AGCI Picnic

The AGCI picnic in Chicago is in 3 weeks and I can't wait! I get to see all of these adorable Ethiopian faces...

And I'm hoping that Matt & Jess are coming with Aiden (WELCOME HOME JESS!!!)

Who else is going?!??!?!

appreciate your dingaling

I remembered this funny story the other day and thought you all could use a good laugh.

So, about 3 yrs ago Tim had shoulder surgery. Surgery went well and we left the hospital to go home. Tim was in pain obviously and on percaset. The next day he kept complaining of a sore throat and I told him it was probably just from the tubes down his throat. Well, he kept complaining so I took out the flashlight to take a peek. I noticed that his little hangy ball in the back of his throat(I refer to it as dingaling) was pretty swollen, so I called the nurse and she said that he may have just had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia so to give him some benadryll. If you ever want to have a good laugh - give your husband some percaset and benadryll. Wow - quite the combo. Tim was in some other world... seriously. He was a zombie. The next day it wasn't getting any better - it was actually getting worse. It was turning purple and swelling up more, so since it was the weekend and the doctor wasn't in, I called my mom. This is how the conversation went...

Me: Mom - Tim's dingaling is purple and really swollen and laying on his tongue. I'm not sure what to do.

Mom: WHAT?!

Me: His dingaling is really swollen mom and it's laying on his tongue

Mom: DAWN!! What is going on over there?!?

Me: Mom... what do you mean?

Mom: How in the world....

Me: Oh Mom!! Not THAT dingaling!!! His hangy ball dingaling!!

Mom: Oh my goodness Dawn.... I had no idea what you were talking about.

So, since I freaked my mom out and she wasn't sure what to do - we called the doctor on Monday morning. They had him come in and they were stumped - they had no idea why his dingaling was like that. They had him go over and see an ENT (ear/nose/throat) doctor right away. He said that when they put the tubes down his throat that they scrapped the outer layer of skin on his dingaling and it became infected. Crazy, huh? So, I suppose I should tell you now that its actually called a uvula in case you didn't already know. And is it just me or does that sound like a female body part? I don't know.. I just don't like that word. Anyways... he tells Tim that he needs to CUT it off. Yes, cut off his hangy ball!!! So, he puts a needle in it to numb it and then snip snip... GONE. Just like that... gone. Doesn't your throat hurt right now thinking about it? Mine does. Tim now has a uvanub. So, I then wanted to know why we have a hangy ball. Is it just for decoration? Nope, it's not. It's actually used to help push food down your throat and it's also used to pronounce some words in some foreign languages. I bet you never knew that.

Moral of the story... appreciate your dingaling!

4 Months Ago...

little fishy

Jaxson LOVES the water. He loves bathtime and loves to just play with the running water in the sink. So, when he's in the pool - he's in heaven! Here are some pics of our little fishy...





Then we played in the ball pit and he thought that was lots of fun!



Jax isn't a fan of the flash on the camera though... ha!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Happy 9 Months Jax

Happy 9 Month Birthday Jaxson Kyin!! Here are 9 things that we LOVE about you...

1. We LOVE your 2 little teeth and how you show them off so nicely with your big smiles.
2. We love how you try to not smile when you think something is funny and then all of a sudden you crack and the giggles come. You are always making us laugh.
3. I love how you play with my hair when I rock you to sleep.
4. We love bath time with you - we have so much fun!
5. We love how you've captured the hearts of our friends & family.
6. We love how you say "dadadadadada".
7. I love how you light up and flap your arms & legs when I come home from work. Makes mommy happy to know that she was missed.
8. We love how you crack up laughing when Daddy kisses your neck & back.
9. We LOVE that we are a family - you've made us happier than we ever thought possible.

Finding Balance...

So, it's been a week and a half back at work. And really it's been fine. I've been very busy so my days fly by and I'm home with Jaxson before I know it (don't get me wrong - I do miss him very much!) However... it's a whole new routine to figure out. When I get home I want to just sit on the floor and play with Jaxson until its his bedtime. So... I'm trying to figure out how to get my play time in with Jaxson, make dinner, clean the house, do emails/blogs, and let's not forget some time with my wonderful husband. I'm so lucky to have Tim. We are a very good team and he helps so much around the house, but we never seem to be caught up. So, if any of you have some tips/advice for me - I'm listening!

Ok and since I can't do a post without a picture, here's Jaxson straight out of the bath. He LOVES bathtime! And he loves being wrapped up in a towel afterwards too. This is what we do after our bath and we bring him in front of the mirror and he just laughs at himself. He's a hoot.