Sam Snapshot: 11 months

We are nearing the one year mark and having so much fun!  Sam is growing so fast now and learning new tricks every day.  Some highlights of this month are:

• He can say: hi, bye, uh-oh, mama, and dada.  I also think he's working on "ball" but I can't be sure.
• We have officially made the switch to sippy cups, yay!  No more night time bottles, boo.  I kind of enjoyed the nightly cuddle time when I gave him that bottle.
• His security "thing" has become his musical duck.  (Too bad it was a gift from the baby GUND nursery collection and I can't afford to buy duplicates.)
• He can walk about 5 or 6 steps toward something that interests him.
• He LOVES music and singing.  Michael and I wake him just about every morning to "This is the Day That the Lord Has Made" sing-off style.  Michael takes the beat box and I take the lead vocals, and Sam just about jumps out of his bed he's so excited!
• He can wave bye-bye and blow kisses right on cue.  
• He loves "breakfast club" with Kayden and Cameron.
• He eats real food most of the time.  No more baby food jars for him.  Peas and mac-n-cheese are a favorite, along with Daddy's pancakes and nutri-grain bars.
• We have TOP TEETH!  Just this week, both of his front uppers came through, just in time for some birthday cake and ice cream.  
• His favorite toys right now are his wooden rocking horse and his play gym in his room.  He can get on and off his horse and rock all by himself.  He and Daddy play-wrestle in the play gym every night before bed.  

Some 11-month old pics of our boy:

This is my personal favorite...you can't tell who is hiding from whom!

Scarecrow Sunday

For the past few weeks, our church has been doing our fall sermon series entitled "Prayer Can't Wait."  It's about believing in things unseen and placing your faith fully in God.  Our paster invited us to bring guests, and the church brought in some extra special "attractions" for all the guests who are visiting our church.  

The first weekend there was a petting zoo with some really neat animals for the kids to see.  One weekend they had a juggling act set up in the foyer to watch as we entered and exited the santuary.  Today there was a pair of step dancers who were really fun to watch.  

And, there was a tall scarecrow, my tall scarecrow.  Every October, my sweet husband turns into a tall scarecrow and entertains children and adults alike at CedarRock.  He tells jokes, does a hula-hoop contest with the kids, and this year he even added balloon animals for the kids.  Our church asked him if he would be the scarecrow during the fall sermon series, so he did.  He was so fun to watch, and the audience loved him.  What's not to love about a good-hearted scarecrow who will do just about anything for the sake of a smile?

Pancake Saturday

Saturday mornings have turned into "Pancake Saturdays" at our house.  Michael wakes up and makes coffee and pancakes and sausage and anything else he wants to whip up for a lazy Saturday morning.  Sam has quickly become a big fan of Pancake Saturdays.  He is getting really interested in real food now, and he wants to sit in our laps and sample everything while we eat.  

This is actually my plate of sand dollar pancakes (my husband knows me well), but Sam was so ready to eat them, I shared mine.  If this isn't what Saturday mornings are made of, I don't know what is...

The Benefits of Good Behavior

A few weeks ago, my smart-cookie sis came up with a new program for Kayden.  He's had a shaky start to Kindergarten, and she wanted to motivate him to stay on the right track, so she created a "marble system" where he could earn rewards based on how many marbles he earns.  Each day, he has the opportunity to earn 4 marbles; one for listening and obeying, one for being helpful, one for staying on green at school, and one for using his manners.  Each day she awards him his marbles he earned for that day to be placed in a jar and counted up at the end of the week to see what reward he has earned.  

This weekend, Kayden earned enough marbles to get a special reward trip.  Chuck-E-Cheese was his choice, and since Nani was in town and I like to tag along on fun trips, we all went with Kayden to celebrate his good behavior with a day of fun!  

Here's the man of the hour with his genius mom who came up with

a system that has worked so well at motivating Kayden.

And, the tag-a-longs that enjoyed a fun day out

Cameron was confident about riding with Barney, but Sam's first time 

riding rides at Chuck-E-Cheese was a slow start.

 Cameron and Nani rode the horse.

Sam was more entertained with all the lights on the game machines.

 Nani helped Cameron and Kayden play air hockey.

Kayden wins the game, hurt finger and all!

For five years now, ever since Kayden was born, Nani has been making the drive to Tennessee to see these grandbabies every few weeks like clockwork.  Even though we live far apart, she is and always has been, a really involved grandparent.  These boys light up when you tell them Nani is coming this weekend.  They stay glued to her while she is here.  They argue over at who's house Nani will spend the night.  They love their Nani, that's for sure.   

Tubes

Today is the day, the day that is supposed to mark the end of these chronic ear infections and antibiotic rounds and steroids, the day Dr. C puts tubes in Sam's ears.  We arrived at 7:00 am sharp at the surgery center and walked right through to our room.  They gave Sam a gown and a leg band, and he was such a brave little soldier, smiling and waving at all the nurses.  Quite the lady charmer!

 But, since he's only 11 months old and his patience is very short, he soon got restless and began to whine and cry.  Here is the face Mommy saw the most today...

 Then Daddy came to the rescue.  After dropping K-bug off at school, he came by to play "Where is Daddy hiding?" with Sam and sneak me a Frisco breakfast sandwich from Hardee's.  Does that man know me or what?! This is a brief moment sans crying just before surgery.  

The nurses came in to take Sam for surgery soon afterward.  They said it would only be about 10 minutes and they would be back.  He didn't have the have an IV.  No sticks, no needles.  They gave him anesthesia through a mask since the surgery was so short.  Tubes in, sinuses cleaned out, and back in my arms in 20 minutes total!  

