minneapolis trip

Last Thursday Matthew, Finley and I headed down to Minneapolis to see Dr. Rimell, a pediatric ear, nose and throat doctor. He checked out Finn's old CT scan, felt the lump on his neck and ordered a new CT scan.

Here is Finley waiting for Dr. Rimell. He had fun spinning on this chair.


Still on the chair spinning.


This is the face I got when I told him to smile.


Quick family picture.


For the CT scan we went to the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital. In the pediatric x-ray waiting room they had a little child-size CT scanner that you can "practice" on before they go in. Finley put some babies on the bed and pushed them in and out of the machine.


Here is Finley after getting the IV in for the sedation meds.


I hated to see this again, but it was much better at this hospital. You can tell that they do this all day long. They were so patient and understanding with Finn. We really appreciated that!


Here are a couple of goofy pictures of Finn waking up from the anesthesia. They didn't let him sleep long...after about 15 minutes they woke him up and started feeding him. It was 5 o'clock and he hadn't eaten since 8:30 that morning!


A silly anesthesia grin. After he woke up he ended up having 2-1/2 packs of Teddy Grahams a juice container and a carton of milk and still wanted more!


Matthew quickly showing Finn how the bed will go in the CT scanner and then come back out. He really wasn't impressed and turns out they didn't even try to do a CT with him awake.


After the CT, Dr. Rimell came in and told us that the lump was considerably smaller but that he still wasn't 100% sure what it was. He said to keep him on the antibiotics for another week and then take him off. If the lump goes away then it is a swollen lymph node. If it comes back it is most likely the branchial cleft anomaly. He has been on the antibiotics for the last week (A total of 5 weeks) and we will watch and wait from here. I've noticed that it is a little smaller and more mobile whereas before it was totally fixed and very firm. Stay tuned!

the wedding

Holly and Sumner are now Mr. and Mrs. Andrews! What a beautiful wedding it was. Ben (Sumner's 2-1/2-year-old nephew) and Finn, the ring bearers, walked down the aisle together perfectly. Finn was supposed to walk to me as I was already at the front of the church, but he forgot all about Mommy and followed Ben to his Dad also at the front of the church. He was so cute and we were just so happy he got down the aisle!

Here are Grandpa, Finn and Grandma.


What a cutie!


Chloe looked so cute in her flower girl dress. She walked half way down the aisle and then didn't want to go any further so Becky met her and led her the rest of the way. They were smart and used animal crackers to bribe her down the aisle.


Grandma and Grandpa Norberg.


Our little family...all 4 of us!




Here is the whole family that was there from our side. My Mom's side is mostly on the left and my Dad's side is mostly on the right. Unfortunately, this is the only picture that I got of Grandmom and Grandpop Stabley at the wedding.


Holly, the beautiful bride!


Cutting the cake.


Josiah (Sumner's little brother) and Finn. Finn wanted to do everything that Josiah did, especially on the dance floor! If Josiah did the worm, Finn tried to do the worm. If Josiah jumped, Finn would jump...it was really cute. Josiah sat down for a little break so of course, Finn did too. =)


Mr. and Mrs. Sumner Andrews.


Finn trying to take his shoes off. He did so well keeping all of his clothes on all night. He acted like he wore a tux every day!


Such a cute picture of him!


The next morning we got to meet up with my Dad's side of the family at Sarah and John's house for cake and coffee. Here are my Dad, Finn and my Uncle John.


My Grandpop and Finn talking on the couch.


Grandmom smiling her usual smile. She has a very infectious laugh and happy spirit.


Chloe trying to determine if she is going to walk down the steps or turn around and crawl down.


Sarah and John had a fun tree in their front yard that Finn climbed up in.


Sumner and Holly dancing and then Finn copying Josiah.


Josiah and Finn dancing. Finn got a hold of my flowers and since Josiah jumped over them Finn did too.

grandma and grandpa visit from nc

My parents came from North Carolina for 2 weeks in mid September. They were supposed to be here in early September, but turns out God's timing is much better than our own. We were all having second guesses as to whether they were even supposed to come anymore because of how many problems they met with getting ready for their trip; however, God made the way and they traveled the 28 hours in a van with a trailer to get here. Here they are at the park the day after his birthday party. He was a little crabby and just not himself. This is the night we decided to take Finn in to the doctor the next day to get his neck checked out...the start of a very long ordeal!


Swinging like a big boy!


Climbing up to the slide.


Diving head first into the slide because I was chasing him.


This was taken the next morning in Fargo. Finn and I decided to go and surprise Denae and take her a Pepsi! As you can see, he was still a little cranky.


Fresh corn from the garden and this is how Finn decided to help carry it into the house.




Here are the rest of the hospital pictures. This was the day after his PICC line was put in...such a relief to not have his IV slipping out and having to go through putting new ones in every day! It was at those times that I appreciated having my mom there the most! It was so hard to see him getting poked several times just trying to find the right vein. It got to the point where we would just ask them to call Venous Access first of all to avoid having a couple of nurses "try" on him before calling for help. If it were me, I'd be okay with a couple of people "practicing", but not when it comes to my 2-year-old little boy who has no idea why he's there or what's going on!


His cousins came to visit a couple of times in the week. Here are Allie and Finn. He loves it when she picks him up.


Anna and Finn...love their faces!


Meg and Finn...it took awhile to get them both looking at the camera.


Wearing Grandma's glasses. This is the day we left the hospital. My mom was there a lot of the nights and days that Matthew had to work or go home. She would stay all day helping to keep Finn occupied and give me some much-needed support.


This was his room that week. Before we left, he got his picture taken and put on the wall for being brave. The nurses really did love him and his great attitude through the whole week. He would give them high-fives and tell them bye-bye when they left.

finn turns 2!

I've meant to post these pictures for a long time, but never got the chance to sit down and do it. I can't stand the thought of skipping them either so I'm posting them really late.

These next 2 pictures were taken at about midnight on his birthday. I had a hard time with his birthday this year simply because I was finding it harder to see the baby in him. He doesn't even sleep like a baby anymore. He sleeps like a little boy...all sprawled out.




The morning of his birthday he got his gift from Mommy and Daddy...a new John Deere tractor! He loved it!


Playing with it.


We had a birthday party for him at Lincoln Park in Grand Forks. It was a beautiful day and he had a good turnout of family and friends from church. Here are Finn and Mattea at his birthday party. Grandma and Grandpa Stabley made it here just in time for his party.


Grandma and Grandpa Stabley at the party.


Another of Finn and Mattea eating their cupcakes.


Finn and his cousins Meg, Anna and Allie.


Both of the grandmothers.


My mom and I.


Daddy showing Finn how to hit the ball off the tee.