It's Activation Day!!!

Happy activation day to you...
Happy activation daaayy to you....
Happy activation day deeaarr Chloeeeeee.....
Happy activation day to youuuuu!

This morning Chloe had her CI's activated. It was a little trying to say the least because Chloe was not in the best of moods after being woken up so early this morning. She also HATED the processors and coils being put on her head....this will be a big challenge because Chloe can not stand to have anything on her head. First they did the mapping to see at what levels she responded to a series of beeps sent to the electrodes. Since this is basically a behavioral evaluation - Chloe should stop playing briefly or look around to find the sound - it was a little difficult to tell exactly where she is as far as response since she can't really tell us when she hears the beeps. She did respond to many of the beeps but after a while she was bored with it all and ready to leave. They did check the response of the electrodes on the computer and she had response in all 22 electrodes. After her mapping they turned her CI's on and she heard voices for the first time. The first video is one of her responses during mapping and the second video is her response to voices.



And her response to voices was....

Christmas Day 2008

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Christmas Day is always and exciting day around our house. This year the day started MUCH earlier than usual....at 1:21 a.m. Yes, my kids were much to excited about what Santa may have brought for them to sleep, so they were up at 1:21 am this morning checking out all the new toys. I let them check it out for a few minutes and then ran them back to their beds. They were up again at 6:30, we opened the remaining presents, played for a little while and then headed to Georgia for Christmas at my other grandmothers. We just go home a little while ago, so as you can imagine, 2 tired and excited kids + WAY too much good food + 6 hours driving time = 2 tired parents!Santa's visit...before the whirlwind effect of 2 kids


Checking out Santa's gifts....for the second time










and.....















the aftermath.....


By 7:15 am my house looked like the threats of tornados the night before had become a reality right in my living room!

Christmas in Georgia

Next we were off to Georgia where there were more presents, lots of good food, and dirty santa for the adults. I'm working tomorrow, so we headed home this evening.
Guess who started walking last night?!Chloe has been taking 3 or 4 steps at a time for the past few weeks, but last night she decided to get brave and walk across the room. She has since been walking non-stop. At one point today, she thought she'd try running!

Christmas Eve at Nana and Pop's

Tonight we had our family Christmas dinner at my parent's house. There was lots of good food and of course presents! The kids had a blast and have been wired ALL DAY LONG! They are now FINALLY sleeping so I've got to run...Gotta get ready for a visit from Santa! Tomorrow we're off to Georgia to spend Christmas day at my other grandmother's house. We'll be back tomorrow night, I've got to work Friday :( I'll try to post some pics of our Christmas Day tomorrow night. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!!!!
P.S. I hope everyone made it through the storms this afternoon without harm. Only in Alabama can you have tornado warnings on Christmas Eve!

Kaylyn's Christmas Play

Kaylyn had her Christmas play at church today. This year the play was "The Christmas County Spelling Bee." Kaylyn played the part of cheerleader, and of course she was thrilled about that. She had several speaking parts and a solo. She did a great job!

Kaylyn's very first solo

Ghosts Wonderful Memories of Christmas Pasts

2001 - Kaylyn and her Nana on her first Christmas Eve. She was 10 months old and starting to take her first steps.
2002 - Kaylyn was 22 months old and all about opening Christmas presents. Christmas 2002 also introduced the Fred Flinstone car that is still being driven by little feet around our house. This was a gift from Granny and Papa, but Paul actually carried the car in and gave it to her so she thought it was a gift from Paul. There was no convincing her otherwise and to this day she still thinks Paul gave her that car.
2003 - almost 3 years old. Doesn't she look scared to death? She never cried though, in fact, neither of my children have ever cried over a visit to Santa. We also found out just before this Christmas that Kaylyn would be a big sister. Yes, Luke was but a tiny speck, but well on his way.
2004 - Luke's first Christmas, he was 5 months old. Kaylyn was almost 4 year's old.
2005 - The kids with Granny and Papa. Kaylyn was almost 5 and Luke was 17 months old. This was the Christmas that my cousin Josh thought it would be a good idea to give my 17 month old son a drink of his "special" orange juice (I thought it was plain orange juice), which Luke loved and kept coming back for more, so Josh just kept giving it to him. Needless to say, Luke thoroughly enjoyed himself at the Kacharos family get-together that year.

2006 - Kaylyn was almost 6 years old. This is Kaylyn checking out the Lee Middleton dolls Santa had brought her that year.

Luke was 2 years old, and thus began his obsession with trains. Santa brought him a train table that year which he spent hours upon hours playing at....so many hours that the table eventually broke because he insisted on sitting on the table while he played. He still enjoys playing with his train set. Notice he was still hooked on his pappy. We finally convinced him that big boys did not need pappy's just after Christmas that year.

2007 - Kaylyn was almost 7 years old and Luke was 3 years old. This pic was taken at one of the family get-togethers and they were being so well-behaved. Of course I had told them before we arrived that Santa was still watching them so they were probably afraid to make a peep!

Luke's Christmas Play

I'm a few days late posting this. On Wednesday Luke had his school Christmas play. He was an angel, and was NOT happy. He didn't want to wear the angel costume and voiced his opinion of it to anyone who would listen. (I think he thought they were making him wear a dress.) I thought maybe the role of the donkey would have been more appropriate for Luke's stubborn personality! I can't imagine who he gets his stubborness from :) He did very well though and said his line perfectly...."We bring you good tidings of great joy." Can you see how thrilled he was to be wearing his angel costume? His part was first and then he was to sit in his chair with the rest of the group while all the other children said their parts. This was the look he had on his face through the entire play.

Yep....still wearing that same face at the end of the play....never changed, not one time.

