Stuck

Addison attempted to go over one rung of the stool and under the next . . .


even though she got stuck with her feet in the air for quite sometime she never fussed . . .


and she made it through all on her own.


But I don't think she was interested in trying it again.

Back in The Boot

After two days of cancelled flights Sean was finally able to get to Anchorage Wednesday night. He went to his doctor appointment on Thursday morning and had almost all of his stitches removed. The stitches at the end of the toes remain; but that was to be expected, as they help keep the pins in place. The doctor said that Sean was healing well and took Sean's cast and replaced it with the boot. Sean is extremely pleased to be free of the cast and in comparison the boot feels comfortable.


Having Sean home has been great. Sean still is not able to put any weight on his foot so we keep our days low-key and Sean gets plenty of entertainment watching Addison play from the couch. Eli is also quite happy about having someone to relax with.

Sean's next visit is in about two and a half weeks. He'll get his pins out and he'll be onto the next stage . . .

We Heart Elmo

Several months ago Sesame Street came on and golf was the main subject of the show. Even though Addison was too young to watch it I recorded the show in hopes that someday she can watch the show and begin to love golf. While the show was recording Addison & I were upstairs.



We came downstairs about 5 minutes before the show ended and Elmo was on. She heard his voice and instantly her eyes were glued to the tv. She squealed and talked back to Elmo - it was so cute. When Elmo began to sing The Weather Song he won her heart. She LOVED it. I couldn't wait for Sean to get home that night to show him how much she liked her new little red friend.



Since then we show her those few minutes of the show whenever we need a good laugh. She smiles SO big for Elmo and breaks out her best dance moves just for The Weather Song. I think we love Elmo even more than Addison, just because we get to watch the way she reacts to him!



4.18.08 Update: I came to the blog to post Sean's latest and while pulling up the site Addison caught a glimpse of the picture of her and Elmo and went wild. She pointed, smiled and talked to her buddy on the computer screen - just as she does when he's on tv. Apparently, just the mere sight of the red guy is enough to make her happy!

Visiting Nana & Grandpapadopolis

The best part of Sean needing his surgery done in Anchorage is that we got to spend a week and a half with Nana & Grandpapadopolis.We had such a great time staying with them.


And can't you tell tht Addison loved being the center of their attention??


Playing with Aunt Katie




Uncle Clint was able to come over and play with Addison and Colin



Colin cuddling with Nana


Grandpapadopolis getting a real workout


Little ones playing together in their jammies - does it get any sweeter than that??!!


Gravity: Friend or Foe?


Addison and her new favorite toy.


Playing with Cousin Colin.


Me and two of my all-time-favorite little ones.


You can't really tell in this picture, but Uncle Phil's eyeballs are ready to fall out.


Cousin Conall came by for a visit. Don't you wonder what he is thinking in this picture??


Fire Fighter Colin reporting for duty. Such a handsome boy!!


Addison & Colin played very well together. One time there was a toy on the activity table that they both wanted and after warning Colin, several times to let her play with it Addison picked up Colin's hand and moved it out of her way. It was surprising to see her be so assertive with another little one. Colin didn't put up a fight and graciously gave in and went onto the next toy.

It Just Keeps Getting Better

Our sweet girl is now 10 months old. The 9th month was a lot of fun. She perfected her wave hello, clapping and learned to take a few steps on her own. Real walking is still a little ways off - but she can get in one or two steps before she changes her mind and falls to the floor in order to crawl to her desired location.



She still has only two teeth but she is beginning to tolerate real food. She's developed quite a taste for Cheerios. I'm hoping that means she is just holding out until she gets more teeth so she can eat solid foods that are actually solid



At the beginning of March I was reminding myself that March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. Even though that saying is supposed to be for the weather it was a good way to describe Addison's sleeping pattern. Just when I thought that we had it together (she was sleeping through the night) she reminded me that she is still in charge of our nights. The first week of the month was tough. The last two weeks of March were perfect. She slept through the night (usually down at 8:30 ish and up around 7:00 ish) every night with the exception of about three nights where she woke up for a bit.



Addison is really getting into music. She likes to cuddle with me while we listen to music before her naps. She even likes to be sung to. She loves the Little Bunny Foo-Foo song - it usually gets a good laugh out of her (she's probably really laughing at my singing voice). She also likes the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Baby Bumble Bee, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes - oh! and Brand New Girlfriend. Yeah that last one is not a kids song, but when she hears that song she knows that I'm breaking out my impressive dance moves (I don't know, that song just seems to move me - I can't fight it) and that is definitely something worth laughing about!



Every month just gets better and better. Just when I tell myself, '4 months is the best stage' here comes 5 months and it's somehow even better. Then comes 6 months - well, you get the picture. So many people told us that would happen, but I had no idea . . . It is pretty great when you're sure your life is as good as it'll ever be and it just keeps getting better..

