updates and such

Thank you all, from the very bottom of my heart, for your thoughts and prayers for my dad! I cannot believe how blessed I am to be a part of such a wonderful community of friends:)

My dad was never admitted, and was released from the ER last night around 2:00AM. Which was great! Not much was determined overall, but I'll share what they did know for certain. His heart rate remained irregular because he stayed in atrial fibrillation the entire time he was there...but there were no other associated symptoms or complications from that. So who knows. As far as his little "episode" from last night, the doctor said they may never know for certain what caused that, but he felt like a small blood clot probably passed through his brain. Apparently it was small enough to literally just pass through without any major issues, because my dad is back home and back to normal today.

He will go on Thursday to his cardiologist, though, to be checked out further for the atrial fibrillation. So please remember him that day, and that nothing major will result.

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On another stressful note, Noah is sick today. I woke up to a runny-nosed, congested, coughing little boy that sounded suspiciously like he was developing croup. He got a nasty case of croup this winter when he was about 4 months old that resulted in a doctor's visit, 2 breathing treatments, 1 steroid shot, and a trip to the ER. Needless to say, I didn't take my chances this time, and called our pediatrician first thing this morning.

Though he seemed to feel ok, and even starting sounding better as the morning went on, Noah literally threw up everything he had eaten/drank this morning around 9:45....everywhere. So after I gave him a wipes-bath (no time for the real thing given out appointment time), spot-washed myself, changed both of our clothes, and mopped/cleaned the kitchen floor, cabinets, countertop, and his high-chair, I was ready the pull my hair out!!! Oh the joys of motherhood, huh? I'm you can all relate:)

Well..we made it to the doctor in one, hopefully-not-stinky piece, and he got a steroid shot and a 2-day oral steroid prescription. He is crawling around on the floor, getting into anything he can think of at the moment. So obviously he's back to normal..for the most part:)

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In the midst of all of this stress, I have had a bright spot...or two...or three. I seriously won THREE giveaways yesterday!!! Holy cow! I was flippin' out..in a good way, or course:)

First, from Mama Kenz Studio I won a new Sleepy Wrap carrier for Noah! These are so neat, and I've always wanted a carrier just for me. We had one that Jimmy wears sometimes that is like the Bjorn carriers (but our's is Chicco brand), but I don't like wearing it...too complicated! The Sleepy Wrap is one that you wrap yourself. I can't wait to try wrapping it to hold Noah on my hip...he likes to be held like that, but he gets so heavy after awhile. This way I can hold him hands-free! Plus I've always been interested in baby-wearing...I basically did that when Noah was an infant, just without a carrier. Ha! I just held him all. the. time. I'm hoping to get the Sleepy Wrap in green, though, so I can use it with other kiddos that hopefully come along in the future:)

Second, I won another necklace from The Vintage Pearl! If you've never seen Erin's beautiful hand-stamped jewelry, go look now! Oh my..I LOVE my "cup of love" necklace! It is so pretty...I wear it nearly everyday. I won it several weeks after Noah was born, so of course it has his name stamped on it. I get to pick anything I want from her etsy shop this time around..so I'm still deciding. So many pretties to choose from:)

Finally, I won, through TVP's giveaway week, a custom cupcake birthday bib from the Golden Shop! Oh my goodness...I have been DYING for one of these for Noah's birthday in a few months! The bibs are precious..with custom aplique and handsew "sprinkles"! They also make birthday hats...I'm hoping I can talk Jimmy into splurging on one to match the bib:)

Thank you, dear Lord, in the midst of trial and stress for amazing friends....and for unexpected retail blessings:)

please pray..

I just to pop in really quickly to ask for prayers for my daddy. If you have been reading my blog, this one or my old one, for any length of time, you know he has several chronic health concerns, most notably chronic progressive multiple sclerosis, which has left him completely disabled, and heart disease, including 3 previous major heart attacks.

After visiting with he and my mom this evening, I was helping put my dad to bed in his hoyer lift. Once he was in the bed, he began to act really strangely. He became basically completely incoherent and slurred what nonsense talk he did, wouldn't/couldn't focus or keep his eyes open, and developed an irregular heartbeat. This all lasted maybe 5 minutes at the very most, and once an EMT arrived he was basically back to normal except for his heartbeat and elevated blood pressure. Also, he did not have any memory of what happened, and almost became a little combative when the ambulance first arrived. He is currently in the ER waiting on a doctor to see him. My mom said he is totally back to normal on a surface level, and as far as she knew, only his heartbeat is still irregular.

