Annika is in a catalog

Annika's modeling gig from May has landed her in the Patternworks catalog. We received our hardcopy of the catalog a few days ago and were quite excited to see our little girl (well, the back of our little girl) in print.

Our friend Jen, whose pattern Annika is modeling for, said Patternworks has alread sold out of their 1st order of the pattern and has ordered a lot more. Congrats to Jen for creating such a hot-selling pattern!

To view Annika in the online catalog, click here:
http://www.patternworks.com/productdetail/801449.htm

She's walking!

Our little girl is officially walking. Yesterday, she started putting 5-6 steps together and cruising around. Such a big girl!! Once I figure out how, I'll post a video we took of her walking.

Cankle

Yes, I officially have a "cankle". For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term, a cankle is basically an ankle-less ankle, or a "calf ankle". It isn't pretty, but not unexpected due to the fact someone took a power tool to my foot earlier this week. I also have some beautiful (and wide-reaching) bruising going on, but for now, we'll just focus on the fact that my right outer ankle bone is currently not visible.


For those who may wonder while looking at the photos, my right foot does indeed have "yes" written on it. It is a global medical standard to indicate which limb surgery is to be performed on. The anesthesiologist marked the foot and the surgeon wrote his name on the same foot (this part tickled) confirming the correct foot was marked for surgery.





Without a point of comparison, the cankle might not seem overly evident. So, here you go!

Post-Op Appointment

I had my first post-op appointment today. My doctor liked how my foot looks. I found it to be puffy and bruised. (Did I mention the sausage-like appearance?) My outer ankle bone is not identifiable right now - my foot just segways right into my leg. Definition, schmefinition! The surgeon said to stay off of my foot for at least another week, just because of the location of the stitches. He doesn't want them to get over-burdened and rupter.... now THAT creates quite a visual, doesn't it?? ICK!

Husband of the Year Award

I'd like to officially nominate Eric for the best husband of the year award. He has been beyond top-notch during my recovery. He makes sure I have everything that I need, makes sure I'm taking my medications, brings me ice for my owie foot, takes care of Annika, and is prepping our meals. I really did marry the most amazing and nurturing man! Love you, Sweetie!! (and THANK YOU!)

First step toward recovery

I'm almost 24 hours post-surgery and am definitely feeling the fact that I had a saw in my foot yesterday. Fortunately, the percocet keeps me from caring too much about the fact that my foot is in rather extreme pain. Unfortunately, the meds make me quite drowsy, which makes working a bit difficult. I feel my eyelids get very heavy and have to force myself to open my eyes.

That being said, I'm still glad that I went ahead with the surgery. I know it'll be better in the long run.

Today's the day

In about a half hour, we'll head out to the ambulatory surgical center so I can get my foot fixed up. I slept surprisingly well last night - yippee!! I really hope this procedure does what it is supposed to do and my foot winds up feeling better (after feeling worse, of course). Fingers and toes are definitely crossed!

Yesterday, I spent most of the day prepping food for our freezer; I got 7 entrees (at least 14 dinners) prepped and frozen. Our friend Nic came over and helped out with some of the food work and doing a lot of Annika wrangling. (THANKY YOU, Nic!)

Last Monday, I took an Indian cuisine cooking class. It was a lot of fun and I learned a great deal. Last night, I made butter chicken and coconut rice for our dinner. It was FANTASTIC. Every attempt at making Indian food until last night was an utter failure. I'm so glad I took that class and now have an idea of what should go into making an authentic Indian meal.

One step closer to not steppin' for a bit

I had my pre-op doctor's appointment last night. I had the required blood draw (I was very brave) and got the a-ok from my physician to go ahead with my foot surgery on Monday. It is funny to think about the fact that I'm looking forward someone cutting into me and possibly intentionally breaking one of the bones my foot. I know I'll feel worse before I feel better, but I'm keeping my eye on the prize ... a foot that no longer gives me grief.

On a side note, we just learned that our dear, dear friends are going to be blessed with a baby BOY in January. Can't wait to meet you, little boy DeWeese!!

