Happy 4th of July!

Day 2 started off nice and lazy. As lazy as waking up with Mr. Can't-Sleep-Past-7AM can get, that is. At least Mariella slept in. It had rained overnight, and there were puddles just waiting to be splashed in. I don't have pictures, but I can tell you that the morning playground time left us with 2 water and mud-soaked, but happy kids. Later, we visited the pool for the first time. Jacob was beyond excited to use his floaty ring. We spent much of the day going back and forth between the pool and the playground.

Eating a snack and watching a little TV in Jacob's bed before heading to the pool again. Side note: I always swore we would never get a travel DVD player, but we decided to try one out for this trip and it was Worth. Every. Penny.

Mariella tired of the pool long before Jacob did, so I took her back to the cabin to play. Here is her famous stinker face.

4th of July parade! They even threw candy!

We think this one of Jacob is pretty hilarious. He looks so tough, possibly flashing an inappropriate gang sign. What it actually is, is what he did when I told him to make a 4 for the 4th of July.

The kids with their parade candy. Yes, we let Mariella have a sucker. She actually did a great job with it.

Back to the playground. I got Jacob to stand by the resort sign. He was a bit wound up from the candy.

Mariella loved playing in this little house. She spent a lot of time going in and out, and running around the outside as we chased her.

We took the short walk down to the lake to check it out. The kids were not very impressed, but the adults enjoyed the view. This is Little Winnibigoshish. It looked huge to us, but apparently it would fit into the Big Winnibigoshish 62 times! (We did eventually drive to see the big lake. Pictures to follow.)



Walking back to shore. Jacob did not really care for the bobbing of the dock. He also looked at the lake for about 2 seconds before he was ready to head back.

That was it for Day 2. The kids didn't stay up late enough for any fireworks, but Tom and I could hear some fellow campers enjoying some. There was also a pretty impressive display shot over the lake. We could sort of see it through the trees in front of the cabin.

Family Vacation - Day 1

We finally took our first ever family vacation, spending a week at the Little Winnie Resort (named for the lake) near Deer River, MN. That's 4 hours north of the Twin Cities, for those who are wondering. We packed up what seemed like everything we own and crammed it in the van (thank goodness for stowing seats), along with a week's worth of groceries. Feeling a bit like the Griswolds, we pulled out of the driveway right at our "latest time we should leave to make the most of the day." Victory #1.

The drive was mostly uneventful, aside from neither child napping and Mariella being pretty fussy for the second half of the trip. We arrived at the resort, got checked in, and promptly discovered that we would be quite cozy for the week. The entire cabin could fit in our living room--possibly with room to spare. Mariella's pack-n-play just squeezed in next to the double bed in our room. She was mere inches from having to set up shop in the kitchen. Luckily, we weren't planning to spend a whole lot of time inside.

We unpacked the food first, leaving for later the issue of what else to bring inside vs. leave in the van, since clearly everything was not going to fit! The resort has a great playground, so we headed over there first.

Jacob immediately found the "merry-go-round." This toy nearly made him throw up more than once, yet he just couldn't stay off of it.

Mariella got in a lot of practice time on the basketball court

Jacob worked on his dunking skills

Mariella liked flying down the slides at breakneck speed. They were slippery.

We took a quick look at the lodge and pool, had a little dinner, and let the kids play outside for a bit longer until they were worn out and ready for bed. Day 1 of vacation was a success!

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

No good ever comes from this stinker face. We've learned to be a bit wary whenever we see it. Sure is cute, though!

No More Bump

Jacob's surgery was successful and pretty uneventful. We tried to prepare him as much as we could, to the point that he seemed tired of hearing about it. The weekend before surgery, we took him to Build-a-Bear to pick out a "hospital buddy." He had a lot of fun doing that. Then, a couple of days later, we had a tour and information session at the children's day surgery center. That was very helpful, for us and for Jacob. He got to check out some of the equipment they used, like the anesthesia mask and the heart rate monitor. We were very impressed.

Jacob and "Moe"

When we arrived for the surgery, he was weighed and had his blood pressure taken. Then he got to find the room with his name on it, where we changed him into his hospital pajamas. After that, he had time to play in a fun toy area until it was time to go to sleep.

They had a garbage truck! Best hospital ever!

