Life Lately- Spring Edition

Life this Spring has been pretty busy. But isn't it always? 

We've all had countless colds (thanks Kindergarten germs!) 

plenty of sleepless nights (thanks teething!) 

hours of yardwork to tackle

and lots of trips to the park when the wind isn't trying to blow everything away.

Here's a peek at the hightlights 

(I'll spare you all the details of the 2 costco sized

 kleenex packs we've gone through in the last month!)

Savannah's first taste of Krispy Kreme on a Sunday Morning in our jammies-

 she loved the little bit of blueberry cake doughnut she go to try!

After doughnut snuggles- these sweet sisterly moments are the best! 

Baby doesn't want to take her nap....then lets take some selfies! #whynot #shessovain

Someone has been SUPER helpful with chores lately.

(Note: I was loading the wet clothes IN the dryer at the time)

We celebrated the awesome guys big 3-5!

 It seems like yesterday I was just throwing his 30th birthday bash....

I sure am grateful for this man!

I attempted making classic tiramisu for the first time (his favorite), and it was delicious!

Tiramisu on a paper plate #classy

Recipe can be found here 

We had some warm weekend mornings before the wind and thunderstorms rolled in, so we broke out the water table and sprinkler while the girls cousins were visiting.

Savannah LOVED her first water table playtime, 

but that's no surprise since she loves all things with water!

 The kids begged for otter pops, so....another first for Miss Vanni- 

don't worry, she only got a few sips, then mommy took the rest 'away' ;o)

Kinsey had her Kindergarten Musical- it was an Under the Sea theme

(she's in the back row)

Her class was the Jellyfish, and they did a cute little song and dance to the "Jellyfish Jump", and Kinsey even got to say a fact about Jellyfish!

I cannot believe that she will be done with Kindergarten in less than 2 weeks! 

Makayla had her two week Post-Op following her Strabismus Surgery

Her vision is still 20/20, but her Dr recommended she continue to wear her glasses to hopefully correct the last little bit of crossing we are still seeing. 

He's hopeful that in 3-5 years she will outgrow the need for glasses to correct the lingering crossing. Since the RX she wears is very weak there's no real concern for her becoming dependent on the glasses either.

She got to pick some new frames since her last ones were broken and no longer available. She picked these all on her own- so adorable!

We celebrated Mother's Day with a quiet day at home,

 a BBQ lunch and mommy having a cold (boo!)

 But at least I got some pictures with these three beauties that call me mommy. 

I'm forever grateful for the blessings that I have received in these three girls.

 Motherhood is something sorta crazy, but also really beautiful.

On a final, and somber, note.

 My childhood pet, whom I adopted as a kitten in 1995, 

passed away this weekend at my parents home. 

He was just shy of 20!

Cinnamon was a wonderful cat, my first 'baby', and I will forever cherish the memory of him.

 He was so smart, I taught him as a kitten how to open the treat container with his claw

 and get one at a time out.....to his last days he loved his treats!

 Hopefully there's plenty of them to go around in Heaven,

 along with bunnies, birds and lizards to chase all day. 

Top- 1996, bottom L- 2000's, bottom R- 2013

Makayla the Brave

Yesterday was surgery #2 for Makayla. A Lateral Rectus Resection was preformed on both of her eyes just over 24 hours ago, so here's a little recap of our day yesterday and recovery so far. 

We left about 5:40am, with Makayla and Savannah in tow. Kinsey stayed sleeping in her bed and luckily my parents were in town (for their own appointment) and able to get her ready and to school for us. 

Check in at 6:15, up to the 9th floor by 6:45, they called her back around 6:55. She wanted Roy to take her back, sweet little daddy's girl that she is. I gave a quick hug and kiss and tried not to get to emotional in front of her. She knew she was going to drink some medicine, take a nap and wake up- but what does that really mean to a 3 year old? Surgery is really just another random word for something a Dr does at a hospital at this age. 

