Sunday with Nate

Even a typical Sunday of church and grocery shopping is an adventure for a 3 year old, I guess.

As expected, Nate wanted to wear his Thomas costume to church, but the "it's against the rules" excuse worked pretty well. We reminded him that there are trains in his classroom at church, and he was happy to go. We dropped him off at his class as usual and decided this week to go straight to the cry room for the service instead of having to leave the sanctuary during the middle of it if Georgia started crying.

As soon as the service started, a number flashed on the screen. They give each child a number, and they give parents a sticker with that number on it in case you have to go pick up your child. I rarely even pay attention to our number, but Blake does. So when they flashed Nate's number on the screen, I didn't even recognize it but Blake jumped to his feet and left the room in a flash. Apparently, when the class was getting ready to leave the room to go down the hall to chapel, Nate refused to go and had a crying fit, then a coughing fit. So he was kicked out of Sunday School.

The cry room is full of families with small children and babies, so it's pretty relaxed. But you should have seen moms grabbing their crawling babies out of the floor as Nate came charging by. He walked around and around and around and around the room for most of the service. He was having a great time, and it was better than him screaming, so as long as he wasn't stepping on babies we let him walk. It's hard to fathom telling a child he must sit still after it took us three years of all of our energy and time trying to get him to walk. So he walked.

Afterwards we went out to eat, and this time we did tell him he couldn't walk around the restaurant terrorizing everyone else there, so he at least stayed in the booth. Blake ordered some spicy boneless wings, and when Nate saw them, he asked for some chicken. Blake said they weren't too spicy, so he gave Nate a small bite. He ate it and asked for another. But this time he said, "Make it cold! Blow on it." We tried to explain they were spicy, not just hot, but he wasn't happy until Blake blew on it anyway. After this bite, he said in a desperate voice, "I need water!"

Normally we'd come home and put Nate down for a nap, but Nate has recently given up napping. Every few days I try to get him to nap again, but I'm pretty sure it's over. Which is unfortunate, because he still really needs to nap, and I still really need that quiet time. So Blake went to work, Nate played with trains, and I thought I'd lay down on the couch for a little rest. But every few minutes Nate would come up to me and say, "Wake up! It's party time!" haha

When Blake got home, we all went to walmart for groceries. Nate wanted to "walk by myself" which he usually can't do at the grocery store because it's just me with him and Georgia trying to shop, but since both of us were there this time, I said sure. He had a blast. He was throwing things in the cart right and left, and we were going right behind him putting them back up. He'd say, "Wook, an orange!" and plop it in the cart. Then he said, "I need an apple!" and he threw a pomegranate in the cart. A box of rice ... whatever he could get his hands on. It was hysterical. I know most people go through this when their kids are much littler, but this is still so new and so cool for us. He's just now learning all these lessons like not running off from us in stores, holding hands across the parking lot, watching where you're walking so you don't run into people, etc. And we take great pleasure in teaching him these things.

He was starting to get tired as we went to the other side of the store for a few things, so we took turns standing with him by the fish. A whole wall of fish! It was pure bliss for Nate. He named one of them Isabella. :)

That night when I was putting him to bed, we were saying his prayers, and he asked to pray for his trains. haha, okay. We talked about all the events of the day, things that would seem mundane for most people, but Nate recalled all the little details that I had forgotten and decided, "It was a fun day!"

Stroll and Roll!

Well, thanks to everyone who donated to Team Nate for the SBAK Stroll and Roll! We raised $565! And today was the big day. They had it in this gorgeous neighborhood (that I now want to live in!), and the walk was about a mile. There was trick or treating for the kids along the way, and at the end was a fall festival with bouncy houses, a chili contest, live music, raffle, etc. Kids were encouraged to wear costumes, but it wouldn't have mattered because Nate would have worn his Thomas costume anyway! We visited with lots of our friends during the walk, and Nate got lots of candy. He also had a good time in the bouncy house and tasting chili. Georgia slept like a log in her carrier the whole time. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day, but it was cold! That wind was painful! At least it wasn't raining. Nate didn't want to leave. He told me, "It's not fun anymore to go home." Ha!

The Thomas Costume

Well, the Thomas costume came in the mail. I brought the package in and told Nate it was for him, and he said, "It's a toy! It's a toy!" I pulled out the costume, and he said, "It's Thomas! Cool!" He wanted to put it on immediately, and for a good hour he sat in his costume and looked at the little train catalog that came with it saying, "Wook at that! Cool!"

