Thursday, December 10th we went to Santa's Village in Huntsville with Hank, Julie, Gracie, Tucker, and Brant. We had so much fun, but I will have to post pictures later b/c my camera is in the car and I am way too lazy to go get it right now. On the way home John Henry's nose started running.

He had a cold through Saturday when we went to Kurt's family Christmas. Saturday afternoon he started coughing. Kurt was going out of town so John Henry and I stayed at my mom's house for the weekend. Sunday morning when he woke up, he was breathing very shallowly and was wheezing. I couldn't really decide whether or not to call the doctor b/c they usually act like everything is fine even if you say your kid's arm is cut off or something. I finally decided to call when we could tell he was really having a hard time breathing. Shockingly, the on call nurse referred us to the after hours clinic at Children's on Acton Road. The first appt they had was for 8:00 pm!

This whole time John Henry was acting like he felt fine- no fever but still having a hard time breathing. So when we got to the after hours clinic, he was running around playing in the waiting room wearing his Handy Manny hat. :)

When you check in there, they send a nurse out to check their oxygen saturation if they are having a hard time breathing. The nurse came right out and took his oxygen, which was 97% and listened to his chest. She said, "My across the room assessment was wrong. He sounds really bad." They got us right back, and his oxygen was down to the low 90s and sometimes 89.

They did a chest x-ray, which I couldn't go to b/c I am pregnant. I was so glad that my mom was there b/c she took him. John Henry was being so sweet the whole time we were there. He was perfect. Seriously I could not have asked for him to be any better. I was so thankful!

They did a 45 minute breathing treatment, and John Henry did great. He just sat in my lap and watched tv the whole time. They took his oxygen and it was 94%, so they did another one and gave him a steroid. After that one his oxygen was down to 91%, but they said he could go home because he was moving air through his lungs better. When the nurse was taking that oxygen sat., it went down to 89% at one point, and she said he would be spending the night in the hospital if it was that low, so we just barely missed a hospital stay!

We finally got out of there at 11:30, and I was at the pharmacy until almost 1:00 getting medicine b/c we had new insurance they had to figure out.

The steroid made him wired. He didn't go to sleep until 4:00 in the morning. I thought I was going to die; I was sooooo tired! The next morning we had to go back to the doctor to check up, and they said he had bronchiolitis and possibly RSV. We had to do his inhaler and steroid for 4 days. The problem was that he hated his inhaler. It had the mask thing and since Kurt's doesn't have that, John Henry refused to use it. We ended up getting a prescription for a nebulizer and doing that every 4 hours and the inhaler in the middle of the night.

Kurt came home a day early from his trip to help out. John Henry was much better the next few days and is fine now, thank the Lord. I am so glad that is over, and we are really hoping that this is the last of his breathing problems. :)

-I have pics to add of him at the doctor, but I will do that later.
-When I called my mom from the pharmacy to check on John Henry, he got on the phone and tole me he wanted a "special treat" from the store. I bought him a little tiny stuffed gingerbread man and some Santa and reindeer chocolates. When I got back to my mom's, he was crazed from the steroid. He looked at the gingerbread man, which I thought was so cute, and said, "You can't eat this!" Then I showed him the Santa chocolate and he tore through 2 of them before I could stop him. It was crazy how different he was acting from the medicine!

Gotta add one more

Tonight Kurt, John Henry, and I ate at Cracker Barrel. He started saying something very loudly, but I couldn't figure out what it was (or I was in denial b/c it was pretty clear). After he said it about 10 times, I figured it out. He was screaming, "MY BUTT HURTS!"

I was shocked! He totally got that from Kurt! I told him to say bottom and he said, "No, my butt hurts." Great.

And a cute pic of John Henry while he had the flu. He was giving Bo a bottle (tylenol).

A few more funnies and my first bloody nose

First a few more funny things John Henry said that I actually remembered:



-When John Henry tries to tell me something, and I finally understand, I say, "Ooooooh" I guess really dramatically. When he is trying to get me to understand something that I can't understand, and he is really really trying to get me to get it, he'll say, "Mommy, say oooooooooooh." I guess he thinks if I say it, I will understand what he is telling me. :)



-Tonight on the way home from seeing Baby Kate, he said, "Mommy, that baby couldn't talk." I started telling him that he used to be a baby and he couldn't talk, etc. He said, "When I was a little baby, I was in Laudan's tummy too." I don't really think he gets it!

-This isn't really funny; it is actually kind of sad, but I'll tell it anyway. A few nights ago John Henry got a spanking while he was getting into the bathtub. Afterwards, we were playing in his playroom and he said, "Mommy make me happy." He looked so sad! Then he said, "I want to be happy." I felt so terrible! He looked so upset. Then we played basketball and he said, "We happy now Mommy." I felt so bad!

Now the bloody nose story.



Tonight we were going to bed, and John Henry was being all wild jumping around the bed. I was lying on the pillow, and I told him to lay down so we could read a book. He kind of threw his head back on the pillow and it hit me right in the nose. It was that kind that immediately brings tears to your eyes and you hear a crunching noise. I sat up and screamed and started crying. Then I felt blood pouring out of my nose.

