My baby turns 4

As I tucked Carter into bed tonight, I began reminiscing about the night before he was born. I told him how Scott and I went to dinner for our "Last Supper" with Mimi, Dudaddy, Gigi, and Papa. Carter's smile grew, listening intently. I told him how I had a big ole belly with a baby in it, named... And he squealed, "Carter??!!??"

I had talked with him before about when he was born, but tonight was the firs time that he actually seemed interested, so I kept going. I went on to tell him that I was so excited that night that I couldn't sleep, and how I cleaned the house and watched TV to pass the time. And how I only got to sleep for a few hours before it was time to get up (when it was still dark!) and head to the hospital to have my new baby, named.... "Carter??!!??" Yep, named Carter Hale Duncan.

I told him about all the people who loved him and came to the hospital to see him, and how he only weighed about 6 pounds. "6 pounds??? Mommy, that's a lot," he said to me. I held out my arms and showed just how small he was, and he mimicked my movements, saying "Like this?" Yep, just like that.

And then he said, "I'm going to get up early tomorrow, Mommy." Change of subject. A little too much reminiscing for the 4 year old, I guess. "Why, Carter?" "Because it's my birthday, and I want to eat cinnamon rolls and open my present!"

Here are the requests he had for his 4th birthday. All have or will be carried out in good ole you-get-whatever-you-want-on-your-birthday fashion.

• Cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Got 'the Pillsbury cans in the fridge and the pan sitting out for the morning.
• Pizza for dinner. We'll be contacting Papa John's for that tomorrow evening.
• A birthday cake with football players on it. Not just a football. It HAS to have the football PLAYERS, he said. We can thank Harris Teeter for having a football player scene as one of their screen printing icing options. It won't be a beautiful cake, but it WILL have football players. And that's all that matters, evidently.
• His two gift requests: A hard football outfit (meaning, a hard football helmet with a uniform to go with it) and real golf shoes. Luckily, we found a Go Tarheels (his request) football uniform with a hard helmet online, and it arrived on the front porch the other day. He knows that there is some surprise for him in that box, and is dying to open it.... thus, why he says he wants to get up early in the morning. AND perhaps most importantly, Mimi scoured the country for golf shoes for a 4 year old, and she hit success! I can't wait to see this kid's face when he opens those shoes.

So, all this birthday reminiscing is mostly for me. It seems like yesterday and like forever ago that I became a mommy to this tiny, sweet, blonde haired, blue eyed baby. Wasn't it only yesterday that I couldn't believe that my baby was turning one? two? three? I mean, three is like a big kid, I thought. Then, what does that make four? I dunno, but it always takes me a while to get used to the fact that my baby is another year older. So, in keeping with my trip down memory lane, I pulled up a few pictures from the past 4 years.

Here is sweet Carter and his jaundiced self, right after coming home from the hospital.

And enjoying his first birthday cake. He's makes less of a mess now, but his love of cake and sweets only gets stronger.

Enjoying turning 2 in his Mr. Mischief shirt, no pants, and rain boots. That about sums up his stage as a 2 year old.

The morning of his third birthday. I honestly could swear that this was yesterday.

And here are the pictures we just took to go on his 4th birthday party invitation. And I just realized that he's wearing the same shirt that he was wearing on his 3rd birthday! Wow, we've gotten our money's worth on that Target shirt.


Oh, my sweet Carter, I have loved these 4 years so much. You have taught me more about life and parenting than I could have ever imagined. We've gone through the good, the bad and the ugly together. But you're still my boy, and always will be. And I'm still your girl. At least that's what you tell me every night as I tuck you into bed. Let's keep it that way. Okay, my boy?

Love,

Your girl

Thank you, iPhone.

Dear iPhone,

I want to thank you for always being there for me. I can count on you to be tucked in a special pocket inside my purse, in my pocket, or riding in the cup holder of my car. You don't know how much that means to me. Especially at times when I really wish I had my camera to document all the moments that I never want to forget. But alas, you have a camera built into you. You may not be my big, fancy Canon with detachable lenses, but Mr. Canon doesn't fit into my pocket like you do. So, Mr. Canon only joins us on special occasions. Thank you again for always being there when I needed you. So, in honor of you, Mr. iPhone, I present to you the wonderful photos you have given me over the past few months.

Sincerely,

Your biggest fan, Kristen

What I saw one day last summer after I left Carter alone for a few minutes.

My boys (and their plaid shorts) at the Durham Bulls game.

What greeted us on our run on Isle of Palms back in September. Well, hello there, dead octopus.

My future golfer and his Mimi on the putting green.

Ready for pizza at Z Pizza!

Silly, silly boy.

Quiet time actually worked. Holy cow!

Look, Mom!

Setting up their train car kitchen chairs. Chugga, chugga, choo, choo!

Are you too big for the baby swing when your legs touch the ground?

Wiped out.

