Following in Daddy's Footsteps...Straight to the ER

When Kelly and I first started dating I heard the many stories of the visits to the emergency room. This has always interested me because I have never been in the emergency room for myself. I have lived nearly 30 years without ever having a broken bone or needing a stitch (knock on wood). The stories of Kelly having been taken to the emergency room would probably out number a family of 10 stuntmen. I remember when we were dating I was worried how many times I would have to take him in our years being married (thankfully none so far...well for an injury). In the back of my mind I wondered if our children would inherit my luck or Kelly's...Well, we made it through nearly 4 years of being parents without having to visit the dreaded emergency room: that can no longer be said. Surprisingly, it wasn't our first born to make the first visit, but our second born, Kora. Hunter has always been fearless, but has always been quick on his feet. Kora has taken her cue from her older brother and walks on ledges, jumps off furniture and climbs up anything taller than her. She has taken her fair share of spills, and because she falls so often she rarely cries, and if she does you know she is really hurt. She has many bruises all over her body (all self inflicted) from the many times she has fallen. So, the story begins...

We went to visit Great-Grandpa and instead of staying home we decided to go to the park. After we had lunch, Hunter and Kora played on the playground. Kora was on the top step of the equipment and tripped over her own foot and fell face first down the first step. Since Kelly and I are used to her falls neither of us jumped up to see if she was ok (we always wait to see how she will react). She didn't get up and was crying, so I went over to her and picked her up. I always pick up first, then check for damage. Hunter told me Kora was bleeding and sure enough when I did my check she had a small gash on her left cheek right below her eye. Of course, I panic but Kelly calmly tells me it's alright. I go to the car and get our first aid kit and we bandage it up. She cried while we cleaned it up but once we were done, so was she. When we got back to Grandpa's house we put a new bandage on it and realized that she just may need to go to the emergency room. We were both hoping they would tell us that she was fine and just needed a butterfly bandage but didn't want her to develop a really bad scar that could have been prevented or looked better if we had taken her to the emergency room. We dropped Hunter and Mylie off at Nani and Grandpa's house and we were off to the emergency room. We actually went to Urgent Care...which is similar to the emergency room, but is for less severe injuries. We found out that they give priority to people with open wounds so after we took care of all the paperwork we were called in. I attempted to hold Kora but the nurse asked me to remove the band-aid we put on and as I was taking it off blood was spilling out. The nurse and I cleaned it up but I knew I couldn't hold her so I asked Kelly to do it when the doctor came in. The doctor told us that her wound was small and straight which meant they could use this stuff called dermabond. It's like superglue for skin. Fortunatly we didn't have to go through the agony of watching our daughter being sewn up. Because Kora is very strong and the doctor was worried Kora might get the glue in her eye if she struggled too much we decided to papoose her. As the nurse strapped her into this velcro papoose Kora is screaming for Daddy and telling the nurse to "Let Go!". The doctor puts the dermabond on her cut and the whole time she's screaming for her Daddy who is standing by her side holding her hand. She finally asks for her "Dee-Tee" so I give it to her and she calms down a bit while the doctor finishes. Once he is done we release her and she is instantly calmer and in my arms. The doctor said she will have a small scar and the glue he just applied will come off in a week or two.

Susie, I don't know how you did it. I know Kelly wasn't your only child to visit the emergency room. This is only my first visit (I'm praying it's the last but I'm also realistic) but it really does break your heart to see your child in pain. Even worse to see her so scared and having to wrap her up so she can't move and can't do anything about it. I'm so glad the day is over and we are home and she is safe and asleep. It really wasn't a stressful day, just heartbreaking. We did have an enjoyable visit with Grandpa and after we returned to pick up Hunter and Mylie we stayed and had an enjoyable evening with Grandpa & Nani. Kora was fine the rest of the night, she still played, she still ran, and she still attempted to climb things. Besides the evidence on her face you would have never guessed anything happened to her by the way she played.

Speaking Like a Kerr

There is nothing more adorable than the way your kids misprounounce words. I wanted to remember some of them so I'm writing them down and sharing them with you.

Hunter

"Chicken" = Kitchen (also the meat, Chicken)

"Pie-Yets" = Pirates

"Two-Ma-Yo" = Tomorrow

"Wizard" = Lizard

"Pewter" = Computer

"Playhouse Dingy" = Playhouse Disney (Disney Channel)

"Woobie" = Movie

"I Wub You"

Kora

"Ton-Ter" = Hunter

"My-Nee" = Mylie

"Dee-Tee" = Binky

"Tay-Too" = Thank You

"Jess" = Yes

"Deuce" = Juice

"No-Nah" = Princess Fiona (from Shrek, her favorite movies)

"D'it" = You Do It

"Wah You" = Love You

Mylie

"Wahhhhh" = I'm Hungry

"Wahhhhh" = I want to be held

"Wahhhhh" = My brother and sister are bugging me

Now you can speak like a Kerr!

