Recovery

Michael had surgery for his cleft palate last Thursday. He is recovering well. He hated the hospital (who doesn't?) and would not drink for them. We almost had to stay a second night. However, we consulted with the surgeon and all decided that he would probably do better at home. We arrived home on Friday night at 9 p.m. On Saturday, Michael started drinking like he needed to.

The surgeon did tell us a cute story. Michael was given some goofy juice. Then he drove to the operating room in a car that looked like an alligator. After Michael "drove" into the operating room, they were getting him out of the car and he stood up on the seat. While he was standing there, he danced and shook his booty for them. She said it was really funny and that everyone was laughing.

It has been almost a week now and Michael is back to his old self. He is giggling, playing peek-a-boo, kissing, hugging, and dancing.

Here are pictures from before and after the surgery:

Waiting for surgery with Baba
Waiting with Mama
His ride to the operating room
After surgery
Watching cartoons in the wagon Two days post-op
End of day two
Three days post-op

Beach, New Hampshire, and Surgery

After leaving our beach vacation in NH, things have been a little hectic. Last Tuesday, Michael and I flew to NH to visit Gamma and Papa for a few days. We left Baba on his own for the first time since we returned home from China. If anyone was wondering, he did survive without us with a little help from Joe, Joseph, and a few video games.

Michael and I had a great trip to New Hampshire. We did a little site seeing, visited Papa on the job, and did a little shopping. Mama, Gamma, and Papa all got their daily exercise keeping Michael from falling down and up the many stairs in the house that baby gates would not fit in. Michael and I returned home on Saturday.

Today, we went to the pre-op appointment with Michael's surgeon. He will have surgery on Thursday. The surgery is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. We have to be there early for them to get him ready. He will be in the hospital overnight for observation and we will return home on Friday. I will try to update the blog as soon as I can when we get home.

Here are some pictures from the beach and New Hampshire:

I win!

Ferry Ride

All dressed up for a day in town

Riding the horsie

Thanks Uncle Chris and Aunt Brina!

Sitting in Papa's chair

Sitting with Papa

Just hanging out

Chalk! Amazing!

Just another day at the office

Papa and Michael ready for work

Michael and Mama at the beach in NH

Baba, we will be home soon

Headed home to see Baba

Hurricane Hannah

As many of you know, we are vacationing in NC on the Outer Banks. Since Hannah is headed our way, we are cutting our vacation short by one day and heading home tomorrow. We just wanted to let everyone know that we will be safely away from here before Hannah arrives.

Roll Tide!

We also watched the football game last night. Hopefully, Alabama will be a force to be reckoned with this year. They are off to a great start.

Aunt Carrie says that this hat make Michael look like Papaw, so we have dubbed it his Papaw hat.

Here are pictures of our little Tide fan:

Future Star of the Crimson Tide

We are thinking offensive lineman.

Roll Tide Roll!!

First Beach Trip

We left the house yesterday morning bright and early to head to the beach for a week. After a short stop at Bill's uncle Rodger and aunt Hope's house, we were on our way. Michael did very well on the trip. He slept 2 hours and was awake and happy the rest of the time.

We went to the beach this morning and stayed there until Michael's nap time. He did not care for the waves, the water, or the sand. He loved playing in his beach cabana. He also enjoyed playing with his toys in the sand, but would not move anywhere. He stayed in the exact spot we put him down.

Here are some pictures from the past two days:

Here Mama. Have a cookie.

Just kidding. I will eat it for you.

First Time at the Beach





Ready to Ride

A Laid Back Week

We have had a pretty laid back week, so there is not too much to report. Saturday we took Michael and our nephew Joseph to the county fair. It was a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures from the past week.

We are leaving for the beach on Saturday. I am not sure if we will be able to access the internet. If we do, I will try to post while we are there. If not, I will post when we get home.

Enjoy the pictures!

Our Little Reader

Enjoying another good book

Give me a kiss!

Who can resist those lips?

Relaxing in his chair with his froggy blankie

Feeding the baby goats


Feeding the Llama

Getting a good look


Looking at the turtle

Driving the tractor

Faster Joseph! Faster!

Playing in the corn

This fair stuff is tiring!

First taste of lemonade.... need we say more??

We went home after the fair. Michael went into his room and got very quiet. I must have left the laundry basket in his room. We went in there and this is what we found.

For Papaw

You know that you have waited way to long to post pictures or an update to your blog when Papaw says that you need to get on the ball and post more pictures. Other people have also been asking about new pictures. Here is the update with more photos of our little emperor.

We have had a good week. We did not have any appointments with doctors this week. This was very nice for both me and Michael. The surgeon has scheduled Michael's surgery to repair his palate for September 18. They will also put tubes in his ears at that time. He will stay in the hospital overnight and will come home on the 19th.

Michael is trying a few more foods here and there. Most of it ends up on him or on the floor. He has actually eaten (and not spit out) a little apple sauce, a few green peas, a couple of goldfish crackers, a few pieces of cereal, and a little bit of Alfredo sauce. He likes to lick popsicles and thinks it is funny because they are so cold. Sometimes, we take the tactic of smearing something on his lips to get him to taste it, but you have to be very stealthy to do this. A couple of the pictures are of him eating. If you look closely at the one with apple sauce, you can see it above and under his right eye, on top of his head, etc.

The other pictures are from the last week. We bought him a couch of his own with the Backyardigans on it. The pictures do not do justice the look on his face and the happiness that he expressed when he saw it. Also, Gamma and I took him to the park and to one of the malls that has a fountain that the kids can play in. He wasn't quite sure about it at first, but seemed to enjoy it after Gamma got her feet wet with him.