The Perfect Afternoon

Andrew still loves to watch Family Feud each day.  He likes to clap with the contestants.  Top off a good episode with a book, and he is in heaven!

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Pig Fuey

Alabama played (and beat!!) Arkansas this weekend. Once again, we decided to sell our tickets because we wanted to spend the day with our little man. He's such a cute Bama fan!

He did pretty well watching the game. Of course, he snuck in some stories during the commercials.

Andrew REALLY wants to drink from a cup. He is just not ready yet, but we do give him empty cups that he uses to practice.

Until we had Andrew, Joey used to give me a hug and kiss each time Alabama scored. Now, I am an afterthought! My boys high-fived, shook the shaker, and said "Roll Tide" together after each score. Here they are anxiously awaiting the next score.

TOUCHDOWN ALABAMA!

Amelia Karen Rathmell

WHAT?? I have a new cousin? My mom hasn't even blogged about this yet? I'm shocked! Amelia Karen Rathmell was born on on Sunday, September 18th at 7:17 p.m. She was 20.5 inches long and weighed 8 pounds and 13 ounces.

Susan's water broke early Sunday morning, but she was not having any contractions. Meanwhile in Tuscaloosa, Andrew and I were getting dressed for church, Joey was at work, and the O'Harra family was spending the weekend with us.

We got the call that Susan's water broke, and the O'Harra family graciously offered to watch Andrew while I went to Birmingham. Once I got to Susan's house, she got a few last minute things finished and called her doctor. The doctor encouraged her to go ahead and come to the hospital even though she was not having contractions.

Final pictures as a family of 3:

Once we got to the hospital, Susan did some walking to try to get the contractions started.

Mariella and Sue came from Wetumpka to meet Baby Amelia.

Welcome, Baby Amelia! Praise God that you are safely here. We love you so much!

Reading With Jan

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Mr. Wayne

Andrew loves to take a Sunday morning nap with his buddy, Mr. Wayne, each week at church.  Mr. Wayne always tells us that his one job is to spoil him. Check!

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Jail

My mom keeps throwing me in here every time she takes a bath!

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32 weeks

Here is Jacob/Caroline at 32 weeks. We will meet you very soon!

Penn State Weekend

Last weekend, Joey and Andy went to the Penn State game. They were gone for three days, and it felt like an eternity to me. They spent one night in Washington D.C. Here are some pictures from thier visit there. The theater where Lincoln was shot:

Andy and Joey in front of Paterno statue:

Joey said that they had really good seats.

Roll Tide!

When Joey got home, Andrew kissed all over his face for several minutes. I don't think Andrew realized how much he had missed him until he saw him. I wish that I had taken a picture of my boys.

Gameday

Who needs football when you have books?

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Jacob/Caroline Update

We were not going to have any showers for this little one, but my home church in Wetumpka had a different plan! On Wednesday night, my home church threw a surprise shower for my sister and me. Since neither Susan nor I were there, Mama and Daddy got to open the presents for their grandbabies. I went to my church in Tuscaloosa that night, so I was very confused when my parents called to tell me that I had just had a shower. The shower had a pink and yellow theme for Baby Amelia and Baby Glasgow.

I love this picture of my mom. She had finished her Bible Study and was about to go home. Her friend asked her to come upstairs, and she saw the shower. My dad had already left to go home, so she had to call him back to the church.

Look at all of our presents!

Granddaddy and Grandmommy opening presents for Amelia and Jacob/Caroline:

Joey and I want to thank everyone in Wetumpka for our shower. I can't wait to see everything that our little one got.

In other Jacob/Caroline news:

I went to the doctor yesterday for a 31 week check up. My blood pressure was good and I was measuring right on schedule. My doctor was a little concerned about my weight gain--9 pounds. We are just going to watch it and make sure that it picks up in these final weeks. I am not dieting, but I began this pregnancy about 10 pounds heavier than I did with Andrew. I'm guessing that my body just didn't need as much weight this time since I didn't lose all of my weight from my first pregnancy??

When the nurse tried to get J/C on the doppler, she could not hear the heart. I would normally panic at this, but I could see (and feel) him/her going absolutely crazy. He/she would not hold still long enough to hear the heart for a very long time. Finally, she was able to get it--143 bpm. I am a little concerned about how wild this baby acts. I still do not have to do kick counts because this one moves all of the time. We are now going to the doctor every 2 weeks. It is getting very close! Everyone at work and Andrew's daycare think that I am having a girl. All of my family (with the exception of David) thinks that it is a boy. Joey says that he has no clue. I go back and forth, but most days I think that we have a Jacob and not a Caroline. We will be thrilled either way!

