PJ's Hospital Visits

The week of February 25th, we had a bit of a scare of the unknown with PJ. He came back from a trip to Nana and Grandpa’s house not feeling well and running a fever. The next morning, he still had the fever and also complained of his neck and the back of his head hurting. Jennifer contacted the Doctor’s office and explained the symtoms…they asked her if he could turn his head and look up to the sky. When she asked PJ if he could do it, he tried and could not do it and it obviously hurt him to try. They told us that we should go ahead and take him to Children’s Hospital and have him checked for Spinal Meningitis. At this point, both of us were a little freaked out because we didn’t know much about Meningitis, but we knew it wasn’t a good thing and could be deadly if not treated in time. When the Dr checked him out, he said it didn’t look like meningitis, however during the checkup, they did find that he had strep throat…which was a surprising relief compared to meningitis. They gave him a shot of antibiotics and sent him on his way.
After a couple of days of antibiotics, he was still not getting much better at all. Jennifer took him to the Doctor for another check up and they discovered that he may have an abscess in his throat….for anyone that doesn’t know, this is a pocket of fluid that gets infected and starts to swell. The danger is that it could cut off the air passageway. We took him again to Children’s and they confirmed that was in fact what he had. To treat this, they had to give him another separate round of IV antibiotics and steroids in hopes of healing it without having to do surgery. Luckily, the abscess was in a favorable location for antibiotics and was caught before it got too big. That evening, Pop (Jennifer’s Father) and I gave him a Priesthood blessing that he would recover and be well taken care of should he need the surgery. As soon as the blessing was finished PJ looked at us and said, "The blessing didn't make me feel better." We told him it might take a little while to feel the effects :). Thankfully, the antibiotics took effect and he only had to stay 2 nights at the hospital while they monitored everything. With having strep throat and an infected abscess in his throat, it’s pretty safe to say PJ had a rough week. He was a really tuff guy though…he was definitely not himself, but didn’t complain very much and really appreciated all the visitors and gifts he received at the hospital. He specifically asked that Zoe (his "beautiful" best friend) come visit him, and it really lifted his spirits when anyone came to visit. The nurses really seemed to enjoy him as well….they kept wanting to call him Raymond, but he would always correct them and say that he was PJ….and only his brothers and family could call him Peej. In the photo, you will also see him wearing a headband, Nana gave him this to help his head feel better and he was convinced that it worked because he hardly took it off the whole time he was sick…what a cute fellow!

Our First Broken Arm

Well, it has begun...the first broken bone in our family goes to PJ. Jenn and I always thought Brody would be the most prone to accomplishing this feat. On Wednesday, July 8th, PJ fell out of his crib and broke his arm. Although I knew it was hurt, he calmed down fairly quickly and I checked his arm for any swelling and even checked his grip. He seemed to be fine so he went back to bed and that was it. The next day we kept an eye on him and he acted normal, favored his arm a little bit but not enough to cause concern. On Friday, a day and a half later, he took a spill while running around the house with the boys and he began favoring his arm heavily...at this point we thought it to be better safe than sorry and take him to the Dr. The Doctor checked him out, very much the same way we did, checking his grip and feeling of his arm. He seamed to be fine but the Dr did a thorough job and took an xray...sure enough, he had broken it in 2 places. They were amazed that he hadn't been pitching a fit and crying in pain for the last 2 days...I guess the little guy has a pretty high threshold to pain. Mommy and the boys took him over to Children's Hospital where they put his arm in a splint to hold him over to Monday for his arm to be fitted with a cast. The Orthopedic Doctor who saw him said there wouldn't be a need to set the break as it was positioned well to heal on its own. PJ tells us from time to time "Me no want that" referring to his cast, however he's been a pretty tuff guy about the whole thing. On another note, he did want the hospital bracelet on for several days after...he did not want to take that thing off.

