Some Random Stuff

First off....Great news!  Ivy's Fontan (the final heart surgery in the set of three) has been scheduled at last!!!  We are all set for July 11th.  We have mixed feelings about this date (which is ten weeks away).  We are happy to finally have a date so we can plan the rest of our summer, and we are Super Happy that this is her last (hopefully) heart surgery.  It will be so nice to put it behind us.  But we are also nervous for very obvious reasons.  Heart surgery is a big deal.  We were told to plan on a two week hospital stay (could be more, could be less), and have heard its a difficult surgery to recover from (although her chance a of full recovery is around 90%).  She is our princess, and it would be a horrible, horrible thing if anything went wrong.  So we are scared.  Those feelings don't go away.  Anyway, it does feel good to have the date.

In less important, more random news....I've been hard at work these last 2 months making dolls for my mother-in-law, Marde's, preschool class.  I am all set to finish tomorrow and send them off over the weekend so she has them in time for preschool graduation.  I am so excited about the way they all turned out.  Not to boast or anything, but they are adorable!  I do great work! Here is a glimpse into their adorableness!

We have been enjoying the warmer weather (on the days that its actually warmer, some days it resorts back to being cold).  Here is proof at how hard it is to get a picture of all 4 kids looking at the camera and smiling. 2 out of 4 looking at the camera, 1 out of 4 smiling.  Ugh.

 I'm obsessed with the tree in the background.  Its a crab apple tree in our front yard.  I love when it blossoms in those beautiful pink petals.  It lifts my spirits!  It is my favorite tree. We asked Corbin to take a picture of us in front of it.....This is the best one.  The top of Scott's head isn't THAT important!  Maybe next year Corbin will be taller and able to get a better picture.

 We continue to ride bikes, although it gets harder as my belly expands.  The kids LOVE it!

We bought Corbin a new bike at the DI because his old one was teeny!  Now he is too fast and we can't keep up with him.  I'm not exaggerating, its a real challenge!

 Over the weekend Scott was in the backyard setting up our canopy for some shade.  The wasps were out like crazy (because all the trees were blossoming), and one managed to go up his pant leg and sting him...twice.  I didn't think that was possible.  Anyway, he's healing like a champ. Somehow he managed to keep his composure not panic when it happened, because if you remember Corbin has a mortal fear of bees after being swarmed by some a couple of years ago.  He seriously goes inside and LOCKS the door when one comes by...like if he didn't lock it they could open the door and get him...he's crazy!

 Not great pictures, but you get the idea.

Anyway, that's all the random, pointless stuff that I have right now.  Have a pleasant thursday, and here's to hoping we get some good sunshine this weekend!

Its been a rough day..

Ivy is not doing well today.  She barely slept last. She is still VERY uncomfortable and tired, and really, really grumpy (which is understandable). She's spent a lot of the day just lying on the couch and there has been quite a bit of crying, but I think this is all normal.  On the bright side, I was allowed to remove her bandages this morning and all three sites look like they are healing well and she has minimal bruising.  She really is being so tough and brave and my heart just aches for her.  I wish I could take the pain away.

Adding to the roughness of today, I just found out that I have tonsillitis and an ear infection AGAIN!!  I'll spare you pictures this time!  Its gross. I can't believe this is happening again.  I called my ob's office and they wanted to see me immediately, so I went in this afternoon.  They are quite concerned by the size of my tonsils and the frequency of them getting infected so they referred me to an Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist.  I have an appointment on the 18th.  They want to discuss whether its necessary to have a tonsillectomy now, or wait until after I have the baby.... either way, it will happen.  I guess we will just have to wait and see when.  I got a prescription for some antibiotics, so hopefully I can get rid of it before I start going deaf this time, and before I infect anyone else in the family.

Here's to hoping Ivy is feeling better tomorrow.  Crossing my fingers.

