First: The Museum
Jacob, Annabelle and I went on an outing to the local children's museum. We had never been there before, but I had heard great things about it. I found out the museum was having a special storytime and craft hour that day, so I called to register Jacob (Annabelle was too young) and off we went. When we arrived, I realized this little outing was not going to be easy. Of course, Jacob took off running to explore all the exhibits. And, of course, Annabelle took off after her brother. She may be only 17 months old (almost 18 now), but in her mind, she is three and a half years old. This is cute in many ways, but on this particular occasion, it was tough to deal with. The museum was SO CROWDED that day and I was afraid Annabelle would be trampled by the older kids. We visited the toddler area for a long time, which Annabelle loved, but Jacob was itching to get back to the "big boy things." After a series of temper tantrums and meltdowns and one time out, both big brother and little sister calmed down and we had a great time. It was difficult to take pictures because I had to watch them both so closely...and be ready to chase a runner at anytime. :)
Annabelle thought it was great fun to smash her face and mouth against the glass. Mommy, on the other hand, did not think it was so fun. Eeewww.....germs. The steps she's sitting on led to a slide, which Annabelle LOVED. She slid down over and over and over and over and over again, never tiring of it. She had a little routine going: climb up the stairs, dance on the platform, slide down. Repeat.
Arrrgh, matey! Captain Jacob spent quite a bit of time on the pirate ship. He originally wanted to wear two eye patches. I explained to him that if he had a patch over each eye, he wouldn't be able to see. He still had to try it out for himself. It didn't take him very long to realize that second eye patch wasn't so much fun after all.
Annabelle enjoyed playing at the sand table and I don't think she even put any in her mouth! (Unless, of course, I just didn't see it.)
Come fly with me!
They both loved playing in the cockpit. That's Jacob in the pilot's seat. Annabelle mainly liked to climb up into the passenger seats, which you can't see in this picture.We had our rough moments, but all in all, it was a very fun morning. I'm sure we'll be visiting the museum again sometime soon!
Second: The Tornado
A couple nights later, we had a weather scare. It had been really windy all day, but we weren't aware of any bad weather headed our way. We had gotten a little rain, but nothing terrible. Apparently, neither Heath nor I had paid much attention to the weather reports. Just after 11:00 PM, our weather radio came on to alert us of a tornado watch. Heath went to bed early that night and was already asleep, until the radio woke him up. The radio repeats the message twice before turning itself off. The second time we heard the message, the "watch" had been changed to a "warning." I got a little nervous, but wasn't too scared. Then, just a few short minutes later, we heard the noise -- the freight train noise everyone says you should listen out for. I have never been so scared. It seemed to get closer and closer and my heart began to race. Heath grabbed Annabelle out of her crib and I jerked Jacob out of bed. We all huddled up in the middle bathroom. Inwardly, I was freaking out. Outwardly, I was trying to hold it together so Jacob and Annabelle wouldn't be afraid. Thankfully, we were safe and our house was unharmed. We did have the inconvenience of our power being out for a while, but that was no big deal.
While huddled in the bathroom, Heath kept checking his Blackberry to see if the tornado warning had expired. When it had, we put the kids back into bed and went to bed ourselves, although, it took me a while to get to sleep. Neither one of us had ever heard a sound like that before. We were almost sure it was a tornado. We were right.
A weak tornado touched down on the street just behind our house. No one was hurt, and no homes were destroyed, but it did cause some structural damage -- siding, roof, fences, etc. There were also a few downed trees. I am so thankful everyone in our neighborhood is ok. A few days later, I was talking to my neighbors about it and they never heard anything. They slept right through it! All I know is, if the noise we heard was only a weak tornado, I NEVER want to be anywhere near a strong one. Those storm chasers are CRAZY!
Third: The Tiger
That weekend, Heath took Jacob to his first Clemson football game. Can you even imagine how excited he was? He, meaning Heath. Jacob was excited about going on the trip, but Heath had been planning this moment from the time we found out we were having a boy. We both figured taking Jacob to the spring game would be better than a real game during the regular season since the atmosphere is much more relaxed, no one would be shouting profanities at the other team, etc... Jacob had a great time at Clemson and one of the highlights was getting to meet the tiger.