Please, if you are so inclined, keep my daddy in your prayers. This was definitely a scary episode, but I know that God is completely in control. And while I do feel peace about the outcome, I would most definitely appreciate your prayers as well!

Thank you in advance, everyone! I feel so lucky to have such an outlet to come to in both the good times and the scary times, knowing that no matter what I will receive blessings tenfold from you all! I will keep things updated as I learn more.

Thank you again:)

beach fun

Noah was super excited for his first real summer vacation:) Good thing he had lots of energy!

We had lots of fun playing in our crabby float...

..so much so that ol' crabby didn't make it through the week without a slow leak.

The kiddie pool was awesome, and full of lots of new friends:)

We had fun in our special Lightening McQueen towel..

..and down at the ocean.

We enjoyed the waves, as long as mom or dad was right there..

We had fun on the swing set..

..and with new purchases:)

Riding on Daddy's shoulders for the first time was exciting!

And we even took some time for family photos..

Whew! What a week!!

Noah even slept the entire 4 1/2 hour car ride home:)

9 months + BEACH:)

I really didn't think this week would ever get here. But here I am...soakin' up the sun at the beach! Ahh...and for a whole week! I had a super good helper last week getting things ready for our trip. He was especially helpful with laundry:)

Really quickly, I wanted to throw out a quick 9 months update. His doctor's appointment last Tuesday went wonderfully! I am SO happy that we made the decision to switch pediatricians...I was beyond impressed with every aspect of our new office. And he didn't even see the actual doctors! He was seen by a peds nurse practitioner...and I was blown away by how good she was!

On to the Noah update..he weighed in at 26 pounds 10 ounces, and was 31 inches long. Ha..that felt like I was announcing a boxing match or something:) Anyway..she didn't give me the percentages, but I know they'll be way up there at least for a while. He has slowed growth wise in the last couple of months, though, so I think he'll probably start leveling out..especially when he starts walking.

The PNP was very happy with Noah overall...he had completed all of the developmental tasks she asked about except for independently clapping, but that's okay. We're working on it:) He was a little ahead on some other categories, so it all evens out in the end.

Food wise, we're all about trying new things right now. He had his first Oreo cookie this week..well half of one anyway. Not my idea, let me tell you, but a waitress we had brought it to him and I felt bad because she kept asking about it. Let's just say Noah was a little wired that evening! Haha! Anyway...finger foods are well-loved by Noah. He still loves all of the Gerber puffs, crunchies, and yogurt melts. He also likes Earth's Best smiley snacks. As far as fresh and cooked foods go, he loves quartere banana pieces, bread (especially plain whole wheat sandwich bread), semolini pasta, and any kind of yogurt. We're working on finding a cheese that he likes (cheddar was apparently NOT a good first choice!). He also continues to eat about two jars of 3rd foods Earth's Best food a day. He typically takes 3 bottles, and drinks around 4 ounces of water. He always drinks the water from a sippy cup, and we're working on transitioning his milk into the sippy too. We've been doing his mid-day bottle in the sippy, although he usually won't hold the cup himself. But I still think he's doing great for his age.

His favorite toy of the moment is probably his ride-on Mater. I think he likes the independence of being able to move where he wants. Puzzles and books remain staples, and his various other small toys (alphabet spinner, linking letters, ring stacker, blocks/shape sorter, etc) are still well-loved. We recently have allowed Noah to play with his small Thomas trains, and I can already tell that will be a big thing for him. That definitely is still his favorite movie/show to watch! But he also likes Cars, PraiseBaby videos, and occasionally other shows on tv. Finally, I think its time to put the Exersaucer away. He's really too big for it, and mostly likes to use it to pull up now. Speaking of pulling up..Noah will do so on anything in sight! He's even just beginning to let go for short bits, so I think its only a matter of time before our little man is toddling around:)

Noah has still only said "mama" and "dada" at this point, but he is learning lots of new sounds every day. "Ba" and "ga" are his favorites it seems...I think perhaps "bye-bye" will be his next word. He has really gotten good at waving for now, at least! He is also very good at expressing his emotions right now...meaning that screaming and such have become all too familiar. Unfortunately. He truly has inherited his Daddy's temper, and isn't afraid to show it!

Still...Noah is hard to stay upset with, no matter how loud he just screamed in your ear:) He flashes his toothy little grin, and your heart just melts! His teeth have really come in, by the way, with three on the bottom and his two secondary teeth on top(I hope you know which I mean). Without his two front teeth in there, he looks like a little vampire or something:) I surely think we will all miss this look once those front teeth come in!

Well..that's about it for that. I'll leave you with some pictures from earlier today, at the pool and the small playground area next to it...

This is going to be a fun week:)