He was a good little monkey...and always very curious!

It has been a fun weekend around here!  I can't believe our winter break has come to an end already.  It was such a busy time, but we made so many memories.  As an early birthday present, we took Andrew to see his favorite monkey onstage!  Some of you may remember we took him to Sesame Street Live last May and he did so good, and loved it so much that we had to try again.  He loves CG too, so we knew it would be fun!

All day we were preparing him!  We told him he was going to see George and he got so excited he wanted to wear his CG mask! :)

After he fought us for an hour, he finally took a nap (I was not going to give in on that one!)  I really wanted him to sleep so he'd be rested for the big show!  When he woke up, we put his CG gear on him (right down to his socks!) and off to the show we went!

 

 

Of course, the first thing in the door is the store where you can buy pretty much any CG memorabilia you want!  Andrew was surveying what he wanted Ga Ga to buy him!

 

Pure excitement!

Isn't it funny I had to bribe him with food to stand still!  Ha!  Our seats were in a great location.  I purposely didn't want to be down on the floor (I know how that would go!  Us chasing Andrew off the stage the whole time!)  So I made sure we were in the front row where there was a ledge he could stand and see perfectly.

 

I can't believe I'm sharing this picture, but it was too funny not to.  I was trying to get him to wear his mask so I put it on, then he didn't want to sit with me for a picture!  Hahaha!  There's your laugh for the day!

 

This was one of the first scenes, Andrew was so excited when he saw George!

 

"George!"

 

The show was really cute.  Here's a summary from the Des Moines Register:

Curious George is the inquisitive and lovable little monkey

who takes everyone along on intriguing problem-solving

adventures.Live on stage in his World Premiere musical tour,

Curious George swings and flips his way through a

fun-filled story that takes the audience from home to Rome.

You will laugh out loud, tap your toes, sing and dance

along as you follow Curious George on his quest

to win the Golden Meatball Contest.

It's a story about friends helping friends

because of one very special "secret ingredient"!

You find out at the end that the secret ingredient is LOVE!

My boys sat like this almost the whole time.

 

Andrew was so into it.  He loved it when he could clap!

 

I love this picture- don't they look like twins??

 

He watched some with Ga Ga and mommy too!

 

He also stood by the ledge...

 

And sat in his little seat like a big boy!  I love how his hands are folded in his lap!

 

George was very entertaining!  He even balanced on a ball!

 

At intermission Ga Ga bought him this super fun toy which sort of distracted him!  He wasn't as into the second half, but he still did pretty good.  Just a little more restless.

 

Afterwards I got him to stand by George, but he kept looking at all the toys instead of the camera!

 

It was really fun to do this together.  My mom and dad always took me to musicals and I grew up with that sort of thing and I always loved it.  I hope to always be able to make an effort to do those special things with Andrew, too.

 

After the show we met Craig's parents and Papa Jim out for dinner.  This is Andrew with his two grandma's.  He was teasing my mom and making his new toy "get her!"  He was being so silly!  He loved having all of his grandparents together.

 

Here he is with his two grandpa's.  He is such a lucky boy!

***

I have spent all day today taking down Christmas decorations and cleaning the entire house, organizing our basement and getting things somewhat ready for Andrew's birthday.  Now that Christmas is over, "birthday mode" kicks in and it motivates me to get things done.

The end of this break also marks the beginning of a new year, and we are starting the year off with Andrew's cath (Jan 15).  I have been mostly too busy to think about it prior to now, but today as I was undecorating (which is depressing anyway!) I had more time to think about what lies ahead for Andrew.  We are dreading this cath.  But at the same time, we are hopeful that it can once again buy him more time before surgery.

The unknown is what is so scary about this heart journey.  It is one of those things I've never been good at.  I always want to know the plans, and what to expect in advance.  Being thrown into this life has taught me that life doesn't always work out that way.  God has other plans.  Plans can change.  Your world can be rocked to the core in a matter of seconds.  You have to be prepared for anything, and throw your plans out the window.  Once heart mommy mode sets in, that is what gives me the ability to do that.  To watch my child as the doctors put a mask over his face, scaring him to death and watching him go limp in their arms.  Faith and hope are what give me the courage to leave that room, leaving him in the arms of the doctors as God guides their hands.

Please pray for this cath.  That the doctors would be able to expand the stents that Andrew currently has, getting them large enough to decrease pressure in his heart.  Enough to put off surgery.  Best case scenario would be another year.  We'd take another year.  Another year to make more precious memories with our little boy.

But in the meantime, we take it day by day, and enjoy every moment! 

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 

2 Timothy 1:7

Thank you for all your support and prayers!