Mylie

It is true what they say about number 3, you take less pictures and don't get mentioned as much. We all know Hunter has tons of pictures because he was the first and Kora got lots of pictures taken because she was the first girl. Sadly, once you get to number 3 you have less time to take pictures and all the stuff she is doing has already been done by her older brother and sister. It doesn't make it less interesting or less wonderful it is just easily forgotten with all the goings on of the day. So, here is a post all for her. I wish the pictures could be bigger but I thought we had a scanner, I guess it's only a printer. I got the pictures from a website and these are as big as they are going to get. Sorry!


So, where do I begin? Well, from the beginning she proved to be a difficult child. She hid herself for 4 months and then decided at the last minute that she didn't want to do things the "normal" way and turned breech. Since her birth she has been a very challenging baby who needs a lot of love and attention. Although she isn't as easy as we would have hoped we have been so thankful for her arrival into our family. She is very cuddly and lovey and when she smiles her whole body lights up. She has just started giggling and I have to say that baby giggles are just about the cutest things you will ever hear. She does cry a lot and sometimes I just need a break but nothing is better than trying to soothe her and look into her eyes and wipe away her tears. I can't wait for that crying stage to end but comforting her feels so good. It's nice when someone needs you that much but can be difficult when you have 2 other children to take care of and all 3 want your attention. Mylie is holding her head up steadily. She hates tummy time but sure loves her brother and sister. Sometimes she's not too sure of Kora. I have seen her eye Kora from across the room trying to decide if it is a good or bad thing that Kora is starting to approach her. Hunter can make her laugh and you can see how much she adores him because she gives him a huge smile when he talks to her or even looks her way. Her latest talent is standing. She loves to stand. When she isn't crying she is actually a very happy sweet baby. Most people have no idea what we are talking about when they are around her. I think she saves her crying just for us. I think that is best (for them). She really is a sweet baby and we adore her. We love having her in our family and love watching her grow and develop her little personality. I guess we will keep her!


(I added this picture because I thought it was funny. She does this a lot, especially if you turn the lights off.)

Hunter the Cat

The other day I went upstairs to put Mylie down for a nap. When I came downstairs and went into the kitchen I saw about a half gallon of milk all over the floor. Furious, I asked Hunter what he was doing and he said "I'm a cat Mom." Furry turned into confusion and then flat out Hysteria. I started laughing and we cleaned up the milk together. I told him if he wanted to be a cat again that he had to let Mommy pour the milk. He asked if he could be a cat so I poured some milk into a bowl and let him be a cat. I love how Kora at first looked at him like he was from Mars and then decided to join in. When I told Kelly what Hunter did he told Hunter, "We don't like cats, so next time be a dog".

Bubbles

The weather has finally warmed up (again) and the kids just happened to find the bubble machine I bought last year that was packed away for winter. Granted, California winters are a lot warmer than most and I could have kept it out year round but bubbles are a fun summer thing. Since we have brought out the bubbles it officially feels like summer. I took the kids to the park today and after 5 minutes of playing their heads were soaking in sweat and their sweet little faces were flush. Don't tell the kids it is too hot to play. We stayed nearly an hour and went to AM PM to get ICEE's to rehydrate after. I am still amazed they wanted to play that long. Even after I told them it was time to go they kept begging for a few more minutes. Oh, to be young again.

Handsome Like Daddy

Over the HOT weekend I asked Hunter if he wanted his hair cut short like Daddy's so he could be cooler. He told me "No, I want to be handsome". I laughed and on Monday I thought I would ask again, "Do you want your hair cut short like Daddy's". His response, "Yes, I don't want to be handsome". My only guess is that every time we brush his hair we tell him how handsome he is and not having any hair to brush would mean he wasn't handsome. We asked again last night if he wanted to be handsome like Daddy and he said yes. We got the clippers out and chopped off all of his hair. It was kind of sad because I can honestly say I have never seen him with so little hair. The good thing is he has a great head of hair and it will grow back quickly. After I was done he asked if he was handsome like Daddy now and I told him yes. He even asked again this morning when he woke up if he looked like Daddy. I had to reassure him how handsome he was and he was happy with my answer. It's funny what kids think.

Kelly's Day

There is something about getting older that decreases the need to make your birthday a big deal. I'm sure this doesn't apply to everyone but you all know Kelly and this certainly applies to him. If I had my way I would have taken him out to dinner and gone out afterward and done something fun. Since this was Kelly's day I decided to heed his requests for a quiet, simple birthday.

Kelly's Day:

8am - Clean Chapel

noonish - Nap

2:30pm - Watch Lakers Dominate Nuggets

3ish - Open Presents (Hunter couldn't wait any longer)

4:00pm - Eat Crab and Shrimp Dinner

5:00pm - Take the kids swimming in the freezing pool

8:00pm - Shop at Khol's for Birthday present

Actually, this doesn't look much different than a normal Saturday but this is what he wanted. Hunter was anxious to yell "Surprise" to him when we walked in the door after shopping for dinner supplies and Kora was just happy singing "to you....to you". It was certainly simple but I can't say it was exactly quiet. I don't think parents of 3 young children know what quiet is until after bedtime...ahhhh bedtime!