Posted in miscellaneous
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My sister tagged me with this, so here goes... The Rules: 1. All right, here are the rules.
1. Tomorrow is my 29th birthday. Hard to believe I'm almost 30. I still feel 17. 2. I have three boys, all born via C-section. After the first unplanned one, it's been kind of nice to have everything planned out ahead of time and just go into the hospital and have a baby! 3. I am addicted to lattes. My current favorite is Orange Mocha. I also really enjoy Chai lattes and Caramel macchiatos. 4. For the past three years, I have headed up the K4-K5 program at our church. For the past 18 months, I've written my own curriculum for it. 5. I love to act! In high school, I was part of the drama group for my church youth group. While normally an introvert, I loved being up on stage in the spotlight. And my youth group had about 100 teenagers! Haven't done much since then, unless you count leading worship for VBS. 6. I have recently completely cut dairy out of my diet. We found out our youngest is allergic to dairy, so in order to keep nursing him, I've gone to a no dairy diet. 7. In college, I double majored in Sociology and Criminal Justice and really wanted to be forensic pathologist. I love CSI, by the way. 8. My two favorite television shows are Survivor and 24. Jack Bauer rocks!
Okay, I now tag AddieGirl, Prncsstefy, teachingmisssmartypants, Shawna Lee, and Marie. Have fun!
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Posted in Family
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Last Tuesday, we loaded up the whole family in the car and headed to Nashville to visit family and look for a house and job for our upcoming move. While we were able to relax with family some, we spent A LOT of time going in and out of houses, up and down stairs and driving around behind our realtor trying to find said houses. It was exhausting! But Brady has one possible job lead and we have two houses on our list that we really really like! So, Yeah! The trip was good. Here is a photo journey of our trip and all we packed into 4 very busy days!
Brady had to work a half day on Tuesday, so we left at about 1:30pm for our 11 1/2 hour trip. We spent many long hours in our seats. The boys were well-behaved little travellers, including Ethan! The two older boys finally conked out about 10:00. Here is Braden drawing on a travel dry erase board, one of the many activitied packed to keep him entertained. This picture of Benny was actually taken yesterday on the trip home, but it was just too cute. He's pretending to talk on his toy phone and he's pointing out all the pictures in his book to the "person" he's talking too, And Ethan slept a good bit of the trip. He would wake up and nurse and stare at his brothers in the back seat. Wednesday was July 4th and we spent the day with my mom, sister and sister's family. We went ot a cook out and pool party at the house of my sister's friends. It was so much fun! Benny enjoyed the pool, thanks to Annaleigh (my niece) and his new friend Mr. Buck (the owner of the pool).
Braden wouldn't get off the steps of the pool, even with swim floats on, because he's afraid of the pool, but he seemed to enjoy himself anyway. Here he is with my sister's son, Harrison. They're only 8 months apart and best friends.
While Brady and I brought our suits, we opted to stay in the shade with the other adults, including my sister, brother-in-law and mom. The food was excellent and the cabana was great! Here is my mom holding Ethan out of the sun.
Later that evening, we went to see fireworks. We parked the vans along a road and watched the display over the treetops. Braden has, for the last two years, made up stories about the fireworks being Star Wars characters (green ones are Yoda, red are one of the sith, blue either Anakin or Obi-Wan...) and calls them the Jedi Battle. The tradition continued this year and Harrison and Benjamin joined in the fun. The pictures didn't turn out all that great so I'm not posting them here. Thursday we met our realtor and began our house hunt. I don't think I've ever walked up or doen so many sets of stairs in one day. We saw 10 houses and every one had at least one set of stairs, but most had a second set leading into the basement! It was a great work-out! All three boys were with us today and they were very well-behaved and really liked Jeannie, our realtor! SHe was excellent (she bought the boys presents that she gave them on Saturday for "helping" her unlock the houses!) That night we went to a cool Japanese place in downtown Nashville, Ru San's. It's a sushi and seafood place, but it definitely has something for everyone. I tried seaweed salad, thanks to my sister's friend Jay. I also had bacon-wrapped asparagus on a stick (Oh, yum!), a cucmber and crab salad (a first for me since I don't like seafood. It was very good!), and two kinds of sushi: gingered beef and sweet tofu. Everything was excellent. The biggest event of this evening though was that Ethan laughed for the first time. And amazingly, he laughed at Jay, a person he never met until this evening.
Friday found us back on te road looking at houses. Braden opted to stay at home with his cousins, but the two littles were with us. Benjamin enjoyed having most of the attention for the day and really blossomed in personality! After coming home, we got out the $4 Slip-in-Slide my sister had bought and the kids had a ball! The pictures say it all! Braden: Harrison: Benjamin, who only walked down: And finally, the boys going down, very slowly, together: After it got dark, we all munched on some fresh watermelon. This was a first for Benjamin, who truly loved it. Braden just decided to be silly!
Saturday we asked to go back to our two favorite houses for one more look and to show my mom. After seeing us take many, many pictures of prospective houses, Braden asked if he could take some. Here are a few of his efforts (he took over 30 pictures of the one house!) As you can see, some of his subjects were a bit unique!
The self-portrait: I'm thinking it may be time to get Braden his own camera. While his subjects were a bit strange at times, his skill is actually quite good for six. So four exhausting days later, we are home. I have so much laundry, it's sad. Here are the mountains in my hall this morning: So with all of this waiting for my attention, why, you may ask, am I on here writing? Because, I'm trying to escape reality, but I must get back to washing, drying, folding and putting away!