I was left with Savannah, tearing up in a waiting room watching the sun rise over the city. I knew she was in good hands, but it nearly killed me to not be by her side. 

Back with Roy they talked to the Anesthesiologist, she drank her sedative, and they were told it would be about 10-15 minutes to start to see the effects, with a full 30 minutes until she was really sedated and ready to be brought back to the operating room. Roy was a great companion, taking a million 'selfies' from every angle of her and her favorite stuffies, tigger and sock monkey, that she had brought for comfort. 

Selfies while they waited on the sedatives

The time came for Roy to leave her side, and while she was pretty sleepy at that point he said it was just awful saying goodbye and seeing the fear in her eyes. Talk about having your heart ripped out of your chest. 

Surgery started about 7:35am, and her Dr came to let us know everything was over around 8:38am. He said she did well, but obviously only time would show us the results of the surgery as her eyes heal. 

10 minutes later they brought be back to the recovery room to a sleepy, loopy, trashing and yelling little girl. It was a rough 20 minutes or so while the worst of the anesthesia wore off, and then she became more coherent and peaceful, with periods of sleeping on my chest mixed with wakeful grumpiness. 

Some of her most repeated phrases:

"I only want mommy's water from home"

"my sister....I want my sister"

"my eyes hurt"

"what's on my face" (nothing was at that point)

A peaceful moment in the recovery room

Finally she drank a few sips of the hospitals water after I convinced her is was mine. At 9:40 they said we could go and took out her IVs and Pulse Ox monitor. They wheeled us out to the car, where Roy and a crying/hungry/tired Savannah were waiting. We drove over to a nearby parking lot so I could feed the baby and as soon as I got her out Makayla started vomiting. It was chaotic moment, but soon we were back on the road for the trip home. Makayla slept the whole ride. 

Back at home she crashed on the sofa for the next 3 hours, with periods of waking, drinking water, vomiting, and then more sleeping. She said the cool rag across her eyes really felt good, so it stayed on her face for most of those 3 hours. Around 2 she began to be more wakeful, sat up to eat some crackers and drink water (kept it all down!) and took some ibuprofen. She was laughing and told us that "there's two daddy's!" At which point we figured she was definitely experiencing some double vision, which we had been warned was a possible temporary side effect. 

Sleeping it off at home

At 3 we loaded up to get Kinsey from school and drive back downtown for a post-surgical checkup with her Dr. At this point Makayla was fully awake and in good spirits. She didn't complain about pain or mention being tired at all. 

On our way for Post-Op Checkup

The Ophthalmologist seemed pleased with the results already! YAY!!!! He said her eyes already appear to be pretty straight, which is great news to us! He gave her great praise from his staff on how well she did during prep and recovery- they were all amazed at her bravery, calmness and maturity at only 3 years old.

We go back in two weeks for more testing, and in the meantime her double vision should fully subside (it already is much, much better) She already looks different to me- whether it is just the swelling and redness, the dilation of her pupils, or the fact that her eyes are more centered and straight is just too hard to tell right now. I don't remember her looking so different after the first surgery, so I'm hoping this is a good sign.

She slept all night and woke up only complaining a small amount about her eyes hurting. After meds and the cool rag she is now back to her normal, happy and carefree self. We basically have to keep reminding her to be calm and play quietly! Her eyes will be swollen and red for several days, with prolonged redness for up to a month. She's pretty good about wearing her princess sunglasses when we go outside, so hopefully she will be healed up quickly in time for a fun summer in the pool!

This morning- eyes closed they look nearly normal

This morning- she wasn't being very cooperative for a photo

She wanted me to take a picture of her new paw patrol toy not her eyes

Praying that this is the last of her eye surgeries and we are over the worst of the recovery process! Thanks to all our family and friends for their continued prayers and positive thoughts during this process.

