Mom of Boys

I really do love being a mom of boys. I know girls are great and a lot of fun, but I would not trade these two bozos for the world.  They crack me up every day (multiple times) and the try my nerves (multiple times), but dear gracious, they are something special to me... and while I think it would be sweet to braid a girls' hair-- it is really sweet to the wearing football helmets while being tackled by my kids.

I mean... check out that little grin (and man boobs)....

I got him this shirt at Target.  You would think it had batteries attached to the back making him fly.  He loooooves this shirt...and I love to see him smile, so it really is a good trade. 

This is just a typical afternoon in the Williamson household... Cal with no shirt, no pants, underwear on backwards (he prefers them on that way so he can see the characters in the front.  Go figure....), and helmets on, ready to battle.  

Watching football-- Cal brought in the bean bag chair to share with Andy.  (again, please note the non-shirt, underwear status)

Ever since we were terrified that something was up with my baby's head, I can not cuddle this kid enough.  I should cuddle him all the time, I know-- but being scared like that made me realize I need to hug and kiss both of these sweet guys as often as I can.  

I have started snuggling/rocking Andy every night at bedtime-- just for like 5 minutes, but it is 5 minutes of pure heaven.  He snuggles up in my arms and puts his head on my shoulder/chest and just looks up at me and smiles.  I love it. 

We borrowed a friend's iPad when we went to Arizona so that each kid could have one on the airplane-- I realize this makes the spoiled.  I am okay with that.  You fly with both of these kids and tell me you wouldn't do what it takes to keep calm and quiet.

Well, our friend decided she didn't need the iPad back... so we now have two.  I am in shock and the boys are in heaven.  Check out these two...

My little super man.... when nug wears this shirt, Cal calls him superman the entire day.  It's hilarious.  This picture was taken on the same day as the above, but these pictures are out of order. 

And seriously, who has a tire toss in their house?  This mom of boys does.  We practice our accuracy throwing football through it.  

Last week, when we were waiting for the CT results, I wrote about picking Cal up from school and he and Ava were being adorable.... this is the picture I took as my pediatrician texted me the good news.

Little boys love to play in the rain...

 This kid... he calls me his girlfriend and I literally melt.  Strangers love to ask him questions, and when they inevitably ask who is girlfriend is, he looks them straight in the eye and says, "my mommy." He is my special guy and we are super close. He tells me 100 times a day that I am his best friend.  I can not get enough of him...

at least he has his shirt ON?

Saturday morning.  No makeup. In a robe.  Football game in full effect.  

this is my life.  

bless his heart....

look closely... do you see that nose?

my mom is insanely talented.  Like, crazy amount of Martha Stewart skill.  She saw these little Valentine's envelopes in Pottery Barn and decided to make them on her own.  She made a set for her house, then made me some, then made Elizabeth some, then made about 8 other people some for their kids....!!!

My sweet nephew, Jackson, turned 5 (5!!!!) on Monday and they had his party at Chuck E Cheese.  It was a fun party and the kids had a blast. 

 Watching Andy play ski ball was amusing and terrifying....

soooo, i just throw this ball?

this isn't working....i am going in

just a little closer

no one is watching, right?

let me throw it OVER hand...into the plexi glass as hard as I can...

what loud noise? that wasn't me. i am just sucking my fingers...

 Then we all went into the party room where the animals played a tune and sang to Jackson while the kids ate pizza.  Andy did NOT want to sit and eat-- he wanted to dance!

 Cal couldn't decide if he should eat his cupcake or his pizza...so he was eating both at once!

Here is the birthday boy!

Wish I got better pictures of Jackson, but it was tiring chasing Andy around that place!

On Tuesday, Cal had school and then after school a special treat: Ava came over to play!!! They played SO well together.  I was really thrilled at how well they shared and played together.  

And Cal was thrilled because she would put on a helmet!

They were a little worn out from school so they lounged on the beanbag chair to watch some Tinkerball (Ava loves Tinkerbell Cal told me, so we DVR'd a movie!).

Today is my future brother-in-laws birthday.  We sent him a video and a picture.  Let me tell you how hard it is to get a good picture of these two.... here are some attempts...

After school today, Andy DOVE onto Hank...and did not want to move.... pretty sweet...

It has been a busy week around here! I am trying hard to post more often so I can avoid long posts like this one... I will get better, I promise! (maybe)

I am leaving Friday for my sister in law's bachelorette weekend in Texas.  Please pray for me.  I am much older than I used to be.  Help me remember that. 

