First T-Ball Game!

I know why they don’t keep score. It’s not so that they won’t hurt feelings or cause lasting detrimental effects on their self esteem, nope. It’s because there is NO POSSIBLE WAY you can keep score. It’s complete chaos. Or in Jarrod’s words: “It was like herding cattle”. Yeah. Good times.

It was really funny. We were very entertained! Stratton had a crowd to watch him. Jarrod’s parents came, and my dad and Dillon and Brandye came, too.

There were as many adults on the field as there were kids, and they were all needed. Those kids are just oblivious! The best moment was when Stratton started off the field toward the dugout and Jarrod yelled at him to get back in his spot, but Stratton just looked at him and kept on going. He got to the dugout and found his water bottle and got a drink! I guess he was thirsty?! Jarrod was hot on his tail and made him get back on the field, though! Too funny.

He also ran from third base to the pitcher’s mound to the dugout on his second time at bat! Like I said it was really funny!

He made it to first on his first bat!

When it was their turn on the field all the kids ran after the ball at the same time it was too cute!

Stratton’s friend Carson (who is much older and not playing) was “helping” in the outfield and Stratton thought he needed company!

Lining up to shake hands with the other team

Arden had fun watching the game!

Crash and burn . . . .and get a mild concussion.

{Sunday Morning}

The Crash and Burn. . .

Let’s start the story on Friday. . . Friday after noon Jarrod went to daycare to pick Arden up for her Doctor’s appointment (follow-up with the ENT). Well when he gets there he learns that Stratton had just gotten pushed off the slide by another child and the whole right side of his face was scratched. He was fine, but just shaken up and upset. So Jarrod couldn’t leave him there after that so he picked up both kids and called me to tell me what happened (I was at work fixing to leave to meet him at the Dr office) and he just told me that Stratton did a face plant and was roughed up pretty good. Well, when I walked in the doctors office I was just almost in shock, Jarrod had not prepared me for what I saw! My poor baby’s whole right side of his face was red and scratched and just looked awful!! He seemed fine, his normal self for the most part. I asked him about the incident and he kept saying “Ronnie pushed me off the stair slide”, there isn’t a Ronnie in his class so I asked him who this “Ronnie boy was?”, Turns out Ronnie is a girl. He was very hesitant to tell us that at first. Then I asked him if she was new or in a different class and he said she was in the little kid class. Hmmm. So, he got beat up by not just a girl, but a girl younger and smaller than him?! Boy. It’s hard to be too mad after that. I figure she just didn’t know better or didn’t mean to. Right?! I choose to think so.

Friday night I went to a jewelry party at my friend Lori’s house and Jarrod and the kids hung out at home. I’m glad we didn’t have anywhere to be or anything to do, since Stratton looked so rough!

The Concussion. . .

Saturday, the kids got up early- of course, so we got around and went and had breakfast at Sue’s. We were disappointed to learn that they didn’t have cinnamon rolls!! Crazy! After that we ran a few errands and then headed back to the house so Stratton could take a nap. Jarrod sold his truck a couple of weeks ago (I know you’re shocked, right?) and then he had found one Friday he liked, so while Stratton was napping he went and bought another truck. Then when he got back he and Stratton went out to ASU to the spring practice football game. While they were gone Arden took a decent nap and I picked up and cleaned up and starting cooking for the birthday party we were having for my mom and Brandye that evening. The guys got back and Stratton was hyped up! I had been in the kitchen but had gone in the Living Room to check on Arden when Stratton came in there and asked me “Mommy how do I get passed the hot?” I had no idea what he was talking about so I told him to stay away from the stove and that he didn’t need to be playing in the kitchen because the oven and stove top were both on. Well about 30 seconds later, I hear “SMACK” and then wailing. By the time I got in there Jarrod had already picked Stratton up and was looking him over. He had apparently hit his head in the same place again, this time he had a pretty good gash right beside his eye. It also looked like he took a blow to the right side of his head when he hit the tile floor. My theory is that he was jumping from rug to rug in the kitchen (the tile was “hot”) and the rug slipped out from under him and he fell. Now, that’s just a theory. Who really knows why or how it actually happened! He and Jarrod sat in the chair with a ice pack for awhile and I gave him a dose of tylenol. My parents came in soon after and he seemed fine. We got supper on the table and I thought he’d probably eaten pretty good considering Jarrod let him have a hot dog at the ball game, but he started saying his stomach hurt. (Honestly, my first thought was “Oh, no. Not good. He’s probably got a concussion) Jarrod suggested that he go lay down on the couch, it had been a busy day and he hadn’t gotten much of a nap, we chalked it up to him being tired and eating too much. Well, about 45 mins later he threw up. All over Jarrod. We cleaned everything and everybody up and Stratton took a bath. After his bath he threw up a couple more times and he was acting so sleepy and just lethargic. Brandye looked him over and said he probably had a mild concussion, but there was really nothing that could be done. Eventually, after we just couldn’t keep him awake, we all agreed that we probably needed to take him to the ER just to be sure. Brandye went with us and wow. So thankful that we know someone with connections! We got in had an evaluation, saw a nurse, saw the doctor, had a CT scan and got the results all within about 2 hours. They said he did have a mild concussion, and told us to watch him carefully (they gave us a list of things to be watching for) and also wake him up during the middle of the night (I guess to make sure he doesn’t drift off into a coma). The whole event was terrifying to me, but I held it together. Especially on the ride to the hospital I tried to talk to him to keep him awake and a couple of times I had to actually shake his arm to make him stay awake- so scary! They told us to follow up with his PCP on Monday.

