April 10, 2012
Hunter and Fisher playing in the sand. This was the first time Hunter played in the sand! I was one happy momma to see my twins playing together outside!!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Justin's Fat Lip
April 9, 2012
Justin experienced his first road rash. He was racing across the cul-de-sac with his buddy, Wyatt. They bumped into each other and both hit the road. Justin got a raspberry on his forehead, upper lip, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle. He also got quite the fat lip. Let's just say we wont be having the 50-yard-dash across the cul-de-sac.
Hoogle Zoo
April 9, 2012.
For Spring Break I took the boys to Hoogle Zoo. My sisters and their kids and my mom and sister-in-law, Paige, also came. We had a lot of fun. The weather was perfect...not too hot...not too cold.
Here is the crew:
Hunter, Keegan, Fisher, Justin, Jason, Will, Cole, Soren, Emmie, Hannah, and Addie.
We had to wait at the front gate for the cousins to get there. It's not their fault their mother's were late! haha. Justin and Fisher both had green shirts on so it made it super easy to spot them when I needed to look for them.
Hunter was so happy in the stroller. He did great as long as he had his shades on . He just munched on finger snacks all day!
The first animal that we saw were the turkeys. Fisher and Soren got right up close to the fence and one of the turkeys spread his tail and jumped real close to the fence and scared Fisher and Soren to death. It was quite funny for the rest of us.
This monkey put on a show for us while he ate his breakfast. He was eating a bunch of leafy greens. The kids thought it was great.
Justin.
The elephants were out and about being friendly. Here is the baby elephant.
This momma monkey was protecting her baby. It was the smallest baby monkey I had ever seen. It was about the size of a large mouse with the longest tail ever.
Jason, Justin and Keegan seeing if they measure up to the apes. Justin is almost the same size as the adult female.
Justin, Fisher and Hunter taking a break and eating snacks.
The boys waited all day to see the lion. They were dissapointed when they found out there was not a lion.
All day Justin refused to go into the girls bathroom. I figured he would eventually give it up and go in. Before we left I finally sent Justin into the men's bathroom with my 8-year-old nephew, Will. Will came out and said: "Justin wet his pants." So I thought 'ok, he probably got the top of his pants wet' and then he came out of the bathroom with wet pants to his knees. At the last minute I threw in some extra clothes for Hunter. I took Justin into the baby changing room and changed him into Hunter's sweat pants.
This is how the conversation went:
Mom: "Ok Justin, you need to take off your pants and your underware. You need to put on Hunter's pants without underware. Its going to feel funny because they are a little tight."
Justin: after he got Hunter's 24-month sweats pulled up, "They feel good. I like it."
This picture is of him walking away. I was happy that he didnt care and it really didnt matter that he had on speedo capri's.
We had so much fun. we want to go back when they are all done with construction and when the lion arrives.
Our New Playground
The 1st week in April 2012 was dedicated to fixing up the back yard.
HOORAY for a new playground!! We got a new playground for the back yard. We love it! Tyler did a fantastic job putting it together! I wont mention that he had to redo and redo multiple steps during setup due to poorly written instructions. But it is now assembled and that is what matters.
We had to make the sand area a little larger to accomodate the new playset which means the fireplace area got smaller. But it all fits and the area is now filled back up with new sand.
One of the best things about the playset is that we have more swings. We also got a bucket swing for Hunter and he absolutely loves it. Fisher loves to swing on his tummy and drag his fingers in the sand.
Justin really took to the rock wall. He thought it was pretty cool. He also likes the rope ladder.
We tried to teach the boys a lesson when we bought the playset. They had to empty their piggy banks and we took the change to the bank. They acted like it Maybe one day they will remember that they had to 'help' pay for it. Tyler and I also emptied our spare change jar that we have been donating to for the past 11 years.
We love the new playset!
Egg Hunt 2012
April 7, 2012.We had the annual Gerber family Easter egg hunt at Haylie's house this year. This year we tried hiding small toys or gadgets in half the eggs instead of just candy. It was a hit with the kids.
Here is the gang with all of their loot.
Back Row: Jason, Hannah, Emmie, Addie, Soren, Justin, Keegan.
