Another fabulous day

Today was great.  I got to sleep in until 10 o'clock.  Then Jordan, my sister, and her kids went to pick Shaun up at my parents' camp site.  On the way, we stopped to eat at The Hitchin Post, a restaurant Chris, Shaun, and I used to go to a lot before Jordan was born.  We got to the campground and spent a few hours playing in the river.  We saw a snake.  It was pretty gross, but Dad said it wasn't poisonous so he couldn't kill it.  Any snake is a bad snake to me, but apparently the wild-life preserver people do not share my feelings.  Anyway, we got Shaun and came back home.  Then Chris, the boys and I all went swimming at my mom's.  We had a blast.  Jordan is NOT afraid of the water the way he was last year.  We picked up pizza, came home, and went to bed.  I also signed the kids up for the reading program at the library.  

Tomorrow Shaun has an appointment with his orthopedic surgeon at Scottish Rite.  My sister's meeting over here at 7:00 am to go with me.  It should be a long day.  I pray that Shaun does not have to have another surgery this summer, or anytime soon. 

Jordan Turns 2

Jordan turned 2 years old this past Monday, on January 28th. His official b-day party isn't until March (we are having his and Shaun's parties together at our karate studio). On Monday, though, we had the grandparents over for cake and gifts. The biggest hit gift-wise was the John Deer tractor with trailer and loader, which was given by Pop and Susie. He LOVES it- if only the weather would cooperate long enough for him to really learn to drive it.

I've been thinking a lot about the day he was born. I remember all of the drama- his heart rate being high at my OB appointment, going to the hospital with my mom, watching as he kicked the amnio needle from inside my womb (which left a scratch on his little foot!), watching Dr Harrison nearly have a meltdown because 1) no one could find an ultra-sound machine to use during the amnio 2) upon finally finding the machine he opened the amnio kit to find there was no needle, sighing and crying tears of relief upon hearing Jordan's precious cry after the c-section- Shaun didn't cry right after his birth. That's how I new something was wrong. And then later, the absolute terror when the nurse had to take him back to the nursery because of an infection. For days, we waited on spinal tap results which would let us know whether or not we were dealing with meningitus. As it turned out, it was only an infection which was treated with antibiotics. Looking back, I can definitely see God's hand in the whole situation. For example, if Jordan's heart rate hadn't been high at my appointment, I would have gone home thinking nothing was wrong. It turns out that the heart rate was an indicator of the infection. When I got to the hospital it was back to normal, but my doctor decided to go ahead with the c-section 3 weeks early due to what all had happened with Shaun. If we hadn't gotten him out when we did, the outcome would have probably been a lot worse. Thank you, God, for taking care of my children!

I remember holding him for the first time and not recognizing him. I think I was expecting him to look like Shaun, but he didn't. He looked just like Chris. He had a bruise on his nose because I carried him so low for sooo long(!), a scratch on his foot from his fight with the amnio needle, and suck marks on his hand. He sucked his 3 middle fingers for the first few days. How precious he was!

Nowadays, Jordan is still precious- in different ways! He is hyper- oh so hyper. He is never still, and LOVES to climb. Some of his other favorite things are:

- his brother Shaun
- his Pop
- his cousin Keri-lyn
- Elmo
-music- he's actually already starting to sing along with songs.
- climbing
- his pacifier- we're working on getting him to give it up!
- shoes
- his Mamaw
- I don't know his name, but the man at church who works in Kidpak Jr. Jordan will actually jump out of my arms to say "Whazzup" to him each Sunday and Wednesday.
-Wonder Pets
-Backyardigans
- Riding in the Gator with Shaun
- being outdoors
- karate kicks
And too many other things to count. He really is a joy, and I love him so much.

Sleepless days

Jordan is no longer napping. Not because he doesn't need a nap, but because the steroid is making him a super-human freak child who never sleeps. I'm overreacting, I know. He actually sleeps pretty well at night, when he finally falls asleep. Its just that he needs his nap sooo badly. He's so tired right now. I tried for 2 hours to get him to sleep. Now its too late, we have to leave in less than an hour to pick up Shaun from school. So, it looks like my afternoon's going to be pretty miserable.

