We've been discussing what to do with it since he was about 6 months old. He's had two ultra-sounds on it at Children's Hospital and a couple of consultations. Finally, last week, we had a pediatric surgeon at Vandy remove it. Below is a picture of James PRE-Op. You will notice, there are no post-op pictures...I'm sure you can guess why. James was put under full anesthesia but the surgery only lasted about 15 minutes. He was treated like a king at Vandy and after surgery had his choice of many fine treats including popsicles and ICEEs. I, of course, cried like a baby and blame it on the pregnancy hormones. It was hard to see him in that condition but by the time 2p rolled around that day, he was back to his old, wild self. No slowing this kid down for long.
Yesterday, the sterri strip fell off. I was nervous at first to see the final result but I when I finally looked, I was very pleased. And, I teared up again. He has a normal belly button! Happy 2nd Birthday James.
Two days before surgery, we had an actual birthday party for him. It was Thomas/James the train themed. His Grammy once again made his birthday cake and really outdid herself. Can you believe she made this? It tasted great as well. My friend, Emory, made him the most adorable train applique t-shirt which he adores. James loved blowing out the candle and we had to relight it about 4 times so he could keep blowing it out. He eventually let us cut into it so we could eat it.
His real birthday present (aside from the new belly button) is a wooden swingset. His daddy and grandpa assembled it and we spend alot of our days swinging now. Here's a picture of James and his cousins at his birthday party enjoying the swingset.
