I am so sorry that I haven’t been a better blogger, then I blogged and promised an update that never came! To be honest we have just been so busy I haven’t had the time to sit down and type it all out. I’m going to do my best to recap everything from April 4th (my last real blog entry) until now August 7th. I didn’t even realize it had been 4 months since I had made a real honest to goodness post. Jeez. So settle in and get ready for a small novel. I’ll break it down as much as I can, and as usual I’ll include as many pictures and some video to make it worth your while. Let’s try to go by month…
APRIL (14 months old)
We had a lot going on in April, I think this is what started the downward spiral of non blogging. Here is the short list of what we were doing: Patrick was in Grad school, my BFF Linsie gave birth to her beautiful baby boy Jerry Michael Watts, Patrick started seeing a psychiatrist and a therapist for help coping with his Attention Deficit Disorder and Anxiety, Sam had an ear infection got 2 new teeth, celebrated Easter, and the south was devastated by more than 100 tornadoes on April 27th to end our month on a very somber note. I know it sounds crazy to have that many things happening at once, and I’m sure that I’ve forgotten something!
While I know that the tornadoes were the biggest event, and definitely affected the most people, the thing we struggled through the most this month were Patrick’s issues with ADD. I write this in the hopes that it will help someone else, because while someone might seem like they have it all together, sometimes they are screaming for help. My husband is a brilliant man, probably one of the smartest people I’ve ever met in my entire life, he is a sensitive man, which I love because his face tells me exactly what is on his mind, he is a wonderful wonderful man whom I have loved for as long as I have known him. My husband has very few faults, but the one that get’s in his way is not ever thinking he is “good enough”. I try to build him up because he is a loving husband and father, a good provider, a hard worker, a sweet and funny man that people like; I build him up because he is amazing! But in March of this year my dear sweet, smart, funny husband had stopped being able to communicate, to concentrate, was anxious all the time about every single thing whether it was doing something for class or helping me out with Sam. He second guessed everything he did, and ultimately was afraid to do anything at all. After weeks of panic attacks, discussions, and tears, we decided he should speak to a psychiatrist to go back on some form of ADD medication to help, and that he should see a therapist. It wasn’t an easy decision for him, because first of all I don’t think he wanted to need help and second of all he wasn’t sure they could help. It has taken some time, but now that Patrick has his medication he is able to focus, he gets less frustrated, he realizes that he can’t be “perfect” even though it’s not easy for him to accept it. He decided to put Grad school on hold for a while, mostly because he missed spending time with me and Sam, and partly because it’s not what he wants right now. He is doing a wonderful job at work and is spending more time with his friends. He is trying to do more and more to take care of Sam and to help me out around the house, and we have gotten back to being ourselves, which really just means we laugh a lot. This was probably the most difficult stage in our relationship of nearly 11 years, it tested us, and we came out on the other side more in love and more dedicated to each other and our daughter, and I am thankful for this test.
MAY (Vacation to DC & Sam 15 months old)
May came with another set of activities: Our first trip to the zoo for the season with Linsie and Jerry, my second Mother’s Day, a Vacation to D.C., my 27th birthday, Sam’s 15 month checkup along with her first busted lip and 4 molars. Her doctor was out on Maternity leave, so we saw Dr. Bryant, but loved her! If Dr. Meadows is ever out again, we would definitely trust the other doctor! Sam now weighs 24.9lbs 75% 32 1/2 inches 97% 48cm97%
and the doctor said that Sam was amazingly healthy and smart, which we all knew already of course. She also started using more words (baby, cheese, apple, and makes the elephant sound when asked what an elephant says, or just when she sees an elephant).
We decided mid April that we needed a vacation. Patrick and I had talked about going to DC for a while since he had gotten to go a couple of years ago for work, but I hadn’t been since our sophomore year of high school on a band trip. Sam got to experience her first trip on an airplane, and enjoyed the parts that she was awake especially since we had a window seat, but I think I enjoyed when she was sleeping better just because I didn’t worry about her disturbing the other passengers. We flew into Baltimore with plans to visit with a friend I had met on my message board back when I was trying to get pregnant, but those plans fell through. We rescheduled with my friend for breakfast the next day, but decided to stick with the plans we had made to go to the Baltimore Aquarium, and I finally got to try some of UNO’s Chicago style pizza, which I had seen on the Food Network about a million times, since there was a chain in town. Lol. Despite some navigational issues and some adjustment to our plans we had a great first day.
