The Grass Family Chronicles

Andy has had teary eyes from the time he was about 1 1/2 years old. It is kind of unusual for kids that age to develop this condition; usually it's newborns, and it's resolved by the time they're a year old. Anyways, Andy's eyes seemed to be getting a little worse every year, so the doctor suggested it be corrected with a small procedure. Basically, they clean the tear draining holes (I don't know the proper terminology, but I do know there are two per eye!) with a small wire then put silicone tubes in them to keep them open and knot them together in his sinus cavity.


So, today was the big day. We woke up a little earlier than normal to get to Emmanuel Hospital which, incidentally, is the hospital I was born in! We checked in and got Andy all ready in his hospital pajamas. He loved the cool bed with the warm blankets, but he especially loved the TV on the ceiling. I knew that he was scared (because he would whisper it to me every so often) but he was so brave whenever the nurses asked him to do something. They gave him some medicine to make him sleepy, and then I said good-bye and they wheeled him off to the operating room.


I tried not to imagine worst-case scenarios as I waited, and fortunately I didn't have to wait long. Dr. Goodman came in to get me after about half an hour and everything went very well. Andy was kind of freaking out when I went into the recovery room, but he was still pretty drugged out. Once he calmed down a bit, I carried him all the way back to another recovery room (it was really far, and that kid is HEAVY!) and he was much happier once the TV was on again, and he got a popsicle for his troubles.

Fast forward a few hours, and you would never know he had surgery this morning. He's upstairs playing with Caleb and Jakey, and aside from the occasional bloody nose, no worse for the wear. Well, there are those pesky tubes in his eyes. If only he would stop picking at them; hopefully they'll stay in there for the next six months!

Posted in: on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at at 3:28 PM 4 comments  

We've been doing a lot of lightsaber dueling at our house. It's quite a workout! Here are some pictures of my little Jedis.

Darth Bubba, in his too big cape:



The fierce Jedi Caleb:



Jedi Ninja Andy:

Posted in: on Saturday, January 24, 2009 at at 9:05 AM 0 comments  

Jakey has been saying too many words to count lately. This week he started on two-word sentences and amusingly, his first one is "Help Me!". As he shouted as he was trying to put on these sunglasses.

Posted in: on Friday, January 16, 2009 at at 4:46 PM 1 comments  

Hey there, folks. There hasn't been much blogging lately, probably because there hasn't been much going on to blog about. Here are a couple of tidbits to tide you over until something exciting happens around here!

Paul went on a business trip last week, and it has become the boys' and my tradition to go out for ice cream when he's gone. Yes, we drown our sorrows in chocolate chip cookie dough (their current favorite!). We always have a great time - how can you not, when ice cream is involved?

Posted in: on at at 4:15 PM 0 comments  

Grandma thought it would be a great idea to take a family picture before everyone started leaving, so last night, after we at our last meal together (awesome pizza by Uncle Paul and Aunt Peggy!) we sat ourselves down in the living room and did our best to smile and not look at the kids. It took a few tries, but we did a pretty good job!

Posted in: on Saturday, January 3, 2009 at at 9:45 AM 1 comments  

One of the coolest gifts Caleb and Andy got were some handmade knights costumes from Grandma. Caleb is the Knight of the Lion and Andy is the Knight of the Wolf. They enjoy putting them on and strutting around the house saying "En Guard!" and "I'll save you from that bad guy!". Pretty cute!

Posted in: on at at 9:44 AM 0 comments  

We all stayed together to bring in the New Year - playing the Wii. All the grown-up kids made it just long enough to watch the ball drop in Times Square before heading off to bed. We made it, just barely!

Posted in: on at at 9:43 AM 0 comments  

Last, but not least, our Christmas in Auburn. After church, we all drove up to Auburn to celebrate Christmas with the rest of our extended family there. It's funny how the boys can go for long times without seeing Gramee or Grampee, or even going to their house, but within minutes it's like no time has passed since the last time we were there. One of the first things they always do is plop themselves right down in one of the comfy recliners.



Gramee cooked a wonderful ham dinner, afterward we opened Christmas presents. Gramee and Grampee started a great tradition years ago, giving all the grandkids and now great-grandkids socks for Christmas. Caleb and Andy loved their Spiderman and Thomas the Tank Engine socks!




Afterward, we had some great pie dessert (our favorite: banana cream pie!) and relaxed with family. The boys just love having all these relatives around!

Posted in: on at at 9:39 AM 0 comments  

The kids' Christmas recital at church was postponed due to all that snow we got, so they sang a modified version of it at church the Sunday after Christmas. That was better for us anyways, since all the aunts and uncles got to be there.

Posted in: on at at 9:37 AM 1 comments  

Once all the family were in town, we had our "official" Christmas celebration at Grandma and Grandpa's. That other one was just a warm-up. :)

We started with a Christmas story book read by Aunt Peggy. Caleb and Andy really got into it!



Uncle Michael just got back from Korea and he brought the boys books - Caleb really likes his Korean "Where's Waldo?" book!



We went round and round until the boys finally got to the "big" toy. They were so excited! I think Caleb laid on the couch gazing at his Lego for at least 10 minutes. Ha! He had been saving up for the Lego that Grandma and Grandpa got him, so he was especially happy.




And Jakey - all it takes is a ball!

Posted in: on at at 9:35 AM 0 comments  

Okay, people, prepare yourselves for the deluge of Christmas posts. We've got lots to go through!

Christmas #1 was on the actual Christmas day, first at our house. Caleb got up very early (he's finally at that stage!) but quietly waited downstairs with Dad until Andy and Jakey woke up. It was a long wait (almost two hours!) and I am very impressed that he held out! First, we opened stockings.



It's funny how different the boys are; Caleb likes to open everything as quickly as possible so he can scan all his gifts and play with his favorites. Andy is very methodical; slowly unwrapping the gift, putting all his wrapping paper in one pile, looking at his gift for a while, then putting those all in another pile. Jakey didn't realize what the gifts were, but let me tell you, by the end of Christmas he knew just what to do!




The boys (and I) have started a tradition of making Paul a gift each year. This year we decorated an apron.



After opening gifts at our house, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's for brunch and a few more gifts. Jakey especially loved "Doggy".

Posted in: on at at 9:30 AM 0 comments