Root Canal DONE :-)

I am feeling so much better.  My bridge is in place and life is better! :-)  What a crazy past two weeks.

Scamps!

Mariah and Ethan started gymnastics at Scamps last night!  They both had a great time!  Mariah is in Cheer Tumbling I and Ethan is in Parent and Tot Tumbling.  The wonderful part is that both of their classes are at the same time!  Less running around for me. ;-)  Mariah is a little advanced for her class, but she has never been in a tumbling class before so they made her start with level I.  Her teacher told her last night that she will move her up after the next class.  I think that will make it more enjoyable and challenging for Mariah.  She had fun last night, but said it was too easy.  Ethan on the other hand... is a handful! LOL He was so overwhelmed by the paintings on the wall and all the fun things to play with.  He tried to do what the other kids were doing, but I think his attention span was about 2 seconds!  He just couldn't sit still and couldn't wait to get to the next play area.  Last night he learned how to log roll down a hill (wedge), how to do stretches (or watch others do stretches), how to follow the leader around the room like an airplane, how to pull himself up with his arms (or hang on to the bar while mommy holds him up), he walked on a balance beam both forward and sideways, and he played in the big foam pit area!  I think he will definitely be excited to go back next week!

Root Canal

Wow, these have been a very hectic past two weeks! On top of everything else in my crazy busy schedule... I had to get some work done on my teeth. I needed a bridge put in so two weeks ago today I had to go in and have two teeth prepped to support the bridge. The prep work went well, but it took them a lot to numb me which caused in a very sore mouth for a day or two to follow. About two days later I started having pains in the side of my jaw that could only be reduced by advil. About one week after the prep work I went back to see the dentist and told him of my pains. He said that it was probably a dying nerve. Sometimes nerves can't handle the prep work and they die which results in a root canal... UGH! He sent me home, told me to monitor it for a couple more days. He called me daily to check on me which was wonderful. Finally by Saturday afternoon I had to call the dentist on his cell phone. The pain was so bad that it felt like a sinus infection in the back of my neck. I couldn't turn my head to the right without it hurting terribly, the pain was in my left shoulder and going into my chest. I was extremely weak and tired and new something had to be done. The dentist called in a rx right away. I started in penicillin that afternoon and was feeling much better by Sunday. On Monday evening I had to go see the endo specialist and... have a root canal. I had never had one of these before so I had no idea what to expect. It wasn't that bad. It took a while for them to get me numb, but it worked about 95% so I was okay with that. The tooth was very infected and bled a lot! I also had curves at the bottom of my nerve which made it take a little longer, but the endodontist managed to do his thing in 1 hour and 45 minutes. Phew am I glad that's over! I am still a little sore, but nothing like I was before. Today I go back at 2pm to get the final bridge work done... then I should be better than new! :-) What an adventure!


I also want to say "Thank You" to Scotty and Linda. Cory was out of town on Monday night so Scotty watched Ethan (and had to change his first poopy diaper) from 3:45 - 5:45pm. Then Linda picked up Ethan and took him to my house. Linda stayed with us for a couple hours to make sure I was well enough to take care of the kids. Then she called and emailed me the next day to make sure I was okay. :-)

Happy 2nd Birthday Ethan!

Ethan had a really nice 2nd birthday yesterday.  He woke up bright and early and in a great mood.  Daddy made him apple pancakes and sent a bunch of cupcakes to daycare for his friends and teachers.  While Ethan was at daycare they went to Chapel and everyone sang Happy Birthday to him.  He was smiling and looking around the room the entire time.  Then when it was snack time Ethan's teach Ms. Karen sang Happy Birthday to him again.  Then they ate the yummy cupcakes together. 

At home I made homemade chicken nuggets and french fries for dinner.  These are some of Ethan's favorites... however... last night he seemed to enjoy the ketchup the most. 

Grandma Sandy stopped over with some birthday gifts for Ethan.  Grandma Linda, Grandma Kathy, and Grandpa Karl all called last night to wish Ethan a happy birthday.  He loved to get on the phone and say "HI", "TWO", "BYE-BYE".  :-)

After dinner we had cupcakes and ice cream! YUMM!! Then we went down stairs and gave Ethan his present.  We got him a small ATV and we thought he would love it because he can't get enough of our big ones.  Well... turns out he is a bit scared of it and would rather look at it from across the room.  Oh well... he will adjust and love it soon. 

Saturday afternoon we are having friends and family over to help celebrate Ethan's birthday.  I am sure he will have tons of fun.  I will definitely post another update after his party.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!!! We love you very much! xoxo :-)

I loved you from the very start,
You stole my breath, embraced my heart.

