Today Samantha and I met up with my dad for lunch. Between his travels and Samantha's surgery it has been awhile since we have gotten together! So it was really nice getting to hang out for a little bit today.
No, that is not a double chin...well maybe it kind of is.
Momma and baby.
This morning Samantha slept in until 9 AM! WooHoo When she finally got up I fed her breakfast then we went out to the Thrift Stores. We had a lot of fun running around town together.
Having a little girl is so much fun, more fun than I ever imagined. I love getting her dressed up in her little dresses and bows in her hair. This morning was no different...and even though this dress isn't pink I think she still looks adorable!
This is the Good Morning Daddy picture I sent Jeff this morning.
Like I said...Cuter than Elmo!
Jeff took this picture last Thursday night before Samantha's surgery. We had to wash her in special soap so I guess he thought he should give her a special hair-do too!
Sunday afternoon when Samantha got up from her nap I took a shower with her. She cannot get in the bathtub with a catheter so I thought it would be easier to shower with her than sponge bath her. This was the first time since her surgery that she was in normal clothes! Doesn't she look great for just being opperated on?
I took this one today after her really long morning nap. She slept today from 10:15 AM - 2:45 PM and then went back down around 4:45 PM for her "afternoon" nap. Talk about getting her beauty sleep!
Today was Jeff's second Father's Day! Since Samantha was still recovering from her surgery on Friday we stayed home from church and just relaxed on the couch for most of the morning. Here was Samantha "reading" her colors book to her Daddy...upside down mind you.
When Samantha woke up from her nap we went to Chili's for dinner to celebrate. It was only 3:30 PM so it was an early dinner but we really wanted to work within Samantha's nap schedule. It actually really worked out well because there was no wait for a table!
My amazing husband on Father's Day...I am a really REALLY proud wife!
Me, sitting across the table from my sexy husband. (He will kill me for sayin' that ;)
Friday night was a sleepless night for both Samantha and I. The nurses came in at 2 AM, 4 AM and 6AM. Everytime they came in they would check her temperature, blood pressure, change her diapers and give her medicine. Since she was not in the mood to drink anything the nurses kept getting her popsicles! I ended up eating one out of every twin pack and my mouth looked like a rainbow by the morning! After every visit from the nurse it would take me about half an hour to get her to fall back asleep.
After the 6 AM visit from the nurse we were up for the day. They had given her all her medicines and she was in a good mood. She was climbing around my bed playing with all her toys and books. At 7 AM the kitchen opened and I ordered her some breakfast...banana, yogurt, cranberry juice and scrambled eggs. She hardly ate any of it but at least she got some down.
Jeff got to the hospital around 8:30 AM. We got Samantha changed out of her hospital gear and it to some regular pajamas. She loved just sitting on her daddy's lap listening to him sing. (I think she might actually like ACDC!!!) The doctor told us that we would get to go home today (around noon) and I swear everyones mood lifted.
Around 10:30 AM Jeff noticed a big wet pot on his shorts and we thought her catheter had leaked out, but really her IV had come apart and it was the IV fluids leaking on his shorts. So we called the nurse to let her know and when she came in she said that was perfect timing b/c the doctor gave her the ok to take her IV out altogether. So we started her discharge checklist and were well on our way out!
While the were waiting on the nurses to get everything together I took some time to paint her piggies. Someone at work had given me some pink polish so I took it to the hospital just for this occasion! We ended up walking out the door of the hospital around 11:30 and were home by noon. In the words of Dorothy, THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME!
Today we took Samantha to Nationwide Childrens Hospital for her "kidney" surgery. We had really hoped and prayed for an early surgery time since we knew it would be hard to keep her happy all day without food and drink, but her surgery was not scheduled until 2:50 PM. So we tried to keep her entertained all day but she was definitely not a happy camper being hungry...wonder where she get's that from?!?!
We left the house around noon to be there by 12:45 pm. President Obama was at the hospital making a speech about the stimulus money so we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to get there. On our drive there we passed the entire motorcade including the President. It was really crazy to see the whole freeway shut down and TONS of police and security all for one person. But he is the President so I guess it made sense. Anyways, we got the the hospital with plenty of time. They were actually setting up in the lobby for the Governor and Mayor to speak. But we just headed right up to the surgery center to start the check in process.
Once we got checked in, they took us right back to her pre-surgery room. They weighed her and measured her height. Asked us tons of questions and did a general check up. After we were all settled she got to go in the Ocean Room to pick out a present. She got a little noise make type of toy which kept her entertained for all of 10 minutes.
Jeff got her all dressed in her hospital gown while she explored her crib. Then the doctor came in and explained how she would be put to sleep before any of the procedures started. At this point Jeff and I really started getting nervous. It was hard to stay calm and happy for Samantha when were we feeling so much anxiety.
We had about 10 minutes to hang out with her before they took her back into the OR. We just played with her and tried to keep our minds off the fear. One of her nurses brought in some bubbles and she liked trying to catch them. Jim and Libby came up to the hospital to hang out with us and they got there right before they took her back.
She crawled under her crib on this tray...just exploring.
We waited from 3 PM to almost7 PM before we got to see her. The doctor called us in the waiting room around 5 and let us know that everything went really well and they were sewing her up. So Jim, Lib, Jeff and I went to the cafeteria to get some dinner so we would be done by the time she was out of recovery. Then my mom and Aunt Vikki came up to wait with us too. By the time my mom and aunt got there no one else was left in the family waiting room so we had it all to ourselves.
Then the nurse came and told us her new room number and we high-tailed it to her new room so we could be waiting for her when she came in. I was really hoping that she would smile and get all excited to see us but she was so out of it that she really just laid there. I picked her up so fast and just cuddled her. She would only open her eyes for short periods of time but when she did my heart melted. It was just so good getting to see her and love on her after being apart for so long.
I wanted to get her some fluids right away since she had not had anything to drink since 9:30 AM. So the nurse got her some pedilyte in a sippy cup. It was in 2 oz portions and within 10 minutes she drank all 8 ounces they brought us.
After her big drink she fell asleep and slept for 3-4 hours. I had ordered some food for her but she was not really in the mood to eat. She had 1/2 a banana, some animal crackers and some milk. Since she was on a high does of fluids from her IV she was not as thirsty or hungry as I thought she would be. Jeff left around 9 PM to go home and take care of the dogs. Since there was only one couch I decided to stay with her all night. She woke up around 10:30 PM when the nurses came in to give her medicine and take her vitals. She was not in the best mood as I am sure she was not feeling very good but she was more awake than when she first came out of surgery. We both ended up going to bed around midnight. Over all this has been a really long day and I am sure tomorrow will be too...
Since it was soooo hot today I decided to take Samantha over to my mom's pool. Here she was just sitting on the top step getting use to the water.
She loved it and all she had done was sit on the first step! 
I pulled her around the pool on the noodle. She was even kicking her little feet!
My mom and aunt pulled out the baby raft and we put Samantha in. She loved it when I pulled her around the pool really fast! And the great thing about this raft is that the cover kept her shaded while she played.
Here is mom and Samantha playing in the pool!
Samantha and my Aunt Vikki sitting on the edge of the pool.
After a little swimming she took a break to play in the wagon. Aunt Vikki pulled her all around the pool. 
Since it was hot, I got a chocolate popsicle. And of course, I shared some with Samantha...which made a huge mess, but again...she loved it. Samantha's surgery is on Friday and she will not be able to swim again for a little while so I am really glad we made it over there today. The weather was perfect and the water was cool, but not cold. I cannot wait to take my little fish back!
