Long overdue update

Hi all.
I know I've really not been great about keeping up with the blogging for several months now and when I have it's been mostly "hey look what I can do" type stuff when I know that all you really want to see is "hey look what Sylvie can do!"

The answer to that is A LOT.

She's like a little monkey these days, climbing on and off furniture and up and down stairs...with supervision of course. She loves running around in our back yard or taking a stroll around the block. Unfortunately, she also loves picking things up off the floor/ground: hair, rocks, dirt, sand, lint, paper...this kid will eat almost anything if I don't keep an eagle eye on her. Even if I do keep a close watch, she's so quick that I still have spent time scooping crud out of her mouth. GAH! I hope this phase ends soon. I understand that small children learn a great deal via sensations but I just wish our child didn't favor so many new 'taste sensations' of non-food items!

She has long been over her Elmo obsession and now prefers the Teletubbies. She'll drag me to the TV at various times of day demanding, "Tubbies! Tubbies!" and I have to explain to her again that we don't have Tivo or On Demand (or cable) like our friends so we can only see the Tubbies at their regularly scheduled time. I fear this mostly goes over her head at this point though, heh. She doesn't much care for when the Tubbie tummy TV segment happens, but she performs her signature dance move (spinning in a circle) when they do their little synchronized dance. She has a Po doll that she loves and calls "Tubbie" and a Teletubbie book that she never tires of having read to her.

When she sees her reflection she says "Sylvie!" and when she's in the mood, she loves to give kisses. She'll turn your face to hers and purse her lips while making an 'mmm' sound. After you kiss her, she'll push your face away, then turn it back to her and repeat the process, sometimes several times in a row.

Her two most favorite toys right now are Bruin Bear and her Touch and Teach Busy Books. She asks for--and will play with--these all day long if we let her. It was a little monotonous for me at first but now I can pretty much block them out. (They tend to make Theron a little crazy however.)


My least favorite subject that I can't stop talking about
Surgery day (Sept 24) fast approaches...too fast and yet not fast enough. I don't want it to happen at all, but since it has to I want it to be OVER. We got our "Congratulations! Your child will be having open heart surgery with us soon!" packet in the mail from the hospital recently. It contained several brochures on the various areas of the hospital that we'll be intimately acquainted with. Sylvie's pre-op appointment in Sept 21 and will last 6-8 hours as they do various tests which may include while not limited to: echocardiogram, EKG, chest x-ray, blood work, cardiac MRI and lung scan. We will also meet with members of the cardiovascular team (which may include): cardiologist, nurse practitioner, cardiac anesthesia, cardiac surgeon and child life specialist. If we so desire (which I think we will) we'll be able to tour the Cardiac ICU and Cardiac Step-Down Unit. Sounds like a fun-filled day doesn't it? Then we get to go home and spend the weekend trying not to lose our shit.

While we can't help but be freaked out about the upcoming surgery, we are comforted by the knowledge that Children's Hospital Boston is a leader in the field of cardiovascular surgery, and they have a site specifically to help children and their families cope. It also helps that I have friends whose children also had surgical procedures performed there who have shared their experiences with me and have told me that both the staff and the care that their kids received were exemplary.

You can help support Children's Hospital by donating here.