Sunday, August 31, 2008

First Big Girl Hike


When we were getting ready to bring Elizabeth home, all our friends with kids said "Do all the things you love to do now because your time to do those things will be very limited." Aside from eating out, seeing lots of movies, plays and music, there wasn't much Nancy and I stopped doing without getting a sitter or just bringing along EXS.

Except long hikes.

Gone are the days of waking up, getting the 10 essentials, putting on the sneakers and REI-End-of-Summer-Sale bargain clothes and driving out to the mountains for a nice day hike then collapsing at 8PM. EXS is now strong enough (2 years, almost 4 months, 37 inches, 40 pds) to walk a mile and a half without the stroller.

It was just a flat loop with a lunch inbetween but what a great family outing. Below are some pictures and a video near the end of the hike. What a big girl.





Bonus Feature: EXS showing what a bird does
1/2 way through the video.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Walking the Dog

As we've mentioned, Elizabeth LOVES George the dog. She has taken to walking him around the house on his leash. To wit:


In other news:
  • My Dad is at home (with one ugly looking scar apparently) after a one-day detour at an inappropriate rehab facility. I think everyone is relieved to see him return. Keep your fingers crossed that he continues to improve.
  • I am without cell phone. Why? I dropped it in my coffee this morning. We're heading out to the ATT store for a replacement. 3rd new phone in 1 year.
  • Andy spent last night at the Grand Ole Opry during his Tessitura conference in Nashville. If he returns home with a spangly guitar we've got a tough conversation in front of us.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Still In, But Much Improved

Dad is still in Brigham and Women's. He is walking several times a day without the aid of the "damn walker" as he calls it. There will be an assessment tomorrow to determine if he needs to go to rehab (cue up Amy Winehouse, go ahead) or head home. He's betting on home , which was confirmed by my brother Peter, who is currently there on driving duty.

I am currently in Seattle after a week in Boston. Elizabeth grew an inch while I was away and is talking in clear, compound sentences. She startled me today by correctly reading letters from the alphabet off of a playing card. Smart kid.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Dad Tuesday Update

Well, they woke Dad up yesterday. Western medicine can be miraculous. Monday night, Dad was out. Tuesday morning, he was concious but all tubed up. By 2 pm, he was sitting up, talking and telling bad jokes.

It took him a while to understand it was Tuesday, not Monday. He said "Well I woke up at 10 minutes to 11 and I thought, well they got finished right on time." He had no recall of Monday's activities. We told him about the surgery and subsequent events. He wanted to know what was happening in the world, and was impressed that Musharref finally resigned. His nurse, Sonya, made him sit in a chair, watch some television (cartoons!) and he took a short (like 20 steps) walk last night. Amazing.

His recovery of course is a step forward, a half-step back. The ICU nurse told us this morning that he had a hard night last night, coughed lots of phlegm and was in a lot of pain, which is a bummer, but I guess par for the course. I think they'll keep him in the ICU for another day or two.

My mom is doing better today. We are off to the hospital this morning with a side trip to Marshall's on the way up. Nothing like a little retail therapy.

I did talk with Elizabeth on the phone last night. Nainai and Dad are keeping her busy for which I am incredibly grateful.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Nancy's Dad and his surgery

Hi all, this is a departure from our usual happy-baobao posts. Nancy's Dad, Paul, had surgery yesterday to remove a tumor from his right lung. (The short history: he smoked 2 packs a day for 30 years. Subsequently he has enjoyed cancer in his colon, bladder, prostate, lungs. It's all directly linked to his smoking.) We are all relieved to get this procedure done; it had been delayed a couple of times over the summer.

The good news is his surgery itself went well. Dr. Sugarbaker at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston removed the tumor, and half of Dad's right lung. There are clean margins around the tumor, which means it hasn't spread. Dad woke up from the anesthesia alert and asking to eat (always a good sign.)

The hard news is post-surgery Dad has some internal bleeding as a result of scar tissue that built up from his previous lung surgery (this is his third on his lungs, and the second surgery on the right lung; the surgery team called it a "re-do.") Rather than engaging in a second surgery, the post-recovery team put him back under sedation, inserted a breathing tube, all in the hopes of allowing the bleeding to slow by administering stronger painkillers and keeping his blood pressure low.

We were able to see him in post-recovery. While his color looked good, bleeding tapering off, and blood pressure and heart rate normal, he was out cold. The nurses said they are keeping him "snowed," which is probably good for his pain level, but sounds pretty scary to me.

Please keep your fingers crossed. This is an unexpected complication, and a major letdown after the initial good report from the surgeon. My mother is incredibly stressed.

My public (and obnoxious) service announcement: if you smoke, quit. Now. You and your family do NOT want to go through this.

UPDATE: Doris (my mom) called the ICU this morning. Dad had a quiet night, and they are going to try to remove the breathing tube this morning, wake him up, and see how he does. We are heading in this morning to see him.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Big Girl Bed


She's been saying, for some time now, that "not a baby, Mama. A big girl." That was confirmed today as she sacked out on her new twin bed. I am conflicted as all get-out about this inevitable development.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Seafair and our Water park


It's 80 degrees in Seattle (which is scorching here) and we've set up a tiny water park for Elizabeth in the backyard. She plays with her usual determination. This includes dousing the dog.

It was Seafair last weekend, and after 4 days of the Blue Angels buzzing the neighborhood, Elizabeth took the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" approach and declared "I LOVE the Blue Angels Mama" and flew around the house with her Blue Angel wings.

As comparison, click here to see Elizabeth a year ago in the same pool.