Landon at 2

We celebrated Landon's second birthday 7/14/10. We had a awesome birthday party for him this past Sunday.





2 year stats....

* 35 3/4 inches tall (87%)


* 28.14 lbs (56%)


* he has outgrown most 24 month stuff and wears 2T clothes


* shoe size 7 (which he will surely be out of by the fall)


* he knows his ABC's


* he can count to 16 (that's how many steps are in Nana's house)


* he LOVES country music and can sing the entire song "Smile" by Uncle Kracker


* I can carry on full conversations with you, there are very very few times that I just can't understand what you are saying


* he loves to run and jump off anything


* he loves elephants


* The Backyardigans can hold off a tantrum


* he throws some amazing tantrums


* he hates "time out" worse than a spanking


* he is stubborn as a mule


* he is doing awesome at his new daycare


* he loves to go to the camp and ride the ram


* he wants to walk around without his shirt on like "Unc Derrill"


* he plays Nafens (Nathan) guitar while singing the above mentioned "Smile"


* he loves to swim and is doing pretty amazing without having any swim lessons


* he loves his Unc Daniel and Aunt Shanna


* he looks forward to going to GiGi's after daycare and getting 2 oatmeal cookies


* he likes to go look at the cranes at Edwards


* he knows the difference between all the equipment


* he loves to wear his flip flops


* he likes to drink water from the water hose


* we are working on potty training, he goes through spurts of being interested - we're not pushing it


* he loves tractors - to look at them, not to ride them


* he's a mama's boy - I love it

* he has a total sweet tooth

* he'd rather snack than sit down and eat a meal

* he is a meat and potatoes boy - rice is his favorite carb

* spaghetti is his favorite meal

* he likes to drink pickle juice like his mama

* he's a total ham :-)

* he eats oatmeal just about every morning for breakfast - sometimes Nana lets him have a cream pie

*he sleeps in a full "big boy" bed - with railings still cause he's a WILD man when he sleeps

* he has all his teeth except for the 2 year molars - I'm dreading the 2 year molars

* he has to brush his teeth first, then you can help - he always has to go first

* Our night time prayer is singing "He's got the whole world" and going through the entire family, dogs included - his favorite part of the song is at the end when we sing "he's got you and me in his hands."

* when we say the blessing before eating, he loves to put his hands together but can't keep his eyes closed for the life of him and when we are all done, he says "that's funny"

* curious george is his security blanket

* he understands that mommy has a boo boo and can't pick him up and has to walk on crutches - he enjoys getting my crutches for me

* he loves to sweep and mop - or do anything to help out - he's a good helper, I hope this quality doesn't change


* he is the most amazing person that I know and is by far the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me





I'm sure there are lots more "little things" about Landon that I am leaving out but these are some of the highlights. I can't believe my little guy is 2. He is the light of my life.





We had a visit from out friends Ashleigh, Russell and Hayden this past weekend. They had never met Landon and we had never met Hayden. We hadn't seen them since I was 8 months pregnant with Landon. Landon took a liking to Hayden, which is not suprising, he is a flirt.

My Baby.....

.....Is going to be 2 years old Wednesday. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. He is such an amazing blessing. He is incredibly smart. He knows more words than I can even bother to count and talks in sentences. I can carry on a conversation with my 2 year old. He can sing just about any country song and in fact can tell you what the song is just by hearing the first 2-5 cords of the song. He usually knows what the song is before I know. He loves to sing. He's been walking around the house singing "happy birthday." We went to Lowes yesterday to get things for his new pool and he was singing "twinkle, twinkle." He's so smart. Joey asked me yesterday "I wonder how we got such a smart child." I replied "well Joey we are not stupid people." Again, I am so blessed. We took him to get a hair cut Saturday. This is the first time he has not cried since his first hair cut! He spotted some suckers as soon as he sat in the chair so I think that he just couldn't wait to get a sucker. He looks like a little man with his new hair cut. We were able to get his pool set up Saturday into Sunday and are now just trying to get the chemicals right. I've pretty much got his party all planned. I've got to go this week and get some more plates, cups, utensils and napkins. I bought some designed plates etc, but since I'm out of work right now didn't want to spend a ton of money on jungle designed plates that adults at the party could care less about. So I'm just gonna get some plain plates etc to match his themed stuff. Some of our good friends Ashleigh and Russell and their little one Hayden are coming in from Lexington and I can't wait to see them. We've not seen them since right before Landon was born. We've never met Hayden and they have never met Landon. We have a picture of their family up on the refrigerator and Landon knows who they are. I'm excited for him and Hayden to play together. And so glad the pool will maybe be ready and not so ice cold. Oh I can't believe my baby is going to be 2. I guess I can't call him a baby anymore. I still feel like just yesterday I was going into labor with him.....

