Alpine Loop (Fall Foliage)

We finally got out to see the fall foliage in the mountains. The Alpine Loop is a 25-mile scenic route through our nearby mountains. The two-lane road is lovely, though quite scary at times! I think I actually may have hyperventilated as we curved around shear cliffs! I tried to take several pictures since I don't think I could stomach another ride! Don't forget to watch the brief video at the end of this post.






Bridal Vail Falls


This is a short video of our trip.

Surgery Day

Austin had surgery this Monday to repair his soft and hard palate, revise his lip repair and insert ear tubes. The entire procedure took about 3 hours and he was admitted to the hospital for one night. Our surgeon reported that it went very well and he did not expect any complications or secondary surgeries. Austin was in quite a bit of pain and slept for most of the day and night following surgery. This time he did sleep in the crib so Mike and I did not have to take turns holding him all night like we did when he had his initial lip repair at 8 weeks. However, it was still exhausting and quite uncomfortable to sleep in the hospital. We were discharged about 12:30pm the day after surgery.


Austin was very hungry before surgery and I could not get a picture of him when he wasn't crying in the pre-0p area. He was actually doing very well for the first hour prior to surgery, but about 15 minutes before taking him back he just didn't stop fussing. He was only calm when Mike walked around with him.


This was taken about 30 minutes after surgery. There was more blood around his mouth this time since his palate was also repaired.


Austin was much better at the time of discharge. There was still quite a bit of swelling, but otherwise he was doing good.

First Day of School!

We enrolled Dylan in a unique Toddler class this week. He will be participating as a "model peer" for other toddlers with speech and/or other developmental delays. These weekly classes are designed to help prepare toddlers for preschool with a focus on cognitive and language development and improving social skills. This is a wonderful way for Dylan to develop readiness skills for preschool and help others with developmental delays. A perfect win-win situation!

Dylan absolutely loved the class! He was so excited to participate and adjusted great. He is a little difficult to keep on task, but responded well to redirection. The teacher was also very impressed with his bathroom skills and reported that he used the potty twice during the class without prompting. I think he really liked the toddler sized toilet which made it more fun to use.





Dylan's first art project at school. They glued fur and a feather to a lion.

Palate Prosthesis Removed

Austin had his palate prosthesis removed today in preparation for his upcoming palate repair surgery. He was put under general anesthesia and required intubation during the procedure. It took about five minutes to take out and he was roused from anesthesia after about twenty minutes. The doctor also gave us the prosthesis to take home for the scrapbook!

Overall, Austin did very well and he appears to be recovering quickly. He was discharged only an hour or so after surgery. He sounds slightly hoarse and has a little trouble getting used to an open palate again when drinking from a bottle. We were told that he should adjust soon, but to expect some food to escape into his nasal cavity. Luckily he will only have this problem temporarily. On the bright side, he may drool less without the prosthesis!


"Check out my bedhead hair!"


The nurse checks Austin's vitals before surgery.


Waiting in the pre-op area. He was getting pretty fussy, not having eaten since 8pm the night before!


In the post-op room after finally drinking some formula! All the providers at Primary Children's were fantastic and just loved little Austin!


Palate prosthesis with screws.

A Day at the Aquarium

It was a fun day at the local aquarium! Dylan really enjoyed seeing all the exhibits this year as opposed to last year when he basically just loved running around the place, barely stopping to look at anything. Austin was as laid back as ever and just basked in the new environment. Be sure to watch the attached video!

This is the video of us at the aquarium. Enjoy!

School Carnival

Here we are at the local elementary school's carnival. It was great that we could just walk a couple blocks from home. Austin slept in the stroller almost the entire time. Dylan loved watching all the activities, but he is still pretty nervous about rides, even the big inflatable slides. He was able to jump in the bouncer and went on one slide with Mike. He refused to ride the little train and was pretty much scared of everything else. Fortunately, there were midway games and he loved winning the prizes and candy. Maybe next time he will brave the rides!

My Birthday Celebration!

It was a great birthday this year. It started with Mike getting up with the boys while I slept in until 9am! It was such a nice start to the day. We had lunch and then birthday cake before heading out to the water park.

Seven Peaks Water Park

Austin loved the water and was fascinated by the bubbles.

Dylan had a great time. However, he is more timid when it comes to water. He also seems to shiver constantly no matter what the water temp. It was a very hot day and the water was at least 80+ degrees and he still shivered! After only 30 minutes he took off his swim suit to get dry! Of course, he wanted right back in the water 10 minutes later. He also had a scare when he rode down the kiddie slide and briefly went under the 24 inches of water at the bottom. No more water slides after that!

Mike was the adventurer and braved the steepest slide. We had fun watching from a safe distance.

Unfortunately, I parked Austin a little too close and as you can see he was splashed pretty good by the slide. I didn't realize there was so much spray at the bottom! As usual, our little trooper took it in stride and never even fussed.

Here is Mike again. The big slides are thrilling, but they caused pain in his back. I don't think he will try this again until Dylan and Austin can go!

Dylan Says, "Happy Birthday Mommy!"

This is a short video testing out my new digital camcorder. Dylan is the star of the show. It was pretty late when we decided to test it so Austin was already in bed. Look for more videos now that I have a more user friendly camcorder!

A Day at Lagoon Amusement Park

The Naval Reserve Center hosted our annual family day at the local amusement park. We figured that Dylan was a little older this year and would at least try some of the kiddie rides. Boy were we wrong! For some reason our fearless scooter rider is scared of the miniature train, carousel and even the miniature cars! He was excited at first, but quickly changed his mind once he heard the loud noises coming from the rides. At least there was a water park area and he had fun in the kiddie section. Though it still took a long time before he would even go down one of the little water slides. Once he got the hang of it, he begged to go down the big tube water slides, but we had to explain he wasn't tall enough. Try explaining that! He cried and cried! Austin was a real trooper the whole day. He mostly just kicked back in the stroller and people watched. He is so much more relaxed than Dylan at this age. It is amazing how different siblings are!

Austin watching the action at the water park.



Kicking back!


Dylan crashing another Navy family's picnic lunch.




Little Austin gracing us with a sweet smile after a nap.


This is the first ride Dylan tried and he was totally excited at first and ran to jump in the car early. However, as soon as the car moved away he started freaking out and cried for the rest of the short trip.

Mike consoles Dylan after the traumatic car ride!



Dylan anxiously awaits the fun house ride with Mike.

Compare Dylan on the carousel last year to his adventure at the fun house this year. Not much has changed!

Dylan dying to get off after the ride!

He was quickly calmed once he had some ice cream!

Dylan proudly holds the first stuffed animal he won when he picked three ducks from a running stream of water.

Rub a Dub Dub...

Baby Austin and big brother Dylan shared their first bath, sort of. Mike was bathing Austin and Dylan just couldn't wait for his bath. He proceeded to tear off his clothes and jump into the empty portion of the tub! He loves watching Austin in the baby tub and even tried to get in with him. He also enjoyed blowing bubbles in the water with a straw. Austin did not seem to mind the disruption and is clearly comfortable with Dylan involved in almost every aspect of his life now. I can't wait for them to share a real bath. It's obvious that Dylan is just dying for a playmate!

Also, check out how big Austin looks compared to Dylan! Believe it or not, Dylan had a very similar body type at that age. He just slimmed down as he grew. I don't think he could keep much weight on him considering his HIGH activity level!