We Have a Winner!!!!

That's right, Charlie won the first official competition of his life.... The Ugly Bug Contest!!! 

It's bug week at school and each child was assigned with bringing in the "ugliest" bug he could find, then all the kids (or maybe teachers...I"m not really sure...) voted, and my Charlie won!

Yes, I'm inordinately proud -- especially since I'm the one who found the crazy bug climbing the screened porch.  Charlie is actually kind of ambivalent about the whole thing, but a huge fan of his prize --- CANDY!  As the winner he receieved a huge bag of sour gummy worms (yum!) and his very own bug box.

We celebrated the big win by calling Daddy and Grandma to brag then taking our candy and bug box over to Miss Donna's to show them off.

Of course, Charlie's biggest concern with the bug box is whether or not the bug can bit him through the plastic -- we're not sure how/why, but this is a recent obsession.  The risk is low now, though -- Daddy "freed" our winning specimen last night, fairly convinced that it was actually a stink-bug and would make us all miserable should it meet it's end in our house.

Today the Ugly Bug Contest, tomorrow anything's possible!

We actually submitted 2 bugs...

we didn't find the winner until we were heading out the door

Tah-Dah -- The Ugliest Bug in the Two Year Old Room!

Wearing our Winner to Miss Donna's

Need More Daddy!

Poor Jason... I'm not really sure what happened this weekend, but it was very bad and required him to be on a conference call from 10 AM Saturday until 2 AM Sunday, then again from 8:30 AM Sunday until 8:30 PM Sunday.  Thankfully, they did resolve the issue by the end of the call, but it was rough going -- just imagine five straight meals behind the desk in the study with breaks only to go to the bathroom and take Charlie up to bed.

Now imagine being Charlie!  He was an absolute trouper, but it was understandably harder for him to have Daddy at home but off-limits than it is when Daddy is away.  He just didn't understand why he couldn't play the piano, sit on Daddy's lap, play with all of the scissors and staplers, etc, in the desk drawer.  After all, if Daddy was in the study, why on earth would Charlie want to be anywhere else?

That said, Charlie did exceptionally well over the weekend, but we may have some side-effects to our Daddy withdrawal  Obviously, I do my best, but you really shouldn't underestimate the importance of a Father's influence...

Hmmmm...  Tie-dye as a fashion choice?

Of course, there's always Semi-Nude Golfing

"I need put my hair up to change baby diaper"

Little Chat

8:35 PM; Charlie's Room
Charlie is crying after being put to bed, a relatively rare occurence these days.  Daddy has just left to look at a neighbor's car that is acting up, so Mommy goes upstairs to see if she can help Charlie relax and settle down for sleep...

Mommy:  Hey Buddy, what's wrong?
Charlie:  [Hiccup]  Don't want door cracked! [Hiccup, Hiccup]
Mommy:  What? Do you want the door open more?
Charlie: [Hiccup] I don't knooooowwww! [Hiccup, Hiccup, Sob]
Mommy:  Come here, let's sit in your chair and calm down.
Charlie: I need my airplane blankie and my green blankie!
Mommy: I know, I have them.
Charlie: Don't hold me.
Mommy: Ok. You just sit here next to me.
Charlie: Where's Daddy?
Mommy: Daddy is at Mr. John's helping him with his car.
Charlie: Where's Daddy?
Mommy: He's just across the street at Mr. John's house.  Daddy's helping Mr. John look at his car, because Daddy likes to help people.
Charlie: He help Mr. John?
Mommy: Yes.  Daddy is helping Mr. John because helping people is good.  God likes us to help people.  God likes it when you help Mommy and Daddy. 
Charlie: He does?
Mommy: Yes, and you help us and other people all the time.  Do you know how?
Charlie: Blank Look
Mommy: You help us by making us smile.  That is a big help.  In fact, you're helping Mommy right now.
Charlie: I am?
Mommy: Yes, you are.  When you grow up and you're a Daddy, you'll help just like him.
Charlie: No.  I be a Mommy.
Mommy: No, sweetie.  You'll be a Daddy, and I bet you'll be just like your Daddy.
Charlie: No!  I be a Mommy and I have pink toes!
Mommy: Long Pause How about you be a Daddy with pink toes?
Charlie: Even Longer Pause Ok.
Mommy: Ready to go to bed?
Charlie: Yes, but don't leave door cracked!
Mommy: How about we leave it half open?
Charlie: Ok.
Mommy:  Night-night, Buddy.  See you in a couple hours.
Charlie: See you in couple hours...

