This Week in Pictures

This week I have pretty much laid around, resting my back. I was blessed by several of my friends who brought in meals, came over this week to help me lift Joseph, played with him, and gave me some much needed “adult” time. Paul was also a blessing. He had Monday off because it was a holiday (we were originally planning on going to Sea World…bummer!), but he was able to take Tuesday off as well to help out. By about Friday, I was finally feeling like I could start lifting Joseph a little bit. My back is still stiff, and is sore if I try to do too much, so I’m really trying to listen to my body and rest when it tells me to.

Joseph has been his usual cute self this week. New word this week: eat. I asked him if he was ready to eat, and he repeated the word. I was ridiculously excited, lol. He also says, “Mmmah” when he sees me and Paul kiss, which means (as close as I can tell) that HE wants a kiss, too. So I’ll tell him to come (which he’s gotten pretty good at) and I’ll kiss his forehead. 🙂 He is as social as ever. Since I had friends coming over to help out, he was able to have 3 play-dates this past week. He was SO excited! When there would be a knock on the door, we’d go answer it, and he’d burst out with, “HI!”  I think that when I drop him off at nursery next week, he’s really going to flip out…2 hours of new toys and new friends all his size?! Yeah, he might cry when I come to get him to go home.

Now the pictures for the week.

First up, is Joseph learning how to use the chair that we bought him (can’t beat $5 at Wal-Mart!). I’m thinking of going back tomorrow to pick up another one…that way, when friends come over, they have a place to sit as well. 🙂

Trying to sit like Mommy. I guess I need to sit properly more often!
Trying to sit like Mommy. I guess I need to sit properly more often!
Just hanging out.
Just hanging out.

Other days, he took advantage of the sunlight that streams through our windows (the weather has really been beautiful lately…warm-ish, but not humid…definitely not what I imagined for February, but after talking to the locals, it’s the way that it is down here).

Lovin' the sun.
Lovin’ the sun.

On Friday, we went to have dinner at a place called Freddy’s (they are famous for their frozen custard. We didn’t get any that night, but we’ve had it before…it’s very good). They have great hamburgers! Joseph was just loving being out and about (plus, there was a really cute baby a couple of booths down that was playing peek-a-boo with Joseph).

This is how he is almost 100% of the time. :)
This is how he is almost 100% of the time. 🙂

A little light reading is always in order. Joseph commandeered this local newspaper (I think it’s put out by the school district) and was enjoying looking at all of the pictures. He was even babbling to himself, as if he were reading it. It was great!

Very serious.

Very serious. 
Finally, since we always want to end on a high note, here’s a picture that gives you an idea about how tonight went. 🙂

 Tickle Fest!

Tickle Fest!

And that’s our week in pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Playing Dress-Up

While I have been stuck in bed, Joseph has had a lot of Daddy-Joseph time. I am so grateful that Paul has been able to take care of both me and our sweet little boy. Part of the Daddy-Joseph time today has been a bit of dress-up (Joseph loves to wear our shoes, coats, etc.). His favorite by far is to get a hold of some of Paul’s old uniforms. For your viewing pleasure:

littlearmyman

Interesting End to the Week

Our week started off great! Joseph continues to amaze us day by day with the new stuff that he’s doing (climbing up on top of the coffee table, plastic bins, etc.) and saying (just last night, Paul said that while Joseph was watching one of his favorite shows, Super Why, which focuses on vocabulary, spelling, and phonics, he said /k/, /k/, K! and /eh/, eh/, E! along with the characters…one more reason that I love PBS!). We had a rather low-key Valentines Day. Paul went to work, as usual, and I took care of the babe. After Paul got home from work, we exchanged gifts and had Panda Express for dinner (I picked it up and brought it home).

Our little ladies man
Our little ladies man

Joseph’s been fighting off a cold and cough, but he’s getting better little by little. He still hates getting his nose wiped and suctioned out (which I understand). I’m looking forward to when we can teach him to blow his nose! Luckily, we have the vaporizer and baby Vapo Rub which at least give him a little comfort. To his credit, he’s never really stopped being the giggly, lovey baby that he is most of the time.

Now for the craziness that ended our week. Friday night, I was picking Joseph up and felt a sharp twinge in my back. I put him down and sat down. As I got up, I didn’t feel anything, so I thought no more of it until later when I tried to pick him up again. This time it was a really sharp pain…so bad, that I couldn’t even bend over to put him in his crib. Thinking that I had just a sore muscle, once Joseph was in bed, I took a warm bath and then put my heating pad on my back. Apparently, that wasn’t a good idea, because the next time I tried to get up, I couldn’t. Paul tried to help me up, and my back started seizing up really bad…and continued to do so every time I tried to walk, sit down, or stand up (so basically, laying down was my only option, though I couldn’t even turn over by myself). About 2:30 A.M., we decided that it was time to go to the ER. Paul ran across the street and got one of our neighbors (they are in our ward) to come sit with Joseph so that we could go. It took Paul probably 5 minutes to get me down the stairs, and another 5 minutes to get me into the car. We got to the ER and they put an IV in to give me Valium, Morphine, and Benadryl (since apparently I’m allergic to Morphine). About an hour after that, they tried to get me to sit up, which still hurt SO bad. They then gave me another dose of the Valium, Morphine, and Benadryl, followed by another pain-killer (they said this one would last for a couple of days). They took x-rays (which showed up normal…*whew*). Finally they decided that it was a severe muscle strain (probably caused by lifting up Joseph, who’s pushing 30 lbs now) and sent me home with a muscle relaxer, some Ibuprofin 800, and some Norco (a narcotic pain reliever). After staying in bed all day yesterday, I’m finally able to walk around very slowly (with the help of Paul’s walking stick…I’m beginning to think that there was more than one reason that we decided to buy that thing when we went to the Old Town Helotes Market Day a few weeks back). I’m glad that Paul has work off on Monday, and I’m hoping to be well enough to take care of Joseph by Tuesday. I think it will just take me forcing myself to stay in bed the next two days, which, by far, has been the hardest thing. I’m so thankful for modern medicine and for a husband who is willing to pick up and help with everything. One positive thing: Joseph is getting in a LOT of Daddy-time, which he LOVES!