The Clinkscales Family

2012-01-24T16:14:00.000-06:00

Sorry once again for the lack of posts lately. I am having trouble saving pictures to my computer and have been having this trouble for weeks now. I'm hoping I can get it resolved by the end of the week because I have tons of pictures that are just waiting to make it to our blog. So hang in there....I should be back soon!

Peace, Love, Gumbo

2012-01-12T22:44:00.000-06:00

We threw a small Christmas party before we left to travel to Louisiana for Christmas. It was a last minute idea that turned out to be a lot of fun. I cooked gumbo for everyone and made a few festive Christmas appetizers. We asked everyone to bring a small gift to play Dirty Santa and that turned out to be a great idea. All the gifts were hilarious...a Shrek Chia pet, a Justin Bieber singing toothbrush, Grinch boxers, a Christmas Story leg lamp window cling, and several nose hair trimmers. It turned out to be a great night and we all laughed a lot!

Parents-to-be and the best next door neighbors ever!

2012-01-04T12:01:00.000-06:00

I was so excited when I found out Cain had two 'events' at his Mother's Day Out program that I would get to go to during the month of December. The first 'event' was that I was able to go watch him sing during music class. Cain goes to Mother's Day Out every Monday and Wednesday and when he is there on Monday's they have someone come into the class and sing songs with the kids. All of the parents were invited to come watch them sing Christmas songs one Monday.

Then the last day before Cain's class let out for Christmas break the class had a small Christmas party. All the kids were able to wear their Christmas PJ's to class that day. A funny story to go along with that is the night before Cain refused to change into his pajama's. This is usually never a problem but on this night he wanted to keep the clothes on that he wore all day long. He didn't even want me taking his shoes or socks off. I was exhausted from the day and let him win the battle and just put him in his crib for the night wearing a button up, jeans, and his shoes still on. (yes I know...mom of the year, right?) The next morning when I could have just taken him to school in his PJ's I had to actually change him into pajama's since he slept in his clothes the night before.

Cain was still sleeping on his nap mat when I arrived for his party. It was so cute to see him sleeping on his little mat.

It was fun to see Cain with all his classmates.

These are two of Cain's teachers. Mrs. Tina is on the right of this picture. I am pretty sure Cain has a special place in Mrs. Tina's heart. You can tell she loves him so much which always makes me happy when I drop him off at "school".

2012-01-03T23:09:00.000-06:00

We arrived home yesterday after a great trip to Louisiana. We had a wonderful Christmas!!! Possibly one of the best ever. I have tons of pictures to go through and share but first I need to work on unpacking and finding room for Cain & Callie's new toys. Santa must have thought they were both very good this year.

Callie's Milk & Cookies Party

2011-12-22T20:38:00.000-06:00

Our sweet baby girl turned one on November 30th. I still can't believe she is already a year old. Her first year flew by way too fast. It has been a wonderful year and she has made our family complete. I remember being nervous while pregnant wondering how it would be possible to love another child as much as I loved Cain. Now I fully understand that it IS possible to love two children just as much as one. God certainly made our hearts grow larger the second we laid our eyes on Callie the day she was born.

While we were in Louisiana for Thanksgiving we celebrated Callie's 1st birthday with a 'Milk & Cookies' themed party. Thanks to the internet I was able to find several 'Milk & Cookies' party ideas and in the end the party turned out just as I had envisioned.

We had the party at my parents house and instead of having cake for everyone we had tons of cookies and petit fours.

And I set up a 'milk station' with several flavors of milk for everyone to choose from.

I ended up using Starbucks frappuccino bottles to serve the milk and I think it turned out really cute. We even stuck the bottles in the freezer ahead of time so they could be good and cold for the milk.

And of course with milk you need milk mustaches!!

The milk mustaches were a huge hit with kids and adults!!!

Callie loves food and loves to eat so I thought she would go crazy on her birthday cake. But she was very dainty and never made a big mess like I expected her to. I think she was a little intimidated with all the people watching her and singing to her. Cain heard us singing "Happy Birthday" and ran in the room and started singing "Happy Birthday" to his sister. I thought it was so sweet.

I was happy that it worked out for us to be able to have Callie's birthday party while we were in Louisiana. Cain's first two birthday parties were also in Louisiana and it always means so much to me that our closest friends and family have been with us to celebrate these special events.

Callie did get into the gifts a little more than she did the cake. She seemed to enjoy playing with her new toys as she opened them.

I think Callie had a wonderful first birthday. It wouldn't have been the same without all of our great friends and family being there to celebrate with us. So thank you to everyone that was at the party. We love you all very much!

And since I've already had a few people ask me where I got everything for her party....

Her cute milk & cookies dress came www.sheshemade.com. I've ordered a couple of dresses for Callie from this website and the owner has been great to work with. Her thanksgiving dress also came from this company.

I found her party invitations and other party items on etsy. The etsy site is Paper & Lace Collections. A sweet girl named Courtney owns this site and she was great to work with. She made the invitations, cookie labels, milk bottle labels, and provided the striped party favor bags and stickers to put on them.

I ended up making the thank you notes myself and used some pictures from the party. I made a postcard that could be mailed out with the thank-you on the back and the following pictures on the front.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-19T23:07:00.000-06:00

Today starts my day of catching our blog up to date. I figure it's probably a good idea to post our Thanksgiving pictures before Christmas gets here on Sunday.

We traveled to Louisiana for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time while we were there. We were able to see several friends and Brad was able to go deer hunting with my dad. He even killed his first deer so that was very exciting.

Yummy sweet potatoes

Brad and my dad heading to the hunting camp

I love this picture of Callie and my granddad. It's probably my favorite picture.

I can't believe Thanksgiving has come and gone and it will be Christmas in a few days. This year went by way too fast.

We have so much to be thankful for. Not just at Thanksgiving but every single day!!

Way behind...

2011-12-09T00:58:00.001-06:00

I realize I am WAY behind on updating our blog. I've started getting not so nice messages from one of the grandmoms (love you MeMaw) and several of my friends telling me I've taken a long enough break and it's time to get back to blogging again. So I apologize for taking a not so short break. I guess the following are all of my excuses...

Traveling to Louisiana for Thanksgiving...

Making memories with great friends who drug me out for my first Black Friday shopping adventure...

Endless planning for Callie's 1st Birthday party...

Spending way too many hours searching for a new Christmas tree and decorating it...

Taking Callie for her one year well check-up...

Having fun watching Cain sing at school...

Cleaning the same endless messes...

And simply just lounging around with my family...

So there you have it...all my excuses for not blogging much lately. Please forgive me. I promise to do better and not take another long break again for awhile. At least I hope not to.

My Little Turkey

2011-11-21T23:49:00.000-06:00

My little turkey brought this home from school today and I love it!!!!

Whistlestop Weekend

2011-11-21T00:17:00.000-06:00

Last weekend my friend Tina and I took our kids to the Adventure Science Museum. Neither one of us had ever been and we loved it. It was a GREAT place for the kids. Both Luke and Cain especially liked it this particular weekend because it was 'Whistlestop Weekend' and they had model trains set up everywhere.

I don't think Cain knew what to do with himself after seeing so many trains at once. He was in heaven!! I think I heard him say "Thomas" no less than a 500 times. He called every train he saw "Thomas". He was seriously yelling with excitement.

Besides loving all the trains, the boys loved all the other things to do at the Adventure Science Museum. They loved the slides, the games, and Cain really liked playing/pretending to drive the ambulance.

Having fun with the blue screen

Driving the ambulance

I could not believe Cain went down this big slide all by himself. I went with him the first time and after that he wanted to do it all alone.

"Okay mom...I've had fun but can we go now??"

Play-dates with friends

2011-11-20T23:49:00.001-06:00

Cain has recently had several play-dates with his little friends. Cain stays pretty busy during the week with MDO on Monday and Wednesday's, speech on Tuesday's and music class on Thursday's. So that usually leaves us Fridays or the afternoons after his MDO to meet up with friends. We've recently tried to meet up with Cain's friends as much as we can on Friday's when we have nothing else scheduled.

We've mostly been going to Monkey's Treehouse which is an indoor play area that Cain really seems to like a lot. I even decided to book his 3rd birthday party there.

I tried to get a picture of Cain, Callie, Preston & Piper but as you can see that didn't go so well.

I remember just last year being so nervous about having Cain in play areas like this. I was terrified of germs and of Cain getting sick. Don't get me wrong...it is something I'm still nervous about but I'm so happy that I've relaxed a little and don't seem to be as nervous as I was just a year ago.

Sassy Girl

2011-11-10T23:48:00.000-06:00

I can't believe this sassy little girl is about to turn 1 in less than 3 weeks!!!

From the looks of it she is almost 1 going on 21!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-06T18:47:00.000-06:00

I'm still trying to catch up from Halloween so this should finally be the last of our Halloween pictures.

We had a great time at our friends, Benson & Allison's, house again this year. Benson makes a great hayride for all the kids and takes us around the neighborhood so the kids can do a little trick-or-treating. Everyone dresses up including all the parents which makes it even more fun.

Our LSU crew

The Wizard of Oz Crew

Trunk or Treat

2011-11-04T14:28:00.000-05:00

On Sunday evening my friend Lacey came over and we took the kids to Trunk or Treat at the church where Cain attend's Mother's Day Out. We tried to get a picture of everyone together before we left the house but as you can see that did not turn out as well as we had hoped.

I just love how Callie is looking at Cain like "what in the world are you crying about?"

It is so neat that Lacey lives in Nashville now. Our parents were best friends when we were Cain & Callie's age and we all lived the tiny town of Winnfield, LA. Ironically, now Lacey & I both live in Nashville and our kids are getting to grow up together. Completely crazy how that has happened.

Trunk or Treat turned out to be just the right size for our little kiddo's.

Halloween Fun

2011-10-31T11:38:00.000-05:00

Saturday night we went to our neighbors annual Pumpkin Carving Party. They had a great turnout and I think everyone had a lot of fun. The kids (and adults) enjoyed carving pumpkins and we all enjoyed lots of good chili from the chili cook-off.

My LSU cheerleader with her Daddy dressed as Les Miles (LSU's head coach)

I was in love with Emelia's hula outfit.

Our little LSU family surprising all looking at the camera

And of course we had to have a little fun with the pink wig that was at the party!

Callie, my neighbor Katherine, and her niece Amani

Too funny!!!!!

Music Class

2011-10-30T22:56:00.000-05:00

We started celebrating Halloween a little early by getting to dress up for Cain & Callie's music class earlier this week. I've been taking the kids to a weekly music class for a few weeks now. I took Cain to the same class when he was Callie's age and decided I wanted to take Callie to it too. They both really enjoy going every week. Cain loves music and will sing a lot of the songs from the class during the week at home and in the car. And Callie usually bounces up and down anytime she hears music.

And guess who has been in our music class twice now....Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban!! They brought their youngest daughter to class. This is one of the reasons I love living in Nashville. You never know who you will run into! Nicole even said something about how cute Callie looked in her cheerleading outfit.

Lucky Ladd Farms

2011-10-25T10:53:00.000-05:00

We spent Saturday morning at Lucky Ladd Farms Pumpkin Patch and had a blast. It was our first time to go to this pumpkin patch and it turned out to be the prefect place to take the kids. Cain has really just got into sliding down slides and loves it so much I made sure to find us a pumpkin patch that had plenty of slides.

I'm not sure who enjoyed the slides the most....me & Brad or the kiddo's.

