Hangin' With Momma Too Much?

Leland has always enjoyed helping me with my chores (dishwasher, laundry, etc.). Well his new found cleaning enjoyment is scrubbing the toilet. I had put toilet cleaner in the 1/2 bath and gone back into the kitchen to do some things. When I came back Leland was scrubbing the toilet. He had gone into the master bathroom and gotten the toilet brush, silly kid!!!

Good Golly Miss Molly

My friend Molly came for a visit over the weekend. It is always nice to see her and fun for the boys!!

More Fair Photos

Mmmmm Fair Food

We made our first official family outing Friday night to the 169th annual county fair. Besides a doctor appointment last Wednesday we had not left the house since July 16th, so it was good to get out!! It was lots of fun watching Leland take in all the sights. Our first stop was to look at some tractors. The first time we looked at them they were just tractors, but the second trip back to the tractors and they were now HUGE TRACTORS!! Of course Leland got to see all the animals. He was even lucky enough to feed the ducks and pet a horse, sheep, and cow. And of course the best part of the cow barn was when Leland got to see a cow going poop!!! Nathan and I are still trying to decide who had more fun on the rides, Leland or us. Nathan really enjoyed the train, but the train was not as pleased. After Nathan got off it quit running. We thought it looked like it had a terrible lean to it when he was riding. Leland has a fire truck book that he enjoys reading everyday, so we thought he would be very excited to sit in a real fire truck. He was a little unsure, but he did it anyway. I have to say Sutton had the softest ride at the fair. He seemed to enjoy himself, he likes to be outside so it was good for him. He only got a little cranky in the cow barn, but can you blame him it was pretty stinky and loud. He continues to do pretty well, he has been a real trooper!!

Outside At Last

Finding a way to get Sutton outside has been a bit challenging, but I was finally able to get him in the wagon. I have to say the bean bag has been very helpful, in more than one way!!! And the even better thing about the wagon is both the boys can ride!!! Sutton continues to do ok. During the day is definetly easier than night time. I am hoping that when I go back to work at the end of August that he is sleeping for more than 2-3 hours at a time!!

Abs and Buns of Plaster

Sutton had his surgery last Wednesday (July 16th). We got up at 4:15 am, so that we could be to the U of M by 6:30. Once there we got all checked in and the crew of medical professionals met with us each explaining their piece of Sutton's surgery. At about 7:40 the anesthesiologist took him back (this was not easy to hand him over). We then made our way to the family waiting area. The actual procedure got started at about 8:00 and finished at 9:45. Then they casted him. It was then until about 11 before we were able to see him. They were able to put the right hip back in manually without anything extra. They had to cut a tendon on his left hip and then it went back in manually. He did ok with the breathing tube, which I was nervous about!! The doctor said the only thing that may require more surgery down the road would be to the actual hip sockets because both of them are shallow. We won't know if more surgery is needed until he is about 2 or 3. We were able to come home that same day, after a 3 hour ordeal of trying to get a car seat and figure out how to get him to fit into it. We ended up getting home at about 6:30 pm, so it was a very long day. So far he has been doing rather well, better than Nate or I expected. We are tyring to be creative with positioning so that he doesn't get bored. Diapering is interesting, but so far so good. Thanks for all the prayers!!

Birthday Celebration #3

In the summer on Tuesdays our child care provider (Lynne) takes the kids bowling and to a park in Adrian. We decided to join them last Tuesday and Lynne was happy because it gave her a chance to celebrate Leland's birthday because he does not see her in the summer. Lynne's two daughters were also happy that we were going , they haven't seen the boys since late June. Leland had a blast bowling. After the first time he had the hang of it and the ball ramp worked out well for him. He also really enjoyed the park.

Birthday Celebration #2

Leland is always wanting to jump on our bed or the furniture so Nate and I decided that a trampoline was in order for his birthday. He was excited right when he looked at it and said JUMP!!!! It has been a great gift so far, he jumps everyday!!!

Foot/leg Freedom

Sotton had been trying to eat his feet the entire time he was in traction, but of course couldn't. He was pretty happy when it came off. I was trying to get a picture of him with his feet in his mouth before he got casted, but was unsuccessful.

Pick'in Berries

We have several black berry bushes that grow wild on the edge of our property. Of course Leland spotted them and some how knew to pick them and eat them. Now we have to be careful though because we also have berries growing that would not be good for him to eat.

Birthday Celebration #1

Nathan's mom had us over for dinner the Sunday before Leland's birthday. He enjoyed being able to eat his cake right off the pan!! I spared the pictures of the present he left the next day, lets just say it was John Deere green in color!! Leland had not gotten a nap that day, so needless to say he did not make the 5 minute drive home. It is hard work turning 2!!

New Career?

Leland is so into John Deere tractors that I decided I would go out on a limb and make him a tractor cake. It was much easier to find a tractor cake pan than I thought it would be. I found it at the first place I called, Michaels. It really was not that bad to decorate it, actually it was kind of fun. It didn't turn out too bad for my first decorating experience.

Brotherly Love

The boys and I were playing around in our bedroom and Leland decided he wanted to hold Sutton. I thought this would be a great time to get some photos of the two of them. Sutton is not yet sitting up by himself and Leland does not yet realize that he needs to help hold him up!!!!

I'll have some of what he is having

We started Sutton on some cereal this week hoping that it might take away some of his fussiness. He really hasn't decided if he likes it yet or not, but I can't really blame him!!

Helping Hands

I have to say how lucky Nathan and I are to have our family and many friends near by. All this week I had someone here to help me with the boys due to the extra time Sutton required. On Monday and Wednesday Pam helped out, on Tuesday and Friday Nate's Aunt Kay helped out, and on Thursday my dad and stepmom helped out. I found this Step 2 slide at a yard sale for $10 and it only needed a little cleaning up, which Leland was more than happy to help with. Of course when it came time to put it together he was also more than happy to help with that also. We also had meals provided by Nate's mom, Nate's grandma, and our day care provider Lynne which was a big help!! Thanks to everyone!!!!

Play Date

My friend Dawn brought her daughter Kahlen over to play to help me get Leland outside while Sutton was in traction. They had a great time riding in the motorized jeep, playing in the sand box, and splashing in the pool.

Cool Dude

Leland has just started to really get into wearing his sunglasses. He doesn't always get them on right side up, but he is learning. He has also been wanting to wear a hat more than normal. Whenever he puts the hat on himself it always ends up backwards!!

Kapnick's Pizza Parlour

Nathan makes one mean pizza and this night Leland decided to help. It was nice to not have to help at all with dinner for a night!!!

Hanging In There

As you can see by the photos Sutton was almost literally hanging in there. We spent the majority of the day (July 1st) at the U of M getting trained on putting him in the traction. Had it not taken 2 hours to get put into a room and then another 1/2 hour waiting on a bed and the traction training nurse to arrive we could have been out of there alot quicker!!! Once we were comfortable with the traction we completed Sutton's bloodwork (I let Nate take him back, but I could still hear him screaming!!!) and pre-op screening. The first couple of days with the traction, other then the first night really went well. The first night however was awful. I got about 4 hours of sleep and not all at the same time. Then as time progressed the worse things got. The loops which held the pulleys to his feet required 200 mile an hour tape. The sticky tape on his legs which started out at the top of his thighs began slipping and he decided he was really not very happy and that he didn't want to sleep. So needless to say I called the doctors office and let them know what was going on and they felt it would be best to take him out of traction. We survived 11 of the 16 days, but boy am I glad that we have a couple days off before he gets casted because I can only imagine how he is going to respond to it.