Trip to the ER

Late Sunday afternoon, Jonathan had his first major (we have had LOTS of minor) injury.  The kids and I were getting ready to leave for church, when Jonathan fell and hit his head HARD on the rocking chair in which Kellen and I were sitting.  Seeing him fall and hearing the smack, I knew before I even picked him up that I was going to see a lot of blood.  And I was right - head wounds BLEED people! 

I immediately plopped Kellen on the floor, picked up Jonathan (who had blood everywhere), quickly assessed him, and ran to the bedroom where Jeff was napping.  I very LOUDLY (he had in earplugs) awakened him, telling him I needed his help, Jonathan was hurt and that he needed to get up NOW,  put on clothes QUICKLY, grab Kellen, and take us to the hospital.  He sat up and said, "the sippy cup is on the counter".  Guess he thought I was freaking out about a missing sippy cup :-)  

Jeff stayed very calm and cool.  I on the other hand was loud and bossy.  My adrenaline was up and I was ready to leave for the hospital RIGHT THEN!  I didn't think Jeff was moving fast enough, poor man, and I kept telling him multiple things to do.  I calmed and quieted down once I was able to get the bleeding to slow down.  Jonathan was fighting me as I tried to hold pressure and tried to look at the cut.  I was able to get a glimpse of the cut, but couldn't keep him still long enough to see how deep it was.  I could tell that it was fairly long and that it required a trip to the ER.  Jonathan kept crying for his Boo Boo Bear - which I finally got out of the fridge and let him hold.  We put a pressure bandage on his head, loaded up in the car, and headed out to Children's Hospital.  The drive was rather uneventful, our bandage appeared to have stopped the bleeding, and Jonathan calmed down and was happy as a lark as he munched on some of his favorite snacks that Daddy thankfully thought to grab on the way out the door.

On our way to the hospital.  I tried to wipe as much of the blood as I could off his face and hands with wipes, but there was still quite a bit on him.  And that would be crumbs all over his mouth - that boy loves some snack food!

After arriving at the After Hours Clinic at Arkansas Children's Hospital, they immediately send us next door to the Emergency Room - apparently you have to call ahead and have an appointment for the After Hours Clinic, and they aren't well set up for stitching.  We went through the questions and paperwork for ER, and were placed in a small curtained off area to wait for a doctor.  A resident came in to see us, removed the bandage, and we saw this.  It just looked like an ugly scratch!  Wow, didn't look nearly as bad as I had thought it was!  I was almost embarrassed for bringing him in.  The resident thought he could glue it, but went to find the attending doctor to make sure they agreed.

A few minutes later, after our little wild man was crawling and moving around the bed, it looked like this.  Turns out it was pretty deep!  The resident returned, looked at his head,  brought in an overseeing doctor, and everyone agreed that he needed a few stitches.

They put on two bandages with numbing meds for 20 minutes each.  We were so thankful they had Barney and Bob the Builder movies for us to watch!

The stitching process was quite traumatic for our little guy :-(  It took the overseeing doctor, a tech, and myself to hold him still (and he was still moving ALOT) while the resident sutured him.  The resident was also named Jonathan, and was very nice, but boy was he shaking (I don't think the poor man had sutured many kiddos before).  I know the residents have to learn on someone, but I must admit I really didn't like it being on my child.  

Jonathan thoroughly enjoyed a popsicle, we got some directions on how to care for him, and we headed home.  He hit his head a little after 5:30, we arrived at ACH about 6:15, we arrived back home at 10:15, got Kellen in bed by 10:45, cleaned blood out of the carpet and clothes, had Jonathan to bed by 11:30, and Mommy and Daddy to bed around midnight - it was a long evening!   

Sporting his circus bandaid and eating frozen strawberries the next day.

The big boo boo :-(  We were told that if Jonathan ever decided to split open his head again, to try to make sure he did it horizontally.  Apparently your skin heals better horizontally than vertically.  We were also told he will have a nice scar, that it will fade some with time, and that there really isn't anything we can put on it to help with the scarring (Anyone out there disagree and have any suggestions on what to put on it?).

Still just as happy as ever :-)

And just as busy as ever :-)

There were many things concerning the incident for which we can be thankful

• That the injury wasn't worse than it was!  Four stitches is much better than fifty!
• That I wasn't home alone with the kids when it happened.  I am so thankful that the Lord allowed Jeff to be here with me.
• That the kids and I were already getting ready to head out the door for church - so shoes were on, diapers were changed, bellies were full, diapers were packed, etc. 
• That we were able to get the bleeding stopped and Jonathan calmed down for the car ride.
• That Kellen was super sweet and content for the entire 5 hour ordeal!  She slept very well once we got her home and in bed :-)
• That our wonderful Care Group was praying for us.

