Visiting with Aunt Wendy

After walking in Great Strides in Howard County, Maryland on Sautrday June 7th, my sister Wendy packed up and headed west.  She and her husband Charlie are moving to the LA area.  Thankfully her cross-country drive included a four day stop at our house for some good old fashion play time.  The boys were excited to have company and show her some of our favorite spots in the area.  And I was excited to spend some time with my sister.  Despite several unexpected events (such as Finn sticking a popcorn kernel up his nose that we couldn't get out, running to urgent care only to be told they couldn't get it out, and then taking an urgent trip to the ENT the next day hoping he could do it without having to schedule surgery!) we had a good time.

Wendy arrived late on June 9th.  The next day, Tuesday the 10th, we rested in the morning and decided to head to the zoo in the afternoon.  We have been to the zoo countless times and have had a family membership for three years, but we have nearly really gone that late in the day.  It was great!  We saw some animals that we don't normally see and it was a bit less crowded and certainly cooler than it had been earlier.  It did rain for a split second so we just took cover in the hippo building until it passed.  It was one of my more favotire times at the zoo!

Wendy feeding the giraffes

FInn insisted on "riding" all of these

After about an hour Bree decided to brave it and get out of her stroller to look at the monkeys

She even waved to one.

Wednesday morning we headed to the grocery store to stock up for the week and then Wednesday afternoon we had to hang out at the house to wait for a service man.  While we were doing that we popped popcorn (yep, bad choice!) and watched Frozen with Aunt Wendy (since she had never seen it).  That night we also ran to Urgent Care in vain.

Wendy had her two cats with her.  One was quite shy, but the other had no problem making himself right at home.  We let them out for a little bit each day and Wendy accurately predicted that he would find a way to get up above my cabinets.  He was definitely comfortable!

Because of the events on Wednesday we had to change our plans for Thursday and stay home until Finn could get in to see the ENT that afternoon.  While I was at the doctor with Finn, Kai and Wendy went to a nearby park to play.  After that we all went to Red Robin for dinner and to celebrate the successful removal of the popcorn kernel.

Finally on Friday we went up to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  We love this museum and thought Wendy would love it, too.  We were right.  We spent nearly 6 hours there and still didn't see everything we wanted to.  Poor Bree was wiped out, but she had been such a good sport.  It was a good trip and we decided to purchase a family membership so we could go back.

Bree has also been doing this a lot lately.  I think it's another sign of being tired, but it she also does it when it gets noisy.  It makes us all laugh!

Finn in the Astro-tot zone

My two astro-tots

The new kids' Discovery Zone was a hit

They had a great play area for the under two crowd, but Bree was too tired for me to put her down.  She just cried and clung to me.  However, we did find this fun puzzle that she just loved.  I think it's time to pull some puzzles out at home.

Before Kai's game on Saturday morning Wendy left to continue her westward journey.  We were such a rush we didn't get a group picture which is disappointing, but that just means we'll have to all get together again soon!

A Fun Day

Every morning the boys wake up and run to our room, jump in our bed with us, and "cuddle".  Frequently the cuddling turns to fighting real quickly.  It could be that someone has too much of the blanket, or wants mom, or is making too much noise, etc.  But some mornings, cuddle time is special and worth it for all of those other mornings that it's not.  The morning of Friday June 6th was one of those days.  The boys were sweet to each other.  Small miracles!

Morrning snuggles

 Later that day we went to try out a new place--Colorado Springs House of Bounce.  It was fantastic!  I wish we lived closer to something that like because the kids had a blast and completely wore themselves out.  There was even a great little play area for Bree.  We will definitely be making a trip back at some point this summer.  Even Finn enjoyed it, which is saying something because he is often my kid who has a great time but when it's all over he will say it wasn't any fun and he doesn't want to go back (even if it was fun).  So for him to keep asking to go back, well, that tells you something.

There were several large bounce houses with obstacle courses and slides.

There was this fun rollercoaster for Bree.

But this giraffe ride on was her favorite.  This spoiled girl has me trained to push her 'round and 'round on the ride-on toys.  Good thing she's so cute!

