The end of grandma's visit

Well, life is full of bumps in the road. Thank God grandma was there for this one. Nathan was playing on the playground when he slipped, fell, and split his chin wide open. Grandma Powell came into the house as cool as a cucumber. It must have been her nursing instincts, but she found a gauze, and called to Joana so calmly to get the keys, so we can take Nathan to the ER. He had 8 stitches in his chin, but that's not the intestine part. The ER doctor decided to use nitrous oxide to anesthetize Nathan. This was the best choice because it works well with very few side effects. The nurses who were there for the procedure were all so great at working with such a small patient. At first Nathan was a bit afraid of the mask that was delivering the nitrous oxide, but as soon as he sucked in one breath of the gas, he became as calm as could be. When you looked into his eyes for those ten minutes, you could see he was comfortable and really really relaxed. We have never seen him so "chill" in his life. The procedure went well, and as soon as the doctor was done, they turned off the gas. He was clearly not happy about this and tore the mask out of the nurses hand immediately. He proceeded to force the mask back over his mouth, and he inhaled the biggest breath he could muster. When that didn't work, he tried to connect the hose to the mask and try again. The whole room howled at his ingenuity and determination. It was so funny. Anyway, here is some pictures from inside the ER.





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Location:Seattle

Grandma visits in June

In late May and early June grandma and grandpa Powell came up to Seattle to retreat from the overwhelming heat of Oklahoma. They came up and we all went to Spokane to visit Jeff and Rachel. On Saturday we helped Jeff with some yard work and then played some frisbee golf.
























Craig and grandpa with Nathan








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Location:Spokane

More fun with friends!

So, in late May, Steve rode 100 miles on his bike with Brian, we decided to do the sensible thing and stay at the Timm's home and visit. The kids seem to all get along great. It would be nice to have a big sister for Nathan. She is great at keeping him in line.



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Location:Portland

The long anticipated Spring update

So, most of you already know, but for those of you that do not, Nathan had a seizure on Easter day. It was his first (and only) seizure, but the neuro docs were concerned that this was not a singular event, but a disorder that will affect him the rest of his life. They asked us to come for a 24 hour EEG observation. The pictures below are a glimpse into our fun that day.















Trying to keep a toddler from pulling on those wires is tiring. We read lots and lots of books.

Location:Swedish MC

Another Haircut - March 4, 2011

I can't believe how fast Nathan's hair has been growing. He was due for his second haircut already. I took him back to the Kid's Club at University Village since it went so well the first time. We had a different lady cut his hair this time, but she did a great job. She put some chocolate flavored gel in his hair to give him a little fake mohawk. It was too cute. Nathan had so much fun playing at the playground at U-Village afterwards.

A Visit from the Timms

Time has flown by again. We've had some fun weekends recently. The Timms came to town the end of February, so the boys could ride in the Chilly Hilly on Bainbridge Island. They had a good ride although the weather wasn't ideal...a little too chilly, but they did great. While the boys were off riding bikes, us girls took the kids swimming at the hotel where the Timms were staying. The kids loved playing in the water! It made me want to put Nathan in swimming lessons. I think he would really enjoy it. After swimming, we met up with Laura, a friend from college, to have lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. It was a perfect place to take the kids. There are so many fun things to look at to keep them occupied, and the food was decent too. It was really great to spend time with the Timms. We enjoyed a couple great dinners with them and watched the kids play. It's fun to see how much the kids have changed recently. Unfortunately, I didn't take very many pictures over the weekend, but here is one of Isaiah opening his late birthday gift.

Video

Nathan is growing and changing so much. He is so full of energy. I wonder most days how I'm going to keep up with him. He's started saying a few more words, but usually it's not consistent. He can be a stubborn little guy. For example, I know he knows how to say "Mommy" but if you ask him who I am, he'll point to me and say "Daddy" with a funny little smile on his face. Only occasionally will he say "Mommy", and if he does, he will then smile and clap for himself. What a silly little guy. Nathan has really been into his books lately. He will go grab a book, come get me, walk me over to the rug and pull my hand to sit down. He'll then hand me the book and sit on my lap so I can read it to him. It's so precious, and even though I get sick of reading the same books over and over, I cherish these moments I have with him. A few of his favorite books right now are "Penguins", "Potty", "The Foot Book", "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb", "Peekaboo Baby!", and a few others. Since it's been pretty rainy outside lately, we have found some fun indoor activities to do. We'll go to the toddler open gym at the community center or have play dates with friends. Last Friday we went to the aquarium with a friend. We've also gone to Metropolitan Gymnastics where the kids can run around, jump on the huge trampoline, slide into the foam pit, and do all sorts of other fun things. We've definitely found ways to keep busy. We still meet with the PEPS group every Thursday which is always a lot of fun. It's been so nice to have a supportive group of moms to talk to and hang out with.

At Metropolitan Gymnastics

My little Superstar!

This is a video I took a few weeks ago. He's learning more and more every day!