Harlow - 2 Year Pictures

Photographs of my Very Busy Harlow Boy by Becca Laing

Bike Ride

Going on a bike ride with Daddy - "Awesome!" was Harlow's adjective choice for the experience. Harlow Loves his time with Nathan! The two of them have such a fun time together; they sure are buddies! Watching the two of them together, it's strange but it honestly makes me fall even deeper in love with My Nathan! Watching him be a Dad is totally romantic for me and I am just more and more awed by this incredible man I've married! I get to cuddle up with this hunk at the end of each day! He makes my world totally glorious! I am such a blessed woman!

Boys Room

This is what I've decided to do with the room. There is still enough room and we can get into all the drawers.  It won't have 2 little boys in it for a while but it's ready.  I had tried to put Harlow down, just for naps in his big boy bed but he wouldn't stay...One day I put him down and then went down stairs, after a few minutes I heard a little tinkering upstairs so I snuck back upstairs and found Harlow in my room playing with some toys....So into his crib he went.  Well one night a few days later I was busy with book group and Nathan put him down for the night.  Harlow got out of bed and came to find Daddy in our room. Nathan just told him to go back and lay down in his bed and go to sleep, and he did!  He hasn't gotten out of his bed when we put him down since.  He will sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and come climb into bed with us but that's getting less frequent.

Migraine

I got a text early this morning from Nathan, telling me that he was getting a Migraine...He hasn't had one for over a year and a half.  It starts with blurred vision and quickly escalates.  I have never had a migraine, I don't know what it feels like or what he is going through.  But I do know from watching him, the many times that he's had them since we've been married that it must be horrific!  I have to stand and watch him, completely helpless but desperately wanting to help.  Each migraine's different.   Sometimes there is noise and light sensitivity.  He's had to ask me to leave the room because any movement that I made on the bed spread (which was hardly anything) was making his head pound.  Migraines almost always lead him to violently throw up.  I wonder what makes him throw up.  It's not like a stomach bug or food poisoning where he needs to get something specific out of his system.  Many times it seems like it builds and builds and finally he throws up and then it levels off and he's able to sleep, still miserable but at least sleeping. Why is this?  Watching him throw up is horrible but somewhat comical too...his limbs shoot out instantly in different directions.  I call it the "Super Star" cause its like he strikes a pose.  If I could put him in a cartoon and show him throwing up the character would be flailing all over the place trying to hold on to the toilet but not being able to and puking all around the toilet because his body is just that crazy.  But I do have to say that I am so proud of him today... 

Today, when I got home from shopping at Sam's Club with Jessica Johnson, I saw his car was home instead of him being at work.  That's when I knew he was really feeling awful.  Harlow went to go play with Bailey and I ran in to find Nathan.  I looked everywhere but he wasn't there.  I went out to his car and there he was just laying on the front seat/bench, curled up.  He had a big ziplock bag by his face (What a good husband of mine, to think about throwing up in a bag for me instead of flat out puking in the body of the car...if you know Nathan, you know why this is such a big deal...I don't think he's hardly ever made it to a toilet and I end up cleaning the now totally yucky carpet.  I hate cleaning up throw up, especially out of carpet!)  I went inside and got the pink (the darkest bedroom) ready for him.  I helped him out of the car which seemed almost too much for him.  He was groaning and moaning and holding his body.  Making our way upstairs and into the room before he lost it and started throwing up.  With a hand on his back I stood by and watched my poor Nathan.  I was concerned but I also watch out of interest.  The bag was still in his hands and I wondered if he'd be able to hold on to it and get it all in there or just completely miss...He did it!!  I was so- happy! All in the bag that I was able to zip up and toss! I can't even express how awesome that was! :) One happy wife right here!

He felt quite a bit better after this.  We laid in bed for a while with my hand on him - he likes me to do that when he's not feeling good. He slept.

I picked up Harlow from the Johnson's house and brought him back to see his daddy.  Harlow wanted to curl up and cuddle with his Papa, it was so cute.  Nathan said "oh buddy, I dreamed about the day when my little buddy would want to come snuggle with him.  I love this! In a few years you won't want to do this with me anymore...but then again, I'll probably feel the same way" - I laughed, imagining Nathan asking to come snuggle up in bed with his Dad now, yea, that would be a little weird.  The two were soon fast asleep.

We had a fun time sitting on the couch, talking and laughing about all these migraine stories this afternoon.  I love my husband!  I love his cheerfulness!  I love that he is my very best friend and I am his!  I love how we can take life for everything it's worth and still love it! 

(Not the Clearest Pictures, but I wanted the memory)

The Boys

 

As you can see from their faces the boys are spending some intense time together playing games on the iPad.  Harlow loves playing with it, especially when Daddy comes and plays with him.

Harlow's 2 - Fun Things

Some fun things about our big buddy

~He loves The Lion King and Iron Man.  TV and Movies have become much more appealing it him...which I don't like (but to say I don't take advantage of that and use them to help me make phone calls or get a quick shower in would be a complete lie)

~Knows the sounds that cows, monkey's, pigs, sheep, dogs, cats, lions, chickens, frogs, bees make

~Gives "kisses" with his tongue like a Lion.

