Finally... March Madness!

I really hate playing "blog catch-up". I think a lot of little details get overlooked. But being as this is our family journal slash scrapbook... I will do my best to include the details I can recall in my overwhelmed state of mind.

March 4-5
My mom's uncle passed away and his services were in Southern California. Not everyone could pile down, so it ended up being a great trip for just the girls to go on. Me, mom and Jennah. It was nice to reunite with family and strengthen those bonds of dear ones. Jennah got to meet her 4th cousin (is that right??not sure exactly how to label the relationship.... it's my mother's cousin's grand-daughter).... Valerie.While we were in So Cal, we made it a point to hit up an IKEA. Be still my fluttering heart. We made sure to pack light so that we could get all of our loot home. When will they put an IKEA in Central California!?! UGH! I did pick up some catalogs to get me by until my next annual pilgrimage.

March Moments:
I have freckles. Lots. And Lots. I've always wondered at what point these freckles came. Looking back at baby pictures I didn't always have them... when did they pop up? I've been studying Jennah's little face since the day she was born. I knew she'd have freckles someday. It's in her DNA. So I've been watching carefully. I remember seeing the first 3 freckles on the top of her nose. It was like they came up over night. Little "angel kisses" as we call them. On our trip in LA, we were playing with the camera (we spent a lot of time in the car) and captured this picture I love it because it captures the sweetness of her little spirit. In it, I can see the little freckles that I've counted and memorized as I've held her sleeping in my arms. How is it that time seems to take forever one moment and fly by the next? I can't believe my tiny little girl is already 3 1/2. This picture also reminds me that I really need to slow down and enjoy every second I am with this precious girl. I'm so lucky to be her mother.

Speaking of being a mother. There is one thing that I hate about being a mother... the ache in your heart that you have when your baby is hurt. Sunday, March 6th was one of those days. Jennah fell out of a spinning office chair at my mom's house and smacked her chin on the tile floor. I had that mommy instinct feeling that something was going to happen... I repeated myself too many times. I've never seen a cut first hand that was bad enough to require stitches... I've always wondered how you know if you need stitches or not. Well let me tell you this... you know when you know. And that night, I knew it.... After a quick trip to the ER which was totally packed with masked faces, we found a better situation at 9pm by going to the local 24/7 Urgent Care. They were busy too, but at least we had a place to sit down. Jennah held up well until we actually had to do the stitches. I think it's because she didn't know what was coming... thank goodness for Andy's iTouch. It served as a great distraction during the long wait and impeding procedure. I, on the other hand, wished I'd had a xanax or two. It was heart wrenching watching her suffer. That's an understatement, by the way. I'm about 95% sure that she wasn't completely numb. We spoke up and questioned it.... the doctor got frustrated with us... but I couldn't have cared less. We learned at her birth that we are her voice... that's our job as her parents. But FOUR stitches and a sucker later... I'm glad it was behind us. I NEVER EVER want to do that or anything like that again. That was Sunday. On Wednesday of that same week (as in 72 hours later) Jennah fell backwards off of her tricycle and hit her head on the concrete. No, she didn't have a helmet on... lesson learned for me. Instantly she had a golf ball sized lump on the back of her head... and she fell asleep as soon as we got home (walked from the park home... across the street). We watched her and she seemed alright through the night. Thursday, I got a call at work from her pre-school (I'd mentioned the fall the night before, just in case)... Jennah started vomiting. My heart sank. Dropped. Or maybe it even stopped for a second. Within 12 minutes I had left work, made a Dr. appointment, and picked her up from school... to top it off, Andy was all the way up in Sacramento for a business meeting. Thankfully my mom was able to meet me at the Dr.'s office to be with me.

The Dr. was pretty sure everything was alright, but decided to have her do a CT scan to make sure. That was a long day. Walking through the Children's Hospital my heart ached.... even more than with the stitches. I prayed for the parents and families that we saw from the hallway and for the ones that we couldn't see that were there. I'm grateful for such a wonderful place... but NEVER want to go there again!! The Dr. was right, Jennah was okay. Helmets are no longer an option. In fact, I'm tempted to make her wear it where ever she goes.... along with the padded bubble suit that I'm designing for her. Don't worry, I was planning on putting bows on it and making it cute!