Nearly Two: Things I Like About You

I have a few friends who blog about their sons as if they're writing to them. I'm going to do that for this post. I want to remember these things. Here are some cute/funny/unique things about you, Roan, that I just adore:

• You call chipmunks "chunk-munk".
• Any time something goes away, it's usually "bye-bye [object], nap time [object]", for instance when a bus drives by.
• You recently (as in 2 days ago) tried mango gelato (made by Talenti) and you liked it! I've been trying to get you to eat ice cream for so long! Only problem: this is mamma's new favorite and I'm not sure if I'm ready to share, haha. My bet is you're still not ready to drink warm drinks, but seeing as how summer is approaching, there isn't a need to make you try them.
• Every night after dinner, you watch Neena (Meema) and Star on Sprout; usually starting with the Pajanamals and ending with the song about brushing teeth and washing faces for bed (perfectly timed at 8:30pm). Then dadda will turn off the tv and say "Give mamma a ni-night kiss". I get down on the floor and open my arms, but you'll run into another room - usually the kitchen - laughing and giggling until you decide to run full-speed back in the living room and run into my arms! Then we have our ni-night kiss and dadda takes you upstairs. It is my favorite to see your smiling face running so fast into my arms!
• Another favorite: you ask me to sing to you :) "Mamma sing song!" A few times, when I was done with the song, you said "Much be-yer (better)" or "Feewl be-yer!" 
• You have been saying phrases without prompting more and more. Things like: "Yuff (love) dis book!" after reading the Animal Alphabet book...or "Hear it car" when you hear a car drive by. And just this morning, you got on all fours when I went to get you out of bed and you said "Being frog!" I l-o-v-e watching your little imagination grow!
• You frequently think you hear airplanes when eating breakfast or lunch (granted, sometimes there really is an airplane flying overhead). You'll say "Fink (think) hear air-pwane!"
• You're beginning to be a little more ok with your hands dirty (emphasis on "beginning to").
• You now have to sleep with your owl, blue blanket (together they are "owl bwanket"), and a small stuffed frog I got at a garage sale (named Hopkins just like the frog on Signing Time). We probably could take Hopkins out of the equation and you'd be ok, but I don't really feel like it :) It's cute watching you hold on to all three!
• When mamma or dadda tell you to do (or not do) something, you listen! Please keep this up! Then you'll say "Good job yissening (listening)!"
• You're doing pretty well with stairs, but it still makes me nervous, so the baby gate is going to stay at the bottom of the stairs for now :)
• You just might end up becoming a drummer! You love seeing the drums at church (Papa usually takes you up to see them after the last set of songs is over) and you frequently hit things and say "Pwaying drums!"
• We call our neighbors Miss [first name], but you turn it into "Missur", so it's usually "Missur Bambi" and "Missur Angi" and so on. If you try hard enough, you can say "Miss Bambi", but I think you're just being lazy ;)
• You've started fake laughing and it's too cute. You'll do it when grownups are laughing about something...like tonight at dinner when you leaned over in your chair and started to reach for me then let out the biggest toot...dadda and I couldn't help but crack up and you started fake-laughing with us. 

Ok, that's enough for now, haha. I will try to do this more often because really, I'd like to remember this kind of stuff later on down the road and I've been slacking on blogging since he turned 1. 

Sean and I have been praying together every night (well, most nights). We started cause of our marriage class, but we are planning on/hoping to continue this after the class is over. Every night we thank God for blessing us with Roan - and really, I feel so grateful, honored, and humbled that God chose us to be his parents, it's mind-blowing sometimes. What a responsibility! And how overwhelming! It's a scary thing to realize that as a parent, you could seriously damage your kid if you're not careful, haha. God, help us and give us the strength to do a good job with the task you have given us - raising this amazing, awesome little person!

The Day I Thought Roan Broke His Finger

One day I'm probably going to have a blog post titled: "The Day Roan Actually Broke His Finger", I just know it. Praise God today is not that day!

Roan got a water table and a little slide today (thanks to my mom!). I finished putting the slide together for a second time (I had to exchange it because the first one had a defective screw - the very last screw I had to put in!) and I decided to take the water table and slide outside so he could play. I took the table out, trying to hurry before he got to the screen door. He must have made it just in time to get his left ring finger caught in the door - where it hinges to the door frame.

Once I reached him and looked at his finger, it looked bent...at least from what I could tell because he was naturally pulling his hand away. Later I realized this was because his little fingers are so chubby, the dent created by the door gave this appearance.

Sheer panic set in. I actually said out loud "Oh, God, please don't let it be broken. I think it's broken. Is it broken?"

Sean was still at work, so I ran through the house and out the front door. My neighbor, Bambi, wasn't home - I didn't see her car. My neighbors Angi and Candie (and Tara) were home and I frantically knocked on their door. First, I felt like I first needed another adult's opinion (preferably a mom) on whether or not it was broken. Second, if it was broken, I knew I was going to need someone else to drive because otherwise I would end up with a speeding ticket for going 90mph to the hospital.

They grabbed an ice pack, which Roan didn't like, and as his finger started to normalize, I realized it wasn't broken. He was also moving it pretty well and was reasonable about letting me touch it in that he didn't scream when I would try. I also realized that the screen door didn't slam shut on him...it wasn't like a car door. I realized it would likely take a lot more than that to break his finger.

I immediately felt silly. He was still obviously in pain, though. I took him back home and turned on tv. I think he needed the distraction and it was his first time at Angi and Candie's so there was the new place factor. Praise Jesus, though - Thomas was on Sprout! But that only served to distract him a little bit. He would be ok for a few seconds, then start crying again.

I thought I could kill two birds with one stone by taking him back outside to play with the water table, which had very, very cold water in it (I thought that could help reduce the swelling). He was successfully distracted and did not want to go inside for dinner.

His finger still looks swollen and slightly red. But after a while, he was back to his cute, funny, silly self. He ate dinner like a champ (scarfed down the artichoke pesto chicken!) and though he's currently still gabbing away in his crib, I'm betting he's gonna sleep like a rock.

I know I'm a total first-time mom - today proved it. Sean wasn't home to keep me level headed, so my brain just ran with the broken-finger scenario. The important thing is I learned from this, haha. I learned to wait a few minutes before panicking and nearly dialing 911. I learned I'm not as level-headed as I think I am when it comes to my son being injured. I know he wouldn't have died if his finger was broken; it was just an instinctual "My baby is hurt and I - or someone with the knowledge and training required - needs to make it better as soon as humanly possible."

I learned to put things in perspective a little more. When I had him outside and he was splashing in the water table, I felt the urge to supervise him closely to minimize how wet he would get (not keep him from getting wet at all, just minimize). Wait, Kenna. It's a water table. And so what if he gets wet? I do not want to be a mom that is so concerned about neatness and tidiness that I prevent my son from being a kid and enjoying his childhood. So, yes, he was soaked 10 minutes before dinner, so he simply ate dinner in his diaper. He was content, I was content.

Also, I have amazing neighbors that I know I can go to any time for any thing and they will not judge me. They reassured me that they do not think I'm crazy...because I thought for sure they would! So for that, I am immensely grateful, too.

I know a day is coming when Roan will have a major injury. I grew up with two younger brothers, I know how that goes. Maybe that's why I panicked today. Regardless, I sure hope and pray that I am not alone when Roan has his first major injury. I felt helpless at the mere prospect of his finger being broken!

Now I'm going to relax and unwind from the adrenaline.