Overwhelmed

There was an incident Monday (March 17) that has me overwhelmed with gratitude. It was one of the worst 30 seconds I've experienced, but maybe there were some things I needed to learn. And believe me, lesson learned. It's hard for me to think about without getting emotional, but it's something I wanted written down.

Cindy and her kids decided to come up for the day and visit. It's been so fun living somewhat closer to where we can have play dates every once in a while. There was a 'Mommy and Kid' swimming thing at the aquatic center and we wanted to go. The pool was only open to kids ages 8 and under and their parents.

Will and Blake were in heaven. Will was running around the indoor playground, going down the slide, swimming, and just having a great time. Blake was enjoying it just as much. She did not want to be held, but the water was a little too deep to just let her loose. She loved just to float on her back. That girl needs some swimming lessons, cause I think she would do great.

While we were there, we ran into my friend Raegan and her little girl Penny (who is about a year older than Will). At one point we all went over to the Lazy River to float around. In the middle of the lazy river is a little circle sitting area. The water is about 3-4 feet deep, but there is a bench going around the circle to sit on. I was just sitting there holding Blake, while Will would walk back and forth across the bench.

While Cindy was taking her kids to the restroom, Raegan and I started talking. We were sitting there talking, when we noticed Penny was floating toward the middle of the circle, acting a little weird. Raegan asked her what was wrong, and that's when we noticed Will floating face down in the water. My heart stopped. He didn't seem to be moving, and I had no idea how long he had been under.

I got to him within a few seconds. The instant his face got out of the water, he threw up. The first time, he threw up what seemed like half of the pool. After that, he lost a little bit of his breakfast. Once he was done throwing up, he was ok, but seemed to be in shock. He was breathing, but had no color. Slowly, his color started coming back and he started talking to me about how he "fell into the water". As I sat there with him, my whole body was shaking and I was just trying to maintain my composure. It all happened so fast, there wasn't much time to think about what was happening. But after we were sitting there for a minute, the full reality of the situation started to sink in. Even that night, I had a really hard time sleeping because I couldn't stop thinking about it and what MIGHT have happened.

I am so incredible grateful that things didn't turn out any worse. I am grateful that he immediately threw up, and that I wasn't forced to do CPR on my 2 year old. I am so grateful that Penny noticed something was wrong and that she was trying to help. I am grateful that I had support nearby, willing to help out as needed.

I think all parents are aware how quickly disaster can happen. You keep watch over your kids 99% of the time, but that instant that you look away, something happens. The hardest thing is knowing that I could have prevented it. I got distracted by a rare moment of adult conversation and wasn't paying attention like I should have been. It's really hard not to feel guilty and like a terrible mom. If things would have turned out worse, I'm not sure how I could have ever faced Lance. It was hard enough telling Lance what I had allowed to happen.

I learned a lot of things in those few minutes. I wont let this scare us away from water, but we will definitely take more precautions when we are around it. I am excited to get both kids life-jackets and think it's about time I put them in swimming lessons. I've been wanting to do it since Will was a baby, so I think it's about time.

Will can drive me crazy, but he's my little buddy and I love him to death. He is so smart and the things he says just amazes me daily. I am so lucky to be his mom and to be a part of his life. I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father for all the blessings he has given me and want to live my best to deserve them.

One Year Photos

I took Blake to JCPenney's to get some pictures taken for her first birthday. I didn't pay for the CD with all of the images, but here are a few that I did get. 

 I didn't plan on changing her outfit, but the photographer suggested it and I was willing to give it a go. 

Isn't she beautiful?!

One Year Old

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Weight: 21.2 lbs
Height: 29 1/8 inches

Our sweet baby girl is quickly leaving the baby phase and well onto her way towards becoming a toddler. When did that happen? The last year has gone both super fast and super slow. I remember so clearly those last few weeks of pregnancy and just praying that she would make her appearance soon. And yet it feels like I hardly remember what it is like to only have one child.