I am pretty sure that his beat up face and two “accidents” two days in a row warranted some additional questioning by the staff at the ER, I think we had to tell the whole story to about 4 different people. I am also fairly confident that a child protective services agent was on the other side of the door just waiting to hear a discrepancy in our story! Stratton, poor thing looked really, really rough! He did really good at the ER, just towards the end he got restless and thirsty, but he was still very well behaved.

Thankfully we made it through the night ok. My mom and dad took Arden home with them thinking that Stratton would sleep late since it was about 11:30 by the time he got into bed. Wrong. He was up at 6:30 am!! We didn’t go to church since we were all just kind of tired and groggy. I was exhausted. I got up 7:30 and then went back to bed and slept till 10:30. I think all the emotions of the night before had just wiped me out! We had a late lunch at Olive Garden (Stratton’s request) and he ate like we’d been starving him! We came back to the house and finally got him to take a nap then we got around and my dad brought Arden back then we went to church and after church we had our monthly small group  meeting.

Monday my mom came and stayed with Stratton since we were hesitant to send him to school (where he isn’t watched like a hawk, like he needs to be) and have another incident happen again. I called the pediatrician's office and they wanted him to come in. I picked him up at the house and he and my mom were sitting in the front yard having a Micky D’s picnic. They had also been to Lowes and bought flowers and they were going to plant them but apparently Stratton feel asleep before they got home from their outing and when he woke up mom heated up his lunch and they were enjoying it outside since it was so nice. His appointment took right at an hour. She thought he looked fine and even said he could play baseball. He was feeling ok enough that when we got back home he and Gigi finished their project. Now we have pretty flowers around our crepe myrtle tree!

Whew. I guess it’s not so bad. I mean he’s almost 4 and just now had his first concussion (that we know of anyway). I told him he’s “this close” to having to wear a helmet all the time!

Seven months

7 months old!

Our sweet Arden is, if anything, one happy girl! We are so blessed to have such a precious, content baby girl!

She’s gotten better about sitting in her car seat and stroller. She doesn’t seem to hate the car seat as much, which is really nice! I hate it when she screams all the way home in the evenings! In the stroller she likes to sit up where she can see everything going on, she is pretty content to sit and watch people, especially kids. When we are around other kids she gets so excited! She’ll just squeal and laugh, I think she’s going to be more social than her shy brother! She is sitting well in a highchair and as long as we give her puffs she is content to sit while we eat, as long as she’s not hungry!

She is eating a lot! She has 4-5 6 oz bottles a day and has oatmeal and a fruit in the morning, fruit in the afternoon and oatmeal and a veggie at night! She is a healthy eater! She likes yogurt melts and fruit puffs and has started really getting the hang of putting them in her mouth. Which means we moved up to size three diapers, however she is still wearing mostly 3-6, or 6 months size clothes. She has a couple 6-9 month things that she is wearing, but she’s still so small! I think it won’t be much longer and we will have to move up a size, though. I guesstimate she weighs a little over 16 pounds right now. I’m trying to introduce a sippy cup, but since she’s not even holding her bottle yet, we aren’t having much luck.

She’s been going to bible class for over a month now and always does great! Even if she’s sleepy when we get there she brightens up and usually doesn’t fuss or cry at all. She does very well in church service too. She is content to be held and play with her toys and books or take a nap. I think we’ve only had to take her out once and it was because she was sleepy. She’s normally not that restless. . .yet anyway!

