This girl kills me. I can honestly say that her personality came with her, and it is about as big as it gets. For some reason, she doesn’t even begin to seem like she is only two years old. This girl can hold her own against any adult, and is the master manipulator in any scenario. I find her hysterical most of the time, and it really backfires when i am scolding her, and she makes me laugh. Do you think that she takes me seriously? Probably not….but so far so good because she is a pretty good little girl. I am crossing my fingers (and toes and arms and legs that she always stays good).
Here are a few stories that come from the last week.
—
We were about to leave somewhere, and I sent her out to get into her seat. She came back with a vengeance and said very dramatically, “Mom, I have a problem! No…no (as she held up two fingers), I have TWO problems!” I started to laugh, and asked what the problems were. She said, “First…the car is locked. And next, I can’t even get my shoes on!” I was able to fix the problems, and everything turned out just fine.
—
Yesterday, she got some new crayons. Even though I called her a good girl above, she is certainly mischievous. So when B pointed down at her and then did the “come over here and look” finger, I knew she was up to no good. Of course, she had taken her beautiful dark pink crayon and colored a line in the wool carpet. When I gasped and went over to talk to her, I asked, “Navy…who did this?” Without missing a beat, she said (as if we were in cahoots), “I think it was a monster!” I didn’t buy it, and then she told me it was just an accident. I didn’t buy that either, and told her to sit in time out until she wanted to tell the truth. It took a bit, but she finally fessed up.
—
My kids know that I when I ask them to do something, they should respond immediately with something along the lines of, “Sure Mom.” So when my kids are really trying to be good, I hear a whole lot of “Sure Moms”. But lately, Icka has had a new response. When I ask her to do something, she says, “No and Sure!” The “no” is because that is what she really wants to say, and the “Sure” is because she knows that is what will keep her out of trouble. It is basically a win/win situation for her, and she knows it!
—
The story that makes me crack up has been going on for a while now. Navy is always singing some song. But quite often she sings it with a twist. (Remember “You’re Not So Beautiful”?) Lately, her song of choice has been “We Are A Happy Family”. She has a sweet little voice, and just sings and sings it. But the last couple of weeks, whenever I put Scout or Icka in time out, Icka quietly sings, “We’re Not A Happy Family.” Her timing is so exact, and she isn’t singing it for a laugh –more for her own commentary in her head, and I crack up. I literally can’t help it. It is so classic!
—
Everyone wonders where this girl came from. But I have always known. My Mom says it perfectly whenever Icka’s personality is in full force. She says, “That is exactly how you were.” So my immediate response is, “Well then, she is destined to be somebody great!”
This girl got me to name my second baby after her. So I tell her that she owes me her life. When I don’t feel like she is paying up, I say, “It should have been Navy Rose Denison” after NayNay. But Skilly is coming back around with Dash. I am talking baths, diaper changes, rocking, singing. Thank goodness. But I’ll admit, NayNay has been quite the Dash lover also, but they mostly just sleep by each other. Good thing this boy was named after the best runner in the family - Jake! Because even though he isn’t here every day (like the girls), I hear he is the best “Manny” around! And let’s be honest, if he turns out like Jake, I couldn’t be a happier mom!
-
Sidenote — Thank goodness for Skilly on days where disaster strikes. Now for two Sundays in a row, we have spent our evenings sopping up an entire downstairs of water. Apparently, our toilet that was fixed (to not just constantly run) got a new problem in the process. Now instead of running and making a noise, it runs silently as the downstairs fills with water. The one good point of this problem is that it is clean water….literally from the hose, through the toilet, to the floors. Good thing I know where the emergency water shut off is. Isn’t this 2011, and aren’t toilets supposed to stop at a certain point before disasters happen? Back to Skilly — thank goodness she can appease Dash for quite a while, as Dash screams for food, and Mom is breaking a sweat.
Some nights I definitely sleep better than others. The good nights are usually because none of the little weasels have made their way to our bed. But even if it causes a poor night of sleep, I love when Scout, Navy and now Dash cuddle right up to me for the long haul. Scout is pretty easy to sleep with. He just intertwines himself around you, and is down for the count. The best part of Scout is his always sweet-smelling breath, that is never offensive. On the VERY other hand, my smelly-mouthed Icka is a little tougher to sleep with. She does the same as Scout, and just wraps herself around me. But her bad breath and her fuzzy hair that always make its way to tickle my face make for some really bad sleeps. And Dash….he is like a little angel who is always perfectly still and silent.
Here is a morning after Icka made her way down in the middle of the night. Scout came early in the morning. Dash was in and out all night long. And Micah decided to spread out. Notice that teeny tiny space on the left hand side. That is where I was sleeping.
But I know I won’t have little people always begging to get in my bed to cuddle, so I will happily take it.
—
And the real shout out goes to my mom who I found sleeping on the ground in her closet today. When I asked her what she was doing, she just said, “I am exhausted! I can’t even keep my eyes open!” You ask why? Because she slept with Scout all night as he was sick with the croup. And instead of sleeping, she rubbed his little back all night long to make him feel better. She is a stinking saint!
(And she was in the closet, because she was hiding from the cleaners who had only completed one room at the time — her closet!)
