Wyatt is a Five Year Old Boy!

FIVE!!!!!....how can that even be true!?  This moment seems like it was just yesterday. 

Wyatt's birthday has been a big deal coming.  He is very into numbers and age lately.  

Wyatt was thrilled when he turned 4.5 and was no longer "just 4".  

He reads the size tags on his clothes and several questions followed if he was not wearing "4 year old clothes"....he is very excited to wear clothes "for a five year old boy!"  

Wyatt is also very concerned for Clay's safety and alerts us of ALL the toys we have that say for ages 3+.  Clearly he thinks we are dropping the ball on this one.  

One thing he is not looking forward to is eating 5 bites of an unwanted food, instead of just 4 bites.  

Well, there was no need to worry about unwanted food on his birthday!  Milk with a sprinkle rim, donuts, cake - bring it on!

I was lucky enough to eat breakfast at Wyatt's school with him.  This is his "friend" Johanna.  

We hear A LOT about her ;) 

Our attempt at a family photo before heading out the door to a birthday dinner at Big Fred's with Grandma Nancy, Aunt Jill, and Aunt Esther!

Our cool dude wanted to have a party with his friends this year (how grown up is that!?!?!) so we invited his preschool class to Bounce U (a bounce house, party place).  

A good time was had by all!

You know how we do it.  

One birthday celebration?  

Nope.  

Two birthday celebrations?  

Nope.  

Three birthday celebrations!?  

Why not!?!?! 

Grandma Sue and Papa Jim came down a few days before Wyatt's birthday to kick off the birthday parties.  We were all excited to spend the day with them!

Happy Birthday, Wyatt!  We love you all the way to Africa, then to the moon, and back!

Goodbye tonsils and adenoids!

On Tuesday, Hazel had an intracapsular tonsillectomy and her adenoids removed.  Our pediatrician has been concerned with the size of her tonsils for some time.  Their size combined with her snoring, sleep apnea, and trouble swallowing solid foods meant it was time for a visit to the ear, nose, and throat doctor.

We have been at Dr. Allen's office a lot lately with Clay's latest tube surgery so it was no biggie for Hazel.  She kept making comments about what a big girl she is and how she was doing such a good job and not crying.  She was right!

Dr. Allen also thought the tonsils needed to come out and was concerned with the amount of fluid in Hazel's ears (which led to failed hearing tests) and thought that tubes might be necessary.  She gave me the option of doing a partial (intracapsular) tonsillectomy, where they remove 90-95% of the tonsils leaving only a small amount of tissue along the wall of the throat.  This usually makes for a MUCH easier recovery, less pain, and less chance of bleeding.  Because Hazel does not have a history of sore throats and size being her only issue with her tonsils, it seemed like a great option.  In most cases where tonsils need to be removed, the adenoids also need to come out and that was true for Hazel as well.

The day of surgery, Hazel made a grand entrance at Boys Town wheeling her bee suitcase filled with her toys and blanket.  Seriously, all the nurses came out to admire her.  She was in heaven.

The hospital issue pajamas were a big hit.  She was as excited about them as she would have been about a shimmery princess dress.  Bless her heart!

Daddy came to join us after he dropped Wyatt and Clay off at school and Hazel was super excited for some Daddy snuggles.  She didn't know what was about to happen but she knew something was up!

When the anesthesiologist came to get Hazel, she was so brave.  No tears.   She just waved goodbye as they pushed her down the hall.  Seriously, I cried and she did not.  One tough cookie.  

Dr. Allen came in about 45 minutes later and said that everything went great.  Her adenoids looked worse than her tonsils so she thinks they were responsible for the fluid in her ears and did not put tubes in (yay!).

The nurse brought Hazel back to us, from recovery, about an hour after that.  She was pretty out of it but was not upset.  Within an hour or so, she was talking, drinking juice, and loving ALL the jello!

We were able to go home about 4 hours after Hazel got out of recovery.  She was a little bummed to leave.  Snuggles, no siblings, cartoons, all the jello a girl could want - of course she didn't want to leave!