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Posted in Family
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It's been a pretty harrowing week around here. We've had rain, eye appointments, rain, doctor appointments and did I mention the rain? So besides rushing around all over the place, we've been cooped up inside because if it wasn't raining, our yard was still a lake and not very kid-friendly! On top of all of that, Brady has been putting in extra hours at work and doing side jobs. So needless to say, I was a little burnt out! But my wonderful husband blessed me with an evening of "Mom Time" last night! He and our friend Ted took Braden, Benjamin and Ted's daughter Sarah out for ice cream and then to Barnes and Noble to play. Ted's wife, Anna, stayed here with me and we scrapbooked for over 2 HOURS!!! WooHoo! Of course, Ethan had to stay here in order to be fed, but he was pretty easy. I got four single-page lay-outs done for our Disney Album from our trip from over a year ago. Anna was also working on a Disney album so it was lots of fun. Here are Anna and I hard at work. (The last pic was taken after the guys returned!)
On another note, Ethan turned two months old on Wednesday! I can't believe he's already that old! He had his well-check yesterday and weighed in at 12 lbs 9 oz! He also got 4 shots! Poor baby. At two months old, though, he already has high aspirations of being a fireman!
And here's a shot that Braden took of Ethan yesterday! He's pretty stinkin' cute, if I must say so!
Speaking of Braden, we got the rest of our curriculum this week from Rainbow Resource and CDB. One of the things I bought for Braden was a kid's devotional Bible. I've been amazed at how excited he is about a Bible. He's been picking different stories every day and asking me where he can find them and then reading them. Here he is reading Jonah before bed the other night.
And I can't leave Benjamin out of this post. He's been a real handful lately because he's been extraordinarily clumsy. He has two scrapes on his knees from parking lot tumbles, a cut on the back of his head from flipping his chair over during lunch and a bruise on his face from a fall while chasing Braden around the house! I guess this is what I get for having a house full of boys! However, I have come up with some creative ways to channel all of Benjamin's energy. Here he is being my "kitchen helper" and using a child-size rolling pin to annhialate (I mean crush) some crackers for a a recipe for dinner.
So there you have it, our lives over the past few days! Enjoy! |
Posted in grieving
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Almost a week ago a local furniture store caught fire and the resluting inferno claimed the entire store and the lives of nine brave firemen. Brady and I had dropped of our oldest son at VBS and headed over to Barnes and Noble with our younger two, when we noticed a large billowing cloud of smoke. We knew this was no small fire. When we came out just a little over an hour later, the parking lot was coveres in large pieces of ash. We knew this was big, but had no idea we were witnessing history. When we got home, we learned from the news that the Sofa Super Store had caught fire and was completely destroyed. One fireman was reported missing. As the night wore on, more and more news rolled in. We awoke the next morning to the devastating news that nine firemen had perished in the blaze. This disaster has rocked Charleston. The loss of these nine men, the worst loss of firefighters in the line of duty since 9/11, has brought out the best in this community. People have banded together to support the families of the fallen as well as the firemen still here that must face going to work everyday without their brothers. I've been amazed by the outpouring of love and support from the local community and the nation. Brady and I drove by the site of the fire today. The damage was overwhelming. The burnt collapsed building was flanked by wreaths, American flags and various fire department t-shirts. Here are some images from the fire itself as well as the memorial service for the fallen hereos. This was taken after the roof collapsed trapping the nine firemen inside.
Over 150 fire trucks lined up and paraded past the home stations of all nine men and the site of the fire on their way to Friday's memorial service.
One of the more haunting images for me was this of nine flag-draped caskets lined up.
Hundreds of firemen from all over the country and Canada came to Charleston to show their support for the nine fallen firefighters.
And the nine men who gave their lives doing what they loved.
Louis Mulkey Age: 34 Hometown: Summerville Rank: Captain Station: 15 Length of service: 12 years Family: Wife, Lauren Bennett Mulkey How he'll be remembered: It wasn't uncommon to see Mulkey, who coached and mentored children of all ages, head-butting each member of his elementary football teams as they ran out to the field.
Brandon Kenyon Thompson Age: 27. Hometown: Mobile, Ala. Rank: Firefighter. Station: 10. Length of service: 4 years. How he'll be remembered: Brandon Thompson was always looking for a grant to buy a thermal imaging camera for the Pine Ridge Rural Fire Department in Berkeley County, where he volunteered for 11 years and was a captain. Memorials made to the Pine Ridge department in his name will be used for that purpose.
William "Billy" Hutchinson was 48 years old. He was a Captain with 30 years service.
Mark Kelsey was 40 years old. He was an Engineer with 12.5 years service.
James "Earl" Allen Drayton Age: 56 Rank: Firefighter Hometown: Charleston Station: 19 Length of Service: 32 years How he'll be remembered: A low-key, confident man, Drayton passed up promotions in order to remain a rank-and-file firefighter on a station truck. He cooked soul food for the guys at the station. And he was never shy about skirting the department's chain of command when he needed to talk to Fire Chief Rusty Thomas, with whom he'd started his career in the 1970s.
Michael French was 27 years old. He was an Asst. Engineer with 1.5 years service.
Melvin Champaign was 46 years old. He was a Fire Fighter with 2 years service.
Mike Benke Age: 49 Hometown: Charleston RANK: Captain Station: 16 Length of service: 29 years Family: wife, Kim Benke; daughter, Holly Gildea, 30; daughter, Taylor, 14; son, Hunter, 10; grandchildren, Kayla Cofield and Chris Cofield, Jr. How he'll be remembered: Benke was a big fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also liked to take his son fishing, he was a soccer coach, and his nickname around the firehouse was "Cappy."
Bradford "Brad" Baity Hometown: Mocksville, N.C. Rank: Engineer Stations: 16 and 19 Length of service: 9 years How he'll be remembered: As a soft-spoken man with a dry sense of humor who was quick to help others, friends and strangers alike.
