Everhett and Jarod's Arrival

-Everhett and Jarod's flight was scheduled to arrive at 8:44 p.m., we were told that we would need to arrive at the airport 2 hours early to allow enough time to get our gate passes and go through security. We arrived at the airport a little after 6 p.m., found a parking space, loaded Daniel and Caden into the stroller and headed to the ticket counter. We got our gate pass, went through security and went to the gate to wait. Daniel and Caden enjoyed playing in the play area while we waited. We kept an eye on the screens that showed arriving and departing flights and noticed that several flights in and out of Nashville were delayed or canceled. We began worrying when we did not see any information on Everhett and Jarod's flight. There was no one at the gate to ask (apparently they had all gone home). I called to find out some information using one of the courtesy phones and we were told that there flight had been delayed until 9 p.m. The lady that I spoke with was not very polite and hung up on me as I was in the middle of asking a question. RUDE! Richard called an spoke with a polite person and found out their flight was scheduled to arrive on time, he also pointed out that no information about the flight was appearing on the screen. (The information quickly appeared after Richard got off the phone.) The plane arrived around 8:45 p.m., we got the boys bags from baggage claim and headed to the car. We went through the McDonald's drive-thru and grabbed a LATE supper before heading home. We arrived home a little after 10 p.m. All the kids are in bed and we are headed to bed very soon. We are so happy to have Everhett and Jarod with us for the next couple of months.

*I am usually not one to complain about a specific company/product but we are not fans of United Airlines. We have flown them before and were very impressed but after tonight we will probably never fly them again. It was very hard to get answers about the flight information when needed it. We saw people from every airline but United. We have decided the boys will fly back via Southwest.

Donuts - YUMMY!

Daniel's Eye Surgery

-We were up EARLY this morning (4:40ish). Daniel came into our room, got in bed with us and did not go back to sleep. We left our house around 6 a.m., we had to be at the hospital (VCH) at 7:30 a.m. and we had to stop for gas. Daniel was very irritable on the drive and cried or fussed the whole time maybe because he was hungry, maybe because he was sleepy, maybe because he knew where we were going. We arrived at the hospital a little before 7:30, checked in and we were soon called back to the holding room. Daniel was weighed (24.6 pounds), his temp and blood pressure were checked. I answered several questions. Daniel played with some toys, we read a book and then he was ready to go (meaning leave). The nurse found Daniel a car to drive (Little Tikes) and this made him happy to stay. Daniel loved driving around the holding room and up and down the hall. Daniel was excited to be able to drive "his car" to the OR when it was time to go. The nurses said that he loved driving "his car" so much that he did not want to get out of the car once they got to the OR.
-We were told to expect the surgery to take about an hour. We were hungry (we didn't eat breakfast since Daniel couldn't eat). We ran over to McDonald's to grab a bite to eat. Pop-Pop and Nanny stayed in the waiting area. Our cell phone rang while we were waiting on the elevator to go back up to the waiting area, the doctor was wanting to meet with us in a conference room. We were worried that something had gone wrong until we noticed the time and that it had been an hour (the hour went by quickly).
-Dr. Morrison said that everything went great, he tightened the muscles in both eyes probed the tear ducts in both eyes (the right one was blocked, the left one was not). Dr. Morrison went over the discharge instructions with us - discourage eye rubbing, expect bleeding the for the first 48-72 hours, use a cold clothe to prevent/reduce swelling, his face can't get real wet for a week, he can't be in dirty, dusty places (outside, pools, sandboxes) for 2 weeks and we are to apply an antibiotic ointment 3 times a day. Dr. Morrison also went over the symptoms of infection - fever, green discharge and face swelling. We are to call the doctor's office if Daniel shows any signs of infection. We were told that Daniel was in recovery and that we would be called back as soon as he woke up. We were called back in less than 15 minutes. Daniel had just woken up and was very compative. The nurses were hoping that having us there to hold him and talk to him would help keep him calm. Richard picked Daniel up and he was very agitated. Richard and I decided that only one of us should stay with Daniel in recovery because every time we talked Daniel would become agitated and his stats would drop. I chose to go to the waiting room since I had been in the holding room before the surgery. Richard came out to the waiting room about an hour later and said that Daniel was ready to go home. I went back to the recovery room and got Daniel dressed and Richard headed to the parking garage to get the car. We stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home for lunch. Daniel ate a pancake, a biscuit and ice cream and drank some chocolate milk. Pop-Pop, Nanny, Mary and Emma came to our house to visit after lunch and this made Daniel very happy. (He loves "Memma".)
-Daniel went to sleep on the couch around 4 p.m. and slept until 7 p.m. He ate some supper (roast beef sandwich and chocolate Pediasure). He went back to sleep around 7:30 p.m. while setting in Richard's lap and he is now sleeping in our bed. (We are going to let him sleep with us tonight.)
-We want to thank everyone who has been praying for Daniel and ask that you continue to pray with us as he recovers. He will see Dr. Morrison on Monday, May 4 for a post-op appointment.

