Raising Kids....

Raising kids is a lot like riding a roller coaster...

You sit in the coaster and gradually scoot up the track, all the while thinking that the chain that's pulling you up is going to snap at any second and plummet you backwards towards the earth. But then you somehow make it to the top and the view is absolutely incredible ~for a second~ and then gravity pulls your poor body down faster than a human is meant to travel and your stomach is sucked up into your throat and you feel like your going to die...but then it's over and you somehow want to do it again.

That's how my days go...it's a scary ride but sometimes in the midst of it the view is breathtaking and I wouldn't trade it for anything. But before I know it I am free falling again and it's scary and unpredictable......but for some strange reason I always want to get up and do it again the next day.

Maybe I am crazy, but sometimes I think that I have the best job in the world. (I did say sometimes....today Luke spit milk in my face and I could have been the person that cleans up the puke at Disneyland and it would have been easier).

Luke

My sister informed me today that she doesn't even know what Luke is up to these days because I haven't posted about him in a while....So this post is mostly because Aunt Jessi yelled at me, but you can all indulge in the sweet cuteness that is my Lukie Butt!!!

He is still up to all things naughty...including (but not limited too): Throwing things at people, screaming at me for anything he is told "no" about, spitting, head butting....etc.




Absoulutly in love with Kenna. From the moment he wakes up, he wants to be around her all day. He is always bringing her toys and taking the ones I have given her away because as he would say: "She choke that mom".



Dancing. Anytime, anywhere...just like Seth and Sarah. He will bust a move in the middle of the grocery store if they play anything even remotely "hip hop"-ish. (Bruno Mars is his favorite).




Already protective of Kenna. If anyone says anything about her that he doesn't think is right he will yell "Kenna my baby" at the top his lungs :-)



His Buzz backpack goes everywhere with him. At any time you can find it packed with all sorts of treasures. (The other day I found toilet paper and a string cheese in there). Random kid...but I sure can't get enough of him!!!!

Craniosynostosis Part 3

The Helmet Process......

Part of choosing the less invasive surgery for Kenna's birth defect meant that she would have to wear a helmet for a year after the surgery to reshape her head and also to protect her head. They told us that the bone they removed from her skull would take a year to grow most of the way in and the rest (a small quarter size area) would slowly grow until she turned five or six.

Well....I am happy to report that her skull has already grown back! She has two quarter size areas on each side of her skull that have not grown back yet, but they think those spots will continue to fill in. If not, she will get another surgery when she is five to fill in the spots with bone cement (can you believe what they can do these days? I mean seriously, cement for your head?!?). Anyway, I am choosing not to think about that because I am telling myself that those spots will fill in by then ;-)

Every two months Kenna has to get a new helmet. The process for getting a new one is so not fun! She is not a fan and neither am I. Anyhow, what they do is put her in this little chair, put a nylon down over her face and arms, measure a million times (this is only a slight exaggeration, it is close to a million ;-), and then they cast her head. Let me tell you, trying to hold down a 6 month old while they put strips of plaster all over her head one by one is not easy! And then we have to sit and entertain her while it dries, and then the Dr. has to pull it off of her head without messing it up......fun times :)
Her Orthopedic Dr. is absolutely the best Dr ever......The day before her surgery I had called about 20 different offices and they had either never heard of the surgery and the kind of helmet she needed, or they didn't take our insurance. By the time I called the Dr she has now I was in tears and he was so sweet. He saw her that very same day (canceling an important meeting to do so) and has met with her every two weeks since the surgery.

I only have a picture of her in the nylons, because this is before she got completely ticked off at the Dr and at me and I couldn't walk away from her to take another picture. As you can see, she was already getting upset at this point....

Be Jealous.....

I LOVE getting fresh flowers.....So I was especially giddy today to receive these 12 beautiful roses at the breakfast table :-)

They make me happy every time I look at them.

Craniosynostosis Part 2

So we had another appt up at Primary Children s Hospital this week. Things are looking good for my sweet baby. She saw two doctors and they said that most of her skull has already grown back. YAY!!! And he (her plastic surgeon) said that she will probably only have to wear her helmet for three more months instead of eight more months! This is such wonderful news in so many ways....For one thing, I miss seeing her cute head and her hair is growing so long under that darn helmet that it needs bows and flowers in it! I mean, seriously...who wants to wear a football looking helmet when you could be wearing clips and bows?!?!
Also, the helmet stinks to high heaven! Honestly no matter how much I wash her hair and scrub the helmet, it just smells bad!
I think it is delaying her being able to sit up, roll over, crawl, etc... They told us this would happen, but it still makes me sad watching her struggle to move around with the heavy helmet on her head.
On a happy note, it doesn't look like she will have any delays from the craniosynostosis. I don't think I mentioned in my last post here, but this birth defect can cause serious brain delays. The Dr. said that we would just have to watch and see, but that she seems to be right on track for her age. (I personally think she is fine).
And on another note, I completely realize that the above picture is blurry, but isn't my baby just so super de duper cute????

How Cowboys Roll........

Luke and Sarah were playing cowboys when Luke suddenly needed to go potty. Before I could put a diaper back on him, he noticed that Sarah was enjoying a snack and he didn't want to miss out!

Daddys in trouble!

This is why......

Yep, those cheeks are filled with a sucker!

What I didn't get a picture of was how much she cried when we took it away!

Love this baby!!!

Yoga Anyone?

I won't write too much....I think these pictures speak for themselves!
Hilarious!!!

Ready or Not....

Every night after the kids brush their teeth and get their pajamas on, Jimmy plays hide and seek with them. This is the highlight of their day. They get so excited when daddy says "ok, go hide while I count"!

Since we live in about two feet of space, there are running out of places to hide.......


Do you see the ponytail sticking out of the toybox?



Maybe if you look a little closer......



It's Sarah!!!


Where could the boys be?.......


Daddy will never find Luke....