First day of first grade, a success

Helaina survived her first day of 1st grade (happy to report that Mom and Dad also survived).  She was a little anxious while having breakfast this morning but that didn't last long.  She loved the outfit she was wearing, loves her new black sneakers and loves the sparkly backpact so all was well.

Striking a pose before we leave the house.

Cute pic of our cutie pie.  Helaina wanted 2 thin braids at the front of her face then had me pull them back and fasten them at the back of her head "like in the olden days, Mom."  I mistakenly told Helaina that I used to wear my hair like that when I was young so she comes up with "olden days".  Geesh.

Walking to the bus stop 2 houses down.  She looked like a teenager to me this morning.

Squeals of excitement when they all saw the bus coming.  Helaina yells "Bus! Bus! Bus!  Kiss, kiss!", then gets in line to board, hardly able to contain herself.

One last goodbye for the next 7 hours.

Oh yah, Jim and I stalked the bus to the school and stood on the lawn to watch her get off the bus and go into school.  She leaped off the bus, have us a hug then ran to catch up with friends.  She's so sweet, blowing me a kiss before she runs into school.  Such a big girl (sob).

There's our big girl safely returned to us this afternoon.  Look at that beautiful smile as she runs to hug Daddy standing in the front lawn.  Lots of smiles and big hugs for us all.  She told us all about her day.  It was great.  She was one tired little Barbie queen tonight and gladly got ready for bed right after her shower.  One day down and how many more to go?

Almost forgot this keeper.  "The First Day Jitters" paper.  We laughed out loud when we read this:  I felt jitters about "I wus nvis of if I got on the rog bus" - 6 year old translation:  I was nervous of if I got on the wrong bus.   Too darn cute, and I love her picture of the school bus.

Barbie gone wild

Thank you, Target, for the Barbie glitz and glitter.  Helaina changed her mind many times about who she wanted on her backpack, and Barbie was never even in the running.  Then while backpack shopping at Target she found this sequined Barbie one and that was all she wrote.  Had to have it.  Next stop, lunchbox aisle.  "Oohhh, they have Barbie lunchboxes too.  I want that one.  And there's a Barbie thermos!  Everything matches!!!" 

If it has sequins, it's in the shopping card.

"Mom, since it's my last lunch before 1st grade and we haven't been in a really long time, can we go to McDonalds for lunch today?  Can we call Daddy and have him meet us there?"  Yes, my queen.

Aunt Cynthia gave Helaina this book.  Not only is it appropriate, but it has a cute story in it too.

 

Helaina is more than ready for first grade.  We went to the Back-to-School picnic Tuesday night and met her teacher so that got Helaina really excited.  Our district still has half-day Kindergarten so this will be the first time she's at school all day - on the bus at 8:30am and returned to me about 3:45pm.  Yikes, wish I could be a fly on the wall tomorrow!  The backpack is packed, her snack is ready, she decided to buy lunch because it's cheeseburger day (and Helaina's definately a carnivore), her outfit is selected (thanks to Aunt Cynthia), she went to bed early tonight to be up on time ("Make sure to get me up on time so I don't miss the bus!"), the camera and video camera are ready to capture the moments - but am I ready?  I'll miss her, that's for certain.  I've had so many people say to me "What are you going to do with yourself now that she'll be gone all day?"  Whoever asks that question doesn't know what kind of summer I've had.  My surgery was one week after Helaina finished Kindergarten, then it was 8 weeks of hell trying to get my range of motion back, then a manipulation in August which still has me cranking out physical therapy sessions galore, and I'm still not "normal" with my knee, not anywhere close to normal.  The manipulation set me back so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm still at outpatient therapy through October.  I lost the entire summer for accomplishing anything.  Every room in the house looks like a bomb went off in it - completely unorganized, in need of a good cleaning, purging and so much more.  It will take me months to get things back to the way they should be.  Then there's Helaina's scrapbook that I'm way behind on, getting pictures organized and printed out (by the thousands), still want to move Helaina into Josh's old bedroom which means painting, and I'm the queen of putzing around - there's ALWAYS something I can find to do, whether it's important or not!  I told Jim the other night that I wanted to get my recipes organized so I can start making some new things for dinner - he looked at me and rolled his eyes as if to say "yah, right".  Well, how rude.  New meal ideas just moved to the bottom of my list.

 

Father's Day, finally

Backtracking a bit(!), here's how we celebrated Father's Day:  brunch, the zoo, and chocolate cheesecake.