Blake's personality grows each day. She can be super sweet one moment and crazy feisty the next.

A couple of weeks ago, she started taking a few steps. It seemed like she was finally going to start walking. Then she got sick. And since then, she has no interest in walking and doesn't want to even try. I suppose it'll happen when she's ready.

When ever Blake would take a step or two, I would get excited and clap and make a big deal. Will soon started doing this also and got so excited when she would take steps. You can hear him at the end of the video.

**Since I started this post, Blake has really taken off on the whole walking thing (like I knew she would). She walks every where and gets better day by day.

Since she has been sick, she has been super clingy. She wants to be held almost every moment that she is awake. She has become super cuddly and wants to constantly put her head on my shoulder. While I love the cuddles, it is difficult when she throws tantrums every time I put her down, cause I simply can't and am not willing to hold her all day long.

Blake does pretty well with other people holding her and isn't super shy around new people.

She always enjoys bath time, though sometimes she doesn't stay in very long because Will is constantly splashing her and pouring water over her head.

Blake likes playing with cars, trains, and airplanes. When she plays with cars, she will drive them on the ground and make little engine noises. When she plays with airplanes, she will fly them through the air and also make noises.

When you say "Where's Blake?" she will cover her eyes then quickly move her hands away. She also likes to cover mommy's eyes and play peek-a-boo that way also.

She loves playing pat-a-cake, reading books, singing songs, and playing the piano.

Some of her favorite foods are noodles, pancakes, vegetables, chicken nuggets, french fries, lunch meat.

Blake is usually such a happy little girl, but she has definitely learned how to throw a tantrum. She will throw herself on the ground and kick her legs. As she kicks, she sometimes scoots herself backwards across the floor. When she runs into furniture, she kicks harder and screams louder. When I look at her, she screams louder. When I hold out my arms and tell her to come here, she screams louder. Here is a small sample:

She loves to eat and is constantly shoving things into her mouth.

As she gets older, she and Will are starting to get along better, and also fight more. Guess that's pretty typical for siblings though.

He was just going along giving her a friendly push...

Til he decided to go faster..3 seconds later she fell off.

Blake has two teeth on the bottom, one tooth on the top and several more that are coming in.

She dislikes anything on her feet. She kicks shoes off instantly and usually pulls socks off pretty quickly as well. One time  she was even trying to pull her tights off.

Blake loves going through the cupboards and pulling out whatever she can find. Her favorite drawer is the one with all of the ziplock baggies. I really need to find another place to put those.

This has happened several times.

She also insists on pulling every piece of clothing she has out of her drawers.

She is quickly becoming a climber and loves to climb onto everything.

Blake doesn't like wearing headbands, shoes, bracelets, or any accessories really. She quickly pulls them off. She has broken several bracelets by stretching them too far.

Her hair is growing longer and longer and we are having fun experimenting and trying new things.

She goes through phases where she will give everyone kisses if asked. Currently, she seems to be taking a break from that phase and has stopped giving kisses.

Really mom, more pictures?

Lately when I leave the room and Blake didn't see where I went, she heads toward the back door. She will sit there and scream. It's weird to me because I rarely use that door. Or I'll just be sitting in our front room on the couch, but she doesn't see me there so she'll book it to the back door and scream.

It will probably be pretty easy to wean her off of her bottle completely since she doesn't seem to like it very much anymore. She definitely prefers real food and will only take occasional sips from the bottle.

Blake loves being outside. Whenever a door opens, she hurries and tries to escape outdoors. She loves going to the park, jumping on the trampoline, going to slides, swinging, or just crawling outside.

When she goes down slides, she tends to go down head first.

Honestly, Blake is a beautiful and sweet little girl. She is such a good little baby; I'm not sure what we did to be so blessed. 

Happy Birthday, Blake!

We love you!

**Missed her wellness check-up so I don't have her weight and height.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know this is about a month late, but still wanted to share this picture.

Hope everyone had a good Valentine's day this year.