Joey's lungs and a few other things

Well, we are fully aware that Joey's lungs are fully effective. ha!

Joey and I visited the pulminologist today. First of all, I hate yahoo mapping system. I still love it over all the others, but today, we are not friends. I yahooed my way to the middle of nowhere and panicked. The stupid map took me to the middle of a residential area on Landsbury Drive. When I came to a "T' intersection instead of Lake Hearn Drive, I was quite irritated. Thank GOD for the great navigational system in my car. I haven't exactly figured out how to use it, nor have I really taken the time (looks like I should now, huh...), but it at least is GPS and knows where I am at all times. AND, ALSO thank GOD for internet on the cell phone. I was able to GOOGLE MAP my way from Landsbury Drive to the doc's office. Turns out that I wasn't supposed to go anywhere near Landsbury, but instead, get on the interstate and hit a few exits down. I did, and then got lost again. I had to call Evelyn to figure out where I was. We finally made it. I was expecting to arrive 15-20 minutes early to relax and fill out paperwork, but I walked in right at 10am, our appt time. Ah well. Can't do it all right.

They took us back and weighed him. He was 20 lbs, 14 oz. My arms could swear he weighs about 3 lbs more, but I'll assume their scale is pretty accurate! ha!

The nurse then took us back to the doc's room where we hung out for a few minutes telling the breathing story to the nurse. Then Joey and I went to have his little chest xray done. We both had to wear the protective garb, and I held on to his little arms while they took the xray. He sat so still and just smiled and waved. He was having fun.

We went back into the room and finished up the questioning with the nurse, and about 20 minutes later the doc came in. By then, I couldn't keep Joey entertained, so I was glad when she finally made it in. He finally had someone else to look at and reach for. There's only so many things you can touch in a doctor's office before you get into the "germy" areas.

She asked a bunch of questions, trying to lean one way or another, and dismiss other theories based on our answers. She poked and prodded a little bit, listened to his chest and his sinus cavities. She said he sounded great, and that his little chest xray was perfect. (It was so cute to see his little lungs and his heart. We even saw his jaw and all his little teeth. SO CUTE! So little!!!

She had 3 different theories but 2 of the theories didn't really hold a lot of water, so she narrowed it down to one. She believe that the muscle that rests between his trachea and esophagus wasn't quite developed properly and it was "floppy." Nothing to be worried about, thank God. It will develop on its own by the time he's about one year of age. It just "flops" around a little more than normal when he breaths in, and she said it will sound worse with time, because his little lungs get stronger with his age, pulling air harder and faster through his wind pipe than when he was younger. That makes sense, of course.

So there's nothing really to do, except for watching for warning signs that he is having trouble breathing. She said that most likely that won't be the case and that he will develop fully and perfectly.

Whew. Takes a big load off our minds.

After we left the doc office, thanks to the navigational system, i was able to make it over to a nearby mall. We walked around for a little while before a friend of mine from my Missouri days called me to meet me for lunch. We had been trying to get ahold of each other for a while since I had been here and we finally were going to be able to have lunch. Her name is Susanna and we haven't seen each other in close to 6 years. WOW...I just figured that up just now. That's a while. We were kindred spirits when we first met that long ago, and our "close proximity" friendship was short-lived, but in that short time, we were practically sisters, so much in common, and shared some fun times together.

She said she could meet us about 20 minutes away. So Joey and I, with the help of our lovely nav system made our way up to see her. We met at a BP station before we figured out where to go. It was sooo great to see her! She was as sweet and beautiful as ever, full of life and energy. She's a physical therapist, and she's been coordinating a Christian conference that's been very challenging. She spoke of a guy that she's interested in, but not sure where its going or what the Lord has for that situation. I can't believe that she's not snatched up yet. She's such an amazing person. She's picky though, and she speaks as though that's her fault. Its not. You HAVE to be picky. I'm glad she's been picky. :)

Our lunch was so short, but how do you pack 6 years into 45 minutes? Impossible, so we've vowed to stay in touch through phone and email better than we have done in the past. (How easy it is to lose touch!) I'm excited that we've reconnected, especially since we come to Atlanta often to see family. We'll be able to get together more often.

