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A Major Milestone or TWO

Jim, my boy, you have reached an important milestone... your first bar brawl. We're proud of you son - always go down swingin'!

Then again, if you didn't go down against a table edge, you wouldn't have had to reach your a second major milstone so soon...
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ER and this...
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Notice the beautiful work of a nurse at the children's hospital?















They gave my little man some numbing meds on the cut. That sounded like a plan until Jim rubbed his eyes... allowing him to mash the bandage holding the meds, causing the numbing meds run INTO HIS EYES. This, of course, caused him to howl and scream. I pressed the call button - told them what was happening - and NO ONE CAME! Can you say "Bad move?" Yeah, thought so. All I could imagine was him going blind - it was an awful few moments.

Very quickly I went to the nurses station, stood in the middle of the room where I very loudly and forcefully said "I need somone to help my boy NOW!" Amazing how a little bit of loud puts things into motion sometimes. Frankly, I wasn't sure it would work, but damned if I wasn't going to try!

A wonderful "not your nurse" person jumped up to and helped us out. He fixed the meds and the best part? He gave us BUBBLES!!!!!

Let me just tell any of you Moms that don't already know. Bubbles work like no other to calm a child that is frantic - ask your ER to stock bubbles and ask for them when you are there!!!! The children's hospital buys those tiny bottles, like they sell as wedding favors. Perfect amount of bubbles. :) Ahhh Bubbles...

In addition to the numbing meds, they gave Jim Lortab - to take the edge off. So, while we waited for them to stitch him up he was a bit cranky, I can't imagine why, so I kept blowing bubbles and saying, in a stoner voice, "Oh, man! Look at the Colors" and giggling. I just couldn't help myself.

Even with the numbing meds and the Lortab, I can't say Jim was a real trooper. Well that is if I don't want to lie.

He was a scared little boy. They covered him up and did a gypsy swaddle on him so that both arms were restrained - then they covered him in a sterile dressing until only his right eye was showing.

His eyes were wild, and he was screaming the whole time, but he made it. We held him down, tried to reassure him, and did our best to be brave for him. It is not something I EVER want to go through again. Then again, if he needs to have it done again, so be it. I'll be there if possible.

Afterwards there were tears and snuffels and snuggles, then a bottle of milk from Daddy put everything back to rights again.

All in all things went well. They didn't have to do any heavy sedation, and Jim didn't really mind wearing the bandaid - so he didn't try to pull it off and eat it. We all got a good night's sleep.

THEN...

The poor baby had to go to the Dr's office today to get his tetnus booster (required because of the stitches). This little man just can't catch a break, huh?

I would say though that Jim gave some fear BACK to the establishment today, because he caused a BIG stir with his awsome bandaid.

This is one of those "bacon" bandaids. I think I've seen plenty of bloggers talk about them in the past not to have to explain.

I wonder, if you had seen this, would you have gotten the joke? Or would you have freaked the fuck out like the nurses at the Dr's office?

They all thought that either he had a HUGE gash, or that we were nasty enough to leave a totally blodied bandaid on his eye until the blood turned dark. Ewww! No way! And yes, I do realize that sometimes you have to leave a bandage in place to prevent blood loss - but not THAT long!! Geesh!

The explaination is even funnier though, because when you say "It's just bacon." it really doesn't translate for people, and you immdiately get the follow-up, "You put bacon on his cut?!?!". Um, no.

This whole scene transpired again at the Daycare - teachers, parents, other kids - they all thought something terrible had happend. Go Jim! Make a name for yourself. Just make sure they don't start calling you "Bacon Head" - wouldn't look good on a resume.

Mommy Loves You, Brawler! Mwah!

How is it, being 8 months old?

Well, Jim seems to like being 8 months old just fine... Then again, he would probably say something more like:

At least, that is until When Mommy...

... leaves the room to run a quick errand in the kitchen.

... won't help me pull up to standing so I can knock all the books in the floor.

... won't give me a bottle 30 mins after my last one.

... insists that I sit instead of stand.

... won't hold me upright while I flail about on the couch cushions for the umpteenth time today.

... wants me to play by myself for just 5 minutes.

... wants to do much of anything besides smile and play with me.

Other than these things, I'm thinking he is having a BALL! :) Little man is somewhere around 24 lbs now! He was just shy of this mark at his last appointment a couple of weeks ago. Wow.

Jim is able to stand for long stretches of time without his legs giving out. He isn't really into taking steps of any kind, but we are working on the concept.

When he has desires that are out of his reach he sorta leans - Tower of Piza style - until he can reach it. Unfortunately without Mommy's supporting hands this method isn't likely to result in more than a bite of carpet. So, we are trying to help him learn to move one foot for bracing support during leaning. Yeah, it isn't sinking in yet, but methinks more carpet biting may help.

Little man has decided to start throwing baby tantrums. When he doesn't get what he wants he lies face down on the floor and sobs while banging his little head into the floor or back of his hands. I'm not really sure why he continues to do this as it has netted him nothing but bites of carpet. Maybe I should be more specific though, to be fair - he only throws tantrums when he is forced to spend time on his tummy/back. He really, really HATES to do tummy-time.

