Such a good helper!

Nothing like a little help from a toddler to make you smile....it had kind of been a crazy day, running here...running there. Becky and I ran errands after work: picked up our taxes to be signed, stopped by the grocery store. She was good in the store, but getting hungry and impatient. There were way too many people there and too many distractions. Anyway, was feeling frustrated when I got home. Becky was starting to cry because she was hungry. Al took her so I could carry in the groceries. He was struggling to get her something to eat because she was standing at her booster seat making her "I want up to eat" noise. (I don't know how to blog the noise she makes, but I'm sure you can all relate! kind of a cross between a whine and a growl.) I open up the fridge to start putting things away. I put one thing in the fridge. I turn around, and Becky is squatting down by the grocery sack. She takes the yogurt out of the bag and hands it to me! She did that with everything in that bag and one more. What a big help she was being! Sure made me smile and just wanted to share!

Not a baby anymore

Hard to believe Becky is 15 months old today. It goes so fast! All is well here. It has been a slow couple weeks with Al recouperating. He went back to work today after two weeks off. While he was ready to get out of the house, I'm not sure work was what he really wanted to be doing. Good thing he is going to start nursing school in the fall! He got his acceptance letter a week ago that he can start the nursing program at DMACC. Going back to work at his desk job today helped reaffirm that, yes, he wants to go to school!

Becky has had a busy couple weeks. She got her first "injury." She fell on her face at day care and got rug burn on her nose. Ouch! She slipped on a toy trying to get to the lunch table. She sure is her mother's daughter, she loves to eat!!!

As you can see, it really didn't slow her down much at all!

It was so warm yesterday, we took her outside to play in the snow. She lasted long enough for two pictures before we had to pick her up. Just not crazy about the snow.

Today, the reason for my post, actually...Becky started transitioning to the toddler room. While Al and I are glad that she's doing so well and is ready for the activity of the toddler room, it really makes you face the fact that your little girl really is becoming an independent person all on her own. She has been sleeping on the cot for a week now. They tell us she just lays down and goes to sleep and gets up after her nap like a big girl. Hard to believe how much she has grown and how much she has learned. She is walking all over the place. She is still very cautious, and when she does fall down, she is usually graceful enough to land on her bottom. She is also saying a few words. She knows where her nose is, but hasn't really gotten any other body parts figured out. She loves reading books and is always bringing a book to Al or I to read to her. Sometimes all she really wants to do is turn the pages but after reading through the same books over and over, that's okay with us!

Here are just a couple pics I wanted to share of Becky eating a sucker and some pudding.

We're home!

Thought I had better get a post out to let you know that we are home. Al was released from the hospital at about 2:30. He has a prescription for Vicadin to help with the pain. He is only in moderate pain though, and that's only from the strain on his abdominal muscles during surgery. He seems to be in good spirits and is looking forward to getting a good night's sleep tonight. He also seems a little too excited about his weight restrictions. The only thing he is really sad about is that he can't lift Becky or the cats. I don't think he's too heartbroken about not being able to vacuum or take out the trash or carry in groceries or ..... wait a minute! Did he just write down everything that I couldn't do after my C-Section? Nah. (His eyes did light up when he realized he wouldn't be able to change the litter in the cat's litter pans for at least a couple weeks though!) He really does have a weight restriction of 15 pounds for 6 weeks. That is likely to go down if his recovery continues to go well. He has a follow-up appointment to see the surgeon on Wednesday.

Larry and Donna came to visit this evening. It was nice to have them here. Well, hope everyone is having a good night. Thanks again for all your prayers. I'm going to go hang out with my honey :)

Where's Al?

Thought I'd better let those of you curious know where Al is (see below for details on why). He is at Methodist in Room N679, bed 2. The phone number is 241-6568. I really don't think he will be there much past noon, but wanted to give that information anyway.

PRAISE GOD!

Praise God for all he has blessed us with. I wrote this while at the ER with Al tonight and thought I would share my thoughts:

Writing this while waiting for Al to come out of the recovery room. Why is this always the hardest part? Seems to last forever. Had to have an appendectomy. How crazy is that? Everything went well. No problems at all. Al is such a trouper...I think he was a little in denial about the pain. "If I deny it, it can't be appendicitis!" I said to him, half-joking this morning about the pain in his side, "I hope it's not appendicitis." Well, 8 hours later, it is. Actually, more like 12 by the time he went in for the actual surgery. Thank God for a successful surgery. Thank God for Brenda. She picked Becky up from day care and fed her and watched her so I could be with Al. It sure helped to ease my mind to know she was safe and not at the hosptial. Even though I could do nothing for Al, it was a good hour and a half before we ran out of things to talk about and turned on the TV. (we did just spend the whole weekend together!) Praise God for the nurses that took care of Al and the doctors and the anesthesiologist. Praise God for the people who talked to me in the waiting room. Praise God for all our family and friends who prayed for us tonight. Now if I could just see him. This is agony!

It was about another 45 minutes before I actually got to go back into the recovery room to see him. He had his humor intact, though, and asked me if the doctor told me they took a toe to help him with his balance. (of course, by the time we got up to the room, he asked me the same questions and wanted to know when I got there, but that's okay.) I felt slightly bad about leaving him by himself, but he had a morphine drip going and will hopefully be able to fall asleep before very long. I left Becky at Brenda's ~ way too cold to bring her home in the middle of the night!~ I will go pick her up in the morning. Al wants to see her, so I'll take her to say hi before we go to day care. If everything goes well throughout the night, he will be released midday tomorrow. They did a laproscopic surgery. He has two small incisions on his abdomen and an incision through his belly button. Sure not what it used to be! When they do these in the morning, the patient is usually home that same day! Since the surgery was so late at night, though, they are keeping him so the doctor can check on him tomorrow.

Thank you, God, for blessing our family and watching over us tonight. Please continue to bless us and those we love. Amen.