Surgery

So Kate's hernia surgery is over! It went really well, she was fussing the next morning because we wouldn't let her rider her new bike, I'm taking that as a sign that she's healing nicely!

Lets see... We got to the hospital at 11am and got her changed into a HUGE gown, HUGE pants and HUGE socks- just because she's 4 doesn't mean she's as big as most 4-year-olds! Then we were off to play in the waiting room.

The first nurse comes to get us to do vitals. Kate decides right off that she's not having it. First up was her weight- no deal. She throws a screaming fit, wraps her arms and legs around J's body and won't let go! The ended up weighing both of them, then I took her and they weighed J by himself. She's a whopping 29lbs! Then off to an exam room to get her blood pressure (went slightly better, she's used to playing with my BP cuff) and her pulse. I think she thought they were going to kill her at this point, she absolutely screamed nonstop the whole time! I even put the meter on my own finger to show her it wouldn't hurt and she didn't care. We ended up holding her down- J had her arms, I had one leg and the nurse had the other- they put a teensy bandaid-type meter on her tiny toe and put the big sock back on- she actually kicked the nurse a few times!

So after that fiesta, we went back to the waiting room where there was a standard black Poodle surrounded by 100 little kids in ginormous gowns! Kate liked looking at it, but she wasn't willing to actually touch it! Then a lady from Family Services came out with a big box of stuff to show Kate: surgical masks, the masks K'd wear to get the anesthetic, stuff like that. She let K try on the masks and put them on us, then she took her down the hallway to get hats for us. They were watching to see how she'd do without us and letting her get used to the attire the surgeon and staff would be wearing in the OR. This has got to be the best idea, she was absolutely fine after this!

After another short wait we met with an anesthesiologist, answered the same questions as the 1st nurse, K picked out her "flavor" (raspberry), then we waited/played again.

Finally we went back to meet with the surgeon and the main anesthesiologist. Another round of the same questions (no, she's still not allergic to anything but Augmentin, no new loose teeth since they asked 5 minutes ago...) and the surgeon asked her to lay down so he could mark her hernias. She hopped up on the table, we showed him the hernias and when he went to mark them she freaked out and jumped about 50 feet! We had to reassure her he was only holding a pen, she though for sure he was going to "shot" her!

When he left his nurse came in to take K. I thought for sure she'd freak out again, or at least cry, but no- she took the nurse's hand and before they turned the corner K was laughing about something!

We were in the waiting room long enough for me to read 2 magazines when Dr Pittinger came in. Her surgery took half an hour (he'd originally said it could take up to an hour and a half) and she was already in recovery! Everything went very well, they fixed the hernias, bandaged her up and she was being woken up. After a few minutes we got to go back and see her! She was laying on her side facing away from us and the nurse with her said she'd already been talking about having a birthday that weekend and telling her about her party at Chuck E Cheese! Of course the second she heard our voices she started crying, but the nurse said that that's normal. She wanted to be held, so J got her and rocked her to sleep. We moved to the 2nd recovery room shortly after this and J and I watched Spongebob while she slept. She woke and asked to lay in the bed, and when we moved her she said she was sick. I got an emesis basin under her chin just in time for her to burp loud enough to shake the walls, then she was fine! She slept for about half an hour more, then we got her discharge info, they took out her IV and we got her dressed. She was very excited to ride in a wagon from the recovery room to the car!

She slept most of the way home, and dozed on and off the rest of the evening. She had Motrin for pain, didn't seem to be in enough to get her prescription filled, which was great! The next morning is when she cried because we wouldn't let her ride her bike!

Happy Birthday, Kate!

So somehow the years have flown by and my baby girl is now a grown-up 4 year old! I don't know how I didn't realize it was going by so fast!

We had her birthday party at Chuck E Cheese (chaotic, but at least the massive mess wasn't at MY house!) and they all had lots of fun! There were 13 kids in all, plus moms and a few dads. We had a blast! Kate even let us get her next to Chuck E! She's been terrified of him for years, but when she saw her girlfriends hugging him, she had to do it, too!

Jamie and I got her a big-girl bike! She got it first thing this morning, it was a little too big to wrap and take to the party! She was SO excited, she hurried and got dressed and started asking to go on a bike ride. She rode circles through the house- den, kitchen, hallway, dining room- and really got the hang of it pretty quickly!

I'm going to go play with the kids now, turns out they grow up fast whether you pay attention or not, and I don't want to miss any of it!

So I found out what to expect next!

So this was drill weekend, and we always have J's troops over for dinner and whatever. Kate has totally fallen head-over-heels in love with 2 of the guys, Brandon and Chris. Last night, everyone was starting to leave and before too long it was Brandon, Chris and Jemen (another of J's troops, who Kate had been playing tea party with all evening). When they were the only ones left, Kate turns to Jemen and says, "You can go now, I want to spend time with my boys." What on earth will she be doing/saying when she's 16??


The weather has been much better (until this weekend, but that's another post...) and Kate and I have enjoyed watching the kids play on the school playground. I hear she and Alec yelling across the backyard every day, and sometimes I sneak and take pictures! Can you see him?

And finally, my sweet, beautiful daughter has apparently inherited her mother's penchant for body art! Luckily (HOPEFULLY!) these are washable markers!

Latest funny Kate story!

What in the world am I going to do with this child??

So Jamie was home alone with Kate and all of a sudden he hears her in the kitchen laughing hysterically. Sometimes that's a beautiful sound, nothing warms the heart like a child's laughter, right? Well, we've learned the hard way that it usually means she's up to something.

Molly, our 6-month-old English Springer Spaniel was in the kitchen eating and Kate had gone in with her. There stands Kate, PANTS DOWN, and there's Molly behind her, licking her fanny!

Seriously, what will she do next??? I'm almost afraid to ask!

We're off to see the wizard

So tonight starts the LONG tornado scare-season! I'm not sure when the actual season is, but so far tonight we've been to the basement twice!

Introducing the latest Stover blog feature- The Tornado Count! Might be fun to keep track of our basement trips! Count along with us, the counter is over on the right.