My Big Girl Is Dancing!!!!

Today we took Sammy to her first Dance class!!!!! at a new studio for us!
I loved buying her first pair of ballet shoes. I could not stop looking at them last night! I think I was more excited than she was--at least last night.
She woke up and the first thing she said was Dad I have ballet today we have to hurry.
The scary thing is I was Samantha's teacher's first dance teacher in one of the first classes I taught.... I started Sammy in what they call creative movement I. It is some ballet but mostly just "movement". She did great!!!!!!! It was a whole hour--she did have to take one potty break but listened very well the whole time! Sammy Loved it and can't wait for next week.

Ready For Class

--waiting for the doors to be unlocked!

Yes I bought her a Hannah Montana bag for her dance stuff.

Through the window watching warm up

Sammy and Bella

Tracy and I decided to put our girls in class together!

We made it a family event this morning and Alaina even wore her Baby Ballerina outfit from Becky! So cute--but she puked on it before I could get a photo op...

This week she also started a movement/tumbling/exercise class with her day-care at the studio I used to teach at.

Latest update

This is the email Andy sent out today to some of our co workers/friends but I figured I would post it as well here.

Shannon and I went this morning to have her stitches removed by the ENT/surgeon and to get the update from the on the pathology reports. The good news is the nodule that was removed was benign. The bad (although not terrible) news is that Shannon did have a "clinically insignificant" amount (less than 1cm) of thyroid cancer on her thyroid lobe that was removed. The doctor said that the cancer wasn't "doing anything" and is "out of there" so she told us not to worry about it. We also found out that Shannon does have a thyroid disease (lymphocytic thyroiditis) that is fairly common in women that causes your thyroid to produce nodules both benign and cancerous. This disease can be aggravated by higher than average TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels in the blood. Next step is to have a blood test done in 5 weeks to check the TSH levels and if they are high, Shannon will be given medicine to suppress the thyroid activity which will help prevent the formation of future nodules. She will also be monitored every six months via ultrasound to make sure that nodules have not formed on the remaining thyroid lobe.
So long story short:
*nodule benign
*"clinically insignificant" cancer removed
*no need right now for any more surgery or radioactive iodine treatments
*monitor every six months and when and if necessary remove the rest of the thyroid (hopefully never happens)

I want to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers through this ordeal. I can't begin to explain how much your kind words and support have meant to me and my family throughout these trying times. We are truly blessed to be surrounded by so many caring and supportive friends and family!

Alaina--3 Months

Alaina is 3 months old tomorrow--I can 't believe it!

She is so much more "fun" now as Andy puts it. Alaina talks to us more and more and she smiles a lot! She actually giggles when you tickle her and is now reaching and gripping things and doing so much better lifting her head during tummy time. She is also doing great at her baby sit ups and loves when Daddy makes noises at her. She can turn her self around by lifting her legs and scooting somehow too. She lays on her play mat and then you will look over and she is turned completely 180 degrees around from where you laid her down. She will turn her head and look at you when you talk to her now too.

She is also a very active sleeper! Last week she actually wiggled her way up and out of her sleep positioner and turned herself completely around and her feet were sticking out of the crib... I hadn't put the bumpers on yet cause she was so little so I didn't think she needed them yet and there were a few of the strings that needed to be re sewn on. But after she did this 2 nights in a row I decided no bumpers--we got the new safety bumper things that are breathable and just go flat on the rails. They seem to be better for my crazy sleeper. She did roll over in her crib on Wed night too but hasn't done that again yet.

Alaina doesn't always nap well--she is a bit of a cat napper. I believe this is the reason that she has been giving us some nights when she will sleep from 9 ish to 6 ish. Of course not last night but I think we are still getting my milk supply back to where it needs to be. The longer nights have been good for the few days I went back to work and the first 2 nights I was home healing.

Her feet are still tiny and she is still wearing 0-3 month clothes--which most are too big. She doesn't seem to be loosing any of her crazy hair either.

I like to put it in a pony with her hair bows now.

This is not the best picture (8/22) but thank you Misty for the cute outfit!

Thyroid UPDATE

I am sorry I haven't been able to call or email all of you individually.... THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS!!!!!!!