Videos

2011-10-20T23:39:00.001-05:00

Here are a few fun videos I took of Cain this week. He loves to count and is finally able to count to 20!!! I couldn't be more proud. He's been doing this for awhile and I've wanted to get a video him counting. Of course, anytime Cain notices me recording he normally stops. Thankfully I was able to get a few successful videos of him this week.

I love hearing his little voice. I guess it's because it's took so long to hear him say much. He is currently in weekly speech and doing great. He has said so many new words in the last month or two. He also loves to sing and is usually humming or singing a song most of the day. I hope I can get his songs on video soon.

Under the weather

2011-10-18T22:25:00.000-05:00

We've had several days of everyone feeling under the weather around here. Poor little Callie started running fever on Friday. She has a terrible cold and her first ear infection. She has been pretty pitiful.

Spending our Friday night at the doctors office. Poor girl.

She is still really stopped up but seems to be feeling a little better thank goodness! I guess part of being a mom and taking care of the sick kids is that you will most likely get sick too. We were planning to travel to Louisiana this week while Cain was out of school for fall break. Sadly we have ended up not going because Callie passed her cold on to me and I've now been feeling terrible. I finally gave in and went to the doctor today which normally never happens. Hopefully the shot and medicine will get me feeling back to normal very soon. And hopefully Callie will be back to her normal smiley self again soon too!

I hate to see Callie sick but I'll admit I've loved having some snuggle time with her. She is constantly on the move now so she rarely snuggles with me anymore. Sigh!

"Toofers"

2011-10-07T22:05:00.001-05:00

Look who finally has two teeth peeking through....

I love this girl and her two little teeth so much!!

Here is a picture of Cain when his two little "toofers" were just starting to show through.

Who knew it was possible to love two kids so much!

Fontan follow-up

2011-10-05T18:04:00.001-05:00

Cain had his 6 month post-op appointment today. He was certainly not a good patient at this appointment but he did receive a very good report and thankfully that is what matters most. He was in a great mood in the waiting room but as soon as we walked into the room where they take his vitals he became a monster. We were lucky to get his blood pressure and a sat reading but we could never get him to cooperate long enough for us to get an EKG reading.

We tried everything we could to get Cain to calm down long enough to run an EKG but nothing worked. He kicked and screamed and KICKED AND SCREAMED! Needless to say they decided an EKG and an ECHO would not be necessary on this appointment. His sat's were 88% so the cardiologist seemed pleased. I'll be honest...I was hoping his sats were going to be a little higher. I was expecting to see the low 90's based on how good he looks and how pink he seems to be since his Fontan. The only time I really ever notice him turning blue anymore is if he is really mad (like today at his appointment) or if he is really cold.

So the good news is....Cain is doing great and doesn't have to be seen until April of next year. Hopefully he will be a little more cooperative at that appointment so we can get an EKG and an Echo then. At that appointment we will start talking about Cain's fenestration closure. His last operation involved making a tunnel to bring oxygen-poor blood directly from the body into the lungs. The tunnel connected the inferior vena cava to the pulmonary artery, bypassing the heart. This new circulation can put extra pressure on the lungs while Cain's body is getting used to it so to relieve pressure a fenestration (hole) was put between the tunnel and the heart. The fenestration allows some blood to flow from the tunnel into the heart. It basically acts as a temporary pressure release valve while Cain's body adjusts to the new circulation. It is usually closed a year to year and a half after the Fontan operation, so that oxygen-poor and oxygen-rich blood no longer mix. After the fenestration is closed Cain's oxygen sat's should increase to around 95%. That is what we are hoping anyway!

For now we are thrilled with another good cardiology report!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy

2011-10-03T23:12:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to a pretty special guy in our lives. We love you VERY MUCH!! Thanks for all you do for our family.

You are now officially closer to 40 than you are to 30!! How did my husband get so old???

Heart Walk 2011

2011-10-02T23:19:00.001-05:00

The Nashville Heart Walk turned out to be a huge success again this year. We thought we were going to be out of town and not be able to participate but our plans changed and we were able to walk again this year. I worked as hard and fast as I could to put our "Little Heart Heroes" team together in less than a week. Thankfully it all came together and worked out perfectly.

With just a weeks worth of planning, we ended up with a team of almost 30 people and our Little Heart Heroes team successfully raised $1,830.00!!!!! Our team had 3 heart heroes in our group this year. Cain, Kobe, and Nadia each have only "half a heart". Cain & Nadia both have Hypoplastic Right Heart and Kobe has Hypoplastic Left Heart. Hence our teams motto..."Half The Heart...Twice The Fight".

Several of our friends joined us for the walk to support Cain and the other heart heroes. I can't explain how much it means to me to have each of them there to walk with us. My cousin Michael and his wife Storey even drove up from Huntsville to join us.

Storey & Michael

Gretchen & Tripp

Storey & Tina

Liam & Marcie

Sweet Heart Hero Nadia (HRHS)

Me with my cousin Michael

And the walk begins....

Vicki pushed Callie the entire walk and did a great job at putting her to sleep.

Every year I get a little emotional watching Cain walk across the finish line. It is always a reminder of what all he has been through and how strong he is.

Cain with his heart buddy Kobe (HRHS)

William, Little William & Lacey

Me and Suha (another heart mom)

I can not thank our family and friends enough for the support you give our family. Not just for supporting us and Cain in the Heart Walk but for the support and love you give us each and every day.

I have to say I missed my friend Becca so much this year. Her lifelong best friend was getting married on Saturday (out of town) so her family couldn't join us. I know she had a blast at her friends wedding but I also know she hated to miss out on the walk. Becca and I teamed up last year to form our "Little Heart Heroes" group and we both look forward to growing this team year after year. I'm already looking forward to next years walk!!

Thanks again to everyone who joined us in walking and/or donating to "Little Heart Heroes".

Gearing up the the Heart Walk

2011-09-28T23:16:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago the Nashville American Heart Association asked if I would be willing to tell Cain's story to a local business here in Nashville. The business was SMS Holdings and they are very active in the Heart Walk. They have monthly luncheons for employees each month leading up to the heart walk and this past Friday I was their speaker. You would think telling Cain's story wouldn't be hard considering I tell it often but I'll be honest in saying that I was more nervous than I thought I would be. I think the nerves set in after I found out there would be 100-150 people at the luncheon. Basically, I told Cain's story, why I decided to get involved with the American Heart Association, and my experience in raising money for last years heart walk. I enjoyed getting to do something like this and hope I can do it again in the future. I'm pretty sure I won't be as nervous next time.

Speaking of the Heart Walk...the Nashville Heart Walk is this Saturday and our "Little Heart Heroes" team will be participating again this year. I'm looking forward to the walk and have been working hard this week to raise money so we can reach our teams fundraising goals. Our team is hoping to at least raise $1000 and we are currently at $580. If you would like to donate to help us reach our goal you can do so by clicking on the following link. http://nashvilleheartwalk.kintera.org/catherineclinkscales

Birthday Surprise

2011-09-25T21:36:00.000-05:00

I had the best weekend and best surprise on Thursday. It was my 33rd Birthday and I thought I was going to a birthday dinner with just Brad, the kids, and my neighbors. To my surprise my parents and granddad drove 8 hours from Louisiana to be be with me for my birthday. I can't tell you how shocked I was to see them. I talked to my mom a time or two during the day and had NO CLUE she was in the process of driving here to surprise me. I was so excited to see my family and even more excited to find out they were going to be spending the weekend in Nashville.

Cain was just as shocked and happy to see his MiMi, Poppa, and his Great-Granddad as I was. He could not stop smiling through dinner. It was just too cute.

Brad, the kids, and my parents spoiled me with sweet birthday gifts. But one of the best birthday gifts of all was the fact that I turned 33 and I was fortunate enough to have my Granddad here to celebrate with me. I know making a 8 hour drive certainly isn't easy for a 84 year old and it means so much to me that my Granddad wanted to come along with my parents to surprise me.

Brad, Cain, Callie, Mom, Dad, and Granddad...thank you all so much for making my 33rd birthday so wonderful.

Brother-Sister Love

2011-09-21T22:26:00.000-05:00

I am absolutely LOVING how much Cain and Callie are finally interacting with each other. For months I had been hoping and praying they would have a close bond. For the first several months Cain really didn't have too much to do with Callie. He would pay attention to her every now and then but that was about it. Once she started crawling and chasing him around he is completely in love with her. It has been so much fun to watch them play together and laugh together.

They love playing in the bath together, laughing at the dinner table, playing around Cain's train table, and giggling at each other on car rides. Just the other night I told Cain to tell Callie goodnight and he said "night, night Callie" and leaned over and gave her a kiss! MELT MY HEART!!! It is precious to hear him say her name. It comes out as "Cow-we". It makes me smile every time I hear him say it.

Oh and I just remembered...the other night Cain woke me up in the middle of the night yelling for Callie. He would not go back to sleep so I finally brought him to my bed and he said Callie's name over and over for about an hour. He kept laughing and making the silly noises he makes at Callie. I'm quite positive he wanted to play with her but there was no way I was about to have the two of them playing together at 2 o'clock in the morning! I know I just said how much I love to watch them play together but I would prefer for that not to be in the middle of the night.

I pray they always love each other and have a close bond.

Chuck E Cheese

2011-09-16T00:19:00.000-05:00

We were recently invited to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese which turned out to be fun for the whole family. Cain had a blast and I must admit Brad and I had way more fun than you typically expect to have at a 4 year olds birthday party.

Cain's never been to a Chuck E Cheese but it was like he knew he was going to walk into a fun place before we even entered the doors. He kept looking up at the Chuck E Cheese mouse on the building and smiling at it which I thought was adorable.

I also think he had a good time sitting at the table eating pizza and birthday cake with the "bigger" kids.

His favorite game turned out to be the football game. He had so much fun "attempting" to play this game. Thank goodness his Daddy was there to assist him.

A Day Out with Thomas the Train

2011-09-15T00:40:00.000-05:00

**Disclaimer**-Cain has been given a haircut since these photos were taken so he can finally see again!

On Sunday we took Cain to a Day out with Thomas. If you know anything about Cain, you probably know he is pretty obsessed with Thomas the Train. Actually VERY obsessed!!

I've been excited about taking Cain to see Thomas the Train all year long. I've known for months and months that he would be making a stop in Nashville at the Tennessee Central Railway and I couldn't wait to take Cain (and Callie too of course).

Cain seemed excited from the minute we got out of the car. We had great parking and you could hear Thomas the Train music as soon as we opened our car doors. I'm not sure Cain knew what to think of it all.

This was Cain when he first saw Thomas the Train-mesmerized!!

A Day Out with Thomas was basically like a little Thomas fair...train tables, a small train to ride, a petting zoo, a magician, little putt putt golf areas, inflatables, etc. The main attraction was getting to ride a real train that Thomas the Tank Engine was pulling.

It was a slow 20 minute ride towards downtown. I was nervous that the kids would be restless but they seemed to enjoy the train ride.

After the train ride, you could stand in a long line to get your picture taken with Thomas (which of course cost extra) so we attempted to take our own pictures. As you can see Cain couldn't take his eyes off of Thomas long enough to take a picture. I think he was still mesmerized about seeing Thomas the Train in person.

The weather was perfect and it turned out to be a great little family outing.

First day of MDO

2011-09-07T23:15:00.001-05:00

Today was a very big day for a special little boy!! Cain started "school" today. He will be going to MDO (Mother's Day Out) at a church in our neighborhood twice a week. It was only recently that I decided to enroll him in MDO. Both Cain's speech therapist and his TEIS developmental therapist suggested we consider it. Cain interacting with other kids his age should really help with his speech and other developmental areas.