...then he started to stir. Have you ever wondered what a grizzly bear acts like when he first comes out of hibernation?  Groggy, and hungry, and just plain grouchy?  It was kind of like that.  I could tell Sam was dizzy and confused from the anesthesia.  He would thrash around in my arms and cry with his whole body, but his eyes would still be closed.  This was the maddest I have ever seen him, EVER!  The anesthesiologist and nurses assured me this was all a normal reaction to the medicine and procedure, and he was not in any pain.  Huh, could have fooled me!

After 20 minutes of angry crying, we were released to cry all the way home.  And so we did, both of us.  Him because he was still mad about the whole thing, and me just for sympathy.  When we got home, I pulled out the big guns...food!  Banana puffs, apple juice in the sippy cup... still mad.  

Even though we are trying to break Sam from bottles, I had to do it.  I gave him a bottle and for the first time in about an hour, he settled down.  Now, he is sleeping soundly in his bed, and Momma is ready for a nap too!  Praise God for a surgery that went well and a peaceful sleeping boy!

See, What Had Happened Was...

I've put off this post for a while, not really knowing what to say, not having words.  But now, I have a purpose, a lesson learned, and the words to tell it.  So, here's the story of how Kayden hurt his fingers...

It was a lazy Saturday.  Kayden and Cameron had come over to our house for the morning.  We baked muffins, made plans to clean the house and even make spaghetti sauce later.  Soon, Kayden and I found ourselves in a challenge match on the Wii playing Just Dance.  When we finished our last round, he looked over at me and said, "I'm probably gonna be in trouble."  When I asked him why he replied, "Because I told Michael I was just coming inside for a minute.  I better get back outside and get to work."  He loves to work with Michael outside, hammering nails, using the drill, doing "boy stuff" outside.  So, we made him a thermus of water, and one for Uncle Michael too, and out he went.  Everyone is always very careful when he's "working" outside, and we had never had any issues before.  But this time, that's not what happened.

Not five minutes later I heard Kayden's scream from inside the house.  A metal water tank had slipped off its jack and smashed Kayden's two fingers very seriously.  Michael scooped Kayden up, and I met him about the time he was coming in the back door.  "We gotta go," was all he said, but I couldn't.  Cam and Sam were both napping.  So, Michael and Kayden sped off without me to the Bedford County ER.  I wanted to go with them.  I thought the doctors would be able to stitch up his fingers and this all be over.  But, that's not what happened.

Shortly after Michael left the house, I realized he forgot his wallet and phone.  I made arrangements for our neighbors to come over and stay with Cam and Sam, called Amanda and told her to meet me at the ER, and I left.  In route, my phone rang, and it was Betsy from the ER needing Amanda's phone number.  They could not work on Kayden until they had her permission.  I gave it to her, then she handed the phone to Michael.  He said, "Jenni, can you please hurry." and began to sob.  Right then, I knew this was much more serious than I thought.  He was scared, and my husband doesn't get scared by much.  When I got to the ER, Kayden was already being looked at by a team of nurses and doctors.  He was crying hysterically, mainly because the were pouring "the brown stuff" (iodine) all over his fingers and it really hurt.  We prayed right then that God would calm Kayden and ease the pain, that his fingers would be completely healed.  But, that's not what happened.

Amanda arrived shortly afterward where the doctors told her they could not work on this kind of injury here, and Kayden needed to be transported by ambulance to Vanderbuilt.  They also said he would most likely loose the damaged portion of his middle finger.  I watched as my husband made a special trip home and back to get "silky," so Kayden would have it for the ambulance ride.  I watched my sister bravely take it all in, talk to the doctors, and soothe her son with a composure that can only be described as God-given.  I trusted in the fact that Vanderbuilt has some of the best doctors in the country, and they could work miracles on Kayden's fingers.  Face-planted in the ground beside my bed, I prayed that Kayden would not lose his finger, that the damage would not leave permanent scars.  I pleaded for complete healing.  But, that's not what happened.

Kayden called me from the hospital to ask me a question, "Jenni, could you please have your church pray for my finger?  And, tell Michael I can't come back to work today." I had already contacted my small group, sent a message to my prayer warrior friends on Facebook, and prayed countless times with Michael.  Eight hours after Kayden sustained his injury, a plastic surgeon and a bone doctor worked together to rebuild the mess that was Kayden's fingertip. They sewed and stitched it all back together as best they could.  Each followup visit has brought positive comments from the doctors.  It has healed better than they expected.  However, Kayden is going to lose some portion of his finger.  We just don't know how much.  Time will tell.  The doctors are still giving it time to heal and make new tissue.  This isn't what I wanted to happen.

...and I'm okay with it.  I prayed for so long and so hard for complete healing, never considering God's will, his plan, in this situation.  Even Jesus plead with God, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will."  Jesus didn't want to be beaten within an inch of his life and crucified.  He asked God if there was another way.  But, above all, he asked for God's will to be done, not his own.

There is peace in wanting what God wants.  My God is a mighty God who can save fingers.  His will at this time does not include COMPLETE restoration of Kayden's finger.  But I am thankful.  Thankful for the five-year old who took it all in and showed bravery better than most of the adults.  Thankful for a family that pulls together during times of need and supports each other.  Thankful for friends who are faithful in prayer.  Thankful for a God who has a perfect will for our lives, who has plans to strengthen us, not to harm us.

...and that's what had happened.