State Fair

When we found out that the fair had free parking, admission, and kiddie rides for a few hours Monday morning, we headed that way for a few hours of family fun.  It was a little too hot for October, but we had a marvelous time! 

Mommy and Jonathan enjoyed quite a few trips down the slide!  There was a super short wait to go down and it was a FUN slide :-)

Jonathan immediately noticed these "dinosaurs" (Mommy is pretty sure they were really dragons, lol).  They go around and you can make them spin.  So spin we did - and had FUN!

Then we headed to ride a horse!  And had some more FUN!

Next we rode the "airplanes", which were actually flying bananas???  J wasn't too thrilled with this ride, and began whimpering and pressing into my side when it started moving up.

Then we headed to see some animals!  Jonathan always likes the cows.

And he loved the cute little duckies!

He got to pet a llama!

And a bunny!

Kellen wasn't so sure about the bunny.

Digging for potatoes :-)

Jonathan thoroughly enjoyed watching the duckies go down the slide!

I Found a Few More Colorado Pictures

I found some fun pictures from our CO trip that my sister-in-law Stacy took!  So I decided to borrow them for the blog :-)

We love our Aunts and cousin!

Candace and Sarah are too much fun!

Great Grampa Nelson with some of the family.

Some of the menfolk!

We enjoyed getting to visit Great Granma Lillian while we were there too.  I forgot my camera, so this pic was taken with a cell phone.

Birthday Boy - Part 2!

I totally meant to finish this post a long time ago - but alas, it didn't happen :-)  We had a fun family day celebrating Jonathan turning two!  Here are some pictures of our fun.

I printed out an Elmo birthday sign, bought an Elmo balloon, and hung some streamers - he was pretty happy to wake up to Elmo!  Please forgive his lack of clothing - we have been doing some potty training and don't always get clothes back on him after potty time.

We enjoyed some yummy whole wheat pancakes and homemade blueberry syrup for breakfast.

We spent the morning at Bible study, then picked up his free birthday kid's meal at Sonic - grilled cheese, tator tots, and chocolate milk - he LOVED it!

After dinner we had chocolate cupcakes!  He doesn't have blowing figured out yet. 

He's his Mommy's boy - straight for the best part, the icing!

He thought the candle was edible too, LOL!

Daddy and Little Bit - she can't wait until she gets to eat cake in February!

Both kids looking at the camera and no one is screaming or crying - now we just have to work on smiling :-)

Time for presents!  He received some wonderful gifts from his grandparents - fun books, a kids movement dvd, a giant floppy dog, and some cute winter clothes - thank you grandparents!  He got a Thomas the Train toy and a stuffed Elmo (Goodwill finds for about $1.50 each, which were easily cleaned up and look brand new) from Daddy and Mommy 

At first he wasn't sure what to do with the gift - he loved the Thomas the Train paper though!

He quickly learned how to tear off the paper :-)

Super soft and fluffy dog - can be a toy, rug, pillow, etc.

He can't wait to wear one of his new shirts!  He got some sweaters that  he can wear over it - he is gonna be looking spiffy for church!

Inspecting Elmo

Priceless picture of his excitement of Thomas.

Elmo, meet Thomas.

Elmo, meet Fluffy.

Reading his new books with Daddy.

After a long day the birthday boy was ready for BED!

Birthday Boy!

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY JONATHAN

 It's hard to believe 2 years have passed since this cute fella joined our family!  We are so thankful God placed him in our family - what a joyful addition he has been to our home.

It has become increasingly difficult to get good photos of J lately, as he is constantly MOVING!  So today after Kellen went down for her nap, J Man and I had a little photo session.  I did manage to get a few of him smiling AND looking at the camera :-)  He definitely doesn't look like a baby anymore.  Here is our big boy!

This one is for you Uncle Daniel!  Although this picture looks  like the football was perfectly placed in his hands, it wasn't.  We were throwing the ball back and forth while snapping pictures, and this is what we ended up with!

Those are some blue eyes!

Nope, you aren't 1 anymore!  Now we have to work on holding up 2 fingers!

We see this mischievous grin a lot!

Mr Bear, you are in my bubble.  Could you please move over a little bit?

That's much better Mr. Bear, thank you!

Mommy loves the joy on your face in this picture!  It is Mommy and Daddy's prayer that God will draw you close to Him at a young age, that you will love him with all your heart, and that His joy will shine through you.

We decided to only have a party with our little family this year - so don't think we had a party and didn't invite you!  How we would celebrate our kids' birthdays was a topic Jeff and I discussed before we were married.  We decided that most years we will just celebrate with a family party at home - doing special activities, meals,  presents, etc.  It's not because we think birthday parties are bad or because we don't like them - we love being invited and going to birthday parties (we actually went to two last weekend and had a blast!).  We have just decided that family parties are what work best for us, for our home, for our budget, for our time, at this point in our lives.  We are thinking we might pick a few special ages (maybe 5, 10, and 16?) when the kids can have friend parties.  Or we might change our minds at some point, when the kids are older and more aware of things, and decided to do friend parties each year.  But this year the 4 of us partied it up to celebrate Jonathan turning two :-)  I will add pictures of the fun we had celebrating soon!