So today was the big day....his very first day of "school"!! Cain did great and the teachers (Miss Brittany, Miss Tina, & Miss Joy) said he seemed to enjoy his day. I am so excited about this new adventure for him and I know it will be good for Callie to have special alone time with her momma!

I tried to get Cain to take a picture with me before I left the room but he was already way too busy exploring the room and all the toys. This is the best picture I could get...

Of course Cain found the trains right away. He was busy playing with Thomas the Train so it made it easy for Callie and me to slip out the door.

The best part of my day was picking Cain up. He looked adorable (and way too big) walking out to my car carrying his little backpack.

It's hard but I'm having to relax a little and realize that Cain will probably get sick at some point during the school year. Obviously it's still not great for Cain to get sick but we are finally past his three surgeries and hopefully his heart could handle an illness better than it could before the 3 surgeries were complete. Cain going to school is just one more reminder of how far we have come in just 2 1/2 years!

2011-09-06T17:06:00.000-05:00

We recently had the chance to take Cain & Callie to their first baseball game. I'll be honest...I don't think either of them even knew we were at a baseball game but we still had a great time. The American Heart Association invited us to the game to help kick off the 2011 American Heart Walk. The walk is coming up at the beginning of October so the AHA is in full swing getting ready for this years walk. We were able to sit on the Home Run Deck and enjoy food and fun with other heart families. I think there were about 5 kids with us that had all undergone heart surgeries. It was amazing to watch each of them run around nonstop. My friend Becca (who is Colby's mom) was at the game and said that she sometimes laughs and thinks that God must have known what he was doing when he gave our boys only half a heart because we can't imagine the energy they would have with a whole functioning heart. The energy our heart kiddo's have is certainly amazing at times!

Brody, Colby, and Cain

Colby giving Callie a big hug!

My little wiggle worm that was too busy playing to stay still for a quick picture with Daddy

Between these two (Cain & Colby) they have undergone 6 open heart surgeries in less than 3 years. Neither of them stopped running for even a minute. They are two busy boys.

Dixie Classic 2011

2011-09-05T23:25:00.001-05:00

At the end of August we traveled to Louisiana again. This time we went to DeRidder, LA and spent the weekend with several of our college friends. This was our 8th year to all get together at one of our houses. The first year was at our house in Nashville, several years we have gone to Dallas, and the last few years have been in south Louisiana. I love our group of friends and love our time spent together. We are lucky to have all stayed so close after college!

On Friday all the girls went and played golf while the boys went to another course. A few college girls came to the house and kept all our kids so we could get away for a few hours.

This is the golf game Brad lost and now has to grow a mustache. (maybe I'll post a pic of his mustache once he is finished growing it)

We had a blast over the weekend...riding 4-wheelers, playing on a big water slide, and just enjoying watching all our kids play with one another.

On Saturday we set up camp at the Whiskey Chitto River on a sandbar that was the perfect size for our group. We had the sandbar to ourselves and it was a perfect little area for the kids to run around and play.

I don't remember when or why we started calling our yearly get togethers the "Dixie Classic". But somewhere along the way that name came up and it stuck. Now we have yearly shirts and cups made with "Dixie Classic" printed on them.

Summer Days

2011-09-01T23:43:00.001-05:00

With summer coming to an end soon, we have been trying to spend as much time out on our boat as possible. Here are a few pictures from last weekend. I'm sure we will be out on the water again this weekend. I do enjoy fall but I have to admit that I am a summer girl! I love everything about the summer even the 100 degree days and I am always sad to see summer come to an end.

There was a moment when I was a little emotional this weekend when I looked over at Cain with his huge grin enjoying being out on the river. There are times like this that take my breath away and remind me how blessed we have been. Cain has been through so much in his short 2 1/2 years and he certainly helps me to appreciate things that I may have otherwise taken for granted. Our normal moments/activities are no longer just normal to me. They mean so much more.

Some of you have possibly started noticing Brad's facial hair! Let's just say he lost a game of golf recently with a group of friends and is now having to grow a mustache. I'm thinking Santa should bring him golf lessons this Christmas.

Lake Bruin 2011

2011-08-24T23:47:00.000-05:00

While we were in Louisiana last month we spent a few days at my granddad's lake house at Lake Bruin. Brad and I spent two nights there without the kids and then my parents brought Cain and Callie to us for the weekend. Several of our friends and their kids joined us for the weekend too.

There is a state park next to my granddad's house that has a great splash pad which turned out to be a lot of fun for the kids.

The bigger kids (Ashton and Parker) had a BLAST tubing. I think they could have rode in the tube the entire weekend. I would have loved to been able to hear some of the conversations they were having while they were riding around in the tube together.

This was Cain's first time to give tubing a try and as you can see he didn't enjoy it as much as the bigger kids. Oh well, maybe next year.

Thank you again Granddad for letting us spend the weekend at the lake. We had a great time and can't wait to do it again next year!!

Christmas in July

2011-08-11T11:36:00.000-05:00

Everyone on my dad's side of the family usually gets together every Christmas Eve or the weekend before Christmas. It's our one time of year when we usually know we will all be together (all 35 of us now). I've only missed two of these Christmas get togethers...the first being right before Cain was born and the other was this past Christmas because Callie was only a few weeks old. We try our hardest to all get together as much as possible but now that we all live in a few different states it makes it more difficult. Thankfully several of my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins were all able to meet up as we were driving through Vicksburg on our way to my parents. My cousin Kirk and his wife Melissa were also in town from Kansas so it was a great excuse to get as much family together as possible....a little Christmas in July!

Cain with my cousin Kirk

Cain with his cousins Kaleb and Seth

Callie with her cousin Kaleb

Sweet Seth showing us his walking skills

Cain giving Bruno a hug. Love Cain's face in this picture.

Kaleb (who is only a few weeks older than Callie) showing us how Callie will be walking before we know it.

Cain with his cousin Ella

Sweet Shower for Landri Rose

2011-08-08T22:39:00.000-05:00

Sweet little Landri Rose should be here any day now and I can not wait to meet her. I was actually in the room when Landri's big sister, Holli, was born and Kristi was in the room for Cain's birth. Sadly, I won't be in Louisiana when Landri is born but I can't wait for my next trip home to meet her after she makes her entrance into this world. While I was home in Louisiana I helped throw Kristi a baby shower so Landri will have everything she needs once she arrives. The theme of the shower was ice cream sundae's and it turned out really cute.

Callie snuggling with her MiMi

Kristi and her sweet momma (which is like a 2nd momma to me!)

I was so happy that I could be part of both Kristy and Kristi's baby shower. Now that they have been showered with gifts both of their sweet babies can arrive. I can't even imagine how uncomfortable they both must be considering they are pregnant in the Louisiana summer heat!!

Our trip to Louisiana

2011-08-07T23:12:00.000-05:00

We finally made it back from Louisiana last Sunday after spending almost a week and a half visiting friends and family. It was a wonderful trip home! The main reason we traveled to Louisiana was because I was a hostess for two very special baby showers. My best friend Kristi is due to have her 2nd sweet baby girl, Landri Rose, any day now. And my other very special friend, Kristy, is due to have her 2nd boy, Cannon Michael, in the middle of September.

We gave Kristy a special baby shower on Saturday afternoon to honor sweet Cannon.

The shower was nautical theme to match Cannon's bedding and bedroom. I've never made a diaper cake but thankfully my friend Dawn has made one before. We decided to make one for a centerpiece and I think it turned out pretty good for my first diaper cake. Thank goodness Dawn was there to assist me and teach me how to make it.

Since the shower was nautical theme I decided Callie needed to wear her cute little sailor dress that my dad picked out especially for her. I love that one day I'll be able to show her this picture and tell her that her Poppa (her granddad) picked this dress out for her.

There were pregnant bellies everywhere at this shower. Three sweet babies on the way.

My friend Dawn did most of the planning for this shower and she came up with the idea for us to decorate onesies for little Cannon. They all turned out really cute.

Isn't Kristy an absolutely beautiful pregnant little momma?

I have tons of pictures from our trip to Louisiana and hope to share them all this week. So I suppose this post is to be continued....

9 years of wedded bliss

2011-07-27T09:04:00.004-05:00

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary! 9 years! I swear it feels like yesterday that we were the young boy and girl you see in these pictures getting married. We looked so young. Actually, I guess we were pretty young. I remember feeling so happy and in love on my wedding day 9 years ago. I didn't think I could love Brad anymore than I did that day. Boy was I wrong! I'm even more in love with him now than I was then.

I'm happy that he asked me to be his bride and he is the one I get to spend the rest of my life with. Don't get me wrong...we have a real relationship and I'm pretty sure we drive each other crazy sometimes but there is no one I'd rather share my life with than him.

One of our honeymoon pictures

We have been through a lot in the last 9 years (2 kids under 2, going through a flood, watching our son undergo 3 open heart surgeries) but I feel through it all our relationship has only grown stronger.

We have been in Louisiana for a few days now visiting friends and family. Later today we are heading to my granddad's lake house without Cain or Callie. It will be our first time away from both kids. I'll miss the kiddo's but it will be nice to get away and enjoy our time together. Why do I feel most of our conversations will be about our kids? Maybe instead of talking about the kids the entire time we should start planning our 10th anniversary trip!

Our week in pictures...

2011-07-18T08:17:00.000-05:00

I talked to my Granddad this weekend and he sweetly told me he loved seeing pictures of the kids but that I just didn't post pictures often enough. Sadly, he is correct. I take a couple of pics of the kids each day but they usually never make it to the blog. So the following pictures are just a few I took last week. These pictures are especially for my Granddad so he can see his his precious great-grandkids.

I took Cain to story time at one of our local libraries on Monday. About 10 minutes into story time we ended up having to leave. Another little girl walked in with a Dora the Explora cup and Cain could not get that cup off his mind. He ended up walking over to the little girl and almost sat in her lap trying to get to her cup. I tried explaining to him that it wasn't his cup and picked him up to move him away from her but Cain did not like this at all! He decided to pitch the biggest fit so we left story time before we caused a scene. We ended up just walking around the library and he played with books, puzzles and other toys that were in the library.

On Tuesday Cain's friends Paxton and Kellen came over for a playdate. They used to live across the street but now live about 30 minutes away so we don't get to see them enough. Oh how I wish they still lived across the street!!!

On Wednesday we met some of our friends at the pool. It was Callie's first time in a pool and I think she really enjoyed it. She sat in her little float for almost two hours and watched Cain jump in and out of the pool.

Thursday was Callie's first time sitting in the front of a grocery cart. I know this isn't a big deal to most of you but I love all the new "firsts" when they happen. Even if it is as little as sitting in the front of Walgreen's shopping cart. This made it much easier because before now I had been carrying Callie and pushing the cart with Cain in it each time I needed to stop at Walgreen's.

Friday was pretty uneventful and then this weekend we sat outside and watched Brad stain our back deck all weekend.

Independence Day

2011-07-11T00:06:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July. Not only did we celebrate our country's independence, we also celebrated Cain's 6 week post-op independence. July 4th was 6 weeks post-op for Cain. I am still amazed at how well Cain has recovered and so thankful that we haven't really had any complications during the 6 weeks of recovery. Since Cain has reached 6 weeks post op we can get Cain out and about and most importantly we can finally pick Cain up under his arms. Since his sternum was opened for his surgery we had to give this area time to heal before being able to pick him up under his arms.

Our friends Clark and Stephanie live in Virginia and were driving to Louisiana to visit their family (and to announce the sex of their baby which is a GIRL! So exciting!) so they stopped and spent the night with us. We don't get to see them enough and wish we could talk them into moving to Nashville. We keep trying. Cain always has so much fun playing with their son, Austin.

