Emma Update!

So it's been 4 days since Emma's eye surgery and she is doing FANTASTIC! She's been able to keep her eyes open consistently yesterday and today. The inside corners are really red still, which was to be expected. Knock on wood, I haven't seen her eyes cross once! And she's said she only sees "one Mama" when she looks at me (as opposed to two of me that she saw when her eyes would be crossed)! AWESOME!

Keep praying that she continues to heal well and we get even more good news when we see Dr. Chris on Wednesday!!!

Seeing Straight...We Hope!

It's been a whirlwind of a week! Tuesday night we took Bradlee over to Tony's parents' for the night and for them to watch him on Wednesday. Emma was able to drive around in her new ride from Nana and Beepee! She's gotten pretty good steering and can even back up down the driveway better than her Aunt Karyn!

Emma had her eye surgery on Wednesday morning. The official surgery name was a "bilateral medial rectus recession". Basically, they went in through her tear ducts (you can't even see any kind of an incision!) and cut some of the muscles behind her eyes (or "loosened" them) so they will (hopefully) go straight! We reported to the hospital at 7:15am and just as we had told Emma a few weeks before hand, everything happened just the way we had thought! We went to the same day surgery waiting area for a short time when the nurse came in and took us back to Emma's pre-op room. Tony and I both think that what we saw when we got into that room was one of the best things that could have happened...she had a roommate! The little girl in her room with her, Jenna, was 6 years old and having tubes put in her ears, which gave Emma a connection immediately! They watch Animal Planet together on the TV's and colored together and just giggled a lot...it eased not only their tension and nervousness, but ours, too! Emma and Jenna's nurse was awesome with them...asking them questions THEY could answer, etc. She came to take Emma's blood pressure and tells her that she's putting a hug around her arm that's going to squeeze her a bit. Emma looks at her and says, "Yeah, that's a sphygmomanometer." HA! Imagine the look on that nurse's face! LOL Here's Emma coloring a picture, which she gave to her nurse, Laura (who we learned also goes to our church!)!! She got to wear a very cool tiger-print hospital gown and even loved the little hospital socks!!

So then Emma was wheeled into the surgical holding area where Tony got to dress like a marshmallow so he could go into the OR with Emma. While in there, the nurse anesthetist came and talked to us and gave Emma a really cool red-striped surgical cap to wear and a new stuffed puppy Emma promptly named "Kaylee". She already had Pinky and Tchai with her, but Kaylee was the only one allowed to go into the surgery with her. Dr. Chris also came and talked to us and Emma. That made her feel a lot better, too...it helped her remember exactly who he was and that it was really him doing the surgery! Here she is with her animal friends and with her Daddy the marshmallow!

So, Emma and Tony went back into the surgical OR and Uncle Paul (who I swear uses that collar for the good parking spot and unlimited access anywhere in that hospital, no questions asked! LOL) and I went to the waiting area. We were there about 10 minutes when Tony came in and said she was all set and Dr. Chris was doing his magic...she apparently did awesome with the anesthesia...like we had told her before (another AWESOME thing we did was prepare her!), they put a mask the size of her hand over her mouth and told her to take a deep breath. They did everything we "prepared" Emma for, so she didn't fight at all. Tony said she looked at the mask and said, "Okay." That was it. She is awesome.

When the surgery was done, in about an hour, Dr. Chris was back in the waiting area telling us that she did awesome, that her eyes will probably be red for a little while and gave us some ointment to put on them. About 10 minutes later our little pager beeped and a volunteer took me back to the recovery area so I could sit with Emma until she woke up. She was so cute just laying there, all curled up, one sock on, breathing in that oxygen they had up to her nose! :) She had a hard time waking up and especially opening her eyes, but she got better and better as we moved from the recovery area back to the post-op room, which she didn't have to share. She enjoyed 2 Popsicles, a graham cracker, some water, apple juice and half of Uncle Paul's granola bar before we got the all-clear to go home. We were going to visit Gramma in the lab, but we weren't allowed to go with Emma still waking up from the anesthesia, so Gramma came to see us and drew smileys on all 4 of Emma's band-aids (looks like they had 3 unsuccessful attempts at starting an IV and finally got it on the 4th one). She was wheeled out to the car in a wheelchair (which she thought was pretty cool) and we came home and watched movies the rest of the day! Then she wanted Taco Bell for dinner, so we knew she was doing well...and she really was!

