Monday, January 11, 2010

New Blog

We have a new blog site!  In an attempt to stop separating the kids blogs, we have made one blog for the whole family.  The first post is very long-winded, but I had a lot to catch up on.

Check it out at http://www.black-in-action.blogspot.com/

I will be making this a restricted blog so that I know who is looking at it, but do not let this deter you.  Send me a quick note and let me know if you enjoy reading our blog - I will add your e-mail address to our list. 

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Due Date

Although the "babies" were two in August, I still think of their due date as a significant milestone.  Today is the day that they are officially 2 years old in my mind.....so, Happy Due Date Ashlyn and Caelan!  If you have had a baby born early, you know how hard it is to stop correcting their age in your own mind.  I have realized in the past few months that I have finally stopped doing this and I believe that they have finally caught up to their age-matched peers.  At their official weigh-in with the pediatrician this week, Ashlyn finally made it onto the weight curve (5th percentile, but she made it!) and Caelan was solidly sitting at the 25th percentile.  They are doing everything that other 2 year olds should be doing and we are so very happy that they are progressing so well.  Hooray! 

Monday, October 12, 2009

Laity Pumpkin Patch


We ended a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with Grammy and Grampy by going to the Laity Pumpkin Patch.  It was such a beautiful day and the kids had lots of fun....milking cows, petting animals, walking through the corn maze and checking out the pumpkins.  And of course, no Pumpkin Patch visit is complete without a ride in a wheelbarrow!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Caelan's first surgery

Caelan returned to Children's Hospital yesterday for his first ever surgery. Ashlyn has already had 2 general anaesthetics (heart surgery and g-tube), but Caelan has so far been lucky despite his rocky start to life. It has been known for quite some time that he needed tubes in his ears to help drain the build-up of fluid, especially in his right ear, and to hopefully help his speech and hearing. We got the call a couple of weeks ago and he was booked for September 8th! Perfect timing because Johnny and I had already booked the time off work and would be available to look after him and the two girls. My biggest worry was the fact that the surgery was in the afternoon and he had to fast from the night before. I thought this would cause major melt-downs, but he was fantastic. I kept him out of the kitchen while the girls ate their breakfast and then we went to the park to play before taking him to the hospital. We arrived for our 12:15pm check-in time and he happily played in the waiting room while we waited for our turn. I wished I had brought my cameral to take a picture of him in his cute little yellow gown, but I forgot. Johnny took the girls for lunch and played with them out in the hallway during our wait. Caelan was finally called to go at 2:30pm. I was able to take him into the OR and play bubbles with him while they started his IV. I was told by the aneasthetist that "although his (medical) chart is not quite as big as he is, it is still very impressive!". Not what you would expect from an otherwise healthy 2 year old coming in for a minor surgery I guess. They had difficulty starting his IV due to the number of scars he has on his hands from previous IVs but they were finally able to gain access on their last attempt. Once the meds were given, he was "out" immediately and I was escorted out of the room. I was told it would take 20 minutes to finish, but when I came back to the waiting room 15 minutes later, I had already missed the surgeon and Caelan was already in recovery. Despite Shaylah's pleas, she was not allowed to come in with me to see him, so I went alone. He was awake and crying desperately for a cuddle....which I was all to happy to give to him. He refused to eat the popsicle they offered, but did take a few sips of apple juice. We stayed for another 1/2 hour and we were out the door by 4:00pm. The 3 nurses he had (pre-admit, recovery and post-surgical care) were all nurses I used to work with many years ago when I worked on the surgical ward at the hospital. It was great to see such friendly and familiar faces! Today he is back to his old self. Running, laughing and causing trouble. You would never know that he had surgery yesterday!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Happy Birthday to my Babies!




Ashlyn is Two!















Ashlyn is my delicate little girl. She is constantly coming to me to kiss her "owies" and to make everything better. She is becoming more easy-going as she gets older and loves to laugh. She is quiet in her bed and I only ever know she is awake if I hear her moving in her bed....she never cries or makes noise, unlike her loud brother. Ashlyn loves to sing (songs that she makes-up) and bounces to the music whenever it is on. She is learning new words weekly now and has even started to put 2 words together. She has come to me a few times to let me know that her diaper needs changing, so I guess potty-training will be in the very near future. While she is still unsteady on her feet, she has amazing climbing abilities. She weighs 21 pounds and is wearing size 18 month clothes and size 4 shoes.