Surgery Complete

Gavin was the best baby yesterday morning before his surgery. He barely fussed at all about not being fed for 4 hours and before he was taken away to surgery he was asleep in my arms. I handed him off to one of the nurses and he kept on sleeping. I still cried as he was taken away, but I was imagining it being a lot rougher than it was. Surgery did take over an hour and he has a bigger incision than I expected and stitches on his scrotum to tack his testicle in place (TMI?) - ouch! He had a rough time waking up after the surgery and was pretty sleepy all day yesterday. He is on pain meds every four hours yet and that seems to keep him fairly comfortable. He has been back to eating every 2.5 to 3 hours today after sleeping for 7 hours strait last night. I needed that as the night before I barely slept at all.

Grandma & Grandpa Jeske were here on Tuesday night and yesterday morning to take Jacob to gymnastic class and his Little Rascals class at the community center. They enjoyed seeing him participate in those classes, or wondering off to do his own thing. It was certainly nice not to have to worry about him as we were at the hospital with Gavin. There were other families there with their other children and that really made me appreciate living close to family and having such helpful families.

Anyway, we are really glad to have that surgery behind us. Thank you to all who kept us in your prayers, they were certainly answered. I don't know how parents handle major surgery on their children. I pray we never have to deal with anything more major.

Cartwheeling

Jacob has learned to cartwheel. Thanks Auntie Drea for the gymnastics classes! He loves going to gymnastics each week and obviously is learning a lot there. He cartwheels across the living room all the time and somersaults on the furniture too.

Fred and I got away for a night to celebrate our 6th anniversary. I was a little teary as we drove away, but I got better by the time we got to the casino and then really enjoyed the night even though we didn't win any money. We decided that next year we would actually try to GO somewhere.

Gavin weighed in at nearly 17 pounds last week. He is in his own room now and back to getting up twice a night. I am trying to figure out the trick to getting him to sleep longer. The other night when he ate at 6:30 and went to sleep at 9 he only got up at 2:30. So I think I need to be counterintuitive when I am strategizing. I keep trying to feed him more, but I think that is backfiring. He is scheduled for his hernia surgery next Wednesday. I am very nervous about it, so I am just hoping it goes a lot smoother than I imagine and I am really hoping I don't have to listen to him scream for an hour before the surgery because he is hungry. When he is hungry, he can scream and there is nothing to do to make it better. Pray for us.

We enjoyed the nice weather earlier this week. Jacob and I spent some time in the backyard while Gavin napped. It was a little too windy here for Gavin to be outside. I can see we are going to spend all summer on the slides and in the sandbox. The newly expanded backyard is really going to be a blessing.

I also experimented with letting Jacob skip naps earlier this week. It worked good if he could sleep from 8 to 8, but then on Wednesday evening he fell asleep in the car and threw off the schedule, so we are back to battling for a nap.

April Fools Snow

Easter went better than I expected. We drove down to Sleepy Eye to have lunch with my family. Lunch was good, Jacob ate like a champ and the boys slept both ways. I was expecting a rough time in the car, but it went really well and it was great to see everyone. On Easter morning Jacob got to hunt for eggs here at the house and find other chocolates that were hidden too, he had a good time finding all the chocolate. The Easter bunny is confusing though, as when we went to church Jacob asked if the Easter bunny was going to be there. Arg.

Fred and I did go out for an adult evening last night with friends Kim & Kyle. We had a wonderful meal at JD Hoyt's in Minneapolis and then went to the Fine Line for some music. We had a great time and the kids were good for Grandma and Grandpa Jeske. I called home a few times to make sure Gavin wasn't giving them a rough time. Fred and I are going to celebrate our 6th anniversary this Sunday, so on Saturday night we are going to spend the night at Mystic Lake Casino. It's only 20 minutes away, but its away. Its baby steps for me as I am not very good at leaving my kids. Jacob is easier to leave now, but Gavin is nursing and can just be cranky sometimes. Grandma and Grandpa Middendorf will be down to watch the kids and I'll do my best to enjoy a kid free night.

Gavin has found his thumb and appears to really enjoy it. He's smiling and talking more and just becoming more laid back. He'll sit in his swing now for about 15 minutes and his little rocking chair too as he smiles and talks to the animals that hang in front of him.

Jacob is spending a lot of time on the steps, aka "the bus". We drive mostly to school and get stuck in the mud. He has to get out and push. He was driving to Kansas with Grandpa Ron this morning though to go check out cattle and Grandma Nancy had him calling the "mechanic" when the bus broke down. He's battling naps these days and we can't keep him from jumping on the furniture, but he's still tons of fun and very talkative.