Thanksgiving Weekend

Since Annabel just had surgery, we ended up staying home for Thanksgiving this year. Jared's mom, stepdad and brother got to come spend Thanksgiving with us, and we had a great time. They got here late Wednesday night. On Thursday, we had a pretty traditional Thanksgiving lunch. This was my first time trying to do the cooking and get everything done at the same time. Luckily, it turned out good.

Thanksgiving morning and afternoon were beautiful. By that evening it was starting to get cold (for Texas). Maddie and I had to bundle up to take a walk.


Annabel and Grandpa Cris on Thanksgiving

On Friday morning, both girls were awake at 6:00. I knew the rest of the family wouldn't be awake for quite a while, so I decided to take the two girls and see what Black Friday shopping was like. (I am not one to get up at 4:00 am the day after Thanksgiving typically.) It was 40 degrees when we left, so I had to get both girls all bundled up.

For a while I thought that I might have lost my mind to take them both by my self with all of the crazy shoppers, but it actually worked out fine. They were pretty good and we got some good deals at a few stores.

The aftermath ...

Friday evening Nana and Maddie made Christmas cookies.

Saturday morning Madison woke up and the first thing she said "Is it Christmas?!" Well, not exactly, but we did put up our Christmas tree.

Jared raked the front yard. Madison had fun playing in the leaves before he mulched them.

Saturday evening, we also exchanged gifts with Jared's family. The girls each got some clothes and a book to share. Thanks Nana, Grandpa Cris, and Christopher

Then Annabel discovered her favorite part of the present.

She shredded tissue paper all over our living room floor. Madison and Christoper even got in on the action too.

All in all, a great holiday weekend.

A couple of milestones

I caught Annabel doing this today and had to snap a quick picture. Sadly, I couldn't get her to look at the camera. She didn't stay like this for long, but she was up on her hands and knees in crawling position and rocking back and forth (then she dove for the toy in front of her and ended up on her belly). I am afraid it won't be long until she is really on the move ... I guess I better think about childproofing.

I also realized that I had never posted when she started sitting up on her own really well. Annabel turned 6 months on November 8th (the day before her surgery). A day or two before that, she started sitting well without leaning on her hands. Here is one picture of her sitting and playing with Maddie tonight. I couldn't manage to get both girls looking at me at the same time.

Madison had a big day today. One of the kids from her preschool had a birthday party that she and I went to. She had a blast. They had one of the inflatable bouncers that even had a slide. A fire truck came and she got to crawl inside. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. One of my friends took a picture of her in the fire truck. Maybe I will be able to post it soon.

Annabel's surgery

This past week has been so many things ... exhausting, stressful, scary, and now relieving. On Saturday my parents came down to stay with us for the week of Annabel's surgery. On Monday, my sister, Marci, came to help as well. Marci and Dad stayed in College Station with Maddie while Mom, Jared, and I stayed in Houston with Annabel.

On Monday, Jared and I got up early to head to Houston. Annabel first had a CT scan of her head. Then we went to the neurosurgeon's office for our pre-op appointment. Next, we were off to the surgery department to register. Finally, we took Annabel to the lab so that they could check Annabel's blood type. Jared and I had both donated blood the week before so that they could use it during the surgery, but we didn't know for sure if either of our blood could be used. It turned out that they were able to use blood one of us donated for the transfusion during surgery.

After all of our appointments, Dad, Mom, Marci, and Madison met us in Houston for some fun that afternoon. We went to the zoo for a few hours and then to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Then Dad, Marci, and Maddie headed back to College Station so that Maddie could go to preschool the next day.

Here are Marci and Maddie at the zoo waiting for the sea lion show to start.




On Tuesday morning, we were at the hospital at 8:30. Her surgery was scheduled for 10:00, but they were running late that morning. The poor baby was not able to eat from 6:00 until about 12:30 when they finally took her back for surgery. Waiting for them to come get her and then watching them take her away were some of the hardest parts. This is when we first saw her after surgery, hooked up to lots of machines and really swollen.

The first night she spent in a step-down room, just one step below the ICU. Fortunately, two of us were able to spend the night there with her.

The day after surgery, her swelling started to go down enough that she could open her eyes. She was even smiling at us while we played peek-a-boo that evening. She also loved being carried around the halls of the hospital. Texas Children's hospitals have great decorations. She really loved the pictures and the fish tank that was right across from her room.

We got to come home after just two nights in the hospital. Here is a pic of Annabel with Marci just after we got home. It is amazing how much she was back to herself after just two days.

Nana sent a balloon and a stuffed giraffe to her at the hospital. She cuddled with the giraffe at the hospital and the balloon has been a hit since we got home.

Finally, I tried to take some pics to demonstrate the difference before and after surgery. I am not sure that these do it justice. Annabel had sagittal craniosynostosis, meaning the suture that runs down the top of the skull from front to back had fused prematurely. Therefore her head would have continued to grow long and skinny. You can see in this first (pre-surgery) picture that her head had already started to grow in this manner. You can also see that the back of the head (on the left) is narrow.

This picture was taken today after some of the swelling has gone down. You can see her scar. It is a zig-zag running from ear to ear. You can also see that the back of her head is already wider than the front.

Next week, she will get fitted for a helmet that she will wear for a couple of months. It will hold the front and back of her head in place so that her head can grow side to side into a more round shape as she grows.

For now, she seems to be mostly back to herself, playing and happy and mostly pain-free. She is having some trouble going to sleep. I am not sure if she is scared to go to sleep or if it is a bit uncomfortable. This does seem to be getting better though.

We still have lots of follow up appointments to go, but it is so wonderful to have the surgery behind us.