matt's day

Yesterday was a day to celebrate Matt. Despite the fact we were all sick, miserable and pathetic, I couldn't let too much time go by without acknowledging my mister and how special he is to all of us. Yesterday was Father's day. Yesterday was the 5 year anniversary of the day that changed our lives forever. Yesterday was a day to celebrate Matt. Regrettably, we did no such celebrating, but I promised to make it up to him, and I will, when I feel like a healthy human again. Matt is a miracle and everything he does, big or small, is something to be celebrated. Everything he does is something someone at some time said he would never do. Who would have thought 5 years ago, that today he would be the daddy, a very involved daddy at that, to two beautiful boys? Matt is helpful, loving, and very involved in every aspect of raising the little munchkins and I am grateful to him and for him. The boys light up when he's around and it makes my day when Kaden sees Matt at work and yells "DADDY!" from across the store, or runs to greet him as he is walking home from the bus. Happy Father's Day to a great daddy; my miracle man.

On another note, thank you to all who have left comments, emailed, called, and prayed for Beckham. I have more information on that, but a few things are still quite vague, so I will be updating soon. It's so wonderful to feel loved and thought of. Thanks, from the bottom of my heart.

runnin' in the rain

We just got home from a fun trip up to Utah. I love going there. I ran on Saturday in the Utah Valley Half Marathon (they had a marathon too, but I'm not that crazy). My friend Jamie and I ran it together. I had to get up at 3 in the morning to be on the bus by 4. Who are these crazy people? I guess normally in June, running this early is good since it gets so hot. We were drizzled on the entire time. The cool weather actually felt great to run in but I froze after the finish and it took all day to warm up.

Here we are at about 5 in the morning. It was rainy and a bit chilly but Jamie came prepared. Apparently this is a common thing among crazy long distance runners. I am new to the trash-bag-wearing gang, but it was surprisingly awesome. We even ran the first mile in them and stayed nice and warm. Clearly, Jamie is a more experienced bag wearer, as hers is on perfectly straight and mine is twisted all over the place.

The run was nice and felt pretty good, except the last 5 miles when my legs felt like they would fall off. I have never run so stiff in my life. The next day even my shoulders and neck were sore. Despite stopping a few times, my leg cramps and Jamie's numb feet, we finished faster than we did our last race. We'll be professionals soon. Here are my finishing results, which are surely only interesting to me.

time: 1:51 (8:30ish pace)

overall: 126/781

female: 45/533

age group: 11/118

I'm not sure we could get any more cheesy, but we were pretty psyched to be finished--and to get awesome medals. More photos here.

he's so brave

My little Beckham has been poked and prodded and tested the last few days. He's been such a trooper. Yesterday we went in for what I thought would be a quick blood test. Apparently, the tests issued were not your every day run-of-the-mill sort of tests. The phlebotomist had to look them all up to know what protocol to follow. The blood had to be put on ice and sent immediately to Salt Lake. We were there forever. Poor Kaden was trying to be good and I felt bad that we were there so long. When she finally got around to drawing the blood and we laid Beckham down he was throwing a fit before she even poked him. He knew what was coming. She poked one arm and the vein moved. She went to the other side and couldn't get that one either, so came back to the first arm. Finally she got it, but it was rough for all of us. I hated seeing him so upset and I could feel tears burning in my eyes. Looking into his sweet face while he looked up at me like, "why aren't you helping me?" about did me in.


They sent us home with an odd contraption for a urine sample. It had to be his first morning pee, and had to be frozen as soon as possible. We weren't allowed to freeze it, so a 15 mile trip had to be made to deliver the goods. My mom is a life-saver and showed up early this morning and drove it in for us.

This afternoon we went in for an MRI. We were told the wrong time, so we ended up having to kill time for almost an hour. Poor baby wasn't allowed to eat for 6 hours prior to the test, it was past his nap time, but he was such a champ! We found the waterfall outside and he was such a happy baby splashing his hands and feet.

He got totally soaked and dirty.

My mom came along with me to help out and be emotional support. I loved having her there with us, even though it did take up her whole day.

There is a lot of prep work involved. The MRI is about twenty minutes, but Beckham had to be completely still, so he had to be sedated. I had to give him the yucky stuff through a syringe and if just felt wrong drugging my baby. It worked really fast since he was so tired and he fell fast asleep. The MRI went fine and he woke up looking a little drunk, but was happy. He got to gulp down some apple juice and that made him happy. He needed a little extra O2 when he first woke up and he thought that was just the greatest thing. He kept sticking his tongue out trying to lick it. He even got a prize for being so brave. A pink and purple lamb. It's so cute and cuddly, but I had to laugh that she grabbed the girliest one.

Is that baby gown not the cutest thing?