Caden and Ashley

Story Time

-We have been looking for activities that would allow Daniel to interact with other children his age. Our local library story time for preschoolers every Friday. We were excited to learn about this activity and took advantage of having a free, fun event to go to. Daniel LOVED story time! Daniel listened to the story that was read (about a caterpillar). After the story, all the kids enjoyed playing with a parachute as music played in the background. The kids would run under the parachute as the parachute went up in the air and ran out as the parachute went down. Daniel was hesitant to participate at first and watched and laughed as other kids ran. When he finally got the courage to run in and run out he enjoyed it so much and laughed as he ran. The story time ended with a craft project, each kid got to make a caterpillar out of popsicle sticks and fuzzy balls. Daniel wasn't to impressed with this project because he didn't like his hands getting sticky so Mommy helped. His caterpillar was very cute.

Daniel's catepillar

Anapylaxis

-According to Wikipedia anaphylaxis is an acute and severe multi-system reaction in humans that can be life-threatening and can occur after ingestion, skin contact, injection or inhalation.
We had our first and hopefully only experience with anaphylaxis tonight and it was scary. Daniel was laying in our bed while I was cooking supper. I went into our room and noticed that there was something that did not look right about Daniel, his eyes were red and watery. I thought at first glance that he just looked sleepy but when I got close to him I noticed that his face had started to swell and he had welps. I knew he was having a reaction to something, I gave him Benedryl and went back into the kitchen to check on supper. When I went back to our room Daniel appeared to be worse, the Benedryal did not seem to be taking effect. I called Richard in to look at him. Daniel seemed to be having problems swallowing and the welps had started to spread down his neck. Daniel threw up and was acting as if he had no energy to set up. Richard said to call 9-1-1, seconds later a first responder arrived followed immediately by EMTs/Paramedics. Daniel seemed to be a little better but the EMTs highly advised us to take him in as there was more the hospital could check into. Richard rode in the ambulance with Daniel. I got Caden dressed in pajamas and packed the diaper bag. When I arrived at the hospital Richard told me that Daniel had gotten worse, his whole body was now covered in welps. Daniel was treated with a strong dose of steriods and monitored for a few hours before being sent home.
-We gave Daniel Benedryal before putting him to bed and we were told to watch him throughout the night. He seems to be sleeping well right now and we are headed to bed soon. We do not know with a 100% certainity what caused the reaction, we think he might have eaten some peanuts. We are to follow up with the ped. in the morning.

Caden @ 6 months (4.5 months adjusted)

15 pounds, 2 ounces - 25 inches long

-4 Month Milestones (according to iVillage.com)

-May sleep about six hours at night before waking (total sleep typically 14 to 17 hours) (check - goes to bed around 8 p.m., wakes up around 5 a.m., naps from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. - 5 p.m.)
-Rolls over (usually stomach to back is first) (check)

-Sits with support (check)

-Lifts head up 90 degrees (check)

-Can follow a moving object for a 180-degree arc (check)
-Babbles and amuses self with new noises (check - and gets very loud)

-Responds to all colors and shades (check)

-Explores objects with his/her mouth (check - everything goes in the mouth)
-Recognizes a bottle (check - LOVES his bottle)
-Communicates pain, fear, loneliness and discomfort through crying (check - seems to have a fear of the dark)

-Responds to a rattle or bell (check)

-6 Month Milestones (according to iVillage.com)
-Keeps head level when pulled to sitting position (check)
-Makes some vowel-consonant sounds (check)
-Sits by self with minimal support (check but not for long)
-Opens mouth for spoon (check)
-Reaches for and grabs objects (check)
-Rolls over and back (check)
-Drinks from a cup with help (we haven't started using a cup yet)
-Can hold bottle (check)
-Copies some facial expressions (check)

-Makes two-syllable sounds (check - he's a talker)