The Big (not baby) news

Lots of little things going on around here and one biggish thing. We are finally calling our basement project complete! Hurray! When we started working on our basement it looked like this:

One big cement box. Four cement walls and wooden rafters overhead. We officially started working on our basement in July/August of 2006. I thought we would have it finished before William was born (this goal was completely unrealistic, like most of my home improvement timelines).

Two days ago it looked like this. Still cement-y, but a lot more homey.
And this




Now it looks like this:

And this

The big change? Carpet. Beautiful carpet all over the floor and professionally installed. Which means we are ready for furniture, toys, and decorating (but probably won't be happening until this spring when the finances are in better order)! YAY!


I am so proud of us for finishing this HUGE project. We have almost doubled the square footage of our home and did almost all the work ourselves. From the cement box to livable space has been a very big undertaking - but I'm proud we completed it!

A big THANK YOU goes out to my dad (and mom) who have helped us tirelessly during every single visit over the last two (plus) years without much complaining. I think the next time you come to visit you'll find your feet will be a little warmer and we can go out and DO something (or we can work on my next project if you would rather!).

The 1 Week Post-Pins Post

Today we have a guest blogger!

I went to my first physical therapy appointment today since the day the pins were removed a week ago. Basically, they check two different positions for my hand. Whether I can straighten all the fingers out, and what the fingers look like when I make a fist. Apparently, I'm doing exceptionally well. The therapist was really surprised how well the joint (left ring finger, joint closest to the fingernail) was functioning. In fact she thought I was doing so well, that she canceled all my following therapy appointments until after I have my next check-up with the doctor (one month after the pins were removed). An interesting part of my appointment was she put my hand under some heating pads for about 15 minutes, and after that I was able to bend that joint another 10 or so degrees. She expects that when we get the go ahead to do some more rigorous stretching on the finger (actually pushing on the tip - right now it's still sensitive) that I'll probably return to a normal range of motion.

A fist one week after the pins were removed. You can see the ring finger is still peeking out from the other ones.

Bending the joint the best I could (1/28/09 - day after pins removed). The skin is REALLY dry/weird on this hand after wearing the protective splint for the last month and not being able to wash it.

Bending the joint today (02/03/09). Sorry that the angle is different.

Shot of my hand. The scabs are mostly all off. That scar on the middle finger is a little more pink than it has been since I've started scar massage as part of my home therapy. I've noticed the skin there getting looser, and more like what my other fingers are like. The middle finger also has some bumps and sensitive spots on it still. I don't know what is going to happen with the nail on the ring finger.

Kelly also asked me to talk about how they were able to get my ring off in the ER in Iowa without cutting it. Well, to be honest I didn't really think about the ring on my finger until the orthopedic doctor who was coming in to look at my finger and determine whether amputation was necessary mentioned taking off the ring. Of course, he had just applied a large amount of local anesthetic right where the ring sat, and that caused my finger to swell. First, he asked me to try and move it. When that failed, one of the nurses suggested some vaseline. That didn't work either. They started talking about cutting the ring off, when another doctor walked through and said that he has pulled off rings by putting some sutures around them and pulling. The doctor asked me whether they should try that or just cut it off. I told them I'd like to keep the ring. The biggest reason is because it was the ring that my wife gave me at our wedding, but for another it was the ring that was lost down a sewer grate near the Notre Dame subway station in Paris and was successfully retrieved. If we can get some French subway worker to come and fetch my ring out of a grate during a subway strike on New Year's Day, I wasn't about to lose it by having it cut off my hand. We've been through a lot, my ring and I. So, the doctor looped a suture around the ring and pulled. I didn't watch because my head was strapped down to the table and they had placed my hand out of view. After it was all over, the doctor said "Well, it was probably a good thing you were numbed up for that."

Why did my ring fall down a grate in Paris? I had lost some weight since our wedding, and it was cold the day we spent in Paris. So when I took my glove off to get my subway ticket out of my pocket and reached down to my pocket it fell off my finger. Unfortunately, I happened to be walking over a sewer grate at the time. Fortunately, it made enough of a racket that I noticed it. The struggle getting the ring back that time is a story for another day. Please note: when we got back to the US we went and got the ring resized.

Argh!

Blogger is making me mad. I have several new posts up, but you'll need to scroll down to see them. Also, check back tomorrow night for exciting news (no, not the exciting baby kind of news).

The Weekly Medical Update

I can't keep up with posting about all of our appointments the day they happen, so this week will have them all lumped together.

Here are the highlights:

Tuesday 1/27: John had his pins removed! YAY! The doctor told me John had to wait 24 hours to allow the pin site area to heal over before he would be allowed to change diapers. Hurray for help changing diapers! And giving baths! And carrying William! He still can't get his wedding ring on due to the swelling, but that day is coming soon (remind me someday to tell you about how they managed to save his wedding ring in the ER).

John had a physical therapy appointment after the pins were taken out and he was given about an hours worth of exercises he is supposed to complete every day. He is going to have weekly therapy appointments for the next month to six weeks (just in time for me to start my weekly OB appointments). We really will be living at the doctor's office for the next few months!

