Just keeping it real- I sure ain't no Saint!

We took Joshua to Knoxville this past Sunday to meet Scott's grandparents & several aunts, uncles, & cousins. Of course, he was a doll & acted like his sweet self. He is truly settling in & more & more of his little personality is coming out daily. He's quite an inpatient lil booger- screaming (shrieking) when he wants something or doesn't get his way. (He embarrassed the kids at the ice cream shop today- they said, "mom, let's go...he's causing a scene!" ha- hysterical!! Now they know how I feel when that throw a fit in public!) Not sleeping as much these days either. Tomorrow will mark 1 month since we headed to Atlanta to meet him, although his true "Gotcha Day" anniversary is not until Friday. Reality is finally starting to settle in here...the first couple of weeks didn't even seem real. This reality has brought with it a new set of challenges. Honestly it has just hit me, that my life was super easy before- not that it's necessarily hard now, just different. Someone needs something of me pretty much all the time! Needless to say, I have had to deal with my own selfishness. Parenting is HARD! Really hard, & I am trying especially hard to spend lots of time with Joshua, Caleb & Emalee Grace individually. I have had concerns about Caleb & Emalee Grace adjusting to so much attention on Joshua (& not on them) so I want to be sure they are getting what they need too. My precious mother in law was here for a couple of nights at the first of the week & that was WONDERFUL! Emalee Grace & I got lots of time together, which she was needing(including a mani/pedi). She's not the baby anymore! Caleb is not quite as needy in the attention area. (She can't help being high maintenance, she gets it honest!)Each child is different & each one is precious & I am so thankful that God chose me to be the mommy to these 3 sweet kiddos! I have to remind myself of that when I'm feeling selfish...daydreaming of time by myself... sitting on a beach somewhere... reading a book with a fruity drink... with no one calling "mommy!". Meanwhile I tell myself God has not asked me to be crucified on a cross or anything even close...He just wants me to allow Him to work through me & make a difference in these 3 little lives...sure doesn't sound hard when I think about it that way! Thank GOD Scott & I don't have to do it by ourselves!

The frenzy for the photo

Well, we did it! We took on the huge task of family photos - not an easy feat! We did manage to have all 5 of us dressed & clean by 9:00am this morning. That in itself was not easy! Started outside with several shots, then inside for more. Our photographer was Diana Simpson & she was so patient as we battled the typical family drama to try to get a photo to look like we had it together! So far, I have only seen the pics I posted here. She will post more on her website soon, then I will have lots of decisions to make!!

July 4th Weekend Pics!

July 4th Weekend

Well, Joshua celebrated his first fourth of July & seemed to love it! We took him to Murfreesboro Friday night to spend the night with my sister, then out to my parents' house to meet my grandmother for the first time. They loved each other! I got some precious pics. We were all whipped when we got back to Signal Saturday night. After lots of sleep, we took him to the pool Sunday afternoon, then back for another nap. Woke him up for fireworks @ home Sunday night & he loved it! Fed him a little supper & back to bed. Scott was off Monday & he took the older kids on a 5 mile hike @ Savage Gulf. Joshua & I had a quiet day at home (which we both needed!). After his late nap, I got him up & took him out to the fireworks at the Golf Course here on Signal. He seemed to enjoy that too! He's so easy going- if you put him in the crib, he sleeps; if you get him up, he plays - couldn't ask for better!!!

Settling in to life

Joshua has had a great week! He is walking with his walker all over the house & looks like he will be giving it up soon! We took him out to eat Wed night for the first time. We just went to Ayala's on the mountain & sat outside. They had live music that night & he enjoyed it. He really loves music. He likes to sit at the piano in my lap & bang away while Scott plays. He also enjoys the radio turned up loud in the car! This week Caleb & Emalee Grace each had a friend with them in the car & they were singing & dancing to Switchfoot. Joshua loved it! He just smiled & clapped right along with them. He is definitely not hurting for stimulation!
We found out this week that he does not like grass! He will walk in it if you hold his hands, but he doesn't like sitting in it at all! He's so funny - he trys to hold both feet up & balance on his bottom because he doesn't want to touch the grass! He does love to be outside - he just prefers to be carried around!
He is still following Scott all over the house. That baby loves his daddy! He calls him "da da" frequently & can point to him when looking at a picture & asked "Where's daddy?" He is beginning to respond to the name "Joshua"; it's not consistent yet but he will turn his head when you call him now (which he wasn't doing last week). He seems to be adjusting very well. He's still napping a lot & eating well. This sweet lil guy is such a joy! I still can't believe he is really here & I can't believe this is my life! He is such a blessing!

MD follow up

I took Joshua to the pediatrician for follow up on Monday. She seems to think this was all a reaction to the MMR vaccine he received on June 18. Dr. Hatch says some kids run a fever 7-10 days following receiving the vaccine & this happened in that time period. He has not run fever since Mon am & never had any symptoms other than fever. Evidently the fever just hit & went up fast causing the seizure. All his blood tests are back & all are normal. Obviously, that was good to know. So- he is back to his sweet, happy, healthy self. He is still sleeping a lot. He's just so sweet & playful...such a lovable little guy!

Our first scare with Joshua

Ok- so we took Joshua to the pool yesterday afternoon, came home, bathed him, put him to bed approx 9pm. Around 10:30pm, I heard him whining & whimpering over the monitor. I told Scott, "He sounds like he needs me" & went to check on him. He was burning up with fever. 102.4 under his arm. I gave him Tylenol, put cool jammies on him & took him back downstairs with me. Within minutes, he was seizing in my arms. It was only for a few seconds & he came out of it quickly. Within seconds, he started seizing again & it would not stop!! It seemed like forever! I knew what it was but it scared me to death. Scott & I felt so helpless! I called 911 as he continued to seize. I called our friends, the Edwards, to ask Autumn to stay with the older kids while Scott & I went to the hospital with Joshua. He was still seizing after both phone calls. When the ambulance arrived, he had stopped seizing & was crying. I was dying to see his little eyes open I just wanted him to make eye contact with me after seeing his eyes rolled back into his head for so long. Scott & I think the seizure prob only lasted about 3 minutes, but who knows, maybe it was 2, maybe it was 5 - all I know is it seemed like an hour! I rode in the ambulance with Joshua & Scott followed in the car when Autumn got here. When we arrived @ TC Thompson, his ears, throat, & chest were clear - the mission was to find the cause of the fever. White blood cell count was normal, urinalysis was normal...must be viral. They sent us home around 5 am. I gave him more Tylenol & we slept a few hours (with him on my chest). At 10:15 this morning his fever was 102 & I gave him Motrin. He ate breakfast & sure doesn't act sick! Motrin has brought fever down & he is surprisingly playful this am after being up all night. We will see MD for follow up Mon am, but he is going to be fine. His fever just spiked too fast for his little body to handle. For the moment, my happy little boy is back! Praise!