Overdue

Father, forgive me, for I have sinned. It has been two months since my last update....

Of course this could be because I have nothing really interesting to say, and I can never remember to take pictures, so for those of you interested in seeing pics of Jocelyn I have posted a few recent shots that have no cute stories or reasons for taking them.

Here is what Jocelyn has been up to the last few months. She has taken to singing to herself, which, by the way, is too adorable and if you haven't seen it, you'll need to visit to witness it yourself. Her favorite three songs are 'ABC's', 'The Wise Man and Foolish Man' and 'Popcorn Popping'. She will also sing 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' on occasion, but mostly sings in Jocelyn-speak.

She has become more active 'helping' Mommy, ie: she will take out the laundry from the basket and 'lay it out' in a ball on the floor, she HAS to help take food to the counter when Mommy is making breakfast or lunch and she likes to help me with Daniel-the little boy I watch everyday. She wants to help me feed him and pick him up from his nap. It really is too precious and I love her constant desire to help me.

Her biggest interest right now is a little fairy by the name of Tinkerbell. I don't know what prompted me to rent the movie about a month back, but now, it seems that all she wants to do is watch Tinkerbell. Or Bolt. Or 'Nemo'. Ack! Somebody make it stop!

All right. Is there anything I missed? If so, there will be another post soon to come. Enjoy the pictures!

Feb-March pics

Wow, two posts in as many days! I'm on a roll. And Jocelyn is visiting Nana and Grand-dad. So, I have time, and lots of it. I have realized many of you would like some updated pics of Jocelyn and I will be posting them here. Enjoy!

Jocelyn's 2nd Birthday. We celebrated by allowing her to open her presents in the morning followed by a dinner out at Mama Chu's with Nana and Grand-dad, and rounding out the day with a trip to Baskin Robbins-a Hammond tradition. Gifts received: All About Town from Miya; an outfit, Disney plane and cute purse complete with poodle from Nana and Grand-dad; a fun little butterfly net with butterflies for the tub from Aunt Jodi; dishes, food, a minivan for her dollhouse people, and two DVDs from Mommy and Daddy; and a Little Einsteins DVD from Aunt Deirdre and Caitlin.

Jocelyn's 1st haircut! This was the same day we celebrated Joce's birthday. She kept wriggling around and didn't want to hold her head still. I managed to get her haircut after multiple tries and in two good whacks. Wait, that sounds bad. It looks better than it sounds, waay too cute! Daddy worked on her bangs-Mr. Perfectionist. Because she didn't whine or complain and was generally a good girl, she received a treat-a dark chocolate Lindt ball. She LOVED it! That's what she's doing in the second picture here.

Okay, another cute story here. One night, I was laid up on the couch-see below story-when Jocelyn comes up to me and says "Bath". I told her after dinner, which is when she usually gets a bath. Then she hauls out her doggy and says "Bath". At first, I thought she was talking about putting 'Doggy' in water and actually giving him a bath, which she might have actually thought. Anyway, I was about to tell her no when I remembered she had been playing with her baby tub after I'd pulled it out of her closet, intending to put it in the shed until we needed it again. So, I said, "All right, get your baby tub and Doggy can have a bath." And that's what she did. I gave her a washcloth and showed her how to bathe Doggy. She had so much fun and every couple of days, she asks to give a different stuffed animal a bath. She is so adorable! I love my girl!

Megan's Ankles

All right, I know there are those of you who have no clue what is going on and those of you who have a small idea of my ongoing crazy, bizarre-add your own adjective here-health issues. So, in a nutshell, as well as some fun pics you can't see very well, I will break it all down for you. I will also post a couple websites of those of you who are gruesomely interested to go see more pics and glean other info I might have missed posting here.