~Only wants to sleep in his big boy bed now.  He stays in it when we put him down but gets up in the middle of the night....sometimes mommy puts him down in his crib just for her sake

~Getting him to eat is crazy hard. He chews meat forever and usually ends up spitting it out.  Eating the food needs to be "his idea" or it doesn't happen. I'll hand him milk, he'll push it away then not 5 seconds later asks for the milk again.  Hotdogs are a hit, as well as tuna.

~He can now jump and actually get off the ground, even if it's only an inch.  He also has gotten brave enough to jump off the bed or stairs into Mommy and Daddy's arms.

~Talks and talks. "Mom, mom, mom, mom..." Until he knows he has my attention then on with his story. "Mom, watch this, watch this" and only when I am watching him continuously he'll do his trick or be silly.  He wants to share all his exciting discoveries with me, I love it! 

~Loves motorcycles most (also loves cars, trains, and airplanes)

~Loves Books!! Some favorites right now are: All You Need for a Snowman, No More Hitting, Follow the Prophets(the Goliath story), JoJo, Peek-A-Boo, Whinnie the Pooh and some Bees. 

~Still potty training. He gets to FaceTime with his grandma's when he poops in the toilet and also get a treat (a dum-dum sucker).  I noticed it was mostly Mommy Training so I have put it aside for a while.  We still put him on the potty a few times a day but its not the active intense training that I was doing.  That will just come later.

~Has learned that he has a weenie

~Loves bath time, this usually aggravates the eczema on the backs of his knees...

~Says "Baby Tummy" and points to my growing belly.  "Open it" and then he wants to lift my shirt up so he can see my tummy.  He likes to put his bare belly on mine, as well as give it kisses and stand on it...this last one is not my favorite, as you can imagine.  We put his hands on my tummy and he'll sit there waiting to feel it.  Every time I feel the baby move I ask him if he felt that too, he always says "yes" - who knows.

~He play bites

~Loves to be tickled, playing the tickle game on our bed and the squish the spider game.  He loves being chased around island on our main floor. loves to sing, wants to ride bike(too small and catches on legs or else it's the two wheeler and mom has to push him around...gotta find new bike for him )

~He loves to sing!  We sing together everyday.  When I put him down to bed I have started finding and singing songs he doesn't know just so that he'll actually go to bed instead of singing with me :)  His favorite songs are I love to See the Temple, Rock-A-Bye Baby, Let It Go, Do You Want to Build a Snowman, Inseey, Weency Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday Song, Silent Night
~Can unscrew lids-yikes

~Quickly stomps feet when he gets mad
~Has throw 2 terrible tantrums, both were over toy guns.  When we had to leave them at friends housesand had to leave the guns behind he started kicking and screaming, hitting my face and literlly pulled out chunks of my hair.  I set him down and tired to talk to him, that was no good.  So I picked him up and we kept walking.  When we got home I went and sat him down in the bathroom and asked him if he needed some alone time, to which he responded "Yes".  So I closed the door and waited while he went on.  About 3 minutes later he calmed down, stood up and knocked on the door, saying he was done....it was about the same the second time too.  Guess he just needs his space to work things out.

~Dances, can do straight somersaults on his own, calls it a "bouncy bridge" when he jumps on the couch.   I guess it reminds him of the bouncy bridge at the park.
~Really enjoys playing with others and plays fairly well.  The neighbor kids who are a few years older will ask if he can come play.  We laugh and think its a little weird but seriously, all the ward/neighborhood kids love him.

~Is going to make a Wonderful Big Brother! Loves little babies and wants to hold them.  When he does he has a look of complete bliss on his face.  (*haha he did want to pop that one baby's toes when we were down in Vegas.)

Oil Spill

What an afternoon...

Becca Laing came over with kids, and while Brielle and Harlow were playing I smelled a poopy diaper, culprit = Harlow, so I went to change him. Right then my next piano student Owen Boxx came to door, someone else had to answer it for me since I was a little tied up wiping a bum. I wiped, turned to put it in the dirty diaper and within that 1/2 period Harlow grabbed an oil, opened it and poured it on the lower half of face, and down his neck, puddling in his ear.  It was citrus bliss which is not a harsh one but oh man, it smelled so strong. I wasn't sure how much got in his mouth or went into his ear. (The mouth I wasn't worried about, I mean, sure it will taste bad but ingesting them is not a problem but I've read everywhere that you're not suppose to put oil in the ear...why, I'm not sure.) I grabbed a q-tip and cleaned at much out of his ear as I could then he started screaming and pulling at his ear. His neck and ear turned bright red.  What if's started going through my head so fast and I was pretty worried.  Becca held him while I tried to call handful of friends who also use oils but no one was answering.  My main question/worry was what if the oil burned the inside of ear and damaged it.  I finally got a hold of Bethany Davis and later Sabrina Lee helped too. I used coconut oil on his neck and ear.  I put some coconut oil on my finger and rubbed the inside of his ear.  He was still screaming but started to calm down. This whole time my piano students just sitting there waiting for me listening to all this happen, I felt bad for him but I had to figure this out and take care of Harlow.  Becca went and taught Owen part of his lesson. Becca talked to Danielle Kennington, got some advice and canceled my next lesson, which happened to be her daughter Ginny. The redness started going away and he calmed down a little more.  Harlow kept pulling at ear and crying like he was in pain. I prayed, I didn't know what else to do. We laid down together and watched the Lion King to get his mind off it and He was able to fall asleep.  I talked to mom Andersen on the phone for the rest of the movie and by then Harlow woke up again. He was still fussy (not screaming) but I just put more coconut oil on. I turned on Iron Man...man, I'm a bad mom, all these movies... but we cuddled to whole time and he was content in my arms. He finally calmed down completely. He didn't want to eat anything (which is not so unusual) but I got him to eat little things like swallow of milk, a bite of a tct, apples and peanut butter, yogurt and granola...maybe together it was enough for a dinner...

