Preschool graduation and other stuff

Toby had his preschool graduation on Thursday and wanted no part of it.  I tried to explain to him that it wouldn't be a normal day at preschool, that they would be singing songs for graduation. But he kept looking at me like I didn't know what I was talking about.  As soon as he walked in, he froze and wanted to go home.  Give him a room full of kids and he is the life of the party.  Give him a room full of adults and he flips. Thus, he sat in the corner staring warily at the adults while the rest of the kids put on a cute show.  I didn't make a big deal out of it.  He has always been a "slow to warm up" kid in new situations.

Toby staring warily at the adults. 

By the last two songs he started to sing along though. 

Aspen had a little graduation of her own.  She is now walking!

We have officially entered chase-the-baby-everywhere-we-go stage. Good times.

Kaya update: She is still doing about the same, eating some but also stiff when she walks and vomiting a couple times a day.  We are hoping these injections will be what gets her better.  Only time will tell. Thanks so much for the sweet comments and texts checking up on us and our pup.  We are trying to just take things a day at a time.

Toby 23 months, Kaya 3 months

Tough decisions, tough days

Wow, this week has been hard.  I guess I will just get right to it: our sweet dog, Kaya, might be dying.  We noticed right before my gallbladder surgery that she wasn't eating and that she would just down her water.  She was also vomiting a couple times a day.  We kept thinking it was just a bug or that she ate something weird and that it would pass.  Then she started eating some food but only for a day or two and then she began the water-only vomiting cycle all over again.  On Monday I took her to the vet and they did some blood work on her.  It came back abnormal; her white blood cell count is high as well as her calcium levels.  The vet seemed really baffled by the results so he sent her blood work to a lab just to be certain there wasn't a mistake. The next day he informed me that the blood work came back the same and added this bit of terrible news: she might have some type of cancer OR she is dying from some kind of rat poisoning. They are unsure which it is. Either way, they kept reiterating that it doesn't look good for her.  So right now what they want to do is get her calcium levels down as fast as they can through daily injections of medication for three weeks (I guess having high calcium levels will slowly shut down the muscles of the body - including the heart). Also, we have her on some kind of medication to keep her kidney's clean in the event that she did eat some poison and if it makes it to her kidneys she will basically pass away fairly quickly.  The vet did say there is a chance (hooray for chances!) that she only got a small amount of poison and that she could just be sick for a while and rebound - but that it would take several weeks.  And that is only IF she did in fact eat poison and it is 100% for sure not cancer. Anyway, we will go back in a week or two (or if she starts getting worse) to have her blood work done again. Let me also throw in there that I got this news in the midst of only having about an hour of sleep the night before because Toby had the stomach flu. So basically yesterday was a very bad day.

It is so hard to swallow that Kaya may leave us any day or in a few weeks....but hopefully (PLEASE hopefully) not at all. She is such a wonderful dog.  The perfect dog, really.  Great with kids, happy but not hyper, smart, cuddly, and so, so sweet.  She's been my buddy when Nick works the graveyard shift and I'm chillin' by myself in our haunted basement. Toby and Aspen adore her.  I really can't imagine life without our Kaya.  So yes, lots emotions going on right now.  And lots of wondering of what to do.  Nick and I keep saying that we just don't want her to be suffering, and that if she starts to show signs of that, we will probably have to make the tough decision of putting her down.  As of right now she walks a little stiff but she IS eating a little more - which is giving us hope.

So that was our week.  Right now we cling to hope.  Hoping each day she shows some improvement and praying that we can keep our cute, little corgi for many, many more years.

Goodbye gallbladder. You won't be missed.

Welp, I am officially gallbladder-free.  All went well with the procedure yesterday.  Don't worry, I will fill you in on all the details. I just realized though that I have never said on this blog why I had to have it taken out in the first place.  Here's the back story: Last summer, shortly after I had Aspen, I was getting this unbearable sharp pain below my rib cage on the right side.  It happened during the night, usually after I ate a big meal.  Sometimes the pain was so bad, I was gasping for breath. Well after googling my symptoms, I found out I was having gallbladder attacks.  So I had an MRI done and they found some lovely stones in my gallbladder.  I discussed my symptoms with Dr. Jennifer Tittensor (I know, funny name but she is an amazing surgeon I was referred to by a friend). She suggested that I have my gallbladder removed right away for a couple reasons: a) I have stones. b) If I want to have another child, I need to have it removed before I get pregnant (apparently pregnancy aggravates your gallbladder and the last thing you want is emergency surgery while being pregnant). Also, I should mention that gallbladder issues run in the family.  Two of my sisters had theirs removed, as well as both parents and some grandparents. So I was all scheduled to have mine removed but the timing just wasn't right.  Nick was working graveyards and about to start school and I was breastfeeding Aspen 24/7. I felt strongly that I needed to hold off.  Amazingly, my symptoms started to dissipate.  In fact, most of the winter I felt so good that I wondered if I really needed to get it removed. No such luck. Sometime in February I felt that familiar pain under my rib cage.  It wasn't an attack, just an annoying pain every time I ate.  Then came the nausea.  It became so bad that even after eating a bowl of cereal I felt like I was in my first trimester of pregnancy.  It was then I remembered my doc's advice about getting it out before I have another baby.  We're not planning on #3 anytime soon, but with Nick's encouragement, I decided to face the inevitable and become one more family member thriving without a gallbladder.