Sunday night we enjoyed a cookout at our friends Benson & Allison.

And on Monday, the 4th, we took Callie on her first boat ride.

Callie did great on her first boat ride. She loves being outdoors and seemed to really enjoy riding in the boat.

Later that night we drove to a place near our house where you can see downtown in the distance. It was a great way to see the downtown fireworks without having to deal with the crowds.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T23:12:00.001-05:00

Father's Day

2011-06-21T23:36:00.002-05:00

"Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad"..... I've always loved this quote and feel it is very true.

Cain and Callie are so lucky to have Brad as their Dad and I'm lucky to have such a wonderful dad too. I'm a daddy's girl and always will be and I'm pretty such Callie will feel the exact same about Brad.

We had a nice relaxing day at home this Father's Day. We let Brad sleep in while we ran to the grocery store to get food for a nice big breakfast and lunch.

I tried to get a picture of Brad with his two kiddo's but this was the best I could get. Oh well, we will try for a new picture next year.

Callie crying in this picture makes me laugh but what I really thought was funny was Brad and Cain's expression. I normally don't think Brad and Cain look alike but their cute little mouths look exactly the same in the picture and so do their cute little dimple and eyes.

Thankfully my breakfast turned out good but my attempt to cook roast for lunch/dinner failed. For some reason it took forever to get tender this time. Thankfully it was good on Monday night but we decided we were too hungry to wait any longer on Sunday afternoon so we went out for dinner.

I'm still laughing about Brad's Father's Day dinner. Brad had been craving crab legs so we went out to get him some at a local restaurant. When we got to there you could smell ribs from the car and I could tell Brad was going to have a hard time deciding between crab legs and ribs. Thankfully it was his lucky day (and Father's Day) because they had a meal called 'Crab and Slab' on the menu. What a meal!

It turned out to be a great day! The only thing that could have made it even better would have been to be able to spend time with my Dad and Granddad too.

And by the way, I'm still not sure Brad has recovered from that big of a meal.

Lots of firsts...

2011-06-15T15:41:00.000-05:00

Look who can sit on her own now...

And I think she is pretty proud of herself too!

Not only did she decide she could sit on her own this weekend she also decided she could stand on her own too. (with support of course)

My baby girl is getting SO big!

And just in time for Father's Day this weekend, Callie said her very first word today....DADA!!! Here is a clip of what I've heard her say all day.

Follow-up appointments

2011-06-13T07:18:00.000-05:00

Cain has been seen by 3 different Dr's for follow-up appointments since being discharged from the hospital. The first appointment was with his pediatrician the day after discharge. He needed to be seen by his pediatrician to get a baseline of where he was after surgery. He was weighed and then we discussed surgery and any concerns with our pediatrician. Cain weighed 28lbs at his appointment so he lost a about 2lbs during his hospital stay.

Last week he had an appointment with both his cardiologist and his surgeon.

He had xrays on Wednesday before his appointment with his cardiologist. Cain was not happy at all about having xrays taken and he put up a pretty good fight. After the xrays we went upstairs and had his vitals taken and then met with the cardiologist. Cain's sats were in the 85-86 range. Honestly I was hoping they would be a little higher since this is about the same as where they were before surgery. I think his cardiologist could tell I hoped they would be higher and he explained they should increase over the next weeks/months as his lungs improve. They should also go up a little more after his fenestration closure next year.

His cardiologist discontinued two of Cain's medicines so he now only has to take 6 syringes of medicine a day, a daily aspirin, and pain med as needed (which he is still needed about twice a day). The best part of this appointment was he told us he didn't need to see Cain again until October unless we noticed any changes in Cain's breathing.

Trying to distract Cain while he was having his BP taken by letting him watch Toy Story but that wasn't working too well.

On Friday, Cain had a follow-up appointment with his surgeon. This was a very easy appointment since vitals and xrays were taken on Wednesday. They took his BP at this appointment and checked to make sure his incisions were healing properly. Once again he received an A+ report which made us very happy!

Cain has really gotten into wanting to act just like his Daddy lately.

Am I cool or what?

Now that we are home...

2011-06-09T18:00:00.001-05:00

I am so sorry it has taken me awhile to update our blog on how Cain is doing since we have been home. Honestly, our first days home were VERY exhausting and now I've been enjoying visiting at night with Brad's step-sister, Jennifer, who is still in town helping us out. Brad went back to work last Thursday, after taking off for Cain's surgery, so having Jennifer here has been a huge relief.

Cain was sent home with way more medicine than I ever expected.

Last week was really hard on all of us. Cain absolutely hated taking his medicine and would fight us every time he saw a syringe coming his way. I tried everything I could to get medicine down...mixing it with chocolate syrup, having him drink it out of a straw, and even mixing it with apple juice and having him drink it through one of Callie's bottles. It was exhausting! Especially considering he is taking 14 syringes of medicine a day and two crushed pills. There have been MANY battles!

Cain was busy watching 'Toy Story' Sunday evening so I decided to give him medicine while he was distracted by his movie. Thankfully it worked like a charm and he took all his medicine without putting up a fight. As you can imagine, he has watched 'Toy Story' several times since then. It's been the only way I can get him to take all of his medicine. He is finally doing better at taking the meds he has taken all of his life (baby aspirin, Enalapril, and Lasix) but still tries to put up a fight with his new medicines (Spironolactone, Hydrochlorothiazide, Potassium, Oxycodone). Thankfully the fights aren't as bad as long as 'Toy Story' is playing.

Another challenge has been keeping Cain's hands away from his scars. We were told the incision area would probably itch as it was healing. Either it itches or is sore...or both. While Cain was taking a nap on Thursday (our first full day home) he pulled off all the Dermabond (a liquid skin adhesion) covering his incision and all the steri-strips (adhesive strip) off his chest tube sites. I checked on him no less than 5 times during his nap yet somehow he quickly pulled everything off of his chest without me catching him doing it. I was worried about one of his chest tubes sites as it looked like it still needed to be closed so it could heal properly. I called our surgeon's NP and she told me how to clean the area and how to reapply a new steri-strip.

I tried figuring out any and every way I could to keep Cain from scratching his chest and the incision. I finally came up with buying him onesie's to wear under his clothes. I didn't even know if they made onesie's for a 2 year old but thankfully they do. I must admit I thought it was pretty cute seeing him in a onesie again.

Overall Cain is doing great. It's amazing to me how resilient kids can be. Just by looking at him you would never have a clue that he had heart surgery two weeks ago. It's truly amazing.

Thankfully he doesn't seem to have nightmares at night. Not yet anyway! At first he was waking every morning around 5:30AM but I think that was because he was in pain and needing pain medicine. The last 2 or 3 days he has slept peacefully until around 7AM.

Speaking of sleep, Cain fell asleep two nights this week before I could get him to bed. One of the nights I was putting Callie to bed and walked out to find Cain sleeping in his highchair.

Then the next night, Cain was throwing the biggest temper tantrum about changing into his pajama's so I walked away to ignore the temper tantrum he was throwing. Once I realized the temper tantrum was over I walked in to find him sleeping on his floor.

Overall, we are all doing very good. There have been a few times that I've been way more than thankful to have help still in town. On most days Cain wakes up from his afternoon nap really grumpy. It's about the same time that his next dose of pain med is due. He will be kicking and screaming and the only thing that seems to calm him down his holding him and trying to soothe him. I've been so thankful Jennifer has been here to help with Callie when she is crying at the same time as I'm trying to soothe Cain and get him his next dose of pain meds. About 15 minutes after he takes his pain med he is back to his normal self. I'm starting to wonder if he is getting stiff and sore as he sleeps and wakes up uncomfortable.

Discharge Day

2011-06-05T23:16:00.001-05:00

I still can't believe we are home already. HOME!!!! Home from Cain's 3rd open heart surgery. This is a day that I've known about and prayed for since I was 20 weeks pregnant. Driving home from the hospital was truly an overwhelming experience.

During rounds on Wednesday we learned that Cain would be discharged that day. We were thrilled. Cain was completely over being in the hospital and having people constantly touching him. He was to a point where he would kick and thrash about any time someone came near him.

Rounds took place around 9AM and then the rest of the morning was spent doing paperwork and other things necessary for Cain to be discharged. We reviewed CPR, picked up meds from the pharmacy, etc.

The thought that I would ever need to do CPR on my son scares me to death. Hopefully that will never be needed but it's certainly better to be prepared. I still remember sitting in my first CPR class before we took Cain home from the hospital for the very first time. I remember sitting in a daze with other parents all learning CPR thinking I cannot believe this is happening. At that time I was so scared to take Cain home from the hospital. A lot has changed since then and thankfully reviewing CPR this time wasn't as scary.

It was certainly bittersweet as we were leaving the hospital. Vanderbilt Children's has been our "home away from home" several times now. Everyone has been wonderful to Cain and to our family. I know this won't be Cain's last time at this hospital (he'll most likely be back next year to close his fenestration hole) but leaving after this 3rd open heart surgery was very emotional. I've known since September 22, 2008 that Cain would need 3 surgeries to survive. Before Cain was born we were told how risky these surgeries would be and that 20% of the babies don't make it through all 3 surgeries. It's on overwhelming feeling for Cain to be Post-Fontan.

Cain still has a long road ahead of him. He has been discharged from the hospital but he is still in a recovery stage. We were sent home with many meds and we can't pick Cain up under his arms for 6 weeks.

I was really surprised at how much I cried as we drove home. I suppose the magnitude of the past several years hit me all at once.

At the time of discharge it had been 10 days since Cain walked. When we put him down to walk in the house his little legs were so wobbly. We didn't realize he would be so weak. He has always been a strong-willed little boy and he was determined to walk around and not let us carry him.

It broke my heart to see his little legs not work and have to watch him keep falling down. To be honest I was more than worried for a little while but as the evening went on he started walking better.

I know all the pictures look like Cain was in a great mood this day and thrilled to be coming home. Honestly, he was in a terrible mood all day and did more kicking and crying than anything. I'm honestly surprised we have a few pictures with smiles in them. It was very stressful once we got home not knowing what to do to pacify Cain.

We finally decided that maybe Cain was just in a lot of pain and the only way he knew how to express it to us was by kicking, hitting and screaming. We decided to make sure we stayed on schedule with his pain meds (Oxycodone) and give it to him every 4 hours. Once we started doing this Cain completely became a different child. He is much more like himself. I'm glad we finally decided to stay on top of his pain meds and wished I had suggested that more when he was in the hospital.

I wish this surgery had been the final surgery that would fix Cain's heart. Sadly, his heart will never be fixed and he will more than likely need "tune-ups" though life. The good feeling though is that we have NO SURGERIES lingering in our head. We can start living our lives as "normal" as possible. We are so proud of our little survivor and how far he was come.

Day 10 Update

2011-06-01T23:35:00.001-05:00

I can't believe I'm already typing these words but.....

WE ARE HOME!!!!!

We learned during rounds this morning that Cain would be discharged today. They felt he was doing good enough to go home and we can wean his diuretics from home. We are to take him to his pediatrician tomorrow and he has appointments next week with cardiology. So, he will still be watched over the next few weeks as he recovers.

I can not believe he had open heart surgery 10 days ago and we are already home. Absolutely Amazing!

We had a rough afternoon after being home. The picture of Cain in this post is very deceiving because he actually didn't smile too much today and spent most of the day kicking and screaming. By the end of the night we finally realized he calmed down after his dose of Oxycodone. We think he was in more pain than we realized and just didn't know how to express it which ended in him kicking and thrashing about. Hopefully we will do a better job of controlling the pain tomorrow.

