May 2011

We've been a busy bunch around here. We've all been taking turns going to the dentist for different reasons, I've had to take both kids to the doctor for eye issues, Joshua had surgery etc. And May is only half over.
Emily went to the dentist for the first time a little over a week ago. I had Joshua with me and so I asked the hygienist if she needed me to come back with her. She told me that it was up to me. So, I decided just to wait out in the lobby with Joshua. She went back with her with no fuss and I didn't see her again until the hygienist brought her back to the lobby. She said she did great and everything looked good. Emily was actually excited about her visit and about all the stuff they sent her home with (tooth brush, tooth paste, kid's floss,a sticker,and a prize). She loves to floss and she is looking forward to going back to her next cleaning. She's such a trooper. While we were with Joshua at the hospital for his surgery a couple of days ago, she had to go to a staff meeting with my mom at the doctors' office she works for. My mom said that she was so good and quiet, her coworkers didn't even realize Emily was in the room with them. This is a far cry from about 7 months ago. She used to be very scared of all things medical because she was convinced they'd give her suppositories for constipation (something we often had to give her for potty training issues). She's come a long way. She also goes with the flow in most situations and makes friends quickly (i.e. at church and the playground). She is such a curious and fun loving kid. Sometimes that curiosity can drive me bananas but I know it means she'll probably do well in kindergarten (which isn't for 2 more years since she missed the cut off for school).
Joshua has also been a busy boy. He now crawls very well,has started pulling up on things,and can clap. He can also feed himself small snacks such as Goldfish crackers and puffs. He's not an expert yet but he's getting pretty good at it. He is pretty fond of all things food. Since about 8 months old I have not found anything he won't eat (including baby food with meat). A few weeks ago he got his first two teeth on his bottom gum. He can also clap. Which makes me smile every time he does it. He just started making the sound "ma ma" after being able to say "da da" for a while. I know he doesn't associate these sounds with me or Josh yet but it's still nice to hear. He is such a fun little guy. Since learning how to crawl, he has been even more easygoing. I guess since he doesn't have to rely on us to bring toys to him. He recently battled some viral pink eye while his sister battled a swollen eyelid (apparently it was from a bug bite but I think it was more that the doctor eliminated every other possibility and went with this). They've both battled some colds too. They were sick on and off for a few weeks. Hopefully that's it for a while. Joshua also had surgery to correct a birth defect. It is called hypospadias and he had a mild form of it. The opening of his urethra was in the wrong spot and so a urologist had to perform a 2 1/2 hr procedure on Wednesday to correct it. One surgery is supposed to correct it and once the area heals (which looks absolutely gnarly right now) we're not supposed to be able to tell anything was ever wrong. The urologist is supposed to be one of the best in our area and so we are fairly confident he won't have to have any surgeries to correct any possible complications that can occur after this procedure. I had been dreading the day he would have to have surgery since the day after he was born (the day we learned he'd need surgery to correct it). I thought of routine surgeries that went horribly wrong because of issues with anesthesia and so I was very anxious. I thought I'd be a wreck the day of the surgery but I wasn't. I was still anxious but I knew that incidents of complications with anesthesia were rare and so I just prayed for his safety and tried not to think about it. We were finally updated an hour and a half into the surgery that things were going well. About 3 hours after they took him to the OR, the surgeon came out to the waiting area. He kind of gave us a weird smirk and told us to follow him into a private room to discuss how it went. It unnerved me because it made me think something might have gone wrong. I just kept telling myself this guy is kind of weird and socially awkward so maybe he doesn't realize the way he is approaching this is off putting. I was right because once we closed the door he told us that nothing was wrong and that he just didn't like talking about private matters in front of other people. I understood and appreciated that but he could have told us that when he first approached us. Either he doesn't have kids or he's just completely clueless to the fears others have when a loved one has surgery. Anyway, he said it went perfectly and told us how to care for his sensitive area. We finally got to see him about 10 minutes later. He looked groggy but wasn't crying or anything. Keep in mind he hadn't had anything in his stomach since 6am (it was around 2pm at this point) and what he had at this time was some apple juice (not exactly filling). And he had just had surgery. He was just chilling. The surgeon had joked that the medical staff might not give him back because they thought he was so cute and good. It always does a parent's heart good to hear that. :) He has been a trooper ever since. He has hardly fussed since and he's back to crawling around and having a good time. He amazes me. If this had happened to an older boy or to a man, the story would have, more than likely, been very different. They'd probably be whining and moaning on the couch and I wouldn't blame them a bit. They say babies are more resilient and get back to their normal self by the 24 hr mark. Joshua went back to normal at about the 5 hour mark. In my very biased opinion he is awesome and I'm so proud of him. I can't wait until he's fully healed and this whole experience is just a memory. Now I must get back to my regularly eventful schedule.