Tracheomalacia

On Wednesday, the 27th we took Ashley in to Reston Hospital for her 2nd tubes placed in, an adenoid ectomy, and a bronch oscopy.  (Picture taken Pre-op).  After the surgery taking and hour and  a half longer than thought, Jonathan and I were scared in the waiting room. Our Dr. finally came out and explained that while under anesthesia, Ashley had a few scary/rocky moments.  We were horrified and he went on and explained that Ash has the worst tracehomalcia he's ever seen (this is coming from a top 10 DC Pediatric  head and neck surgeon).  Instead of her trachea being the size of a quarter and round, it's like you cut a tiny rainbow or crescent out of a quarter and that's the size of her throat all the way down.  So during the anesthesia due to her abnormal narrow trachea, she started having bronchial spasms and they couldn't get air into her.  They started pumping it through her lungs but it wasn't working because the tube wouldn't fit down her throat.  It was way too narrow.  He showed me pictures and didn't give me all the gory details of what happened in the operating room.  I'm glad I didn't know everything.  I'm just so thankful that Ashley was given a blessing before her procedure.  I know that's what help guided the Dr.'s in there with her.

So with her severely mis-shapen trachea (birth deformity which Austin has as well, just not bad as Ash-we actually though his was worse because we saw his pictures and thought nothing could be worse than that.).  I'm just surprised she hasn't choked more on food.  The Dr. said he's not willing to do anything to open or spread out the trachea because she's a happy girl who can run around and is not failing to thrive due to not eating.  

With tracheomalacia, it's a 'narrowing of the airway.'  So a chronic cough and upper respiratory disease are side effects.  Also, acid reflux makes the trachea sound worse.  Anytime she coughs it has that distinct "bark" and anything at all that triggers anything in her narrow airway makes her cough.  So we've accepted the fact that she'll just bark and we'll love our little goose no matter what!  Both our geese!  Austin and Ash.  Maybe that's why I've had the nickname Goose all my life....I'd only grow up to have kids that honked like Geese!  Ha ha  ha.  What are the chances that both my kids would have the exact same issues?  Wow.  I truly feel blessed though with their condition.  Things could always be so much worse.  

So that's Ash's news this week.  Austin has loved wrestling with Grant while he's been here, playing with his new Christmas toys and having his friends Bree and Hannah come over to share them.  He's also into setting the table.  He loves to get out the linen napkins, put silverware on the table and wrap the napkins in a special Austin design and top it with a napkin ring.  He's so proud of his napkin creations!  He also is practicing manners.  Saying things like, "I'd be glad to" and "Mommy, did you think first before you did that?" Not quite as cute.  He loves to chase Ash around and have her squeal.  Ash loves to be the center of attention.  In fact, to turn attention toward her if she's not getting any, she'll make up a boo boo and say, "Owie Mommy/Daddy!"  So we kiss it, and life goes on.  She takes off running again with her pseudo-boo boo.

New Years is right around the corner!  Grant and Duane leave tomorrow morning  for the Rose Bowl for a few days.  I'll be ringing in the New Year here in DC!

Happy 2008!!!!

Love

Angie

Christmas!

Our Christmas really began when Grant arrived into DC on the 21st.  And luckily Jonathan has been home this whole time!  With Grant, we of course had to hit his favorite eating joints here, "5 Guys", (and mine Chipotle).  Friday night we did the Bull Run Festival of Lights, we've done the Leesburg Outlets, Fair Oaks Mall and just run around town and had fun.  Grant can make you have fun and laugh till you pee no matter what you're doing!  On Sunday night the 23rd we went with our great friends the Bensons and the Naudes to the DC Temple and enjoyed all the lights there.  I've never seen the grounds lit up like that before and was surprised at the amount of people there and the beauty of it.  It was also nice seeing a live nativity.  That was Austin's favorite part.  

On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed a beautiful evening.  After all was said and done, Uncle Grant got the kids on the computer to find out where Santa was right before they went to bed.  I believe he was just leaving South America at that time.  The kids hurried upstairs and their excitement was contagious.  Austin could hardly contain himself, as after we tucked him in, we heard a squealing type sound from his room and heard the bed mattresses bouncing around. Uncle Grant then rang some jingle bells outside his window about an hour later.  Pure excitement!

On Christmas morning, Austin waited in his room (impatiently) until his alarm went off at 7:15am before he investigated downstairs.  He then ran into my room and told me that Santa had come!  We got up, got ready, Grant came upstairs in a cousin Eddy white turtleneck and tight green vest ready to hand out presents.  For breakfast we ate chocolate that Kendra had sent us and nibbled on things from the stockings.  Santa of course went overboard this year as always, so I had to put a few things back in a closet for later enjoyment.  We all had an amazing Christmas!!!  Jonathan then cooked his delicious whole rotisserie chicken dinner and we toasted to sparkling cider!  Austin and Ashley love to yell, Cheers! and toast as much as possible.  This year was truly a year to toast to our wonderful family together, our health, our great friends, the wonderful area we live in, and most importantly for our gospel and our Savior.

