Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Ruidoso, New Mexico

My mother and I took William, Harrison, and Emma (my niece) to Ruidoso, NM. My brother lives there with his fiance', Serena. We had a blast! This was my first time to be there in the Summer. It is even more beautiful in the Summer. We did so much.

William had a blast fishing. He bought his rod with his winnings.

Emma had a blast fishing. She bought her rod with her winnings.
They did not catch a fish with their rods, but they did catch tadpoles with their hands.

We saw a growing volcano called the Valley of Fires. The kids enjoyed climbing on the burnt lava rock. This valley is the third youngest growing volcano.

My brother told the kids there was a black bear hanging out in the woods near his cabin. They watched for that bear every night. William spotted him on Saturday morning. He was playing outside and we heard him scream. The next thing we knew he was standing in the door saying, "I just saw the bear!". His face was so excited. It was pretty cool.

We went on a car ride to Billy the Kid Landmarks, which took us to Lincoln, NM where Billy the Kid was finally shot and killed. William liked this too. Harrison was not too impressed. He was asleep in the car. I am taking all of the photos, so I am not in any of them.

Harrison had fun playing in the mud!

My mom, Emma, William, Jeremy (brother), and Harrison.

William after he won his first $5 bucks.

Emma, Harrison and William

Jeremy, Emma and William cashing in again.

One of the horse races.

Harrison feeding himself applesauce. This is a new development (post pacemaker).

William and Emma drinking out of camping metal cups.

My brother, Jeremy and his fiance', Serena (on the right).
Serena's mother, Maurice and my mother, Sandy (on the left).


We had an old fashion gun show followed by a real cowboy camp out dinner.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Pacing right along...

Harrison had his pacemaker 6 week follow up today to check on everything. Since it was implanted on April 24, Harrison has gained 3.5 pounds and grew 2 inches. He is beginning to look 2.5 years old. Today he weighs 26 pounds and is 33 inches tall.

He did not like having the pacemaker checked. He screamed for a good 15 minutes while the nurses looked for the pacemaker with the little mouse. Apparently, H's pacemaker moved. It was located between muscles on his right side. In the past few days it must have slid down the muscle into his left side. I was unable to get any pictures of him. I was too busy singing to him to keep him calm. The nurses said I should get a job helping calm the children. They said most parents don't help calm their children. They expect the nurses to do it. I can't imagine! Those poor children. Harrison is the one going through all of this, I am just a bystander. The least I can do for my child is to help soothe him.

They did an x-ray to confirm the location of the pacemaker. They wanted to make sure the wires were not running out of length. We don't want those breaking, because then we'd be back in the OR. They want to see us in 4 weeks to check on the pacer's location. Except for that, everything else looks good. The pacer is pacing the bottom chambers at 100% and the top chambers at 15%.

On a lighter note, I have plantar fasciitis and early stages of hallus limitus. All on my right foot. Wow, does it hurt. Ah, the first signs of aging I guess!