Surgery Day

Today was surgery day for Makenna. Before the surgery, even though she was beyond hungry she was all smiles and flirted with everyone that would give her the time of day. I was expecting her to be mad, mad, mad because she couldn't eat but she did amazingly well. She slept the during the 2 hour car ride there which helped. We arrived early to the surgery center so we had a bit of a wait and she even did great with that. She made me a very proud Mama.

After waiting for quite sometime we got to go back with her into the induction (anesthesia) room until she was asleep. They gave her some-kind of gas through a mask to help her fall asleep. Once she was out we left the room. It wasn't until she was already asleep that they put her IV in and her trachea tube for breathing. It was apparent that at children's hospital this wasn't the first time they have needed to put a baby under general anesthesia. Her surgery was about 45 minutes or so. Her doctor came and told us that she did great during the surgery and that she was able to do the less invasive of the two types of surgeries for blocked tear ducts. Before she finished telling us about the surgery and what we should be expecting, the recovery nurse came to get us. Makenna was already starting to wake up. I thought watching her be put to sleep was hard enough, I had no idea what I would be expecting when we got to the recovery room. She was so upset and it just broke my heart to see my baby hurting. This has was by far the hardest thing I have had to do as parent to date. Makenna seemed so scared (as I would have been too). She we was crying so hard, her voice was raspy from the trachea tube and wasn't fully awake so she couldn't focus on the fact that Nick and I were with her again. She didn't start calming down until they gave her some more IV pain meds and she ate some food. By the time she was about to be discharged from recovery she was smiling and waving at her nurse but still wasn't quite my happy girl partially the drugs made her a little loopy and tired.

She slept the whole way home and has been in fairly good spirits this afternoon. Its hard to tell in the pictures but her face is a little swollen and she will most likely have two black eyes but she should be back to normal in a week or so. We feel so blessed that our heavenly father was watching over our sweet little angel today and everything went so well. We had a much better experience then we thought we would at the hospital today. Her Doctor was amazing, as well as the anesthesia team and her nurses. I'm so thankful that they were there to take such good care of our sweet little Makenna. Thank you for being such a brave, good girl today baby girl! I love you my sweet little Kenna Bug!

Eye Appointment Update.

Today we took Makenna to children's for her eye appointment. First of all I have to brag a little bit, she was such a good baby all day! Everything was kind of hurry up and wait and then she was dragged around all over Bellevue while Nick, My Mom, Nick's Mom and I got some shopping done. She went a whole day with no major melt downs. It was awesome! She first had a complete eye exam including getting her eyes dilated, before the Dr came in to see us. We found out that she has perfect vision and she is in good ocular health, other then those pesky tear ducts. The Dr was very nice and was great with Makenna. Both Nick and I were very impressed. She answered all of our questions and told us that surgery was probably the best thing for her to get the ducts unclogged. We then scheduled the surgery for next Monday. The surgery itself will take less than an hour but we will need to be there about an hour early for pre-op stuff, and then she will have an hour of recovery after to make sure she comes out of anesthesia ok. I wasn't ever nervous about Makenna having surgery before when I knew it was a possibility, but now that it is a reality and only a few days away, I'm getting a little nervous. I just hope she reacts well to the anesthesia and that things go as planned. I will let you know how things go after Monday, and hopefully I will have nothing exciting to report other then she has unclogged ducts. Please keep our sweet Makenna in your prayers, Monday that things will go as planned.

Makenna, Makenna, Makenna

So I thought that it was about time to do an actually update on this beautiful 8 month old baby rather then just pictures.

First things first, her eyes. From the time that she was born she has had clogged tear ducts in both eyes. For most babies, they go away with a little bit of massaging and and growing but her's haven't. This is why in many of her pictures like the one below, her eyes look teary and goopy. For the most part clogged tear ducts are harmless but they do make babies more susceptible to infections. About 2 weeks ago I had mentioned how lucky we are that she hasn't gotten an infection and sure enough two days later she woke up with one of her eyes almost swollen shut, super goopy and sad looking. The next day I took her to the doctor and sure enough she had an infection. Tomorrow we go to Seattle Children's ophthalmology clinic to get her ducts looked at and figure out which procedure they will do to fix them. This appointment as been scheduled for over 2 months so for her to get an infection 2 weeks before was kind of ironic.

We now have a mobile baby! Makenna is crawling! For the most part she does an army crawl but the past day or two she does a couple of "scoots" on her hands and knees. Either way she now gets to just about what ever she wants. She also can sit herself up from laying down, pulls herself up and walks along the furniture, and walks well with assistance. She is getting so big so fast!

Her favorite toys are of course not actually toys, they are laundry baskets, water bottles, cell phones, boxes, and other household items. You get the picture.

This little girl is super flexible. Maybe she'll be a gymnast. Who knows?

In other news, she "talks" a LOT and is starting to make noises that are sounding a lot like words. When she is crabby or mad she yells MaMaMaMaMaMaMom! I haven't quite decided if what she's says really is Mama/Mom. She has 4 teeth, her two front top teeth and 2 teeth on the bottom. She weighs 19#8 oz, and is 27" long.

She grows and changes everyday and is so much fun to have around. She is a little ray of sunshine and we can't imagine how boring our lives would be with out this silly little girl around.

Cutest Cheerleader ever!

GO WILDCATS!

Sneak Peek

Just a sneak peek of Makenna's halloween costume. Cutest lady bug ever if you ask me.

Good Life

*Turn up your speakers*

The song that you hear playing has inspired today's post. The song is call "Good Life" and I indeed have a very good life!

I have a husband who loves me in-spite of my occasional crabbiness, random crying spells and all of my other faults. He is a great dad and loves our little girl with all of his heart and it is so apparent every time he looks at her. I wouldn't make it without him by my side. I love you Nick!

I am blessed to be a parent to the most beautiful baby girl in the whole world. Being a Mom is the hardest job I have ever had and I wouldn't change it for the world. I love watching her grow, learn, smile, laugh, play and give cuddles. She is growing so fast and I wish I had more time at home to just sit and be amazed by her enjoy all of the new things she learns and does everyday. I love you my sweet Makenna Grace!

I have the worlds best parents! They have always worked so hard so my brothers and I could have all of the things that we needed. Both my mom and dad have always been the best examples of love, selflessness, hard work and compassion. I appreciate all of the things that they have always done for me and continue to do everyday. I love you Mom and Dad!

In addition to my parents I have great parent in-laws! They have gone out of their way so many times to help us out when we needed them. Thank you for welcoming me into your family so generously and for raising the best Man I could have ever have asked for! I love you Both!

I am blessed to be the only girl in crew of 3 "big" brothers. Aaron- Thank you for always being my big protective brother and being a great example to me in so many ways. Thank you for giving me my first "sister" and making me an auntie to the cutest 2 1/2 kids! Mitchie- I love that we have always been so close and are still the greatest of friends. Thank you for always being there for me when I needed you most! Garrett- Baby brother! You have taught me so many things even as the youngest. You inspire me with your musical abilities and always seem to amaze me with your talent. I love you my brothers!

I have wonderful brothers and sisters in-laws. I love that they have all accepted me as one of their own. It is so fun to add to my family and I always enjoy the time that I get to spend with them. I love you Carolyn, Kristin, Ryan, Brook, Amie, and Taylor!

We are poor, we don't have everything we need or want, I hate our apartment, but we have a roof over our head, I have a job that I enjoy waking up for that allows me to pay for the apartment I hate, we have food on the table, and a home full of love so I don't have anything to complain about.

I have a GREAT life!