A New Take on Angels v. Rangers

Our next door neighbors are Angels fans. I don't know what we are going to do with them. :)

We went over there this morning because Jamie is helping me with a project (that will be revealed when it is completely finished!!) I grabbed Luke's Michael Young shirt because it was handy (he was confused why we were going to a game at 9 am, haha). I found it hilarious when we got next door and Joshie was wearing his Vlad Guerrero shirt.

Even rivals can be BFF's and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse together:

The Results Are In...

Luke's EEG was completely normal!!! Praise God!!!

Wild Sleeper

I always check on Luke at least once before I go to bed at night. Lately I've been checking on him multiple times. The first two times I went in, he was laying normally in his bed. I almost didn't go in again right before I got in bed, but decided to anyway. Good thing I did because this was how I found him:

Daddy Snuggles

When we put Luke to bed, we always bend down to give him hugs and kisses and tell him goodnight. Last night I gave him my hugs and kisses and then it was Nate's turn. Luke decided he didn't want Daddy to leave. He rolled over and threw his arm around Nate's neck. Nate had to stay there until Luke fell asleep - he said that every time he got up to leave, Luke would say, "No, Daddy, stay." He wasn't in there for very long, though; after the day Luke had yesterday he was asleep in a matter of minutes.

Little Copycat

Luke can't wait to be able to wakeboard like Daddy.

Update on Luke

I apologize for not updating the blog sooner with more information on what happened to Luke last week. We found out Thursday night that his bloodwork came back normal. That was really good news. The EEG was scheduled for today at noon at Cook Children's Department of Neuralsciences in Fort Worth. We are very thankful that it is over and done with. He had to be sleep deprived so I woke him up at 6 am and we went nonstop this morning. I wanted to get him worn out because they told me he had to be able to fall asleep there. I succeeded because the poor thing was exhausted by the time we got there, around 11:30 am. His appt was for noon.

Other than the convulsing and the not breathing and almost having to give him CPR, this was my worst experience as a mom. We had to lay him on a bed so the EEG tech could get the electrodes on his head. He did NOT want to lay there and he was PISSED that he had to. He cried and cried and cried and I was practically laying on top of him to keep him still. The tech had to measure his head, draw dots with dry erase marker, put a where she had put the dot, dip the electrode in putty, stick it on his head and then put tape on it. I lost count of how many electrodes were on his head. He did somewhat okay with the ones in his hair, but when she touched skin - his forehead and part of his cheek - he would FLIP. She did say that he did very good for his age - most kids are kicking and fighting her and Luke was pretty still except when he would get a new wind to cry and he'd move his head.

After everything was stuck on, she wrapped his head up. He looked SOOO sad. It was everything I could do not to burst into tears at the sight of him. Instead I took a picture with my phone:


The test began and we had to make him open his eyes for a bit, and then close his eyes for a bit. Of course, as soon as he needed to have his eyes open, he would squint them shut and cry. And when he needed them closed, he would open them and look around. I had to hold his eyes shut with my fingers, it was horrible. Then they put a flashing light inches from his face and he had to look into it while it flashed psychotically. That seemed to take forever and finally we got to the point where he could go to sleep. By this point he was exhausted and all he wanted was for Mommy to hold him so I scooped him up and sat on the bed with him. I cradled him in my arms and he fell asleep very quickly. That's when I almost lost it - he just looked so small and so big at the same time. Nate commented about how tall he is getting and I remembered being able to just hold him in my lap and now I could barely fit his torso in my lap. As I watched him sleep, he just seemed so peaceful and all I could see was his sweet face. I was just praying that he was forgetting everything that had just happened to him.

The sleeping part only lasted about 30 minutes and then the tech came in and turned the lights back on and filled a tub of soapy water to take the electrodes off of his head. He did not want to wake up and he screamed while she scrubbed his head down and removed the tape and the electrodes. I wished that we had buzzed his hair again so there wouldn't have been as much hair pulled during the process. Finally she was done and I picked him up and he immediately wanted Daddy to hold him. As we were leaving, he said "bye bye" to the tech and she handed him two car stickers, to which he replied, "thank you". That made his Mommy proud - using his manners after everything he had just been through. The tech even made a comment about how cute and polite he was and joked that she doesn't usually hear "thank you" from patients before they leave.

