Surgery Day

Well, David cleared another significant hurdle today. Here are the three of us pre-surgery. This picture was taken just before we piled into the car for our next adventure.
This was a difficult day. Although, I'm not sure for whom it was the most painful. Nicole and I (and Grandma Peggy) were filled with concerns before the surgery. As the day progressed toward the big moment we met with each of the individuals who would be working with David thoughout his surgery.

One thing we learned is that everyone at Gillette's seems truly passionate about providing the best possible care for their patients. The other thing we learned is that it is terrifying to watch doctors take your child away for surgery!

Fortunately, it appears that everything went very well. Below are some post-surgery pictures. After some initial discomfort, David is doing very well and is about to fall asleep with Grandma Peggy!

We hope everyone is doing well, and David cannot wait to show all of you his new smile.

PS - the dark mark on the left side of his face is marker, nothing more!

Last Day With a Wide Smile....

It's the day before David's first surgery, and Pete and I are a bundle of nerves. I can't believe how fast this day has arrived....three months have gone so fast! We took David's tape off and retainer out for the last time this morning and have been enjoying his beautiful wide smile all afternoon! It has hit hard that he is going to look different tomorrow, and it is really difficult to remind ourselves that it is for the best. We are pretty much all packed and will be bringing our computer and we will post updates to it from the hospital. We will try to call everyone, but we're not exactly sure how the day will go.

He's scheduled for surgery at 11:45 a.m. We need to arrive at the hospital by 10:15 a.m. They estimate that the entire surgery will take about one and a half hours, including putting the ear tubes in. He should be able to eat right away from his bottle, so that will be nice. He will have dissolvable stitches, covered up by dermabond (like a clear liquid bandage that dries over the stitches) and tape. He will need to wear arm restraints when we're not holding him so that he won't put his hands up by his mouth. We will be in the hospital overnight and should be discharged mid-day on Tuesday. Grandma Peggy is here and will be staying with us until Wednesday which will be a big help!

On a lighter note, David has been having a great time at day care the last two weeks, and I know he'll miss all the fun playtime while he's out! He has been doing everything from learning sign language, tummy time, learning to grasp at toys, attempting to roll over, jumping in the jumperoo.....and painting - yes painting! On Friday he painted with both his hands and his feet - too cute! AND - he is cutting his first tooth, which has led to tons of drooling!

Here's a picture of him jumping in his jumperoo at home. We have it on the shortest level, but he still can't reach the floor. So, we added a little help from the Wii balance board!!!

Here's a fun video of David playing with Daddy and talking up a storm!

Mommy and David snuggling!

David chilling out with Auntie Lindsey and Ricky when they came to visit.

His shirt is drenched from drooling!

First Day of School!

It was David's first day of school today (and Mommy's first day back at work)!

While I have been back at work for awhile now, I must admit that I looked toward today with a certain degree of trepidation. All of the typical questions run through your mind. Will David fit in with the other kids? Will they feed him? Is he safe? Will he behave? Will they take good care of him?

As it turns out, all of the worries seem to be for no apparent reason. We visited David over lunch and he was happy and smiley. When we picked him up, he was tired but cheerful. The instructors in the classroom describe David as calm and cuddly (and so cute!). Here are some pre- school and work pictures.

When we made it home tonight, David had to tell us all about his day. Thought we would share a bit of it with you. Imagine our surprise as the instructors had only told us they worked on sign language and baby aerobics with him today! Make sure you turn up your sound (and remember to click the arrow)!