A Big Day For A Little Girl, Round 2

Our sweet little three year old, Makayla, has a very big day in her near future. She wishes it was her first day of preschool, but she'll have a few more months before that day arrives this fall. Instead, we are all a little anxious about another round of eye surgery on Monday to hopefully further correct her strabismus.

In this post I discussed her first procedure, where the interior muscles (those along the inside corners of the eye) were moved inward to 'loosen' the eyes into a more straightforward appearance. That surgery took place in July 2012, just before Makayla's first birthday.

It was successful in the aspect of her recovering well, and we felt as though the strabismus was improved somewhat, but it was obvious to us that it was still present. We knew going in that the rate of 100% success was not great, and that 10-20% of children require a second surgery. We just hoped that the odds were in her favor and we could be in the 'one and done' group.

Well here we are almost 3 years later facing round 2. We've tried multiple rounds of glasses, and while she looks so adorable in them, they don't seem to improve her strabismus at all. Her vision is excellent, so the purpose of the glasses was to hopefully strengthen her eye muscles if they were weak and therefore relaxing into a crossed or wandering motion due to the weakness. They may still be useful after surgery number 2 in further correcting any lingering strabismus. Only time will tell.

This time the focus of the surgery will be to 'tighten' the muscles on the outside of the eyes, to further stabilize her pupils in the center of her eyes. The younger that these procedures are done, the better the odds that the eyes will start to work together and things like depth perception will be improved. As far as we can tell she can't see things in 3-D, because her eyes work independently, one dominating over the other, alternating at any given time.

Our reasons for doing the second surgery are clear. There's been no change/improvement in her strabismus since the first surgery. Everything, including her eyesight, is stable. Waiting another year is only going to be just that. Waiting. So we are choosing to proceed with another corrective surgery so that hopefully she can start her school 'career' with the least noticeable strabismus possible. From the very beginning of this journey my deepest concern has always been how other children would treat her as she grew up. No parent wants their child to be the victim of teasing, and while I cannot protect her from all of life's dark sides, I want to do everything in my power to help reduce the struggles she will have to face.

As of now, she's a bright, caring, energetic 3 year old who only knows that she has very special and beautiful eyes. Roy and myself have been the ones to take on the burden of others unkind words during the last few years, and my hope for her is to never know how rude people can be.

She knows that Monday is a big day, and that she has a surgery on her eyes at the hospital. We've talked about being brave, and the Dr reassured her that she won't be getting any shots, just a special drink. It's so different this time around, knowing that she is aware of everything around her and will be asking questions and feeling afraid. The entire surgery is on the surface of the eyes, and we are told that the recovery is not very painful, mostly just a bit uncomfortable and achey. This girl has a high pain tolerance so I have no doubt she will be feeling like her normal self before too long.

Of course, all Prayers are appreciated. We will keep you updated.

2014?!?

Some resolutions are better made in late February than Jan 1st, right?

 Please tell me they are more likely to stick ;) 

I'm not a resolution person anyway.

But- I do want to blog more often in the coming months, if nothing else but a way to remember my crazy life, share it with family and friends, and maybe inspire and relate to someone out there whom I have never met. 

I'm also HORRIBLE at scrapbooking, which I have mentioned before, and this blog needs to serve as a written and pictoral memory of raising my family. Because my memory is atrocious, ask my husband. Whatever his name is. 

So, to dive in.....again.

A recap of the past 6 moths or so.

Sept-Moved to a new house and town, same general area of New Mexico.

Oct-Celebrated Kinsey's 5th birthday 2 weeks after moving into said new home.

lalaloopsy themed cake for her 5th birthday party

I celebrated the big 3-0!

                  Kinsey started 4 day a week morning preschool with speech therapy.

One month to the date of moving in, discovered this little surprise.

Nov- Sold our old home 2 weeks later. Whew!

Dec- Cut 14" off Kinsey's hair- her first real haircut!

Bought a new car just before Christmas.

Jan- Told our extended family and friends about our growing brood.