Chris and I are still fasting. We're following the food guidelines, but I have not had much time to ready my Bible or pray. Well, I can pray whenever I want, but I haven't been able to pray like I want. Jordan's been moody and hysterical since he started his medicine and my days have been pretty rough. Satan's tricky like that. Not going to let it stop me, though! We sang a beautiful song at church on Sunday: "I will search for You and I will find You, I will find You with all of my heart; I will lift my hands to You in worship, I will worship with all of my heart". I thought this song was very fitting to kick off a fast with. That's my biggest prayer-to find God and understand his will on my life.

Long day

Today has been so long- and its still soooo long until bed time!



Jordan was "officially" diagnosed with asthma today. His oxygen level was 97 percent and the doc said she was surprised it was that high. His lungs sounded awful. He started Prednozone(?) today, along with a higher doze of the Flovent inhaler and will see the doctor again in 2 weeks.



When we got to the dentist, his dentist wasn't even there. We saw another one in the group. I liked her well enough. She seemed knowledgable. She wanted to get x-rays, but J freaked out so much she said we could wait until next time. It took 3 people to hold him down so she could examine him. I had to wait outside, crying and listening to him scream. He should ideally have 20 teeth right now, and he only has 13. We know for sure he's missing the 2 top teeth on either sides of the 2 middle teeth. I asked about getting crowns to make his teeth look normal. We really need to wait and see how many teeth are going to come in. I know it sounds bratty, but he's so cute, and I want his teeth to look normal. Oh well- there are worse things, I guess.

He's sleeping now. I think he looks like a angel when he sleeps...so innocent to all of the world's disappointments.

Shaun was excellent today until we got home. Then he had a minor melt-down.

Oh- and our dryer is apparently broken. What next?

The new year's here

So, 2008 is here. We rang in the new year in a very low-key way. My sister and her family came over, along with 2 more friends. We ate and watched movies. The kids played. Jordan's the only one who didn't make it to midnight. As usual, he climbed in bed and went right to sleep when he got cranky.

Today we had New Year's lunch at my mom's. Thank goodness she made something besides peas and collard greens (gag). We had to take a trip to Wal-mart to exchange Shaun's new basketball goal. The manufacturer sent the wrong poles in the box or something like that. Chris finally bought his ipod.

Shaun's emotions have been all over the place today. He reminds me of a pre-menstrual teenage girl. So glad we have an appointment with the psychiatrist this week. We've got to get his meds fixed. For now we're just trying to humor him.

Its going to be an early morning for us tomorrow. Jordan has an appointment with his allergist at 8:45. The freezing cold temps should make that interesting. Then he's got a dentist appointment later on in the morning. I'm really going to have to meet with his dentist. I'm not satisfied that he's qualified to treat Jordan. I don't think he's ever had a patient with Ectodermal Dysplasia. To top it off, I'll have Shaun with me, too. His moodswings should make things exciting to say the least. I'm tired just thinking about it. Ugh. Maybe it won't be too bad. I'm anxious to get to church tomorrow night. I'm needing some encouraging. Bring it on, Pastor Franklin!

Crazily busy...

This past week has been crazy...so busy. I'm still trying to recover.

