Getting Away Before School Starts

We had to take one last mini-vacation before school started. We headed to Swansboro to see Grandma and Papa Jack last weekend. Aunt Kara, Uncle Kevin, and Aunt Jeanne were there too. As soon as we got there we asked Papa Jack to take us out on his boat. We rode to a sandy beach and "parked" for a few hours. Sarah loved playing in the sand and in the water. Jackson got excited over catching fish and a crab with the throw net.

The next day we all headed to the beach for the morning and then spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool. There was a nice little carnival for kids at the campground that afternoon, too. Jackson slid down a slide, jumped in the bounce around, and got dunked in the dunking tank. Yes, the line to be dunked was longer than the line to dunk! They also had popcorn, snow cones, and cotton candy. Poor Adam and Sarah both slept through it all. Thanks Aunt Jeanne for sitting in the car with them!

On Sunday Jeanne, Sarah, and I headed to the beach one last time while the boys went fishing. Kara and Kevin had to head home and Jan went to work. Jackson came back all excited over catching some sharks! I'm glad I wasn't on that trip. I think Adam was just excited to get to use his fishing rod.

Sarah splashing in the Intracoastal Waterway. Water always makes for a happy girl.

Look at the fish I caught!

"Come here little fishy. I want to play with you, too."
Those poor fish. I hope they lived to tell about their adventures with Sarah.

A girl's got to eat no matter where she goes!

Kara and Kevin were testing the waterproofness of their new camera case. They took lots of underwater pictures. Check out the bubbles coming out of Jackson's mouth!

Adam playing in the waves. Jackson would never stay still nor close enough to get a picture of him. Sarah would take a wave in the face like a pro. If we lifted her out of the waves she would cry to get back in. Crazy girl.

Thank You Aunt Jamie and Uncle Roger!

Adam and Jackson received tickets to Carowinds for their birthdays from Aunt Jamie and Uncle Roger. We decided to make a weekend of it and visit Aunt Emily and Uncle Joe. The boys had so much fun! Adam rode a roller coaster with Uncle Joe and kept asking to ride it again. I think he especially liked it because it was yellow. Jackson loved the Woodstock Express (formerly known as the Scooby Doo Roller Coaster). I think he rode it about 3 or 4 times. Sarah enjoyed riding the carousel, the train, and the helicopters. Kevin and Joe did get to ride the Intimidator several times. After we put the kids to bed, Kevin and I headed back over to ride a few more roller coasters.

Jackson and Adam on Snoopy's Airplane.

Sarah riding on her horse on the carousel.

We are waiting to get on the helicopters. Sarah did not like to have to sit down during this ride. She kept trying to get out of the seatbelt.

Jackson and Adam standing with Snoopy.

Adam fell asleep, and we all ended up taking turns (well, all except for the pregnant woman!) carrying him back across the park. That double stroller I left at home and almost brought with us would have come in handy.

We couldn't not go for a boat ride. Sarah had to miss out on this one though because she left her life jacket at the lake house. Luckily Aunt Emily volunteered to keep her at home.

A Day at Emerald Pointe

We all slathered on the sunscreen, grabbed our swimsuits and towels, and headed out to Emerald Pointe for the day last Friday. Sarah, Adam, and I hung around the little pools while Jackson and Kevin headed to the big slides in the morning. Sarah loved splashing in the shallow water. I don't think she ever realized she was in water as she tried to crawl around and stand up. Occasionally she would lift her head coughing where she inhaled some water but then would go right back down for more. Silly girl! Adam found three little slides that he could go down on his own. He must have run up that hill at least a hundred times. We all went on the Lazy River where Sarah tried to jump ship the whole time. She just thinks that she can swim!

Jackson and I headed off after lunch to slide down some water slides. We went down one normal one, and then he had me follow him up to ride the "blue one". A piece of advice- don't follow a seven year old to the top of the slide without first figuring out what type of slide you are heading to. Jackson went down first and then I went. This particular slide wasn't a long one but it had two big hills that went pretty much straight down. I prefer the curvy slides verses the hilly ones. I think Jackson missed that message or maybe this was his way to torture his mother. I landed at the bottom, skidding across the water to the steps. The force sent me under the water getting water all in my nose and dislodged my swimsuit in more ways that I want to think about. Let's just say it was not a pleasant experience and we headed back to Kevin, Adam, and Sarah where Kevin and Jackson took off to ride some more stuff.

Sarah's favorite thing to do was swing. Unfortunately because of all the water, this was the only picture I got.

Heeee's Baaaack!

I know it's not obvious in this picture, but Adam is back. Here, he was still feeling a little puny , but today, he's back to feeling great. He woke up in the best mood yesterday morning, and I don't think he has stopped talking since. Jackson was asking me what tonsils look like. This aroused some curiosity in Adam, so he asked where his tonsils went. I told him we would have to ask Dr. McQueen on Monday. He's also back to pointing out all the yellow vehicles on the road. Last week I missed the babysitter's house because I was in a trance and Adam usually announces our arrival. With his sore throat he wasn't talking. This morning he was loud and clear when we got close to Ivy's house. There are moments when I miss the quiet Adam, but I am so glad to have the "real" Adam back!

Ten Months Going on Two Years

Sarah is now ten months old. I know, I can't believe it either! She is going to be a year old before we know it. As you can see in the pictures below, the bathroom is her favorite place. We usually keep the door closed, but as soon as anyone opens it to go in, she stops what she is doing and zooms down the hall to make it in before the door is closed again. She loves opening the cabinets to pull everything out. Kevin was getting out of the shower when she saw her chance to go play in the cabinets. Then she discovered the stool. You would have thought she had been crowned queen for the hour sitting on that thing.

