Lily

This video was taken a week and a few days after her surgery.

Voice Dec 2011 for comparison :) there are a few more if you want to search for "video".

Ok, so now that it has been a few weeks since Lil's surgery her voice is now the "norm". I even forget how much it has really changed! I forget how loud of a sleeper she was and how really loud she breathed while doing simple things like coloring or doing a puzzle. She no longer sounds like someone is pinching her nose closed or as if a clothespin was on her nose all the time.

We thank God that this issue was solved by a very simple procedure and her quality of life has improved so dramatically.

Love you Lily and you sweet, little voice :)

Six Years

I'm not sure six years ago we treasured our leisurely days on the beach...

2006

2012

...but we're certain our beach days are a lot more fun now!

Bowling with Friends

After a fun birthday party for one of our school friends we got to hang out with the Parkers!

And, we went bowling!

All four kids looooved it!

We had two lanes, one for the kids and one for the adults. And, we all played two games. We made the kids carry their own bowling balls to ensure a nice night's sleep.

The kids did great, they really enjoyed waiting to see how many pins they knocked down. Some of them would kneel down, sometimes we bent over and we always had to jump up and down and clap. So much fun.

Pool Time

We are loving are pool this summer :)

Camping?

These two girls were very chatty but quietly busy.

When we checked on them, we found them stacking a bunch of toys on the sofa.

Why?

Oh, they were going "pretend camping".

And, from the person who had to put everything back...

they got a ton of stuff on that sofa!

Very impressive teamwork girls and

a very interesting view of what camping is :)

Back to Chic's

Finally.

Back at the beach!

With trips, surgeries, rain and extreme heat getting in our way...

we made it back! Woo Hoo.

Monday Evenings

Every Monday evening we take a walk on the beach.

This week, we went to Croatan and I took the camera :)

Love Summertime!

Bye-bye Adenoids!

Today, was the day.

We had to be at the out-patient KD hospital at 740 and her surgery was at 910.

Since we had Emma, Mike and I had to split up our Lily time.

I am NOT good at pre-op stuff, so Mike stepped up.

He helped her with her pre-op check-up, her "jammies" and met with the doctors. Luckily, Emma and I were able to join them in the patient playroom to await her turn. (the part I don't like).

She was great. She was more than great, she was calm and just fine. Me, not so great. I knew that it was going to be quick, that we were in a great place, but man...ugh.

The nurse came in to get her at 900, she chatted with Lily and we went into the hall to give her kisses and watch her walk off. She took the nurse's hand and calmly walked off with Coconut.

Half hour being in the main waiting room, Dr, Derkay came to chat with us.

He's the Chair of the ENT drs at CHKD. He actually trained the dr that removed Lily's dermoid cyst when she was 8mths old. Anyway, he's wonderful and Lily's surgeon.

He said that Lil did great! Minimal bleeding, that her adenoids were extremely large and that we would see a drastic difference in her breathing and speech.

:)

Ten minutes later, I was called back to the recovery room.

We were here for about two hours. She had to have extra fluids through her IV since she wouldn't wake up enough to drink anything. So, I sat with her on my lap and watched tv. Once those were done, her IVs were removed and we could get her dressed.

I tagged Mike and he helped her. (Emma was definitely not allowed in the recovery area so we had to trade off). Five minutes later, Lily came rolling out in a bright red wagon that Emma jumped in the empty seat for a ride and we got to go home.

We got home at noon and she slept until 3 when she woke up and called for us.

Mike checked on her and she would do nothing but whisper.

Her first words to Mike, "My voice sounds weird"

She was a bit hoarse due to being tubed but her voice was sooo clear because she was not stuffy!

She sat on my lap and her first words to me were, "I love you, Mom" and of course, with her sweet voice and clear sound...it made me cry.

She slept on and off the entire day, got sick once from all the meds and didn't eat much until the next day. She took a total of 2 pain med doses from the dr and 1 dose of tylenol and that's it. She been on amoxicillin to speed up the healing process and help fend of infection.

She has been skipping nap due to such great sleep at night now. She is very aware of her sounds and articulation. She no longer breathes heavy when concentrating and can breathe through her nose! I'm so thrilled this was the issue and she no longer needs an army of allergy medications!

We are so happy for Lily to have this behind her!

Tommy

Not the greatest picture...but it's a fish.

Meet our newest addition, Tommy.

I forgot to post about our beloved Betta. :(

He didn't do too well after a water change and after a day of swimming upside down and flopping around, finally passed on(the day before our trip to MD). This was extremely interesting for Mike and I to be on the parent side of this event. We weren't quite sure how to handle it, especially since Lily saw that Betta wasn't doing so well and now somewhat grasping death and going to Heaven.

So...we did the best we could. We answered questions, a lot of questions and did a lot of staring at each other like, who's going to answer that one. We gave each other looks that said, good answer.. wow, she accepted that one...now what?...this part took a while and lasted over dinner.

