Yesterday's Scare

It's hard to believe looking at the above picture that what happened in my home yesterday really happened. It began like any ordinary day--Bennett woke us up entirely too early for a Saturday morning. I was feeling miserable with yet another cold. We had eaten pancakes for breakfast. I laid down on the couch with Landon to rest, hoping my head would stop throbbing from the congestion. It didn't take long for Landon to fall asleep on my chest and I wasn't too far behind. Ryan had gone to the bedroom to get dressed for the day. Bennett began pulling on the cords that connected the VCR to the TV. I asked him 2 or 3 times to stop. Part of me was too tired to get up and the other part of me thought he would listen like he normally does. He began moving backwards and continued to pull and before I could say anything else, the TV and the stand came crashing down on Bennett--as I watched the entire thing.

All I could do was scream and quickly put Landon on the floor and ran to lift the TV off Bennett's legs. Ryan was by my side lifting as well. I pulled Bennett onto my lap and didn't let go for the longest time. Never have I been that scared in my life and the responsibility of being a parent truly hit home. It was my job to protect Bennett and on this particular day, I didn't do my job. As my sister reminded me, things can happen so fast. If you take your eyes off of them for just a moment, disaster can strike. In this instance, I was watching the entire time and it happened anyway. After Bennett calmed down, Ryan was feeling his legs to see if anything seemed broken. Nothing did, but when we tried to have him stand, he started crying all over again. Ryan packed him up and headed to the clinic. I stayed behind to wait for my parents who were coming up for a visit. When they arrived, I quickly shared the story and rushed to the clinic. The room was empty when I got there--I was told they were in x-ray. It seemed like forever before they came back. Initially, they didn't see anything, but it was obvious that he was in pain when he tried to stand. So, we headed back for another round of countless x-rays. In the end, the doctor concluded that there was nothing broken.

On the outside, his legs look fine--no signs of bruising at all.

Truly amazing since just yesterday he had a 60+ pound TV on his little legs. After I left the clinic, I wandered around doing my errands and the could have, should have, would have's began entering my mind. What if it had landed on his head? As Ryan said what I was thinking--we surely would have been planning a funeral today. What if Landon had been playing on the floor when it came crashing down, along with the stand? Surely, the news would have been dismal. I should have gotten off the couch the moved Bennett away--that guilt won't leave any time soon. I should have done what the pediatrician had told me to do--I should have anchored the TV to the wall. As she said this, I thought, "that won't be necessary. He can't pull it down. I'll watch him closely." Well, all those things were true and I WAS watching and it happened anyway. So I am taking this incident as a huge wake-up call and got online this morning to order a variety of safety supplies--enough anchors to attach the dressers, TV, bookshelves and fish tank to the wall, safety covers for the power strips, and a clear cover for the banister. Call me crazy--I know I can't prevent every injury or accident, but I cannot sit by and let another new disaster occur. So, I will be doing what I should have done a long time ago--child proofing my house to the hilt. With another boy being ready to move soon, I cannot and will not take any more chances. The images of yesterday will never leave my mind and I have to make sure that I do a better job as a parent. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to know that my son had died and I did nothing to stop it. I will not be taking that chance again. I know I am being hard on myself, but I was the one in charge and I'm the one that did nothing. I vow to do a better job from here on out. For any other parents out there, please take my story to heart and make sure you take all the safety precautions in your house--cover all outlets, anchor furniture to the wall, keep chemicals/medications out of reach, and don't for a minute let yourself believe, like I did, that nothing will happen. I have not stopped thanking God for keeping my baby safe since this incident. Since becoming a parent, my faith continues to grow by leaps and bounds each day. Besides giving me two very healthy babies at birth, this is the most miraculous thing God has done for me and my family.

Pizza Night!

Last week, we decided to make homemade pizza for supper. Bennett wanted to get in on the action. He was helping daddy pat out the crust, spread the sauce, added the cheese

dumped on the green peppers

and added some more cheese!

For his first attempt, I'd say he did a great job! It was a yummy pizza!

Supper Time Silliness!

This was the scene at my supper table last night . . .

tongues sticking out, using forks and spoons to eat (at the same time), and food smeared everywhere! Not even close to good manners--but WAY too funny not to laugh!!!

