All went well with Kyle’s surgery this morning at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma. Grandma and Aunty Kelsey woke up bright and early to accompany us as we checked in at 6:30am.
Dr. Shelley had a lot of other surgeries lined up this morning with other little kids, so we were lucky to be second in line. It was great to have other little kids running around the playroom too. Errr… I mean, it was unfortunate that they had to be there, but it was comforting to have a cheerful, kid-friendly atmosphere!
The surgery was quick! He was gone for about 45 minutes. They thought it was a chalazion and treated it as one in order to remove it. However, in the end, Dr. Shelley thinks it was something else, but not quite sure what. Hmm… just hope Kyle Jr. doesn’t make a reappearance!
Although he was confused and upset as he was wheeled out of surgery, he calmed down and was discharged after an 1 hour.
Skyped with Dad while scarfing down his breakfast, Kyle was back to his normal self right after we got home!
This week, Baby Girl is perfecting her bladder kick. I suppose that’s better than the rib kick that so many of my pregnant friends speak of. Kyle, the considerate fetus that he was, spared me the rib kicks. His preferred kick was the side belly kick, which was fine with me! I have a feeling Baby Girl’s repeated bladder kicks will turn into rib kicks at some point once space is limited. That should be fun.
My last belly pic posting was wishful thinking… I mistakenly labeled some of my last belly pics a couple weeks ahead of when they were actually taken. So, I’m even bigger than I thought. Yay.
Maybe this is all a matter of changing my way of thinking. I really should be more positive. And not focus on so many negatives like being out of breath after climbing one flight of stairs, after changing Kyle’s diaper, or after rolling over in bed. Yes, that’s right, I get tired from rolling over in bed!
Maybe I should think, “awww… this is the last time I’ll feel out of breath this easily and I should cherish it,” since this is our last. Or, “Go ahead and kick me in the bladder again so I can run to the bathroom after drinking just an ounce of water.” I will miss getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom!
But seriously, my goal for my next belly pic or pregnancy related posting is to find the positives and leave the sarcasm out. (Exception–if I don’t pass the glucose test, I reserve the right to pout.) Otherwise I’ll feel pretty guilty writing Baby Girl’s Baby Book. Oh, which reminds me, I should really try to finish Kyle’s within the next few months!
On Wednesday night we said so long to the fluffy, friendly snow and by Thursday morning we said hello to the slippery, power outage-causing ice. Cable outages (which translates to no internet, TV or phone for the Asatos) also ensued. About 250,000 people in the Puget Sound area were without power. We are part of the lucky ones who got their power back within three days.
We were “roughing it” for the last three days, as my dad put it. Yes, it was pretty tough to go offline for three days. We felt like we were in the dark ages. Did I mention no internet, no phone, nor cable TV?!
I’m sure you’re picturing us hovering around the fireplace for heat, playing board games or reading by candlelight and telling stories to entertain ourselves without electricity. HA, that’s not how the Asatos roll. “Roughing it” meant no internet, no phone nor cable TV… but use of hot showers, propane fireplace, lights, stove, microwave and other appliances thanks to a generator!
Hope most of you reading this in the Puget Sound area have your power/cable back by now. If not, come by the Asatos! They really know how to “rough it”!
Kyle doesn’t really know what to make of the snow. It always takes him a few times of trying something new before he likes it. Grass, dirt, sand and snow is no exception.
He looks out the window, points to the snow and grunts like he wants to go outside. But once he gets out there, he stands in one place for a long time taking it all in. The first time, he just liked watching Aunty Kelsey and Aunty Tessa duke it out throwing snow at each other.
Monday, the second day of snow, he actually walked around on his own and let us put him on the sled down the hill. But only once. He cried again–I guess the sled is just too adventurous. Then we hiked down the hill.
Tuesday, oops. We didn’t take him out yesterday. I went out to run errands and go shopping with my dad and then Kyle napped until it was dark. Oh well. He won’t remember we skipped a day.
Then today, we made a snowman. Well, Kelsey and I did. The snow was kind of deep for Kyle and he only wanted to walk where a path was cleared. Sheesh, how demanding!
Hmmm… tomorrow I think we should try sledding again! I know he’ll like it… I just know he will… The tears are just a facade…. right?
And I thought it would be a waste to get him a snowsuit! Thanks to Grandma Lil for the snowsuit and Grandma Cec for the hat and mittens!
The snow can wait. Snack first!
First sled ride ended in crying. Kyle, where’s your sense of adventure?
I’m stuck… in an inch of snow!
Kelsey uses Kyle as a human shield. Man up, Kelsey!
The 2nd day in the snow was easier on Kyle. He got brave and walked down the hill.
Marching Down the Hill
Here we go!
Aunty has some interesting things to say as we walk through the snow.
Kyle Jr. looks pretty crazy these days. Part of him came off (I think I wiped his face a little too hard–that cupcake frosting at Justin’s birthday party was wicked!).
However, Jr. seems pretty determined to stick around and is growing back. Lovely.
We decided to stay with Dr. Peter Shelley who will operate on January 24 at Mary Bridge Hospital. The second opinion doc at Virginia Mason told us Dr. Shelley is a good surgeon and that Mary Bridge is especially equipped to handle kids (Virginia Mason apparently doesn’t operate on kids younger than 14!). She recommended staying with Dr. Shelley.
Follow-up is scheduled for January 31, so we’ll try to catch a Feb 2 flight back to Warsaw. The end of Kyle Jr. is in sight!
Sorry, these pics are late and they’re just double posted from Facebook, so I didn’t put much work into it. But here are a few random pics from the holidays. We had fun with the family and especially had a great time getting to know Le, Eric’s girlfriend! Thank you Le, for putting up with our crazy family! I appreciated your patience with Kyle–he loved playing with you. And I loved your cooking! So yummy!!
But you can make me dance! In this video, Kyle is unwilling to share (surprise) with Aunty Kelsey. But Aunty Kelsey has the power to make Kyle dance and try out new moves!
Over the last month, Kyle has become one greedy toddler! Any tips on getting a toddler to share?
How nice of Daddy to honor the growing growth on Kyle’s upper left eye lid with the name, Kyle Jr.
Although uninvited, Kyle Jr. comfortably made his home on Kyle’s eye lid. Junior can be blamed for delaying Kyle’s and my departure from Seattle. Junior must know we’re trying to get rid of him ASAP because he’s been growing fast over the last few weeks! I just hope he doesn’t multiply.
We had to say goodbye to Daddy today at Seatac, not knowing exactly when we’ll see him again. It’s not that dramatic, really. We’re just trying to find the best pediatric ophthalmologist who can remove Junior at the soonest possible date. So our return date is up in the air at this point.
It’s kind of scary googling “pediatric ophthalmologist” rather than going on a recommendation. It’s highly specialized, so I guess most pediatric ophthalmologists will be well trained, but it’s still scary to just go with a random doctor… especially with what happened to Kyle and his first arm doctor! Luckily my friends have asked their contacts and our two top choices come recommended by pediatricians. Phew! Thanks Kimi and Sets!
I don’t know if it’s because I’m an old fart now or what, but I feel like I should be in the third trimester and I’m only 22 weeks pregnant! I looked at a photo from when I was pregnant with Kyle and I’m about the same size as when I was about a month further along. Not fair!