This picture just cracks me up. It was raining/sleeting when we pulled in to the parking lot for John's appointment. We watched the couple in the car next to us struggling with something and then go into the building. Upon closer inspection, these people have taken a bedsheet and shut into their car doors over the windshield to keep ice from forming on their windshield during their appointment. The funny thing is: this isn't the first time I've seen people here do something like this. Just the first time I've taken a picture.

The pins that were in John's finger.
John's hand/finger with the pins next to the ring finger. He was able to really wash his hand for the first time since the accident and it is looks SO much better!
The side of his ring finger where most of the injury was located.

Thursday 1/29: We had William's two year well child check up with our pediatrition. As expected, William is doing very well and has met all his milestones. We talked a LOT about eating and our concerns that William isn't eating enough of the right stuff. It was reassuring to hear that we are doing the right thing, but frustrating to know that we are just going to have to work through this phase. It appears we are just starting the picky toddler eating phase early. We were advised to switch him over to skim milk and given the okay for peanut butter (hooray!).

We were surprised to find that William had ear infections in both ears with a lot of fluid build up. Turns out he probably hasn't been feeling good which was affecting his sleeping last weekend. We started anitbiotics and have already seen some improvement. Yay again!

We only got one shot this time, but William was NOT happy about it. He cried/complained off and on for the next 45 minutes to hour after the shot. He is turning into kind of a dramatic little boy. He would be happily playing with a toy and then turn to me and grab his leg crying "ow, ow, ow!" and start crying all over again.

The current stats are:

Height: 35.75 inches (90th percentile)

Weight: 29.5 lbs (70th percentile)

And finally a cute picture of our Big Boy wearing his NDSU sweatshirt (should this size 4T fit him? I think it is mislabeled). For those of you who are not NDSU fans, I'd like to remind you the boy doesn't have any clothes to represent any other North Dakota school.

Bedroom revealed

I finally picked an idea for William's bedroom and went with it. William really likes it (and what REALLY matters is I love it!). We went with: letters and numbers! A huge THANK YOU to Grandma for helping me figure out how to put the numbers and letters up and to Grandpa for watching William while we worked! The few times he came in to check on us made me realize we would NOT have gotten this done while he was awake. And...since he is sleeping in this room, it would be pretty tricky to do while he was sleeping.

Mama putting up the letters (yes, she is in her pjs still and yes, the pjs don't exactly fit anymore over the belly. I'm too cheap to buy new pjs for two more months of pregnancy.) Notice the laser level across my face?

The letters are in navy blue, green and yellow and go around the entire room. William likes to sit on his bed and point out the letters and different colors! So cute (except when he should be sleeping).
The letters are decals (kind of like huge stickers) we pressed onto the wall. When we are done using them, they should just peel off. This was way quicker and easier than buying all wooden letters or trying to paint the letters myself.
The finished look (note the crib in the room!)

The alphabet! YAY! The walls are kind of a springy green and I have green, yellow, & blue striped sheets on the bed. The bedspread is navy blue with yellow and green stitching on it. Simple, but very cute.

Grandma and Grandpa also helped us out by bringing us some bedroom furniture. We've been looking and looking and looking around town and couldn't find anything we liked [in our price range]. So, we're going to use Uncle Mike's old set for now (or forever). The best part? It is already broken in!

William loves to be a "helper"! Helping put the screws into the bedframe.
The helper at work!

PS Thanks for all decorating suggestions. Some of my favorites were: Motorcycle Biker Babes (you won't need to redecorate when he is a teenager!), Tree house (cute, WAY to much work for a one handed man and pregnant chick), outer space (we are kind of nerdy 'round here and I don't think we would be able to have an inaccurate diagram of the solar system= lots of work), safari (very fun!)

PPS I'm almost ready to talk about the sleep situation.

Birthday Party, Cat Style

The cats don't get equal time here - but they do spend about 98% of their day sleeping. That is, until there is a birthday party to go to. The cats love birthdays, or more accurately, wrapping paper, boxes and bows!

This is Mudd, checking out the box and wrapping paper. She is a hard cat to get a picture of because she is so black!
William unwraps the next present and Mudd patiently waits in the wings
Mango loves boxes. He is our shy (or antisocial) kitty so he had to wait a long time before he got his chance without a lot of people around.
A box is a great place to sleep
Mudd checks out the wrapping paper - both cats are also a lot of fun when we are trying to wrap gifts also.
Mudd tries to drive cars on William's new hotwheels rug. Turns out she would rather nap than drive cars.
More awake, but still too lazy to get up and get a car to drive.

Finally..I can tell you....

It was our friends the Hawn's welcoming in their new baby boy on Tuesday! He arrived WAY ahead of schedule (Jenn was supposed to be 3 weeks ahead of me), but is doing really well. I know prayers, wishes and happy thoughts (or whatever other positive vibes you send) would be much appreciated by their family.

Want to see pictures? Look here!


PS Several new posts below from the birthday weekend...scroll down!