Ready to get this costume off!

Of course there was a visit from Santa.

First Day Post-Op

I went upstairs to see Chloe this morning when I got to work and she is doing great. As you can see she has a little swelling which is to be expected. She is also pretty dizzy, but we were told to expect this for the next few days. She's so funny trying to sit up, she looks like she's had a few to many margaritas! Overall she's doing well and will get to go home later this morning.

"What HAPPENED to me during my nap yesterday?!"

I got a little smile out of her

Silly girl, eating the socks they put on her hands to keep her from pulling at her bandages.

First after surgery pic

Ya'll know I just had to sneak back and get a quick pic. She'll go to her room in around an hour. I'm going home now to get my own kids.

It's Over!!!

We just spoke with Dr. Wooley and he said the surgery went well. Both CI's were placed with no complications. The most incredible news came from the audiologist though....During the electrode testing (which tells if there is nerve response to sound) there was response from 5 of the electrodes. This means Chloe WILL hear. She will be activated on December 31 and will be turned up in stages so everyday noise, which she has never heard, won't scare her. She's still in reovery now and we can see her in about an hour. Thank you all for your prayers.

Surgery update #2

1 down, 1 to go. The OR nurse just called to update us and said Dr. Wooley had finished the first CI and was starting on the second one now.

Surgery update #1

The OR nurse just called and said Chloe's first CI started at 1:25. That's all for now.

Surgery Update

Chloe's surgery finally started at 12:30. She was so good while we waited even though she was hungry and sleepy. She took a short power nap and then was ready to go again. I'll update more info as we know it. Check back soon!

This is her last pic taken before CI.

....Still Waiting....

No news yet. We are still waiting for surgery to start. Hopefully soon.

Tomorrow's the Big Day

After months of waiting and worrying the big day has finally arrived. Chloe will have surgery to place bilateral Cochlear implants at around 10:00 in the morning. Please remember her in your prayers as this is no minor surgery. The surgery itself will last around 6 hours, then she'll spend the night in the hospital and should come home on Tuesday. I will be posting updates as we receive them.

Christmas at Granny's

Tonight we had our kicked off our marathon of Christmas family get-together's at my Granny's house. It was great to be able to spend time with family. Granny outdid herself with ton's of good food. Of course the kid's favorite part was opening presents. I forgot to charge my camera battery so the few pics I got are not that great, but I'm posting them anyway. Sorry for the poor quality!

He's At It Again...

The Christmas that Luke was 2 1/2 years old he was very in to keeping things organized. He stacked all of his blocks by color and size, he kept all of his cars in a straight line grouped by color and size (and a complete melt-down would befall us if we even thought of moving one of them), he was the most OCD two year old around. So naturally that year he kept my Christmas tree well organized as well. I would let him arrange the ornaments how he wanted, (because Heaven forbid anything be disorderly) then when he wasn't looking I put the ornaments back in their original place. Of course being the observant toddler that he was, the disarray didn't last long. The phase passed and last year, there was no organizing of the Christmas ornaments. This year when I let the kids hang the ornaments this is what he did:

I guess his organizational phase just took a little break. Now if he could only put it to good use....like cleaning his room!

P.S. Can you spot the master photographer?

Piercings?....Already?....

As I walked into the bathroom last night, Kaylyn quickly hid what she had in her hand behind her back and had that "I just got caught" look on her face. Of course my mommy radar went up and I started questioning her about what she had in her hand. When she very reluctantly opened her hand there was an earring in it. The following conversation went like this:

Me: What are you doing?
Kaylyn: (innocently) Nothing....
Me: What are you planning to do with that earring?
Kaylyn: (sigh) I'm piercing my tongue.
Me: ........

I really didn't think the subject of body piercings would be an issue around my house for several more years........

Santa Pics

2 down, 3 to go....

I took my last final exam for the semester this morning. I am soooo glad this semester is O-Ver! I didn't think it was ever going to end. I'm just glad I won't be reading Geriatric Nursing anymore. (Yuck, Gag, Ugh) Anyway, 2 semesters down, 3 more to go...

P.S. I hope everyone weathered the storm well last night. I spent the night with a scared child in my bed. Said child was lying in my bed with the blankets pulled to her nose with eyes as wide as saucers, chin quivering with every clap of thunder. I was seriously wondering if we had any sedatives in the medicine cabinet! Not really, but I was really happy (and exhausted) when she finally gave it up and fell asleep, after only 3 hours.... Only in Alabama can you have tornadoes and snow in the same week. Gotta love it!

APPROVED!!!!

The board approved Chloe's second implant this morning!!! What a relief!! 5 more days until Chloe gets her "new ears." Thank you all for your prayers.

The Big Decision

Today there will be some big decisions made regarding Chloe's surgery. Please continue to pray for a vote in our favor. I will update when I know more.

Chloe's First Birthday Party

This afternoon we had Chloe's birthday party. She didn't know what to think about all of the festivities that were just for her. She had fun opening her presents and of course eating her cake! Her surgery is still scheduled for December 15, just a little over a week away. On Wednesday we go to Montgomery where some big decisions will be made about the insurance coverage of her surgery. Please pray for a decision in our favor.

Presents, Presents, Presents!!!!

It's Cake Time!

Get this thing off of my head NOW! I don't like it one bit!

Waiting patiently on cake

A cake just for me?

Yummy Yummy!

No more cake...I'll just eat the card board.

Okay, I'm bored with this now. Somebody get me out of this chair NOW!

Happy Birthday Chloe!!!!

I can't believe she's a year old already! Her birthday party will be Saturday and I'm sure I'll have lots of pics to post then.