Sam Runs 1 Mile!

On the morning of Saturday, May 28th, I went to the Y to work out.  On the drive there, i saw markers and signs for Corning's Glassfest 8K race. Roads were blocked off and cones set up, and i always smile at that scene.

When i was checking in, i overheard the woman at the front desk taking a phone call and said, "No... i don't know about a Fun Run." My ears perked! Sam, just two days before, in the car, was asking me when the Pop Can Fun Run was again this year, that he couldn't wait to be the FASTEST this year. This kid loves to run.

So i stood around and waited for the conclusion of this phone call. Another woman, in charge of the run, arrived and told her that indeed, a Kids' Fun Run was immediately following the finish of the 8K race at East High. So i get the time (9:30, an hour and a half from right then), and registration form (Free!) and went and did my work out. Then i came home and excitedly told the whole family that Sam was going to run in a race in 20 MINUTES! His eyes lit up, he jumped up and he ran to get his shorts and shoes on.

Sam was not at all pushy to get in front... just super smiley!

Soon we were at East High School's stadium and track and Sam was amongst a good 20 or so kids. They had two choices: 1) to run around the whole track once and end it there, or 2) do that, but keep following this h.s. kid do a loop around the school and then back onto the track to run 3/4 around to the finish line, making it a complete mile. Before the race started i said, "Sam, how far and long you run is completely up to you. We're here to have fun. You do what you can." He told me under no uncertain terms that he was going to run the whole mile.



AND THAT HE DID! Well, he walked for about 20 paces, but i think most of that came from a little confusion on what to do versus being tired. Sure, he was super sweaty and panting at the end, but he was full of life too! As he rounded the end of the first loop of the track, i cheered and said, "are ya gonna keep going?" He nodded yes with a big smile and without stopping or slowing down kept following the lead kid out the track gates and around the school. In about 10-15 min (guessing here), here comes Sam, still with a smile!, rounding the school and re-entering the track. I yelled that i would meet him at the finish line and what's really cool is that most of the runners from the 8K were still milling about and were cheering the kids in to the finish. It was so EXCITING.



Here comes Sam, down the home stretch, and folks started clapping and cheering. I could hear a few people saying how cute he was and how he was SMILING the whole time! That's my boy! I captured that moment on video (sorry the end is so sloppy - i don't have editing software).

I'M SO PROUD OF YOU, SAM! You are an inspiration to your ol' Ma. If you can run a mile with a smile, I am darn tootin' aiming to do that same exact thing, so that we can run together some day. I love you, Samson!

Hank's Palate and Refined Lip Surgery

I see you smiling at me! (5 days post-op)

On Thursday, May 19th, our darling Henry had his second facial surgery since his first one back in September. This time, his palate was repaired and his lip was made more defined to look less "whistling." It's truly amazing how much that first surgery brought Hank's maxilla BACK into this face. Dr. Girotto performed surgery for about four hours, each procedure (palate repair and lip refinement) taking 2 hours. Dr. Girotto emerged full of smiles and reassurance that the surgery went great, no surprises. Henry did well with anesthesia (everyone's main concern, given his heart condition) and even directly out of surgery, looked pretty good to me. His appearance was not as dramatic as his first surgery, but quite noticeably different, nonetheless. His little nose was even MORE rounded and "button-y." His upper lip no longer goes up in the middle; even though it was expectantly swollen, i could tell it was much smoother and more 'even' with the bottom lip.

Above Pics: Left: Pre-Surgery ~ Middle & Right: 1 Hour Post-Surgery...

A little bloody, but CHECK OUT MY NOSE, MA! My lovey...

Below Pics: ... 5 Days Post-Surgery (Top, Up, Side)

As of this entry, Henry amazes me with his healing progression, seemingly so RAPID. It's only been five days, and already his look appears smoother and the stitches less noticeable. And of course, the return of cooing, giggles and smiles are a clear indicator that he's truly on the mend. His sleeping at night has been rather disrupted with pain and general discomfort, but i expect that to be less severe starting very soon. He already doesn't seem to need the pain meds as readily as the first few days.



And now... the drumroll please... a dramatic side-by-side of:

Sweet Henry Huggins, Version 1.0....................Rockin' Hanksteroni, Version 2.0

Barney!

I'm the happiest kid EVER!

Shirley (aka Nana) took Thomas, and not Sam, for a little one-on-one time to see Barney Live in Concert. I had purposely introduced Thom to Barney in the weeks before, via Netflix Watch Instantly, as he'd never heard of the Big Purple Dinosaur before. Needless to say he LOVED it. Shirley said he paid attention and sat still for most of the show, which started at 6:30. He's usually winding down from the day at that time. He came home at 9:30 p.m. wide awake and full of ear-wide grins and giggles. Not to mention carrying a Barney balloon. Thom LOVES balloons. Thank you Nana, for showing Thom a great time and surviving the barage of kids everywhere. And thanks also to my friend Christa for selling us the two tickets.

"May the 4th..."

