WOW It's been a really long time

I am a slacker. No, I'm just a mom with 2 little ones who keep me very busy. A lot has been going on since the last time I updated you guys. So here goes....

Robert had his palate closed and tubes put in his ears on November 10th. Again we got up really early and went to Fairfax Hospital for surgery. Everything went well. Surgery was successful and his palate is closed. YEAH!!! This was by far the most difficult surgery on everyone. Robert didn't sleep well afterwards and he didn't eat very well. We really had to force him to eat so he didn't lose too much weight. He was apparently in a lot of pain. It took him a long time to get back to his old self.

The ENT said the tubes are working great and we go back for another hearing test in March. His hearing does seem to be improved. Not that he had a hearing problem before but he reacts to noises a little differently now.

The plastic surgeon said the palate was looking good, but there is a part of his lip that is raised and if it doesn't drop by March then he would like to go ahead and fix it. We are really hoping that it drops on it's own.

Robert has decided that he wants to walk to be able to keep up with Ronnie so he is actually trying to walk already. We are going to have our hands full with him. He's growing like a weed.

Ronnie is growing like a weed as well. His vocabulary is growing every day and he is in constant motion. I don't think there is much to share about him which seems odd. He's been sleeping in a big boy bed for a while now and we are trying to potty train him. He really likes riding Daddy's four wheeler and driving the tractor around.

I guess that's it for now. I'll try to be a better blogger and update this more frequently. =)

Robert's Hearing Test

Well....apparently in the state of Virginia children born with clefts and other abnormalities have to get their hearing checked every 6 months until they are 3. So we went and had Robert's first hearing test and he failed. He passed his newborn hearing test but he failed this one. Not such a big deal. They think he just has fluid in his ears and will have tubes inserted when he has his palette repaired on November 10. I guess it could be worse.

Well....

Ronnie is sleeping in his big boy bed for the second night in a row. Paul had to lay down with him both nights. But tonight he left before Ronnie fell asleep and there was no problem. He was asleep in about 10 minutes. Hopefully we are going to be able to take the crib apart soon. Bittersweet. I have no idea when he grew up. It seems like just yesterday he was my little baby. Now he's my "big" boy. He helps set up the camper when we go camping and he loves to drive Paul's truck. Where has the time gone.

Most recent picture

This is the most recent picture of Robert. (Thanks Pork!)

OK. Now that things have settled down a bit.

Things are slowing down around here since Robert's surgery. So, where to start for an update. The picture is of Robert right after his surgery. He was still very sleepy.

Robert had his stitches out last Wednesday. The doc said he looks good. We have tentatively scheduled his cleft palette repair for November 10th. I have been told this surgery is worse then the lip. I'm not looking forward to that. It's going to require a 2 day stay at Fairfax Hospital. YUCK! I hate hospitals! But oh well.

We are had to "relearn" what Robert's cries mean. They sound so different since his surgery. I don't think we were prepared for that part. But I guess we should have been. It wasn't easy but it didn't take long. We just went back to the basics with each cry....diaper, no...hungry, no...you get the idea.

When we got home from the hospital Ronnie couldn't wait to see his brother's "new" look. He just kept smiling at him and looking at him and saying Hi. I am pretty sure it was going on for about 3 hours. It's way too cute.

I guess that's it for Robert's surgery.

We went camping this past weekend at Natural Bridge. Went to the Virginia Safari Park and loved every minute of it. Ronnie got to feed a giraffe, a llama, camel, and a bunch of other animals. It was great to see his big smile and hear his belly laugh the entire time we were driving thru the park. He didn't like the big birds...emu, ostrich and others like them. When they came to the truck he tried to roll the window up and kept saying "Dad, go." It was great. Robert slept thru most of the park. I am sure we will do it again in the future.

I will say that the last 2 weeks have been very busy but I wouldn't change it for anything.

Surgery is done!

YEAH! A big sigh of relief. Robert's surgery to correct his cleft lip was done on Tuesday. He went in at 12:00 and was out around 2:30. I think that was the longest 2 and a half hours of my life. I was not as much of a baby as I thought I would be. When they came and took him from Paul I didn't cry. I did get a little teary eyed.

So, about an hour after he woke up he was flashing his new smile. (I'll post pictures soon.) He looks so much like his big brother now. We are all recovering together. I will do a better update with pictures soon.

Tomorrow is the big day.

Robert's big day is tomorrow. He has his lip surgery at 12 PM. We have to be there at 10:30 and he can't eat after 6 AM. So we are getting up at 5 AM to feed him. YEAH. Then it's off to the hospital. Tomorrow night I'll stay in the hospital with Robert and Paul will be heading home to stay with Ronnie. I have tried to explain to Ronnie that Robert is having surgery tomorrow but the only thing he wants to talk about is the firetruck being broken. (The local fire department's truck was getting worked on when we drove by today. It apparently is weighing heavy on his mind.) So I'll try again tomorrow morning before we leave for the hospital. I'll post pictures of Robert's new smile soon.