My heart stopped

Today I had the most terrible experience. It was seriously awful and I have gone back and forth on if I should even post about it, because I am really shook up about it. Then again, I don't want to have to tell the story more than I have to, so here goes. I want to warn you that this is not a pleasant, haha kind of moment like what I usually post, if you don't want to have nightmares, you might not want to read on, I am seriously shaking still and this happened like ten hours ago. I wanted to warn you, because I may never sleep again. Today I was in one room in my mom's house working on some really cute finger puppets for a Halloween party, and my kids were scattered around playing in different parts of the house. Two rooms away, I heard something break quietly, like a piece of wood splitting and a little whimper and I thought Topher had been climbing on my mom's china cabinet and broke something, but it didn't sound loud, and I'm surprised I even heard it. I got up prepared to yell at him when I saw him dangling from a blind cord kicking his legs trying to get back into a window sill. His eyes were rolling up and he was tugging with his hands. My heart stopped. I don't know how I even moved. But I did, and I got there fast. I picked him up so that it wasn't strangling him anymore, and had to put him back in the window sill to get the cord back off his neck. He was breathing, but just lay there limp in my arms with his eyes looking super lethargic for what seemed like forever. I sobbed and tried to get him to give me some kind of reaction, and finally he started to cry too. It was the most terrifying experience I can even imagine, and the image of him hanging there will forever haunt me, it seems so surreal now, because he is running around and playing happily like nothing happened. The only proof is the small scratches and slight red line around his neck and a small splinter of wood that I will forever be grateful for. I am so glad to have heard that small little crack that saved my baby's life today. - I don't know how many times we have told him to quit playing in the blind cords, he's big enough to climb up and unwind them from wherever we put them. - Chad is cutting all of ours off tonight, I never want to see a blind cord low enough for them to reach again. - I want to put all my kids in a rubber room and keep them safe from everything and I know that's not possible, I am just so grateful that it ended up the way it did, because it could have been so much worse. - Hug your babies extra tight tonight, and cut your blind cords extra short okay? Because that was absolutely terrifying.

Preschool Halloween Party

I threw the Halloween Bash for our preschool group, we had close to 20 kids show up to play games, eat junk food and be crazy.

Good times. Pin the nose on the pumpkin... Clothespin bats... Witch hat cookies... Donut races...

We also had a mad scientist lab where we made slime, and a finger puppet sing-a-long and a cupcake walk.

It was slightly chaotic, but the kids had fun, and I think these are pretty much the only pics I got of these kids in their Halloween costumes...

World Card Making Day

I don't really celebrate it or anything...usually.

It just so happenend that I needed some new cards, it was General Conference Sunday and I could just lock myself in my room, listen to conference and craft away.

Here are a few sets I made.

I like to make cards in bulk-but never do the EXACT same thing on any card. I have a lot of family that I send cards out to-I don't like to have to remember if I already sent them or a one of their siblings the exact same card-this way I don't have to.

Letter to Porter

While I was in the hospital with Porter for 5 days because of his billiruben levels and on account of him being 5 weeks early, I had a lot of time to myself while he slept. During that time I wrote him a letter each day telling him what had happened each day-what tests he had done, who came to visit and of how much I loved him. It's all in the envelope waiting to be read one day when he gets older. It was really fun (and emotional) to read back through those and remember how hard it was being there all alone while he had to have so much done to his little body, and at the same time creating a bond with him with out anyone else competing for his cuddles.

Preggers in The Tulips

I like this picture, kind of rare for a pregnant lady to like a candid picture taken of her huh? Chad has the photography skills! I was pregnant with Porter, and we went to the Tulip Festival one last time before we moved from Portland. This was one of our favorite things to see each year.

Swim Lessons

I don't have any great pictures of Bekah's first swim lesson experience-mostly because they didn't let us in the room that had the lesson pool until the last day and then it was crowded with all the parents, but I did manage to get a few of her cheesing it. She was such a little chicken-she is in dire need to go again, so she can get over the fear. I don't understand it, she used to be such a fish!

No Sedative Required

I went into the bank yesterday with my well behaved children...and Porter. He is full of energy and a little monster in public at times because he wants to go off and explore everything instead of sitting quietly on my lap...he'll grow out of it right? Anyway I had to go in to get a new debit card, and although the lady was nice and smiley-she said stuff that just got under my skin. First she wanted me to get my own online banking username and password, since Chad and I both use the same one. No big deal right? Well the way she put it was; "We would really like to see you have your own username, just in case anything ever happened between you and Chad, and he changed his information, you would still be able to access the account." Strike one. I'm not dumb, I know the lady is just trying to get a sale for the day, I say no thank you, I am quite confident that I will be always be able to have access to our account. At this point Porter wandered over to the area that Bekah and Topher were quietly playing with crayons and coloring sheets and was good for the remainder of the time we were there. She talked to me for awhile and then got up to talk to her manager for a minute and said, "Wow I don't know how you do it with those three. Girl you don't need a debit card, you need a sedative!" I laughed, but I thought "Why?" They were all sitting there being quiet, coloring, not bothering anyone. At least they weren't bothering me. I just found it a little odd to say at that moment. Strike Two. Then she came back, talked to me for 1/2 a second before someone came up and said she had a phone call from a customer who was calling from Iraq. She got up to take it, I sat there. And sat there...finally I got up to leave with my three angels because she wasn't coming back any time soon. Strike Three. The worst part is, that I was there for an hour and fifteen minutes the day before and no one helped me before I had to leave to pick up the kids from preschool. Then, I was there for at least 45 minutes yesterday. And I still don't have a debit card.

This Child, Porter

I was certain that this was going to be my earliest walker-or at least fall in line with his siblings, (Bekah 9 months, Topher 10 months). He was pulling himself up to furniture way eariler than the other two and just seemed so interested in whatever was up at his eye level. 

Well that curiosity turned him into my only climber. This kid will climb anything, and has the concept of a stool down to a science. I have found him on dressers, counters, tables, the back of the couch trying to climb to the window-all in a single day.

Walking though is another story. 

Oh he can do it. 

He took his first steps from the couch to the table at least 4 months ago. 

He will walk down the hall to me if I make him.

He will walk for miles if he knows an m&m is waiting for him at the other end.

He just still crawls 90% of the time.

I don’t even remember my other two crawling because they just flew past that, they crawled for what seemed like a minute and then thought this is not fun, and they walked. 

I’m not worried, he is just barely turning 15 months this month, and I know someday he will prefer walking to crawling.

I just get frustrated that he still wants to crawl outside and get his hands all dirty and that I have to vaccuum still twice a day, because he is still crawling around on the floor.

Oh and note to self…Never take this kid to a movie again-EVER!