Pumpkin Patch

One of the activities we did while Jacob was down-and-out with a broken collarbone was make pumpkins. I cut out orange circles and then yellow eyes/mouths/noses of various designs and let Jacob glue everything in place. He loved it and I loved watching him create!

1st Broken Bone

Today Jacob broke his first bone - his left collar bone. I got a call from Jacob's teacher at about 11:30 on Thursday. Shana said that Jacob was on top of the slide on the climbing structure and a classmate came up behind him and accidentally pushed him and Jacob fell off and landed on his back. Shana went on to say that he seemed to be fine - was really upset and crying a lot, but had calmed down, and walked by himself to the teachers. I said ok and to call if they needed anything else. About 5 minutes later, I got a call back saying that they reconsidered and that I should take him to the Dr because he was wincing in pain whenever he moved his left shoulder. I left work and went to pick the little guy up. He was laying down in the classroom when I got there; the director was reading him a story. He was not crying, but began crying when he saw me. I loaded him up in the car and we went to the hospital.

 

 

 

 

We waited for a little bit and then got called in for an x-ray. Jacob cried a little, but he was really good. The Dr. came in after looking at the films to say that he had a broken collar bone. :( (I will mention that when the Dr. came in, the door squeaked. When the Dr. said "it's broken" I initially thought she was talking about the door.)

 

We then had to wait a while longer for discharge papers, a sling, and pain medicine. So, we made funny faces (below is Jacob's pretend "sad" face), watched Barney, and ate his lunch. Once we got his sling we headed home.

 

 

 

Get better little guy! Lots of down time in our future - tv, arts and crafts and books!

Coffee Shop and Puddle Jumping

Occasionally after church, Jacob and I will drive the little ways down Spring St. to the local coffee shop. On this Sunday, we decided to walk down. It was raining and I had an umbrella in my trunk so I figured why not. We walked down, grabbed a cookie, bagel, and drinks and had a leisurely late breakfast. (We went casual to church that day because it was rainy and cold!)

On the way back to the car, I let Jacob jump in the puddles. He thought it was the coolest thing and had the time of his life! It was fun to see the joy in getting wet/dirty can bring to this little guy. Makes me realize that it really is the little things that matter!

Three Years Old

Jacob: You are three! Three years old! You are so very much loved and make me and your daddy’s life so fun! Yes, it is a lot of work….but you are teaching me to slow down and enjoy this stage of toddler hood.

Your personality:
You are a three-year-old in every sense of the word. You are starting to voice your opinion in terms of what you are wearing, whether or not you participate in swim class, and if you do or don’t want your picture taken. You are also really into being a team with mommy and like with I wear my mother’s necklace with your birth stone in it. If I am not wearing it you ask me to put on our “team necklace.” For the most part you are a very easy toddler – willing to tag along with mommy and listen to directions. If you do get upset, you are easily distractible and stop whining/crying if I start asking you about other things. You are always on the go…playing with everything, wanting to go outside, always asking “what’s next mommy.” I love that you want to do everything and experience lots of things. I hope that continues in the future. You love your friends at school and talk about them all the time. You are funny and have started making up verses to songs or make up songs all together. Your laugh is incredible…daddy can get you laughing so hard that I swear you will stop breathing….you laugh so hard that you literally don’t make a sound for a few seconds….it is the best thing to witness ever!

Your current loves:
1. Sports! You LOVE playing anything but current favorites are golf, hockey, baseball, and soccer. You also love to swim! You do really well at dribbling a soccer ball and when I ask if you want to pass with me you dribble the ball right “past” me saying that you “passed me.” You don’t understand yet that passing the ball and running past someone are two different things. You are also really good at hitting a baseball (a softball sized wiffle ball). You can hit of a pitch and I am constantly amazed with how far you can hit it. We play indoor hockey from time-to-time and you do really well with your stick handling. I am sure once we get on the ice that your skills will improve quickly. You love playing golf with daddy. We will go out and “play” a few holes with you. You miss the ball a lot, but once you make contact, the ball just flies! I am sure you will be playing a lot of golf in the future. This winter daddy and I will take you skiing so I am sure you will add another love to your list of sports.

2. You love watching your shows. Right when you wake up in the morning (between 5:45-6:30am – always), our routine is to bring you in our bed and turn on a show. This gives mommy and daddy a little more time to rest. You also watch a show before going to bed (1 or 2 15-minute shows: Barney or Bernstein Bears usually) while having a Popsicle or frozen go-gurt. Occasionally some children’s shows are on during the day, but not often. If they are, you are usually playing with toys periodically checking out whatever show is on. You are starting to like the Fresh Beat Band (non-cartoon show).

3. Babies: You want mommy to have a baby so bad (and we are trying buddy…we are!). you constantly say “mommy, I want a baby so mad! (bad)” You randomly just start talking about how when you have a baby sister/brother (it changes daily in regard to which one you want) you will help them to walk and share your toys. So precious. You love playing with your cousin Tony and are very good with him!

4. Going on “guy trips” with daddy (4-wheeling/playing in the back yard/playing in the stream/fishing). You guys are going to do so many fun things together as you get older. I am sure you will do lots of skiing together this winter. Also love “guys’ night” with daddy and Mike – usually involves pizza when I go out with friends.

