Dotzour Family.com

July 16: It’s hot today.  Nearly 90 degrees.  I currently have the ice cream maker cranking away on a new batch of cake batter ice cream.  Yum.  I have some iced coffee concentrate brewing on the counter.  I am considering starting a batch of some amazing-looking chocolate sorbet that I saw today.
“How is this possible?” you may wonder, when I have two small, quite needy children right here.  The secret:

Andrew is napping.  It hasn’t happened in weeks.  But here he is, napping for over an hour.  And Sylvia isn’t napping, but she’s content.  And pretty hot.  And she DID NOT want me to read books to her.  And she DOES NOT want to lie down in her crib.  But she is pretty happy sitting in her seat next to me as I cook (and now as I post), so that’s a nice thing.

We spent the morning at Jessica’s house.  They are moving in a mere two weeks (just a mile or two from us), and so I went over with the idea of helping her pack or helping watch her kids while she packed.  Silly notions:)  She did get a closet and dresser packed, but four kids is a lot of kids.  And we left the house looking like it was pummeled by a fierce storm.  Oh well!  We all had fun.

Photos may be forthcoming. (11:45pm update:  Here they are!)

July 14: The other day, Andrew was curled up in my lap with his arms intertwined amongst mine. I was looking down at our hands and surprised myself by thinking for a moment that his hand was mine. Then I chucked (because really, his fingers are a lot smaller than mine), but it made me think.

When Andrew was little, my mom told me that when she was a new mom, one of the things she had to work at the most was understanding that she and her baby were independent people. She said that she always felt like she and her children were one, and that the whole of raising her kids was a constant peeling apart of our united selves.

So from the time they were born, and perhaps for the rest of our lives, Andrew and Sylvia will be learning to be their own, independent persons and Bryan and I will be learning how much to protect and how much to trust, how much to nurture and how much to encourage fledging.

Sylvie is still so new.

The other day, I left her with my brothers while I went to see Tom in the hospital. When I returned, Sylvie was so very, very sad. She saw me, and I could see relief in her tear-filled eyes. When I held her, she gently stroked my lips with her finger tips…reassuring herself that I was there.

To me, it seemed like our separation wasn’t so much about missing me as about feeling perhaps adrift without my presence. It made me think, “I don’t think she knows that we are two different people!” Having access to her mama is one of the constants in her world, and the few times that I’ve left her, I think she’s more upset by the gap I leave than anything.

So that’s some musings for the morning. Andrew’s been very patient and waited to swing on his swing until I finished. So now, I’m off!

July 12: Sylvia and I went to the hospital to visit Tom today. He was moved from the ICU to a normal hospital room, and he seemed to be doing really well. He’d taken a couple walks and he had a very steady stream of visitors. I was impressed at how strongly he could hold and move Sylvie. She was quite interested in grabbing at his tubes!
Tom’s voice is still pretty soft, so it’s a little hard to hear him in the video. A transcription of the video clip is below.

Tom: This is my friend Sylvia. And I’m doing very well. I love Sylvia and she loves me, right! That’s probably why I’m doing so well.
Ed: cough cough (in the background)
Tom: Oi oi oi oi oi. OK, now watch as Sylvia bites my finger off.
Ed: cough cough
Althea: Open up, honey! Tom’s looking good.

July 11: I am so happy staying at home with the kids!  Especially when I spend the day at the beach with my buddies!  I hope to make this a regular event:)  Pictures from our hours on the beach (much of which Andrew spent climbing trees!) are in the gallery.

July 11:
8:30pm: While Michael and Joe watched Andrew and Sylvia, I headed over to the University Hospital to visit Tom.  He seemed amazingly well considering the surgery he went through just a couple days ago.  His throat is really sore, so he is whispering, but he was talking and joking and seemed really “with it” for someone on a substantial amount of morphine!  He’d been up walking several times, but he’s also prone to moments of utter exhaustion.  The doctor stopped by while I was there, and they are planning on moving him out of the ICU and to a normal hospital room tomorrow.
By the by, I’ve never been in an ICU before.  Good grief.  Just walking down the hall…there are some really hurt people there.  Uhh…I can’t imagine.  It’s a really serious place.  Sort of made me want to run far, far away to a place of peace.  Also sort of made me want to go immediately to medical school so I can help people there too.
3pm: The news from my brothers is that as of last night, Tom is sitting up in a chair, off the ventilator (while still on a heavy-duty air mask), and able to communicate.  He may be moving out of the ICU in the next day.  Still a long road to recovery, and he’s not out of the woods yet in terms of infections and surgery success, but we’re on the right track.  Way to go, Tom!

July 9:
5:00pm: Tom has been doing alright today.  Joe and Michael have been staying with him at the University Hospital’s ICU.  Joe said that while Tom is mostly unconcious, he has been able to communicate, nod, and indicate that he needs more pain meds.  He still has a breathing tube, and they expect to keep it in for another day or two.  At this point, the main concerns are the high risk of internal infection and the unknown whether the surgery was successful.  The next five to seven days will tell.  If all goes well, he’ll be getting better.  If there is an infection or a problem with the surgical site, the problem should manifest itself in that time.  That’s the update for now!
9am: We got some bad news last night.  Our family friend, Tom, is in the hospital after having emergency surgery for a bowl obstruction.  He was in surgery last evening for four or five hours.  Michael and Joe were at the hospital and saw him in the ICU.  He’s on a ventilator and under close observation.  If all goes well, he should come out of ICU in four or five days.  Really serious stuff.  Michael was going back to the hospital this morning.  I don’t think I’m going to be able to visit much until he gets out of ICU since I don’t think I can take the kids there.  Tom’s family is out of state, and Terry is in Oregon visiting his family this month.
Poor Tom.  It’s a tough time.

July 9: The last week has been a good one. We enjoyed our long weekend, and the last couple days have included lots of visiting with friends.  That always makes for some good times!  On Friday Joe, Sylvia, and I went for a walk on Picnic Point.  To our amazement, we saw three baby mink in the water and very close to us along the shore.  The next day, we went back with Michael, Becky, and Andrew.  We had a lovely time, but we didn’t get a second viewing of the mink.
Pictures from the last days are in the gallery.
Oh, and last week we had doctor’s appointments for both kids.  Andrew is 32 pounds and 3′ 1.75″ tall (that’s around the 50th percentile for both).  Sylvia is 14 pounds, 4 ounces and 25″ long (also around the 50th percentile) [not 16″ as previously noted!].  I’ve got two happy, growing kids!
This morning we’re having some friends over this morning for a toddler art group.  We have colored water, eye droppers, and coffee filters.  Should be fun!

July 5: We had a great Fourth of July at my mom’s Aunt Carol and Uncle Bill’s home on a lake in Oconomowoc.  It was a lot of fun to see cousins and aunts and uncles, and we had a really fun time splashing around in the water.  It was Sylvie’s first time in non-bathtub water, and she was happily dipping her legs in (sometimes going up to her neck) for almost an hour.
Andrew got to go for a ride on the pontoon boat, and then he had fun floating and getting thrown high into the air by his strong Uncle Bubba.
Pictures from the reunion (mostly taken by Joe) are in the gallery.