Little Christian

Well, the day is almost upon us. In just a couple short days (Monday, March 1st), our little man will be going in for surgery #2, AKA the "Big One." I met with the surgeon and the anaesthesiologist yesterday which began the reality of it all. The details - no eating after midnight, putting him under with gas first so he's not awake for the needles and the tube in the throat deal, 2 nights in the hospital at least, etc. The rules for after - ear tubes and arm restraints for 3 weeks, absolutely NOTHING in the mouth except food of course, which must be 100% pureed, Tylenol with Codine, etc. etc. etc. It's a lot to consider and though we've done this once before, there's just no real way to prepare for weeks of recovery. The funny thing is that I'm really not that nervous. I know he's in the best hands possible; Up Top and here below (the doctors preforming the surgery are the ones who actually developed this particular way of closing the palate, which is now being used all over the world). And though I'm not really nervous, I am sad - for Christian. It'll be hard on him, but my comfort lies in the fact that it'll be worth it and he won't remember any of it. :0)

Huh, when I started this post, my intention was to just talk about how this little man has taken over my heart, since I realized I haven't written much about him here and he's already 10 months old. Guess the surgery thing's just on my mind. Anyway, this is just a little tribute to him and why I love him:

1. His big brown eyes and his lashes that are at least 6 times longer than mine (I'm totally jealous).

2. His hair. He gets complimented on it everywhere we go.

3. His dimples. Though everyone says he looks just like his daddy, I can say that the dimples are my stamp and mine alone! :0)

4. How he'll sit in my lap, lean his head against my chest, stick his thumb in his mouth, and read book after book after book; making sure he's the one to turn each page. (The book reading's another stamp of mine :0) )

5. His smile of triumph after crying uncontrollably once I've finally given in and picked him up, though I've been trying to do the dishes, clean the house, the laundry, etc.

6. The way he throws himself face-down, spread eagle, screaming when I've walked past him and haven't picked him up.

7. The way he slaps his hands down on the floor when he crawls. I can always hear where he's going.

8. How he shakes his head "no" even though he has no idea what it means. When he was just getting comfortable sitting up, sometimes he'd shake his head so hard, he'd fall over! :0)

9. That he's a cuddler.

10. How he smiles at everyone he meets.

11. The fact that he loves to eat everything - from the spicy - banana peppers and rice and beans to the healthy - hummus, fruits and veggies.

12. How he drops whatever he's doing and crawls to the door when he hears Walmir come home.

13. How he races to the bathroom as soon as he hears the tub water running.

14. How active he is. Staying in one spot is simply not an option.

15. How determined he is to figure something out &

16. how frustrated he gets when he can't. (I already have visions of a miniature Walmir throwing his racket, kicking the dirt, and yelling in anger when he's had a bad game)

17. How he likes to hold my hand when I feed him a bottle.

18. How he stays content in his crib nestled in his blankets until I go get him each morning.

19. How he loves the outdoors more than anything else in this world.

20. His laugh when he's getting tickled or when the dogs are near.

21. And most of all...I love him simply because he's mine. :0)

There's more, of course, but these are things that stick out right now. He's just been a joy. And I have loved every second of being his mother...