She has been forgetting that she is supposed to be a baby. She prefers the boy's toys over hers. She wants to eat what we eat and when we try and feed her the baby food, she insists on feeding herself. (The girl has got to get some more teeth!) She prefers a real cup over a sippy cup. She will not grow up, she will not grow up, she will not grow up. If I keep saying it, it will work, right?

I Want the Old Adam Back

This new Adam talks funny, is too quiet, whines way too much, and is mean. His voice has changed since he has no tonsils. It sounds nasally and whiny. I have been told that this is just temporary. I hope so because I don't think I can take much more of the whining. I can't understand a thing he says now, and I hate having to ask him to repeat stuff because I know it hurts his throat. He gets so frustrated that he ends up crying which is no good for his throat either. He resorts to grunting and pointing most of the time which I also sometimes don't get. As you can see in the above picture, the new Adam is not cooperative. The old Adam would pose for the camera with a big "Cheese!" Not this Adam. I've tried to take his picture several times and he turns away. The new Adam is not nice to his siblings. I was leaving to go pick Jackson up from bible school this morning and he stood at the door telling me he didn't want me to get Jackson. The old Adam hated when Jackson wasn't home. The new Adam is throwing things at Sarah instead of giving them to her nicely like he used to. I am hoping these new behaviors are all coming from the stress of this surgery and are going to be short-lived. I have a feeling if they continue he is going to begin spending a lot more time in time out and is going to be seeing a lot of "Spanky Spoon".

He has been feeling much better today I think. He has asked to eat on several occasions. He went to a friend's birthday party this afternoon and an ice cream social at church tonight. He had a few bites of the birthday cake at the party, and when we got home from church, he said he wanted a hot dog- Why not? They're soft. Kevin cut one up in the tiniest of pieces and Adam ate the whole thing! That's more than he's eaten in one day so far! (He also had some ice cream at church.)

Sarah's newest favorite toy- a water bottle. She carried this thing around all morning. At the birthday party I had a Coke and she was dying to get her hands on the bottle. She had some cake and ice cream, too. She wasn't too fond of the ice cream but loved the cake!

Now, do you think she would hold her real bottle by herself?- NOPE! She refuses to hold it but will sit in this beanbag and hold the water bottle. Go figure! I just knew she would crawl right out when I put her there but she stayed for quite a while.

I don't think Adam expected me to have the camera when he did this. He also made an awful face when he got up. I think this pose must have hurt his throat a little.

Tonsil Free- Day Four

When I was forced out of bed this morning at 6:00 I thought we would be back at the hospital by the end of the day. Adam came in around 4:30 and said that his tummy hurt. Kevin got up and Adam went back to bed on his own. At around 5:30, Sarah woke up, and I put her pacifier back in her mouth and she went back to sleep. At 6:00 Adam came in our room saying his tummy hurt. He made it to the chest at the end of our bed and threw up on the blanket. I couldn't believe he actually had something in his stomach to throw up. We cleaned him up and put him in bed with us hoping to get a few more minutes of shut-eye. Adam started complaining of his throat hurting so I went downstairs and got him some medicine. He took it just fine but threw it all up about ten minutes later. Sarah woke up and the three of us went downstairs. Kevin stayed in the bed and Jackson had spent the night with a friend. As I was fixing Sarah a bottle, Adam asked for water. I thought, well if he's asking for something his stomach should be fine. He drank a small cup of water. And ten minutes later, threw it up. Our instructions from the hospital said to call the doctor if he had any nausea or vomiting. I waited for the office to open and gave them a call. The nurse said it was probably a virus and to give them a call back if he didn't get any better throughout the day. Thank goodness he kept everything else down the rest of the day. He got up and played with Sarah a little and worked on a puzzle with me. We did the same Cars puzzle about 10 times. After a while I had him go lay back down to rest. He did and ended up falling asleep. Jackson came back from his friend's house around 1:30 and it woke Adam up. Jackson wanted lunch, and Adam decided that he was ready to eat, too.- except he wanted what Jackson was having- quesadillas. He wouldn't even settle for the chocolate pudding. He took a few sips of apple juice through tears. I told him to go lay back down until he could stop crying. Jackson had to eat in the pantry just in case Adam came back in the kitchen. Don't worry. I set him up a little table and a stool in there. He was all cozy. While Jackson was resting, Adam decided he was ready to eat, and he wanted breakfast. So at 4:30 in the afternoon the boy ate some oatmeal and drank some apple juice.

When Jackson got up they played nicely together in the living room. Jackson left around supper time to go to Vacation Bible School and then Kevin came home. I've decided that it is best for Jackson to stay away from the house as much as possible so Adam doesn't feel like he has to keep up with him. Jackson is definitely enjoying his excursions and Adam doesn't seem to mind...yet. While Jackson was away, Adam ate some tomato soup and drank some milk. He's asking for things like macaroni and cheese and fruit snacks, but I just don't think he's ready for those yet. He's only had one dose of Tylenol today, so he must not be in as much pain. Although all of the paperwork and the things I've read say that you have a backslide with the pain around the 4-6 day mark. Tomorrow may not be as good of a day.

I gave Adam this bucket so that if had to throw up, he could use it instead of going all the way to the bathroom. I thought it might save my couch and rug, too. Once he started feeling better he was putting it on my head. I put it on his head and then on Sarah's. I tried to get a picture of Adam but he wouldn't let me.

Sarah was quite the little monkey today. She followed me from room to room playing with whatever she could find. She has added lots of sounds to her "vocabulary". In addition to mama and baba, today I also heard some da's, some ga's, and some other stuff all strung together. If she was playing with it, she was talking to it, too. Her motor boat also ran most of the day. Oh- and she slept! She took about a 2 hour nap which I think is a record for her.