The house is now quite and everyone is peacefully sleeping under the same roof tonight. I know Cain will enjoy getting a full nights sleep without anyone coming in to check his vitals throughout the night or having xrays at 5AM.

I'll post more about our discharge day tomorrow but for now I'm off to get some rest with the rest of my family.

Day 9 Update

2011-05-31T23:30:00.002-05:00

THE CHEST TUBES ARE OUT!!!! I repeat the chest tubes are out!! This is a big step in Cain's recovery. Especially since chest tube drainage/Pleural Effusions can sometimes be a setback in the Fontan recovery. We learned this morning during rounds that this would happen today and around noon they came in the room to pull the 2 remaining chest tubes. They gave Cain Morphine shortly before pulling his chest tubes to relax him and help with the pain. I held Cain's legs and a nurse held Cain's arms while the NP removed his tubes. Believe it or not he did better with having his chest tubes pulled than he does with his daily xrays and medicine doses. His diuretics will slowly be weaned and we will pray that he doesn't show any fluid build up in his next xray.

Glad I was able to capture this on camera because this is a rare moment. Cain usually never shows Callie any attention.

Brad's stepsister, Jennifer, arrived from Louisiana late last night. We were thrilled to see her and so thankful she is here to help with Callie. I'm just hoping Callie is good for her.

I mentioned yesterday that we were really struggling with Cain taking his medicine. Thankfully I think we have found a way to get him to take his potassium. We were first given his potassium in a liquid form that we could mix with his juice to drink. He wasn't always finishing his drink and after having to give him the terrible potassium drip I was determined to get his Potassium in him without having to do the IV drip again. They are now breaking open a capsule for us and we are putting the potassium on a french fry and dipping it in ketchup.

He is licking the ketchup and potassium right off the fry. I has worked like a charm. Now if I could just figure out another easy way to get him to take his medicines that are in a syringe.

We tried to let Cain walk again today but he still wasn't feeling up to it. Plus he was still pretty wobbly from Morphine.

Everyone kept telling us that Cain would feel so much better after his chest tubes were out. I'm not sure I believe everyone now. I have no doubt that he is more comfortable. But I think it made him comfortable enough to let us know how mad he is with us and how tired he is of being in the hospital. He spent most of the day kicking the side of the crib and shaking his head back and forth. I guess if he's throwing a true 2 year old temper tantrum then he must feel a little better.

As soon as someone walks in our room in scrubs or just looks at Cain he starts throwing a fit. Getting his Blood Pressure taken doesn't hurt at all but yesterday when he was having his BP he kept making this face.....

Of course, I had to do what any loving mom would do and that is take a picture because I thought the face he was making was hilarious. It did not hurt at all but he certainly wanted us to think it did.

A sweet girl came in the room last night to sing a song to Cain. They come by every Tuesday and sing to some of the patients.

Day 8 Update

2011-05-30T23:30:00.002-05:00

The biggest event from our day is that my sweet baby girl turned 6 months old today. I can't believe she is growing up so fast. This half of a year has flown by. I plan to do a post just for her very soon.

The other big event was that my parents had to head back to Louisiana today. I was really sad to see them leave. We are so thankful to have family who can drop everything and come help us when we need them.

I know my parents had a blast spending time with Callie but I'm also pretty sure she wore them out. She can be handful. Brad's stepsister is driving 11 hours from Louisiana today to come help us with her now that my parents are gone. I seriously don't know how we would manage this without our families' support.

The worst part about our hospital stay is getting Cain to take his medicine. Cain has taken daily medicine since birth and has always been a champ about it. Now he's a mad man when he see me with a syringe of medicine. It gets worse each day we are here. He clenches his teeth, shakes his head back and forth, and is now starting to kick and hit me. It's hard to know what to let him get away with. I don't want him to think it's okay to hit and kick me but I also can't blame him for being sick of medicine and sick of people constantly messing with him. This is just a handful of the syringes of medicine he has received this week.

He gets 8 regular medicines a day. His chest tubes were still draining a lot on Sunday (60cc's) so they decided to increase his diuretics so he gets them more frequently and at higher does to hopefully dry him out. He gets 3 diuretics; Lasix (4 x's a day), hydrochlorothiazide (3 x's a day), and Aldactone (2 x's a day). He is also getting Tylenol as needed for pain, Oxycodone as needed for pain, Zofran for nausea, a baby aspirin once a day, and crushed up Potassium. So that's 10+ syringes of meds he receives every day. We have tried everything to get him to take them even mixing them with chocolate syrup. I honestly don't think it's the taste of the medicine as much as he's just sick and tired of taking so much. I hope he goes back to his normal ways once we are home and doesn't continue to fight me with meds.

His left chest tube drained 60cc's and his right chest tubes drained 16cc's on Sunday's day shift and on Monday's day shift they only drained 10cc's and 4cc's. So, we are really hoping the chest tubes will be pulled on Tuesday.

From a cardiac standpoint his heart looks great. Overall the heart function is great, the rhythm is good and his saturation's are around 89-90. The only thing that is keeping him in the hospital is his chest tubes but that has started to dry up significantly so if we have no major changes I would think we will be home towards the middle or the end of the week.

Day 7 Update

2011-05-30T21:30:00.000-05:00

Sunday certainly didn't start off as well as Saturday. Cain has lab's drawn every morning around 5AM and Sunday's labs showed that Cain's potassium was really low. Low levels of potassium can be dangerous, especially to the heart so Cain had to be started on a potassium drip. The drip was administered through an IV on his foot and sadly it burns really bad. He was on a slow run drip so it wouldn't burn quite as bad but that also meant the drip ran for 2 1/2 hours. Cain moaned and winced the entire time which was really sad to see.

We also learned during rounds yesterday that Cain had a lot of fluid build up in his chest. Which means he has fluid around his lungs so his chest tubes are still draining a lot. This draining is just part of the healing process of the Fontan's. Cain's chest tube output still seems to be moderate and improving but still draining too much to pull the chest tubes. Cain is also having a lot of drainage at one of his chest tube sites so the bandaging has needed to be changed often. He really doesn't like this considering it involves having to pull tape off his skin and use an alcohol swab around the site to clean it so it really burns.

We were sad to see Cain feeling bad again after having such a great day the day before but I guess that is just part of the healing process. We've certainly learned from previous hospital stays that it is a roller coaster ride and this stay has been no different.

Thankfully Cain had two heart friends stop by to visit him on Sunday. We tried all morning to get a smile out of Cain and all we could get was this face....

As soon as Colby stopped by for a visit, Cain finally sat up in bed and started smiling a little.

We tried all morning to help him feel better. It's amazing what someone his age who has been through the exact same experience can do to raise someone's spirit.

Amazing to think Colby had the exact same surgery as Cain just 8 weeks ago.

Colby certainly didn't cut Cain any slack for being in the hospital. He decided stickers would make a great hat for Cain.

It was great to be able to visit with Becca, Jason, Brody and Colby. I'm thankful they could pull a smile out of Cain for us.

Later that afternoon Cain's other heart buddy, Jace, stopped by for a visit. We met Jace and his family in the hospital after Cain was born. They are a day apart and Jace was also a single ventricle kid like Cain (HLHS). They drove 2 hours one way from Kentucky just to visit us in the hospital. I can't begin to say how much that means to us.

I think Jace may have been flirting with Callie just a little. I told Tricia, Jace's mom, that Callie would certainly make a good wife one day to either Jace or Colby considering she would understand everything about Hypoplastic kids and their hearts.

I am so thankful for both Becca (Colby's mom) and Tricia (Jace's mom). Our kids are all at the same stage and having their Fontan's right now. We "get" each other and it's great to know I have both of
them to turn to.

Day 6 Update

2011-05-29T23:02:00.000-05:00

1st smile we've seen since surgery!!!

Well it is only 10:00AM on Post op day 6, but our day has already been SO much better. Cain had three bowel movements (yes, I understand that may be more information than Cain would like for me to share but they are a big deal around here) through the night and he does not seem to be in as much pain from his chest tubes and shoulder/back area that bothered him so much the last few days. He managed to eat three mini-pancakes and drink a little milk without vomiting.

He has been spitting out some of his “Cain Japanese babble” to us, acting goofy with his Bob the Builder hat on, and yes…..has even smiled a few times.

We were so excited to see smiles we did anything and everything to keep them coming. Even if it took his Daddy pretending to be Elmo.

He did have another IV line go bad so he will have another line put in today, which is never fun. I actually woke up this morning at 5:30AM to Cain screaming as the nurse was trying to find a vein. She poked him once and it didn't work so she decided to let IV therapy come in later this morning and do it. It appears it will be another day before they try and remove his other two chest tubes, but it is clearly going to be a better day just by the way Cain is acting today.

I started this post yesterday (Saturday) and just now getting to finish it up today (Sunday)

The rest of our day was just as great as the morning. Cain seemed to feel well all day and we saw many smiles throughout the day. It was so good to feel like I finally had my boy back. I had missed that sweet smile SO MUCH! IV Therapy came in and they were able to get a line in on their first try. I just pray that line continues to work so we can avoid more pokes. I have not enjoyed that part at all.

We also had our favorite nurse yesterday so that always makes it a good day. Since Cain was feeling a little better she suggested we take Cain on a wagon ride.

We couldn't stay gone long but we were able to stroll him around for about 30 minutes. There is an outdoor area on our floor so we took him outside for some fresh air. I think it did us all some good.

Cain has been on a liquid diet until today. We finally gave food a try again and by the end of the day he had taken bites of pancakes, a banana, pizza, grilled cheese sandwich, mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, and of course ketchup...his favorite. I couldn't believe he tried so much but who can blame him after not eating solid food in almost a week.

Thank you so much for all your prayers. I know many of you will enjoy seeing this smile as much as we did.

Also notice that he is not on oxygen anymore. Completely just room air now and haven't used oxygen in over 24 hours!

Day 5 Update

2011-05-28T23:29:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was another trying day for our little man. Cain continued to battle with pain and it had gotten to a point that the tinest movement would get him uncontrollably agitated. He would begin to cry when a nurse even entered the room.

As for progress, Cain had a post-op ECHO which will more than likely have to be repeated due to his consistent movement and fits of rage during the procedure. He is so over anyone touching him. I feel that he is very tolerant considering what all he's been through but I think he has a threshold that has been met.

Afterwards, he had his pacer wires removed followed by one of his chest tube (mediastinal). This should provide a little more comfort to him; however, the process of getting them out was quite the battle.

He continues to have difficulty keeping meds and fluids down and experienced three bouts of vomiting during the day. We tried to give him a banana to test out solid foods. He barely ate one bite of the banana and decided it wasn’t for him. He was also given another suppository since he has not had a bowel movement since the day before surgery. Poor guy! Overall we are making progress and Cain is in stable condition but the stay and Cain’s recovery is taking a toll on everyone. We continue to be positive, but it is hard to watch him in so much pain. We hope tomorrow will lead to a brighter day, and if we are lucky we maybe we will see our first smile out of him since the surgery.

Day 4 Update

2011-05-27T23:23:00.003-05:00

We had two big events yesterday. Cain moved out of the Pediatric Critical Care Unit and up to a regular room on the 6th floor and I was finally able to hold him. Both were great events.

The day started with Cain throwing up all over the nurse. Brad and I had gone to a sleep room to get a little rest and the nurse decided to pick Cain up and rock him. While she was rocking him he decided to get sick all over her. I guess that's what she gets for holding my baby before I was able to hold him. Truthfully, I'm not upset about that at all! I actually like that all the nurses love their patients and want to hold them and love on them if I'm not there to do it.