We are now 3 days out from surgery and Hazel is recovering like a champ!  She is staying hydrated with lots of water and juice, sleeping well, and does not seem to be in any pain.  Her throat is dry/sore when she first wakes up but after a dose of Tylenol and getting some fluids in her, she is good to go.

We are so proud of our big girl and are hopeful for better eating and sleeping habits to come!

Baby Fever

Don't worry, it isn't me or Luke.  

It is Clay.  

Clay has been quite the baby lover lately.  

It is the cutest thing EVER.  

He will sign baby (rock your arms back and forth like you are rocking a baby) and then go feed and kiss them.

He is such a lover.  Now a real baby might be a different story ;) 

Baby kisses

He was making a sucky face/noise in case baby didn't know what to do. 

Not a baby but he also loves our Little People Princesses.  He carries them around all day.

Taking care of baby in the bath, too!

Tubes - Round Two

Clay had his tubes redone today at Boys Town National Research Hospital.  He first had them put in last November due to several failed hearing tests and constant fluid in his ears.  His first procedure went well and lucky for us, today was no different.

We learned that his right tube was out about 2 months ago when he got an ear infection.  We made a follow up visit with our ENT, Dr. Allen, and she confirmed the tube was out and needed to be replaced.  The left tube still appeared to be intact but Clay failed the hearing test in BOTH ears.  This was cause for some concern.  He had previously passed his hearing tests after having the tubes put in.

Dr. Allen suggested we have an Auditory Brainstem Response Test (ABR) to determine whether or not Clay was experiencing hearing loss due to fluid (which is easily fixed with tubes) or if hearing aids would be a necessary next step.  The ABR is performed by pasting electrodes on the head and recording brain wave activity in response to sound. The person being tested rests quietly or sleeps while the test is performed.

She also wanted to repeat the scope of his throat that she did last time to check on his Tracheomalacia (low muscle tone in his trachea).  This has caused Clay little problems so far but is the reason he sounds "phlemy" after eating or drinking and can lead to respiratory issues if not kept under control.

His surgery was at 9:00 am this morning and we had to be there at 7:30.  My biggest concern was that he could not eat or drink before surgery.  Clay loves to eat.  Clay loves to eat on a schedule.  That schedule includes breakfast being about 4 minutes after he wakes up.  In fact, Clay usually signs "more eat" as I change his morning diaper.  Much to my surprise, me having to wake him up made him pretty out of it for the majority of the morning and he didn't seem too upset about not eating.  The iPad and a new toy kept him busy with the exception of a few "more eat" signs throughout the morning.

The tubes and scope only took Dr. Allen about 30 minutes and she reported back that she had no problems putting the new, right tube in and the left one looked good so she left it alone.  

The scope showed pretty much the same thing as a year ago.  There is flattening or narrowing of his trachea down low, closer to his airways but she is confident that as he grows it will continue to open and round out as it should be.

The ABR (hearing test) took about an hour and we were very relieved to hear from audiology that Clay passed in both ears!

We are so proud of Clay.  He is such a trooper and was all smiles tonight!

Thanks for the memories 2013!

2013 was a great year full of laughter, friends, family, and wonderful memories.  I end this year feeling so very blessed for the friends and family in my life.

I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for us!


Here are some of our favorite memories from 2013!

New Year's Eve

Luke and I decided to stay in for New Year's Eve this year.  We had such a fun but busy and long Christmas, it was nice to just have a few "quite" days at home.

We played games, had mommy and me cocktails, watched a movie, and wore our party hats.  

It was perfect!  

Luke and I felt like a million bucks the next day (compared to previous years...) but the kids were another story.  Thank goodness partying until almost 10 is a once a year event!

Hide n seek

Zingo!

Mommy and me cocktails!

New Year's Eve isn't complete without party hats, right!?  Clay wasn't so convinced....

.

Happy 2014!!!!!!!!!