The Thatcher Life: Stranger Danger

Sawyer

Sawyer had his Primary program and they sent home two parts for him to practice beforehand. One of the parts was a fill in the blank that read, "I can show my love for Jesus by __________." So I asked him what he thought we should write down. Me: "How can you show your love for Jesus?" Sawyer: "I can show him the Indominus Rex toy I got from Mason!!" Me: (Trying not to laugh) "That's a good one. Maybe we could write down by sharing my toys?" Sawyer: "Okay. (A minute passes by..) Is he not going to come to my house to play with me?" Me: "Who? Mason?" Sawyer: "No." Me: "Jesus?" Sawyer: "Yeah, I want him to come play toys with me." So then I did my best to try to explain how that's not a possibility in the literal sense. I'm not sure if it landed but that was a sweet little interaction.

When the actual program rolled around, Sawyer was just about the most morose looking Primary kid there ever was. He kept mouthing, "I need you, Mom." And he gave a nice little sniffle at the end of sadly mumbling out one of his parts ha. That boy. Sure do love him.

Sawyer's surgery day came and inwardly I was probably more nervous than him (for the fact that he was being put under for the first time but also because I knew he would be nervous and I didn't know what level of panic we needed to be prepared for). I will say that everything ultimately worked out and the surgeon was wonderful to work with, but I'm still pretty pissed with the way a good majority of the staff interacted with me as the parent.

Dawson slept over at my parents so it was just Sawyer, me, Dillon, and Wren at the hospital (and she was an angel baby, bless her). We drove down to the hospital in St. George and Sawyer seemed pretty calm, considering. Once we got checked in, they walked us back to his spot and asked us to get him changed into his gown, surgical hat, etc. That caused him a little bit of stress but after I told him that we were all still staying together (and we found the Teen Titans cartoon) he calmed down. A nurse came in to talk to us a little and I mentioned to him that Sawyer gets nervous and we wanted him to have some calming medicine (which I had already discussed with the surgeon and he was really understanding and made a note on Sawyer's chart that he was to receive Versed upon arrival at the hospital). He responded by saying, "It's okay buddy, everyone worries about something," and told us he would look into the medicine. He left and a new nurse came in to fill out Sawyer's history on the computer. When she asked if he had anxiety, Dillon and I both answered, "Yes." She looked at me and was like, "But like, more than normal?" with a skeptical tone. So I said, "Yes, we've seen people about it and he's on an IEP for it." I then asked her about getting Sawyer medicine and she half-heartedly said something about not having an order for it but that she would look into it. I was really starting to get ticked because it felt like none of them believed me about the severity of Sawyer's anxiety and like they weren't trying very hard to get him the medicine that would help. They give adults Valium before surgery and I know other people who have had their children operated on and their children had received Versed, no big deal.

So we waited while the surgeon finished the procedure he was already in and while the nurses were supposedly getting Sawyer's medicine. Sawyer was starting to fret again and asked us, "Will you please stay with me?" We told him yes but I was starting to get nervous too. I was hoping that he would be medicated enough that he wouldn't even care that he was being separated from us but it was looking like that might not be the case. Nurse #1 came back to let us know the surgeon was on his way to mark Sawyer's stomach. I asked about the medicine, again. He started to tell me about how, "All kids are nervous but when we turn the corner, they're usually too busy being fascinated with all the stuff to worry... blah blah." I tried to reiterate Sawyer's anxiety and it was like this guy practically rolled his eyes at me. He definitely thought I was just the crazy helicopter mom.

The surgeon came and talked to us and got Sawyer marked. I mentioned the medication to him (it was starting to get so old by then) and he said, "I thought we said he needed to get that right when he got here? He hasn't been given it yet? That's weird. I'll need to look at the order." Then the rest of the team came in and they finally got the Versed situation sorted and gave it to Sawyer. I was thinking, "Hallelujah. Now we just need to wait a minute for it to kick in." Oh, not so people. It had been no longer than 45 seconds since Sawyer had swallowed that medicine when the anesthesiologist and Nurse #1 tried to roll him away from us. He, of course, got worried and was about to jump off the bed and make a run for it, and I was ready to scream, "What the freak, people?!" but wanted to stay calm for Sawyer. To calm Sawyer down, they said that I could walk with them to the red line. I held his hand and with tear filled eyes he said, "I just want you to stay with me, Mom." To which I could only say, "I know, baby." We got to the red line and I can only assume that the Versed had at least kind of kicked in because, even though I knew he was scared, Sawyer was not having a panic attack. He was teary but Nurse #1 helped him by saying, "Hey give your mom a big squeeze. (We hugged) Okay now give me a big squeeze." Sawyer hugged him and the guy picked him up and walked away. Still a scared face, but at least not freaking out.

I got back to Dillon and I was furious. Furious that they didn't give our son the medicine when I asked them to. Furious that they thought I was just the "typical overbearing helicopter mom". And furious that Sawyer had to leave me while scared when that could have been prevented. While in the waiting room, I calmed down when I saw (on a handy screen that showed a list of patients and their status regarding their procedure) that Sawyer's procedure had started since that hopefully meant all went smoothly in getting him to the room and putting him under.