5 Months Old!

Once again, I'm a few days late with Landon's birthday post. He turned 5 months old on Friday--a day that was overwhelming with Bennett's surgery. So, yesterday, I got out my camera and wanted to share a few of my favorites of my little Landon! He makes some of the funniest faces, but he has big, beautiful blue eyes with the longest eyelashes ever! Like his big brother, Landon is such a content and quiet little boy--only crying when it's time to eat or when he's tired. He is starting to make a lot more sounds, giggles a lot, and chatters--again, he must have learned that from Bennett! His hair was changing more blond/brown, but these days it seems to be getting it's red tint back. He grabs his toes and is rolling over--mostly from his back to his tummy. He still sleeps in his bouncy seat, but it's now in his crib. The boys have been sharing a room for a few weeks and it's going well. Only on occasion does one wake the other up. Landon is now on a 12 hour schedule overnight for feeding. His last bottle is at 8 p.m. and he usually wakes between 6:30 and 7 a.m. This weekend, I tried some rice cereal, oatmeal, and applesauce but I think I'm going to have to wait a little longer--he doesn't seem very interested. It is the greatest thing in the world to see the boys interact. Bennett gets right down on the floor and talks to Landon--makes him giggle all the time! Last night, we were reading books on the couch and Landon kept trying to put his arm around Bennett! Too cute! Even now, it seems as though they will be good buds! I can't believe how fast this time has gone--I'm relieved that the feedings are now every four hours and I do manage to get some sleep at night. And I love watching him grow, change, and begin to show his personality. He's quiet, content, and happy pretty much all the time. I can't wait to see what else is next for you, little man! We love you!

Surgery Day!

Today, Bennett was scheduled to have surgery to repair a hydrocele (hernia) that was found two weeks ago. We arrived bright and early at 6:00 a.m. to the admittance office. We headed up to the second floor and got changed into the tiger "jammies." For the wait, we brought along the crowd-pleaser, Cars. They gave him some calming medication and he watched his movie. As his eyes started drooping, they put a Thomas the Train cap on him and wheeled him down the hallway, with Teddy in his arms. He went in to surgery around 7:00.

About an hour later, the doctor can down to inform us that it was all over and that Bennett had done a great job! He told us is a big hydrocele, so I'm glad we didn't wait to have it fixed. Bennett was asking for Mommy when we entered his room--what a great sound that was :-) After just a little bit of crying, Bennett fell asleep in Daddy's arms. He slept for about an hour and a half. He woke up when the nurse began taking his IV out. After drinking a lot of juice and eating some crackers, we headed home around 11.

After some chicken nuggets, french fries, and a chocolate milk shake from McDonald's, he took a long nap. Once he woke up, he was completely back to normal! He could be found running up and down the hallway and climbing all over the furniture. Below is a picture of his battle scar.

We are so thankful to the kind and caring nurses that got Bennett ready for surgery and were there while he recovered. We are very thankful to the surgeon who fixed our baby! And we are thankful to God for a successful surgery! Good job, Buddy!!

Quiet, At Last!

This week has been a very difficult one for our family! We were plagued by non-stop screaming, crying whining kids. Here's just a peak at what happened:

4 doctor's appointments
1.5 days taken off work
2 basketball games
2 trips to the pharmacy
2 ear infections and 2 bottles of anitbiotics
1 chest x-ray
1 ultrasound
1 case of RSV
1 hernia
4 coughing family memebers
2 very cranky, screaming, crying and upset children
2 very sleep deprived parents
Countless doses of Mortin and Tylenol
Lots of tears, tissues, and tantrums (from everyone!)
Did I also mention 4 2-year molars coming????

And today . . . finally . . . some peace.

As rough as this week was, I am thankful that my kids are not sicker with worse things that ear infections. I am thankful for the doctors who are taking care of them, the daycare providers who are putting up with them, and halleluiah for the drugs! They are on the road to recovery and we pray that better health is to come. What happened in your crazy week?

Chuck E. Cheese

A few weeks ago, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time with Bennett. He was so overwhelmed at first--he was running through the play area, taking everything in! He also enjoyed watching the characters sing and play on stage.

Bennett loves crawling through the tunnels and going down the slides. The problem is that he's too small to climb upon his own. Thank goodness for the sweetest girl in the world, a total stranger, who kept picking him up and helping him climb up. He had a blast!

(Except that night, not sure if he was dreaming abou the tunnels, but he woke up screaming at 1:30 and Ryan went in to his room and couldn't find him! Somehow, in his sleep, he managed to crawl under his bed, face up, and was so scared! The only way Ryan knew he was under there was a small foot sticking out).

You can't go to Chuck E. Cheese without playing a little Skee Ball! Bennett was able to keep the ball in his lane about 50% of the time--not too bad for his first attempt. Even mom and dad had to take a few turns.

Riding with Chuck E. the mouse.

We also took some time to play air hockey--this was probably Bennett's favorite and he was really good at it! There are no pictures because sadly he's too short to reach the table--I had to hold him up as he played against Ryan. He was able to hit the puck and got it in Daddy's goal several times. He had a fun time, but I think we're going to wait until he's a little taller to head back :-)