Our Little Grace

Our baby girl went to bed on Wednesday night and seemed to be fine. We heard something that we thought was her talking on the monitor about 10pm and when we realized it was her breathing we went flying in there. I picked her up and by the way she sounded scared she me to death. I immediately called the doctors office and they told me to take her to the Emergency Room.

We decided we'd wait to see if she improved but by 10:40 the breathing seemed to begin scaring her. She'd thrash when we laid her down. She'd cry when she coughed. Brandon stayed at home with Brax so he wouldn't be scared or disturbed and I picked up dad and we made our first visit (and hopefully last) to the Emergency room. Mckinley was taken back quickly and was such a baby doll. The nurses were coming in just to see her. About 2:00am and after 2 chest x-rays, we left with a diagnosis of croup and we're told to follow up with her doctor in 3 days!

No sooner had we gotten home and her breathing became VERY labored. For a few minutes I thought we were going to have to call 911. We put her in the shower, turned on the humidifier, and as a last resort dressed her warmly and took her outside. It happened to be 30 degrees outside so in our favor this worked. Brandon's parents came by about 5am to check on things and helped to calm me down!

I called the doctor at 8am sharp and took her in at 9:45. Diagnosis= Croup (duh) but this time we were sent home with a prescription for a steroid. After one dose you could tell a difference. She slept for a good part of the afternoon.

I had croup, a lot actually, as a child. When Mck would cough, the sound brought memories of when I had it back. It was no big deal when I was a kid. But I think I realized how my parents might have felt. It is heartbreaking when your child is in pain or is hurting and you can't do anything about it. It's an awful feeling when you don't see the sunshine in their eyes that's always there and you know they don't feel good. I had to shed a few tears yesterday morning when she was crying.

She's much better today. You can even see from the top picture (sideways) how she was feeling after the doctors visit yesterday.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Look at this picture closely. At first glance you might say nothing. Mckinley is absolutely adorable in her St. Patrick's Day outfit. We've been waiting weeks to wear it along with her matching shamrock bow. St. Patrick's Day is in mid-March, right? However, if you step outside you would notice that the weather is a cool and comfortable 80 degrees! What the heck?
Oh well. Mother Nature can't dampen our fashion parade!

School Days

My little man had his first day of preschool last week. This year, because of Baby Sister's arrival, he will be going 5 days a week. It's been an adjustment for us all but he loves it. I am so thankful that Braxton has been able to spend so much time with all of his grandparents. I hope he remembers his time at his Maw Maw's and the time he gets with his Grandaddy when he's older. Not a lot of children are that fortunate. And not all parents are that fortunate. I've said since he was born that I have never worried about him while I work. I would listen to stories that others would tell about their kids in daycare and I would just count my blessings.
Tonight we were looking at some of his work he brought home and it looked as if he had drawn a bunch of"lines". Brandon and I were complementing him on how straight they were and he said, "No, No those are ones!"
He also went to choir practice at church for the first time this Wednesday. He really enjoyed that. I'll let you know when he sings in big church!! That will be something to see.

This Little Light Of Mine

Last night was Braxton's first big stage performance. He was so excited and once we arrived (early to get good seats of course) he kept asking "is it time now?". I was a little apprehensive but he did so good. He sang loud and did all the little motions. He looked liked he was having a good time.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

We have life!! As we pulled in the driveway yesterday afternoon Braxton told me he wanted to go "check on his garden". I let him in the gate and was getting my stuff together and he stopped dead in his tracks and just stared. I thought for sure he had come up on a snake and heaven help us all if I was going to have to go down and rescue him with a snake right there. Fortunately, there was NO snake but when I asked what it was he pointed at and he said "a plant". His first plant bloomed yesterday. He was so proud and when I wouldn't let him water it he asked if he could water "the bugs?" He had a good 10 minutes of playing with the hose before I convinced him the puddle was big enough.
Today when I got home I saw that a few more had sprouted. Not sure if we have enough to feed us through the winter but for a first time garden I think we're doing pretty well!

