Sick

As you might have figured out seeing that this post is titled sick that I was going to post about how angry I am that Gage is sick again however I now realized that I am blessed that he is only a little bit sick. I'll explain...there is another little miracle baby out there who is terribly sick right now. His name is baby Stellan and you can read about his story at http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ I will give you a quick run down, I have been reading his amazing story since last summer when his mom was about 20wks pregnant and told her son was going to die before he was born because his tiny little heart was in SVT (dangerous heart rhythm), then a heart block, and fetal hydrops, you get the point he was a sick baby who was to young to be born and survive. After a long hospital stay and a massive prayer movement his little heart was under control and mckmama was able to carry him close to term, close enough that he was born and able to go home with her, yes you read that right, baby Stellan heart appeared to be healed upon his birth. Well now he is 5 months old and has spent the last week in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) at a Children's Hospital because 8 days ago he perfectly functioning heart flipped back into SVT and sometimes V-tach. The Dr.s have not been able to convert his little heart and his body is having to fight so hard but seems to be popping out. He and his mother have taught me so much about, surrendering to God, strength, wisdom, belief, glory, miracles, and did I mention strength? Not physical strength as much as emotional and very much spiritual. I do not know this little boy, his mother, father, two brothers, and his sister but I have to tell you that I am amazed by this family and the prayer movement following them. Mckmama's blog is turned more than a million visitors this week, that is a lot of prayers. Little Stellan is already a miracle in so many ways, he has really brought me closer to God and is a great example of the power of prayer. This little boy has had so much life purpose for so many people in his little 5 months of life and I am in awe. Please drop to your knees and pray for baby Stellan and his family. This little boy has impacted my life and I am on bended knee praying.....

Here is a picture of Stellan fighting for his life.

So yes Gage is sick, probably a cold or an ear infection, but that is it and I am humble.

Baptism

You read that right, I am a proud mother of one amazing 10 year old baptised son. Daimen was saved last year around this time but because of two (leg/arm) casts he could not follow through with baptism. He met with the pastor 3 weeks ago and decided he wanted to be baptised. I could not be prouder. Fast forward to this past Sunday 3/22/09 at 11am, Daimen and I were in a little changing room getting ready for the service to begin, he had so much nervous energy and was grinning ear to ear.

The pastor came and showed him where to put his hands and what was going to happen, then 10 minutes later the children's pastor came and showed him the same thing, Daimen took it like a champ and just followed along.

Sarah came back to visit for awhile and then MeMe (pictured below) came to give him a big hug before the service. He had about 20 people in attendance to witness this remarkable event.
The service started and the pastor called him down in the water, he asked Daimen "have you accepted God as your Lord and Savior" Daimen says "Yes", the pastor "I baptise you in the name of the father" he paused so Daimen says...."Yes", the pastor "in the name of the son" pause, so Daimen says "Yes" again, pastor "and the Holy Spirt" Daimen says "Yes" again, pastor and congregation giggle at how cute all the "yes's" were and then under he goes. It was such a wonderful moment I will cherish forever. Daimen was so proud that the sermon that day included and was about the Lord's Supper & Baptism. He stated how he was so lucky to have it on the same day but I know luck has nothing to do with it. Thank you Lord.

The Super Bug

This is the bad part of the week.....

Gage has been sick since Thursday March 12th, his 4th day at day care grrrrrr. Well on Monday (the day Mel flew in) Jer stayed home with the baby and I met him at the Dr's office to get his ears checked. He is pulling on his ears a bunch so we figured his "cold" moved into his ears. No ear infection was found and he said we could use a humidifier and saline drops for the coughing and congestion. I stayed home with him Tuesday (day Mel was here) and he seemed to get better. Wednesday he went to day care. By Thursday his cough was worse and he preformed an exorcism type act with about 4 ozs of formula while laying on his back. After his movie star choking performance I decided he was going back to the Dr's. I took him to his Dr. and they ran tests and took a chest x-ray (which was awful because I had to force him in such an uncomfortable position). Thursday evening a nurse called and said he was positive for RSV, it should be called VB4B (very bad for babies). The nurse had us freaked out a bit with talk of breathing machines, hospital stays, 6wks contagious, Death etc... So Friday when my regular nurse called and said "the nurse from the night before read the results wrong, Gage does NOT have RSV, he has the FLU", I could not have been happier in that moment.

