I had the hardest time

Choosing which pictures to post, so I think this is officially my most pictured post.  Here are Van's one year (technically 14 month old) pictures! 

Seriously, I loved this photographer.  I'm not one to endorse people willy nilly but I really think she captured our little wild man.  Here's her website if anyone is in the Davis County area and want great pics for a good price:  www.clipsandclicks.com

When you're cool...

The sun always shines on you.

The month that almost drove me to drink...

Warning: this post contains complaining, murmuring and a minor pity party.  Things went well for the Mendenhalls subsequent to celebrating ONE year of having Van around.  We were innocent, free of fear and having a groovy time. Mid-May hit and all hell broke loose. Van got a high fever and as is our luck, his pediatrician was on vacation and the fill in dude was full so we took him to an Instacare. Beginings of an ear infection they say and send us away with some amoxycillian.  No biggie, he's been on it before. A week goes by and hives break out all over Van.  See exhibit 1a.

So, I stop giving him the antibiotic and call the Instacare doc who says to do Benadryl for 24 hours.  He's cranky, frustrated and itchy as you can imagine.  Most kids would be knocked out by Benadryl, but not my little man.  It wired him up, which made everything worse.  Pressing forward, the next day, he had thrown up in his crib so we cleaned him up and he actually took a bottle, which was a good sign to me since he hadn't eaten in 2 days.  Matt had the day off (hooray for his new job!!) so he took Van duty while I went to work.  Noon comes around and I get a panicked call that Van is starting to swell really bad.  I met them at the Instacare and he looked like a mini Stay Puffed Marshmellow Man.  See exhibit 1b.

The doc there (not a pediatrician)was way concerned that this was more than an allergic reaction.  They couldn't get good vitals on Van and his feet and hands were swelling before our eyes.  Next thing I know, they are sending me and Van via AMBULANCE to Primary Children's.  I kept it together pretty good until that moment...and that's when I thought how nice it would be to wash all the troubles away with a stiff drink.  Since I work at Primary's I know how long the wait is in the ED.  So I felt like we were hurrying up to wait, which we did for about 4 hours before they even started an IV on him.  They said that the hives and sweling could be triggered from the amoxycillian or could be it's very own virus, the only way to tell is to test out amoxycillian again.  No way am I doing that. Ever.  Again.  A few days pass and he starts to look like himself again and then he gets a stomach virus.  After being thrown up on a few times, I finally take him back into his pediatrician and find out he's lost 3 lbs in 2 weeks. Not a good thing for wee one.  

The stomach bug finally starts to dissipate and guess who woke up with a barking cough this morning?  He hard a really hard time breathing and couldn't stop coughing, so we had another visit to the emergency room.  Two ER visits in 2 weeks.  I'm getting life lessons all over the place.  At least he looks better now.  See exhibit 1c.  

 

The sign of a good party...

is that you have cake up your nose the next day.  I promise that is cake coming out of Van's nostril, don't judge me that I let it stay there for an entire day.  He had it in just about every opening on his face.  And I've never seen him happier!  He didn't use his hands once.  I've never seen him eat anything face first, but I guess it was his party and he could do whatever he wanted.  Honestly, I was a little jealous.  When's the last time you just dove your face right into some cake?  Utensils are overrated anyway.  

So here is another picture of the cupcakes that I made.  Did you get that last part?  I actually MADE THEM!  I don't do things like this, so I feel really weird right now.  Van loves his owls though, so what's a mother to do?  They were a success and he could even tell what they were!  TADA!

It's almost time

For Van's 1st birthday!  But until then, here are some pictures of my 11 month old baby...who will soon be a year old toddler.  I refuse to call him a toddler until he's one, despite his ability to toddle just about anywhere and everywhere he feels like it.  His newest talent is walking with his new shoes on.  Its sort of like when you put tape on a cat's paws and watch them try to walk...very entertaining.  Alright, enjoy!

I almost forgot to introduce our cat, Morrison!  We adopted him from the Human Society about 3 months ago.  Now Van calls every cat Mo.  He's such a chill cat, not even Van pulling his tail and stepping on him makes him mad.  We could all take a lesson from Mo.

And this is what it means to be a kid...

Eleven months old and lovin' it.  The best part about the about this trip to the park is Matt's slick shorts meeting the slippery slide.  Let's put it this way, the slide ended and Matt didn't.  Van had the ride of his life though.  Nothing really phases him, not even Matt's kung fu grip as they soared through the air off the slide and onto the sandy landing pad.  And here's one more picture because I couldn't resist.  

Orangatangs in burlap snuggies

The Hoogle Zoo. What a place, eh? I know its the dead of winter, but thanks to climate change (one silver lining anyway)we had a not so cold day on Monday, which also happened to be President's day so I didn't have to work and Matt took the day off. (Thanks for being born Abe and George).

We hit the zoo with my sis and her family.  Van loved every minute of it.  Of course his favorite was the owls since he's been obsessed with them for the past month or so.  A really close second was not an animal at all.  It was, in fact, a carousel.  A fiberglass tiger and a few laps makes Van a happy boy.

He really was smiling the entire time, except of course when we took the picture.  I get the feeling he has a dangerous side.  It seems like he enjoys things more depending on the risk he has to take (ie very slow 4 wheeler ride with my dad, trying to put his fingers in outlets, etc).

Some other updates: I gave Van his first hair cut and now he looks like the kid in class that got a hold of the scissors.  He officially has 8 teeth and is in the double digits...10 months old!  We adopted a cat and named him Morrison.  Van loves Mo, but I'm not sure the feeling is mutual yet.  And, last but not least, Bono has decided to come visit me in June!  Oh the fun we shall have!