Fear For The First Time

Well, tonight was our first trip to the Emergency room. Jadyn was running around the house, like she always does, laughing the entire way. Only this time, she slipped and nailed her head on the corner of her toy box. My heart dropped when I heard it and as Andrea picked her up, we both gasped as the blood ran down her face and the tears started to form. Both of us knew this was worthy of an emergency room visit. We have had accidents before, but nothing like this.

I dropped Andrea and Jadyn off at the emergency room entrance and then went to park. As I walked in, Andrea tells me that there are 7 people ahead of us. I thought to myself, surely they'll bump us up the list - after all its late and we've got a 2 year old with a bloody forehead -- right? WRONG - 4 hours later we are finally meeting with the Dr. who tells us she needs stitches (uhh...yeah...we kinda knew that.....).

They rigged her up so she couldn't move, but Andrea and I had to hold her down. This was difficult for both Andrea and I - but especially me. After all, I'm her dad - I'm supposed to protect her. Try explainin to a 2 year old girl that even though she is wrapped up like a mummy, and needles are piercing her skin, that this is for the best - it will all be better. There was no way for Andrea and I to do that. They covered up her eyes, probably so she couldn't see that they were doing anything to her as she was numb, but she could still tell that something was going on and cried out for both Mommy and Daddy. In one particular moment, when the cover of her eyes slipped a little bit, we locked eyes and I could see the extreme and utter fear in her eyes. It was almost unbearable. Andrea and I continued to talk to her so she knew we were there she eventually calmed down. She is a VERY strong girl and made her Daddy proud with the way she handled it all.

I know most parents make at least ONE visit to the Emergency room with their kids, but I hope I never have to do that again. Fear is a powerful phenomenon for most adults - I can't imagine what was going on in her mind as she was experiencing true fear for the first time.

Hard Work Yields Corporate Success

This has been one long and tiring month. The start of the year is always stressful. Even though I had a great year in 07, my results can no longer carry me in 08; it's a new year with new production goals. Having said that, I am strangely fueled by the challenge. I'm a rather competitive guy, so I enjoy taking on challenges and proving myself. Now that I have two beautiful girls at home depending on me, my drive to succeed is even greater.

Being rewarded for hard work is wonderful. In my job, if you hit your numbers you are rewarded - it's as easy as that. For my wife, and many others out there in the world, it is not the same; hard work cannot be measured by a number at the end of the day. My wife does not have a year-end evaluation, nor does she have monthly production meetings to measure where she's at compared to goal. But she works hard just the same. I think of my high school youth pastor and the amount of time and energy he poured into his students. I think of the professors that spent so much time outside of class, teaching me things that could not be found in a text book. Parenting has helped me appreciate all the hard work my parents put into raising me. Hard work produces results. Maybe not the exact result you want, maybe not even a measurable result, but it produces results - I'm a firm believer in that and hope that my kids can have the same kind of people influencing their life as I did growing up.

This past week, my hard work was rewarded as I was promoted to Assistant Vice President after 2.5 years with the company. When I started right out of college, I knew nothing about insurance or risk management, but I was willing to bust my butt to learn it, and made sure I absorbed every bit of knowledge I could from everyone I worked with. I don't say this to "toot my own horn" as that is not the purpose of this post. Sure, I am proud of my accomplishment, but at the end of the day, a title means nothing if you don't back it up with continued hard work.  At age 25, I don't have much of life figured out, but I do know that much.

Powerful Words

I just put Jadyn down for bed tonight. I read a few books, tickled her a little bit just to hear her laugh, and then told her that "it's time for bed, babe." She then says "OK" in the sweetest voice you've ever heard and proceeds to snuggle up next to me. I noticed that she didn't have her socks on so I told her that I was going to grab some socks, to which she replied, in the same sweet voice, "OK." As I finished putting on her last sock, I told her that Daddy was going to leave so she could go to sleep - again another "OK." I leaned in to give her a kiss goodnight and tell her I love you but instead, she said it first and then leaned in to give ME a kiss. There is something so completely pure about a child stating those words. There is no societal blur of the word, no false promises or empty offers - just pure, love. Some pretty powerful words from a pretty powerful little girl.