Yuh I know the flu is nothing to turn your nose at but it is NOT RSV and is a much better virus to battle for a 3 month old. So yes, my 3 month old has the FLU and we are getting through it. Luckily all of us had the flu shot last fall so we are all well enough to take care of the little one. Mu & Pappy have taken the time to take care of him yesterday and today, if we think he is better he will go back to the germ fair I mean day care tomorrow. Thank you M&P!!

On a happier note, Gage and all of his chunk weighed in at a whooping 17lbs 5oz at exactly 3 months old, I have a rolly polly bundle of love, thank you Lord. On Sunday our little rolly polly boy rolled himself over from his belly to his back, way to go big-man!

I know I usually post a picture of the moment but I have not taken many since the babe got sick, plus I am not sure if I want to remember him being miserably sick, so here is a pic of Gage at 12wks with Daddy, flying high (and yes he did puke right in his fathers mouth shortly after this picture was taken, NICE shot Gage).

I know tomorrow is Wednesday and it is suppose to be "Wordless Wednesday" but I must show and tell about my proudest moment of last week, stay tuned....

Tazmanian Devil aka MEL

I have so many things to post about in the next few days because last week was a busy/fun/sad/sick/scary/stressful/proud 7days. I will start at the beginning with Mel's whirlwind visit.

She flew in on Monday at 5:30pm, we spent the evening eating pizza and talking. Then Tuesday morning we (baby, mel, I) went to an appointment she had downtown. I was driving and the baby was in the passenger seat so Mel was in the back, since I was wearing a black jacket and had to ask where I was going, I decided I would act like her personal chauffeur. All day long I was saying, miss can I..., miss where..., oh thank you miss...., and please don't beat me miss in this weird slurred accent. It was funny. While Mel went and did her business Gage and I sat at her old office with Mel's friend Ashley and Big G her 1yr old son. G is so very cute and had me rolling when he pointed to himself and said "I a stinker". When Mel was finished us girls and the two little boys went to Ihop for breakfast, we had tons of fun.

Mel and I went home from Ihop and spent about 2hrs talking, watching reality shows and spending time with Gage and then it was back to the airport because her plane left at 3pm. If you have not figured it out by now the title of this post describes Mels visit accurately, she flew in stayed 23hrs and was gone with a dust cloud behind her. I do have to admit....IT was a Great 23hrs and I was so happy to have gotten the chance to see her. Love you Mel!

Come back soon that was just the beginning of last week.......

Faces

I love pictures of faces (not my own of course). My children have the best looking faces around, no I am not partial, it is the truth! All three of them have such a unique shape and appearance to their face, I just want to kiss them constantly (poor Daimen). I wanted to post some of my favorite faces....



See what I mean, Gorgeous!

Come back soon for a post on Gage's Dr's Appointment and Mel's Visit

The VicifieR

Gage started daycare last week and by Thursday he seemed to get into the swing of things (we are not going to talk about how good I did….nothing great to say about that). Thursday was also the day when the sniffles began. Yes that is right, my poor baby got his first cold. We spent the weekend hunkered down in the house because the weather was awful for a sick baby (cold, rainy). His poor little sinuses were so congested I had to hold a cap full of Vicks in front of his nose before a few of his bottles so he could breath. That is when I had a fantastic idea for an invention…..the Vicifier, a pacifier that has a round compartment on the front with small holes in it that you can open and put Vicks in. That way a baby can inhale vicks without putting it on them. I could be a millionaire next week with that idea. Every house with a baby would have a Vicifier (if they were smart). Babies are so great, even through his sniffles Gage spent a lot of time giggling this weekend, he thinks Daimen is the funniest thing. Daimen says “hi” in this high pitch voice and Gage loves it.

