Getting ready!

We (and by we, I would say about 99% me) have been getting everything ready for Liam to come - well, as ready as you can get! My bags are packed, everything is washed, car seat ready (but William does not want me to put it in until 36 weeks in case I get in an accident - because apparently if there is an empty car seat, the firefighters will go searching for a baby), every thing set up, etc. I am so excited and at the same time, cannot imagine it. I cannot imagine life with another baby (just like I could not imagine life with Logan) but we are so excited for this new chapter that God has graced us with. In trying to get ready, I made a basket for Logan and William for the hospital (and since I know William does not read this so I can tell you what is in it). Logan has several activities that he can do, a hat, and some snacks. William has monster drinks, red bull, and Gatorade. I feel like I have so much packed that we are basically moving in to the hospital. Oh well, I don't care because last time, I really did not bring anything. This time, I am bringing the boppy to maybe help with breastfeeding, clothes for his little newborn pics, etc. I also made the boys shirts to wear at the hospital. They match, yes and William is NOT a fan, but I figure they will only wear them once or twice so he will be fine. I think they are cute and want Logan to feel extra special!

I love how they turned out. I ordered the iron-on ties from Etsy and found the white shirt for Logan at target and it was 50% off! It is harder than you think to find a plain white shirt!

Then, had this onesie from Logan and there is a stain on it (even after bleaching) and I figured it is kinda hard to see and he will only wear it a few times, so free is good! 

Also, we went to build-a-bear. Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I told William I wanted to take Logan to build-a-bear so that he could make Liam a bear. Logan has Teddy, which was mine and I thought it would be nice for Liam to have something extra special too! So, Logan and I went - we stopped on the way to a friend's baby shower and he LOVED it! Out of all the bears he chose the bunny. I tried to say, Hey, what about this bear- he's cute... No- I like the bunny. Ok, so we went with the bunny. Then, when I asked him what he wanted to make for Liam he said (in a very "duh- mom" type voice) umm, a bunny- we need matching bunnies. Well, ok. So, he made two bunnies- one for him and one for Liam. It was fun and when we went to name them, he (with NO input from me) named his bunny "Iron Man Bunny" and named Liam's "Bunny Rabbit". There was actually an iron man outfit that I wanted to get but could NOT bring myself to spend $15 on a silly outfit. So, maybe next time we can get the outfit. It was so fun and I am so thankful that God allowed us to spend that time together.

We also did the merry-go-round at the Mall of GA. Being pregnant and on that thing was not a good idea! I thought I was going to pass out or something... but he had fun and that is all that matters!

We had to wait in line for a bit- I kept asking him to make sure he wanted the bunny...

Stepping on the trigger to fill the bunnies

And, giving the bunnies their first bath! 

I am so in love with this little miracle God has blessed us with. I cannot imagine loving him more or another baby as much, but I know I will... 

Randomness

First I guess I will say that I am super excited that we are in the third trimester (well, we technically entered it last week)!!! I am 28 weeks today and that is pretty exciting. I really don't know why, but it still REALLY has not sunk in that we are about to have a baby! It is so weird. I am excited for August/ September but also ok that it takes its time getting here! NOT that I am not excited about meeting our huge miracle, but more to give us a little more time to work things out as far as work goes...

On a totally different note, I am obsessed with Mexican food, jalapenos, etc. and cannot get enough of it... well, I finally was able to get Moe's and I really think I could eat it every day! There is a guy who works there and his name (well he goes by) "Happy" and he is SO nice. Well, he drew me and Liam on my cheese dip! Made me smile!

Also, at church, the teacher is out of town for a bit, so we stayed in there last night... no real agenda, but it was fun. This is Logan's masterpiece... I am so proud of him! He knows how to cut, and did a good job of cutting and holding the scissors! I know you are like, really, cutting? But, we have never given him scissors or anything and I know they did not do that in school or church, so call it what you will, but I was proud of him! He cut the paper and glued other cuts of paper to his purple piece. He wanted to bring it home and keep it "forever and ever"...

And, every night William is at work, we take pictures and send them to Daddy- these are some from the other night...

These are apparently Dinosaurs chomping each other

Then, the dinosaur chomping at Daddy...

I guess I don't notice it as much because I have the great blessing of seeing him everyday, but in pictures, I notice that he is so grown-up and getting so big! I just praise God for this blessing and miracle that He has entrusted us with!