Front Row: Will, Cole Hunter, Fisher.
Justin is finally tall enough to reach for the ones in the trees.
Fisher did pretty good. He and the other little boys got a bit of a head start.
Hunter gathered eggs with the help from Dad.
Hunter was so happy. I wanted to get a picture with each of my boys but Hunter was the only one who would let me.
This is Soren and Fisher. They are quite a pair. They have so much fun together and they play so good. Soren is 3 weeks older than Fisher and Hunter.
My cute mom under the umbrella trying to stay cool.
Justin wouldn't let me be in the picture with him but I did get this one of him. He is growing up and is so handsome. I love his glasses!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Coloring Easter Eggs
April 6, 2012.
Easter egg coloring is one of the boys' favorite activities. Hunter even got in on the action this year; even if it was from his highchair.
The finished product.
Justin especially enjoyed the white crayon and its 'magical' effects.
Hunter.
Fisher and mom.
Kidney Surgery Recovery
March 31st. 10 days post-op.
Hunter's kidney surgery recovery has been amazing! He is a happy little guy and you would never guess he had surgery of any kind.
This is his incision. He still has tape crossing the cut. One the right side is where the drain tube exited his body. He is recovering well.
Even after surgery he prefers to play in the headstand position. He is so funny.
This is his back after Tyler ripped his bandage off. I was so worried about taking it off his skin and Tyler just pulled it off in one swift pull and Hunter didn't even act like he knew what happened. His skin was red for about 1/2 a day. I was amazed.
We are so happy things are going so well for him.
The wind around this place
This is what the wind is capable of doing where we live. I looked out the window and this is what I saw!
The tramp survived with a few modifications. And now we have sandbags holding our tramp down. Our only hope is that this tramp will survive this summer and we will get a new one next summer!
Happy Birthday Hillary
March 24, 2012.
For my birthday this year Tyler and the boys surprised me with a bike and a bike trailer. We had just gotten home from the hospital with Hunter the day before. That morning Tyler let me sleep in. Justin just couldnt take it any longer and he came and woke me up so I could come see my surprise.
My bike and trailer were out on the deck and I was so excited.
Tyler said that he got the idea from Justin. He asked Justin what he thougth they should get mom for my birthday and Justin replied, "I know Dad, a bike." So thats what they did and I am so happy.
Here I am returning from my first ride with Fisher in tow.
Hunter even took a little ride. We were ever so careful not to bump his back and not hit any bumps or holes. We didnt want to jar him 4 days after surgery.
Here we are a few days later after a family bike ride to the gas station.
Thanks Tyler and boys for a great birthday!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Hunter's Pyeloplasty & ABR
On March 21, 2012, Hunter went to Primary Children's Hospital to have a Right Pyeloplasty (Kidney surgery) and an ABR (Auditory Brian Response).
We had to be at the hospital at 6:00 am. The nurses got him all weighed in and got him in his cute little hospital clothes. We met with all the doctors and the anesthesiologist.
Surgery began about 7:30 am. The first thing that happened was the inspection of the ear and the ABR. Hunter's left ear tube was completely blocked so Dr. Meier removed that ear tube and inserted a new one. His right ear tube was blocked slightly but the doctor was able to clean that one without having to put in a new one. They also preformed the ABR. This test was done to test for hearing loss of any kind. If there was hearing loss then it could tell us if it was in his ear or in the connection between the ear and the brain. About 30-40 minutes after Hunter went in for surgery the audiologist, Adrianne, came out to give her report. The ABR was NORMAL!! I cried. That means Hunter can hear and his brain is getting the message in a time frame that is considered normal! Woot! Woot! He can hear my voice! Adrianne said they tried to do an OAE test which he failed. The OAE is the hearing test that most kids get; the one with the probe that gets stuck down the ear canal. Hunter has failed this test time and time again; thus the reason for the ABR. She explained that he could be failing for a number of reasons one of them being that he has ear tubes. However, the ABR is a much better test to test the hearing. And he CAN hear!