Jer is home with the baby today because he is still sick and was real needy yesterday plus he has a Dr’s appointment today to check his ears (he has been pulling on them). I am leaving work a bit early and meeting them at the Dr’s and from there it is on to the airport to pick up my bff, Mel. She is coming down to visit and for a personal appointment. I am taking tomorrow off so I can drive her where she needs to go and to visit with her a bit because she is back on a plane home tomorrow afternoon. It is a bummer that she can’t stay longer but great that she is coming for a bit.

In other news my youngest sister in-law got engaged this past weekend. I am so excited for them, Congrats guys!!

MoHawks and Dress Up

Gage has the most hidden curly hair, it only comes out when he is sweating and moves his head around, then he looks likes bozo's baby (his hair sticks up and out the top and sides). However most of the time when it is not wet it is straight, the baby fine texture of it smooths the hair out. After his shower I blow dry his hair (he loves that) and it starts to stick straight up on the top so I do what any other hip mom would do and he gets a very stylish Mohawk every other day. I do not use any product on his head to make it stand up. I must say he sports a mean Mohawk and I am a bit jealous. Check it out......

here is fresh out of the shower and blown dry

This one is the next day hawk, it does not have the same life in it as the first day hawk but come-on how does your hair look on day Two?


Ok before you give me any grief, I am a women and can not help but play dress up with a life size doll. Gage is a great sport at it and I get to see how all the amazing outfits people bought him look.

We call this look below, Boot Camp @ the Beach, as you can see Gage is sporting the brilliant Major Cutie camouflage onesie paired with the Khaki keep the sun from your eyes hat and don't forget the I'm so precious khaki kitty slippers, salute to you beach bum.
We call this next look Prison Preppy, that's right folks we did go there, Gage is draped with the green horizontal prison stripes, reaching down to the knee length white socks under the I'm on the run green tennis shoe socks, then to top it off is the keep the sun from my face while I am running from the cops cap.

Here he is on the run already.

I needed that comedy relief today. Tomorrow is Gage's first day of daycare and I go back to work, I am really torn about it. I know it will be ok and we will adjust, I mean women have had to use daycare for a long time and I am sure they went through the same heartache. Forget the babyblues I am having the awayfromthebabyblues and I have not even been away yet. I will not lie I have shead many tears from these blues and I do hope the anxiety will fade soon after his first day. Oh how I pray. I will let you know how it is going tomorrow.

The Spectrum

Gage has a large spectrum of expressions. Lets just say he knows what he wants and when he wants it. The line from giggling to fussing is marginal to say the least. For the most part he is a happy baby. He is sleeping so good at night and wakes in the best mood ever. The best part of waking up is that smile he and Daimen has even if it is 430 or 5am. I was made to be a mother.

Gage sleeps most of the morning time and is up and down in the evening with little fussing at most. Then there is that hour the infamous Witching Hour, his is 630-730pm every night. He has the most amazing body clock. He will start fussing, then it is full on screaming in a matter of minutes. Each time I look at the clock and sure enough it is 630 on the nose. He gets it out of his system and by 730 he is talking and cooing all over again. I can not complain to much, an hour a day is do-able. To show the spectrum these two pics were taken within a minute of each other.

Happy cooing baby.....

not so happy baby (but so cute in his frustration)

Then a few seconds and happy dance later....

Then he decides to straddle that line again and lean more towards fussy all in the same minute.

Coming soon....Phone Home and Ceral, Back to work I go, MoHawks & Dress Up.

Photographer

I have a passion for pictures, I love to take them but never get them developed. I put them on a disk and store them away, so this is a great way to display my pictures. I love black and white and color photos. I also like up close and sentimental pictures (if you haven't figured that out by now). This past week when Gage was 10wks the weather was perfect for outside pictures. I have so many favorites so the next few posts will be Gage outside at 10wks old.

Hands -N- Feet

(Gage 3wk feet with Daddy's ring)

Lets talk about hands and feet. Gage has really big feet for a baby his age, but is that a huge surprise, he is a big baby. I love to dress his feet in trumpette socks that look like he is wearing sneakers, slippers, and Daddy's ring as seen above. I do not have to much to say about his feet other than they are perfect of course, ticklish, and his first 3 toes are the same length.

