The Boy and The Bink and Fun with Friends

The boy and his binky. Napping with five, count 'em, five binks in the crib. OK, three have fallen and are stuck between the crib and wall.

Sleeping peacefully.

"Oh my gosh, I found a binky!"

Jasper and Jonah playing in the kitchen.

Jasper and Luke sitting on the porch swing.

Cheerios + Drool =

Still laughing

This is how I found Jasper when he woke up from his morning nap. The funny thing is that he was just as content as could be.

The latest trick

I can't help but laugh.

Parenthood Lesson

On my 16th birthday it snowed. So hard, in fact, that school was canceled. I could not believe it. It was early March. February was typically the last month we could expect snow in Central Oklahoma. Of course, I wasn't worried about missing school, my parents' commutes or even not seeing my friends. I couldn't take my driver's test. Everyone I knew waited in the licensing parking lot to be the first in line on the day of their 16th birthdays, and I figured that's what I had to do, too.

Bummed, I sulked. I think I even cried. I called friends and asked that they feel sorry for me. I told the story as if it were something monumental.

Thankfully, I am not 16 any more. Parenthood is teaching me lots of things, but one that I'm starting to like is that I have to be in the moment more. We can make plans, but typically they are tentative. I've learned that if I let myself get upset when something doesn't work out the way I'd planned, I need to just roll with it. After all, you never know when a kid will throw up, run a fever, get a cold, need a nap or turn into the cranky monster. And, you never know when Mom will break her foot.

I'm guessing my parents were nice enough to indulge my melancholy for a moment a two on my 16th, but then they probably thought, "Buck up, girl. The snow will be gone in a day or two."

Growing up helps, but nothing kicks your plans in the rear like becoming a parent. So, that's why we've been so happy the past few days to just be. Of course, since I can't drive, it's not like we have the option to go lots of places, but, still, we're making the best of this slower pace.

Today Dina and her two boys came over for a picnic in the backyard. I packed a picnic basket and we sat on blankets in the yard and ate our lunch from the plastic plates in the basket. I made pasta salad and Dina brought dessert. Her boys played with Wiley, and Jasper enjoyed watching the big kids run around the yard.

If I didn't have a broken foot, we probably wouldn't have made such a deal about a backyard picnic. But, it was fun. We might even make tentative plans to do it again.

Havin' Fun!

It's been nearly a week since I last posted anything here. Sorry. We've been busy just having fun. After the zoo trip, we stayed close to home for the rest of the week, and the weather cooperated beautifully with an outstanding weekend to top it off. We spent quite a bit of time playing in the backyard while Dad worked on the garden. Fun times. Here are few pics. The boy is getting big. He's getting mobile every day, and the official crawl cannot be far off. He is moving everywhere, laughing a lot and pretty happy all around. So are Mom and Dad!

Zoo Day

Today we went to the zoo. We'd been planning the outing for several weeks, timing it with Seth's week of vacation and $2 Tuesday. We weren't going to be deterred by a little broken bone in my foot. So, we packed lunches and, after Jasper's morning nap, headed to the zoo.

We rented a wheelchair for the Gimp Mama. So, Seth pushed the stroller and I rolled myself around. We saw some animals. The only one Jasper really seemed interested in was the gigantic elephant Packy, who just happened to be celebrating his 47th birthday today.

I learned that even a slight gradiant can be a booger for a girl with weak arms in a wheelchair. After spending the weekend out running errands and then left with a pain in the foot, I figured it was best not to try to do the zoo by foot. Janet warned me (she's no stranger to the walking boot) that some other body parts would likely get sore from all the funny walking you do with this damn boot on. She was right. And that was before I even started using crutches or a wheelchair!

Enough about me, already. Seth posted a couple of pics on the other blog, but here are a few more. Since we both had our hands full, we didn't take a ton of pics. The one up above is during lunch, and that's applesauce all over Jasper's face. He is really loving his solid foods now!

Hoping we'll get out and about another day or two this week. Look for more pics later in the week. Until then, here's a few.

Broken

You learn something new every day. Yesterday I learned just where exactly my fifth metatarsal is located. I even got to see a picture of mine.

Unfortunately that picture revealed that I'd broken it. In case you haven't learned where your fifth metatarsal is yet, it's in your foot. Yep. I broke my foot.

