Health Update

Where does the time go here? I keep telling myself that it hasn't been that long since I wrote here and then I click over and see it really has.
Well, anyway I should really update on the state of my health I addressed a few posts ago.
I went to the doctor this past Monday and she did a very thorough examination of the lymph nodes in my cervical (neck) region and found that the one that was swollen on the right is totally normal now. She also found that the lymph node on the right that was so big had shrunk around 2cm in a month. It seems that she estimated it to be 3cm a month ago and that it was now nearer to 1cm. Our next step was to go to see a surgeon to see if it needed to be removed, but she decided that we should wait another 2 weeks and revisit before we did that.
Overall, I felt better after leaving this appointment than I did the last. Also, I do feel better, mostly, as I was just not well for many weeks on end. We both agreed that with all the stuff going around right now and living with two small children, aka germ magnets, that I probably have been picking up small, but certainly noticeable and bothersome illnesses all that time.
If you are my friend on facebook then you have seen my status updates about Piper. If you are not, then here's the basic rundown on what has been going on with her. Last Thursday afternoon, Piper felt warm so I thought I would take her temperature. It was high, but literally 15 minutes later she was normal. Strange, I thought. I also thought I might have caught her at a weird time, however 1 hour later she was hot again.
Now, if you have not been around Piper, you would not know that she is very much a drama queen. She has a very big personality and is very much like her mother, so to say that she was grumpy is not that abnormal for her, especially late in the day. I went to work Thursday night thinking she was teething (the girl is 16 months old and only has 4 at this point!), however when I got home I discovered she was burning up but had no other symptoms.
Thus began the next few, miserable days where Piper ran fever consistently regardless of the medication she had on board or not. Yesterday, she did not have fever, but late in the afternoon she had a rash on her torso and upper back. I, of course, called doctor and come to find out, she had/has Roseola!
Who gets that anymore? I had it as a small child, but it never occurred to me that my kid/kids would get it. Anyway, the nurse told me that the cases in our area are up and that is seems to be yet another thing going around.
I just wanted to update all of y'all who were praying for us over the past few weeks and say thank you! I so appreciate all the love and prayers!

This past weekend, Caleb, Piper and I were looking back through some old photos that are on the computer and came across these old videos of Caleb. They are too cute and made me wonder where my little boy went, so I thought I would share.

If you have read my blog for awhile now, then you will more than likely recognize this first one. This is Caleb dancing to a song from a Veggie Tales movie. He is not quite 2 here and is just as sweet as I remember him. It's been no secret Caleb's deep and abiding love for Larry and Bob, a love that still has not waned. We are still watching, talking about, singing the songs of Bob and Larry and all the other Veggie Tale characters. At the end of this video, if you listen very carefully, you will hear him say, "Yay, Wawry" translated yay, Larry. So cute.

I just happened to discover this one and had completely forgotten about it. This one brought tears to my eyes. I had forgotten...

I guess I was video happy this day as this one is the very same day, just after the dancing video. Here Caleb is counting to 20, a skill that he perfected long before this video was taken. I still have no idea how he learned this, as I did not teach him this, but he could totally do it and still look SO cute at the same time.

The Goings On Round Here.

I figured that I should post something a little bit more positive that that last one. Most of y'all probably could care less, but it makes me a bit crazy to leave that there knowing that's the first thing that someone would read coming here.
So, with all that said, here's what's been going on in our lives in bulleted form (since I'm supposed to be typing notes for work tomorrow):

• Piper has really been growing! She's walking really well and is talking up a blue streak. This past weekend, she said her first sentence. She had grabbed Caleb's cup off his table (it has no lid as he is a BIG boy now and doesn't think he EVER needs one) and walked across the room with it. Of course, it sloshed all over her and got her shirt and upper body wet. She looked at me, clear as day and said, "I'm wet" and pointed to her shirt. Later on in the day she told me she was poopy. She can also say her name now, although she can't say her r's yet, so it's just about as cute as it gets!
• Jes was gone this past weekend on his very first weekend long motorcycle ride with what I like to call his motorcycle gang. It is really just a bunch of guys, much like himself, who enjoy riding sport bikes and don't do anything stupid like wheelies or stuff like that. They get all decked out in their safety gear and off they go. This weekend they took off to western Arkansas and were able to see some pretty nice scenery as the leaves are changing and have just a great time!
• Yesterday was my birthday. I turned another year older. Enough already.
• Caleb has really changed a lot in the last few months. It seems that when I look back at all the difficulties he has overcome, it just seems impossible that we are at this point in our lives. He is communicating well these days and seems to have gone over the hump with regards to his behavior. Now, don't get me wrong, he is still 4 and stilld doesn't like to share and still breaks down when his tired, hungry, etc, but he's getting better at moderating his emotions. We were in the pediatrician's office with Piper for a well check up and he was getting VERY frustrated that he couldn't complete a picture on the magna doodle as he wanted. The doctor took notice of this and stopped to watch to see how he would react (we have talked extensively about Caleb and he knows him well). Caleb looked at me, on the edge of losing it and I told him to just stop, and try again. He said this exact thing, "Oh, yeah. I forgot. I'll try again." and went back to trying and succeeded. The pediatrician took note.
• Caleb has been playing soccer. That's another post for another day. Suffice it to say, we won't be doing this again.

