August 08

Mom's-eye view of, "Mama, hug!"

Mom's-eye view of when, "Mama, hug!" is delayed by Mom's insatiable desire for more pictures.
Someone has figured out "running". Wheee!

But, really now, who needs to run when you can ride Paw-paw's tractor? Let's hope she doesn't figure out how to get it started.

Oh, well.

"The lip".

Kowabunga, dude!

Questionable parenting you say? Naaw...what you can't see is the eighteen thousand adults standing-by, at the ready.

I'm the king of the world! er...princess?

This summer...

...we rode in the car,

perfected the 'pre-two' whine,

wore many hats,
got some cool new wheels,
and started to smile on command. Matt said, "Phoebe, gimme a smile!" And she gladly obliged. I think you can see all 14 of her teeth! Life IS good.

New Pictures

Invitation outtakes

New Adorableness

Did you know each box of Pampers comes with a toy?
From the depths of lake pack 'n play, the loc pack monster emerges...
If I have to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar one more time, I might go bananas....Luckily, Auntie- er Cousin- Leonore is visiting and steps up to the challenge!
Success!

Winter Wonderland

First things first. American cheese is simply the best invention...EVER. Paw Paw (Phoebe's grandfather) can testify to that- He's been known to attend international Velveeta conventions. Anyone can enjoy a snowy day... even a vixen like the Pheebs...
Sleigh ride! Great family fun.


We love where we live.

Bye bye, Broviac

Phoebe's broviac (central catheter or "IV") was removed today. All went famously. The procedure required general anesthesia, and was completed within 45 minutes. What a cinch. We arrived at the hospital at 9:30 a.m. for our 11:00 "OR" time. They took us into the surgical acute care unit (SACU) for paperwork etc. at 10:00 and they took her for the procedure at 10:45. We wiped our misty eyes and went back to the waiting room. At 11:30, the surgeon visited us in the waiting room, telling us that everything went exactly as expected and that we could go see her as soon as she woke up. They called for us just a few minutes later. As we walked through the SACU, we could hear her crying, and as we came into view, she started reaching for us. It hit me that she is becoming such a big girl- looking more like a toddler than a baby, and able to communicate her basic desire to be with her parents.

No more:
-worrying about "line sepsis" (general infection of the Broviac line that goes right to her heart) when she finds the line in her shirt and would suck on it
-changing the dressing, which required tying up her arms so she couldn't pull at the exposed line or introduce germs to the sterile field
-changing the end cap
-flushing with saline and heparin daily
-sealing up the broviac entrance site with gauze and tegaderm (a large, clear plastic adhesive bandage) before a bath
-removing the tegaderm etc. after a bath (ouch!) and the protesting that accompanied it
-fielding questions

Now we can:
-rest assured that a fever is a fever and not line sepsis
-get rid of the boxes of medical supplies crowding her room
-have a tubby whenever we want because we don't have to worry about the Broviac site getting wet
-Celebrate!

We had a mini pizza party at home this afternoon to celebrate. Phoebe had Cheerios. This is the best Christmas gift we could want. Congratulations, Phoebe! On to enjoying life!!