She said to call our pediatrician's office in 4-5 days to find out the results. She said it would take a little bit for the doctors there to review the results and then get them to Dr. Daniels. So now we are in the waiting game. My gut says that everything will be fine, but I will be relieved when we know for sure.

After the EEG was over, I wanted to give Luke a special treat so we headed to McDonald's for lunch. He just got brave enough to play in the play place by himself and there were no other kids there (a benefit to being out during naptime) so I let him have fun (and then doused him with antibacterial gel when he was done!) Then I let him get his first ice cream cone - he was sooooo excited!

Nothing like ice cream to make everything all better!

Surreal Morning/Early Afternoon

I have posted before about how when Luke gets really upset, he holds his breath until he passes out. It freaked me out at first, but it has happened so much now that I barely fazes me. I blow in his face, but sometimes that doesn't work, so I just hold him. He will go limp and then immediately start breathing again. Within minutes he is fine and back to his normal self.

Something happened today that was totally different. Luke had been laying in my bed watching Madagascar while I folded and put away a ton of laundry. It happened after I walked out of the room - I heard a thud followed by Luke screaming. I ran in to find him laying on the floor in hysterics. He was holding his breath so I grabbed him and started blowing in his face, but it didn't help. But he didn't pass out right away. Before he went limp, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, his body went rigid and he started shaking. It reminded me of a seizure. I don't know how long it lastted, but when he was done, he stopped breathing and passed out. I thought he would start breathing again like normal, but he didn't. I don't know how long he was out, but it was long enough that I was about to start CPR on him because I didn't know what else to do to get him to breathe. About that time, I felt him take a breath. But he was still out of it. He never cried, he just opened his eyes and looked around. He was pretty listless, I couldn't get him to stand on his own so I could look him over to make sure he was okay.

I didn't know what to do so I grabbed my phone and called the pediatrician's office. I told the nurse what had happened and she told me to bring him in right away. Both of us were still in our pajamas so I ran around throwing clothes on us both and ran out the door.

The doctor's office was packed, I guess because of school starting next week. He was still pretty out of it when we got there - I had to yell at him the whole time we were driving because he was falling asleep. He didn't start coming to and talking to me until after we were in an exam room, about 30-45 minutes after the incident.

When the pedi came in, I told him everything. He obviously was aware of Luke's history of holding his breath until he passed out (he has even done it in the office before) but he could tell from the way Luke was acting that this was different. He did an exam and everything checked out - there were no injuries or signs of illness that could have caused this. He called it a "spell" and explained that these days they are more careful about labeling seizure without having more tests done. I had to take Luke for some bloodwork so they could test his blood sugar, calcium and salt in the blood. He also recommended that we have an EEG done so they could test Luke's brain activity and hopefully rule anything out. So we will be getting a call from the nurse to schedule the EEG at Cook Children's in Fort Worth. He said it will probably be within 7-10 days. We should hopefully have the results of the bloodwork by this evening or first thing in the morning.

My mind is reeling right now. Sitting there listening to my baby's doctor tell me that if this happens again, I need to take him to the ER right away, and if he stops breathing for longer than 30 seconds I need to call 911 and start CPR was just so surreal. I am praying that this was an isolated incident, and Dr. Daniels said that sometimes these things happen once in kids and that's it. I pray that is our case as well.

I can't get the image of his "spell" out of my head. I don't know if I ever will.

Back Where He Belongs

In the almost seven years since Pudge left Arlington, I have seen him behind the plate at the Ballpark many times. As a Marlin, as a Tiger, as a Yankee, and as an Astro. I always hoped that I would see him behind the plate in a Rangers uniform again. I really didn't think it would ever happen.