We truly  hope you had a very Merry Christmas as well as all of you reading this are our closest friends.  THANK YOU for your amazing Christmas cards.  They're up all over our home and we love reading them/looking at the pictures.

Angie

Grant's Here!

So Christmas is merely days away!  We surprised Austin with a visit from his Uncle Grant yesterday!  Grant came into his room this morning and Austin was the happiest boy in the world!  It's great having Granny here.  He's done at BYU and is contemplating between a few different job offers.  

Jonathan isn't traveling this week.  Ahhhh.  Although he is taking a "boys" trip to the Rose Bowl to see USC play in CA over the New Year with all my brothers and dad.  He needs a little boy time.

Austin is just in rare form with Christmas so close.  He is soooo excited and looks over the presents under the tree many times a day.  Ashley just follows what Austin does and makes the same coos and giggles that he makes as well.

Austinisms this week: (so sweet):  He told me, "Mommy, you're a pearl.  A real treasure."

Also, we were cuddled up watching a movie together and I started to doze off and he turned around, stood up and pulled the blanket up over my shoulders and kissed my forehead.  A memory I'll never forget!  Finally, when Austin saw Santa at the mall this week, he named what he wanted for Christmas and then he said, "make sure you bring my mom stuff too.  She likes lip gloss."  Then Santa told Austin, "well if your mom wants something for Christmas, she better sit on my lap and tell me." Dirty old Santa.

Ashley-isms: She'll sing the Honkey tonk chorus of the country song : Oooh-wee, shut your mouth, slap your grandma!"  She'll also dance with her ghetto booty sticking out, spreads her legs, points her fingers towards the sky and shakes her booty!   A little Beyonce.  She also says, "Oh Poop."   She has also got the word "Santa" down from seeing Santa at the mall this week.  

We went to the Bull Run festival of lights tonight and ended the night at Cold Stone.  mmmmm.  Tomorrow, we're going to see the DC National Tree and then the Christmas lights at the Temple.  I love this time of year. Just love it!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Love,

Angie

New Assignment is..

So we just found out that we will be in DC for the next year.  No moving, nothing new. We're actually relieved.  Duane stepped into a 2 year shift leader position and he's only been SL for one year, so he's with Condoleezza until Summer of 2009.  Then the bidding begins again and it'll  be a State Dept crapshoot!  

Mommy's Helper

Brussels last week, Paris this week...I'm starting to think Jonathan's job isn't so bad!  He will be home for Christmas though.  Yeah!

Ashley has been "mommy's helper".  She loves to "help mommy" do whatever she can.  Cook, throw things away, take laundry out of the dryer, close the dishwasher, anything.  Ashley is so into dolls. It's sweet to see her motherly/girly side come out.  She'll take her dolls and try to put diapers on them, but bows in their hair (although she will NOT let me put bows in her hair).  This week we had our ward Christmas breakfast/party and Ash was a little ill at ease about Jolly old St. Nick.  Austin however was happy and asked for a pirate ship.  On the way home, he told me he didn't think that was Santa.  My heart stopped thinking my son of 5 cannot stop believing already--I asked why he thought that and he said, "He wasn't fat enough."  Phew.  Close call.  However, something worse happened.  Austin only really wants a pirate ship for Christmas.  He's written Santa, gotten a letter back and has told Santa himself that that's what he wanted.  Well, Austin was getting snoopy around the house and FOUND his hidden pirate ship in a closet!  He ran upstairs and yelled, "I found a pirate ship mom!"  I had not wrapped it and I was mortified.  That was his big gift from Santa!  Oh no!  I had horrible crisis management.  I didn't know what to say.  He told me Santa did not bring this.  I agreed, and said that Daddy bought it because he knew you really wanted it.  And Austin assured me that Santa knows what kids want and he would have brought it.  Ahhhh!

It's so darling when Ashley wakes up from her nap in the afternoons, and the first thing she'll yell is "Au-tee!!" (Austin) and she knows its time to pick Austin up.  She loves her big brother.  Although I have to admit, the teasing, taunting, and chasing has begun.  And they're 5 and 2!  I didn't think this happened until kids were older.  The tattling and yelling really loud even though nothing really happened only to get mom yelling (reminds me of myself with my own brothers....)  I do love how close they are though.

Austin has had a few funnies this week.  He asked me a philosophical question regarding the Polar Express movie.  There's a quote in the movie "Seeing is Believing" and he then asked me "if seeing is believing, we can't see Santa so is he really alive?  What about Jesus?"  Oh dear.  I explained that it's faith we must have.  Also, just tonight in a prayer I expressed my gratitude for this time of year and how well Austin's been obeying, etc.  At the end of the prayer Austin looked at me and said, "You really should have said in your prayer mommy that you're thankful for the birth of baby Jesus.  That's what Christmas is about."  Also, he's been invited to 2 birthday parties on Sundays and I've let him make the decision if he should go or not. Initially, he said he'd go to Pump It Up after church.  But then after a few talks this week, he told me tonight that Jesus would be sad if we went.  He also told me that I shouldn't spend any money on Sunday either.  I told him that I didn't do that, but he said "I know you like Target Mom.  Don't go!"  Thanks Austin.  Finally, on the news there's a current political issue between Gov Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee and it was televised.  Huckabee had a question about the Mormon faith and Austin overheard it and has been pelting me with questions ever since.  "Is Satan really Jesus' brother???"  Gotta love the media.