.....Landon was due 7/11/08. The whole time I was pregnant the doctors told me that I would never make it to term because of my size and they were fairly certain that he was going to be on the bigger side. Well my due date came and went. I went for my 40 week check up on a Wednesday. I hadn't dilated and really hadn't effaced any at all either...NOTHING. So I got a "see you next week." I was like see you next week, what about this child is going to be too big for me? My answer was we'll see you back next week and if you haven't done anything we'll talk about inducing. Inducing I say, but you have been telling me this whole time that I'm not gonna push this kid out unless he is 5 lbs and we already know from the ultrasound 2 weeks ago that he is over 7lbs. (I had an u/s at 37 weeks to see how big he was, if he was 7lbs they would schedule a primary c section a week before my due date. He clocked in at 6 lbs 14 oz. 2 oz away from a scheduled c section). Needless to say I left that appointment upset and angry. I had a copy of the on call list, which I had printed off from the hospital before I went out on maternity leave. I knew that the doctor that I liked would be on call come Monday. I had made the decision that I was going to call Monday morning and some how, some way, I was gonna be seen and my child was gonna be born. I was so miserable. I cried for the rest of the day. Due date was Friday and that came and went. We woke up Sunday morning and had plans to go over to Joey's moms pool, as we did most days. He was out of school and I was on maternity leave so we spent most every day at the pool. The pool was the one thing that made me feel better. It helped with my swelling and took some of the weight off me. I loved the pool. Soon after I woke up I started having what felt like stomach cramps. After I would have the cramp I would have to use the bathroom. I was like great, I'm overdue and now I'm going to get a virus or something. We went on to the pool and made it there about 930-10am. These cramps were happening about every 15 minutes. I got in the pool and would have to get out about every 15 minutes to use the bathroom after my "cramp." Finally I told Joey that I just didn't feel good and wanted to go home. I called my mom on the way home and told her how I was feeling. She was like "Holly, that's how my labor with Daniel started." She had diarrhea but thought she had just eaten too many grapes the day before. She decided to make the trip to Mount Olive. I remember she came and started cooking supper, by this time, I knew it was labor. I was having contractions about every 6 minutes and they were stopping me in my tracks. I didn't eat much, frankly I just didn't feel like it. My best friend Jessica and her husband Jesse came over to visit. I had been with Jessica when she was in labor so she wanted to give me some pay back. We were all sitting around and by this time my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and if one came on in mid sentence, I had to stop and breathe through them. I would have these intermittent sharp pains in my pelvis, which made my mom nervous. She had been trying to get me to go to the hospital for a while but I brushed her off because I knew if I went too early I would be sent home. It was about 11pm and I had another sharp pain in my pelvis and she was like that's it, we're calling the hospital and we're going. So we called and I told them that I had taken my Tylenol, drank plenty of fluids and had been laying on my left side and they weren't going away. It seemed to take forever to get to the hospital. When I got there and checked in and they put my arm band on, I saw that the doctor I wanted was on. I let out a "yes," the lady checking me in giggled. Once up in L&D, an IV was started and I was hooked up and shackled to the bed. Dr said he was going to start fluid to see if the labor stopped. I knew it wouldn't, hello, I'm past due. I was given some pain meds IV which did nothing but make me sleep in between contractions. Dr checked me and I hadn't dilated and was only about 20% effaced. I was like you're kidding right. I've been in labor since 830 am and I've done nothing. He sent my mom and Joey's mom home telling them it was going to be a long night, nothing was happening anytime soon. About 630am I started to have those sharp pelvic pains again but this time they weren't going away. It was close to change of shift for the nurses so I hated to call. So about 730am my day nurse came in, I knew her from working at WMH, and I grabbed her hand and told her to please help me. I had been crying/screaming for over an hour (Joey is over on the couch asleep). She went and got the Dr and he checked me thinking maybe Landon was about to come. Still hadn't dilated and only about 45% effaced. He gave me two options, he could give me an epidural and we could wait it out and see if I would start to dilate or we could do a c section. C sections scared me so I didn't give him an answer right away. My nurse came back in and we talked and I decided to go ahead with the c section, I had been laboring for almost 24 hrs and hadn't dilated a cm. I started being prepped for the c section which included a bolus of fluid and no more pain meds. I had to pee every 5-10 minutes. If my bladder got full it would make me contract. Dr was in with another delivery so it was about 9am before I was taken to the OR. It took 2 tries to get my spinal in. I am very claustrophobic and don't like to be held down. So I've got a curtain in front of my face and my arms are strapped down...I was not a happy camper. The spinal had numbed me up to my shoulders so I couldn't feel myself breathing on top of everything else. Landon was born 0946 and I saw him for a few minutes when the anesthesiologist asked me if I was ready to go to sleep. I was, I was so anxious. I don't remember too much of the rest of that day because I had so many medicines in my system. He was worth everything that I went through and every ache and pain that I had when I was pregnant. And he's about to be 2!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

