We'll start off with a little quiz: Can you guess how much it costs to be care flighted from PK Lake to JPS?? (you'll have to read this all to find the answer)
I started the month off with my last follow-up appointment which I begged Dr. Gardner to find something wrong with me. Who knew it would be so hard to return to work??? I have really enjoyed my time off being with Kaitlyn. I never imagined being able to set and stare at something or someone in such amazement and awe for so many hours day after day.
The Wednesday before my first week back I just sat and cried thinking how hard it was going to be to leave her. It probably didn't help that I was also watching the last of last season's Gray's Anatomy where they leave you thinking everyone one died!We spend my last weekend of maternity leave in Mineral Wells visiting and then Monday, Labor Day, we rode with Bruce Sr. and Lisa to visit Bruce's grandmother and family in Vernon. That was a quick trip but a really good visit. Kaitlyn had a chance to meet her other great-grandmother and some great aunts and uncles along with several cousins.
Tuesday was back to work. Bruce took the day off to stay home with Kaitlyn. He and Jim-Britt had a Daddy-daughter day with Kaitlyn and Sadie. Meanwhile, at work, I think I had quit crying by 10:30 unless someone asked me how I was doing. While on maternity leave, I was offered a new position at Grand Prairie, so I did have something new and exciting to come back to...including an office with a door. Like Lyle said --that's something around there. They also hired another lady, who I met my first day back and probably made quiet an impression, since she asked me how motherhood was! I warned her she'd have to ask me later as tears filled my eyes.
That weekend was Taylor's Birthday. She turned 11 on the 14th. She had an 80's skating party and had a really good turn out. Even her 1st little crush of 5th grade (or maybe it was the last little crush of 4th grade) Harrison showed up.
Taylor's birthday and Jeff Casey's birthday are on the same day so Lindsey called and asked me if we wanted to meet them for dinner in Weatherford at Montanna's for his birthday. Jim, Andrea and Sadie were there and Kathy, Jeff and Lindsey along with Bruce, Taylor, Kaitlyn and Myself. Little did we know, but we really weren't meeting for Jeff's birthday, we were meeting so Jeff could show me a picture on his phone of him and lindsey fishing!!
Jeff FINALLY popped the question! I think we all knew it would happen one day. I am so excited for them! I always know it's meant to be when I cry tears of joy and happiness for the love two people can share. I did cry tears of joy for them -- and I cried a little of sadness too since we lost Lindsey's dad a year ago this month. Her wedding will be a joyous day, but it will be hard with Duke not there in body...he'll definitely be there in spirit and I'm sure something quirky will happen for him to let us know his presence. He has a way of doing that. Right after I'd selected the ladybug theme for Kaitlyn's nursery, Kathy was going through some more of Duke's things and ran across this little gold lady bug pendant. Wherever did he find this and why would he have kept it? And what made Kathy and Lindsey find it right then I'll never know. You'll notice on the white bow I had Kaitlyn wear in her 1 week pictures, the lady bug pendant is on that bow. That bow is from Lindsey and it can be worn later as a garter when Kaitlyn marries.I've never missed someone as much as I do Duke. He passed away on mine and Bruce's 1st Wedding Anniversary. I don't have one memory that doesn't involve a lot of laughter! I miss him so much that I still can't think of him without getting tears in my eyes. I think the saddest part is knowing the loss that Lindsey and Kathy have experienced. I often wonder about the things he would have said or witty things he may have come up with when I was pregnant or what he'd think about Kaitlyn! When I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, I was over playing at Lindsey's house. I can't remember where Lindsey was in this story, but I was pestering Duke. He was setting in his chair watching TV. The chair was in front of a dividing wall that separated the kitchen/dining room from the living area and another room. Duke was an avid fisherman and he happen to have his fishing gear layed out. I grabbed and opened a bag of "scented worms" and snuck around the back of Duke and held the bag over his nose. I think I won that round of pestering!! The smell on the bag stayed on his face and from that day on I was known as Wormy and his new name was Stink Bait. Duke often called Lindsey Squinsly. The day Kaitlyn was born, Lindsey was there holding Kaitlyn and Lindsey decided that Kaitlyn's name should be Squirmy! She and I both agreed that that fell right in line with what Duke probably would have said --Squinsly and Wormy and now a Squirmy. Funny thing about that story is a few days later My dad was holding Kaitlyn and said to Kaitlyn "you're just a little squirm worm." As old as the story is about mine and duke's nicknames, I'm not sure if my dad knows that story..and he certainly didn't know we'd already named Kaitlyn Squirmy.
Anyway, so leaving the restaurant that night hearing Lindsey and Jeff's exciting news brought about alot of emotion. Then my phone rang and it was a friend from work telling me that another co-workers daughter had passed away. The lady I work with, Annette, had a daughter a little older than me and she was pregnant at the same time I was. Annette would tell me how her daughter was doing and we'd share pregnancy stories and Annette told me what an easy birth her daughter had and how wonderful her little grand baby was. The day I came back from maternity leave, Annette saw me and asked how I was doing --I of course started to get tears and just had to keep on walking. Annette said she understood. She was telling me how her daughter just had problems with her appendix and had to be in the hospital for a week so Annette got to stay and help with the baby and as happy as she was her daughter was home and doing better, it was hard to leave that precious baby. Friday of that week, we both talked about how excited we were to leave work and go hold our babies! Annette was heading to her daughters to spend the weekend. So I knew when I got that phone call which daughter it was. How heartbreaking!! This woman had been married 8 years and just had the happiest moment in life with this little 3 month old girl. I never met Jolyn, but through Annette, I felt like we had a lot in common. I went to the funeral and for not knowing Annette's daughter, I came away from that funeral knowing that this woman had lived life and loved life! She kept journals of her adventures and feelings --and isn't it something to know now that those very journals will be the window for that precious baby to know her mother.
