Popsicles and Ice Cream

On Friday morning, at 6:15 AM, we entered CMC - Pineville with sweet little Aidan in tow, all prepared for his 7:30 surgery to have his tonsils and adenoids removed.

Aidan has always had large tonsils....crazy large. But the only time we ever really thought about it was when he was sick. He is also quite the snoring machine! So much so that I have always questioned whether or not he may have a degree of sleep apnea....he never really seemed to be well rested...ever.

Mike just happeend to look into his throat a few weeks ago and noticed it was red and inflamed and just plain painful looking. After a visit to the ENT it was confirmed that he needed surgery. In fact, the Dr told us that he may actually have been in a mild degree of pain for most of his life, and just thought that it was normal.

Yep, we feel like the worst parents under the sun.

So, off we went on Friday, March 30 at the crack of dawn to the hospital for his surgery. A HUGE thanks to Grandmommy and Grandaddy for coming over so early to stay with Ella and Lauren!

He was such a good little trooper! He got all ready and prepped, never complaining once, except to ask "Daddy, is my Dr appt almost over yet?".

When they gave him his tylenol/versed mixture to begin to get him drowsy, he spit half of it out. I guess he managed to get enough in, because within minutes he was pretty much out of it!

Such big boy - all ready to go!








We watched after they wheeled him away as he finished in pre-op (he was # 731766):

Went into the OR:

And made it into reovery:

He did fantastic in surgery and recovery also went well, after a brief nausea spell and an extra dose of morphine.

We were released at about 11:15 with a very sleepy little man.

We made it home at around 11:30, and he has pretty much been on the couch ever since watching lots of movies! He has brief spells of feeling really good, but for the most part, is often refusing to swallow, will hardly drink anything (we are really concerned about dehydration), fights us hard each time he is due for his pain medication, and has only eaten a few tubes of Star Wars yogurt or popsicles.

One other side effect is that his voice is completely different (hopefully this is temporary, as his deep voice has been a trademark of his since birth!)...I don't even recognize it as his - he sounds as if he sucked in a bunch of helium!

I hear that Day 3 is the worst and that it takes a good 10-12 days before the little ones really start to feel better. My heart aches for my sweet little man. What a way to spend your spring break!

Donuts with Dad

Last week was the annual Donuts with Dad morning at school. Ella and Aidan were so excited to share some special time at school with their Daddy! They shared donuts and presented him with special pictures that they had painted just for him, complete with questions they had answered that are so funny:

Ella:

Aidan:

As a souvenir, they brought home frames with a picture from the morning.

Wordless Wednesday

As written by Ella:

"Z Opa"

Later St. Patrick's Day evening, Opa and Grandma Shushi arrived with a fun surprise on Opa's car:

You may recall the "Grandpa of Twins" sticker he proudly displayed on the rear window of his former car. Well, when he had to get a new car, and Chris and Emily had Mia, and then we had Lauren, he was suddenly more than just a twin Opa....so he is now "Z Opa"!

Now that is one proud grandfather!

We then headed to our favorite pizza spot for dinner, where Lauren was entertained with lemons!

The next day Grandma Shushi and I took Lauren to brunch at the Village Tavern while Opa and Mike took the twins to Waldhorn - Opa's favorite German restaurant.

That afternoon Grandma Shushi and I took Ella and Aidan to see The Lorax,  we came home and played for a while....

...and the decided to go to Cantina 1511 for dinner, followed by swimming in the pool at Opa and Grandma Shushi's hotel, and finally a sleepover at the hotel for Ella and Aidan!

Monday morning found us relaxing and heading out to a nice lunch before Opa and Grandma Shushi had to head back to Atlanta.

We miss them so much! It is always a tearful moment when they have to leave. Ella is especially beside herself as she has such a special bond with Grandma Shushi.

St. Patricks Day - A Little Late!

I am such a bad blogger once again. But after being up until past 1 AM last night, I got up and showered this morning at 5:50 in the hopes of getting at least this one blog post completed before the kids woke up.

No such luck.

Ella and Aidan are sound asleep, but little Miss Lauren decided it was time to get up at 6:35. I literally cannot catch a break.

So, yet another rushed and hurried post.....

The kiddos were thrilled to wake up on St Patrick's Day morning to discover that Louie the Leprechaun had made a special visit from preschool to our house overnight!

The playroom was a mess, toys were hanging out in Lauren's exersaucer and jumparoo, toilet paper was down the hallway and he even left a mess on the kitchen counter - can you spot the footprints?

He was kind enough to leave a note for the kiddos....on the bathroom mirror in lipstick!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day Party

What a fun morning I had at school with the kiddos today!

We had a St. Patrick's Day breakfast with green bagels, Lucky Charms and green water / milk!

The kids all had a blast....

....including Lauren....

....and the morning was concluded with special songs and naming green objects....

...and when the kids all went back downstairs to the classroom, they discovered that the Louie the leprechaun had made a visit and messed up all of their toys and cubbies!

Lunch with Friends

While the big kids were all in school yesterday, we met up with Kelley and her little one, Lavery, for a nice lunch.

I know I have mentioned this before, but Lavery and Lauren were born on the same day in the same hospital!

Excited Anticipation

We have not seen Opa or Grandma Shushi since Christmas - has it really been that long?!

Can you tell that a few certain little people are beside themselves with excited anticipation that they are coming to visit this weekend?

Ella chatting on the phone with Grandma Shushi:

Aidan sleeping with pictures of himself with Opa:

Wordless Wednesday

8

Happy 8 Months Old Lauren!

Time. It just will not slow down no matter how much I beg and plead. You change so very much each and every day, and we are suddenly finding ourselves saying "Do you remember when Ella/Aidan did this?" as you begin to make sounds and movements that they made at about this age.

We really have no set schedule, which is the complete antithesis of how life was when your brother and sister were this age. Due to their preschool schedule, you pretty much take both your morning and afternoon naps in the car....which means that twice a day, for two hours, I am trapped in the car while you sleep peacefully in the back seat. I have definitely caught up on my reading!

Aside from that, the days are filled in increments of keeping everyone entertained, which you are fine with as long as I am nearby.

This past month brought your first time with the sippy cup....

.... your first time taking off and eating your socks (which is now a favorite past time!)....

.... your first time standing - and now that is all you want to do - you absoutely love to stand....

....your first time truly splashing and living it up in the bathtub....

.... your first story time at the library....

.... plenty of play dates with your "birthday buddies"....

.... your first time really enjoying the swings at the park...

.... and just yesterday I caught you doing this (looks like we may have a baby on the move before too long!)....

Although I cannot manage a decent picture, you also got your third tooth - your upper left has now joined your bottom two, and you are already a champ at grinding your teeth!

You are now saying "Dada", "Mama", and "NayNay".

You absolutely LOVE to eat - and would prefer food over your bottle any day! We can no longer get by at a meal without giving you something off of our plate - puffs are no longer sufficient!

I am guessing you weigh somewhere around 18 pounds and you have now officially moved into 9 month clothing - still in a size 3 diaper.

Sleep continues to be our biggest and most frustrating issue. You are the lightest sleeper and even the slightest movement or sound has you awake in the blink of an eye. We have yet to get longer than a 3 hour stint of sleep out of you...ever!

Sweet Lauren, you are such a bright, sweet, smart girl. You have both a serious side (much like Aidan) and a very silly side (much like Ella).

It is my greatest honor to be your Mother - you are an absolute treasure!