Wednesday, June 3, 2009

A lot to say for May

AHHH! Life never slows down. I feel like I have so much to do on any given day. I can't even get to what has to be done, let alone what I want to get done. I'm sure many of you can relate.

So....May came and went. Proved to be another crazy month. Here's an attempt to keep our life up-to-date.
{P.S. I had a quarterly enrichment meeting tonight and had a sister tell me that she never gets a chance to talk to me because I'm always running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Should I have said thanks? Certainly how I feel almost 100% of the time.}

Rylee's Surgery: {May 15}
Rylee's surgery to replace her central line with a port went well. This is her playing in the waiting room before it happened. I really like having a children's hospital fairly close by. They have so many things for the kids to play and do while you wait, which we did a lot of. Initially she was scheduled for 7:30 am. I always prefer being first case- makes it much easier with the no eating or drinking thing. Plus...if you're not, you always get pushed back, which is what happened. 7:30 turned to 9:15, turned to 10:45, turned to 12:15 and finally at 12:30 she was taken back. Such is life.

The port was placed on her left chest. She'll have about a 1 inch scar from the incision. They also stitched up the hole that the line came out of, which will leave a mark as well. Battle wounds I guess. She did run a fever most of the day after surgery and it made us nervous for a little while, but we were able to get it down with Tylenol and dodged having to go to the ER. Things healed up pretty good and she had her first treatment with the port on Tuesday. I was a little anxious about how treatment would go with the new mechanism, but it was actually fine. We put some numbing cream on her before we go so she doesn't feel the poke. She was a little restless and it was different then what she's used to but her appointment was right during her nap and this week she's on steroids, so it always throws her a little off. She tends to get much more agitated, emotional and aggressive on steroids.

On our way out of Primary's, the kids threw a pennie in the fountain for good luck. I'm hoping that things continue to go well with the port. Hopefully Rylee will only have to endure one more surgery- when we're done with all of this & she gets to have the port removed!

In other Rylee news- Last Sunday we were part of the PCMC Telethon and had a short 3 minute interview. They showed some pictures of Rylee at the hospital and I told them our story and such. It went by really quick and ended when Rylee got a little restless at the end (or feisty as the newscaster declared). We got a free T-Shirt and snacks for our gig.
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Jace's Preschool Graduation: {May 21}

It seems just like yesterday that I sent Jace out the door for his first day of preschool and now he's a preschool graduate. It has been so fun for Jace to be part of Discovery Preschool. He has met friends, made projects, went on field trips and has learned so much.

He did preschool with 3 other kids from our neighborhood and they had so much fun with their little carpool. It's pure entertainment being the driver- hearing them talk about all that is important in the life of 4 year olds.

Jace had a few parts in his program. He had to tell a joke, say a few words in Portuguese and thank everyone for coming and invite them to get a refreshment at the end. Then the whole class recited poems, sang songs, did the pledge and showed off some other fun stuff from Preschool.

Jace has grown up a ton this year. He is so responsible and makes a good big brother. He's concerned about keeping the rules and wants to make sure that others do the same. When I'd drive carpool, one of the kids put their feet on our car seats and Jace got right after them. He's all--"My dad doesn't like it when you put your feet on the seats because it gets them all dirty." He told another friend that his dad doesn't like it when you eat treats out of the treat bucket. Jus told Jace that he's giving his dad a bad wrap with his friends.

Here's Jace with our carpool group- 3 of his best buddies (Cannon, David and Halli Jo). They had 10 kids total in their class and his teacher was Mrs. Broadhead. I'm so glad that Jace had the opportunity to have something of his own this year. He always looked forward to going to school and it was a great support system and distraction for him in the midst of everything else that was going on.

We still haven't made a final decision about whether or not to send Jace to Kindergarten in the fall or wait another year. He did really well on the Kindergarten screening and his preschool teacher thinks he's ready, but...we're still wondering about being the youngest boy thing and stuff like that. What to do?

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Jaden- 3 Months in May

Our little bear turned another month older. This month brought a lot of milestones and a little bit more peace for mom. I think we've finally got him to a pretty content stage (knock on wood). He still has episodes every now and again and he's still a spitter-upper, but he'll be content for longer periods of time now.
In May, Jaden started smiling, laughing out loud and can roll from his tummy to his back (happens a lot during naps). He has also rolled from his back to his tummy, but it was when he was steaming mad at something. I've seen him do it a couple of times.
He likes it when people talk to him and he'll coo and blow bubbles back. He loves to be held and likes it when you blow on his face or tickle his upper thighs. He's ticklish on his thighs and below his chin on his chest. He likes to be raised in the air up and down. Loves to kick around in the bath. He's been trying out his swing, duck bouncer, Sesame Street play mobil and Bumbo seat. He likes to lay on the floor and kick around or lay on his stomach and raise himself up with his arms. He's a strong little guy.
He still continues to get mauled every day. The other kids just can't get enough of him. He got to venture out to Bear World with us this month and also had his first night apart from us- my mom watched him when we took Rylee down for her surgery and he did great.
He's growing every day. Funny how fast it goes by.
Other May news:
~Jus & I celebrated our 7 year anniversary on May 24
~My dad got in a motorcycle accident on May 27
~Enjoyed a fun Memorial Day weekend with my family {more to come later}
Goodbye May 2009....Bring on June

10 comments:

Harris Happenings said...

Whoa! You guys just keep going like the Energizer bunny. It is fun to see all of the progress the kids have made.

kaTie said...

your kids are too cute! I'm glad the surgery went well. I'm sure once she's used to the new routine with the port... you'll love it. Now she can get wet! YEAH!!!!

a-anderson said...

I'm glad you find a little time to update your blog. It is always good to know what is going on with you and your family.

Suzie said...

Thanks for the update. Your family is amazing!

The Hokansons said...

Nat, glad that even though things are super busy for you guys that you are adjusting and the kids are doing well. Such a great update, and of course your kids are too cute for words. I love how blonde Rylee looks in that picture, she is beautiful. Always looking forward to more updates!!

P.S. I hope your Dad is recovering well, he's the greatest guy!

Jen said...

That is wonderful news about Rylee! Anything that makes your day a little easier is great.

How is your Dad recoverying? I really hope that he is doing well.

I always look forward to reading your blog. You put things into words so well and help me appreciate all that I am blessed with. Have a great week!

Jill said...

We are glad that Rylee's surgery went well and for all the water fun she has ahead of her. I hope your dad is recuperating well.

bryan and megan said...

Looks like you guys had a crazy May. Glad to hear everything is going well with Riley.

Is that Halli Jo Angel?

Robison's said...

I can't believe how busy the month of May is. I hope Rylee keeps doing good.
We have the same problem with Benson about going to kindergarden. He turns 5 in July and I think we have struggled with it since he was 3 years old, but since he has had preschool I can tell a huge improvement, so we have decided to send him.

Our Family said...

Hey Natalie,
I just had to tell you about something I found. I love your blog and think that you are such a amazing person, and love to read all your post and feel like you should be a General Relief Society Speaker. Anyway, I found the best way to make your blog into a book. I just got mine back and it is so great I love it!
You go to the cutest blogs on the block, and there is a link that say's make your blogs into a book. You click on that and it downloads it how ever you want it. From first to last, or last to first, with or without the comments ect. You may have already know all of this but I just wanted to make sure because I think it is such a great idea to have it in a book to keep as a family history book.
Jill