I've never met any of these men, but their lives have touched mine so much through their deaths. This post is my small tribute to the memories of nine brave men who gave their lives so honorably. Thank you to them and to all firefighters who risk their lives daily. Please remember the families of these men as well as the Chraleston Fire Depsrtment as they mourn the loss of the fallen nine. If you'd like to read more, please visit www.counton2.com or www.charleston.net
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Posted in Family
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These past few weeks have seen some big ups and downs in our lives. It all started almost two weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon. We had just finished our lunch at Moe's and were waiting for the two older boys to finish up. I nursed Ethan and Brady buckled him back in his carseat. All of a sudden, everything Ethan just ate came back up, forcefully. We were alarmed by how much he vomited, but knew that both of our older boys had occasionally done this. So, probably no big deal. Then it happened again on Monday, right at lunch time. And on Wednesday, and Thursday...Are you seeing a pattern? It was once a day just at lunch time. He also had a rash that came and went. So I started asking questions and doing research. I had come up with a few possibilities. One was a dairy allergy, seeing as how he threw up almost 6 hours after I would have milk to drink. The other was pyloric stenosis. This was worst case scenario and would result in surgery. So having done my homework, I called the pediatrician. We went in in Friday, but our regular doctor was out of town and we saw the guy who was covering her practice for her. While nice, he was rather young and hesitant to make any concrete diagnosis, other than to rule out pyloric stenosis (Thank you, Lord!). In fact, this doctor had never heard of infants reacting to dairy gotten through a mother's milk. I assured him I knew of several people who this had happened to and so he called a colleague and confirmed what I had said. We left that day with a preliminary diagnosis of milk allergy. I was told to cut out milk and keep eating other dairy as usual to see what happens. Then bring Ethan back the following Wednesday for a re-check. Yesterday was our re-check and we saw Katie, our regular nurse practitioner. After hearing all of the details again, she confirmed what Brady and I had already suspected: Ethan has a dairy allergy. He hadn't thrown up at all since Friday (after I cut out milk) until that morning. He vomited on the way to the appointment and I suddenly remembered that I had splurged on some ice cream the night before. So here we are on a road we never thought we'd be on. We're learning all we can about dairy allergies and I'm adjusting my diet accordingly. Right now, I'm switching to soy milk (it's really pretty good!), cutting out creamers, yogurt, ice cream (did I really just say that?!?) and cutting back on cheese. After a while, I'll try one of the above foods to see how Ethan reacts. There is a very good chance he will outgrow this and be able to enjoy all of the dairy products our family enjoys. (We are a HUGE cheese-milk-ice cream-dairy-dairy-dairy family.) So, if you would, keep us in your prayers as we embark on this new journey. (We never know what life is going to throw at us next and what things will come when we choose to become parents!) Also, if you have any experience with dairy allergies, I'd love your advice, knowledge, websites, etc. I'm still pretty clueless! Thanks! Oh and here's a picture of Ethan with his big brothers!  |
Posted in miscellaneous
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Okay, Shawna, I'm really doing this! I am in turn tagging Kellie and anyone else who reads this and wants to join in! 1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nope 2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I think it was when Ethan was born, but I'm so sleep deprived I may be forgetting something! 3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Not really 4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Roast beef 5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes, three wonderful, handsome little boys! 6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Probably 7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Who me? Never! 8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yup! 9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Not on your life! I did one of those seated bungee things once and never again! 10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Currently, Special K chocolate 11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? For the couple of pairs I own that actually tie, not usually 12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Emotionally, yes 13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Blue Bell Cookies and Cream or anything from Marble Slab 14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? eyes 15. RED OR PINK? pink 16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? my weight, but it's getting better! 17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My grandma, especially after giving birth and knowing she's not here to meet my youngest two boys 18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Navy capris and no shoes 19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? a biscuit w/ butter and jelly 20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? blessed silence 21. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Purple mountain majesty 22. FAVORITE SMELLS? coffee, babies fresh from a bath, summer in Charleston (you have to smell it to know what I mean!) 23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? I think it was Brady, but since it was yesterday, the memory is foggy (see previous answer about sleep deprivation) 24. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Of course, though I don't see her nearly often enough anymore 25. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? The Bears play football 26. HAIR COLOR? reddish, blondish brown? 27. EYE COLOR? blue 28. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? yes, but hopefully not much longer 29. FAVORITE FOOD? Japanese steakhouse and mexican 30. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings 31. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Willow 32. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? pink 33. SUMMER OR WINTER? Either 34. HUGS OR KISSES? both 35. FAVORITE DESSERT? cheesecake 36. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge and a Frank Peretti kids' book to see how appropriate it is for Braden 37. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? No mouse pad here 38. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Since 24 and Survivor are both off, I don't watch TV 39. FAVORITE SOUND? My children laughing and rain 40. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? BEATLES! 41. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Arkansas 42. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? scrapbooking 43. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Charleston, SC |
Posted in Family