Day two we got up early to meet my friend Melissa and her family at an IHOP. Unfortunately traffic was horrific and it took us almost 2 hours to get somewhere that any other time would have only been about 25 minutes away from our hotel. We got to meet and talk and eat for a little while, so I was grateful for that, but our time was very short. Guess it’s a good thing we are used to keeping in touch via phone and facebook. The rest of our day was spent learning how to use the metro, which we all really liked, and going to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum where Sam enjoyed looking at the Dinosaur fossils and the very large animal exhibit. Once she fell asleep Patrick made a bee line for the Smithsonian Museum of Art.Patrick and I enjoyed the quiet and beauty of the art museum, and could have spent days looking at everything, however Sam woke up about halfway through and with a toddler we had to see what we could and move on. That night Sam got to “swim” for the first time of the season at our hotels’ indoor pool. We had a great day with an awesome ending.
Our third day was probably the busiest, we felt like we had to get a lot accomplished for our last free day in downtown DC. We started our day at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Patrick was proud to see some planes that were not only made by Boeing, but by his specific group. We spent a few hours just looking around, but it got so crowded that some older kids had knocked Samantha down and she was ready to leave. She usually isn’t as crowd phobic as I am, but I was already a bit anxious so I’m sure she fed off of that as well. We went and found a place to sit and fed her lunch, but then made the hike up Capital hill so that Patrick and I could grab a burger at Top Chef’s, Spike Mendelsohn's restaurant “Good Stuff Eatery”. We didn’t see a metro stop, so we walked the whole way, and carrying the 26 pound toddler wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. I figured at least I had worked off half of the yummy burger I was about to eat. lol. We got to the eatery, and it had a line out the door. I almost waited outside and sent Patrick in to order for us, but decided I had to see the place for myself. Turns out Spike was actually there and was working behind the line. I was so excited. I love Top Chef, and Spike and Richard Blais were two of my favorite chefs. I had been to “Flip Burger” a month before but sadly Blais was not there. I was going to snap a quick picture of Spike but didn’t want to be rude, so I waited til we got close enough for me to ask him for permission. He actually came around the counter and let Patrick take a picture of me with him. I looked a mess after climbing the hill, but didn’t care. I thought it was really awesome that he was so nice about it! After our delicious burger we walked down and got pictures at the Capital building. Then we started our long trek to the nearest Metro. Apparently there aren’t any close Metros to the capital building, and yet again carrying the squirming toddler was not the easiest of tasks, I was just thankful I had a sling since she was over the carrier at this point. We finally found the Metro, and sat for a lovely few quiet minutes on our way to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. We spent another couple of hours enjoying the exhibits, Sam’s favorite was of an original car from the Dumbo ride from Disney Land. She loves her elephants. Patrick’s highlight was seeing one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes and mine was seeing Julia Childs kitchen. We were exhausted, but we wanted to get to see our good friends Neil and Meg that night so they were sweet and met us at our hotel and we all went out for dinner, and made plans for the next day.
Our last day started off busy. We went to the Smithsonian National Zoo so that I could meet more of my nesties. I was so nervous and excited. We got there early, as usual, so that we could look around a little before we met up because it was sprinkling and we were worried that Sam wouldn’t get to see the whole zoo if it started pouring. We took her to see the Panda exhibit and the Asian Elephants all of which were amazing, and Sam loved! We met up with Heidi her daughter Norah, Katherine her daughter Caroline, & Mackenzie and her son Weston. All of the girls were so nice, and even friendlier than they are online, which I didn’t know would be possible. I have been talking to these women for almost 2 years give or take for each of them, and to finally meet them and their babies made it feel real. These girls aren’t just my online friends, they are my real friends who just happen to live 730 miles away. Afterward we went to Union Station to meet Meg again, and then walked to her and Neil’s home. It was so nice to be able to relax and hang out with them. It felt like we picked up right where we left off, only with a toddler banging on things in the background. lol. Time flew by and before we felt like we even got started, it was time to head back to our hotel to pack for the trip home. When we got back to the hotel I realized that Sam had hijacked their cat Tony’s reindeer toy, so later we mailed it back with some apology toys. lol. Our flight home was ok, but not as smooth as our flight up, but Sam missed her home, and was glad to be back.