After about an hour and a half, the surgeon came out to talk to us and told us everything went as smoothly as possible. He told us Sawyer was having a good old time laughing with them while they got everything ready (Thank you, Versed. Sawyer told us later that day about the dinosaur he saw that had pooped at the doctor's. I'm guessing it was a fun little dream he had during his surgery). That was such a relief to hear. More than anything, I just didn't want this day to traumatize Sawyer and cause setbacks with his anxiety. We waited for Sawyer to wake up enough in recovery that we could go back to see him. A post-op nurse had given him more Versed and it had made him sleepy.

They had warned us that almost all kids wake up from surgery screaming and crying and that it's just their body's reaction. But when we walked back and they rolled Sawyer into the room he was calm as could be (Probably thanks to the kid version of Valium they told us he had received). He was holding a popsicle and just hanging out. He did say that he was ready to go home pretty quickly. The nurse that was with him when he woke up told us that he woke up really calmly and then she said something along the lines of, "Yeah, I saw in his chart a note about separation anxiety but I think mom is really the one with separation anxiety. I know how that goes. Haha." Uh, what the heck? By the time I had processed the rudeness of her comment, she was basically out the door. I turned to look at Dillon and I know he could tell from my face that I was back to fuming. Stupid nurse, stupid comment.

Sawyer was set-up with some OJ and Jell-o and then discharged pretty fast actually. He got to pick a prize at Target, which he was pleased about, then he was ready to drive home.

Typing that out ended up being so much longer than I intended. I just get really worked up about the before and after comments and interactions Dillon and I had with some of the nurses. I really am so glad that, looking at the big picture, things worked out alright. The surgery was smooth and simple, as expected. And Sawyer does not seem to be traumatized from the whole thing and is healing well.

Dawson

When Sawyer's original surgery date was canceled, I decided to try potty training again with Dawson since it was on my list of hurdles to jump. It was 1000% easier this time around. He wasn't really enthused about it until I showed him the giant box of slime he could have as a prize. But then he thought if he just sat on his toilet once he could have it. And then he decided maybe diapers were really his thing after all. For Sawyer, it didn't matter if we still had diapers in the house, he just took potty training in stride. For Dawson, they had to be gone so that he knew there was no going back to them. So I put the last half dozen diapers on his dresser and told him, "When these are gone, it's time for undies." And guys, it worked. There were some accidents and trial and error. But it literally only took about 2 1/2 days and Daws was totally potty trained. It was awesome. He definitely had plenty of encouragement from his big brother. Dawson would get so excited after going to the potty and kept wanting to show Sawyer. And Sawyer was such a good sport and would genuinely congratulate him with a, "Good job, buddy!" each time.

During the first little bit of potty training, Dawson wasn't into being half naked (which is a pretty common tactic, I would say, for my generation of parents) so I let him just wear underwear. He kept having accidents so I told him that he couldn't go back to gymnastics if he peed in his pants. Then after a few more accidents I told him that he was going to have to go nakey to get more practice if he didn't stop peeing in his underwear. He got very concerned and said, "I can't go nakey! Everyone in my class will see my peepee!" So I corrected that misunderstanding and assured him that I would not take him naked to gymnastics.

"Things Dawson said" from the last few weeks. 1) Yelling over and over from his crib after nap time that he wanted Dillon to get him out. I was in the bathroom and Dillon was feeding the baby a bottle. I finally shouted from the bathroom, "Daddy is feeding the baby right now. You'll have to wait." And Dawson yelled back, "Daddy not feeding the baby. He doesn't have boobs!" 2) During sacrament at church, he kept asking who "that guy" was while looking up at the podium. I was pretty sure he was talking about the bishopric member who had greeted us at the door so I said, "That's Fred, remember? He works with Grandma. Brother Rowley." To which Dawson so loudly replied, "I don't like him. I don't like Mr. Rowley!" Oh, kid. "Yes, you do. Be nice." 3) In the very same sacrament meeting, while the sacrament was being passed, he said, "Here comes the water. " Then he turned around, looked over the back of our bench, and spouted out, "What the hell?!" Definitely loud enough for quite a few people to hear. This kid. It's fine ha. I was dying from holding in the laughter and also a little from embarrassment.

Wren

Sweet Wren has really started her baby talk and I love it. We're now in the soft baby coo phase and it is seriously the sweetest to have little pretend conversations with her. She's also found her hands and likes to suck on them like crazy. It makes for some confusion on my part because that used to be a solid indicator of her hunger but now, she'll do it to sooth herself if sleepy or bored and still when she's hungry.

She was blessed by Dillon on the last Sunday of September. It was such a great day spent with our family and friends, loving on our little Wren. Dillon gave her a really wonderful blessing. The part of her blessing that really stood out to me was when Dillon told her that she would be blessed with a friendly demeanor that would help her uplift the downtrodden and reach out to those in need of friendship. What a special quality to have.