I jumped up and ran to the bathroom, screaming for Kurt. He ran back to the bathroom, and I told him John Henry hit me in the nose. He said, "On purpose?" and ran back to get John Henry in trouble. I had to tell him it was a total accident; thankfully, our 2 year old didn't hit me in the nose that hard on purpose! John Henry felt so bad! He was hugging Kurt and upset. :(

Meanwhile, our house looked like a murder scene! Praise God my hand held the blood until I got off the bed so I didn't ruin the comforter. Then there was a trail through our house and all in my bathroom. Kurt kept saying, "You're a bleeder!" I finally got it all under control, but my nose is swollen and hurts! I told Kurt I could never be a boy and get in a fight. He said that is how he won a lot of fights- when you are the small one, you have to hit in the nose and hit first. That is a Cullman guy for you!! I think John Henry can win some fights by head butting. :)

I need to add some pics soon, but I will spare you pics of the bloody nose. :)

John Henry funnies

I want to write these down before I forget!

Today we got Chick-fil-A and sat in the parking lot to eat b/c they are paving the road and John Henry was so into watching all the trucks. When we were pulling away, he said, "Bye bye big trucks. Mwah!" (he blew them a kiss) Then he looked at them and said, "Hey! They doesn't have mouths to say mwah to me!" He sounded so shocked. :)

We were at gymnastics this morning and a little girl was throwing a fit and screaming NO to her mom. John Henry said, "That girl is saying no. That's not nice." I was so embarrassed! Like he doesn't scream no to me!

I was putting him to bed the other day and all the sudden he sat up and said, "Where is Macey's mommy?" I said, "I'm Macey's mommy. I'm John Henry's mommy and Macey's mommy." I thought he would be upset, but he was holding his Thomas cup and he said, "Where is Macey's drink?" I guess he thought he would have to share everything. :)

Yesterday John Henry was wearing a shirt with a stocking on it. I asked him what it was, knowing that he didn't really know. I thought he would say a sock, but he said an elbow!

And this isn't really something that John Henry said, but it is about him. We were at Food World this weekend, and the checkout lady kept talking about how cute SHE was. I made a point to say he a lot, but it didn't get across! Finally she said, "Oh her shirt is so cute. What does the J stand for? Is that her name?" I said, "Yes, HIS name is John Henry." She looked at me so confused and said, "She's a girl and you named her John Henry?" Seriously?! And he had on red check pants and a white t-shirt with a red check ornament on it with the lime J. It was as boyish as we get around here and not girly at all!

I know there are more, so I need to call my mom and Kurt to see what they remember.

Pictures

This blog has gotten very boring without pictures; it is definitely time to add some!

John Henry trying on my mom's glasses.

Bec Bec, Laudan, Noah, Carrie, and me at Noah's birthday party. I am sure how huge I look has something to do with the camera. :) Note the cute banner and garland in the background. I was very impressed!

The train that "goes round and round my Crimas tree." This train has given us hell (no other way to say it) the past few days. John Henry doesn't want to use the remote; he wants to play with it like he does his Thomas trains. Then it falls off the track and he has a meltdown every single time. I think Kurt and I are both going nuts!!

We finally turned his car seat around forward facing at 2 years, 7 months. :( I really didn't want to, but after Kurt told me that he was "pretty sure that our child is the only one in the continental United States still rear facing" but it was up to me what to do, I caved and turned him around. John Henry loves it b/c he thinks watching a DVD on the big DVD player is the greatest thing ever. I hate it b/c I can't listen to music! I am so bored on my way to and from Birmingham. I have Toy Story in now, so at least I have a story line to follow. John Henry did think that I meant that he was going to get to ride in the front seat when I said we would turn his car seat to the front. He keeps asking to "sit up there" and points to the front seat. :)

If you read this and have a little baby, go to You Tube and search rear facing verses forward facing or something like that and then google it for info. It will scare you into rear facing your child for over 2.5 years too! It really is sooooo much more dangerous to forward face them, esp. at a year. If you get in a wreck, even a small one, the child will probably break their neck when forward facing. I was hoping to make it to 3 years, but oh well!

These are the boots Kurt came home with when I sent him to the grocery store to popsicles (when JH was sick with a fever virus). Not exactly my style, but John Henry and Kurt like them.

John Henry and I went into the garage the other night to tell Kurt goodnight while Kurt was tying duck decoys. John Henry found a bouncy ball and had so much fun playing and tying duck decoys. He played for so long and got to bed very late! John Henry can name almost all the types of ducks you see in this picture. We need to get a video b/c it is hilarious. He can name Goldeneyes, Mallards, Pintails, Wood Ducks, Ringnecks, and Canvasbacks just by looking at a picture.


Tying decoys with Kurt. He would say, "Daddy, I need Skeez." (Squeeze from Handy Manny) He brought this duck in and almost tied it like Kurt was doing. He's a genius.

John Henry's Christmas Pictures

http://www.bethdanielphotography.com/

Click on Children's site.

Click on Clients

Password is: apel

They may be gone soon b/c they have been up for a week or so. I should have posted sooner!

Swine Flu update

John Henry is finally well I think. He went to bed last night at 7:00 and I had to wake him up at 9:15 this morning. When he woke up he said, "I want to go night night again Mommy." He was exhausted! But he didn't have a fever all day long today!!! Yay! He gets tired easily, but plays and acts completely normal.