We are just living life and making big decisions that I'll post about as we go!

The Post In Which I Freak the Heck Out

So, I guess it's been over a month since I've posted here, huh?!?
There have been some big things going on round these parts, most of which consume my every moment, leaving me without much to say, or the energy in which to say it, at the end of the day.
I'm sure that most of my regular readers are gone, but for those of you that are still with me, this post is all about me.
I need some prayers.
There. I said it.
I'm not normally one to ask for this, but I'm totally freaked about this.
About a month ago, I discovered a very swollen lymph node in my neck. I had just been sick and was just then getting over whatever the weird cold/allergy fusion type thing that seemed to be going around. I did not have a regular doctor, as it seems the only doctor that I had seen on a regular basis in the past 2 years was my ob/gyn. I suppose that's the case when you are trying to conceive, have become pregnant, and have recently delivered.
Anyway, I got an appointment in the office of Jes's doctor and had her check it out. She noticed it right off and found that there was another one swollen on the other side too, but not as bad. Then she said something to me that has haunted me since. She said, "Let's see you again in a month and if it hasn't gone down then we'll send you to a specialist. You'll probably have to have a biopsy."
Sweet heavens.
Guess what, I go back in 2 weeks and it still hasn't gone down.
Commence the hyperventilating.
I have since had a couple of near and honest to goodness panic attacks over this. My biggest issue is that I know more than the average person and my mind just goes there. I've been through every possible scenario on this and I've just about convinced myself that something is terribly wrong.
So, please pray that this thing just goes away. That's it. I don't want prayers for comfort, I just want it gone. Call me selfish, but there it is.

The Post Where Caleb Makes Me Feel Like The Prettiest Mama On The Block

Setting: We were at the doctor

Caleb: Mama, I HAVE to draw a picture.

Me: Ok, dear, grab the Magna Doodle and go to town.

Caleb: I'm going to draw you.

Me: Hm, ok honey.

Caleb: draw draw draw. draw draw draw.
Mama, Look!

Me: Oh, honey that's great! (really it was!)

Caleb: Mama, it's you! It's the most beautiful ballerina in the WHOLE world!

Me: aww...

14 going on 15

I have been putting off writing this post because I, honestly, used to dread those monthly posts and because I just haven't really had time or interest in writing. I've sort of run out of things to say, but now that things are kind of settling down and we're getting into the fall activities you'll probably be hearing a lot from us.

So, Piper. She's grown alot in the past two months and is doing maturing a little too fast for our tastes.

First off is the explosion in her vocabulary. The short list of what she can now say (and more importantly, what we can actually understand) is as follows: mama, daddy, mommaw, poppaw, nana, cow, cat, puppy, baby, uh huh (like no), night night, bye bye, hi, banana, juice, please, bubba (brother), Elmo, phone, bow, whoa, duck. The list goes on and on. Seriously, sometimes she just says something and I look at her and wonder how in the world she learned that or when.

Piper is coloring, which is totally new territory to us. Caleb never did, and really still doesn't, have an interest in drawing or coloring, but put a crayon in Piper's hand and away she goes. I'm guessing that this is a girl thing, but she thinks it is so fun, if you can keep the crayon out of her mouth!

The biggest development of the past few months is that Piper is walking now. When I say walking, I mean toddling, but you know what I mean. She took her first steps a couple of weeks ago and we can hardly keep up with her. She still prefers crawling, but will stand up in the middle of a room without holding on to anything. With the advent of crawling she also developed the ever dreaded skill of climbing. The girl can climb anything! It's somewhat scary when I turn around and see her beautiful smiling face atop something that I thought for sure she couldn't get on.

One of Piper's most favorite activities is to take a container of some sort and try to determine if things can git into it. Just today, she was crawling around with an empty water bottle trying to shove various things into it. She also loves to put things into the bathtub, the diaperbag, my purse, etc. It's always a surprise to see what I'm toting around that day!

Piper still does have some residual issues from the trip home from Oregon. We spent 41 hours total in the car on that trip home (split between 2 VERY long days) and she still gets a little miffed about being in her carseat for more than a hour or so.

Our little girl is such a source of joy and fun for us and it just seems like yesterday that she was born. We are so thankful to have her in our lives!

Photo Shoot

If you are not a follower of mine on Facebook (which I know most of you are) then would not have seen these photos from a photo shoot we had done of the kiddos in July before we left for vacation. These are Caleb's 4 year old and Piper's 1 year old pictures. I can scarcely believe that I have a 4 AND 1 year old. We are truely blessed to have 2 happy, healthy and (mostly) well behaved children.