My Little Chipmunk Face

As I have tried to explain what happened to John Curtis this weekend, people are having a hard time understanding. I'm having a hard time understanding and I was there! So I'm going to try to explain using pictures. Let me set the stage. Our kids' closets have folding doors on them. At the bottom of the doors is a metal piece that sticks out.


Once when I was sitting by the closet playing with the kids I decided it was dangerous for the piece to stick out like that and so I folded it back so that it looked like this.

Much safer, huh? I thought so. Can you see where this is going? On Saturday John Curtis was playing in Sophie's closet and something possessed him to try to chew on that hook. I like to think he is a very bright child and was using his imagination and pretending he was a fish. Well, he got to see what it feels like to be a fish because somehow he got that hook stuck in his cheek. No, I didn't take a picture of him stuck, we were a little panicked at the time. Taylor just thought he had fallen, but when he tried to pick him up he didn't budge. He realized he was stuck to the door! I stuck my finger in his mouth, but couldn't get him to budge and I was scared to pull too hard. I don't do well in emergency situations. Finally Taylor told me to hold him still (keep in mind he's screaming at the top of his lungs) and he just pulled the cheek back as far as he could and got him free. We were really very lucky. I expected blood everywhere, but it didn't bleed. His cheek immediately swelled like a chipmunk's though and he wouldn't stop screaming. We gave him Tylenol and a Popsicle and called a nurse friend to come over and check him out.



He let her look in his mouth and she found bruising all around his cheek and up and down in his gums, too. We kind of got a picture of one spot, but that is all he would let us get.


He is doing amazingly well. He is eating fine and doesn't seem to be in much pain. He has been waking up some at night crying, but will usually settle back down with Tylenol. Our pediatrician goes to our church so he checked him out yesterday and said there was not permanent damage. The vicious metal hooks have been removed from both closets. This is what my sweet boy looks like this morning. Everyone go check your closet doors!

Rodeo!!!!

On Thursday night we went to the Rodeo and carnival. Sophie had in her mind that she wanted to ride the ferris wheel. I'm not sure where that thought came from, but she had been talking about riding one for a while now. I thought she would change her mind when she saw it, but she didn't. When I see the rides at the carnival, I can still hear my mom's voice saying, "Anything they can put up in an afternoon can't be very safe!" However, I pushed the voice aside (sorry, Mom) and let her get on it with Taylor. She loved it! Evidently, things that are high don't scare her, just dark rides (as we discovered at Disney World). She also rode the little cars that go around in a circle and the carousel. I figured there wasn't much danger in those. The Midway was definitely the highlight for Sophie.











































John Curtis on the other hand loved the petting zoo. He chased after those goats and sheep and didn't mind them surrounding him. While Sophie isn't afraid of heights, she is afraid of a mob of goats surrounding her. It wasn't the highlight for her.






















We also ate some "yummy" fair food. Sophie loved the fried Cajun shrimp on a stick! By the time the rodeo actually started at 7:30, the kids were exhausted. John Curtis saw a little of the bull riding before he conked out. Sophie really enjoyed watching it and said she wanted to stay until the end, but decided around 9:00 that she was ready to go home. Even the sugar from the cotton candy couldn't keep her awake anymore!

Taylor is 30!

Today is Taylor's 30th birthday. He celebrated it in a big way with several parties. On Friday night our Sunday School class surprised him with a dinner at a Japanese Hibachi grill in town. The food was great and afterward everyone went over to our house to play Cranium. We had a really good time.


































On Saturday night our friends, the Peacocks, had us over for a birthday dinner. They have two little boys close to our kids' ages. Caleb is 4 and Connor is 15 months. Sophie and Caleb had fun playing (their favorite game was doctor and we all had to have a talk about appropriate play) and Connor and John Curtis had fun ignoring each other. John Curtis really loved their soft carpet and spent much of the evening laying on it. Maybe he misses our carpet, I don't know. The dads played the Wii and everyone had a great time.

Today Taylor and I got to go out to lunch at Outback while the kids were at Mom's Day Out. When I picked them up, Sophie and I made his traditional blueberry birthday cake. Then the church had a surprise party for him this afternoon. Tonight we are going to have a family dinner with just the four of us. So now I am married to an older man for a few months.

Boots!

I took a picture of John Curtis in Taylor's boots today and I remembered we had a similar one of Sophie. She is about 15 months in her picture and he will be 14 months on Tuesday. I don't think they look very much alike!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Birthday Grammy!

Friday was my mom's birthday so she came to San Angelo with my Dad and sister. Sophie helped me make a cake for her and we had a birthday dinner Friday night. On Saturday we shopped (Old Navy is having a good sale on kids' clothes) and then went to the park for a picnic. It was a beautiful day and the kids enjoyed running around outside. John Curtis especially loved feeding the ducks. He squealed at them and threw them bread and I'm happy to say he is (finally) signing duck and bird. It was a good weekend and I hope Grammy had a great birthday.

Our Visit with the Taylors

When we left the aquarium on Thursday the kids and I drove to Augusta to visit our friends the Taylors. Taylor came on Saturday and got to spend a few days with them as well. Sean and Megan were our closest friends in seminary and then when we moved to Marlin, Sean was our youth minister there. He is now the Middle School Minister at First Baptist Augusta. They were such a huge part of our lives when Sophie was born and the first two years of her life. They are more like family than friends so it was good to spend a few days with them. Their daughter Ivy was born a few months before they left Marlin. I've always felt sad that I didn't get to spend much time with her before they moved, but I felt like we bonded during our stay. She is a sweet and joyful little girl. I have a feeling Sean and Megan were pretty taken with John Curtis as well. The kids had fun playing together and we visited a science museum and played on the church playground a few times. It was nice to watch Lost again with our dear friends! I got a little sentimental while we were there, though. Being around Sean and Megan reminded me of our time in Marlin and those precious days with Sophie. She was pretty much the center of our universe there and I am amazed at how quickly she has grown. She was about Ivy's age now when Ivy was born, and I can't believe how fast the time goes. It makes me want to cherish the moments a little more with both of my kids.

Georgia Aquarium

Last week Taylor attended the New Baptist Covenant conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Since we have friends in Georgia, the kids and I decided to come along. Our first plane ride with John Curtis was pretty uneventful, however dealing with all of the luggage and the 2 car seats was a challenge. The kids and I spent the first
night in Atlanta with Taylor and Thursday morning we took the kids to the Georgia Aquarium. I had planned to take them to the zoo and was a little disappointed that it was too cold, but the aquarium was great. From the moment we walked in John Curtis was DELIGHTED. He loved being right up at the glass (sometimes licking it) and taking it all in. He is our animal lover. Sophie enjoyed it as well, although wanted to be extra sure that there was glass between her and all those fish. She is her mother's child! We had a great time and would definitely recommend you check it out if you're ever in Atlanta.