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For as long as I can remember, Braden has loved to draw. He will color some, but his favorite thing is drawing. He fills pages and pages with pictures. He'll draw just about anything. I've had pictures on the fridge that range from self-portraits to Darth Vader to wild life. Braden asked me the other day what I wanted him to draw. My usual response to this is for him to be creative and draw something from his imagination. But this time, I answered differently. I told him to draw a pre-historic picture, complete with trees, dinosaurs, water. Anything at all from the dinosaur era, but he had to make a whole page. I told him if he did a really good job, I would scan the picture and post it on my blog. So here it is, the finished masterpiece:  I think it's wonderful. And my favorite part: The T-rex with the bones of his latest meal in the background! Yes, I'm the mom of boys!  |
Posted in Family
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I found out recently just how far my dollar will go! While Brady took the boys shopping for Mother's Day, I took Ethan to the Dollar Tree. We wandered around the store, looking at this and that. I had a few dollars cash with me (a very rare thing, if you know me!) and decided I would surprise the older boys with a treat. I headed off to the toy section and found almost immediately the perfect toy! For those of you who have more than one child, you understand the necessity of each child having the same toy. (Now this doesn't always happen, obviously, but there are times when it makes life easier, like say, McDonald's toys.) What I found was a Pirate set. Each set contained an eyepatch, compass (it doesn't work, btw. Brady tested it.), earring, a spyglass and a dagger. This, I knew would be perfect for my pirate-loving boys. So I tossed two sets into the cart and headed to check out. Needless to say, when they returned to the van and found these in their seats, they were thrilled. I waited until the next morning to open the treasures and helped the boys get dressed up. My two sweet boys were instantly transformed into dangerous pirates.    But here's the best part: For only $2, plus tax, I bought an entire day's play time! Once they were decked out, the boys retreated to Benny's room and proceeded to battle each other, defend our house in united battle and altogether perform great acts of piracy for the rest of the day. I had to practically threaten them to come eat their lunch. And Benjamin didn't want to nap until I let him sleep with his dagger. So for those of you who say a dollar can't get you much of anything, I dare you to check out the toy section of Dollar Tree (or another dollar store near you). You may be surprised what you can buy! |
Posted in Family
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I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year. I think it was especially poignant because I was able to celebrate with 3 children, one of them being only 2 weeks old. I am still reveling in the miracle of motherhood with Ethan and that made Mother's Day very special indeed. I was awakened that morning by sounds of Brady and Braden in the kitchen. They made me breakfast (raspberry stuffed french toast with custard sauce: yum!) and brought it to me in bed. When they came in, I was surprised to see Braden and Benjamin already dressed for church. Brady was intent on blessing me in every way! Along with my yummy breakfast, I received homemade cards and my presents: a stamp set I've been wanting, a pack of scrapbook paper and chocolate (from Ethan!) At church that morning, we had Ethan dedicated. It was very special having it be on Mother's Day. Our oldest, Braden, was also dedicated on Mother's Day and I love the significance of giving our children back to God on the day meant to honor my role as their mother. Here is a picture from the ceremony.  After church, we went to a Japanese steakhouse for lunch. I was thrilled. I love Japanese food and especially the fact that you get to take home leftovers! Braden enjoyed the experience much more this time than previous trips. I think it's because I introduced him to the art of drowning your food in white sauce. (I love Japanese white sauce and am on a mission to find a recipe for it. I could eat the stuff in gallons and regularly go through quite a bit while at the steakhouse. Probably a good reason to limit how often we eat there!) Here is Braden with his friend Sarah, whose family joined us for lunch.  Benjamin also enjoyed lunch. He actually used chopsticks to eat his meal. While I think more rice ended up on his chair and shorts, he loved it! He loves rice so this was a great meal for him!  Ethan however, slept through lunch. He had his lunch before we left the church. Apparently being dedicated wears him out!  In all honesty, this was a wonderful day. I thank God that I am blessed with three wonderful, beautiful boys to raise and love. I feel so honored to be called their mom. Not every day is easy and there are days that are downright hard! But I wouldn't trade these boys (the good, the bad or the ugly) for anything. I have an online friend who lost her 11-year-old son to a freak accident on Monday, the day after Mother's Day. It has reminded me that we don't know what the future holds or how long these precious children will be in my care. I don't want to take a single day or moment for granted. I've hugged them all a little tighter this week and thank God they are safe here in my arms. |
Posted in pregnancy
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It's been a week and a day and I still have a hard time grasping the fact that I am the mother of three boys! This last week and a half has been pretty eventful to say the least. Brady took off Thursday, April 26 b/c I had to pre-register at the hospital and I had a final OB appointment and it just wasn't feasible to attempt all of that with Braden AND Benjamin in tow. As it was, Brady and I together had a hard time controlling them. They both knew that their cousins, aunt and Mimi were arriving that night and that Ethan was coming the next day. Their excitement was barely contained! On Friday morning, I was up at 4 am. This was after sleeping for only 2 hours the whole night. I just couldn't settle down knowing I was about to have a baby. We had to be at the hospital at 6 am and we still had a few last minute things to pack. I wanted one more pregnant photo so here it is, the very last picture of me huge!  Upon arriving at the hospital, I was put in the OR recovery room to be prepped for surgery. The C-section was scheduled for 8 am, but there's plenty to do beforehand. I don't think there was a dull moment leading up to the surgery. A few minutes before 8, the nurse walked me down to the OR to get the spinal put in. Unfortunately, they don't allow husbands in the OR until after this procedure is complete, so Brady had to wait. This is probably one of the hardest parts of the surgery for me. I don't like facing things alone and knowing what risks can come with a spinal, it's hard to walk away from my security and trust complete strangers to offer comfort and support. But I was soon blissfully numb from the chest down and Brady was there to hold my hand. Before we knew it, Ethan Joshua could be heard making his first cries in this world. It is the most beautiful sound in the world and I immediately had tears in my eyes knowing he was here, safe and whole. (While I have pictures of the actual procedure, I won't make you endure those!) Once Ethan was wrapped up, they brought him over for me to see and kiss, before he was taken away to be weighed (which came in at a whopping 8 lbs, 8 oz).  Brady, with my permission, left the OR, to go with Ethan to the nursery, where he got to witness his first bath and watch the nurses get him dressed and ready to come see me in recovery. Brady got several good shots of Ethan in the nursery.  