The 70's are back . . .

  Jordan and I went to his annual Sweethearts Ball for the Junction City Fire Station. It was 70's theme this year! It was so much fun to pick out our costumes. We both got them at goodwill. Everyone did such a good job with their costumes it was fun to see everyone dressed up. I thought Jordan looked like Ben Stiller from Starske and Hutch. Jesse and Damaris came over to our house before we went. Take a look:

Puttin' out the vibe

WOW

Aren't they cute!

I felt kind of trashy because I've never wore colored make-up or lip stick or had my finger nails painted. And lets not forget to mention my outfit. This is far from what hangs in my closet. But it was still fun.

  Austyn is doing great. She has mastered eating rice cereal. It's so fun being able to feed her something else. She has started to roll over a few times in a row now. It's getting exciting to see the next stage creeping (more like speeding) up on us. She also sits by herself for a few moments. I just went through her closet and dresser and was surprised at how much stuff she has grown out of. I have been thinking back on her first few weeks and it seems so long ago. I picked up a newborn outfit in a store the other day and was amazed that she was ever that tiny. Of course she didn't stay in newborn for long, she's always been a big girl. Everyday seems like something is new. She has this new thing about sticking her tongue out and it's so pointy and long. She looks like KISS. She will talk pretty much all day long too. I love it. She splashes and kicks at the water during her bath and is starting to put her hands up when she's getting picked up. She still sleeps like 8-10 hours every night (knock on wood). We are truly blessed with a perfect little girl. I'm so excited for this summer with her. Swimming will be so much fun.

  My back is getting better. I still have some leg pain, but I can tell it's getting less and less. I had my first day back to work and it went really well. My back just got sore, but I think it's because I don't do as much standing and reaching at home as I do at work. I'll get back into work shape again soon. 

  Jordan is madly studying for his upcoming test. That's pretty much what he does on his days off of work. The  first test is always more stressful. So hopefully after the initial test he will know more on what to focus on for studying.  

  I'm just sitting her looking out the window waiting for snow. They called for 2-4 inches on the Valley floor tomorrow. Well see it actually happens. I doubt it. But crossing my fingers just in case.

The Recovery . . .

   It's been over two weeks since my back surgery. I'm off the pain meds now which is great. Those stupid things are awful. They make you feel like they're your best friend and then they go stab you in the back with all their nasty side effects. I can manage my pain with only Ibuprofen now! I do still have some leg pain, but it's not as sever as it was, and getting better daily. It's so nice to see it getting better. My incision is just about two inches long and is doing great. It's still a little tender if I lay on it wrong or bump it. I started Physical Therapy on and it's going great. I go for 6 weeks and then I should be pretty good I guess. The Physical Therapist was really impressed at how much I can do. So she said she'll put me through a more intense program. I will be going back to work in another week just to give my back a little more time to heal. So hopefully it wont be too sore at work.

My incision

  I do have to mention a little bit what the first week of recovery was like. I wont go too much in detail. I think Jordan and I had a misconstrued expectation of what my recovery was going to be like. I think when the Doctor told us I would walk out of surgery that day, we took it literally. When in fact I was wheeled out in a wheelchair. This was the first of oh so many misconceptions or too high of expectations. Of course my pain was instantly gone as Jordan and I both expected, WRONG again. I was high as a kite on the remnants of the anesthesia and the pain meds they gave me before going home. In fact my post-op instructions said not to make any important decisions for 48 hours. I'm sure if you asked me anything I would have said yes! So there was our second eye opener. Our third and most traumatic eye opener was the pain that boiled to the surface when all the meds wore off. This meant no caring for Austyn. I couldn't even stand it if she sat on my lap for the first three or four days. So poor old Daddy had to do all of what Austyn required. It was the worst week of all three of our lives. But it's behind us now, and we are moving on and getting better. And we both promised to never talk about it again, and to only laugh about it later. Good thing Austyn is too little to remember any of this! Ha Ha. No, in all actuality Jordan did an amazing job at playing both mommy and daddy. He basically got thrown to the wolves. He did all the laundry, cleaning, cooking, tending to my needs, and most of all Austyn. I do have to say (and he said it) he definitely has a greater appreciation of what I do at home with Austyn all day. So moral of the story: Don't expect to walk out of a back surgery and be able to completely care for a 5 month old and then return to work in two weeks. Live and learn, Right? I do have to say that if my parents weren't two seconds away, we would have never made it. They help us so much with Austyn. They keep her whenever we need them to or just need a break and they kept her every time Jordan was working after my surgery. They are amazing! Thanks Mom and Dad.

  Austyn is doing great. She is still sleeping and doing everything perfectly. We started to feed her rice cereal and that was pretty funny. Between me trying to figure out how to mix it and her trying to figure out how to swallow, it was comical to say the least. We have video of it!

Austyn in her jumper.

  Other than all of that, we are all getting better at the thing we call life. Everyday gets closer to a new type of norm. We are planning a summer full of camping and vacations. We're planning on picking up where we left off last year. We wanted to go somewhere once a month, but pregnancy soon got in the way :( I think March is our first trip of the year. Jordan has a few extra days off and we both have the camping itch. 

  Hope all is well with everyone. Thanks for keeping up with us!