Mommy creeps downstairs to laugh uproariously and wait for Daddy to come home and learn of Charlie's plans for the future!

Goin' to Kansas City...

Amazingly, even I realize that it will be impossible to sum up 9 days in Kansas City in a single blog, so I won't even try.  Instead, here are some of the best and/or most memorable moments, along with tons of pictures!

• Sitting at the airport Friday afternoon and realizing we wouldn't have to take a dog out, chase a dog down, clean up after a dog or submit to vigorous licking for almost 10 days!
• Witnessing Charlie sitting in his very own seat on the airplane, smoothing his blankie over his legs, saying "I on airplane!"
• Giggling as the tower of whipcream PaPa created collapsed on Charlie's Saturday morning "awfuls"
• Realizing that Charlie needed no ramp-up time at all, but could hit the ground running in the midst of the Kansas City clan and not miss a step
• Laughing as Charlie hung on for dear life, thrilled to be racing around the luau on the Gator with Will
• Relaxing on the porch at the Allens' enjoying a shrimp boil with some of our oldest and dearest friends while all of our kids played together in the yard
• Enjoying Charlie's thrill as he got to sit on Uncle Jim's scooter and then watch Jim "race" away
• Shouting to Willi, Rebecka, Sam & Georgie as Charlie, Brynn, Halley and Cooper ran laps through the Nelsons' house screaming and dragging the loudest choo-choo train toy I've ever heard in my life
• Encouraging Charlie to check out the locust Kevin found "swimming" in Table Rock lake while preventing him from removing its legs -- then sharing in his awe as it still managed to fly away into the trees
• Listening to Charlie and Landon "chat" in the car on the way back from the boat
• Taking two naps on two consecutive days with my oh-so-grown-up two year old in the stearn bedroom of the boat (my personal favorite memory of the entire trip!)
• Supervising as Charlie and Tom rough-housed with the ball, loving the boyishness of their play, while silently praying that neither got hurt
• Watching as Charlie tried to recite his Months of the Year to Great Aunt Jan and Great Uncle Sam, but kept succumbing to stage fright in May
• Hearing an exhausted little voice pipe up from the backseat of the truck on the way home from the aiport as soon as Jason hung up the phone, "I talk to BaBa, Daddy?"
• Being told first thing this morning that without a doubt, "Louie bigger" than when we left 9 days ago

Of course, as with anything, the trip wasn't all sunshine and roses.  The three of us passed around a nasty bug, and yet again Jason and I were reminded that Charlie is much more resilient than we could even pretend to be.  He was down for about a half day on Saturday, while Jason and I were each practically comatose for 36 hours or more....we definitely know who the tough one is in this family!

Ready to take off!

My very own seat!

Peek-a-boo!

Fire Captain, Charlie!

Tractor Time

Family Fun at the Luau!

Cruising Winnebago with the Daniels and Allens

Biker Boys

Let's go, already!

Snow Cones with BaBa

First Bass Boat Ride

Yardwork with Tom

Flirting with Abby

Hard Working Men

Running Errands

Fun with Great Aunt Jan & Great Uncle Sam

Blow Bubble, Mommy!

And so it begins...

It all started with a stick obsession.  About two weeks ago, Charlie added sticks to his required hunting/gathering routine on the way out of school each day.  First it was pine straw, then "flowers" (aka weeds), now sticks...all to go with the woodchips he gathers in his shoes, diaper, neck creases, etc.