Open Up and Say AH!

On Tuesday I took Brax to the dentist for the first time. He did incredible. Several days before hand I started talking to him about what they would do. Angie, our dental hygenist, told me when I was there last what they would so I could prepare him. I knew he would like the part about riding up and down in the chair! The morning before we left, I got out all my "going to the dentist books" (only a teacher) and let him flip through them. He brought them in the car and looked at them all the way to the office and could hardly wait to get out when we pulled up.

He walked into the waiting room and sat down in a chair all by himself just beaming from ear to ear. Angie came and got us not too long after and he walked back to the room and crawled (that was adorable) into the big chair. Angie let him ride up and down, up and down, up and down a few times and then she asked him to open up. I looked down thinking "This is where I'm going to lose him" but when I didn't hear anything I looked up and couldn't believe my eyes! He was letting her count his teeth with a mirror and THEN he let her "tickle" them. He stayed in his seat the whole time and she went and got the dentist and he came in. Brax sat and let him look at his teeth too!!

It's official. My baby is growing up!

Sick Day

He's almost 2 1/2 years old and on Wednesday I had to call in for a substitute at 2:30am because I knew I was not going to be able to make it to work . I have had to take off for 1/2 days to take him to the doctor and such but Wednesday was my first real whole sick day. He was so congested and stopped up that he couldn't sleep. I was in his room every 30 minutes. I had flashbacks of what life was like with a newborn. By 2 am I knew that when my alarm went off at 5am that I was going to be struggling and it broke my heart to even think of sending him to Maw Maw's with no sleep.
I got up at 5:50 went over to work to write my sub plans and got back home at 7:30. Braxton laid on the couch all day. He got up and off the couch about 5pm. I think a day at home did him some good. (and he ate up laying on a truck pillow and under a truck blanket all day!)

Changes

Yes, 2 in one day. I had to post about the latest goings on around here and now I have to post about the latest changes in Mr. Braxton. If you haven't seen him in more than a week you wouldn't believe how good he is talking now.
Last week I had to secretly sneak Busch into the washing machine and dryer. We were about to head out for our evening walk when I went to check on the status of Busch when Braxton saw me get him out. He said "Busch!" I responded with 'Yeah, Busch got a bath and now he has to dry while we go for our walk" Braxton said, "Busch go walk with me!"
In this photo, Braxton thinks Busch needs something to drink.

He'll be comin' round the mountain...

On Monday we headed up to Blowing Rock for our annual early summer mountain week. Brandon had to work most of the week but he was able to come up after work on Monday so we could take Braxton to Tweetsie Railroad on Tuesday. He came back home early Wednesday so he could get back to work.

We went up to Tweetsie a couple of years ago and we're so disappointed. We weren't sure if it was because we had just grown up or because we remembered it another way but we left a little sad. We were a little sceptical about this trip. Because of the extremely busy month we had had I decided to skip throwing Braxton a "2nd" birthday party and thought we'd celebrate by taking him to see the train while we were in the mountains. He's into "planes, trains, and automobiles" big time. We were so excited with the way the trip turned out. This time it seemed to be similar to the way we all had remembered it. The Indians stormed the train and we thought Braxton was going to jump off! He was a real trooper the whole day pausing for only a 20 minute nap while we sat on the train and waited for one last train ride. The weather held off for us and it wasn't very crowded at all. Braxton even rode a couple of the rides by himself. We stayed all day and just as we climbed in the car the heaven's opened up.

The week overall was very relaxing. It was cool most of the days (this messed me up big time. I had only packed shorts and tank tops!) and every day, except for the last one, we turned on the gas logs for the majority of the day. Braxton had his first taste of Blue Moon ice cream. He loved it. I found myself having to bargain with him to get a bite! We made great memories and hopefully we'll be able to go back up in August!