Logan Update

I started calling around yesterday to the 5 Pediatric Neurologists that the pediatrician gave me. The first 2 had full schedules until August and could put me on a wait list for September. So, I called the 3rd one and they just happened to have an opening for the same day- yesterday. I did NOT want to take off work- but did what I had to do. William was at work but I left and we went to the neuro. First, I must say that I LOVE this doctor- Dr. Zurbrugg. He was so great. Anyway, he saw us and read the EEG results and notes. He said that CHOA tends to be overly cautious when reading the EEG results as to not possibly miss something. So there was some uneven reaction in his brain during the light-flashing part of the test, but the doctor said that it would be that way for any child his age. In the end, we learned that he does not have steady seizure activity in his brain. So, that was fantastic, however, we still have to watch him carefully. They do not put children on meds unless there are many seizures a day - every day. When you start the meds, you have to take them twice a day for 2 years, minimum. That is definitely something we do NOT want to do right now, especially since he has just had a few episodes. So, we cannot let him take a bath (unless our eyes do not leave him the entire time) because if he has an episode, even for 5/10 seconds, he can drown. Also, we and everyone who sees him (teachers at school, church, etc.) will need to know about it, what it looks like and kinda help us out if he does have an episode. There is nothing you can do, they REALLY want a video but that is going to be difficult! So, they said to pinch his nose if he starts having one because the nose-pinching sends a signal straight to the brain. If he reacts, then the episode is either over or he was just staring off but if he does not react- he is having one. So, my homework is to ask all family members if they have ever had seizures (well female family members)- this is apparently the most genetic type of seizure. I don't think anyone has, but I will get to asking! He also has a speech dysfluency thing going on (apparently it is different than studdering) and the doctor said that it is just his brain acting so fast that his mouth cannot keep up- which is literally how it sounds when he gets going- but he said that we just need to NEVER let him see our frustration or anxiety about it and that he will outgrow it (i.e. do not sat stuff like, "spit it out" or "come on" etc. Which, we have not but trust me there are times you just want to scream!). He said there MAY be a link between that and the abscence seizures, but just a small chance. All- in- all he looks great and we will just be watching him and documenting anything that happens. Again, I am so thankful and praise God that this is all it is and that he has no idea about any of it. In the past two weeks- going to CHOA for the EEG and to this neuro office- I have really seen the other side of how things COULD be. At CHOA, you see many children walking around (or in a wagon) that have cancer, surgeries, etc. And, at the neuro, well let's just say that Logan was the most "normal" child in there- not having to have a special speech translator, didn't have major mental illness, etc. No matter how crazy, stressful or "bad" our problems seem, I know it could be much worse and that my baby could be very very sick- and I just praise God that we only have the problems that we have.

Happenings with Logan

It has been a stressful, crazy couple weeks. I got a call Thursday, May 9th when Gina picked up Logan from school. He was acting weird and when she walked in the room to get him he stood up, acted like he had no idea who they were and went blank. The teacher saw everything too, which is good, especially so no one person thought they were loosing their mind or just seeing something that wasn't. OF COURSE, this all had to happen the week William was out of town, in Alabama for training. I was at work and let me tell you- even though nothing bad really happened, it killed me that I could not be there and all I wanted to do was rush home and hold him. The moment I was told about it, I remembered when he was about 1 1/2 years old the same thing happened- I remember it so vividly. He was in his firefighter pajamas, sitting in his high chair and we were feeding him. William and I were both there. All of a sudden he went blank/ just stared into the air. We yelled at him, clapped, shook him (gently) and nothing worked. He finally came around and it was so weird. I remember feeling so scared but at the same time it was like he just was day-dreaming. So, we watched him but kinda put it in the back of our minds, just thinking he was our crazy kid so what more do you expect? Well, it happened again at school and later that day in the back yard. I called the doctor first thing in the morning and by that point we figured the only thing it could be is Abscence seizures. So, we saw the doctor and of course, they could not do anything or say anything except to confirm our suspicions that in deed, that is what it sounds like. I am very thankful that he has no idea what happened/ what is going on. With this type of seizure, there is no state of confusion afterward- so they just kinda snap out of it and continue as normal, having no idea what happened. We had to schedule an EEG with CHOA. Our appointment was Friday, May 17th and I was so nervous. First, we told Logan all about it, we all watched the video of what would happen, etc. So, that definitely helped, especially with someone like Logan. He has got to know anything and everything that is going on/ will go on or else he gets very freaked out and upset. I think I was the most nervous out of everyone. We had to do some prepping for the EEG. First, he could have no sugar for 24hrs, then we had to cut his sleep short by at least 4 hours. That was the hard part! So I ended up putting him to sleep 2 hours later and waking him up 2 hours earlier. He was not very happy about that part! Really, I was not either- William was at work, so I lost all the sleep too! When I got him up in the morning, we had to take a bath and wash his hair so that the electrodes would stick appropriately. Then, we were on our way. We got there and he did SO well! I was so proud of him and how well he did. Here is kinda how it went, over the course of about 2ish hours:

This is at the beginning- he got up on the bed and the guy was so good with him.