Joey is fast asleep now upstairs. He caught a few naps in between places, when I was trying to figure out where the heck I was going. He just needs a good solid nap so he doesn't terrorize the baby sitter tonight. Yes - we do have a sitter tonight for Joey and my nephews. We are going to check out a cool restaurant called Two Urban Licks. Sounds a little odd, but I've heard this place is AMAZING. I can't wait! Joey has been having trouble going down to sleep lately so I'm hoping that he won't be so bad tonight. I'd have to put that stress on someone else. Ugh....

Atlanta

We drove over to Atlanta on Monday afternoon. Joe has been attending some Budweiser classes this week. We've been staying with Joe's sister Evelyn and her family in the north Atlanta area.

Holy smokes....there is some crazy money in this town. I mean, what do these people do? The houses in this neighborhood are NUTS. Evelyn's house was built by an AMAZING guy named Bill Harrison. Their home is incredible. I'm not sure who the other architects from this area are, but man.... I've been driving up and down these streets saying "Wow...I mean...are you kidding? WOW!" You just have to see it to believe it. North Atlanta. Unreal.

WHile Joe's been in class, Joey and I have been going to the mall, hitting the park for long walks (They have hills here, in the park, and elsewhere. My legs don't remember what hills are, and therefore, they hate me. I live on the edge of literally the flattest place on the face of the earth and there is NO hill action.), as well as just hanging at the house and playing. We're enjoying our time out.

TOmorrow we are going to pulminologist for second opinion, I guess you could say. He's had this breathing issue that we've brought to our doc's attention twice now. I dont' think its anything to worry about, but Joe's worried. The last time we saw the doc, he said it was either still Croup, or he had found a cool noise he likes to make, or it was just that his little trachea hasn't fully developed and it was as if someone was letting air out of a balloon every time he takes a breath. I don't hear him make the sound unless he holds his head a certain way and gets excited. The doc also said that he would be more worried if it were a "wheez" every time he exhaled. We'll see. I'm thinking he's ok, but we will know tomorrow. These guys will know what they are talking about...

Evelyn's boys, my nephews, are amazing. They are playing baseball, they are in school, playing instruments, and they are just all around great guys. I'm excited that I have a chance to be in their lives to watch them grow. They will be great for Joey too.

Friday, we are heading to Florida for the weekend - short weekend. Cousin Joey lives on Pensacola Beach, so we are going to crash him for a couple of nights and then make it back to MS on Sunday. It'll be a quick visit, but we've been needing to get down there to see him for quite some time.

More later....I'm just exhausted. I'll try to be more descriptive. I just can't hardly conjure up a complete thought. I didn't conjure up the word "conjure" though...guess I'm not too bad off.

Even better....

Maria, why you gotta do these? :) haha! I love 'em! (By the way, your's were hysterical!) I needed a good laugh today.... Here we go...

Rock Star Name (first pet and current car): Sam Expedition (I must be kidding.....I think it needs a "the" in front of it.)

Your "fly" Guy/Girl name (favorite ice cream flavor and favorite cookie): Vanilla Monster. (This survey is only going to get worse.....)

Your Detective name (favorite color and favorite animal): Red Dog

Your Soap Opera Name (middle name and city where you were born): Anna Mt Pleasant

Your Star Wars Name (first 3 letters of last name, first 2 of first): Azaka (that's awesome!!!!!)

Super Hero Name (The and 2nd favorite color/favorite drink): The Brown Bacardi

Nascar Name (first names of your grandfathers): John Harold

Stripper Name (favorite perfume/candy): Romance Peanut M&Ms

Witness Protection Name (mother and father's middle names): Anita Stephen

TV Weather Anchor Name (5th grade teacher's last name, major city that starts with the same letter): Taylor Tacoma

Spy Name (favorite season/holiday/flower): Fall Christmas Mum

Cartoon Name (favorite fruit, clothing you are wearing right now and ie or y): Apple Wife beatery (huh????)

Hippy Name (what you ate for breakfast, favorite tree): Chia tea ginko (yeah that sounds pretty hippy-ish)

Rockstar Touring Name (the and your favorite hobby and favorite element and tour): The Journal Collecting Water Tour (yeahhhhh!!!!!!!!)

The last post....

