New Lion

Noah has a new toy thanks to his creative Pop-Ro.  In just a few short hours, a lion was carved out of an old piece of wood and presented to Mr. Man.  

We won't, however, mention the fit Bubs threw earlier that day that lead the the creation of the lion.  

We won't even talk about how he fell in love with a cow {yes a cow} that Pop-Ro was carving for a Christmas nativity {an unfinished cow, at that}.  

We won't name any names...but lets just say...that a certain someone thought the cow should be his.

This certain someone wouldn't let go of said cow...until...he was given a half of an unfinished duck.  

Yes, an unfinished duck! 

WOW! It's a shame we never give our Little Man any toys!

Who would have thought that this half of an unfinished duck would have stolen my little man's affections.  This half a duck went with us to the zoo.  Around the entire zoo.  It rode home in Mr. Man's tightly gripped hands.  It took a nap with my Little Man.  

It was an absolute favorite...until...the lion was introduced.  

Once that lion was introduced, it was all over!

Let's just say it will be impossible to pry this lion from my Little Man's hands.

True love!  Enough said!

Just a Reminder

To my dear sweet Bubs,

Sometimes I take for granted all the things that you have already learned and forget that you are still just a little guy...a toddler to be exact.  Each and every single day you will experience new and wonderful things.  Experiences that you will learn from.  Sometimes those lessons are positive, other times they are negative.  That is the reality of life.  You have SO many lessons yet to learn and so many lessons that will need to be repeated...over, and over, and over again. 

It is with this knowledge that I must remind you that it is NEVER ok to pull your trach out.  It tends to freak people out.  This is especially true when Daddy and I are out on a date and you are home with a sitter.

Once is enough.  Twice is plenty.  Seven times is just too many.  Thank you!

Love,

Mama

Gettin' Crafty with a Wreath

There are so many fantastic crafting blogs out there.  The Scrap Shoppe, Tatertots & Jello, Running With Glitter, and Craft-O-Maniac are just a few of my favorites.  I decided that I needed to get on the crafting bandwagon and make a wreath for our front entryway.

Every year for Christmas, my parents give us a fresh wreath for the entryway.  It is nice to pull into the driveway and see the festive evergreen.  It is so nice to smell the fresh pine every time we go in or out of the house.  I wanted that same feeling again...just not so wintery.

I found the perfect grapevine wreath at the dollar store for...you guessed it...one dollar.  SCORE!  I also picked up a roll of twine while I was there.  SCORE AGAIN!  I began wrapping and wrapping and wrapping the twine around the wreath.  I was hoping it would look a bit like this.

Unfortunately, Allison at A Glimpse Inside used a solid foam wreath rather than a grapevine wreath and she used two spools of twine, neither of which I had.  Well...I took my wreath that was wrapped only three quarters of the way and attached flowers to the lower left side.  I made three satin flowers using this tutorial.  It stayed that way for over a week...until...I saw this.

Nikki at Nikkis' Nacs put her house numbers in the wreath.  How cute is that?!?

I decided that my wreath needed numbers.  I found some cute ribbon that had all the colors of my flowers, turquoise, white and red.  I played with several different ways of attaching the numbers, but decided this was just too cute.

I love that you can see the house number nice and large from the street and the turquoise and red just make me think of summer.

I'm kinda loving the fact that it's not wrapped all the way.  Perhaps because I like things to have a bit of symmetry to them {the flowers are balanced by the unwrapped portion of the wreath}.  Perhaps because it's already hung and I'm a tad bit lazy. 

At some point, I may decide to finish it.  Or I may just decide that it's already finished.

Park Play Day

Noah's awesome physical therapy center, Dynamic Kids, recently hosted a play date at a local park.  It was a fun afternoon of playing, eating, and chatting with other families.  The weather was perfect and Noah had a BLAST on the play equipment. 

He loved climbing up the stairs and rock walls and sliding down the slides. 

Bubs was so very proud of himself when he slid down the BIG BOY slide.

Later, Bubs found the coolest music area where he figured out how to make his own beautiful music.

Right before we left for the afternoon, Mr. Man found the water play area and got a kick out of watching the other kids dodge the waterfalls.

It was such a nice afternoon...we can't wait for the next Dynamic Kids Park Play Day.

