Surgery 09/22/09

The morning of Surgery we arrived around 8:00 and he was taken back to a room around 8:30. They gave Grayson some Verset (sp?) and Tylenol to make him groggy so it would be easier to do the anesthesia. Unfortunately for our kids, these types of drugs have the opposite affect. He looked very groggy, but was very hyper. The Anesthesiologist came in and said "oh, this is not what I expected, but we will work with it." Tim and I just smiled. After surgery the drugs worked great, he did not wake up for more than 2 hours after arriving in recovery.

The surgery was completed around 10:39 and we were taken back to recovery around11:30 or so. Dr. Dennison ended up putting 2 pins in his thumb to put the bone back in place. He has a splint and sling on for, we hope, 4 weeks. If he can't leave it alone and keeps taking it off we will have to back in to have a hard cast put on. We need him to leave the sling alone so that his arm is not mobile, this reduced the chances of something jaring those pins loose. The first day he kept trying to take it off, but we have decided to put his arm under his shirt. He seems to be doing a lot better this way. It is very hard for him because he is left handed, but he is coping well. The hardest thing now is trying to get him to understand that he cannot ride bike, play in the sandbox, run, jump, climb or play on the playground. Needless to say, he is very bored and has a lot of pent up energy.

Here are some pictures from his memorable day.

Grayson sitting on dad's lap after getting his Dr. cap from the nurse. Grayson called it his pirate hat. I have to say, I do like the sound of Dr. Grayson Paulson!

Grayson in his surgery cap and jammies.

Daddy acting silly with his funny cap.

Grayson had to try it out for size too!

Grayson and Daddy right before they took him back for surgery. Grayson was doing so good, we didn't even have to go back with him. He went right along with the anesthesiologist.

This picture was taken by the nurse when we first got back to pre-op. I think it turned out pretty good!

Here is a shot of Grayson the night after surgery. He was doing amazingly well. He is a tough little guy.

Here he is acting goofy while Eston took his picture. He was quite the little trooper! We are very proud of you little buddy.

Grayson's FU Appointment

Today was Grayson's followup appointment on Gonda 15. While we waited we looked out the windows from the 15th floor. Here are a few pics.

Well, we thought we would just get a cast and be on our way, but the doctor didn't like how the break looked so we have to go back in tomorrow morning for surgery so he can try and put the bone back in place. They are hoping it will be quick but worst case scenario they will need to put a pin in to hold the bone in place. I will try and update the blog tomorrow after the surgery is done.

Another trip to the ER

So on Saturday Eston and I started the day by hitting some garage sales in Rochester. We got a lot of great deals. When we got home Hunter and Fischer came over to play for the afternoon. Then we all piled in the van and headed to Mike's house for his deck party. We got there a little before 6 and after about 20 minutes I was on my way to the ER with Grayson. He was playing with some weights by Mike's garage (which he was told to leave alone) and dropped one on his thumb. It looked pretty weird so I decided to take him in. They did an x-ray right away which was nice because it was pretty busy. While we waited to see the doctor, Auntie Lauri stopped by, after her shift was over, to visit us. While we were visiting, Auntie Heather stopped by on her way into work. It was like a mini family reunion. Anyway, we finally got called in and they said he had a break right under his knuckle. They made him a splint and sent us home. The total trip took about 3 hours. I swear, we should get a preferred customer card or something!
After we left, Grayson wanted to back to see Grandma Paulson and get something to eat. Tim had taken the other two home and they were already in bed, so I decided to go back to the party for a bit. We had some supper and then Grayson cuddled with Grandma around the campfire.
Tomorrow we go to Orthopedics to get a real cast, which will be nice because he has already taken the splint off twice. Mom says I should write a book - I told her I am, my blog!

Grayson fell asleep on Grandma's lap.

Eston's New Room

Eston decided that he wanted a hunting room. I thought about it for a while trying to figure out how to paint and decorate. So, last Sunday I took the kids for a road trip to the country to cut down weeds from the ditches (FYI not a good idea when you have allergies!) Anyway, on Monday I painted his room. We did tan on the top and dark green on the bottom and then painted the weeds and smacked them against the wall to make it look like weeds on his wall. It turned out pretty good, not as great as I would have liked, but it works. Eston loves it and that is all that matters. Lauri is going to make him some camo curtains and then we should be pretty much done.

I bought this deer decal today at menards. It is about the size of a fawn so it is pretty big. We put it on the wall so it looks like his head is just about the weeds. This is right along the wall where his bed sits.

A view of the wall. It is kind of hard to see the paint job.

Tim and Eston painted his night stand so it would blend right in with the wall, like true camo!