Dillon

I somehow don't have much of an individual update for Dillon. He's been keeping up with his usuals- work, gym, Grifols, stellar husband/dad. But he's definitely intertwined with all of the rest of our updates and we love him as much as ever.

DaNae

I gave my hair a good chop and I'm loving it. I needed a change but I also did it because I lose hair like crazy after I have a baby and I didn't want my long hair to look all thin and stringy. So we did a fun, blunt cut that I think will still look good even when my hair starts abandoning ship.

I had a nutso encounter with a stranger in our kitchen at 2 am a couple of weeks ago. It was a Saturday night/Sunday morning. Dillon had stayed up late and I had fallen asleep in Sawyer's room. I heard noise in our kitchen and thought that Dillon had decided to make himself tea but was being really loud about it (he had actually gone to bed in our room a little earlier). I stomped out of Sawyer's room, irritated at being woken up and ready to be like, "What gives?" But I abruptly stopped in the hall when I saw a young guy I didn't recognize standing in my kitchen. The only light that was on was behind him so I couldn't see his face. For whatever reason, my first reaction was to incredulously demand, "Who are you?!" while freaking out inside and waiting to see if he was going to run or shoot me or what. He confusedly responded to my question by saying, "I'm Kennedy's friend. This is the address she gave me." My heart calmed down a little but I still was trying to figure out what the heck was happening. I told him that I didn't know who that was and that they didn't live there. He mumbled, "This is awkward. Can you show me the door?" My door, guys, is in the kitchen ha. So then I was like.. yeah, he's gotta be drunk or something. So I asked, "How did you get in?" (Like, k dumb-dumb if you got in, you should be able to get out. Also.. should probably mention that our back door was unlocked that night.) He said, "I punched in the code that Kennedy gave me." I was like, "My door doesn't do that dude!" Here I am, in my garments and a t-shirt, adrenaline rushing through my body and basically seething that this confused kid came into my house. After a few more, "This is awkward"s. I pretty much was like, "K, the door's right there," and pointed. And his muddled brain took the hint and he left. I locked the door then went into our bedroom and punched Dillon in the leg while saying, "You.just.slept.through.me.talking.to.a.stranger.in.our.kitchen!!!!" His brain definitely did not process what I had said fully because he bolted upright full on hyperventilating, grabbed his bat, and ran into the kitchen. I was like, "What are you gonna do? He's gone. It's over now. Just thought I would let you know." Darn those husbands who can sleep through anything ha. So we decided to see if he had stolen anything and couldn't find anything out of place. In fact, I had left my purse out with money in plain sight and none of it was missing. Then we discovered that he had opened up a couple cans of Chef Boyardee and had that cooking in a pot on our stove. And I found a pile of breadsticks in our microwave that he apparently had tried to nuke from frozen. What in the what? We came to the conclusion that he must have been under the influence of something and was experiencing the munchies or something. It was so crazy and happened so fast. And we are so glad that it wasn't a much more serious experience.

After telling this story a few times, some common questions were.. 1) "How were you so calm? I would have been screaming and freaking out." To that I say, I don't know guys. I just reacted how I reacted. I can say, in the back of my head I knew that I didn't want to wake up the kids and have them be scared or hurt if I could help it. I didn't know if that guy was going to attack or what and I certainly didn't want to draw any attention to my children. Once he started answering my questions though, I became less concerned about physical harm and more just confused and concerned about burglary etc. 2) "Did you call the police?" No, we didn't. A lot of people seem baffled by that but neither Dillon or I had that reaction to the situation while we were in the moment and coming down from our adrenaline rush. Then the next morning we talked about how this guy was young, probably a teenager, he didn't break anything, didn't steal anything, and didn't hurt any of us. And he left when I asked him to. So we didn't feel like it was necessary. I also have to think that maybe God sent him our way as a nudge to be less lax about locking our back door or maybe even so that kid wouldn't get shot by entering the wrong house. Who knows? It's a comical story now because we all came out of it safe (hopefully the guy too) but it definitely was far from funny in the moment.

Wren doing some two month photos.

Lots of work being cute.

Before.

After.

Preschool pictures.

Dawson singing to his baby sister while she has a bath. I have a better, longer video that I can't get to load. But this one's pretty darn cute too.

I took all of the kids to Cedar High's Homecoming parade. It was short, sweet and filled with candy. Basically ideal.

Making me a little nostalgic.

The boys really like to climb in this cupboard and lay in the towels. I've given up refolding them. It's just not worth it. And they love it, plus it's pretty innocent play so I don't feel like stopping them from doing it.

Potty training prize!

Her first week at church.

Primary program day!

Preschool again.

Sawyer's official soccer portrait. It was a good experience but I think we're all glad this season has wrapped up.

Those crossed legs while he sleeps.

Freshly bathed.

Wren wore my blessing dress and my mom's blessing shoes. I love how her outfit came together.

My blessing day picture. I can't seem to find a picture of Wren that works side by side but I'm telling you guys, when we hold her up next to this picture, the similarities are crazy. Dawson noticed this picture at my parents house the other day and said, "It's my baby Wren!"