Cain's "Bob the Builder" hat is normally one of his favorite items. Not too sure he liked it so much today.

Cain doesn't seem to be able to get a break with his pain. We have really had to keep him pumped full of pain meds to be comfortable. Of course, the pain meds can cause constipation so poor Cain is dealing with that on top of everything else he has going on. We decided to finally give him a suppository to help with....well, you know!

Cain was sick a few more times yesterday mostly around the time he has to take his medicines. Seeing him sick and in pain just breaks my heart. I wish there was something...anything I could do to make it better for him.

Towards the afternoon Cain started making a terrible noise and trying to grab under his left armpit. It was evident that there was some sort of pain coming from that area but we couldn't exactly figure out what it could be. We finally decided to look at his xray and we wonder if it could possible be one of his chest tubes that it causing him so much discomfort.

We know chest tubes cause a great deal of discomfort but something in this area is causing him unbearable pain at times. One of the Nurse Practitioners said the pain could possibly be from the way his arm was positioned during surgery. I guess there is really no way of knowing.

We had been told on Wednesday that Cain could possibly move up to the 6th floor but a room never became available. On Thursday, we were able to make the move up. This was very exciting because moving up always means you are improving!!

Our goals by the end of the day were to do whatever we could to keep Cain comfortable, keep him full of liquids to prevent dehydration, and possibly pull a chest tube if his drainage subsides.

Day 3 Update

2011-05-26T22:41:00.001-05:00

Cain constantly amazes me and yesterday was no different. He had an exhausting day and it was exhausting for me to watch all he had to endure. He was such a trooper though.

Throughout the day several of Cain's meds were cut back. He had been receiving drips of Milrinone (for helping his heart squeeze and dilates vessels) and Precedex (which is an IV sedation) and both of these were stopped during the morning. Since the Precedex was stopped he started receiving Oxycodone to help with pain. At lunch time the Dr's okay'ed Cain to start on a regular diet so we gave him some milk. Shortly after drinking some of the milk he threw up. I felt terrible for him because you could tell he needed to cough but that it just hurt to bad for him too cough. I think he ended up with mucus in his throat and it made him sick. Poor guy! Afterwards he was switched back to a clear liquid diet so all he has had since Sunday night for dinner is Pedialyte and juice. His sheets had to be changed from him being sick so Brad was able to hold him. We were really excited about the thought of holding him but he seemed to be in so much pain that we put him back in his bed as soon as the new sheets were put on.

During the afternoon they started removing some lines which was great because that means Cain is progressing. They pulled his ART that was in his groin and the Central line that was in his neck. Both of these procedures took suture removal. Cain was a champ and laid there for the most part but it broke my heart to have to watch him scream out in pain at times.

Cain had a peripheral IV line that was in his left hand. Our nurse checked the line and it seemed to be working just fine so maintenance IV fluids were put through it for Cain. Shortly afterwards Brad noticed Cain's hand and fingers were very puffy and his fingers had turned purple. Somehow the peripheral line was no longer working and the IV fluids had been pumped directly into the tissue of Cain's hand. Cain had an arm board on his hand to protect this line and it ended up cutting off the circulation to Cain's hand as his hand was swelling. Brad went to get our nurse and she started cutting off the arm board as fast as she could. By the time the arm board came off the top of Cain's hand was milky white and his fingers were as purple/red as they could be. The whole thing was so swollen and hard. A specialized wound care team was called in to look at it and tell us what needed to be done. We had to start putting heat compresses on it every 15 minutes and he had to keep his hand elevated.

Since that peripheral line was no longer working Cain needed to get another peripheral line put in. They called in IV therapy to assist with this. They are the specialists and usually the ones who can get lines put in the best. They stuck him once in his arm and once in his foot but couldn't get a line in on either try. Watching the IV therapist try to decide where to stick him was absolutely terrible for me. He kept commenting on how Cain had needle pokes all over him. It just broke my heart. You can honestly see little scars on his ankles where he has been poked in the past and he has about 10 needle pokes on his wrist right now just from trying to get lines in on Monday. It's so sad to see.

Since IV therapy was unsuccessful at getting a line in they had to use the vein finder.

The green light is the vein finder

I've never seen this instrument but it was pretty neat. Brad and I both got to check out our veins. The charge nurse was called in and after 3 more needle pokes she finally got a new peripheral line inserted in his foot. I am praying this line continues to work. I don't think I could stand to watch him be poked with a needle one more time. Seriously, it is terrible. We would have to hold his hand and soothe him as he cried out in pain. It was almost more than I could take.

He has been receiving Oxycodone and Dilaudid to keep him comfortable. He was on a liter and a half of oxygen through his nasal cannula and his sats were staying in the 90's. The nurse tried to see what he would do coming off the cannula but his sats dropped into the 70's when she would try. They will work on weaning his oxygen slowly and eventually he should be able to sat in the low 90's without it.

Cain was the best patient even through all he went through yesterday. The faces he would give us were heart breaking and the crying out in pain was just terrible. It is so not fair that someone so young should have to go through so much.

Thankfully he continues to make progress and is looking great aside from his pitiful faces he makes. I am dying to see his sweet little smile again soon. Check out his pink lips. I have never seen his lips so pink. I sat beside his bed and cried happy tears the other night just looking at how pink his lips and toes are now. It's the best sight in the world.

Update

2011-05-26T07:56:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update to let you know Cain is doing well. I hoped to post an update last night but fell asleep with my laptop in my lap and no words on the computer screen. I was exhausted. We were very lucky and were given a sleep room late last night so we finally got a little more sleep. Hopefully I'll be able to do an update soon but for now I'm off to hold Cain's hand. Just wanted to let you know he continues to improve.

Day 2 Update

2011-05-24T23:11:00.001-05:00

I'm not even sure where to begin on how our day turned out. Let's just say it was eventful. And Cain wasn't even what made it so eventful.

First off, Cain is doing great. The main goal for him today was comfort/pain control. It was a very long night last night (as we figured it would be first night post-op). It was a fine balancing act all night on how much pain meds to give Cain to keep him comfortable yet not be too sedated as to affect his breathing. So there was a lot of tweaking throughout the night. Last night and most of today Cain was on Vapotherm which is a high flow oxygen therapy which is delivered through a nasal cannula. He needed this to keep his O2 above 85. Besides keeping Cain's pain under control another goal for the day was to wean him off Vapotherm. We were finally able to do this sometime this afternoon. He is still using a regular nasal cannula but hopefully he can be weaned from that tonight or tomorrow.

We were able to get a sleep room last night so Brad slept from midnight to 3AM in the sleep room and I slept from 3AM to 7. When I was waking, Brad sent me the following picture.

It was a wonderful sight to see as I waking. Cain was finally able to drink some Pedialyte and even a bottle of milk. They didn't want to give him too much to drink since he was still pretty heavily sedated and feared him aspirating. As his pain meds have decreased he has been able to drink more Pedialyte.

So for the crazy part of our day! My parents brought us breakfast this morning and we stepped out to eat. While we were eating my parents sat in the room with Cain. When we came back from breakfast we saw no less than 15 people in Cain's room. Brad saw everyone before I did and he took off running towards Cain. My dad quickly let us know everything was okay with Cain but my mom had PASSED OUT while we were gone! Craziness! Mom had been standing at Cain's bedside and all of a sudden felt weak. Dad noticed her and asked if she was okay. Thankfully he got a chair over to her just as she was passing out. The scariest part is that when she passed out her eyes and mouth were open so my dad feared for the worst by the look of her and Cain's nurse thought the same. Cain's nurse immediately got help and everyone came running. I guess if your going to pass out then being in the cardiac critical care unit is a good place to do it. They took her down to the children's emergency room and then over to the adult hospital emergency room. She had several tests run which all came back normal so they released her after receiving a saline drip and drinking some potassium.

Mom feels better and tonight and Cain seems to be resting the best he has yet. After we knew mom was okay we couldn't help but laugh a little about what happened. We didn't laugh at her passing out because that was certainly scary. We laughed because this wasn't the first time my mom has visited Vanderbilt ER on one of her trips to Nashville. Some of you may remember her trip to the ER while Cain was recovering from his very first surgery. What were the chances of that happening again? Just crazy.

My mom was released from the hospital just in time to see my Granddad (her Dad) before he flew back to Louisiana. My granddad and Brad's mom both left today to head back home. We are certainly thankful Cain's great-granddad could be here for his surgery and thankful that Brad's mom could be here to help with Callie.

Cain had a few lines pulled today which is always a good thing. Earlier today his RA line (line that goes into the right atrium) was pulled and so was his foley catheter.

I am so excited at how well Cain is resting as I write this post. He hasn't rested this well since surgery. He is still heavily sedated and hasn't made much eye contact with us. Hopefully he will start waking up more tomorrow and maybe I can finally hold him.

Day 2 Update

2011-05-24T14:05:00.000-05:00

So very sorry that I haven't been able to post an update. This will be brief because it's been a WILD day with a lot going on and family members catching flights home. Cain is doing okay. The main goal today has been to keep Cain comfortable. I just wanted to do a quick post to let everyone know all was okay! I plan to do an update later tonight when everything settles down a bit.

Surgery Day Updates

2011-05-23T09:30:00.007-05:00

Update #7 @ 10:20: As soon as the previous post was completed, we had a bit of a scare. There was a suspected leak in a chest tube and they thought it may be pushing air into the thoracic cavity causing additional pressure and pain. At this same time Cain was becoming very irritable and hard to comfort. His blood pressure and O2 saturations were dropping. At one point we had a team of 2 doctors, a nurse practitioner, and 5 nurses working to resolve the issue and stabilize him. Having that many people work on him at once is slightly unnerving. The chest x-ray was negative for additional air around the lung and the leak was found further down the chest tube and easily repairable. However, it also showed a partially collapsed lung due to a mucus plug and secretions. Cain was given additional doses of Morphine and started on Versed and a low dose of Precedex. These medications combined with positive pressure oxygen managed to stabilize him temporarily, but his oxygen sats continued to dip. He was eventually started on a Vapotherm (a high pressure nasal cannula). The final medical decision was to manage his medications throughout the night so that he is balanced between a state of being awake (so he is able to take deep breaths), and medicated only enough to barely control his pain enough for him to take deep breaths. The goal is to get him to breath/cough/cry enough that it clears the lungs and maintains a consistent balance of O2 intake and CO2 output. From the looks of things it will be a long night.....

Update #6 @ 7:33: Cain's surgery went well, but the last five hours have been long. Overall he looks really good when compared to his previous two surgeries. His oxygen saturations have been 90-92 all day and he was breathing well on his own so they removed his ventilator already. As far as the surgical repair and post-op recovery, things have gone as expected. However, as they have been weaning his sedation he is beginning to wake up and is clearly in pain, unhappy, confused/scared. Seeing him like this and so miserably gut-wrenching and borderline unbearable. We stand beside his bed to comfort him the best we can, but we can not hold him to comfort him. It is such a helpless feeling not being able to console him as he moans and cries.

Update #5 @ 2:30: Checked again to see if we could see Cain but he is not ready to be seen. His nurse came out to see us and explained that they his arterial line stopped working so they are trying to replace it which takes a sterile environment so we couldn't come back yet and this is the reason it is taking so long. She did indicate that he is doing well, sedated and resting, and everything is going as expected. Cain required some blood when he first got to the PICU, but his HCT is normal now. He has also received lots of IV fluids (500cc's) which is to be expected after the Fontan surgery. The nurse indicated that they should be done with placing the arterial line in 15-30 minutes and then we will finally get to see him.