Dad was nice enough to put both of his deer heads in Eston's room. He did this while Eston was in the shower so when he went in his room to get dressed his jaw hit the floor. To quote Eston, "I am the luckiest boy in Stewartville!" He figures he is the only kid in kindergarten to have 2 deer heads in his room! I think he is probably right!

There are a few more things we need to put up, I will have to take more pictures once we are completely finished.

Castle Park

After we dropped Eston off at school today we stopped by to see Lauri and Brecken. We decided to grab some breakfast quick and take the boys to Castle park. It was a beautiful day, but I am glad we went in the morning because by lunch time it was getting pretty hot. The boys had a great time.

I love this picture of Lauri and Brecken. When we first arrived at the park we heard something, Lauri and Brecken were looking up to spot it and sure enough......

Mayo 1 Flew right over us. It was really cool!

Asher and Grayson making "music".....if you can call it that. I think it sounded more like loud noise! Needless to say, I don't think we will be putting one of these in our backyard.

Brecken riding the rocking horse. He was working so hard his little face was bright red.

Asher on the rocking horse. They had so much fun on these.

Asher and Grayson playing in the Barn.

Brecken standing next to Bessie.

Asher and Grayson love to jump on this bridge. This is about the only time they spent on the playground, they spent the majority of the time in the sand.

Asher in the sand.

Grayson in the sand.

Down in the River

On Saturday we headed out to Grandma and Grandpa's house for supper and a little fun. Before we made supper the kids thought it would be a good idea to go down and play in the river. I hadn't really planned on it, but we decided to go anyway. Eston brough his swimming trunks because he wanted to play in the water (I was thinking sprinkler), but at least someone was prepared. Here are a few pictures from our little party in the river.


On the way down we walked past the horses in the pasture. The sun was just right and I was able to get this great picture of Chance.

Grandpa and the boys throwing rocks into the river. They had so much fun. However, me and Grandma were just waiting for them to start throwing rocks at each other. Luckily that didn't happen!

Looking for the perfect rock.

Grandma and the boys walking down the river. They were able to spot some marine life. The boys had a blast!

I love this shot too. The lighting was so beautiful down there. The sun was going down and shining through the trees. BEAUTIFUL.

Trying to catch fish or bugs or something.

Don't they have a gorgeous place! It is so peaceful out there!

It was a very fun night! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!!

Friday Night Lights! GO TIGERS!!!!!

Friday night we took Eston to watch the football game. He was very excited to go and had to make sure he had his tigers shirt on. The first thing he did when we walked in the door was ask if he could have a Stewartville Football baseball hat. Of course, we had to get it, especially after he tried it on and looked so darn cute! Here are a few shots from our fun night.

Eston actually took this shot of the players on the field. I think it turned out pretty good. Eston was super excited because our neighbor boy Gabe plays for the tigers. Eston wanted to stay and play football with Gabe after the game. Eston also told me he felt bad for the white team because we kept knocking them down. I tried to explain that is how you play the game, but he still felt bad for them.

So intense!

I think he looks pretty darn cute in marroon and gold!

He even got to have his picture taken with the Stewartville Tiger!! It was a great night. The Tigers won 34-14! Way to go Tigers!!!!

1st Day of School 2009

Today was Eston's first day of Kindergarten. He woke up and got on his "school outfit" and was ready to go. He didn't even want to take the time to drink his milk so he brought it with him. He was so excited.........

Here he is sitting on our bench out front before we left for school. He looks so grown up.

Here he is being a little stinker on the walk to school.

The view from behind. I can't believe he is big enough to go to school. What happened to my little boy??? It really was cool to see how excited he was.

Here he is covering his face so I couldn't take his picture.

Here is Eston and Violet. Violet is in Eston's class and he is very excited about that!!! Isn't she just a cutie!

Well I said he was excited......until we turned the corner by the school and he saw all the kids lined up to go in. He completely froze and was very shy and nervous. He didn't want any other pictures taken and stayed very close to me and Tim. I had to nudge him through the door and the teacher aids took him to his room. I could tell he was a little upset but I knew he would have a great day......AND HE DID! He had so much fun. He was talking a mile a minute when I came home from work. He told me all about the stuff they did, how yummy his ravioli was for lunch and what he had for snack. They got to go outside and play and make crafts. It was a great day! But I am a little confused.....I was told from other parents that he would be very worn out after a full day of school, but he was going a hundred miles an hour when I got home tonight---maybe it takes a couple days. :)

Tomorrow after school we get to go to the football game and he is very excited about that too! All in All it was a great first day of school. Way to go buddy, we are so proud of you!!!!!

Meet the Teacher

On Wednesday Eston got to meet his Kindergarten teacher and visit his classroom. We went right away at 8am and he was ready to go. He was so excited to see his classroom and bring all of his supplies to kindergarten.