On Thursday, she woke up on her own and came into bed with me until I had to get ready for work. Tony's sister, Lynne, came to pick her up, and by the time I got to their house after work, she was almost like her old self...with the exception of her right eye not opening all the way. Here's Emma in the morning! :)

Something absolutely incredible is that Emma received a small "thinking of you" flower bouquet from Dr. Chris!! It's in a mug with the East Michigan Eye Center logo on it. How awesome is that?!

Bradlee totally missed his sister while she was gone, so we had some coloring time at Nana's...then Tony called to talk to Bradlee and here's the picture I got! :)

It definitely showed how much he missed her after they got their jammies on and were watching a movie. Bradlee climbed up onto the couch next to Emma and put his head right down on her lap! SO cute! :) They just sat there together and watched movies together, happy as clams! :)

Emma's recovery has been incredible. She's opening them really well and I make sure to let her look in the mirror to see how they look. We're not forcing the wearing of her glasses...only if she seems to want them on. With them being bifocals, they might bother her more than just not wearing them. The best part is that I haven't seen them cross since the surgery...of course, as Dr. Chris said, only time will tell how successful the surgery was. We go for her post-op check-up on Wednesday, so we'll see what he says! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers! We're so glad it's done! :)

A Nice Weekend...

We had a nice few days, this past weekend...got a lot done around the house and are READY for some warm weather! On Sunday, we went to Rochester Hills to celebrate my grandma's (Snookie) birthday. My Aunt Pat from Connecticut and my Uncle Moose from Chicago were also able to make it, along with my parents and sisters and Garrett. The kids were so entertaining on the way down, I had to take some pictures. Emma had about 8 stuffed animals with her, so they all had to be in the picture (of course!) and Bradlee was just being his normal goofy self!

Emma, Kat and Garrett stopped at Meijer to get some carrot cake and ice cream to enjoy back at my grandparent's house...Emma, of course, had to help blow out the candles! Bradlee did, as well, but from a further distance!!

Monday was probably the most entertaining day of the week for me...each morning, Tony gets up, gets his shower and dressed, then wakes me up and while he's getting the car packed with back packs and lunches and such, I get the kids dressed. I get Emma dressed first, and once she's dressed, I either send her to get her shoes on (unless I remember to set them out the night before) and/or brush her teeth, while I go a get Bradlee ready. Well, on Monday, it was a "go get your shoes on and brush your teeth" day, so I ended up not seeing her completely dressed. When I picked her up from school that afternoon, she raced over to me and gave me a huge hug, and while she said good bye to her teacher, I noticed something different...she had on two different shoes! I looked again, and sure enough, one was a blue tie-up shoe, the other was a pink/purple Velcro shoe! I looked at her and said, "Emma! Why do you have two different shoes on?!" She looked at me and said, "Well, my closet was dark when I went to get my shoes on this morning, so I just got one shoe for each foot." I said, "Why didn't you just turn on the light on your room?" {{{pause}}} "Oh." LOL

I asked her if Tony (Daddy) had noticed this morning and she said "Nope!" and I asked her if her teachers had noticed and she said, "Mrs. Edsall laughed and said I was silly." HA! What a goof! She was so non-chalant about it and didn't seem to care at ALL about it!? I wonder when you grow out of that "who cares" phase and into the "oh-my-God-I'm-mortified-and-have-to-call-my-mom-to-have-her-bring-me-new-shoes" phase...I'm sure I'll find out soon enough. I wasn't worried about it, either, and all the way home, I would think about it and just giggle. I had to take a picture when we got home...

When we got home, Emma started playing with some of her little doll sets (Polly Pockets). When she stepped away for a minute, Bradlee got up on her chair and dumped the whole bucket of minuscule dolls/clothes/shoes/etc. all over the floor! Once Emma and I picked it up, I saw Bradlee sitting in the kitchen doorway with something in his hand. I looked closer and saw that it was one of Emma's little doll shoes that we missed. He was sitting there intently trying to put this mini doll shoe on his foot! So cute....

