Dolan's Surgery

Dolan had his surgery at 5 PM Pacific Time this evening. I spoke with Mom while he was in. She was on a walk, collecting her thoughts. Yesterday was difficult but they were able to spend a lot of time alone for their anniversary. Dolan's family is in town and is being very supportive of Dolan and his future. They are planning on working with Mom on making the house wheelchair accessible and safe. Mom didn't think that she'd have a good idea on the success of the surgery for 24 hours or so. She said she'd call with status when she was ready. I got the impression that she didn't want too many phone calls over the next day but she didn't come out and say that. I think it may be best to give them a little space. I don't know much about this type of procedure. Mom said the surgery itself isn't risky but the period afterward is critical. They will be watching his blood counts carefully as well as the surgery site.

On a cheerier note,

Hailey is officially walking. Britten's ear infection seems to have cleared up. Both kids are cutting molars right now. Our weather is improving. We haven't seen rain in about a week and it's actually supposed to be sunny on Thursday.

Dolan News

I spoke with Mom this morning. Dolan will be having a procedure on either Monday or Tuesday to have his leg removed just below the knee. Apparently the multitude of surgeries and barrage of efforts on the part of the doctors has not been enough to save his leg. The surgeries have entailed trying to move muscles and arteries from various parts of his body to his leg. So, not only has Dolan been having operations on his leg but also on his stomach, arms and good leg.
He is at the same hospital he was originally at when the accident first occured. The address and information is on one of the previous posts. He is in pretty decent spirits considering the circumstances. Mom is taking it relatively hard but she is trying to find the silver lining in this entire ordeal. Of course, they will be celebrating their first wedding anniversary tomorrow. Please keep Dolan in your thoughts. Any news can be posted via the comment section here. Thanks to everyone for your continued support.

Back Home

We had a very eventful yet relaxing time in Santa Barbara. Our hotel was beautiful, we walked to the ocean, played at the pool, played in the park, ate great food and hardly napped!!! Hailey and Britten hopefully had a memorable time. They will need a few weeks to recover on all of their lost sleep. Hailey turned one in perfect style. Thanks to everyone who sent their wishes. She had her check-up today and despite all that food she shoves down her mouth, she's only gained 3/4 of an inch and less than one pound since her last check-up in January. I'm not worried, it's just interesting since she's such a big eater like Britten - except that Britten is growing like a vine.
We saw Aunt Par, Uncle Justin and Dolly in SB. Very fun! Thanks guys. Talk to everyone soon.

Britten, Jackson & Avery

Britten, Jackson & Avery
Originally uploaded by The Hallfords.

Britten is getting so big. He's about 90% potty-trained. He had two accidents today but that was primarily because he didn't take a nap and was really tired. But, he's been doing quite well the last week or so. His vocabulary improves everyday. He loves to sing, play guitar and count everything in sight. He's looking forward to seeing the Easter Bunny in two weeks.

Hailey's Bikeride

Hailey's Bikeride
Originally uploaded by The Hallfords.

Can you believe Hailey will be one in a week? Time has flown by. Hailey was riding Britten's bicycle last weekend and just loves it. She really enjoys the outdoors and doing whatever Britten does. She's taken a few steps but isn't officially walking yet. She's pretty competent crawling so doesn't feel a need to get around on two feet. Her hair is starting to get long so she is finally able to wear barettes and girly stuff. She starts 'school' next week. She'll be there with Britten two days week. Hopefully she'll adjust well. She'll love having new toys to play with and new people to watch.