About four weeks ago, I noticed three small red bumps on my left shin. I simply chalked it up to abscesses and rolled my eyes. Abscesses are common for me; I've been having them off and on for the last ten to twelve years or so. Link here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abscess. It hurt to walk and move my leg, but I persevered, trying to continue my duties as wife and mom as best I could, believing they would pop and drain and I would be done with them. Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha. Three or four days later, I woke up to find they had disappeared and I could barely use my left ankle. Weird, I thought. I shrugged my shoulders and limped out to the kitchen to start making Joce's and my breakfasts. For the next week, I refused help, believing, again ignorantly, that it would go away. General Conference weekend (April 4th and 5th, for those of you who don't know) I finally accepted defeat. My father-in-law gave me crutches to use and my mother-in-law offered some essential oils to rub into the sore spots and herbs to help heal it. A day or so later, everyone was pretty much at the same conclusion, it was bursitis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bursitis. Keep in mind we hadn't seen a doctor. The remedies included elevating my foot, putting ice on it, and using compression bandages. I did all those things but nothing happened. the pain became worse and my ankle started to become discolored on both sides. I officially started to freak out. What if I'd waited too long and it had become infected?
One week goes by. I go to church on crutches and everyone is like, "Ooh, Megan, what happened?" I tell them what we suspected and go on my 'merry' way. Thane takes us home and the next morning I get a phone call. It's one of the ladies from church (one of my Visiting Teachers). I love her to death; she is so flippin' cute. And wonderful, as it turns out. She had come on her monthly visit the week before, when I wasn't using crutches inside the condo. She had offered her help and, as I stated before, I had refused, telling her I would let her know when I needed her help. Look at the pride on this girl, right? So, she called on this particular Monday, stating she would take Jocelyn the next day (Tuesday) and she would also call the Compassionate Service Leader, Michie Hokanson (I hope I spelled that right). Fifteen minutes later, I received a phone call from Michie, informing me that I had sitters lined up for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as dinners for those same nights, and that Michie was coming within five minutes to pick up Jocelyn for the day. Wow, that was fast. I rushed around getting Jocelyn dressed and myself presentable. And so the week progressed in much the same manner, with Jocelyn leaving in the morning with one of the women from the ward and a meal coming in at night.
During the day when Jocelyn had left, I noticed that my right leg began showing much the same symptoms of whatever was wrong with my left foot. Ooh, boy. Here we go again. It didn't take long for the right foot to fall into disrepair. By Friday night, I couldn't walk to the bathroom. Thane carried me back to bed and announced we were going to the doctor the following morning. Sigh Of Relief. I woke up the next morning to a foreign voice in my condo. My mother-in-law. Thane isn't in bed and I can hear Jocelyn running around.
"Thane!"
A few seconds go by, then his head pops around the door. "Yeah?"
"What's going on?"
"Well, my mom is going to take Jocelyn and we're going to the doctor."
Okay, great. He planned all this so Jocelyn could occupied while we went to the doctor.
I laid in bed, waiting for him to help me up so I could get dressed. Instead, he brings me my clothes and dresses me. He carries me out to the car, into the Instacare (the same place we took Jocelyn that fateful Sunday, see below) and checks us in. Half an hour later, we're in a room talking to the doctor.
"So, what's going on?"
"Well," I began, "we think it's bursitis, but now that it has started on my right foot, I don't know anymore. I've been looking on-line and things aren't adding up." I pulled up my pant leg and showed him the little bump. "This is what happened right before my left ankle went out. I think it's an abscess, but I'm not sure of that. I've had them off and on for years."
"Well, it looks like Erythema nodosum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythema_nodosum. But let's do some torture just to see if it's an abscess. I'll be right back."
A minute passed and he comes back in with a needle and alcohol swab. A swipe of the swab and in goes the needle. Quickly, the doctor removes the offending utensil and blood comes rushing out. He explains that as soon as he stuck the needle in, he knew it wasn't an abscess.
"Okay," I said, "so what's what ever you think it is?"
"Well, no one really knows where it comes from, or what starts it, but we do think it has something to do with another condition. Do you have any problems with your stomach or...?"
"I have ulcerative colitis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulcerative_colitis." A smile crossed the doctor's face. Basically, what I gain from that is we have a basis from which to go from and further diagnose my foot issue. The doctor goes to the computer to further look up what he's telling me about and reads off a few of the bits and pieces of what it is. He prescribes steroids to help the colitis get under control and from there it will also help the swelling and pain in my feet to go down.