(two pics above Gage's feet 10wks)


Onto hands, Gage has the cutest little hands. When he is tired or eating he takes his right hand and pets whomever is holding him at the time, it is so neat. He his a firm believer that his hands are his own personal lollipops. They are constantly in his mouth. First a finger or two then if given time he goes for the whole fist. It does not seem to matter whose hands or fingers they are he is a equal opportunity slobberer (is that a word?). I guess he is just sharing at a early age, good boy. This week I managed to catch a few pics of Gage and his lollipops. (in the picture below, Gage promises he was not flipping us the bird, he just missed his mouth)

Can you fit your fist in your mouth?

Man-scapeing 101

Daimen got his first lesson in man-scapeing yesterday. His eyebrows were starting to grow together. He has the longest eye-lashes and the thickest head of hair. Is hair on his head is so thick that when it grows out it grows straight out like a fro, so we shave it all the time. He loves it when his dad razors it bald but I must say I am not a fan of the Mr. Clean cut. Anyway, I trimmed his eyebrows with scissors, I mean if combed they stood up an inch. Then we plucked the uni-brow, he was very impressed with the minute transformation. I know a few people would think he is to young but my 10yr old is a hairy little man, he even has a mustache. I guess there is no time like the present for teaching hygiene. I am glad Jer shaved his head because we found a treat on his scalp, a nice perfectly round ring-worm, what a nice find eh? I wanted to take before and after shots but forgot the before and the after are stuck on Jer's computer, but here is a pic at Christmas of the fuzzy brows and I will load the after tomorrow some come back to see.

In report card news my brilliant son got 4 A's and a B, the B is a 89 so he is determined to bring that back to an A. The B is in English and that was my worst subject (as you can tell from my blog skills I am sure). He does not have homework in 5th grade (for reasons unknown to me) so we decided to challenge him this year, each day he has to pick a word from the dictionary he doesn't know and write the definitions, a sentence with the word in it and draw a picture. He has his own little journal full of words. He comes to me when he is done and tells me the word and explains in his own words what it means and then shows me the picture.

Tomorrow is the Taks test and Daimen is so excited (weird eh?). I understand his excitement because I use to love those kind of tests. I would rather learn on my own then listen to a lecture. Good luck on your test tomorrow baby!!!

Look for Hands N Feet and tons more pics this week (I have played photographer this week)

giGgles

Gage giggled today, three times even. It made me so happy, you would have thunk I won the lottery. I was running around for about 2 hours going, guess what, HE giggled. I am sure Jer and Daimen wanted to put tape on my mouth. Other going ons in Gageland are drool and I mean truck loads, putting his hands in his mouth, sometimes even his fists and great sleep. Let me talk about the sleep for a minute. Gage has slept for 7-9hrs the last 5 days, he is really making this new formula worth the $$$. We may go bankrupt but we will not have bags under our eyes when we do. YOU go boy!

We went shopping this weekend for some new clothes for me because I do not fit back in the pre-maternity clothes yet. I tried on 15-20 pairs of pants and was so defeated that none of them fit so I said forget it and got 6 shirts/jackets I can wear to cover the muffin-top. If you do not know what a muffin-top is that is because you do not have one and you can not be in the muffin club, sorry.

M&P came buy today for a quick visit before heading to visit Grandma and Papa for a while. Be careful M&P we will miss you. Grandma & Papa I wanted to say hi and we are so thrilled you are feeling better. Thank you so much for the card.

My best friend Mel started a blog about her crazy life, if you care to follow the life of a mom with two teenage boys and a darling drama filled daughter go to http://www.melandkids.blogspot.com/
Hi Mel we love you and Happy Birthday Maddi.

My other friend (she knows who she is) is having a more somber day. She had a angel baby go to heaven today and I hurt for her. Please pray for her that she should find peace in God's plan for her baby.

Here is a pic of Gage with Daimen's monkey. I am going to take a picture of him with this monkey the 17th of each month so we can see his growth on a monthly basis. Here is his two month picture.

In the picture below you will see that every shirt and I mean every and any ones must be tasted, Gage will use his hands and keep working it until he can get his little tongue on his shirt, silly child.

Tomorrow come on back for Daimen's man-scapeing lesson and Gage's showing off hands & feet.