Merry Freakin' Christmas, Charlie!

So, my husband left for Dallas on Sunday around 4:30. He has training down there for the week and will be back on Friday night, which leaves me alone with the boys. Jamie went to stay the night with Tyler's cousins, luckily, because the Great Christmas Tree Fiasco of '09 (as it will henceforth be called) was about to occur.

I'm feeling pretty good about myself and about having the evening with Charlie all to myself. Andrea and Jeremy stopped by and brought me an early birthday present and some cookies, then they headed back to their house. After feeding Charlie a bottle at 12:30, we both drifted back to dream land. Charlie has been sleeping in the living room in his bouncer at the suggestion of our pediatrician due to his congestion, and I was asleep on the couch beside him. Around 1:30 am, I hear a creak and a crash and the unmistakable sound of glass breaking. To tell you the truth, I was a little afraid to open my eyes, but I did. It was dark but I knew the tree had just fallen and had landed right near or on the baby! When I flipped on the lights above my head my stomach lurched and my hands started shaking uncontrollably. The top of the tree was on Charlie's head! It was just two branches and one heavy ornament, but I wasn't sure how hard the tree had hit him. I lifted him out of the seat and looked for wounds. There weren't any that I could see so I set him down on the couch and grabbed my phone. The child never even woke up. He just wiggled and stretched a little, as if to say, "Why would you move me, woman?"

Andrea and Jeremy have drilled into my head that if I ever need them, to call. I figured now was as good a time as any, even though it was 1:30 in the morning. It took two tries before Jeremy answered. When I explained what had happened and told him the tree was too heavy for me to lift, he, of course, exclaimed they'd be right over. 5 minutes later they come in and survey the scene. Jeremy lifted the tree and leaned it against the corner wall and then we decided it would be a good idea to just go to the hospital and make sure Charlie was alright because you never can tell with such a little guy.

Thankfully, they told us he seems just fine and to just monitor him because they didn't want to do a CT scan on a baby so small since it takes so much radiation. It was the fastest ER visit ever known. When we got back to the house and were able to take a better look at the damage, it turned out to be mostly a glass ball massacre. There were very few regular ornaments that didn't make it. Jeremy and Andrea cleaned up the mess while I fed Charlie another bottle because they're awesome that way. Currently, the tree is chillin' in the corner waiting to be redone later today.

I feel crazy because I told Tyler and others that I thought the tree looked crooked in the stand. He said he thought it was just the way the tree was shaped. I kept telling him it was crooked, but I never really insisted he redo it. Sunday evening I even thought to myself, "Maybe I should put Charlie's bouncer on the other side of the couch in case the tree does fall over," but I convinced myself I was being neurotic. Forgive me for the lack of my usual humorous overtones (or what I intend to be humorous, anyhow), but I believe I'm still in shock. I'm feeling pretty numb except for the growing urge to vomit. Everything is fine and disaster was diverted, but geez! Way to start the week, Christmas tree!

At least, someone was watching out for sweet little Charlie and making sure that tree didn't land 2 or 3 inches further and smash him underneath it. (Thanks, Grandma.) I'm also thankful that Lauren and Kenny chose Sunday to keep Jamie, of all the days they could have had him before or since, and clearly, I'm thankful for my most fantastic friends. Couldn't wish for a better set of neighbors! Below are a few pictures from my phone. The first shows some of the balls but they had landed everywhere...all the way in the kitchen and were all around his bouncer, but not on Charlie himself! The second shows which part hit him and just how close he was to being hurt worse. His head was in that little pillow.