By that night he was running around being crazy, silly, and his happy self.  I am so glad that he's okay.  I learned a lot.  Primary thing, he now knows how to unscrew lids and quickly. Babyproofing is going up another level...

Itching

Last night was insane!  My calves, the tops and sides of feet were itching, it was unbelievable! This was Way Worse than I have ever felt it before! I literally felt like I was crazy. Was it all in my mind? or was it really this bad?  I remembered reading and experiencing that heat aggravates the itch of Cholestasis so I stuck my legs out of the blankets.  I also grabbed the Aveno lotion and slathered it on.  Those two things did cool my skin down, which helped but not all that much.  I was a mind game, like with Mosquito bites.  You know when you get a mosquito bit and you think 'if I scratch enough it will go away', we all know that's a lie! It doesn't make it go away and doesn't make them better.  I just had to keep telling myself that over and over, 'scratching my legs off won't do any good!'  I could have sworn that if looked down at my legs they would have been covered in thousands of bites or rashes or bumps, but I knew there was nothing...and there wasn't

This morning the itching has gone away, not completely but it only very light. Strange how it can be so intense and then not bad. Why? What made it flare up?  Was it aggravated by something I ate? Today I decided to get rid of possibilities. I shaved my legs, lathered up on lotion, and drank plenty of water...we'll see how things go.  I will call my dr tomorrow if I itch again tonight as bad as last night.  They say it's worse at night.  I wonder why that it.  I have found that to be true, for me at least. 

Doctors say the soles of your feet and palms of your hands are where it typically starts but that it can be anywhere.  I noticed it on the tops of my feet then slowly work its way up my legs/calves, then to the soles of my feet and palms. That progression took a few weeks.  With Harlow it was so subtle I didn't even realize at first.  I would be teaching and I'd slip off one of my shoes and rub my foot against my other foot or against the carpet without even thinking, then I realized I was doing that a lot.  Then at night I would be getting ready for bed and my ankles and calves would be itchy so I'd grab lotion but that wasn't helping.  I just had this mild, unquenchable itch, if you will.  I'm getting it earlier this time, 30 almost 31weeks.  I think it happened around 35-36 weeks with Harlow but I didn't mention it to the dr until my 38 week visit... I didn't want it to be what I thought it was...I had known about it because Becca gets Cholestasis too.  She got it at 30 weeks with Kolby and 16 weeks with Brielle!  16 weeks and on, I can't even imagine how horrible that would be!

PS- (Feb 21st) as an update, I am still itching but nothing as bad as that night.  I have not called the dr about it because it has been mild.  I will see him on Monday Feb 24th.  I figured I'd just bring it up then.  I will probably have my liver numbers tested then and we'll get a better idea of what's going on.  I don't know for sure but I have been thinking about it and I think I know what spiked it that night.  Not much is known about Cholestasis but greasy things and lots of protein are things that are hard on your liver.  The night I itched we had these big, greasy homemade hamburgers and tator tots for dinner.  I think that meal is what spiked my levels...again, I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure that's what did it.  So I'm thinking, YES, diet does have an effect on this condition! 

Grape Juice Uni-brow...Not Sure How This Happened

We were getting ready to head out to Grandma & Grandpa Henderson's house for Harlow, Afton, and Grandpa's joint Birthday Party.  Daddy had been drinking grape juice and had to run out the door for a quick church meeting, that's when Harlow snagged the now empty, except for the foam/froth, cup.  When I looked at him next I saw the stunning purple uni-brow my son was sporting.  I laughed so hard.  How on earth did he get it to do that?!  Oh Harlow!  You are just too darn cute my little man!!

Found

I have never "found" Harlow asleep, never had it been quiet and found him conked out in weird places or positions, never wondered what had happened to him and realized he had just found a cozy spot...not until today that is.  I had put on The Lion King so that I could go upstairs and make some phone calls.  When they were all finished I came down stairs to find the movie still going and my little Harlow man out cold, his piece of apple close by, just like this.  I guess there's a first for everything.  

Man I love this little guy!