Gatorade break for my hot and sweaty boy.

Bouncing all by themselves

Kai really loved the velcro wall.  I thought it was hilarious!

And this is what Bree does when she is tired.  I've been trying to get a picture for weeks and I finally got it.  We always know when it's bedtime for her because she starts to stand on her head.  It's absolutely adorable!

T-Ball/Baseball

As we were getting ready for summer, I was asking the boys nearly everyday what they wanted to do.  I asked them what they wanted to learn to do (like play soccer, or gymnastics, etc.).  Finn's first response--"Drive a car!"  Hahahaha!  Anyway, at one point Finn came up with the idea of T-ball.  But then that idea faded almost as quickly as it came.  However, Kai had overhead and thought it sounded like fun.  I let him sit on it for a few days and he still thought it sounded fun so I signed him up.  I got lucky to claim the last spot on a team coached by a member of our ward and I managed to do it before he turned seven.  Which means I was able to sign him for t-ball for 4-6 year olds instead of having to do coach pitch baseball for 7-9 year olds.  Kai is the oldest on his team but you'd never know.  And that's just how we like it!  He is having a great time.  I love the fact that I don't have to drag him out the door to go to practice.  He is excited to go so that's a huge win in my book!

His first practice.  He's wearing the orange shoes.

Kai's team is the Dodgers and they had their first game this weekend against the Cardinals.  I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but I was very pleasantly surprised.  There were no outs or strikes.  Each kid got a turn at bat and had so many chances to switch at a pitch and then if they missed they would pull out the tee.  Everyone only ran one base at a time despite the fact that they probably could have ran a lot further with all of the ball drops and kids who weren't paying attention to actually pick up the ball and throw it.  It was great!  I was especially impressed that Kai hit the ball off of a pitch at his first at bat, as he had never practiced that at all.  (It wasn't a great hit, but it was a hit!)  When Kai touched home plate for the first time he thrust his fists into the air in a vicotry and stood on the plate for a bit.  It was cute.  And of course he noticed it was a tie game.  He even told me that the "Cardinals were hard to beat".  Too funny.  He has 5 more games in his season and I hope he continues to enjoy each and every one of them.

(PS.  I had two favorite moments.  The first was the fact that Kai didn't know to drop the bat and so he ran all the way to first both times holding onto the bat.  And the second favorite moment came from his teammate Sawyer who ran to first, didn't tag the base but ran next to, and just kept on running almost into the field next to us where there was another game.  A parent had to step in and stop him.  It was kind of similar to "Run Forrest, run"!  Too awesome!)

Lining up at the start of the game

Excitement after returning from his first run

Bree LOVES cheering for her big brother!  She clapped and everything.

His second at bat

They had to pull out the tee.  He still needs some work.....ok, a lot of work.

End of the game huddle with Coach B.  Go Dodgers!

This video is of Kai's run home.  Watch third base as TJ hits the ball.  I was going to post Kai's hit, but apparently I took that video upside down.  Hmmm....

Bree at 13 Months

**Started walking!!!!
**Uses the walls to pull herself up to a stand.  It was so fun/shocking the first time she came around the corner of the kitchen walking.  It is so adorable to see her little head walking all over the house.
**Eats three "meals" a day and drinks whole milk mixed with half and half quite well from the sippy cup.
**Loves sweet finger foods such as graham crackers and teddy grahams.  Also loves bananas, and most other fruits.  Has tried vegetables and meat but they never really make it past her tongue as she spits it right back out.
**Loves her big brothers and will do anything they do....or at least try.
**Nurses about 4 times a day.
**Is making the long transition from two naps a day to one nap a day.
**Has slept through the night a handful of times but still normally gets up once a night
**Can say about two words clearly (mama and Daddy) but has "words" for other objects that aren't really clear or make any sense  (There is a word/sound for blanket and drink but it'd be a joke if I tried to even repeat it or type it.  When she says it, I know what she wants, but the words aren't even remotely close.)
**Loves to be outside playing
**Loves her mommy and only her mommy (for the most part)
**Is a serious climber and will make a mad dash for the stairs if given the chance
**Is just an all-around good baby--patient, loving, relatively quiet, independent--seriously, she's the best!