Here he is with his teacher Mrs. Fryer. He didn't want me taking any pictures but I was able to get this one. Of course, when Mrs. Fryer wanted a picture of him he sat nice and smiled right at her. Stinker.

Here he is in the hallway outside his classroom. I snapped this one when he wasn't paying attention. Notice the marroon and gold pants with the tiger t-shirt. He is already showing his Stewartville pride!

Here he is showing us where his locker is. I can't believe he will be starting kindergarten tomorrow.

Flushed Away!

Well, it is official, my wedding ring is gone. About a week ago Grayson thought it would be fun to put something down the toilet......and lucky me he chose my wedding ring. I never take it off, but just happened to that day because my finger was very irritated, the poor thing didn't even make it one whole day on the ring holder. Asher tried to warn us but he was so excited we couldn't understand what he was saying. When we realized that it was missing we asked them where it was and they looked at us like "DUH, it is in the toilet!"
I called the water treatment facility in Stewartville and they have not found anything. Guess it is time to call the insurance company. Darned kids! Make sure you put things up high or hide them when my kids are around :)
What do ya do, gotta love em!

LaborDay Weekend - Absolutely Perfect

What an absolutely gorgeous weekend! I do not remember LaborDay weekend being this nice in a really long time. We had a lot of fun this weekend - prepare yourself, there are a lot of pictures!
We are going to go in reverse order, starting with Monday - Laborday. Today we painted Eston's room. He wanted a hunting room so we decided to do camo on his walls. I will post the pictures later, I want to wait until I have it all done. While Eston and Tim painted his nightstand to match his walls, I gave Asher and Grayson a board and some washable paints so they could also help paint.

Asher cleaning off the paint in the sprinkler. I had to take this one because I loved the underwear.

Eston and Daddy hard at work painting the nightstand.

Grayson playing in the water after he finished painting.

Asher playing with the hose. They love starting and stopping the water.

Grayson and Asher showing off their paint jobs. I think they painted each other more than the wood I gave them.

Literally painted from head to toe! (Grayson)

On Saturday night, we had icecream for desert. Eston has never eaten icecream because he didn't think he liked it. I told him that Sherbert was different and he absolutely loved it. He couldn't believe that it was icecream.

After lunch on Sunday we went to Meadow park. We never even made it to the "Park" because the boys ran right to the little crick that runs through the park. Here is Eston putting a baby frog on the rock. (setting it free)

Where did that darn frog go?????

There he is! Beth - I thought you might like this shot :)

Eston showing off the baby frog (on his arm). I know I am just the mom, but I Love his eyes!

Grayson playing in the water. I know the sweatshirts look too small, but they are actually 5T. Crazy! I wish you could see the rest of his outfit, he had navy blue socks pulled all the way up to his knees.

Asher posing for a cute picture. He was the only one that wanted to have his picture taken.

Saturday morning we decided to head out to Grandma and Grandpa's to play. Heather, Hunter and Fischer met us out there so the kids could play together.

This is Grandma and Asher on Lucky and Grayson and Grandpa on Chance.

Grandma and Grandpa heading out for a horseback ride. Aren't they cute!

Posing with their horses (Chance and Lucky)

Oh, Chance and Lucky love each other - CUTE I had to post this one because it was so cute.

Grandpa on Chance before their ride.

Eston taking Grace for a walk. He loves to lead her around - he feels so important and proud. He really does a great job!

Eston riding Grace. This was awesome because he usually doesn't ride the horses anymore, he just likes to lead them around.

Cute shot. He had a lot of fun.

Since these are in reverse order - this is after the waterslide, Grayson wanted to ride the tractor and I hadn't had a chance to get his clothes on yet. Nothing like a naked farmer!

The rear view! For some reason I have images of Grandpa as a kid growing up on the farm :)

Okay, so here are the waterslide pictures. Eston tried the entire day to soak me and Heather while going down the slide. This is the shot that did it. Not the greatest picture, but you can see why we got soaked!

Asher being goofy and running down the slide with his towel on.

Eston flying down the slide. The kids were cruising down this slide. It was a blast!

Hunter and Fischer talking a break to warm up a bit.

Eston and Hunter going down the slide together. They had so much fun together.

Grayson decided it would be best to go down on the tube. He only went down a couple times but he had a blast.

This is one a just a couple shots of Eston. He doesn't like to have his picture taken so every time he went down he would turn his back to the camera. Stinker!

Fisher wouldn't slide down - he had to run each time. He never fell, I don't know how he did it!

Hunter having a blast on the water slide.

Grayson crying because he was cold. I just thought this was a cute shot.

Asher having so much fun. He went down the slide about 50 times and never ran out of energy. I wish I had that much energy!