During the week she takes 1-2 naps at school a day. Probably totally 2-3 hours a day. Sometimes she’ll cat nap at night when we get home and on the weekends she doesn’t nap very well unless she’s in our bed!

So she’s still not sleeping through the night. I hope we can work on that soon. I was really hoping to have a weekend without Stratton before we go on vacation to try and get her sleeping better, but that may not happen. She will sleep all night a night or so a week, but for the most part she’s up around 3am. With her eating as much as she is, I know she isn’t hungry! But it’s just easier to give her a bottle and then we can all go back to sleep 20 mins later. So, basically it’s our own fault she’s not sleeping though the night, but during the week and when Stratton is home is just not a good time to let her “cry it out ” and put herself back to sleep! One of these days. . . .

Arden has two teeth on the bottom now. And she loves to chew on things. I’m not real sure since she’s been sick, but I don’t think teething is going to be too bad with her. She didn’t act abnormally fussy or anything when they were coming in. But with us all having allergies and colds, it’s hard to tell for sure what symptoms were teething and which were from her cold and ear infection. She is still on zantac twice a day for reflux and also takes hydroxyzine almost everyday. I hope we can start cutting that out soon!

At seven months Arden:

• Loves (thrives) on attention. She will flirt and smile with anyone!
• Is sometimes a jabber mouth, especially in the car.
• Says “mom-mom-mom-momma” regularly, more frequently when cranky, mad or hungry.
• Major momma’s girl. It’s not uncommon for her to get upset when I leave the room.
• Enjoys her bath time, especially when she gets to bathe with Stratton.
• She is still a little snuggler, she still has to be rocked to sleep at night.
• Has to have a small blanket to rub when she gets sleepy and also does this thing where she rubs/scratches her face in between her eyes when she’s sleepy.
• Gotta watch her, she’s good at pulling hair! Ouch!
• Is content to sit in the floor and play with toys most of the time.
• She wants whatever Stratton has and isn’t afraid to take it from him!
• Rolls around to get where she wants to go.
• Favorite thing is to play/watch Stratton!

First T-Ball Practice

On the way to practice I asked Jarrod if he had a plan, were they going to split the kids up, or work on just one or two things? In my opinion, I thought it would be best to split them up into small groups and have “stations”  where they work on hitting, catching, running, ect. . then they would always be doing something and not being idle. . and idle 3-4 year old is trouble. Well, he said he thought we’d just “wing it”. Ha! Live and learn! It was pretty chaotic. Next time we have practice (if there is another one) will be structured much differently I think! Jarrod has several dads that are good helping the kids, thank goodness! He is going to need all the help he can get!!

Jarrod is in the red shirt and Stratton is the kid in the middle crouching down.

Armor Kids

Crazy Kids

A nice weekend

We took Stratton to see “Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes Music” Friday night. We didn’t tell him about it till Thursday so he was excited! Arden got to stay with Gigi and Pops Friday night all by herself! We left for Memphis about 4:00 pm. Stratton was on his best behavior the whole night. He didn’t even ask for any of the junk toys and stuff they sell. He did ask for a snow cone, but after explaining that it was way too cold in there (it was freezing!!) to be eating cold ice, he was fine. He did get hungry before the second part started but once the show started back he was fine. (This is after he consumed a huge bucket of popcorn and a pepsi).  Afterwards we ate dinner at Firebirds and it was about 9pm and I was worried Stratton would be tired and act out. But he was really good! He ordered a hamburger with Mac and cheese and fruit and ate everything but the burger. Go figure. It was about 11:30 when we got home and that stinker was up at 7am!

Jarrod went to one of his friends deer camp/cabin to do some work on the cabin’s front porch. So after a few chores Stratton and I headed to Hickory Ridge to spend the day and to pick up Arden. The weather was so nice! Finally its getting warm! We spent the morning playing outside and then had lunch and ice cream at the Dairy Bar in Fair Oaks followed by a long nap (for me too) and then we went by to see Nanny and Papa before heading back home just in time for a bath and bedtime!

Pops and Stratton

Friends

These aren’t that great of pictures- I took them with my phone and doesn't take good pictures at all! But I snapped these Sunday night, we went to Mazzio’s after church with Ryan, Erica, Carson, Livy and Parker! Livy and Stratton are about 3 months apart (she’s older)and Parker and Arden are about 6 months apart (he’s older). Erica is one of my sweetest friends and we love spending time with their family!! Stratton follows their oldest son, Carson (who is 7) around like a little lost puppy. He thinks Carson is the coolest!! We have always tried to get Stratton and Livy to play together, but just recently they have really taken a liking to each other! After church Livy will come up to him and say “Stratton, come chase me!!” and off they go! It’s too cute. I hope they will be good friends as they grow up. And if it just so happens to lead to more. . .well that would be alright with me!! Are arranged marriages totally obsolete these days?? I’m thinking we could have a 2 for one deal. . .