Our life together has just begun,
You're part of me my little one.

As mother with child, each day I grew,
My mind was filled with thoughts of you.

I'd daydream of the things we'd share,
Like late-night feedings and teddy bears.

Like first steps and skinned knees,
Like bedtime stories and ABC's.
 

I thought of things you'd want to know,
Like how birds fly and flowers grow.
 

I thought of lessons I'd need to share,
Like standing tall and playing fair.

When I first saw your precious face,
I prayed your life be touched with grace.

I thanked the angels from above,
And promised you unending love.

Each night I lay you down to sleep,
I gently kiss your head and cheek.

I count your little fingers and toes,
I memorize you eyes and nose.

I linger at your nursery door,
Awed each day I love you more.

Through misty eyes, I dim the light,
I whisper "I Love You" every night.

I loved you from the very start,
You stole my breath, embraced my heart.

As mother and child our journey's begun,
My heart's yours forever little one.

                                     Author: Author Unknown

Mommy's Little Helper!

Tonight Ethan was helping me cook dinner and get the kitchen ready.  I asked him if he wanted to help me set the table and he said "um hum" and shook his head yes.  I opened the cabinet and asked him to put the placemats on the table.  He grabbed them out a couple at a time and placed them up on the table.  Then he came to me and said "more" in words and sign language.  I handed him the forks and he walked over and placed them on the table.  He came back to me and said "more" again so I gave him the paper towel.  He was a wonderful little helper in the kitchen tonight!  Thanks Ethan! 

Learning My Name

Lately we have been working with Ethan on learning his letters.  Some of the most important letters to learn are: E - T - H - A - N.  :-)  Tonight we spelled his name out of play dough (made by Jeannine!) When I put the letters together, Ethan looked at it and said E - than!  He sounded out or recognized his name!  I have never heard him do this before!

Siblings

It is amazing watching Mariah and Ethan together.  They get along so well and that is absolutely heart warming to me.  Mariah loves to teach Ethan new things - some things I'd rather he not learn... like showing us his open mouth of food at the dinner table... But for the most part she teaches him things that he should learn.  On the way home from Florida she worked on teaching him how to say three word sentences.  It was adorable and he caught on pretty well!  The sentences went like this: Wawa juice please, Wawa more please.  Mariah would have to walk him through the words and Ethan loved every minute of it. 

Another thing they do well together is sharing food.  When we stopped to get meals on the way home from Florida, Mariah would order what Ethan wanted instead of what she wanted and she would share the meal with him.  Absolutely adorable! 

We have also been trying to get Ethan to say Mariah instead of Wawa... it goes something like this:
us: Ma
Ethan: Ma
us: ri
Ethan: ri
us: ah
Ethan: ah
us: Mariah
Ethan: WAWA :-) and then he giggles...

Every night before bed Ethan has to go up to Mariah and tell her night night.  If she is not in the room with us then he will run into her room and make sure that they say their night-nights to each other. 

They may be 11 years apart in age, but their closeness as siblings is more than heart warming. 

Love you little ones ;-)

mommy

(picture from Feb 2008)

A New Do :-)

I can never decide what to do with my hair... I cut it short and then want it long... it grows out and I want it short.  I have come to realize that I like how it looks long, but love how it feels short... LOL yeah... I have issues. ;-)

I went back to short last night and I love it! 

FLORIDA

We went to FLORIDA!!!!!!  :-)
We took a spur-of-the-moment trip to FLORIDA over winter break!!  It was wonderful, the weather was beautiful and the kids did great during the long road trip.

Cory woke up Monday morning and said hey... lets drive to Florida... ummm really?  Okay!  The kids and I were packed before Cory had a chance to change his mind! 

We drove down and brought mom, Harry, Einstein, and their boat with us.  The purpose of the trip was to trailer the boat to Florida (for Cory).. and for the rest of us it was to GO TO FLORIDA!  Yes, I am obsessed.  Oh and Cory admitted that he was there for fun and relaxation too, but the boat part triggered his decision to vacation.

We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the weather.  We went swimming, boating, shopping, walking, and we even got to enjoy the New Years Eve fireworks right from the condo.  They were so close that we could feel them! 

Then on the way back we spent a night in Chattanooga and ended up leaving Ethan's favorite toy train there.. luckily they found it and will be shipping it home soon! 

It feels nice to be back, but man do I miss that beautiful warm weather. 

Here is a link to all of our pictures from the trip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ckbartlett/sets/72157623132784448/show/