Aubin, prepare to be spoiled.

Hospital check-in time is 9:40am. Surgery is at 10:40 and only lasts about 30 minutes. She'll have to stay for about 4 hours afterwards to make sure that she can drink and that her pain is under control. She can bring a "luvie"(sp?)which is her "star blanket" and little zebra pillow (thank goodness she changed her mind on her pet alligator!). Here's Aubin's post-surgery movie request: Cinderella I, Cinderella II (dreams come true), Little Mermaid I, Little Mermaid III (Ariel's beginning). She is very excited about non-stop movie time! I'll be sure to post (or have Rick post) tomorrow afternoon/evening to give a status report.

First dentist appointment

We just finished eating pizza when I took this picture, so he's a little messy but look how shiny his teeth are! We went to a pediatric dentist for a checkup and it was a wonderful experience. No dental chair, no yucky toothpaste. They had Hayden sit on my lap in a regular chair away from the traditional dental set-up area. They brushed his teeth with a plain toothbrush, looked in his mouth for cavities, and applied a fluoride "paint" to his teeth. The dentist did GREAT at managing potential meltdowns with H. She said that we will work up to the dental chair someday and for now his teeth look great. Whew. I think he inherited my chomppers ...I've never had a cavity! (At my last dental appointment the dentist was surprised by that fact and said my teeth were like the Aboriginals of Australia (really!) ....hmmmmm...I suppose I should have known somewhere deep down what Bindi meant!)
Anyway, I digress. Good job today, Hayden!

Update on Aubin.
Aubin is set for surgery on Thursday morning at 10:30. She should be able to come home that day unless there is a lot of bleeding, which shouldn't be the case. The first 48 hours are the worst of the throat pain, then it gets better until day 4-6 when there is a second "peak" of pain. (This is from the ENT post-op instructions.) It'll be a rough first week, but hopefully she'll begin to feel better quickly after that.

3 year old processing skills

Aubin handed me a pre-k flash card and said, "Excuse me, excuse me mom, but my pet alligator has an appointment now." (I've been shelling out the insurance card all day today, hence the flash card I suppose.) We pretended it had its tonsils out. Notice the "dress" and pony tail holder as an urban chic necklace. Nice touch Aubin! Pet alligators need their accessories.
I told Aubin that she is going to have surgery where she goes to sleep and might have a sore throat and hard time talking when she wakes up. (I wanted to be honest and prepare her but not scare her at the same time.) She said, "Oh! You mean I can't talk like the Little Mermaid at Nana's house?" Yes, exactly.

Surgery Thursday.

I just snapped this photo of Aubin in her new peacock shirt. She got a smiley face stamp from the ENT swag bin and decorated herself all the way home.
The ENT said her tonsils were enormous and needed to come out (along with her adenoids). He said he wanted to do it sooner rather than later because of her breathing problems when she sleeps. He gave us steroids (watch out Hayden) to reduce the swelling until he could operate on her. My mom is coming up on Thursday and Friday to help out. Thank you Nana! And thank you to Grandpa Doug for helping us through this.

Update

The doctor is sending us to the ENT. We have an appointment at 1:20. I'll update tonight with new information.

Noooooooooo ) :

Aubin has started her crazy breathing thing again where her chest gets sucked in. It happened just a little last night, a little more at nap today and definitely tonight.
I'll take her in to the dr. in the morning.
We've all got to get well! Preschool is in 8 days!

In other news, we went to Gattiland for a birthday party this weekend. It was a BIG day for BIG kid Hayden. He was finally tall enough to ride the bumper cars. He's never had so much fun in his life. OF COURSE I had to leave the video camera at home! We'll go back soon and I'll be sure to bring it. Very cute and funny to watch.

Das Boot

Okay, so "boot" in German means boat, but it feels like I'm lugging a boat around! I'm doing much, much better with this thing on. I went to the doctor yesterday and will keep the boot on for a week to let the tendon rest and heal. The boot keeps my leg still from the knee down, so it has taken away almost all of the pain. HOORAY! The kids have been fascinated by it, especially Hayden. He said, "Wow, mom. That sure is cool. I wish I had one like that."