Now...the funny thing is, Jennifer and I literally had a discussion about 2 weeks prior to the accident about transferring PJ's bed to a toddler bed but decided to wait a little longer because he wasn't trying to get out of it at that point. Needless to say, it's now changed to a toddler bed and he is very proud ;o)

Happy Cake

June 5, 2009 my baby, PJ, turned 2 years old! We started the celebration on Friday night at The Farmer's Daughter for dinner. All the servers sang "Happy Birthday" to him and he loved it. Every time he had a bite of his ice cream with hot fudge he would sing "Happy...to Me!" Then on Saturday night we had the grandparents over for dinner and Pierce's favorite cake (PJ's too little to care anyway right!). Again, he loved the birthday song and was really excited about his new red monster truck, Diego Saves the Dinosaur truck, and Batman pajamas. This time when he saw his cake he said excitedly, "HAPPY CAKE!" We also celebrated Pete's birthday on Tuesday, and "Happy Cake" was big excitement again. It was very cute!

I am starting to miss the baby PJ, but the little boy PJ is so much fun that it's worth it. I have started calling him my sweet boy instead of my sweet baby, and every once in a while he'll say, "Me, Her baby." I confirm he is still my baby, and then we both feel better!

!I Love you, my PJ

Halloween 2008

This year we started Halloween two weeks early. Draven & Brody first wore their costumes on Oct. 19th to the Halloween Train Ride on the R&R Railroad. My Aunt Carol took them and her husband's grandson's family. John-the grandson-has three kids; two boys, ages 7 & 5 that the boys really enjoyed playing with.

Then on Oct. 23rd we joined Aunt Carol and John's family at Boo at the Zoo. The Zoo set up a short trail with stops along the way for candy. The highlight though, was the ride on a camel! Draven wasn't going to do it until he saw his younger brother getting ready to climb on; then he thought it might be fun.

Finally, we all planned to attend a Halloween party and Trick or Treat at Travis' house. Travis is Pierce's friend from the gym. The boys were dressed up as Boba Fett (Draven), Mr. Incredible (Brody), and a "Little Devil" (PJ). I finally got with the program this year and dressed up as a witch-wart, fake eyelashes, and all. On the way though, PJ started throwing up :{ So, we turned around and Pierce dropped PJ and me off at home and took the other boys to the party. I was feeling a little sorry for myself, so I ordered Papa John's pizza (Pierce doesn't like that brand), and I ate more than my share of Halloween candy. Later that night I got sick. The big boys really enjoyed their party though. Pierce said the neighborhood was crawling with kids and everyone decorated for the event. Next year we are thinking to find a theme that the whole family can dress up in-Star Wars or something!

He Did It!

Our sweet little boy, PJ, finally figured out that he could walk. Two weeks ago, on August 21st, he took his first steps. He woke up from his nap and just started walking. He would climb up in his rocking chair, sit down, slide off, and then take a few steps. Before the night was over he was up to 8 or 9 steps in a row! Now he can get to a standing position without holding on to anything, and just goes around the house walking. Not to anything, just walking!

This video is very dark, but it's the only one we have and it was so cute we put it on anyway...

Happy 1st Birthday, PJ!

On Thursday, June 5th, PJ celebrated his first birthday. We went to Chuck E. Cheese's for Draven's soccer party that night, so technically PJ can say his awesome parents took him to Chuck E Cheese's for his first birthday! Then on Saturday we celebrated at home with our family. Grammie, Pop, Nana, Grandpa, Aunt Carol, & Uncle Bill joined us for dinner and cake. We had Asian Chicken Salad Wraps (one of our favorites and super easy) and two delicious cakes from Aunt Carol. She used to bake for several restaurants around Knoxville, and is a magnificent cook! Aunt Carol made PJ his own cake, just like she has for each of the other boys, and a Coffee Gonoche (spell?) for everyone else. PJ ate more cake than the other boys have, but he didn't dive into like we were hoping. None of the boys have, and we keep waiting for it! Like my mom says, "they're just too polite-" I guess. Then on Monday, Pop took us to Famous Dave's for PJ's birthday dinner-did you know Famous Dave's gives you a free meal for your birthday?! It was fun and our server was really cool. He brought out a big bowl of ice cream with hot fudge and Nesquik on top-YUM!

So, I'll take this opportunity to tell PJ how much I love him. He is such a fun boy and a wonderful addition to our little family. He loves to watch his brothers, and I even caught him learning something new from Brody today. Brody was showing PJ how to climb up a mat and then slide off the end at the gym today. They'd do it and then both laugh-I loved it. He's a constant thumb sucker which may be an issue in a year or two, but right now just makes him more adorable. He still lets me love him, and I'm trying to treasure each hug and snuggle because they leave so quickly. PJ, you are amazing and beautiful. I love you.