i can see clearly now the rain is gone.

andrew's eye surgery was this past friday. i admit that it has taken a lot out of all of us. chris and i spent most of last week worrying about it, anticipating it, and then we spent this week keeping andrew's hands from his eyes and dealing with some very bad behavior. we can only assume that his behavior has something to do with recovering, but needless to say, it is still very difficult.

playing, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

the doctor was fixing a turn in both his eyes. you can see the turn above. we've worked with dialating drops and patches to get his eyes to a point where both were turning - so that the doctor could easily adjust the muscles.

before hand - driving around, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

we were a bit worried about an IV, blood draw, etc. the staff was unbelievable. after we got him changed into his adorable kid-surgery jammies, (and awesome yellow socks), he was able to play in a special kid-waiting room. and when he needed to go to another room so they could check his blood pressure and have mama sign some more paperwork? they allowed him to drive down the halls.

quick cuddles, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

they whisked him away pretty quickly. i know that they do this for the kids - because kids will get upset if they know in advance that they are leaving mom and dad - but man, was i taken off guard. the nurse ran off with him so quickly that i had to ask her to turn around so that i could give him a kiss.

coming out of the anesthesia, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

in the end, all was well. apparently most kids come out of anesthesia screaming and crying, and andrew was no different. we spent a good hour cuddling, trying to get him to drink some juice (he wanted milk, nothing else), until he was able to converse with us a little and watch mickey mouse youtube videos on the ipod.

not too big a fan of blood or things medical, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

of course we are never complete without a little drama. when we were preparing to leave, chris was holding andrew as they took the IV out. andrew fought it which made some blood come out of the place where the IV had been. and before we knew it, chris had fainted. really, unbelievable. i had to apologize to him because i have often doubted his truthfulness when he says all the medical shows on tv make him lightheaded.

surgeon costume, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

you can see the redness in his eyes, and now it is really starting to fade. the doctor says we are in very good shape and that he likely won't need a repeat surgery. he is healing and hopefully, his behavior will improve.

thankfully we are past this step. now if i could only keep chris from fainting, i'd be made in the shade...

make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch.

made to match, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

i may try but i do not have much skills when it comes to sewing. i mean, i can hold my own... i actually sewed andrew's halloween costume this year, but by no means can i make the things my mom has. i recently asked my mom how to do something related to sewing and she told me, "you're a smart girl, you'll figure it out." well, sometimes smarts do not help at all when you are seriously challenged.

andrew's windows remained bare until his first birthday party. i was embarrassed and we bought some of the cheapie plastic blinds from walmart (which have proved to be a poor purchase, evidenced by the pictures of the curtains - andrew has attacked them many times.) i made a trip to a fabulous fabric store and found fabric that perfectly matched the border on the wall and our paint color. i bought enough for the curtains and my mom quickly sewed them up in time for the party.

fast forward, what, almost a year, and i wanted to get more fabric for a cover for the bumper. i wanted something updated for our new baby. a second baby never gets much that is new and all his own, so i liked the idea of sprucing things up. surprise, surprise... the fabric store didn't have any more of the fabric, but after scanning the curtain to the shop owner, i knew the maker and name of the fabric. i was able to order some online and find some matching colors that i hadn't seen before.

and so, my mom has sewn me a cover for the bumper. with coordinating ties in orange and yellow. i am in love with this bumper. and christian loves laughing and pulling the side down to peek at his brother in the other bed.

new bumper, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

which is stinking adorable. except when mama is taking a pic.

talk about movin'.

love, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

andrew is at that age where staying home all day, every day, means lots of boredom. the beautiful weather of fall, spring and summer spoil him. he loves being outside and going places.

he is also at that age where craft projects are not the easiest thing to do. he gets frustrated, and i get frustrated, and we wake up his baby brother with our LOUD frustration. needless to say, our days indoors are spent doing lots of puzzles and reading.

we go to target or the mall, mostly for the entertainment purpose, and to tire out my little guy. staying inside the house doesn't give him the opportunity to burn off enough energy.

so every day, when i get him dressed, he asks me where we are going. some days the answer is simply that we are not going anywhere. this never pleased him because he wants to hear that we are going somewhere, even if it is just to the grocery store. and so i started telling him we were going to funky town, just to get him to be quiet.

the only bad thing is that now he keeps asking about monkey town, (his translation), and i have no answer but... let's do another puzzle.

this is how it goes.

this is how it goes, originally uploaded by sassyladybug.

this is what typically happens when i try to take a picture of the boys. lots of movement, lots of grabbing - which used to be andrew, but now, christian has an affinity for reaching out and taking anything in his near vicinity, specifically, andrew's glasses. there is lots of crying, lots of smiles, lots of mommy's voice getting louder-Louder-LOUDER, encouraging them to just look at me. christian has a great focus, and so it is usually andrew that looks away.

and for sitting still - there is usually a treat afterwards. for mama, too.