So, it's been nine days since Connor had surgery, and it has been so much harder than I expected. I knew he'd be miserable for a few days, but I had no idea it would be this bad or for this long.
Up until yesterday, Connor had eaten essentially nothing. Neither popsicles nor ice cream nor pudding could tempt him enough to be worth the pain of swallowing. Getting him to drink fluids (which the doctor insisted was the key to recovery) involved at least twenty minutes of pleading and threats, which usually resulted in him drinking two ounces of juice, then collapsing in more tears. Slobbery tears. He wouldn't even swallow his own saliva because it hurt too much, so we've had to keep his pocket-bib on him at all times, and have a towel nearby. He seriously salivated more than he took in in fluids. The worst part, though, was seeing my little boy in so much pain, and not being able to do anything about it. No, even better, the only thing I could do about it was force him to take his pain medicine or drink more fluids, which felt like torture. I called the doctor's office several times to explain that he couldn't sleep, even fully medicated, but they told me there wasn't anything they could do. "Just make him drink more", they said.
Oh, and Elise has had the stomach flu all week, so that's been fun, too. We've been running a Home for Gimpy Children here.
Okay, enough wallowing in self-pity. Here's the story of yesterday! We decided that we needed to get out, so we planned a trip to the Americana (overly expensive outdoor mall) to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. We told Connor that he didn't have to eat (he was worried), but that he could play gameboy when we got to the restaurant. After we sat down, the server brought out the bread. Then something happened. A light went on in Connor's eyes, and he snatched the bread, started tearing pieces out of the soft middle, and cramming them into his mouth. He was so hungry he forgot to be afraid of swallowing, and ate nearly the entire loaf, along with a portion of Ryan's pasta. When we left, he tried to fit the hollowed-out bread loaf in his pocket. We spent about an hour at the playground chatting with friends we happened to see, then as we left for the parking garage he insisted that he needed a pretzel and lemonade, too. He didn't quite finish the pretzel, but Elise helped, and the curse had been broken.
I can't overstate how relieved I was to finally see him eat! So happy. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and thoughts. It looks like he'll be back to normal pretty soon!
Oh, and on the positive side, he no longer snores while sleeping, and he can hear us when we whisper. I guess the best quality earplugs reduce noise by up to 30 decibels, and his hearing was impaired by 35, so I can see why he was so frustrated. I'm so thankful for modern medicine!
Our first Sunday there, we had a birthday party to celebrate Kevin and Kyle's birthdays. Grandma Cloe brought cake and ice cream, which you can see was enjoyed by all. 
The following Monday was Memorial Day, and we were able to accompany Grandma Cloe up to Logan to put flowers on Grandpa Dean's and Kirk's graves. This was Elise's first time to the cemetary, and (I think) Connor's first trip since he was aware of what stuff means. It was actually very pleasant and sweet. Elise loved the engraved picture of Grandpa Dean on a horse, and Connor loved playing with Kyle. The kids were even good on the ride home (relatively), which was a nice surprise. 
On this trip we got to see Kyle and Kelli's new house! It's so cute! I can't express how jealous I am. We were able to spend a day helping them paint their living and dining rooms, which had been a dinged-up whitish color. Now, I'll admit, I wasn't very enthusiastic about helping at first. I was convinced that my presence there with the kids would just be a waste of everyone's time, and end quickly. Kelli was prepared, though, with a room for them to watch DVD's, and we obtained copies of The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Mist (an awesome sheepdog movie that my kids love). Those sweeties sat there and watched movies for the ENTIRE day! It was amazing. I had alot of fun, and learned a ton about paint. Oh, and the hand you can see on the piano keys is from Kelli's attempt to give a piano lesson in the middle of a paint zone. It was pretty funny, but the little girl didn't seem to mind.
We spent one beautiful morning down at that East Bay place full of ducks (I've never been able to figure out what its real purpose is, other than duck collecting.) We scored big-time, in that there was a mama with tiny ducklings, including one fuzzy yellow one. 
Guess who got the most bread? I suspect that duckling will grow up to be some kind of duck Jabba the Hut. Oh, and it was fresh "Honey and Grains" bakery bread, too. (That's all we had.) No stale hot-dog buns for them.
