The Lion King

Back in December I heard that The Lion King was coming to Kansas City and I knew I had to go see it again.  I saw this show on Broadway 14 years ago and it moved me in a way I never expected.  For those of you who have had the pleasure of seeing it, you know exactly what I'm talking about...that feeling during that opening scene of Circle of Life.  It's truly theater at its best.

Anyway, when I first saw they'd be touring in Kansas City, I pulled up that opening scene on YouTube to show the boys.  Ollie and Lucas didn't really care much, but Nolan got a look in his eyes that just melted my heart.  He looked at me with big eyes and said "Mommy, I don't need Christmas presents.  I just want to see Lion King!"  Oh, sweet boy!  You are indeed your mother's child!  I decided right then that I wanted to take him.  The problem with this, is (especially when you have triplets) how to do you take one kid out for something special like this without being completely and totally unfair?  So we also decided around that time (after asking the boys) to take Ollie and Lucas to Monster Jam with Daddy (which they did back in January).  When I gave Nolan the option of Monster Jam or Lion King, he hands down said he would rather see The Lion King.

So this has been something we've been looking forward to for over 6 months.  And today the day finally came.  After a frantic mommy moment at home before leaving when I couldn't seem to locate the tickets in my email to print off, we were finally ready!  Ollie and Lucas spent the afternoon at work with Daddy, which I think was fun for them.  Nolan and I got all dressed up and headed downtown.  We took some pictures and then went and found our seats...fairly early.  We looked through the Play Bill and talked about the show.  It was honestly just really nice being there just the two of us.

Then the lights dimmed and the show began.  It was just as good this time around as I remember it being in New York.  But what I enjoyed watching even more than the phenomenal costumes, set, and music...was Nolan's face throughout the show.  He had the most serious face all throughout The Circle of Life then as soon as it ended and the crowd broke out in applause, he looked over at me with the biggest eyes and his mouth wide open and I knew in that very moment that he was feeling exactly what I was.  He continued to look at me throughout the show...sort of in disbelief.  As if he really couldn't believe it was that good.

When intermission hit, we took at potty break and sat and had a snack out in the lobby for a bit before going back in.  During that time, I asked him how he was liking the show.  He said it was "So cool!"  I leaned over to him and said, "You want to hear something kind of silly?  There were a couple parts where Mommy got tears in her eyes because it was SO GOOD!"  He looked at me and said, "Oh, that's okay, Mommy...I got a few tears in my eyes too."

You guys...he's totally my mini-me.  Like truly, I am so glad he loves the theater.  He did awesome during the show and I think truly loved it.  This is one of those days that I will forever cherish. I 'm so glad we got the opportunity to go.  And I'm so glad he loved it!

Sweet Sweet Nolan

If you've talked to me lately, you know I've been overwhelmed with the challenges of having three toddlers...particularly toddlers that:

• throw temper tantrums that involve banging their heads on any hard surface in sight
• have major separation anxiety
• don't feel the need to sleep anymore
• constantly fight with each other 

I love my boys dearly, and there are a lot of fun things about this age.  But quite frankly, it's really hard!  I've been really anxious about the winter months approaching.  For a while there, after we dropped our morning nap, we were leaving the house every morning: walks, trips to the park, play dates, going to the zoo, etc.  We kept pretty busy.  The days when we didn't get out of the house were the ones when we saw an increase in behavior problems.  I'm honestly dreading this winter when we're going to be stuck in the house for days at a time.  It's going to be rough.  It's already rough...

But just when I think I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE, these boys do things to remind me how lucky I am to be their mom.

Perfect example:

This morning Nolan woke up around 6:30.  He's been waking up several times in the middle of the night lately, and so 6:30 comes early these days.  The other boys don't typically wake up until closer to 7:30 or even 8:00.  This morning, I just wasn't ready to be up, so I went and got him and brought him back to bed with me.  He started fussing and squirming around, so I started to sing to him ("Wagon Wheel", of course).  He instantly closed his eyes and snuggled into me and fell asleep.  Life was good.  Mama was able to fall asleep too!  We both lay together until almost 8:00 when I woke up and saw that he was still sleeping.  He looked so sweet and innocent laying next to me and I just couldn't take my eyes off of him.  After a while, he stretched out and opened his eyes.  When he saw me, he instantly smiled the most sweet and genuine smile I've ever seen.  It made my heart melt. Then immediately after that sweet smile, he leaned in and gave me a kiss.  These are the moments that I need to try to remember when it's 5:00 in the morning and I'm up with a baby who hasn't slept since 1:00. 