Update #4 @ 1:15PM: We just checked with the nurses to see if we could see Cain yet. We were told it would be at least another hour.

Update #3: CAIN HAS PREVAILED ONCE AGAIN!!!! Dr. Bichell, Cain's surgeon, came out to talk to us around noon. He said that surgery was complete and everything looked good so far. He even said that Cain must heal well because he didn't have as much scar tissue as expected. Getting through the scar tissue can sometimes take awhile. He said that it would be at least an hour or longer before we could see Cain.

Update #2: We received an update at approximately 11:00. The primary procedure is complete and they are awaiting Cardiology to review/confirm the repair and ensure no other repairs are needed at this time. If all is well, they will start re-warming his body and remove him from the bypass machine. We expect another update around 12:30.

Update #1 @ 9AM: All the lines have been inserted and the incision was made.

We left the house this morning at 5:45 with a very groggy little guy. We were able to be in a private room with Cain until it was time to take him to surgery.

Shortly before he was carried away we were able to give him a dose of Versed. This is a medicine that is used to cause relaxation and basically block memory. I'm thankful for this because they were able to quickly slip Cain away around 7AM without him crying for us.

We are doing okay. The hardest part was when they left the room with him. Now it's just the waiting game for the next several hours.

Here is a picture of Cain's chest right before he went into surgery. They will use the same incision area but I'm sure he will have some new scars to add to this little chest. I'm sure there will be many girls that think those scars are super cool one day!

Cain's new ride

2011-05-22T23:48:00.001-05:00

Brad and I decided a few months ago that we wanted to get Cain a power wheels car for his coming home from the hospital gift. We figured after enduring 3 open heart surgeries he would certainly deserve it. Brad went to Toys R' Us today and bought the car so it would be here when Cain came home. Before the end of the night Brad decided Cain needed to go ahead and check out his new ride.

We told Cain to be strong tomorrow and his new ride would be waiting on him when he finally gets to come home.

Thanks again for keeping our little guy in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow.

Surgery Q&A

2011-05-22T11:42:00.004-05:00

Many people have asked me about Cain’s surgery so I thought I would answer some of those questions as best as I can.

When is Cain’s surgery?

Cain’s surgery is tomorrow, May 23rd. He will be the only case Monday due to the length of the surgery. We have to be at the hospital no later than 6AM. They anticipate surgery to start around 7AM and will last anywhere from 4 to 6 hours.

What surgery is being done?

This is Cain’s 3rd scheduled open heart surgery that we have known about since I was 20 weeks pregnant (September 22, 2008). It’s called the Fontan surgery. To be even more specific it’s actually called the extra-cardiac Fontan.

What will take place during this surgery?

The Fontan surgery re-routes oxygen poor blood (blue blood) from the lower body to enter the lungs instead of the right atria of the heart, where in Cain’s heart it mixes with the oxygen rich blood (red blood) that has just entered the left atria of the heart from the lungs. Instead of being delivered to the right ventricle, his blood flow will be re-directed to flow passively back to the lungs and then it will return to the heart oxygenated via the left atria (like a normal circulatory system). They achieve this by taking the Greater vessel of the lower body (Inferior vena cava) and connecting it to the pulmonary artery where it will flow into the lungs. This will give Cain an effective, closed circulatory system in which red blood is pushed to all the organs and the body, without being mixed with blue blood (which reduces his overall oxygen saturations and the amount of oxygen that vital organs receive). That is the basic principles of the Fontan to our understanding. There are various methods used to achieve the same result. Cain’s surgeon will be performing an exterior Fontan which utilizes a gortex tube to bypass the right atrium. Also, they will be stopping his heart during surgery to widen the current ASD(aterial septal defect) so that it will have a greater filling chamber when blood returns from the lungs. Finally, they will also leave a Fenestration hole in the gortex tubing and into the Right atrium. This allows for a reduction in overall hemodynamic pressures, and causes less backflow pressure/stress on the liver. The Fenestration hole will either close on its own over time or will be closed in the future using a heart catheterization.

How long will Cain be in the hospital?

I wish there was a way to answer this question but there really is no way to know for sure. It completely depends on Cain’s recovery. We have been told to anticipate a 7-10 day hospital stay. To our understanding some complications may result from the passively flowing blood trying to enter back to areas of higher pressure as it reaches the lungs. This increased pressure may cause increased fluid in the chest (pleural effusions), abdomen (ascites), or general puffiness in face/limbs (edema). These complications will make a difference on the length of Cain’s hospital stay.

Do you have family coming in town to help out?

Thankfully YES WE DO!!! We have the best family ever and no words can say how much we appreciate them. Brad’s mom flew in on Wednesday and will be here through Tuesday, my parents arrived yesterday, and my granddad is flying in today. Most likely my parents will go home on Memorial Day but Brad’s stepsister plans to visit the first two weeks of June.

Is this Cain’s last surgery?

Thankfully this is Cain’s LAST scheduled surgery that we know of at the moment. The most important word there is ‘scheduled’. Cain will never have a 4 chamber heart. After this surgery, his heart will be functioning on 2 chambers alone doing the workload of a 4 chamber heart. It’s hard to know if Cain will need future surgeries or a heart transplant. He will most likely need ‘tune-ups’ though life but we will cross that bridge when we get there. The good news is that this is the last scheduled surgery that was always lingering in my mind at all times.

A few things we already know about recovery.

-We will have to be very careful with who comes around Cain during the next 6 weeks. We are already on ‘house arrest’ keeping Cain away from germs. For 6 weeks after surgery we will need to keep Cain away from anyone who is sick or could be sick and also keep him away from crowded places.

- We will not be able to pick Cain up under his arms for 6 weeks. Try that with a squirmy two year old who weighs almost 30lbs.

-During the surgery they will puncture what is called a fenestration hole. This allows the body to get used to the new pressures. This hole could close on its’ own but most likely Cain will go back in a year to have this hole closed by way of a heart cath.

Is there anything we can do for your family during this time?

PRAYERS!!! Please keep our little guy in your thoughts and prayers. That is really all we need at this time. So many of you have already asked what you could do or how you could help. This means more to us than you can imagine. We couldn’t get through these surgeries without the support of our family and friends.

Where will Callie be during this time? Is she taking a bottle yet?

-The grandparents will be taking care of Callie. Having two kids to care for is certainly a different stress than I’ve had during Cain’s last two surgeries. Callie will most likely be with us all day in the surgery waiting area during Cain’s surgery. I’ll want her there to hug on. While Cain is in the hospital my mom will bring Callie to visit us. This is going to be so hard since I’m used to caring for her all day, every day.

-Is she taking a bottle yet?? I WISH! She is still only nursing. I’ve been pumping every day to get some milk stored up but honestly don’t have much for my mom. Just a few days worth. I try mixing my breast milk with formula but she never seems to like it. I’ll be pumping every 3 hours while at the hospital and giving this to my mom as I see her. I will also be able to nurse Callie some at the hospital or when we come home for showers.

Where can you get updates?

I’ll certainly do my best to update the blog and facebook throughout the day tomorrow. The hospital is wonderful about calling out to the waiting areas to give us updates though out the day. As I get these updates I’ll post them on our blog and facebook. I know many of you are praying for Cain and would like to be kept up to date. I also plan to write posts on my blog about his recovery. The last two surgeries I did this while Cain was resting but this will be more difficult this time. I have a feeling when he’s resting peacefully I’ll want Callie at the hospital to visit.

I think that covers everything for now. If you have a question I haven’t answered please let me know.

Fontan Pre-Op Appointment

2011-05-20T23:30:00.003-05:00

Cain had his Fontan pre-op appointment today at Vanderbilt. We had to be at the hospital bright and early and the appointment lasted for several hours. Thankfully Brad's mom is already in town so she stayed with Callie at our house.

The appointment started with Nurse Tina getting Cain's vitals and doing an EKG. We have always hoped we could get Cain close to 30lbs for his Fontan and today he weighed 13.6 kg so 29.9lbs! I'd say that was pretty close to the 30lbs we had hoped for. No wonder he always feels so heavy in my arms.

His height was 34 inches, Blood Pressure was 117/76 and his O2 sats were 82.

Next came the EKG. Cain did just fine with this thanks to a little distraction with toys.

After his vitals and EKG were taken we headed upstairs to have his blood drawn. This was the part I had been dreading the most but Cain surprised us and barely made a sound. He was getting restless as the technician was looking for a good vein to use but he didn't cry at all as they were collecting his blood. I think he's a better patient than I am.

Next we headed downstairs for an xray and then back upstairs for a meeting with Cain's surgeon, Dr. Bichell, and one of the cardiac anesthesiologist.

While we were waiting to talk with Dr. Bichell a life specialist stopped in to talk to Cain. It's nice they have something like this available for their patients. I'm not sure how much Cain understood but it was nice to let him see a doll with similar tubing Cain will have attached to him during recovery.

I know many people have questions about Cain's surgery. I've been working on a post to answer some of those questions and hope to have that up tomorrow.

I was very nervous about being super emotional at or after Cain's pre-op appointment. I surprised myself and feel that I am doing better than I thought I would be doing this close to surgery. I have done everything I can to keep myself as busy as possible. I'm not sure my house has ever been this organized. I was disappointed at first that Cain's surgery had been switched from Thursday to Monday. But now, I'm thrilled to have this weekend to spend with my sweet bubbly boy.

This is how we roll...

2011-05-17T23:53:00.002-05:00

The kids finally have a double stroller. I certainly wish I had paid more attention to how people go places with two or more children. I know moms with more than 2 kids are laughing at me right now but seriously going places has been a challenge for us.

Going places that have carts like the grocery store or Target are a breeze but going anywhere else wasn't as easy. I've been pushing Cain in the stroller and wearing Callie on my chest but as she grows that wasn't as comfortable as it used to be.

I researched for months and finally decided on the Phil & Ted's explorer stroller. I had narrowed it down to the double BOB, the Baby Jogger City Select, and the Phil & Ted's Explorer. Thankfully I decided to look on Ebay the night before I was going out to purchase one. This P&T stroller was up for auction that night (brand new & in the box) so at the last minute I placed a bid. Low and behold I actually won the auction! The best news is that I bought it for almost $250 less than I would have paid in the store!! I suppose it was meant to be!

It arrived last night and Brad put it together for us this morning. I couldn't wait to get the kids in it to see what they thought of it. Thankfully they seem to like it. I still need to order the carseat adapter so I'll be able to snap Callie's carseat in it when I want to.

New Surgery Date

2011-05-16T22:27:00.000-05:00

I received the call today that I was hoping we didn't receive this week. Around 4:00 this afternoon my phone rang. As soon as I saw the name and number on caller ID my heart sank. I knew right then that Cain's surgery was going to be postponed. And that is exactly what has happened. Cain's new surgery date is Monday, May 23rd. Exactly one week from today. I guess part of me felt as if this would happen. For some reason each time the phone rang today I was nervous that it would be Vanderbilt. It's emotionally draining but I completely understand that another sweet heart baby needs our surgeon more on Thursday than Cain does. I'm just thankful that Cain's heart is healthy enough to wait a few more days. We have been at a point in the past when Cain was that baby that needed urgent attention so we totally understand.

My mom worked this afternoon rearranging flights for my granddad and dad. And Brad's mom will be rearranging her flight tomorrow. So far it seems the airlines were really nice and worked with my mom so they didn't have to pay a change fee.

I'm just so very thankful that we received the phone call today. My parents were going to drive here tomorrow from Louisiana and my Granddad and Brad's moms flights were on Wednesday. Thankfully we received the call in time for everyone to rearrange their schedules before heading to Nashville. That was a huge blessing!

