throw his sippy cup down and look at me and say "Uh-Oh!" over and over again. Everything he did, fall down, the cat went under the bed, it was "uh-oh!"

Then of course our next word would be to call his "best friend." From the day that he could see 5 feet in front of him he has been fixated with her. So it is only appropriate that he say "dog" next!! As much as me and Sunny don't get along, she has been the best friend my child has had. She is very playful and protective of him. They could spend hours chasing each other around the living room. This is Kinson and his best friend!!

Finally!!

As some of you know, my child has become the PICKIEST eater and it is so difficult. When I say picky I don't mean a few dislikes here and there....he will only eat grilled cheese, english peas, and applesauce. Well the dr says not to worry because at least he is eating a fruit and veggie. Well this past weekend I was tired of watching him eat the same thing and wanted to eat as a family, meaning the same meal. So Friday as I was cooking spaghetti sauce, i put some on a spoon straight from the pot and let him try it. It took a moment and then he was pulling on my legs for more. So we put him in the high chair with us and started slowly with just sauce and would add a noodle here and there. By the end of the meal he decided he could feed himself much better without us.....this is the finale!!!

Needless to say he went straight to the bath after this!! He actually ate this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!! (and his reflux didn't act up)

Thanks Granddaddy!

Kinson has loved outside so much that we figured it was time to invest in some of our own "playground" equipment. Well Bear's dad offered to gift some to Kinson. Here are some pictures of the boys putting it together:

Kinson absolutely loves it! He has figured out how to climb up the ladder on his own, but not quite sure about getting down the slide feet first...he tries to go down head-first!