I've been PAO'd

So I had my left PAO (hip reconstruction) June 1st. We had to be at the hospital at 830. It was raining like crazy that morning, my nerves were already a mess and driving on 540 during morning Raleigh traffic and heavy rain didn't make things better. We got to Duke and the 3rd floor about 805. Just as soon as we sat down and got the laptop out, my buzzer went off. I looked at Joey and said "oh shit." They went ahead and took me back to the holding area. I was changed into my gown and had a red surgical hat on. I had the same nurse I had when I had my left hip arthroscopy done last year. She was I guess training a nurse and the trainer started my IV, or tried to. I showed her the vein in my left hand which they used with my c section, she didn't like that one too good so went up a little to a vein in my wrist. She had a 20 gauge needle and started digging. After about 3 minutes, I told her to get out of there that she wasn't going to get anything. I'm still bruised from that IV attempt. So the other nurse came in to try and start the IV, she pulled out a 22 gauge needle and went for my right hand. (we had a problem last time with her starting the IV with such a small needle, the anesthesiologist was pissed last time and this time too). I ended up coming out of surgery with another IV in my left hand as I knew I would. After the IV was started and blood work sent they let Joey come back to wait with me. I kept trying to talk him in to taking me home, I wanted to back out. Anesthesiologist came in to talk about getting the epidural. I finally saw Dr Olson and he "marked" me. My hat was changed to blue and I was getting ready to go, I immediately started crying and begging Joey and my mom to take me home, I didn't want to do this anymore. When it was time to start the epidural, the nurses gave me versed and fentynl to make me a little more relaxed. I don't even really remember them starting the epidural. They had sent Joey and my mom away but then found out that it was going to be about another 30 minutes or so before I could go to the OR so they paged them to come back for a little bit longer. They had gone to the cafeteria and spent 30 on food, so they crammed it down and came back to see me for a few more minutes. Dr Olson came back in and said we were ready to go and I really started crying. On board came some more versed, I love versed. I remember going into the OR, getting over onto the table, my arms being strapped down and the mask being put on my face. I woke up in PACU to nurses asking me if I could feel them touching me. This was the first time ever that I didn't get sick after surgery. I had the same anesthesiologist as last time as well and he put a patch behind my ear before surgery, it worked wonders. I have no idea how long I stayed in PACU but I eventually went up to my room, it was about 6pm I guess when I got there. The nurses told me about my pain pump and how often I could mash it, every 8 minutes. I didn't sleep well at all that night, I would fall asleep for about 15 minutes and wake up. I was in quite a bit of pain, but didn't know otherwise. The next morning my pain team came in to see me and I told them that I was in a lot of pain so they increased the amt of Dilaudid I could get. I was scared to mash it because my blood pressure had been like 50/30 that night and I was scared of it dropping more. The Dilaudid was making me itch like crazy so they added a drip to help with that. The day after it was determined that the epidural was not working as well on the operative side. My right leg was totally numb but my left leg (operative leg) was only numb in spots. I went down for x rays that first post op day and it was TERRIBLE. I had to move over onto the x ray table, turn on each side, I was in a ridiculous amount of pain. I got a bolus of Dilaudid when I got back to the room. I ended up being switched to a PCA pump for pain control, which even still didn't work all that well. Getting the epidural out was hell too because I had to turn onto my side. I couldn't get up with PT post op day 1 or 2 because my right leg was too numb from the epidural, so I was already a day behind in recovery. My foley ended up being taken out Thursday. I did get up to the recliner for about an hour on Thursday and boy was I ready to get back in bed. Dr Olson came in Thursday afternoon to look at my incision, my drain had been left in that morning because I was still having a good amount of drainage. He decided Thursday afternoon that it could be taken out. He found out about the amt of pain I had been in and was not happy. He went to pull the drain, which felt like he was pulling my hip out through the skin, and he was holding my hand while pushing my PCA. He apparently let the nurses have it because I had been in so much pain. I ended up getting an Oxycontin in addition to the PCA pump. I was having spasms so he brought on Valium, God Bless Valium. I finally got some good sleep. I knew I was going to have a longer stay just because I hadn't been able to do much because my pain hadn't been under control. Landon came for a visit on Friday, it was so good to see him. He cried when he saw me, he didn't understand what was going on. I told him I had a boo boo and showed him my incision. He ended up playing good. He didn't stay long because there isn't much to entertain an almost 2 year old in a hospital room. My mom and grandma had come to stay with me that day so they took him home. He didn't want to leave. I ended up coming home on Sunday after working with PT and going up and down stairs. I was exhausted by the time I got home Sunday. Recovery has been slow and sore. I think that things improve each day. I have a long way to go. I go for my post op follow up next Wednesday. I can do 30% weight bearing right now, which is basically just putting my foot on the floor, so basically nothing at all. I can get to the bathroom alone but still need help getting in the shower. Joey is giving me my Lovenox shots, I'm ready for those to be over with. I have to do them until Monday. The shot itself doesn't hurt but the medicine burns like the dickens after it goes in. My mom has been a God send with Landon. She basically does everything for him that I used to. After bath time, he comes and sits beside me in the chair and I read to him before bed. He asks to see my boo boo and kisses it and tells me "all better." He knows that I can't get up and move and he loves to play with my walker and crutches. He loves being at Nana's and being spoiled. Daycare is getting better. He cries when my mom hands him over to his teacher but he gets okay as soon as she leaves. That's a far cry from him crying all the way to daycare. He is starting to adjust well. They are amazed with how smart he is. He's finally started to come around and show them how good he can talk. Well I've been rambling on for a bit, time for a change of scenery. Now that my laptop has been introduced to the internet on Sheep Pasture Rd I hope to be able to blog more frequently. You know since I'm so busy sitting in the recliner and all!!

