What's wrong with this picture?

I took this picture while sitting at a red light this morning on our way home from the gym......

Yes, Blake managed to get both arms out of his carseat (which wasn't very loose, by the way!)......just when I think I have this kid contained!

Love this picture...

Blake at 1 1/2yrs old

It's been awhile since I have given specific updates on each of my kids, so I thought I would try and do that this week. I just took Blake in to the doctor for his 18-mos. checkup and he was 33" tall and 29lbs, which is 60% for height and 90% for weight. So unlike his siblings who continued to be in the 90% for height, he is a bit more 'normal' but continues to be on the dense side when it comes to his body composition (or should I say compact?) He has become so much more fun lately and much less frustrating, in large part due to my realization that his fussiness just wasn't normal and I switched him off cow's milk to soy milk. And this had made a world of difference for him. Thankfully he doesn't have an allergy that I have to worry about, but he seems to have a bit of lactose intolerance that has been easily remedied by changing just his milk and yogurt to soy products. Other than that, he eats everything (cheese included) and has been doing so well. He talks so much now and understands just about everything you say to him (like asking him to get something or put something back, etc).

Now don't get me wrong, he is still the same Blake---fearless, determined, strong and extremely coordinated. But it seems to be a bit more tolerable now that he isn't so fussy.

This is one of his latest 'tricks'....he hops in the cozy coupe at the top of the driveway, just after it has started moving down the hill, and rides it to see where it will come to a stop. He sits just like this...on his knees...and loves the uncertainty of where it will go and when it will come to an end. I, however, do not!

He has also developed a border-line obsession with the group "Go Fish" and their vacation bible school video, 'Kickin' it Old School'. We got the video because our good friend Jamie is the lead singer of the group and had no idea Blake would love it so much. And we aren't sure what about it he loves, but all the songs are old hymns that have been 'remixed', so to speak. And the first song starts out by saying, "Na-na-na-na-na-na, ooooh, ooooh" so Blake now calls this the 'na-nas'. He will bring it to me and ask to watch it and will even sing it for us.....he sings, "na-na--oooooh--ooooh". In this picture I had just given him a snack of goldfish and then found him lying on the floor like this watching it! It was so cute (although I have rationalized allowing my 18mos. old to watch TV by saying that it is hymns he is learning!)

He continues to walk with his hands behind his back most of the time.....

...and will also walk up to other kids with his hands behind his back and just look at them...

(thankfully this was Wyatt's friends' older brother Sullivan, who I actually knew)

..but that's not always the case, as was evidenced by this picture while we were picking strawberries....(notice the hand still behind the back?)

He also is the most attached to Matt out of all three of our kids. He would prefer Matt over me 100% of the time and actually balled when Matt had to leave this week for Colorado for a few days. And it has been this way ever since Blake was a baby. He would always prefer to be rocked or held by Matt and they seem to have a special bond.

(Helping with yardwork in the rain)

...until he realized how wet he would get!

Seriously----two peas in a pod! Matt had laid down to take his usual Sunday afternoon nap in front of the TV (usually golf is on) and Blake just assumed the same position.

Blake loves loves loves reading books and will often say someone's name, point to where he wants them to sit, and then bring them a book to read. And he loves when Sadie reads to him, as she does just about every morning after breakfast while I am still cleaning up. He continues to enjoy 'hiding' from us and has developed a few new spots, one being Wyatt's bed. He loves sitting on the bottom bunk of Wyatt's bed during the day (especially if Wyatt is gone) and I am looking forward to the day when they can share a room. Blake will be so excited!

I am sure there are several other things that Blake has been doing lately that I am missing, but I thought I would include this video with several different clips to show just what Blake is like these days.

Tournament Time

Can I just start this post by saying that the summer has been FLYING by?! How did it get to be the middle of July already? I am not looking forward to school starting again--we are having just too much fun! But I realized how quickly the summer is going by last weekend when we had Wyatt's end-of-the-season baseball tournament (which at this age equals 2 or 3 games over the weekend on the baseball fields at the high school with grass infields and getting some type of trophy or medal.) Wyatt fondly remembers his T-ball tournament last year and was even more excited for the games this year.

What a handsome ball player, if I do say so myself!

And of course Sadie and Blake were at every game. However, they were usually playing at the park that was close to the field Wyatt played at during the rest of the season. So last weekend, they weren't too happy about having to actually sit and watch. But I know Wyatt loved it as he commented on more than one occasion during the season, "Why don't Sadie and Blake want to watch me play? All they do is go to the park?"

Wyatt's classmate Lawson was there for his game which started right after ours, so Sadie and Blake took the opportunity to have a playmate for a bit!