At first the sticks were multi-purpose -- accompanied with a "psh, psh, psh" sound, he was putting sunscreen on me; struck together, he was a musician, etc...  Then out of the blue one day he held them up and asked "I go fish in pond?"  When I say "out of the blue," it's not as if he doesn't see the pond and people fishing in it daily, or as if our garage isn't stocked full of fishing poles and gear, but he's just never shown much of an interest, until now.

Of course, my immediate response was, "Ask your Daddy when he gets home."  Due to a runny nose/sore throat epidemic which resulted in a VERY grumpy little boy, a fabulous weekend with Lakely & family and other activities, Charlie didn't ask again until Sunday when Mommy was upstairs in bed, convinced that she was dying of her sore throat and congestion.  (I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am nowhere near as resilient as Charlie!)

The boys spent about 30 minutes by the pond, which is approximately 12 hours in 2 year old time.  Jason was thrilled with Charlie's ability to sit and watch the bobber (aka "ball"), keep his balance by the shore, and most importantly, thoroughly enjoy the experience despite the lack of action.  Overall, it was a perfect experience.

Later that evening, Jason told me that he had promised himself to wait until Charlie asked to fish, rather than encourage or coerce him into the hobby.   As much as he dearly hopes to have his first mate living down the hall, the last thing he wants is to force it, but from the look on his face, it was a long two year wait.  I am so proud of him and thrilled for them both. 

Quick warning to friends and family: within a few years I am going to be free just about every Saturday and looking for people to entertain me, while my boys are off fishing the gulf stream...

 Practicing for "the big one"

Working on his form

Proud Papa

Lakely, Lakely, Lakely

Really, the title says it all.  Charlie had so much fun with Lakely this past weekend...despite being a grumpy, disobedient mess part of the time.  All he could talk about before she and her Mommy arrived was Lakely, and all he's done since they left is ask "Where Mrs. Lea?  Where Mr. Tony?" and remind us that "Lakely borrow my book!"

It is so exciting to see him start playing "with" other kids, not just alongside them -- and even better to watch his and Lakely's friendship grow -- she was after all, a charter member of Charlie's Angels!  And watching them together makes it obvious that no matter how tough Lakely is or how much Charlie loves pink, she is all girl and he is all boy and the differences are hilarious!

We're already excited about our trip to VA Beach in July!

Friendly Teamwork

"What does she think she's doing?"

Living it Up with the Good Friends

Very Best Friends

Breathe In, Breath Out, Repeat

I truly do adore the sound of Charlie's little voice.  So much so, in fact, that the only voicemail saved on my phone is one of him telling me he loves me.   Nevertheless, it is slowly becoming apparent that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing --- waaay too much.

Daddy had to go to a business dinner this evening, so tonight's walk around the neighborhood was just Charlie, Otis and me (there is no way I can handle the stroller and both dogs).  It went something like this:

"What's that, Mommy?"
"Where he going?"
"What's in Bob's hand?"
"Airplane!  I don't see it!  I see it!"
"Who's truck, Mommy?"
"What's the green girl doing?" (green shirt)
"Who pooped in that yard?"
"Where my Daddy?"
"Where that car going?"
"That's like Bob's mower!"
"Who lives there, Mommy?"
"Whose trashcan, Mommy?"
"Why trashcan open, Mommy?"
"Whose garage, Mommy?"
"I need my sunglasses."
"Where my book?"
"What's that, Mommy?"
"Where Miss Corrisa?"

So, that represents approximately 30 seconds of our 45 minute walk... Of course, it didn't help matters, that this followed the most frustrating conversation of both Charlie's 2 year old and my almost 34 year old lives. 

After willfully disobeying my instruction to bring me his water after he dumped out mine, then running down the driveway, Charlie found himself in time out.  Our strategy with time out is to get him to  understand why he's there before we release him. 

I could get Charlie to agree to the fact that he needs to obey Mommy and Daddy.  I could even get him to answer the question "What do you do when Mommy & Daddy tell you to do something?" with "I do it," but he stubbornly refused to add "right away" to the end of that statement, over and over and over again.  He can obviously say both of those words, but flat out refused.  So after a few deep breaths, a prayer for wisdom for me to communicate and for him to understand, and a few more tries, I gave up, half-heartedly convincing myself that Charlie is just too young to understand, not merely too stubborn to agree.

