School is in!!

Posted by Andrew & Jessica on Wednesday Sep 7, 2011 Under Andrew, Mary Elizabeth

Both of our kiddies started school this week. Mary Elizabeth’s 1st day of FIRST GRADE (can you believe it???) started rough because the bus never came (although we found out after we waited 45 minutes for it, it came 3-4 minutes after we left) and mommy had to drive her to school. Only a mile from the school a utility truck was on the side of the road where there was a lot of branches and debris – and we went around the truck and as we came back into the lane there was a huge rock that we proceeded to hit as we didn’t have a clear view of it ahead of time. This nice big rock dented the rim and thus – a flat tire. We spent some time on the side of the road but thankfully we had a lot of help from the people at her school. She made it to school and eventually mommy and Drew made it back home (but a little longer than we planned because the car decided to become possessed or something and wouldn’t start yet the windshield wipers wouldn’t turn off – even with the key not in the ignition). Grandpa helped us out when we got home and we were able to have a company fix the dent in the rim. We were also helped out by a client of Daddy’s with tires! So everything turned out fine and ME had a GREAT first day after all! She is in uniform now, but it’s a flexible one, she can wear any color polo or button up shirt with a collar, and dresses, skirts or slacks that are black, navy, khaki or grey. She looks super cute in anything as we’ve learned.

Drew had a great first day at Preschool as well. He was excited to have quite a few buddies in his class that he’s been friends with for a while at church now. He has a nice new teacher and we are really partial to his teacher’s assistant…. Grandma Ray! 🙂 He is very excited about going to school and very into it this year! He was adorable looking on his first day dontcha think??? Because of his sister’s fiasco the day before he missed his orientation- but that’s ok, we’re not new to the school so we know how it goes. And we’re just grateful that he didn’t have the same first day as she did, because he certainly would’ve missed it. The poor lil guy was stuck with mommy on the side of the road most of the morning with his pjs on, no shoes and no food in his belly as we didn’t get a chance to eat breakfast. But he did so well considering. What a good little guy!

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In other news, the previous update we told everyone that ME was going to have a steroid injection on September 19th. That was cancelled. The area that was worked on in August was pretty aggravated and Dr. Waner suggested we do some sclerotherapy. While we thought we were nearing the end, we realized we have more steps. Such is life- right? So we’re moving on to that and Dr. Berenstein who does her Sclero is ordering an MRI for her. We have that set for September 29th. Unlike previous MRIs, she will not be having anesthesia. She is older now and very good with handling her doctor visits and things she needs to get done- so they suggested we give it a go. And we showed her pictures of the MRI machines and explained it all to her so we found her practicing laying still on the couch a few times. She’s funny! She will need contrast so they are going to stick her with an IV, I think that’ll be the only part she’s gonna put up a fight about. But, we know- she’ll do it. After the MRI is done we will meet with Dr. B and then schedule sclerotherapy. So we’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime the kids are well, and we are back in routine for the year!

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Six Years Old… and so forth

Posted by Andrew & Jessica on Friday Jun 3, 2011 Under Andrew, Mary Elizabeth

The little princess has turned SIX on May 20th. We really can’t believe it. She is looking and acting so much older, and just saying the word SIX reminds us, she’s not a toddler, she’s a little girl. WOW. And what a beautiful, strong, happy little girl she is!
She had a wonderful birthday with her friends at a nearby roller-rink. And then celebrated with both Mommy & Daddy’s sides of the family. It was a never-ending celebration- but would you expect anything less from us? or for her? 🙂

She doesn’t go to the doctor until June 21st, but according to mommy’s measurements she’s about 41″ or so, and 34-35 lbs. She recently has been eating a lot and that would explain the recent couple pounds she finally gained (she was hanging around 32 for the longest time!). She also probably grew a good inch. And now of course at her birthday she is moving into the next size. Seems every year around her birthday she moves up a size. So now we’re in a 5 or 5t. However her little tiny feet are a size 9 toddler, the same size as her 3 1/2 yr old brother! haha.

Speaking of feet, don’t ya just love the way she’s got her feet in this photo we got done of her? LOVE IT!