And there you have it. The nutshell version of my weird, crazy-insert your adjective of choice here-health issues. Sorry. I have a strange tendency of writing too much. Ask my mother. I also talk too much. Any more questions, email me and I'll do the best I can. Love to everyone!

My child is FEARLESS!!

All right, cute story. Let me take you through a normal morning. Jocelyn will typically wake up anywhere between eight and nine. She plays quietly in her crib while I sleep. When she starts squawking, I wake up and pull her out, we have breakfast, yada, yada, yada.

This morning turns out to be not-so-typical. At nine-seventeen, I wake up. Everything is silent. Hmm, I think. Jocelyn should be up by now. Weird. I lay in bed a little longer, waiting for my body to wake up. I'm under the assumption she is still asleep. It has happened, but not often. Anyway, as I'm lying there, I hear a little voice. "Mommy?" it says. Hmm, I think again, that sounded really close. My ears must be working better than usual. The voice comes again. "Mommy?" I nearly sit up in bed in shock. That was right outside my door, I think. I look over to the door and there is a little hand clutching the side of the door. (Side note, I don't close my door at night.) I gasp, then laugh to myself. The little twerp climbed out of her crib! "Come in, Jocelyn," I say. She walks in, takes a few steps. The expression on her face is one of uncertainty, like she's afraid of being in trouble. I laugh again, out loud this time. This time, knowing Mommy isn't upset, she runs over and tells me, "Owie". "Owie," I repeat. "Where?" She pats the top of her head, says "Owie". I make sympathetic sounds as she moves her hand to her back and chest. I laugh for a third time and pull her up on my bed.

Now, let me tell you about her crib. It is one of those transition beds, where it goes from crib to toddler bed to something else (I never remember what the third stage is) and finally to twin size. The mattress is on the lowest setting, the bottom sitting about three or four inches above the ground. Add in about six inches for the depth of the mattress and you have the the approximate height of the floor to the top of the mattress. All right. The top of the front of the crib comes up to about her chin, maybe a little lower. And she climbed out. I'm not sure how the heck she did that. It was some feat of gymnastics, or as a friend of mine suggested, a feat of Zen/Jedi mind tricks or pole vaulting.

Of course, this isn't the first time she has attempted to climb out of her crib. The last time the mattress was on the highest setting and Thane moved the mattress down. Now, there is no place for the mattress to go. And this isn't the first time she has tried something, to 'Mommy', is scary. I won't enumerate them at this time but, I say it again-she has no fear.

I LOVE MY GIRL!!!

Hooray for Motherhood!!