Rumor has it that as a small child, I, too, had a wide vocabulary, clear enunciation, the ability to speak in sentences, a voracious curiosity about the world, and a stubborn streak, but bottom line, I liked the sound of my own voice and thought I knew best. While I don't believe in karma, I do believe in DNA. 

Therefore, it will likely be a very long time before I hear that fabled "sound of silence" in the presence of my beloved son, and while I know that the me of 12 years from now will wish she could reach back in time and slap me upside the head for even thinking this, I have to admit that part of me is looking forward to the sullen teenage years when we have to plead with him to even acknowledge our presence, much less talk...a small part, but still a part.

P.S. Dad, I apologize if this made you laugh so hard that you spit coffee all over your computer, and I sincerely apologize for my childhood!


Update:  (15 minutes later)
Ok, I take it all back.  Well, not take it back, but I certainly just learned a lesson.  After a bedtime story and prayer, Charlie just asked me to sing "Jesus Loves Me" and chimed in on the chorus.  In my heart, I do truly pray that he is still doing this 12 years from now -- but I also pray for the patience and wisdom to get me from now to then!

Dedicated

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Dear Sweet Charlie,
Today was a big day for our family.  Today your Daddy and I stood up before the congregation at Grace Christian Fellowship and dedicated you to God.  In so doing, we promised you, ourselves, each other, our church family, and God, Himself, that we will strive to do absolutely everything possible to ensure that you fully understand the foundation of this world.

God created the world thousands of years ago and created man to live in it as His companion.  When man sinned, we were all painfully separated from God because He is perfectly just.  The only way back to Him is through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, who came to earth to live and to die for us, and pay the price for our sins.

Charlie Bear, your Daddy and I have so many hopes and dreams for you.  We look forward to your first day of kindergarden, your first home run, your first fish, your graduations, your wedding, your own children, and everything in between.  We look forward to getting to know you even better as you grow, and laughing and loving all the way -- but all of that is meaningless without faith in God.  Everything good and beautiful in this world comes from God and everything good and beautiful in a person comes from His Spirit. 

We pray that you will come to understand and appreciate this truth as soon as possible, so you will know the security and hope and love that come only from Him, and whether you face peace or sorrows, you will know that it is "well with [your] soul".

You were dedicated alongside others whom we hope will be life long friends: Samuel Lanz (your beloved Philip's younger brother), Brendan and Seth Garlick, Ryleigh, Jacob, Carly and Mason Altman, and Alethea Hill, but today's ceremony did not complete or assure anything for any of you, it simply demonstrated that we, as parents, are commited to you and your spiritual welfare, and know that we will need help showing you and keeping you on the correct path.
 
You, Charlie, are blessed with an amazing family spread across this country, many of whom are already praying for these very same things, but now we also have your church family focused in the same direction. 

Your eternal security is the very most important thing in the world to Daddy and me, so we will continually ask for and expect help from other believers -- it is far too important to entrust to ourselves alone.

We know that your family and friends and church will support us in every way to show you what really matters in this world, but ultimately your relationship with God will be between you and Him.  Thankfully, He is the one person that doesn't need our help at all.

Charlie, you are a reward we do not deserve, a love we could not imagine and a joy we cannot contain.  We delight in you each and every day and are so grateful to call you Son.

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

So Blesses

Daddy presenting you to the church

Mommy trying reign in your need to be heard

                       It Is Well With My Soul
Words: Horatio Spafford, 1873. Music: Philip Bliss, 1876

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, it is well,
With my soul, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath she'd His own blood for my soul.

It is well, It is well,
With my soul, with my soul
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
It was nailed trough his cross, and I bear it no more,
Bless the Lord, bless the Lord, O my soul!

It is well, It is well,
With my soul, with my soul
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

This could be trouble...

Around 4:00 this morning an absolutely huge thunderstorm hit Summerville, and the lightning was absolutely amazing.  Sadly, Charlie, Otis and Louie did not agree. 

