What A Great Big Brother

Chance is such a fun big brother. He is always playing with them and including them in things. He loves to show them off to his friends and is never embarrassed of them like a lot of teenagers. Yesterday he spent the ENTIRE afternoon playing cowboys and Indians with Cami and Alex. He was so cute with them and did everything from picking out their clothes for it, putting makeup on their faces for a dirty look, built forts, found safe weapons, and "scared" me and Cory with them. They had such a blast. Then today Chance came to me and said "Mom will you take some pictures of me and my brothers so I can show my friends on facebook?". He got them all ready for the pictures including doing hair, picking clothes, and getting them dressed. He is such a cute brother with them and will make an awesome dad someday. He's a huge blessing in all of our lives and does an amazing job at leading the Petersen kids gang.

Alex Update

Alex had a much better day yesterday. He is still uncomfortable and in a lot of pain but he is improving. I was even able to get out to go to the store last night which was a much needed break.
His older brothers and sisters have been great with helping to break up the boredom. I think by the end of this that will be the biggest obstacle is keeping him from going crazy with boredom. There's only so many movies a kid can watch. It's tricky because he's in too much pain to do much more than lay around but he's six and wants to run around. Good thing he's got six other people to entertain him!!

A Tough Day

Today was a really tough day for Alex. He was so uncomfortable and in pain. His little ear has swollen to 3x as big as normal because of all the work they had to do. He can't take motrin to help with the swelling either due to the risk of blood clots. All day he wanted me close and cried if I left the room very long. It was a sad cry too because his mouth is so sore from his tonsils being removed.I felt so helpless to help him. The one postitive thing is that for the first time in a year he was cuddly again. Usually he doesn't like to hug but today he wanted me close. I was going to sneak away with some friends that I had made plans with for a little while but I felt too guilty to leave him. I was glad I didn't go because he needed me all night and what better way to spend a night than to cuddle with a child in need. 

Alex's Surgery

Today was Alex's surgery. It was a tough day for him and he is very sore from it. They went in to get the cholesteatomia out and realized there was extensive damage to his ear drum and most of the bones in his ears were completely damaged due to the fact that the cholesteatomia returned from his last surgery with a vengeance. His ear canal was completely filled with it. The surgeon was able to build him a new ear drum during the surgery but we will have to wait 6 months for another surgery to be able to put prosthetic bones in. In the meantime his ear is hollow and his hearing won't be improved any. They have to wait for his ear to heal completely from this surgery before they can fix the damage. So for now he is in A LOT of pain from the ear surgery and from having his tonsils removed. Poor kid!!!
I'm grateful for all the family prayers and for great friends and neighbors who have called us today to check on Alex.....It was great to come home and have dinner brought to us for two nights and our friends next door also brought Alex a very cute robe. We feel very blessed.

Sitting with dad in the waiting room before the surgery

He was kind of nervous but still happy.

The nurse had to give him versed to tire him out and to check vitals.

The medicine was starting to work and made him a little loopy.

Off he goes to the surgery. This is the hardest part for mom....having him wheeled away.

This is right after surgery before he woke up.

This is when he is starting to wake up. He kept complaining about the IV in his arm more

than his ears and throat.

Finally they take out the IV and its time to go home.

Riding the wheelchair to the car.

He looked miserable during the car ride home.

This is him sleeping tonight....very restless and in pain. Hopefully he will feel better tomorrow.

Day At The Museum

Tuesday I took Cami, Alex, and Anthony to The Treehouse Museum to have a day of fun before Alex's surgery. Cami and Alex had so much fun playing with all the different hands on exhibits. They got to pretend they were firemen, teachers, rodeo cowboy/cowgirl, musicians, actors, artists, conductors and builders. It was good to be able to spend time with just them and focus on what they liked. We all had a great time and can't wait to go back!

Getting So Big

Anthony is getting so big now. He is cruising around furniture and climbing stairs. Yesterday he got himself on the couch and sat there looking so proud of himself watching TV like his big brother Alex. I can't believe in a few short months he'll be a year already!