I think the hardest part about death is, it is just so final. There is no negotiating or reasoning with it when the time comes. It's abrupt.
When Annette returned to work she came to me and told me she needed to know what "modern" mothers do since she would be helping to raise her granddaughter Landry Grace. I told her about babycenter.com and how you could get almost any answer on that site. How to find things on Craig's list, how to get pictures printed at Shutterfly (as I found out her daughter was the "family historian" with pictures and keeping them organized), incline sleepers and thumb sucking vs pacifiers, boppies, to mirrors that go on your seat in the car so you can see what the baby is doing. I told her later though that the main thing modern mothers did was wonder how their mother's did it, so not to worry too much -- she must have done something right. One of Jolyn's Aunts read some excerpts from the journals she kept. One entry was about what a fantastic mother Annette was. How Annette was always there for her and what an admiration Annette was for her daughter. That must be the ultimate compliment to know your daughter thinks of you that way. I know I think of my mother that way and I hope I can be that for my daughter too.
Did you know that baby powder isn't supposed to be used anymore on babies because it's toxic to their lungs?? And giving a baby water may contain more lead than toys that are being recalled and a baby's kidney's can't process water like it should therefore the water can become toxic. (However, I do give Kaitlyn a small syringe full of water to cure her hiccups. Works like a charm!) You're not supposed to microwave formula or milk as it can break down the nutrients in addition to just being too hot. Just a few little things our mothers probably did that are on the "do not do" list now. Did you know too, that there is a monitor that you place underneath the mattress the baby sleeps on that monitors movement. If the monitor doesn't sense movement in 20secs it will sound an alarm. So, if you baby sleeps better on their stomach, like Kaitlyn does - especially when her acid reflux was so bad, you could sleep them on their stomachs and not worry so much about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Kaitlyn turned 2 months on our 2 year anniversary on September 22nd. She had to get 3vaccine's. 2 of those were shots and the polio was taken orally. She did so good this time with the shots! Just cried a little. I read somewhere that if you apply pressure to the place they're going to give the shots, that it reduces the pain. Not sure if that's all true, but it seemed to help this time. Maybe the nurse was a little more gentle too! She weighed 9lbs even and was 20 inches long. She's very alert and smiles ALL the time! She's cooing and making all kinds of sweet little noises! She doesn't have to go back to the Dr until the end of November.
We also celebrated Bruce's grandmother's 81st birthday in Glen Rose. I think her actual birthday is my dad's birthday too! The picture below has most of Grandma's kids. Then a picture with some of their kids. And then a picture with most of the Great Grand Kids.
I have been writing about how hard it was to go back to work. It really stinks I can't be at two places at once. I really like my new job. It keeps me busy and I'm learning alot. I think I'm able to go back to work and not be miserable all day though because of my AWESOME day care solution. Judy, Bruce's mom keeps Kaitlyn several days a week and Gloria, a friend of mine in Grand Prairie keeps her the other days. Bruce drops her off when she goes to Judy's. It's so nice knowing that someone is looking forward to keeping your child. That whoever is keeping your child is doing it because they want to not because they have to. I know in the mornings, when I drop Kaitlyn off at Gloria's, that I can leave happy knowing that Gloria looks forward to keeping her and meets me at the car even in the mornings to see her and help us get all our stuff in! I love knowing what a special place in Kaitlyn's life these people will have. I know I remember going to a lady named Barbara's. I remember eating oatmeal cream pies there and I'm still friends with some of the other kids that went there. Although Kaitlyn is the only baby at both places, I think that's the perfect scenario right now. Thanks to picture texts too so I can see what my sweet baby girl is doing when I'm away!I also have a new appreciation for working moms and breastfeeding moms..and especially working breastfeeding moms. I didn't realize how many hours it takes to breast feed. I read somewhere where it can easily take up to 8 hours a day to nurse and have enough to send the kids off to daycare. One morning I was getting the bottles from the refrigerator and one bottle fell and the lid broke! Now I understand that expression: Don't cry over spilled milk. Cause I sure wanted to cry!
On the 24th, Taylor and I went to the Taylor Swift concert with my friend Angela and her daughter Alexis. Alexis' birthday is in September too so this was our birthday present to the girls. That was really a great concert! The girls had a blast and Alexis didn't know that's where we were going until we got there! Taylor said that was the best day ever. She told Harrison she liked him, he told her he liked her too and the Taylor Swift concert! She thought all the love songs were about Harrison. So cute--not sure her daddy thinks so!
What a busy busy month! I can't believe it's fall --deer season, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas coming up soon. What a fun time to have a baby. This month has been bittersweet. A lot to be thankful for and to look forward to. Like I have said before, tomorrow is unimaginable to me, but it seems like the real fun is just beginning!Care flight bill from Bruce's 4th of July incident: $18,391.00! Pocket Change.
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