Mickey Mouse on Ice

I always say this, but I wish I had remembered to take more pictures! Stratton was mesmerized by the whole thing! He hardly moved at all. We had a good day, which included Stratton's first stroll down Beale Street, some shopping and a trip to Gigi's for cupcakes, of course!

Our BIG boy.

Seriously. When did he get SO big?

He really looks like a little man. He likes wearing his belt and boots and anything else that he has that is "like daddy's". I love seeing him learn and grow, but sometimes I wish he would just slow down!! My favorite part of the day these days is in the morning when Stratton comes and gets in bed with me to "Nuggle mommy". He always has to "get under covers" and we watch the Disney channel while he drinks his "choc-it milk"for a few minutes before we get up to get dressed. I really do treasure those moments, as I realize that I am going to blink and he's going to be all grown up. I put this poem I found in his 2 year pictures/photo book. It's quite fitting for how I feel about Stratton these days! It's so sweet . . .

Little Man

Little Man, just two feet tall,
You're really not a man at all.
And yet you try so hard to be,
Just like the grown-ups that you see.
You want to be like daddy,
and maybe Grandpa too.
You want so, to be big,
And do the things they do.
Well, dream my little man,
and let your mind have wings.
Pretend you are the captain,
of ships and planes and things.
But when the day has ended,
and your make-believe is done.
Come home to where you're loved,
and for awhile just be my son.

Surgery news

I had my pre-op appointment with Dr. Mizell Wednesday and then did all the “fun” pre-op tests. . .blood work, x-ray, EKG, anesthesia analysis. . .it only took 5 1/2 hours!! We got there a little before 9am (we left J’boro at 6:45am) having not had breakfast and didn’t get to eat till almost 3pm!! We were starving!!

The appointment went well. It wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it would be. I was a little encouraged by the news I got about the recovery. He said if I felt like it they would have me up drinking a little on Tuesday night. Then if all goes well they will gradually move from liquids to solid foods and by the time I go home I should be eating normally again! He went over all the possible complications, but reiterated how rare they are and in my case it is even more unlikely. Which did make me feel a little better. They also told us that the surgery would be between 3-4 hours long.  However, we didn’t get to find out an actual time when the surgery will be. Apparently since the hospital is also a trama center they can’t tell you till the evening before! They are supposed to call between 3-6pm to tell us what time the surgery is and where exactly it will be. We had planned to go to LR sometime Monday evening anyway, so it’s not that big of a deal. I just hope it isn’t at 4pm or sometime late in the afternoon! I am on a clear liquids diet the day before and of course can’t have anything after midnight the night before, so if it’s too late I’ll be miserable! Plus, who wants to be in surgery with a Dr that has been at work all day- I’d rather it be in the morning when he’s fresh! Ha-ha!

Tomorrow is Friday, so I am just thinking to myself- this time next week it will all be over and I will hopefully be looking at coming home soon!

This week has just been beyond crazy. I have a major project deadline on Monday, so I have been working really hard to get it completed by tomorrow. I am overwhelmed with things that I need to do at work and at home before we leave Monday evening! I know it will all get done somehow (probably involving some late nights this weekend) but right now I don’t really see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Please keep us in your prayers, obviously for me that everything goes ok, but also for our families that will be traveling! And especially for the next few weeks as I recover and Jarrod has to pick up the slack!

Another jam-packed weekend

Friday night we took Stratton to the NEA Fair Rodeo. It didn’t start till 8pm, so we were a little hesitant to take him this year, but he did great. I just wish we had gotten tickets before we got there. We had to wait in line for 30-45 minutes (in the cold drizzly rain). He loved it for the most part. . .he didn’t like the calf roping! He kept saying “It get up??” I think he felt bad for the calves getting roped and tied! He also had his first taste of cotton candy, which he wasn’t sure about but after a taste decided he liked it. Now all he talks about is seeing cowboys. He got some new boots last week and has been loving wearing them. They look a lot like Jarrod’s so he feels like such a big boy!!

Saturday woke us up at 7:30, apparently staying up late doesn’t affect his ability to get up early. But that afternoon he took a 3 and half hour nap to make up for it. We went to Searcy Friday evening and took Stratton to the White Co. Fair. Our main attraction of choice was the demolition derby. We thought Stratton would love to see that. Unfortunately, there were so many people there (the fair does bring the people out!) that we didn’t get a good spot to see anything. We did watch it for awhile from the cow barn, and could see pretty good but there wasn’t anywhere to sit so we thought we’d try the rodeo- same thing, it was just packed! We had a good time, we went through the cow barn 3 times, he really liked the cows (I’m sure his Pa likes that!). I got a foot-long corn dog, I haven’t had one of those in 3 or 4 years! Yum! Then we got a candied apple on our way out and Stratton and I ate it when we got back to Jarrod’s mom and dad’s house. He really liked it, too!

 

Only stayed on about .01 seconds- we got our money back. . .

I think he had more fun playing on these blocks than anything else! Just like a boy!

He found a big rock and carried it around for a long time. Hey, it’s a free souvenir!

Stratton had the best seat in the house!

Time for the candy apple!

Yummy!!

We stayed the night in Searcy so we could get up and go to the funeral of Terry’s cousin, Wayne. After the funeral we headed back to Jonesboro, ran an errand, went to church, went to eat with some friends then went home and got ready for bed! Whew!

This week is going to be a really busy one. I will be trying to get my projects finished up at work and I am a long way away from being done! Wednesday I go back to UAMS for my pre-op appointment. We are also taking Stratton to see Mickey Mouse on Ice in Memphis Saturday afternoon! I think he is going to go nuts!! Then before we know it, it will be next week. . . I am nervous that my surgery is coming up so quickly. There is so much to do before next Tuesday gets here! I am just ready to get it over and done with!