Frankly, I'm wondering if/when he'll figure out that he has WAY more mobility when he's doing tummy-time. Man can that boy roll! He doesn't crawl yet, but he is starting to scoot using his arms and legs. So cute.

I feel the need to perform a public service for all those new Moms out there. Pu.blic Serv.ice Message - If your baby can roll they CAN get into trouble, quickly. Let me illustrate with a story:

I laid Jim on his belly on the right side of the den and quickly went to the kitchen to get a paper towel to clean up kitty food that had been violently rejected by Humphries Kitty. By the time I returned to Jim, who can normally barely scoot, he had traveled the entire 20 feet of the room and had smeared kitty hork up the sleeves of both arms, on his face, and it appears into his mouth. Luckily my boy isn't the very best at getting food into his mouth on his own. Thank God for small favors. Yuck.

OK, how about some cuteness?

Cool Weather and a Cooler Blanket!!

Well, well what do know? Our freezing-ass den is still just as ass-freezing now that we have a baby! In the 4 years since we've lived here it has always been a surprise to me just how COLD that room can get. I'm usually such a fast learner. Weird.

So, I went to the local cloth store looking for fleece to make my little man a new blanket to use as a playmat. I really didn't want to go with baby colors, since he is totally not a baby anymore - he's 8 mos old people! I mean, come on!

So, I looked at the primary colors, but didn't want to be all red and blue just because he's a boy. I didn't want to be green and brown, too drab. I didn't want to be all one color either... What is a Mother who wants to raise a cool child to do?

Me? I thought WWJD... You know, what would Julie do, over at A Little Pregnant (like I actually had to tell you who I meant!)...

I hope you find that my muse has served me well.


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Guitars!!!!



Love you Jim!

Be cool,
but not cold!

Happy Almost Halloween Jim!!

Can I just tell you all that we are totally lucky parents so far? Our boy is smiley and happy so very much of the time. He is adorable. He loves people. He loves to be out in a crowd and make eyes at the ladies. He's great in restaurants. He can entertain himself or he can be the center of the party - either way, he's happy. Everyone loves our boy. Strangers comment on how amazing his smile is - it is infectious. He lights up our world. Sometimes, I get scared, I feel that I will jinx our good fortune by speaking of it... that the fates will come down on our heads and rob us of our joy.

However, I realized tonight that if I don't write about it then I just might loose the record of my boy's amazing effect on people. If, Heaven forbid, something terrible should happen to my boy, it would be sad to have never celebrated his beauty and charm. You see that's all there is - today. That's it. Today is done so far as it goes and tomorrow is not gauranteed. So, while I'm tempting fate by saying so - I want to shout from the treetops - My boy is a wonder, a joy, and a light and happy place in my otherwise dull world - everytime I look at him he lights up and that makes me light up too. Thank you, Jim for being so wonderful.

From the cuteness below you can't tell that my boy was sick, sick, sick on the day of this photo shoot. We have no doubt that Jim would have preferred to be home, cuddled up with one of us, instead of being put under bright lights and made to smile. However, he is darned cute, and we are so glad to have such great photos of him.

Jim is now sitting up on his own, eating level 2 and 3 foods - over the last week I've started introducing some table foods in tiny, tiny bites. Tiny as in I cut one piece of macaroni and cheese into 3rds so I could give it to him to try. It isn't really a fear of choking that I was dealing with, just a fear of ruining an outfit since he wasn't wearing a bib and I was too lazy to go get one, but he wanted to try my food sooooo badly. :)

Jim is now saying several words - Momma, Dada, Nana, MMMmmm (for hungry), and he is trying to add the word Kitty.

It is really great playing with Jim - he is so amazing. A couple of weeks ago he learned to pass a ball by rolling it back and forth with you. He's learning about gravity by dropping things from his highchair or my lap - he loves this game as it is parent-interactive. :) He's beginning to get his knees under him and rock back and forth, so all he needs to do is add some extra arm stregnth and he's going to be off his tummy! Yesterday he started standing while holding onto a chair, and while he can't pull up yet he's working on it!

I think we need to lower his crib tomorrow night... He is now able to peek over the side by pushing up on his arms - luckly he can't pull up or I think he could go over the side!

Our boy has moved on to size 4 diapers! For anyone that doesn't know, once your baby starts having blowouts and leakages from his once-perfectly-sized diapers it is time to shift up to the next size, most likely. Our daycare, who should certainly understand this phenomenon was slow on the uptake. They tried really hard to ruin about 14 outfits by refusing to use the larger size diapers we provided for 2 weeks. I finally explained that they would be getting a bill for replacing his clothing if he came home one more time in a size 3 diaper.

What we finally figured out was that they were borrowing from another kid's stash instead of using the diapers in Jim's bin. While this is cool in the "money saved by not using my diapers" way, it is also a little bit frustrating to know they could also be "borrowing" from Jim's stash to diaper others. So, even though we'd provided the right size, it wasn't making it to his bottom.Grrrrrrr...

