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....

Just what the doctor ordered!

Wyatt starting feeling a little better as soon as Chloe walked into the room:) Just what the doctor ordered. Wyatt said, "Chloe!!" and they hugged and kissed each other. Wyatt is still spitting up mucus and when he coughs it hurts him, so we are still pressing the pain button. Benji went home for the night, and I get the pleasure of spending the night here. I think Wyatt really wanted a single room, because his MRSA swab of his nose came out positive, so we had to move to an isolated room. This can be good or bad, because now I never want to leave him alone:) I was freaking out about MRSA, but the doctor told me it is no big deal. Kids that are in and out of the hospital get it and most nurses would possibly test positive for it. It's just colonized in his nose and will go away eventually. There is really no treatment for it... it's immuned to most antibiotics. So it's a little set back, but like always, we will look ahead and think about going home:)) Wyatt now started formula, just 5 ml/hr but over time it will be increased and then hopefully the IV drip will go away and we will be able to go home. Keep praying and thank you for all your kindness and support.

Chloe was so happy to see me. I met her in the hallway and she ran into my arms and hugged me for the longest time. I really miss her but I know she is in good hands.

By the way, I want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Pop-Pop!!!

Wyatt's newest treatment plan... lots of LOVE!!

New Home...

Our sweet little baby snuggling with his favorite dinosaur..

I'm so excited!!! Look who is coming to visit!!! Chloe.... I miss her so much. It was easier to be away when she was younger - 14 month's old... but now that she is understanding everything, it is much harder. She is always so good about everything and I talk to her often on the phone... but I want to hold her, kiss her, and play with her!!


One of Wyatt's favorite characters is Elmo... so we surprised him with this... when he awoke crying he was screaming... "Elmo!!" it was so cute.. he wanted to be happy but was crying:)) It was worth the $8.00 (which is ridiculous for a balloon!!)

Our view out of our window of the Hopkins Dome....


Basically... nothing has changed... Wyatt is sleeping on and off. He wakes up in pain and cries. He also spits up a lot blood tinged mucus. He is really out of it from all the drugs. Otherwise, I think we are just letting him rest and hopefully we can ease up on the pain medications tomorrow and he can return back to his old self!!