"May the 4th be with You." - In honor of International Star Wars Day, Sam shows off his jedi knight skills. He's been practicing his WHOLE LIFE for this performance. It's truly awe-some! Enjoy.

Intoxicating Giggles

Pretzels, Sidewalk Chalk and Smiles

Happy Easter... and Unhappy Pneumonia.

Henry has been under the weather for a couple weeks now. To me, it seemed like the kind of cold that never lets go, leaving Hank with congestion and a cough. But as the cough persisted, I felt progressively uncomfortable and then within the span of two nights, it got pretty bad. The coughing turned into some fevers, lethargy and just a general 'ugh' look about him. Ron took him to the doctor's one day while i was working register (my new deviation from Sign Shop on occasion at Wegmans) and came to me immediately following and told me that Henry had been diagnosed with pneumonia and there was a "Game Plan" to deal with it. He had been prescribed some antiobiotics (in case it was bacterial and not viral (impossible to determine)), as well as some breathing treatments to open his bronchial passages. My poor little guy went from looking "eh, he's got a cold" to downright AWFUL and miserable. We had a follow up appointment the next morning to see how he sounded, check on his fever reduction and chest x-ray results.



The next morning, while i was at that appointment, Ron took Sam and Thom to have breakfast with the Easter Bunny at Wegmans (I swear that place is our second home, which is quite a nice second home). Henry's oxygen levels were a little lower than usual but nothing nuts and the doctor asked if he seemed better to me. It was hard to tell. I mean, his fever was gone. And his breathing didn't seem AS labored, but in general... no... not really. He definitely wasn't himself. She asked me to keep an eye on him all day and go with my instinct. Well... by 3pm that afternoon, my instinct was calling the weekend phone line at the doc's office and two hours later, i was taking Henry to be admitted to Arnot hospital.

From 1pm to about 3pm, I'll be honest with you... I was quite torn on what to do. Maybe it seems like an easy decision to you - and NORMALLY, to me as well, it would be. But i realized, with the help of my dear friend Natalie, that i had a fear of going back to the hospital, and specifically Arnot (which is a very good hospital, mind you) because every time we go there, we are LITERALLY airlifted back to Philly. I have rarely been an indecisive individual. But in that early afternoon, i was playing these little games with myself, and Henry, on his condition. Needless to say, choosing to go to the hospital was not only wise, but quite calming and affirming. I drove to the ER and they were waiting for our arrival. He was quickly admitted and settled into the pediatric wing. It was a full house. He was put on oxygen due to his level being low (60s). Normal for Hank is 83-86. The breathing treatments commenced fully on a strict four hour schedule and it made me feel good, personally, as a sometimes over-extended mother, that he would get the FULL attention he needed while ill.

... And so it went for the WEEK at Arnot. The last three or so days caused me to get restless and eager to return home. The drive is 25 min to and fro, and while it was doable during the week while the kids were in school, it got trickier for Ron and i to finagle coverage in both places on the weekend. If one of us was at work, the other was in the hospital, and we had the great help of our new favorite babysitter, our NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR Sara. She. Was. Awesome. So eager to help and be there.

Arnot is very different than CHOP in that CHOP is all about giving the parent some rest and mental rehabilitation. They are also a 1:1 nurse/patient ratio. It is almost ENCOURAGED at CHOP for the parent to get away and get some rest. And that was easier to do with a newborn baby, as Hank was while there. But two things these days: One, Hank is older and growing more and more aware of my presence and absence. And two: the nurse to patient ratio at Arnot is quite different. There are 14 or so beds at Arnot and sometimes only 2 nurses on. Needless to say, parental presence is strongly encouraged. And i was okay with that. Of course. Also, with gas being $4/gallon, that little trek to and fro ate into the wallet a touch. But again - whatever.

Easter Sunday morning (exactly one year to the day that Hank was admitted last year!), I was given the okay for discharge. Apparently, i left a smoke trail in my haste to get the !@#$ outta there! :-) He was finishing a feed and as soon as that thing beeped, i turned it off, unhooked him and went to the nurses station to politely tell them that i was unhooking his leads in case their machines went haywire. FREE AT LAST! I had him and the room packed up in less than 18 minutes! ;-) And i drove home and surprised all three Telford Men by walking in with Hank! Within minutes i had all three boys on my lap with their bunny ears on.




Henry, as of this post, is doing well. Much better than a week ago. He no longer coughs most of the night. We are continuing the breathing treatments as time permits and he's all done his antiobiotic. Tomorrow morning i have an appointment and we'll see how he's doing, where his O2 is at, etc.

While in the hospital, Dr. Finnerty, his cardiac doc, 'hinted' at how MAYBE Hank might be ready for that MRI in Philly BEFORE his lip/palate surgery mid-May. He and the other docs in charge of him during that week speculate that Henry MIGHT have "re-set" his oxygen level with this latest illness. His baseline now appears to be in the 75-78 range. That might be noteworthy. "We Shall See." I trust the hands he is in, both here, Rochester and in Philly.