I am getting better too. I still have some body aches and my nose is so stuffed up that I can't breathe through it at all. Makes it very hard to sleep. I was pretty sure I was dying on Thursday, but I pulled through. :) This is so gross but the Tamiflu made me so sick that I popped blood vessels in my eye and face from throwing up so hard. I look really good! I haven't had a fever in 24 hours though, so I guess technically we aren't contagious anymore.



Kurt has been taking Tamiflu, so he feels pretty good. He has a stuffy head, but he has unpacked and done all the laundry from our trip, cleaned the house, and done the dishes this week. He keeps saying that he has to b/c if he didn't, the house would be a wreck. And he is so right. There is no way I was doing anything this week. He keeps complaining that John Henry and I mess up faster than he can clean. Hello, welcome to my world! I've had to remind him several times that a woman's work is never done.



We are going to Trick or Treat on Thursday night when we are sure we are over this. I felt so bad that John Henry didn't get to do any Halloween stuff but I guess he doesn't understand. We turned out light off, but we still had kids ringing the doorbell. They didn't get it when we told them we had swine flu. Finally I put a sign on the door that said, "We have swine flu. No Candy. Sorry!" No one else rang the bell. :)

Swine flu update and trip to Kansas

First the swine flu update- John Henry was worse today, but he still isn't terrible. His cough got worse last night; it is more wet now. He woke up at 5 with a 100.4 fever, so I gave him some motrin and he slept until 9. He mostly laid around all day, but he will get up and play football for a few min, then he wants to lie down again. He napped from 1-5, then went back to bed at 9:45. He has been sneezing like crazy and every time he says, "I've got snot!"



Now I have the flu too. :( I had a temp of 99.7 and started coughing. I took Tamiflu as soon as I felt sick, so I feel pretty good now. I have a had some body aches but nothing some Tylenol didn't take care of.



Kansas Trip:



Thursday we went to Kansas. Kurt and I were worried about how John Henry would do on the plane ride, but he was awesome. We took the car seat on the plane and told him it was like the car and that he couldn't get out. The first plane ride he watched his Little Einsteins DVD that Laudan made him. He asked to get out one or two times about an hour in, but got over it quickly.



Then we had a layover in Dallas for about an hour. We were hauling so much crap through the airport that it was ridiculous! Thankfully we thought to get a thing that would wheel the car seat around. We put John Henry in that and he kept saying, "It's like a stroller!" That plane ride he slept the whole time. We had to wake him up b/c everyone was getting off the plane. :) I did not ever think I would be able to read a book during the plane ride!



We got to Kansas and met my dad at the airport. We rented a Toyota Sienna minivan, much to Kurt's disappointment. (He ended up loving it even if he won't admit it!) We went to Topeka and checked into our hotel, which was really nice. Then we went to visit my grandmother. She is 90, so I am glad she got to meet John Henry and I got to visit again. It has been 3 years since I have been to Kansas- the longest I have ever gone without visiting. My cousin Josh came to visit too.



Friday night we had a great dinner with my aunt and my cousins. It was so fun to see everyone again. My family may be nuts, but they are so funny!



Saturday we visited some family again and went to dinner with my dad and one of his friends while Kurt stayed back in the hotel to watch the game.

Sunday we packed up and went home. John Henry did great again on the plane. He slept on the first plane ride and then watched his DVD on the 2nd plane ride.

We had lots of fun but were glad to be back home in our own house and bed, esp when the flu hit!

John Henry has swine flu

This morning when John Henry woke up the first thing he said was that his tummy hurt. I put him on the couch with a blanket and took a shower since we were supposed to be going to gymnastics. When I got out of the shower, he had spit up and kept asking, "What is that? What happened? I not do that again." :( He said he was hungry so I gave him a graham cracker and it happened again. Then he cried that he was hungry, and he ate 3 graham crackers and a banana. He told me his tummy didn't hurt anymore.

He played football and ran wild in the living room and then came and sat in my lap. At 11:30 he fell asleep in my arms. I laid him in the bed and took a nap with him until 3:00! That is 4.5 hours for his nap; soooooo unlike him!

When he woke up, he played in his playroom for a while, then he came and sat with me. I took his temp and it was 100.6. I took it again 5 min later and it was up to 101.1 and he was coughing. I called Kurt and he called the urgent care place and they waited on us to get there. It was great b/c there was no wait and we were the only people there. Dr. Williams gave him a race car, a rubber duck dressed up like a doctor, a turtle, and a lollipop. He thought all the toys and lollipops were great! John Henry didn't want to let Dr. Williams look in his ears, but we promised him he could eat his lollipop and he immediately cooperated. :)

Dr. Williams said that he didn't need to test for the flu b/c doctors really don't test in the middle of the season. He said that kids' swine flu starts out with a fever, maybe 1 or 2 throw ups, and a dry cough. If it isn't treated, the fever will go up to 103-104 and the cough will be wet. That is when the secondary infections like pneumonia and bronchitis happen. He prescribed all of us Tamiflu, and told Kurt and me to take it if we start feeling sick. He also sent John Henry home with a bag of lollipops.

