Honduras

I am sitting here at the top of a Honduran mountain in winds that are gusting upwards of 30-40mph (my guess). Winds have been bad this week. I don't remember this much wind last year.

 

I just killed a scorpion next to my foot, as I sit here and type. No kidding.

 

Neat thing happened last night at worship service. We were surrounded by friendly, smiling, happy Hondurans after a very spirited worship service. I spotted (because I was looking for) a little girl about Jessie's size. I went over to the dad (presumably) and asked how old she was. She is 18months old, so I told them my little nina Jessica was 18 months old. That thrilled them, and they let me get a hug from her! It was a reasonable facsimile of a Jessie hug, and will get me through the week.

 

And, before you ask, no, I didn't look for anyone Holly's age to get a hug from them!

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

I showed a picture to Jessie today and asked who it was. She promptly exclaimed NANA!

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nana

I showed a picture to Jessie today and asked who it was. She promptly exclaimed NANA!

Test from Holly's phone

Test from Holly's phone

Test from Holly's phone

Test from Holly's phone

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Jessie is much better with her eye(s) today. Somehow we escaped having a fever with her. Apparently other kids have had raging, sudden fevers with the same initial symptoms of reddened eyes.

I am leaving for Honduras in about 12 hours. I know I'm gonna miss Jessie and Holly. I love to see little Jessie every day, and see her big smile, blue eyes, and the usual hug and kiss I get from her each day.

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

First Ultrasound

We had the first ultrasound today. Good report. Heart rate 146. Everything looks good. There is only one little bugger in there (Whew!).

Holly continues with the nausea. Today might have been a little better, but still a lot of waves passed by.

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Oh yeah...Last night we though Jessie was getting sick, so we both got up to go check on her. Nope. No fever. Well, now we've done it. I just told Holly to go back to bed, as I was fairly well awake anyway. It was just before 3am. Jessie went right to sleep on my shoulder, and hardly moved, so I was able to get some sleep too. Although, my neck has been funky today from sleeping in the chair with my head straight back and/or crooked to either side.

It would have been better to have slept in bed, but it was kinda sweet n' neat with her asleep on me. Feels good to be trusted by a little person that doesn't trust many people yet.

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

The nausea has gotten worse for Holly. She puts up with it way better than I ever could tolerate nausea. She just keeps telling herself that it means the baby is growing! She is very tired these days too. Not enough energy to belch....wait...Yes, she does have enough energy to belch. Trust me on that one.

We think Jessie will likely spill the beans at church or other public places. She occasionally points to Holly's belly button, and says, BAY-BEEEEE!!!!" Pretty funny.

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Shnessie

Jessie has learned, somewhat, how to say her name. It comes out something like "Shnessie", or, "Sjessie" (nordic spelling, I guess, as well as pronunciation). It's pretty funny to hear her say it, but also a darling thing to observe.

She's got two red eyes, which may be pink eye. No fevers yet, so daycare is letting her come still. Mama Sue is on "standby" to come keep Jessie so Holly can continue to work and I can continue with my Honduras plans. I should get Mama Sue a pager, and set it off really loud in the middle of the night, like they used to have to tolerate with my fire dept scanner and pager.

But, I guess I won't do that. It might be the last time she comes to help! Ha!

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Well, the morning sickness has hit Holly, pretty much exactly the week she predicted it would. But she's handling it fairly well, at least better than I would. That's not saying much though. Sprite and some Preggy Pops helps get her through it, along with some cheese and/or crackers in the middle of the night.

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

I took Jessie to the mall today because Holly had to work. We were there for nearly 2 hours just walking around. They do have a nice play area (pic) that has padded flooring and padded toys. They look like hard plastic but they are actually very soft. She loved the slide.

We went an hour before the mall opened, so it was pretty peaceful. I actually enjoyed it that way.

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Today Jessie and I ran around in the yard. We picked up sticks, swung
in the tree swing, and got excited over so many birds!

She even experienced the wonderment of a sweet gum tree ball. It was
very prickly.