...but back to the game...

Wyatt was on a really great team this year and they were, by far, the best team in the league. This was the first year of coach-pitch and there were many teams who had kids who struggled to even hit the ball. But Wyatt's team not only hit the ball almost every time but they also made great plays and really understood the game. When each batter got up to the plate, they would call out which base the play was at and they even caught many of the pop-ups or would field a ground ball and throw it to the bag where the play was and the kid would catch it to make the out. It made watching them so much fun and hopefully we can keep this team together next year because these boys loved it! As you can see from this picture, they even learned who was the backup for each position, so the right fielder would always come over to back up 1st base. And these kids were really into it!

Although Blake did love playing on the playground, he also enjoyed getting to see Wyatt play. He mostly wanted to be on the field and would get frustrated if we held him back, but occasionally he would give up and just watch Wyatt.

...on deck...

Our friend Missy brought her kids by to watch Wyatt's big game and Danny, who absolutely loves all sports, stood and watched almost the entire game. You can see Wyatt crossing home plate in this picture, just behind Danny.

Wyatt had a great coach this year who had 2 rules for the kids: (1)Have fun and (2)Play your hardest. The kids began noticing that when they lined up to shake hands, some of the teams would say 'we won, we won' but Wyatt's coach Tony quickly got on that and told the kids that we say, 'good game, good game'. As a parent, I really appreciated Tony's desire to help the kids have fun, get better and learn how to be good sports.

Blake finally got his chance to get out on the field and boy did he love it!

...leading off...

Wyatt's coach Tony wasn't able to make it to the last game so the assistant coach Mark handed out the medals--the best part in the boys' opinion!

(After looking at these pictures I realized how badly we needed to get Wyatt's glasses adjusted and finally went in this morning. I guess all those times Blake has ripped them off Wyatt's face actually affected how they were fitting him)

The fam

Baseball is possibly Wyatt's favorite sport right now and he really loved playing this year. But he is looking forward to machine-pitch (in 2 years) and also when he gets to wear a belt with his pants, like the 'real baseball players' do! Great season Wy--we are so proud of you and how hard you worked!

Strawbs....Strawbs...and more Strawbs

As I sat in the ER with Wyatt and the pediatrician went over all the restrictions from his concussion (no swimming due to the stitches, no riding his bike or scooter, no activities which could cause another head injury, etc) I asked if strawberry picking would be allowed. She said, "That would be perfect!"

Good thing, because we had been planning for weeks to go strawberry picking my good friend Dixie and her four kids. And everyone was really looking forward to it!!!! So we went the very next morning and Wyatt did great....minor headache and tiredness, but we were only out for about 2 hours and then came home and rested.

On the tractor ride out to the patch

Our crazy crew....Dixie and her kids Addi, Jada, Titus and Onyx and then my 3

Dixie and I met through Wyatt and Titus being in BSF and school together, but we are now in the same small group and have also becoming running partners! I am so thankful for her and for their family!

Wyatt and Titus (they were in BSF together 2 years ago and then were in the same Kindergarten class this year)

Blake attempting to wrestle Onyx to the ground while Wy and Titus watch and laugh

The result? Blake managed to get Onyx down but then sat in all their strawberries....

And this is one of the reasons I love Dixie.....she didn't care at all and just laughed it off, helping pick up the few that weren't ruined and instead enjoyed the entire experience with our kids

(maybe that is why "Dixie" was the first non-relative name Blake learned how to say!)

Sadie and Jada

Jada will be in 3rd grade and Sadie pretty much thinks she is the greatest. They are both so girlie and love to sit and paint their nails or color pictures together. And thankfully Jada is not only a great example for Sadie but she also doesn't seem bothered by Sadie always wanting to be with her.

Addi was a huge help with Blake. He lasted about 30 minutes in the patch before he was running away, stepping on strawberry plants and getting out of control. So Addi offered to take him on the tractor and just ride it for a few trips back and forth from the parking lot---what a huge lifesaver this was!! (You can see Addi on the right side of the tractor with Blake and Sadie, who also decided to join them.)

My attempts at a group shot when we were all done.....

And then the next day was jam day.......

