Dalley's Dialogue: Off The Grid

Hey there. 

Remember me?

It's me... Dalley!

Sorry for the delay in an update... but I figured it was time to take a hiatus... a much needed break....

Me, Mom and Dad decided to go OFF THE GRID!

The last time Dad had a break from his school.... I was still in the hospital. So his entire break was spent there.

Don't get me wrong... I'm sure he LOVED spending time with me... I mean... How could he not?

But being in the hospital is never "fun".

And his "break" before that, is when mom was in the hospital.... and then I was born.....

So that break was even less "fun" than the last one.

What can I say?...... My dramatic entrance into the world was stressful. 

Sorry...Not my fault.....

So this break.... we decided to go to Idaho.

We were ALL set to go.

Mom took me to my last doctors appointment for at least a month.

She even took me all the way to Salt Lake by herself! (Applause for Mom please....)

Things were going just great... until we got home....

And then Mom accidentally pulled out my g-tube!

When I say out... I mean....COMPLETELY OUT OF MY BELLY!

So that little balloon of water is what keeps the tube in my belly.... and the whole thing....pulled right out.

Oh man.... It was crazy.

I cried... Mom cried... Mom said a lot of NAUGHTY words..... 

(Don't tell her I told you....)

Mom called Dad and made him leave school because she was FREAKING OUT!

She's so dramatic sometimes....

If you ever wonder where I get it.........Look no further.. Ha!

But.... Mom was able to get a new tube put in, even though she had to tear the house apart to find it.

So.... after that (pardon the adult word here) CRAPPY adventure..... 

(See what happens when I hang out with Mom?)

......Dad finished the semester, we packed the car and off to Idaho we went!

(Anyone notice that Mom makes this face a lot in her pictures????...... Just something to ponder)

Little did we know the new "adventure" that would be awaiting us. 

We got to Idaho and the power was out in the house. Turns out it had been out for a few days.

The freezer full of hamburger and steaks..... RUINED!

BUT....the WORST part.... was this.....

That's about 20 Gallons of breast milk that Mom made for me.... RUINED!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

There was nothing to do but cry!

Mom cried for the hours of her life she will never get back...

I cried for the gallons of milk I will never get to eat....

Me and Mom went in the other room to pout while Dad cleaned out the freezer.

Dad threw up 3 times because it smelled so bad.

To that I say..."I know how you feel"... Since I throw up all the time.

To say our vacation started off rough.. is an understatement. My Aunts, Uncle and cousins came over to "Help" clean up the mess.

Nobody was happy about it.



Everyone  "Helped" but mostly it was my Dad and Uncle Blake that cleaned everything.

The rest of us had some catching up to do!

I had never met my cousin Stone before.

And he's hilarious.

Or my dog cousins Beans, Ren and Bear.

So, I was busy.

After the freezer fiascos..... we thought we were in for a relaxing 3 week break.

Once again.. we were wrong.

After 2 days in Idaho, I was having a hard time breathing. I couldn't saturate very well.
Mom kept turning up my oxygen and I was still having a hard time.

And since we've already discussed the paranoid drama that is my mother......

She made us pack up the car... and drive all the way back to Utah!

I was veerrrry disappointed...

We returned to Utah... so that Mom could order an air quality test to be done on the house.

The wait in Utah for the test to be completed turned out to be not so bad.

I finally got to meet the last of my cousins....

McCoy!

Grandma brought McCoy and Tinly (I've already met Tinly before) over and we played for hours. It was awesome.

McCoy's a real cowboy.. and Tinly's a real cowgirl.

They're going to teach me all the tricks of the trade.

We had so much fun... I was pretty mad when they had to go home.

They didn't seem too thrilled about leaving either.

Next time.... Next time...

So... while we were back in Utah... the test on the house came back as clear. 

We went to the doctor and he said the change in elevation.. the dust in the air...smoke in the air.... really anything could have caused the increase in my oxygen requirements...Because my lungs are so sensitive.. the slightest changes can cause issues.

