Sam and Elijah's Birthday Party

Nick and I went to his friends, Sam and Elijah's birthday party tonight. They were born on the same day two years apart. Sam was turning 5 and Elijah was turning 3. They had their party at the Lompoc Aquatic Center. The boys had a blast swimming and then they had pizza and cake. We got the boys super soakers for their birthday presents and Nick said on the way home that he hopes they buy him a super soaker for his birthday. I just laughed. Nick was exhausted at the end of the night and went right to bed but I think he really enjoyed having some alone time with his Mommy. It was nice to be able to focus all my attention on Nick for a change. You forget how easy and fun it can be with just one child. Hopefully, we can continue to do more one on one in the future.

Flower Festival

We took the boys to the Lompoc Flower Festival today. Nick's Grandma bought him an unlimited ride pass for the Kiddie Midway so he had a blast riding all the rides for hours. Aidan was so mad that he couldn't ride too so we took him on the train and the carousel a few times to keep him entertained. Nick would have stayed there all day if it weren't for his little brother getting tired out. Nick and his Grandma shared a funnel cake after all the rides while Aidan and I walked around looking at all the booths since he can't have any funnel cake. We all had a great time.

The Duck Park

We went to the Duck Park with Grandma today. The boys had a great time. Aidan kept trying to steal the cheerios that we were feeding to the ducks. Aidan followed his brother everywhere from the big slide to the tunnels to the swings. The boys are loving having their Grandma here and so am I. They are getting so spoiled. Nick has been playing games non-stop with his Grandma including the new one he convinced her to buy at Wal-Mart, Hungry-Hungry Hippos. Aidan is getting lots of snuggles from his Grandma too. I would love for my Mom to stay another few weeks because she has made it possible for us to eat in shifts so Aidan doesn't have to know we are eating something he can't have. Also, she has my house cleaner then it has been in ages. Poor Aidan is so wanting to eat real food but so far is still easily distracted by other things. He seems to be feeling good and isn't really even requiring any pain meds at all now. He is having a few side effects from the surgery including wobbliness and dumping syndrome. We hope these are temporary but will discuss them with the surgeon next week and the GI the week after that. Nicholas is counting the days until the calendar turns over to July and he gets to go to Minnesota. He keeps yelling at me because I say we are going home to Minnesota. He quickly reminds me that it isn't my home. My home is in California. We all can't wait to finally spend some time relaxing in Minnesota.

We're Home!

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are home from UCLA. Aidan tolerated the formula and was cleared for a soft/liquid diet for the next 3 weeks. The picture is of him playing at home this afternoon. He sure looks like he just had major surgery 2 days ago. Not! He was so happy to be home he played toys with his brother all evening. We have already had some issues with him trying to steal things from the fridge like fresh fruit that he used to be able to eat. He also cried when he saw his favorite cereal box in the grocery bag so I am sure we have some battles ahead of us in the next few weeks. He hasn't slept very well today since he hasn't had any Toparol today. He has had some Tylenol with Codeine but that doesn't seem to be helping much. Jeremy and I are also very happy to be home and sleeping in our own bed. We will keep you posted on Aidan's continued healing over the next few weeks. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers.

Aidan's Nissen at UCLA

Aidan had his Nissen Fundoplication on Friday. The surgery went well and Aidan has been in amazing hands here at UCLA. They pretty much stayed ahead of his pain on Friday and gave him a few doses of morphine. He slept most of the day and really didn't do much of anything. He slept well all night and has been back to his old silly self today. He was so pissed this morning when he still couldn't eat he cried and cried. Finally, the surgeon cleared him for clear liquids on his rounds this morning and he has been muich happier since. We spent a good chunk of the morning in the playroom. The staff keeps bringing him brand new toys in the box for him to play with which he is loving. The hardest part so far has been trying to keep Aidan from pulling out his IV line. He has pulled 2 out now and if he pulls this third one out they will probably just leave the line out and hope for the best with the fluid intake. Aidan is eating jello and popsicles and some broth and so far he is doing just fine with it. They will start some formula feeds tonight and depending on how that goes we are hoping to be home in the next day or two. Thanks to all those who are keeping us in your thoughts and prayers we can definitely feel the love.

The Mascara Mayhem

This is what happens when you leave two boys alone for more then a few seconds. They found my mascara that was on the bathroom counter. Both boys had mascara from head to toe and managed to cover most of Nick's bedroom in it. I knew the silence was too good to be true. Ah the joy of boys! The bottom picture is of Aidan in his new favorite hideout, an empty fridge box.

Bowling with Daddy

We went bowling today to celebrate Father's Day. It was Nick's idea as he said you are supposed to do something special with your Daddy on Father's Day. All three of the boys had a great time. Nick was very proud of himself as he beat his Mommy in the first game which isn't hard given his Mommy's bowling skills. Aidan is incredibly strong and was trying to carry bowling balls all around the bowling alley. Hope everyone had a great Father's Day.

Sunny Fields Park in Solvang

Today was a gorgeous day here. Nick decided after church that it was so nice out that we needed to go on a picnic. So we headed to Solvang where it was HOT! It was in the 90's. We went to a park called Sunny Fields where they have this huge wood castle playground. It is great. It reminds me a lot of Chutes and Ladders in Minnesota. There are just tons of different tunnels and slides and climbing areas and lots of little nuks and spots to hide. We managed to find a spot in the shade to eat our lunch. Then we played for 2 hours until we were dripping in sweat and couldn't take the heat anymore. Then we stopped for an ice cream cone on the way home to cool off. It was a great day and the perfect end to a nice weekend.

On the Aidan front we tried to complete a pre-op requirement on Friday and have a gastric emptying scan done on him and the idiot radiologist who performed the procedure did it wrong and didn't get accurate results so we have to repeat the procedure tomorrow morning at 7AM. That really sucks because Nick was supposed to have his Kindergarten interview with his teacher tomorrow but I have to reschedule that because Jeremy has meetings all day tomorrow. Keep both boys in your prayers this week. They have both been struggling with a bad cough and we need poor Aidan to stay healthy enough to have surgery. He has really been refluxing bad today so hopefully nothing else is going on with him. We will keep you posted on if the second scan goes better then the first.