Scariest day of our lives as parents

It happened last Wednesday, just over a week ago. And it was the scariest moment Matt and I have experienced to date as parents. Matt was going for a run, pushing Blake in the jogging stroller, and Wyatt wanted to go with on his bike. So the boys took off while Sadie and I made dinner. About half an hour later, Wyatt comes in the door crying with blood on his hand and shirt and Matt quickly follows behind. The amount of blood wasn't overwhelming, so I wasn't too concerned at that point, although I still didn't know where it was coming from. I saw a few scrapes on his knee, ankle and elbow but nothing major.......and then Matt said, "He hit his head."
I looked and saw Wyatt's head bleeding on the top/back corner on his left side. It was bleeding a decent amount, but with Wyatt longer hair (he decided to grow it out this summer again) it was getting caught up in the hair and not much was on his shirt or elsewhere. I got an ice pack and had him sit on the couch, Sadie grabbed his blankie for him and we proceeded to try and calm him down. He was pretty hysterical, although I attributed that (1) to his personality and (2) to his exhaustion level--he was so tired even before the bike ride and it was pretty hot out.
I tried to get him to take deep breaths while Matt told me what had happened. They were coming up the hill right by our house and Wyatt was complaining of being tired, so Matt tried to encourage him to push through it and also gave him a push on his back to try and help him out. Wyatt, being utterly fatigued, just took the push and fell right off the side of his bike, landing on his head-----with no helmet. Thankfully they were close enough to walk home and came right inside.
By the time Matt finished telling me the entire story, Wyatt was still crying and complaining that his head was hurting. Our attempts to calm him down were in vain and then he asked, "Why does my head hurt so bad?"
"Because you fell honey" we told him
"Where did I fall?".......Matt and I looked at each other with concerned looks but continued to talk to Wyatt in attempts to get an answer that would remove our worst fears.......
"On your bike, remember?"
"No.......when was I on my bike?" Wyatt asked.....
Matt immediately looked at me and said, "You've got to take him in to the ER"
We both were thinking the same things but neither of us dared mention it.....no memory....closed head injury....internal bleeding...and our minds continued the race.
I got in the car with Wyatt and drove as fast as I could while trying to remain safe and calm. I began asking Wyatt questions on the way there to try and assess how much of his memory was affected.
"Wyatt, do you remember going for a bike ride with Dad while he ran?"
"no."
"Do you remember what you were doing this afternoon?"
"no."
"Do you remember what day it is?"
"no."
At this point, all his answers just droves my thoughts farther and farther into worst case scenarios......so I rationalized in my mind that he wouldn't know what day it was anyways because we had just gotten back from a holiday weekend and it's the summer....what kid knows what day it is in the summer anyways?
"Do you know your name?"
"Wyatt"
PHEW!!
"Wyatt who?"
"Wyatt Sorensen" he answered, but he was still quite groggy and out of it......at this point he was getting annoyed with the relentless questioning but I wasn't about to stop
"Can you count to ten?"
"yes" he answered
"Show me...."
"1...2...3...4..5..6..7..8..9..10"
Praise the Lord!
Then he said, "Mom, I can count higher than 10" which brought a smile to my face...the first time I had smiled in several minutes. I continued asking him questions about where he lived, who his siblings were, etc. All of which he remembered. But any details from earlier in the day were fuzzy and he still had no memory of the bike ride or the fall.
Periodically throughout our trip to the ER, however, he would ask the same questions over and over.
"Why does my head hurt?" "Where are we going?" "When can I go to bed?"
Matt called me on our way there and asked how Wyatt was doing....I filled him in on the details and then pulled in to the ER. And this was the first time I had ever had to take one of my kids in to the ER (which is a huge blessing, ,6 1/2 years in!). Thankfully there was only one person ahead of us and we were quickly assigned a Child Life Specialist (CLS)--let me just say that I had never heard of this position before but am so thankful they have them at our hospital (you will see why). The woman brought Wyatt a few books to read while we waited.
They brought us back to a room and we waited for less than 5 minutes before the CLS returned with DVDs and video games for Wyatt if he wanted them. He declined at this point, just wanting to go to sleep, but she persisted in asking him questions about himself, his favorite sports, if he liked the Twins (he had a Twins t-shirt on), etc. The pediatrician then assessed Wyatt and ordered a CT scan to verify that nothing was going on internally. She said he was exhibiting classic concussion symptoms but wanted to make sure everything else was okay. She also said he would need a couple stitches and said she would check back in with us in a little while.
The CLS then returned a few minutes later with a mini CT scan model and a stuffed lizard. She showed Wyatt what a CT scan was by having the lizard go through the little model, showed Wyatt pictures of some other kids in the CT scan, and explained that it would just take pictures of his brain and wouldn't touch him. She asked if he had any questions and reassured Wyatt that I would be in the room with him and he could keep his blankie with him. The nurse came in and put some numbing cream on Wyatt's head with a bandage to hold it in place, so that by the time the CT scan was complete, he would be fully numbed up and ready for stitches. (Another change since I was a kid.....no needles for numbing up an area that needs stitches!)
Matt called again and I updated him on what was happening.....and then he lost it. He felt completely responsible and was utterly helpless to do anything. We just said we would continue to pray and I tried to encourage him to hold it together for Sadie and Blake, at least until his brother Ty got home from work and then he could come over.