But he said we should be okay to go back.

So, we packed up the car and went back to Idaho!!

So, here's what happened on our trip to Idaho 2.0

I found the pony that I want!

But Mom said that it was her pony and I need to find my own.

Clearly that made me mad.

I also went on a few walks. I made Mom push me the whole time....

What a pushover..... :) heh heh.

I also went to the fair with my family for Mom's birthday!

**cough cough** remember what I told you about Mom's face and pictures...... **cough cough**

**ahem ahem** Here too.. Only this time there's corn in it.... **ahem ahem**

My Dad's grandpa, Freddy even came to the fair with us and we got a 4 generation picture.

All in all....It was a pretty good day at the fair. 

And

Mom says I'm the best present she ever got!

Even when I pull stunts like this.... 

..........Her and Dad think I'm pretty much the coolest thing ever.....

Let's see... what other adventures happened in Idaho....????

In Idaho I also saw.... or slept through my first solar eclipse.

AAANNNNDDDD....I met the man of my dreams! Kayson Hill. He's so dreamy!

Swoon!!!

He's only 2 months old... but he is very mature for his age and seems to like us older women.

Our Mom's introduced us....

I was like, "Dalley..... play it cool. For crying out loud...Play. It. Cool."

Things were going great.... I was cracking jokes... we were laughing and really hitting it off.

Until my friend Evelyn showed up.

She took one look at him......

And then she made her move.

And there I was... the third wheel.

But in his defense...He does likes the older ladies... and she's 10 months old with gorgeous red hair.

I think it's clear to see who won this battle...

But I'm plotting my revenge..

Muah ha ha!

While in Idaho, we also had a little get together at our house for my blessing.

It was a really nice day. Dad said a lot of really nice things in my blessing.

And we had a lot of family and friends come.

And my Grammy got me this beautiful dress... that I only got to wear for a few minutes on account of my "up-chuck" problem.

Don't mind Mom's hair... She was frazzled on account of the pork being too salty. Or maybe it was because my bow didn't match. 

Who knows really?

But None of that really matters anyway.
It was a great day.

So that was our adventures in Idaho.

Common questions people have about me these days are the following?

Q1-How long will she have the feeding tube?

Answer:

Until I eat by mouth. 

So far... I don't eat anything by mouth.

The only thing I let in my mouth are my own fingers.

Mom tries the bottle... and I just chew on it until it makes me throw up.

Q2-How long will she have oxygen?

Answer: 

Who knows? We have an appointment in October with the cardiologist to see if we can start "weaning" the amount of oxygen I'm currently on. My pulmonary hypertension has to be improving in order for that to happen.

So... I'm HOOOPING in October we can start weaning it.

Mom seems to think I'll for sure have the oxygen through the winter.

But.. here's a sneak peak of my face without all of my hardware.

I barely even recognize myself.

Q3-How much do I weigh these days?

Answer-

 Close to 11 lbs.

11 lbs of adorable fat rolls!

 But only I'm allowed to call them fat rolls. It would be rude if you did.

I joke. I joke.

Q4- How long will I be immunocompromised? (Aren't you impressed I know such a big word?)

Answer- 

For a long time. Some kids born early have bad lungs for life.

So Mom and Dad will be paranoid for years.

UGGGGG!

Speaking of paranoid... It's September... and time to get your flu shot if you want to come visit me!

I don't ask questions... I just follow the rules. Mom gets a little crazy sometimes.

Q5- How old am I?

Answer- Actual age = 8.5 Months.

Corrected age = 4.5 Months.

Which reminds me....

5 Days - 1 lb 2 oz.

1 Month - 1 lb 12 oz.

8 Months - 10 lb 8 oz.

I wanted to put the rest of the pictures but there are getting to be too many... 

Well.. sorry for the long post. I had some catching up to do.

This is my story to myself. A way to document my life.

If you're still along for the ride....Welcome.

And thanks for saddling up with us.

But don't expect Mom to let you borrow her pony.

Good night friends.