It's Great to Be Eight

My baby is eight years old today. Today meaning 20 minutes ago (it's 12:20 AM). Although technically, he will not be eight years old until about 8:40 AM. Regardless, this turning-eight business is kind of breaking my heart. I am so excited for him, as birthdays are about his favorite thing ever, but I am baffled by how eight years have passed. Wasn't he just a tiny baby in my arms? 

He is going to be a Boy Scout. I am so under prepared for this. I have no idea what scouts do. Michael was a scout, but I had left home by the time he was old enough to be one. I am absolutely unfamiliar with this boy territory. This has always been the case with James, I suppose, but I thought I had things under control. Now there is a whole new ballgame. I think you'll love it, though. And I have Derek. He has a lot of experience with this, as he was once a little boy himself! I am so happy I have him. He is a good example for my boy. They are both pretty amazing guys.

James is really shaping up to be a pretty great kid. It is been really great to see him step up as Jolie has had her tonsils out and has been suffering. He has helped me a ton, dealt with Jolie and her orneriness, been patient with her when she screams and wakes him up in the night, and been very helpful with Cora. I've been so impressed with him, so proud. 

I hope he loves his day tomorrow. (Today?) Derek and I decorated the chair for him to fill all fancy in the kitchen. We hung up the birthday banner. We set out breakfast in bed with balloons and a new cereal that is just special for him. There are streamers hanging from his doorway to greet him as he wakes up. I think he will love it all. 

He is having a robot birthday party. We have ordered the cupcakes, made the piñata, planned a few games, and put together some party boxes to give friends. He has been really involved, which has been fun. He really loves parties! What kid doesn't, really? But it has been really fun to see him so involved. 

I am a little stressed for tomorrow, as it is our first day of swimming lessons as well. I always feel like schedules make me overscheduled. But I need to remind myself that the schedule is not that tight. We have swimming lessons in the morning. Then we will have lunch at home and rest time. Then I will go pick up the few things we still need and then bam- his party! His presents are wrapped. I think I have most of the Decour. I'm sure it will be fine. They are just eight-year-old children after all.

I told him he could invite eight friends, but of course it has grown to a few more than that. I am not entirely surprised. He is my kid after all. :)

For my ninth birthday, Michael was just a new, new baby, and I'm pretty sure I invited the entire bus of children to attend my party. I don't remember my mom causing a fuss about that at all. She must of been stressed. But she handled it gracefully. Hopefully I will handle tomorrow gracefully as well.

But if I want to have any chance of that, I should probably go to sleep. So I will log off. Over and out. And happy, happy birthday to my beautiful, lovely, amazing, sweet little man. Love you, Jamesie Boy.

Jolie Girl's Surgery

My precious girl had her tonsils and adenoids removed today. It was quite an adventure (ie super traumatic - possibly more for Derek and me than for Jolie). I was literally hyperventilating last night as the reality settled; I was so heartbroken and scared. The day actually went much better than I'd anticipated, though. Jolie is a brave, sweet girl. I am so proud of her.

This morning we woke up ridiculously early (Seriously. Six a.m. should not be considered morning. Ugh, I hate early.) and were at the hospital by about 7:15. Jolie was so excited! The lure of nonstop ice cream and popsicles post-op may have contributed, haha. And really, it was an adventure, and my girl is a good sport with adventures. 

They gave her the sweetest little gown and grippy socks to put on. She thought that was pretty awesome. 

Then we waited our turn. She got bored, so we turned on some 'toons. She watched happily while I tried not to cry.

Then the surgeon and anesthesiologist came in and talked with us. They were both really great. They had excellent bedside manner, answered all of our questions, and really reassured us both. Then they took her back. This was the only time she seemed scared/nervous. I don't think she realized she'd be away from us at all. The look she gave us as she walked away, just for a sec, shattered a piece of my heart, pretty sure. But then I told her we'd be there as soon as she woke up and tossed a chipper "See you later, alligator!" her direction, and she relaxed and went with the anesthesiologist (hand in hand, might I add; I loved him a little right then).

We actually were able to watch the entire surgery from a little room with a monitor. It was ... interesting. Fascinating and disgusting and educational and heart-wrenching all at once. I'm glad we watched. I'm not sure Derek is. He didn't handle it very well. Watching his baby get sliced and diced nearly wrecked him. His whole body was sweating, and he was fighting back tears the whole time. So weird for Derek, which made it all the more tender for me. My gosh, I love him.

The surgery was smooth and surprisingly quick. After he (the doc) got in there, it was pretty evident that she definitely needed it all removed. Her tonsils both had chronic infection in them, we found (when he grabbed ahold of them and puss squeezed out). So gross. And the adenoids were humongous! They were so swollen that they were blocking her nasal passages almost entirely. Knowing how nasty it was in there helped me feel reassured that we did the right thing. She really will feel so much better once she's healed up.

It was so sweet to see her come rolling back to us all sleepy and beautiful. 

The happy moment only lasted a minute, though. The more she woke up, the worse she felt and the sadder she became. She was super dizzy, nauseous,  hurting and sad. :( 

They got some juice in her and gave her some hydrocodone, and that helped a lot. Plus, her dizziness wore off as time went on. I pulled up some Princess Sofia on my phone for her to watch, and Daddy rocked her. Soon she seemed much calmer and even started to doze. 

In no time, she was feeling still dopey but much better. She kept crying (really, sad little tears weeping down her face) that she just wanted to go home. Eventually she was able to do just that, and she perked up substantially. She even got to ride in a wheelchair, which is basically the coolest thing ever. 

We snagged a yummy frozen treat for her on the way home. She was pretty happy about that.

And then we were home. Ah, home.

She did really great today! She seems to understand that even if it hurts, she needs to drink and drink and drink and drink. I told her the Fix-Its in her body do their best work when they're swimming (and the whole Fix-It Villiage comes to work when she's sleeping). She seems to believe me and does her best to obey.

She ate a big bowl of Dole Whip, probably four popsicles, some Ramen noodle soup, and some yummy creamy peas and noodle soup Grandma Julie brought us. She took a pretty good nap, which seemed to help a bunch. And she woke up to her very first flower delivery! 

Drinking lots and eating lots of nummy food and getting lots of TLC seems to have made today pretty great. She even got to go see her bestie for a few minutes! 

She was cheerful and comforted and feeling loved tonight as she nodded off to sleep. And really, I can't help but feel similarly. We are so blessed. We have amazing, skillful doctors and staff, fabulous, caring families and friends, strong, spectacular bodies that can fight and heal so miraculously, and an incredible, loving Heavenly Father who comforts us and watches over us always. My heart still aches from today, but it is so very full. 

Sleep tight, sweet girl. We love you. More than you know.