Once I was in recovery, they brought Ethan to me and I was able to sit up partially and nurse him right away. It took a minute, but he latched on and nursed like a pro! It wasn't long before we were heading to our room. Brady went to the waiting room and got Braden and Benjamin to bring them in to meet their new brother. They were both super excited and enchanted with Ethan. My mom, sister, niece and nephew soon joined us and everyone wanted a turn holding the new baby. Benjamin got the first turn and when Brady told him his time was up and picked Ethan up, Benjamin started crying and holding his hands out to Ethan. He said, "No! I want to hold my baby!" It was precious! Braden, too, enjoyed holding his new brother and being able to cuddle him.   Brady and I both enjoyed getting some alone time with Ethan to bond and get to know his personality. He's such a relaxed, laid-back baby! He loves being held and cuddled most of all.   We had lots of visitors! At one point we had 15 people in our hospital room, including Brady, Ethan and I. Our boys enjoyed the hospital and had lots of fun. Braden and his cousin Harrison never stopped playing, even when they were at the hospital visiting.  And Benjamin was his usual silly self. Here he is trying on Harrison's flip-flops. Of course, they are on the wrong feet and the toes are not lined up right.  I recovered very well this time around and was hardly using my pain meds at all. By Saturday, I was out of bed and able to shower and walk around. Brady and I took several walks around the L & D floor with Ethan. In no time at all, we were being discharged. I was so glad to be able to come home and sleep in my own bed. We got Ethan dressed and ready to go. Then we just waited for Mom and Kellie to bring the boys to the hospital so we could all ride home together.    We've been home almost a week and life is starting to return to normal. Ethan is such a good baby, sleeping 3-4 hours at a stretch at night. I only have to nurse him once at night and it's such a blessing. He rarely cries and he's adjusting to life at home. The older boys are still fascinated with him and want to hold him and touch him at every opportunity. We are so blessed to have three such wonderful boys! |
Posted in Family
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Okay, I know! Brady has harassed me long enough about not updating my blog. SO here is the long awaited update that includes Easter (almost a month ago!), kindergarten graduation, Box day, and a pregnancy update! I'll start with Easter, since it happened the longest ago. Our church had an egg hunt on Saturday and both boys were so excited to go! Benjamin was in the 0-2 year old category and found 18 eggs.  Braden was in the 6 and up age group and found 47 eggs and won the prize for the boy who found the most eggs. (Shhh, we're not telling him he was the only boy in his age group!)  When we got home, we boiled eggs while Benjamin was napping and then let the boys color and decorate their own Easter eggs. Target sold a Star Wars kit this year and so both boys now own a plastic egg dressed as Darth Vader!   Sunday morning, the boys got up and got their Easter baskets. Each got a puzzle and book and their Easter outfits. Benjamin also got a Play-doh set and a new sword all his own (no more stealing Bubby's swords!). Braden also got a Lego Bionicle and a set of Frog jacks. Because our weather suddenly turned very unseasonably cool, we had to alter Easter outfits slightly by adding pants and jackets, but here are the boys all dressed up!  I was really pleased to see that Braden is truly starting to understand the Easter story and it's meaning this year. I owe a lot of it to his age and maturity. But I also think a lot has to do with the Egermeier's Bible we've been using in school this year. This Bible has done wonders for Braden's understanding. It reads like a story book in children's language, but doesn't leave much of the Bible out. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this Bible with him this year. Speaking of school, we finished up Kindergarten and Sonlight Core K on April 13. Braden is very excited to be an official first grader, even though we won't be starting school again until late July or August. In honor of his accomplishments, I printed off a graduation certificate I found on-line and presented it to him on Friday. On Saturday, we took Braden to a miniature golf course called Blackbeard's Cove. It's a really neat place and both boys enjoyed themselves. Oh and Braden got his first hole-in-one, too! Unfortunately, we weren't prepared with the camera to get a shot of this momentous event! Braden got to pick where we ate lunch on Saturday and he chose TGI Friday's. We had a very enjoyable day and Braden has very fond memories of graduating from kindergarten.    On Wednesday of the following week, we had our Box Day! For those of you who don't homeschool (or don't use Sonlight) you may not understand the significance of Box Day, but it is huge! This is the day the much-loved and much-anticipated Sonlight box arrives from Fed Ex. You may think that a box full of school books could never be exciting, but you are very wrong here. Braden waited all day for the bell to ring and when it finally did, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "MY CURRICULUM IS HERE!!" I happened to be right in the middle of making lunch at the time, so I told him he had to eat all of his lunch before we could open the box. I have never seen Braden eat so fast in his life! We opened the box and started pulling out book after book and Braden wanted to read every title and know what subject we would use it for. After going over the entire packing list to make sure nothing was missing, Braden proceeded to read several of his readers and science books. Even Benjamin got excited about Box Day. Towards the end of this school year, Benny started sitting in on a lot of our readings and science experiments were his favorites. He learned to recognize the science book and get it and look at it on his own. When he discovered an identical book (blue, instead of red) in our stack of books, he pulled it out and exclaimed, "Look, Mommy! Blue Science Book! Can I read it?!?" And read it he did. He then proceeded to look through several more of our books and cried and fought me when I told him it was nap time!   Finally, an update on Baby Ethan! We're counting down to the C-section and we're at four more days! Friday morning we're scheduled to be at the hospital at 6:00 am for an 8:00 am surgery. I can't believe we're so close. We've been frantically trying to get everything ready these last few weeks. We have the bassinet set up and all of his clothes washed and put away. The car seat is put together and ready to be installed in the van. Mine and Ethan's bags are packed and ready to go and my mom and sister will be here Thursday to help with Braden and Benjamin. It's down to just waiting and doing some last minute loads of laundry so none of my family runs out of towels or clothes while I'm in the hospital. Here is the latest tummy shot, taken last night at 38 weeks, 1 day.  The next update you get will more than likely be our birth story with lots and lots of pictures our new little boy! |
Posted in Family
