Tumultuous Tuesday
I tried to search for a word that would cover everything that happened yesterday (and one that would work with my alliteration theme). I batted around terrific, since part of the day was that and terrible, since part of the day was that, and even considered tongue-biting, tail-chasing, tear-jerking, and terrifying. I finally decided it was a day of incredible highs and lows, so tumultuous seems to fit....
First of all, Ruby started kindergarten yesterday. She danced off to her class, dressed in her adorable uniform, perfect Shirley Temple curls bouncing. I only wish that I could have been there to see her and to hold Sister's hand and cry with her after she left her in her classroom. It's somehow unimaginable to me that that little baby that I put in a gift bag and took pictures of when she was a month old is now old enough to actually go to "big kid school". Here she is - as darling as ever!
And of course, if Ruby's in kindergarten, that must mean that Emmie started 4K. This seems even more impossible to me. For some reason, since the moment she was born, Emmie has seemed incredibly little and tiny and perfect to me. Yes, I know she was the largest of all the girls when she was born, but in my heart, she will always be younger than she is. Maybe it's the fact that she is so snuggly - even when all the other girls are off doing their own thing, she is content to sit in my lap and giggle. How could you not love a kid like that?
(If you want to see more pictures of Ruby's first day, leave me a comment and I'll email you the link)
First of all, Ruby started kindergarten yesterday. She danced off to her class, dressed in her adorable uniform, perfect Shirley Temple curls bouncing. I only wish that I could have been there to see her and to hold Sister's hand and cry with her after she left her in her classroom. It's somehow unimaginable to me that that little baby that I put in a gift bag and took pictures of when she was a month old is now old enough to actually go to "big kid school". Here she is - as darling as ever!
And of course, if Ruby's in kindergarten, that must mean that Emmie started 4K. This seems even more impossible to me. For some reason, since the moment she was born, Emmie has seemed incredibly little and tiny and perfect to me. Yes, I know she was the largest of all the girls when she was born, but in my heart, she will always be younger than she is. Maybe it's the fact that she is so snuggly - even when all the other girls are off doing their own thing, she is content to sit in my lap and giggle. How could you not love a kid like that?
(If you want to see more pictures of Ruby's first day, leave me a comment and I'll email you the link)
And if that wasn't enough anticipation for one family for one day, we're still waiting to hear about the decision in Blakelyn's custody case. I know Mike and Haley spent a good deal of yesterday nervously waiting for the phone to ring (and still are, since they still haven't heard from the judge). Here's a Blakie layout to make you smile (click here for full credits)!
Of course, I couldn't leave my brother and sister as the only ones with big deals going on in their lives yesterday - so I went ahead and scheduled Gracie's ear tube removal for Tuesday. She's had her tubes in for a little over two years. One of them fell out on its own and the eardrum healed nicely. The left one, though, has become intertwined with a bunch of scar tissue and the ENT felt the best bet would be to go ahead and remove it and patch the whole in her eardrum. So, yesterday morning at 7:30 we arrived at the hospital and checked into the same waiting room that we did almost exactly two years ago to have her tubes inserted. In some ways this time was easier because we knew what to expect. In some ways it was harder, because Gracie is old enough now to understand at least a little bit of what is going on. I showed her the pictures I took from her last surgery and I think that helped her a bit, although she did say, "Well, I BETTER get to ride in a wagon again this time!". She noticed that in the pictures from two years ago, she was holding her stuffed Roo. She had just discovered the Heffalump movies in the summer of 2005 and Bronwyn, Craig and the girls sent her a stuffed Lumpy and Roo before her surgery. She asked to take them again this time and said that she would take Lumpy with her and leave Roo with me. Lately we've been acting out a scene in one of the movies where they say, "Friends Forever! Brave Together!" and we've taken to saying that to each other whenever she has to do something that she's a bit scared of. (Thank you Sister, for sending those two years ago - who knew they'd be so perfect for another surgery all this time later!)