That evening we went to Bible Study, and Nate had to wear his costume there too. I had to pry Thomas off of him after carrying him asleep to bed. This morning I was getting him dressed for music class, and he insisted on wearing it again. What do I care--he's the one that looks silly. :)

We have missed a few music classes and, although they said we could make them up by going to a different class, Friday morning is the only time we have free. So we went to two music classes back to back this morning. :) It worked out well cause Nate wasn't ready to leave after the first class anyway, plus he got to show off his costume to more people. But in the meantime, I had to feed Georgia, change two of her poopy diapers and change her clothes after a blowout. But she seemed to enjoy herself too.

Okay, so this afternoon we went to hippotherapy, and he rode the horse with his costume on. Here he is looking at his catalog in the truck.

This evening Elizabeth came over to watch Nate so Blake and I could go on a date! We haven't been on a date in months. Well, we had a little company on our date. Georgia went with us since I'm nursing. I'll just say that she's a pretty date, but not much fun. The picture says it all.

For the most part, Nate ignores Georgia. He's far too busy to pay attention to a little baby. Every now and then he'll say "She's crying." But now we're starting to pull out the toys for her. She has a bouncy chair (that used to be his) that plays music and has moving fish and bubbles. Today after I got her out of it, Nate said it was his turn and sat down in it. Now the thing is bent so that she's practically laying down when she's in it. She loves to stand up, so yesterday I decided to get out the jumperoo and see how much more she needs to grow before she can play in it. She's almost big enough! She can touch the ground and even jumped a few times and gave me a big grin.

Then Nate said, "I wanna try it!" No!

This afternoon Georgia was sitting in her bouncy and her paci fell out. Nate saw this and wanted to be a good big brother and put it back in for her. I was cringing but let him try it, closely supervised. First he missed the mark, shoving it into her cheek. So I guided it toward her mouth, but she acted like she didn't want it. I told him she wouldn't open her mouth. Just like a boy, he put one hand on her forehead and another on her chin and tried to pry her mouth open!

Tomorrow we have our SBAK Stroll and Roll, and the weather is supposed to be nasty. Thanks to everyone who donated! We raised $565! That's awesome! I'll post pictures tomorrow. Expect to see Nate in his Thomas costume. :)

As requested ...

... video of my little American Idol. :) Here are his two favorite songs of today. I haven't sung either of them to him in forever, so I'm not sure why they were on his mind today.

And I'll throw in a short video of Georgia just being a baby.

(If you can't see the videos because you are reading this on email or facebook, click here: http://whatnatesaidtoday.blogspot.com/)

Today's news

The headaches are still here. I have one nearly every day. Some are really bad and make it hard to function, and others are just annoying. Yesterday was my follow up appointment with the general practitioner. She was kind of at a loss for what to do further because there aren't many medications I can take while nursing. She decided to refer me to a neurologist, and I was able to get in there today, amazingly enough. The neurologist said the really bad headaches sound like migraines, and the milder ones sound like chronic tension headaches. (Me? Tense?) That's good to know. He suggested that, since there aren't many medications I can take, I should start some sort of relaxation program--I can pick whatever I want--and that relieves headaches about 40% of the time. Cool--easy, tangible, and cheap. I don't know anything about relaxation programs, so I'll have to do a little research. He gave me a couple sample medications to try and said he also wanted me to have an MRI and an EEG. (Picture me rolling my eyes here.) I know about MRIs because Nate has had a couple, but I don't know what an EEG is. I'm guessing it's not much fun cause the nurse told me to bring a hat if I had to go anywhere afterwards since I'll have PASTE in my hair! Paste! I'm thinking of cancelling these tests and the follow up appointment with the neurologist. For one thing, this is getting really expensive. I already had the CTscan to rule out the possibility that something was really wrong with my brain, and it was fine. I haven't gotten a bill for that yet, but I've had to pay two $25 copays and one $40 copay, plus prescription costs so far. And I'm fairly certain the only thing wrong with me is that I'm not getting enough sleep because I have a newborn and I have some crazy hormonal stuff going on cause of nursing. I don't know, I still have to process all of this.

Anyway, in lighter news. Nate has been singing every waking moment for more than 24 hours. I think he's trying for some sort of record. From the time he got home from school yesterday until currently, he's been singing. He sings songs from his music class, from Sunday school, songs he makes up, and ones from the radio. To my horror, he started singing this country song about "watching that black dress hit the floor" yesterday! Goodness gracious, I've got to stop listening to country music now! This is the second time he's picked an innappropriate song to sing--a few weeks ago it was "God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy." It's K-Love only in the truck from now on.