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We decided, sort of last minute, to take a mini vacation to Myrtle Beach this past weekend. We packed a lot of things into just 2 days. We left Saturday morning and got back Sunday evening around dinner time. However whirlwind and tiring, we all had a great time. Here are a few (or more) pictures of our adventures and a little more about what we did. As I said, we left home about 10 on Saturday morning, arriving in Myrtle Beach at lunch time. We had decided to have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. This particular Hard Rock is set up with an Egyptian theme, right down to the pyramid-shaped building. This thrilled Braden, who loves Ancient Egypt. Out front was also a Harley motorcycle that customers could sit on and have their picture taken. If Benjamin hadn't just woken up, he probably would have enjoyed this much more than he did.     From lunch, we headed to one of the many miniature golf courses in Myrtle Beach. We had found on-line the Jurassic Golf Course and knew both the boys would LOVE the moving dinosaurs. What we didn't expect, was that Benjamin thought they were real, especially with the dinosaur roars piped in through speakers. He was slightly freaked out any time we were close to one of the dinos. However, both boys loved golfing and really enjoyed our time there.     After golf, we were more than ready to head to our hotel and check in. We stayed at the Embassy Suites and our room had a gorgeous view of the Atlantic from our balcony! Here are a few pics of us getting ready to go to the indoor pool (it was still a little to cool for the outdoor area). In the background you can see the view we had!   When we left the pool, it was nearing 7 and we were all hungry. We headed up to our room to shower and change. Then headed out to find dinner. We ended up at East of Chicago Pizza, which was essentially a cross between Cici's Pizza and Chuck E. Cheese. The boys loved it! Sunday morning, we got up and went downstairs for Embassy's complimentary breakfast buffet. The highlight for me was the Starbucks that was in the lobby and sold me a wonderful decaf Caramel macchiato! After breakfast, we went out to the beach and walked a bit. Both boys loved collecting shells. In fact, we finally had to tell Benjamin he was not allowed to pick up another shell because both his pockets were overflowing! In the pics below, you can not only see how much my tummy is growing, but also our hotel is right behind me. Our room is on this side, 14 floors up!   We went back up to our room, packed up and headed out of the hotel. Before leaving Myrtle Beach, though, we had one more stop: Ripley's Aquarium. Here we saw a Pirate exhibit, much to Braden's delight, and many, many sea creatures. All of us had a lot of fun and agree that our favorite thing was the Dangerous Reef exhibit. Here you stand on a slow-moving conveyor that takes you through (yes, I said THROUGH!) a very large tank full of sharks. The sharks would literally swim just feet over your head. It was so cool! Braden's favorite of all was the Sawfish Ray and we even came home with a stuffed one, named Blade. Benjamin's souvenir was a stuffed sea turtle he calls Crush.   This is Braden as he's getting ready to pet a horseshoe crab. Did you know they are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than to a crab?!?  This is us on the conveyor through Dangerous Reef. One of the Sawfish Rays laying on the tank right above our heads.On the ride back home, both boys fell asleep watching Cars and were pretty hyper when we got home. Our dog was so excited to see us that she ran out of the house and jumped into the car to see me! Overall, it was a wonderful trip and we're so glad we had this opportunity before our new baby arrives! |
Posted in pregnancy
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Hi everyone! It's been a scary few days around here culminating with a close-to-midnight trip to the hospital last night. Here's the scoop on what's been going on here the last few days. I started running a low-grade fever Wednesday morning, complete with aches and chills. I was also coughing and lots of congestion and a sore throat. By Thursday, I wasn't any better so I went in to see the OB, who diagnosed a viral upper respiratory infection and put me on some meds to treat the symptoms. Unfortunately, instead of feeling better, I continued to get worse. Last night (Friday), my fever spiked up to 101.6. I called the doctor on-call and she wanted me to take Tylenol and a cool bath and if it wasn't any lower in two hours call her back. She also prescribed antibiotics b/c she thought more was going on than just something viral. So my wonderful husband (who hasn't worked in 3 days b/c I haven't been out of bed!) ran out to a 24-hour pharmacy to get the meds. After taking Tylenol and a cool bath, my fever spiked even higher. It was now 102.2, starting to get into dangerous levels for the baby. I called the doctor back and she had me admitted to the hospital at 11 last night. We had no one who could get our kids so both our little one came along. Thankfully, Brady got a new laptop this week and it plays DVDs so they were entertained by Chicken Little. Once in Labor and Delivery, I was hooked up to fetal monitors and Ethan looked great, which put this scared mama's mind at ease. They also got some IV fluids going to bring my temp down as well as ran a bunch of labs. 3 hours later my temp was finally normal and all my labs came back fine except for my potassium levels were low. I was given a potassium supplement and told I could go home. We finally crawled into bed at 3 am. My temp is fairy normal today, but I'm still dealing with a sore throat, cough and congestion. Please pray that I continue to heal and feel better soon! Thanks, friends! |
Posted in pregnancy
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I meat to post this earlier this week, but life got in the way. I was sick most of Wednesday and then Braden woke up midnight on Wednesday night, throwing up and spent the rest of the night having bouts. Needless to say, I was just too tired yesterday to mess with blogging! Anyway, I had my 30-week ultrasound Tuesday afternoon and we got to see Ethan pretty well. The Ultrasound tech wasn't the friendliest we've had, but she did show us some good shots of his profile. However, the picture she chose to print isn't the best. Both Brady and I think that Ethan favors Benjamin in features. Now this is just rough assumptions considering ultrasounds aren't the clearest view! Anyway, here is a new picture of our precious boy growing in my belly.  In other pregnancy news, I'm growing, growing! I'm still one pound under my pre-pregnancy weight, but my belly is certainly showing! I'll be 30 weeks tomorrow, which means only 9 more weeks until our C-section! I'm feeling pretty good, a little uncomfortable, but nothing I can't handle. The biggest inconveniences at this point are sciatica and having to run to the bathroom every 15 minutes! Here's a picture taken of me a few weeks ago. Just so you can see how much I'm growing!  Both of our older boys are getting excited about the new baby. We've really started talking more about Ethan coming and how life is going to change. Braden and I are trying hard to finish up kindergarten before Ethan comes and so far we're on track. We have 7 more weeks, so barring anything extraordinary, we should finish up with a couple of weeks to spare! Well, that's all the updates I have for now. |
Posted in Family