Then at 8:30 the kidney surgery began and lasted almost 2 1/2 hours. Hunter had to have a pyeloplasty on his right kidney because he had a UPJ (Ureteropelvic junction)Obstruction. That means there is a blockage in the area that connects the renal pelvis (part of the kidney) to one of the ureter tubes that moves urine to the bladder. We discovered something was wrong with his kidney at my 20 week ultrasound. We have monitored it since then. The pyeloplasty involved removing the ureter tube from the kidney and reattaching it to a new location on the kidney and then removing the portion of the kidney that was affected. The doctor had to do some reconstructive work to his kidney where the work was done. He was stitched up from the inside out with hundreds of stitches on the inside and then glued together on the outside. He had a drain tube that stuck out of his backside. This tube allowed the kidney and the area around the kidney to drain while it was healing. This tube was removed before we came home from the hospital. He had a dressing on the outside around his tube. It was held in place by this bandage with laces (see photo below).
At 11:00, Dr. Snow (urologist/surgeon) came out and told us that the surgery went really well. Hunter's kidney drained well during surgery so he was able to put a different tube in to drain than anticipated. We were anticipating that we would take Hunter home from the hospital with a drain but because he responded well to the surgery and his kidney flushed well they were able to put a tube in that would come out before going home. What a relief!
about 20 minutes later, I headed down to recovery to see him. Only one parent was allowed in recovery so Tyler waited in the waiting room for us and we met up with him when they transported Hunter to the surgical recovery floor.
The surgery was on Wednesday morning and Hunter was released from the hospital on Friday. I stayed with him and Tyler went back and forth from home to the hospital. He took good care of Justin and Fisher while I was staying with Hunter.
Here are some photos:
Here I am with Hunter right before he went to the OR. Hunter looks so sleepy hear because they gave him so Versed. This causes him to be drowsy, have less anxiety, and have less memory of the event. It really worked on him. Right after this picture was taken we walked down a long hall with a nurse and then had to hand him off and part ways. This was difficult for us.
This is what I first saw when I was taken to the recovery room. My first few thoughts were: 'Look how big he look in that bed.' and 'He can hear!' I waited here for about 30 minutes for him to wake up and he never did so they decided to transport him before he woke up and was mad.
Once we got out of recovery and up to the surgical recovery floor we got all checked in and just waited for Hunter to come out of the anesthesia. It took a long time for this to happen. He would start to cry and moan when it was time for his pain meds and then once he got the morphine in his IV he was right back to sleep. He never did open his eyes the day of the surgery. I was worried he would be up all night. But he slept great. The day after surgery wasn't much better. He didn't really wake up until that afternoon. His vitals were good so they weren't too worried about him. Poor little guy was tuckered right out. I finally got him to stay awake for about 40 minutes that afternoon when I let him watch Mickey Mouse and a little CARS. His hands and face were so puffy from all the fluids from the IV. He wouldn't drink anything after he woke up.
This was Hunter's 1st dressing change. It was quite red from all the blood. So the bandage was stuck to his entire back and it opened in the middle to allow for a large pad. It then laced up just like a shoe. This type of bandage was used so that the dressing could be changed without constantly ripping tape off of his skin. It worked pretty slick.
Here is a picture of the tube hanging out of his back. It looked like a long flat fettuccine noodle.
This is what the bandage looked like all cleaned up and tied.
On Thursday evening we were able to get Hunter out of bed and take him for a wagon ride. We went up and down the hall and even outside on this open patio. It was good to get him off the IV so we could start getting him to drink something.
Once Hunter woke up he played with some of his favorite toys from home. Here he is in his hospital crib. He never rolled from his back or side.
The day that we left the hospital I finally was able to get him to drink something. He wouldn't drink so I brushed his teeth and then he wanted a drink. The red spots on his forehead are from the probes used during the ABR.
This picture was taken right before the tube was removed. The tube was held in place by a couple stitches. The doctor snipped the stitches and applied a small amount of presser on the top side of it and pulled it right out. It was inside of his body about 3 inches. It was pretty amazing to watch. The hole where the tube came out was left open. He continued to drain from it a small amount over the next 24 hours. They don't want to stitch it up and create a pocket where infection can grow.
Considering all the Hunter went through he did amazing. He is one tough cookie!
Hunter goes back for a follow up in 6 weeks. In the meantime, easy does it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