This weekend, we are participating in the Spina Bifida Association of Kentucky's first-ever Stroll and Roll. The SBAK provides great programming and assistance to people in Kentucky affected by Spina Bifida. For example, they're who I'm working with to do the doctor education program, and we also participate in their playgroups. If you would like to sponsor Team Nate--even $5 or $10 would be appreciated and helpful!--go to our fundraising page: http://www.firstgiving.com/colleenpayne. Of course I'll take pictures that day and post them here!

Halloween at the Zoo

The weekend started with a search for a Thomas the Train costume for Nate to wear to "The Biggest Halloween Party in the World" at the Louisville Zoo this weekend. For weeks now, when someone has asked Nate what he wants to be for Halloween, he's said "Thomas." Of course. Last year I saw Thomas costumes everywhere I went, so I thought that would be an easy choice. We headed to Toys R Us with a very excited Nate. Well, they only had one Thomas costume left, and it was a baby size. We did find a Thomas treat pail, and we headed off to Target to get his costume. Last year, Target had oodles of Thomas costumes. This year, not so. At this point, Blake and I started getting a little worried so we pointed out other cool costumes to Nate. His response? "Where's Thomas?" So we took him home, and I headed out to Walmart, which also did not carry Thomas costumes this year. They did have a cute Brobee (Yo Gabba Gabba) costume, so I called Blake, who asked Nate if he'd like to be Brobee. Nate said, "No, Thomas!" Uh oh. I called my parents for ideas, and my dad came up with the genius idea that he could be "Thomas' driver." So for $8 I got a plaid shirt and a red bandana and paired them with his favorite Thomas hat, and Nate was thrilled. (And we ordered his Thomas costume online for Halloween.)

We went to the zoo with some friends and their kids. It was neat--all the kids wore costumes, and they got to trick or treat and see a bunch of their favorite characters.


Georgia is going to be Minnie Mouse for Halloween, but she wore her warm punkin outfit last night.

Nate was telling Glenda, "I wike your hat." :) She liked his too.

Most of the animals weren't out that time of evening, but we did go on a goose hunt.

My friends and I with all our kids.

I'm not sure why this came out sideways, but I can't figure out how to flip it on here, so just turn your head to the right to see this beautiful smile I was telling you about!

Dancin, dancin, dancin! I'm a dancin machine!

Daddy wanted to be an engineer for awhile.

Sucker break.

So fascinated to meet Bob the Builder and Handy Manny!

And here's a cute little video of Nate walking and dancing.

It reminds me a lot of one of my favorite videos I took of him almost exactly a year ago. He's come a long way!

(If you're reading this on email or facebook, click here to see the videos: http://whatnatesaidtoday.blogspot.com/)

Choo Choos and TuTus

That's the new name of my blog. Cute, huh? :) My friend Justine said something like "It must be fun dealing with Tutus now instead of Choo Choos" and I said, "Hey, you just renamed my blog!"

There's not much new going on, but I'll post something for my nosy family in Martin County! (haha!) Georgia had her head ultrasound yesterday to look at the hemangioma on her head, and although I haven't heard definitively, the ultrasound tech did not appear worried. The appointment was a real pain in the neck though. It was at 4pm, and I had to be there at 3:30. (I did not set this appointment--the pediatrician's office did.) Well, they didn't even call her back until 6 pm!!!!!!! They were all very apologetic and gave me a Kroger gift card for the inconvenience. But Blake was at home with Nate, and I couldn't even call him cause there's no cell phone reception in that part of the hospital. Finally, Elizabeth showed up so he could go back to work. And this also meant that I was late to Bible study AGAIN! This is the third week of it. The first week, I couldn't find the place and ended up being 45 minutes late. Last week, since Nate was sick, I didn't want him going with us and being around the kids there, so I dropped the kids off with Blake after he was free, so I was 45 minutes late again. And here I am a half hour late again. I'm almost never late to anything!

Georgia is growing like a weed and is slightly less cranky as time passes. I mentioned before that she has found her tongue. If you stick out your tongue at her, she gets the biggest toothless grin on her face and sticks hers out too, like "Ooh, I have one of those too!!!" She's so sweet. I have been trying to get one of these priceless grins on camera, and I can't catch them. This is the closest I've gotten.

Eh, I'll keep trying. I'm sure they'll get less elusive soon.

Nate is feeling much better and is off all of his medication except for pulmicort, which is his daily breathing treatment that we'll be doing indefinitely. He doesn't much like it, but he does it like a trouper.