Beckham was such a champ through all of it. We're praying that all of the results come back normal and confirm our suspicions that he is just really smart and that's why his head is big. I fall in love with this baby more and more each day. He is the sweetest most lovable little guy. His nurse kept telling us how good he was, how happy, how cute, etc. Of course we agreed.

We left with a happy-albeit a little high-baby.

it's what we do best

I had a to-do list today bigger than my laundry pile. I am so disappointed that I hardly even scratched the surface of all the stuff I was planning to do. Some were things I wanted to do with Kaden. I feel like I didn't even hit the mark for my job as mommy today. I guess the little boys didn't realize what I wanted to do and we still had fun. I just felt tired and worn down for no good reason. Maybe I was just lazy. After a little run, baths and jammies we laid around on the floor for a while (while Matt did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen...I really am lazy. He really is great). I just don't understand why one day I can be totally productive and energized, and other days I go to bed feeling like I have accomplished absolutely nothing. Oh well, tomorrow is another day right? Plus, I got some cute pictures of these adorable little misters.

I have no idea how I got this one on the first try, but it's perfect.

who needs toys?

I have a lot of friends doing the picture a day thing. I think it's brilliant. I don't capture a picture every day, but I am close. I could snap shots of these munchkins all day. It is so fun to look back at pictures and have the memories come to life, and to see how things change so quickly. Yesterday the boys got free balloons at a special event we went to and the car ride home was completely nuts. I got hit in the head with a purple balloon more times that I can count. There was giggling and squealing and pure delight. I didn't get a chance to get Kaden in action, and I couldn't quite capture the essence of Beckham's complete excitement, but the happiness is evident. Another little thing that makes life sweet.

and I found this picture of Kaden at about 10 1/2 months old. Sheer joy.

it's a lot of weight to hold up

I took Beckham to the Dr. today for his 9 month appointment. I can't believe he has only gained 7 ounces and grown 1/2 an inch in the last 2 1/2 months. That is just weird. You'll never guess what's still growing as fast as ever--his head! That poor little guy. No wonder he has such a hard time holding himself up.

Weight: 18 lb 6 oz (15-20th percentile)
Length: 28.5 inches (45th percentile)
HC: 48.2 cm. (Over the 95 percentile)

So the little guy is a bit disproportionate. I filled out a questionnaire to determine his development relative to other babies his age. He scored great for most everything but gross motor skills. His fine motor skills, socialization, cognisance, etc looked good. We had his head scanned when he was 7 months old, since it was so big, and the scans appeared to be normal. Since it is still getting so much bigger, our doctor wants to send us to a pediatric hospital with the real professionals and have a neurologist take a look. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry, and my doctor is known for being very cautious. I don't feel too worried, but feel bad if there is much testing involved. Beckham had to get a thyroid test today and he hated it and cried so hard. I hated it too and wanted to cry.

I asked my brother today if he thought Beckham's head looked abnormally large, realizing he probably wouldn't be totally honest. He just said, "well, I don't notice, I just think all other babie's heads are really small..."

I think he's as cute as he could possibly be.

waiting

Since Matt doesn't drive, I often find myself spending a lot of time sitting in the car waiting. I don't usually mind much, although sometimes it can be quite an invconvenience. It gives me time to think. Sometimes, I think too much and stress myself out. I used to be the best multi-tasker around. I could remember everything I needed to do-- my schedule, what homework was due what day, my weekend plans, etc. I had a visual calendar in my brain and could recall almost anything. I guess the "mom brain" really does exist. It's embarrassing to admit how forgetful I can be sometimes. I forget minuscule things, but shamefully, I also forget really important things (like renewing my car insurance). Sadly, I have always completely failed at scheduling, organizing in a planner, and writing things down. I wish so badly that I could conquer this obstacle. Any ideas?

Sometimes when I am waiting I people-watch. Why is that so much fun? Man I love to observe people, especially at Walmart. What interesting people come in and out those doors! Too bad I don't have limo-black tinted windows. I am sure a few people have caught me eyeing them. That's why I wear my awesome shades. I am hoping no one can tell quite what I am looking at. I see the sweetest older couples helping each other walk to their car. I see strange hairstyles and nasty clothes. I see happy, skipping children. I pretty much see it all and it fascinates me.

Some days I get in a good long phone call with my sister, mom, or a friend. Other days I take a power nap. Sometimes I sing songs with Kaden. Sometimes I let Beckham play with the steering wheel and slobber all over me. I think about things like how I just turned 27 and that is crazy. I used to wonder why my parents didn't get more excited to be a year older. I am not even old and I get it now. I could happily be forever 25; I think. Sometimes, we run through Sonic first and get $1 ice cream cones and eat them while people-watching. That is time well spent I tell you. (Soft serve ice cream might be the death of me; I think I have it at least 3 or 4 times a week.) I guess that our waiting time really isn't bad at all; it's actually quite productive. And, it's always fun to see happy, tall Matt come to the car and greet us with a big smile while Kaden yells, "Daddy!!"