First, Otis started whining and wandering around the bedroom, then soon after I heard Louie pipe in right before I heard Charlie "calling" me. (That's what he tells us when we go in his room lately, "I was calling you!")

Having vivid memories of racing down the hallway on Long Street to dive into my parents' waterbed, I plopped Otis in bed with Jason and rushed into Charlie's room.  We had a quick chat about the fact that thunder couldn't hurt him, a sip of water and I tucked Charlie back into his crib, making him a "fort" as he requested (i.e. putting the blanket over his head).

When I got back to our room, Jason was closing our shutters because the lightning was so bright it was hard to sleep, and as soon as he climbed into bed there was a simultaneous lightning strike/thunder boom, and I hopped up to go check on Charlie.  After all, it had kind of scared me.

Back in the nursery Charlie was completely silent, so I crept over to his bed and put my hand on his forehead to see if he was asleep.  My poor baby was cowering under his blankie trying to be tough, so obviously I scooped him up and brought him into our bed -- which is where the trouble begins.

Charlie cuddled into me and was perfectly silent for about five minutes, while I just basked in the feeling.  To date, he has spent two nights in our bed, once at about six days old with Jason and I cuddling either side of the Boppy that surrounded him to protect him from us, and once when the power went out during the Great Snowstorm of 2010 while Jason was at Daytona.

After a few minutes, Louie's incessant whining became more than we could bear, so Jason brought him into bed, too.  Thank goodness we have a King!  After about ten minutes of getting situated, talking to Louie, using Jason's face as a pillow and drinking about 16 oz of water, Charlie finally settled down and slept until 7:15 this morning when I hopped out of bed, shocked at how late I can sleep with the shutters closed.

I do appreciate the fact that Charlie is a good sleeper in his own bed...  I do understand that it is important for Jason and I to have our bed to ourselves...  I do fully realize that we all sleep more soundly in our own space... but it sure was fun...

Charlie Knows

I suppose I should just prepare myself for a lifetime of this, after all, he is Jason's son -- it appears Charlie is going to have that gift (or maybe curse) of knowing things, people, places, etc.

Following a fun-filled Saturday of blueberry pancakes, couch shopping (Charlie is a trouper!), icecream and a family cookout, Mother's Day # 3 (and yes, I'm counting -- I remember every moment of each of them and will treasure them forever.  I waited a long, long time to celebrate Mother's Day and I bask in it from dawn to dusk!), anyway, Mother's Day #3 began with a quiet morning at home while Jason and Charlie took care of a few details in the study -- then Charlie ran out to give me my Mother's Day picture, and proudly announced, "Mama, it's for you.  It's a diamond!".  Ah, yes -- Charlie knows. 

Jason quickly begged me not to read too much into it, and I reassured him that Charlie had been learning shapes this week at school.  Nonetheless, smart little guy, isn't he -- already knows what Mommy loves.

My diamond:

One might think that my "big" gift would have a hard time measuring up following that introduction, but that one wouldn't know Jason.  I do believe in my heart that diamonds are ALWAYS a perfect gift, but sometimes a gift can be better than perfect. 

For Mother's Day,  I am going to be treated like a queen.  Jason has given me the most decadent yet practical gift imaginable -- early Wednesday morning two strangers are going to arrive at my house and set to work cleaning it from top to bottom -- baseboards, windows, walls, fans, floors, you name it, it will be spotless.

Yes, the sun is shining a little brighter, the birds are chirping a little louder.  All is right with the world.  Sigh.

My house will be cleaner than it's ever been (forgive me, but I don't dust the walls and rarely work up the gusto to go after the baseboards), and I don't have to lift a finger.  Spoiled?  Yes!  Rotten?  Nope -- because I'm unendingly grateful!

As you can see, my Mother's Day started out better than my wildest dreams -- diamonds and decadence!  Then we were off to church, where both Jason and I had nursery today, so we got to spend the time playing with Charlie and his little friends.  From there it was lunch at Wasabi, where Charlie proved that he is even more like his Daddy than I'd thought.