Kurt had to go all over town to find a place that wasn't out of Tamiflu, but he finally found one. He had John Henry's flavored with bubble gum flavoring b/c it tastes terrible. John Henry loves to take medicine, so he sucked it right down. About 45 min later, Kurt had just sat down with his food. John Henry went to go look at it and threw up right next to it. We all know how much I hate throw up, but I couldn't help laughing b/c Kurt had spent so long getting it all ready and had just sat down to eat. Thank God Kurt took care of all the clean up while I bathed John Henry.

Apparently Tamiflu causes vomiting, so we are going to try to do 1/4 of his dosage 4 times instead of a full dosage just once. I hope it works since I will be alone with John Henry tomorrow.

Even with Motrin and Tylenol John Henry's fever hasn't gotten below 100. He is asleep now, and we are praying he feels better tomorrow. If this is as bad as it gets though, I am very thankful!

It's a girl! And she has a name!

We are very excited, but most importantly she is healthy.

I went for my ultrasound on Thursday. We had to move it back a week because Kurt was out of town the week before and I got all confused about the dates. I drank a venti mocha frapuccino from Starbucks before we went because I wanted to make sure the baby would move around and we could see what it was. Afterwards, I was shaking from all the caffeine.

I went back first alone for the measurements. They dont let you see that part, and the ultrasound tech kept saying ok, ok. It made me really nervous, but everything turned out fine! Thank the Lord. I did a lot of praying while I was lying there! Leigh, the ultrasound tech that my mom loves, said the baby was moving all around but it was sitting on its bottom and she couldn't tell what it was. She finally could tell after about 10 min. of measuring and looking. I was worried that I was going to have to camp out in the office until they could see what it was.

She put the picture up on the big tv for us to see, and told us to guess. As soon as I saw it I knew, but I didn't want to say it in case I was wrong. :) She showed us that it was a girl, and Kurt kept saying, "I knew I was right. I was right about John Henry and now I was right about this baby."

Now the name:

Kurt and I have discussed names some, but we always end up disagreeing about it. I have wanted the name Macey forever since it was my grandmother's name, but Kurt didn't like it. Apparently there was a slutty girl in his class named Macy.

That night we were sitting at home, and Kurt said, "I've named the baby. I'm calling your mom to tell her." I said, "No way I am agreeing to anything until I hear it," but I knew if we were calling my mom, it was something I would like. He called my mom and said that he wanted to name the baby Macey Evelyn. Macey after my grandmother and Evelyn after his. We had discussed this name before, so I was all for it. So that will be her name! My mom was very excited!

Then we called my dad. He was less than thrilled about the name. He kept asking if we were serious and saying "no really? You're going to name her that?" Like over and over and over. I taking that as a compliment since I'm not sure my dad and I have the same naming taste. I swear that my mom and dad said that my name could have been Courtney, but my mom says she doesn't remember that. Kurt did not take it as a compliment. :) I reminded my dad that he didn't like John Henry's name either until he met him! My dad even told me yesterday that he told some of his friends the name "and they seemed to like it." Like he just couldn't believe that. Thanks dad!

Everyone else loves it or is lying to us, which is fine too. :) I'll post some pics of the ultrasound soon.

We are leaving for Kansas on Thursday, so please pray for a safe flight! John Henry is so excited about flying on a "jet plane."

We got the house!

We bought a new house this week! We first made an offer the day after I found out I was pg on June 24th. We just heard this week that we got it. It was in bankruptcy so it took a really long time.

The guy has moved out and we have a key, so we can go see it anytime. We went tonight, and it was really overwhelming but exciting! I don't deal well with change. Remember how I cried and threw up for 3 days on my honeymoon? Kurt sure does. He still reminds me about it. Obviously I don't do change.

I am mostly sad about leaving our house b/c I love this house and I love our neighbors. They are so sweet to John Henry, and he adores them. He runs to give Wayne a hug every time he comes outside.

I do love the house, and I think we will be really happy in it. I think that we will love the basement and use it all the time. I added a slideshow, and I have captions above some of the pictures to tell you what it is.

Front of house:

Back of house:

Slideshow of the inside:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=511963813309:2107217406

B and Bow/Bo

When I was growing up, I had a favorite bear, B. My dad named her Beatrice, but I couldn't say it so I called her B. My mom knew she was my fave toy, so she found another one just like it in case I lost B. We named that one Bow b/c she had bows in her hair.

I slept with B all my life and through high school and college. That is why she looks like this and Bow looks like she does! B did start out looking just like Bow if you can believe that!

John Henry has started sleeping with Bow. We gave him a sex change operation by cutting the bows out of his hair, so now he is Bo. John Henry is so cute with Bo. He carries him around and talks to him. He talks in a baby voice, and he says, "Awwwww Bo. What's wrong Bo? Are you okay? Awwww, Bo are you going to sleep?" It is hilarious!

Cullman game

Yesterday I took John Henry to the Cullman Pep Rally. I thought he would be so impressed, but he really wasn't. About 1/2way through he asked me where the football game was. :)

Last night we took John Henry to the actual game. He had so much fun! Kurt took him on the field to watch the football players run out. He said John Henry loved it and was yelling and shaking his shaker. Then they got to watch the ABC 33/40 helicopter land, and Mike Raita handed John Henry a little football.

