Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Biting off more than he could chew
Mike has a condition ( esosinophilic esophagitis, there's a fun " google" for ya) which causes his immune system to send out " extra" cells which gather in his throat, causing "cobblestoning", tiny ruts where food can get stuck. It's something Mike's used to and has always been able to clear the issue on his own. Well, almost always. Last week, while Mike was at work a piece of his lunch got stuck and , tried as he might, he wasn't able to clear it. Mike thought he'd just pop into the ER to see if they could help him, a task that might help him spend the rest of his lunch period. At 1:30 , Mike entered the ER. After 20 hours, two endoscopies, plenty of sedation and general anesthsia, Mike was allowed to go home. He was given strict instructions and a new medication regime . I am never one to let a blog moment pass, so here are a few snap shots of Mike's big day.
Here is Mike just before his first endoscopy ( which is basically a test done with a long scope which can also take biopsies of the upper GI tract).
He was heavily sedated ( see picture below), but his gag reflex was still too strong and that turkey was stubborn. The doctors decided that he needed to go under general anesthesia to be sure the procedure was done correctly and safely.
By the time the general anesthisia wore off and the doctors had decided that Mike needed to stay the night, it was well beyond any resonable hour:
But Mike is a real trooper with a great sense of humor. Throughout the whole ordeal, he was all ( or mostly all) smiles:
Here he is at home the next day trying to recoop. Mackenzie let him borrow her favorite " B-Bug"
Here is Mike just before his first endoscopy ( which is basically a test done with a long scope which can also take biopsies of the upper GI tract).
He was heavily sedated ( see picture below), but his gag reflex was still too strong and that turkey was stubborn. The doctors decided that he needed to go under general anesthesia to be sure the procedure was done correctly and safely.
By the time the general anesthisia wore off and the doctors had decided that Mike needed to stay the night, it was well beyond any resonable hour:
But Mike is a real trooper with a great sense of humor. Throughout the whole ordeal, he was all ( or mostly all) smiles:
Here he is at home the next day trying to recoop. Mackenzie let him borrow her favorite " B-Bug"
"Chris-lights"
Mike put the "Chris-lights" up on the balcony and Mackenzie was so excited, she brought her " B Bug" to check them out, too!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Out of the mouths of babes...
Mackenzie and I were outside yesterday, she in her swing, me pushing her, enjoying the sunshine. As is common for us, we are chit chatting back and forth, talking about the birds, the airplanes, the tree...whatever popped up. Here's a snip-it of that conversation that might be entertaining for some of you:
Missy: Mackenzie, What does Duncan say?
Mack: *High pitched screech*
Missy: What does a frog say?
Mack: Ga-Dunk! ( according to one of her favorite books)
Missy: What does Daddy say?
Mack: I LOVE YOU!
Missy: What does Mommy say?
Mack: MIIIKE!
I burst out laughing and she, with a deadpan look on her face, couldn't understand why.
Missy: Mackenzie, What does Duncan say?
Mack: *High pitched screech*
Missy: What does a frog say?
Mack: Ga-Dunk! ( according to one of her favorite books)
Missy: What does Daddy say?
Mack: I LOVE YOU!
Missy: What does Mommy say?
Mack: MIIIKE!
I burst out laughing and she, with a deadpan look on her face, couldn't understand why.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Odds and Ends of November
A few pictures never made it into our November blogs so I thought I'd make a " odds and ends" posting for those:
Date night!
Well, we finally did it! Mike and I had our first date night since having Mackenzie. Sure, we've been lots of places and done lots of things, a few with out Mackenzie, but we've never felt deprived of time together since Mackenzie's an excellent sleeper and goes to bed in the early evening. Still, we know it's an important part of a healthy marriage and were very excited and grateful that Grammy agreed to stay with Mackenzie for a few hours:
Mack and Mom reading together. Mine wasn't nearly the page turner that Mack's was:
The little helper- not so helpful! She's running off with Daddy's yarn:
Mack's been working hard on learning to dress herself. She's a pro at dressing the top half, but the pants still give her some trouble.
Mackenzie is nearing ( or at) 3 feet and is much too long to fit comfortably on the changing table!
Here's the shirt!
And the tricky pants. Shortly after I snapped this picture, she realized she'd gotten the legs twisted and said " Help, please! Pants!"