The Snow Ball

The Country Club had its first ever Snow Ball last weekend, and we had a great group all decide to go.  It was really a lot of fun to get all dressed up and go out! It was a black tie party, so Eddie wore his tux and it was like going to prom all over again- ha!

There was dinner and dancing and lots and lots of laughing... just the way I like it.  We had a big group so we had to split into a few tables...our table had a really fun time. 

I took a few pictures with my good camera before leaving and then with my phone the rest of the night.  They had a photographer at the event who took a picture as we entered and then got a few other candid ones as the night wore on...

So, here are the pics...

Waiting for Eddie to get ready, I got one with ALL of my boys:

My handsome date:

We tried a few with the iphone and they didn't turn out. BUT, I had on a pair of fabulous heels that I loved that can't be seen in any of the pictures...oh well!

 When we arrived at the club, we were handed a glass of bubbly and they took our picture.  Can you tell I was a little excited to be out of the house? Could I be smiling any bigger??

My parents also came to the party... I gave my dad that bow tie for Christmas :)

Isn't my mom pretty?

The original four...

So, the club was decorated really nicely and they had cute little silver pinecones on all of the tables holding the flatware together.  Well, apparently, it is dangerous to put me and Sally next to each other at dinners...

We decided to put them in our hair and take pictures....

Our fabulous table.... wayyyy too much fun.... and oh yes, we sat boys on one side and girls on the other, a la middle school.  It's way fun that way. 

The girls: Susan, Kristie, me and Sally....

And then a normal one of me and Sally...well, as normal as we get...

 And then the ones that the club took were emailed out....

And how can you not laugh at this one? A sweet couple, breaking it down...and then a giant blonde in the background obviously having quite a good time.  Gotta love it. 

 I was literally sore the next day from all of the dancing...and the drinking.  My head was sore from the drinking....

SUCH a fun night with such fun, wonderful friends!!!

 

CT Scan!

We got results--

 HIS SKULL IS NORMAL! 

(exhale sigh of relief)

I had to put that out there first and foremost.  THANK YOU, LORD!

So, we got up around 6 and showered and got ready.  Cal got up somewhere in there and my mom came over around 6:45 to hang out with Cal and take him to school.

We were going to leave right around 7:00, so I woke Andy up right as we were about to leave, got him dressed and carried him right to the car (with a pitstop to hug his grandma).

Eddie dropped us off at the entrance to the children's hospital and went to park the car. 

We went to the children's radiology desk, as we were told, but they didn't open until 8 so we followed the instructions on the desk and went to the main radiology check in.  I was carrying Andy, who was carrying his blankie and lovie, and my purse, and a bag filled with stuff to keep him occupied, if need be.  We finally got the check in and sat down to wait.  Andy spotted the iPad in my bag and started playing a game....

Almost immediately, we were taken to a separate area to wait for our turn to be scanned.  Andy climbed right up in a chair there and continued playing while we waited. 

The technician came out to talk to us and make sure we understood that they would try to do the scan without sedation, but if it didn't work, they would have to do it.

She said, "well, then, if you're ready, let's head on back." Eddie and I looked at each other super surprised... we were not anticipating ALL of us going back there.  She explained that crying/screaming is normal and she is totally used to it, but if he starts flailing his head back and forth, they would then sedate.  Andy was clinging to me like his life depended on it.  Then she looked at me and said, "whenever you're ready, mom, go ahead and lay him down."

I wasn't ready.   But I knew I just had to rip off the band-aid.

So, I laid my little man on the table while he screamed as loud as he could.  His mouth was wide open in full on scream and his eyes never left mine.  He started crying "mommmmmaaaaaaaa" and I felt the knot in my throat growing. 

The technician started to restrain him- first his arms, which means no fingers to suck- then his mid-section.  Andy was having none of it.  She asked us to just talk to him while she worked around us.  Then she realized that Andy was a tough little munchkin so she waved in the gigantic guy from behind the glass who came in and physically held Andy in place while she wrapped the restraints around his little body.  His sweet little feet in his grey New Balance shoes were sticking out of the end and that's where the knot in my throat grew even more. 

She quickly told us to put on the lead jackets and she ran out of the room.  She told me to put a hand on Andy and to talk to him or sing to him or whatever else I could do.  Eddie stood behind me saying over and over again, "it's okay, it's okay...." Not sure if he was talking to me or Andy....

Andy kept screaming and I started singing his favorite song (wayyyy up in the sky, the little birds fly, while down in the nest, the little birds rest....Molly, remember that song from camp??). 

Andy's little body slowly entered the machine, all the while he kept eye contact with me. The tears were pouring down my face at this point and I was choking on the words, but every time I would pause to sob breathe, he would start crying again.