John Henry loves the Cullman mascots. It is a bearcat, and they have a boy and a girl. Who really knows what a bearcat is, but it looks like a big beige scary bobcat type thing with huge teeth. Anyway, John Henry wanted to spend the whole night giving the bearcats five and "taters." He wouldn't leave them alone! We would go to see them, and he would just hang around. All the other kids were saying hey and leaving, but John Henry just stood there and gave them five over and over. We got his picture with Kitty, the girl bearcat. He was so excited!

How Cullman came up with that thing for a bearcat, I will never know. A real bearcat:

I forgot my camera, but I wish I had gotten a picture of John Henry during the "morching bands." Cullman played Erwin, and their band got down. John Henry looked at me during their show and said, "John Henry loves this morching band." He was dancing and yelling. The people behind us were laughing b/c he was so much more into the bands than the game.

The next home game is in 2 weeks, and I can't wait to take him back. He thinks it is the greatest thing ever.

You have to watch this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW1bJeqYdG0

Don't watch it around you kids; the language is really bad, but it is hilarious!

I have a real post about John Henry coming soon, but I've been lazy lately. :)

Pictures

Here are some pics from the last month or so. I really didn't take many at all this month!

John Henry after he got into my makeup.




Sleeping in latex gloves. He found them and wanted to sleep with them on. Don't worry, I did take them off right after I took this picture.







The day I took him to get his "big trucks" which are matchbox sized trucks, he laid in his bed and played for about an hour. He is eating eminees (M&Ms) here.








Playing in a box.



On the potty. We aren't really potty training, but he read a Caillou book about the potty and wanted to go sit on it. He sat and read his book. In the book it says that Caillou goes to the potty b/c it makes his mommy happy. John Henry said, "I make Mommy happy. Make YOU happy" and pointed to me. Very cute!





Kurt had knee surgery last month, and he has been lying on the couch with his knee up and an ice pack. John Henry has been copying him and saying that his knee hurts too.




2 pappys. He was so excited about having both of them.









Kurt found a baby frog in our yard and brought it in. John Henry will never hold the big frogs, but he wasn't scared of the baby frog.


Bailey, John Henry, and "Puppy Dog"

Monday Morning Meltdown

Yesterday John Henry and I went to Birmingham to visit Monnie and go to a wedding shower in Harpersville. He didn't get a nap last night, and he didn't fall asleep until 10:30 last night!

So I know he was tired when we got up this morning, but he was so bad! I gave him some milk with banana flavoring. Then I went to go make him some cereal. I smelled the milk and it was rotten. And John Henry drank the sippy cup. Ugh, I am gagging just thinking about it. Since we didn't have any cereal I gave him the last muffin. On the way to hand the muffin to him, I ate a bite out of it. Big mistake. John Henry was lying on the floor, but he stood up to throw himself down and scream, "No Mommy. Don't bite my muffin" over and over again. It was a tragedy. I was on the phone with my mom, and he said he wanted Monnie.

John Henry telling Monnie, "Mommy bite my muffin. John Henry cry." Can you see the tears?

So we made more muffins.

John Henry crying because I stirred the muffin mix. He wouldn't stir it after I did. He was SO mad. Please ignore the mess; it is all clean now. :)

I didn't get a pic of the meltdown that happened when Bailey got the muffin that he wouldn't eat and took it to her bed. John Henry didn't want it, but he sure didn't want Bailey to have it.

Here he is after eating a pop tart and a muffin. Heathly breakfast here today!

Thank the Lord it is naptime now!

I have a biter!

Sorry, this is another post without pictures.

I think John Henry's medicine hypes him up. When it is time to go to bed, he acts like a nut! Last night, we were lying in my bed, and he tried to bite the collar of my shirt. He accidentally bit me, and I screamed and yelled at him not to bite. I knew he didn't mean to, but it hurt! I must have really scared him b/c he cried a sad cry and cried, "Hold Daddy please" over and over.

After Kurt held him and he calmed down, we went back to bed. I was trying to get him to go to sleep by totally ignoring him when he talked. It was like 11:30 at this point! He got in my face and said, "I bite Mommy again." I ignored him a few times, but he kept saying it. I told him he would get a big spanking if he bit me. He said it again, so I said, "John Henry, if you bite me, you will get a VERY BIG spanking."

Well, the little turd reached up and bit me in the face! It wasn't hard, but he did bite me. I spanked him and put him on the other side of the bed so he couldn't lay with me. He cried and cried. He kept crying, "I want Mommy. I want Mommy please." After a few min, I held him again and told him not to bite and all that. Then he kept saying, "I won't bite Mommy again. I won't bite Mommy again." After 5 more min, he was still crying and he said, "Sorry Mommy." He said it two times.

Thank the Lord he felt bad about it, but I could not believe that he bit me! Maybe it is a good thing he isn't going to mom's day out!

