Hazel the Plumber

We're Still Here

Hazel and I are both half dead from viral gastroenteritis, and Jamie has been working hundred hour weeks, staying down in Cambridge most nights to try and get this project done by Friday.  His company helped me out by paying for a babysitter this afternoon so I could get some rest and try to rehydrate myself, but I would rather have Jamie home.  I'm on hold with Hazels pediatrician now (going on 40 minutes) to see if theres anything I can do for her.  Maybe they can give me a little something something, too.

Thank goddess for mama friends, though.  With Jamie in the weeds at work, Laurie came by with milk for Hazel and Ginger Ale for me late last night.  Don't know how I would have hydrated without her!

Big news, though!  Life doesn't stop just because of a little vomit and diarehhea- Hazel is walking!  She loves it, and she is getting incredibly good at it.  It's amazing to me that a year ago she couldnt even hold her head up.  She went from taking a couple of steps to walking all over the house in just a few days.  It's adorable.  I love her wobbly drunken stagger, and she is just clapping and laughing all the time.  I do have video, and pictures, but can't deal with anything while we are sick and I'm a single parent.  As soon as we are feeling better, I will get back to it.

Hope everyone in TV land is doing well!

Here is the story as it aired in Philly!  I think they did a great job with this one.  Thank you, Stephanie!

The Case Agains Breast Feeding

I always like provocative!

Tell me what you think, and PLEASE be respectful.

Hazel's Family

Hazel is blessed to grow up with (at current count) five other cousins all born within the last two years. We are all blessed to be welcoming two more cousins to the gang- another baby girl in June and another in September. That makes EIGHT cousins all within two and a half years of each other. Can you imagine? Summers are going to be so much fun at the beach with this brood. And since we are almost outnumbered, we are in a lot of trouble in about thirteen years. I can't wait.

Auntie Jen and her oldest son Owen

Left to right: Uncle Brian holding Owen, Auntie Jen holding Lorna, behind them is Uncle Patrick holding Oliver (who will be a big brother in June), me holding Hazel, Lisse holding Cecelia, Jonathan holding Annabelle

Photoshoot over!

Bath Time

A Walk at the Beach and Her First Bike

I know its blurry- the camera couldn't focus because she was moving too fast- but this was her first time on her bike and her smile in this picture is just priceless.

The professional dismount

Getting help from Uncle Christopher

Taking it out on the road (driveway) for the first time

"Check out my hoopty."

Totally sweet ride.

Happy girl

Little bike, big world

So thrilled

A chilly walk on Singing Beach in Manchester-by-the-Sea

Some Videos

Another Aquarium Visit

Hazel checking out the schooling exhibit

Tropical tank

Starfish and anemone

Getting really good at pointing

Dreaming

Diver in the big tank

Moray eel friend

Hazel, dada and the shark

Snack time

Jellies

Beautiful

Moon Jellies

Glowing

Perfect

Hazel's Mix Tape

1. i feel it all- feist
2. they want efx- das efx
3. wagon wheel- old crow medicine show
4. skokiaan (south african song)- louis armstrong
5. good newz commin'- jungle brothers
6. oh boy!- buddy holly and the crickets
7. little sack of sugar- elizabeth mitchell
8. do you wanna dance- the ramones
9. quelqu'un m'a dit- carla bruni
10. saperlipopette- clothilde
11. surfer mama- kira wiley
12. ommu beno mmu- ladysmith black mambazo
13. mack the knife- louis armstrong
14. daughter- louden wainwright iii
15. 3 is the magic number- elizabeth mitchell
16. new england- jonathan richman & the modern lovers
17. the littlest birds- the be good tanyas
18. karoun, karoun- alan sharvash bardezbanian
19. little bird, little bird- elizabeth mitchell
20. M.T.A.- the kingston trio
21. bye bye blackbird- liza minnelli
22. dream a little dream of me- the mamas and the papas
23. fake empire- the national
24. y gwydd- ffynnon
25. fever- azure ray
26. suo gan- steffan rhys

TV Machine

The story,

and the video!!

Another Hurdle Cleared

We did it!  The strongest girl I know came home from the hospital this afternoon after having her first esophageal dilatation procedure at Children's Hospital Boston.  Everything went great.  Jamie went into the OR with her while she was put under, and just over an hour later we were with her in the PACU comforting her and listening to her froggy voice.  Her surgeons said that things went very well, and that they were able to tear some of the scar tissue that was narrowing her esophagus without causing a perforation.  Her airway held up, she tolerated the anesthesia very well, and the esophagus looked great (as great as could be expected after everything she had been through).  She will see the surgeons again in a couple of weeks for a follow up, and they are expecting to repeat the procedure one or two more times, but this first one was the scariest since her injury was so recent, and we had no idea how things were going to look in there.  

Our friend Amy got Hazel a shirt that said Wild Woman on it, the nickname given to her by the doctors in the PICU, and she wore that to the hospital.  It certainly suits her because within a couple of hours of coming home she was dancing around the loving room to Cypress Hill.  She is amazing to me.  Just really amazing...  

Thanks again to everyone for their support, love, prayers, text messages, emails, phone calls and everything.  We are so blessed.

Now we can get back to the good stuff!  Coming soon: puppet shows, the aquarium, hiking, spring-time, swinging at the park, vacations and riding her bike!  We can't wait to pull ourselves out of this funky place and move on.  

Excuses

I know that I am very behind on blogging.  After Hazel's birthday, I slurped this whole blog into a book that I'm going to get published for her, and have been sweating about getting the formatting right.  That has taken a lot of time.  I also have spent seemingly every moment worrying about Tuesday.  I'm petrified, paralyzed about Hazel's surgery and have crawled into a little hole of denial vacillating with terror.  I am gripping my bottle of Ativan and chanting to myself over and over, "We are in the best place in the world.  Best doctors in the word.  They do this all the time.  Taking every precaution.  Saved her life already and can do it again.  It's our destiny to grow old together.  Hazel is the strongest person I know.  We will be fine."  I'm chanting like my mantra, but sometimes it feels as though I'm just trying to convince myself of something magical.  I can't talk about it and make it become too real.  We will celebrate after it's over and until then, I'm just going to float.