It is currently 9:51pm on the evening of Tuesday, February 8, 2011.....I have not blogged since November of 2010......sheeeeesh... To say the least, we have been busy!
Lisa's Father, aka Grandpa, came over the day of Thanksgiving to help us with our tradition of "Grandpa watches Nicholas while we put up our Christmas lights." The week leading up to Thanksgiving day featured unseasonably warm temperatures....so of course the day we decide to spend a couple of hours outside it turns very cold and windy...now when I say cold, I do not mean anything like the week we just endured leading up to Superbowl XLV right here in North Texas. We had 4 days of sub-freezing temperatures, ice covered roads, snow, dangerous driving conditions and my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers came to town and lost....oh well, that's the way the pigskin bounces!
Back to the Christmas lights.....Lisa and I managed to get most of them done while Nicholas went on a walk with Grandpa. Lisa finished the rest of them over the next few days....she also had time to prepare a wonderful Thanksgiving meal that was so delicious! We all enjoyed it very much....except for The Boy....he decided to have yogurt instead....oh well...
A few days after Thanksgiving, Nicholas had surgery to lengthen the tendons in his left foot. Since his homecoming, he has not been able to stand or walk with his left foot flat. The surgery was going to allow him to do so for the first time ever! He was in very good hands at the wonderful Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth. The surgery was early Thursday morning, December 2nd. He would have to stay overnight at the hospital too....this would prove to be quite an adventure for our family! Once the surgery was over we were able to see him in the recovery area....he didn't take long to wake up. Once he did he wanted to take of his heart rate monitor, climb out of bed, make the bed go up and down, etc., etc. After a very long wait, we were finally taken to our room and met the first set of nurses. All of the nurses and Docs were wonderful!! They really understand how to make kids and parents comfortable. Nicholas proceeded to charm every nurse fool enough to enter his room! He was getting all the Jello and pudding he wanted, when ever he wanted it! Mommy and Daddy however forgot to eat anything and went from 6 am until 8:30pm before getting a chance to have a meal. The cafeteria was inexpensive, delicious and open until midnight. The nurse sat with Nicholas while we went to get dinner! After dinner I drove back to the house to feed the doggies, give them some love and then drove back to the hospital. This was my first time staying overnight at a hospital. I was able to get some sleep despite being in a recliner next to his bed and having nurses coming in the room every two hours or so to check his vitals and the circulation of his cast covered lower leg and foot. The next day we met the physical therapist who had the job of getting Nicholas to try and walk with his walking boot and using the world's tiniest walker!....this was a little traumatic for Nicholas and his parents too! Lucky for us, she really knew what she was doing. After promises of even MORE Jello and pudding, Nicholas was able to get around very slowly.....but he was NOT happy about it! The therapist assured us he would be zipping around in no time and of course she was right....it took about three days or so before he got the hang of it and then about week after that, he no longer needed the walker at all! After his second session with the therapist Nicholas got into a red wagon and we took him to the front entrance of the hospital. We heard a rumor that Santa and Mrs. Clause and a bunch of there friends were going to be arriving at the hospital that day via real fire engine!! We left out the part about the fire engine so he would be surprised. We waited and waited and waited and then found out that once the crew was loaded onto the fire engine, they received a call to go put out a fire....so instead of a grand entrance on a giant fire engine, Santa and his posse rolled up in three mini vans and three SUV's. Santa came over and talked to Nicholas for a few minutes....he seemed starstruck! It was a very special moment to witness... A few hours later, we were on our way home....our mission? To keep his left leg elevated for 36 hours! Nothing like trying to keep an active 4, almost 5 year-old to sit on the couch with his leg propped up...and when he was sitting, he had to practice using his walker....also not fun!! Saturday night Nicholas slept in our bed with Lisa, while I slept on the couch....why the couch?? Well I had to get up at 4am to I could go walk the Dallas White Rock Marathon at 8am....which I did in 6 hours and 19 minutes, my 16th overall marathon....but what this really meant is now Lisa had to take care of two boys who were having trouble walking....one from surgery and one from being sore after walking 26.2 miles.....once again, Nicholas and I are so blessed to have Lisa in our lives!! She is the best!!
Two days later, December 7, 2011, Nicholas turned 5 years-old! Two days later, my parents and my brother Howard flew in from California and my sister-in-law Leigh and her two daughters, Jessica and Jackie, flew in from Connecticut. We had an open house birthday party on Saturday, December 11th...fun was had by all!
And now for some pictures!
Lisa's Father, aka Grandpa, came over the day of Thanksgiving to help us with our tradition of "Grandpa watches Nicholas while we put up our Christmas lights." The week leading up to Thanksgiving day featured unseasonably warm temperatures....so of course the day we decide to spend a couple of hours outside it turns very cold and windy...now when I say cold, I do not mean anything like the week we just endured leading up to Superbowl XLV right here in North Texas. We had 4 days of sub-freezing temperatures, ice covered roads, snow, dangerous driving conditions and my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers came to town and lost....oh well, that's the way the pigskin bounces!
