Happy Halloween!

The night before halloween Daddy and Noah carved the pumpkin. Noah helped decide what kind of face to put on it, and he helped scoop out all the guts inside the pumpkin too. At first he didn't want to touch them, but he finally rolled up his sleeves and dug into it. Then on halloween we went out trick or treating around the neighborhood with our neighbors next door, Noah's friend Mykenzi and her little brothers. Noah dressed up as the Hulk and Anna was Tinkerbell this year, and she was the cutest little Tinkerbell I ever saw. Since Noah couldn't walk because of his surgery we used our big red wagon to pull him around in, and everyone took turns pulling it. He had alot of fun getting to ride around the neighborhood. Anna surprised me and walked a good bit of the time we were out. I thought she would get tired alot sooner, but she seemed to want to walk. Eventually I put her in the wagon with Noah though so she could ride around too. That's when she started trying to sample all the candy she had collected so far with the wrappers on and all. At the end of the night we knew which pumpkin of candy was hers. It was the one that had all the sticky candy in it.

Digging around in the pumpkin

Scooping out the guts

Anna and Noah posing with their pumpkins

Our little Tinkerbell on her way to trick or treat

Noah the Hulk riding in the wagon

Still walking

Noah and Mykenzi

Tinkerbell finally joins Noah in the wagon. She's getting tired out.

Hulk and Tinkerbell

Hulk

Tinkerbell's thinking

Tinkerbell

Baby News

Just thought I'd give an update on me and baby #3. I'm at 19 weeks now and showing. The picture below is of me at 18 weeks. I've been feeling good and doing well. I started feeling the baby move a few weeks ago, and I can feel it even stronger and more often now. I love this time of a pregnancy when you get to feel all the kicks, and flips, and hiccups of your little one. I look forward to it each time. In just a couple more weeks we get to find out what we're having, hopefully, as long as the baby cooperates. I can't wait to finally get to see it again on the ultrasound and how much he or she has grown now. Noah is very excited and looking forward to this baby as well. He's been saying he wants a brother, and he seems to think that just because he says it, that's what it will be, but then he all of a sudden changed his mind and now wants another sister. I had to explain to him though that we don't get to choose what we have, God does, and that we'll all be happy with whatever God gives us, boy or girl, and then I told him that we'd find out in just a couple more weeks, so he can't wait. Since he goes back and forth, I'm sure he'll be happy with a brother or a sister.

Pumpkin Time

Last week we went to pick out our pumpkin at one of the local churches. I tried to get some cute pictures of Anna sitting in the middle of all the pumpkins, but I'd no sooner sit her down and she'd get up and wander off, so I pretty much just got pictures of the back or side of her as she was walking off somewhere.

Noah is much easier to get a picture of usually, so I got a pretty good one of him. He didn't get to run around and check out all the pumpkins this year like he normally does. He had to sit in his wheelchair since he can't walk right now after his surgery, but he still had fun helping pick out our pumpkin.

I did manage to get some cute pictures of both of them sitting on the big wagon they had at the church. I was glad they were both good and cooperated for this picture.

The day before halloween I decided to make some pumpkin pancakes for breakfast. They turned out really yummy, and we all enjoyed them. I took some pictures of Noah and Anna both munching on their pancakes.

Noah's Surgery

On October 1st Noah had another surgery on his leg. This was the big one we've been hearing about and waiting for since he was a baby, the leg lengthening surgery. Because of the curve in the tibia bone in his right leg, that leg is about two to two and a half inches shorter than his left leg. As was to be expected Noah was not too happy to find out he was going to be having another surgery, but we let him know about it well in advance to prepare him for it this time since he's getting older now and can better understand what's happening to him. The surgery went well and Noah spent 3 days in the hospital this time. He came home with his leg all wrapped up, so for a few days we couldn't see what they had done to his leg and neither could he. When we went back down to MUSC the following week they removed the bandages around his leg and taught us what we needed to do to his leg everyday. He has four pins going into his leg, a pin going into the top of his foot, and a pin coming out of the bottom of his foot. The bone in his leg has been cut and we make four turns a day to spread the bone apart a millimeter each day so that new bone can grow and lengthen his leg. We also have to do thorough cleanings twice a day to make sure his leg does not get infected. He has tolerated the turnings pretty well, but the cleanings did not go very well in the beginning. It was very scary and painful for him. He was also in a lot of pain those first couple of weeks everytime his pain medicine started to wear off. After a couple of weeks though it started getting better. His leg has started healing, his pain has become less over time, and he's gotten used to the cleanings now and even likes to help with them.

Not too happy after his surgery.

Not feeling too well.

Enjoying the games in the big playroom at the hospital.

Practicing getting around with his walker.

Happy to be resting at home and not in the hospital anymore.

Noah's leg after the bandages came off.

The day after the bandages came off and after a couple of cleanings.

A view from the bottom of his foot.

After a few more days of cleanings. It's looking better every day.

Finally starting to feel like himself again.

Posing with his leg. It's healed nicely, and he isn't in much pain at all any more.

With three weeks passed since his surgery Noah has done very well. His leg has healed nicely, it's not bleeding anymore like it was in the beginning, his pain is nearly gone, and he's hopping all over the house like nothing's wrong. His doctor has been very pleased at the progress he's made, he's been surprised even. Noah's leg has grown about an inch now, and he still has a few weeks left of the lenthening process.