I was trying to take Ezra’s 11-month photo yesterday, and this image popped up. I thought it actually was a good picture, and really shows off the curls coming in.
No Wonder Tourism Is Down
May 4, 2009 by Leave a Comment
A good friend and fellow blogger is currently living is Switzerland. She found this video which was made by the Swiss Tourism Office and released on April 1st. After viewing it, it became crystal clear to me why the US tourism business is down, and it has nothing to do with the economy…we are simply not cleaning our mountains!
Baby Jargon & A Real Word Or Two
May 3, 2009 by 2 Comments
According to the handy-dandy dictionary on my computer, the definition of ‘jargon is: special words or expressions that are used by a particular group and are difficult for others to understand.
There are times that I feel that the word was invented by parents so that they might be able to describe what their child is verbalizing. Well, for a while now, Ezra has had the jargon bug, and talks and talks and talks. A lot of the time it even sounds like he is forming a sentence…at least if you consider inflection and not vocabulary to be a vital construct of a sentence. While he is eating, while we are driving, while we are on a walk, while he is moving around….
Now, he has started to use a few words in the past couple of weeks – at least we are saying that he uses them. He says ‘hi’ and waves his hand when he sees people. He says ‘yea’ and claps when he sees us do something silly or funny, which prompts us to act like performers and do it all over again. He is also saying ‘daddy’ and ‘mama’ a lot, but hasn’t really put them into appropriate context yet. One more, he started to point using his right index finer at objects: first in books, then everywhere else. Sometimes when he does this, he will raise his eyebrows and say ‘oooooooo.’ It’s super cute.
If all goes well, he will be saying ‘far out’, ‘groovy’, and ‘right on’ soon. Once he masters those, he will be ready for his first Grateful Dead show.
I’m Gonna Get Me A Navy Pea Coat
April 28, 2009 by 1 Comment
I had a training in Novato…less than 48 hours on the ground 30 miles north of San Fran really didn’t lend itself to much picture taking, but here are a couple from the Marin Headlands and the Presidio.
The Blue Doo
April 26, 2009 by 2 Comments
Simple story behind this one: while I was getting mine done (although, not blue), the hairdresser had some fun with Ezra’s ever-growing mop.
What’s Up With The Surgery?
April 24, 2009 by 3 Comments
Why, that’s nice that you asked, let me tell you. Way back in the early years, like 1992, Dad found out that he had a bicuspid valve in his heart. It’s most likely a congenital issue, and it means that one of the valves had two parts instead of the normal three. This occurs in about 2% of the general population (including famous folks like Barbara Bush, Arnold, and Robin Williams).
When someone has this, it causes the heart to work harder to get the blood through that valve since it isn’t as efficient as it should be. His condition has been monitored closely since it’s discovery, and about two months ago a test reviled that it was in fact time to get it replaced. It was a good thing that Dad was able to live with the bicuspid valve for as long as he did because most patients will have to have another surgery later in life to replace the new valve – it only has a life in the range of 20 years, and as such, Dad will likely have to have another surgery then.
So this wasn’t an emergency, it wasn’t due to poor dieting or poor exercise…it was something that just happened and needed repair. The decision timeline was short, but that was his decision…why wait any longer than needed? So it was decided, and the surgery happened on Monday.
It took about 6.5 hours total, and included several hours on a heart/lung bypass machine. Dr. Nene performed the procedure and was extremely happy with how it went, and with the results: he now has a bovine valve doing the job. He spend Monday night in the ICU – which is required for all open-heart patients – and then most of the day Tuesday as well. On Tuesday night, he was doing well enough to move to the Cardiac Care floor to complete his hospital stay. Oh, Monday night he stood up and Tuesday he walked across the room!!!!
He has done exceptionally well with the recovery so far: walking all over the place, doing some stairs, and maintaining his energy levels. So well in fact, that Dr. Nene signed his discharge paperwork yesterday morning. Even though those were signed, the decision was jointly made between my Dad and the nurses that one more night wouldn’t hurt anything, so he stayed last night. An average open-heart patient will spend between 5-7 days in the hospital (post op), and Dad was out of there in 5 total (with the option to have left yesterday).
Next up: home and recovery. Dad was discharged this morning and is resting comfortably at home. There is about 4-6 weeks of moderated effort ahead, and then still some therapy after that for a while…but expect to find him back on the e-mail and computer soon. The prognosis is for a full recovery, and to even better health than pre-surgery.
My Grandparents and Uncle came out to Colorado to be here for the surgery and to help with the recovery. It has been a real blessing to have family around for support and I know that Dad couldn’t have made it this far this quick without them being around.
So that’s the news from here and the reason for the reduced postings this week. As everything returns to close-to-normal, so will the updates. Thanks for all of the support and prayers….
One More Pic From The Snow
April 21, 2009 by Leave a Comment
We ended up with around 2 feet of snow…some places in Castle Rock reported under, some reported over. I took this shot on Saturday afternoon before the melt started. Today it’s 75 degrees, and 90% of the snow is gone. It seems that all that is left are the piles in the parking lots or trace amounts on the north facing sides of things.
The Life of a Little Hippie 