National Heat Stroke Prevention Day!

July 31st is National Heat Stroke Prevention Day!

Since my nephew's death in 2005 from heat stroke in a locked car, I've become very aware of the dangers of kids in and around cars. Prior to that, it was just a thought in the back of my mind, but it was one of those "it will never happen to me," or "never happen to my family" kind of things...

Well, it did happen to us. It happened to Riley.

So far this year, 23 kids have already died in hot cars across our nation.

Kids and Cars is an organization that tracks the data relating to child safety in and around cars. They work for legislative changes to protect children from the dangers that cars pose to them, and they educate the community about potential dangers that they may otherwise not be aware....

Did you know that children are particularly vulnerable to heat stroke since their body temperature can rise 3-5 times faster than an adults???

More than half of the hyperthermia deaths in these situations are children who were unknowingly left in cars. These were not children who had parents or caregivers intentionally leave them in harm's way. These were average parents, who got distracted by their busy lives, or stressed, or fatigued, or had a change in their normal routine, or quite simply had their memory fail them. 

The next largest group of hyperthermia deaths occurred in cases where children got themselves into the vehicles, without the knowledge of a parent/caregiver. This was the case with our little Riley.

Anyhow....I would be remiss to let this day pass by without mention, and without sharing the resource that is Kidsandcars.org.

Here is a link to their site, which includes ALL KINDS of education regarding hyperthermia deaths, their "Look before you lock" campaign, the dangers of power windows, frontover and backover dangers, etc.
Kidsandcars.org

Brotherly Love...

Gage LOVES his sister. Loves her. He wants to hold her every day. He wants to pick out her clothes sometimes. He has preferences about which hair bow she wears. He will feed her a bottle. He will burp her. He has even changed a diaper! (GASP!) Yes....this little boy of mine has become the BEST brother. He's a natural at it.

....and this? THIS melts my heart:

For her first Tummy Time adventure, that's what Gage said... "I'll do it with her so she doesn't have to do it by herself." What a SWEET and kind spirit!

...then another day....I was TRYING to finally do something with my hair. (The mom of a new baby has little time to blowdry and straighten hair!) I came out of the bathroom, and the baby was NOT where I left her! She was with Brother on the couch...

He took her out of the swing, put her in the boppy. Covered her with a blanket...and just took care of her while he watched TV.

He will do whatever it takes to make her smile. Sometimes he's a bit tooooo in her face, meaning he's so close that nobody could focus on his silly faces....but other than that, he's just the best at entertaining his sister. 

He's a great big brother...and he's going to be an amazing father some day...

...all of this from the same little boy in THIS video from 2010... (This is the "I Hate Babies" Video! It's a must-see!!!!)

http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s310/drdukesbride/?action=view&current=August2010026.mp4

4th of July 2013

Every year (except one...) since Gage was born, we've gone to Memaw's neighborhood for the annual Golf Cart Parade. Gage loves it!

Pics from the morning...

(She thinks Daddy is so much fun!)

Sweet boy...sitting on the curb, just waiting for the fun to begin.

...and HERE they come!

After the parade, we headed out for brunch. Then, we went home for a rest. I nursed Eliette, and we both took a nap. It was wonderful!

Then, James, Jess, R1 & R2 came over for swimming and cooking out... Jess and I were primarily indoors with E, so I have no pics from the outdoor fun. I have this one though...

It wasn't long after that Eliette spit up all over her clothes and she had to change. Well, she didn't have another 4th of July outfit, so we went with an "All American" theme. What did we come up with? Baseball, of course! {Hey, Mom, look! She's Baseball Girl!}

Here it looks like she's holding court with the boys....Ha!

As it was getting darker, we headed out to watch fireworks with James & Jess. 

Eliette couldn't have cared less...

How she spent most of the evening:

So, that was her very first 4th of July.... And to think that next year at 4th of July, she's going to be toddling about with fat little legs sticking out of a little Summer suit...with her little hands up to the side like all little ones do for balance. Oh, it's going to be darling! (not that I'm wishing my time away! I'm certainly not!)

...and I think of my son getting older...at some point he's not going to want to watch fireworks with us. He'll want to be with his friends or (GASP!) girlfriend....
I am DEFINITELY not wishing our time away!

Bath Baby....

Oh, the bath...
I've posted previously about how excited I was about the "Blooming Bath" that I got for E. I'm so over that thing!
I HAD to go and get a regular baby bath for her. I admitted to Hubby that it was one of those things that I thought I just HAD to have...and it was a total disappointment.

...anywhoooo....when we got the new bath, Gage was eager to help give E a bath. It was very sweet.

This little girl in the bath: just putting her into water can change her mood instantly. Rough time? Just add water!

Gage and Mommy worked together to give Little Miss a bath in her new tub.
{...and I just LOVE the Mustela baby shampoo that Dammit Arlene got for us. It's WONDERFUL!}

....my sweet baby girl looks so much like her Daddy. It's just funny to me at times. And Gage was the same way when he was little, and now he's kind of grown into this blend of both of us....

Anyway.... Gage and I had fun giving Eliette a bath, and Eliette loved it too!

Now THAT's what a goofy big brother looks like!
Goofy-gut!

Missing Masyn Day...

Today, our Missing Masyn Day came and went with little mention. Certainly those thoughts are in my heart and mind always, and somehow stronger on July 25th.... but this year.... Eliette somehow just made the day better....easier....

I've felt for years this struggle between "Masyn should be here" vs. "this happened for whatever reason, and my family is not supposed to have Masyn here with us on Earth."

Somehow, this year....I feel like Eliette is here, and THIS is how it's always supposed to have been.... I kind of even feel guilty for thinking and feeling that way.... But, it's how I feel. Maybe it's just acceptance that I'm feeling...

I miss all that Masyn would have been and all the big & little ways our lives would have been enriched.... but I accept that we will never know that here on Earth. I accept that Masyn was the baby we never got to have, and never got to hold. I accept that...

UPDATE: Hubby's surgery!

Hubby had his 2nd and hopefully FINAL sinus surgery today. This time they went into the sinuses in his forehead. Yikes! The recovery/awake sensation after this surgery has been described to me as "invisible fire" in your face.
Ummm....ouch.

The good news: they did all of this through his nose, and not through his forehead and so no, he doesn't have bolts sticking out like Frankenstein. Yaaaay!
{Hey, we take the small victories where we can.}

The bad news: our nighttime ritual is going to be screwed as I parent two kiddos solo! {Somebody, beer me!}
....just kidding, I'm nursing.
(Let me pump first!)

Okay...I must be delirious from sleep deprivation because I'm just getting silly now.
The update is that the surgery is over. It went well. The recovery should be easier than his last sinus surgery (though I can't imagine that recovery from ANYTHING shoved up your nose could be pleasant in the least).

Oh, and I broke my toe.
There's that.
....but more on that later.