This and That

 I love this picture of Phoebe - she loves being outside now that she can walk and get around so well.  She is so interested in every flower, every leaf....and slimy, disgusting, drool-soaked Rocco tennis balls.

 Aunt Pat was so generous to send Landon a Thomas sticker book after his surgery.  He LOVED it, as if you couldn't tell by his genuinely ecstatic smile in a usual sea of cheese ball smiles :) He's just so handsome!

 That's right, I've got two forward-facing car seats in the back of my truck!  Awesome!

 Phoebe going to her 1 yr appointment....all 24 lbs of her.  88th percentile!

 Landon's alien bunny cake we made together for Easter ;)

 I just love it when they show each other affection. 

 Now that Phoebe has a bike, we're enjoying family rides around the neighborhood.

 Little Bunny Phoebe.

She has gotten so good at "riding" her bike, she'll put her feet on the peddles, hold the handles and even ring the bell!

Happy Birthday Phoebe Kate!

 Just a year ago we were a family of three.  Then sweet Phoebe Kate entered our lives.

We couldn't have been more blessed, she was the perfect baby....with the perfect hair!  Seriously though, she had awesome hair!

 We celebrated her birthday on Sunday with a small family gathering at the house.  I think she knew the fuss was about her because she smiled pretty well for the cameras and enjoyed getting her presents.

 Posing with Uncle Steve.

 Trying out her new baby stroller.

 And loving her bike from Grammie and Grampy!

Trying to figure out how the bell works. 

 Giving brother the evil eye for trying to creep in on her birthday gift :)

 Did I mention I love this bike!

 Our cheeky family :)

 I'm tired of pictures, can I go ride my bike!?

 Check out my fabulous birthday crown, fit for a princess!

Grammie lovin!

 Aside from this picture, she was actually more sedate than I thought she'd be when it came time for cake. 

 You can tell, she doesn't miss many meals, so I thought she'd love the chance to dive into her own cake.  She has been sick for the past week, so maybe that's why her appetite wasn't at its usual roar.

 Had to include this shot because you can see her two bottom teeth and new upper tooth that's coming in!  Happy Birthday Phoebe girl, we love you!

Surgery time

 Oh those darn Havard genes....they don't come from the Gottlieb side!  Poor Landon was born with the Havard crossed toe gene.  Scott has it, his dad has it....and come to find out another aunt and several cousins have it.  Scott and his dad's I don't think are as severe.  Scott's are crocked these days, but were never as crossed as Landon's.

Landon has always commented on his toes and wanted to know why they were crossed, when no one else's are.  I mostly thought it was cosmetic and that he'd learn to get over it, but as he got older he'd occasionally comment that they hurt or felt like they were poking him.  I even noticed the nails on the "tucked under" toe becoming deformed.  A visit to the orthopedist confirmed Landon would have to have surgery to repair the crossed toe. 

Luckily it was to be a short surgery.  The orthopedist would snip the tendon under the middle toe, releasing the tension that had been causing it to cross.  Once that toe could relax, it would naturally straight out the second toe.  The only bad news was that he would have general anesthesia and be put under.  I wasn't thrilled about that.  The majority of Landon's complications as a preemie were respiratory and airway related.  To this day, he still has a "floppy" airway, which results in stridor/high pitched inspiration noises while sleeping and during exertion.

 Landon knows daddy goes to the hospital everyday for "work" to do anesthesia, so we played this up as him getting to go to the hospital for anesthesia.  Luckily he bought that story with not many other questions or concerns.  Here he is after being checked in and changed into his gown.  At the children's hospital, they do everything they can do make the experience as pleasant as possible for the kids (and parents) - they gave him a toy, a hat and even a super-hero cape!

They also gave him "happy juice" to drink before he left us to go to the operating room.  The liquid versed basically relaxed him enough so they could wheel him away from us without even batting an eye!  It took probably 15-20 minutes to full kick in, but by then he was slurring his words, talking silly and emphatically stating that there were two televisions in our room (there was only one tv :)

 After what seemed like an eternity, they finally said he was done and called us back to see him.  He was awake, but did not look happy.  It turns out they had to intubate him during the surgery/put a tube down his throat to breathe for him, instead of using a less invasive airway device, because he couldn't protect his own airway.  However, as a result of using a more invasive airway device, he basically had airway spasms after they extubated him, requiring a breathing treatment to resolve.  Not to mention the pain associated with having both feet cut open.  He was not a happy camper.  I was on that recovery nurse like white on rice making sure he had two extra doses of pain meds!