Anyway, we are nearing the end of Kindergarten. She’s got a few weeks left which are full of events and trips. She goes to SPLASHDOWN with the school (of course mommy & daddy are joining- Drew too). And she said it herself “Mommy, if I still had the trach I wouldn’t have been able to go to splashdown right??” – Right! We are truly blessed and are looking forward to a summer filled with WATER! haha.

Well just because it was Mary Elizabeth’s birthday, doesn’t mean we can forget about our little Drew… Here he is waving to ya. Lately with all the birthdays going on (cousin Evan, his sister, his grandma etc) he is not happy that his isn’t close by. He’ll tell ya his birthday is in November, but he wants November to be tomorrow! And well anyone in NY or nearby, knows we hope November takes a LONG time to get here so we can enjoy this weather. He’s growing up fast though… and learning so much. He is nearing the end of his first year of preschool. Mommy & Daddy think they have decided that he will attend preschool for 3 years. His teachers think he’d be ready, but they also agree that there is no harm in holding him back. With his birthday right at the end of November, and the cut off being December 1st, he could go either way with when he starts Kindergarten. We’ve heard a lot of people say they wish they held their children back (that were end of the year babies), but we’ve never heard them say they wish they didn’t hold them back. Being the oldest in his class is something we’d rather than him being the youngest and it’d be a nice and easy transition because there are 3 different classrooms in his preschool and then he’ll start a whole different school after that. So he won’t notice at all. He also gets a little bit more time before having to go to school all day long. Which is a nice thing for him, and hmmmm not as nice for mommy. hahaha. Just kidding, the one on one time with him has been nice with Mary Elizabeth is in school, and I think it is great for both of us to enjoy it a bit longer.  Anyway, these are just our thoughts for now. We shall see.
He’s still quite the active child…. so thankfully spring & summer have helped that. We’re out and about at parks, and now as the heat approaches – we’re in the pools and such.

We hope to all have a wonderful summer and have lots of things planned. So we’ll be updating as we go along!

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The fun in the sun has begun

Posted by Andrew & Jessica on Thursday May 12, 2011 Under Andrew, Mary Elizabeth

OK so the title was cheesey! haha. Couldn’t think of one. Basically, we’ve been having a lot of fun enjoying the warmer weather. We got to kick off the fun back in April when we went to WALT DISNEY WORLD.  Boy did the kids have a blast! We had a great time, great weather and it was just all around a great experience. Wore us out a bit- sure… but unforgettable none-the-less. We were there for 7 days and spent 6 of them visiting Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios (some we went back to again). From 8:30am til 9:30 pm (some nights MUCH later) we were on the go. By the last day we were exhausted so we decided to use that day to go to Typhoon Lagoon. It was a great water park and we had a lot of fun, but I won’t lie- we spent a good amount of time in the Lazy River or just hanging out in the “pool” type of things they had. It was refreshing and relaxing. And it was EXCITING because Mary Elizabeth had her first experience in water with the trach out. She was in that water right up to her shoulders. And she went down the little kiddy water slides and all. It was a dream come true really for all of us. Finally!!! Now here comes the sad part. The water park had water everywhere and it really wasn’t ideal to have your camera out. And it wasn’t smart to leave it sitting on a table with your towels especially if you have an expensive one like we do. So we bought one of the disposable water proof cameras they were selling there. We took all sorts of pictures of her first experience in the water. Later Drew got a hold of it and mommy & daddy both thought the other parent got it from him. But apparently neither of us retrieved it. And thus it was left behind. So far Disney has not been able to find it. They have tried though. So we have no photos to look back on of her first true swimming experience. 🙁

Anyway… moving forward. We came home and pretty much jumped right into Easter. We had a great Easter with the family and the kids loved opening their baskets and going on their Easter Egg hunts etc. In with all the fun of it, they did focus on what it was all about. And that meant so much to us to hear it from their little mouths.

In the midst of all of that we got an email from one of the people that work for Dr. Waner and she said he will be away for Mary Elizabeth’s scheduled surgery on June 30th. They offered us a date the week before and at first we took it but then we remembered some family events and decided to push it back. Her next surgery is now scheduled for August 4th. This will give us a chance to not miss out or be in recovery mode during most of the events we have … and yet she will most likely be good-to-go for the next school year.

Right now we’re enjoying the nice weather, going to the park, on playdates, having fun just in the backyard. We have a busy May and June and think it’s going to fly by! Which means before ya know it Mary Elizabeth will be 6 years old and done with Kindergarten – WHOA.