In my last post, a few of you expressed your concerns about why I was depressed. You all are so considerate and amazing for checking in on me about this. I need to tell you that I think I misspoke - I didnt' meant to sound depressed altogether, but just "down" about the situation about having to discipline Joey that night. It made me so sad. Up until now, he's been too little to discipline, but that night, I realized that now is the time to start introducing a stern method of teaching of behavior. He gets it. He's a bright little guy, and he understood that I was putting him in time out, but I don't think he quite understood why his mommy was doing it. Its going to take him a minute to understand what behaviors are right and which are wrong. It just brought me down that I made him cry. Just a natural parent feeling, I suppose. I was just down about it. Thank you again for expressing your concern. I'm doing pretty well overall. My spirit is calmer than it has been in a long time. :) Thank God! I love you all. Thank you so much.

One of these "survey" thingies....GAWD!

I never EVER do these things but dang it Maria .... I figured if YOU did one, I would too. haha! Here we go...


Hi, my name is Katie.

But you can call me Katie. :) or Kate. Whichever you like.

Never in my life have I ... done any kind of drug. Never. Nor have a sky-dived. I wanted to once. But it seemed as though drugs and skydiving went hand in hand, so I never did either...

When I am nervous ... I stammer and bite my lip.

The last song I listened to ... Holiday in Spain by Counting Crows. It was on the CD that made for Joey of "Cool Daddy Tunes" - my compilation of easy going music to lull him to sleep by.

If I were to get married right now, it would be to ... my hubby. All over again. I would marry him every moment of every day forever. He's so amazing...

My hair .... is long. The longest it has ever been. I'm surprised I didn't I didn't cut it shortly after Joey was born. I can see now why so many new mamas cut their hair after the delivery, or even before the birth. My main reason I say that is because the moment that I wake up, before I go pull Joey out of his crib, I pull my hair back in this "thick hair" comb clippy thing, that, by the way, doesn't wrap all my hair up anymore its so dang long - and it is in that clippy thing all day, until I let it down when I go back to bed at night. Its still pulled up right now and Joey's been in bed for an hour.

When I was four... I was a dorky preschooler.

Last Christmas ... Joe hid Joey in the midst of the presents under the tree. Actually he just set him among the presents and asked me to play "Where's Waldo" with him (remember that game?). Joey was asleep so he didn't even notice. I noticed right away and scolded Joe for "putting Joey in an uncomfy position." Then we laughed about it because it looked so ridiculous, but cute. It wasn't hurting him at all, but it was funny. I have pictures, but I'm afraid that if I display them, one of you will turn us into Child Protective Services. But you know, JOey is the best gift ever, so it was quite appropriate.

I should be ... in bed. But I'm not. And Frasier is on. So sleep will have to wait.

When I look down I see.... (big sigh) You don't wanna know.

The happiest recent event was ..... kissing my husband when he came home late from work tonight, and ruffling Rudy's hair, and watching Joey scream-laugh at Rudy and Happy playing chase around his playpen.

If I were a character in Friends, I'd be ...... hmmmm..... I guess Rachel??

By this time, next year, I hope .... to be delivering another Youngun' again. I'm not ready yet, but I want to get all my kiddos out the way. there's nothing like it, but it takes a lot out of you. I'm up for the task, but I've always fought with my levels of patience, and the Lord is teaching me patience and self-control. More of "why" later....I had my first "incident" tonight with patience, and I nearly failed.

My current distress is ..... feeling like I have no tomorrow. I know that sounds funny, but its really a phobia of mine. I feel like tomorrow might never come. Ok Garth Brooks - forget that - but really.....it keeps me from falling asleep fast and calm at night... Thank God for prayer.

I have a hard time understanding ..... whats going on right now in our lives. I'm having an easy time "accepting" but a hard time understanding. I'm ok with that. I really am. It'll come. And believe it or not, I'm patient here.

There's these girls .... Lord, I dunno. I don't concern myself with girls, much. I've had enough petty la-la-la-la-la's and gossip that I don't notice if there are some "girls" in the corner sneering at me. Blah. Keep it. I have a lot more important things to worry about.

If I won an award, the first person I would tell is ... Joe. :) Offffffffff course!

