Monday, January 30, 2012

A little excitement for the New Year

Well, we had a pretty normal New Years Eve and Day.  Jeremy and I stayed up on New Years Eve and watched the ball drop.  We had church on New Years Day.  The kids met their new teachers at church (they have some really good ones) and we had a relaxing day.  On the 2nd, everything was getting back to normal after the craziness of the holidays.  Jeremy was at work so it was just me and the kids.  We had dinner and then it was time to get them to bed.  I put Mikayla in the shower in our bathroom and Brooke in the Exersaucer.   I started a bath for Gavin and then went up into the attic to get a couple of baby items.  Nothing big, just a couple of things that I could throw down the steps.  As I was climbing down, I missed a step, fell back about 4-5 steps and hit the back of my head.  I remember having an instant searing headache when I did this.  That is also the last thing I remember for probably about an hour.  I did not pass out (according to Gavin at least who saw the whole thing), but I definitely had some memory loss.  According to Gavin, I got up, closed the attic steps and turned off his water.  I then called Jeremy, twice apparently, I told him I had hit my head and that I needed him to come home.  He knew something was wrong since I don’t ever do this.  He was quickly trying to close up the warehouse and make the 45 minute trip home.  After calling him, I called my parents.  I told them the same story that I had Jeremy and they quickly started driving.  It’s a 30 minute drive and I apparently was impatient and confused because I called them at least 2 additional times with the same story.  They had my youngest sister stay on the phone with me to make sure I was generally okay.  They also prompted me to call a neighbor from church.  This is when I started remembering things.  I remember opening the door for my neighbor.  Its weird because, I didn’t remember calling her, but I knew exactly why she was there.  During all of the conversations with my mom, she kept asking if I needed to call an ambulance, and I kept saying I didn’t.  As I was sitting down on the couch, with my children now safely in the care of my neighbor, I started putting things together.  I had no idea when it was.  I knew it was Christmas time because of the decorations, but I honestly couldn’t remember celebrating it.  This is when I got really scared.  The downside of being a nurse, is that I started thinking about all of the bad things that I could have done to my head…do I have a subdural bleed, and epidural bleed, a skull fracture.  This is when I decided that I needed an ambulance.  I called them…I’m surprised that I knew what to tell them.  I barely remember making the call.  Thankfully, the firehouse is right around the corner, so they were there very quickly.  My parents arrived shortly after the ambulance did and my dad was able to give me a priesthood’s blessing.   I was very grateful for this.  It helped me to feel less scared about everything.  I was taken to the hospital and long-story short, they did a CT and everything was okay….just a pretty bad concussion.  I took a week off of work to recuperate and now I am mostly back to normal.  I am still having some problems with my memory, but nothing horrible…its getting better and better each day.  I was amazed at how long it took for me to be able to think quickly and clearly afterwards.  I look back on this situation and I am so thankful that my children were protected during all of this.  I somehow knew to turn of Gavin’s water and I knew to call for help, even with all of my apparent confusion.  I keep thinking about how differently everything could have turned out, but I firmly believe that my Father in Heaven was protecting my children and I.  I am so profoundly grateful for that. 

Here is a picture of my view from the stretcher in the trauma room at Northside Forsyth….

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That is the PALS algorithm that is used in a pediatric code…it was nice to see something familiar. ; )

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Some random November and December pics

I had aspirations of doing monthly updates of the comings and goings of Brooke.  Then I remembered that I have three children and life is crazy. 

She had her 6 month check up about 2 weeks ago.  She weighed 12 lbs even (<5%) and was 26 inches long (50%).  She is a tiny little thing!  We are actually watching her weight, but I’m not too concerned.  She’s healthy and has a good general appearance.  She is learning new things and progressing as she should.  She can roll over and can sit unassisted for about 10-15 seconds.  She could probably do it longer if she would stop arching her little back!  She loves the Exersaucer and Jumperoo.  She has strong little legs.  She loves to stand up in my lap and bounce up and down.  She is a sweet, sweet girl.  She rarely cries…pretty much only when she is tired or hungry.  She loves to play peek-a-boo and we get the biggest belly laughs when she is tickled.  My only regret with her is that she is just growing up sooo fast.  I feel like this year is flying by and it just makes me sad to think about.  I am enjoying the ride, though, even if it is a little speedy.  

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2011-11-26 13.39.132011-11-27 14.21.112011-11-28 17.38.34

2011-12-01 18.12.55

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2011-12-03 14.46.132011-12-03 15.06.422011-12-03 15.30.152011-12-03 15.32.01

2011-12-06 17.30.362011-12-07 09.35.37DSCF3693DSCF3739DSCF3740DSCF3742DSCF37482011-12-21 13.26.292011-12-23 15.56.242011-12-23 18.24.312011-12-24 08.57.492011-12-25 13.12.29

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I hope you have enjoyed the photo spamming.  There were just too many good ones to not share. : )

Four generations

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We met with my Grandaddy and Aunt the day after Christmas at Olive Garden for a little post-Christmas celebration.  I don’t get to seem them nearly as often as I would, so it was such a treat to see them.  This was also the first time they met Brooke.  We decided that a picture of the four generations together was a necessity.  I will always treasure this picture. 

Christmas Day

Well, I will go ahead and apologize that this post will be low on pictures.  My absent minded head left my camera at home, but I was able to steal borrow some from my sister-in-law’s Facebook album.

After the excitement of Christmas morning, we had breakfast and then got ready to go to Jeremy’s parents to celebrate Christmas day.  We had a lot of fun there!  Kathy prepared a wonderful meal.  We are so lucky to have so may wonderful cooks in our family.  After lunch, Mikayla did a little impromptu performance of the Christmas story and then we opened our presents.  The kids had a blast!

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Gavin in all of his craziness and glory.

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Mikayla during her Christmas story performance.

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Ashley had some friends of her there to celebrate with us, so we were able to get a family picture.  That was a special treat!

Sadly, after all of the fun we had to go home so that I could go to work.  I shouldn’t complain, though.  Thanks to the ability to trade and maternity leaves, this is the first time in 10 years of being a nurse that I have ever had to work Christmas day.  Also, I didn’t have to start until 7pm, so I was still able to enjoy the bulk of the day with my family.   That was the best part!

Christmas morning

Christmas morning with children is just magical.  I just love the pure excitement that they have, wondering what Santa has left for them while they were sleeping.   I hope that magic stays in our home for a long, long time.DSCF3827

Santa’s load before the kids had a chance to rip into it. 

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I think they were excited to get into everything.

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The big kids showing of their Happy Nappers, the most requested present this year.  I also feel I mest explain why Gavin is all dressed on Christmas morning.  That child has a slight obsession with getting dressed down to his shoes as soon as he wakes up.   I was unable to convince him to stay in his jammies…at least he picked out a Christmas shirt. ; )

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Here is Brooke playing with two of her presets from Santa.  She loves them both!

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The Christmas morning aftermath.  It would probably make more sense to clean up as we go, but this is just much more fun.