Then, he started marking on his head/ forehead with a wax pencil. After all the measuring (to see where to put the electrodes) and marking, they had to clean each spot.

Then he started putting on the electrodes- one by one and he gave Logan a mirror. Again, if he can see what is going on and you have prepped him- he tends to do very well. It reminds me of when I was younger and had to have stitches in my chin- I asked for a mirror to watch and I watched the whole thing!

Eventhough nothing "happened" to him or the test did not hurt, it still broke my heart to see this- and to see him having to go through all of this- even though it was just a test. I cannot imagine what others go through with their children who need surgeries and such. 

Then they had to wrap it all up so they would not come off. 

This was the part that broke my heart. He had to lay there and blow a pinwheel thing for at least 3 minutes straight. Basically, they are getting him to breathe heavy/ hyperventilate. He was great but about 1/2 way he just starts saying he needs a rest, needs to wait a minute. Well, he couldn't or else we would have to start the test all over again. So we had to keep pushing him through and he just kept say, "I just need a break" and it just broke my heart. 

They also made him go to sleep for about 10/15 minutes. Then woke him up to flash a bunch of strobe/ cop light type things in his face. He was not excited that he had to be woken up. But, he still did a great job! 

We were so proud of him and how he handled everything! The guy doing it told us how uncommon it was for children to act so well and cooperate. There was even a child screaming across the hall- for an hour or so. We are so thankful that he was cooperative and did so well. We are so blessed and I am looking forward to seeing the results of the EEG. CHOA said the doctor should get the results within 5 business days. That puts it at Tuesday, May 28th at the latest. He has not had any more that we know of, but since it can be just a few seconds at a time, it is easily confused with inattentiveness or a child just "not listening". So, he could have had some more/ still have them and we may just not be able to catch it. Either way, it is in God's hands and if we have to press forward with treatment, we are very fortunate that they are petit mal seizures and nothing much worse. It still is stressful and upsetting and always will be when it comes to my baby but I know everything will be just fine. 

Well, we got the results... they did not see any seizures at the time of the EEG, but they did see some abnormalities that cannot be explained by that level of doctor. SO we are off to the pediatric neurologist and we will go from there. Overall, I am nervous and just want to be with him 24/7 but in the end, I know that it is all in God's hands and He will be right there with us- guiding us and carrying us every step of the way. 

Randomness

This week has been surprisingly Ok with William being gone- except for a little interruption that I had to leave work Wednesday to take Logan to the doctor but all is good. His appointment was in the morning so I was only at work for a couple hours and we had SOOO much fun the rest of the day. It was like I was in a dream- just being able to be with him, do fun things, and be apart of his life. It was such a blessing. After the doctor, we went and had a bite to eat at Sonic. We both are in love with corn dogs. Then, we went across the street to the library. We both got library cards and I was so disappointed that their children's section was closed for remodeling but the silly thing is that they had NO children's books out. Wouldn't you just put some on one of the 5 empty book shelves sitting in the lobby so that kids can get some books while you are renovating? Made no sense, but luckily someone had returned a couple books so we were able to get the book that someone had just returned. After the library we went home. I have been doing some serious cleaning/ organizing. The weekend before William left we rearranged the 3 rooms upstairs. It was crazy. We first had to clean up/ organize the "fire" room which has now become William's leather working room. After that was cleaned up we moved the bed from Liam's room, my 2 scrapbook tables and ALL of my craft stuff into the "fire" room. So, it looks ok in there, it is just a random assortment of different spaces. There is his workbench for leather, a bed/ sleeping area, craft area and a tiny guitar/amp area... After that was finally arranged, we were able to put the crib up in Liam's room, move 1/2 the furniture from Logan's room into Liam's room and then start to get the bins of baby stuff out of the bonus room attic area. So, it was a lot. We have a ton of piles of stuff to give away/ sell. Like we will ever get around to a yard sale? Who knows- that is William's thoughts. So, the bedrooms are pretty good for right now. Next, I have to find a spot for the papazan chair because the crate needs to go on the landing. I am getting EXTREMELY irritated with the dogs. It is best for everyone that they go back in the crate. So back to the point- after going through all the baby stuff, I had to then start organizing the kitchen/ cabinets for bottles/ formula, etc. So I did that yesterday while Logan "rested" and watched a movie. We then went to the park and played for a bit and I was able to finish Liam's letters when we got back from the park. Then it was time for dinner, then bath then church. It was such an amazing feeling to be able to get Logan fed and bathed before church so he could just go to bed when we got home. Again, it was a huge blessing that I ended up begin off most of yesterday, I think we both loved it!