In short, we told her that Betta went to live with God. That he lived a good life, he got sick and that his body couldn't go on. But he's better now that he lives with God and He will take care of him. She even connected that he was with Pop now and that maybe he's friends with Goldie, Mike's fish growing up. **Side note-not sure if Mike had a fish Goldie or if he made her up. We tend to use stories from we grew up to help Lily understand that others go through things like she is. She really felt better once hearing Daddy had a fish in Heaven too.**

And, Daddy took Betta to a "fish guy"?? I dunno where that came from, one of our answers she amazingly accepted to a question she asked about what happens to him now? So, the "fish guy" lives in our bathroom and Daddy secretly visited him while I gave the girls their vitamins :)

So, now back from our trip, we got a new fish. A baby Betta.

It will take up to a year and a half for this fish to grow into a full adult. hmmm...

And, when we were discussing what to name him, the Presidents were fresh in our minds from our trip to DC. She has also become very fond of Thomas Jefferson since the trip and knowing about his founding of UVA and that Uncle Mark went there. She has even said that she wants to go visit UVA, Monticello and that one day she'll buy his house :)

So, we have Tommy, the fish, named after Thomas Jefferson :).

BG

Busch Gardens time again.

And, it was hot.

Hot, hot, hot.

Like, we need shade and water and some place

where I can dry the back of my shirt kinda hot.

First stop, the Pet Shenanigans show.

Lots of shade, perfect. And, it was very cute, entertaining and the girls loved it.

Going to try and go to all of the shows this summer.

Then, it was to the Land of the Dragons.

I think this is what it's called, we call it Dinoland for some reason?!?

Dragon ride and Boat Ride.

And, the beloved ladybugs.

Yes, they rode this probably 5 times before we had to go get some

lunch in the a/c.

Carousel.

Brave Lily getting her picture taken with the cast of one of the shows, Entwined.

There was an impending thunderstorm on the way to BG so the park closed the water rides and most of the major coasters. It was mid afternoon, so during a downpour we decided to head out with most everyone else. Good thing, cause these two ladies were tired.

A Morning in Pungo

We headed to Pungo this morning to pick some fruits and veggies!

We LOVE summer in this area, so many fun things to do!

First, we picked our own green beans!

Then, we got to pick our own corn!

Lily was extremely excited about this portion of the morning since she was thrilled to pick corn like Pocahontas! She is very interested in her right now. We have had to check out books from the library, she wants to know all about her and John Smith. And, since she found out that they lived near us in Jamestown, she is wanting to take a trip there. We'll probably wait til it cools down and the tourists go home but our four year old wants to go to Jamestown. :)

Next stop was picking blackberries!

Our fingers were stained red by the end of this part but oh, so good! Emma was really great at this too, she filled up her little bucket three times!

Our final stop, Pungo Blueberries!

This will be great in a few weekends. There were plenty of blueberries but they are still ripening a bit. The downpour that kept us huddled under a veggie stand awning didn't deter us. Although, we did pick quickly and ran at the first sound of thunder :)

Yummy!

Happy July

and Friday the 13th.

Is It Friday Yet??

Oh, Miss Emma.

You really are not yourself this week.

It has taken all week to get back on schedule and we still aren't even close to what used to be our routine. You took one nap all of last week and that was when you passed out on Grammy's living room floor watching tv. You did catnap in the car a few times but nothing to cheer about.

Because of this, taking naps and going to bed are difficult.

You're strong willed, passionate and adamant personality traits are shining through this week. And, this is putting it in a nice "teacher comment" kinda way.

We all can read between the lines on this one.

We love you Miss Emma.

But, please, do all us a favor and get some SLEEP!

One Week

Our Sweet Lily.

One more week til you begin a life in which breathing will be easier.

One more week til you can sleep sound at night without snoring.

One more week of horrible stuffiness and possibly horrible allergies.

A nurse called today from KD to ask pre-op questions, lots of questions.

I found out some important info...

1. Emma can not be with you before or after surgery.

2. Even though you'll be able to eat normal, you'll be pretty swollen for a few days.

3. Your face will be numb and feel kinda weird and we hope this doesn't scare you.

4. You are the Drs 3rd surgery of the morning and as of today, your time is 845.

we really hope this doesn't change.

One more week.

You can do it our sweet girl.

Oh, and your post-op presents came today in the mail :)

Rain Much?

Mike took this before heading out to work this morning.

This is our side yard not a lake.

When the water receded, there were water lines on the trash cans.

So glad he checked before going out since he goes around the back when he leaves

 so he doesn't wake his sleeping beauties up :)

Happy to be Home

These girls are tired but so happy to be home.

It's going to take all week to get back to normal.

DC

Friday evening we headed to our hotel in Springfield so we could spend the weekend with Uncle Mark in DC. The girls were so excited to see Uncle Mark and Kiara but were very tired by this point since naps had been skipped the entire week.

Uncle Mark and two very happy girls.

After an awesome lunch at Zoes Kitchen, watched some Alvin and then headed to the metro to make our way to our first major league baseball game. It was so much fun! And, now it is safe to say we have a team to root for! Yay.

