Pumpkin Patch

We ventured out Eugster's Farm for their annual Fall Festival with Bumpa this year. The weather was unusually warm and humid - it was quite strange actually. A week before we went it had been chilly and the day we went it was close to 80 degrees. It was nice to not have to get bundled up for all the fun. Ada was still recovering from her surgery but enjoyed herself nonetheless. Emmet had a great time too! And by the way....my pictures are backwards in sequence...at this point I'm not starting all over so if you'd like a play by play...start from the last picture and work your way up!



Washing our pumpkins with Bumpa.



Tractor wagon ride coming back from the pumpkin patch. It was so warm...look at those rosy cheeks!



Tractor wagon ride...it was a little bumpy and I accidentally cut out Emmet's head.


We found our pumpkins! On our way back to meet the tractor. Emmet is helping Bumpa with the wagon, heavy with pumpkins.


Searching and searching for the perfect pumpkins.


Emmet put himself in charge of the wagon...he likes to have a job to do.


Mommy and my little munchkins who were not so thrilled about stopping the search to take a picture.


The Fam....apparently there was something much more interesting off in the distance.





We ventured out Eugster's Farm for their annual Fall Festival with Bumpa this year. The weather was unusually warm and humid - it was quite strange actually. A few days before we went it had been chilly and the day we went it was close to 80 degrees. It was nice to not have to get bundled up for all the fun. Ada was still recovering from her surgery but enjoyed herself nonetheless. Emmet had a great time too!

Tonsils & Adenoids? Who needs 'em?

On October 9th Ada had surgery to have her tonsils and adenoids removed. Starting in August we noticed that she was snoring nearly every night and sounded congested quite often. We finally had her seen in September when these "symptoms" just didn't go away and she appeared to be having periods of apnea while sleeping. Sure enough her tonsils were large...which isn't abnormal for children this age but to be sure we were referred to an ENT for an evaluation. The ENT recommended surgery and low and behold they were able to fit us in to their schedule rather quickly. Ada was a trooper and the brand new facilities at the UW/American Family Children's hospital were super. Nevertheless the experience was not a pleasant one.

Once out of surgery the Doctor informed us that there was no doubt in her mind that the tonsils and adenoids needed to be removed. Apparently they were so large the had a hard time intubating (spelling?) her. Normally she removes the adenoids first but she couldn't even SEE the adenoids because of the size of the tonsils. Coming out of sedation was rough...rougher than a normal procedure - because they had a hard time intubating her and were concerned with her breathing they needed to wake her while she was still under rather deep (normally they would let patients just wake up on their own), so Ada was quite upset. Screaming, thrashing, crying, holding her breath and of course in a lot of pain. This lasted for a good 20-30 minutes...it was heartbreaking. Eventually she calmed down (in Daddy's arms) while sucking on a purple Popsicle.

From this point on Ada was such a trooper. She ate about a gazillion Popsicles, watched cartoons and was even singing. We were discharged around 5pm. The next couple of days were rough. We were instructed to give her Tylenol every 4 hours around the clock for the pain. She wasn't sleeping or eating (of course) and would tell anyone who would listen, "I don't feel better, I got a ouch in my froat, I need a medicine, make me feel better". By Sunday we did venture out to the Pumpkin Patch and had a good time while there but I later regretted that decision as I think it set her recovery back quite a bit. The following week was rocky but progressing.

A week after the surgery she started to go backwards in her behavior and pain tolerance and one afternoon I noticed some blood in her crib. After consulting with the nurses we were instructed to bring her back in to the hospital and ended up spending the night for observation. They are very conservative with their care of this age group and want to make sure there isn't a bleed that would require immediate intervention. Ada was awesome. She slept in the hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and I slept in a bed in the same room. She let the nurses check her every 4 hours throughout the night to give her more meds and check for bleeding. We were seen in the morning by the doctors and given the green light for soft food (she wasn't allowed to eat the whole time we were there) and go home. This was around 7am. We didn't get our final discharge papers until 12:30pm. It was a LONG morning. Ada did great, eating chocolate pudding, drinking full strength juice, watching movies and dragging around her IV with her to the bathroom and to the Child Life playroom but we were both glad to get home!

Fast forward to today. She is doing so much better and the snoring is non-existent! Unfortunately as soon as she seemed to be recovered completely from the surgery she caught a cold and we've all been passing it back and forth ever since. She is my darling little trooper though! I'm so proud!

September in Review...I'm getting closer!

Ahh...September. Not so long ago and yet so far away. As usual September means back to work for mommy, which is always bittersweet for me. I enjoy my summers at home more than words can say but I do really like my job (even if by February I have forgotten this fact) and miss adult interaction and the routine work brings me. September means cooler days and nights, less time for me to work out or just have some "me" time and time for Mr. Mom (Roger) to step in again. Transitions, transitions.... It also means fewer pictures...Roger is a wonderful father but doesn't think to take out the camera very often.


A little funny time between mommy & Ada.




Great Grandma, Great Grandpa, Aunt Karen and Aunt Kathy came to Madison for a quick visit and a bite to eat. We ventured out to a restaurant with Pops, Julie, Greg and Gina. We don't see eachother very often so this was so nice!!!





Showing off their tongues after having a sucker. They don't get candy very often so this was quite a treat and the colored tongues just added to the excitement!

Summer in Review....

Looking at all of these pictures makes me miss the warm weather, sun on my skin and fresh air so so SO bad. And to think winter has barely begun. Here are some random shots from the entire summer. What a great summer it was! I thoroughly enjoyed being home with A & E. We spent a lot of time outside, at the park, taking walks, going for bike rides, hanging out with Nana on Tuesdays. I can't wait until next summer!

August in Review

Here are some random shots from August.

Nana and Emmet getting the corn ready. This of course is a favorite summer time job!


My cool corn man


Ada and Nana getting the corn ready to cook.

Sweety corn lady!

Emmet showing off his tattoo....mommy got a new one this summer so Emmet had to have one too...temporary of course.

Ada's new tattoo to match mommy's!


Mommy's newest addition. Kind of a crooked picture.

July in review

I know I posted some pics already from July but I've decided that in my attempt to organize and get caught up I'm going to post my favorite pics from each month starting in July.



Ada & Emmet enjoyed going to Story Time at the library this summer. Here they are showing off a couple of their projects...spider hats and crabs!

Bed Bug Emmet and winking Bed Bug Ada

More bed bugs

Ada says, "Look at my balloons!"

Ada had a big long story of what this picture was...I've since forgotten. I do remember that it included balloons and trees.

First trip to Olbrich Gardens

We finally made a trip to Olbrich Gardens for their butterfly extravaganza. It's been a long time since I've visited and I was taken aback by the beauty of it all! Ada and Emmet loved all the butterflies, flowers, greenery, waterfalls, streams and of course the paths that led to knew places to explore. On our way home we stopped at McDonalds for some lunch as a treat.













Okay, so my pictures are a little out of order. I'm okay with that....