She Needs a Pink Star on Her Forehead

So Ivy had her Cath today.  We had to get up at 5:45 am to get to the hospital on time, which is SUPER early for us, but she was such a trooper.  She was very cooperative throughout day, and did great.  They put two catheteters through 2 veins in her groin area, and another one through a vein in her neck.  But she tolerated everything like a champ, and Dr Womack was able to get everything done that he needed to.  It was an awesome day...A LONG DAY...but an awesome day.  I'm so proud of my little superstar.  Here are some pictures from the day.

Playing before Dr. W arrived.

 The cath stuff took about 4 hours..We finally got to see Ivy at about 2 pm.  Believe it or not, this is literally minutes after we walked in the room.  She was sitting up, happy, and wanting to play with the ipad.

 Then she got snuggly with daddy before he had to go pick up our other 3 children.

 Riding in the wagon away from the recovery room to a regular room.

 And the most exciting moment of the day for Ivy...Chicken nuggets...She was STARVING and could not stop talking about those nuggets!

We finally made it home at about 6:30pm.  By then Ivy was quite grumpy and tired and fell asleep within seconds of laying her in bed.  What a sweetheart.  I love this girl!  Thanks to everyone who remembered us in their prayers.  Every prayer counts!

Cath tomorrow morning

My sweet little girl is going to the hospital tomorrow to undergo a heart catheterization.  We are a little nervous, but ready!  She is excited to get to eat jello for breakfast in the morning before heading in!  Anyway, I just wanted to ask everyone to keep her in your prayers tomorrow. Thanks!

Ivy's MRI and Echocardiogram

So our little Ivy is getting ready for Summer surgery by having some post-op procedures.  Today she had a sedated MRI and Echocardiogram to check out her heart in good detail.  It basically took the entire day to get them both done and for her anesthesia to wear off, but everything went super good, and she's already back to her normal, adorable, charming self.  Here are some pictures we took throughout the day.

Matching armbands.  She was very excited about our "bracelets".

 Her new little teddy bear (the hospital always has a blanket or toy to give her). She named her "baby" or "pink"...maybe both.  I don't know.

 Dancing around in the waiting room.

 Playing with daddy

 So pretty in her "dress".

 again...

 Entertaining herself with a zillion stickers.

 Still....it seriously kept her happy for a good half an hour.

 testing out her newly decorated gas mask thingy.

 In recovery several hours later.

 The anesthesia caused a little upset stomach and we dealt with some throwing up, but she quickly recovered and is already doing totally great.   We were hoping she wouldn't have to have a catheterization this time, but unfortunately she does.  That'll happen sometime in April.  Otherwise things are all going according to plan.  Yay!

 Oh yes, and here are Dexter's and Ellie's snowmen (and Ellie).  They had a lot of fun while we were stuck at the hospital all day!  A special thanks to Auntie Collette for babysitting Dex and Echo, and also a thanks to Kammi Nelson in my ward for picking Corbin up from school and watching him for a few hours.  We couldn't have done it without you awesome people!

Ivy has a dream

The other day after Ivy woke up from her nap I asked her if she had had a dream. Here is the resulting story. She is seriously so adorable!

Here is Ivy's dream

Ivy Does Drugs

Ivy went to see her cardiologist and get an echo-cardiogram. She hates getting her echoes and usually cries for the entire thing, so last year we tried giving her drugs (the legal kind of course), and it didn't really work, she still cried the whole time. We decided to try it again this year, so again, they gave her drugs to make her more cooperative. This time was much more successful. Almost immediately she chilled out and relaxed. She even let the doctor pick her up and put her on the table, AND take her shirt off to perform the exam (I was busy holding a baby girl). She didn't even squirm or anything! She just lay still and let him get a great view of her heart. It was awesome. Afterward we headed to Scott's work to pick up the boys who were hanging out there until the echo was done, and she put on a little show for everyone. She was still pretty drugged up and acting silly. She couldn't walk very well because she was so out of it, and seemed drunk. She giggled like crazy and everyone got a big kick out of her silliness. Adorable. Anyway, everything on her echo looked great, and we should be okay to wait until next summer before she needs more surgery. Yay!