Off to Kindergarten!

Well, I guess the time has come for our little man to embark on a new world.  This week he headed off to Geil Elementary. 

As is true with most things Mason tries, he was very excited for it all and didn't skip a beat in going.  

We had to try to keep up with him on the walk to school.

He even got to walk to school with one of his friends who went to daycare with him for years so it made for a great first day.  Grandma Sue came and stayed with us for a few days and helped us get into the swing of getting where we need to be.  It was a great week. 


Mason agreed to be interviewed in hopes of making this post slightly more interesting.

Mason's and his teacher Mrs. Bohnsack

What are your thoughts on Kindergarten?
"It's a great Kindergarten"


What's the best part Kindergarten?
"That we get to play"


What is the best thing to play with?
"The best thing we play with is Legos-I'd have to say"


How's the food?
"It's GREAT! And there's milk"


Are you excited to go back tomorrow?
"Yes"


Anything else you want to share with the people wo read this?
"No"


Those are about the same answers I got all week when I asked about school. He is happy to go every day.  


He is back to his preferred 6 am wake up time and loving it-I'm just happy he doesn't have to be rushed in the mornings.  He has enough time in the morning to hang out and do his own thing-like this:

The boys

So, now we are the proud parents of a Kindergarten boy.  I'm sure this will be a fun adventure!

Today I'm thankful for:

Extended maternity leave

Sam was born in February, and I have been fortunate enough to spend most of the last 6 months hanging out with him and Mason during my combined maternity leave and summer break from school.  I will return to work full time (or at least my version of full time) this week.  I wanted to take  some time and reflect on the past 6 months.  It has been a great experience!  Here are some of the highlights:

Me and my boys

Proud papa

Took a few road trips.

Played in the snow 

First big trip as a family of four to Phoenix, AZ

Took Mason to his first concert: Eric Church and Jason Aldean at Country Thunder in Florence, AZ

Saw the Grand Canyon for the first time

Had lazy days at home

Celebrated graduation...

...baptism...

...and birthdays.

Got myself a mom car.

Watched some t-ball

Got to spend some time in the mountains with these guys

Enjoyed outside

Survived surgery

Cooled off at the pool

It has been so much fun making memories with the awesome people in my life.  Now it is time to return to work.  While it will be hard to leave the boys, I am ready to get back to one of my other passions in life, my job working with such awesome people here in the panhandle and throughout the state.  I am happy that I have been able to spend the time at home. I am a lucky person!!

What an adventure!!

Sam's bling

Well, modern miracles have happened and we have successfully navigated our way through having a child go through heart surgery.  I wouldn't wish the experience on anyone, but if you do have to go through it, I would highly recommend Colorado Children's Hospital.  From the moment we walked in to the moment we left, we were treated like we were the most important thing they had going (and I know that others must have felt that way too.)  We are so thankful for all of the prayers and thoughts that were sent up for us by people we know and people we will never have the opportunity to know.  We know that we are truly blessed.


I wanted to share some photos of the experience with you...don't worry, they aren't too graphic!

July 25, 2011

Pre-op Day

We  got to meet with the nurses and surgeons that were going to be performing the repair.  They were very helpful and we left feeling like we had a great team on our side.

One final scrubbing before surgery

July 26, 2011

Surgery Day

We arrived at the hospital at 6:00 am.

They were ready for him

Playing around before they took him back

Sam's message from two of his great caretakers while he was there.  He and Cortney had a special bond!
He left with the nurses around 7:20 am to head down the surgical hallway. This was one of the more difficult things to do, but we knew he was in great hands.

Esther, one of the surgical nurses, kept us updated as to everything that was happening.

By 10:30 am, the repair work was done and they were taking him off bypass.

By 11:00 am, he was off bypass and doing well.

They got him stitched up and shortly after 12:00 pm Dr. Campbell, the surgeon came out to talk to us to let us know that things went as planned and that Sam was doing well.  Whew!!

It was close to 2:00 before we got to go back and get our first glimpse of him. Yet another VERY difficult moment, but we were so happy to see him and get to give him kisses.

They took his ventilation tube out before 6:00 pm.  Mason went back to see him after that.