He finally gave up and gave the shoe back to Emma on his own! It must have been the day for shoe-antics!!!

My little Picasso...

Something Bradlee LOVES to do is color....crayons, pens, pencils, markers, you name it, he loves to use it to create wonderful masterpieces!

Yesterday afternoon, Emma and Bradlee were both sitting at the dining room table coloring while I was baking in the kitchen.

I came into the dining room to check on the kids and low and behold, Bradlee had created a wonderful work of art...not only on the paper, but on his arm! Thank God for washable markers. I didn't yell at him or anything...I mean, what does it really hurt, right? I just kept an eye on him and stopped him when he tried to do it again....the markers went away shortly thereafter....

The kids and Tony returned to school today after having the last 10 days off...all three had great days! It's nice to know that they like their schools and teachers and friends.

When they got home, I had Emma pick out a movie to watch, and her and Bradlee chose a Veggie Tales movie. I don't think we even got through a half hour of it, but while they were watching, we got this awesome picture...

Have a great week!

Is Spring Break over yet?

Although it's nice to have the kids home, not that it matters to me, since I have to work, I notice in the checkbook in that we don't have to pay for daycare during breaks, it's always nice to know that the kids, and Tony, enjoy school so much that they want to return after a break. Emma's probably been ready since Wednesday...so we strategically placed a play date with her friend, Evelyn, on Thursday to break up the constant playing with Tony! :) School starts back up on Monday, and I've been told by Tony that there are only 9 weeks left to the 2009-2010 school year. Then, my blog readers, Emma will officially be a Kindergartner! How do YOU say CRAZY!? :)

So Friday night the kids were at my in-laws, and Tony and I were just going to have a nice evening together at home...then I texted my friend, Julie (the one who just had Scarlett back in March!) to see how she was doing and out of the blue I asked her if she wanted to do something that night....low and behold, SHE DID! That, like, NEVER happens! :) So, with Tony's full support (and probably anticipation of having the house to himself for the evening), I met Julie and Scarlett at Great Lakes Crossing (a huge outlet-type mall in Auburn Hills) for some shopping and dinner. We hit Children's Place (a store Julie didn't know about until we went shopping once when Emma was little!) and left with a BARGAIN. Julie found Scarlett a winter coat for $2.99 and I found some awesome sandals for Bradlee to wear this summer and some shorts for Miss Emma...we also found a few other things that were all less than $2!! SWEET! I've been told I'm going shopping with Julie and Scarlett more often...I say, "AWESOME!"!!!!!

Smile for the camera, 'mon!

Told ya I'd be better about posting more frequently!

Anyway, on Easter Sunday, I did Emma's hair in a "fancy" way...basically, I did a half French braid across the top of her head and down the side to keep the little hairs out of her face. That night, before bed, we took the braid out and she was so impressed how "curly" the hair was that was in the braid. I told her that one of these days during her spring break, after her bath at night time, I would put a ton of little braids in her hair and then in the morning her whole head would be like that! She took me up on it! Last night, Wednesday night, is also ganaxis (gymnastics) night...so by default, Emma gets a bath (to get all that chalk and sweat off her little body!). I called my sister, Karyn, who came over to help me put braids in Emma's hair. She also got her toe nails painted! She's ALL girl! :)

This afternoon, since I had to work, Karyn came over again to take all the little braids out and do something with what was produced! Her hair turned out so cute! I was wavy, but not too puffy like I expected it to be! She just LOVED it! Of course, after Karyn did Emma's hair, Bradlee needed his hair "done", too! Creative Aunt Karyn combed his hair and sprayed a bit of hairspray in it and he was better. What lucky kids Bradlee and Emma are to have their own "hairdresser", Aunt Karyn!!