"Don't bother me while I'm eating my Father's Day pancakes and sausage."  Daddy's wearing a shirt with Helaina's photo on it from when she was just a 2-year old little cutie pie.

Now she's a 6-year old cutie pie.  On her plate:  scrambled eggs, turkey sausages.  In her mouth:  the only pink frosted sprinkled donut on the buffet table that she grabbed in a flash, as soon as she saw it, before anyone else got it.

We usually hit the zoo on Mother's Day, but this year we went on Daddy's Day - whose day is it anyways?  I think it's Helaina's Day - always.

Tiger back riding.

As they were both running away from me I yelled:  "Joshua!  Don't let her climb the fence to the bear enclosure!"  6 years old or 20-something - neither of them listen to Momma.

Just what every Daddy wants on Father's Day - a grill cleaning brush.

A little gymnastics show for her Daddy.

Decadent chocolate cheesecake for dessert.  Unfortunately the bakery overbaked the very expensive cheesecake and it was extremely crumbly and dry (not how their products usually turn out).  Before I had a chance to call them and complain, the bakery closed!

Still have lots of pictures to catch up on and new ones of more current fun to post.  We're in the "get ready for school" mode now.  Helaina has her bus schedule notification, her teacher assignment and she's READY to go to school all day - on the bus at 8:30am and returned to me at 3:40pm.  Yikes!!  I can't believe I won't see her for 7 hours every day.   I told Jim the other day that it seems like just yesterday we were watching the Kindergarten summer celebration at the end of June.  The summer flew by.

On a brighter note (for those who are interested), my knee manipulation this past Wednesday went very well.  I was scared to death of the procedure, even though it took place at a one-day surgery center and I was knocked out completely and woken up when it was over.  "Manipulation" is a gentler word for having the patient on their back while the doctor extends the leg upward then forcefully bends the heck out of it downward at the knee to break up the scar tissue that formed (which was preventing range of motion for me).  I get squeamish just thinking about it, but the procedure worked.  At home that afternoon after the numbing injections wore off I was in excrutiating pain for about 2 hours - popped a few narcotic painkillers and it was all good.  My ankle actually hurt more than my knee.  Apparently the doctor uses your foot and ankle to do the pressing down on.  I'm doing physical therapy now every weekday for 2 weeks and on the weekends I have a home routine.  It's all getting me in shape in a hurry!  It's exhausting and time-consuming but so worth it.  Prior to the manipulation my knee would bend no more than the mid-70 degree range.  Under anesthesia the doctor got me to 115 degrees and at p.t. the therapist has gotten me to 102 degrees.  For the first time in 8 weeks I can sit in a chair and have my right foot flat on the floor at a 90 degree angle.  Joy!!!  I just have to keep diligently working hard to keep the scar tissue from prematurely forming again and I'll be home free - hopefully.  Keep your fingrs and toes crossed for me.

Summer pics

I've been meaning to post some pictures from the last few months but my knee issues have prevented me from anything even resembling a normal routine.  Despite doing absolutely EVERYTHING I've been told to by my doctors and physical therapist, my recovery is not progressing as it should.  I actually need another minor (well, not so minor in my opinion!) procedure done in a few weeks to increase my range of motion, so to say I've been depressed, sleepless and weapy over the last few weeks is an understatement (my poor hubby).  Enough about the knee.  So I went through some recent pics of my beautiful daughter to cheer me up and here are a few - with more to come.

Jim built Helaina a rock climbing wall and attached it toher playground.  Here's her first trip up the grips and she loves it.

Uh, yah, we're still mermaid obsessed in this house.  When Build A Bear sent out their latest catalog with an undersea bear and a mermaid outfit, let's just say that someone in this house flipped out.  Pushover Daddy told Helaina that she could get the bear and outfit for doing so well in Kindergarten this year, so she was one happy little gal that day.

The children's theater that Helaina belongs to had a picnic this summer - complete with a cookout, playground, bounce house and inflatable slide.  She's got callouses on her palms like you wouldn't believe from doing monkey bars every breathing moment.

Doing what she's not supposed to do, of course.

She swings so high it makes me dizzy just watching her.

Can't just go down the slide forward on her butt.  No, she's got to go backwards on her back.

We celebrated Anna's birthday this summer, complete with a pony to ride.  What a hoot!

