Dry

Katie woke up from her 2 hour nap today with dry underwear!! I was so excited and told her how proud we were of her. I wonder if it was just a fluke or if she can repeat it again. We'll see what happens tomorrow.....

Phone Photo Friday

Michael has been very interested in playing video games on the Wii or computer lately. I let him play some during naptime for the little kids. While I was putting the little kids down for the nap, Michael pulled out this magnet game and started to put together the puzzles in there. When I came back downstairs, this is what he had done. It's nice to know that he can enjoy toys that he hasn't played with in a while.

Reading Time

One of Katie's favorite things to do is read books or have someone read books to her. She is listening to every word that you say when you are reading to her and loves to open up the books and "read" to herself.

Katie got to pick out a new doll as a reward for using the potty to pee 10 times. We went to the store to get the doll today. Katie couldn't wait to open the box when we got home.

Here is Katie "reading" to her baby before bed tonight. So sweet!

Potty Training Progress

A few weeks ago, I decided to give potty training Katie a shot. I also thought I would try to potty train the little boy I watch at the same time since Michael was out of town for the week. After 3 days of both of them peeing everywhere but the potty, I decided to rethink my strategy and focus on Katie first.

I had her wear underwear at home all day and pull-ups at night and nap. She was telling me when she would pee in her underwear by handing the wet pairs to me. I was asking her if she had to use the potty but her answer was always the same: NO! About 2 weeks went by and there was no further progress. I told Katie that we were done with potty training and to let me know when she was ready to wear big girl panties. The next morning, I went in her room to get her up for the day. She told me, "Mommy, I don't want to wear diapers anymore." I decided to do one more day of underwear before completely throwing in the towel. For whatever reason, this was the breakthrough day. She consistently peed in the potty, even though she still wouldn't poop in it. The next few days were the same thing.

Today was her first outing to a birthday party wearing underwear. She did great and only had one accident (and it wasn't pee). We went out to eat with Todd's mom after that and she had an accident in the car. It was a long day and she didn't have a nap. I thought that she did pretty well considering this was her first time out in underwear. We will try again tomorrow.

We have really been praising her everytime that she uses the potty. She comes up to you and says, "I'm so proud of you", and claps for herself after she uses the potty. She also likes to say, "Good job Katie!". It's so cute to hear her. Michael has also been really good about giving her words of encouragement. He told her congratulations the other day after she used the potty. And also told her to keep trying when she wasn't having success.

This is going to take a little while but at least we are making progress in the right direction! And I didn't want to say anything about it here for fear of jinxing it.

Getting Ready for School

I took Michael out this past Sunday to pick out his backpack and lunch bag for Kindergarten. I can't even believe I just wrote that out. It seems like just yesterday he was a tiny little baby celebrating his first 4th of July.

We went to Toys R Us as they were also having a deal on some other school supplies he needed. I let Michael choose the bag that he was going to get. This was a decision that was not taken lightly. He pored over the entire selection of backpacks and matching lunch bags. There were 2 that he really liked and he kept trying them on to see how they looked.

He finally decided on this one. I think it may have something to do with his obsession with a certain Lego Star Wars game on the Wii.

What's Up Next

Well, I figured that the rest of the summer would be pretty low-key, with the exception of our trip to Baltimore for Todd, Katie and Michael's appointments at Johns Hopkins. We needed a break after casting the first week of June, many doctor's appointments through the rest of the month and hernia surgery the first week of July. Looks like I was wrong.

Thursday we went for a follow-up visit to the ENT. Michael had his left ear tube removed at the end of May and his right ear tube was removed last August. We have been waiting for the hole to close in his right ear since then. The ENT told me that the holes do not close up in 3% of the patients with tubes. Guess who is in that 3%? I wasn't surprised when he said Michael. Thankfully, the right ear closed up as expected in just 6 weeks.

The ENT said that his eardrum would have to be repaired. He said that we could have it done anytime as there was no rush but that it would have to be done at some point. We decided to get it done now for 2 reasons: Michael is starting kindergarten in the middle of August and I don't want him to miss any school so early and since he already had surgery this year, we shouldn't have to pay much more to meet the out of pocket maximum for our insurance. I also want Michael to be able to go swimming without having to wear earplugs all the time.

The surgery is scheduled for August 15th, just 4 short days before the first day of school. The doctor said that the recovery time is minimal but you do have to come back to get your stitches removed 10 days post surgery as they take a small skin graft from behind his ear to patch the eardrum. Seems like it's always something here!

