Please pray for baby Avery.. her parents are taking her off life support this evening after a long hard fight.

Weekend....

PURE JOY


















To celebrate my Grandmother's Birthday, we went to Friendly Farms, a nearby restaurant located on a farm and everything is served family style. It has been opened for 50 years, so I have very fond memories visiting as a child. It was exciting to go back with my own kids and having them explore the duck pond after dinner just as I did when I was little. Here are some pics of the evening!!

Also, we did it! We finally potty trained Chloe!! It has been in the making for a while now. She often goes on the potty but still insisted on wearing diapers. I didn't really push it... but now that she is almost three and starts pre-school int he fall, I thought it was time. We knew she was ready!! Saturday morning, we watched "Elmo Goes Potty." Then I told her that she was a big girl and Wyatt is still a baby and that big girls don't wear diapers (it's hard... because I can't just hide all the diapers because Wyatt is the same size!!). Then I showed her the basket of presents (I know... extrinsic rewards = not good, but I caved in)... So far two entire days of no diapers (except during nap and night time). I am so proud of her. After a little melt down in the morning of the first day, she was been great about it!!

In the News....

Happy 87th Birthday to my grandmother!!

Wyatt now weighs 25lbs!!!!!!! Yipee!!!!!! Wyatt and Chloe can now both pass for twins!!

Chloe is trying really hard in swim lessons and has such a great attitude even though the water is super cold!!

Our favorite Child Life Specialist from Hopkins is leaving the 6th floor to go to grad school in August. She was so thoughtful to send us a card and we wish her the very best.... we will miss you Christine (but hopefully we won't be back in the hospital anymore!!)

Fourth of July Weekend Re-Cap

Thursday, Nanny came to visit and surprise Chloe!! We miss her so much and blame Nanny for Chloe of being such a girly girl:))




Friday we went to a swim party and Chloe wore her life vest for the first time. She we able to kick her legs and move her hands. This is her very first attempt of swimming. On Monday she starts her first swim lesson class. Benji was thoughtful enough to volunteer to get in the water with her.





After the pool party I took the kids to my parent's house for a sleep over. We had an impromptu cook out and invited my friend Teaette, her kids, her parents, my sister, grandmother, and parents. I think Chloe laughed for one straight hour as Uncle Gino entertained her on the swing by falling down numerous times. It was a traditional summer evening of catching fire flies and staying up late. Teaette's twins, Taylor and Joey are one month older than Wyatt and are SUPER CUTE!!!






On Fourth of July, we drove from my parent's house and Amy was gracious enough to make lunch for everyone. Lily, Molly, Arden, Jack, Cate, CC, and Sophia played together and got nice and worn out before naps!! Pictures to come!! Then after naps, we went to our good friend Joe and Maria's house. They live near the fireworks display, so they always throw a really nice party every year and there is always a GREAT BIG water slide there!! We could only stay a little while:(( because Benji's band was playing at another party and we wanted to see him. The kids enjoyed swinging on their swing set together. Joe and Maria's party from last year.




The grand finale of the weekend was going to see Benji's band play (we got there in time for the 2nd half). They played at a local party that had a FANTASTIC dream back yard on a beautiful farm, complete with a pirates ship, tree house, trampoline, tree swings, volley ball, creek, and horses and best of all... lots of people having a good time!! The house had a double deck so the band played on the top deck. The crowd was awesome and really appreciated their music. They did a great job. Wyatt and Chloe enjoyed listening to their Daddy and dancing to the music. All those Sunday practices paid off!!







Wyatt enjoying the party... (bottle has cap on... not for real!)

First Sleep over

Since we don't have any nursing throughout the 4th of July holiday weekend, we decided to go to my parents for Wyatt to have his very first sleep over!! (besides the hospital, but that does not count!) I packed the car full of oxygen, power cords, medical supplies and off we went!! Wyatt did awesome and slept through the entire night. I slept in the same room with him and he only woke up twice. I however, hardly slept:)) We had a busy day yesterday with a pool party at my friend Cristina's house and then a cook out with my best friend Teaette and two of her kids, her parents, my sister and husband, and my parents. Today we have a lunch with Chloe friends and then off to see Benji's band play!! Pictures to come!!

A day at the Zoo!!

Love this double stroller my friend Laura is lending me.. it's a sit/stand for Chloe and Wyatt rides in the front!! This is the BEST invention!!! It saved us tons of time!













We decided for vacation this year to stay local! So we are exploring all that our area has to offer... so far we have been strawberry picking, Dutch Wonderland, and today was Wyatt's choice, so he picked the ZOO of course!! (since he is learning all about animals). It was a beautiful day and the zoo was not crowded at all. We saw every exhibit and both kids were in great moods!! We went last year, but Wyatt was fussy at times, but this time around he loved it!! It really was the first time the four of us went on a day trip together with both kids happy:))

Happy Anniversary!

