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

Adventures in Cloth

We are in week 4 of cloth diapering Mariella. It has been going really well! We had one bout of diaper rash in the second week, but as soon as I figured out the cause*, it was smooth sailing. I have to admit that even though I was really excited to switch to cloth, I was a little afraid that I wouldn't like it. That hasn't been the case. It's been very easy, and I don't find myself at all wishing I could just use the disposables. We even use the cloth at night, with an extra insert, and she hasn't leaked once. I haven't heard any real complaining from Tom either, even though I know he was skeptical when I said I wanted to do this. He doesn't typically have to change her very often, but he concedes that it isn't a whole lot different than disposables. I got some very user-friendly diapers that look just like disposables, with velcro closures. It doesn't get much easier than that!

I've had to get some bigger pants for her, since the bulkier cloth doesn't fit into clothes that are made for a trim diaper. It's been a challenge to find 18-24 mo pants that aren't too long, or need to be rolled several times. If it would just hurry up and warm up, we wouldn't have to deal with pants anymore!

*There were 2 things: first, I use what is apparently a very harsh soap on our laundry and need to rinse the machine really well after doing our clothes. That soap is on its way out--too much hassle to worry about more red bottoms. Second, I was using a bit too much (different, non-harsh) detergent on the diapers and therefore they weren't rinsing completely. Live and learn.

I'm not a huge fan of putting topless pictures online, but she's still a baby. I hope she's OK with it. We'll be sure to take it down if she ever runs for public office.

1 Year Photos

I was really excited to have Mariella's photos taken by a mom friend. She gave permission to share the proofs, and I forgot to put them up here. There were so many that I liked! We think she did a great job of capturing what Mariella is like right now, who went through a range of emotions during the session. She was a tough smile, but that's kind of how she is.

Easter 2010

Mariella (not enjoying) trying on Easter dresses. I got 3 of them to compare, and the decision wasn't easy. There are too many cute dresses out there!

This is the one we went with. The 3rd one was a sage green with a purple ribbon, but I didn't get a picture of it because she was very unhappy.

Running around at the MOMS Club Easter egg hunt

Jacob had a lot of fun finding eggs



Peek!

Jacob climbing up to the tree house. You can see the wound and bruise he got above his eye from a run-in with our wood trim in our doorway. Poor guy!

Easter Saturday in Iowa. Mariella found her way into the toy chest.

Mariella with Daddy and an egg, pre-coloring

Jacob was very excited to color eggs, and did great this year

Examining a nice green colored egg

Egg colorists busy at work

15 dozen colored eggs in all!

Jacob got tired of coloring after we had done about 10 dozen, and he was nowhere to be found when it was all finished. So Mariella stood in for a photo with the eggs.

The little kids did an egg hunt that afternoon. Jacob is checking out the coins inside his eggs. He had 70 cents.

Easter Sunday at Schoenbauers. We actually got a picture of Jacob and Mariella together! And no one was crying!

The kids with grandparents

Jacob holding his youngest cousin, James (11 weeks old). James is a big boy!

Jacob got a new truck that makes sounds

Time for another egg hunt! Jacob was well-practiced at this point.

Mariella was more interested in checking things out than collecting eggs, so Jacob did that for her.

Freedom!

Here she is adding an egg to her basket

Mariella really liked this little bench. She climbed up, got down, climbed up, got down