The Gentleman's Stitches

I knew it was going to happen someday, but I wasn't ready for it.  Parker got his first stitches last Sunday.  We had just arrived at church and checked Adley in to the nursery. Then Parker was running to get the door for me when he tripped and fell right in to the metal door frame.  Blood and crying immediately followed.  I was standing right there, so I grabbed him and then got Ryan's attention.  I am SO SO beyond thankful that Ryan was with me.  Sometimes I go to church by myself if he's on shift.  I cannot imagine taking care of this on my own.  I have to believe that God would give me the strength to put my squeamish tendancies aside and take care of my child, but since Ryan was there, I just ran and got kleenexes, got Adley out of the nursery and pulled up the car.  Our church's Emergency Response Team bandaged him all up, and we headed to CDH for some stitches =(

We waited a little over two hours before he got his vitals checked.  Then they informed us that the Pediatric ER opened at noon.  Luckily, Parker didn't have any pain and was keeping himself entertained in the waiting room.

We got into the Pediatric ER and they took his bandage off.  Youch!

They put some numbing cream on it and we waited another 40 minutes.  

Doesn't it look like Parker is teasing Adley with this graham cracker?

Adley was sleeping when it was time to stitch him up, so I was happy to take her out of the room while they did the procedure.  I was pacing the halls and praying fervently for our sweet Parker.  It didn't sound like it was going well =(  Ryan's pretty sure the numbess wore off before they started stitching.  Poor baby.  Just writing this is making me sick.  I'm so glad it's all over!  Adley and I went back in the room as soon as they were done, and Parker was happy within minutes - partly due to the orange popsicle, several stickers, bubbles and paper airplane they gave him.  What a trouper!  He ended up getting one subcutaneous and five superficial stitches.  By now it was 2:30, and we went out for pancakes.

Nana and Poppo came for the rest of the afternoon.  Parker looked at himself in the mirror a few times and thought the stitches looked like a planter.  He would think that =)  We made popcorn and watched a movie before bed.   I was thinking he would have a hard time sleeping, but he slept wonderfully, and woke up with absolutely no pain.  Praise God!

I was still pretty sad the next day that it happened.  I kept going through the play-by-play in my head, and wondering what it was going to look like once it's healed.  I was also worried about him bumping it, so every time he would start running around or getting rowdy, I would try to slow him down a little.  

The week actually went pretty quickly and his owie never seemed to bother him.  Nana and Poppo came over again on Saturday, and Ryan and Nana took out the stitches.  He cried a little but it was a rather quick process.  I think he was happy to have them out =)

 It still seems a bit wide to me.  Now we just have to put antibiotics, vitamin E, and sunscreen on it everyday to minimize scaring.  We keep joking about how he wasn't even being crazy when he fell, he was just being a sweetheart and going to hold the door for mommy.  And they say chivalry is dead.  That story is going to melt the ladys' hearts someday right?  haha  People also keep telling me that if Parker is anything like his daddy, these won't be the last ones.  Oh boy.

We're so proud of you for being a tough boy, Parker!  It was really hard for us to see you sad and in pain, but you handled it like a champ!  

Halfway November

And here we are, halfway through November!  We've just been livin' life, and the kids are growing like weeds!  Adley is sitting up by herself, babbling, laughing and waving.  She is seriously too cute!  She also started eating avocado and butternut squash.  I can't say that she particularly likes either of them.  Right now she pretty much pushes it all back out of her mouth.  Practice makes perfect!  We had a few weeks of rough nights with her.  She was waking up almost every hour and we weren't really sure why.  She's shown signs of teething, but nothing has poked through yet.  I can't wait to see what she looks like with teeth!  On the plus side, she slept from 8:30-6:30 the last two nights without a peep.  Keep it up, Adley girl!

Best sweatshirt ever!  

This picture makes me laugh. 