10 days till Christmas.  I'm done shopping!  And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my brother Aaron turning the big 30.  I love you!

Angie

Birthday Girls

This week I turned 32 and Ashley turned 2!  Jonathan spoiled us both tremendously.   It was a fun week full of roses, cake and pink balloons all over our home.

This week was the first snowfall of the season! Austin was so excited.  He was outside in it forever.  Ashley put her boots on, went outside and touched the snow, tasted the snow and then came inside and said, "hot cocoa" a phrase we've already learned this winter.  

This week Jonathan travelled to Brussels.  He brought home the most delicious chocolates I've honestly ever tasted.  I told him Condi needs to travel there more often.  And if he brought home chocolates like those, I didn't mind him being gone.

I had our Christmas Enrichment meeting on Thursday evening.  It was an absolutely beautiful night.  So many sisters put so much hard work into our magical evening.  We had delicious food, drinks, desserts, a spiritual message and beautiful music that we've all been working on for weeks.  All the ladies went home with a CD of the music there that evening.

Austin has been into "smells" this week.  He bent over and smelled his feet and told me they smelled like "Cracker Barrel".  Then, the next day he told me to smell his hands (yuck) and he told me they smelled like Shrek's ogre hands.  He told me hats smell like old cheese, his lips smell like eggs and that Ashley smells like strawberry shortcake.

Ashley just got her first package of pull-ups this week.  I'm so used to her going on and off the potty, that this is so much easier.  Again, after the New Year the potty training begins!  She hasn't been escaping as much recently.  She's into sitting in Austin's car seat, singing with the radio, and babies.  She loves dolls.  Dolls of all sorts.  She cuddles them, kisses them, changes their diapers, and holds them in blankets as much as she can.  It's so sweet.  Ash has been trying to sing along to the 24 hour Christmas songs I've been playing in our home.  It's so cute to see her sing and try to dance too to the music when she thinks no one is around!

Jonathan ended our week by taking a trip to the ER.  He was cleaning one of our new kitchen knives and it slipped out of his hand and sliced right down on his right pointer finger.  It is his trigger finger (oh dear) and he got it stitched up just fine.  Although he said he never wanted to visit Prince William ER ever again.  We keep saying this in our family but tend to always go back there for stitches.

Can you believe that Christmas is seriously 2 weeks away?!?

I'm so excited!  Have fun getting your last minute shopping done!

Angie

Poo Poo

This week Ashley has been saying Poo-Poo at least 20 times/day.  That means she has the feeling she needs to go potty, but when I put her on the toilet to try, nothing happens.  She gets excited that she has the attention, she's on the pot like a big person, and then immediately hops off in 2 nanoseconds, only to repeat the process over again 2 minutes later.  I decided after the new Year, we'll start the potty training.  She obviously has the interest.  Poo Poo!

Austin has been announcing that he's going to play for USC football when he grows up.  (That's our favorite college team.  Go Dad!)  In fact, Duane is already plotting with my dad and my brothers to take a trip to L.A. to the Rose Bowl in January if they go.  Go Trojans!

Other than football, Austin has been a little stinker in school the last couple days.  The teacher told me he was not letting go of a girls backpack, he took a toy from the same girl the next day, etc.  I asked who this girl was and the girls mom was right next to me.  She said, "I think my daughter likes your son so maybe that's why they're "picking" on each other.  Austin heard this and said, "Sorry, I already have a girlfriend.  No, a wife.  Madeleine.  She left me.  She moved to Kansas.  But she's still my wife."  So funny!  We were dying!  We miss you Cecilia.

This week has been filled with fun holiday parties!  We love our old Fairfax ward and our great friends that we still hang out with.  Thanks Erin!  And our current ward, the Gainesville ward is wonderful.  I absolutely love this time of year.  Besides Christmas is in only 24 days, my birthday is right around the corner on Monday the 3rd!  I feel like I'm still 25, but obviously look older.  The crows feet aren't so cute when they don't go away after you've stopped smiling.  I lost my glasses and was trying some new ones on today and asked Austin which pair looked the best.  As soon as I put some on that I thought were sassy, he said, "Now you look like an old mommy."  So, 'old' mommy is turning 32.  

We're taking our Christmas photo tomorrow morning by my dear friend Jean.  I'm getting ready for our Christmas enrichment night on Thursday.  It will be wonderful!  I also feel so blessed to have such wonderful ladies I visit teach and a great partner that is such a great influence. 

Feliz Navidad!

Angie