This is very random, but tonight while we were outside with our neighbors, we saw a baby frog, then a bat just fell out of the sky next to me and Sharon! It was flopping all around and I was scared to death. I think it had a hurt wing. Kurt shined the flashlight in it's face and it flew (kind of hobbled/flew) away. Then, Kurt almost stepped on a snake in our garage. He ran out of the garage screaming. He, Wayne, and Sharon "scared it away by banging their shovels big hard." That is according to John Henry. Really, it is in about 10 pieces right now. It was very entertaining around here last night, but not as good as the time a deer jumped through our yard and almost ran into Kurt. :)

My baby's first sickness

Ok, this got really long, but I had to write it all out so I will remember! Sorry. I know this won't be interesting to anyone but my mom and dad! :)

Thursday afternoon John Henry and I went to Decatur to go to Publix and Target. While we were there Kurt called and said he had a fever of 101.5, and he felt terrible. I freaked out and told him to hide in one of the back bedrooms b/c I was coming to pack John Henry's and my stuff so we could go to Birmingham and avoid getting sick.

I dropped John Henry off at the neighbor's so he wouldn't get any germs. I ran home, put Lysol wipes on my hands and my shirt over my face. I packed in about 5 min. and went on to Birmingham. While I was leaving for Birmingham, Kurt was going to the Emergency Room. He had called the doctor, and they said it could be the flu and he needed to go to the ER. Turns out it was bronchitis and it wasn't contagious after all! But since we were already in Birmingham, we decided to stay.

Friday night John Henry got a runny nose and itchy eyes. I went to get him Benadryl b/c we thought it was allergies. He had a really hard time going to sleep that night and finally fell asleep around 11:45. He woke up at 12:45, and he was miserable. He laid on me and watched Caillou and Barney. I noticed he was drooling all over me, but I figured it was b/c he was mouth breathing.

Saturday morning when he woke up, he was so sick! We went to Walgreens and got a thermometer. His fever was 99.3, and I didn't think I should call the doctor. My mom thought otherwise and made her feelings known! I took his temp again, and it was 101. I called the doc and got him an appt.

I got there at 11:45, and it was packed with kids who looked like they were dying. I sat in the corner and tried not to breathe. Of course John Henry touched everything. I noticed a girl that I blog stalk in there. I finally got up the nerve to tell her I didn't know her, but I read her blog. We talked and she was really nice.

We got called back and hour later (and 2 kids came out who had the flu. I am praying we dont' get it!). The doc said John Henry's throat looked red, so they cultured it and did a flu test. The nurse JAMMED it down it throat and then one up his nose. He was so upset. Then she dropped it on the floor before she put it in the culture tube. I thought that was prob. not what was supposed to happen, but there was no way I was saying something and making John Henry go though all that again! He kept saying, "What happened Mommy?" I felt so guilty!

Anyway, he has strep. Which is why he was drooling over me. His throat hurt to badly to swallow. :( We got our bubblegum medicine (which I am so jealous of. I love that stuff!), and we back to Monnie's. John Henry cried and cried when I first made him take it and kept saying, "I don't like it." I had to squirt it through the space in his teeth. :) Ten minutes after his first dose of motrin and he was like a new kid- running around and playing.

He is so much better, but now my mom is sick! :( And he loves his bubblegum medicine now. He says, "More please" after he is done with his meds.

Sorry this got to so long. Oh, and I kind of owe Kurt and apology b/c I called him on the way to the doctor's office and blamed him for getting John Henry sick. Kurt is better too now, but he is still coughing. Hopefully both babies will be well soon! :)

John Henry while he was sick-

After he felt better. This was 9:30 at night.



When we got home, Kurt and John Henry mowed the backyard. John Henry thought it was so fun.

I promise I will get pics soon

I have been really lazy about uploading pics lately. I will get some soon! I have one really funny one of John Henry sleeping in latex gloves. Who knows?!

I just have to write this before I forget.

A few days ago, I was telling John Henry that mommy has a baby in her tummy. He looked at me and said, "Oh. No." I was cracking up! Then he wanted to see it. I kept telling him he couldn't see it, but he wouldn't give up, so I finally showed him my stomach. He pointed to my belly button and said, "Baby live in that hole?" He is so funny!

Then that night, he was lying on the couch with the snuggie "like Daddy." He only had on a diaper, and he was patting his tummy saying, "John Enny's baby in my tummy."

We have great neighbors here! On one side we have Wayne and Sharron who are our parents' age. They LOVE John Henry. Wayne plays ball with help and lets John Henry "help" cut the grass. Robin and Shawn live on the other side. They have a 6 year old named Hanna and a 5 year old named Zach. They are really nice. BUT Kurt says to me (obviously too much) that Hanna and Zach need spankings.

Well, the other night there was a giant moth on our door. It was huge. John Henry kept wanting to go outside to look at it. When we were about to go in, I told him that the moth was going to fly away. He said, "It fly to Robin and Shawn's house and give Hanna and Zach a spanking." Whoops! Guess Kurt and I need to watch what we say! (If you know them, please don't tell them that story!) The funny thing is, we had not said anything about them for at least a week or two. He just remembered.

Mom's Day Out Drama

So pretty much everyone in Cullman asks me if John Henry is going to go to Mom's Day Out this year. I wasn't going to send him, but I caved into peer pressure and put him on the waiting list. I didn't think he got in, and I was so glad! I could tell people that I signed him up, so it wasn't my fault. :)

Well last night the director of Mom's Day Out called and told me they had some changes and JH got in. I had to decide by today. I called her tonight and left a message that he would be going. She called me back and said that she was so excited he was going to be in her class. It is from 8:30-2:30 everyday. That is a long time! It really freaked me out that he would have to take a nap there.

