Sunday, September 25, 2011

September 25

Today Aaron was treated to a very special movie date with friends to see Liong King 3D. I really wanted to take him, but the tickets are so expensive, and September is full of birthdays. I headed over to the rec center while he was there, and he was really tired when I picked him up so I had to cancel my afternoon plans with him to go back to the rec center for open swim.
Today I was inspired by my friend Shari to give an update on Aaron’s back. Here is what is left of his scar. Pretty amazing right?
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After the last of his steri-strips came off and I could see the whole incision for the first time, I have to admit that it was pretty upsetting. More than anything it was just a graphic reminder of everything he went through, and everything we went through too. I wanted to leave it alone for a while, but after a couple of weeks the skin got very tight and dry so I got a stick of pure cocoa butter to put on it twice a day based on some recommendations I got. That caused his skin to break out in a wicked rash, so I stopped using it and his back cleared right up. Now I just put regular lotion on it and rub it every night.

Under his skin, those rods are working hard to straighten those healthy vertebrae that spent 4 years growing crookedly. He won’t have another set of follow up x-rays until February, but based on the last set Dr. Lehman said everything was going perfectly.  It’s still so hard to believe after everything that transpired that he is doing perfectly well today. We shake our heads in disbelief every time we think about it or talk about it.

For anyone out there whose children are going through medical difficulties, here’s a little love from our family to yours.
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September 24

Here are some GREAT new crocs I got from Cousin Wendy for my birthday. I LOVE crocs and have lots of cute ones that I can wear to work. They are so supportive and I can totally get through a day of teaching with them.
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Today’s is Courtney’s 16th birthday (!!) and we went over to her party at her mom’s house for a few hours. Her stepdad has a motorcycle and of course Aaron HAD to get some of that action.
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Here’s the birthday girl and her little brother serving up some expertly decorated cake.
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September 23

No picture today!

September 22

I am SO tired and sore today from having such a long day yesterday. I wore sneakers to work, you just gotta do what you gotta do. Included in that is NOT cooking.

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September 21

No pictures…it was Back to School night. I’m exhausted and my whole body hurts. It’s a hard day when you’re NOT 6 1/2 months pregnant. We were at school from 6:30 am-9:00pm. ouch.

September 20

Today I had a follow-up ultrasound. Chris had a doctor appt of his own, so he couldn’t join me. Our first ultrasound was a 19 weeks, just a bit early, so they weren’t quite able to make out all the chambers of Baby Sister’s heart yet. It has taken this long to get a follow-up because the old Fort Belvoir hospital where Aaron was born has closed, and a brand new AMAZING hospital has opened right up the road from it. I am REALLY excited to be delivering in that hospital. The old hospital was a little…rough. I set off the baby alarm by sitting in the corner of my room with Aaron in a rocking chair. The mother/baby rooms were shared, not private, and a mother with twins was my roommate for the first two days after Aaron was born. And worst of all, there weren’t bathrooms in the rooms, you had to walk down the hall and use a bathroom stall. Every mom knows how stressful those first few visits to the bathroom can be after you give birth, and to experience that with another person in the stall next to you is just mortifying. The new hospital has private rooms, each with it’s own bathroom. I was really excited to get another look at my baby girl today and also to sneak a peek at the new hospital!

You may also remember that we didn’t get to bring any pictures home from our first ultrasound. The reason we were given was that the woman ahead of us wanted so many pictures that they ran out of paper. WHAT??!?! Well, I got some today!

First up, a picture of our little dancer with her toes resting on her head. She was comPLETEly folded in half for the whole affair today. Pretty cool picture, right? scan0006

Next, just your classic profile shot of her sweet little face. scan0007

And finally, a picture of her holding up two fingers. She really did that! RIGHT before this was taken, she reached out her entire hand and I watched every finger extend. Wish I had that picture, and the one of her opening and closing her mouth to talk to me. She showed off all of her tricks! 

