Sophie's Surgery

Sophie in her gown in the pre-op room

I am happy to say that Sophie's surgery for her tube placement and her Laryngoscopy went well.

Sophie started her day very early at 5:15am so that we could be at the surgery center by 6am. Her surgery was scheduled for 7am but the doctor was late because he was treating a patient at the hospital next door. Sophie was a trooper even though she was very tired and hungry. The anesthesiologist took her back at 7:30am. They initially put her to sleep with a mask for the tube portion and then they started an IV to administer more anesthesia while they did the Laryngoscopy. The procedures took about 35 minutes and then doctor came out to talk with us.

Dr. McKenna said he suctioned out a lot of mucus from her ears before he placed the tubes. He explained that because the mucus had been removed she will all of a sudden hear much better which may be alarming to her when she wakes up. Then he showed us the pictures he took from the Laryngoscopy (pretty cool). She has a little redness at the opening of her esophagus which would be expected with reflux and she has had a cold. He actually would have expected to see more irritation than he did. Her vocal cords look great and have no damage to them. Her epiglottis which is what needs to mature more to correct her swallow defect looked good with no abnormalities.  We are so thankful for a good report.

She was still trying to wake up when they brought her to us in the recovery room. She still had her IV in and was hooked up to a monitor. After about a minute or two she became very unhappy. She was a little better once they removed the IV from her foot but was still disoriented and pretty unhappy. After about 25 min in recovery we were able to leave. She stopped crying once we left the building and went to sleep in her car seat almost immediately. She slept almost 3 hours and then was awake this afternoon for a little while - ate well and played. Still a little tired from all the activities of the morning so is back to sleep.

John and I are so grateful for all your prayer and support. We were thankful for good staff and doctors this morning. (The anesthesiologist told Sophie this morning that her doctor (Dr. McKenna) was the doctor for a lot of rock stars.) It is certainly an answer to prayer that she doesn't have any damage or serious irritation to her voice box or esophagus with how severe her reflux is. Praise God!

The Big ONE!

It is hard to believe a year ago I was holding a baby girl that was only a few hours old. We loved her from the time we found out I was pregnant. That love and awe of her has grown over the last year. Her first year has had its challenges, but her laughter and smile are so contagious.

Watching Zoe and Sophie's relationship grow has been so rewarding. Zoe loves her little sister and wants to show her how to do things all the time. This morning she was so excited to play with Sophie she kept asking to get her up from her nap.

We had a great birthday party. I made her a giant cupcake cake and several small cupcakes. Sophie's cupcake was vanilla since we have learned she does not like chocolate, at least not yet. My friend Audrey came over to help make some of the decorations and Sophie's Happy Birthday sign. We had a great turnout of friends and family to celebrate with us. Sophie liked her cupcake. I think she really likes the cream cheese frosting the best. Zoe loved helping Sophie open her presents.


Happy 1st Birthday Sophia!


To view all photos from Sophia's birthday visit our Flickr page.

Queen Creek Olive Mill

John had Monday, July 5th as a holiday since the 4th was on a Sunday this year. We took the day to spend it with the kids and took a trip to the Queen Creek Olive Mill. Sophie and I have been there a couple times with some of my extended family when they were here to visit earlier this year, but John and Zoe hadn't been.

It is a pretty interesting place about 30 minutes from our house in Queen Creek, AZ. They have an olive orchard with some of their youngest trees on-site. The olive oil they sell comes from their much larger orchard that is about a mile away. It is a great place to see how olive oil is made. They have a wide variety of products for purchase including a vanilla bean olive oil, chocolate olive oil, chili olive oil and roasted garlic olive oil. That is just a sample. I bought the garlic olive oil several months ago and loved cooking with it. They also sell olives of course as well as many types of tapenades.

The restaurant on-site sells some really good food. Because it was so warm on Monday we ate inside but in the cooler months it is great to sit outside at a table in the orchard. Zoe eyed the gelato when we first walked in, so it took a little coaxing to get her to finish the PB&J I had brought for her. After lunch and walking around a bit, she asked for ice cream. We took her to the counter and offered her a sample of the strawberry cream gelato. She wouldn't even taste it and pointed at the chocolate and says "that one". Well, what can I say -- she loves chocolate. Thankfully she hasn't learned to ask for it at home, yet. So we decided to let her have her own small cone and not worry about the mess. Good thing -- because she was a mess. It required a trip to the bathroom, removing the clothes, a complete wipe down and a new set of clothes. No big deal, she had a great time and doesn't get treats like this very often.

John even decided to let Sophie have a taste of ours. Unlike her sister at this age she already loves ice cream. Zoe wouldn't eat ice cream until nearly two because she thought it was too cold. She also didn't taste it for the first time until after one.

The olive mill has a small garden in which they grow vegetables that they use in the restaurant. They also have some of the biggest sunflowers I have ever seen.
 

Garden at the Olive Mill

A few of the giant sunflowers on the property

We had a great trip and time with the kids. John and I almost felt like it was a mini-vacation.

4th of July and Family Fun

Sisterly love

We had a great 4th of July holiday. We spent the morning at church and running a few errands with the girls. After naps we headed to my sister-in-laws (Alisha) birthday celebration at her moms house. We had a great time with family and Zoe loved playing hide and seek with all the cousins. Happy Birthday Alisha!