--

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Last night I was helping change Jessie's diaper. I was/have been trying to teach her "A-B-C". She is getting closer, but last night, I kept repeating it. It might have been imagination, but Holly and I both thought we heard, "Stop pushing me!" The teen years have already started....

We had a good memory of Cousin Sharon Michaels last night. She had given Jessie a turtle that had star-shaped holes in the shell. It has several choice of colored lights inside the shell. Turn it on in a dark room, put it in the middle of the floor, and it puts stars on the walls and ceiling! Jessie's eyes were like pizzas! She was so mesmerized..."Whoa!" She kept saying. It was fun playing with her in the semi-dark and stars...until she poked me in the eye. It was dark enough that I didn't see it coming, so she poked an open eye.

Oh well. I can still see this morning, so it mustn't have been too bad.

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Looks like I'll get to go to the ultrasound on Feb 19th!!! That is the day before I leave for Honduras, but I got clearance from the court clerk to be out of the country that week (I'm in a jury pool). Yeah!!!! I was hoping to get to go. Our first visit with the OB/GYN with Jessie (when she was just Tater) was very exciting!

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Last night we were playing with Jessie in the floor. Holly's shirt was rolled up a little bit, and Holly was on her stomach. I leaned over and gave Holly a zerbert on her back (Zerbert: a blowing thhhpppttt sound on the skin), and Jessie saw it. She very quickly copied me, but the faster she tried to do it, the more it ended up being more like a yard sprinkler!

Well, I wanted to get a zerbert from the beloved little one, so I got on my stomach and pulled up my shirt. Jessie dutifully came over to my (hairy) back, took one look, and pulled my shirt down. She went back to Momma.

How insulting! An 18-month old wouldn't give me a zerbert!

We were also acting like we were going to sleep while playing in the floor. Jessie came up to both of us, slapped us real hard on the back, and said, "NIGHT NIGHT!" I guess she learns that at daycare.

PS: If you want to go back and read other parts of the blog, feel free to visit http://jessiegc.blogspot.com/


Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

I think Holly's ultrasound (first) will be on 2/19/09 at 1045, so we may have an US pic to post. I may or may not be able to be there. If I get selected for jury duty, I will be in court, likely. If not, I will be there, but that will be the day before I leave for Honduras.

I want to serve on the jury, but I want to be there for the ultrasound.

**Raising hand at 1030am**
"Um, 'scuse me, Judge Nixon...May I be excused for about an hour and a half? I want to go see an ultrasound."

Doubt that will go over well.

Someone was telling at work their experience the day they were admitted and pitocin was started at 0530, and all the things that happened. It was pretty exciting to hear, as I remember that day well for us. I got a little (big) grin on my face as I walked away. I got pretty excited.

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough

Jessie's been sick. It may be RSV, but she hasn't run much fever. Had a low-grade 100.4 Sunday night, but we never observed worse. She's been mostly playful, as usual, with only occasional bouts of frustration.

Tonight, Holly is on call, and, presently, still at work. But Jessie and I had a good night. She ate well, including a whole Kid's meal (microwave meal), and most of a banana. She even ate a couple of bites of yogurt and of course her milk. She "read" one of her books to me, which tonight was her big picture book, which I think is one of my favorites since there is so much to look at and tell her about.

Last night neither Holly nor I slept well. Jessie cried a lot, but even when she wasn't crying, she coughed a whole bunch. It's a very tight-sounding cough, making first-time parents like us a little uneasy. Of course, with Holly being a CRNA, she (and I, for that matter) are constantly listening for an airway!

Something funny was happening when I went to pick her up today at daycare. I walked into the room where she was, already carrying her coat and bag. The room was basically chaos. There were 2 or 3 teachers in the room, and a couple of parents, not including me. But there were kids running around the room like crazy. It was loud and somewhat obnoxious. But there was little Jessie, over in the corner, sitting amongst a scattered pile of books, turning the pages quietly. One of her teachers told me this was not unusual. I guess you had to be there, but you get the picture. It was funny, cute, and neat, all rolled into one.

Larry Crockett
Franklin, TN
Run with whatcha brung, and hope you brung enough