Back to the Christmas lights.....Lisa and I managed to get most of them done while Nicholas went on a walk with Grandpa. Lisa finished the rest of them over the next few days....she also had time to prepare a wonderful Thanksgiving meal that was so delicious! We all enjoyed it very much....except for The Boy....he decided to have yogurt instead....oh well...
A few days after Thanksgiving, Nicholas had surgery to lengthen the tendons in his left foot. Since his homecoming, he has not been able to stand or walk with his left foot flat. The surgery was going to allow him to do so for the first time ever! He was in very good hands at the wonderful Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth. The surgery was early Thursday morning, December 2nd. He would have to stay overnight at the hospital too....this would prove to be quite an adventure for our family! Once the surgery was over we were able to see him in the recovery area....he didn't take long to wake up. Once he did he wanted to take of his heart rate monitor, climb out of bed, make the bed go up and down, etc., etc. After a very long wait, we were finally taken to our room and met the first set of nurses. All of the nurses and Docs were wonderful!! They really understand how to make kids and parents comfortable. Nicholas proceeded to charm every nurse fool enough to enter his room! He was getting all the Jello and pudding he wanted, when ever he wanted it! Mommy and Daddy however forgot to eat anything and went from 6 am until 8:30pm before getting a chance to have a meal. The cafeteria was inexpensive, delicious and open until midnight. The nurse sat with Nicholas while we went to get dinner! After dinner I drove back to the house to feed the doggies, give them some love and then drove back to the hospital. This was my first time staying overnight at a hospital. I was able to get some sleep despite being in a recliner next to his bed and having nurses coming in the room every two hours or so to check his vitals and the circulation of his cast covered lower leg and foot. The next day we met the physical therapist who had the job of getting Nicholas to try and walk with his walking boot and using the world's tiniest walker!....this was a little traumatic for Nicholas and his parents too! Lucky for us, she really knew what she was doing. After promises of even MORE Jello and pudding, Nicholas was able to get around very slowly.....but he was NOT happy about it! The therapist assured us he would be zipping around in no time and of course she was right....it took about three days or so before he got the hang of it and then about week after that, he no longer needed the walker at all! After his second session with the therapist Nicholas got into a red wagon and we took him to the front entrance of the hospital. We heard a rumor that Santa and Mrs. Clause and a bunch of there friends were going to be arriving at the hospital that day via real fire engine!! We left out the part about the fire engine so he would be surprised. We waited and waited and waited and then found out that once the crew was loaded onto the fire engine, they received a call to go put out a fire....so instead of a grand entrance on a giant fire engine, Santa and his posse rolled up in three mini vans and three SUV's. Santa came over and talked to Nicholas for a few minutes....he seemed starstruck! It was a very special moment to witness... A few hours later, we were on our way home....our mission? To keep his left leg elevated for 36 hours! Nothing like trying to keep an active 4, almost 5 year-old to sit on the couch with his leg propped up...and when he was sitting, he had to practice using his walker....also not fun!! Saturday night Nicholas slept in our bed with Lisa, while I slept on the couch....why the couch?? Well I had to get up at 4am to I could go walk the Dallas White Rock Marathon at 8am....which I did in 6 hours and 19 minutes, my 16th overall marathon....but what this really meant is now Lisa had to take care of two boys who were having trouble walking....one from surgery and one from being sore after walking 26.2 miles.....once again, Nicholas and I are so blessed to have Lisa in our lives!! She is the best!!
Two days later, December 7, 2011, Nicholas turned 5 years-old! Two days later, my parents and my brother Howard flew in from California and my sister-in-law Leigh and her two daughters, Jessica and Jackie, flew in from Connecticut. We had an open house birthday party on Saturday, December 11th...fun was had by all!
And now for some pictures!
Helping with the Christmas lights!
Nothing like climbing a ladder in 45 degree weather with 28 mph wind gusts!! Happy Holidays!
Pre-op waiting room. This is where he got into his gown and had some time to "relax" with the help of some medicine stuff they sprayed up his nose.
He explored every inch of the room...
He wanted to check his bear's blood pressure...
Mommy helped!
The beginning of a very long day!
Just a few moments before they took him into surgery. If you look closely you can see where the Doctors autographed his left leg.....so they know which one they are going to work on..
Post Surgery! Relaxing in his room with his bear.
The tiniest walker since famous actress Nancy Walker who was nearly run over by my friend Gabe many years ago. True story. Ask him about it the next time you see him.
The cast! This is the color Nicholas selected. It could be seen from 4000 kilometers away!
Waiting to meet Santa!!
He wanted me to take a picture of his foot, so I did...
He wanted Mommy to take a picture of "both of us with hurt foots." I told him we should look sad for the picture.
