Watermelon Diorama

Julius adds a mountain backdrop to the horse forming more edible art!

Watermelon Horse

Tonight the family had watermelon for a snack. I carved a watermelon rocking horse for Julius.

Pretty Relaxed

Tristan has a chair that collapses if you relax in it. Here he is just prior to falling over backwards. Every morning he watches his Signing Time videos while I shower. I wish they made a "Potty Trained Time" so we'd be done with all these diapers by now! Or maybe a "Your Room is All Clean Now Time" for Julius!

Growing Sunflowers

Julius planted bird seed by our front steps and they are growing into very pretty sunflowers!

Waiting for Muffins

The boys are staring into the oven watching the muffins arrive. Today I pretend to be Betty Crocker instead of the usual Mommy Dearest. ;)

If Only...

"If only my face were smaller..."

Spaghetti is Good

Tristan loves his skettis!

Tadpole Hunter

Julius tries to catch tadpoles in the creek. A little girl came over and loaned him her net for a while. He's a chick magnet... Both those brothers are!

Post Cave Bliss

On the bus driving back to the visitor's center.

The Ship

Formation looks like a battleship.

Into the Cave

We are in the cave. Can't believe my phone can actually take pictures in this light!

Julius Waits

Julius stands in front of a cave picture. We are waiting for our tour guide.

Off to a Bad Start

We start the journey to the caves in a very grouchy mood. And when I say "we" I really mean Julius.

The Go Home Nurse

Julius gets his tubes and monitors off so we can go home.

Can't Go On

While Julius snores like a drunken sailor Mimi takes a catnap nearby. I'm not doing it because I know it will just make me feel worse.

Monkey Nurse

Nurse Seneca listens to Julius breathe through her monkey stethoscope. Julius had a bunch of pretty nurses today. Not all of them were documented. When I pointed out that he was getting a high number of pretty nurses today he got embarrassed. It's so good to torment your kids. Muahaha!

Not Happy

Julius does not think Mimi's prank is one bit funny.

Dirty Trick

Mimi plays a trick on Julius by putting the mask on his ear.

In 2nd Recovery Area

The second room is where we stay for another couple of hours. They wait to see if he throws up what he ate and to see if he can stay more alert and awake. Right now he is snoozing quite soundly.

Feeding Time

Mimi feeds Julius his traditional post-op pudding. This is in the recovery room. He stays here until he is awake enough to be semi-coherent. He stayed here for about an hour.

Into Surgery

Into surgery around 7:30AM. We do PPI (Parent-Present Induction) in which I am able to go into the surgery room to be with Julius during the first phase of aenesthesia. In the past we've had tough times with his panic and hysteria and screaming but this time it went PERFECTLY thanks to Dr. Voller's exceptional orchestration. Waiting for them to tell me he is done.

Konked Out

Pre-med has kicked in and he's dozed off. Shouldn't be long now.

Aenesthesia

Dr. Vollers gives Julius a huge gigantic transformer toy. This is the one he has been wanting since before Christmas. The stores were all out over the holiday and we couldn't get it for him. We always request Dr. Vollers because she's the one who finally figured out the right meds. He had a lot of problems in the past. We love her.

Medicine

Nurse Amanda explains swallowing a pill. This is the first time he has had non-liquid meds. A milestone!

Taking the Vitals

Julius gets his vital signs measured.

The Weigh-In

Julius gets height and weight recorded.

Checking Out the Fish

We've arrived at the hospital. I was so sleepy on the drive up and had to do all kinds of tricks to keep myself awake. Mimi is also here. Dad had to stay home with the baby. Mimi and Julius check out the fish tank. I'm waiting to check in.

On the Road

Surgery #14

Julius is having surgery #14 tomorrow for his respiratory condition. No picture posted because I'm making a note here so you'll know to watch tomorrow for updates. We're leaving the house at 4:00 AM to be at the hospital. Surgery is around 7:30AM (central time). I'll try to post while we're there as the schedule allows. We never know how it will go. Sometimes we wait and wait. Sometimes we're in and out with no time to even take a potty break!

Julius is a trooper and getting braver with this all the time. He's braver than I would be, probably, so that is something to admire. How lucky I am to have such a fine boy.