Justa' Swingin'

Yesterday afternoon, one week after the playset was delivered, Brandon put the swings and slide up. Braxton had a ball. I think I pushed him in the swing for an hour. He sat very still and held on just like a big boy (he's still not 2!) and everytime I asked if he wanted off he'd say "No". When he finally got off I stood behind him as he climbed up into the fort and then he just sat at the top of the slide. He seemed afraid to go down. His foot slipped and down he went with a crash landing at the bottom. He sat just for a second and then laughed and got back up. Then he climbed back up and did it again. This went on for quite some time. We had a great time and are evry happy with the way it turned out. Hopefully, you all can come and play on it soon. It has so many great things to play on.

Thursday we are having the yard fenced in. I'll let you know when that is done!

Backyard Jungle...Take One

First off, I hope you didn't fall out of your chair when you saw I posted twice in one day. I'm on spring break so I have just a little extra time on my hand. I really need to start doing more posts because there is so much going on.

We ordered Braxton a swing set last week. When we looked at it on-line the description said that it took 4 weeks for delivery. Brandon wanted me to go ahead and order because he wanted the thing together and finished before it reached 100 degrees outside. Well it didn't take 4 weeks...it took more like 4 days. Brandon has been working on it a little every night and he got the floor finished on the clubhouse part. Excuse the blurry picture. I had to act fast!!

Bear Has Surgery

The pictures I've included are one of me about the age Braxton is right now. In my picture I'm 2 so Braxton is just about 3 months younger. I am shown with my "pillie" which I absolutely adored as a child and to this day still do. News Alert: Braxton has a "lovey" too.

Meet Mr. Bear. Mr. Bear originated in New York at a lovely facility called FAO Schwartz (you may have heard of it) and arrived via Grandaddy after a trip to the Big Apple to see Uncle Chris last December. When Bear arrived in North Carolina he was just slightly bigger than Braxton and he could hardly get his arms around him. Over the last year and a half Braxton has grown to adore Bear or "Busch" as he calls him. On most mornings Braxton gets out of bed and has Busch in his arms. On most mornings he takes him out the door with him and in the car to Maw Maw's. And lately Bear even has been going inside where he spends the majority of the day in the closet shoved in Braxton's cubbie because he is not machine washable. I just told someone this week that I might have to request another Busch because I thought he was feeling awfully thin around the neck and did not expect him to make it until Christmas. This afternoon I felt a hole. Busch had to have surgery. Braxton could hardly stand the 5 minutes it took for Grandaddy to sew him up. Braxton does get it honestly. My pillie has been sewed up so many times I can hardly remember. I still have, however, all the "insides" from the previous pillies.

Maybe I can talk Chris and Ali into bringing another Busch to North Carolina when they come in May?

Braxton the Builder

Yesterday was the first beautiful day we have had this year. It wasn't just beautiful because the sun was out it was 77. However, I had to work 5 hours. Just this past Monday and Tuesday our school system was out due to snow and Saturday was the called make-up day. Brandon found out that one of the local home improvement stores was having their kids workshop. So after I went to work, Brandon, Braxton, and Grandaddy went to breakfast and then to the Home Depot. Braxton was by far the youngest there. So young that he had to stand in a chair to help make his speedpark. Brandon said he was beating the table with the hammer (a real hammer) as hard as he could and all of a sudden stopped, put the hammer down and said "juice". He had to take a break!

The pictures you see were taken by our wonderful photographer, Grandaddy!

A Shave and a Haircut

We took Braxton for his first hair cut this evening. For the longest time his hair had this beautiful curl to it but beginning last weekend that was no more. We had to do something. Brandon couldn't take him being called "her" one more time. Brandon called "Jim" to see when he worked. Jim cut Brandon's hair, his brother's, his dad's, his grandfather's, and his great-grandfather's. So it'd be safe to say that Jim had to cut Braxton's.

Braxton was all smiles when we first arrived. That quickly changed when we put him in the chair. Jim gave him a lollipop and Braxton handed it back and said "puh-rease". He cried but was manageable.

10 minutes later my little baby had become a big boy! He received another lollipop and was as happy as could be. And for all of you dying to know, yes, we have it on video so you can see it.