Decked out in her cowgirl hat waiting for her pony ride.

We also celebrated sweet Sophia's first birthday about a month later.  Helaina just loves her cousins.

Still a struggle...

Three weeks ago yesterday was my surgery and I've come a long way and made progress, but bending my knee to the proper degree (according to my physical therapist) continues to kick my butt.  Like Helaina's speech therapy was, my physical therapy is a 24-hour a day job - with "homework" to do at home to keep up the progress.  I actually created a chart with everything I'm supposed to do at home and how many times a day I'm supposed to do certain exercises.  My day consists of hot pads to loosen up muscles, then many exercises, bends and stretches, then icing my knee - then repeat, repeat, repeat.  It's insane and slightly depressing.  I haven't shed this many tears in years.
The other night after dinner I escaped into the quiet living room to lay down and it wasn't too long before my little doctor came looking for me.  Helaina walked into the room and put her hand on my forehead.  I asked her "How is it?".  She said "Not too bad.  A little hot, a little cold." and took off.  She returned with her safety glasses on carrying her Fisher Price doctor's kit.  As she started giving me a check-up I yelled into Jim "Get the camera.  You've got to see this!"

Blood pressure, just like a pro.

Listen to the heart.  She also checked my ears.

Ok, this is the most adorable doctor I've ever seen.

Diagnosis?  Unfortunately I needed a shot!

My weekend will consist of the same grueling home therapy exercises.  My therapist gave me a goal to reach by Monday - to sit in a chair with my knee bent enough so that my leg is straight down and my foot rests flatly on the floor.  I'm almost there - especially after my 80 minute out-patient therapy session today.  I thought I was finished being tortured this afternoon at therapy, Jim and Helaina were waiting for me and my therapist came over to me and said "We've got to bend and stretch that leg once more before you go.  Are you ready?  Relax your leg, I'm going to hold your knee with one hand and push back on your leg at the ankle.  When the pain gets to be too much let me know then we'll hold it there for 10 seconds.  We have to do this 10 times.  Ready?"  Uh yah, as the tears started streaming down my face.  Let's just say there were many groans, grunts, moans, "geez's" and "please stop's".  When finished I hobbled out to the waiting area where Jim said to me "Was that you?"  Yup, that was the sound of your wife writhing in pain.  So what's new?



We interrupt our regularly scheduled blogging...

to become bionic.  I had a date with a surgeon on June 28th to finally fix my broken down knee (almost 2 years overdue).  Do I procrastinate?  About certain things, yes.  It's been a heck of a 2 weeks.  Surgery, 3 days in the hospital, nurse's visits at home (3 so far), physical therapy at home (7 so far with 2 more this week), lots of heavy duty pain meds, lots of "ouch"ing, moaning and tears - mostly me but I'm sure Jim has felt the urge too!  Jim has had to step up to the plate and take over everything, and has done so splendidly.  Unfortunately his "bad back" decided to go out just before my surgery and he's on pain meds and muscle relaxers too.  The other night Helaina was flanked by me on one side of the couch with my leg elevated on 100 pillows and iced like crazy, and Jim on her other side with the heating pad.  Poor kid with her geriatric parents.  I found this picture on the kitchen table this morning, apparently some artwork that Jim and Helaina did last night.  It says it all.

Physical therapy is kicking my butt.  I knew it wasn't going to be easy and I heard it was painful but I had NO IDEA just how painful.  My leg was bruised and swollen from above my knee down to my ankle and heel.  The therapist measured my knees around the joints and my surgical knee was swollen to 8 INCHES larger than my non-surgical knee.  8 inches!!! I swear I had an elephant leg like Suri at the zoo.  It's gone down a bit but the swelling can last for months.  I had my first post-op appointment today at the doctor's and all is well.  Incision looks good, I'm walking good, making "as expected" progress with my range of motion.  I've graduated from the walker to a cane and can now go upstairs and get in and out of the shower.  I'm still sleeping on the first floor on the couch, though.  I'd love to get back in our bed but I toss, turn, moan, groan, get up for pain meds and am so restless that Jim wouldn't get any sleep.  Maybe tomorrow night I'll head upstairs and see how it goes.  My job now is go push myself harder than I've ever done before to get a good result and return range of motion.  My home therapist are great.  I've got a "weekend guy" who I've seen twice  and then my regular weekly dude for all the rest of the home visits.  Very kind, knowledgeable, patient, reassuring guys who know more than you could ever imagine.  Some of our conversations have been funny.

