Hayden's Activation Day!

Hayden was finally activated this afternoon. It's been 6 weeks since his cochlear implant surgery. After school, we had lunch and he had a little quiet time. Actually, his time wasn't quiet, but at least I tried. At 2:00, we made our way downtown for his activation appointment. Thankfully, Hayden fell asleep on the drive in. I wanted him to be rested so that he might be easier to work with. Recently, his visits with his audiologist has been hit or miss. Sometimes he will be good during mappings, others he screams and fights.

Going into the mapping room, Hayden was pretty good. He did try to lock and unlock all the doors around so he didn't want to sit. After getting caught up with our team, we began the process. When it came time to have Hayden wear his new implant, oh boy, he was not going to have it. He screamed and fought every time I tried to put it on. Luckily, we got just enough time to see that everything was looking good. Dr. Ross had to guess at a low setting and seemed to be happy with the small response that Hayden gave him. Our job this week is to get Hayden used to wearing the implant so that on Friday, Dr. Ross can do a better adjustment with a true response from Hayden.

After we got home and had dinner, I tried to get Hayden to put on his ear. Initially, I tried bribery with a lollipop and then ice cream. He kept saying no, so into timeout he went. This worked last year with the first one, so I thought I'd try it again. Nope. He willingly walked himself to his timeout spot and sat down. After a few minutes, he got out. I was talking to the girls and turned around to see his implant was gone! I thought I lost it. I started to get really upset and angry, asking the girls to help me find it. Hayden realized I was getting angry and walked into the living room with a guilty smile on his face. He walks to one of his trains on the coffee table, then to another one on the floor by the couch. Inside of each is a part of the implant. The little stinker took his implant from behind my back, took it apart, then hid the 2 pieces in 2 different places. No one can tell me my child isn't smart.

Finally, I had to tell him if he wouldn't wear the implant it was time for bed and took his shoes off. This is what finally did it. He didn't want his shoes off or go to bed. So, I was able to get him to wear it. He spent the rest of the evening almost happily wearing his implant. He even asked me to put it back on when it fell off. Let's see if we have better luck tomorrow.

Trip Video

Here are some memories from our trip. I hope you enjoy it.

First Days

School started yesterday. We were prepared to go Monday morning. Backpacks were ready, lunches packed, clothes picked out, supplies at school. Everything was a go. The morning was fast, but smooth considering we haven't had to do this in 3 months. The girls were great going to their classes. No tears or anything, though I was waiting for it with Sydney. Nope, she's a big 2nd grader now. Anna has the school's new, only male teacher, Mr. Dulworth. We think he's great so far. He has high energy and loves to challenge the mind. Sydney is with Mrs. Bickley. She's a fabulous teacher and is a good match for our little Syd Syd. This will be a great year for our girls.

Then we were off to Hayden's school. He goes to another elementary school, Bush, which has the only deaf ed/auditory class in The Woodlands. His teacher, Mrs. Kehlenbeck, is wonderful. She is really going to help Hayden. I think there are 5 kids in his class and he will have so many opportunities to expand on his language skills. Hayden will go MWF for 3 hours.

The other 2 days, he goes to a regular preschool. I was very anxious about that today. I can't explain it, but I actually wondered if it was a good decision. Since he still isn't potty trained and has a few other issues we are still working on, I didn't know if he could handle being in the class. Today went well, so I just need to see how things go. Time will tell. His teachers are very nice so that will help.

This year is going to be an interesting year. Three kids, three schools, PTO obligations, household obligations, surgery and cancer treatment, a husband. Life is not dull in the Doornik family.

What a trip!

The kids and I rolled into our driveway last night at 10 pm. That ended our 22 day trip across the western half of the USA. I'm really amazed that 1) we made it, 2) I drove every single one of the 5947 miles, and 3) my kids had a great time. One of my favorite quotes from Anna was "Mom, why is America so beautiful?" We saw such a variety of countryside from the deserts of Arizona to the California Redwoods to the plains of Kansas and everything in between. The scenery was great to see in between the family visits.

We didn't make many stops along the way home. I think we all were ready to be home. Hayden was a little car sick on Monday afternoon. This is the one and only time on the trip that any of the kids was sick. Not to bad. We also had a little bit of traffic right before entering Texas. Two miles to the state line and we had to stop. It was torture to be so close and yet so far. Once in the state, it almost felt like we were home, even though we still had another 5 hours to drive. We do the Dallas/Houston drive enough that it's not travel.

This trip meant a lot to me. First, I missed my family a lot. I mean, a lot! It's been a long time since I've seen most of them. Second, most of the family hasn't met Hayden yet. I really needed him to have a chance to get those early memories of the people I love. Third, there were so many places I used to go as a kid that were special to me. I wanted the chance to share that with my children. I know they got different things out of this trip than what I got, but that's okay. That's the joy of trip like this. Finally, I wanted to end the past year on a bang. Last summer was terrible. With chemo, we were so limited on our family fun. This summer, I just wanted to do something that we could talk about for years to come and have a smile on our faces. I think we did that.

