Stitch...

Here she is...7 stitches right in the middle of her forehead. So sad...

What happened, you ask? Well...let me fill you in. She ran downstairs and then ran around her bed, tripped over her own feel (I assume) and smacked her head right into a wooden knob on her wardrobe. I heard a blood-curdling scream from downstairs and have never moved so fast in all my life! There I found her...my poor baby sitting on the floor with blood pouring down her face! I scooped her up, brought her upstairs, and got a cold rag to stop the bleeding.

In true Jessica fashion, it was 11:30 and I was still in my pajamas. I passed her off to my mom (who, thank the LORD was at my house) and ran to put some clothes on so I could take her to the ER. Something prompted me to call her pediatrician and when I told them what happened they said, "Oh, bring her right in!". We put a bandaid on her wound, which had stopped bleeding by then, and I left my mom home with Owen...who had coincidentally unbuckled himself from his high chair and was STANDING UP yelling at me. Whew...thankfully we avoided another catastrophic moment there!!

When we got to the office they quickly whisked us back into a treatment room, looked at her wound, and turned on Toy Story 2! Clearly kids should always be treated by people who understand kids... :) She watched her movie (which was the highlight of her whole day) and then the nurse came in to put medicine on her head. All she had to do was soak a cotton ball with this numbing medicine and we held it on her head for 20 minutes! NO SHOTS! :)

By the time the doc was ready to begin the stitching process Todd got there. Hailey didn't like the process at all, but she was more annoyed that the doctor's work light made it hard to watch her movie than anything else.

Once it was over, she was good as new...back to her old shennanigans! If it weren't for the princess, Hello Kitty, or Strawberry Shortcake bandaids that are being rotated on her head 3 times a day, you'd never know anything was wrong!

Now, as a mom, this was one of my most traumatic moments to date! My perfect baby girl has been scarred for life and all I kept thinking yesterday was what I could have done to prevent this from ever happening. Should I re-arrange her furniture so she won't knock into things?? Should I stop letting my 3-year old leave the room unsupervised?? Should I wrap her in bubble wrap?? Maybe I should stay home from Young Life camp next week just in case she needs me??

Nope. I must trust the Lord with her.

Obviously I have to do what's wise in watching my kids, but no matter what I do, there will be unforeseen injuries and things that are unavoidable. And that doesn't make me a bad mom! (Or at least I'm telling myself that!)

My poor baby!! Good thing you're so tough.

P.S. She's been nicknamed "Stitch" by her Papa...for obvious reasons. :)

Baby take a "Bowt"...

Here are the girls with Ms. Paula, their dance teacher. She's wonderful. Little "BFFs"

Although it was a little long, Hailey and I had so much fun spending the day together. :)

Her beautiful flowers are currently in a vase on her dresser. She insisted that they be in her room. We did talk about the fact that they could not end up in her bed with her. :)

We're so proud of our little ballerina!

A good laugh...

I'm in a phase of life where I feel like I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself to have a perfect looking home. I find myself on home decor and DIY blogs all day long.

This chick is funny...and so puts things in perspective. :)

Happy Fathers Day

Todd,

You might be asking yourself why I chose to post this picture. Well, let me tell you...

This was taken moments after Owen was born. You were so overwhelmed and proud all at the same time. When Hailey was born you were over the moon and excited, but had no idea what you were in for. When he came, you knew just how much your heart would swell with love and how life-changing this moment was...hence, the emotion.

You are an amazing dad. Sometimes, I don't think you realize it. Our kids are madly in love with you. They both light up when they hear your truck coming down the driveway. Hailey talks about you all the time. You are such a kid at heart. I'm never surprised when you come home with some sort of toy that the "kids need". ;)

Thank you for loving our kids so well. That its so important to you to plan for their future and to dream big for them. The determination and excitement that goes into encouraging Owen to take steps and the importance you see in Hailey learning how to talk like a big girl and not be afraid of things.

You are a great dad, Todd.

We love you.

~Hailey, Owen and their Mommy

Family Camp Pics

Family Camp

So, after making my list and checking it twice, we got ourselves on the road for Washington Family Ranch with all of what we needed...including the camera! Went to take a few pics on the way down and discovered that the memory card was stuck in the computer...at home. :(

Thankfully, Christy (who is a much better photog than I've ever been anyways) brought her camera and took tons of cute pictures. I'll be excited to see them soon! :)

We had the BEST time at camp. My only wish is that it was longer so you weren't in the car for 13 hours in a 3-day period.

The highlights, you ask? Well, I'll tell ya...

*AUNTIE SHEESHE!!!
*The pool! Both kids LOVED it.
*Sid and Gus...the program guys. Hailey realized on "dress up like a superhero" night that she had the same shoes as Sid (converse) and a cape just like him (a tie-died bandana around her neck).
*SHEESHE
*Just being at The Canyon. It's beautiful.
*Hailey jumped off the diving board! 4 times! :)
*Owen's new pool floaty. He loved it. I have a feeling this summer will be awfully fun in the pool!
*SHEESHE
*Lots of family time.
*No cooking for 3 whole days!! Thanks Sheesh! :)
*The carnival! More specifically the cotton candy and popcorn. My kids were in heaven.
*SHEESHE...are you noting a theme here?? ;)

We absolutely loved our time there...we hope to make it a family tradition.

e-l-e-p-h-a-n-t

The other morning while I was doing bible study with my friend Sam, Hailey took it upon herself to get out the paints in the office (I mean, climb up into the closet, dig through a closed box of art supplies, and grab the paints and the brushes) and make us pictures.

Ummm...no.

She patiently waited for them to dry and then wanted to write some stuff on Sam's painting...you know, for personalization purposes. She wrote Sam's name, her name, her new chosen name "Anna", and then she looks at me and goes, "Mommy...I want to write a long word across the page from here to here".

"What word do you want to write, Hails?" I asked.

"I want to write elephant. How do you write elephant?"

"E-L-E-P-H-A-N-T"

I look at her paper and sure enough she's written the word elephant on her paper. By herself.

I take no responsibility for her smartness. She came that way. :)