We're home

Last night was an interesting one, that's for sure! There was an incredible lightning storm that went on for hours, the electricity flickered and the hospital must have gone on some sort of auxiliary power because all the houses and buildings surrounding the hospital were very dark! The rain came down in buckets. Guille was alert enough to be interested in watching the storm and looking for food. He kept pointing at the diaper bag... there's always a supply of cheerios in there! He was able to drink clear liquids last night.

He went to bed around 9:30 and I think he probably would have slept through the night if those "pesky nurses" hadn't bothered him so much. (Sorry nurses, but you KNOW you wake people up all night long. You have to do your jobs, I know, but it seemed a little overkill to wake him up from a sound sleep so he could take some pain medicine to help him sleep, then force it down his throat when if he'd been awake he probably would have taken it without much fuss. Anyway, we're thankful for the nurses we had.) I, on the other hand, didn't sleep much. The storm kept me awake for a while, then every time the nurse came in and woke Guille up I got up to comfort him until he went back to sleep.

The doctor came in this morning at 6:15 and said we could go home after breakfast. Unfortunately the food service didn't open until 7:00 then they take 45 minutes to deliver your food. And, at 7:00 everyone in the hospital is trying to order food so it was 7:15 before we got his food ordered. He had a good breakfast of eggs, yogurt, a blueberry muffin and orange drink. He was very happy to finally have food in his tummy.

So around 9:00 we headed home. Home, sweet home. Toys, wonderful toys. Food, glorious food. Bed, comfy bed. Speaking of which, I think I'll go join Guille for a nap in one of those comfy beds. I'll get some pictures of him this afternoon and try to get them posted later today. He definitely looks better than yesterday with less swelling and more alert.

Please continue to pray that he won't get too frustrated with not being able to bend his elbows, use his own sippy cup, eat his own food, and that his lip will heal quickly and he won't have any falls or irritations to his lip. Thanks for all your prayers.

We have him back!

The nurse liaison came and talked with us around 3:30 and told us that the doctor was ready to close, but that might take a while. She also said that Guille's vital signs were good and that he was doing great.

So we continued to wait.

At 4:05 the doctor walked in to the waiting area and told us what a beautiful little guy we have. He didn't have to tell us that, we already knew it! He said that Guille did great and that everything looks good. He explained what they had done, that there would be some stitches, swelling, and little tubes in his nose. He told us that as soon as he was out of recovery phase one they would come get us and we could go be with him.

So, at 4:45 the phone rang in the waiting area and the "hostess" and I caught each other's eye and I knew it was our turn to go see our little guy. When we got into the recovery area he was just starting to act like he might wake up, but was still quite groggy.

First few minutes in the recovery room.

A couple of hours later up in his room with his "no-no"s and balloon.

The "no-no"s are so he doesn't bend his elbows and mess with his lip or nose.

Cute as a button!

I love his little button nose!

Feeling much better, pointing at his balloon.

The red-toe-glow

although you can't see it very well in this picture, his toe glows where they have the oxygen sensor on his toe

Red-toe-glow and a little bit of drool

Since coming up to the room Guille has had eight ounces of apple juice and two or three ounces of orange drink. He tips his head back and I dump it in. We're getting the hang of it and most of the liquid actually goes in his mouth. We practiced that over at the neighbor's house a week or so ago with a little juice bottle. He thought he was pretty big stuff drinking out of that juice bottle.

He's sleeping now and I probably should try to do the same. Good night.

They've taken my little boy away!

We arrived at the hospital at 12:30, as planned and got registered, weighed, measured, listened to, then taken back to a little room where we changed Guille into his fine hospital garb. The anesthesiologist came and talked to us and we decided to give Guille a little "get sleepy" medicine before they took him back to the OR. The doctor came in and talked to us. He told us that he'd thought about doing both the lip and palate today, but decided that it would be too hard on little G, so he's just going to do the lip and nose today. He's scheduled to be in surgery for about 3 hours.

At 2:00 we walked down the hall with the anesthesiologist until we got to the doorway. He said if Guille would go with him without a fuss we would part ways there, otherwise I would go back with them. Well, he was sleepy enough by then that he went with the man without any fuss. (I fussed in my heart!) We're waiting for an update, which should come sometime in the next 40 minutes. Meanwhile, here are some pictures from this morning.

Speed racer having a quick ride before he has to settle down for a couple of days.

More updates as they are available. Keep praying. Thanks!

Tomorrow is the big day!

Wow, it's hard to believe that surgery is just around the corner. The hospital is supposed to call after 2:30 this afternoon and let us know what time we are to be there tomorrow. We have grown attached to the big grin that is so often on our little guy's sweet face. I'm sure his new smile will grow on us just as much!

(update: We are to arrive at the hospital at 12:30 pm and surgery will start approximately 1 1/2 - 2 hours after that. They will do his lip first, taking about 2 hours. If he's doing fine under anesthesia they will continue working on his soft palate. Thanks for your prayers!)

