Elise's Playroom!

So I finally get to write a fun post!

For Elise's first birthday present we turned the "closet" off of our rec room into her playroom!

I absolutely love to decorate.  Especially for Elise!  So you can guess I had a blast creating this room for her.   We created a room that can grow with her but she can still enjoy at one year old.

First we had to choose a paint color.  Since when we put her nursery together we didn't know if God would bless us with a boy or a girl, her nursery is mostly gender neutral.  So I really wanted to give her a girly room, but I hate bubblegum pink on a wall.  We always use Sherwin Williams for our paint so I searched Pinterest and found the perfect pink: White Dogwood.  It's super subtle & airy; the perfect pink for our sweet princess.  We also wanted a chalkboard wall in the room so we made sure to use foam rollers for a smooth surface on that wall.

Next, I really wanted a reading nook.  I found this canvas & wood tent on clearance at Restoration Hardware Baby & Child (online).  It was still a splurge but it has little pink stars all over it and was way too perfect to pass up.  The star lights around the frame were a gift but I think they were purchased at Target.  We put E's Pello in there so she already loves to snuggle in for story time.
We also found these adorable sherpa chairs at Target.  I can't wait until she has friends over to watch Cinderella in these chairs!

I also wanted lots of storage.  We found these ClosetMaid cubbies & inserts on Amazon.

We also found her little tea party table on Amazon.  It's KidKraft and we adore it!

I made the alphabet banner with precut scrapbook paper and gold stickers.  My mom helped me out by laminating them at school.  Easiest craft ever.

Lastly, my favorite art in the room are the custom quotes made by the lovely Lindsey Pilgreen!  Follow her on intagram @b_h_handmade.

Hope you enjoyed E's sweet playroom!  It's nice to write about stuff other than hospital visits!

Untether Elise's Spinal Cord - CHECK!

So I'm awful about keeping this blog updated.  I apologize!

We got back from Johns Hopkins a week ago now after Elise had neuro surgery to fix her tethered spinal cord.  The surgery went very well and although it's always terrible to have your child in the hospital, the experience as a whole was extremely encouraging.

Some of the highlights from that week:

Sunday: Our flight was cancelled and we barely made it to Baltimore in time for a bottle and a quick nap before we had to be up again for surgery.  But we made it!  Praise the Lord!

Monday: Elise had spinal surgery.  Thankfully her neuro surgeon didn't tell us prior to surgery that this is one of the more complex surgeries he does or I would have been a lot more worried.  God knows when to withhold information from you!  She did great though and even smiled after she woke up.  I'm sure she was still loopy from the surgical drugs but it was nice to know that our girl was still there!  We spent the next 2 nights in the PICU.  The PICU is frustrating because the nurses come in for vitals at least every 2 hours but it seems like more.  And the nurses seemed pretty green in terms of experience, which to a mom of a child with medical special needs can be annoying.  I know, I need to work on my patience.

Wednesday: Elise moved to 9 South which is the unit where she'll do the majority of her recovery for future surgeries.  This means it will be our home for months at a time here and there for who knows how long.  The nurses there are wonderful. They appreciate that I want to do everything I possibly can to care for our girl but are always available for support if we need it.
Also, Elise's urologist stopped by to see us!  He is kind of the head of the surgical team and is THE BE/CE guru.  The funny thing about him though is that he is Nothing like your typical surgeon.  Dr. G walks in the room with his booming voice, shares stories and carries on like you're running into him at the store and he's excited to catch up with you.  We love him and so appreciate that he took time out of his busy schedule to stop in to see us and Elise even though she technically wasn't under his care at the time.
We also got to meet 2 other classic bladder exstrophy families that were there for bladder closure.  I already consider those mamas friends and their boys are dear to our hearts!

Thursday: We met Vine and his parents!!!  Sweet friends that we had connected with on the OEIS/CE Facebook page saw that we were in town and came up to Hopkins so we could meet in person!  Even though Elise was super sleepy, I could tell she instantly fell in love with Vine and we fell in love with his whole family!  We also found out that we will probably be overlapping Vine's and Elise's closure surgery/recovery at 9 South.  Again, we hate to have our kids in the hospital at all but I must say I'm excited that our new friends will be nearby.

Friday:  Elise got to sit up!  She seemed to have a seamless recovery and her surgeon was very impressed with how well she did throughout the week.  It's always a good thing when a patient impresses a surgeon.  She also took her first hospital wagon ride!  For those that don't know, the big kids that are hospitalized get to use wagons to get out of their rooms from time to time!  To us, this means our baby is growing up!  ;)

Saturday:  Dressing off and discharge!  Always a good day.  We said "See you in November" to our new BE friends, who will have their boys back for additional surgery the same time Elise will be coming in for closure.  God has given Hopkins urology dept an amazing ministry that creates connections between our families for the support we all desperately need!

Sunday: Home again, Home again, Jiggity Jig!  Elise really struggled on the flight back and days after but seems to be doing MUCH better and her incision is healing beautifully! We are so thankful for all of our friends and family who have supported us throughout Elise's journey and especially during her hospitalizations.  Even those who just like on our little Facebook pictures help us feel like we're not alone in this.  We love you all and thank you for all of your prayers and support!!!