Till next time......

Bittersweet

So one week from tomorrow will be Landon's last day at MOKK and our last day living in Mt Olive. We're packing up and heading to Spring Hope next weekend.....next weekend, wow. I'm so happy to be going back home and being so close to family but I am going to miss terribly my "family" here. One of the biggest reservations I have about moving is Landon leaving MOKK and MiMi, Nancy and TeTe. They have truly been second moms to Landon and I feel like they love him like I do. I'm going to miss them terribly and I know he is too. He's a fairly easy going child and he plays well with other kids so I really hope this transition will not be difficult for him. The new daycare he is going to be going to in Spring Hope I'm sure is great. I got the name and recommendation from someone I trust. When we went and looked at it, Landon took real well to the kids and I even left him outside by himself for about twenty minutes while I went inside to look around and do paperwork...he never missed a beat. When I came out he threw up his hand and said "hey mommy." I had to pry him away. I have no doubt that they will take good care of him, just not sure they will take "special" care of him like he gets at MOKK. Oh how I will miss you ladies.
I have met so many wonderful friends here. I'm going to miss my co workers at GWC and Landon's play dates with Ady and our adult play dates with Ady's parents. I have friends in Spring Hope but I've also been away for almost ten years. We aren't the same people as we were in high school and I guess my fear is that I "wont fit in" anymore. Bittersweet feelings all around. Landon is going to love having Nana to spoil him everyday. He talks about Daniel, Shanna and GG daily so he is going to love seeing them a lot more. We are making the right decision, I know we are.
Any reservations I may have had about moving were washed away this week. My grandma found out she has breast cancer on Tuesday. Her surgeon at Duke is very optimistic and said that it was caught very early. She is scheduled for a lumpectomy June 15. I feel like that was God's way of giving me that one last push that it's time to "go home." I'm going to enjoy both of us recovering from our surgeries together. I've always cherished my time with grandma. Looks like both of us are going to be shelling butter beans and peas this summer while everyone else does the hard part of picking them. Oh how I've missed eating fresh veggies out of the garden every day.
Surgery for me is all set for June 1. I go for my pre op appt with Dr Olson and the anesthesiologist next Wednesday and my wonderful friend Becky is joining me for the ride. I can't believe how time has flown by and my surgery is only three weeks away. It makes my stomach churn. Am I making the right decision having this done now, when Landon is so young and won't understand. But will it be any easier next summer when he's more active...No. It will never be easy and I just have to accept that. I'm tired of hurting and not sleeping. I'm tired of my hip popping out of joint when I go to stand up.

So many changes are happening at one time. Only 2 couples have looked at our house and we are having an open house this Sunday and I just pray that someone will like it and we can get rid of it. Having a mortgage off our hands while I'm not working for three months would be wonderful. If you're reading this and know anyone who knows anyone who knows anyone who wants a lovely house in Mount Olive, send them our way.

Until next time.....