Knocked Up....Again

Andrea and I are now officially letting everyone know that #2 is on the way. It's funny how different all the same "stages" of pregnancy are. Don't get me wrong, we are EXTREMELY excited, but we've done this before, so it doesn't have the same "new car scent" as it did the first time around.

For one, and an obvious one at that, we now have Jadyn. I often wonder, as an oldest child myself, what kind of oldest child she will be. How will she handle having to share mommy? What about the "big sis" role she must now play and all the the added responsibilities that come with that?

Additionally, Andrea and I are now 5 years into our marriage and work as a team much better than we did a few years ago. We no longer have the added stresses of finding a new home or starting a full time job right out of a college - or even the stress of moving to a single income. We are more settled and comfortable with where we are in life.

Finally, I'm a Dad already. Sure, I was a "dad" during the first pregnancy, but not in the same way that I am now. Having Jadyn has changed my whole perspective on life, my approach to this pregnancy and the new life that is about to hit our world.

Let's just hope its a boy so we can even out the gender ratio in our house - I already feel terribly outnumbered.

Back To Work

I love coming back from vacation or business trips. The drive/flight home especially. I normally fly out of Fort Wayne, so I've got about 15-20 minutes before I get home. It is actually perfect - just enough time to unwind from the trip and pull myself out of business mode and back into father/husband role. I often times think about what Jade will do when she knows Daddy is home, or where Andrea may be in the house as I arrive and what candle she has burning. It is great to have that to come home to.

Coming back from Vacation isn't always easy. I'm a bit of an anomaly because I love my job and love to get back and do it. However, it is also interesting to think that the only way a vacation can be a vacation is if it comes to an end. If it never ends, it becomes your norm. We had a great time together as a family, but it is great to be back in the wonderful norm that I find myself in. I'm not sure that any vacation could pull me away from that.

Just Touched Down

Well, we had to fly with the "normal" people on the flight home. The only way we could get Jade to sit down for the landing? One word (again) - SUCKER!
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Sooner Than Expected

And she's out. This looks similiar to our trip in...
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Ready For Home...

As we sit at the bus stop, waiting for it to take us home, I wonder if Jade knows if there will be no more Mickey and Friends? This is about the time of the trip I get excited (and anxious) to get back home and back to work. I have a feeling Jade will probably knock out at some point on the way home. We spent the morning by the pool and she was going at full speed....we can only hope...
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Enjoying Fireworks

Nuff said....
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Parenting Tip

How do you keep a 2 year old happy when they've had a very long day? 70's Trippy Lights!
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A Little Mexican?

Weird ride, but Jade liked it. I'm finding that she likes all the weird rides....weird....
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Nightly Glow

Told you it was a nice night...
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Golf Anyone?

I thought it was funny. Jadyn wouldn't look so we had to get all artsy fartsy with this shot.
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Epcot Again

Jadyn leading the way at Epcot. The weather is perfect tonight.
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Nemo aint got nothin on Jade

It seems like half of our trip has been at the kiddie pool. She LOVES the water. Isn't it weird that no matter what the temp is outside, kids love to be in the water?
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Lunch With Some Friends On A Spinning Platform

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

I'm not sure if the video will upload, but if it does, I want you to notice something. Right after I say "give Mickey a kiss," you'll see Jade grabbing her crotch and proudly stating, "Mickey, I poopy." The best part is Mickey shakes his head up and down as if to say, "Kid, try spending all morning in this friggin costume.

By the way, we ate lunch in a room that circled around various outdoor settings. Pretty cool.

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Disney Tech Stuff

Some of these attractions at Epcot amaze me. How do they make an image interact with the crowd? Crazy....
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Nemo Is Our Friend

Jade loved this ride. We liked it too.

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Better Than Jackpot, We Hit The Lottery

Pictures tell the story better than I.....
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Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto AND Chip & Dale

Here we come!
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Epcot

Epcot is pretty cool. The second picture is of Jadyn "Playing football" as that is what she does with me at home when I give her a controller.