Go Red Wolves!

We took Stratton to the ASU vs. Memphis Tigers football game last night and he did way better than I expected. I was really afraid that he would get bored and want to run around, but to my surprise he was enthralled! The only time he got a little restless was during half-time after the band did their thing and there wasn’t much going on.

Hal, the mascot came out on the field with the football team riding a motorcycle! It was almost too much for him to handle!! He was so excited!

He kept asking “Where’s wolf” or “Where’s Hal”. He would just wave when he saw the mascot! He got really into the game too, and would yell “Get ‘em!” and one time I think he was talking to the QB, he was yelling “LOOK!” and pointed to the open WR! Too funny!! He also learned how to HOWL, which I have got to get on video, it’s too cute! We had a really good time and I’m hoping that we will get to go to more of the games this year! By the way we won! I can’t remember the exact score but it was bad like 40-something to 3?!

Ahhh. . .a lazy Saturday.

Friday night we went to Matt and Carla's house for Matt's birthday dinner. We had Mel's steaks! Stratton was just happy to be getting some birthday cake!! He says all the time "It' My birthday??" then he will answer himself "No, my birthday over." He loves to sing "Happy birthday to you" at the most random times?! Anyway we had a good time celebrating!

Saturday morning Stratton and Jarrod got up and brought me breakfast in bed! Chocolate chip muffins (that they baked) and coffee! we spent the rest of the morning being lazy and we sat outside for a long time since it was so nice! Stratton and Sadey played in the dirt, no wonder they like each other so much they have so much in common!

The Beach~Tuesday

We got up early and were planning on being gone by 8am, it was actually closer to 9. . .it was hard to leave when this is what you are leaving!

That's right. Gorgeous day. . Sunshine and no wind.

We thought it was going to be a pretty good day. When we passed by the Krispy Kreme doughnut in Foley the "Hot" doughnut sign was on! So, of course we had to stop in and have some little pieces of heaven!! That was where the good day ended however. I won't go into the gory details but sometime after lunch Stratton "got sick" in the car and we ended up having to run into a Walmart to get supplies to clean it up and a new car seat. I rode most of the rest of the way home in the backseat- just incase in happened again. Luckily it never did. We got home a little before 9pm! What a LONG day! We were exhausted! And oh goody. . .we had to get up and go to work the next day.

I'm glad we got to get away and Jarrod didn't have to use any of his vacation time. I just wish the weather had been a little more cooperative and the trip home had been better! Oh well better luck next time!

The Beach~ Monday

It looked so much nicer! There were even bouts of sunshine! Mom and Dad went out and walked down the beach and they got a little sunburned! However, this was short-lived and worse, the wind was blowing so hard that you couldn't stand being on the beach! The sandblasting was painful!!

We thought if we stuck S behind one of the boxes they use to put the beach chairs in we could get him out of the wind- wrong. The wind was blowing from both directions, there was no escaping it!

We played in the pool for awhile and then went in to get cleaned up. We went into Gulf Shores for dinner at the Original Oyster House- it was really good. There were a couple of little shops beside it that we ventured in after we ate. Stratton like the old and out of order helicopter. . . .

The ONLY family pic we got!

We ran by one of those souvenir shops so Stratton could get a seashell, since we didn't get to look for them on the beach. I was hesitant to go back the condo that night because I wasn't looking forward to packing and leaving early Tuesday morning. But when you have a 2 year old you can't stay out all night!

The Beach~Sunday

Sunday we got up and headed into Gulf Shores for church. After church we had brunch at the Louisiana Lagniappe, it was soo good! We had a great view of SanRoc Cay Harbour and Stratton liked looking at all the huge boats. It was actually really clear and sunny when we left for church but by the time we got done eating it was getting cloudy and rainy again. So we decided that we might as well hit the outlets. Unfortunately, that didn't go any better! I always find some really good deals, but for some reason it just wasn't my day!

We got back to the condo about 4pm and were going to have dinner at the Beach Club's restaurant. In the meantime, some teenager decided to get in the water and got out too far which caused a major rescue operation. A rescue swimmer saved 2 (one of the teens and the mom that tried to go out after them) of them, but they never found the 3rd. We discovered later that he was a 16 year old. It was really sad to watch.

 

The Beach~ Saturday

A little beach time in the morning was again spoiled by rain!

So we decided it would be a good day to spend indoors at the National Aviation Museum. We also took Stratton to his first IMAX movie  . .. and he loved it!

It was POURING rain when we left but we decided to eat at the Hangout anyway. Poor Jarrod was absolutely soaking wet after dropping us off and picking us up! After dinner we needed more milk so they guys ran into a Walgreens and got drenched! I have NEVER seen it rain that hard anytime anywhere! It was an interesting ride back to Fort Morgan with all the rain! But we got back safe and sound.

The Beach~ Friday

We decided {really} last minute to take advantage of the time Jarrod would be off for Labor day and make a quick trip to the beach. If you know me, you know I can't go a whole year without some beach time! Mom and Dad were planning on taking some time off that weekend as well so we asked them to go with us. It worked out really well, with the exception of Stratton not even caring that Jarrod and I were around! haha!

We left Thursday afternoon around 1:30pm and only made 2 stops! We made it all the way to Jackson before making the first stop! Stratton slept most of the way! we made it to Fort Morgan, where mom and dad were already, about 11pm. The best day was Friday. The skies were really cloudy and it rained on and off, but the wind wasn't that bad and we actually got to play on the beach a little.

Building a sand castle

The 1st sand castle got destroyed by an incoming wave!

Ominous looking clouds

Chasing seagulls!

We went to Lulu's for supper