Favorite Foods:  pizza, broccoli, fruit (watermelon, cantaloupe, apples, grapes, banana), yogurt, granola bars, fruit snacks, pretzels, golf fish, cheese, crackers, cheese sticks, steak, popsicles, bagels, ice cream. You actually like a lot of foods, however, these are your favorite.

You are getting so big. You can almost reach the faucet in the sink to wash your hands yourself. You are really starting to dress yourself and you are doing really well with the potty. Just over the last week you have been doing really well at going #2 in the potty. You have been really good at #1, but getting you to go #2 has been a challenge. But, just this last week you have been going in the potty!

Jacob, mommy loves you so very much! You have taught me so much over the past three years. I am looking forward to continuing learning from you and I hope that your childhood is everything you ever wanted and more!

Love you so very much!
mommy!  

Jacob's Birth Story - three year's late!

Jacob, on the eve of your 3^rd birthday, I feel as though it is (finally!) time to document the story of your birth. Although there may be some details that I have forgotten over the past three years, the beginning and the end remain the same: We loved you from the moment we knew we were expecting you and when you arrived; our love for you grew and grew! 

On Monday October 5^th, my doctor suggested I go on modified bed rest because of some high blood pressure and swelling in my feet, which meant for me – no more work. I was still able to take Cooper for short, easy walks, do laundry, cook dinner, etc. but I was encouraged to take it slow and listen to my body. I was confident that you were safe and healthy, and excited to have a month “off” before your arrival. On Sat. October 10^th I was nervous that my blood pressure would be high and I would not know it, so once I awoke (10am’ish) I drove to Stop and Shop to take my blood pressure. I don’t know exactly what it was, but it was high. I called grandpa who said to call my Dr. I called and they said to come in right away. I went in with an empty stomach and confidence that I would be home by dinner (I left Cooper home because the week before, October 6^th, I went in with some headaches and brought Cooper with me. They almost admitted me, but after realizing that I was only 36 weeks, they said to go home and stay in bed as much as possible). I called daddy who was working a major tournament and we kept in touch throughout the day.  

The nurses had me hooked up on a fetal monitor and watched your movement and heartbeat. I had to drink some water because I was a little dehydrated. They kept on monitoring me and the more I watched their body language, the more nervous I was (not really nervous, just starting to wonder what was up). They called down to radiation and scheduled me to get a full anatomy check where they look at every inch of you in utero. I still had not had anything to eat, but I was more concerned about you so I did not really feel hungry, and I always thought that I would be leaving “in just a little bit” so I figured that I would eat at home. At some point in the late afternoon/early evening daddy came and the nurses continued to monitor me/you. Around 6pm, I realized that I should order some dinner and the nurses brought me a menu. No sooner had the nurses placed my dinner request was Dr. Yates in the room saying that they noticed that with every contraction (so little that I could not even feel them) your heart rate was slowing. They were going to induce me and I should not eat anything in case they needed to schedule me for a C-section. With the Pitocin (medicine to induce labor) they noticed that your heart rate was slowing even more. So they stopped that and scheduled a C-section for 8am the next morning. Dr. Yates didn’t want me to go into full labor and then have an emergency in the middle of the night. So – they called it quits (stopped the Pitocin). Daddy went home to pack some stuff for me and stay with Cooper and I tried to get some sleep.  

The next morning daddy arrived at 7am and I got prepped for surgery. Surgery was at 8am. I got wheeled in and daddy waited until I was prepped and ready to go. The spinal tap made me really sick to my stomach (I was so hungry and I could feel my stomach growling even though I was numb from the waist down) and I threw-up a few times. The Doctors gave me some anti-nausea medicine and I was good to go. You were born at 8:26am and were perfect! 5lbs 3 oz and 18 in. Daddy went with you to the nursery while I got sewed up and wheeled back into my room. It took forever for me to see you because you were having some issues (low blood sugar and slight jaundice). But, when I finally saw you I fell in love again. You were absolutely perfect! You had to stay attached to some sugar water to help with your blood sugar and under the bili light so that your jaundice would go away. Because of these two things you stayed in the nursery for the majority if time, but when you needed to eat, you were brought to me and I could walk across the hall to the nursery whenever I wanted to. I would like to say that you spent your first nights sleeping next to me in your little crib, and that I held you for every minute of the day during those first few days, but I was unable to – you needed your bili light to make you healthy so it was important for you to stay in the nursery. You looked so cute in there – with your little sunglasses on. You were a little glow worm. Three days passed and while your blood sugar improved, your platelet count was decreasing. On Wed, October 14^th our nurses/doctors decided it best to send you down to Baystate, which is part #2 of your birth story.

 

Bathing Cousins

While Jacob and I were on the Cape for Columbus Day Weekend, cousin Tony was staying at grandma and grandpa's because of Kaiyla's surgery. Jacob loved having Baby Tony there and loved to "help babysit" his cousin. He really LOVES this little guy and it is easy to see why....he is ADORABLE! I have more pictures that I need to get up here of the two little devils, but these pictures from my phone will have to do.

CUTENESS!