Started a trial of glasses to hopefully further correct Makayla's strabismus, In hope that another surgery won't be necessary over the summer.

Feb- On Valentine's Day, learned we were adding another girl to the group!

So that's it for now...Hopefully I'll be back before the next 6 months are over!

A big day for a little girl

Our little Makayla had a very big day yesterday, not her birthday (that's still a few weeks away), but a very big day medically speaking. She had a bilateral medial rectus recession surgery. Huh? Okay, in common terms, she had surgery on both of her eyes to correct her strabismus (aka crossed eyes).

Sunday at lunch, hopefully
 one of he last strabismus pictures!

We started noticing her right eye turning in when she was about 3 months old. More than just the normal 'crazy newborn eyes' where they are still gaining control over those muscles. Then we started noticing the left eye doing the same. There were times when she looked normal, and then others where you couldn't tell which eye she was looking at you with it was so bad. 

At 6 months we talked to her Pediatrician about it. He referred us to a Pediatric Opthamologist, and if you have ever had a specialty referral you know how that can go. L-O-N-G wait time for an appointment. There are only two pediatric opthamologists in Albuquerque, so there was a 2 month wait to see either one. Eventually, at 8 months of age, we finally got in to the Dr. He dilated and checked her vision as best you can on a baby, said that the crossed eyes didn't appear to be based solely on being farsighted, and said it was most likely stabismus, a condition where the eye muscles are weak and the eyes either drift inward or outward. We began daily patch therapy to strengthen her eyes and see if that would resolve the problem. At her 6 week recheck we saw no improvement and surgery was suggested as the next option. We could choose to wait and see if the problem resolved, but at the risk of one of her eyes becoming dominant and the other becoming very weak. Based on the fact that her condition had only worsened in the last few months, we decided to move forward with surgery as soon as we were able. 

Ready for surgery in her little gown

So yesterday, July 16, we arrived at the hospital at 5:30 am, hungry baby in hand, ready for a emotionally exhausting morning. Check-in, wait, pre-op, wait, talk to Dr, wait, talk to Anesthesiologist, take baby to OR, wait, wait, wait. Talk to Dr after surgery, wait to see baby (this was actually the hardest wait for me).  The whole process was really as smooth as we could have asked for- Makayla fell asleep in my arms while waiting for the surgery to begin, so we were able to carry her to the operating room entrance and transfer her into her nurses arms, kiss her goodbye and see her go without her waking up or being upset. The Dr said she  stayed asleep until the got the mask on her and she was under the first level of anesthesia, so she never even knew she left my arms. That made my heart so happy. 

My little 'kitten' after surgery

The surgery was about an hour long, and then we waited another 20 minutes before we were able to go see our baby girl. She was this sleepy little cuddlebug, with occasionally crying and opening of her very swollen goop covered eyes. She almost reminded me of a newborn kitten. She didn't really want to eat or drink, or even wake up for more than 30 seconds- but they still cleared her to go home, took out her IV's and monitors and sent us home after an hour. She slept the whole ride home, even through an pharmacy stop to fill her medications. When we got home she wanted to nurse a bit, woke up and crawled around her sister's room after the cat, and then threw up all over me and fell back asleep. I didn't mind. She slept on my chest/arms for several hours before she really woke up and became more of her normal and alert self. After a light lunch she started becoming more playful, took another nap and ate a nice full dinner. 

Playing in the afternoon

Close up of her post surgery eyes

Today we have a recheck on her eyes with the Dr. Hopefully he thinks everything looks good and still believes the surgery was 100% successful, although I doubt we will know that for a few days/weeks still. Roy feels like her eyes are more controlled already, but I am having trouble seeing anything clearly because of her swollen and red eyes. Right now we are just happy to have successful completed one of the most stressful days our family has experienced and looking forward to putting the eye problems behind us (hopefully).

For anyone who wants to see what the surgery looks like/what is done, here is a link to the a strabismus surgery via youtube. Just be careful not to watch if you are squeamish!