In honor of the big day coming up, Scout’s school had a little program with songs and a feast. Scout was so excited, and we were in charge of bringing the pumpkin pie. Too bad the night before, Scout woke up from a dead sleep with a horrible case of the croup. We rushed him into a steam shower, put sparkle on his chest, got a humidifier going, and spent a couple of hours nursing him back to feeling okay. Once he woke up, I asked him how he felt. He kept saying, “not good”. So we put off the party at school and made him a sick bed. After a few hours, he felt “all better”, and we headed over to preschool to drop off the pie, and Miss Diane had him jump into the program.
Here he is with his class. Poor guy doesn’t look too hot.
He got a little energy boost when he was the lead turkey running in a circle.
He got in a little instrument time.
Icka watched and can’t wait to be a part of it all.
Like a little Indian angel.
Here is the class “feasting”.
Here is Icka after she conned someone out of their sucker.
First of all, I feel like a loser of a mother. I have pictures of Scout and Navy’s first Carruthy appointment, but not Dash’s. Not that I didn’t have my camera out to snap away — I just didn’t have my stinking memory card in it. So I missed the first check up, and when Carruthy had to take my boy’s blood to check up on his numbers. Because of this mess up, I made sure I had my camera all set when he went to his hematology appointment. I was technically his second doctor’s appointment, but let’s keep in mind that he has spent over half his life in the hospital, so he was no stranger to what was happening.
-
Second of all, let me give some background on Dash’s numbers up until now. When he left the hospital, his numbers were good. Bili was down to I think an 8, and his H&H were good (hematocrit was a 28 I think). When we hit Dr. Carruth’s office five days after being released, he took blood to verify that all was good. Based on his color alone, we knew we were completely out of the woods on his Bili. But on the H&H, his pale color told us we needed to draw blood. With the heel prick, he found that the numbers were not so good, and then took “real” blood to get a more accurate accounting. He booked a hospital bed at CHOC, and we were back at the hospital that evening for blood transfusion #2. The really good news was that there was still enough blood from the first batch to use for this transfusion, and that is great because we know he has no reaction — and more importantly, that it works. So he had 10 hours of transfusion over the next 24 hours. I stayed with him in the hospital, and held, fed and sang to him. By the time we got the final results, his H&H was at an 11 and a 32. These numbers are the best we have seen so far. So we were released, and headed home.
-
So two days later we headed to the hematologist to get a “game plan”. So the plan they came up with is juts to monitor him until he stabilizes. I can’t wait to see how much that appointment cost me! That is why I ONLY go to Carruthy — second best doctor in the world! (Nobody will ever pass Theiny!)
-
So now that you have a bit of the story, here is our visit to the blood doctor.
Doesn’t my baby look long! This poor little man has a Pavlov response to any time he has to undress, and lay on a cold and hard surface.
He screams!
Understandably though. This poor guy looked like he ran through a cactus field after he left the hospital with all of his heel pricks. And then add the numerous IV’s, the shots and the bigger blood draw — this boy is a trooper!
Nonnie immediately took him to comfort him.
But it wasn’t over yet — he still needed his vitals checked.
So here is the blood pressure machine that squeezes his little leg to smitherines.
But a little formula in my diaper bag did just the trick.
This boy is my first born for a reason. There is no doubt that he has his phases and his moments, but overall, he is just sweet. Lately, most of that sweetness is aimed directly at Dash. He wants to sleep by him each night, so after I feed him, I put him next to Scout, so they can cuddle for a while. He also comes to see him as soon as he wakes up. There is often a struggle between he and Navy, on who gets to be right next to him. But I always point out that he has two sides, and usually everyone is happy in the end.
As we were driving home from school this past week, Scout said, “Mom…I love my baby brother to infinity and beyond (he actually thinks this is the biggest number in the world), and you a one and Dad a four.” When I complained that Dad was higher, I was put on an even playing ground as Dad (he moved down to a one), but Dash stayed at infinity and beyond. Then he said, “I love him the most because he is my Sweetie Pie.”
When Icka was born, any time she would cry, Scout would call out “Angels”! Or he would tell her to look at the angels to be happy. So he has kept his tradition alive by calling out “angels” to Dash when he cries. He also told Icka to call out “angels” to him, but Icka hasn’t caught on to this sweet little gesture quite yet. Instead, she just goes and pets him.
But his sweetest thing comes during night time prayers. On top of always asking for Dash to be healthy and happy, he has been doing something extra the last few nights. After the family prayer, and Scout and Navy’s individual prayers, I usually say, “Alright guys, time for bed.” But the last few nights, Scout stops me and says that Dash needs to say a prayer. So when I tell him he is too young to talk, Scout offers to say it for him. So then Scout, in the best baby voice he can come up with, (that is completely impossible to understand), says Dash’s prayer. And I mean he really says it. Dash’s current prayers are long and thought out, and the only way I know when to say “Amen” is when the pause is longer than normal. I think Scout is the sweetest big brother, and hope this continues forever.
