We Just Have To Go Outside

Does is seem like all of my recent post involve us going outside?
It does to me but that's probably because looking back many of them do. It has been absolutely beautiful here the last few days
making it near impossible to stay indoors.

Deegan's Surgery

Deegan was born with an ear tag. Basically, he had a small piece of skin and extra piece of cartilage that formed just outside of his ear on his left side. It was a little worrisome at first because it can be a sign of kidney problems (because the ears and kidneys form at the same time in the womb) or hearing difficulties. A quick ultrasound after he was born ruled out kidney issues and he reacts to sounds around him so we're pretty sure his hearing is okay too.

The day after he was born his pediatrician checked him out and mentioned having it removed sometime when he was around four months old. We were referred to an amazing pediatric surgeon and, after visiting with him about our options, we scheduled Deegan for surgery. The entire thing scared me to death even though it was a simple routine surgery that would take 15 minutes to complete. I was more nervous about the anesthesia than the actual procedure.



Wednesday morning we were at the hospital by seven to check in and do all the preoperative necessaries. Deegan was taken back into the O.R. at 9:10 and I was called back to the recovery room before 10:00. The nurses said it took longer for them to give him the anesthesia and clean the area than it did for the actual procedure. He was extremely upset in the recover room but calmed down after I was able to feed and hold him. We were moved back into our room shortly after.



After a short nap he was awake, ready to eat again and all smiles; he has been ever since. We were extremely happy but very surprised that he bounced back so quickly. He has buried stitches covered with glue which will help his incision heal nicely. He has some swelling and bruising around the area that should go down in a few days. We have a follow up appointment in two weeks to check on his progress other wise he's a happy little camper.

Out Like A Light

I don't have a good story to go with this picture other than to say he was completely pooped. I though it was sweet and had to share.

Valentine's Party

Camden's class celebrated Valentine's day by decorating (and eating) heart shaped pancakes with fruit, chocolate chips and whipped cream. After having their yummy and cute treats the kids decorated Valentine's bags and exchanged cards and candy.





All of the kids in Camden's class love Deegan and always want to see him when I drop Camden off in the mornings. Kennedy, especially, always pays him a lot of attention and will frequently remind me that "I don't have a baby brother. I want a baby."
I've talked to her mom...she's not getting one.



After the excitement of exchanging cards and allowing time for the sugary treats to kick in the class headed outside to
run off some of their energy.









Camden couldn't wait to dig into his Valentine's bag. As soon as we got home he plopped himself down on the back patio and began digging thought the bag looking for candy, tearing open cards and decorating himself with stickers.

A Little Play Time

Just a few quick shots of the boys playing.

Little Dinner Helpers

Brian has been working longer hours this past week, and will continue to do so for a while, in an effort to complete the code he's been working on. I can't complain about him working late for a few weeks because he's almost always home by 4:30.



His later hours have cut into my usual dinner prep time so I've had to find a way to keep the boys occupied while cooking. Today they were both little helpers and played nicely while I made dinner. Sometimes keeping themselves occupied for a few minutes makes them the biggest helpers in the kitchen.

Riddle Me This...

How can two little boys make such a big mess so quickly?
The world may never know!





But I can vouch for how much fun they had together. Camden woke up this morning asking when Carson could come back to
our house to play in his room.

Jump Around

Every year our little NASA group has a Super Bowl party. This year we hosted the shindig at our house. Aside from all of the football, snacks, drinks, commercials and great conversation we also had a bouncer. We decided last year that it would be a special treat for the kids to have a fun activity for them and I have to say that they loved it.







The bouncer was dropped off and set up a few hours before the party so we got a little private bounce time before everyone arrived for the party. I'm glad I grabbed my camera to take pictures when I did because once the party got started it didn't cross my mind again until it was dark outside. Hints the reason I only have pictures of my own kiddos but that's usually how it goes.

Toy Time

Deegan is starting to get very interested in his toys. While we were getting breakfast ready this morning I strapped him into his booster seat and put a few of his toys on his tray. He picked them up, chewed on them and spun his noisy little pinwheel around. He was having fun, if you couldn't tell from the smile on his face.

Party Time

We were so excited for Camden's third birthday party since it was going to be the his first real kids party. The two previous years we celebrated with family and close friends; the only kiddos there were usually ones we were related to. This year we invited all of
Camden's little friends.



We booked his party at AcroSports where the kids had a 50 minute tumble class followed by cake, ice cream and presents. The kids had a blast running around, flipping, swinging, jumping. I wish I had better pictures of all the kids playing but they were all moving the entire time so I only managed to get a few pictures that weren't blurry.







Camden requested a tractor cake for his birthday. Tractor to Camden means construction vehicles. I had quite a time finding a tractor cake that met the construction criteria but managed to come across a cute one at Kroger that was actually quite delicious.





Tumbling, cake, ice cream, balloons and friends...we all had a great time celebrating Camden's third birthday!