Surgery

So I had MOHS surgery last Wednesday to remove basal cell carcinoma from the right side of my forehead. I was very glad I went to see my dermatologist last month for a mole on my back. While I was there I mentioned to her that I had this really faint pink spot on my forehead that showed up about a year ago. At first I dismissed it thinking it was just some scab and so I put neosporin on it & let it go. Well, months later it still never went away completely. I often would just put concealer over it and didn't think it was a big deal. However, it just bothered me because it didn't use to be there. While I was at the dermatologist I mentioned it to her more so out of frustration and a little bit of vanity. Immediately she said she was concerned because it has all of the signs of basal cell. She looked at it under a magnifying glass & said she wanted to biopsy it. A week later her intuition was confirmed...it was basal cell carcinoma. Her recommendation - have MOHS surgery to remove it.

They told me to plan to be there all day. Ben & I dropped the kids off at the sitter's house (this was Olivia's first day away from home & she did great).  It's pretty bad when our day away from the kids is spent at a doctor's office. :)  First they numb the area and then take off a layer of skin. This only takes about 10 minutes but then we had to wait 2 hrs while they did lab work to make sure they get all of the basal cell. If not, they  go back in and do the whole process again which means waiting another 2 hrs. I was hoping they would remove all of mine on the first try since it wasn't that big and it hadn't been there very long. Well, they had to take off more a second time! There were some roots that they didn't get the first time. Luckily after the second try, they removed all of it. Before they put my forehead back together, they let me see the hole in my bed (literally)! It was pretty deep and I never thought they could go that deep on the forehead of all places. I left the office at 1:30 after having arrived at 9am! It was a long day and I left with a pretty bad headache. I managed the pain pretty well by taking tylenol every 4 hrs for 2 days instead of the prescribed vicodin. I had a lovely big white pressure bandage the first 24hrs.  When I picked up the kids Samuel freaked out. He said, "Take it off, Mommy!" over and over and proceeded to throw a fit the whole car ride home. Luckily it is only a 5 minute car ride! I said over and over, "Buddy I wish I could take it off".  Oh & I sure looked good at work the next morning with a big white bandage which stuck out about 3 inches from my head! Once I removed the silly white bandage, I was left with only a small brown bandage which I still have. I have to leave it on another week and cannot get it wet.

All in all it was a pretty humbling experience! They said I am definitely one of the younger ones. Rarely do they do this procedure on anyone under the age of 50!  My fair skin & blue eyes are not my best friend when I'm in the sun evidently. I will now always wear SPF of 30 and try to not stay out in the sun for extended periods of time in the sun. I am 40% more likely to get more of this now that I've had one. Plus, living at 6,000 ft elevation means I'm closer to the sun. Lesson learned.

My kids are exactly like me...fair skinned & blue eyed. I will try my hardest to keep their skin safe for as long as I can in hopes that they don't get this when they are older. I'm just glad that this is over & kudos to my dermatologist for recognizing it right away!  
Here's a picture of my bandage that has become my signature mark lately.

Dear Samuel, Month 31

Dear Samuel,

You are all boy in many aspects. You absolutely love any and all balls -it wasn't a coincidence that your first word was ball. You love to run and be destructive and build things. However, you also have a very sweet side. You have to kiss the whole household before every nap and each night before bed. Beren, the cat, is even included!


I absolutely love our evening bedtime routine! It's mostly just you & me since daddy is at work. After we read a few books you love to pray.  You always say the "Dear God" part and I finish. If I don't say everyone's  name (mommy, daddy, Samuel, Olivia & Beren) then I have to startall  over.  Just this week you started saying "sweet dreams mommy".  And then last night you surprised both daddy & I at dinner. You had already left the dinner table and were on the couch. You leaned over the couch and said out of the blue, "love you mommy & daddy".  My heart melted. Never before had you said this without us saying we love you first.

