Down in my Heart: September 2008

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

A Blast from the Past

A couple of weeks ago one of my very good friends from high school was in town from Alaska. We met at a park and hung out one day. I got to meet her precious little daughter for the first time. It was a short visit with each other but I was so encouraged by seeing her again. Lori has such an amazing spirit about her. I just love her!

A few days later I attended the reunion for my old youth group. It was amazing and overwhelming to see all those faces from the past. My old youth ministers Rick & Angela came in from Colorado too. We had a huge potluck buffet and a slideshow with some very old and humorous pictures. Then the old group gathered on the bleachers in our church's gym and listened to Rick once again. He said some really sweet things to us and most of the girls teared up I am sure. It was amazing seeing all these little kids running around too. We have been busy in the last 12 years. It was a great day though and I hope we do it again.

Those are the most exciting things happening for us lately although we did celebrate Foxy Granny's 79th birthday on Sunday. She had a really nasty chest cold but she was in good spirits anyway. I love that things are slowing down a bit for us. The summer was really busy. Tobey and I have been staying around the house mostly. We are making a second attempt at potty training this week. I think I gave up too easily last time. This time I am just trying to stay positive and focus on the successes and ignore the many accidents. He actually did #2 in the potty today. So I focused on praising him for that and gritted my teeth as I soaked up pee from the carpet for the fourth time in a two hour time frame. Bless his little heart. I am also doing a precept Bible study on Genesis. I did part 1 last fall and now we are doing part 2. I am loving it. This is only the third week and God has revealed so much and reminded and encouraged me of so much. I can't wait to see what He has in store for the next 7 weeks.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Birthday Boy!

Tobey turned three last Saturday. Last year I was a little sad when he turned two but this year I have embraced his threeness. It might have something to do with the "terrible twos" and all that implies. Although I am not sure if three will be any better on that aspect. He seems to just get more stubborn with age. But really it is more about how much I adore this little person he is becoming. He is such a sweet and tender soul. He loves to make us laugh and lately I have found myself having deep belly laughs because of his silliness. Tonight while we were sitting together he loudly said "Mommy" and then proceeded to blow in my ear. He did this over and over while I giggled and giggled. I was telling Rodney about it and he said that is how they tell secrets to each other. I had no idea. Sometimes Tobey gets this playful gleam in his eyes and that means it is time for body tackle. So we will lay on the bed and guard our faces while Tobey relentlessly tackles us over and over. I love to ask him silly questions and hear his replies. When I ask him to pick up his toys his reply is "Oh, man mommy" followed by "will you help me" or if he is busy doing something else he will say "hode on". His sweetness often catches me off guard. He surprises us with kisses and I love you's all the time now. The other night at dinner we were about to pray and he asked if we could hold hands and then he put his head down and said "like this daddy". Afterwards he gave a hearty "amen!" He loves to cuddle and he gives the best little hugs. He is definitely a momma's boy right now. If anyone else tries to help him he will say "no mommy do it!". This can be quite frustrating at times but I know it is just a phase. These are a list of his favorite things:

- His morning shows-Curious George & Clifford. He cannot get enough Curious George. He just loves that little monkey so much and he will smile through the whole episode. And he loves "Ciffer" too.

-. He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Mimi & PawPaw's house. He just about asks for either one of them everyday. One of the first things he will do when we go to their house is hit up the pantry for his snacks.

- Speaking of snacks Tobey has a little problem with his sweet tooth. He would eat sweets all day so I really have to limit what he gets. His favorite sweets are skittles, suckers, popsicles, fruit roll-ups, and soy ice cream sandwiches. Today is his first dentist appointment and I am a tad nervous. We are very diligent about brushing his teeth but I still worry about all those sweets he consumes.

- His favorite toys are his trains, cars, and tools. He likes to chase me or the dog with his electric drill and laugh hysterically. And he is often seen toting his books around the house.

- He loves to wake up in the wee hours of the morning and crawl or shall I say sneak into bed with us. He has gotten very good at it too. There are many mornings that I wake up with his little body snuggled against me with no recollection of him ever getting into our bed. As soon as I move in the morning he is sitting up and kissing me on the cheek saying "get up mommy". He did this the morning of his birthday and I rolled over and smiled and said good morning birthday boy. All morning he kept saying "I a birthday boy"!

- He loves the game Caribou. We just got it a month ago and he wants to play it everyday. It is geared toward preschoolers and features a treasure hunt. He loves it!

- He loves to help me. He pulls his little chair all around the house so he can stand at the sink and help me rinse dishes and put them in the dishwasher or stand at the washer and put clothes inside. He will say "I do it Mommy".

- His favorite food are waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, peaches, apples, corn on the cob, and barbecue chicken quesadillas. The doctor just told us at his well visit that we can start introducing cheese and see how he handles it. He seems to think that Tobey will do fine with it. I am more apprehensive especially after the milk incident last week but I would love for him to be able to have cheese. So mac-n-cheese is coming up.

His party went really well on Saturday. At the beginning of the summer I began to probe Tobey about his party. When I asked him what kind of party he wanted he said "uhmmm...choo choo party". I searched around and found this place inside one of the malls here called Choo Choo Station. They sell Thomas the Train merchandise but also have a play area with a choo choo train for the kiddos to ride and party rooms. He had so much fun playing with his friends. He especially enjoyed riding on the train and playing at the train tables with all his little friends. It was a little chaotic. I am not the best hostess but I think Tobey had fun and that is what matters. So here are some pics of the birthday boy!

My mother-in-law took care of the cake and had one of her friends make it. She is actually the same lady who made our wedding cake. Anyway the cake turned out awesome. It was more than I imagined and perfect for Tobey's party.