So now we are 'tentatively' on schedule for Monday, May 23rd. Of course, this could change again if any emergency surgeries arise but hopefully that won't be the case.

Mac & Cheeeese

2011-05-16T18:04:00.001-05:00

Cain's Fontan surgery is a week from today. I can't believe we are that close. The countdown to this day started when I was 20 weeks pregnant. It wasn't easy then and it's certainly not easy now. But Cain has prevailed several times already and I know he will continue to do so.

Right now I'm just trying to enjoy every precious second with my sweet boy (and sweet girl). I had to bring out my camera the other day while Cain was eating Mac & Cheese. He was cracking himself up and making me laugh hysterically. I love this guy so much!

I want to get as many of these sweet smiles on camera as I can this week. After next Thursday it may be several weeks before I see this sweet boy smiling like this.

Cinco de Mayo

2011-05-05T22:33:00.001-05:00

All the girls dressed for the Mexican Fiesta

Daddy even tried his best to dress festive

Pancho and a lime

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Now where's our Mariachi band?

Easter 2011

2011-05-03T00:00:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful Easter this year. We traveled to Louisiana the Thursday before Easter and stayed until Tuesday. It was great to see our family and friends. I'm already ready to go back.

On Good Friday we met the Coplin's, Kristi, and Holli for a morning at the Monroe Zoo.

The kids seemed to have a blast. Later that afternoon we drove to Vicksburg to visit with family and attend the family campout. My cousin Kirk and his wife Melissa were in town from Kansas so this was our first time to meet Kaleb.

We drove back to Monroe late Friday night and Saturday Brad played golf with friends while I took the kids to see the Easter bunny.

Cain did better than I thought he would with the Easter Bunny. He first gave the bunny a very concerned look but warmed up to him very quickly.

Later that night we cooked out with the Franklin's and let Cain and Collier dye Easter eggs. By the time Cain was done he had dye under his eye, on his chin, belly and covering his hands. He had a blast!

Sunday morning we went to Easter service with my dad and spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying our family time.

It was so nice to have a nice, relaxing trip home. This will be our last trip home before Cain's surgery so I was glad we were able to make the trip so everyone could give him big hugs and love on him.

Feelings

2011-04-18T00:26:00.000-05:00

I know this is going to sound ridiculous but tonight I cried when I saw the expiration date on our eggs was May 6th. Yes, it's true...I stood at the refrigerator and cried. Thankfully it actually had nothing to do with our eggs but just seeing something with the date of May on it was one of my many reminders that May will be here way too soon. This means Cain's Fontan surgery is just around the corner. I can't stand the weeks leading up to his surgeries. I'm always an emotional wreck. I can be fine one moment and crying the next. I'm usually doing okay as long as I stay busy. And I mean real busy. But as his surgery gets closer and closer I find myself sometimes with tears in my eyes at the most unusual times. Like tonight with the eggs.

It seems like this is the year of the Fontan. There have been so many children that I keep up with via Facebook or blogs that have or will be undergoing their Fontan this year. Most everyone seems to have had a very successful surgery and recovery so that certainly helps me. But no matter what, there is no way you can ever be emotionally ready for your child to have to undergo a major open heart surgery. It makes it even harder for me because I wish there was a way I could explain to Cain what was about to happen and why.

Another added stress is this will be the first surgery that I'll be torn between my time with Cain and with Callie. My focus was 100% on Cain for his last two surgeries. I know my family will be here to help with Callie but it will still be hard being away from her some. I know it could be a lot worse though. There are many families that have to leave siblings behind in one city and travel to another city or even another state for their child's surgeries. I can't even imagine what that must be like.

There is a part of me that is so ready to get this final scheduled surgery behind us and then there is the other part that will never be ready! Even though I'm constantly worrying I feel that I do a great job in not letting my fear ruin our days and moments leading up to this surgery. All of my moments with Cain are so special (even the moments when he is throwing his 2 year old temper tantrums) but every moment with him seems to be even more special in these weeks leading up to his surgery.

Baby Blue

2011-04-13T17:25:00.002-05:00

Never in a million years did I think I would have a blue-eyed girl. I absolutely LOVE her blue eyes. I hope they stay blue forever.

I often catch myself singing George Strait's "Baby Blue" song to her.

"And baby blue was the color of her eyes. Baby blue like the Colorado skies."

Cain's Man Cave

2011-04-06T23:01:00.000-05:00

Or maybe I should say "Cain's Toddler Cave". Last weekend my neighbors niece and my other neighbors two daughters created Cain his very own man cave. We had an empty box we were throwing away so they used their creative skills and created the cutest fun house while he was napping. He was so excited when he saw it. I'll be honest, I was a bit nervous that he wouldn't have much to do with it after the girls spent hours working on it but he LOVED it. He stayed in it all afternoon/evening and even ate breakfast in it the next morning. I had pulled it into our kitchen during the night.

The crafty kiddo's

Cain even let his sister come inside is fun house

Daniella reading to Cain

Cain checking out all of his mail

Okay mom...get out...this is for kids only!

Bath Time

2011-03-31T23:08:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been giving the kiddo's their baths at the same time but tonight I planned to give Callie hers and then bathe Cain afterwards. Cain was standing at the side of the tub as I ran Callie's water and he kept trying to climb in so I told him if he could undress himself then I'd go ahead and bathe him too. To my surprise, he started undressing all by himself. I know this doesn't seem like a big deal to most people but having Cain has made me not take anything for granted. I absolutely love when he does something new. And since Cain still doesn't talk much I never know what he can understand so it was fun to realize he understood me when I told him to undress and he actually did it!

This picture is an unusual sight in our house. Cain rarely touches his sister. At this moment he was actually helping me wash her hair but normally he is trying to move away from her. He is very good at ignoring Callie which makes me sad.

Speaking of baths...we had a very interesting bath night week before last. I bathed both Callie and Cain at the same time and when it was time to get Callie out I started draining the water and left Cain in the tub as the water drained out. As I was putting a diaper on Callie I noticed a streak run past me. Cain had climbed out of the tub and was running out the bathroom door. As soon as he hit the hardwood floor he slipped down. Of course my wild man didn't let him slip stop him. He jumped right up and kept running. I quickly got Callie's diaper on her and ran to follow Cain. When I got to him he was standing in the middle of the living room peeing on our hardwood. When he saw me he kept running again and slipped down in his mess. Needless to say, there is never a dull moment around here and it was time for Cain's 2nd bath of the night!

He's my little wild man!

And she's my sweet little princess!

Staying Busy

2011-03-16T23:22:00.002-05:00

I am so sorry I never wrote an update about Cain's heart cath. I still plan on writing an update just not tonight. I will let you know his cath went great and he was discharged from the hospital the very next day. His Fontan surgery is now scheduled for May 19th. Just 9 weeks from tomorrow.

We have tried to stay busy and enjoy the pretty weather we have had lately since Cain will be in the hospital before we know it and we won't be able to go anywhere for 6 weeks post surgery. I feel it's better for me to stay busy in the weeks leading up to his surgery. The busier I am the less I'll sit and think about his upcoming surgery.

Callie is usually in my arms or strapped to my chest so she didn't make it in any of these pictures but she has been enjoying the beautiful weather too!

Here is a picture of my happy girl!

She is growing up way too fast!!! She even rolled over for me last week. I've realized the time goes by much faster with your 2nd child.

Quick cath update

2011-03-03T23:23:00.000-06:00

I wanted to make a quick post to let everyone know Cain's cath went great today! I'll go into more detail tomorrow after Cain has been discharged from the hospital. Right now I am working hard trying to get Cain to get some rest. He finally fell asleep tonight around 11:00 and then a nurse came in to check on him. Now I'm trying to get my sweet boy back to sleep again. Sorry this update is very short. I haven't had great Internet service today so I'm having to make this update from my phone. We are hoping Cain will be discharged early tomorrow morning.

Pre-Fontan Heart Cath

2011-03-02T23:16:00.001-06:00

This will be short because I should already be in bed. Cain has his 'pre-fontan' heart catheterization tomorrow morning. We have to be at the hospital at 7:30 and the procedure should start around 8:30. Hopefully the procedure won't take too long. The heart cath's usually only take an hour and a half to two hours. Basically they will be evaluating Cain's heart function in preparation for his third open heart surgery (the Fontan). He can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight tonight so his dinner tonight was his last meal until after the procedure tomorrow. I'm praying he doesn't wake up starving. It will break my heart if he seems hungry and wanting his pancakes and milk in the morning.

If you are wondering what takes place during a heart catheterization....a thin tube will be inserted into one of Cain's arteries (most likely his leg) and from there will be advanced into the chambers of the heart and arteries. They will be able to check his pressures and overall heart function. Of course you must remember I have no medical degree at all so that is my best description.

I will do my very best to keep everyone posted throughout the day. Now I'm off to bed to get some rest like this sweet little superman.

Entertainment

2011-03-01T14:14:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was certainly very entertaining for us. Actually I guess the entertainment started Sunday evening when Cain fell on our neighbors asphalt driveway while chasing after a football. He tripped and caught himself with his hands but ended up falling face first over the football and had his first run-in with asphalt.

He also busted the inside of his lip and had a mouthful of blood. Poor little guy! I'm sure we will have plenty of people ask us about this while he is in the hospital this week.

Yesterday we woke up to a very rainy day. It was eerily reminiscent of the rain last year when the floods occurred. We kept a very close eye on our creek and when it looked like this we decided to pack a bag and move a few things up higher.

Thankfully we had a break in the rain and the creek water went down fast. And yes, that is our very muddy back yard. Hopefully we can get some grass planted/growing now that we are back home.

While the rain was pouring down, we had plumbers at the house trying to figure out why one of our commodes wasn't working. The plumbers figured out what our problem was and all I can say is Cain must have wanted to see if one of his trains could swim!! That little rascal put Charlie (one of Thomas the Trains friends) in the toilet when I wasn't looking.

And two hours later Charlie the Train finally emerges! I guess he could swim after all.

The good thing is that all the entertainment helped keep my mind off of Cain's upcoming cath.

March 3, 2011

2011-02-24T23:24:00.002-06:00

It’s hard to believe that one week from today Cain will have his ‘pre-Fontan’ heart catheterization. We knew this time would eventually come but I can’t believe we are so close to Cain’s next surgery.

Cain needs this heart catheterization to check his heart pressure's, the valves, chambers, etc. They will be able to get an overall look at his heart to make sure he is ready for his Fontan surgery. These pressure readings and pictures will be used to present Cain’s case at the next heart conference. The team of cardiologists, surgeons, and residents (about 20-30 doctors in total) have weekly conferences where they discuss the patients and in Cain’s case will come up with a plan of what will be done during Cain’s next surgery.

I’ve been doing all I can to stay very busy and try not to think of Cain’s cath or surgery. But I’ll be honest, it’s all I can think about! It breaks my heart that he has to go through another heart surgery. Even though we knew this time was coming there is no way you can prepare yourself for something like this. At the same time I know Cain’s little body is starting to show signs that it’s time for his Fontan surgery. Cain rarely slows down but he is really starting to have shortness of breath as he runs around and will come lay his sweet little head on my shoulder often to rest.

So next week (March 3^rd) whether we are ready or not we will be taking Cain for his next heart catheterization. We will have to be at the hospital early that morning and will hopefully only have to stay one night. My parents are driving to Nashville next Wednesday and will be here to help us with Callie. She hasn’t been great at taking bottles. She has only taken 3 bottles since birth and refuses to drink formula. I’ll be working hard this week to get milk frozen and praying she will drink it from a bottle for my parents while they are here.