I say it every month--We LOVE Bree!

Finn's May

May is Cystic Fibrosis awareness month--as if we needed something else to do in May!  Most chapters throughout the US host their annual Great Strides walk during May (I would guess to coincide with awareness month).  Our family has walked two other times (2011 and 2012) and raised money for three years (2011-2013).  We did not walk last year because Bree was so little, but we did decide to walk and fundraise again this year.  The walk was on May 17th this year--smack dab in the middle of Kai and Reid's birthdays.  We had a smaller team than normal, but still had a good turnout.  We had several fundraisers (a Freddy's give back night, Cardio Tennis, and team t-shirts) and for the first time ever we had team members actually fundraise on their own.  It was awesome!  It was perfect weather for the walk and we had a great time.  Thank you to all who showed up and lent us their support!

The boys after Great Strides

The girls after Great Strides (Bree was exhausted!)

On April 7th, Finn's ENT gave him the diagnosis of chronic CF sinus disease and recommended surgery.  The first available appointment we could get for him was May 23 (also the last day of school for Kai).  Since Bree still needed me at night, Reid needed to do as much of the hospitalization as he could.  So he took the day off of work and took Finn in to the hospital.  Luckily, the University of Colorado has bought out our local hospital.  And since they also own Children's Hospital Colorado, the local hospital is slowly turning into a Children's Colorado outreach area.  There are now Children's doctors in the Springs for most specialties, including ENT.  Because of all of that, we were able to do Finn's surgery and overnight stay at one of the closer hospitals instead of having to go to Aurora.  That was certainly a blessing.  The ENT coordinated with Finn's CF team in Aurora and decided that he would be on 24 hours of IV antibiotics (the IV version of Augmentin) after the surgery before being discharged. Surgery began at 11:30am promptly on the 23rd and I arrived right as Finn was arriving in the PACU at about 1:15pm.  We had warned the nurses that Finn would not wake up well from the anesthesia and to take us back before waking him up, but they apparently didn't believe us.  By the time they came to get us he had woken up and was ANGRY.  Two nurses attempted to hold him down to no avail.  By the time we saw him he had ripped out all of his lines and there were blood spatters on the bed.  I didn't exactly say "I told you so", but it was something similar.  Once he saw me, he allowed me to hold him and cuddle him and he told me he had to go to the bathroom.  They talked about getting him a bedpan for about 10 seconds before they decided that wasn't a good idea and so I carried him to the nearest restroom.  On the way, the nurse tried to calm him down and reached out to pat his arm.  He angrily told her, "Don't touch me!" and slapped her hand away.  I think it was at that point that she decided she was done.  When we returned to his stretcher she switched with another nurse.  The new nurse came in and said that sometimes the older nurses get "crusty" and that made me laugh.  But the new nurse was much nicer and more patient.  Granted she didn't have to hold him down while he was kicking and screaming so she didn't have it as hard as the other one.  Anyway, he was sweating a lot and they took his temperature as he seemed feverish.  He had a slight temperature that eventually dropped and they attributed it to the warming blankets that they use in the OR.  After an hour or so in PACU (which apparently is a long time) we were moved to his room on the 4th floor.  There we had to get a new IV inserted, give all of his medication instructions to the new nurse, and get him settled in.  He was happy watching the Disney channel and he tried a bit of apple juice.  It was at this point that I left to head home.

Waiting for surgery

Getting ready to go back to the OR with daddy

In his room after surgery.  The poor kid couldn't sneeze for two weeks without blowing out all kinds of blood.