Found in our Mailbox

We went out on Monday morning to run a few errands and go to the library to pick out some new books for the week. When we returned home, this is what I found in the mailbox:



Michael was thrilled to receive these get well cards from his two best friends, Mark and Connor, who are also twin brothers. He wondered how they got there and loved getting mail. I thought it was so sweet of them (and their mom) to make these cards and bring them by for Michael. They certainly made Michael feel better!

Pool Time

We have been staying close to home since Michael has had his surgery. Most of our days have been spent inside trying to stay cool. I didn't think it was fair to Katie to not be able to go to the pool until Michael is better so I set up our little pool in the backyard. I took Katie and the little boy I watch out there after naptime.

Michael went outside to check it out and told me that there wasn't enough water in there. I had put about an inch in there. The little kids got in there and had a blast. They laid down on their backs and let the water cool them off. They laid on their stomachs, kicked their feet and splashed water all around. I put a few balls and a couple of boats in for them to play with too.

It was awesome to watch them having such a great time with each other doing something that was so simple. It definitely wants to make me get out the pool more often. If only it wasn't so hot when I was setting it up.....

Post Surgery

Michael's surgery went as planned on Friday morning. It started at 7:38am and was completed in less than an hour. The surgeon came out to the waiting room to give us the update on how the surgery went. He was able to repair both hernias and there were no complications. Michael fought the mask a little bit but then it went fine. Todd went back to see him in the immediate post recovery and then I was able to go back into the second recovery room about 20 minutes later. We were leaving the hospital by 10:00am.

Michael rested for most of Friday but never went back to sleep. He had some pain medicine to keep him comfortable and he spent most of the day either playing video games or watching TV. Both sets of his grandparents were here to visit him, which provided a nice distraction.

He went to bed around 8 on Friday night and slept through all night. The only thing that he really couldn't do was get in and out of bed and he needed some help getting his clothes off to use the bathroom. We let him sleep with us on Friday night but he was back in his bed last night. Tonight he will get to take his first shower since the surgery.

Michael is doing surprisingly well. If I didn't know better, I would have no idea that he had surgery on Friday. He was just playing around the house with Katie and running outside. I am going to try not to plan too many activities for this week so he doesn't hurt himself. We can take the bandage off on Friday and will go back for a follow-up visit next Thursday.

The children's hospital here was great. We didn't really have to wait very long to see the doctor or nurses. The pre-op room that we were in had a TV with DVD player and movies to choose from, as well as a Nintendo DS with various games. Michael loved playing IronMan and Toy Story 3. He got to have a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle surgery cap and wore peach pajamas with yellow socks. Unfortunately, I only got one picture.

I am so happy that this was a good experience for Michael's first surgery.

Surgery Day

Today is the day of Michael's hernia surgery. When we were first given the date a month ago, it seemed so far away. Now the day is here.

I am a little nervous about what is going to happen today but know that we have done all that we can to prepare for it. We got the clearance from his cardiologist here, as well as his cardiologist at Johns Hopkins.

I am most worried about how Michael is going to react. We have been talking a little about the surgery. I have told him that the doctor is going to give him a special medicine that will make him go to sleep. When he wakes up, his body will be fixed. He asked me if they were going to have to cut him in half. I wonder where he got that from.

We would appreciate any good thoughts or prayers sent our way today for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.

One More May Mom Meetup

I had the pleasure of meeting Beth, her boys and her mom as they traveled through Columbia on their journey from FL to NC. They were able to stop by our house for a short visit last Friday afternoon.

Her boys had just woken up from their naps so it took them a few minutes to wake up but once they did, the boys all played in the playroom with the trains. When Katie woke up, she joined them too, as she does not like to be left out. We also headed outside for a little while so that the kids could play in the playhouse and sandbox. As is typical for a South Carolina summer, it was pretty hot outside!

Beth was warm, funny and easy to talk to. I felt like we could have talked for hours if we had the chance. As always, the time we had to hang out was too short. By the end of their time here, William and Michael were playing nicely together. Seth is a cutie and Katie was following him around like she does with older kids.

It was so nice of Beth, her mom and boys to come for a visit. I hope that we can meet again soon when we all have more time. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy 4th of July

We spent the holiday weekend at my parents' house. This morning we went to a parade in my parent's neighborhood. Michael got to ride a pony and both kids enjoyed watching the parade. We got back yesterday afternoon in time for dinner and to listen to the fireworks in the neighborhood as you couldn't see them very well from our house.

Hope that everyone had a great holiday!