Busted

My mom card should be revoked. If my one real job is to protect this little man of mine, yesterday I failed.

We headed to the park to play away the afternoon, and as I chased Stan about and encouraged Charlie to climb up to the slide, bam! Feet slipped right out from under him and face planted firmly into the playscape. Scooping him up I said a quick prayer for no blood, but I obviously didn't get it in in time. His cry raged and blood gushed. F. I called our regular doctor and they directed me to Dell Children's. Double f.

 

We arrived at Dell and were pulled through the waiting rooms pretty quickly. They assured us they'd stitch him up and get him home ASAP. With a derivative of PCP pumping through his veins, the doctors put four stitches in his tiny lip, and we stood at the end of his bed helpless. Five hours later - wading through dinnertime and bedtime in a hospital bed...no bueno - we were homebound.

All night and all day today, I've replayed the moment. Replayed the series of events that led to us ending up at the playground that afternoon. Why was I in such a rush to get to there? Why did I encourage him to climb the stairs again? If he'd only drank a little more water, chased Stan, decided to swing, etc. etc. etc. Mom fail in a big way.

We learned a lot yesterday - Chuck's wildly tough, John and I fall into interesting roles in stressful situations, and friendship is sandwiches waiting on your doorstep when you get home too late from the hospital and popsicles, flowers, balloons, and Chuck's best girlfriend waiting to play when he got up from his nap. Lots of love surrounding this busted lip. Lots of love. Lots of regret. Today was a better day. Hoping tomorrow is too.

 

You and Me

Four years ago we made this thing official. And while I spent most of the morning like this...

worried about it raining and moving the ceremony indoors.

John spent his morning like this...

going for a run with friends and relaxing.

This picture of John may be my very favorite. I pictured John so nervous on our big day, but what a total cucumber. The contrast of the two pics pins us exactly. Just when I get too lost in everything I can't control, John pulls me back to reality - it's just us, and we're always going to be okay. It's not always easy. It's certainly not always pretty, but it's always worth it. Happy anniversary, boss man.

"Come into the world, Alone. And you go out of the world, Alone. But in between, It's you and me."

Trampled By Turtles

 

Photo Credit - Gary Donihoo (F8 Studios)

All Things (Wo)Manly

John's been out and about this last week learning the ropes of his new job and partying with his mom, so Charlie and I have been enjoying lots of time together. And he's been an angel. No joke. We've had loads of fun, but the manliness of our days has been in serious short supply. An Easter bunny heart necklace? Absolutely. (He blushed like a school girl when complimented on it at the park and lost his mind when I took it off for nap.) Mini-Barbie van and heart-shaped logo cup at the park? Like a magnet.

The polka-dotted pram at Pottery Barn Kids, why not? Baby doll? Naturally. 

I think John had visions of football-filled weekends and mornings fighting their way through the rugged trails. Maybe. But for now it's sugar and spice and everything nice. 

16 Months!

You're starting to get to the age where it's feeling a bit silly to gauge your age in months. When I say it, I see people calculating in their heads and masking their eye rolls, but the thing is 16 months is soooooo different than one year. Maybe I'll just start claiming a year and a half? Oh mom problems. 

This month has been a bit of a doozie. New teeth brought weird sleep, and a crazy fever brought long days and extra long nights. Glad both of those are behind us. You're asserting yourself in totally new ways lately too (read tantrums) and have gotten just a tad bit clingy in the last week or so. Ma-MA! The good thing about your new-found clingy-ness is you're doling out hugs and kisses at awesomely random moments. I love so much when we're walking around and you just lean right over and kiss my cheek or my shoulder. So sweet to think your little brain just thought, "hey! I should kiss my mom right now." 

Your words are still amazing me. You're like a little parrot. You've learned to say Oli in the last couple of weeks - she's your very favorite girl - and at the park this week as we called "Eddddd-dy!" to come back, you joined right in. You still love biiiiiiiiiig trucks, trains, buses, and boats, but we've added cranes to your infatuation lately. You love collecting berries in the backyard - every night after dinner we head out to play and you walk the fence calling "Berrrrrr-we!" until you find one. When I ask where anything is now you walk around calling for it until it comes into eyesight. This works really well for Stanley, but I'm not sure your water cup is responding to you. Who's to say, though?

The pools and splash pads are closing around town so we're going to have to find a new, cool daily activity. We've been in the water everyday because ooof it's still miserably hot. Music class is starting back up though and so is storytime at the library, so I'm sure we'll have no problem filling our days, but I'll miss swimming with you. You're getting so good. 

This month we spent time in Dallas, playing with all my sweet family, and you've had almost weekly sleepovers with GaGa and PaPa. Gosh it must be rough to be loved so much. Oh and you got your first haircut! You were starting to look a bit Einstein-ish, so your dad and I took you to Floyd's Barbershop and chopped your crazy locks. Your grandma's weren't totally crazy about the idea, but oh my lord are you cute! The actual trim wasn't the best part of your day, but the lollipop afterwards made everything more than okay. Shoot you're adorable. 

And while you were a total rascal last weekend, we've had a fantastic week. Back in our routine and loving it. You're just the coolest kid, little friend. Your dad and I are out of town a lot this coming month, and as excited as I am to see old friends and meet new babies, my heart's already missing you. You make all my days so very much fun.