Update on Andrew's Finger

Andrew's finger has now been healing for 6 days. I thought we were over the hump. Well, his teacher called me at work today...never good. When she changed his bandage, she noticed that there was a yellow discharge and his finger was swollen. I called his pediatrician's office, and they told me that it sounded like something that could wait until the afternoon. I couldn't wait until the afternoon, though. I called the daycare back and told them that I was on my way. I am so thankful that his teachers were paying such good attention to him, changing his bandage regularly, and keeping me updated. They continue to impress me with his care. I am also thankful for my principal. She always tells me to go when daycare calls, takes care of getting a substitute for me, and is even willing to cover my class until a sub can get to the school if needed so that I can leave right away. Anyway, Andrew and I went straight to his pediatrician, and she said that his finger was in fact infected. Other than that, it was healing up nicely. So, he is now on antibiotics and she said to not expect a complete recovery for 3 weeks. There were some other really good things that came from the appointment. He was approved to take a bath. The poor little guy had not had a bath in a week! She also said that he could leave the bandage off of his finger. While this is good because it is a daily fight to keep him bandaged, it scares me for the wound to be exposed. I know that it does need some air, though. Andrew was tired when we got home, so he took a long nap. Here he is for the first time without his bandage since his accident.

Sleeping in Camo

Andrew was so worn out tonight, and he went to bed a little early. He still wears his camo onesie at home a lot. It is one of his favorite things to sleep in, and I am surprised to admit that I think it is pretty cute. The stuffed animal at his feet was a present from his Paw Paw. It is a dog named Scout. He never sleeps without him, and he is normally hugging him when I look at the monitor.

Emily Glasgow
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Trying on a hat at Cracker Barrel

Let's beat Penn State! Roll Tide!

Emily Glasgow
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First Trip to the Emergency Room

On Saturday morning, the first words out of my mouth were, "This is going to be a great day!" Joey surprised me by telling me that he was not going to go to work, and that he was going to spend the entire day with us at home. To me, that is the greatest day. I love staying home and not having anything to do. I took an hour long bath, went to the grocery store, and started making a big breakfast so that we could all watch College Gameday together. We were so excited about Alabama's first game and had some friends coming over to cook out and watch it.

I started making pancakes on the stove, and I noticed that Andrew was right below me. He needed a diaper change, and we didn't want him to be under me when I was cooking. Joey scooped him up, and he began to cry. He has entered the "pitching a fit when he doesn't get his way" stage, so I assumed that he was just mad that he was being moved. Then, I saw blood. Apparently, his finger was gripped around the drawer that pulls out below the oven. I started to see A LOT of blood. The middle finger on his right hand had an enormous cut on it. He would not let us get a very good look at it, but I could tell that it was bad. I felt sick, sweaty, like I was going to faint, and then a panic came over me. This sounds ridicuclous, but I realized that it was up to us to make the decision as to what we were going to do. I didn't have my mom, the school nurse, or time to look anything up...sources that I normally consult. I said outloud several times, "What do we do, what do we do?" I felt so weak that I sat on the floor of my kitchen so that I would not pass out. Joey and I both decided that we would go to the emergency room.

On the car ride to the hospital, Andrew was not too fussy. He kept showing me his hand. I told him that we were going to get help and that he would be okay, but I remember wishing that he could really understand me. Once we were at the hospital, we waited FOREVER. It was the middle of the day, and we had not eaten anything. I think this added to my queasiness. I knew that Andrew would need stitches, and the dread of what he was about to go through made me physically sick. I had to step outside and get some air because I was still feeling like I was going to pass out. We finally got back to a room and waited even longer. We spent almost 4 hours at the hospital that day. Suddenly, I did not care about football at all.

The nurse asked us if we were willing to wait 30 extra minutes to put an L.E.T. solution on his hand before she gave him the shots and put the stitches on his finger. L.E.T. is a numbing solution that they do not always use. She had to call a pharmacy and get it mixed up because they do not keep it in the ER. Then, we had to tape a cotton ball soaked with the solution to his hand. We decided (without hesitation) that we were willing to wait for the solution. If your child ever needs stitches, insist on having this. It was the greatest thing.

For the stitches, they had to strap Andrew down on a table with velcro. I am ashamed to admit this, but I left the room. I would never have left him if Joey had not been there, but it was too upsetting for me. I feel like a horrible mother for abandoning him when he needed me. I went to the bathroom, locked myself in a stall, cried, and prayed for him while he was getting his stitches. The nurse came to get me and informed me that he did not cry at all while he got his stitches. Thank you, L.E.T. solution! Joey said that he just held his hand out for them and looked around the room. He was all bandaged up when I saw him and acting fine. We did have to put a sock over his bandage once we got home because he kept biting at it.
You can see his hospital bracelet in this one.

Playing legos with Dada:

It is now Wednesday, and Andrew is still doing great. My mom came up and spent the night with us on Monday so that she could stay home with him on Tuesday. Today was his first day in daycare. He now just wears a band-aid over his finger, and it seems to be healing nicely. Hopefully, the stitches will disolve by the end of the week. He has not been able to have a bath since Saturday because of the stitches. I am so thankful that he is fine. Once I got home and calmed myself down, I thought about all of the blessings from that day. Here are just a few:

**Joey was home, so I wasn't alone when it happened.

**He could have hurt a much worse place--an eye, mouth, or a head injury

**We had a smart nurse who knew about the L.E.T. solution and who cared enough to offer it to us.

**He did not have any damage to his nerves, ligaments, or tendons.

**It happened on a holiday weekend, so I had an extra day to stay home and let him heal.