This morning was our music class. This is the fourth week of it. The first week he had to miss because he was in Owensboro. We went the second week and he had a blast. Last week he was sick and missed it. So he was stoked to go this morning. He kept saying "I'm so excited!" So I got all of us ready and out of the house by 9am, drove a half hour to the church where they have it, got both kids inside through the rain ... and no one was there. Apparently, last week they told everyone that this week was cancelled for some reason. Well, I was ticked cause of all the trouble it took to get us down there, and the teacher totally could have emailed everyone. But even worse, Nate was SO disappointed. He was a big boy about it, but he was so sad. So we stopped on the way home to have some healthy breakfast at Krispy Kreme, and we came home to do our own music class. They gave us a CD of all the songs, so we danced up a storm.

Speaking of dancing, this isn't from this morning, but here's a video of Nate dancing. He thought it was so funny to make the music go faster.

(If you can't see the video because you are viewing this on email or facebook, click here to see it: http://whatnatesaidtoday.blogspot.com/)

This weekend we're going to the big Halloween party at the zoo with some friends, and we'll get to spend some time with Memaw and GrandBob, so it should be a fun weekend! Hope you have a good one too.

What you need to know about Spina Bifida. Yes, YOU.

In honor of Spina Bifida Awareness Month, I thought I'd give you a little run-down of what the average person needs to know about Spina Bifida. Three years ago, when we got the diagnosis, Blake and I really had no idea what it was, and I suspect most people know about as much as we did. So here goes.

1. It's a birth defect in which the neural tube doesn't completely close, so basically, the spinal cord is exposed to amniotic fluid and all the bumping around that a baby does in utero. This causes damage to the spinal cord, which can result in paralysis, hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain), bowel and bladder issues, and other problems.

2. All women of childbearing age--let me say that again: ALL WOMEN OF CHILDBEARING AGE--should be taking at least 400 mcg of folic acid, which is usually present in any multivitamin or prenatal vitamin. This has been shown to reduce the risk of having a child with SB by 70%. Because the neural tube closes in the first 28 days of pregnancy, the birth defect can occur before a woman even knows she is pregnant. And we all know that pregnancy is not always planned. (Folic acid has all kinds of other benefits too, like preventing several types of cancer and dementia.)

3. Spina Bifida is not a death sentence. If you or someone you know finds out their baby has spina bifida, there is no reason to terminate the pregnancy, despite what many obstetricians might tell you. Much like the autism spectrum, the range of outcomes with SB is widely varied. Some are barely affected at all, some are severely disabled, and most fall somewhere in between. The birth defect usually does not affect cognition--most people with SB have average to above average intelligence. These children have far more in common with their typical peers than they have differences. Spina bifida is only one part of them and does not define them. They can and do become teachers, doctors, musicians, atheletes ... anything they want to be.

4. As a parent, when you find out your child has SB, it's shocking and scary and sad, and you have to grieve. Then when your baby is born, you are shocked at how "normal" your child is, and you're over the moon and shocked that you are happy again. In my three year journey with a child with SB, I've become a better version of myself. I'm more patient, more compassionate, have a purpose to my life that I didn't have before, and I appreciate the "little" things. Example: My son standing still by himself at PT today? A miracle. What at one time seemed like the worst thing that had ever happened to me turned out to be the biggest blessing God could have bestowed on me.

5. Here's the face of Spina Bifida:

Pictures from the weekend

We hadn't been to my parents' house since March, and we had never travelled with both kids together before, but Friday I took the kids to my parents' by myself while Blake worked. It took me all day to pack! Just the medication alone for all three of us took an entire gallon ziplock bag. And I did pack light. I thought back to our first weekend trip to my parents' house when Nate was Georgia's age, and we brought everything--the bouncy chair, nearly every outfit he owned, a whole bag of different weight blankets .... well, I know better this time around. But before I left, I sat down to feed Georgia one last time for the road, and I realized I hadn't packed her mylanta ... or her paci ... or the boppy. Oh, and I forgot to brush Nate's teeth ... and put on his braces and shoes. And I still had to stop and pick up Georgia's pictures at Sears and get gas. Ugh! I thought we'd never get out of town.

Nate started whining before we even left Louisville, and I figured it was those last few whines before he passed out. But it continued the whole way home and got louder and louder. I kept asking him why he was crying, and he just continued to cry. Finally I somehow figured out he was thirsty, but I didn't have a sippy cup and I couldn't just hand him my gigantic cup of ice water or he would have been drenched. He acted like he would die if he didn't have water, so I had to stop at the next exit and give him a drink. Then he revealed that he was hungry. Well, we were still about an hour from my parents' house and I knew my mom would have dinner ready, so I told him to wait awhile. Again, you'd think he was going to starve to death before we got there the way he cried and screamed. I know this medication he's on makes him hungry and cranky, but the combination is just too much! So Granna fed him as soon as we got there, and he lived.