I want to buy... a new dress. I love dresses. I just don't have a place to wear them. I suppose I could just "wear" one anywhere, but really..... in HERE in this small redneck town? When I wear makeup and I stand out.

I plan on visiting .... Italy and Spain. I don't know, but look out - I'll be back, dammit! (sigh)

If I could spend the night at any house, it would be ..... this house I saw tonight in "O." Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. If you could only hear me sigh. Its SOOOOO romantically beautiful for "round these parts." Its in a little subdivision called "Wellstate" I think (maybe its Wells Gate??) and its right on the [man-made] lake but its GAAAARRRRRGEOUS! Give me a full moon, my husband, a couple glasses of wine, a nice warmish cool night on the deck overlooking the water with some candles, a gourmet dinner, and a babysitter and I'm in BUSINESS. Oh my word youve got to see this house.........

The world could do without .... spiders. I know, they do a lot of "good" ...sometimes... but you know what - i think I could just do without SEEING them. OH and child predators.

The most recent thing I bought myself is .... ehhhh.....ummm.....i don't know. I think this is a loaded question, really asking what you've "splurged" on yourself lately, instead of hearing about my recent purchase of clorox and tuna fish. I'd have to say that I most recently "splurged" on some Aveda shampoo and conditioner. I love it. I went out today to find some blue jeans in "O." Yeah, I will never shop there AGAIN. That place is so ridiculous - $250 for a pair of jeans that I could buy in Nashville for $75?? Forget about it. I'll pay some money for some jeans now - don't get me wrong - I'll wear the life out of them - but not THAT much.

The most recent thing that someone else bought for me was ... a couple of books on Catholicism. Hmmm.....

My middle name is.... Anna. My great grandmother's name, as well as my aunt Julie's middle name.

In the morning I am ... wait - who am I? That's about the way I feel.

Last night I was ... up late, because the day stunk, and I decided that i would just stay up doing what I wanted to do, which was finish my damn trip post. haha

There is this guy I know who ... rocks my world. His name is Joe.....

If I was an animal, I would be a... dog. I know that sounds funny - but dogs don't have much to get depressed about if they are well loved and taken care of.

A better name for me would be.... i dunno about this one. I've heard all my life that I look like a "Jenny" but I don't like that name for me. I still ponder over the fact that my name is "Katie," as though its strange that I have a name, and that's what my name is. Silly, I know.

Tomorrow, I am .... writing 2 letters - one business, one personal. I've got to write a letter for Joe's Anheuser Busch marketing research (haha ...watch me work my degree now, mama!), and the other is a love letter for my niece Barbara Ann in Seattle. That one will be EASY!! SHe's AWESOME! I also need to come up with a cool "slogan" or rap for my nephew Thomas who is running for class prez.

Tonight, I am .... feeling a little depressed, but all is good. I'm hurting because tonight was the first time that I had to discipline Joey. My heart broke in half today, and I cried. He was whining BIG TIME because he wasn't getting what he wanted, so I put him in a timeout in his crib with no toys. I walked out of his room, closed the door, but left the light on with his CD player going. He wailed for 15 minutes. So did I, in the other room of course. I wanted to get him so bad, but my heart told me no. I went back in there after 15 minutes and picked him up. He struggled to get out of my arms. We sat down in the rocker and I held him and rocked him but he still screamed and tried to get away. I changed him into his PJs...kicking and screaming the whole time. Finally, I fed him his dinner, and Joe came home from the office late. He was ok then. But it was a struggle. I couldn't give in. I died today. I hope I get a lot stronger..... I know I will.


Ok......anyone else want to chime in on their lives? Be my guest!

He's musical!!

I'm so glad he likes music........ It would break my heart if he didn't. Its a teeny bit in his blood so there's not really a way he can avoid it. I LOVE IT!

My man and me

Found this photo today. My computer had been hiding it from me. We had some words. I like this picture. Thinking its one to be printed and framed. :) Isn't he a hunk? He's yummy!

Iowa

TRIP POSTS, EVERYBODY. I know, I know .... its been so long, already. I'm just going to post some of the photos and tell a couple of stories.