After that, you're supposed to move them into the actual "pavillion" part of the kit, which is a big popup-mesh cage, and wait 10 days. Then one morning, we started seeing little black and orange butterflies appearing as if by magic. As hard as I tried, I never timed it well enough for us to actually see one hatching, but it was still amazing. Now, I'll admit that although the kids really did enjoy this project, I was way more into it than they were. I'm sure they thought I was having a heart attack the first time I ran screaming into the room, telling them to come look at a new butterfly. Anyway, after a couple days, it was time to let them go. I was pretty proud of Connor, because this was the part he had been (loudly) dreading from the beginning, but he ended up being really cool about it. Notice him trying to give them some flowers in picture #2. (It's hard to see because of Elise's shirt.)
Connor had an absolute blast. He came back the next morning totally dirty and hyper, telling me how cool it had been. This weekend is the father-daughter campout, but Ryan's taking the CFA, and Elise is still too little, so that will have to wait a year or two.
Oh, and Al was kind enough to take about twenty pictures of us Sunday morning before church, in a doomed attempt to get a family portrait of some sort. (Connor's idea of a smile is closing your eyes, baring your teeth, and looking at the sky.) This picture was the winner!
While they were here, we also got to celebrate Mother's Day and Elise's second birthday! Although she was sick (or teething, we never quite figured out what was wrong) for most of the weekend, Elise had a great birthday celebration. We got her a red velvet cake from our beloved Portos, which she was very impressed with. I love her look of, "No, way! This is all for me?" 
She also received way too many presents, including her own tricycle. 
Now she doesn't have to keep stealing Connor's. Unfortunately, Connor now steals hers, so the disagreements continue, but at least this trike has an extra feature. I bought an insert that easily splits it into a tandem trike! It's pretty cool, but Elise always wants to sit in front, which is the pedalling seat, so they don't really go anywhere. Maybe when they're older. 
For Mother's Day, the kids got me this awesome "Edible Arrangement", which everyone helped eat. 
Ryan's gift I was not too sure about. He presented me with an iPod Touch, despite the fact that only a year ago I got a new Nano. I was sceptical for about three minutes, then I fell in LOVE! 
Ryan is actually a little disappointed that I like my new toy so much -- I think he was hoping to monopolize it. I told him he might as well have engraved "Homer" across the back. Seriously, though, I love it. It does everything the iPhone does except for the camera and phone. Yeah, I thought that too, "What's left, then?" Turns out, a lot. It basically functions as a mini-laptop as long as I'm near a wireless connection, and it has a ton of really cool apps that don't require a wifi at all. So props to Ryan!
This picture is a Connor-initiated one. He wanted me to photograph him as a "monster with one eye". He thought his costume was very creative. 
They've been talking about imagination all month at Joy School, but Connor supposedly didn't like to participate much in their pretending. He kept interrupting their scenarios with comments like, "We're not really on the moon, right?" So, I'm glad his imaginative side is starting to come out more.
Two Saturdays ago we got to drive to Chino and visit with Grandma and Grandpa! My parents were there in their RV for a dog show, so we spent the afternoon with them. The kids loved it, especially the doggies and the large supply of snacks my parents always share with them. My mom got some great video with her Blackberry of Connor and Elise singing, so hopefully I'll post that later. It was a nice day. 
And last of all, I finally got a picture of the baby birds in our backyard! There's a family of mockingbirds that built a nest in a bush right outside our bedroom window. It's right across from my computer desk, so I've spent the past month watching the parents fly back and forth every few minutes with caterpillars or berries in their beaks. They were completely tireless and devoted, it was quite inspiring. Anyway, I was worried about disturbing them, but eventually dared to poke my camera into the bush and see what I could get. I'm glad I did, because about four days later, the babies were big enough to fly away. I kind of miss them!
They also had a bounce-house and inflatable slide, neither of which appealed to Elise much, but Connor thought they were great.
We also bought tickets for both kids to try the pony rides. Connor had done it before at the park, but Elise had been too little then. We thought she might be ready, but quickly learned otherwise. 
After one trip around screaming, the nice guy leading the pony told me to come in and walk with her, and he even threw in an extra trip around the circle after she realized it was kinda fun with Mom nearby.