Today was Daylight Savings, and almost true to form Thane and I forgot to set the clocks ahead. We woke up late, didn't realize it, got dressed, went to church and arrived twenty minutes before Sacrament ended. Mom and Dad Smith live ten minutes from us and have the late church time, so we decided to go there to partake of the Sacrament. Everything was going great until halfway through the service. Jocelyn was playing on pew when suddenly she fell forward into the corner of the hymnal holder --or whatever you call it...'Deirdre would know'. GASP!! HORROR!! One of a parent's worst nightmares! We carry her out, and as we pass the building library, one of the librarians very kindly offers a Band-Aid. Jocelyn is cleaned up, bandage firmly in place and the car speeds off to the Instacare. --For those of you who don't know, an Instacare is a clinic, MUCH less expensive than an ER.
After a brief call to Miya, whose advice is to get her in for a professional opinion, we do just that. I had been there last Monday for bronchitis and the receptionist remembered us from then-I was extremely impressed that she would remember us, especially after all the people she sees every day. She sat us down, took all our information and proceeded to introduce us to a MA and RN who took care of Jocelyn immediately, cleaning the wound and giving us something to numb the area to stop some of the pain. Again, I was very impressed with the attention and service we received.
About an hour later, it's amazing how many people don't want to wait/spend money at the ER, we were called back. The doctor walked in, looked at Jocelyn's wound and said, "It dosen't look that bad. My recommendation is to clean it and do nothing." I was sitting there thinking, Okay, I didn't think we overreacted. Mom said to bring her in.
As I'm puzzling over this, the doctor has started to clean Jocelyn's cut. "Oh," he says, "It's worse than I thought. The dried blood made it look better than it actually is."
Let me tell you, Jocelyn is a gem. She has spent an hour in the waiting room, coloring on a receipt with Thane's dress pencil --well, you know, the pen and pencil set he wears to church in his shirt pocket. She is very patient while the doctor cleans the cut again. Oh, my gosh. I just cannot believe the resilience and patience this child is displaying. She is my child, after all, but she had missed her nap and isn't angry with Daddy or Mommy or the doctor.
Anyway, the doctor says, "Looks like she's going to need stitches, just two, nothing major." He goes on to talk about superglue or bandages, but ultimately, he says, "Stitches would be the way to go." Okay, stitches. Okay, I can do this. Breathe, Megan, breathe.
The doctor gets the local anesthetic prepared, tells Thane to bring Jocelyn to the table. On goes the overhead light and Jocelyn begins to cry. The nurse holds Jocelyn's head while Thane takes her arms and legs. Mommy is sitting in the chair, her mind filled with 'horror' stories from my mother when I went to the hospital for stitches. I moved so much that I needed restraints and my mother fainted. Hoping to avoid these disasters, I stayed safely away. The doctor leaned over Jocelyn, needle in hand and began to apply the anesthetic. Jocelyn stopped crying. She had closed her eyes to the light and the needle didn't bother her. How do you spell W-O-W? The problem came when the doctor began to suture the wound. The dreaded light was back and there was no avoiding it. And, I believe- having been through it myself- she could feel the pressure on her head and thought it was hurting her.
When the torture was over and the poor girl was safely in Mommy's arms, she was all bright and smiles again. Of course, the sucker and stickers the nurse gave her didn't hurt-and promises of ice cream from Mommy.
As I told a friend, all's well that ends well. And now I know a small bit of the pain and torture my mother went through with myself.

Jocelyn's 2nd Birthday

I never would have imagined two years ago that I would be telling my baby girl to pull up her diaper. (For some reason, she has a penchant to experiment with the waistband and tabs of her diaper. It is much too precious, although now she has pulled her diaper off all the way over her bum.) Excuse me.

Waking up to the sweet choruses of "Mommy! Mommy!" at eight in the morning was something else I never dreamed of when my gorgeous girl came into the world, along with the tantrums -you're thinking "No! Not that sweet girl!"-, the delight in everything girly -wearing Mommy's shoes, putting her babies "Night-night"-, the gibberish singing, the desire to 'help'. And the list goes on and on. I suppose every first time mother doesn't know quite to expect the first day, or month, or year, etc. Every day is a new learning experience. And boy, have I learned a lot- A LOT.

Her second birthday wasn't nearly as exciting as last year's. For one thing, Mommy fell down on the job and didn't get a cake made, presents wrapped, or even finished the birthday shopping. I suppose that's what happens when one is sick for three-plus weeks. Miracle of miracles, Mommy is feeling better today, but that doesn't mean much, either. We will be celebrating Joce's birthday on Saturday, so I will get pictures up then.

We spent an exciting two-plus weeks in Houston at the beginning of the month. It was a happy trip for all. Miya and Papa were thrilled to see how much Jocelyn had changed in the last five months, while Jocelyn and Caitlyn had so much fun playing with each other. I heard through the grapevine that once Jocelyn had left, Caitlyn was a tad distraught, asking when she woke up from naps and in the morning "Where's Jocie? Where's Jocie?" It's a bit heartwrenching. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of that trip, but we have tenatively planned a trip for the end of July.