Notice the backwards hat. Jacob's favorite show is The Imagination Movers. Mover Dave wears his hat backwards. Jacob is always pretending to be a different Mover. Obviously, this was a Mover Dave day.
Fourth: The ER
While Heath and Jacob were at Clemson, Annabelle and I stayed home and had a girls weekend -- a girls weekend that didn't start out quite how I had planned. We had a great Friday afternoon. Erika met us for lunch at Moe's, then we all went for a walk in the park. It was a gorgeous day. The alligators thought so too. We always see alligators at this park. Always. And they are always waaaaaaaay too close to me. One of them was hanging out on the bank, so we had to walk right by it to follow the trail. I freaked out just a tad, but Erika managed to calm me down. Anyway, back to the ER story....no, the alligator had nothing to do with the ER visit.
After our walk, Annabelle and I drove back home. She was asleep the entire ride. Then, I put her in bed so her nap could continue. She slept for a long time. When she finally woke up, somewhere between 6:30 PM and 7:00 PM, she was screaming like I'd never heard her scream before. I ran to get her and she didn't want me to hold her. She pushed me away. She turned my face away from hers. She never does this. She has always been a mommy's girl. She tossed and turned on the floor, screaming and making sounds I had never heard her make. I tried to give her a little gripe water. She wouldn't take it. This went on for quite some time and I didn't know what to do. Our pediatrician has an after-hours emergency line, but after a couple previous experiences, I knew making that call wouldn't do me any good. So, off we went to the ER. I was worried and figured that was my only option.
Erika, being the wonderful friend that she is, met me down there. My parents just happened to be on their way to Florida and decided to stop over for the night to make their trip shorter the next day. So, they actually met me down there, too. Annabelle screamed about half of the trip, then settled down. Of course, when we arrived at the hospital, she seemed fine -- smiling at the nurses, talking to them, etc... The doctor came in, checked her out, and said it was probably just severe gas pains.
I took my daughter to the ER.... for gas pains. The nurse asked me if she was my first child. "Ummm....no.....but I swear, I have never seen her act like that before. She was making sounds I have never heard her make!!!" Seriously, I know that anyone else in my position would have made the same decision. And you know, TV doesn't help these situations. A few days earlier, I watched this show called, "Your Kid Swallowed What?!" It documented true accounts of children and toddlers swallowing all kinds of crazy things. Annabelle puts everything in her mouth. I thought, perhaps, she may have put something weird in her mouth at the park. I didn't know and I didn't want to risk not getting her checked out if she did. At least, now, I knew and didn't have to worry about it anymore.
The rest of the weekend was great. No more screaming episodes. No more ER visits. Annabelle actually had a glorious time. The doctor said I should give her apple juice to help "move things along." I don't give her juice on a regular basis, so this was a treat. And, boy, did she ever drink it up.
I took this video a while back. See the bruise underneath her eye? Jacob had a matching one, except his was a little worse. They were playing on the couch and bumped heads...or more specifically, faces.
Second: The Tornado
A couple nights later, we had a weather scare. It had been really windy all day, but we weren't aware of any bad weather headed our way. We had gotten a little rain, but nothing terrible. Apparently, neither Heath nor I had paid much attention to the weather reports. Just after 11:00 PM, our weather radio came on to alert us of a tornado watch. Heath went to bed early that night and was already asleep, until the radio woke him up. The radio repeats the message twice before turning itself off. The second time we heard the message, the "watch" had been changed to a "warning." I got a little nervous, but wasn't too scared. Then, just a few short minutes later, we heard the noise -- the freight train noise everyone says you should listen out for. I have never been so scared. It seemed to get closer and closer and my heart began to race. Heath grabbed Annabelle out of her crib and I jerked Jacob out of bed. We all huddled up in the middle bathroom. Inwardly, I was freaking out. Outwardly, I was trying to hold it together so Jacob and Annabelle wouldn't be afraid. Thankfully, we were safe and our house was unharmed. We did have the inconvenience of our power being out for a while, but that was no big deal.