Tuesday, June 30th is my 8th year Wedding Anniversary. Happy Anniversary Benji to a great 8 years!!! Wow.. how much we have accomplished or acquired in our 8 years-

2001- purchased our first home, married, went to Jamaica, got our dog, Abby
2002- got our cat, Sputnik, re-habed our first house by ourselves, went to Universal Studios
2003- bought a car
2005- I went to Space Camp, Benji went to Jazz Camp, also went to Europe and a great wine vacation at the Finger Lakes.
2006- sold our first home, by owner, bought another house and moved with the help of a lot of friends, lived with my parents for 1 month, Chloe was born.
2007- Wyatt was born and that has been an adventure ever since!!

So since we can't just hire an "average" babysitter... we will probably just make a nice dinner after the kids go to sleep:)

Wyatt has his post-op appt tomorrow at 8am at Hopkins, and then I am off to work!!

Happy Anniversary!!

Random Photos...

Chloe always has to ride this carousel at the mall whenever we go!!



Chloe helped to bake cookies... yummy!!



There always seems to be a present for Wyatt or a special yummy treat for Wyatt that I discover that our fabulous nurse Susan buys him... yesterday was this bumble bee balloon. (she spent her lunch money on it). Is she great or what???

I have a great role model!

My mom is truly the greatest person I have ever met. Not only does she love me unconditional and is the most selfless person I ever met, she is a wonderful grandmother. She loves Chloe and Wyatt like they are her own children. She spends hours babysitting any time of the day/night (even after a long day of work) for us and drives an hour to my house at a drop of the hat. Some how all our laundry and bathrooms get cleaned too??? She is a super hero!! I want to thank her with all my heart for all the endless hours she spends with us. We would not be able to do half the things we do, it it wasn't for her!! Thanks for babysitting today Mom!!




Not another picture Mom!!

I think this t-shirt best explains Wyatt....

My Mom got Wyatt this t-shirt and it says I LOVE DANGER!! I am starting to think this is his motto!!




This is Wyatt picking up a toy Lego car with his mouth!! Oh how I love boys!!

Dutch Wonderland 2009

We decided instead of taking a vacation this year (since we can't leave Wyatt), we would take day trips. In a last minute decision, we decided to go to Dutch Wonderland, an amusement park for small children. We went last year with my friend Teaette, check out that post here. It's such a magical place!! Chloe really loved the nice boat ride, monorail ride, train ride, carousel, water park, etc... At the end of the day as I was laying with Chloe in her bed, I asked her what her favorite part of the day was and she said... holding hands:)) I just love her so much and think she is so special! Coming up, we will be going on another day trip... this time is Wyatt's decision where to go!! Stay tuned!!

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Feeling better...

Wyatt is feeling a little better. It has been one full week since he has been home from the hospital and today is the first day he has not had any pain medication!! He seemed happy most of the day except if he wanted to take a nap. His stereo strips on his incision are falling off and it seems like it is healing nicely. I gave him a bird bath today (since we can not get the incision wet) and cleaned his g-tube really good. Good news... it looks like March 31st could possibly be declared National Diaphragmatic Hernia Day- Read Sofia's blog for more information!! Unfortunately someone has written some really bad stuff about March 31st being declared as CDH Awareness- check it out here . If you want to see how the CDH community is fighting back... just read the comments. I feel really sorry for the author Peregrin Wood. How could anyone be againist CDH awareness. Little research is done and half of all babies die from it. It happens in 1 in every 2,500 births a year and is just as common Spina Bifida and Cystic Fibrosis. Who would be againist creating more awareness??? only good would come of it by creating awareness.

Chloe's Special Day!

Wyatt has been getting all the attention lately and Chloe has been such a great sport about it. Not only is Wyatt the hero in all of this, Chloe is too! She understands everything going on and makes the best of it! So on Tuesday, I spent the morning with Chloe (just Mommy and Chloe) and we went to Baugher's Farm to pick strawberries and Cherries, we also had ice cream and went to the petting zoo. Picking the fruit was so much fun. It was not crowded at all and it was so calm and peaceful to pick the berries with Chloe. She had so much fun and I think she really enjoyed spending time together... I did too!! She also ate every berry she picked!! It reminded me of the book, Blueberries for Sal (pick a berry and eat it!)(Thank you Pam for the book!! We love it!!) Luckily, I picked enough berries to bring some home!! My friend Laura inspired me to buy produce locally. I just started reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, so hopefully Laura and this book will encourage me to buy local!!

Today I am having the BEST day of all!! It's my 35th birthday and I am spending the entire day with Chloe and Wyatt!! Just us!! We took a morning walk and then went to the mall. Now they are both taking a nap at the same time (a special treat!). It's always so much fun when it's just us. I love watching them play and interact together. I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday:)) I can truly say that I am so blessed to have them both in my life. So far, I love my 30's!! Chloe has been singing Happy Birthday to me all day!