Like I said, the procedure went well.  No complications.  It was a laparoscopic surgery, so less invasive and shorter recovery time. The worst part was coming out of anesthesia.  They were having a hard time waking me up. It took them a good 3 hours (most people wake up 1-2 hours after surgery) and as I soon as I opened my eyes, I started vomiting.  Vomiting with incisions is the WORST.  And when Nick walked in the room, his face said everything about how I must have looked: terrible.  After the 3rd puke, I was finally ready to go home.  I still don't understand why I was so sick.  I've had a couple other surgeries and never had that experience.

Today the nausea is mostly gone and I'm trying to keep the pain to a minimum (not a fan of pain pills).  Nick's wonderful parents took Toby off our hands for a few days so Nick would have one less person to look after. And some sweet friends insisted on bringing us some meals.  No doubt we are very blessed to be surrounded by such thoughtful people. 

And on that note, I am going to go try to catch some Z's.  I can't even remember the last time I went to bed this early.

Hoping this will be the last of surgeries for a very long time. It was just slightly embarrassing when one of the nurses said Nick and I looked really familiar.  :)

Happy Mother's Day

"If I were asked to name the worlds greatest need, I should say unhesitatingly: wise mothers.... The noblest calling in the world is that of a mother. True motherhood is the most beautiful of all the arts, the greatest of all professions. She who can paint a masterpiece or who can write a book that will influence millions deserves the plaudits and admiration of mankind, but she who rears successfully a family... of sons and daughters whose immortal souls will be excreting an influence throughout the ages long after paintings shall have faded, and books and statues hall have been destroyed, deems the highest honor that man can give."

-David O McKay

Round 2 at the hospital

Little Aspen had tubes put in her ears yesterday.  The poor girl has had 5 ear infections in the past 4 months (not to mention RSV, 2 fevers, and several colds) so our doc recommended tubes asap.  She was the first one on the list at the hospital at 6:45 am so Nick stayed home with the Tobester while I took her in.  The hardest part was them taking her and then bringing her back 20 minutes later screaming because of the anesthesia.  After some good snuggles though, she calmed down.  And now we're hoping for a much more healthy rest of the year.

She looks so cute in her little hospital gown.

And who is next on the list for surgery?  Well after a year of waiting, I am finally getting my gall bladder out sometime next month.  Yes, 'tis the season for surgeries at the Sibert's.  :)

Glorious Graduation Day

I can't believe this day finally came. Nick graduated last Friday with his BS in Technology Management, emphasis in Electrical Automation and Robotics.  I'm so very proud of him. He has carried a heavy load for the past 4 1/2 years with both working and attending school full-time.  Not to mention taking care of our little family.  It has definitely been a test of endurance and patience for both us. I was reading in my journal the other day about the early days of his schooling and how taxing it was on both of us.  Back then, Nick was gone from 7 am till 10 pm every day and I was struggling to learn the ropes of motherhood with a very demanding baby boy.  But 2011 was probably our refiners fire: Nick was taking 15+ credits per semester, he started working Sundays and graveyards, we welcomed baby #2 and I was grieving the passing of my sister.  Looking back, as strange as it may sound, I'm so very grateful for it all.  It taught me compassion, selflessness, patience, and made us both recognize the tender mercies of the Lord as well as savor the fleeting sweet moments in life amidst the hard times. I love how Elder Maxwell puts it: "The sharp, side-by-side contrast of the sweet and the bitter is essential until the very end of this brief, mortal experience. Meanwhile, even routine, daily life provides sufficient sandpaper to smooth our crustiness and polish our rough edges, if we are meek" (And believe me, I definitely have plenty more 'crustiness' available for smoothing).  :)

But just like that, our evenings have totally changed.  Now instead of doing homework on the laptop for 3+ hours, he gets to sit next to me on the couch.  And instead of me telling him about the book I am reading, he is currently reading it with me and we get to talk about our favorite parts/weird parts/funny parts... it's absolutely wonderful.

I took a couple pics of the graduation with my phone (so they are definitely not the best quality).

  

You did it Nick!  Woo-hoo!!!!