SLEEPING
I looooove watching my babies sleep. It is such a good feeling. It is even better when a pet or two joins them. Jack is a pretty good snuggler, but as you see Aunt Kake's new dog Greta is quite a snugglebug!
ICE STORM
We were down in Madisonville for a little visit when we found ourselves in the middle of a national disaster. The ice came in the middle of the night and the ice covered trees cracking around us sounded like lightening crackles and fireworks popping. We had power at the little cabin but my parents and a lot of town had already lost theirs, and were debating what to do knowing that a second round was coming and that the power was about ready to go. Ed had lived a week without power in the Lexington ice storm a few years ago, and with two little ones, his instinct was to get to a hotel that had power. There were no gas stations open and we had MAYBE enough gas to get to Hopkinsville, so we made the decision to go. A decision that ended up being a very good one. Hopkinsville got hit, but nothing like Madisonville and those first 24 hours there were almost as if there was nothing going on in the surrounding towns. As soon as the people in towns like Madisonville and Murray got their families set up in a house without power, most sent out a person to go to the towns that were fairly operational, like Hopkinsville, to look for food, generators, propane, and gas. Soon Hopkinsville was a madhouse, dealing with their own outages and had lines for gas spilling out of the stations. WalMart has lines at the register backing almost to the back of the store and was only taking cash. It was a surreal situation and we only experienced it for a couple of days...only coming back to town to check on our families and help in any way we could. When we heard we had power in Lexington we headed back, knowing there really wasn't anything we could do for them. They all weathered it pretty well. It was hardest on my grandmother Lady who is on oxygen and couldn't even keep candles burning at home because of the danger associated with oxygen and an open flame. After hanging in there for about a week everyone decided it was going to be best if she entered an assisted living facility. If you know anyone, or many people, who made it through the storm, you know it affected many lives in many different ways...here are just a few photos of our couple days in it.
Pre-REAL ice.
Pre-REAL ice.
Pre-REAL ice. I took these thinking that the ice had hit pretty hard and there were a lot of branches down. If I only knew what was still to come. I wish I had the pictures to post right now, and maybe I'll try to update later, but there were no tops of the trees left, it was almost like EVERY tree was laying down like a peeled banana.
We came back after fleeing to a hotel room that had electricity in Hopkinsville to check on everyone. They were doing pretty good considering. The next few were taken at the cabin. We took a bunch more that are on Ed's camera, these are just a few that I'm trying to show just how thick the ice was.
We found Ommy sitting in the front window getting a little warmth from the sunshine and found Poppy grilling up some gourmet hotdogs in the back. Ommy says some of the food that Poppy grilled during those two weeks without power were some of the best meals she had ever eaten.
Staying entertained at the hotel for a second night.
Sleeping at the hotel.
When we got the word our power was on in Lexington we heade home. Guess Henry needed the lights dimmed while he slept.
Because of the delay of the phone camera I didn't capture it, but there was truck after utility truck coming to the rescue.
HOSPITAL
After the ice storm we came back only to get worried about some of the symptoms henry was having and found out he has Type 1 (Juvenile) Diabetes. Henry took this picture with my phone in the hospital. I hated that we were in the hospital, but I love this picture.
BALLOONS!!
When we got home from the hospital, Henry got not one, but THREE deliveries of balloons! Aunt Emily and Uncle Jon, Aunt Kate, and Aunt Laura and Uncle Carlo, sent or hand delivered awesome big colorful bunches of balloons. Talk about lifting our spirits!
JUST BECAUSE
PARK
One one of those rare and wonderful days in the middle of winter that warm up enough to go outside, what else are you going to do but load up the stroller and head to the park?
On our way there Henry dubbed this "The Chicken Tree".
Signs of the ice storm are everywhere.
All that fresh air and playing at the park will wear some boys out!
I LOVE THIS
He'd just finished teething on a knob.
BISCUITS
I forgot about the awesome sticking power of the glue that is known as a teething biscuit. Ewwwww.
CHOW
Sometimes a boy just needs to put his feet up and relax.
SPEAKING OF
I was nervous about keeping up with Henry's carbs at first. I count his carbs then give him an insulin shot according to a ratio. I've gotten pretty comfortable with it now, but sometimes if there is a lot going on I'll snap a picture with my phone just to make sure I remember it all.
BATHTUB
Henry thought it would be funny to jump in his bath with his jeans on, and it was funny....that night...it wasn't as fun the following few night to try to stop him before he jumped in with various pieces of clothes still on.
BIRTHDAY PARTIES
Last weekend we had 2 birthday parties in one day!
The night before Henry got into the spirit of the birday parties we would be attending the next day by donning a dapper hat.
The first party was for Will, a friend Henry had made at Mother's Day Out and because he moved to our new "school" he hadn't seen Will in awhile. They were very happy to see each other. The party was held a Gymboree and the theme was firetrucks. Everyone had a great time!
Will had great gift bags for his guests that included a fireman's hat, a little firetruck, a flashlight and a fun party favor blower that looked like a hose with a stream of water coming out when he'd blow it. He loved it and needless to say was worn out by the time we got home!
Then it was on to our neighbor and friend Wake's birthday party! Two in one day! As you can tell, this one was at a bowling alley...Henry's first time bowling.
We're obviously just getting the "finesse" it takes to bowl because, starting here...
To here...
To here...
To here...is all one bowl...and he had that much time to strike all those poses...needless to say, we weren't in a big hurry.
After he discovered the mini merry-go-round, the air hockey and video games in the arcade, he was DONE bowling!
HORSES
I picked the boys up from daycare the other day, it was the second or third really sunny...but painfully cold day in a row. I just couldn't take the thought of just going home and staying inside again; we, just like everyone else are suffering from a serious case of cabin fever. So, to stay outside but to stay warm we took a little drive out to see our friends at the Horse Park. Henry, who of course loves horses, is usually a little cautious...but not this day, he was climbing the fence, rattling the gate asking me to open it, and chatting it up with the horses. "Hello Horse, is that your friend?", and for some reason cheering on the Cats with them...I guess they, like most residents of Lexington, are UK fans. (Fisher was sleeping peacefully in the warm car parked right next to us.)
Note: In posting all these pictures and writing the captions I realized what a slice of life these phone photos are. And what a slice of life we had over the last couple of months...I went to Madisonville originally to have my Mom watch the boys while I finish some freelance work before I started my new full-time job. The next thing we know, Ed comes down to meet us there and the ice storm hit, my Grandmother went to live in a nursing home, I delayed starting my job a week, Henry was diagnosed with Diabetes, I delay starting my job by another week, I traded my little Jetta for a SUV (thanks Mommy Ann), finally started my job, boys started daycare, and then now settling into our routines. Thanks for everyone's thoughts, good wishes, support and love. Life is life, and you just have to live it...and we are loving ours.
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