At his buddy John David's birthday party, Carter got his face painted like Batman. Very cool, until blue paint was rubbed all over my house.

My baby can ride a scooter, and he's only 1.5 years old! Clearly, the helmet is not made with a 1.5 year old in mind.

A date night out. Gotta document it.

Tyler and his best buddy Elliot.

My birthday roses from my dad. He's been sending me the number of roses to match my age since I was 6 years old. This was the 24th year! I'm getting old... and expensive for my dad.

My three hunky firemen at Marbles Museum.

Our favorite thing to do at the mall in the winter. Thank you, Sears.

Tyler's ready to drive this puppy!

Train ride at Northgate Mall. About 10 seconds after this photo was taken, the train "conductor" had to stop the train and let me pull a screaming Tyler out of the car.

He's ready for Hollywood!

Gotta love Wal-Mart adventures. How cute is this???

I'm sorry, but...

if these aren't the cutest boys on Earth, then who is?

I couldn't help but snap the top picture this morning, when our lawn fertilizing company came to treat our yard. ANY time someone is working on the yard or any place viewable from our windows, the boys are glued to the windowsill. And this morning was no different. I was having to wrestle Tyler to change his diaper while the man pushed his cart back and forth in our yard, and I decided to give in and just let him watch diaper-less. So, yes, those are his little butt cheeks you see in the picture.

And the others show my silly active boys being the silly active boys that they are. Carter's decked out in his newest winter hat before he goes for a ride in the jogging stroller with Scott on a very cold winter afternoon. And Tyler's showing off last year's Halloween costume, which has proven to be one of their favorite dress-up outfits. The boys love to dress up in their football outfits and run like crazy people around the house "playing" football. A little boy in a football helmet can just melt my heart.

Never thought I'd say that.

Then again, never knew I'd say half the things that come out of my mouth these days. Oh, motherhood, how I love thee.

Children of the Corn

Near my parents' house in Cary, some genius family farmers decided to temporarily turn their farms (which happen to be surrounded by neighborhoods full of young families) into a corn maze and Fall family fun place. Each time we drove past it on the way to my parents' house, Carter asked when we could go. So, we finally did.

One Friday night, we went out for pizza with my parents and headed to the corn maze. We walked the corn maze, which turned out to be A LOT more difficult than we had expected. You were supposed to find 10 different stations throughout the maze, and I think we only found about 5 before we all tuckered out. Remember, we had a 3 year old, 1 year old, and a gimpy grandpa with us. We eventually had to yell up for help to the man atop the scaffolding who was in charge of watching out for lost people like us.

After the maze, we enjoyed a haystack play area, a moonlit hayride around a pond, climbing on some huge tractors, and digging in a sand pit with mini-tractors. The boys were absolutely filthy and exhausted when we left, but we all had blast. Thanks for taking us, Mimi and Dudaddy!

And we're off!

At each fork in the maze, Tyler would point to which direction he wanted to go. It was hilarious. We didn't know any better than he, so we just went with it.

But we ended up seeing lots of signs like this one.

We learned our lesson and will bring our BOB stroller next time. The kids were tired just a few minutes in, and we were totally lost and going nowhere.

Look, Mom! I'm on a tractor!

Get off my tractor, or I'll steal your glow necklace, Bubba!

Now, these are BIG WHEELS!

This one's a little bit more my size.

Green Acres Farm put on a pretty good gig. I was impressed, and so were these boys!

Sleeping Under the Stars

In October, the Bursons, a fun family in our neighborhood, hosted a Fall Hoedown at their house down the street. Our kids just love their kids, Emma and Owen, who are each about a year older than Carter and Tyler. In fact, Emma is one of the many girls that Carter seems pretty infatuated with right now. Right in there with Emma are Lillie and Vivian, who is technically Carter's "wife." See our post about Myrtle Beach for more details. :)

Anyways, we jumped at the opportunity to spend a fall evening with some nice friends. But the most exciting thing about their party was that they invited everyone to camp out in their backyard after the party. Scott and Carter jumped at that opportunity, ran to Target and got our first tent. I deferred, thankfully having the very valid excuse that Tyler would never fall asleep in a tent and must stay home with me.

That evening, the kids enjoyed running around, playing some organized games by our neighbor Julie, eating until they had junk coming out of their ears, and roasting marshmallows over a crackling fire in the backyard. Us adults had a great time, as well, chatting, eating, drinking, and watching our kids have an absolute blast.

When nightfall came, we realized that no one had planned to stay and camp out except for Carter and Scott...well, Emma and her dad, too, of course. I took Tyler home, and guessed that I would be getting a call in the middle of the night from Scott to come get them. The temperature had dropped quite a bit that evening, and I couldn't imagine they would last long.

Turns out that I have quite the camper on my hands. Carter settled down quickly and fell fast asleep in the tent. He didn't wake until the morning, and said he never got cold. Scott slept in his dad's fancy sleeping bag and was so warm, he had to take his pajamas off in the middle of the night! Emma made it for an hour or two and then wanted to come inside... and I don't blame her!