First of all, we went home to spend some time with my family, of course. Second, I haven't been home for Old Threshers festival since I was 17, and I was curious to see what it was looking like these days. I spent quite a bit of time on the fairgrounds during this festival, and the moment I drove by the grounds, all the memories started flowing back. All good memories, thank God. Fun stuff. Like, walking around with my family to see all the little crafters, and looking at the steam engines, and riding the trains when I was little. As I got older, around 16 and 17, I spent a lot of time at the dance barn, afterhours, where I met a lot of friends. I ran into a couple of my old friends. I missed seeing a few. Heard a few sad stories about others. But most of all, I really enjoyed just walking around the grounds this time with Joey. He LOVED people watching, and he LOVED the big trains.



Here's Joey at his first parade. They have an Old Thresher's parade every year to kick off the festival. They put all kinds of antique cars and steam engines in the parade, along with horses and such. Its really cute. He enjoyed it very much!


I don't have any photos of this, but mom and I took Joey to see my dad's band play at the grandstand on opening night as well. He was grooving along in his stroller with the music and smiling and laughing the whole time. Im sure he could recognize his Papa's voice over the mic.

This photo scares Joe. :) It doesn't scare me at all. In fact, it makes me smile. While we were home, my dad sang a lot to Joey and played his guitar for him. Joey LOVED it. And he was bound and determined to get a hold of dad's guitar. Of course, we wouldn't let him, but I think its the start of something neat. I grew up very musically, singing with my dad and learning how to play guitar and piano. I know more piano than guitar, but maybe that'll change someday. I think this is the cutest photo in the world, and I know it makes my dad very proud.



Joe wasn't able to be with us most of the time. He drove us up on a Saturday and had to fly back that following day to work all week. Then that following Saturday he flew back to drive with us on Sunday afternoon. He ended up flying in later than anticipated, so when he got in, we were late, so we had to high tail it to the grounds to help mom with her art show, and spend some time on the grounds with Joe. He caught wind of the carousel and insisted to take Joey on his first ride. Here they are.... my 2 kids!




Joey and I had some time to ourselves. Not much, but a little. We always have so much to do when we go home. Here's a photo of my grocery shopping buddy.
When I wasn't quite a mom yet, I used to try to find coffee shops or quiet corners to go write in my journal. Now that I'm a mommy, those days are over for a long time. But, we did find a cute little coffee shop on the square that they opened a few years back. I've been there before, but I really enjoy going there every time i'm in town. Joey went with me this time and hung out with me in his stroller. We didn't have time journal of course, but I did grab an espresso and a turkey wrap. I met my dear friend Addie up there the next day too for lunch. It was great to see her. Its the first time I've seen her since she's been pregnant. She's due in February.


While I was home, Joey and I had some precious time spent with my grandparents. TO the left, is a picture of my Granny. We had a wonderful time visiting with her. All my grandparents are incredible people. (I'm not just saying this because they all will read this eventually.) They truly are. Each has their own unique personality and all are very wise. I wish I had a photo with my Grandpa John, and also one with my Grandma Mary. I had an incredible time with each.

My Granny (to the left) and I had a great time sharing together. As it always is, its never enough time. Never. And it was great to spend time with my Grandpa John too. My time with him is precious these days. We continue to hope and pray that he is ok. The Lord is with him, and all your prayers are more than appreciated.

My Grandma Mary and I had lunch together with my Aunt Gale, who was in town as well. Every time I spend time with my Grandma Mary, I have a chance to get to know her more, and the older I get, and more I understand about life, the more I learn about my Grandma. All my grandparents have been through their share in life, and I love hearing stories and experiences, and love seeing that no matter what they've been through, they all have brilliant vivid spirits. I'm inspired. I thirst for more time with each one of them!

Mom's set up was great! All her beautiful art was displayed very nice and classy, as always. Her black and white pencil drawings were gleaming against her antique screen door set up. This year, she hung up Christmas lights and it set it off. Really cute! Its really hard to sell to the people that come to Old Threshers though. Everyone like to buy prefabricated "stuff" ... not real art. I don't understand that.....

Anyway, it was good to be home. Mom and Dad ate Joey UP! :) That was the best part. Interesting how things don't change much in a small town. I worry about that here in this small town. Never mind. I guess that can be endearing about a small town, when you need a place to go where everyone knows your name.