Jonathan, you ...

* Wear size 2 and 3 clothes - mainly a size 2 pants and size 3 shirt.

* Wear a size 7 shoe.

* Wear a size 6 diaper.  We have sort of started potty training, and you successfully go in your frog potty a few times each day.  Daddy installed a gate between the kitchen and living room today, so now I can close the gate and all the bedroom doors, quarantining you from the carpeted areas and keeping you on the tile floors.  So starting tomorrow, when we are home, you will be going without your diaper and we will be full-time potty training.

* Weigh right around 31 lbs and are 36 inches tall.

* Are talking a lot, saying new words every day.  You have started putting a few words together into short sentences - they usually having something to do with Daddy.  "Daddy sleeping", "Daddy's truck", "Daddy at home".  If you try to tell me something and I can't understand what you are saying you get very frustrated!  You add "ie" to lots of words and Mommy thinks it is so cute - sticker = stickie, cracker = crackie.  You finally say Kellen's name, but it sounds more like "Tellen".  You just recently started saying your name "Onathan".  You call water "waden".  

* Are very coordinated and seem to be very athletic for your age.  You have been jumping for months, getting both feet well off the ground.  You climb like a monkey - furniture, play ground equipment (much higher than is probably appropriate and safe for your age), etc.  I have found you sitting in the kitchen sink, in the bathroom sink, on the kitchen counter, and in the pantry helping yourself to food on shelves that are at my eye level.  You love balls and bikes.

* Love to help mommy cook and REALLY enjoy taste testing along the way.  

* Figured out how to turn doorknobs recently - so we now have lots of those child proof twisty knobs, on bedroom doors, the laundry room door, and both doors that lead outside.

* Love dips of any sort.  Muffins, homemade crackers with hummus, and raisins are some of your current favorite foods.

* Are very passionate and focused ( stubborn) about whatever you are doing.  You play passionately, eat passionately, disobey passionately, and love passionately.  Mommy and Daddy have recently been reading a book and watching a dvd series on parenting.  We are learning so much!  It is our prayer that we will consistently use the moments God gives us to instruct you, teach you, and discipline you in a way that will point you towards awe of, love for, and obedience to Him.  We are learning that it is not just about the outward act of obedience, but about the heart!  And Mommy is learning so much about her own heart and obedience to God in the process.

* Are very very sweet at times!  Loving on your sister with hugs and kisses, and sharing toys.  You also decided that you would share your food with her in the back seat of the car!  She has tried cheese crackers, cheerios, and grilled cheese - these were shared with her the same week Mommy gave her her first taste of baby food, yikes!  I guess you won't be eating much the car until she is ready for big kid food too :-P  When she cries out after waking up from a nap, you are right there at her door, ready to help get her out of bed and offering her a hug.

* Can be very sweet at bedtime.  I love this time with you, praying, singing, rocking, and giving big hugs and kisses.  You are a stickler for routine - we have to turn on the noise machine, turn off the light, close the door, get your "puppers" (stuffed dog), "blue" (blanket), and "waden" (sippy cup).  If I forget one you will remind me very passionately!  We then pray and sing while rocking.  You love to sing!  Holy, Holy, Holy and Edelweiss were our routine for the longest time.  Funny story ... a few months ago Daddy asked me what kind of weird song I was singing about angel eyes.  He thought I was saying, "angel eyes, angel eyes" instead of "edelweiss, edelweiss"!  You have recently been on a big Jesus Loves Me kick, and we are singing that a lot at bedtime too.  I love how you snuggle your head into my chest, singing away while we rock.  You don't like laying your head on my necklace, so you will grab the charm and drag it behind my neck.

* Love outside, rocks, going places, parks, shoes (except when you are in the car - then you want shoes and socks off), singing, dancing, numbers (and you think all numbers are a "one"), bath time, ELMO (and you can spot anything with Elmo on it a mile away), watching Daddy play Angry Birds and dancing to the music, running, and jumping.

* You have started saying, "bye bye" to everything.  Pumpkins are a big love right now, and since it's Fall we are seeing them everywhere.  You loudly point out every "punkin" we see - I think we saw 497 while we were shopping in Walmart last week ( real ones, fake ones, decorative ones, candy ones, t-shirts, fabric, etc.).  Mommy would say, "Yes, it is a pumpkin!  But we don't need to buy that today".  And as we would walk away you would sweetly say, "Bye bye punkin".  You also say bye bye to bikes, trucks, parks, airplanes, etc.  Basically anything that you get excited about seeing, you tell "bye bye" to as it disappears from your sight!

We love you big guy!