Frankly, I'm not quite sure what I even did. I was out delivering my neighborhood newsletter route (Seth hated this volunteer job of mine to begin with!) on a nice sunny Tuesday with Jasper in tow in the stroller. I took one little step down and just landed wrong on my foot. Some sort of strange twist, although it did nothing to my ankle. I didn't even fall to the ground. I righted my foot and buckled over in what felt like a blow to the gut. I thought I might get sick for a moment, so I stood there hunched over. Then I stood up straight and noticed that my foot seemed to hurt quite a bit. I took a tentative step or two and thought about that old if-you-can-move-it-it's-not-broken saying.

I turned around and pushed the stroller the block and a half back home with a little limp. I managed to get in the house, call Seth and tell him what an idiot I was and then just tried to stay off of it as best I could the rest of the day. On Wednesday I woke up with it more swollen than the day before and hurting quite a bit more. Seth stayed home and decided to take me to the doctor. Needless to say, I was surprised when they told me I'd broken a bone.

The doctors kept asking me if I had hobbies or interests that might be impacted by the break. As in, was I on the Blazers' dance team? Planning on running a marathon anytime soon? Planning a trip to Disneyland? (That always happens, the doctor said.) Nope. "What do you like to do?" the doctor asked.

Feeling slightly deflated at my less-than-exciting lifestyle, I just looked to Jasper, who was sitting there next to me in his stroller. I "like" to do laundry, cook dinner, carry my son up and down the stairs in my house, drive to the grocery store, run errands, pick up our medicines, and, from time to time, get out and enjoy the weather with a nice walk.

Seth, jokingly, said, "Well, guess you can't play soccer anymore." The doctor perked up and said, "You play soccer?" No, I said, drawing out the word like it was the silliest suggestion I'd ever heard.

"Good," the doctor said.

What a relief.

I'm in a walking boot for six weeks. I can take it off for sleep and showers only. I'll get it rechecked in two weeks to make sure it's starting to heal. The doc said it will probably be about three months before it feels back to normal again. Oh, and I'm not supposed to drive. For six weeks.


The good news, yes, there is some, is that Seth had planned to take a week of vacation next week anyways. We didn't have travel plans and hoped to do a few things around town, although now even our planned trip to the zoo might even be out of the question. Thankfully, though, Jasper seems to be on the mend. He has returned to his normal self and won't stop moving or babbling for a second. We're still doing inhaler treatments as he needs them, but his breathing and cough seem to be much better.

I've heard that when it comes to caring for babies, the Big Guy only gives you what you can handle. Let's hope that's true in this case. Because I'm thinking it's gonna be a tough one. It is hard not to smile, though, when I see these cheeks!

RS -- WHAT?

I'm guessing that most anyone who reads this blog had probably already heard me going on and on about my sick baby. Should you have missed it, the recap is this: Jasper has RSV and has been wheezing and coughing like crazy since Friday afternoon. After a trip to the ER on Saturday, we got the diagnosis of the monster cold virus that really is tough on little ones. We're treating him with an inhaler for the breathing trouble, but other than that, there is very little we can do other than give him some extra TLC.

Thankfully, I am well again, after a couple of weeks of being sick myself. The sun actually started shining around here this weekend -- and I'm not talking about peeking through the clouds, I'm talking about warm-your-toes sun. That was a welcome sight and probably helped lift our spirits a touch, although I was somewhat sad that I was inside with a sick baby instead of playing in the great weather.

It's times like these that I do really wish we lived closer to family. Of course, it wouldn't make any of it go away, but the helping hand or even the ones who love your baby as much as you simply nearby would be nice.

I'm learning that RSV is one of those things that you only know about if your kid has had it. Of course, I certainly understand there are far worse illnesses that a kid can come down with. But, when it's your kid, and his breathing sounds like the whir of a sick blender, it's pretty damn scary. I am expecting that by the end of this week the little guy will be feeling much better, although it may still take another week or so to get back to normal.

Until then, I'm trying to keep myself from going crazy being home bound for what seems to be an eternity. Yesterday the temperature climbed to the upper 70s, and I wasn't sure whether to be excited (sun is my favorite season) or depressed that I didn't make it outside for more than a couple of minutes all day.

Seth is taking some vacation time next week, so I'm hoping things are looking up then. We are hoping Jasper is feeling well, and everyone else manages to stay healthy. We'd like to make a trip to the zoo and have a few fun family days.

Would it be too much to ask for some sun next week, too?