We were both able to go into the anesthesia room with Jacob, and he sat on my lap while they administered the gas. He hummed a bit, and then flailed his arms a bit as he fell asleep, but within a minute or so he was out. It was hard to put him on the table and watch them wheel him away, but we knew that soon he would be good as new. The operation itself only lasted about 20 minutes, according to the information screen in the waiting room. When the surgeon spoke to us afterward, he said it was a "medium sized" hernia and was very easy to repair. We had to wait a bit longer while he woke up, and then a nurse came to get us. Jacob was unhappy and disoriented, and they let me sit with him in a rocking chair. Even though he was kind of miserable, it was nice to sit and snuggle with my boy for what seemed like the first time since before he could crawl. It took him about a half hour of whimpering and drifting in and out to feel up to a popsicle. It took about 5 minutes after the popsicle for him to perk right up and demand to go home. Our Jacob had returned.

Changed back into his own pajamas, watching TV and waiting to be discharged

Instead of wheelchairs, the little kids get a wagon ride out to the car. How fun!

We went home with instructions to have him take it easy for a day or two, and restrict his activities for 2 weeks. Jacob had other ideas. He wanted nothing to do with resting, even right after we got home that day. We had been prepared with movies and shows that he likes, so he could sit on the couch and soak up the TV to his heart's content, and all he wanted to do was go outside and run around. Afraid that he would pull his stitches, we tried everything we could think of to get him to sit still, to no avail. Luckily, he has healed quickly and completely, and as of 6/12 his strips have fallen off. He has one more check up in a couple of weeks, and then we are done with this. As Jacob told us, the bump is gone!

In Memory

James Skluzacek, 9/11/1918 - 5/10/2010

Jacob at his 1st birthday party with Great-Grandpa Jim

Mariella (7 months) at Great-Grandpa's 91st birthday

Mother's Day 2010

We began Mother's Day the same way we have for the past 3 years. We joined thousands of other walkers in the 5K Race for the Cure. The report is that 50,000 people participated in the various activities this year! We really enjoy being part of that. The weather has been up and down over the years, but it has never rained on the walk. After freeze warnings last night, it warmed up to about 45 degrees by 9AM. With the sun shining, it was very pleasant for our walk. All the bundling up and hats/mittens/blankets for the kids was completely unnecessary. Best to be prepared, though.

This is always one of my favorite views, seeing all the people ahead of us as we go under the highway. The tunnel gets really loud!

Jacob and Mariella enjoying the ride

This is another annual shot, as I'm pretty sure I have a picture of Tom pushing a stroller every year. Also note Mariella's shoes, as this is the last picture we have of them. She ditched one somewhere along the way, and we couldn't find it. What a stinker!

We tried for a family photo, but the kids were distracted

Finish line! The kids were both really good on the walk, aside from the shoe-throwing. Jacob waved at every police officer he saw, and Mariella was content to just ride and look around.

We're done! Funny, squinting faces aside, we finally got a family picture.

After the walk, we went in the Mall of America to use the "mystery tickets" the kids got in their registration bags. The tickets are good for 1 ride, 1 day of rides, or an annual pass. We figured we'd let Jacob take the 2 rides that were likely on the tickets. As it turned out, one of the tickets had a day of rides on it! Unfortunately, it's only good for the day you activate it, so he didn't get to use all the points on it. A certain little girl who didn't get to go on rides quickly got bored of watching him have all the fun. And with no shoes, she didn't get to walk.

She got to watch and have a snack while Jacob went on rides

Jacob on the merry-go-round

It's easier to get a shot after he passes by!

Jacob in the bumper car. He's never been on a ride like this before, especially by himself! What a big boy!



When we got home, Mariella found her shirt (which we didn't put on her due to the size), and tried to put it over her head. I put it on for her, and she was very proud! For reference, it is the same size shirt Jacob has on. Mean mommy that I am, I cropped him out of this picture because he was making an extremely weird face. Sorry, Jacob.

Mommy with her kids! Jacob's eyes are closed, but it's such a nice smile.

Mommy with both kids trying to escape. Typical.

Jacob's Hernia

Jacob was just diagnosed as having a hernia. We'd noticed a golf ball sized lump in his groin over the past few weeks, and decided it better get checked by his doctor. He's not in any pain, but we have been referred to a pediatric surgeon because it needs to be corrected. His surgical consult is on Friday, and after that we will set a date.

Mommy and Daddy are nervous about this, but we're relieved that the lump wasn't something more serious. It sounds like this is a fairly common condition among children. The link below has information about what it is and how it will be treated.
HealthyChildren.org - Inguinal Hernia