Field Trip - The Bounce House

Noah was feeling well enough on Friday not to miss his field trip at the bounce house.

I am not camera savvy enough to get non-blurry pictures of Noah at the bounce house.

He did a little sliding.

Which he really liked, but...

The draw of the gameroom was too much for Noah to resist.

Cheese!  I love the bounce house!

Injury Time Out

Yesterday, Noah and I were rushing off to school.  Typical.  With me growing life and everything, I have been working on Noah trying to climb into his car seat without Mommy's help.  It involves a lot of "let's go, let's go, LET'S GO," and "get in your seat, get in your seat, GET IN YOUR SEAT."  So back to yesterday, Noah was climbing into his seat, and I was hurrying him along, when he started complaining about his knee.  He was climbing over quite a few things to get in, so I just pushed some stuff out of the way, and hoisted him up. 

After listening to the Philadelphia Chickens song about 10 times during our 30 minute drive, we finally arrive in carpool.  Noah's teacher comes to get him out the car, and they head into school.  Not 15 minutes later, my phone is ringing, and Noah's school shows up on caller ID.  What can possibly have happened this soon I wonder?  It's Noah's teacher.  She says that Noah is limping pretty badly.  He is not putting any weight on his right leg.  The motor skills teacher is noticing that he had tripped a few times, and he was just not acting like Noah.  I tell her I am coming to get him.  I can't help but think that I totally ignored my son's injury while getting into the car.  Great mothering right there. 

So, I pick him up, and he is definitely limping.  Favoring his right leg.  If I ask him if his knee hurts, he just says, "it's all better," which translates to, "it hurts."  My story gets a bit boring from here.  So, I'll be try to be brief.  I debate on whether to take him straight to the pedi or go see Daddy first, since we are only 5 minutes away.  I opt for Daddy, so in we go.  In the meantime, I make a call to the pedi who said that we should probably just go see an orthopedic since it's not like kiddos to usually limp.  So, I call the ortho, and they can't see him until Monday.  At this point, I convince Daddy to call up his peeps and have an x-ray done to make sure it's not broken.  All I can think is that it's broken, and I am going to have to limit this child's activity.  Is that even possible?  X-ray complete thanks to several handfuls of jellybeans.  It shows no broken bones.  Major relief.  Did I say I'd be brief?  You are going to feel so cheated when we get to the end of this post. 

So, I decide to take him to the pedi anyway just for her to check him out.  By the time we get to the waiting room, Noah has been sitting in his stroller, Daddy's lap, a chair or his car seat for about 3 hours.  He needed some movement, but his leg was still bothering him, so there was a lot of this going on. 

We saw the doctor who did a thorough exam.  Noah did so great at the doctor... again, the jellybeans helped.  Also, I may or may not have promised him ice cream after.  When the doctor, wanted to check his toes, Noah said, "no my knee."  She explained to him that she needed to check his whole leg, and he really listened and did so well.  I was so proud!  He didn't really complain of any pain, but just a couple times he said, "it's all better,"  translation, "it hurts."  The doctor basically said to pump him with ibuprofen and that if he was still limping by tomorrow afternoon, come in for blood work, and keep his ortho appointment on Monday.  I asked about limiting his activity, and she just said that kids listen to their bodies way more than adults, so it really wasn't necessary. 

By  mid-afternoon after a dose of ibuprofen, he seemed to be doing much better.  And, this morning well, I didn't even notice a limp, so... we went to the bounce house.  I know... totally anti-climatic.

Everything I Want in Life For My Child Can Be Summed Up in This 15 Second Commercial

Happy Hump Day!