She's gotten so good at brushing her bottom teeth that I no longer have to brush them after her! She's a real pro but still needs help angling the brush for those top teeth.
She's also learning her address. She knows that she lives in South Lyon and can say that she lives on " Fount-vew" ( Fountain View). The rest isn't too far behind, I'm sure. She can also count , unassisted, to 13 ! I'm working on a video of her singing her ABC's. She's learned all the letters and can sing almost the entire song with little help. More videos to come soon! In case you can't tell, I am one proud mama!
That's it for November! It's hard to believe that we're rounding the corner on November, heading full speed towards December!
Date night!
Well, we finally did it! Mike and I had our first date night since having Mackenzie. Sure, we've been lots of places and done lots of things, a few with out Mackenzie, but we've never felt deprived of time together since Mackenzie's an excellent sleeper and goes to bed in the early evening. Still, we know it's an important part of a healthy marriage and were very excited and grateful that Grammy agreed to stay with Mackenzie for a few hours:
Mack and Mom reading together. Mine wasn't nearly the page turner that Mack's was:
The little helper- not so helpful! She's running off with Daddy's yarn:
Mack's been working hard on learning to dress herself. She's a pro at dressing the top half, but the pants still give her some trouble.
Mackenzie is nearing ( or at) 3 feet and is much too long to fit comfortably on the changing table!
Here's the shirt!
And the tricky pants. Shortly after I snapped this picture, she realized she'd gotten the legs twisted and said " Help, please! Pants!"
She's gotten so good at brushing her bottom teeth that I no longer have to brush them after her! She's a real pro but still needs help angling the brush for those top teeth.
She's also learning her address. She knows that she lives in South Lyon and can say that she lives on " Fount-vew" ( Fountain View). The rest isn't too far behind, I'm sure. She can also count , unassisted, to 13 ! I'm working on a video of her singing her ABC's. She's learned all the letters and can sing almost the entire song with little help. More videos to come soon! In case you can't tell, I am one proud mama!
That's it for November! It's hard to believe that we're rounding the corner on November, heading full speed towards December!
Thanksgiving
The day started off with a delicious breakfast at Grammy's. Mike wasn't feeling well so he stayed home to catch up on sleep. The rest of us watched the parade and just hung out!
Grandma was working hard on this gorgeous blanket!
Mackenzie colored as she watched the " big, big stars!" and other balloons float across the TV screen.
Last year, Mackenzie ( 8 months old) was a crawling machine and had mastered the art of "pulling up" to a standing position.
Fast forward one year, and look what you get!
After Mackenzie's nap, we headed to Northville to spend the afternoon with Aunt Meg, Jenny, Shelly, Aunt Janet, Kathleen, Bruno, G.G. and Grammy. It was a full house overflowing with conversation . It was a very nice time.
Mack and Aunt Meg sharing some pre-dinner hor' devours :
Mike sipping on cider. Isn't he handsome?
Mackenzie was ready for some turkey well before anyone else was!
There! Now that looks like a party!
First to the table and first to finish. Mackenzie was ready to PLAY!
But first she stopped to taste what Aunt Meg had to offer:
After dinner, Aunt Meg showed everyone some super cute video of Chloe crawling. Mackenzie got a front row seat with Grandpa Bruno!
Mackenzie, overly tired and sporting a pretty decent sugar high( see photo below), entertained the crowd of people by singing, counting and acrobatics. She was having a ball and we had to peel her away at 8:00 pm so she could get to bed.
Mackenzie's new pre-bedtime ritual is to wind up the train decoration ( passed down from her daddy) and stare herself, dazed by it, into a ready for bed state:
Although , at the end of a very busy, fun filled day, we all had the same turkey induced stare!
Grandma was working hard on this gorgeous blanket!
Mackenzie colored as she watched the " big, big stars!" and other balloons float across the TV screen.
Last year, Mackenzie ( 8 months old) was a crawling machine and had mastered the art of "pulling up" to a standing position.
Fast forward one year, and look what you get!
After Mackenzie's nap, we headed to Northville to spend the afternoon with Aunt Meg, Jenny, Shelly, Aunt Janet, Kathleen, Bruno, G.G. and Grammy. It was a full house overflowing with conversation . It was a very nice time.
Mack and Aunt Meg sharing some pre-dinner hor' devours :
Mike sipping on cider. Isn't he handsome?
Mackenzie was ready for some turkey well before anyone else was!