Trip posts

Well.... We're on my way back to Nashville a night earlier than planned, and we'll be there until tomorrow early evening, so I'm having to wait on my trip posts again. We are going back (for the first time since we left....YIKES) to see my friend Heather for her baby shower.

I'M SORRRRRRYYY for the trip story delays!!! Here's a photo to tide yall over...

This is "Mo" the horse. My friend from back home, Anna, is holding Joey. She said that the moment she walked him into the stable to see Mo, he instantly started "talking" to Mo. THey connected. Mo nuzzled on him. It was amazing. More to come...

By the way, I just got back from Joey's doctor appointment. Thank God, he's healthy and happy. Right on target. Thank God!

My Grampa

A few of you wrote to ask me what was drawing me back home after I had already been there for a week.

Well, frankly, its my grandfather. Last week they discovered a large mass on his lung, and today they discovered that that mass is indeed cancer.

At this point, we don't know a whole bunch yet. We are still hopeful, as they announced that radiation is an option to shrink it. But first they have to do another procedure to make sure he does not have cancer in any other parts of his body.

Please pray. Cancer is such an ugly demon. There's a reason for everything in this life, and weaker people have survived such. I know my grandfather can pull through it. He's so sweet. He doesn't feel as though anything really has him down. He's a strong fighter. One of the toughest men I know. A true "man's man." We have hope that he can overcome, and he will if the Lord has that in the Plan.

Thank you for your prayers. Updates to come. I'm sorry that I haven't blogged about our trip yet. I will, I promise.

Love Kate

Hold Everything.....

Before I post about the trip .....



Joe thinks that M&Ms are flavored appropriately to their color. Now, maybe he's just messing with me, but we had the following conversation about 30 minutes ago.

Me: Ohhh Peanut M&Ms, baby. Thank you for getting these for me. I'm starving. This will hold us over until dinner.

Joe: I haven't had M&Ms in a long time. I can't wait to taste the flavors.

"Flavors?" I rolled my eyes. "Joe, come on..."

"What?" he says seriously.

"Joe! All M&Ms taste like one thing - CHOCOLATE. They don't have flavors other than chocolate." I exclaimed.

"Like hell...!" was his reply - his common reply when he wants to go to war with me - jokingly of course.

He pops a yellow candy in his mouth. "Mmmmm....the citrus flavor is exploding in my mouth. Kate, you really need to close your eyes and at least TRY to taste the flavor in each M&M. You have to throw the candy back to the back of your mouth and just close your eyes and taste it."

"Joe ... NO WAY."

"Come on. Just try."

TO appease him, I did. It was red, and it tasted.... like chocolate, and I made sure I told him so.

"Oh whatever, Kate. Come on. I can do it with my eyes closed. Here. My eyes are closed. Give me an M&M and I'll tell you the flavor."

I pulled out an orange candy, put it in his mouth, and he guessed. "Okay.......this one......is brown. Its chocolate."

"Orange, you ding dong."

"Ok try again. That wasn't fair. i couldn't throw it to the back of my mouth."

I pulled out another orange and put it in his mouth.

"That's chocolate too. You're trying to trick me."

"No, baby, that was orange again."

"What? I dont' believe you."

"Joe, this is ridiculous.....I can't believe I'm having this conversation. You do know I'm going to blog about this....."

"Whatever. I don't care what you think, Kate. They are flavored."

We're back!

Today - catch up day. So much to do it paralyzes me. But I'm happy to be home in some ways. I feel like I need to stay back in Iowa though - lots of things going on with my family that I feel I should stay. I may be going back sooner than later, I think.

I think I did a pretty good job documenting Joey's big trip to Iowa. I didn't have my regular camera, so my phone was my only choice. It works fine, right? My next few blog entries will be about what happened last week. I'll have photos too. :)

Last night, JOey decided it was time to manage his own bottle. Here the little guy is without assistance. He's all growed up. While we were in Iowa, he mastered the art of pulling up. We can't keep him on his hands and knees anymore. He prefers to be on his little feet. Next - walking. I predict he'll be walking - or teetering - before his first birthday at the end of November. Wow....

More trip blogs to post shortly.....