Here are a few pictures from that night of fun!

Here are Emma and Carter enjoying suckers.

Tyler chilling by the fire.
Playing a toilet paper mummy game. Carter wanted it OFF!
Julie, a former teacher and STILL a wonderful one, explaining the games to the kids.
Give kids a garbage can. Who needs toys???

The Foot Saga

So many of my friends and family have been asking about what’s going on with my foot, especially after I dramatically vented on Facebook about all my woes. So, here’s the story.

This summer, I told myself that I needed to get in shape, and for some reason, decided that I was going to start running. Honestly, why I decided this is beyond me, since I’ve never liked to run. EVER. And always have thought that running must be the most boring sport. And on top of that, I’ve never been very good at it. So, crazy as it was, I started running, and even crazier was the fact that I really started to like it. Scott got me an arm band for my iPhone, and we even invested in a double BOB jogging stroller (which we LOVE).

I was running off and on, never super consistently, but I was definitely able to go further and further. Once Carter started preschool in September, I started running 2-3 times during the week with my friend Cameron, whose daughter is in Carter’s class. Now that I had a partner, I was running much more consistently, and Scott and I even started doing long runs together on the weekends. I’d do 3-4 miles each run during the week, and had done a few 6 mile runs on the weekends.

However, in late September, I started noticing part of my left foot hurting while I ran. It was never enough to make me stop, but I noticed it every step. At first, it only hurt when I run. A few weeks later, it started to hurt when I walked. About a week after that was the first time that it hurt when I was just sitting there. I realized that it was getting worse, and decided that I might actually need to do something about it.

While there are many downsides to being married to a resident physician (long hours, beepers that go off in the middle of the night, etc), there are some perks. We know lots of other residents, from many different specialties. So I called up my friend Leigh Anne, and asked if her husband Hal, an orthopaedic surgery resident, could take a look at it. He took a look and thought that I needed to officially go see someone and get some x-rays. Luckily, he just emailed one of his attendings and asked if he could fit me into his schedule the next day. Which he did! (THE PERKS!)

I saw Dr. Parekh in his office and had an x-ray, but there wasn’t much to see. Based on my physical exam, he thought I probably had a fracture in my 5^th methatarsal…think, bone connected to your pink toe that runs the length of your foot. To make the next long month a short story, I then had an MRI and later, a CT scan. The radiology department and Dr. Parekh did not agree on my diagnosis, based on the scans. After my initial MRI, Dr. Parekh said that I would need surgery on my foot, resulting in 3-4 weeks of non-weight bearing time…think crutches or a knee scooter. (And yes, you can laugh out loud imagining me on a knee scooter. I did!) I would then be in a boot for another 4 weeks after that. That was when my freak-out happened. How in THE WORLD was I supposed to take care of my family in that kind of state? A CT scan later revealed that the fracture (which radiology still did not think was there) did not require surgery.

Next, Dr. Parekh prescribed me an orthotic that would be custom made to my foot, be worn in my shoe, and would be like a removable and walkable cast that would help my fracture heal. It only took FOREVER to get the orthotic, and then after a weekend of wearing it, it was just killing my heel. On the MRI, the radiology department saw a stress fracture on my heal (which Dr. Parekh did not, of course, agree with), but since I had not had pain there, there was “nothing to worry about.” That is, until I got an orthotic that pushed on my heel. I then went back to the orthotic place, had it adjusted to not hurt my heel, and left with high hopes. Only to realize that by the end of that day of wearing it, it STILL hurt my heel.

So, sadly, about a month and a half later, my foot saga is continuing. I may be going back to have my orthotic adjusted some more. I may be going back to Dr. Parekh to see about an alternate treatment plan. I may just find a large knife, a bottle of hard liquor, and just cut the foot off to end my misery.

I know, I know, it’s really not that bad. I don’t have cancer. This isn’t preventing me from taking care of my family. I’m not going to die from this. But it IS affecting my quality of life. Just when I was excited about running and being in shape, this stuff happens. I’ve been to a zillion doctor’s appointments, and finding someone to watch the kids is such a hassle. I haven’t had those endorphin highs from running, and I’ve also gained weight from not exercising. Put on top of all that, I am also one who eats when I feel sorry for myself. Not a good combination.

After a mini-breakdown, I am back on the wagon though. And I have put my rose-colored glasses back on. I may not be able to run the Derby mini-marathon in the spring like I had hoped, but I am going to stop feeling sorry for myself! Most of the time, anyway.

So, that’s the story of my foot saga. Turned out way longer than I thought, and I even felt like I was not including all the details.

For old time’s sake, I’m going to reminisce over these pictures that we took on my last long run before this saga started. Here we are at Herndon Park, where we ran with the kids one Saturday morning. Oh, the good times…