Good-bye Tonsils (and Adnoids)

Abby had her long awaited tonsillectomy this past Wednesday.  We had to be at the surgery center at 6:30 a.m.  Abby was pretty excited, although she told me she wasn't sure if she would recognize her doctor (the ENT we had been seeing) with his mask on!

We went back into the pre-op room, where she got to change into a cool robe and socks.

Then they started hooking up some different monitors to her, to check and make sure everything was in good shape for surgery.  She was completely charming the nurse with her sweet little voice, her excitement, her comments, and her curiosity! 

That white tube thing is blowing warm air under the covers.  Abby and I agreed we'd like one of those at home!

Bunny/Lightning/Jess (it's name changed every time someone asked her it's name) stayed with Abby the whole time:)

Once she was declared good to go, we said good-bye, which wasn't anywhere near as hard as I expected (probably since she was all smiles and cheerily said good-bye to us), she was wheeled off into the surgery room, and we went into the waiting room to read some magazines in peace!  About an hour later they came and got us, told us the surgery went great, and let us go back into the post-op room to see Abby.

Now, I don't know why, but when we went in and saw Abby I started feeling very light-headed.  She looked a little out of it, and was reaching up, wanting me to hold her.  I picked her up (once the nurse gave me the okay) and then I really felt like I was going to pass out.  They brought me a recliner, put a towel on my head, and had me put my feet up.  Carey got me water and Abby shared her ice chips!  Oops...we were all supposed to be taking care of Abby, but I was having to be cared for (I kind of wished I would have really passed out, then I would have had to stay there and been cared for longer)! 

 Anyway, other than crying a bit, which they said is totally normal when people are coming out from anesthesia, Abby was fine and really wanting to go home. 

At home, a few hours after surgery, enjoying the promised popsicles and movies!

 The recovery has been SUPER quick.  The day after her surgery she was wanting to play at the park, and by Friday (two days after surgery) I was calling the doctor to clarify what he meant by having her "lay low for 10 days".  Now, 5 days later, she's almost completely back to normal.  She's still healing, but the moments that we can tell that are few and far between!  Oh, and she's sleeping really well.  Now let's just hope all this good quality sleep helps with the potty training!

Enjoying some tomato soup:)

Family Photos

I'm finally getting around to post photos from our family photo shoot back in October.  The only reason it's really taken me a month and a half to post them is that there are SOOOOO many great ones, I was over-whelmed with trying to pick a few favorites to put on the blog! 

Our friend Jessica is an INCREDIBLE photographer, and is so fun to do photos with.  She pretty much just had us play and hang out, while she snapped away with the camera.  Her website is www.gigglebean.com if you want to find out more, or just see more of her amazing work!  Anyway, we met her on a Saturday morning in a local park and had such a blast playing together for an hour and a half!  Here are some of my favorites:

Happy Halloween

Our Halloween started on Thursday, when Haley got to to trick-or-treating at preschool.  When dropping her off, poor Seth was PETRIFIED of one of the teachers dressed up as a penguin.  All through the day, if any of us mentioned the penguin, Seth would start crying and saying "it's pretend" (pretty much trying to convince himself).  So, the next morning, when I said it was time to take Abby to school, Seth burst into tears.  I called the school, and teacher Kelly offered to wait to put her penguin costume on until we had dropped Abby off.  I was able to assure Seth that the penguin was all gone, but he still did this all the way to preschool:

Look how scared he looks...so sad.

Once we got to preschool and he looked all around and saw that there really was no penguin, he was thrilled.  All through the day he would randomly say "no penguin" with a smile.

On Saturday night, we went to one of the local Christian camps, Mission Springs, where some friends were having a potluck and some trick-or-treating.  We had such a fun time, the kids got their costumes super dirty, and Seth got his first taste of trick-or-treating.

On "real Halloween" we went trick-or-treating at a local church that does a great job with really fun decorations and NOTHING SCARY!  Our friends Laura and Lisa came, which was a really big help.  Oh, and we ran into one of Haley and Abby's friends from preschool and the girls had a blast trick-or-treating together.  Seth also loved trick-or-treating.  At one point I was holding his candy bag (it was getting a bit heavy) and he shouted "where's my candy"!  Then we came home and took the kids around the neighborhood a little.  Fun, fun, fun.  Now, of course, we are all enjoying the candy!

"Jelly" the cat, Grumpy Carebear, and Pinkalicious:)

Super dad!

A picnic and a cupcake!

Blowing out the candle!

The kiddos and their buddy!

So happy to be together:)

Oh boy!

So much candy!

We counted Abby's (after some had been eaten) and she had 145!

Pumpkin Patch

This year we went to a different pumpkin patch than our usual (because we heard they had really good deals, which they did).  When we pulled up, Abby announced very passionately that "this is NOT the best pumpkin patch in the world.  I NEVER want to come to this pumpkin patch again."  Picture the arms crossed in front of her, the scowliest face you can imagine, and the sassiest voice you have ever heard (if you have spent much time with Abby, you know what I'm talking about!).  We hadn't even gotten out of the car.  The funny thing is, when we were pulling out of the pumpkin patch, after picking out our pumpkins, she said very enthusiastically "this is the BEST pumpkin patch in the world.  I always want to come here."  Oh, that child is very vocal and very fickle!

Anyway, it was really fun and everyone was happy with their pumpkin choices!

Seth and his "big, big pumpkin"!

This box of gourds sure did display God's creativity.  They were all so different and so beautiful:)

Haley Riding on 2 wheels Woohoo!!!

 

Haley's riding a two-wheeler now too!  She had a little harder of a time, because she wanted to just know how to do it.  She didn't want to have to learn it by trying a few time!  She's got it now, though, and is so proud of herself:)  We're proud of her too! 

Bee Sting

Today, Seth was walking across our friends' lawn and randomly got stung by a bee on the lip.  Poor little guy!  At least now we know he's not allergic to bees!

Look how fat his bottom lip is!

A Milestone For Abby

 Abby rode a two-wheeler for the first time yesterday.  I almost cried.  I didn't expect it to be such an emotional thing, but it is a big milestone.

About a month ago, Carey took the training wheels AND pedals off of the girls' bikes.  Taking off the pedals is supposed to really help kids learn to balance, as they start off walking along, then run a bit, and then really start to coast.  The girls have been doing good with it, but I still didn't think either of them were ready to try putting the pedals back on.  I was wrong.

Yesterday evening while I was cleaning up after dinner, Carey and Abby and Seth were riding bikes (Haley was spending over at my parents' house).  Carey decided that Abby was ready and she was up for trying, so he put her pedals back on.  I walked out and asked if she wanted me to hold it and run with her.  I told her she could tell me when to let go when she was ready.  She pretty much immediately said let go (before I was ready), and did AWESOME. 

Way to go, Abs.  We're so proud of you.