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Six years ago today, I became a mom. Braden Larry Donovan was born via C-section at 4:30 in the afternoon and my life changed forever. I never knew how much love I could have for one tiny person. He has been one of the greatest joys in my life and I thank God for this amazing little boy. I can't believe six years have gone by and all that has happened and changed in our lives. Braden has molded and shaped me in so many ways. He is so smart and loving and I love being his mom and also having the privilege to be his teacher. Here are a few pictures of Braden when he was only six days old! My how time flies!   To celebrate his birthday this year, we bought Braden a new bike. We took him to Wal-Mart and let him pick out his own bike and helmet. He chose a Spiderman bike and matching helmet. Here he is riding his new bike on Saturday.  Today, he is getting a special dinner that he picked out the menu himself. We're having cheeseburgers off the grill, homemade mac and cheese and salad. (Yes, he picked the salad himself!) For dessert, he picked out a chocolate cake with cream cheese glaze. On Saturday, we're picking up two of his friends and going to the local Aquarium, instead of a big party. Then we'll meet one of his friend's parents for dinner. We're going to a really neat local restaurant called Queen Anne's Revenge. The food is great and the atmosphere is even better. The entire restaurant is decorated with authentic pirate paraphernalia, including swords, guns and a real treasure chest. It's a little boy's dream. I'll close now with one more recent pic of this amazing little boy. I took this last night right before leaving for our church's Super Bowl party. The shirts the boys are wearing are homemade, btw!  |
Posted in pregnancy
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The last two weeks of this pregnancy have definitely not been the most fun! Two weeks ago today, I woke up and proceeded to get ready for my day. I started having some really bad Braxton Hicks contractions. I get these occasionally, but never this hard or this many. I did what the professionals tell you to do and that is drink lots of water and lay down on your left side. While doing this, my kids are jumping around and trying to outdo each other, oblivious to the fact that Mom is very worried about pre-term labor. After laying down for about 30 minutes, Benjamin informs me that he has a stinky diaper. I get up to go change him and realize I now have severe pain in my lower back. The contractions have stopped, but this low back pain is not a good sign. After changing Benny, I called Brady to see what he thought I should do. We decided I needed to call the doctor and see what their opinion was. The nurse wanted me to come in immediately. So I bundled up the kids and off we went. After meeting Brady at the OB, I went in for an exam. All checked out fine. The contractions were non-productive and she figured the back pain was muscular and not pre-term labor. However, she wanted me to go and get my one-hour glucose screening test done that afternoon just to rule out the possibility of gestational diabetes. Now for any who have not had the "pleasure" of a glucose screening, let me tell you what you're missing! When I arrived at the lab, they gave me a super sweet orange drink (think Tang with 5x the sugar!) and told me I had 5 minutes to drink this down. After getting the sugary stuff down, i had to sit in a back waiting room for an hour. Reminder: Brady and both kids are with me and seeing as how we weren't planning on going here, we had nothing for the kids to do. Thankfully, there was a TV in the room that picked up PBS. Regretfully it was just in time for Teletubbies! Brady and I endured the hour, then I needed to have blood drawn. We were now free to leave. I really didn't think there would be any problems. I've taken these screenings with both of my previous pregnancies and never had any abnormal results. Not to be this time! On Monday, my OB's office called to tell me that the results were abnormal and I now needed to take the three-hour glucose tolerance test. What?!? I had never endured this and didn't know what I was in for. I stopped in and picked up the paper work and then made the appointment for Wednesday morning at the lab. I was told it was better if my kids didn't come with me, so Brady took Wednesday morning off to help. On Tuesday, I couldn't eat anything past midnight to prepare for the test. This is not something you should tell a pregnant woman who happens to be hungry all day. But, I did it. I showed up at the lab promptly at 8 and was told to wait until they were free. I was finally called back at 8:15 and had my first of four (yes, FOUR!!) blood draws. Then I was given an even more sugary drink than the last time and given 10 minutes to get it down. I did this and found my way back to the back waiting room (which does have two very comfortable recliners.) I started working on some of my pre-reading I needed to do for our next quarter of school and figured I had brought enough to last the hour. I soon found out it wouldn't matter. At approximately 8:45, my stomach started feeling very queasy. I laid back in the recliner and prayed that this would pass. It, however, was not to be. Within minutes, I was dashing for the restroom, where every bit of the nasty orange drink came back up! I went to inform the lab tech and was told I could leave. I called my OB and was told I needed to reschedule the test! When Brady picked me up, we stopped by the OB so I could request an anti-nausea medicine (thanks to advice I received on the SL forums!). Now I had to wait until Tuesday to go through this horrible ordeal again! So Tuesday came around and off I went to the lab again. This time I had taken the meds and felt pretty good. I drank the sickly sweet drink for the third time in two weeks and made my way back to my recliner. At the end of the first hour, the lab tech came in and drew the second round of blood and we both rejoiced that I made it this far. Two more hours and two more blood draws later, I was able to go! No nausea and no vomiting this time! I was however, ravenous. Brady took me to McDonald's to get lunch. (I have the world's greatest husband, btw. Not only did he take off two mornings to help me with this and take me to get lunch, he did schoolwork with Braden while I was gone so my day would be easier!) The hard part now was waiting for the results to come back. Was all of this just a huge inconvenience and everything was okay or did I really have gestational diabetes and need to go on a special diet for the next three months? Well I got the call yesterday afternoon and PRAISE GOD!!! It was just an inconvenience. The three-hour results came back normal! I celebrated the fact by eating a piece of chocolate! So all of this to say, I have really hated what we've had to go through the last two weeks, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. All of this means that I have a healthy baby boy growing inside of me and I get to be a mom again in just three more months. Pregnancy isn't always easy. I have aches and pains and am tired and usually hormonal, but it's all worth the end result. We'll welcome another baby into our family and there isn't anything greater than that. |