After work, I met Tony, the kids, and a friend of mine, Susan, with her two kids at Safari Playground in Holly. It's an indoor playground, and also where Emma had her last birthday party. Susan and I went to grade school together and have recently connected again through church and such. Her daughters are Evelyn (4 years) and Isla (8 months). Evelyn and Emma have become good friends through play dates and church and they took a ganaxis class together as well. We met them for a play date, since ALL the kids were missing their

school friends! What a great afternoon! Safari Playground is a great place to go. The doors are locked so the kids can't get out, they have AWESOME pizza, and it's a place where Tony and I could just sit and talk with Susan and not even worry about Bradlee running around and playing on the slides and such. It's a really neat place, and we'll be going there quite a bit! Bradlee LOVES Isla (and calls her "Lila")...as you can see, he loves to flirt! :) Susan and I joke around and say they are already betrothed! They're all so cute to watch interact with each other. Such great fun with great friends!! Tony and I are so fortunate to have such great family and great friends!!!

Still Alive!

I know, two weeks is a long time...but to be honest, there hasn't been much to blog about! I'll try to be better, I promise! :)

It's been a busy few weeks, but to be honest, I can't remember a thing we've done! Must be a sign of getting old! LOL We had a wonderful Easter weekend with our families...starting on Friday when we were trying to get Bradlee to SMILE for a picture! Here, he's wearing some super-cute pj's that Emma also used to wear! Now, when I try to take his picture, he will put his fingers in the corners of his mouth and pulls to smile! What a goof!

Saturday, we had the 4th Annual Easter Egg Hunt and Pancake Dinner at our friends', Matt & Desiree, house. What a great time! This year was the biggest yet, with over 25 kids running around! Unfortunately, just in time for the hunt, it started raining, so the kids got a little wet, but fun was still had by all!!! Here's Emma and Bradlee in the car afterwards!

Tony read for the Easter Vigil mass at church, so I took the kids to Walmart for some last minute shopping and then home and to bed. We had a nice evening together. Once they were in bed (by 8:30pm), I baked a coffee cake for breakfast in the morning, cleaned up the house (especially the living/play room!), and then started on a treasure hunt for the kids to follow the next morning to find their Easter baskets! What a great time I had planning it, and then watching the kids follow it!!! It started with a letter from the Easter Bunny, explaining what to do and for Emma to make sure she took Bradlee with her! There were clues at each spot that she had to figure out where to go next. For example, "You will find clue number four, with something you and Bradlee drink that's kept in a door!"...Emma heard that, put her pointer finger in the air and exclaimed, "WE DRINK JUICE! IT'S IN THE FRIDGERADER!" And down we went to the fridge! I had us going upstairs and downstairs! There were plastic, candy (or gummy bear)-filled eggs at each spot as well, so Bradlee was highly interested in that....here's Tony reading the letter and first clue to the kids and Bradlee checking out one of the eggs!

Ten clues later, they found their Easter baskets! Emma was ECSTATIC about "The Princess and the Frog" and Bradlee was highly intrigued by the gummy Lifesaver "bunnies and chicks"...

Tony started not feeling well, so he stayed home in bed while the kids and I went over to my parents' house for Easter dinner. My in-laws, our friend, Paul, and my grandparents also joined us!

Oh, I forgot....on Saturday, I took some of the hard boiled eggs Emma had colored and made some "debbiled" eggs for Emma. She ate 3 halves, and after the 4th one, asked me if she could call Aunt Kathi. I dialed the phone and let Emma have it...she waited for the voicemail "beep" and said, "Hi Aunt Kathi. This is Emma. Mommy made some debbiled eggs wrong, so I was wondering if you would make some good ones for me when I see you tomorrow. Thanks. See you tomorrow! Love you! Bye!" Gee, thanks, kid. Apparently, I put too much mustard in. So, Sunday afternoon, Emma and Aunt Kathi were making "real" deviled eggs...and, of course, Bradlee had to help, too! Here they are peeling the shells off the eggs...

While we were waiting for dinner, Uncle Garrett and Aunt Kathi took Emma for a ride in "Scarlett" (Aunt Kathi's red convertible)!! She LOVES putting her hands up and "the wind in my hair"! LOL Here they are!!!

After dinner, we were able to get some cute pictures of me with the kids...we're still working on Bradlee's smile! :)

Tony started feeling better, so he was able to come over later into the evening. Unfortunately, before we thought of it, my grandparents and Paul left before we got this great group picture!!!