About 10 min. later, Matt and Sadie showed up to see how Wyatt was doing. Matt spoke with the doctor briefly, but then I noticed Sadie's discomfort with seeing Wyatt in the hospital with a bandaged head and Matt's emotions beginning to take over again, so I told Matt they should probably leave. They headed out to get a bite to eat and then ended up going home. It was great to have them there, but I really didn't want Wyatt to see the looks on either of their faces and then have him freaking out because of it.

The radiology tech came shortly after to wheel Wyatt down to get his CT scan. I was quite nervous that he would freak out and not lie still, but he surprised me and did amazingly well. (For a kid that doesn't like when the dentist chair moves up and down, he did remarkably!) They allowed to me stand at the end of the table and Wyatt looked right at me the entire time. It was quite odd, but in that moment I actually enjoyed being able to be the one to comfort and help ease my child's anxiety---one of the joys of being a mother! I was so proud of him and we went back to our room to wait on the results.
When we got back to our room, the CLS woman greeted us again and this time she had the same lizard with her but he now had a bandage on his head that looked just like Wyatt's. She proceeded to open a suture kit and show Wyatt exactly what they would be doing to wash out the wound and stitch it back up. It was amazing!! And she brought the video games back with her, this time much to Wyatt's excitement! He saw the Nintendo DS and asked if he could play it. Crazy enough, despite the fact that we don't have video games in our house, he knew exactly how to turn it on and quickly figured out how to play the game that was in it...and of course, it was a race car game!!
That DS was a lifesaver....he sat perfectly still the entire time he was getting the stitches, engrossed in his game (the exact reason why we don't have them in our house, but boy did it come in handy in the ER!) And when the pediatrician came in to stitch him up, she told me that the CT scan was clear and the memory loss was due only to the concussion and nothing more.
It left like someone had lifted a 100 lb-weight off my shoulders and I couldn't get on the phone to Matt fast enough. Tears of joy rolled down my face and I was thankful for the Lord's protective hand on Wyatt. She explained that he would probably be pretty tired over the next few days and also have some bad headaches, but that everything looked like it was going to be just fine. And then she looked at Wyatt and said, "Wyatt, do you have a helmet in your garage at home?" to which he answered yes. "Do you know what I am going to tell you?" she asked as she looked at me and smiled.
"I need to wear it" Wyatt answered. By this point he was already starting to perk up and even asked to stay a bit longer in the ER so he could play on the DS more, which I promptly said 'no' to!
As I was gathering our things, the CLS woman came back in to the room one last time with a certificate of bravery for Wyatt, 2 stickers (Hot Wheels, of course) and the giant water syringe they had used to wash out his wound. (He was most excited about bringing that home to use in the bathtub with Sadie and Blake).

The award states "You did the best job holding still for your CT Scan and stitches. Way to go!! Signed: the Woodwinds ER Staff"

We were so thankful that everything turned out fine and so thankful for all of you who were praying during that time. And both Wyatt and Sadie haven't left our garage without their helmets on since, so hopefully we all learned our lessons!!

Happy Birthday America!!

The weekend of July 4th was a busy one for us, but also a fun one! Matt's cousin was getting married in Indianapolis on Sunday, the 3rd, so it made for a hectic weekend. But we all had such a great time.

We drove to Madison on Saturday morning, ate some lunch and took naps, and then headed to the Madison Mallards baseball game with my parents and Matt's entire family. The initial reason for going to the game was to have a tailgate afterwards in preparation for the city's HUGE fireworks show set to music, "Rhythm and Booms". The idea of going to the game and getting great seats for the fireworks was great in theory, but I wasn't sure how it would work out with Blake. The game started at 5pm and the fireworks weren't until 10pm. (This fireworks show is quite intense....people drive over to the area the morning of the fireworks to save seats and the usual 20 min. drive home becomes over an hour with all the traffic after the show.)

But I was willing to just take it all in stride and see how it went......

Uncle Ty and Blake

My sister-in-law Mollie and I

And it actually went really well. All 15 of us were sitting in 2 rows, back to back, and right on the aisle. So although the seats were in the sun and it was quite warm, we also had a lot of space to let Blake roam....

Papa and Blake

Pops and Blake

Not sure what they were doing here.....I think hitting each other in the face and laughing!

Blake and Papa were making silly faces at each other....

