Our Christmas Story...Part 3

The rest of the story...

Wednesday afternoon we all packed up the car (8 suitcases, 4 adults, 1 child in a car seat, lots of candy and several extra bags) and headed down toward Georgia. We were all meeting there to celebrate the marriage of Ashley (Jenn's cousin) and Chris. After spending about 7 hours in the car accompanied by a two hour stop at Cracker Barrel, we arrived in Nashville, TN where we would spend the night. Thursday morning we got up and drove the remaining 5 hours down to Conyers, GA. Lots of family gathered at the same hotel for what promised to be a weekend of fun.

Friday morning Nana, Mom, Dada and Samuel headed into Atlanta to get Aunt Angie from the airport. She was thrilled to see Samuel and he was finally starting to feel a bit better so had a bit more life in him.

Friday afternoon we met more family at the Atlanta Aquarium. It was a beautiful aquarium, but way to crowded. I think we all would have enjoyed it much more with about half the amount of people there.

Saturday morning we spent time relaxing at the hotel and preparing for an evening of dancing. At 5, we went to the wedding which was immediately followed by the reception at a beautiful mansion. We had a wonderful dinner and Samuel enjoyed dancing all over the dance floor.

Sunday morning we packed up and headed back. After dropping Angie back off at the airport we made our way back to Nashville were we would leave Monday morning. We made it to the hotel in time to watch the Bears play. It was not a good game at all and everyone ended up falling asleep long before the ball dropped to bring in the new year. Oh well!

Monday morning we all got up, ate breakfast then headed to the airport. Since Nana and Papa had a long drive ahead of them we arrived at the airport plenty early for our flight which ended up being delayed. After a very long wait and a very long flight we arrived back in Seattle around 6:00pm. We were very excited to all see our own beds after many days of travel!

And that is the rest of the story.

Christmas Day Pictures

Here are a few pictures from Christmas day...

Santa brought Samuel the Little People Barn and a boy Cabbage Patch Newborn.

Santa brought Uncle Mike a new PS2. Just what he needs for college next year!

Opening presents was fun this year. Samuel enjoyed tearing the paper and discovering what what inside.

Samuel opened all his presents very quickly then helped everyone else with theirs.

Samuel and Daddy in front of the tree. Samuel loves both Elmo and Cookie Monster!

Samuel with his baby. We didn't see any smiles from Samuel since his mouth hurt so badly.

A friendly game of Euchre for the boys.

Mike and Matt enjoying presents.

Samuel and Uncle Mike enjoying some chicken and biscuits. Samuel just helped play since he wasn't eating at all.

Our Christmas Story...Part 2

Thursday morning we woke and were thrilled that we would be able to spend the next three days just relaxing and enjoying time with family. Around 12:00 we headed over to Mike's dads where we would be staying throughout the weekend.

Samuel has his dad's passion for music and instantly found the piano. He and Mike have spent many minutes sitting playing together so today was going to be no different...wrong! After a few minutes the music was playing and Samuel was loving it. He tried to scoot himself closer to the piano and bam. He slid right off the bench and fell between the bench and the piano. The next few minutes were a blur. Samuel was screaming so I picked him up and he quickly buried his face into my chest. After a minute, I pulled him away to assess the damage. He was covered in blood from his forehead to his chin. We quickly escorted him off to the kitchen where we tried to determine where it was coming from. We found that he had split his forehead open right between the eyebrows. After a few minutes we decided that a trip to the urgent care center was needed with the possibility of a few stitches. We loaded up and took off.

By the time we arrived Samuel had calmed down and the bleeding had slowed. They got us in right away and after one look decided that a couple of stitches would be needed. Since they don't want him to move they use this backboard with these large Velcro straps to hold him down. To say the least he (nor mom) liked the experience at all. They gave him a shot then quickly put two stitches in. It was the longest five minutes of my life. I had just as many tears down my face as Samuel had. When it was all said and done we gave in and allowed Samuel to have his first dum-dum and headed back to Grandpa's.

Samuel seemed to be in pretty good spirits for the rest of the evening despite the large lump that had developed. We bathed him and put him to bed expecting a nice headache the next day.