As soon as I got off the phone with her, I started crying. I cried for 20 minutes while Kurt said that if I didn't call her and tell her John Henry wasn't going, he would. I called my mom and she said that it seemed like a really long time to her too.

So I called the lady back and told her that I had been crying about it, and I just didn't think he was ready. I know she thinks I am a complete nut, but I feel very good about not sending him. I really feel like he needs to ease into school and not just be thrown in for 7 hours when he has never been away from me (much less EVER gone to sleep on his own). Plus, I want to spend as much time with John Henry as possible before March. I think Kurt thinks I am crazy too. Thankfully, he deals with it! :)

John Henry sayings

Ok, so the blog is kind of boring with no pictures, but I am trying to blog all this so I will remember it!

John Henry is 27 months old. Here are some of the things he says.

• He calls me Mom, Mama, and Mommy. He calls Kurt Daddy, Dada, or Dad. I have no idea why he doesn't pick one!
• He always says please and thank you to me and Kurt. Not so much to other people b/c I think he is more shy with them, but at least he knows he is supposed to. I am trying to work on yes m'am (I have no idea how to spell that) and yes sir, but he really doesn't get it b/c he doesn't know there are boys and girls. Right now he says yes sir all the time.
• He has started saying, "Ok Mama" when I tell him no or stop. It doesn't mean he actually stops what he isnt' supposed to be doing, but it sounds really sweet!
• He LOVES Bailey. He wants to hold her, hug her, and boss her around all the time.
• At night when we go to bed, I tell him to tell God what he is thankful for. I didn't know if he really got it at first b/c he didnt' say anything. After I had finished his prayers, he said, "Thank you Bailey. Thank you Daddy. Thank you Mommy." So sweet!
• Now he thanks God for Bailey, Ben and Bec, and Kase every night in that order. Never anyone else, except occasionally for Lily/Lucy, Kase's little sister. (Her name is actually Lily, but JH calls all babies Lucy.)
• Today Kurt asked him if he wanted to ride go-karts and he said, "ride choo choo, feed baby goose, and play golf too." :) We did everything he wanted!
• All he wants to eat is ice cream or junk. He used to be such a good eater, but I swear the kid would never eat if I didn't force him.
• Sleeping is still bad! He sleeps all night, but with us. He likes to lie in his bed now to go to sleep, and it takes at least 1 hr every night, usually more. Tonight from the time we walked back to his room, until the time he fell asleep, it was 1 hr. 45 min! But he did have a screaming fit for daddy, so we came out to visit with Kurt for a while. I'm going to go nuts if the kid doesn't start going to sleep faster!
• He dances all the time.
• He sang the ABC song in the backseat the other day. He didn't miss a letter until H. I was shocked that he knew it. I had no idea!
• He loves the itsy bitsy spider song.

That is all I can think of now. I will add more tomorrow when other people can help me remember.

2 new posts below this one

Big News!

We're having a baby! I am due March 8th.

We have known for a while but just started telling people a few weeks ago when we saw the heartbeat. I am supposed to be 8 weeks today, and I just started throwing up this morning. I felt horrible all day long today. I am praying it was a freak thing and I'll feel great tomorrow.

We have told John Henry, but he really doesn't get it. We have asked him if he wants a baby to come live at his house and he can hold it, and he always says yes. He has been asking to hold Baby Andrew, the baby that is at the place where I get my vegetables, so I told him that I had a baby in my tummy and he could hold it one day. He said okay, but I know he had no clue what we were talking about. He keeps saying he wants to hold a baby and and a baby can sit in "John Enry's lap," so I told him Laudan had a baby in her tummy too and he could hold that baby soon. He said, "Ok Mommy. I hold baby Bec Bec." I think he thinks that Laudan's new baby is going to be another Bec Bec.

My child the drink stealer

John Henry has become very sneaky lately! Yesterday Kurt went to Sonic and got himself a cherry coke and me a chocolate milkshake. When he got home, both were sitting on the counter. John Henry climbed in his Kitchen Helper (which is the best thing ever; I'll make another post about that), and started drinking my milkshake. He knew that it was mine and the coke was Kurt's, but he pointed to Kurt's coke and said, "Mommy's juice." Then he pointed to my milkshake and said, "John Enry's juice."

Then I kind of leaned on the counter near Kurt's coke (after JH had already downed my entire milkshake). John Henry pushed the coke to me and said, "Drink it pease Mom." I took a sip, and he took it away from me, said "All gone!," and started drinking it. It was not even close to all gone!

Last night Kurt was drinking a Mt. Dew in the living room, and John Henry would act like he was playing and go over near the drink, steal a sip, and run away. I was getting ready for bed, so I watched from the other room for a second. When Kurt went to the kitchen, JH went to the door to make sure he was gone, then ran over to get a sip. He is such a little sneak!! You'd think we never give him anything liquds with the way he was acting yesterday!

Another Cute John Henry Story

Yesterday, I needed to take a shower, so I gave John Henry a lollipop. I told him he had to sit while he was eating it and if he stood up, it would hurt him. He sat the whole time I was in the showered and colored.