This past week we were blessed with two "toddler" showers. One by some of the ladies at the college and another by the church. Guille had a great time opening the gifts and when we got home and he got to open them again, he was on toy overload! It was as if he didn't quite know what to do with all of the new toys. We put a few away and will bring them out little by little, that way he can enjoy them all and think he has new toys down the road. Thank you to everyone who has showered us with kindness and gifts. We so appreciate it.

Here are some pictures from the past week:

Opening presents is so much fun!

Mom reads the cards and I play with the toys!

Wow, more presents!

(After we got home from the shower, Guille ate lunch then took his nap. While he was napping we unloaded the gifts and put them in the family room. When he woke up and saw all the presents he was so very excited!)

Every bag has something fun and exciting in it! Yeah!

Now THAT'S a big donut!

I can't believe we ate the whole thing!

Bumps and bruises

While at the local festival Guille was running and tripped. He bumped his head, skinned his forehead, nose and lip. Thankfully he didn't knock out his tooth or hurt himself any worse than he did. The scrapes are already almost all healed up!

Tickle, tickle, Mommy!

Peek-a-boo, little boy in the mirror

Don't look now, Mom, but we're surrounded by more presents.

Wow, opening all these gifts is tiring. I think I'll just chill out in my new chair while Mom opens more gifts.

Ya like my new hat??

I am totally worn out! The new toys will have to wait for another day.

Thank you, everybody! You are so nice!

Picture "catch up"

Hope this isn't a trend!!

Guille was drinking some juice and I thought it would be less of a mess if I just let him run around in his diaper. Well, Mr. Modest had to have pants on to cover that diaper. Already running around holding his pants up with one hand while holding toys with the other.

Want to find Guille?

Just follow the trail!!

We very much enjoyed having company on Monday morning.

Guille was quite the happy little host.

Favorite hat

Working on being a big boy and sitting in a big people chair for snacks.

Playing on the deck with Daddy after supper.

What a difference a month makes!

Today Guille had his first IcePop, or should I say he had his first TWO IcePops! At first I wasn't too sure that he would even eat one, but once that one was gone he pointed to the house, then to the kitchen, then to the refrigerator. I got out his milk and he quickly let me know that wasn't what he was after. He started knocking on the freezer door. It was too cute to refuse!

We had quite a day. The neighboring subdivision had its annual yard sale where many of the homes in the neighborhood participate. We spent close to two hours walking around and seeing what people were selling. We bought a few small items.

One of our big purchases ($1.00) was this "first laptop". He had fun imitating his daddy using his laptop in various locations. Quite the little fella!

This afternoon as we were playing I was noticing how well he's walking and even starting to run. What a difference a month makes! I'm attaching video from "adoption day", the second day we had him and another one from this afternoon. I am so thankful that he is progressing so well. He's quite the little bundle of energy! Best exercise program I've ever had!!

This video almost brings tears to my eyes as I remember how "lost" he looked that day. We could tell he remembered being there the day before with his nanny and how suddenly she was gone. He walked around the room looking for her. (He saw some pictures of her and the orphange the other day. We wondered how he would respond. He looked at them, then looked at us, grinned and happily kept playing. He knows he's loved and that he's home!)

On this second video, if you pause the music on the sidebar, you can hear Guille's sweet little voice in this video. He doesn't make a lot of sounds, but is making more each day.

Here are a few pictures from a couple of days ago. Too cute to pass up, if you ask me!!

Kitchen bowls are for more than just mixing things!

This was the first time he climbed up in this little chair. He took the book with him and started "reading" to me. He was so proud of himself!

He likes looking out the front window and watching the cars "zoom" by. He's so little, but sometimes looks so big when he does "big boy" things.

First "owie"... forget the bandaid!

Guille is such a tough little cookie that I was starting to wonder what he would do if he got hurt. Generally, if he bumps his head or falls down, he just brushes himself off and gets back to whatever it was he was doing. I've been trying to notice when he does bump his head and give him a head rub and a kiss just so he knows that it does matter to me if he gets hurt.

Well, today I was doing laundry and I could hear him clinking the drawer pulls on the china cabinet in the other room. He usually goes down the row... 1, 2, 3, 4 then runs around the table, comes and finds me, giggles, then does it again. This time I counted 1, 2, 3..... then it was quiet. I called out, "where's my Guille?" and he came running with a hurt look on his face. I asked him what was wrong as I picked him up. He cuddled a while then showed me his little thumb. He must have pinched it on the drawer pull and it got a bit of a cut. So I got out the antibiotic cream and the bandaids (Scooby Doo, at that!) and put it on his thumb, kissed it, asked Jesus to make it better, then we went to cuddle some more.

A few minutes into the cuddling he was done. I noticed that he had worked the bandaid off during our cuddle time. Once the bandaid was off he was ready to play again.

So, the first owie turned out to be not so bad. If little cuts on his finger are the worst owies he will have, that will be great. However, I'm thinking that the owie he's going to get on June 17 will take a bit more than a bandaid and a few cuddles to make it feel better. But, we know that Jesus is the Healer and that He is already healing my little guy... physically and emotionally. Thank you Jesus! And thank you all for your continued prayers.