Birthday Boy!

 

Maxwell was very excited for his birthday party up north!

I think Liam was even more excited than Max, though!

Max is apparently deathly afraid of balloons.

Uncle Grass helped him face his fear...

Max and his future wife, Taylor Elizabeth Fleming.

Hot!

Awww! You're all singing for me?!

Liam helped Max open all of his presents! He was so good at handing the gift to Max after it had been opened and showing him all the cool stuff he got.

Such a good big brother.

Happy Birthday, Maxwell!

He's a Little Leaguer

Ant/Aunt

Quick Update

Aaron is doing much better as each day goes by. He's able to move around more easily and doesn't need my help with as many things now. He still has a week before he goes back to school, so I hope that he will be feeling much better by then. Since he's doing so well, the kids and I are heading up north today to through the weekend. Max's birthday party is on Saturday, so everyone will come up for that.

Auntie Kimmy left this morning after a few days of visiting. It was great to have her here. I needed some help with the kids, and they needed someone new to play with! It was also great to have someone else to hang out with while Aaron rests and recovers. She'll be up north this weekend, too, so we'll see her again soon!

We Love Grandma!

Summer

Recovery

Yesterday was a very good day for Aaron considering it was only one day post-op. He had no pain in his leg and the pain in his back had improved considerably. He decided not to nap all day so he'd be more likely to sleep at night, and was sitting up and walking around for most of the day. He was tired out by bedtime, though, and the pain in his legs had returned by then. He was frustrated to feel pain there again since he'd felt so good during the day, but we decided to give it the night and see how he felt in the morning. He says that his legs feel "weird" this morning but the pain is a little better. His doctor estimated that it would take around a week after surgery to really start to feel better. In the meantime, I will continue to remind him of this and try to keep up my Susie Sunshine optimism for him. I know he will be fine, it will just take time.

Happy Birthday Maxwell!

Happy birthday, sweet boy!

This day last spring doesn't seem all that long ago...

Surgery Update

***6:30pm - We are home after a very long day. Aaron's surgery went well. His disc bulge was "huge" according to the doctor. It was much bigger than they'd anticipated. They were able to remove all of the bulge and take the stress off of his nerves effectively. He was out of surgery around 11am this morning (about 45 minutes for the surgery) and then in recovery for quite awhile. Aaron's brother Justin was with me and we weren't able to see him until about two hours after he came out. He was having trouble waking up and was in a decent amount of pain.

We were able to see him around 1:30pm and he was very nauseous. They gave him a strong anti-nausea drug that knocked him back out again and he was asleep for another two hours. We were discharged around 5pm and are getting settled at home. It's difficult to find anywhere to sit at our house because everything is low for my 6'5" husband. He's sleeping in Liam's room tonight because it's on the main floor. Liam and I will have a sleepover upstairs!

Aaron is in a lot of pain at the moment and is very tired. I'm hoping that a night of rest will help, and some strong pain medication! He is saying that the numbness and pain in his foot are decreasing, so that is a good sign! Thanks for thinking of us and praying for us today. We are very grateful for all of the support!****



They took Aaron back to the OR around 10:15 this morning. They'll be doing a foraminotomy, laminotomy and discectomy. Basically removing the part of his disc that is bulging and opening up the space around the spinal nerves. He should be in surgery for about an hour and then in recovery for another hour. The nurse said this doctor likes to keep his patients for an average of four additional hours post-surgery just to make sure everything is ok. So, long day...

Bradford Beach

We spent some time down at the beach in Milwaukee on Saturday.

Liam loves the beach, and any excuse to play in the sand!

Auntie Sarah was game for exploring!

Sisters

And an awkward photo...would you expect anything less?!

Weekend With Family

The weekend was full of playing with aunties and making this face.

Oh, look, here it is again!

Flying with Uncle Jay...(and "we both matched with red shirts!")

And some more snuggling...I think he gave Sarah the longest hug on record!

And then we inevitably move into poses like this...

And this...

The number of "awkward pose" photos we take determines the success of the weekend, I think.

"I love you ALL!" (said in the Jewel Encrusted Ring voice)

*Note: to all who have no idea what most of this post means...don't feel left out. I will show you the videos someday...

Aaron Update

Aaron had his surgical consult today and is scheduled for surgery on Thursday morning. He will be off work for two weeks and hopefully fully recovered in six. FMLA should cover his insurance while he's unable to work, but we may have to hold a bake sale to cover his lost wages...brownies anyone?!

I'm relieved that an end to his pain is in sight. He's ready to run with the kids again and enjoy the nice weather on his bike and in the garden.

Artsy

Congrats Grad!

Aaron, Liam and I spent the weekend in Milwaukee with my family for Kimberly's graduation. She earned her master's degree in communications from UWM and plans to work toward her PhD at Milwaukee over the next four years. We had a great time and I will be regaling you all with stories from our weekend over the next few days. Stay tuned!

(In other news, how beautiful is my cousin Kelsey?! Bad news, boys, she's taken.)

Decorating

"Look, Mom! I decorated Max's room!"

Liam's Garden

"Hey, Mom!" Liam says as he holds out a handful of popcorn kernels. "Do you want to plant these in the backyard and grow a popcorn beanstalk?!"

Good & Bad

*Update: Aaron has a surgical consult tomorrow and will see what the surgeon recommends.

Aaron had his MRI done yesterday and will have the results read today. The technician that did the scan said that just based on what he has seen before Aaron does have an extremely bulged disc and what looks like a piece of the disc that has broken off and is floating in his spinal column.In his experience, something like this almost always requires surgery. If his doctor recommends surgery, he will most likely have a discectomy done asap.

To balance out the negative, here are some cute things Liam has been saying lately:

I mopped the floor the other day and Liam poked his head into the kitchen to check it out. "It's awfully clean in here, Mom!" he said.

Liam waves to Aaron every morning when he leaves for work. He waves out the front window first and then runs to the side window to see the car disappear around the corner. "And he's off to work!" he says every time.

He was a bit of a handful yesterday and spent a large amount of time in the naughty chair over the course of the day. Aaron came home around 4:30, and after giving him a hug Liam told him that "Mom is having a hard day with Max." Way to spin that one, buddy...!

****

Today is also Aaron's birthday! The boys and I are doing a few small things for him today, and Liam has managed to keep most of them a secret so far! Although he's been talking about the "surprise we got you at the store dad! It's a..." and then he gets cut off by Aaron reminding him not to give away the surprise! It's so cute how excited he gets for other people. He has shown me a card Aaron received with a wolf on it at least 10 times so far this morning, although he tells me that dad gave it to him and now it is his. Whatever makes you happy, kid!

Ok? Ok.

Well, Aaron's MRI is actually scheduled for today, so I don't have an update for you yet! I'm really hoping that surgery is not necessary, but I just want him to get better. So, whatever they need to do I hope they can do it fast. Liam said a prayer for him last night that went something like this:

"GOD...
Help. Please help dad's back.
Help the doctors to make it feel better.
Ok? Ok.
I love you."

Update

Please say a prayer for Aaron today. He's having an MRI done to figure out what is wrong with his back. His legs are severely affected right now by disc/nerve issues and he may need to have surgery. I will let you know what we find out.

Thoughtful

Happy Smother's Day!

Liam came to me in bed yesterday and wished me a "Happy Smother's Day!" I was mildly concerned, as there were multiple pillows within reach...but I think the sentiment was genuine! I had my final CNA exam yesterday morning (I know, great day for an exam, right?!) and then we went to the wildlife sanctuary in the afternoon. It was a quiet day for the most part, and I enjoyed spending time with the boys and with Aaron!