There! Now that looks like a party!
First to the table and first to finish. Mackenzie was ready to PLAY!
But first she stopped to taste what Aunt Meg had to offer:
After dinner, Aunt Meg showed everyone some super cute video of Chloe crawling. Mackenzie got a front row seat with Grandpa Bruno!
Mackenzie, overly tired and sporting a pretty decent sugar high( see photo below), entertained the crowd of people by singing, counting and acrobatics. She was having a ball and we had to peel her away at 8:00 pm so she could get to bed.
Mackenzie's new pre-bedtime ritual is to wind up the train decoration ( passed down from her daddy) and stare herself, dazed by it, into a ready for bed state:
Although , at the end of a very busy, fun filled day, we all had the same turkey induced stare!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
G.G. Taylor
Great Grandma Taylor came to have Thanksgiving with us this year! She drove down Wednesday morning and stayed with Mary until Friday morning. It was so much fun having her here and getting to see Mackenzie show off for her.
Since we didn't want to confuse Mack with another version of "Grandma" we decided to affectionately call Great Grandma Taylor " G.G." Although this is what Mackenzie mostly calls her, she did call her " Great Grandma" a few times. It was really heart melting for me to be able to see G.G. playing and teaching Mackenzie in the same way she played with and taught us as wee ones.
Mackenzie was a bit shy at first:
But soon took right to G.G.. Here they are "coloring" ( which means G.G. colored the random things Mackenzie thought of (a vacuum was one request) while Mackenzie occasionally scribbled.
My Grandma has always, or at least as long as I can remember, loved butterflies. Her trademark butterfly pin is always perched atop her left shoulder. Since butterflies are also one of Mackenzie's favorite creatures, we made a card that we knew G.G. would love and that Mackenzie would enjoy making.
After a trip into Plymouth to check out a few of our favorite shops, we came back to our house where we baked a very time invasive frozen lasagna ( that took an hour and a half to cook! ). Aunt Janet came and we all had fun just bantering back and fourth. Aunt Janet and Mackenzie had a play date of their own.
The Grandma's chattered back and forth, too:
After dinner, Ms. Hollywood took over the show. She sang and danced and showed the ladies her toys. At once point everyone, including two cats, were all gathering around Mackenzie's Little Tikes table singing " If you're happy and you know it". Truth be told SOME of the ladies remained in Mackenzie's room playing , unaware of the fact that Mackenzie had moved out to the living room.
Here are Mack, G.G. and Grammy saying goodbye to Aunt Janet out the window:
A little "Elf" ( Grammy) left this hostess gift- a little statue that I absolutely love. There's a Mike , Missy and a Mackenzie penguin.
Since we didn't want to confuse Mack with another version of "Grandma" we decided to affectionately call Great Grandma Taylor " G.G." Although this is what Mackenzie mostly calls her, she did call her " Great Grandma" a few times. It was really heart melting for me to be able to see G.G. playing and teaching Mackenzie in the same way she played with and taught us as wee ones.
Mackenzie was a bit shy at first:
But soon took right to G.G.. Here they are "coloring" ( which means G.G. colored the random things Mackenzie thought of (a vacuum was one request) while Mackenzie occasionally scribbled.
My Grandma has always, or at least as long as I can remember, loved butterflies. Her trademark butterfly pin is always perched atop her left shoulder. Since butterflies are also one of Mackenzie's favorite creatures, we made a card that we knew G.G. would love and that Mackenzie would enjoy making.
After a trip into Plymouth to check out a few of our favorite shops, we came back to our house where we baked a very time invasive frozen lasagna ( that took an hour and a half to cook! ). Aunt Janet came and we all had fun just bantering back and fourth. Aunt Janet and Mackenzie had a play date of their own.
The Grandma's chattered back and forth, too:
After dinner, Ms. Hollywood took over the show. She sang and danced and showed the ladies her toys. At once point everyone, including two cats, were all gathering around Mackenzie's Little Tikes table singing " If you're happy and you know it". Truth be told SOME of the ladies remained in Mackenzie's room playing , unaware of the fact that Mackenzie had moved out to the living room.
Here are Mack, G.G. and Grammy saying goodbye to Aunt Janet out the window:
A little "Elf" ( Grammy) left this hostess gift- a little statue that I absolutely love. There's a Mike , Missy and a Mackenzie penguin.
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