Here are some pictures from our day:

At the park

Eating at Sonic

He made this for me at church! Mrs. Mary said that you could put your ring or whatever in it... without me asking, Logan said, "Look- you just put your keys in it or something- that's it. Ok"

Nighttime pictures to send daddy- he says he is blasting off like MegaMind but I don't remember this part from the movie. 

My cute little blessing

Letters I made for Liam- I think I like them, we will have to see how they look on the wall...

Escape to Tennessee

I have been so stressed and overwhelmed with work and so on and I knew I had a holiday coming up- Monday, April 22 is Confederate Memorial Day. Well, I have Fridays off as well, so I figured this would be the perfect time for a getaway- if William could get off. Basically, they hardly ever approve leave and the only way you can get off is to call in sick- which he will not do (both frustrating and very admirable). So, we just hoped and prayed and they gave him the day off! So, we left Thursday after I got off of work. William and Logan came and met me at the fire station he used to work at right next to my work- he left his truck there and we were off! Let me tell you- the best time to travel with a young one is at night! I am so glad we decided to leave that night! And, next time, I will pack for winter in the spring or vice -versa- it was so cold!

We went to the Tuckaleechee Caverns in Townsend, Tennessee. It was so much fun. 

We also went and checked out Sweetwater Valley Farm. It was really neat to see all the cows and learn how they made cheese! And, the samples- SO many samples and different flavors of cheese and they were all SO good!

This is where the cows come and get milked 3 times a day. They are such creatures of habit that no one has to even show them what to do. They walk in, back up and the gate comes down in front of them. When they are finished and the gate is up- they wait on everyone (all the cows) in there to finish- like they are all waiting on their friends. Once they are all done, they walk out- it was so cool and crazy!

It is hard to see but behind in the plastic crate looking things, there are baby cows- one per unit and this is the "nursery" where the babies are until they are weaned.

baby cows, just chilling

This was the barn that had a TON of information, learning materials. It was EXTREMELY Beautiful here!

Then we went to Circle G ranch- it was so awesome! It was very similar to the Wild Animal Safari in GA. Learning from our experience there, we definitely rented the vehicle to drive thru there and that was a great decision! Logan and I sat in the back of the SUV with the glass up and fed the animals as we drove through! I don't think it would have been as much fun if we took the van! 

This cow would not stop stalking us... 

The boys rode the camel! Logan loved it and did not want to get off!

waiting on the camel~

These pigs were just running around everywhere

He said the alligator was mean so he wanted to poke his eye

Posing with the camel

This zebra was nice- much less crazy than the cow- 

And, some of the animals that were following us

We also went to the zoo. You would think by this point we would have seen plenty of animals but ya know... whatever... So I LOVE the Knoxville ZOO. It is SO kid friendly and almost everything there is geared towards kids. They have a carousel, petting area (where you brush goats), play zone, etc. He loved it- we went when he was younger but now he really loves it! 

I don't know what is going on here... just our awesomely crazy kid!

So, that was pretty much our trip. We went with nothing really in mind except to get away, de-stress and not worry about anything- and we did just that! We pretty much had to travel to Knoxville almost each day but it is about 30 minutes from the house- so not too bad. We just started our day- explored, ended up at a place (such as above) and went back to the house and just chilled. It was great and I am so thankful that we have a free "vacation house" that we can go to if we ever have time off! 

So remember when I said that William's truck was left at the station so we could just leave from Atlanta? Well, we are on our way home, go to my mom's house to grab the dogs, stop at the grocery and I ran in for a few quick items... and we pull in to our house... and notice THE TRUCK (or lack of vehicle). Neither of us could believe that we forgot to go get William's truck at the station nor did it even come close to crossing our minds! So, we ate dinner got everything ready for school/ work the next day and drove to Atlanta then back home. No relaxing evening, but oh well, in the end it was all worth it!