Georgia is a great traveler so far. She's recently found her tongue and has started smiling more.

She is SO strong! When I put her on her belly, she looks determined to get across he room, and she can nearly stand by herself, I swear.

On Saturday, we went over to my Granny and Papal's house, and my three aunts and three of my little cousins came over. They hadn't seen Nate in several months, not since he started walking, and this was their first time meeting Georgia.

Georgia is Granny's fourth great-grandchild.

My aunt Audrey made her this beautiful blanket!

And Georgia is special because Kelsey doesn't usually hold babies. :) I remember when Kelsey was this little, and now she's getting ready to turn 17. Dang, I'm getting old.

Nate had so much fun playing at Granny's, but by about 7, he was starting to melt and to boss people around. Go that way! Be quiet, stop talking! Yikes, it was his bedtime. And then we took him to my great aunt Jean's. :) Georgia slept the whole day.

So, this weekend I lost a diamond out of my Granny Peggy's ring. It's a beautiful old cocktail ring with 9 small diamonds in it, and I wear it every day. Saturday afternoon, I was cleaning up my and Nate's mess after lunch, and I looked down and saw something shiny on my shirt. I picked it up, and it looked like a diamond. But this has happened to me before because I have a shirt with little rhinestones on it, and they are constantly coming off. I recently bought another shirt that resembles that one and I brought it with me, so I assumed a rhinestone had fallen off that shirt in my bag. So I threw it away without really even thinking about it. In the truck on the way to Granny's, I looked down and saw there was a diamond missing from the ring. Stupid, stupid!!!! At home, Daddy looked through the trash twice, and I looked through it once, my mom swept the floor, and we all were down on our hands and knees looking for this little diamond, and we couldn't find it. Ugh, it makes me sick to my stomach to think about losing that diamond. :( And I had it in my hand!!!

I'll finish with a funny little Nate story. Lately he's started calling us "honey" or "buddy" cause those are things we call him. It's pretty cute. So Thursday night Blake went to give him his medicine, and Nate said, "No, honey! Give it to Georgia!" Ha! Since then, he's tried every thing he can think of to get out of taking his medicine, including bargaining. He starts, "How about this..." He is getting way too smart for us!

Georgia is 2 months old (and pitiful hospital pictures)

Georiga is cute as can be and a very good baby! Her reflux is improving, so she's not as colicky in the evenings. She's sleeping about 4 hours at a time at night, sometimes more. At her doctor appointment yesterday, she was 11 pounds, 3 ounces! That's 50th percentile--just right! And her length is 21 3/4 inches, which is 25th percentile. The doctor looked at the strawberry mark on her head and wants to send us for a head ultrasound to make sure it's just attached to the skin. I did not ask questions, haha. She said she was sure it was fine, but she likes to be cautious. Georgia is getting ANOTHER strawberry mark on the side of her head. I hope her hair grows in quickly, bless her heart. :) That's okay, she's gorgeous enough to pull it off.

I just uploaded the pictures I took from the hospital. As pitiful as Nate was, I still try to document the big things he goes through for the photobook I put together each year around his birthday.

Here he is in the emergency room after he got his IV, getting a breathing treatment.


This was after he was admitted and in his room. He held his arm up like that the whole time he had the IV.

Blake and Georgia trying to get a few winks. Actually Georgia was an angel and slept most of the time we were there, thank goodness.

After he started feeling a little better, we got him in the chair with some toys.

We also borrowed some boys from the child life room.

He loved this drum, but hated he could only drum with one hand.

So Granna drummed for him. :)

The bed started to get a little crowded.

Look how pretty. (I think that's the camera strap on the side.)

We almost had to move Nate out of the bed to make way for toys. He called these car toys "spinnies."

I borrowed a swing from the child life room for Georgia, and she was out like a light. Yet she won't sit in our swing at home. Hmm.

Nate is feeling better, and his cough is lots better. We've finished up his breathing treatments, except for twice a day pulmicort. He's now down to steroids once a day until Sunday, and he'll have his antibiotic twice a day for another week. I'm getting ready to bathe the kids and pack for our weekend trip to Paintsville to visit family and maybe go to Apple Days. We were excited to take Nate to Apple Days this year now that he's big enough to ride the rides and stuff, but now I'm afraid to take him because there will be so many people, cigarette smoke, etc. I'll have to find a way to get a corn dog and some fried pies without taking him over. :)