While huddled in the bathroom, Heath kept checking his Blackberry to see if the tornado warning had expired. When it had, we put the kids back into bed and went to bed ourselves, although, it took me a while to get to sleep. Neither one of us had ever heard a sound like that before. We were almost sure it was a tornado. We were right.
A weak tornado touched down on the street just behind our house. No one was hurt, and no homes were destroyed, but it did cause some structural damage -- siding, roof, fences, etc. There were also a few downed trees. I am so thankful everyone in our neighborhood is ok. A few days later, I was talking to my neighbors about it and they never heard anything. They slept right through it! All I know is, if the noise we heard was only a weak tornado, I NEVER want to be anywhere near a strong one. Those storm chasers are CRAZY!
Third: The Tiger
That weekend, Heath took Jacob to his first Clemson football game. Can you even imagine how excited he was? He, meaning Heath. Jacob was excited about going on the trip, but Heath had been planning this moment from the time we found out we were having a boy. We both figured taking Jacob to the spring game would be better than a real game during the regular season since the atmosphere is much more relaxed, no one would be shouting profanities at the other team, etc... Jacob had a great time at Clemson and one of the highlights was getting to meet the tiger.
Notice the backwards hat. Jacob's favorite show is The Imagination Movers. Mover Dave wears his hat backwards. Jacob is always pretending to be a different Mover. Obviously, this was a Mover Dave day.
Fourth: The ERWhile Heath and Jacob were at Clemson, Annabelle and I stayed home and had a girls weekend -- a girls weekend that didn't start out quite how I had planned. We had a great Friday afternoon. Erika met us for lunch at Moe's, then we all went for a walk in the park. It was a gorgeous day. The alligators thought so too. We always see alligators at this park. Always. And they are always waaaaaaaay too close to me. One of them was hanging out on the bank, so we had to walk right by it to follow the trail. I freaked out just a tad, but Erika managed to calm me down. Anyway, back to the ER story....no, the alligator had nothing to do with the ER visit.
After our walk, Annabelle and I drove back home. She was asleep the entire ride. Then, I put her in bed so her nap could continue. She slept for a long time. When she finally woke up, somewhere between 6:30 PM and 7:00 PM, she was screaming like I'd never heard her scream before. I ran to get her and she didn't want me to hold her. She pushed me away. She turned my face away from hers. She never does this. She has always been a mommy's girl. She tossed and turned on the floor, screaming and making sounds I had never heard her make. I tried to give her a little gripe water. She wouldn't take it. This went on for quite some time and I didn't know what to do. Our pediatrician has an after-hours emergency line, but after a couple previous experiences, I knew making that call wouldn't do me any good. So, off we went to the ER. I was worried and figured that was my only option.
Erika, being the wonderful friend that she is, met me down there. My parents just happened to be on their way to Florida and decided to stop over for the night to make their trip shorter the next day. So, they actually met me down there, too. Annabelle screamed about half of the trip, then settled down. Of course, when we arrived at the hospital, she seemed fine -- smiling at the nurses, talking to them, etc... The doctor came in, checked her out, and said it was probably just severe gas pains.
I took my daughter to the ER.... for gas pains. The nurse asked me if she was my first child. "Ummm....no.....but I swear, I have never seen her act like that before. She was making sounds I have never heard her make!!!" Seriously, I know that anyone else in my position would have made the same decision. And you know, TV doesn't help these situations. A few days earlier, I watched this show called, "Your Kid Swallowed What?!" It documented true accounts of children and toddlers swallowing all kinds of crazy things. Annabelle puts everything in her mouth. I thought, perhaps, she may have put something weird in her mouth at the park. I didn't know and I didn't want to risk not getting her checked out if she did. At least, now, I knew and didn't have to worry about it anymore.
The rest of the weekend was great. No more screaming episodes. No more ER visits. Annabelle actually had a glorious time. The doctor said I should give her apple juice to help "move things along." I don't give her juice on a regular basis, so this was a treat. And, boy, did she ever drink it up.
I took this video a while back. See the bruise underneath her eye? Jacob had a matching one, except his was a little worse. They were playing on the couch and bumped heads...or more specifically, faces.
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