After we checked her in, they put her in little hospital gown and took her vitals. They gave her some Versed about 20 minutes before they took her back to surgery. Last time, it made her very relaxed - she was just about jelly by the time they wheeled her away from us. This time, it made her hyper! I haven't heard Steve laugh that much in a long time. And she was funny - here she is sitting in the recliner, "taking notes" about her surgery. When I asked her what she was doing, she said, "Just sitting here, writing some notes with Lumpy." And while she didn't exactly slur her words, her enunciation was off just enough to be funny.!
Well, I really can't talk about five of the grandchildren on my side of the family without mentioning the sixth - what kind of an aunt would I be? It seems as though Miley was the only one of the six who didn't have anything out of the ordinary going on yesterday - well, except for being absolutely adorable, but that's an every day occurrence!
All right, I think I've written enough for one day! Have a great one and I'll be back soon!
Of course, I couldn't leave my brother and sister as the only ones with big deals going on in their lives yesterday - so I went ahead and scheduled Gracie's ear tube removal for Tuesday. She's had her tubes in for a little over two years. One of them fell out on its own and the eardrum healed nicely. The left one, though, has become intertwined with a bunch of scar tissue and the ENT felt the best bet would be to go ahead and remove it and patch the whole in her eardrum. So, yesterday morning at 7:30 we arrived at the hospital and checked into the same waiting room that we did almost exactly two years ago to have her tubes inserted. In some ways this time was easier because we knew what to expect. In some ways it was harder, because Gracie is old enough now to understand at least a little bit of what is going on. I showed her the pictures I took from her last surgery and I think that helped her a bit, although she did say, "Well, I BETTER get to ride in a wagon again this time!". She noticed that in the pictures from two years ago, she was holding her stuffed Roo. She had just discovered the Heffalump movies in the summer of 2005 and Bronwyn, Craig and the girls sent her a stuffed Lumpy and Roo before her surgery. She asked to take them again this time and said that she would take Lumpy with her and leave Roo with me. Lately we've been acting out a scene in one of the movies where they say, "Friends Forever! Brave Together!" and we've taken to saying that to each other whenever she has to do something that she's a bit scared of. (Thank you Sister, for sending those two years ago - who knew they'd be so perfect for another surgery all this time later!)
After we checked her in, they put her in little hospital gown and took her vitals. They gave her some Versed about 20 minutes before they took her back to surgery. Last time, it made her very relaxed - she was just about jelly by the time they wheeled her away from us. This time, it made her hyper! I haven't heard Steve laugh that much in a long time. And she was funny - here she is sitting in the recliner, "taking notes" about her surgery. When I asked her what she was doing, she said, "Just sitting here, writing some notes with Lumpy." And while she didn't exactly slur her words, her enunciation was off just enough to be funny.!
Then, she kept asking, "Is it cold in here?" and reaching her hand up to touch the air to feel it. That's when Steve said, "This is great - you get to see your 3-year-old drunk and it's perfectly legal." I just rolled my eyes at him. She was a hoot, though! Here she is trying to check the temperature of the air:
Then, it was time to take her back to surgery. Luckily, they arrived with a wagon. I'd have been in big trouble if they'd come for her without that wagon!
And then they wheeled her away, back behind the doors that said "Authorized Personnel Only Beyond This Point". Apparently, mommies don't count as authorized personnel. The hardest part of the whole day was the look in her eyes just seconds after I snapped this picture, when she realized, through her drunken haze, that mommy and daddy weren't going any farther with her.
!