First of all, my car broke down on the way home from church Sunday before last. I couldn't get in touch with Chris, so my dad came out and put some oil in it. I was able to drive it home and had no problems the rest of the night. There were no problems the next day until the boys and I were headed home from Shaun's tutoring session. Same thing with the car. Once again, Dad came to the rescue. And once again, when he drove it home, he could find nothing wrong. When we finally got home, I noticed that Jordan was burning up. Sent Dad to the pharmacy for Motrin and a new thermometer and found out J's temp was almost 103 degrees. Not good. I got him comfortable for the night and decided to take the car into the shop the next day. The man at the garage also could not find anything wrong the car. Took J to the doctor and learned he had Strep and would need 3 Rosefrin shots over the next 3 days. Then on Wednesday, Shaun's teacher suggested that I take Shaun into the doctor about his runny nose. I did on Thursday and found out he had a sinus infection. Dropped Shaun back off at school and rushed home to get Jordan back in time for his appointment. Because this was his 3rd visit in 3 days and he new a shot and pain were coming, he chose to throw a MAJOR tantrum in the exam room. Finally got out of there. By this time, I'm feeling more than a little tired. I drag myself home to find a message from Shaun's tutor cancelling their session. Hooray! Such good news! Went to Dad's to get Shaun for karate. Drag myself into the studio, made it through his class, picked up fast food for dinner and came home. That's when I started feeling really bad. I mean, worse than I've ever felt before. Got the kids in bed and called Chris, who was in Cartersville setting up some sound equipment that he'd sold. Asked when he would be home, said he was just getting started. Went to bed and woke up the next morning with my throat so swollen I couldn't talk. I could barely swallor. I sounded like a deaf person when I tried to speak, so joke. It stayed that way until Sunday morning. Thank God I'm feeling better now. I have never felt so bad. Anyway- Shaun tested for his camo belt on Saturday morning and did wonderfully. We came home for a few hours and then drove back to Oakwook for the Karate Christmas party. Did some shopping on the way home and made it to church at 7:30 am the next morning. I got to enjoy the children's service with Shaun and then we headed upstairs for the "big service". After church we had a Christmas party with the worship team Chris is a part of. Then we drove to Hiawassee, a good hour and a half in the mountains to get some computer programs for Chris' new studio. It was snowing up in the mountains-- so beautiful! Then we came home and crashed. I thought our drama was over, but yesterday I had it out with Shaun's psychiatrist's office staff over a prior approval for his Vyvanse prescription. I won't go into that- at the end of the day, after visiting 2 pharmacies- we got our meds, so all is good. Only 2 more days of school for Shaun until Chrismas vacation! I'm counting the days! Maybe my next entry will not be so long and rambling. I included everything I want to remember!

Firsts

Jordan's had several firsts lately. Some of them are:

His first hair cut. He had been needing to have his hair trimmed for quite some time. On a whim, I took him to have it done. The only thing I regret is that I didn't have my camera. He sat so still and was very cooperative, and I was pleased with the end result. He looks so different without his "mohawk" sticking up.

His first big boy bed. He'd been climbing out of the crib for several weeks, so we finally broke down and switched out the beds. He had a great time jumping up and down on it, and I started to worry that he'd never get to sleep. But that night, he went right to sleep all by himself. He also fell out a couple of times, so we had to prop tons of pillows up all around him. He does great at night, always going right to sleep. Naps are a different story. He hasn't taken a nap all week and I'm open to any suggestions on how to get a toddler to nap in his own bed!

His first head wound. This happened yesterday at my mom's. He pulled a stocking holder off of the edge of the stairs and knocked a hole in his head. Thankfully, it wasnt serious and just needed a band-aid. Pretty scary, though.

His first "thank you". When I brought him his lunch today he looked up at me and said "thank you". Too sweet!

These are just a few. He's doing more and more every day. I know I sound like an old grandma saying this, but he really is growing up too fast!

Here are some pictures...

Sleeping in his new bed

Enjoying his Thanksgiving meal

Doing his homework

Here We Go Again

So, Jordan's left ear is infected. Again. He had tubes put in last January, after one continuous double ear infection which lasted from October until January. We went to see the allergist today because he's been wheezing and coughing for the past week or so, in spite of using the nebulizer and inhalers around the clock. The nurse practitioner discovered that one of the tubes has somehow turne sideways and, therefore, is unable to drain. So we're back on antibiotics and have an appointment with our ENT for the first week in December. I'm not sure what he'll want to do. Guess I'll have to wait and find out. The good news is that Jordan doesn't seem to be in any pain. He's been a little fussy lately, but he's cutting 2 more teeth. He's still sleeping pretty well and is active. At least he's not crying all night the way he did last year with the ear infections.

I'm home alone tonight. Chris got called back into work and I can't sleep. I keep hearing the dogs barking. My aunt, who lives next door, told me that she's been seeing coyotes. That makes me nervous. Not that they could get into the house or anything, but still. I'm not too crazy about wild animals being in my yard.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week. Where has the year gone? I'm actually glad to see it go. This year has been horrible. 2008 can only be better!