The "how has it been a year?" post

Here it is - the sappy first birthday post. The "I can't believe it's been a year and I can't imagine life without this precious baby boy in it" post. I can't help myself...I'm going to write "that post" that all the other mommies write. But really - he's going to be be ONE on Wednesday - already?!

It has been a whirlwind of a year. I think back now to labor and delivery and realize that those last four hours of labor were really pretty awful and terrifying. Though JD had a rough start, he bounced back quickly and for the most part is a happy, fun little boy. Maybe now with the adenoids out and tubes in - he can enjoy himself even more! It amazes me that he hasn't been miserable this whole time with all of his sinus issues.

I know I speak for both of us when I say it is amazing watching Justin learn new things. He has learned so much - especially in the last 2 months. He went from watching all of the other kids crawling- to cruising all over the place. I'm sure walking isn't far off.

Motherhood has really been wonderful. I never doubted it would be - but it truly is something you can't describe. I love the fact that Justin stops crying when I pick him up and that "mommy" is the best medicine. His snuggles just make my day. I love picking him up from daycare and watching him zip across the room to get to me as fast as he can. I have done my best to soak up every moment of this year - and sometimes I cuddle just a little longer because I know this stage will pass way too quickly.

While I know being a working mom is what is right for me - there are definitely days when I wish I could just skip work and hang out with Justin. I'm very lucky that work has been flexible with me and has adjusted to my new schedule and the unexpected days at home. There are days when it is hard to juggle them both- but we make it work.

The hardest part - I think for both me and Dave - is being far from family. We know it is a decision we made and we are happy in Texas - but it makes me sad that Justin isn't going to know his grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles as well as he should. We do the best we can with traveling to Philly and Iowa and Skyping - but I know that isn't the same thing as living in the same vicinity. I'm thankful that our family is good at keeping in touch and know that's something that I work really hard at - and one of the reasons I post so many pictures and videos here.

There are also days when it would be so nice to call somebody for some help when we're in a bind. A good friend told me "you need to make your friends your Texas family" and I'm working on that- but I'm not always good at asking for help.

This year has gone by so quickly and I'm so thankful that I have a wonderful husband to share all of these milestones with and I'm looking forward to so many more.

Our first family picture - wow - what a mess I was:

Coming home from the hospital video:

Birthday cake pictures and fun stuff to come in another post! Just needed to be sappy for a moment.

All is well

The surgery went well this morning. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to get him there and keep him happy while withholding his morning bottle. I had to wake him up because we left the house at 6:30 and I think he was just confused about being taken from bed and shoved in his car seat. The surgery center was very kid-friendly - bright with lots to look at.

The goofy-juice they gave him back in the pre-op area helped a lot - it would have been MUCH harder to watch them take him away if he was screaming. He was just sorta confused.

The doc said everything went fine. He'll have bad breath for a week - and some drainage. He sounds extremely congested right now with everything draining  - but that should clear up.

We got home around 11 and he had some lunch - took a nice nap and has been playing this afternoon. He's a bit needier than usual - but overall he seems to be in good shape. Thanks to everyone who checked in on us yesterday and today! We appreciate it!

What is an adenoid?

Several people have asked what an adenoid is- so I thought I'd post a little information. Tomorrow is the big day - and I'm starting to get nervous/anxious. I just want it to be over with!

Adenoids (or pharyngeal tonsil, or nasopharyngeal tonsil) are a mass of lymphoid tissue situated posterior to the nasal cavity, in the roof of the nasopharynx, where the nose blends into the throat.

It's in green below.

It sounds like JD will be a bit sore after having them removed- but from what I've read/heard thus far I don't think he should have major issues eating/drinking.

This is the info his doctor gave us on the procedure.

Is it over yet?

Book Lover?

Justin has spent a lot of time this weekend emptying his book basket:

First Haircut

We were supposed to get JD's hair cut last weekend- but since he was so miserable we had moved it to this weekend. He was still less than thrilled with the situation. He hung on to me and wouldn't let go - and screamed through most of it.

Before:

During:

After:

What a week!

Daycare has been closed since Tuesday, as have all of the school districts in Dallas. We had freezing rain on Tuesday and the city has been a mess ever since. Thursday night we got snow on top of the ice that's been hanging around.

I've been thankful for all of JD's Christmas presents as they have been getting a lot of use this week! We've set up a corner in the living room with all of his stuff. He's been enjoying it as you can see in the video:

Hopefully all of this will melt and we can get back to our usual routine- though I hear we are in for a storm next week too!

Pictures from two days before the ice storm - when it was over 70 degrees:

After the storm:

Bye-bye adenoids...hello tubes!

We had a pretty awful weekend - even though it was 76 degrees and sunny. Justin had just finished a round of antibiotics on Wednesday and by Friday night he was a nightmare. We were up half the night and he was miserable. Since we had a visit with the ENT scheduled for today we didn't want to take him in to an urgent care doc and really wanted to just see the specialist. So...needless to say we had one sad, sick little boy this weekend.

The ENT confirmed he does have another ear infection so Justin is back on antibiotics and we have drops for his ears and some better pain meds to get him through the next couple of days. They drained some of the fluid from his ear and we're hoping he starts feeling better soon - and that this antibiotic also helps with some of his congestion.

We'll be taking JD to get his adenoids removed and tubes put in his ears on February 11. Hopefully that will help clear up some of his sinus issues. Poor little guy is just a mess!

Another stuffy-nosed weekend

It's been a bit of a rough weekend - at night anyway. Justin is so stuffed up he keeps waking up and I've ended up sleeping half the night in the chair in his room with him. I wish I could wave a magic wand and fix his sinus issues.

We had managed to have some fun during the day though. He's really moving around and pulling himself up on everything. It's amazing how quickly he's gone from crawling to cruising. I wouldn't be surprised if he takes some steps by his birthday.

We kept a cardboard box around for the weekend:

Some videos:

Do I look like I have a double ear infection?

I took Justin to the doctor today to chat about his leaky eyes (they have been draining and goopy) and it turns out he has a double ear infection- which explains his not sleeping through the night! I feel bad I didn't take him in there sooner- but he wasn't acting like he did with previous ear infections.  It hasn't seemed to bother him during the day- he's just been waking up once or twice at night. The doctor is sending us back to the ENT to talk about the ear infections and his allergies.

After we picked up his prescriptions we walked up to the park. He enjoyed the swing!

Some video:

Aquarium

The Children's Aquarium will be a good stop on future rainy days- especially when Justin is old enough to run around and check things out. Sarah snapped a few photos. The only thing Justin was really very interested in was the large turtles..(all I can hear in my head right now is Dave saying "I like turtles").