Thankful

Let the Wild Rumpus Start!

These are the three books Katrina chose at bedtime.



Together, they just about sum up her personality.



In other news, Annika and hubby went up to Mainz today to get Annika's stitches out. Because of her prematurity, the anethesiologist is being extra careful and keeping Annika overnight in the hospital just to make sure she has no adverse reactions. So it's awful quiet this evening. I have one picture of the "new, improved" baby, taken with hubby's phone, so not my usual stellar photo quality (it's hard to write that with a straight face). So, here is the preliminary "reveal" of Extreme Makeover: Baby Edition.



More pictures to come, of course.

But for tonight, a good night's sleep. A luxury...if I could just stop feeling like there's something (someone) missing.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig

Annika and I are home from the hospital! The surgeon said the surgery went perfectly. Her nose is already looking much more symmetrical. Her incision is covered with thin strips if medical tape, making her look like she has whiskers. But her upper lip looks nearly normal to me, except for the vertical line of black stitches slightly left of center.

She doesn't seem to be in much pain, and is smiling off and on. Eating is a bit of a challenge. She seems to be trying not to engage her upper lip too much, which makes for somewhat messy feedings. On the other hand, when she does use her upper lip, the milk comes a bit too fast for her and she chokes a bit. We may experiment with slower-flow nipples as she heals a bit more.

My husband will take her back up to the hospital next Wednesday to get stitches out; she will need general anaesthesia for that, so they may stay the night just for observation afterwards.

Annika's face will continue to change over the next year. It should be interesting to watch. Right now, we're relieved it all went well.

Before

Tomorrow Annika checks into the hospital, with me rooming in. Wednesday morning, she will have surgery to correct her lip. Germans like their patients to stay in the hospital a bit longer than in the States. Doc said she'd be an inpatient for 5 days. Stay tuned for "after" pictures once she's healed a bit.

If everything goes as planned, we should both be back home by Sunday night. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers, please. "See" you next week.

Everything's Gonna Be Alright

Katrina's had a tough few months, what with the addition of a brand-new baby and starting at a brand-new school. And being the little extrovert that she is, all of her feelings are expressed...loudly. Trust me, unless you have been here to witness it (hi, grandparents!), you have NO IDEA how loudly.

But things seem to be calming down a bit. And Katrina's fallen in love with the baby, bit by bit. And Annika's first real laugh, just a week ago, came when Katrina leaned into her line of sight and smiled.

The other morning, I mentioned the upcoming surgery to mend Annika's cleft lip (November 19).

"Oh, poor Annika!" said Katrina.

"I know, but she needs it to fix her lip," I said.

"No she doesn't! She's cute the way she is!"

And, that, folks, is when I fell in love all over again with my amazing older daughter.