Dreams really do come true because last night, I watched Pudge catch another game at the Ballpark. Except this time, he was a Ranger again.

When I heard about Pudge's return to Arlington, I knew that I HAD to be at the first game he would start. It's always been a regret of mine that I didn't come home from school to be at his final game in 2002 - instead I have it taped and yes, I still have the video.

My neighbor Jamie came with me and she was such a trooper to put up with my having to leave for the game two hours early (although there was a Paul McCartney concert at the new Cowboys stadium so I had no idea how traffic would be), and all my chattering about Pudge.

It sure was nice to see him playing catch out in the outfield...


and to see that the catcher was #7.


Stretching and taking in.


Heading into the bullpen with Kevin Millwood, like he'd done it a million times. I guess he has, just never with KM before.


Yay for Pudge!!


Heading to the plate:


What a great sight.




First at-bat...


is a single up the middle!


Scoring his first run as a Ranger:


Second at-bat...


is a double to right!


The game didn't go so great with a 4-0 lead getting blown in the sixth inning. Love how Michael Young is slapping Millwood's butt in this picture, though.


Welcome home, Pudge! I am so glad you are back!

Welcome Home, Pudge.

At 11:55 am today, August 18, 2009, I heard one of the greatest pieces of news I have ever heard in my entire life.

The Rangers were in the process of making a deal with the Astros for - PUDGE!!

Nate called me to tell me that Bryan (my BIL) had called him to tell him that he had heard it on ESPN Radio. I start freaking out and call Bryan back to find out exactly what he heard. Then I start searching all over the Internet to find something, anything, about this. One of the girls on my mommy board found a link to a blog on dallasnews.com that confirmed what Bryan said told us.

A few hours later and it was confirmed, Pudge was on his way up from Houston. I will admit that I had a very unproductive afternoon, I spent the majority of it looking on every sports website and blog I could find for any detail that I may have missed about the details of the trade.

Tonight, as I sit here watching the Rangers play the Twins on tv, Pudge sits in the Rangers dugout, in the Rangers uniform, wearing #7 again. (Can I just say that David Murphy made some serious brownie points with me today - what a classy guy to give Pudge back his number!) Everything feels right in the world at this moment.

I've blogged before about when I found out that Pudge was going to be leaving the Rangers. I cannot describe the excitement I felt upon hearing that he was coming home. It's always been a dream of mine for Pudge to come back, I just never imagined that it would actually come true. And the timing could NOT be better, with the Rangers smack dab in the middle of a pennant race. I am not naive enough to think that just because Pudge is back means we will be in the playoffs. But I do think he will be a huge asset to the club in the remaining month and a half of the season. Not many on the team have been to the playoffs - much less been in two World Series.

I hope to be able to be at his first game as a starter for the Rangers. As I type this it has not been confirmed if he will start tomorrow or Thursday, but I guarantee I will do everything in my power to be there for the game. With a "Welcome Home Pudge" sign and my zoom lens to take pictures. I am so excited!!

More Pool Pics

Just some pictures I took of Luke, Joshie & Reese playing in the pool this evening.

Daddy's Carp

Hunting season is just around the corner and Nate is practically counting down to bow season. He decided to do a little target practice when he got home from work today. He was all excited to show Luke his bow. Luke took one look at it and said, "Ohh, Daddy! Carp!"

I was in the kitchen working on dinner and wasn't paying much attention to what was going on. But I kept hearing Luke say "carp, carp, carp" and I couldn't figure out what the heck he was talking about so I came out to look...

Luke was "playing" the bow like a harp.


Thank you, Little Einsteins.

New Toy

Standing in the checkout line in Target today, I spotted a little Play-Doh toy. Luke loves Play-Doh but has never had any accessories to go along with it. It was nothing spectacular, but he loved playing with it after his nap.

In his mind he was making "snakes" with the Play Doh and he got the biggest kick out of it.

My Baptism

Today our church hosted the "Bash & Baptism" at Hawaiian Falls, a local waterpark just down the street from our house. It had been on my heart for awhile to be baptised, but since I am a very shy person I never wanted to get up in front of our entire congregation during church. This was a perfect option for me so I decided to go for it.

