Ear Surgery

After having 8 ear infections this year, the doctors opted to get Olivia another set of ear tubes and remove her adenoids as well. Michael and I were pretty apprehensive about the procedure. Even though it is a minor surgery, the last time she had it done she was miserable. She cried (screamed) for at least an hour when she woke up from the anesthesia and then she was horribly fussy for 2 days straight. Plus, it is never fun to see your baby get put to sleep.

So we were prepared for the worst. But, we got the best! She did so much better and the hospital staff did a great job of taking care of her. They let her pick out a toy if she took her "happy" medicine and they joked and played with her. The surgery went great. The doctor said her adenoids were blocking 80% of her nasal passage and that her ears were so covered in fluid that she was hearing worse than if she were under water.

We already knew that she wasn't hearing well. For the last few weeks she has been yelling everything she said. We'd ask her a question and she say "what! "what did you say?" or "say it louder mommy." It was really sad but we had to laugh about it. We kept telling her she was a 90 year old woman.

But now she is talking at a normal tone and feeling great. Just a few hours after the surgery she was playing as if nothing ever happened. She never seemed to be in any pain and thankfully we didn't have to give her the Loritab they prescribed. Loritab?!! For a 3 year old? I couldn't believe it but thankfully we were able to avoid that.

Man, these kids are funny!

Eating his first oreo. Notice it is in his ear!

This was so sweet. Michael does not approve of this picture!

They are building a house next door and they have a prime view from the playroom window. Fascinating!


Olivia has to get a better look.

I never knew I could love something so much.

Halloween Fun

We had a great Halloween this year. Olivia was a cowgirl and Grayson was a cowboy. On Saturday we went to a fall festival in town and Olivia got to ride a pony for the first time. We came home and got them dressed and made our rounds to the grandparents then headed back to our neighborhood to go trick or treating. But oops, we wore the poor little one during the day that he fell asleep on the way home!! We put him in the stroller and took Olivia to a few houses then came home and everyone crashed. I didn't get very cute pictures because Grayson is so busy right now that we can't get him to sit still long enough to take a picture.

Last week was daylight savings. Grayson normally gets up at 6:30 but now his body clock is telling him to get up at 5:30. Let's just say this last week has been tiring! I will say getting up an hour earlier has made me have incredibly productive mornings.

On Sunday we put the Halloween decorations up and got the Christmas decor down out of the attic. We will be in Seattle for Thanksgiving so I wanted to start early so it was all decorated when we got home. One of my dreams has always been to have a Christmas tree in everyone room of the house and I'm getting close to it. Michael has offically transformed into Clark Griswald again and the house is lit up! I found a Christmas radio station that is blaring throughout the house most of day. I love this time of year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fall Festivities and Life Lessons

Last weekend we carved pumpkins and made halloween cookies. We let Olivia pick what she wanted her pumpkin to look like and she wanted an "O" so we decided to give Grayson a "G" on his. As we were making cookies, I gave her the sprinkles and let her have at it. I was distracted pulling another batch of cookies out of the oven and as you can see, she made sure every square inch of the cookie was covered.

Olivia got to learn a little bit of money management skills yesterday. Dado sent her a gift card to Target so I took her to let her spend on it on whatever she wanted. On they way there, I explained to her that she only had $10 to spend and she could buy whatever she wanted. She says "I want to eat at Target first." So we get there and get her a hotdog and icee combo. "now you only have $8 left on your card, so lets go look around" I told her. We found a few items at the dollar stop then looked at the movies. She found a movie she wanted and I told her she would have to put her other things back if she wanted the movie. "I don't want that movie anymore!" she said. Then we went to the toy section and it was very interesting to see her learn a lesson as we shopped and I explained to her that she could only have a toy that she could get with the money she had left. Finally, we settled on a Littliest Pet Shop puppy. She has been asking for a real puppy lately so I'm hoping this will satisfy her for now. It was a great experience to see her get a little taste of money management and realizing that you can't always have everything you want.

Grayson is just getting more comical everyday. He's saying a new word almost everyday. His latest game is to put a blanket on his head and walk around the house. He thinks it is so funny but he runs into everything! I got a quick video of it yesterday:

Boys will be boys!

Grayson was playing outside yesterday. He loves to walk around the back yard and explore. Michael was tending to some trees we had just planted and Grayson was crawling around in the dirt and mud. All of a sudden he picked up a huge clunk of mud and took a big bite! I had to take pictures.

I am so thankful for these precious moments!