This place is pretty cool. My little brother would love it as it has every single gaming system out right now. It is actually similar to my parents basement at home!

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Ready To Go.....sorta

Jadyn woke up ready to go. I, on the otherhand, was not. My once youthful and athletic body is now officially ready for retirement. Sore muscles and a back ache almost put me on the injured reserve, but words from our star player pushed me to work through it....."Ready for Disney World, Dad? ARE YOU READY?! Woo Hoo!"
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Dinner at Planet Hollywood

Thanks to many TVs, a car hanging from the wall and Aussies next to us, we didn't have to worry about keeping her entertained.....
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Downtown Disney

Buzz Lightyear, a store full of Potato Head parts and an endless supply of plush Disney characters - we have entered the world "sucker dollars." Parents walk in with their kids who sucker them in to buying the entire store - like Jadyn did with baby Minnie, who she carries around like her own baby.

If we aren't careful, we'll walk out with stolen goods....Jade is quite the kleptomaniac (I may have botched the word, but I don't have time to spell check with Ms. Sticky Fingers!)

EDIT - 1/10/08 - 7:00 pm - See where the world, kleptomaniac is? Well, I actually first posted nymphomaniac instead. WOW - good thing my little bro called to tell me I'm an idiot....sheesh, this is a FAMILY BLOG!

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Finally, A Nap!

Today is the first day Jadyn has had a nap since Sunday. We enjoyed the pool right after having lunch next to Buzz Lightyear's feet. She loved the pool. Andrea and I loved it too because we knew all the playing would eventually wear her down....

We will be going to Downtown Disney later tonight, but for now, we are all going to take a nap (well, I'm not....me and the PSP have a date with Madden 08).

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Me? Relax?

Above is the view I've got from my hammock. This has been the first vacation I've been on since starting full time that didn't involve:
1. Checking in at the office every few hours
2. Spending at least 1 hour of the trip on a conference call.
3. Trying to close at least 3 accounts (I say 3 because I'm trying to close 2 this week)
4. Taking 2 hours out of each night to check e-mail and do a little work.

It has been great so far. I think the main reason for the change is the week in which I have taken off. January is typically a slow month in the Entertainment world.

I think we'll have to do more vacations during this time of year....

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Hugs for Everyone

I'm pretty sure this was hug # 25,673....
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More Resort

Jadyn stumbled upon Goofy at the Mighty Ducks rooms.
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Spending Our Day With Woody, Buzz and 101 Dogs

We are taking it slow today. We woke up this morning, had some breakfast and then promptly headed over to see Buzz and Woody again with a side trip to our new spotted friends. She loves running back and forth between the giants. She also enjoys telling me to "stop taking smiles." (Jadyn hears us say "smile" every time we take a picture so in her mind, picture = smile).

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Photos While You Wait

Since we probably won't update our Disney site (www.themillsfam.org/disney) with pictures until tomorrow (Thursday) night, I thought we could share some now thanks to a little bluetooth sync between the laptop and my phone. Enjoy!!!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot....Jade was LAUGHING in her sleep a few minutes ago!!! Seriously, she laughed a little and then said "Oh, Mickey...." Can she get any more adorable?

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Why Do Kids Love All The Cheap Stuff?

Don't get me wrong, Jade loved all that Disney had to offer, but the Monorail appeared to rank up there on the "smile, laugh and scream-o-meter." It makes me think more about the simplistic view kids have of things. Kinda refreshing, isn't it?

Well be uploading photos to the web tonight. Be sure to check it out tonight or tomorrow morning.

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A Full Day

Jadyn is coming close to the end of her rope here. We are now riding the monorail in front with the driver. That has given her some additional energy that we hope will get her through the ride home. All-in-all its been a pretty good day. We'll be going back to the resort for some dinner, swimming and relaxing....my favorite. Oh, we might make it back to Disney for the fireworks show later....maybe....probably not....but maybe....
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