Five Things Friday 1.21.11 - This and That

1.  A while back I found this super easy idea for a reward sticker chart.  I wasn't sure if Noah would quite get it, but in my night waking desperation, I decided to give it a shot.  And, although, I think the improvements seen at bedtime lately have more to do with consistency than stickers, I have continued to use the chart.  And, Noah has continued to reap the rewards.    It's pretty crude, a sheet of computer paper.  At the top, a small bed with a little stick figure with some "zzzz's," and next to it, a picture of a car driving on a road to the "ice cream house."  I love that Noah calls it the "ice cream house."  Then a large ice cream cone in the center of the page with six circles in the ice cream.  Every morning that Noah spends the entire night in bed, he gets a sticker on the cone.  We completed our second chart today, and so far, he has only had one day with no sticker.  So, today despite the 30 degree temps, Noah enjoyed a yummy chocolate ice cream cone.  

I think he liked it.   

A lot.

2. Dean and I went to the movies this past weekend to see Country Strong because I love me some Gwyneth Paltrow. I cried through the entire movie. Did I mention I was pregnant? The entire movie.

3. Noah and I shared our baby girl news with our good friends yesterday afternoon.  Pink balloons and cupcakes were enjoyed by all.  I love this picture and love these kiddos.  When I told Sara (second from the left) that I had a baby in my belly, she looked at me, eyes wide, and asked, "Did you eat her?"  And, later on reminded me, "don't you eat her again!"

4.  Tonight while reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Noah was pointing out all the different items that the caterpillar eats on Saturday.  Here's the list: a chocolate, an ice cream cone, a pickle, a cheese, a sausage, a lollipop, a... uhhh, a crawfish, a muffin and a watermelon.  He doesn't know what the apple pie is and is totally convinced that piece of sausage is a crawfish. 

Speaking of Eric Carle, it is worth noting here that Noah completely loves Brown Bear and Polar Bear.  They've used both books at school pretty consistently.  It goes without saying that he completely has them memorized.  If I recite it to him out of order to him, he thinks I am teasing and is pretty quick to correct me with a laugh and "nooo... that's not right."  Momma does not have a photographic memory like you do, buddy.  His speech therapist tried using it as a tool this week during a session.  And, she was super excited about how attentive he was.  Ummm... yes ma'am, it's all about the motivation. 

5. The other afternoon I went into Noah's room to find all the pictures from our behind the sofa table on his nightstand.  Right next to his two empty picture frames.  I think someone is trying to tell me they want some pictures in their bedroom. 



Notes from Early Pregnancy

10/17/2010: I appreciate the good sign of nausea, but at 5 weeks. Ugh!

11/2/2010: Settling into a level of functional nausea. Wondering if Noah is tired of eating hot dogs and watching afternoon tv marathons yet.

11/4/2010: Little one measures perfect at 7 weeks, 4 days. Doc confirms there is just one. Estimated due date is June.

11/16/2010:  And, just like that, I'm feeling better.

11/20/2010:  Sort of.

11/25/2010:  Still feeling a bit nauseous at random times during the day. Have no energy. This growing life stuff is kicking my butt.  I am starting to feel girl because of this ongoing sickness.

12/1/2010: 11 week doctor's appointment. Surprise ultrasound. Such a great profile of the little one. Dean and my dad call "it's a girl."

12/16/2010: I asked Noah what does Momma have in her belly, and he said, "baby Jesus." Oh, I hope not... That's a lot of pressure.
 

1/20/2010: 18 week ultrasound.  Baby girl looks great.  Doctor checks, double checks, and triple checks the gender.  Starting to feel movement.  Going to bed dreaming of baby girl shopping.  Feeling happy and blessed. 

Big News

This summer our family of three will become a family of four, and we are super excited to announce that it's a...

Baby Girl!

Noah is pretty excited about the news.

Or maybe it's just the balloons.  Either way, we are all super excited!

Photo Booth

Noah and I spent the afternoon at the mall.  Isn't that what everyone does on national holidays?  As we were leaving, I decided a quick sit in the photo booth was in order.  I'm so glad I did.  I love these shots.  Thanks for being such a sweet boy lately, Noah!  Momma is so proud of you and all your hard work.