Ice Cream for Lunch!!

Tuesday Chloe got so excited when I told her we were going to eat ice cream for lunch!! She kept singing, "ice cream for lunch!!" We also visited the petting zoo and saw emu's , liamas, goats, pigs, etc.... It was a special day!! (I gave her a p & j sandwich when we got home!!)

Joyful!

Together at last! When reunited today, they sat next to each other for the longest time just enjoying their company. It makes a BIG difference now that they are older. The love for each other just shines!!

Longest Surgery = Quickest Stay

We are glad to be home and want to thank the doctors and nurses at Johns Hopkins for a pleasant stay. This was Wyatt's longest surgery and quickest stay. He is one of the strongest people I know. He fights and fights and fights!! We thought we may be going home on Monday because today is a Sunday and it's a holiday.. hardly anyone was around. However, the nurse came in about 4pm and asked if we wanted to go home. We were out of there by 6pm. Even though Wyatt got excellent care at Hopkins, it is always nice to be home. He is able to sleep with out interruption and it's just nice to be surrounded by your things. Who could ask for a better Father's Day present? Tomorrow, Chloe and our dog, Abby will be getting delivered to us and then the family will be together again:)

Since we heard we may be going home, Benji rushed home from the hospital to put a second coat of paint on the walls in our family room and to put the room half-way back together again after staying up all night with Wyatt. Then he was cutting the grass when I arrived home with Wyatt. Some way to spend Father's Day... but we will make it up to him soon!

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. I think I am most worn out from Twittering so much!! I might take a little break from it:)


Learning never stops... not even if you are sick in the hospital. Here is Wyatt practicing his flashcards- numbers and colors-

Chloe called Wyatt and this is what happened....

I GOT MY BOY BACK!!!! When I arrived at the hospital this morning, Wyatt was in Benji's arms and seemed like he was in a little pain. He had a rough night and had to get oxycodine at 4am. The drug really makes him feel out of it. So after I arrived and Wyatt seemed like he was in pain, we decided to give him Tylenol. After 15 minutes, if it wasn't working then we would go to the more powerful stuff. Well, it worked and Wyatt was back to his old self. He was really stinky and had blood on him from surgery, so I gave him a bath and put on his favorite Elmo shirt. During his bath, I took him off his oxygen and guess what?????????? He continued to stat 99 and 100 percent, occasionally going to 98 percent!!!!!!!! Then Chloe called and they talked for a little while as you can see below. After that conversation, Wyatt was a new baby!! He is clean, happy, and throwing things out of his crib. He seems back to his old boyish self. It's about 1:45, so I put him down for his regular nap (trying to keep him on schedule) and he fell right to sleep. I put his O2 back on since his stats drop usually while he is sleeping. His lungs sound a little wet, so the doctor ordered a dose of lasik to dry them out. Other than that, I think we are ready to go H________ (I don't want to say it, or I may jinx myself!!)

It's only Sunday, three days after the longest surgery he has ever had and he looks like this:)) Let's celebrate!!!!!!!!! He is such a fighter and I am so proud of him.





I GOT MY BOY BACK!!!!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Happy Father's Day to the BEST Dad's in the World.

Chloe and Wyatt are so lucky to have the best Dad in the World. He is caring, loving, gentle, and thinks the world of his kids. He is a hands-on Dad and wants to be involved in everything. There eyes just light up when he walks into the room and they love spending time with him. Thank you Benji for being such a great Dad! We love you!!

I am so lucky to have my Dad. His love for my sister and I shows every day with his unconditional love, caring attitude, and wanting to be involved in our lives. He is an awesome grand-parent to Chloe and Wyatt. He gives up his own wants and needs to help us and to spend time with us. Thank you Dad... I love you!!

Benji and myself are lucky to have his Dad. Benji is such a great Dad because of having a wonderful role model. Benji's Dad has very similar characteristics as Benji and we appreciate all of his love that he gives our family. We love you!!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there and especially to the Dad's in my life!!

Feeling better today....

Sleeping here was no fun... Wyatt woke up almost every hour but today he feels much better. His IV got clogged so all IV liquids and medications were stopped and his IV was removed (one step in going home). Next his food is being increased at a faster rate to supplement the fluid from the IV. His pain medication was switched from fentayl IV drip (PCA) over to oxycodine and Benadryl for itching via g-tube. For a while he was very playful... becoming his old self again wanting to throw blocks and asking for Elmo (see pics bleow)... after the benadryl and oxycodine kicked in, he is very sleepy and seems out of it. I may request Tylenol for pain instead so that he can feel like his old self again.


Night-time view out my window....