Being a party of two and highchair, we were seated immediately, carefully avoiding eye contact with all of the larger parties waiting in the lobby.  Once we were settled at the table, Charlie looked at the little girl three seats down and said, "That's Taylor".  Not sure what he was talking about, and quite certain we'd never met her parents, we told Charlie that she probably just looked like a little girl from school.  That's when her mom looked up and said, "Well, her name is Taylor." 

That's right as Charlie will gladly point out, his name is not Charlie Brown, but Charlie B... -- and like his forefathers, he knows someone everywhere we go... Taylor is in the Older Twos class at school -- they share the playground in the afternoon.  Seriously.

Following mild terror at the fire and a delicious meal, we finished the day with a beautiful afternoon cruise up the Wando river with Charlie and I giggling and cuddling in the nose of the boat while Captain Daddy played with his gauges and settings  --  a perfect day with my perfect boys...so now the brainstorming for Father's Day begins -- it's going to have to be good!

My boys at work

Shake Break

Charlie's Pick

LOVING the bunk beds!

Playing with Fire!

Little bit Sticky

S'more please!

Such Fun!

Mommy's Mother Day Rose -- Pink, of course!

Not a fan of the fire at first!

Impressive little monster!

Mahi Hahi

It's no secret that Jason and I are continually looking for similarities between Charlie and ourselves.  Whether due to nature or nurture, we just love to see signs that he is "our" son. 

And if I'm honest, I probably look especially hard for my family's traits -- after all, with Charlie's striking resemblance to Jason and overwhelming desire to be exactly like Daddy, it's good for my ego to see little bits of me sprinkled in the mix.

So far, I think I can safely say that Charlie's love of reading comes from my side, and if you look at him at precisely the right angle, he might have my head shape (hey, it's something!).   And of course, like Mommy, Charlie wakes up at the crack of dawn laughing and ready for a big breakfast -- not so much Daddy habits.

As for his overwhelming silliness, I suppose it's up for grabs -- Jason and I are both total goofs.  It's going to be so much fun to watch him grow and develop and see other bits and pieces of Jason and me shine through.

Surprisingly, I was overjoyed this weekend to discover that Charlie has developed yet another distinctly Jason taste -- he loves fish!  Following Daddy's successful fishing trip on Saturday, we grilled chicken and Mahi Mahi -- or Mahi Hahi as Charlie calls it -- for dinner last night.  Charlie gobbled up over half of the Mahi that Jason had grilled -- having expected to have enough to take some for lunch this week!  At one point he even gave me back a piece of his chicken and asked for more Mahi!

I have to admit that the Mahi was so fresh that even I liked it, but I'm just not a seafood person.  I am thrilled to think that Charlie may grow up to love fish and seafood and all of these wonderfully healthy and readily available foods -- it will make dinner parties and fish fries so much more pleasant!

According to Jason, the next step is sushi, so they can enjoy their first Tuna while still on the boat -- oh the times ahead!

Hmmmm.... I try it....

I like it!

Is this a test?

Jason and I feel extremely blessed that Charlie is such a healthy little monster.  He's been in daycare for almost a year, and other than a consistently runny nose, one ear infection and two stomach bugs, he's been healthy.  In fact, up until this week he'd only been on antibiotics one time in his life, for the ear infection -- and yes, I did say up until this week.

Coincidentally, this week I also had my second business trip since Charlie joined the family -- a whirlwind trip to Wake Forest, NC to delve into the fascinating mysteries of VoIP and SIP Trunking.... zzzzzzz.....

Regular readers might recall that Charlie's first stomach bug actually occurred during my trip to Pine Forest, NC in January...and struck Jason and me, as well as Charlie.  Then, the next stomach bug occurred during Jason's trip to Daytona -- thankfully skipping us that time.

Call me crazy, but there is a definite pattern here.  Either Charlie has learned very young how to successfully fake serious illness, he is so overwhelmed by the sorrow of his parents' trips that his immune system shuts down, or God is testing us -- for what exactly, I don't know.