Sweet Moments

Oh my goodness...I have the sweetest boys ever. Ollie woke up from his nap feeling a little sad. He was crying and Nolan came up to him and offered him his cup of milk.  When that didn't seem to make him feel better, he blew him a kiss. So sweet!

Spring Day at Deanna Rose

Friday was a beautiful day - high of 78.  I had looked at the forecast earlier in the week and when I saw how nice it was going to be, I decided to take the boys to Deanna Rose that day.  I had plans to meet my sister-in-law Jen and niece Dakota there around noon.  When I got there, I got Oliver and Lucas loaded up in the double stroller and strapped Nolan to my chest.  I was walking up to the front gate to meet Jen when a woman walked by me.  I was waiting to hear the usual "OMG are those triplets?!?" or "Wow, you sure have your hands full!" comment.  But instead she just smiled at me and said, "They're beautiful."  And then she kept walking.  It seriously made my day.  I wish more people were like this.

Our afternoon was nice.  We walked around for a couple hours.  I think the boys and Dakota really enjoyed being outside.  At one point, we stopped at a large gazebo.  Bluegrass music was playing and I took Nolan and danced around like a total fool.  And in that moment, dancing with my son, his sparkling blues eyes smiling up at me, I felt pure joy.  Such a perfect moment.  Such a great day.  We'll have to do it again soon!

Nolan Does Not Have Hydrocephalus

Last week at the boys' 9 month appointment, our pediatrician suggested we get a head ultrasound for Nolan since his head had grown so rapidly in such a short time.  She wanted to make sure he didn't have hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain).  So we scheduled an appointment for him at Children's Mercy. Fortunately, it's not very hard to get into radiology and we were able to be seen on Tuesday.

James came home early to watch the other two boys while I took Nolan to his appointment.  I have to say, one thing I miss a little about Ollie's helmet, was that we always had that one-on-one time whenever I would take him to his helmet appointments.  This appointment for Nolan was the first time he and I have ever gone anywhere just the two of us.  And honestly, that part of it all, was kind of nice.

The ultrasound went just fine.  I had debated on taking him into the hospital in his stroller or in his infant carrier. I ended up going with the infant carrier only because we were running a little bit late and I didn't really have time to get the stroller out of the back of the van.  It ended up being a good choice, because the ultrasound tech just had him stay in his car seat while she did the scans.  My job was to try to keep him relatively still.  So of course I sang to him.  What can I say, the kid loves The Sound of Music.  They ended up getting about 50 pictures of his beautiful brain and he did a fabulous job.  When she was done she told me, "Okay, we got what we needed.  You're free to go!"  I was like, "Um...does my kid have hydrocephalus?"  She told me they would send the results to my doctors office who would then call me the next day.

So then the next day rolls around and, of course, all I can think of all day is his head scan.  Every time my phone would ring, I would grab it quickly, only to be disappointed that a friend or family member was calling. Finally around 3:30, I called my doctors office to find out why I hadn't yet heard from them.  They said they hadn't received the results, so I then called Children's Mercy.  The woman I talked to said results are sent within 24 hours.  Since my appointment was at 5:00 the day before, it was possible my results wouldn't be sent until 5:00.  This made me want to cry, as my doctors office closes at 5:00 and I really didn't want to have to wait another day to find out what was going on.

Fast forward to the following day (Thursday).  I still hadn't heard from anyone by 11:00 AM, so I called my doctors office and asked if the results had been received.  They left a message with the nurses who then called me back and told me they didn't have them.  Ugh!  At this point, I was beyond frustrated.  I called Children's Mercy and they said they would be sent within the next 30 minutes.  So then finally around 2:30 my doctor called.  She wasn't even in the office that day, but because she's awesome and knows how much of a worry-wart mama I am, she made some phone calls to let me know his results.  This just reaffirms how much I love her.

Anyway, this is what our doctor told us.  It's going to sound a little scientific.  Nolan does not have hydrocephalus, though he does have excess fluid on the brain causing the enlargement in his head.  She defined it as macrocephalus, which literally translates to "large head".  The difference is that with hydrocephalus, the build up of fluid is located in the ventricles (innermost section) of the brain.  This can be harmful and cause developmental delays.  Treatment generally includes having a shunt surgically inserted into the head to drain the fluid.  In Nolan's situation, the fluid is located on the outer subarachnoid space and is completely benign.  No shunt is needed.  Rather, the issue should resolve itself by the time he's two.  So basically, he's going to be just fine...which is exactly what this anxious mama needed to hear!