Our Little Monkey turns 1

It is hard to believe that Joe is 1. He is part of the family and it seems like he has always been around. I rock him and forget a little what it was like when he was small. So on Sunday we celebrated the little man with a Monkey party! Corey and I made and decorated the cake as well as the basement. It was so fun. It was mainly just family with my friends the Smiths thrown in for good measure (they are family!). Everyone had a great time playing and eating! Joe loved his cupcake (they were banana!). Joe was unsure at first, but after a taste the cupcake was gone in a flash!

Libby had a fun day too. She got to play with her cousin Aubree and her friend Elliott, so it was a great day!

Joebot-we love you. We are so glad that you are here with us and that you are you. We love your energy and your intensity. You could read books for hours and piddle with toys till kingdom come. The last year has been better and more fun (a little harder but worth it) because you were a part of it. I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

2 weeks down 2 to go (hopefully)

It's hard to believe it has been 2 weeks. We are all adjusting, but everyday gets a little better. We have been able to play more. Libby's favorites are playing with Play-Doh on the porch, playing with her doll house, riding in her wagon and shoveling rocks into a bucket.

Libby saying "cheese" for the camera

All things considered, this has been better than we expected. Of course she is almost 3 so there have been fits and frustrations. The hardest is her interrupted sleep. There have been very few nights that she has slept through the night-she'll get stuck or hot or slide off her pillow.

Corey showing us her new "princess pants"

We visited the doctor yesterday and got new "princess pants." He thinks in 2 weeks we should be able to switch to splints (HOORAY!). The process was not fun-Libby cried and I wanted to. She wasn't hurting as much as scared, but it was hard. Once the pants were on and the promise of "chicken and fries" was in her mind, everything was all better.

Joe has been great. He celebrates his first birthday on Saturday-REALLY hard to believe. He is into everything, and annoys Libby to death sometimes. Other times she loves him and plays with him. He doesn't understand why she can't play as much, but he is getting used to it just like the rest of us. More photos after his party! Joe showing off his drumming skills-just like his daddy

Libby's surgery

All in all the day went really well. We tried to capture the whole day in pictures, so I will describe the whole thing. Libby woke up and was not allowed to eat, so she had a juice pop and crushed ice for breakfast. She thought it was really cool to eat the ice with the spoon. She never complained about being hungry-which I think is a miracle in and of itself.

We got to Pittsburgh around 11:40 and got all checked in. The wait was manageable. We were brought back to a play room and Libby was really happy. She was even happier when Pappy arrived to be a much needed distraction. Her favorites were the little car and a game she played with Pappy where they fed animals weird foods. (aka the elephant eats ice cream?)

The anesthesia team was running a bit late so Libby wasn't called for until 2:00. Funny thing is that around 1:55 she curled up on my lap and fell asleep. When the anesthesiologist saw he got Corey garbed up to take her to the OR. Corey grabbed Libby and took her back, they threw a blanket over her and administered the gas under the blanket. She never woke up to know she was being put under! What an awesome answer to prayer.

Then we waited. Corey read a book and listened to music. Rick and I took a nap in a pair of recliners (he has the ability to fall asleep ANYWHERE). Ate snacks. Anything to make the time pass faster. All in all Libby was in surgery for right around 5 hours. It was the longest 5 hours of my life. My mom and dad arrived around 6:30 and gave us a chance to go get some dinner. Right before we were going to eat, Dr. Deeney arrived to tell us he was all done. He was happy with how everything had gone. The left leg was almost straight and the right could get there with therapy. He said they put casts on her (hot pink) and they would see her in 2 weeks. While I was going with dad to get dinner, someone came back to get Corey and mom to see Libby. I wish I could say it was a pleasant reunion, but she was confused and agitated. Mom only stayed long enough to give her a hug and then she waited to get me.

The rest of the evening was spent settling Libby down. She would fall asleep for a moment and then wake up crying. The only thing that calmed her down was when I talked or sang to her. So we had in depth conversations about all the fun things we are going to do. It was a long night with very little sleep. Between nurses taking blood pressure and Libby waking up, we maybe got 2 hours of sleep. An Aside: Around 4:00 am, the nurse came in to administer some more pain meds since Libby was complaining about pain a bit. Since she was awake the nurse decided to go ahead and do a blood drawl-finger stick. So she pricked Libby's finger and then squeezed the blood out. Tears were just running down Libby's face, but when the nurse was done, Libby turned to her and said "Thank you." It was so pitiful.

The next morning was better. Libby was aware of her surroundings, able to drink some juice and eat a few bites of food. She took a nice long nap and watched some of her favorite TV shows. After lunch we were discharged (Hooray!) The ride home was fine. Once we got here, Libby went to sleep in her own bed and so did her mommy and daddy. She didn't wake up until 5:00 pm.

She had some visitors-Pawpaw came to say hello. And then Meme and Pappy came to visit and bring Joe back. (P.S. Thank you Meme for taking care of Joe so that he didn't have to suffer through a super long day in a hospital. He was MUCH happier playing with you).

All in all, things are ok. Libby is frustrated and whiny sometimes, but she is also sweet and determined. She has already figured out that she can army crawl and roll. She can get out of chairs and bed-and we'll have to make sure that she doesn't start trying to walk since she isn't allowed to bear weight on her feet.

We've appreciated all the concern and prayers that you have poured out on us. Libby is a special little girl and I am excited to see all that God can do through her!

Surgery Rescheduled for Wednesday

It has been a stressful couple of days here in the Bozic house. We went to bed on Sunday as ready as we could be to get up at 4 a.m. and take Libby to Pittsburgh for her surgery. But at midnight my phone rang and it was our Doc calling to say he had been called into the OR because of a car accident. He was unsure how long he would be there and he was not comfortable operating on Libby after being up all night. He said that his nurse or secretary would call us later to set up a new time for this week.

We called his office and when we talked to his secretary she said he didn't have any available OR time until August. But she said she would talk to him about it and would call us back. So we spent the whole day waiting for a phone call. Finally she called and said that there was OR time available Wednesday at 1:30. So our doc cancelled all his appointments for Wednesday afternoon and penciled us into that time slot. Beth (the sect) made sure to tell us that it is RARE for extra OR time to be available so thanks for all your prayers!

We'll drop Joe off with his MeMe and head up to Pittsburgh around 9:45 on Wednesday! Keep praying!