Anyway, back to this week.  As I climbed into the car at 4:15 Monday afternoon to go pick up Charlie from school, my phone rang.  It was Tracy, the owner of his daycare.  She assured me that this wasn't an emergency, but Charlie's right cheek was swollen.  In fact, Miss Nikita had seen him on the playground and immediately ordered him to take whatever was in his mouth out.  Upon his blank stare, she actually peered into his mouth and was shocked to discover there was nothing there.

I told Tracy that I was on my way and immediately dialed the pediatrician.  I was set to leave for Wake Forest in 16 hours and would be darned if I was going to head out without a diagnosis -- or at least a treatment plan.

Unsurprisingly, Sweetgrass did not have any openings in their remaining 45 minutes of the day, but I was transferred to the nurses line to leave a message, and told that I would receive a call back within 3 hours.  Hello?  This was an emergency.  Sure, Charlie was perfectly unaware of his swollen cheek until he discovered that it would bring him attention and candy...but my baby was swollen.  I needed a doctor!

Forty minutes later, Charlie and I were relaxing with Donna in her living room basking in her nursely knowledge and loving concern, respectively, when my phone rang again.  It was the pediatrician's office.  I told her that Charlie's cheek was absolutely huge, but that otherwise he seemed fine.  Then she asked where we lived -- success! 

I hopped off the couch, snatched up Charlie and explained that we were a mere five minutes away.  As the clock ticked to 4:56, she told me that if I could be there in five minutes a doctor would see us.  Yippee!

We actually squealed into the parking lot around 5:04 due to a less than cooperative Otis (he wanted to come along) and a ridiculously law-abiding Kia Spectra. 

After the standard formalities Mrs. Dr. Rogers (not a typo -- Dr & Dr Rogers (a married couple) both practice at Sweetgrass and refer to each other as Mr. Dr. Rogers and Mrs. Dr. Rogers -- cute!) arrived for the examination.  She was convincingly charmed by Charlie being Charlie and set to examining his cheek.

Initially Dr Rogers believed that it was just his body's response to a bite he had received Sunday morning, but she still planned to recommend an antibiotic in case it was an infection -- nothing serious of course, just Strep or Staff.  EXCUSE ME!  A possible staff infection?  I watch Discovery Health -- those can be deadly.  Overtreatment, here we come.

Then after she really got a better feel of the bump, it's solidness concerned her, confirming the need for antibiotics (no problem) and she asked that I call her before leaving for NC the next morning, just to let her know how he was doing.  I love Sweetgrass.  Where else will the doctor stay after hours to see you, take the time to reassure you and  play with your son, and insist on an update the next morning. 

So there you have it.  We are six doses into our round of antibiotics -- strawberry flavored, by the way, since Daddy is the one that picked them up.  Our cheek is back down to normal size, and as far as we can tell, other than enjoying on-demand kisses and the jelly beans that accompany each dosage, Charlie appears to be unaware of his possible deadly infection.

It crossed my mind that perhaps God was testing me to determine my dedication to my job -- Tuesday's trip was actually listed as "MANDATORY" on my calendar...to the point that when we thought it was going to conflict with Talladega, I was told I would have to fly to the alternate training in St Louis.  But then I remembered that I have zero dedication to my job -- I'm unendingly grateful for the perfect work-life balance it provides and I give it my best effort when I'm working, but dedicated? No.  Not so much.

So maybe God isn't testing me, but showing me that He is in control even in "worst-case-scenario" situations, and that He will get us through them?  Perish the thought, but maybe He's preparing me for a more demanding job in the future?  Maybe He's just opening my eyes to the fact that Charlie has a fully capable and hugely loving father who can also single-handedly keep the world spinning on its axis when necessary? 

Who knows?  But today I'm grateful for cell phones, our loving nurse for a neighbor, Sweetgrass Pediatrics, jelly beans, a healthy two year old and his wonderful Daddy.

Yikes!

Our poor little chipmunk...

I think he'll survive, though...

Discussing possible treatment options with Daddy...