43 people, ranging from kids to adults, were baptised in the wave pool at Hawaiian Falls. It was such an amazing experience, and I am very thankful for my family and friends who were able to be there as a witness. I wish I had done it sooner, but I also feel like I did it at the perfect time. I can't wait until Luke makes the decision to be baptised, and I pray that he doesn't wait as long as I did.

Some pics -

Waiting in line:


Right before:


Right after:


Luke had so much fun playing in the wave pool after the baptism. And I had so much fun going on some of the water slides that were open! :)

My Little Rangers Fan

Luke asked for water when we came in from playing outside this evening. I gave him his drink and then went back in the garage to bring some things inside. When I came inside, this is how I found him...just sitting on the floor, watching the Rangers play the Red Sox.

Popsicle Now?

Lately I have been freezing some of the V8 Splash Light juice to give to Luke as a yummy frozen treat. I found some really cool popsicle molds at Walmart that catch the juice as it melts and then has a straw where you can drink it. I love it because there is a lot less mess (except when Luke dumps it out but that is a whole 'nother story.) In my attempt to get as much good nutrition in this picky child, I thought that frozen V8 Splash Light juice would be better than a sugary popsicle. And Luke loves them!

Yesterday, Luke asked for a popsicle at 10:00 am. Even though it is just juice, I thought it was too early for one so I told him that he could have one after he woke up from his nap. He seemed okay with that answer so we went on with our day. About 10 minutes later he did something that resulted in being sent to his room (I think he tried to kick the dog or something, I can't remember.) I heard him crying at first, but then things got quiet. Eerily quiet. After a few minutes, I figured I should go check on him to see what exactly he had gotten into...for all I knew he had pulled the drawers on his dresser out and used them as stairs or something.

Imagine my surprise when I found him laying in bed, with his paci, blankie, Hot Dog Dance, Rocket, and Snuggles. When he saw me, he grinned and sat up.

"Mama," he said, "Uke nap. Popsicle now?"

I could not believe it. What a little trickster! I then explained to him that laying in his bed for five minutes did not constitute a nap and he could have a popsicle after he actually slept.

Well that afternoon when he woke up from his real nap, he got his popsicle.



I can't help but feel scared since he is only two years old and he is already trying to outsmart me.

Taking the Obsession to a Whole New Level

Wakeboading, Water Skiing, and Boat Riding

We took the boat to Navarro Mills lake on Saturday. Nate's parents, brothers, one of his sisters, and two friends met us at the lake for some fun on the boat. We ended up staying on the lake for most of the day. The water conditions weren't perfect because it was pretty windy, but there weren't many other boats out so we got some good wakeboarding/water skiing/boat riding in.

Luke did great. He loved riding in the boat. It was just the three of us for a little bit while we waited for everyone else, and he was such a good boy sitting next to Nate while I wakeboarded and next to me while Nate wakeboarded. When both of us would fall, he was very concerned and kept saying, "Oh, no! Mommy okay?" or "Daddy okay?" until he saw we were perfectly fine in the water.

We'd been out for a couple hours when Nate's parents, Hannah, Jake & Jaryn got there and as we were driving over to pick them up, Luke started to fall asleep. So we took him to the truck and let him take a nap. (It was turned on, of course.) My wonderful in-laws sat at the campsite we rented for the day while he napped. When he woke up we picked them back up and headed back on the lake for a few more hours. We all had a blast!

My zoom lens was awesome for getting some cool pics...

Jake:






Sam:






Hannah:




Matt even got out there and showed us he's still got it:


Luke, squinting to keep the sun and the wind out of his eyes. Too bad we forgot his hat and sunglasses back at the campsite!


Luke rode with Nana so I could take pictures of Nate wakeboarding.


Watching Daddy dazzle us all:


Nate:










We put Luke in the lake to cool him off...he did not enjoy it very much. He preferred to be in the boat.


Finally, my turn!