Tommy's 4th Birthday: The Kid Party

We knew it would be a special day when we woke up to a near blizzard and the biggest flakes we've seen! We have such wonderful friends, too. Erica, Brad and the girls drove up late last night to help us celebrate this weekend, and they were such a big help this morning helping us gather up everything, remember it all, and keep Cooper out of trouble through it all. I was worried about making sure it all "happened" but Erica was my right hand man, pitching in with everything and really helping me enjoy the morning without getting all uptight about everything. I owe her a lot. Jenny called me up, assuring me that she'd be bringing the party crowd with her. Sophia helped out keeping Cooper wrangled at the party, and Mike Carr, Ace's dad, zoomed around the room with Cooper in his stroller, wearing him down and getting him to sleep. Great help, Mike. I really appreciated it. Veronica was a big blessing, calling me up out of the blue and offering to supply the coffee for the adults. That really meant a lot. So thoughtful and willing to help out. Honestly, I didn't even think about coffee. It was such a wonderful thing to help out with. She is a wonderful friend I really hope to get to know more as we head off into spring...if the snow stops.
Anyway, it turned out to be a great party, one that I think we adults enjoyed as much as the kids. With it snowing like crazy outside, it was wonderful to have the kids playing inside, racing around the castle, painting wooden cars and fighting it out in the pit. Thomas enjoyed the rest of the day with his cousins, playing, eating candy and enjoying new toys. Again, the hit of the birthday gifts goes again to the Hutchisons, who scored with a pop up gift that folds up into a little case Tommy can haul around. This is two years in a row!
Two birthday weekends, with another round of cousins coming in on Monday for more fun times. This is a birthday that just won't stop!

Tommy's 4th Birthday

I took the day off to join the family in celebrating Tommy's 4th birthday. With a Bobcat coming to work on the beach sand, then the crane putting the sailboat back into the water, it was decided that Tommy would stay with us instead of going to preschool today. And what a day it was. Although we had to forego the birthday pancakes with the Lawrences because we're all still sick, we still managed to have fun with presents, balloons, birthday donuts, a Bobcat coming over and then a sail around to the marina to put the boat back in it's slip. I told Tommy he was a pretty lucky little boy to be able to take a sail on his birthday morning. Later that evening we met up with the Lawrences and grandma and grandpa for a meal at Red Robin. Lots of fun, but Thomas did not like all the wait staff singing and clapping to him. It was a bit too loud for him, which is silly, considering how loud he is..but...
Later that evening he opened more presents from Daddy and they enjoyed yet more Legos. Daddy says no more legos for a while. He's Lego-d out for now!

Blood, Sweat and Tears (Cooper's, Mine and Ours..in that order)

Monday morning we should have gone to preschool. If we had gone to preschool, our week wouldn't have set up the way it did by one sad, sad event. With Tommy still sick, John fighting it as well, we decided another day at home would be best. Cooper was toddling about as usual, then tripped on a blanket on the ground. He nailed his chin directly on the wood of our ottoman, and when I pulled him into my arms, his mouth was full of blood, blood spurting onto me and my clothes and all over.
I'll admit, I froze. Seconds where I just held him, stunned by his mouth, the blood, the screams. It seemed like forever before I yelled out for John, who was trying to hide from the flu in the covers of our bed.
Poor Cooper. To say he bit his tongue is a far cry from what he did to it. Mangled is a better word. Meat grinder comes to mind. Bruce said he crushed it. A rather large chunk of his baby tongue just flopping around. Sorry to be graphic, but it's just plain reality. Two days later Tommy went to give him a hug, then thrust backwards, away from Cooper. "Uh, it's hanging out, it's hanging out!" he cried, covering his mouth and starting his dry heaving (He also does this when Cooper urps, throws up or doesn't chew his food properly!). Yes, Cooper had positioned his tongue in such a way that the flap was hanging out of his lips. Five days later it still makes me get a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach when I see it. Five days later the smell of his mouth is abating. That or I'm just getting used to Cooper smelling like dog. And that's what it smelled like. The morning after it happened, I could barely stand the sight, much less the smell of his tongue. "John, you have to have your dad look at it again," I cried, horrified by the condition. "What's that smell?" John asked later that day, holding him. "Dog?" "That would be Cooper's mouth," I replied.

And on top of that, he's now sick with the cold and flu that has knocked both Tommy and John out for going into the second week. Poor Cooper has the worst wound in his mouth and the flu on top of it. He doesn't swallow, so buckets of drool flow onto everything, as well as the hose that is his nose. So gross. So gross. A while back I told myself I was prepared to have boys, felt like I had a handle on the little beasts. Tommy's burn looked bad, but it was manageable. I got over it. Cooper's tongue? I think I've lost some of the years of my life on this one.

"Baby Bill" gets a ride.

Birthday Rave!

Cooper walks!

Video (click play button below)

Last week, Tuesday, Tommy burned himself tripping and falling into the exhaust pipe of the lawn mower. Grandpa bandaged it that night, then again on Thursday, but until today he refused to take a bath. To his credit, I didn't start smelling him until today, when I insisted that it had to be changed, not to mention his more than ripe body. A lot of crying, then screaming, later and we managed to get the bandage off in the tub. This is what it now looks like 5 full days later. Even after the bath, he still continued to fuss about it. He couldn't stand to look at it, so I had to put a towel up (don't TOUCH MY OW-EY!) beside it to block his view of it while he watched tv. I don't blame him. It doesn't look too nice right now.