Happy 9 Months Gabriel!

Monday we had a very fun day. We got some more toys out of their packages (I'm spreading out the fun) and Dawson opened his Leap Frog Explorer game. He loves it! There's a pet to feed, letters to trace, train tracks to line up and many fun games. We got the Leap School Reading game that has a lot in it and the Jewel train free just for buying the system. It's been a nice incentive tool as well. He hit me and got it taken away for 5 minutes. He sure didn't like that but he didn't hit again. We sat there and counted down the minutes and talked about hitting. He also put together his 24 piece puzzle, 4 times! He needs a lot of help, but is getting much better at noticing colors and details in the picture to line up. His patience has really improved a lot since last spring too! We played Uno Moo a couple times and he liked that too.

Tuesday we met up with some friends from Dawson's online playgroup. We usually get together once a year at least. This time we had a friend from New York fly in to see family here, so we had a special playdate so we could all meet her. Dawson got to play his Leap Frog Explorer on the way down since it was an hour drive. He loved having something to do in the car. He got overwhelmed by the number of kids and they were also playing with cars, which he usually tries to avoid anything that reminds him of Tyler. So he really started acting out. I asked him if he wanted his LeapFrog and he said yes. He sat on the couch and played that for a while, I could tell he was very relieved to have something to focus on. We had lunch, played some more and headed out. Gabriel wanted to nurse, so we were the last ones out.

I was carrying Gabriel and the diaper bag and missed a step in the sidewalk that I forgot was there. I rolled my foot sideways and fell to my knees. I probably could've corrected had I not been holding Gabriel, but instead I fell to my knees. Gabriel thankfully never touched the ground or anything. My ankle hurt bad and I got dizzy. My friend took Gabriel from me and I managed to get back into the house. Took some ibuprofin, drank some water and the dizzy feeling was gone, so decided to head out again. The vibrating from the car was really hurting the ankle, but otherwise I was fine. It's interesting how you never notice the vibration of a vehicle until it hurts really bad. I did the same thing when I was in high school, only it wasn't a step. It felt different this time. It hurt when I pushed right on the bone, so I thought it might be broken. Decided to head in just incase. The clinic had no appts available, so I had to go to the ER. I later found out there's an Urgent Care right by our new place! Figures. We had a skating date night planned for that night, so I called the sitter and asked if she could take the boys early so I could head to the ER. She did, so I stopped by home and got my crutches, dropped the boys off and went in. I was so glad I had those crutches because the ER parking was full, Valet was closing and I had to park in the ramp and walk, which is a bit of a hike especially when you're in pain. They had 5 people in front of me. I got there at 4:30 and left at 7. I was put in the same room we got with Tyler one time.

It was hard being back in a hospital, only with no child to cuddle. The tv didn't work and I ended up taking a short nap. I woke when the nurse came in, she was surprised anyone could sleep with the screaming person across the hall. Xrays showed no break, but she said a sprain is usually worse than a break and could take up to 6 months to completely feel better. She said to take it easy. Meanwhile I'm wondering how many weeks of skating I'm going to miss! I was told to use crutches when it hurts, ice and elevate it as much as possible. Did my typical Mom thing and just said ok while thinking "that's never going to happen!". Can't carry a baby with crutches. Can't rest with a toddler. Plus I have a flight of stairs to get up when I get home! Grabbed some taco bell since I missed supper, picked up the boys and headed home. Dan was at his parent's house with a vehicle apart, so he couldn't come help me since he had a 2hr drive. I felt a sense of calm though, I knew help would be there when I got home. I got in the door just as a mom and her 4 year old girl was saying goodbye to her parents. The little girl saw us and opened the door. The mom saw me hobbling along carrying Gabriel and offered to help us up the stairs. So she carried Gabriel up, was a huge help!

We got home and Gabriel discovered the big box that was outside our door when I came to get the crutches. He was very excited about it.

 Wow, more toys! Even gift cards too. Looks like we get an Applebees date and some Target shopping! Thank you AshleyCan Foundation! http://www.ashleycan.org/

 Trucks with buttons!

 They love this bubble maker. It's a bath toy, but I put it on the dishwasher so they could play with it. They played with this thing for about an hour!

 Gabriel is getting so big!

 Dawson thought it was very funny to run back and forth and see what the pictures looked like as I tried to follow him with the camera.

 When did Dawson get so big?! He just seems so much older now. He even replied to me calling him with "what mom?". I was so not ready for that.

 Dawson is really getting closer to Gabriel these days now that he's more active and mobile.

 He of course has to protect his toy from Gabriel though.

 I love this one!

 Dawson likes tickling him.

 I love that they enjoy eachother so much. When they're in the mood.

 Dawson and Jacob during our playdate on Tuesday. Dawson had his Explorer, so Jacob got his out too and they were checking out what each other was doing.

Today was Wednesday and I went almost all day without thinking about it! Partially because my days are very mixed up this week with Dawson having no school. Also my mom came from 10:30am until 2:30pm, so that was a nice distraction too. We had lunch and then went to Target. My ankle wasn't feeling too bad, I could walk on it without crutches. I was going to use a scooter in the store, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I really wasn't hurting that bad anyway. As long as I don't bend my ankle it has minimal pain. I returned a Tag book that I had a double of and got Dawson a 3 movie set of Leap Frog DVDs instead. He loves those and learns so much from them. I hadn't seen this new set before. He already watched one this evening. He has been going to bed great lately! The holidays bumped bedtime back a bit, so we're working on getting him to bed earlier again. We're back down to 10pm and he went right to sleep.

It's been 8 weeks without Tyler now. It doesn't feel like an accurate count. He was intubated and sedated for 6 weeks, so it feels like much longer than 8 weeks.

Today also marks 9 months for Gabriel! He's getting so big! Standing and holding on with just 1 hand lately, he's getting so brave. Such a happy baby too, he's almost always smiling and is so content. He's been sleeping through the night for a long time now, I haven't been up in the middle of the night for him since September! He shakes his head "no" sometimes and he waves his hand a little bit too. So cute! He's saying mama and dada sometimes. He sticks out his tongue and blows rasberries when he wants attention sometimes, mostly from other people. Always gets it too! He's done with baby food and pretty much eats whatever we do. Even eats peas, which is a first for my kids, eating something green. :)