Such neglect...

Hi Lijah,
Did you think your mommy forgot about you?  Well, I haven't but your blog has not been the top priority for a couple of weeks!  We have to take care of you, take care of Joey and take care of ourselves  :)

It has been a rough few weeks my little man.  You are so out of whack with your schedule and with us spending so much time at the hospital.  I apologize for that but, hopefully, we will be back to normal as soon as possible.  Well, for you, it will never be normal again when Joey comes home  :)

The week of June 6, you went to a new daycare while Mary was on vacation.  I was worried as it was going to be unfamiliar to you.  I knew you would adapt super quick once you started playing with the kiddos but I was worried about that Monday morning drop off.  You did great!  You made your first piece of artwork!!  You loved the sprinkler in her yard and loved her dog.  Daddy said you squealed every morning when you pulled up.  I was so relieved that you were happy there.

On June 9th, your brother Joey was born!  Grampa picked you up and brought you to the hospital to see me.  Unfortunately, Joey was in the NICU so you could not meet him.  However, I was so happy to see you.  It was kind of hard though as you wanted to cuddle up with me and I was still very sore from my surgery.  That night, you spent the night with your Brigham/Mickelson family.  You love spending time with your cousins.  I think Andrew is your hero  :)  Thankfully, your Brigham/Mickelson family was able to help with you that whole weekend as mommy recovered and we worried about Joey.

On Sunday, you were able to meet Joey through the glass.  Because he is in the NICU, you couldn't meet him face to face.  At first, you were so excited to see me through the glass.  Then, you got super serious as you saw I was holding someone.  Finally, you appeared to get excited again.  I could see daddy repeatedly saying "Joey" to you.

The following two weeks are a blur, buddy.  We continually tried to spend as much time as we could with both of you but it was tough.  You hated being couped up in the hospital room even though I relished the time with you.  You were sad to be shuffled around from place to place and not have any time with your mommy & daddy.  You started acting out - temper tantrums, not getting in your car seat, etc.  Once we started seeing the signs, we changed our schedule and you were so excited to have some normalcy back.

On Father's Day, I spent all day with you & daddy joined us after your nap.  You & I went to Walmart to get daddy & Grampa a card.  You picked out an M&M dispenser for daddy.  I think you picked it out for Elijah but daddy did like it  :)  We had lunch at McDonald's and it broke my heart.  You were just so excited to have time with me that you were giving me hugs at the restaurant.  It really validated how much we had neglected you over those 2 weeks.  After that, we went to Soccer Tots and you had so much fun!  You loved the obstacle course, the tumbling and the time where you were kicking the balloons.  We had dinner at Dave and Busters.  You liked all the games and learned to play a few.  Finally, we went up to the hospital to see Joey for a bit.

Even though you hated the hospital, you did like the "sprinkler" that we used on you in the shower.  It was a great way for us to pass the time and a great way for you to get a bath.  You thought that was so fun.  You also liked their play room with a train table and toys.  You also liked all the food we shared with you  :)

I think you know who Joey is and you know that he isn't my tummy anymore.  When we say Joey, you no longer lift up my shirt.  You see his photo on my phone and you move it out of the way so you can see your videos.  Last night, Daddy said "Where's Joey?" and you put his picture on the phone and made a "Joey" sound.  When your cousins came up to see us, you acted like Joey was the best thing since sliced bread and showed him off through the glass to everyone.  You were so proud and happy.  I hope that continues when we come home and I hope we come home soon!

Well buddy, I had lots of photos to share but the computer won't let me.  I will come back and add them. I am sorry for the havoc on your schedule recently.  I promise that, eventually, things will come together.  Just bear with us and keep a mental note to tell your therapist down the road.  :)