Ty, Kyle and Christy....baking in the sun!

Auntie Cam and Blake

Nani and Blake

As you can tell, Blake did great but only because of all the people willing to take turns entertaining him and playing with him. And he is a great kid.....but not a kid who sits still....EVER! So all our family members were life savers and made the game so much more enjoyable for all of us!

Sadie also loved making the rounds and enjoying the game from the comfort of others' laps

I love this picture...evidence that Blake as been near Grammy?

Red lipstick on the cheeks!

a bit of attitude?

so much better!

Sadie also took the opportunity to dance whenever music was playing.....I'm telling you, this girl loves to dance. And she loves it even more when she realizes someone may be watching her.

And yes, Wyatt was there too. But he was much too interested in the game to bother with much else.....

After a great game that went in to extra innings, we headed to the outfield to snag some great seats for the fireworks display. I held down the fort with the blankets while some people went to get food, some played catch and some just enjoyed the evening.

We sat right on the edge of the infield between 1st and 2nd base and Wyatt loved showing the field to Blake and being ON the field!

Sadie sat with Grammy for the entire evening......which was so interesting because Matt and I have commented often times lately how much we think Sadie is like Matt's mom.....and Sadie never once asked to sit with Matt or I.....it was so precious and I am so glad that my kids have grandparents who are so involved in their lives.

..watching the skydivers land with their parachutes lit up!

....getting tired.....

the crew

Cammie and her boyfriend Chris

Wyatt and Nani

This was the 1st year Wyatt sat by himself, but he did hold both my hand and my mom's the entire time.

We got home around 11:30pm and Matt and I had to get up by 6:30 the next morning (Sunday) to drive with his family down to Indianapolis for his cousin's wedding. Thankfully my parents were able to watch the kids for us......it would have been a rough trip driving 6 hours down there, sitting through a wedding, spending the night and then waking up the next morning to drive 6 hours back to Madison. The kids had a great time going to the zoo, playing golf and mini-golf, playing in the pool at my parents and getting to eat at McDonalds. My kids are still talking about how much fun it was. And we had a great time at the wedding......

My mother-in-law, myself, and sister-in-laws Mollie and Cammie

Cammie and Chris

Mollie and Kyle's wife Christy.....visions in yellow

If you'll notice in this picture, Matt and I were not standing too close to each other. In fact, this was about as close as I could handle........because the heat was just unbearable!!!! The wedding was outdoors, at 5pm (hottest part of the day), in the sun with no breeze and in the humidity that is characteristic of Indianapolis......it was beautiful, but brutal!!

Unfortunately my camera battery died just after we took this picture, just in time to miss the entire Smith family picture (i'm still kicking myself for that one!)

But it was beautiful wedding at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the reception was there also, but thankfully it was indoors!! We had a great time dancing and enjoying being kid-free for the evening!

The next morning we made the 6 hour trip back to Madison......

but not without a trip to White Castle for Chris, Tyler and Mollie's inaugural slider!!!

We got back to my parent's house in time for dinner and then our own fireworks display. And I have to say that Matt got some great fireworks this year. We usually just get some at one of those stores along the interstate and Matt is like a kid in a candy shop in those places!! But you never know how good they'll be.....we sat on my parents deck and 'ooohed' and 'ahhhhed' while Matt and my Dad shot them off!

The kids liked the sparkles, up until the point where they are about to burn out but the kids begin getting fearful that the sparks will reach their hands....notice Wyatt's face!

My Dad had also bought a firepit and we roasted some mallows and made smores.....but this little guy grabbed a handful of big marshmallows and shoved them all in his mouth, then retreated to Pops' tractor (his favorite outdoor seat).

The next morning (Tuesday) was spent sleeping in, packing up and playing outside. Sadie took another stab at photography---she always asks to use my camera and I love the pictures I end up finding when I upload them to my computer.....

This one is great b/c it shows exactly what my Dad and Wyatt did for a good hour or so that morning....play games on the iPad. Not sure if this one was the new CARS2 game my Dad found for Wyatt or the motorcycle race game, but they were both very in to it!

The kids spent some time in my parents garden picking raspberries, strawberries, lettuce and radishes.

Sadie came up with her special 'sandwich'=lettuce wrapped raspberries

And she sat and ate several and then gave us all a few! Boy were they good!

Matt commented when we got home that this was one of his favorite 4ths that we have had in awhile...not sure if it's because of the age of the kids or the fact that we had an extra long weekend and a couple rounds of fireworks, but it was a lot of fun spent with both of our families! (We missed you Lindsay and Rob--maybe someday Rob will be able to experience America's birthday with us in the states!)