Heel slides are the worst and L. always "helps" me by pushing by heel back and bending my knee to the breaking point.

Me:  That's as far as I can go.

L:  You can go farther.  I'll help you.

Me:  You mean you'll hurt me.  Ok.

L:  Here we go.  Pull, pull, pull, bend, bend, bend.

Me:  Please!  Stop.  I'm begging you please!!!

L:  Remember to breathe.  Stop clenching the couch. Just 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and down.

Me:  (with tears streaming down my face)  Geez, giving birth was easier than this.  It's a good thing you're a nice guy or I'd hate you.  I thought you were supposed to be nice and gentle with fresh surgical sites and not bend them to the point of bursting.

L:  Knee replacements are different.  I haven't had any sutures or staples fly out and hit me in the face yet so we're good.

Me:  Reassuring.

Helaina's been so good under these less-than-perfect circumstances, helping us out whenever she can.  She's my little cheerleader when doing therapy.  "Good Mom.  Good job.  Keep it up." while she claps her hands.  I had a weak moment the other night on the couch (one of many) and was crying and whining to Jim "I'll never be able to do anything this summer.  I can't take Helaina to the library or the zoo.  I can't go swimming yet.  I can't drive and head out to a bounce house, the mall or the beach.  This affects Helaina's fun this summer too."  And my amazing little gal who was sitting next to me said "Mom, it will be ok.  Just keep doing your physical therapy and exercises and you'll be able to do that stuff real soon."  Little sweetie.  Well, I've been upright enough.  Time to go wake up Jim who has probably fallen asleep on the couch watching TV, get my "bedroom" set up with cushions, pillows, ice packs, phone, TV remote, water bottle and my bottle of pain meds that I could probably sell on the street for thousands of dollars!  I pray for a peaceful, uneventful night of sleep all the way through to the morning.  Ahh, that would be nice but I'm not hopeful.  I have to be up and ready for a 9am visit from my sadistic physical therapist for 50 minutes of torture.  Push, push, push, pull, pull, pull, bend, bend, bend, lunge, lunge, lunge, hold it - yah, yah, yah, torture.  Like I said, natural childbirth was way easier than this.

Since it's almost Father's Day...

Here are the lovelies that Helaina made at school for Mother's Day.  She was so excited to give them to me - almost as excited as I was to get them.  She asked "Do you love them?"

Funny, the right handprint shows 3 of the large callouses she has on her palms from doing monkeybars.

I'm special because I take her to "gmnssix".  Hee hee - gymnastics.  She drew some of the equipment but it's in yellow so you can't make it out too well.  The 3 "girls" in the picture are me, Helaina and her instructor.  Is my head really that big?

Every mother needs a popsicle stick flower for Mother's Day.

Daddy came through with a gift card to PF Chang's.  I've only been once so we'll either take a road trip to Rochester some day or wait for the new Chang's to open in the mall in a few months.  Jim also got me the most comfortable things I've ever put on my feet - Clark's sandles.  OMG, they are like having cushy clouds on my feet.  We also went out to dinner.

One recent afternoon it was raining out so we were stuck in the house.  We had played games, read all our library books, watched some TV, tortured Zoey, and Helaina was still bouncing off the walls.  "Do you want to make cupcakes?"  Her excited response:  "For real?"  Yup.  We went all out and got out the fancy cupcake stand, every sprinkle jar we had in the house, purple frosting spray, fancy flower cupcake cups.  We even piped the frosting through a star tip (some directly into Helaina's mouth).  Helaina's piping skills were a little squirmy but she got the hang of it after a while.  She's watched Cupcake Wars with us on the Food Network and thinks that cupcakes are just divine.

Beautiful sweetness.  In a weak moment at the grocery store I grabbed the new summer flavor of pink lemonade frosting and cake mix, not knowing how it would be, but also knowing that Helaina would love it.  Not too bad.  The batter smelled very lemony and the cakes weren't too sweet.  The frosting, however, was very sweet but had a tartness to it.  Wouldn't buy it again, but it was nice to try something different.

Funny Helaina:
Helaina's dentist gave her an electric toothbrush when she had the palate expander put in her mouth.  She prefers the manual toothbrush but we usually use the electric one at least once daily because it effectively cleans the expander.  Recently after lunch she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and said "I'm going to use my electrocute toothbrush now."  Electrocute, ha!