Surgery Update

It's been quite a long week since I last posted. J's surgery went well - the doc was pleased with how J did, he handled being put under the general anesthesia as well as a 4 yr old can and he really was an angel as we arrived at the children's hospital Tuesday morning. The ENT told us afterwards that J's tonsils were even larger than he originally thought, and went further down his throat. We weren't terribly surprised, given his breathing issues at night, and were relieved it was over.

Fast forward to today - recovery has been tough. I have been thinking to myself in the last 24 hours whoever feeds you the line that a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy is an "easy" surgery or that your child will "bounce back" from the surgery after a couple of days clearly A) has never had a child go through this surgery B) has a super healer child or C) is LYING! Yes, it is true, recovery isn't AS difficult for a child versus an adult (I was there...had it done at the age of 14 and it truly was horrible). But, that doesn't mean that it's not still hard on the child. Sorry, to vent...I knew going into this after talking to some other mommies of little one's who have been through it that it was not going to be a cake walk, but I was still praying that J would be "that" kid - the one that is in a little pain for a couple of days, then starts eating again, playing like normal, etc. It just has not been that way for us.

The good news - he IS getting better. He is finally eating a few things here and there. Mini ice cream sandwiches were his first true solid on Saturday. Yesterday, he ate about 5-6 bites of a baked potato. Today, it's 4-5 bites of a soft cheese quesadilla. We're making baby steps. He can play the Wii from the comfort of the couch. Days ARE getting better, little by little.

The bad news - nights have been terrible. He cries in his sleep every night, usually just before it's time for his medicine again. We still have him on the every 4 hours dose - b/c that is what he NEEDS. I was hoping to space it out for the first time last night, but that wasn't to be. A good hour before his 1 a.m. dose, he started crying in his sleep. I rubbed his back and held him until he calmed down. He wasn't even really awake. I'm ready for night's to get better.

The best news - I know this will pass. I know that in a week or two, he will be back to normal - actually, BETTER than normal! He'll be able to rest at night, get some good sleep & the oxygen he needs, and wake up feeling refreshed. Totally worth it - even if he wouldn't agree just yet. ;)

I'll be back later with some pictures from the hospital. Daddy took his camera, it died, so we have some on my phone, some on his phone, etc. The best one is a picture of him riding around back in the surgical waiting area pre-op. They have various ride-on toys and he was zooming through the halls - totally took his mind off of what was about to happen (so did the sedative they gave him pre-op too...now I know what a drunk 4 yr old looks like!!!!)

Pre-Op Tour

J listening to the child life specialist on our Pre-Op tour.

Today we took J on his pre-op tour at the children's hospital. Since his surgery is in two days, I will probably not be posting too much this week, but I did want to let you see some pictures of him at the tour. He has been extremely anxious and worried about all of this. It has gotten much worse over the past couple of days. We were hoping this tour would help ease his worries a bit, and I think it did. It really is helpful to show the kids where they will be going, what an operating room looks like, how they will go back with the nurses and doctors, etc. They even told the kids they will get to pick out a "flavor" of sleepy air, so when they are being put under, they will smell bubble gum, cherry, or J's favorite - grape. :)

Playing with the medical kit - everything in it will be used during his stay.

Umm, don't think those go in your ears big boy. ;)

Not looking too sure as we walk to the operating room

Looking at all the equipment in the OR.

Paying attention to the CL specialist. Look at all those worried little eyes. :(

Wait a minute - daddy doesn't have hair! Why does he need a cap??? lol

There is no doubt, both his daddy and I wish J did not have to go through this. If we could, we would do it for him to spare him the pain (in fact, we both have had our tonsils out, so we know a bit about the pain...ugh, especially mommy who had it done at age 14 and remembers everything!) Luckily, when this is all over, J shouldn't remember too much of it and most importantly, he'll be sleeping and feeling TONS better. Even so, any prayers you could send our way this week (and specifically Tuesday morning from about 8 a.m. to Noon) would be greatly appreciated. xoxoxo

Sweet Brothers

Awwww, I finally got the camera in time to catch L giving his brother sweet hugs and kisses (taken a few days ago...now L is sick so no kisses for a couple of days at least!)

I know eventually will come a day when my two sweet boys might not see eye to eye, or might actually - gasp - get in a fight. Until that day comes, I am going to soak up the love they exhibit for one another right now. Don't get me wrong - I've seen J get frustrated with his baby brother, and push him away with his feet or tell him to stop grabbing whatever he is holding. And L is not afraid to tell (by screaming) his big bro to get out of his face. But at this moment in time, they are also not afraid to show their love and affection for each other - and I LOVE IT!

L loves to climb over...well, anything. Especially his brother.

J is more excited than anyone that L is finally walking. He loves to help him get his balance.

Trying to help L turn to walk to Daddy.

Cheering on his baby brother. They are each other's biggest fans (well, along with mom & dad!)

Happy Grandparents Day!

To Ghee, Papa, Nana and Papa D - the boys send their love on Grandparents Day 2009!

L isn't feeling very good today, so he didn't give us his usual scrunchy, cute smile, but he stills loves ya! Oh, and don't forget to pause the music at the bottom so you can hear what J is saying.

The First Day

As expected, J had a great first (and second) day of preschool. He was so excited when I told him that he gets to go again tomorrow! It's going to be a change going from two days a week to four days a week, but so far, he seems to think that it's a GREAT thing. :) Now I just have to get used to it!