This past weekend we were away from home when Jim needed a diaper change - badly. Turns out there were NO diapers in his bag. Uh-oh. Let me say a GREAT BIG FLASHING NEON THANK YOU! to the kind lady that gave us her last size 5 diaper (her twins were now wearing 6's). Now, you could say that we were forgetful, and we deserved the embarrasment and trouble, but you would be mistaken. My hubby is the diaper-bag nazi and replenishs the bag ANYTIME we use something AS SOON as we get home.

I'll give you 1 guess what happened to his diapers. Yep, the daycare people. Turns out they have been taking his diapers from his bag instead of getting them out of the bin marked "Jim" in the closet. Grrrrrrrr.... Guess what else. This isn't the 1st time that has happened, I just hadn't heard about it.

I'm thinking the daycare people are going to get a talking to on Monday. Go get'em hubby!

On to happier new... My cousin D and her hubby T of 25 years visited with us this weekend. They decided that they would like a trip to Nascar to celebrate 25 years. Congrats guys on being so happily married for so long - that is a rarity in today's fast-paced world.

Let's see... What else... Oh yeah!

Stacie, over at Here Storkey Storkey had some pretty darned good news from her babies' neuro visit this past week. At least, I will term it good news. Overall, both of her boys had really good results on their expected outlook neurologically. Her son Jason has received what could be considered "highest marks" and may not even qualify for future intervention because he may not need it!! Wooo Hoo!

There has been some arm nerve damage done to her son Shawn's arm, most likely from the craptastic job that was done fixing his shunt this summer, but all-in-all his current prognosis is a certified miracle - given that he had 8 brain surgeries in 8 weeks. Go Shawn!!! Keep working hard on the rehab of your arm, I know it is tough, and I know you hate it, but it will be worth it when you are able to give that neuro-nut the finger! :) Ha!

The biggest milestone of them all is their 1 year birthdays, coming up soon, and want to give big kudos to Stacie and Issac for being so amazing in the face of such adversity. I think your biggest accomplishment was to keep your family intact during such an amazingly rough year.

Perishable Food CAN Perish!!!

I usually have a food bill in the $50 - 100 range, not counting the baby (baby food is a whole different level of pain).

THIS WEEK I realized that ALL of our non-perishable food had - perished. Yep! Almost every single can of stuff I had was well past out of date.

So, we did a very sad job, and we threw out an entire laundry basket full of canned foods. Can you imagine how much $ that was? Waste. I hate waste.

So, I went to the store to replenish with ONLY those things I actually use - tomatoes, green beans, etc.

Now, I came home with a trunk full of food, but my bill was $500.00. Can you believe that?!?!?

I managed to stammer out how much I spent... My hubby managed not to choke me. I guess that means we'll survive it.

However, I made a LIST of what's in there now, and what dinners I'm going to be using those items with. No more wasted food. Period.

Amen.

Busy, oh so busy...

Work is a bit overwhelming at the moment. I am more than overworked. I am putting my foot down about it too. I will not be used like I am being used right now. So, I feel a little better because I am taking back control of my life. *sigh*

Baby Jim has been somewhat harmed by my work issues too. He really only calls his Dada when he needs something. He really doesn't look to me for everything as a normal baby will do. While I completely appreciate my hubby, and his love and care for his boy, I am not happy that work has let me put time, care, and feeding of my boy on the back burner. :(

I DO spend time with Jim. I do not let them suck up all of my time, but I get home late enough that I only have 1 1/2 hrs with my son before he hits the hay. I don't like that part, at all. Sometimes I get home late enough that I miss feeding him dinner.

However, I've been getting up earlier and doing his morning bottle. My hubby really wants to own the morning bottle, and that is great, but my boy is such a happy morning baby. I've put my foot down about my right to feed him too, even when my hubby says, "but he's calling for Dada!". Yep, and he'll never call for Mama if he doesn't get any quality time with me.

We've gotten the go-ahead to put Jim on 2nd level foods! He can have MEAT! I've not bought any of the meats yet, but I did buy a boatload of 2nd level food. Target had the large tubs on sale for $ .89 each! Normally these things are $1.19 - 1.39! I stocked up. I sure hope he loves what I chose. Of course, with that kinda price I have a cheap way to find out that he doesn't like a flavor, eh?

I also bought him some "big boy" bibs too... He needed ones made for catching food vs. milk. Carrots and white terrycloth do not mix well. :( The new bibs have Dr. Seuss on them - so cute! One of them is from the Green Eggs and Ham book, and it says "I will not eat them on a train... etc" I think it is a very funny thing indeed...

Oh, and Jim is now able to sit up by himself!!!!!! Woooo Hoooo! A whole new world has opened up to him. He still falls over, mostly backwards. We just set him back up and off he goes again. Hubby said I should get him some Weebles so he learns how this is supposed to work. LOL

This weekend I'm painting the trim (lower 1/2 of the wall) in my dining room. We'll see how it goes, it is a very big job...

Hope everyone out there is having a good one. I've missed you all. I hope to get time to catch up on your stories today...