Officially Summertime

June 30, 2010, 6:49 pm

Lily didn't let me refer to "summer" until the official first day of summer. Well summer is here, and we're having a great time. This time of year I dream of moving somewhere that has weather like this more often than not!

This summer we're busy. Lily has her own activities for the first time, so we spend a lot of time watching t-ball, tumbling, baseball, and going to cub scouts activities. Noah is participating in a running program where he runs a mile each day, and we are going to run the Firecracker 5K on the 4th of July. Of course Nathan and I have to fit our runs and workouts in amongst all of the kids' activities.

Here are some pictures of summertime fun!



We're looking forward to a fun packed 4th of July weekend and then the Hottman family reunion in Kansas followed by Grandma Tackett's 2 week visit! Lily can't wait to have Grandma tuck her in at night. Then Nathan and Noah are going to climb Mount Elbert in Colorado with Jason and Marile. I'm out of breath now... Happy Summer!

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Papa's Day

June 20, 2010, 9:17 pm

Father's Day is coming to an end, and I'm exhausted. Nathan picked hiking for his father day activity and then a walk with the dogs. When you're married to an endurance athlete holidays can be exhausting! Actually we wouldn't want him any other way.

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Our Strong Girl

June 8, 2010, 9:34 pm

Lily made it through her tonsillectomy and proved once again that she’s a tough cookie. She is also pretty creative. I went to wake her up at 6:00 a.m. on June 1st, and she pretended to be asleep while I carried her to the car, on the car ride, during registration at the hospital, and even while the anesthesiologist talked to us. Then Papa told her that we would need to leave the room if she didn’t wake up. She proceeded to pretend to wake up, and her performance was impressive.

Lily’s nurse was Mary Jo who is also our neighbor. We see Mary Jo walking her big black dog named Bailey all the time, and we enjoyed having a friend at the hospital. Lily was taken to surgery in a red wagon. She wasn’t thrilled at all about any of this, and when the time came to say good-bye to use she grabbed on to her Papa and begged him to go with her. I’m with Lily—I would want our tough Marine in the OR too. Papa talked Lily into letting go, and the OR nurse told us that Lily did not cry again. She got to pick out stickers in the OR and took special care picking out many stickers for herself and her brother Noah.

Lily returned in an hour and then stayed in the hospital for about 4 more hours recovering. The anesthesia made Lily very sick, so she was given medication to help with nausea and then discharged home.

Here is Lily right after surgery:



The day after surgery Lily stopped talking. Her throat hurt too much to talk, so she wrote us notes to tell us what she needed or how she felt. Here is my favorite note:



"Papa said when I'm feeling better he would take me to the water park."

I made a pain chart similar to the one in the hospital and had Lily point to how her throat felt. Lily always points to a somewhat smiley #1. She never lets on to pain. I’m expecting many grand babies from her in the future.

Our roughest night was Wednesday night when she spiked a fever of 101 with chills. She had nightmares and tossed and turned all night. Thursday morning she appeared drugged and vomited after she woke up. I called the hospital and talked to Mary Jo and took Lily off the Tylenol with codeine. She does not seem to tolerate codeine at all. By Thursday afternoon she was talking and playing.

Lily did OK with the post-surgery diet of soft foods. I often joke that Lily loves all the foods that old people love. Some of her favorite foods do not require teeth to chew: pudding, ice cream, Jell-O, mashed potatoes, and deviled eggs. Lily also loves getting gifts and was so excited to receive care packages, cards, and presents. The gifts and notes from everyone really cheered her up, and we thank you!

Enjoying chocolate pudding!



Lily's pink butterfly balloon from the Kruses: a favorite gift for sure.



Playing Wedkinz with her new Webkinz kitty named Sparkles Bubblegum:



Lily's fort (she got creative being stuck inside):



The Sunday after Lily's surgery was a beautiful day, and she wanted to sit out on the front porch. She said, "I wish the ice cream truck would come!" Minutes after her wish we heard the song from the ice cream truck. Lily was watering flowers and threw her cup of water and yelled, "Go get your wallet! Get the whole thing!" She was so very excited experience a normal summertime activity after so much pain and time stuck inside.

Here's to more summertime fun for Lily!

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