And the winner is...

Stepping in for a sec from our Halloween festivities to let you know that we have a winner in the Fab Bag Giveaway!

First of all, thanks so much for your bloggy love and support! Giveaways are so fun and I enjoyed reading all of your comments and meeting some new BFFs (blog friends forever). Without further ado, the winner is...

Jennifer H. from Adventures with Austin!

{Jennifer, I left you a comment on your blog! Please email at babblingabby (at) gmail (dot) com!}

Happy Halloween, y'all! I'll post pics later :D

Update and Pictures.

Hey guys.  I just wanted to give you a quick update and post some recent pictures... I figured the pictures will pretty much tell you how he is doing.  He is really doing well.  He smiled more today than he has since his surgery.  That makes Mommy feel good!  He still has a lot of secretions, of course and he probably will for a while.  Hopefully that will get better with time.  So far Mommy, Daddy, Grammy, Nanny and MeMe have suctioned!  Yay!  That makes Mommy feel good too.  It's so important that everyone feel comfortable with doing it.  Tomorrow they are supposed to change his trach out for the first time, then I will have to change it out a few hours after that.... and THEN we should be able to go to the Pediatric Unit (where we can eat sleep and be merry...) Thank the LORD.  I am about to go crazy.  Well, just wanted to let you know how he was doing and send our love.  I will update tomorrow and let you know how the changing of the trach goes.  Look at my beautiful angel...

This is blurry, but this was his foot during dressing change.  He rubbed it on his leg and it was covered in Desitin/Auqaphor.

Smiles for Daddy...

Here was laying on his side for the first time... he was so content because he has just been on his back all week.

Happy Halloween Eve!! He LOVED this, of course!! How can you not love those bright colors.... His eyes were super WIDE!

Totally random Thursday.

Yaaaaaaawn.

I'm posting from my bed today, where my icy Diet Coke is on my nightstand to my left and a bowl of cheesy flavored whale crackers are to my right. And I'm trying hard not to get either on the laptop keyboard. I had my little speaking engagement this morning, and the preparation and stress of it all has literally worn me right out. The minute I put Beck down, I decided I needed to go to bed in order to combat the overwhelming urge I had this morning to throw my lesson plans out the window and curl up in a bean bag and let the kids have an all-day indoor recess. And, yes, I literally could have slept through all of the chaos that indoor-recess brings {those of you who teach and loathe a rainy day when you're subject to indoor recess know exactly how tired I must have been.}

Not that I need to make up more excuses for my prolonged indoor nap (but I might as well since my husband is probably reading this wondering why I'm not doing something more productive), but I also have a site-based council meeting at 4pm followed by a PTA meeting at 6pm. It's one of those never-ending days, and another reason why I'm desperate for the FIVE day break that Thanksgiving will bring in a little under a month.

And, stop the world, they are playing Christmas music on one of the stations I listen to! Geez Louise, it's not even Halloween yet! I'm not prepared to listen to Deck the Hall and White Christmas yet, so I've had to eliminate that station from my daily listening. While I do love and adore Christmastime, and it is by far my favorite holiday of the year, I'm just not ready to sting up lights and spread Yuletide cheer right now when there is a ghost on my front door and a pumpkin on the porch.

Having a kid makes time speed up times a zillion, and I'm trying real hard to slow down and treasure each moment of Becks' little baby life. Even though he's more of a toddler with his own agenda that often includes begging for candycorn from the jar on the kitchen counter, and mimicking every thing I say like my own little parrot. Anyway, I'm living in the now and really just want to get to Halloween which is on Saturday.

And, no, the costume still isn't made. But I work best under pressure anyway, so I know it will get done. If it doesn't, I could always try to find one of those stiff, plastic coveralls with the matching mask. Do you know what I'm talking about? Surely I wasn't the only stiff, plastic My Little Pony in 1989.

Anyway, I best be getting that boy child up and shipped off to his Nana M's for a little bit so I can go hash out school policy for two hours. Joy of all joys...

PS. I shredded again last night and am hurting for it today. I am embarrassingly out of shape, and can barely laugh since my abs are finally getting a workout again. In fact, they're probably laughing at me and the condition I am in. Two days down, 28 to go...

The Perfect Fortune Cookie...

So, Paw Paw Carey came to the hospital tonight after they went to eat at PF Changs and brought in some fortune cookies. Well after Randy and I finished showering in the good ole' Ochnser hotel, we grabbed a cookie for the walk back up to the room. Here's what I got:

"A solid challenge will bring forth your finest abilities." Pretty right on the money, huh?

Here's Randy's: "Relax and enjoy yourself." Haha.... He said "Yeah, ok!"

Anyway, just thought that was cute...

We finally took him out of the bed today and Daddy rocked him for a while. He just gets so restless and if he falls asleep, if you move a finger, he wakes up and gets so mad. So he has been in his crib most of the time... (with us standing around him 24-7, of course). Here are some more pics.. I was laughing so hard when I took these, because now his cheeks are so fat that his face isn't even round anymore... it's square!! haha...

Update

Hey guys. What a little trooper our man is. He is slowly but surely getting used to having the trach, though he has a lot of secretions (which is normal at first) and they really bother him and make him upset. I think it scares him when he can get them up. Scares Mommy too. Mommy finally got to do her first suctioning by herself today! I got an A+! I know I will get the hang of it fast... but it's so different doing nursing care to your own son. Randy and I will both have to get checked off on everything to do with Tripp's trach care before we leave the hospital (I thought I was done with school..). Which I think is great. Daddy will have to learn, too, along with ANYONE who will be spending even 5 seconds alone with him incase of an emergency. We will all have to watch the CPR video, have to learn what to do incase the trach comes out (which would be an EMERGENCY), and learn how to do site care and be able to suction when he starts coughing up his secretions. Anything could happen, even if I just run to the front of the street to the grocery, so it is so important that everyone who will be caring for him know how to do everything. Here he is holding Mommy's finger. It's a comfort thing.

Baby boy smiled for the first time since surgery yesterday. Then Mommy cried because he smiled. Ha. Today, he hasn't been very happy... but I thought this was the cutest thing in the world, it broke my heart! He was playing with all his new "hospital" toys (because you KNOW he had to get hospital presents), and nothing was really doing the trick.. I guess he didn't recognize anything from home. MeMe had taken Ernie home to wash him, so I just got him back. When I put Ernie in front of his face, he freaked out and started smiling, and picked his hands up to grab him! It was freaken adorable. He loves Ernie.

Ok, so as if I already don't have enough to carry around when I travel with Tripp.... NOW we have a whole new set of supplies. Most of the supplies have to be with him 24-7. The guy came in and explained everything to me today. And not to mention that I only have ONE outlet close to Tripp's bed.. and I now have 3 things to plug in for him at night. UGH. Wanna see?

I know this will not be surprising to you, but Tripp is almost 6 months old and now has his own portable DVD player. I know, he is absolutely spoiled rotten, but he deserves it. It's working out pretty well, because I just set it in the crib and he has something to look at... because he can't see the T.V. good from his crib... and he likes to watch cartoons.

He sat up today after being changed and was smiling and in a pretty good mood... Look at these chubby cheeks!!

So that's pretty much the update.. we are doing good, better day by day. Hopefully every day will get easier and easier. I was saying today that before we came into the hospital, I was JUST starting to get comfortable with everything... the tube, dressing changes, feedings, everything. And NOW, it's like I have to start all over again. BUT.... I know it will become second nature. It will just take time. And I have NOTHING but TIME!!

Will update again soon!

God Bless, and thanks so much for all the prayers.