Friday and Saturday were the start of a cold for Samuel. He was pretty stuffy and was not sleeping well at all. At this point we were not sure if it was the headache or the cold that was getting the best of him. By Sunday morning he had additionally developed a large blister on his lip and was refusing to eat anything. The only food we were able to get down him was Pediasure given in his bottle. Sunday evening we noticed that not only did he have a sore on his lip, but the entire inside of his mouth was covered with them (blister/ulcer like sores).

To say the least, Samuel's Christmas was pretty miserable. He would not smile, laugh or talk at all and spent most of the day taking medicine and cuddling on laps. Tuesday we headed back to the urgent care to find out that he had both an ear infection and a viral infection in his mouth. They gave us a medication that would help with the pain, but they sent us home saying that his body just had to fight it. At this point, Mike and I were ready to jump off a cliff!

...to be continued...

Our Christmas Story...Part 1

Since we were gone for such a long time, I wanted to catch everyone up with how we are doing.

We left Seattle on December 16th and headed back to the Midwest. We arrived in Chicago early evening and was greeted at the airport by Gram and Addison. After loading all the luggage and getting the car seat set we headed off to Mike's Aunt Karen's house were we would be spending the evening. Samuel had a chance to play with Addison, Evan and Tristan. It was a loud and crazy house. Mike, Kate and Dave headed over to a Christmas party and I stayed to play with the kiddos.
Sunday morning we headed into the city to Kate and Dave's to watch the Bears and have our family Christmas. Samuel and Addison were all set for the game and did a great job cheering the Bears to another victory.

After an awesome dinner, we exchanged gifts and spent some time watching the kids get pretty excited over their presents. Later that evening, we headed back to Lansing with Gram!


onday and most of Tuesday we had the chance to sit and relax. We spent time with family and spent some time catching up on life. Tuesday evening, Nana drove up to Lansing to pick us all up so we could go cheer Uncle Mike on in a basketball game. Coldwater also squeaked by with a victory over Fremont. Samuel did awesome during the game. He watched pretty intently and cheered all the guys on!

Wednesday we were able to spend some time in Grand Rapids visiting with friends. We met Mark and Heather for lunch and meet Jack for the first time. He is such a sweet baby! We then traveled over the Mike's old stomping grounds at Grandville and were able to say quick hellos to lots of people there. We took a quick coffee break at Panara Bread then headed to Holland to have dinner with Kate, Troy and Lauryn. They were able to take us to see their new house! It was great to spend some time catching up!

Wednesday evening we headed back to Lansing where we thought we would get to relax until Sunday morning. Little did we know that Thursday afternoon all the fun would begin...

...to be continued...

Grease Ball

Lately we have been noticing how dry of a scalp Samuel has. He almost has dandruff at times. I have tried changing shampoos and washing his hair less, but it didn't really seem to help at all. Last week, I took him to get his haircut and asked the lady about it. She looked at it and explained that it wasn't dry scalp at all, but a build up of shampoo left on his scalp! Gross! She said that children's shampoos are generally so mild that if a child has sensitive skin (he does) that they will often just build up. She told me one of the best ways to get rid of it is to take oil of any sort and massage his scalp with it then run a comb through it and it should all come out.

Since we didn't have any baby oil in the house I used cooking oil! It was so funny. He loved it and looked like he was ready to be thrown into either the oven or back into the 80's. It was great fun for Mike and I as we styled his hair in many different ways! And...it worked. I bathed him shortly after and his head is clear of all build up. We have also switched to a shampoo that is not suppose to build up as much. I guess we will have to wait and see!

ELMO DANCE

Mr. Efficient

Well, Samuel has picked up a few things from watching me around the house. I generally try and do things the most efficient way possible. This includes loading my arms with 15 grocery bags so I only make two trips, carrying way too much in the laundry basket, loading my arms up with toys to make the clean up process faster, the list goes on! Anyway, like it or not, Samuel has started to pick up on this. He loves doing his puzzle, but thinks that he needs to carry all the pieces at once. He will spend 10 minutes trying to pick one more up and tuck it under his chin or in the crook of his arm. He often ends up dropping two for each one he does retrieve and ends up pretty frustrated with the whole ordeal. Like mother...like son...

