Milo goes to the hospital

Victor flew to Florida on Sunday and BOOM! Milo got sick. So sick I took him to the doctor and after a few tests they sent us to the ER for more tests. At the hospital, his fever was close to 104 degrees and he hadn't had a wet diaper in a very long time. Put that together with a puking-episode the night before and the poor baby was very dehydrated.

He was crying- that "sick cry" that mom's know- and he just wanted to be held. After 10 hours of holding 30 pounds my back feels like someone smashed it with a sledgehammer. I watched them draw his blood and put in an IV- both of which were difficult due to his chubby wrists and his dehydrated veins. I did not cry about this- I wanted him to have the IV; I knew he'd feel better & I knew he'd sleep.

The ER is a crappy place to be. It takes forever and it smells funny. There's always tons of worried people sitting/walking around. There are people severely injured or sick; some won't live through the night.

And there are also people with gentle spirits (a lot of them nurses) that want to help, heal, nurture, and just make it all better. There are security guards making their rounds and seeing you *still* sitting there and bringing you and your baby chocolate just because. There are nurses commiserating with you about their own children being sick and how hard it is when you're a mom. There are family members of other sick people that have compassion for you, too, and pray for you, make conversation with you and help the time pass. There are phlebotomists that get you a blanket and a divider so you can feed your baby a little more privately. There are paramedics that bring your kid some chips cause kids like chips and when they're sick, they can eat junk food.

(FYI: Milo put his piece of chocolate in his bag of chips. When the time is right, I will introduce him to the greatness that is The Chocolate Covered Pretzel.)

And then there are friends on the outside that send messages asking if they can help in any way, that they hope Milo will feel better, that they are praying for him. Friends who drop off Whataburger- knowing exactly what you would order- without you having to ask because they assumed you hadn't eaten all day (I hadn't!) and throw in an apple pie and homemade cranberry oatmeal bread.

Are you kidding me with all this? I was tired, I wanted to go home but my baby was on the mend and I was feeling so much love that I was in a great mood.

I wasn't even mad anymore at that woman who cut me off and took a parking spot in front of the ER earlier in the day and whom I may have cursed at extensively because she "SHOULD HAVE KNOWN I HAD A REALLY FREAKEN SICK BABY IN THE CAR!" (Not to her face; road rage, undercover style). I walked back to my car a quarter of a mile away and thanked God for letting me take my baby home and for all the wonderful people he's placed in my life.

We have to go to the doctor tomorrow morning and I don't know what the follow-up will hold but one thing I know and don't even have to think twice about is that God is with us.  Immanuel.

Our rock n roll weekend

The scary neighbor

Vic, Milo and Vic's brother Ray waiting to eat the best burgers ever at Scuttlebutt's. I was there too. That's my purse.

My grown-up baby boy.

Mike Ness looks so good these days I'm convinced he's been drinking antioxidant infused smoothies.

Our legendary friend Nick who somehow snagged a VIP pass.

A baby who wakes up way too early.

An imprint of my new tattoo on Nick's pillow and sheets. (I'M SO SORRY!) 

A very patient Chunky.

A very tired dad.

A very tired Milo.

A Milo who didn't realize what he was missing out on (never-ending glasses of champagne)

Nick & Milo

Milo & Nick

Can't see your tattoo like that, Vic.

By HoriBruce Morgan at Shipwreck Tattoos in Corpus Christi.

Taking Milo on his 6th trip in 16 months: Corpus Christi with that big black dog in the background. Friends, Social D, 3rd annual anniversary tattoos, boats and the beach. EXCITED- LOOK AT THAT FACE!!!

Vic and I celebrated our 9th anniversary on the 30th. I can't believe I married that guy when I was 19 years old. :)

No Zombie Jesus for us: Easter 2012.

(didn't realize the resolution was so low until after we took them. :/ didn't matter anyway.)

Easter was pretty great this year. I think almost any holiday is better with kids. Two years ago, we'd have no business being at an egg hunt (and didn't even know they were going on) but this year we participated..... well, Milo did. I guess I did too since I had to teach him what he was doing, anyway. "Look, an egg! Pick it up.... ok.. now put it in your basket.... good job! Ok, get anoth....oh, he's figured it out." And he was off!

Our church let the 0 to 5 year olds go first to allow them to get a couple eggs before releasing the childebeasts. They gave them less than 5 minutes and all of a sudden the older kids were running at full speed in total competition mode. They had been warned (and the parents, too) that NO PUSHING AND SHOVING FOR EGGS WAS ALLOWED. I didn't see that; in fact, I saw a kid pick up an egg close to Milo and then put it back so Milo could get it. How courteous.