At one point, he started shaking his head and then he managed to get his arm free.  The technician came running back into the room and I just KNEW she was going to say they needed to sedate him.  I wiped off my face and looked over at her and she said, "we got it! He's all done!" I think I was sniffing or I couldn't hear over the Andy's screams, so I said, ever so classy: "HUH?" And she smiled and told me again that we were indeed done.

I could not get Andy off of the table fast enough. 

I yanked him up and he immediately curled up on my shoulder holding his blankie and lovie.  We walked out of the room as the technician told us that we were the first scan of the day and they doctors should receive it and read it within the hour.  We thanked them and headed out.  Andy switched to love on Eddie some and we got to the lobby. 

Eddie left to get the car and I set Andy down in the pediatric waiting room.  He started galloping around, smiling at strangers, diving on his blankie, dancing like a wild man....pretty much acting like his normal crazy man self!

That little episode had a MUCH bigger impact on me and Eddie than it did Andy! (ps- I was still tearing up at this point.  The image of my sweet, sweet baby all strapped down is ingrained in my brain). 

We got in the car and Andy "talked" all the way home.  We gave him his coveted fruit snacks immediately and he happily ate and chattered the whole way home. 

Eddie left to go to work and I decided that we would go to the gym and then I would do something to spoil this kid rotten.  He deserved it. 

So we went to Target.

And he got to sit IN the cart part (something I never do any more because he is a freaking dare devil).

And he got to bring blankie, lovie, AND baby (the elephant he has developed a love for).

 AND, he got to pick out a car.... a big one.  Not just a little matchbox car, but a REAL big, automatic, noise making, wheelie-popping car.

And we got to open it IN the store.

And we didn't shop for anything else while we were there.  Not one other item (Andy hates shopping...loathes it, really).  Just the car and we were OUT. 

Then we came home for some fun play time-- just one on one.  This little guy walked over to the speaker in our kitchen and pointed, which is his way of asking for Gangham Style.  No. I am not proud of this, but Nugget Williamson LOVES dancing to Ganham Style.  It is quite a sight to see, and it always cracks me up.  And today was all about doing what made him happy....soooooo, dancing we did!

He put on some hats and had a big time playing until it was time to pick up CalBoy from school.

As I was picking Cal up from the playground, he was talking to Ava through the fence and it was the most precious thing ever (Ava pursed her lips for a little smooch!), so I grabbed my phone to take a picture (because obviously I take pictures of everything) and this text message popped up from my pediatrician (have I mentioned I LOVE HER?)--

Dr. Merritt:

"Skull NORMAL. Your boys "ridge" is his beauty mark.

hugs dr k"

I mean. 

I started tearing up, so to avoid a scene, I grabbed Cal's hand and his backpack and ran to my car as fast as I could.  I called Eddie, who didn't answer, so I continued calling until he did, then went down the list calling the family.  Every time I said the words "his head is okay!" I started crying again. 

I am just so so so relieved. 

I never want to have to see him going into one of those machines again.
I never want to have to watch another person physically restrain my son again.
I never want to see his little lovie poking his head up next to my son's bright red, soaking wet face again.
I never want to do this again.

That being said... I am so glad we did this so we would know.  Because if we didn't do this, we would feel his little head every day and wonder.  And now we know.... he's okay! PHEW!

The emails, texts, calls, fb messages and comments on this blog have BLOWN me away.  You really have NO idea how amazing all of you were.  From reassuring emails that the doctor would have ordered a CT right away if it was serious (which she didn't), to the messages saying we were in your prayers today (which we so appreciate), to the texts just making sure we were hanging in there....seriously, words can not express my gratitude.  I try to put words to those feelings, but obviously, I fail. 

love love love love love to you all....and thank you.  and love you.  and thank you again....


 

Done with scan

you all have been SO sweet in your calls, texts, emails, etc...THANK YOU.

Just wanted to let you know that the scan is done.  We got there at 7:30 to check in for our 8:00 appointment. We were walking to the lobby by 8:05 to leave-- so it was quick.  It was awful, but it was quick.

No sedation was needed, but lots of restraints were, and let me just tell you, that is no picnic for this momma.  Let's just say Andy wasn't the only one with tears.

I will do a full post later, but wanted to let y'all know we are done.... now we wait for results! Andy was the first scan of the day, so they were sending his images down right then to the doctors, who then read them and send them on to our pediatrician...so we wait to hear from her, I guess.


thanks again for your thoughts....they mean a ton to me xoxo