Well surgery is over...for now. Thursday they took out the right lobe of my thyroid and the nodule. I was in surgery for about 2.5 hours. They were still not able to determine 100% that it is or isn't cancerous so they have to send it out to the lab. We will get the results Wednesday when I get my stitches out. If it is cancerous I will have to have surgery again..but my doctor said everything looked good so she would be very surprised if it is cancerous. I came home Friday about 2 pm. I am sore and it hurts to swallow a bit but I am eating and drinking pretty well. My incision is about 3 inches across just below the middle of my neck and I am sure it will be a pretty nasty scar. I guess I will have to learn to accessorize better to cover it up. : )

I was able to 'pump and dump' for 24 hours so I am still nursing Alaina.
Thank you to my Mom who stayed at the hospital on Thursday night. Andy had to go home to be with Alaina so my Mom stayed with me and she was great. I would have never gotten the nurses to help me pump every 3-4 hours! Thank you to Andy's Mom and Dad too. They let Sammy spend the night on Thursday and took Sammy to her cousin's birthday party today.

I will update more as I can and I have some pictures to post of the girls and my stories about going back to work on Mon- Wed but I need to go to bed!

3 month Photo Shoot (8/23/2008)

I decided to have Alaina's 3 month pictures done a little early due to the fact that I wanted to copy some of Sammy's 3 months shots with me in them and I didn't know how I would be after surgery.

Alaina

Samantha at 3 months

Me and My Girls

Mommy and Alaina

Mommy and Samantha (at 3months)

Sisters

Back to work

I had to go back to work on Monday 8/25 to end my 12 weeks of FMLA even though I knew I had my surgery on 8/28. I was told the week before I went back that I would be getting a new position and a new cubical. This made me a bit angry at first but I think it is a good thing for now while I heal and figure out life with 2 kids. I guess things do happen for a reason.

Day care went pretty well. I am sure Alaina loves to watch the other girls running around. Our daycare now has 4 three year old girls and Alaina. Sammy was excited to see her friends again. I was even able to make dinner after we got home on Tuesday--Daddy didn't get home in time to eat it..but that is a whole other story. : )

I think my house is never going to be clean again and I am not sure without dinner by design I will ever have food on the table but I am sure it will get easier as time passes.

With my surgery looming I was more stressed about that then going back to work I think so we will see how next week goes after I am back for more than 3 days.

I took these pictures my last day off with my girls.

Samantha--my big girl

I just wanted to update on Sammy these days. She is a 10 year old stuck in a 3 year old body. She knows the words to about every Hannah Montana song out there and she sings Rhianna and a few other artists... I will try to video and post them soon. (Thanks for the idea Emily) Samantha also is her father in that she can make up her own words to any song depending on the current activity we are doing. That is all ANDY! It shows great creativity and quick thinking I guess. She wrote her own name last week--with a backwards S but that is OK--and has been getting better at coloring in the lines! With Mommy's coaching of course.

She also never stops talking. Even when we try to get her to play the "quiet game" it doesn't work. The other day she said to me Mom I don't need to talk I just need to ask you a question...


A few weeks ago (8/1) we were driving and we went past the War Memorial in town and she asked why there was a fire so I started explaining to her about the eternal flame and what it stood for and she asked me about why is there war and I tried to put in 3 year old terms and was going on and on when she finally said "Mom I stopped listening and I am watching the cars out the window now." I started laughing so hard--she said what? I told her I was glad she was honest. My Dad would appreciate this the most. We used to ask him questions to keep him awake on our road trips and he would just talk and talk--whether we listened or not. : )

Sammy still loves her baby sister but insists that I can jut put her down at any time--feeding or not-- to do what Samantha wants me to do.

She also is on my side in that she told me she didn't want me to go back to work last week! But when I told her to tell Daddy he didn't think it was funny.

Samantha has been great with my surgery and recovery. For the last month Sammy added to her bedtime prayers asking God to help Mommy get better without us prompting. It was very cute the first time she stopped her regular prayer then looked up and loudly said "please God make Mommy better." I was nursing Alaina in the other room when I heard it and cried! The day of surgery I was reading to her and started to cry and she looked at me and rubbed my arm and said it is going to be fine Mommy. Then she said its OK Mom in the cutest quietest voice I have ever heard from her and she hugged me so tight. Which for those of you who know my Sammy she is a leaner not much of a hugger usually. She now says my "band-aid" is silly. Samantha got to spend the night at Nana and Papa's so my surgery was a vacation for her. And Saturday Nana and Papa took her to her Cousin Brooke's birthday party with no Mommy and Daddy and no Alaina--so she has been loving this weekend.

These are from the photo shoot we did with Becky back in May but I hadn't posted Sammy's shots yet...

Thank you Becky for the great pictures!