Parker is still pretending everything is a trailer.  No matter what kind of toy he's playing with...blocks, lego's, blankets, puzzle pieces, shoes, magnets, etc.  He can make anything into a trailer.  He's also graduated from parades to piles.  "Mess piles" to be exact.  I'm not exactly sure where he got this concept, but I have been trying to keep the house cleaner because I'm paranoid that he's learning those bad habits from me! haha  

He also has a new pretend friend named Welvin Telvin.  He lives in Naperville.  Parker's logic skills are really improving. Take this for example.."Dad, I'm a fireman, and firemen don't get spanks.  So you can't spank me, because I'm a fireman."  Makes sense right?  When I asked him when the last time he got his ears cleaned was,  he answered (without hesitation) - Seven.  We are constantly laughing at the things he comes up with, and Adley thinks he's pretty funny, too.

Daddy took him out to lunch and for a walk at Danada Forest Preserve. 

I almost forgot!  Parker got over his fear of the Chic-Fil-A cow.  Well kind of.  Whenever we go there, he has to scan the entire restaurant before we even walk in the door to see if the cow is there.  Once he knew it was safe, we walked in, found a spot, and he went in to the play place.  Not long after, I heard a familiar scream coming from that area.  Sure enough, the cow was in there, and Parker did NOT like it!  I went in, reassured him that the cow was nice, that it loved Jesus, and that he didn't need to be afraid.  Then, the unthinkable happened...Parker gave the cow a hug!!

He hugged the cow probably a dozen times while we were eating.  Then he went back in to the play place.  Not long after, I hear another familiar scream coming from that area.  The cow was in the there again and Parker was screaming, AGAIN!  I went in and reminded him that he just hugged the cow and that the cow was nice - to which he replied "Oh yeah.  I was just being silly.  I'm not really scared of the cow." Silly boy.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

I just think kids in costumes are the cutest!  I had a billion ideas for what to dress the kids up as, but I got their costumes super last minute.  So glad they worked out!  A group of us were all supposed to go to the David and Joei's for the night, but they had sweet Marlowe Mae the day before!  

Luckily Lucas and Angie were willing to host us all.  

The weather wasn't the greatest, but we went for it!

After being wet and cold, it was great to come inside to some chicken noodle soup, chili and cornbread.  

Of course we had to attempt to get a picture with all the kids in their costumes!

Judah the wolf, Tehya the ballerina, Logan as Robin, Adele as Strawberry Shortcake, Ella as Snow White, Josiah the football player, Micah the football, Adley the cupcake and Parker the Chef.

 

We had a great night hanging with our besties!  It's not that easy to get everyone together anymore!

AHFD Family Pumpkin Carving Day

We had the privilege of going to Ryan's firehouse for the first annual, Family Pumpkin Carving Day, last Sunday.  I am so thankful that he works with a bunch of guys who like to do this kind of stuff! What a blessing!  We always enjoy visiting the firehouse, but this day was extra fun.  We laid everything out and got right to work.

I was so impressed that everyone came prepared with their ideas and carving tools.  We asked Parker what he wanted carved in his pumpkin.  You'll never guess what he chose...

Time for a tasty treat! 

After most of us were finished, we all enjoyed salad and spaghetti together - firehouse style.  When I make spaghetti, it's basically noodles with a can of tomato sauce on top.  Not here!  They made their own sauce with all sorts of goodness, and the salad was equally amazing.  

Ryan continued to carve.

We brought all the pumpkins into the library and lit them up.  They turned out SO good! 

Ryan's wasn't actually finished when we lit them all up, but you can see why.  Boy's got skills!

 We finished off the evening with some pumpkin pie.  This may sound crazy, but I've never actually had a full piece of pumpkin pie.  Pumpkin is not my favorite flavor in the world, but I decided to try it again.  Survey says... Ryan and Jim make a mean pumpkin pie!!

We left for home around 6:00.  Parker and Adley both fell asleep on the way, and Parker went straight to bed and didn't wake up until 7:30 the next morning.  I'd say he had a pretty good time.