Lots of updates

“A man’s worth is no greater than his ambitions.” ~Marcus Aurelius

This past Tuesday Chance had his fifth surgery to repair his umbilical hernia that he’s had for over two months. Though Jason and I sent some updates briefly through facebook the day of his surgery I know many of you are still waiting (and asking) for a more formal update to hear how our little guy is doing. I figured it was about time to go ahead and share a bunch of updates…so here goes…

Tuesday morning we all awoke bright and early to head out to Chance’s surgery. We agreed it was a good idea for him to be sporting his superman shirt. Yes, we’ve nicknamed him “Super Chance”. If you’ve been following me in twitter, facebook or on my blog you’ve likely heard the little dude flies around our house as “Super Chance” (with a bit of assistance from his big sister). Besides, with as much as this little guy has been through I think we all agree he must have some super powers…he’s definitely one tough little dude.

As usual, everyone at the hospital adored him. He was surprisingly good for quite some time. Here he was before surgery hanging out while the nurse took his vital signs.

Because he was going to be under anesthesia during surgery I wasn’t allowed to feed him 4 hours prior to us arriving at the hospital to register. Yes, tell that to a baby who eats every 2-4 hours still. He definitely got a little fussy at times and I spent a few hours holding onto him praying he’d rest. Thankfully most of that time he did.

Chance’s neurosurgeon stopped in before his surgery. Though she wasn’t the one to do the surgery to repair his hernia she made it a point to check in on him. Having a child with spina bifida I have to admit I find myself often battling when I’m overreacting or when I should be proactive. I’m sure the doctors must love having parents like myself feeling so nervous about the littlest things. In the last three months I’ve found so many things…from his eating, breathing and crying habits…to things like his hernia to worry me. Originally when his hernia first developed we were told by his pediatrician that we’d wait and see if it’d go away on it’s own. Usually they do, though some kids take a year or two. So I waited and waited and prayed it go away and tried my hardest not to worry. Then I noticed his shunt tube visible through his hernia and I didn’t hesitate to send Chance’s neurosurgeon a photo of his hernia. As I feared I might have been overreacting, I am glad he’s got such an awesome doctor looking out for him. She referred us to another surgeon who performs hernia repairs and they both agreed that due to the fact he has a shunt and because of the size of his hernia that it was best to intervene. Something tells me Chance will have lots of doctors in his life time…but I imagine his neurosurgeon will remain one of our favorites.

Chance finally went back for his 5th surgery after about two additional hours of waiting. I told him it’s okay…we’re officially tied for surgeries now and I asked him to try not to compete with me on this one…I’d like to stay tied. The doctor’s said he’s just like me…it took several times for them to poke him for an IV…poor little guy now has bruises on every hand and foot. Thankfully he doesn’t seem that phased by it.

When we arrived home Chance did pretty well. He sat contently or rested majority of the time. I spent a little time admiring his sweet little face. My little man has been through quite a bit these last few months since he was born but it never ceases to amaze me just how adorable he is. Years from now I’ll share with him all these photos and tell him all about how much he’s we’ve been through.

He did get crankier than usual at times. I could tell by the way he was crying that he was a bit bothered healing from the surgery. Of course it’s nothing that a bit of tylenol and cuddling couldn’t help with.

The last two days he’s been doing pretty well. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he’s flying around the house again as “Super Chance”.

SUMMER BREAK!
Hope is officially out of school this week. About two weeks ago we received word that our 3rd grader rocked the FCAT. Yes, that means we now officially have a 4th grader on our hands. We’re super proud of her. The test put a lot of stress on the 3rd graders – in fact, Hope was up the night before FCAT’s started crying and scared she might fail. We didn’t need a standardized test to know she’s one smart cookie. To top it off she was student of the month for her last month as a third grader. How awesome, eh!?

MY TECH SAVVY KID
I have to say that for a 3 year old I’m quite impressed with my baby boy and his ability to adapt to any video game, computer, or mobile device. This kid amazes me. We recently received an iPad as a gift from some awesome friends and he loves to play the “big phone” (as he calls it). Not too long ago I noticed him playing not only the iPad but the iPhone at the same time.

And yes, this kid can play a mad game of angry birds. It’s his favorite game I think. I sat and watched him one day and it was amazing to see how he knew how to maneuver those angry birds on the iPhone or iPad.

As you can see…he takes it very seriously.

I’m sure some people may criticize me for letting my kids play on the computer or with my phone or iPad. But heck, if you ask me…he’s light years ahead of some adults I know. Since the age of two he’s known how to spell “blue” just because it’s his password on the computer.

Now that Hope’s on summer break and Chance is growing a bit more we’re anticipating a bit more fun with the kids. Just seeing the three together definitely leaves me saying “awe…”

BUSY TIMES
As for me, beyond keeping myself busy with the kids, I have just under two months left in the summer semester before a semester break. In addition to teaching four classes I’m steadily making progress with tenure track work. I’ve just finished up the first of three years of tenure track work and am gearing up to start the busiest year of tenure track work. I’m also plotting now to get back to my masters coursework at SCAD. I’ve got to reenroll by fall 2011 or I’d have to reapply which could potentially interfere with the progress I’ve already made and would affect financial aid.

Of course photography continues to be equally important. Just this past week I finally sat down and began jotting down the list of newborns I’ve photographed…yes, it’s important for me to document this “journey”. This is just a “rough” drafted list, however, thus far I’ve noted over 60 little ones on the list. Here’s the first 50.

Just in the last week or so I did six sessions, 3 of which were newborns and one maternity session. I can’t wait to share them. I have 2 more newborn sessions this coming weekend…one of which are the Myers twin boys! I promise I’ve got some awesome things to share very soon!

Despite how busy I am I definitely have no intent of stopping photography, however, my time will likely be more limited in the months ahead so if you’re interested in photos…whether they’re newborn or portrait be sure you contact me sooner…rather than waiting. It’s likely that without advance notice I may not be able to commit to all sessions in the months ahead.

And that’s the long winded post that will hopefully help you all feel a little more updated.