Time flies...

Diaper Diaries

Day #751

Wow.

Time sure does get away from me sometimes.

I had all the best intentions to post pictures and stories about Quinton's birthday party weekend but then I was really busy with work. And then the next weekend, we were in Utah for Matt's parents' mission farewell. I came back to Tulsa with a nice sinus cold which is now in my chest and has me up coughing right now instead of sleeping soundly.

Oh and Matt left for Vancouver today!

Quinton's 2nd Birthday

Well, to recap Quinton's birthday party, we have to start with a typical hot and humid Saturday in Tulsa, Saturday the 22nd to be exact. Matt vetoed my many brilliant ideas to have Quinton's party at any number of loud and obnoxious venues appropriate for my son's second birthday festivities. We finally agreed upon the spacious playground out in front of our house with its easy access and ample parking. Then, Matt vetoed my even more brilliant ideas to have any number of pony rides, jupiter jumps, 40-foot inflatable slides, ball pits, clowns, cotton candy and/or popcorn machines to entertain our party attendees. Matt's eloquent argument: "Quinton is two, he doesn't know the difference."

End of story.

No ponies, no balloon twisting clowns with artistic renderings of flowers that I so love...just a party at our playground. But since we all know I like to make the drab fabulous, I was able to borrow a bouncy house and my dear neighbor, Leann, made a cake fit for a prince on his 2nd birthday!

Quinton's party turned out absolutely great. All of our friends ands neighbors who were able to come enjoyed themselves. Matt cooked hot dogs on the grill and we had the best birthday cake I've had in a loooong time! Quinton, as Matt predicted, didn't seem to notice all of the hub-bub was for him. Matt even struggled to keep Quinton's attention on opening the presents. Quinton must divine his humility from me, of course :^P

Utah

Our trip to Utah the following weekend (21st to the 24th) was a lot of fun. We were able to spend a lot of time with Matt's family and enjoy the cooler weather Utah had to offer. On Saturday, the rain even turned into snow at one point! Quinton was a little befuddled since he'd been wearing shorts the day before in Oklahoma, only to find himself bundled and playing in the snowflakes the next day! Such is the life of a jet-setting toddler, I suppose.

Matt's parents are preparing to go on a Mormon mission to Duluth, Minnesota, where they will be working with the Church Education System. Matt's mom hadn't had much time to check out the finer points of Duluth before we'd arrived and while there, I was able to help her find out a few things about Duluth. Honestly, I didn't even know where Duluth was on the map so it was just as much as about me educating myself than it was about helping my lovely mother-in-law out! Much to Wanda's delight, Duluth is known as the "air-conditioned city" due to the cooling effect that Lake Superior has on it during the summer months. My in-laws were not looking forward to a warm climate mission, so the fact that Duluth is NOT a warmer city is good news to both of them.

During our weekend, we were able to spend time with all 8 of Matt's brothers and their wives and families. It's always a full house when everyone is around...counting all of Matt's immediate family, I think it's up to 47 people right now. Plus, a lot of Matt's aunts, uncles and cousins came into town so as you might imagine, it was a fun farewell!

Although I wasn't able to get south of Salt Lake City to visit my family, I was able to spend a couple of hours with my good friend, Gina before she left on a flight back to California. It just so happened that she was in Utah the same time we were and since I haven't seen her in over two years, it was an awesome opportunity to hang out with her and her son even for a couple of hours.

Life in Broken Arrow, OK

Since the party and Utah, we have been busy with everyday life. My work keeps me busy and Matt's work keeps him even busier. I have to say that Matt and I enjoy everyday with Quinton so much more than before he came into our lives.

Last night, I was playing with Quinton and felt a bump on the inside of his neck. At first, I didn't know what to think. I had Matt feel it when he came home and then I looked on the internet. It's scary what you can find on the internet when it comes to a simple search like "bump in neck". I didn't really sleep well last night because I wasn't sure what to think. So the first thing this morning, I called Quinton's pediatrician and made an appointment for him as soon as possible.

What a relief doctors can be in this situation! The pediatrician noticed a bruise on Quinton's forehead, along with the bump on the lymph node. He said that after a good knock to the noggin like the one Quinton sustained when he was running through the house and fell on the tile flooring on Monday night, there can be a little blood from the bruising that drains into the lymph node and that's what was the likely cause of the swollen node. He said it should go away within a week or two without any negative effects.

So many thoughts had run through my mind before that appointment with the doctor that I was relieved beyond words to know Quinton was okay. I can honestly say that we love and appreciate Quinton everyday but this past 24 hours, I have held him closer than I normally do just because I can and he doesn't seem to mind. I don't even mind letting him ride the horsey ride at Wal-Mart twice in one day just because I know I can't stop him from growing up so I might as well appreciate each moment.

My cough medicine finally kicked in so it's time for me to sign off for tonight.

Goodnight.

Stacy