Then the waiting began....it took longer this time, partially because they had to do the 2-step procedure (removing the tube and repairing the drum) and partially because the doctor had a medical student with him and I'm sure he was taking his time explaining his actions to her. Finally, the doctor came back and said everything was fine and a few minutes later we got to wake her up in recovery. She was much calmer this time. She whimpered a bit and complained of her ear hurting (which the doctor warned us about - evidently tube removal is a good bit more painful than tube insertion) and kept asking to get dressed and go home, but she was nowhere near as distraught as she was last time. They let us go pretty quickly and soon enough we were back at the house, where I assumed that she would pass out and sleep, at least for a few hours. Evidently, I underestimated exactly how much preschoolers like feeling drunk. She thought it was the funniest thing ever that she couldn't walk straight, so she was persistent in getting up and stumbling around, laughing at herself the whole time. Within an hour of being home, it was like she had had a direct infusion of a sugar/caffeine mixture. She was a whirlwind and kept that up until bedtime! Aside from being exhausted from trying to keep up with her, I was just relieved that she was all right and didn't seem to be in any continuing pain.
Now, on any other day, this paragraph would probably be the headliner, but in this entry, it's coming near the end. I guess that's what happens when you're the baby of the family. But, as of yesterday, my sweet baby Abigail is a walker. She took something that looked like a step on Monday, but I wasn't really convinced - it looked more like falling to me. But yesterday, there was no denying that she was putting one foot in front of the other....and soon she'll be walking 'cross the floooooooor (remember that song from Santa Claus is coming to town) I don't have a picture yet of her walking (I was too busy trying to catch her), but here's one of the girls together that I just love
Then, it was time to take her back to surgery. Luckily, they arrived with a wagon. I'd have been in big trouble if they'd come for her without that wagon!
And then they wheeled her away, back behind the doors that said "Authorized Personnel Only Beyond This Point". Apparently, mommies don't count as authorized personnel. The hardest part of the whole day was the look in her eyes just seconds after I snapped this picture, when she realized, through her drunken haze, that mommy and daddy weren't going any farther with her.
!
Then the waiting began....it took longer this time, partially because they had to do the 2-step procedure (removing the tube and repairing the drum) and partially because the doctor had a medical student with him and I'm sure he was taking his time explaining his actions to her. Finally, the doctor came back and said everything was fine and a few minutes later we got to wake her up in recovery. She was much calmer this time. She whimpered a bit and complained of her ear hurting (which the doctor warned us about - evidently tube removal is a good bit more painful than tube insertion) and kept asking to get dressed and go home, but she was nowhere near as distraught as she was last time. They let us go pretty quickly and soon enough we were back at the house, where I assumed that she would pass out and sleep, at least for a few hours. Evidently, I underestimated exactly how much preschoolers like feeling drunk. She thought it was the funniest thing ever that she couldn't walk straight, so she was persistent in getting up and stumbling around, laughing at herself the whole time. Within an hour of being home, it was like she had had a direct infusion of a sugar/caffeine mixture. She was a whirlwind and kept that up until bedtime! Aside from being exhausted from trying to keep up with her, I was just relieved that she was all right and didn't seem to be in any continuing pain.
Now, on any other day, this paragraph would probably be the headliner, but in this entry, it's coming near the end. I guess that's what happens when you're the baby of the family. But, as of yesterday, my sweet baby Abigail is a walker. She took something that looked like a step on Monday, but I wasn't really convinced - it looked more like falling to me. But yesterday, there was no denying that she was putting one foot in front of the other....and soon she'll be walking 'cross the floooooooor (remember that song from Santa Claus is coming to town) I don't have a picture yet of her walking (I was too busy trying to catch her), but here's one of the girls together that I just love
Well, I really can't talk about five of the grandchildren on my side of the family without mentioning the sixth - what kind of an aunt would I be? It seems as though Miley was the only one of the six who didn't have anything out of the ordinary going on yesterday - well, except for being absolutely adorable, but that's an every day occurrence!
All right, I think I've written enough for one day! Have a great one and I'll be back soon!
Okay, I thought I was through crying, but apparently I am not. Can we just get all six of them in a room and not let them out, not let anything bad in, and not let them change? ILYLALALALAL!
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God blessed you with cute grandkids:
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