After the party we headed home to put Sophie to bed. We let Zoe stay up to watch fire works for the first time. A church less than 2 miles from the house was having a fireworks show so we  were able to sit in comfort of our own backyard and watch them. They started about 8:30pm and lasted till 9pm. Zoe was really not too sure about them. She was scared of the loud noises so she sat in our laps the entire time but she did enjoy watching them by the end. After they were over it was off to bed for her, about and hour and half later than normal. She did great.

The 4th is also John's dads birthday. We didn't get to celebrate with him since he lives in New Hampshire but John did wish him a happy birthday on the phone. Happy Birthday dad!

It was a great day to reflect on how great our country is and how blessed we are to have our worldly freedoms living in the United States as well as spiritual freedom in Christ. Even with all the political issues in our country we still are very blessed and I am so thankful for that. I thank my dad (Army), Uncle Mike (Marines), grandpa Crowley (Army), and my grandpa Brusch (Navy)  for serving our country. And for all the other men and women who have served and are serving our country we are indebted to you. Thank you!

Happy Birthday to us as a country!

Zoe

Sophia

FRED'S PLAY ROOM

I and probably all my cousins can remember grandpa's (Fred) play room. The play room is located in the basement of my grandparents house and is an amazing model railroad. It features all the houses my grandparents lived in while my mom was growing up, I think 7 in all. They are amazing replicas. It has mountains, tunnels, and even a long bridge.

My grandpa used to run the trains for us when we were kids, and I remember he spent a lot of time in the basement working on the model railroad. Since he passed away nearly 15 years ago, my Uncle Mike has taken it over and has completed more of it. It is a work in progress.

While we were at grandma's house for our weekly visit, Uncle Mike was working on the railroad so we took Zoe downstairs to see it for the first time. She was in love. Uncle Mike even ran the trains for her. It was great to see the smile on her face and ask "Where did it go?" when the train would go into the mountains.

The trains in grandpa's basement continues to bring joy and amazement not only to Zoe but also to me.

No longer my baby

Zoe started sleeping in her toddler bed this weekend. We assembled her toddler bed, which we have had for months. I bought it on Craigslist long before Sophie was born thinking we would move her out of the crib before Sophie was born. We realized a couple of months before my due date she was just not ready to move out of her crib. She LOVES her crib and sleeps so well in it.

On a whim John and I decided to put the bed together and she how she would do on Saturday for a nap. She did pretty well going to sleep in it, although we didn't think about the fact the bed is under two windows so she spent some of her time in bed opening and closing the shutters. I had to go up after about 10 minutes and remind her it was bedtime and not to get out of the bed. She wasn't getting out of bed to play with her toys -- oh no -- she wanted to get out on the side and climb in over the foot board, my little climber. She slept really well until she fell out. John and I were concerned about that because she moves so much when she sleeps still. She still does laps around her crib at night. So she got scared when she fell out and that was the end of her nap -- still about an hour, not bad for the first time. We ended up putting up a guard rail that is meant for a twin bed that we got from Jeanetta. It actually fits perfectly the entire length of the bed so she can't fall out. This also makes it feel a little more enclosed for her which I think is what she loved about her crib. In time, we will try to remove the guard rail in hopes she learns to not move as much when she sleeps.

Last night John and I were out and my dad put her to bed in her new bed and she went to sleep without a problem. Slept all night and woke up a little early this morning and again played with the shutters. My hope is the novelty will wear off after a while.

Again today she napped and is sleeping in her bed tonight. This afternoon I had to go in a remind her again it is nap time, not play time. But after that she settled down and went to sleep for her normal two hour nap.

This started because when Zoe was at Veronica's, her babysitter, on Friday she slept in a toddler bed rather than the normal pack-n-play. Veronica said she did great, so John and I figured maybe she is ready. John thought maybe now would be a good time to try it since she does nap and go to bed without any problems. She actually asks to go to bed occasionally.

I had a hard time with her sleeping in the "big girl" bed last night for two reasons. It made me realize she is growing up and no longer my baby. It was also uncomfortable know she can get out of bed and roam around her room and the house. Until we can gate her room we decided to lock her door tonight. I am sure in time I will get more comfortable with the idea she is up and possibly play in her room while I am sleeping.

Peach picking

Yesterday the kids and I along with Trenton, Kristen and Alexa, loaded up in the car for a trip to Schnepf Farms to pick peaches and apricots. We managed to fit three car seats across the back seat for the three girls and then Trenton climbed in through the back of the car to get in the seat in the 3rd row. We still even had room for the peaches and groceries on the way home. I am amazed how much fits in the car sometimes.

We had a great time. We went about 9am so that it wouldn't be too hot - it was about 90F. The mosquitoes were much worse than the heat. I think Zoe, Trenton and I walked away with who knows how many bites - we have red bumps all over our legs and arms.

Sophie wasn't too enthused about picking peaches since it was her nap time but she was a trooper and let us have fun picking the peaches. Zoe needed some direction to pick the ones on the tree, most of which weren't low enough for her, rather than picking them up off the ground. I think she had a pretty good time. Zoe has enjoyed helping me make things with the peaches. I am trying to figure out how I am going to use all of them. So far I have made peach puree (aka baby food) for Sophie and peach tarts tonight for dessert. We have also eaten several of them because they are so juicy and flavorful - way better than any peaches I have bought in the grocery store. I still need to come up with another idea to use the rest of them.


All in all, I deem peach picking as a successful adventure with the girls (and Trenton). I think both girls will enjoy it even more next year. We may even pick some apples and plums later this month although it may just be too hot by then.

To view all the peach picking photos visit our Flickr website. 

If you are interested in picking your own peaches, apples, plums, etc you can visit the website for Schnepf Farms.