We are very thankful and grateful for all that we have and were able to do. We Praise God and thank Him each day for our many many blessings (even though we do complain about things sometimes) if we just step back and bask in His Glory- we are set back on track. There is only one "thing" in this life that matters- and that is knowing and having a personal relationship with Our Father, showing via our actions and telling others about Him and working each day to let His light and His Glory shine through us. 

Random Ramblings...

I Google Imaged "random" and this is what I got...

There has not really been much going on lately... just work, church, home, etc. but I feel like I can finally rest for a second. We got the nurseries at church moved and all put together (in 2 weeks) and that was a pretty large task. With many helping, we were able to get the nurseries to the back of the church where all would be more safe. I think many of us spent every minute/ hour possible at church (my house is proof) so I am happy that I may finally get a chance to catch up on laundry/ cleaning.

In baby news, there has not been much going on, just can't wait until April 23rd where we will finally be able to call him/her by his/her name! I started feeling the baby move a few weeks ago- but just the feeling of bubbles or squirms. Now, the past 3 days, I have started feeling more movement and it is stronger. It is so incredible and totally weird at the same time. I may be the only one who thinks this, but have you ever really stopped to think about this little miracle inside you? You have a human being swimming around - inside you! That is just weird to me. And, try explaining these things to a 3 year old. It just gets weirder the things that we talk about. But, each day that I do think about it, I am just reminded about how awesome God is and His little miracle he has entrusted us with (I know - what was He thinking?) We are not perfect but we do have big hearts and this little blessing, along with Logan, are so loved- more than I can even express and probably more than they will ever know.

Anyway, so that is pretty much it, nothing exciting. I do start my shots today so that should be loads of fun!

In Logan news, we tried the dentist thing again... He went for the first time back in November I believe and it was an event. First, we could not find a dentist we liked, then we just went for paying out of pocket seeing as this one was the only one we liked (but didn't accept) our insurance. They were not even cleaning his teeth- just looking and he screamed the whole time. Now, it is time for his cleaning and we found a dentist that takes our insurance and that is super nice... in McDonough. So, William and Logan went and we had talked it up, saying they were just going to brush his teeth, etc. As soon as they got there, he was fine... then he went back. The moment he saw all the chairs and people and all he started freaking out. And, as soon as he left he was fine. So, they rescheduled and we have a couple weeks to work on the idea of the dentist. I have been needing to go to our dentist but they are not open on Fridays so I felt like this was the perfect time to go- I figured I would go, have Logan go with me and he could see all that goes on, and with that and "practicing" at home, I am praying it will be better next time. We will see...

Updating Logan's room so he won't be left out...

We never really went all out on decorating Logan's room. After all, all he did was sleep in there and up until this point he didn't really care. Well, he still probably would not care, but I guess we (and probably mostly me) felt bad that his room was so BLAH! We did not want to paint when he was little because we did not want something baby-ish that he would grow out of soon... so we just decorated with other items besides paint. Then, maybe a year or so ago we advanced to a more big-boy room. Again, we did not want it to be something he would grow out of, so we went with red, blue, khaki, and white. I mean if he really wanted, he could take this stuff to college. Not that he will, because I will want him to live in our house forever :) But, we still did not paint. Now, Logan has voiced his concerns about his room. One day we were at Home Depot gathering paint chip samples for one day what we may want to paint the church nursery, well that started everything. On his own, he stated he wanted to paint his room and wanted it to be blue. Well, the room next to his is blue (like baby blue and now I cannot stand it). So, after he kept on about it, I figured we should probably get his room painted before we do the baby's room... that we he feels like he is still important. So, we did and we knocked it out mostly during his nap on Saturday. We were/ are exhausted but I LOVE it... and so does Logan. Here are some pics...

This is the wall to the left when you walk in... it later becomes a deep navy color. But, you can see the difference between the yellow/khaki builder paint and the new gray/khaki color. I call it gray / khaki because in different lighting it will look gray or sometimes a suedeish-khaki color.

It is hard to see the colors in the phone picture, but you can sortof tell when in contrast to the white around the window / baseboards. This dresser will soon be moving to the baby's room and a chair from the other room will be coming in here...

The toy box will soon be relocated to inside that closet! But there is a piece of furniture for the baby's room in there right now... This chair will be moving to the baby's room and maybe the table as well. 

I have not hung anything up yet... but soon.

And, his bed... that he loves!

So, that is his new room that will stay like that and will never be repainted unless he is old enough to do it!