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!
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.)
The weekend before we went to Utah, our ward held a father-son campout up at Chileo Flats. This was Connor's third time camping, but his first with just his dad (and, I noted with surprise, his first night away from his mom.) They told "scary" stories, roasted marshmallows and hot dogs, and had pancakes for breakfast. The elder's quorum was in charge of the breakfast, for which they apparently needed all of my kitchen utensils and pots. (Ryan was sure to bring them home, though, for me to wash.)
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.
This hospital is amazing. They have huge play areas, and volunteer readers on the main floor who read books to the kids and give them free ones to take with them. The smaller waiting room in the outpatient surgery area had a separate "playroom" next door filled with tons of high-quality toys, videogames, and videos. At first, there were quite a few other small children in there, but, since the surgery scheduler puts youngest kids first, Connor was one of the last to have his "turn". 
There was a really sweet lady whose job was to talk to each child about their surgery and what they'd see before and after. She brought a kit full of sample equipment to show Connor, with stuff like an IV, anaesthetic masks, doctor's hats and masks, and blood pressure cuffs. 
All he had to do to be put under was breathe anaesthetic gas, so there were no shots or pokes until he was asleep. They even had him drink a sedative about a half-hour before he went in to help the separation from parents be less stressful, but I don't think it affected him much. He was climbing all over the pre-op bed and jumping around like a nut until they wheeled him away to the OR (he's only pretending to sleep in this picture).