For the night it was just me, Kai, and Bree at home.  We had Freddy's for dinner and then something strange happened.  We had time.  Extra time where we normally have to hook Finn up for treatments.  I noticed this strange phenomenon at dinner as well.  Normally after dinner is ready, there is at least five minutes of lining up and mixing medications.  It felt very strange to not have to do that.  It felt even stranger to not have to hook anyone up to treatments or "have" to watch television to get through the evening.  In fact, for that very reason I didn't want to turn the TV on.  I just wanted to enjoy normalcy.  It was at this point that I realized that for the last 4 1/2 years our lives have had a schedule that we have not really chosen.  Taking care of Finn has dictated that we do treatments, give medications, etc.  For four and half years, I have not been away from him for more than a few hours at a time.  The only exception to this was the 24 hours I spent in the hosptial after Bree was born.  Other than that, Finn's care, treatments, and medication has landed squarely on my shoulders.  I did not realize that the burden even felt remotely heavy until it wasn't there.  That night without Finn I felt free.  And then I felt guilty.  Guilty for feeling happy about it.  Guilty for being glad that Reid was the one who was staying the night with Finn.  Guilty for  feeling free from treatmtnets.  And the reality hit that Finn will never have that feeling.  I got away from treatments and medications and CF care for 21 hours.  Finn will never get that chance.  I can not even comprehend how that will feel for him.  I wish I could take it all away and just make it better.

When Finn was first diagnosed I often found myself frustrated with the never-emptying cabinet of medication.  I'm a goal oriented person and I like to have goals to meet.  If I am sick, finishing a round of antibiotics is a good goal and an "end point".  It nearly drove me batty that we would finish a bottle of medication only to have another one arrive in the mail.  I quickly realized that "finishing" medication was a luxury that I had never appreciated before.  It is a luxury that everyone else in the house will experience, except for Finn.  How do I explain that to him?  I know one day he will ask.  And in a small way he nearly did last month.  I've done lots of reading on how to answer questions and parent a child with a specail health concern.  I only hope that I can do a halfway decent job when those really hard questions come up.

Anyway, back to our night.  There was a thunderstorm that night so I decided that instead of sending Kai to his room alone, I would have him sleep in Reid's spot on the bed.  He was thrilled to sleep in the room with me and I was glad to have someone nearby.  The next morning we had more free time where treatments would normally be, so I took the two kids to a baptism at the church.  One of Kai's friends was being baptized and since he is coming close to that age I want him to see as many baptisms as he can so he will be prepared.

After that we headed home and got ready for Finn and Reid to arrive home.  When Reid pulled into the garage, Finn was asleep in the back seat.  I posted the following on Facebook that afternoon:

A little boy's face lit up when he saw me come get him out of the car this afternoon. I carried him into the house and he snuggled and loved on me for quite a while. He listened to his brother tell him all about his night sleeping in "mommy's bed" and said "Oh. My. GOSH!" at all the appropriate times. After getting his share of cuddles he asked for chocolate cake and chocolate milk and now is happily building his brand new Lego set that he earned for being brave yesterday. He is very happy to be home from the hospital!

And we were happy to have him home!  The cultures taken during the sinus surgery were growing out Staph within the first 24 hours, so he came home with another 10 day prescription for Augmentin.  When we went to clinic in June he was still clearing mucus from a cold and the surgery so his CF doctor extended the prescription for another two weeks.  Tomorrow will be the last of his augmentin.  I'm hoping we can have an antibiotic-free summer!

Random May Fun

May is just crazy at our house.  In between all of the events we squeezed into May, we did have some other fun.  Here are some pictures to prove it!

The first week of May Bree finally started standing on her own and taking a few steps.

Playing in the sprinkler on a warm May day (before water restrictions kick in!)

Bree finally got the hang of tipping her cup

Reid's birthday

Bree loves doing what the big boys do--including play the guitar!

Once school let out the boys began doing daily chores.  They are learning to clean, put away clothes, vacuum, etc.

Finn has been asking to go swimming.  Here he is demonstarting the appropriate face for swimming (he's "holding" his breath).  This cracked me up, but you probably had to be there.

Waiting for the Thunderbird show that happens after the AFA graduation

We love the Thunderbirds!

Practicing t-ball for Kai's summer baseball season

Bree is insisting on being more independent.  Meal time almost always is crazy messy.

A video of Bree.....she was sitting on the box and then standing up and clapping for herself.  Except then I got out the camera and she got really distracted.