Keelyn and Dylan - summertime outside

Dylan Earns the Yellow - Green Belt

Amazing. I mean really. He broke through the wood in his first open hand punch.

Dylan was awarded 3 black tapes on this day. One for good Tae Kwon Do sitting and HiYaaaah. One for doing good punches in stance. And one for breaking. That got him up to 10 black tapes.

Dylan got a trophy for having 10 black tapes, and he graduated to the next belt.

We're proud and impressed.

Happy 3rd Birthday Dylan

Here's our first pictures of Dylan and the Dragon Cake of 2009. Happy birthday my son. We love you and we had a great birthday week!

Yeee haw Gallop

Dylan loves horses, and Keelyn does. and by golly I do too. We had a great time at the Leesburg races last weekend. Here are a couple of pics.

My kid can breathe through his nose!

Honestly, I cried. My husband could not come home from the store soon enough for me to share the good news...

Almost a month ago, we were sitting in Dr. Lee's office running through our list of concerns: chronic cough which has not been helped by months of pulmacort and albuterol, sleeping face down bent at the waist with legs hanging off the bed, snoring and sleep apnea at night, snoring during the day, and shortness of breath when running just one lap at tae kwan do. When we were done, Dr. Lee said, let's take a look, and he shined a light in Dylan's nose and mouth. Then, he quietly explained tonsils are graded on a scale of 1-4 (well, 0 being no tonsils) and that Dylan's tonsils were humongous, on the scale they were 4+ and "kissing." He said he had no doubt that Dylan has trouble sleeping. He believed Dylan would benefit from removing his tonsils and adenoids. He believed Dylan would be able to taste his food, breathe, grow, and sleep better that night. Wait! What? Seriously?! Sleep better that night, that same night after having surgery?!

Fast forward to yesterday. Mommy and Daddy were scared. Terrified really. Dylan was ok. He likes Dr. Lee. Dylan followed the nurses into the operating room and I followed Dylan. They started the medicine that would help him sleep, he fell asleep, Dr. Lee suited up, assured me all would be well, a nurse escorted me out of the room and into the waiting area where my husband was waiting. Now, we were both waiting.

34 minutes later, Dr. Lee walked into the waiting room to greet two standing parents to say the surgery went very well and Dylan would be waking up soon. We asked questions about recovery and our concerns about how to manage his pain. Dr. Lee said, "I think you'll be surprised at how good he will feel now, those tonsils were huge, he will sleep better tonight." There it is again... tonight?

Another 31 minutes later (in this time, I said to my husband, "I am losing patience" to which he replied "this is a hospital babe, we don't lose patients."), the nurse called us back to primary recovery. Dylan was just waking up. He looked at us and cried just a bit. I rubbed the side of his head. He quieted and closed his eyes. The nurses moved him to secondary recovery. He sat in my lap. He ate a popsicle. The nurses marveled at his quick recovery. One nurse said, Dr. Lee's patients seem to hurt less. Relief.

We came home. Ate ice cream. Took a nap. On our back. Already impressed. Woke up. More ice cream. Some jello. Time for bed. We both laid down. Dylan on his stomach. Then, he lifted his head, looked at me, closed his mouth, and took 4 deep breaths through his nose. I said, Dylan, are you breathing through your nose. He said, like a dinosaur. My kid can breathe through his nose! Then, he placed his finger under (not in) his nose and breathed short bursts through his nose. He smiled. A new world.

15 minutes later he drifted off to sleep quietly... no snoring...

My husband came home a few minutes later and I shared the good news. He was just as happy. I had read a hundred (literally) stories from parents about this surgery. None of them had regrets. All of them had moments. This was our moment.

Dr. Lee called several hours later. I shared the story of our moment. He quietly said, that's why we do this surgery.

Dylan slept for 10 hours... and, there it was, he slept better that night.

Swelling peaks on day 3. Though we are not out of the woods yet, we can see the light shining through the canopy and it warms us.

Snow Day, Hot Chocolate, and Marshmallows

Still reeling from the party

Keelyn's Birthday Party

Keelyn's party at school