Tobey posed with PawPaw before guests started arriving.

All the guys took their turn on the train. Tobey and his daddy with Lee and Emma in the back.

Shawn and Kairi

Peter and Joshua

This one is a little blurry but it the only one I have of the whole train.

The kids loved playing at the train tables.

Time for cake! Tobey got kind of nervous when everyone started singing Happy Birthday to him. He even shouted NO and tried to hide his face. But he blew his candles out like a champ!

Sweet little Ava was so cute when she proclaimed "This cake is SO good". It really was.

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us and to the sweet words of those who could not make it. We are so blessed by our family and friends!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Official 1st Day of School

Tobey's school actually started last week but he was sick and then we were out of town so today is actually his first day. He is so excited about going back to school. We have been praying together all week that he would feel better so he could go to school today. His appetite returned fully yesterday and he pigged out all day long. The only time he stopped eating was when he laid down for a nap. He greeted me at the door this morning when I arrived home from work and he was in the best mood. He even indulged me while I snapped some pictures of him waiting by the door for daddy. He looks so grown up. I can't believe I will have a three year old tomorrow. He kissed me at the door and as he was climbing into daddy's truck he said "I ove you mommy". He has been saying that for a while but it never ceases to amaze me!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Worst week ever & an amazing birthday celebration

Last week was probably one of the worst weeks of my life. Tobey and I both came down with a really nasty stomach bug. I stayed near a bathroom for 4 days straight. Tobey had it worse than me though. While I had Imodium as a friend he had nothing. Plus he started out vomiting but by the third day he had it on the other end too. It was sooo miserable. On the 4th day which was Wednesday Tobey went all day without peeing. I was a nervous wreck. I called the doctor's office several times that day and they reassured me to keep pushing fluids and to bring him in if he didn't pee for 12 hours. He finally went that evening. I woke him up several times during the night and made him sip water or sprite (he refused the pedialyte) and he woke up with a wet diaper the next morning. We already had plans to drive to San Antonio on Thursday and go to Sea World on Friday. Then on Saturday we were meeting up with Rodney's whole family. It was a big surprise for Rodney's dad who is turning 60 today. I was apprehensive about leaving but I was encouraged by the fact that Tobey woke up with a wet diaper. I was much better by this point but just drained and weak and probably a little dehydrated myself. We decided to go ahead and leave that morning. Tobey did really well all day. He didn't get sick once and although he didn't have his appetite back he drank quite a bit. That night at the hotel he had a major explosion of nastiness. We ended up just throwing his clothes away. Which was quite liberating after the many loads of laundry I had washed all week. After that episode we went to dinner and he actually ate more than he had in 5 days. We didn't go to Sea World on Friday (boo!) because we didn't want to push him too much. Instead we took him to the San Antonio Childrens Museum and stayed for about an hour. Then we walked over to the River Center Mall and ate lunch and ordered a cookie cake for Rodney's dad. Tobey did well all day Friday and never got sick. However he threw up every other day of our trip. He would start out well in the morning eating and drinking and then late afternoon he would get fussy and throw everything up. Then he would feel better and continue eating and drinking the rest of the evening. It was so frustrating and I felt so sorry for my little man. If we hadn't been celebrating Phil's birthday then we would have stayed home. We made the best of the trip though and I am so glad we went. I wish I had a picture of the look on Phil's face when all his kids walked into the restaurant where he and Pat were eating breakfast at on Saturday morning. It was priceless. He was so surprised and Pat was thrilled because she had been planning this for months behind his back. It was just awesome. For three days we all just hung out. We went to the Alamo that first day because Phil LOVES the Alamo and we ate Tex-Mex for dinner in the hotel room after we enjoyed cookie cake and Phil opened presents. Sunday we got up and and had a late breakfast on the river walk and did some shopping in the La Lavita village. Then we went back to the hotel and swam and Tobey took a much needed nap. That night we all got spruced up and headed over to the Tower of the Americas for dinner. The food was amazingly delicious. Tobey got to run through the fountains after dinner and afterwards he just kept saying "I got wet, I got wet". On Monday Tobey woke Rodney and I up early and the three of us had an early morning stroll on the river and shared some pancakes while everyone else slept in. Once we checked out of the hotel we drove over to the Market and looked around and ate some wonderful and authentic Mexican food. I really enjoyed my food on Sunday and Monday! Then we headed out for home. Rodney's youngest sister Libby rode home with us while Pat and Phil stayed behind to get Jeff and Shanna to the airport. Praise the Lord Libby rode home with us because Tobey got sick in the car and I was sitting right beside him. If she hadn't rode with us I would have been in the front seat. I was able to grab a blanket and use it to catch everything. It was awful. I was so glad to finally get home. To top it all off I accidentally gave Tobey organic milk instead of Soy milk yesterday and he had a bad allergic reaction. Hives, more throwing up, and wheezing. I was devastated that I did that. In the two years since we found out he is allergic to milk I have never done that. I bawled when I realized what I had done. I gave him benadryl right away and made him an appointment with our pediatrician. Then he started wheezing and thankfully Pat was with me and was able to give him a breathing treatment in the car on the way to the doctor's office. By the time we got there the benadryl had kicked in too and he was much better. The doctor just jokingly said well now you know he is still allergic. He said to just keep giving benadryl for the hives and continue breathing treatments. We talked about why Tobey kept throwing up over the weekend and he just said his stomach was probably still sensitive from his stomach virus the week before and he should be better this week. He did not throw up at all today! Thank goodness. I think we are at the end. And that was probably the longest post ever but believe me my week was even longer. Here are a few pics from our trip.

This is outside the Children's Museum. This statue appropriately says "First Born". Tobey is sipping on his sprite.