Thank you to everyone that hosted us. My grandparents and dad were amazing to put up with us. The Ryans, Stiblings, Hoys and Granholms fed us and kept us entertained. The cousins were an absolute hit with my 3. Seeing my brothers and sister-in-law not once, but twice was great. And having my Uncle Steve and Aunt Holly along the way was very special. I even considered adding to our family by adopting a kitty and a puppy. I rethought that though when I considered our drive home!

Next trip though, Jason will be there. That was the only thing that could have made this any better. The kids and I missed him so much. I really wished that he could have flown out for part of the time. I guess we will have to do it all again so he can come. ;)

WWRT - Days 14 - 19

As of 6:30 pm today, our vacation was unofficially over. I say that because I'm still in a hotel room with my kids, roughly 2200 miles from home. I'm hoping we can make it in 3 days, but I have 4 days set aside to get there.

Tuesday, we spent a wonderful day with my cousin Heather and her kids. We all just talked and played the day away. Heather was so sweet and made an appointment for me to get my hair cut. She knew I wanted to do that when we got home. It was fun to watch our 6 kids just be kids and play with their cousins.

Wednesday, we left Seattle and headed to Yakima. I originally planned on going through Mt. Rainier, but the cloud cover was so low, I didn't think we'd see anything. Instead, we went to Snoqualmie Falls and on through the pass. That afternoon, the kids were swimming at my grandparents' pool with more cousins.

Thursday was sightseeing day! We drove around Yakima and saw the number of houses and schools I spent my childhood in. We had another great afternoon with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. I love my family!

Friday, we went down into the valley and visited with my Great Uncle Dave and his daughter Donna. Our visit included my Uncle Steve and Aunt Holly. I was lucky to have them along most of our trip. Then, back to the Ryans for more family bonding.

This was party weekend! My cousins had us over for an anniversary barbecue on Saturday. The kids played all over the hill, dogs & cats tried to get in or stay out of the way, and I tried to keep Hayden corralled to the playhouse. The kids found a pretty little kitty that I seriously thought about taking home with us. Today was the 40th annual Paradise Picnic to celebrate the Ryan's 65th anniversary. They aren't my biological grandparents, but they have been in my heart since I was a baby. I'm glad the kids and I could make it. I saw family and friends I haven't seen in 15 years. I also really enjoyed seeing my children play with their cousins the way I did at their age.

I hope the girls remember this trip. It's been long, but worth it. We saw a lot and we aren't even done yet. I wish we lived closer to everyone. Maybe someday.

Pictures

These are the promised pictures so far. Enjoy.

WWRT - Days 8 - 13

Wow! We've been on the road for 13 days! It doesn't seem that long at times, then I think it seems longer. This has been such a fun trip so far and I'm so glad we did it. The kids are doing so well and have complained very little. And you know what? I don't think I've heard "Are we there yet?" once. Thank goodness for DVD players.

Well, July 29th we headed up to the Redwoods. We had such a nice drive up 101. It took a little longer than I thought, but by early afternoon we were driving through a huge tree! The kids thought that was so cool. Thanks to the kindness of a guy in the group ahead of us, I actually managed to do it without scraping my car. After that, we stopped at a few side of the road places to see neat wonders in the redwoods. Our last real stop was the Avenue of the Giants visitor center where the kids got to do some exploring and see the various sites they have there. We ended the evening in Crescent City, CA, spending the night near the ocean. The kids actually needed their warm pjs that night.

At the last minute, I changed the route to Corvallis, OR, by going up the coast. I've never driven along the southern coast before and, considering the heat wave inland, decided the cool weather would be nice. We didn't see much because of fog, but we still had a good drive. The foliage and mountains and ocean all together are just lovely. Finally, I had to cut across the mountains to get to my brother, Cory's, house. There, the kids and I had a nice visit with Cory and Meg and their latest addition, Linus. He's one of the biggest 5 month old puppies I've seen in awhile.

The next morning we were driving up to my dad's house in Seattle. We stopped at the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center along the way. I was living in Yakima when it blew and wanted to show the girls what happened. We couldn't see the mountain due to haze, but the kids all enjoyed the walk through the nature trail around the marshes. Hayden walked most of it himself as well. That evening we were in Seattle with my dad and Aunt Holly and Uncle Steve.

The next 2 days, Saturday and Sunday, were spent in party mode. Dad and Hayden share the same birthday. Dad's 60th party was Saturday with his friends. It was so much fun. Great food, music and people. The kids also got to ride horses. Hayden's 3rd birthday party was Sunday with more aunts and uncles and cousins. All of us enjoyed just visiting and playing. The kids especially had a good time getting to see each other again.

Today, was just a nice quiet, relaxing day. The birthday boys just took it easy and had fun. We took a nice walk by the lake and again enjoyed each others company. I love Seattle so much when we have weather like this. It really makes my want to move here. Yes, Jason, we will be talking more about that!

I'll post pictures tomorrow. We are going to have another relaxing day with the Stribling cousins. Then we are off to Yakima, WA. The last leg is coming up!