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I'm not one to usually complain about people and their rude ways. However, the behavior we encountered last night from two DIFFERENT groups of people just cannot go without some type of comment. Brady, the boys and I went out for dinner then headed to Barnes and Noble. This is a usual practice for our family on Friday nights. The boys love playing with the train and reading books and Brady and I enjoy getting coffee and looking at magazines. So after purchasing coffee, we headed back to the children's section. The boys were asking to play with the train and we told them we would see depending on how crowded it was. (Neither of us like fending off bratty children whose parents happen to be elsewhere in the store and not there to supervise their own children.) Upon arrival at the train there was one little girl and her father, so we decided to play. Seeing as the only chair was occupied by this particular man, Brady went in search of another chair for me. He brought it back and proceeded to sit on the little bench seat next to me. We hadn't been there long when the little girl was done playing and she and her father left. Brady waited a few minutes to make sure he wasn't coming back before retrieving the man's chair. He then placed it on the other side of the bench. The bench was, thus acting as a table of sorts for both of us. Our coffee and extra magazines were sitting on the bench between us. (You must have this mental picture in order for the rest of this story to make sense.) Shortly hereafter another family comes to play. This family consists of Mom, Dad, Grandpa, 2 yo boy and infant in carrier. The son is by far not well-behaved. His first act upon coming to the train is to take Benjamin's train out of his hand. The dad corrects his behavior and then he and grandpa leave to wander the store, leaving mom, son and baby. Now, the first little girl and her father wander back over to the train. Dad sees Brady is sitting in the chair he vacated. At this point, Braden announces his need to go to the restroom. Brady offers to take him, leaving his magazine on his chair (which is fairly close to my chair, BTW). Brady and Braden had not been gone more than 2 minutes when the first father walks over, picks up Brady's magazine and sits down! He could clearly see that Brady had been sitting there and that we were together. Not only does he not ask me if the seat is taken, BUT he proceeds to read the magazine Brady left behind! I was so shocked by this rude behavior that I couldn't even bring myself to say anything to this man. Brady and Braden return shortly and Brady decides to just sit on the floor on the other side of my chair. He retrieves his magazine (which said man has since abandoned back on the bench.) The other family is still there and at this point the 2 yo wanders over to the bench and tries to drink my coffee. I pick up my cup and hold it for the time being, since his mother appears to not care what he drinks or after whom he drinks. At this point, she realizes that he is wanting a toy that is behind the bench and not accessible unless said bench is moved. So she comes over and squeezes herself between me and the rude father to move the bench out of the way. Now it must be said that it was pretty obvious, I was still using the bench to hold my coffee (when it wasn't in danger of being consumed by strangers) and Brady's second magazine. Without a word to me, the mother retrieves the toy for her son and proceeds to move the bench, magazine and all, over to her area and sits down, firmly planting her rear end on Brady's magazine! Again, I was just too shocked to even say anything. Not once does she ask if she can use the bench or if I was using it for anything. Never in my life have I had two totally different people behave so rudely to me or my family in so short a time space. We decided it was best at that point to move to a different area of the children's area to play. I know I was raised to be respectful of other people and to always ask before taking things. I assumed this was common practice among most adults, but apparently I was wrong. It seems that it is perfectly acceptable to take what you want, regardless of other people around you who may be in need of such thing, whenever you want. Anyway, this was mainly just my way of venting frustration over the events of last night. Thanks for listening to (or reading) my ranting! |
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I never thought my children would ever have any knowledge of, let alone like many of the musicians from the 50's and 60's, but I guess, we can never predict these things. For Christmas, I got the movie Walk the Line, based on the life of Johnny Cash and his relationship with June Carter Cash. I love the movie and especially the soundtrack. I'm a sucker for oldies! So a few days ago, I downloaded the soundtrack from itunes. Now keep in mind, the soundtrack isn't actually Johnny Cash or June, but Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon singing the Cash's songs. Anyway, after downloading and burning the album to CD, I wanted to check it out in the CD player. I put it in and cranked the volume. "Get Rhythm" came on and both boys came running. They danced all over the living room and begged to hear it "Again, again!" when it went off. I was definitely surprised. Later that night, on our way to dinner, I again had the CD playing. "Walk the Line" came on and Braden started asking questions. He wanted to know why the song and movie had the same name, why the song was called "Walk the Line" and so forth. Knowing Johnny Cash's mixed up life, I answered his questions as simply as possible. Benjamin then pipes up from the backseat (he's always listening to everything, we just sometimes forget that fact), "What happened Johnny Cash, Mommy? What happened?" Not thinking, I replied, "Johnny Cash died, Benjamin." His simple, but unforgettable reply, was, "Oh, Johnny Cash died." Thinking this was the end of it, we moved on. After dinner, we were back in the car and Braden again asked a question about Johnny Cash's music. Without hesitation, Benjamin says, "Bubby, Johnny Cash died!" Oh, boy. What have I started?!? For two days now, any mention of Johnny Cash or if I play the CD, Benjamin informs us that Johnny Cash is dead. Brady asked me what I was going to do if he ever tells anyone outside the family his new nugget of information. I said, "I'll just remind them that we homeschool." That's my story at least! |
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Well, it's official! Our newest little blessing has a name. At least a first and last name. The middle name will have to come later, as it took all of our energy to agree on a first name. We both like it a lot, as does Braden and so far all of the grandparents seem to be agreeable. So enough with the babbling. We've decided to name our newest son Ethan. I love how it sounds when paired with Braden and Benjamin. I think it's a very strong name that will take our little one far! |
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Well, it's official. Braden is getting glasses. I had noticed a few months ago that he was covering up his right eye whenever he would read something up close. Once I noticed that, I kept my eye out for other things that might be suspicious. What I saw was, Braden looking out of the corner of his eyes instead of straight on or his right eye drifting when he was trying to focus up close. So Friday, we went to the eye doctor. I had an appointment for new contacts, so the timing was good. Braden was nervous and I did everything to reassure him that it wouldn't hurt. He did great. He was very brave when the nurses did the preliminary testing. He was also very well behaved for the eye doctor, too. He answered his questions honestly and accurately. The final diagnosis: Braden is far-sighted. This was a little shocking to me since all of the people in our family with glasses are near-sighted. But it fit with how he was acting. He could read the board fine, but struggled with close-up stuff. I have no pictures of his first eye exam though. We were running late and I forgot the camera. Friday night we headed to Sears and picked out his glasses. Here's a picture with him and the technician, measuring his eyes.  Braden was insistent that he wanted black glasses, his favorite color. So after a few failed tries:  We ended up with a pair we can all be happy with. Here's a picture of him wearing the sample pair in the store. We'll pick his up later this week.  I think he's pretty handsome. Don't you? |