D Day

So today is the day that my hip reconstruction surgery has been set in stone....June 1st. I get sick to my stomach just thinking about it. I have developmental hip dysplasia bilaterally but my left hip is worse. I had minor right hip surgery last May to repair a labral tear (that is basically the lining of the hip). Having that repaired help to fix the dysplasia in my right hip. My left hip had never bothered me up until that point, my right hip had been bothering me for several years. I went for my final post op follow up last September and casually mentioned that my left hip had started to "nag" me a bit. X rays were taken and Dr Olson came in and said "you need a periacetabular osteotomy." I need a what...google that folks...not fun! I have a friend who had had this surgery by the same surgeon almost 2 years ago. She has been a wonderful source of information. I'm having surgery at Duke by Dr Steven Olson. I will be hospitalized for approx 5-7 days and will be "out of commission" for 3 months. I have so many mixed emotions about this. I'm tired of hurting every day, not being able to sleep or play with my child as much as I would like to. "Sorry Landon, we have to go inside, mommy's hip hurts." I hate having to say that. I hate the fact that I'm going to have to be away from Landon while I'm in the hospital and that he's not going to understand why he can't jump on me or why I can't hold him. Why don't I wait until he's older? First, my pain has increased significantly in the past 6 weeks, I don't know how much longer I can wait and if I'm waiting for "a good time" there is never going to be one. There will always be a reason not to have it done at a certain time. I get sick to my stomach just thinking about having this done, I've never had a major surgery like this and I'm not too thrilled about having my bone sawed in half and screwed back together. My friend Brenna swears it's all worth it in the end....I hope so! I may have to call in for some Xanax before the time gets here. It's quickly approaching.

My Grandma got called back after a routine mammogram for further images. Normally this would not be so concerning but she has had 2 sisters battle and beat breast cancer. She got the notification today that she has to have a biopsy. This makes me nervous, especially since she hasn't been feeling herself the last few months. Say a little prayer for her as you go to bed tonight and for the nights to come. She is going to call her 99 year old doctor tomorrow and have him get her in a Duke, which is where she needs to be.

Our house is OFFICIALLY on the market. We have a prospect, hopefully she will come through. I would LOVE not to have a mortgage while I'm out of work for 3 months. Say a little prayer for that too.

I've been a bad blogger but life with a 21 month old doesn't leave much room for blogging. Until next time......

Whew....

...What a busy past couple of weeks. Work has been crazy and so has just life in general. I made a big step a couple of weekends ago, I let Landon go off with someone who was not related to him. MiMi, his teacher at school, took him to the Zoo in Asheboro. They left around 730 am and returned late in the afternoon. Joey and I were able to get some cleaning done that day (mainly our junk room aka office). As soon as Landon got out of the car, he started running towards me saying "mommy, mommy, mommy, the elephants, they drink water." He was fascinated with the elephants and penguins. I wish I could have been there for that first trip to the zoo but MiMi took lots of pictures. Even now when you ask him about the zoo, he tells you that MiMi took him to see the elephants and that they were drinking water. Such a smart boy.

We went to Spring Hope this past weekend, Joey had gone fishing with "the boys." I am a baby and refuse to stay by myself, so my mom came and picked us up on Thursday evening and we spent the whole weekend in Spring Hope. I can't wait until we are moved up there, I miss it. I NEVER thought those words would come out of my mouth, I'm choking on them as I eat them. I guess having a kid changes your perspective on things a bit. Who would have thunk it?!?! I am having some pretty major hip surgery in May so we knew we had to move in with my mom just from the support aspect of things. I have a 3 month recovery time and we are going to need all the help we can get with Landon and myself. My dad is going to give my brother and I 31 acres of land so I feel like it just makes sense that we move and have TONS of land for my wild child to play on. I took this past Thursday off and gave the house a good cleaning. Joey is off on spring break this week so he is doing "man chores" this week. I'm hoping we can get our house on the market this weekend. So if anyone knows somebody looking a house in Mount Olive, I've got one for ya.

So I think Landon might be turning a new leaf on sleeping. The past two mornings, I have had to wake him up....that has not happened in several months, since we took the pacy away. It's amazing the things that I get excited about. I just hope it will last and I can actually sleep past 6am on the weekends. When I got home today he smelled like "dirty little boys." This is the first summer where he can actually play and get dirty outside and I can sure tell he plays hard at school. He is even getting a little farmers tan already. HaHa, I love it. I actually felt like I had to scrub him in the tub tonight. No more skipping baths, he actually deserves one now. He's 100% boy for sure.

This has been a bunch of rambling I know, I have lots on my mind and lots of changes about to happen in my life....new house, big surgery, new job....whew.....we'll make it though and what's meant to be will be. Until next time......



P.S How bout them DUKE BLUE DEVILS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!