I tried to get a "family picture" before we left for church but I was quite unsuccessful. There is really no adequate place in our house that is picture worthy for the 3 of us and Milo wanted to take down the tripod. I wanted to immortalize his hilariously adorable/nerdy Easter outfit so I took hundreds of photos of Milo in it. A woman at church asked, "what is that on his shorts?" I said, "Little skulls," with a smile. An 80-year-old woman in the room cracked up which I was not expecting but found awesome. Aaah, the tolerance of Methodists. Haha.

 

(Check out that kids calves! Geez, I had to work for mine and he's just born with it.)

 Afterwards, we went to a BBQ at Victors parents house.

I tried to get a family picture and it went from good to crazy in about 2 seconds. I love it.

I think I might have to print out the second one and put it on the wall it's so hilarious.

Hope everyone had a great Easter and celebrated the resurrection of Christ in some way. With church, eggs, chocolate, family and most of all by remembering what Jesus did for us. I'm amazed at what he's done/is doing in my life and I love love love Him. Jesus isn't a Zombie- He's our saviour!

Milo @ 15 months

Here's my little Milo on April 6th of last year:

And now here we are on April 6th of this year:

He's 15 months old, 32 inches tall & 28 pounds . He is awesome, hilarious, and extremely friendly. I love him to death and am amazed at his personality. He is such a joy. My new favorite thing that he does is call his daddy "Victor" in exactly the same way as I do. He's been calling Victor "Victor" for about a week now and ... it's hilarious. Vic's been trying to teach him "Brenna" but it's not catching on (AND IT NEVER WILL!)

I remember when I was pregnant and we were thinking of baby names and I wondered if it really "mattered" what the name meant. Would the name have anything to do with the child's personality? I think that's why some people wait to "meet" their babies before they decide.

Personally, the moment I thought of the name Milo it just felt right. It felt like his name. He was a Milo! Through my extensive googling I've found that Milo has a lot of different meanings and it seems no single origin. I've found mostly that it means "Soldier" and "destroyer." He is indeed a destroyer just like any other kid his age but like my dad once said, "Milo is a deconstructionist. He finds meaning in destroying things." And I agree.  He really, really does.

His first name, Lucas, was taken from my very best friend's last name. I wrote about her here. Her name was Anna Lucas and she died when I was pregnant with Milo. We decided to name him Lucas after her and I just love that name. It means "bringer of light." Milo is indeed a bringer of light. He is so incredibly joyful, friendly and bright. He is the embodiement of the name Lucas Milo. He will smile and make you laugh while breaking your PS3.

My first name means "Ireland" and also "Peace;" my name Brenna means "Raven haired maiden" & "beacon on the hill." I wonder if those were meant to be my names and if they shaped me in any way? I'm not sure I would be the same if my parents had named me Colleen like my mom wanted to. Just something to think about.

_____________________________

If only he'd sleep longer...

IMAGE HEAVY TO THE MAXXX: ZOO

First thing Milo did at the zoo was point to the gorilla and say, "What's that?"

BTW, He's totally terrified of gorillas and orangutans (even a friendly, one armed orangutan).

"Oh no you diiint, mom."

Beautiful peacocks roam free throughout the zoo.
I'm sure the plucking of feathers is highly discouraged but also highly enticing.
I've been bitten by a bird once before in my life- I definitely won't be stealing any feathers.

So can crocs.
(How did they find this out? Were people using the crocodile pool as a wishing well? Geez.)

I'm sure he thought they were all "Chunky."

I have no idea what he saw but whatever it was he was PUMPED.

And what the heck are all these giraffes looking at, anyway?

We let him get totally soaked because he was having SO much fun and it was about 90 degrees. I figured he'd dry off by the time we left.....but not before getting muddy :/

WET BABY SITS IN STROLLER, WET BABY NOT RUNS AWAY

Kid was SO MAD!!! I love the pic right after this one ----

"Ugh, man, I'm out of here." All kicking the dirt and stuff, hahaha.

One armed orangutan! The other "hand" you see is actually a foot.

Stranger: "You look like you're going to a funeral."
Milo: "Well maybe I am."

The day was great. Sadly, the zoo got rid of their elephants since one died and they won't be getting anymore, ever. The sea lions were on a world tour or something and the tigers and lions were serenely self-possessed, just the way I like them. I actually felt bummed about all the animals at the zoo because.....well, I mean, they're wild animals. STUCK. IN THE SAME PLACE. WITH MORONS TAPPING ON THE GLASS AND WAVING AT THEM, ALL DAY EVERY DAY. But I'm still glad there is such a thing as a zoo so we can see the animals; I can only hope that they are treated humanely and with care by they're keepers and that they have as much fun as they possibly can. Like, whatever the equivalent of elementary school pizza parties is for animals.

Unfortunately, we came home to a backed up sewer and that kinda crapped on our whole day. However, looking at these pics makes me happy because we all had a blast and Milo was the funnest kid to be around (there's only ever an 90% chance of that).