Navy comes over to me and the baby about 30 times a day and says, “Our baby is soooo cute!” As she says it, she says it in the most animated voice, and makes facial expressions that emphasize what she is saying. Then she “pets” him for a few seconds before running off to something else. I love that she adores him so much. But the one slight downside is that she also says, “Oh sorry baby…but that’s okay” about 30 times a day also. Usually after stepping on an arm, or bumping his head, or climbing on him while he nurses and she doesn’t recognize the blanket over the front of me with a bump underneath. Somehow Scout is as delicate around him as is necessary. But Icka is like a little bulldozer around him. I guess he might as well get used to it now, because he has a whole life ahead of him with the little bulldozer.
Looks like he is learning to fight back at an early age.
Or is that her little hand gripped tightly around his?
The hardest part of having Dash in the NICU was juggling between my children. None of them probably cared, but the tremendous guilt I would feel when I was at one place but felt like I should also be somewhere else was trying! So on day 9 of going back and forth, I got home between feedings, and had a three hour break before I needed to be back. I usually spent this time reading to Scout and Navy, or feeding them and getting them to bed, or whatever else I could do in a short amount of time. But this time, I got home, said, “Come on guys…..let’s pack up a bag for each of you.” So we packed, and drove down to the Brockbank’s house…walked in to their family dinner, and I said, “SURPRISE!” They were all thrilled beyond belief, and I was so happy that I knew they were going to be the one place where they wouldn’t even think about me because they were having so much fun! And I was right — when I went to pick them up two days later, Scout hid so I wouldn’t take him back home!
Of course, Megan had every moment filled with fun for them.
Megan called to tell me that Icka slept in Chloe’s bed, and when Megan checked on them, Chloe had both arms reaching over to Icka. When they woke up, Chloe told Megan that Icka said she could only sleep if she cuddled her. And apparently Icka slept like a log.
Scout was lucky to sleep in Trey’s bed after Trey got up to get ready for school. Prior to this, he was in a sleeping bag on the floor.
The next morning, Jake spent some time showing off their bearded dragon to both kids. Icka is a total animal lover, and has never shied away from their lizard.
Bed-head Scout has only started holding him recently. But look how proud he is of his accomplishment!
One of the crafts they did was decorate bags with stickers, markers and colored pencils.
Then they took their bags and went shopping in Megan’s garage. All of her stuff from class parties and trips to local stores was out, and she let them have anything they wanted. So when the kids came home, they had a bag stuffed full of little goodies like bouncy balls, whoopie cushions, sticky hands, curly straws, laser pointers, candy, stickers, and a million more things. It was like they had returned from the most successful trip to Chuck E. Cheeses EVER!
And did I mention that there were reindeer noses in Megan’s garage?
Chloe talked Megan into getting her out of school early, and then they headed to the mall. Apparently, Megan owed Chloe a make up set. Why you ask? Because Icka ruined her last one when she snuck off and dug into it the last time we were at the Brockbanks. Whoops!
As the icing on top of everything, when they were leaving for their weekly Friday-night-eat-out-night, Megan let Scout pick where they would all eat for dinner. To everyone’s disgust, he picked Denny’s. I really can’t believe they went for it, and here they are — all eating at the most repulsive place on earth.
Round two of pancakes was Saturday morning, when Bryan made his famous Buckwheat pancakes. Scout gave Bryan the biggest compliment, and told him they were even BETTER than Denny’s!
Then it was off to swim. There was a little close call because somehow Icka completely forgot everything from her swimming lessons this summer!
Then they spent some time at the park. Jake is the BEST! I think so, but my kids know so!
—
Where is Cade in all of this?
The one who said, “For how long”, when I surprised them with two visitors.
Playing Mario Cart.
Good thing he let Scout join in!
—
Dear Brockbanks,
My kids had a blast. I know this because I asked them if they would rather go to your house or Disneyland, and they didn’t hesitate by yelling out, “OUR COUSINS HOUSE!” Thank you for making my last two days with Dash in the NICU much more relaxing and pleasant. Thanks for rearranging your lives to accommodate mine. No thanks for making me look like a pretty lame mom compared to Auggie!
Love,
Lindsey
The first hour after having Dash, Mission Hospital had me do skin on skin time. Apparently there are a ton of good things that come from it, and I loved holding my warm baby so close for a while. Apparently Tristen still thinks there are a ton of advantages, and allows Scout and Navy to do skin on skin with Dash each morning.
This is right after warm baths where they are all clean.
Look at Dash looking at his big brother!
And look at Icka inspecting Dash’s belly button.
Scout holds him so carefully, and whispers the sweetest things in Dash’s ear.
Contrary to her nature, Icka is SO soft and careful with this baby.
And when she’s not, she is quick to say, “Sorry. But that’s okay. Right mom?”
When Icka was calling out for her turn of skin on skin, Bella obliged.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
This scene will never get too old.
—
Too bad for all of you who don’t have Patty Poo as your Mom, or Nonnie as your kid’s Grandma.
You are seriously missing out!
—
To celebrate this momentous day, we headed to Savannah Chop House for dinner.
It was Dash’s first outing (Scout’s was at the same place), and he was a perfect little angel.
Nice see through dress Skilly!
-
Happy Birthday Mom!
| DESIGN BY