Melt my heart!  Mason was holding Sam's hand and blowing him kisses.
This was taken just a few hours after surgery.

He was off oxygen support by midnight.

July 27, 2011

Recovering in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU)

24 hours post-repair

Showing off for the CICU nurses

Happy to get to sit up

July 28, 2011

Moving to the Cardiac Progressive Care Unit (CPCU)

On the way to the penthouse (the CICU is on the top floor of the hospital)

48 hours post-op

Thanks, Grandma!

Watching TV together...just like at home.

 July 29, 2011

Life in the CPCU

72 hours post-op

Wagon ride around the floor. We got to go all over the hospital in the wagon.  Lots of fun!

And, I'm spent!

July 29, 2011

Dismissal Day

4 days after surgery, Sam was doing well enough to be released. He was so happy to see his car seat toys!

We could not have imagined the time spent going any better than it did.  We are eternally grateful for the quality of care that we received and the support that has been given to us during this time.

Now it is time for us to start focusing on our next adventure, whatever it is...

  

Today I'm thankful for:

Modern medicine.


See this little guy:

Cheese!

In the next couple weeks, he will benefit from modern medicine in a HUGE way.


You see, long before we met our sweet little guy, we had a few lot of ultrasounds.  We found out that he would be born with an Atrioventricular Septal Defect or AVSD, or AV Canal.  All of these are fancy ways to say that he has a hole in his heart that has to be fixed.  Some holes clear up on their own, but this was not an option for him.   My doctor and the pediatric cardiologist monitored his growth throughout the pregnancy and they decided that there wasn't any reason that he couldn't be born in Scottsbluff because they would wait until closer to 6 months until he had surgery.  


So Sam came into the world and has shown that he is a strong little guy. 

He gets lots of hugs and squeezes from his big brother

If you didn't know he had a heart defect, then you wouldn't know anything was wrong.  His cardiologist always comments on how chunky he is and how they aren't used to seeing chunky babies.

Who you calling chunky???

You may be thinking-"Hey, I've talked to them in the past year.  Why I know about this???" Well, we really didn't tell all that many people, unless they asked the right question on a day where we felt like explaining it.  We wanted Sam to make his mark on the world without people worrying about his heart giving out on him at any time. We wanted him to have the same expectations as other kids his age. He has met his age appropriate milestones (the teacher in me has to check it out on a regular basis.) And he wins us over daily with his smiles and giggles.  

Current favorite toy...toes!

Showing off rolling skills at our most recent visit to see the Cardiologist 

So on July 26th, we will be headed to Colorado Children's Hospital to have his heart patched up.  I have had the opportunity to talk with some of the staff at the hospital and they are great. I'm pretty sure they eat rainbows for breakfast and ride on unicorns to work.  They are that cheerful. I guess you have to be when you spend your days talking to moms and dads who are facing heart surgery for their little ones.  

We are anxious for the day to arrive, but know he will be in great hands.  I have some wonderful family members in the medical profession in Colorado that have helped me figure out which surgeon to choose.  We have family members whose daughters have been through heart surgery when they were babies so they have been great resources for us as well.

Here is an (over)simplified drawing of the issue and how it will be fixed: 

So, today I am thankful that we live in an age where medicine can fix a problem that many years ago would have gone untreated. Sam will have the option to be as active as he wants to be without being held back by the capacity of his heart.  The sky is the limit for this guy and I can't wait to see where his life takes him. (and us too!)

Not a care in the world!

Oh yeah, I also want to point out that I am also thankful for prayer.  If you have any extra prayers to throw our way for Sam's surgery, we will take those too!  Thanks.  

To compare or not to compare??

One of the questions we got a lot when Sam was born was-does he look like Mason did when he was a baby?  Wait a second...I thought we weren't supposed to compare kids. So I decided to put some pictures together to see if they look alike.  Aside from the hair and eye color, the answer is.......no, well, maybe, I don't know!  You can decide for yourself:

We didn't know what to do when Sam didn't have a head full of hair!

Sam is a little blurry in this one, but you can see the blue eyes well!

Same toothless smile

Just a little different head shape

Maybe more alike here, or could it just be the stripes? 

Both cute guys, no matter who they look like!!