Ce--le-brate good times, C'mon!!

Sharing a few pics from Evan's party yesterday- beautiful day with great company!  I was nervous how Evan would react to a house full of people since he has been having fears of strangers lately combined with separation anxiety- not wanting to let go of mama!  I have to secretly admit I do like this phase- the holding onto Mommy for dear life, clinging to my neck for security.  I remember that was the one thing I longed for when Mike and I were going through those torturous years of infertility.  Being the only person they wanted, the only one who could make the pain and worry go away.

Anyway, back to the party- Evan did really well with everyone and managed to get two good naps in as well- that can be difficult on a quiet day!

We invited the kids to dress up, and I apologize for not getting pics of the other kids in attendance- my dad was in charge of my camera since I was going in a million directions.  Evan didn't make it into his costume since he woke from his nap at the beginning of the party and needed to eat.  An hour later a bottle, and we just never made it back upstairs to change.  I'll be sure to post pics of him in his monkey costume though, rest assured! ;)

This would be Justin cranking the tail of The Cat in the Hat.  He is such a little character in or out of costume. :)

We opened presents first and of course it was all about the tissue paper.  I believe I have my idea for our Christmas card photo this year.

Next, on to cake.  I was so relieved with how well the cakes turned out- we've had a catastrophe or two in the past. ;)  I do enjoy making special themed cakes for the kids even if I'm far from professional.  Sometime in the future I'd love to take a cake decorating class.

Evan wasn't a real fan of his cake.  I admit I was relieved since he really isn't ready to eat it anyway.  We are still working on different textures and Evan is still learning how to chew properly.  This was his first taste of refined sugar!  Not too impressed, but it was fun to play with for a little while.

And lastly, I shot a few photos out in the yard on Friday since I was unhappy with the portraits we had taken at Sears.  I think these turned out much better. ;) I call these "the many faces of Evan."

And on a side note: please keep Evan in your thoughts this week as he will be having some minor surgery on Friday.  We are praying he stays healthy so the surgery can go as scheduled- two different doctors will be working on him so it took a bit of work to get their schedules coordinated.  Evan has an undescended testicle which needs to come down, and an inguinal hernia which often goes with the testicle issue.  While he is under anesthesia, the ENT will be there to thoroughly clean his ears and determine if he has fluid in his ears requiring tubes to be placed.  

Evan has had a few hearing tests as it is recommended for kids with Down syndrome to have their hearing checked every 6 months to a year.  Kids with designer genes are more prone to hearing impairments, and tend to have very narrow ear canals which can lead to fluid as well as chronic ear infections.  Evan has been fortunate in this area as he has not had any ear infections to date (knock on wood).  But a few of the tests did indicate he has fluid.  The ENT is not convinced the tests were accurate though, due to his extremely narrow ear canals combined with an increased amount of ear wax.  So after clearing all the wax while Evan is under anesthesia, the doctor will have a much better look at Evan's ear drums and will be able to see if there is indeed fluid or not.  If there is, tubes will be placed on the spot while he is still under. 

I was very happy to be able to coordinate these procedures together so Evan would only have to go under anesthesia once.  That pesky but perky extra chromosome can sometimes make anesthesia more of a challenge.  Anesthesia medications are often metabolized faster in a person with DS, requiring close monitoring and sometimes higher doses.  Breathing and heart rate can be affected also- airways are often smaller or at a different angle on a person with DS.  Thankfully, Evan will be in very good, experienced hands at the University of Maryland pediatric surgery center.  This team of anesthesiologists are quite familiar with all these possible challenges.  I will speak with them sometime this week prior to surgery and go down my laundry list of questions, mostly for my own personal reassurance.  I thank you in advance for all your thoughts and prayers.