In spite of all of your boy tendencies (which I love), you have such a sweet spirit of love, gentleness & kindness. May these characteristics always be a part of you.

I love you,
Mommy

America the Beautiful Park

Colorado Springs has a neat park on the edge of downtown that has a cool fountain. It has gorgeous views of Pike's Peak. Thursday is my day off so we thought we'd spend the morning together at America the Beautiful Park. Samuel enjoyed the playground and splashing in the fountain. We failed to take his swimsuit so when he fell once, he got hist shorts & diaper wet, but amazingly he didn't mind. For some reason he hates for his shirt to be wet, but doesn't mind anything else! Here is the morning in pictures...

Olivia was there too, just hanging out in her stroller, though!

Dear Olivia, Month 3

Dear Olivia,

I cannot believe it has been 3 months since you were first placed in my arms! When I first saw you, your daddy and I both said, "she looks just like Samuel"! You are now 3 months old and changing daily! You love it when we say your name. You smile and open your mouth when you get excited and you just started cooing and laughing. You have been such a good baby! At 8 weeks you started only waking up once/night which was fantastic! You even slept through the night completely a few times since so we know you can do it! :) I love it when you wake up in the middle of the night and I stumble downstairs to change your diaper (while your bottle is warming up) and after I place you on the changing table you immediately grin from ear to ear! I get so caught up in changing your diaper and being half asleep that I forget to look at you but when I do, I am blown away by how cute and sweet you are! You love to watch your silly brother running around being goofy! You follow his every move. I know that he will provide you much entertainment in the years to come and I pray that you will be good friends when you are older.

You are my little princess and I sometimes pinch myself to remind me that you are my daughter! I love you and look forward to your next month of growth.

Love,

Mommy

More videos

This first one is of Samuel "singing" Happy Birthday to Ben earlier this month.

Samuel decided to join Olivia on her activity mat & gives her a kiss!

Videos!

I have quite a few videos that I haven't posted so here are a few. I'll try to post more later. The one of Sam holding Olivia was taken the middle of June & the one of Samuel in his big boy bed was the end of June.

This one is of Samuel holding Olivia but not for very long!

This one is of Samuel after he first slept in a "big boy bed" (twin mattress)

Dear Samuel, Month 30

I came across a blog where the mother wrote a post for every month of her son's life as it was a letter to him. I would like to start that so here goes...

Dear Samuel,

You are now 2.5 years old! You are getting so big these days. You love your "Elmoball" (Elmo & a plastic ball). You carry them EVERYWHERE! You like your Elmoball so much so that if I drop you off at Dawn's (sitter) house and you leave the ball in the car but daddy picks you up, we have to do a ball swap oftentimes in the parking lot of daddy's work. You love letters and numbers. You take your bath letters that Mamaw & Papaw Watts got you EVERYWHERE. You play with them in the bath, around the house & you even took them to a dr appt. You can now count past 30 with little help. You even love to eat letters & numbers (letter & number gummy snacks).

You have adjusted well to your big brother role. You ask to "hold baby" but never for long. :) You have to kiss her before naps and bedtime. If she is asleep in her room you have to blow her a kiss from outside her door.

You love to pick out your clothes in the morning - usually a t-shirt that is red, has a ball on it or has Thomas the Train or Cars on it.

You enjoy hiding your toys & having me & daddy find them. Your favorite hiding spot is under the couch in the basement.

You get your stool and pull it up to the kitchen counter every time I am getting dinner ready. Your favorite thing to do is put the lettuce in the bowls for our salads (you never eat the salad, though).

Lately you have begun to have me or daddy kiss any "boo-boo". I think sometimes you make up a boo-boo just to get kisses from us but I can't say that I don't mind. I know there will be days ahead where you will be embarrassed to get a kiss from me so for now, I will take any & all kisses. Rest assured that no matter what . . . I'll always be here to kiss any and all of your boo-boo's as you let me.

Happy 2.5 yrs, Samuel!

I love you,
Mommy