Arden (6 months) & Parker (12 months)

I have a similar picture of Stratton and Livy at this age.

And here they are today!

Stratton & Livy ~ Sweet Friends!

New Adventures

PRE-K

Yesterday afternoon was Pre-K registration at Valley View! I can’t believe we are getting Stratton ready for Pre-K already?! He did so good! He was excited about his “Big, New School”. They did an evaluation on him while Jarrod and I did some paperwork and they told us he did really good. Turns out we still lack ONE shot. Apparently, the some of the vaccines that are in the “combo” shots they get when they are babies have valid dates. He got one 5 days before he actually turned 6 months, so the hepatitis part it’s not considered valid because he wasn’t 6 months yet. UGH!!! So, we now have to go to the health department to get it because the doctors office don’t keep single doses of hepatitis vaccines in their offices. I didn’t get all that information till yesterday. It just so happened that one of the nurses from the doctors office was at registration with her son the same time we were, and she was the one that gave Stratton his shots last week, so when she got back to the clinic she figured it all out and called me about it! I am so glad she was there to help- this is confusing!! So we have to get the last shot done pretty soon and get the paperwork to the Pre-K office and we will be all set!

I was going to take a picture of Stratton in front of the school, but it was raining and SO cold! So that didn’t happen. Since he was so good, afterwards I took him to get ice-cream. He chose blue raspberry sherbet- of course the darkest messiest kind possible.By the time he was done he looked like a smurf.  He had it everywhere!

Crazy Boy!!

T-BALL

Last night was also our first Tball meeting.

Jarrod is coaching Stratton’s team! The Pirates! Here’s how that happened. . .when he signed Stratton up he offered to be an assistant coach if they needed. Then last week he got a call that there were too many kids and not enough head coaches, so he was moved to coach! They had a coaches meeting last week and Jarrod got some of our friends kids on his team! Yay! And one of them is Livy! I hope it will be a good experience and they will have fun. The meeting went really well, almost all the parents showed up! Wow! And Jarrod had a couple of guys offer to help (thank goodness!). We have our first practice on Tuesday and first game on April 15th.

This is not a good picture, but as we were going home I look back and Stratton is wearing his Pirates cap- too cute!

Easter 2013

Easter Afternoon

It was such a dreary and cold morning. So much for cute outside pictures! We managed a few quick pictures of the kids dressed in their Easter outfits right after church.

Family shot

I cropped this from another picture. . .Too funny. . .Priceless expression!

We spent the afternoon at my grandparent’s house eating, visiting and hunting more eggs!

Arden driving across the road

“Give me the wheel dad!”

Easter 2013

Saturday morning we got up and around and went to Searcy to see my old roommate Sam and her kids. It was fun to catch up, but of course wasn’t long enough. Searcy is crazy on Easter/Spring Sing weekend and we would have liked to have met at a park but since it was raining we decided to meet at Chick-Fil-A so the kids could at least play, but it was so packed we didn’t stay long and of course didn’t take any pictures. Then we went back to their hotel and let the kids swim for awhile, but it was really cold and we ended up not staying in there long at all. (Long enough for me though!) Of course there were no cameras present since we were in our swim attire!! Jarrod had some errands to run so he and Arden did that and Stratton stayed with me and it worked out pretty good. After that we ran by Hays and it was nuts!! Like day after Thanksgiving kind of crazy! We didn’t stay long at all. Then we stopped by the Bulldog and had a snack before heading for Hickory Ridge. We stayed in HR Saturday night so we could get up and go to church with the family and have lunch at my grandma’s house.

Easter Morning

Sunday morning I woke up (the 3rd time- Arden was up twice) to Stratton screaming “MOM!!”. You know what that means. Yep. He wet the bed. And that is why he is wearing regular clothes and not his super cute monogrammed easter jammies that matched Arden’s. So much for that. I will just have to take a “re-do” picture later in the week! Stratton and Arden both got goodies from the Easter Bunny and he hid a bunch of eggs for Stratton to find all over Gigi’s house!

Arden’s 1st Easter basket

Arden was more interested in what Stratton had. . .