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And here are some phone pics of the hospital. Not much to see, I know, but maybe I can get some better ones when we take our 28 week class.

ultrasound waiting area…

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cool open staircase to second level on Oaks Pavilion, the same wing of the hospital where delivery and mother/baby units are…

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fancy public bathroom tile…

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…come on. If you’ve ever seen the OLD Fort Belvoir hospital, then you know this is amazing. Can’t wait to see more.

September 17-19

No pictures for these days! Shoot. I was on a roll there.

September 16

Tonight was Aaron’s back to school night, and I just could NOT wait. I wish it wasn’t on a Friday night, but what can you do. Last year, we missed his first back to school night of his whole life, because we got home on Friday and just forgot all about it. I was SO upset with myself and that sure isn’t going to happen again! Here’s a look around his Junior Kindergarten classroom.

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Aaron’s having a cookie…and I look as tired as I feel. It’s Friday at 7pm…I should already be asleep with my feet up!

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and this is a tribute to my sister…look what Aaron said.

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Ashley read to Aaron for a bit…we loved the look on his face.

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September 15

THAT is a fat ankle. Yikes. It has begun.

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September 14

Here is a little gift show-off. I put a bunch of pillows for our new couch on my wish list. Eventually I hope to have a fall set, a winter set, and so on. So I asked for some fall-ish pillows and Kelly and Caleb sent me two and my mom and dad sent two more! They are pretty!! The two on the left are the new ones. I got two of the green and tw of the terra cotta color, which is actually darker than it looks in this picture.

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September 13

Iiiiiiit’s my birthday! That’s right, the big 33! We had a nice dinner at home tonight. Chris and the girls made Rachel Ray’s Chicken and Broccoli Pizza, a family favorite, and then they whipped up Pioneer Woman’s Best Sheet Cake Ever. wow. It was delicious. It MUST be served warm. period.

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September 12

Well, Chris and I have decided to go out for my birthday dinner a day early because we are making it a dinner date and Ashley is available to watch Aaron this evening. We took this opportunity to take some pictures while we were all looking nice.

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We had a REALLY lovely evening. Ash and Aaron had dinner and a movie, and Chris and I went to Macaroni Grill. They have a new menu and our food was DEEEEELICIOUS! Then we did the grocery shopping on the way home (it is Monday, after all…) and got home in time to put Aaron to bed.

September 11

First of all…it’s September 11. I can’t believe it is the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I was inspired by an SM challenge to scrap my experiences from that day, and I really should have done it right away instead of waiting 10 years. I have been surprised at how emotional I have felt seeing all of the commemorative commercials and articles. I spent two mornings reading the ESPN magazine September issue and it was pretty gut wrenching. Life has changed so much for so many people, and no matter how much time has passed, the pictures online and on tv take me right back.

We spent our day hanging out and watching football. Before that though, I made some french toast and hit the farmer’s market.

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I got all geared up to support my hubby’s Rams, and though the game didn’t turn out so well, it was good to know that I am still looking cute in this jersey.

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September 10

We have a fun day in store today! It’s girl-Cameron’s superhero birthday party and we are buying a family membership to our rec center!

Birthday first, since the rec center line was WAY too long to wait in this morning…

Here’s Wonder Woman herself! :)

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Watching the candle blowing…

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Molly and Ben enjoying their personalized cupcakes.

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Cameron got a cool collection of superhero stories, which was promptly passed to her dad and all the kids crowded around for a look.

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Superheroes in love…

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After the party, we headed back to rec center to get our passes. They were having a one day only 20% off sale which is why it was so crowded in the morning. We are really excited about this. We have been wanting to be more active as a family, and this is a perfect way. There are various classes, some of which work for me during pregnancy, but I can do much more after baby sister arrives. There is also a fitness room with all kinds of machines, a pool with open swim on the weekends, and our pass includes two free hours per day of playroom time for Aaron so we can drop him off there while we exercise. I am also looking forward to getting him in the water throughout the year because as it is, he only swims in the summer and loses all his ability and confidence in between each summer.

Here’s the goods…

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My momentum was a bit crushed when they handed us our package and told us they were going to be closed for a week and used as a shelter, so we really won’t get to start going until Monday 9/19. Looking forward to it though!