Another day with Figheadh

Yesterday, the Olson trio drove down to Tacoma and spent a few hours at Owen Beach with our friends from Figheadh to model some of their new fashions. We were decked out in various hats, sweaters, and socks. There was a little chill in the air thanks to the breeze coming up off of the water, so we were quite grateful for the wool sweaters and left them on long after those photos were complete. Now we have to wait to see the final results once the photographer (who is marvelous, by the way) gets them to Jen. Waiting, waiting, waiting!


Here's a picture of Annika that her daddy took during some down time; she's wearing one of Jen's sweaters and hats. Aren't they fantastic? Thanks for a fun day, Jen and Fred!!

Annika's New Socks

Just had to share my latest completed knitting project. Yes, I really do finish projects from time to time! :)

How can something with such a cute name hurt so much?

My foot has been a bit of a problem this summer. Initially, I thought on of our dogs stepped on it (as they are known to do) and bruised it. After 6 (or so) weeks of it not feeling better, I asked my doctor to check it out. She ruled out a stress fracture and decided I sprained my foot and put me in a highly unattractive (and very blue) theraphy shoe for four weeks. After four weeks, my foot was the same - no better, no worse. It hurts whenever there's direct pressure on it or I accidentally whack it on something (most recently, the opening of our dryer ... don't ask).

My doctor sent me to a podiatrist (who is a kick, by the way ... no foot puns intended), who decided I might have a cyst on my bone (hence, the lack of improvement with the lovely blue shoe - please note sarcasm). He decided to give it another few weeks to see if it got better on its own (not expecting it to, but that way we said we did everything we could to avoid surgery). Fast forward to yesterday...

I had my pre-op consulatation with the podiatrist, who started talking about bunion surgery. HUH?? He explained that if he doesn't find a cyst during surgery, he'll treat the very small bunion (officially called a Tailor's Bunion or a Bunionette ... how cute!) that is potentially causing the pain in my foot.

How can something that causes me to lose my breath if it gets knocked have such a cute name, like "bunionette"?

Surgery is set for 9/22 ... fingers and toes are crossed for a positive outcome!

They're officially hitched!

This weekend, our dear, dear friends David and Nicola got married. They had a destination wedding on Orcas Island and it was truly a stunning day. The weather couldn't have been better and the bride and groom looked amazing in their wedding attire. They looked so happy and we hope that every day of their marriage is just as joyful and blessed.


The happy couple ... Mr. & Mrs. Russell



Eric was the best man and did a wonderful job attending to the couple and making sure they were getting what they needed ... water, a ride somewhere, someone to calm the nerves/stress, etc. His speech was touching, funny, and quite perfect. Well done!! Our niece Abby sang during the ceremony and brought a tear to many eyes. She sounded like an angel ... which prompted Annika (who cut her 5th tooth over the weekend) to start clapping during Abby's song. ;)

Annika in her wedding clothes after the ceremony



One of the crowning moments of the weekend for me was completing their wedding cake. Due to uncooperative frosting, the entire design had to be re-done, but I think it all worked out and am quite pleased with the final result.


The cake!

Such a big girl

We had a VERY full Labor Day weekend. Fortunately, that didn't stop us from having a few moments here and there to take pictures of our favorite subject ... our little girl.

Annika showing off her new hair do. (Auntie Suzanne and Mommy had lots of fun once we realized Annika's hair was long enough for "ding dongs".)


Checking out our cat, Smudge. We're pretty sure he's happy to have glass protecting him from Annika's "loves".


Annika showing off just how flexible she really is. Yes, she is sucking on her toe. She liked the "popping" sound it made each time she pulled it out of her mouth.


Our little girl is reminding us that she's growing up. She graduated from the Infant room at day care on Friday. This morning, she reported to the 1-year-old room. We had to learn a whole new morning routine for the room, but should catch on quickly. Here is Annika in her new room showing us how a big girl eats breakfast. (I wasn't fast enough to snap a picture of her shaking and flinging her bowl of cereal just moments earlier.)