Olivia is FIVE months old!

I think this has been the month of the most changes for Olivia so far- she really seems more grown up these days and things really are happening fast. She can now grab and hold onto toys and often, if within reach, she can pick them and often put them in her mouth. Early in July she found her feet- and when waking up from a nap, she is often playing with them. Changing her diaper can be an issue because her feet are often up in the air. Not only does she put thinks her mouth- but she can do fun things with her mouth. A friend taught her to make Indian Like "Ah Ah Ah" sounds- when her mouth is open and we put a finger over again and again. This last week she is making all sorts of rasberry sounds- which also means a lot of drool! And this last week a few times we have taken something away and she has gotten upset- Nate and I are not ready for this! She still sleeps really well overall which is wonderful. She didnt mind when I had my surgery - she had a great time with Grandma. And even the week after when I wasnt supposed to pick her up- she played in her swing and jumper and on the floor and waited for Dad to get her when needed. We love her more everyday! She is a JOY!

I think you can go and see more pics from the month here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2080721&id=2102720&l=99a5236422

Caroline Recovering Well from Surgery

Caroline's thyroidectomy was today. She did great.

We were asked to be there at 7:30am for pre-op. We checked in and went to the room where she got in her hospital gown and had an IV put in. (The nurses had to try 4 different times because Caroline was so dehydrated. That happens when you're asked not to drink or eat after midnight the night before surgery.) We were hoping that was it for the day's mishaps. Thankfully it was.

I got to stay with Caroline until they brought her down to surgery shortly after 10am. The sign indicated she was in surgery at 10:42. I waited with my friends Randon and Kelly Willard who were in the area and offered to come by.

Somewhere around 12:30 pm, the surgeon came to find me with the good news. He was short and to the point, but this is what I learned:
1) The surgery went very well.
2) They were able to completely remove her thyroid.
3) They were able to identify and preserve her parathyroid glands (near the thyroid, regulates body's calcium levels).
4) They were able to identify and preserve the nerves that lead to her larynx (so her speech was not affected).
5) They were able to look at her lymph nodes and keep them in as well (doesn't look like the cancer spread).
6) She'll be on a pill a day for the rest of her life to replace her thyroid hormones.
7) She'll be checked periodically to ensure that the cancer doesn't reoccur.

Then the real waiting began. I wasn't able to see her until around 3pm, and I'm still not exactly sure why. But when I finally was able to see her, she looked tired and sore, but generally OK. She quickly perked up after getting some pain meds (Tylenol with Codeine) and a glass of water.

We spent some time together, and after Caroline had an early dinner (turkey, stuffing, roll, cake, etc...), I went to check on my mother-in-law and Olivia. They were doing well, we went out for a quick bite to eat, then back to the hospital. They hung out for a while, I brought them back and went back to the hospital for another couple hours. Got back to the hotel in time to help Olivia fall back asleep (I guess she woke up after only being asleep for an hour or two.)

Olivia did AWESOME today, by the way. Bev said they had a great time together.

For those of you that have been praying for us, thank you so very much! We do feel that this whole thing went better than expected. Please continue to pray that Caroline continues to have a smooth recovery. She's staying the night, but we expect she will be discharged early tomorrow morning.

We go back in a week for a check-up and to get her prescription for her thyroid hormone replacement meds. In a couple of months Caroline will undergo a radioactive iodine treatment to kill off any remaining thyroid cells throughout her body. We'll keep people updated on that as we learn more ourselves.

Hospital for Surgery 7:30 AM Tuesday

Just a quick update that we are in Hershey PA for my surgery (Caroline)- we head to the hospital at 7:30 am, so I think my surgery may start an hour or so after that. My mom is here to help us take care of Olivia which is great. Nate will try to post updates as he can- he may be a bit busy taking care of Olivia and me:) Thank you for all your prayers and sweet notes and calls, they are not missed and MUCH MUCH appreciated. I feel SO covered in prayer. Thank you!

Trip to DC

Apparently I am not good at updating the blog on a regular basis, but more in chunks- oh well! Not sure exactly who reads it anyways, but I hope you enjoy none the less:)

Even though we spent a month in MA visiting people, there were others a bit closer to home in PA we still wanted to see. Two weekends ago we got to Nate's college friend Mark and his growing family- since we last saw them, we both had children- our first and their second son. It was AMAZING how small he was- he was only a few weeks old, but only 4 months younger than Olivia. I cant believe how small she once was! Time really does pass TOO fast!

This last weekend we made to the DC area and it was a blast, though tiring, especially for Olivia. We got to use some frequent flier miles for hotel in the area- it was a BLAST staying in a nice hotel for FREE. As you can Olivia made herself at home!

We also made it to the air and space museum and walked along the mall.

Olivia found some comfy chairs along the way too- this was actually the first time we saw her shake her rattle! Seems like there are new things everyday!

On the way home we had lunch with another of Nate's college friends, Ryan in Baltimore. We actually visited his church first and got to hear him preach, something Nate had been wanting to do for a long time! Then headed through PA to see Andy and Emily Otto and their new house. Apparently Andy was VERY excited to meet Olivia- his facebook status before our arrival read:

"Any minute now, I get to hang out with Olivia Daman. I'm so excited I'm a little embarassed. Critics can say what they want, I think she's got really bright future. So original, unconstrained. They tell me she doesn't talk much. Hope that isn't awkward. Just going for eye contact really. I'm hoping to get pictur...es with her, but I left my camera in Philly. Anybody have conversation starters for a 4 month-old?"

Now we only need to meet the Paine's and Willard's and I think all of Nate's college friends will have met Olivia...now on to mine! haha. That might mean a trip to CA...maybe someday soon...

Baby Friends:)

When in MA, Olivia had a great time meeting Inez, photos on facebook:)

But this week we got to hang out with Lily who lives across the street from us in PA and who was born just three days before Olivia- we just missed each other in the hospital! Though we have gone on walks together before, I was curious to see how much they would notice each other. Not so much just yet. At one point they did play footsie, kinda...but they may have been all for now. I cant wait to see them get to know each other in the months to come though!

Reaching out to Summer Freshmen

Yesterday Olivia and I headed to campus with Nate to reach out to freshmen starting summer session at Penn State. It was a beautiful day on campus- Nate and I both got a little suburned but Olivia stayed mostly covered in her stroller and I COVERED her in baby sunscreen so she was good. We joined Nate and Eric, one of the guys Nate meets with, to ask students to fill out a survey for a chance to win a best buy giftcard or free pizza. In two hours we collected 52 surveys and 24 said they would like to be followed up in some way! Praise God! I was a bit surprised that Olivia didnt draw in more people. I thought she would be a huge draw but only one girl commented on her...I did have her turned away though to be out of the sun, so maybe thats why:) Nate went back yesterday evening and again today- last count I heard were over 50 people to be followed up with! And Nate is at the very first bible study meeting right now- I am home with sleeping Olivia:)
I tried to capture Nate talking to people without taking sketchy pics...
Olivia was content to play in her stroller the whole time- she did GREAT! Then took a nap while we had chick-fil-a for lunch in the student center:) She was awesome!!!