The Day After....

Ronnie's first night after surgery went well. He woke up every few hours crying/moaning - but all it took was Mommy rubbing his back or playing with his hair and telling him everything was okay to get him to go back to sleep. He slept from 9:30 pm to 8:00 am (in Mommy and Daddy's bed). The first hour was a little rough. He refused the pain medication - so we switched to grape Tylenol (eventually he took it). He also refused to drink any juice until Maama coaxed him gently to drink it and helped him to momentarily get over his fear of drinking. He asked for eggs "because my tummy is hungry" - and ate 1 egg and some mashed up strawberries. He still refused to drink - and after a LONG battle, we gave in and resorted to giving him popsicles. As of noon today, he's had 3 popsicles! That is better than nothing! For a little while, he was active and talking - he even played a game with Maama. But running on a low tank has him pooped out again - so he is resting quietly on the couch watching "Spiderman". Again, all-in-all, not a bad day!


Ronnie with his buddies - George (on the right) and Cheeky (the new monkey he received at the hospital).


Maama coaxing Ronnie to drink juice and take the Tylenol.


Ah - the Breakfast of Champions - popsicles!


One popsicle down!

Maama and Ronnie playing a game - with the glass of juice looming in the foreground... He actually sipped on it throughout the game (sipped on it like it was a glass of Cognac).

Bye-Bye Tonsils & Adenoids!

On November 9th, Ronnie went to Fairview Ridges Hospital to have his tonsils and adenoids removed, and tubes put back in his ears. Ronnie was in a good mood - right up to the time they came out to the waiting room to say "Ronald, it's time..." Then, he shifted in to scared-mode. We spent about 45 minutes in a pre-op room, watching cartoons. We tried to get him to take the medication that would dry up the saliva in his mouth, but he spit it out (and it was STICKY!). He also did not enjoy having his i.d. bracelet on, and took that off. It was a struggle! When the anesthesiologist came in to get him, we walked across the hall and put him on the gurney... he cried quite a bit - which made him breathe in the anesthesia stronger - and he was out like a light within 10 seconds. It all went VERY fast, which was a relief. We went out to the waiting room to wait with Maama. 45 minutes later, it was over and we spoke with Dr. Ayre who said the surgery went perfectly. He removed the tonsils (which were "fairly large") and cotterized the adenoids (which shrinks and kills them) and put the tubes in. 30 minutes later, Mommy, Daddy and Maama joined Ronnie in his recovery room - where he was NOT happy. We stayed in that room for 4 1/2 hours - just holding Ronnie and trying to get him to eat a popsicle or drink some juice. He refused. Dr. Ayre finally came in and told us to just take him home - because he felt Ronnie would recover better in his familiar surroundings. The second we got him in the car, he stopped crying and being upset and relaxed. We spent the afternoon and evening laying on the couch watching movies. All-in-all, it went very well.


Ronnie and Mommy - pre-op!


Ronnie and Mommy post-op (with George).


Ronnie and Daddy post-op (with snuggly).


At home - having a carpet picnic with Daddy, Maama and Kiki. Ronnie asked for mac-and-cheese and ate 2 bites of it. He refused to drink any water or juice - but did eat 1 popsicle.


Ronnie with his mac-and-cheese.

wii Action

Doug spent some time teaching Ronnie how to play with the wii... he is now kicking our tails at wii Bowling. Here he is bowling with his Poppy. Ronnie's score was 175 - Poppy's was 107.


Perfect wii Bowling form...


Poppy wii Bowling for the first time.

Ronnie with his Poppy and Grandma

Lauri's Dad and stepmom came for a visit this past week. They arrived on Thursday, just in time for Ronnie to get sick. While we didn't have the vacation we had planned on, we still had a good time just hanging out, relaxing, watching (LOTS) of movies and eating (LOTS) of popcorn.



Poppy, Ronnie (holding George), and Grandma outside of Dangerfield's after Sunday brunch.

Sunday School

Ronnie attends Sunday School at St. John's Lutheran Church whenever we are in town. It is usually an ordeal to get him to go - but last Sunday, he not only went willingly, but also sang during choir time.


Ronnie sitting in the green chair in his Sunday School class.


Ronnie playing the traditional Sunday School game of "duck, duck, grey duck" (don't ask me... I wasn't aware that was a Sunday School game - or that they called it anything other than "duck, duck, goose"!

Halloween 2009!

This year, Ronnie chose to be Ironman for Halloween! His costume fit him perfectly! Of course, Lauri chose to dress in theme as well and went as Bat Girl. Because Ronnie was not feeling well, we weren't able to go to his school party or other festivities - but did go trick-or-treating with Kiki, Poppy and Grandma. We not only went to the houses on Columbine Lane, we crossed the street and went to several houses across the way. Ronnie made a haul!!!


Ironman in an action pose!

Ironman and Bat Girl

Our first trick-or-treat spot is always Lori and Brad's house across the street.

Ronnie getting candy from the another neigbor across the street.

Ronie's Tour of the Hospital

We went on a tour of Fairview Ridges Hospital to get a better idea of what to expect for Ronnie's surgery on November 9th. He is having his tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put back in his ears. The nurses explained things to Ronnie and another little boy in kid terms, then spoke with us about what we would encounter the day of the surgery. They did a great job and really answered a lot of questions - making us feel a bit better about things.


Rubbing the yummy smelling "chapstick" on the mask - Ronnie chose pink lemonade.


Ronnie plays the part of "Sleep Doctor" with the bear.



Ronnie removed the bear's tonsils - then tried to put them back in. Nurse Katie let him know that on the day of his surgery, they would take his tonsils out, but wouldn't put them back in.

Ronnie administers an ice pack on the neck of the bear after his tonsilectomy.

Ronnie listens to the bear's heart.

Ronnie checks the bear's blood pressure.

Nurse Janine reads a Power Rangers book to Ronnie. She did a great job with voices! He was totally enthralled.

Nurse Janine puts the oxygen monitor on Ronnie's finger.

We've been getting Ronnie ready for the surgery... all we really have to do is keep him healthy. Unfortunately, he got sick last Thursday and had a fever of 104. We broke the fever, but he now has a cough. If he can't get that under control before his pre-op appointment this Thursday, we will have to postpone the surgery. Say prayers for us that he gets well ASAP!

Carving Pumpkins!

Doug did a great job of carving the pumpkins that we picked out at the pumpkin patch. Ronnie wanted one with big eyes, a small nose and a huge smile. I ended up coloring the top of the pumpkin in black marker to make it look like hair... It was the pumpkin version of Ronnie!



Starting to carve....


Happy Carver!