My Turn!

20 days after Ron's 40th birthday, it was my turn! On April 14th, my Wegmans girlfriends really did it up!!! Pam, Christa, Amanda and Mary came to my house at 6 in the morning and decorated my porch and the van! It truly was a surprise to me, despite Beegsley barking. When Beegs barks, i ALWAYS ignore it. The signs really had me laughing.





THEN, while that was truly enough to make my day (my day OFF, that is!), Ron surprised me a SECOND time by bringing me "out to dinner," which turned out to be a big surprise party at my Dad's retirement Community Center with all my friends, new and old. Many of our new church friends were there, as well as my old pals from Corning Inc., and of course the Weggies gals. My college roomie Kerry totally surprised me; the gal lives a mere hour away in Geneva, and yet, we go MONTHS without seeing one another. Ron totally outdid himself with all the wonderful and yummy food preparations; he managed to make everything on his day off when i was at work for 9 hrs one day. It was a very memorable, enjoyable and awesome 40th birthday. Thank you to everyone. I am truly blessed with such love surrounding me!

Where Has Time Gone?

Stars Rock!

I'm running out of excuses for not keeping up on the blog. Life is definitely rolling along for T5. I guess i should be more diligent in documenting such ROLLINGs...

The Telford Boys continue to grow in all respects. Thomas is in a healthy competition with Samson, lately, with Funniest Things Said. Some favorites:

Me: "Thomas, you are one crazy kid."
Thomas: "I'm not Crazy Kid... my name's Tommy Telford."

Sam, 10 min ago, "Mom... i gotta question for you." Then he asks question...
Thomas, 10 min later: "Mom... i gotta question for you!"
Me, thinking WOW... "Yes Thomas? What is it?"
Thom: *big grin, not sure what to say...* "Dora!" (Nice try buddy!)

Thom, as Beegsley snoops for droppings in kitchen at dinner: "BEEGS - OUT!" He's got the yelling tone and pointing finger towards living room DOWN PAT! Mommy's influence, guilty as charged.

Whatta Cheeser!

Needless to say, Thomas, while definitely developing his own words and personality, is a master at parroting. He repeats nearly everything Sammy says (and Sam likes to place nuggets in Thom's head too, for sure!). It's particularly funny when Sam is playing with toys and makes noises and is talking through his adventures out loud. If you listen and watch closely, there's a mini echo...

Our Sweetheart!

And Henry is quite the attentive audience member. Nearly every single time Sam comes up to Henry, no matter WHAT Sam is doing, Henry starts laughing hysterically. I've watched Thom go up to Henry and he does not get the same reaction, though he does receive a "ah, your my awesome brother" smile. There's just something about the bond between Sam and Henry. I love watching it.

Gazing at Mama

Henry is getting stronger. He often works his little ab muscles into sitting more upright, sometimes keeping that position for a couple seconds before resting back or toppling to the side; he's working hard to sit up on his own. He's also more intentionally transferring toys from one hand to the other, and his reaction time seems a little quicker than in the past.

Henry's eyes, since birth, have parted outright, a majority of the time, but not all. Under the direction of Dr. Morello in Elmira, we've started patching Hank's good eye for 2 hrs a day for the next 30 days. Dr. M. says this problem is corrected in 10% of the patients that try this procedure. Let's hope Hank is one of them. The alternative is a 20 min surgery, which I'm okay with as well.

At the end of March, two big things happened: Ron turned 40 (!) and Sam met Darth Vader!

The Saturday before Ron's birthday on 3/22, I managed to pull off a surprise party for him; he was completely in the dark about it up until the minute he walked in the door! I had him thinking he was doing a candle demonstration at the church for members and it was a dish to pass situation. Meanwhile, I had raided his Facebook friends list and invited a ton of folks to come to the Fellowship to celebrate the Big 4-0! It was a wonderful turnout, the eats that everyone brought were dee-lish, and I think everyone had a really nice time.

About a week later, Ron took Sam to Rochester's Strong Museum of Play to see a Star Wars exhibit, along with the rest of the COOLNESS that goes on there on a regular basis. They had a total BLAST and Sam got a kick out of posing with all the SW characters.

May the Force be with You!

Multiplying Samsons!

Some "big" news in our family, as a whole, is we joined the local YMCA with the benefit of their scholarship program, which is a great help to us. We've attended nearly every day in some form; Sam and Ron like to use the pool area quite a bit and I've gone to work out and stretch out in the evenings. I would LOVE to make this a daily routine. For that to happen, sometimes I would have to get up before work on some days. Now that's commitment! I'm workin' toward it!

The boys, enjoying Lilo & Stitch in the 'new' playroom.

Spring is around the corner!!! All three boys really enjoy sidewalk chalk out in front of our house. Thomas is VERY into drawing every family member and gets VERY excited with the creation of each one. Sam likes drawing all sorts of stuff. He loves coloring stuff any chance he can get (chalk, watercolors, crayons, marker, you name it!).