As soon as I got out, he said, “Stan up Mommy? Stan up?” (Stand up) I told him as long as he had the lollipop he had to sit. I walked out of the bathroom to go get something. A second later I got back, and John Henry was scooting down the hallway on his bottom saying, “I coming too Mommy! Enry coming too!” He was trying to mind me, so he didn’t even stand up to come find me. He is so funny!!

The Thomas Shirt

Recently, Laudan, Trey, Ben, Rebecca, Kurt, John Henry and I went to see Thomas and Friends: Live on Stage at the BJCC. I didn’t blog about it because it was the most boring thing I have even seen in my life. Seriously. If you thought the Thomas shows were bad, you haven’t seen anything yet!

While we were there, Kurt went to the gift stand with a hundred dollar bill. I knew as soon as he told me where we were going that it was going to be a problem! He came back with $70 in Thomas merchandise! A watch, a light up thing, a shirt, and something else that I can’t remember. And on the way out he bought John Henry a bubble gun, and I stopped him buying a balloon, but that is beside the point! The point is the Thomas shirt.

John Henry LOVES the Thomas shirt. I am at my dad’s now, but I will post pictures of it later. It was the smallest one they had, but it is a Youth XS, so it is huge on John Henry. But he loves it. He wears it almost every night to bed. He had forgotten about it, but we were at Monnie’s one night with no pajamas, so I pulled it out of my unbelievable messy car* for him to wear and it was all over. He wants to wear it all the time now. In the mornings after John Henry wears the Thomas shirt, he doesn’t want to take it off. When it is time for him to get dressed, he screams and cries. I feel bad for him, but there is no way he is wearing a 2 sizes too large t-shirt with Thomas on it out in public.

The other day we were getting ready, and I went to John Henry’s drawer where we keep his pjs. He saw me and knew it was time to get dressed. He went running down the hall, then stopped and patted his tummy (where Thomas is on the shirt) and said, “Thomas cute Mommy. Thomas cute.” Then he ran around the living room saying, “Thomas running Mommy. Thomas running.” It was so funny! He was trying to convince us to let him wear it. :) Poor child. Don’t worry, I let him wear it for bed again that night.

*Kurt, my mom, and my dad don’t understand why my car is so messy but it is because of situations like that. I always end up having something useful in my car when I need it! Like the time John Henry pooped all over himself (shoes included) on Mary’s sidewalk in Huntsville. I couldn’t go inside to clean him up because they had a stomach virus, so I cleaned him up, got all the yucky clothes in a bag, diaper in a bag to throw away, and dug up a smocked outfit (freshly ironed) with matching shoes all from my car.

Fun day at Monnie's!

Monnie, John Henry, and I went to an art show at Aldridge's Gardens today. We had to park down the road and take a bus to the show. I was kind of freaking out about John Henry having to ride a bus with no car seat, but I did it b/c he wanted to feed the "bobby goose." (baby goose)

Here he is on the bus ride. He was not so sure about it on the way over. He had fun on the way back to the car. If you look in his hands, you can see some animal crackers. John Henry was eating them in the car when I said we were going to go feed the baby goose. He held on to them for probably 20 minutes- the car, the bus ride, all the way through the park, and finally to the baby goose. It was really cute. :)

Eating a cookie in order to keep him in his stroller. Check out those poor little knees. We were playing outside when Kurt drove up and honked the horn the other night, and John Henry got so excited that he fell down. :(

Afterwards, we went back to Monnie's house so John Henry could take a nap. When he woke up, he helped Monnie in the yard.

Moving dirt from his new bucket to a plant and the trash. He was excited to have his picture taken. He kept saying, "CHEESE!"

We are hoping this picture isn't an indication of what John Henry's college years will be like!!

My kitchen table

Look at my kitchen table. Aren't they so pretty?! The white ones and one blue hydrangea came from Pop and Ri's yard, but the rest are from our yard. I think we will have hydrangeas for a long time considering we have 17 plants and most are just now blooming! I love them!

And some cute pics of John Henry hugging Bailey.

(new post under this one)

We have a new pet!

John Henry loves flies. He thinks it is great that he tries to touch them and they fly away every time. I think I could entertain him for hours with one fly and a small room. Anyway, he is obessed with his daddy killing flies as well. Kurt taught him to say, "Smoke it Daddy!" Which he screamed at library story time when there was a stuffed (as in stuffed animal) butterfly hanging from the ceiling. Thanks Kurt!

Tonight John Henry was in the bath and there was a fly in the bathroom. John Henry called daddy in to "smoke it." Well, when Daddy smoked it, it fell in the bathtub. I scooped it out with a cup. John Henry took the cup from me and just cracked up for about 5 min. about the fly. I made him get out of the bath and put the cup on the side of the tub to throw out when he forgot about it.

Later, he asked me for his juice, so I sent him to the bathroom to get it. (He really did have juice in there b/c he drank the bubble bath water and cried that it was "yuck" until Kurt brought him juice.) He came out with the fly in the cup. Kurt poured it into a bucket where John Henry watched it and laughed hysterically. Unfortunately, the fly took a trip down the drain after JH went to sleep. Hopefully he forgets about it by the morning!

I don't know if you can tell in this picture, but his mouth is open b/c he is so excited about the fly.

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So proud of the fly!

The fly with 2 pieces of corn that John Henry apparently threw into the bucket during dinner.