The Left Was All That Was Left

In 2006 Sean had his right foot reconstructed and last week he had his left one operated on. Going into this surgery was a lot more stressful than the previous, as Sean knew what kind of recovery to expect. He went through with the surgery (even though it would have been so easy to back out) and all went well. He has three pins in the toes that had a joint removed and bones fused. He also has screws in the top part of the foot where they did the main part of the reconstruction.

Prior to the surgery we found out that they were going to give him a pain pump this go-around. I'm not going to lie, at first I was worried. I googled 'pain pump' and of course, all that came up were pending lawsuits and a ton of negative information. Turns out you can google most any medical procedure or medication and you're going to find enough information to completely freak you out. The doctors reassured us that the process with the pain pump was safe and it would help limit Sean's pain. Fortunately they were right. The pain pump numbed Sean from the knee down (they inserted the catheter behind his knee) and he felt very little for the first three days until they took the pump out.

Since then Sean has had both good and bad days as his foot starts to heal. He's been keeping his foot elevated which has helped with the swelling; but we haven't been so good with the Cryo Cuff this time as it seems to hurt more than help. And of course, they've got him on some good-old-fashioned-drugs.

In 1 to 2 weeks Sean needs to go back to Anchorage to have the stitches removed and gets moved from the cast to The Boot. In 6 weeks Sean may get the Doctor's blessing to start putting a small amount of weight on his foot. But the crutches will be around for about 8 weeks.

The most amazing part of this last surgery is how well Sean is dealing with the recovery. He never complains; even though I hit him in the foot with a cereal box and later, the baby bag! MAN! I'm a terrible nurse!! When strangers in the airport, on our way home Thursday, asked how he hurt his foot, Sean casually says, "oh, I had a little bit of work on it." It is almost like he is embarrassed to tell them what was done to his foot. I tell you what, if it was me I wouldn't wait for anyone to ask. I'd just walk up to people and say, "Hey, guess what I just survived!!" Whether they wanted to hear it or not.

Well, that brings you up on the latest with Sean. With everything that has gone on the past two weeks, I've gotten so behind in my emails. To those of you who've emailed, I promise I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Playing both Mommy & Nurse doesn't leave much time for the computer!

Baby Bunny

Addison has now celebrated ALL of the major holidays! Her first Easter was a lot of fun. I LOVE these little bunny ears. I had to basically sneak them on her because she would pull them off if she knew that they were there.


Eli had to make sure his ears were bigger than Addison's new ones!


I took her to the Eagles' Easter Egg Hunt where she was given a basket with a baby doll and candy. The doll in the basket was a big hit. While it was still in the packaging she waved 'hi' to the baby doll and talked to her. Once the doll was out she played with her for a bit and then went after the candy. She had the most fun playing with the candy packaging!


Addison also met the Easter Bunny at the Eagles. At first she basically ignored him because she was so into her new basket of treats; but after pointing him out several times she focused on him and fell in love. She waved to the Easter Bunny the whole time and when he came over to say hello to her she squealed in delight. She even got to pet his paw.


The Easter Bunny also brought Addison a basket of goodies that she had fun digging into.

St. Baldricks

Kyle, along with other wonderful Firefighters from VFD and Alyeska, shaved his head to help find a cure for children with cancer. His goal was to raise $500 for the St Baldricks event and he surpassed it. As a whole, the group intends to raise 10k and it sounds like they'll more than meet that goal.



I was allowed the first pass with the clippers . . . It only took a moment to shave away the hair that he took 3 months to grow out just for this night.





After my pass down the center it was everyone else's turn. As you can see, they were eager to get at his head!



Grandma Suzy & Addison had quite the reaction to the whole thing!


(I just love this picture of my Mom - the look is pure joy)

Before:



After:


Nice work Kyle! We're proud of you! The money you all raised will do wonderful things for MANY children!

Dishwasher Kisses

Addison loves giving kisses these days. The majority of kisses seem to be given to her own reflection. Usually it's kissing the mirror or even the sliding glass door - but who can blame her, she's incredibly kissable; and she really thought so when she caught a glimpse of herself in the dishwasher and decided a few good Addison kisses were too good to pass up!

HE'S BACK!

After 2 weeks in San Diego on the annual golf trip, Sean is home! He finally got to play the famed Torrey Pines Golf Course, just as Tiger did earlier in the year. The US Open is going to be held at Torrey Pines this year and Sean brought Addison back her first golf polo with the 2008 US Open logo embroidered on it (pics of the shirt to follow once she can fit into it). He didn't bring anything back for me this time. Ahh . . . a trip that used to be so profitable for my jewelry box. . . But don't worry, Addison is picking me out something REAL NICE from her Tiffany & Co catalog!


Way more exciting than souvenirs is the fact that Sean is home. We're so happy that he is back!