Both kids are doing really well with school and had a good year. It was quite the adjustment for Drew but he’s doing well with it all. And as for ME, she loved every minute of it and has done well in the transition to the new school this year. Despite all her time off for surgeries and whatnot… she is right on target for where she needs to be. She’s reading lots and starting to tell time, counting money and doing some math as well.

Well we’ll be sure to check in and share how the big girl made out for her birthday… it’s coming soon!!!!

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New Year, New Experiences

Posted by Andrew & Jessica on Friday Jan 7, 2011 Under Andrew, Mary Elizabeth

We had a great Christmas, and hope all of you did as well. The kids got lots of great presents from Santa, and our loved ones. And then we moved onto New Years.

Reflecting back on 2010… we saw some ups & downs- like any year. But, it’s the blessings that we were counting. We’ve gotten closer to some friends, made some new ones, connected with LM families, had some great times & fun with the family and best of all, Mary Elizabeth got her trach removed after 5 1/2 years. You can’t beat that! We thank God for every day we’ve spent together as a family and we are looking forward to seeing what 2011 brings us.

With that, we’ve already seen that Mary Elizabeth herself is going to have some new experiences. One in which she just experienced – riding the bus. Who would have thought that riding the bus was that big of a deal. But back in September when it was her first day of school and she eagerly awaited the bus, it was then we had to let her down because there was no nurse on that bus (as there should have been). Mommy has been fighting with the district to no avail. They simply could not find a nurse to ride the bus with her all this time. So after the trach removal we scheduled a meeting because obviously she no longer needed a nurse. That meeting happened this past week and finally she RODE THE BUS! Seems like such a small thing but it meant the world to her so we were soooo happy for her!

And we all know what will eventually be coming as for new experiences…. SWIMMING!!! Now that she no longer has a trach, we can take her swimming – for real! The hole that was left over from her trach being in place has been closing but there is still a very small hole that remains. It hasn’t really changed much recently, so the Dr. has scheduled her to come in on January 24th into the OR and stitch it closed. So swimming is definitely in her future. We’re hoping to arrange something where she can go in an indoor pool so she doesn’t have to wait til the summer. Of course we’ll take lots of pictures when it actually happens.

The rest of us are doing well. Drew is getting bigger by second it seems and him and Mary Elizabeth have lots of fun together playing…. when they aren’t going through some sibling rivalry! oye! haha… but really how can you just not love these two:

Anyway, a belated Happy New Year to you all… we’ll be checking in soon! 🙂

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Our pic with Santa

Posted by Andrew & Jessica on Friday Dec 17, 2010 Under Andrew, Mary Elizabeth

Ever since Drew’s 2nd Christmas, he hasn’t been too fond of Santa Claus… at least not up close. You can’t really count his 1st Christmas because he was only 3 weeks old when we took the picture!

He really doesn’t like anyone dressed up in Character or anything like that. Santa looks different, I mean he’s all in red, big long beard… it’s a bit nerve wracking for Drew. And let’s not even mention the Easter Bunny! ha!

Drew takes after Daddy, who had the same fears. But alas, Drew was brave this year for his 4th Christmas!!!

Due to the other kids going up, ME making it seem oh so fun and talking to him about it… and a little push from mommy & Grandma… he went up and very very close to Santa. Sure he froze and stood there and was a soooo nervous – he did it. It helped that Santa was so sweet with him. He tried talking to him from a distance about Thomas the Train, Buzz light year and asked him if he wanted any of that or some cars for Christmas. Drew was intrigued. When Santa tried to get Drew to come up and sit on his lap or next to him, Drew started to back up, so mommy placed him right next to his sister letting him stand there, and yep that’s where he stood, frozen- no smile- but he stood there and thus we have a picture – Mommy was proud, he was proud, heck he even gave Santa a High Five afterwards, maybe he’ll get better and better as the years go by. Time will only tell!

Here are some of the funny pictures we had from his 2nd and 3rd year with Santa. Reminisce with me!

2008 – I plopped Drew down without him knowing really what was going on and he immediately started climbing off and crying. Photographer was fast and took the picture as Drew first started getting down.

2009- There was NO fooling Drew here… he was hysterical the moment he got on Santa’s lap. Holy cow was he crying! 🙁

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