By the time we got home, got the pain meds and some food in his system, he was feeling much better.  His little feet were wrapped up in dressings and ace bandages.  We received strict orders to keep him off his feet for up to a week to let the incisions heal and prevent swelling and tearing.  (It's only been 1 day and I'm already seeing what a challenge it is!)

We've tried to keep him busy with movies, computer games, coloring and rides around the block in the wagon...but he is still getting very antsy!

 Today we tried some science experiments with baking soda, vinegar and food coloring. 

 It was definitely a hit!

I'll have to keep hitting up Pinterest for indoor activities this week if I have any hopes of keeping him occupied....it's going to be a long week!  

In all seriousness though, I am so grateful and blessed that everything went well and that he had no complications!! From such humble beginnings to a strong fighter, he must be meant for greatness!

Landon Davis

 Landon, Landon Davis, Clietus Joe, Clietus Joe Jackson, Cleburne S. Formica, the one formerly known as BooBoo Bear, you are a momma's boy and I love it!  All that time together at the beginning, just you and me, created a pretty awesome bond.  I love being your mom.

 Love you as I may, meal times are my least favorite time of the day because you eat like a snake....one meal and you're good for a week.  Tonight however, you had some kinda itch because you ate FOUR pieces of pizza!  Now we're talking four Dominos slices, not Costco slices...but still, that's a huge accomplishment!

 You proving that you're getting stronger by the minute (yes, those are muscles).  I hope so buddy, I pray every day that you get daddy's height genes and not momma's!

 Luckily no self esteem problem here, you think you're the coolest thing since sliced bread.  And aside from a little attitude every now and then, you pretty much are :)  You have dad's incredible intelligence, exceptional memory, mechanical mind and natural curiosity to figure out how everything works.  But sorry guy, you also got my ability to become easily frustrated if you can't figure something and desire to want things the way YOU want them...NOW.  Thankfully you also got my determination and perseverance.

 If I didn't think you were going to end up a surgeon or mechanical engineer, I'd totally say rock star.  You love music and enjoy any opportunity to "rock hard"...apparently like Gene Simmons here :)

Best of all, you're a kind, loving and protective big brother.  Love you mucho Clietus Joe!

Family Adventure

 It was a beautiful weekend, so we decided to have an adventure.  We headed West, because that's the direction we usually head, through Weatherford (this is the courthouse in the downtown square).

We went to Clark Gardens Botanical Park, it was awesome!  It was pretty cool now, even with most of the plant life still in hibernation, so I can only imagine how beautiful it looks come Spring.  They have acres of gardens, ponds, and fountains.

 This is the one and only picture I was in the entire day, so I included it...even though it's blurry :(

The day was "made" for Landon when he saw the miniature train station.  It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!  They had several trains inside this little building where Scott and Landon are sitting....

 ....and then an entire village outside surrounding the building!

 There were tunnels, suspension bridges, little towns and miniature figurine families, houses and cars.  The rails ran across streams and under trees and bushes.  It was the most incredible setup!

 Even Phoebe was captivated by all the action.

 She patiently sat in her stroller watching the numerous trains travel all around her.

 Landon, who can't get enough of Thomas the Tank Train these days, was in absolute heaven!  He ran all throughout the paths watching the trains come and go, he couldn't get enough. 

 Phoebe eventually did get tired of sitting around and had to get up and practice her new walking skills.  She's pretty proficient these days!  She is not holding Scott's hand here because she needs to....he's holding her hand so she won't take off!

Of course Landon had to find the only tractor on the property :)

This was a cool story actually....the Clark family made their fortune after they designed and built this tractor, in response to the need for a more efficient way to dig holes for and bury cable lines.  They were so successful with this tractor, they ended up mass producing them to be sold all over the world.  That is how they amassed the wealth to eventually retire and build Clark Gardens.  So to pay homage to the cause of their good fortune, they parked one of their tractors on site.