He had no problems walking right into that building and settling in. I had to yell at him to turn around for a picture.

Ahh, there we go. Bye Mom!!!! See ya later!!! (sniff, sniff...j/k. It is waaaaaay easier to leave your child when they are NOT crying. Trust me, I've been on that end more than I care to remember, and this is much, much better.)

Checking out the room. No shy guy here. He has already made NEW friends, even though 4 of his old classmates are back with him. Awesome! And he helped out one of his new friends on Day 2 and got rewarded. They have color charts this year and all start on Green. The kids can go up to Blue for doing something nice, helping a friend, etc. They go down to Yellow, then Red for not listening. Well today, J casually mentioned on the ride home that he moved up to Blue for helping one of his new friends clean up without even being asked! Sure enough, there was a sheet in his folder saying the same thing!!! Daddy and I are so proud of him!

So the next 4 pictures were taken in quick succession. After posing for his "formal" back-to-school photo, he was so excited and so ready to get to school that he was about to burst. All of the sudden he said, "I'm gonna do a happy dance." It is my pleasure to give you JWM's happy dance...

And not to be forgotten, my lovebug. He wasn't too sure about leaving big brother yesterday, but soon realized that it meant he got mommy's undivided attention. He was pretty happy. :) Of course, he was glad to see his big bro at pick-up and even clapped today when J climbed in the car. Too sweet!

It's Preschool Time!

Today was a big day for J. Something he has been counting down "sleeps" to - Meet the Teacher day at Preschool!!!! WOOHOO! I think he was especially excited about seeing all of his buddies from last year, even though his special friend isn't in his class this year (but he'll get to see her on the playground. :) The picture above is J and his friend E riding the Wiggle Worm Train. They were classmates last year and are friends. E has a baby brother who is only a few weeks younger than our little L, so these two have a lot in common.

We were all a bit nervous about meeting his new teacher, Ms. Amy, due to the fact that he was supposed to have Ms. Kim, but she decided during the summer to take a full-time teaching job in her little town NW of here. So far, Ms. Amy seems very sweet and friendly. Although about half of his class is "new", J was relieved to learn that three of his other buds were in his class. He waved as we left for the parent assembly - soooooo much different than last year!

J with his new teacher, Ms. Amy.

Tomorrow will be an exciting day. I'm sure I'll have a tear in my eye as I pull out of the parking lot after taking him to class. Not so much because I'm leaving him, but because I cannot believe how grown up he is getting and this is his pre-K year.

On a side note, I mentioned to Ms. Amy that J would be having his tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy in two weeks, and if he seemed overly emotional or sensitive, that is probably why. She was so understanding and sympathetic - one of her daughters is currently being evaluated for the same thing and so she absolutely understood his worry and fear - and mine too! It will be so helpful for her to know what is going on, should he mention it or have a breakdown at school. I'm hoping he will have so much fun there the next two weeks, it will be forgotten for a while!

SWEET TREAT!!!!!

After meeting J's teacher, we hit the neighborhood ice cream shop for a sweet treat with Aunt C and EK. Aunt C wanted to do something special for J for back-to-school. It's always a treat for him to spend time with any of the Bird girls. ;)

Our little monkeys.

What, us? We're totally innocent!

Tired little monkeys after dancing (literally) around the entire place.

14 Months at a Glance

I honestly cannot believe that L is already a year old. (I know, I know...how many times am I going to say that, right?) And now we're two months past his 1st birthday. Where does the time go?

At this moment in time, L is continuing to welcome 4 new teeth in, as well as preparing to break in the final two teeth of his first year. These last two will make 16 total. I need to look back in J's baby book, but I'm almost 100% positive he did not have this many teeth already! We joke it's b/c L is our big eater and his body knows it needs more teeth to keep up with his appetite (and love of meat). Our fingers are crossed that those two year molars will wait until next summer to make their appearance so he can have a nice break when these finish coming through.

L is getting more and more steady every day, and today, he not only took a step here and there without holding on to anything, but he attempted TWO. :) He appears to be trying to perfect his balance before really letting lose and taking off. This surprises me because he doesn't strike me as a cautious child, but apparently, when it comes to walking, he is. But give him a clear path to our stairs, and watch out - this kid will take off and be at the top before you know it!

Like his daddy, he is extremely L-O-U-D. Really. I refuse to take him anywhere that might be too quiet, except for church. Our building, thankfully, has cry rooms and we tend to spend at least the last half of the worship service in there.

He is starting to really love his Bible class on Sunday mornings. It has been challenging, b/c class starts at the exact time he takes his morning naps. While he still is taking a morning nap, it is getting a little less difficult for him to skip it once in a while. This past Sunday, he smiled and played as we dropped him off, and giggled and clapped when we picked him up. It was awesome. Much better than me having to rock him to sleep in the quiet nursery room, while everyone else enjoys Bible class!

L still prefers to use the word "Dada" to describe pretty much everyone, although he has started saying "Mama" again, and something that sounds like J's name pretty clearly. We are now teaching him Howdy and Gig 'em, and are certain he will pick them up with the same enthusiasm his big brother did!

Oh, and one more thing - at 14 months, we are phasing into clothes that are sized at 24 months. He can still wear a few of his 18 month clothes, specifically separates, but one-pieced pj's and shortalls that are 18 months are currently being packed away. I really thought this one might not grow as fast the first couple of years as his big brother, but at this point, L is surpassing him. Grocery bill, watch out!