 

The weather forecast wasn't the best, 105 without the heat index. But our seats were in the shade and lucky for us the lady usher let us sit in the first row of the section. So much better when you don't have people breathing down your necks. Emma fell asleep on Mike on our way there and Lily was beat until she got her present from Uncle Mark. :)

These girls are now very into hats!

We could have stayed the entire game but decided to beat the crowds and headed out after 6 full innings. So excited that this got Lily interested in baseball and softball!

They love the metro too!

We had a great treat at Pinkberry after the game! YUM!!

I am now addicted and so thankful there are none in our area!

Sunday morning, with the same kinda heat filled forecast, we headed to DC...again.

We gave Lily the choice of going into DC or to see the Space Shuttle that she saw on tv.

She chose DC, she wanted to walk in DC using the crosswalk signs :)

She loves seeing the signal change from a person walking and the countdown to the red hand telling her to stop. She loves even more that she can see that at home in VaB and relate it to DC.She feels like she lives in a big city :)

So, our first stop was to the National Archives.

Yes, Lily was interested and loved it.

This girl loves history and learning about it all.

As we were waiting to enter the Rotunda where the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and the Bill of Rights are held (along with other notes and historical documents) I told her all about it.

This is what I told her:

Lily, we are about to see the most important papers in America. Those men (pointed to the murals on the wall) are the Founding Fathers, they wrote these things for us. We are free and live in the best America ever because of the papers we are about to see. Our country is amazing because of these papers. They are very old (and then discussed the very dim light) and are behind glass so no one can hurt them.

She started jumping up and down. She was so thrilled to see something so important. She loves America. She even thanks God during Grace at dinner for our country. So, being here near the 4th of July seems to be fitting for our girl. And, since there was no photography allowed we got her picture in front of the building, with her bag of goodies from the gift shop :) Her own mini copy of the Constitution, a postcard showing half of the mural in the Rotunda, magnets and a ruler showing all of the Presidents.

Our second stop was the Museum of Natural History, again.

As old as these dinosaurs bones are, I'm not sure our girls will ever get tired of looking at them. They seem to be in awe every time we walk into this museum and is so cool to watch. And, every time we turned around Lily seemed to be posing for a picture! See the pic of her sitting in front of the elephant and a little girl is there with her...first it's difficult to get a pic alone in this place since there are so many people wandering without a clue but this was different, the girl thought Lily was part of the display. She kept poking Lily to see if she would move and since Lily was in pose mode, she didn't. Finally, her mom who was on her phone, looked up and pulled the girl away and I got a pic but not until we all had a very nice laugh :)

We had a great time in DC and left at 6 and missed all of the traffic!

Another trip traffic free :)

Baltimore

We made it to Baltimore in record time without sitting in traffic for more than 5 minutes, really the most pleasant trip north...ever. The girls only really needed to stop once but Emma had some "poopy fear" issues so we stopped two more times than needed. :)

We ended up staying with Mike's sister, Auntie Irene, Uncle Dave and their soon to be 4 month old twin sons, David Matthew and Christian Michael.

The evening we arrived it didn't take long until we were all very smitten with the boys!

It didn't take long to realize that Lily and Emma are two little Mamas. They were gentle, sweet, caring, and concerned about their every move or cry. They fed them, sat with them, just wanted to hold them every second and brought their favorite toys to them a lot. They also didn't get too jealous of Mike and I holding them either.

The boys are just delicious!

And, so different! They are fraternal twins. One looks like Dave and the other looks like Irene. David is quiet, content, and laid back. Christian is talkative, active and sensitive. Both are extremely happy, smiley and such good babies! They are already pretty much sleeping through the night and relatively easy babies. We couldn't have gone during a better stage of babydom.

We loved being with Irene and the boys so much!

The girls got some good Auntie I time in too.

On the Fourth, we spent the day with the entire family at Grammy and Poppy's house.

The cousins had fun in the pool, ate lots of yummy food and watched

the fireworks on tv. We aren't too fond of the loud fireworks just yet.

We had fun with our cousins too!

Aunt Sara got the kids canvases to paint and they loved it!

 

We had such a great visit and the three days flew by too quickly.

We can't wait for our next trip to MD to see everyone.

On the Road...Again...

And, a trip up the Eastern Shore, is not complete

without a stop in a "middle of nowhere field" potty stop.

We are now HUGE fans of traveling this route.

Missing the entire I95 corridor :)

And, I got to take pics of my absolute, hands down favorite flower...EVER.

Thanks Emma for your potty breaks :)

So Cool.

So exciting to watch a tree be cut down.

Emma kept saying, "Mom, that so cool. Isn't that so cool?"

Emma's Quilt

So glad that my Emma has a quilt now!

I made Lily one the summer after she turned 1 and making one for Emma has been on my to-do list. So, I was determined to get this done this summer. Only took me two days :)

Since this one is slightly larger than Lily's quilt she has requested a new one.

As I am crossing one thing off, I'm adding another one right to it.