Friends

Just had a couple of older pictures I wanted to post. Samuel loves all his friends and is so excited when they come over to play!

Samuel and Jase looking around me to see their favorite...Sesame Street!

Samuel and Matia wrestling together. Matia held her own really well!

Roxy sharing her Thanksgiving meal with Samuel. He wouldn't eat anything I tried to give him!

Gram's Visit

Gram was able to visit us for the week of Thanksgiving! Samuel loves being spoiled and had a chance to get a lot of it in!

Books with Gram...

Puzzles with Gram...

Outside in the rain with Gram...

We had lots of fun and can't wait to visit everyone in a few weeks for Christmas!

Let It Snow...Let It Snow...Let It Snow...

Well, the Northwest has been hit with SNOW! It is amazing! Sunday evening it started snowing and we actually accumulated some on the ground. Monday morning some of the local schools were closed, but the roads were decent enough to drive on.

Monday afternoon I went for a massage, a little treat for running 13.1 miles the day before! I left here at 3:30 and the weather and roads were great. By the time I left the massage place shortly after 5:00 the weather had taken a drastic turn and the traffic and roads were horrendous. I flipped on the radio and heard that the road I was suppose to take home was closing due to icy conditions. Since I had trained in the area, I knew some of the back roads home and decided that they would be a better bet. I called Mike to let him know my whereabouts and told him I would keep him updated on my process.

To make a long story short...2 and a half hours later I parked my car in a local church parking lot and decided to head home on foot. Walking proved much faster than driving, but just as challenging. I had to walk in the knee deep snow to get traction since the roads were solid sheets of ice. It was amazing to watch the cars attempt to make it up hills. I saw a number of cars perpendicular on the roads, multiple cars piled together, many people deserting their cars and heading home on foot and even chains on tires!

It took me about 45 minutes to walk home, but I made it safely and warmed up pretty easily. Today is a different story. Schools and businesses are closed as they try and get cars out of ditches and off roadways. You can defiantly tell Seattle was not prepared for this weather!

Samuel on the other hand experienced his first major snowfall. As I was in route last night, Mike bundled Samuel up and took him out to play. He loved dancing and running in the snow. I guess we will make the most of today and head back out to play!

13.1 Miles

Yeah! I officially completed the Seattle Half Marathon Run. 13.1 miles sure is a long way! Here is the brief story and a few pictures from the day!

Back in July, Trish and I decided that we needed to get into shape, so we started running. Somewhere along the way the idea of the half marathon came up and we decided to take the challenge. We spent the next 12 weeks training for it.

Sunday morning we tackled the rain (expected in Seattle) and snow (not expected) and met up at a coffee shop within walking distance to the start line. We kissed our husbands bye and headed out with the rest of the crew to begin what would be the longest, hardest, sweetest run of our lives (to date that is).

Well, the race officially began at 7:30. Around 7:32 I reached the starting line and began a 2 1/2 hour run! Mike, Mary, Samuel and Paul decided to grab a quick breakfast before heading to the first meeting point! Yes, they showed up after filling up on coffee and Krispy Kremes!

The race actually went a lot better and smoother than I expected. Despite the rain and freezing temperatures, I was pretty warm and comfortable. The first seven miles went quick and I felt great! Mile 8 proved a different story. For some reason, we ended up running up one of the largest and longest hills in Seattle, at least it felt that way. Finally making it to the top our crew was there cheering us on!


Mile 10 and 11 were by far the hardest two miles for me. I often felt like slowing down and even stopping, but knew that I was so close to the finish line! Mile 11 gave me a surge of energy and carried me for the last two miles into the finish. I finished the race with an unofficial official time of 2:29:54. I was aiming to be below 3 hours but didn't expect 2 and a half. Yeah!


Afterwards, Trish and I were cold, tired and hungry, but the hunger won out and we headed out to lunch. A huge thank you to Jen and Tucker and Sam and Carol who came out to cheer us on! I was so nice to celebrate with all of you! Thanks so much for all your support!

So the question now is...will I ever put on my running shoes again? Of course I will, just not this week!