JUNE (16 months old)
June was the start of even more fun adventures. We signed Sam up for her very first summer reading program, the goal was a few hundred pages but we surpassed that without even trying, I love having a daughter that already loves to read! We got our season passes for Spring Valley Beach waterpark, where we spent our time 1-2 times a week with Granna, Aunt Sarah, and the boys. Sam turned 16 months old and just keeps getting more amazing. She says 1, 2, 3 Go when she is running to get to the water, can stack 5 blocks, started blowing kisses, and added 7 more new words (shoe, nose, teeth, eye, JayJay, Braby & Brambon). The first Saturday of the month Patrick had a few of his friends and his dad over to help put together Sam’s big girl swing set. They spent all day working on it, only with a break for lunch! They didn’t finish it until a few weeks later, but I really appreciated them all chipping in. The next day I got to meet another nestie. Michaela and her family were driving right by our small town on their way home from their beach trip and I asked last minute if they wanted to meet and have brunch. She was so sweet and said yes, and I was so glad they did. Just like the other girls, I felt that instant friendship. I hope we can continue to get together since she doesn’t live terribly far away. Father’s day weekend was busy with my friend Ashley’s bachelorette party (my first girls night out in 2 years), and lunch at the farm. Patrick and I even went to see the move “Super8) with my sister Mandie and her husband Dale, while Granna and Grandpa watched Sam. The following weekend was even busier and more crazy. I missed the rehearsal for my friends wedding because we got a call that Patrick’s Great Aunt Lucille had passed away, and the funeral was the next morning. I was upset about it, and I hated to miss it, but the funeral was in the morning, and the wedding wasn’t until later that night. We went to the funeral and supported Patrick’s Mamo, this hit her very hard as she loved her sister Lucille very much, and Sam seemed to bring a smile to all of Patrick’s family who were hurting so much. I was glad we went, and got to remember Lucille through the beautiful words spoken by her family. I made it to the wedding with plenty of time to help my friend get ready, and enjoyed the afternoon with good friends. Patrick did a great job taking care of Samantha, and my mind was at ease knowing she was in capable hands. The wedding was very pretty, hot since it was outdoors, but I loved all of the lights in the trees, and my Ashley had a wonderful day!
JULY (17 months old)
And now you can see why it took me so long to update this blog! lol. July came with a whole new set of events. My nephew Jakob was admitted to Children’s Hospital after suffering from some pain, and having a very high fever. He stayed for several days, and the doctors never really came up with a finite diagnosis, all we know is that it was some type of severe infection, but after another month or so on antibiotics he was back to himself. Patrick celebrated his 27th birthday, I used to like reminding him that I was almost 2 months older than he is, but now it’s not so fun. haha. We got to have a few playdates with our new friends from our mom’s group. Our friends Amanda and Lilly started coming to Spring Valley Beach with us which we loved, Sam has gotten to where she really loves her “Yiyyee”. I also made a trip to Franklin TN for the day to meet back up with Michaela and her daughter Chloe, and our other nestie Heather who was also having a baby girl. We had a great day having lunch and shopping for our girls. The three of us are dangerous in a mall with that many baby clothing stores. We went on our second zoo trip for the summer, this time with Amanda, Lilly, and our friend Erin with her kiddos. It was a ridiculously hot day, but we had so much fun, and the kids loved the splash pad where they could get soaking wet! Sam is continuing to grow so much and is doing so well. She can now stack 6 blocks, gives real kisses, and points to her hair, nose, eyes, ears, teeth, and tummy. She also says schocks (socks) pappi (paci) off, no (nose), and says a multitude of animal sounds. She also decided on her own that she wanted to use the potty at her Grannas, so we bought a potty for our house and she has used it several times without being prompted. We aren’t potty training yet, but if she wants to use the potty instead of a diaper I am not going to stand in her way. I cannot wait to see how much more she will learn this year!
Well I think that is pretty much the best recap of our Summer I can give you. Hope I didn’t come off too rambly. Now that I have this finished, I should be back to updating regularly very soon.
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Dear God,
Thank you for everything you do for us. Thank you for blessing us with an amazing daughter, and amazing family and friends. Thank you for keeping us so busy, because it reminds us of how much fun it is to be a kid. Thank you for allowing me to stay at home with Samantha and for letting me get to see all of these firsts. Thank you for letting us have safe trips whether they were up the road for a playdate, or in a plane to another state. Thank you for taking care of my nephew through his ordeal, and for letting us be there for him. Thank you for the babies, the weddings, the celebration of the lives of those who have passed. Thank you for the smile that came across my sweet daughters face everytime we got to go to a pool this summer. Thank you for it all. Thank you for getting Patrick and I through this difficult chapter in our lives together, and for making us a stronger couple. Thank you for the support of our families and friends. THANK YOU!
AMEN
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I will post more asap!