Mother's Day Present

Less than a week before Mother's Day, I saw this and thought it was simply adorable.  I e-mailed my fantastic sister-in-laws and asked if it was even possible for us to put it together in just a few days.  Wouldn't you know it, they were so enthusiastic and got on it right away.  Thanks ladies for taking the photos of your precious little ones and thanks Kc for "fixing" all the pictures.

Hunter, Noah, Jonah, and Brooklyn.  Aren't they too cute?!?

 

Nana absolutely loved it!

Digital Picture Frame

Noah has recently discovered our digital picture frame {a Mother's Day present from last year}.  

He just loves to stand on his step stool and watch the pictures go by.

It's like watching his own personal TV show starring...HIMSELF.  How awesome is that?!?

Sometimes it's best to snuggle with a friend while watching TV {notice Charlie in Bub's arms}.

Happy Mother's Day

Daddy-O and I had the perfect plan for the most amazing Mother's Day gift ever. We knew it would be the greatest gift ever. We knew she had always wanted it. We knew it would blow her mind.  We knew it would bring her to tears {which it did}.

We worked hard all day long.

On. Off.

On. Off.

On for longer. Off.

On for even longer. Off.

On.

Can you believe it? My Passy is on! And I'm breathing! It's on!

And even more than that...I spoke my first word...

 

Make sure your volume is turned ALL THE WAY UP!

Bonnes Nouvelles

True...it was a very L.O.N.G. day {got home after 11:00 p.m.}.

True...Bubs was very tired and very hungry by the time we got to Stanford.

True...the surgery was over an hour late.

False...Bubs was willing and eager to get wheeled into the OR.

True...the anesthesiologist gave Mr. Man a sedative to calm him down before the surgery.

False...the sedative worked.

True...the anesthesiologist had me scrub in and carry a very unhappy Bubs into the OR.

True...I was thrilled to be able to hold my screaming son while he was put to sleep {it was the third time I've gotten to do that}.

True...Kc could not wait and got dinner in the cafeteria while I was singing "Jesus Loves Me" as Bubs was being held down by three additional nurses as the very patient anesthesiologist was attaching a pulse ox probe to Mr. Man's big toe.

False...I was able to finish my dinner {once I got it} before our MOST FANTASTIC Otolaryngologist and his French counterpart joined us to go over the results of the super speedy scope.

"Do you want the good news," he asked, "or the good news?"  

Bubs' trachea is staying open!  

Bubs' trachea was dilated to 1 cm! 

Bubs' trachea is looking great!  

Bonnes Nouvelles!  

Good News!   

We're heading back in one month for another scope but our MOST FANTASTIC Otolaryngologist said that the only thing keeping the trach in my Little Man is my Little Man himself.  Noah now has the anatomy to be able to breathe through his nose and mouth...he just has to learn how to.  

WOW!!!  

Wow!   

Wow!  

wow.   

wow.  

That is awesome...and terrifying...at the same time.  

It is now our job to teach Noah how to breathe...the thing that most people take for granted...the intrinsic task that happens 21,000 per day...the unconscious exercise that all newborns participate in...Noah now has to learn. 

How in the world do you teach someone how to breathe?  I must have missed that class when I went through the credential program. Where in the world do we start???

For those of you who just love pictures...here are a few more of my adorable Bubs.

Looking down from above.

The white tube you can see is his trach.

You get a great shot of his trach here as well.

Smile Pretty...In French

We're heading back up to Stanford for another scope tomorrow.  

Our MOST FANTASTIC Otolaryngologistis will be taking another peek at Mr. Man's trachea and we're hoping for a gorgeous hole rather than an ugly crevasse.   Joining our MOST FANTASTIC Otolaryngologist in the operating room will be one of his colleagues from France.  Yep...France.  Bubs will be smiling pretty for two very important surgeons tomorrow.  I hope he is bilingual and can open wide in French.

We just got word that the procedure is not scheduled until 5:00 p.m. tomorrow evening.  

Nice.

Unlike Noah's previous scopes, we don't have to wake up at 2:00 in the morning.  We don't have to be on the road before 3:00 in the morning.  We don't have to be in the pre-OP room by 6:00 in the morning.  

Nice.  

Unfortunately that means that we won't be out of surgery until after 6:00 in the evening.  We won't be out of the recovery room until after 8:00 at night.  We won't be home until after 11:00 at night.

Seriously!

It's going to be one l. o. n. g. day tomorrow. 

And just because I hate to have a post without any pictures...here's my adorable Bubs