Health Updates

***ETA (edited to add): Since posting this originally, on Saturday, we have been back to the doctor....AGAIN because Sophie was complaining of ear pain, and with her all her congestion and coughing I wasn't taking my chances.  Luckily, our office has weekend hours from 8:30am to 5:30pm Saturday and Sunday.  We got a 10:45am appt. today, Sunday, and low and behold the girl has an infected left ear and the start of an infection in her right!  All this sickness and craziness must mean we are in for one awesome summer!!!

 

It seems as though we may be on the mend over here (fingers crossed) after what seems like forever.  Jonah seems to be showing no signs of his ear bothering him, but is still coughing and while Sophie is still coughing too, the super duper cough medicine that the doctor gave us a while back (originally for Jonah) seems to be doing the trick and helping her get some sleep at night.  Maisie on the other hand had another trip back to the doctor on Thursday, she was pooping quite frequently, which is a side effect of the antibiotics, but that was not my concern, no it was the the color of her poop.  I had changed her diaper that afternoon and noticed that she had yet again pooped, but this time the poop was a pinkish red color, hmmmmmm, that's interesting was my first thought, my second thought to take a picture (no really it was) and send it to my mom or Neal and get their thoughts.  The picture thing did not end up happening because the pinkish red color did not show up in the shot.  My next thought, well her antibiotic is pink so maybe the dye is coming out in her poop, but just to be sure I put in a call to the nurse at the office and she told me it could be her meds or it could be blood and that I should bring the diaper by and they could run a quick test on it while I waited.  I loaded up all 3 kiddos and the poopy diaper in the car and off we went.  The test came back positive for blood in my sweet baby girls stool.  I felt so sad for her, no wonder she wasn't showing any super signs of improvement and was still fussy after several days on the antibiotic.  Sure, the antibiotic was healing her ears, but was wreaking havoc on her GI system or so we believe.  So, what was supposed to be just a quick run to drop off the diaper turned into a full blown appointment with the doctor.  Thankfully, my knight in shining armor showed up just as the nurse came out to tell me the test was positive for blood, he had heard the stress in my voice all day and knew that another trip to the doctor even to drop off poop was maybe more than I could handle.  We met with the doctor and she seems to think that the amoxicillin is irritating her GI system and is the root of the blood in Maisie's stool. She took her off the amoxicillin and gave her a shot of rocephin (another antibiotic) to continue to clear her ears.  We will go back on Wednesday (2/22) to test her stool again and see if blood is still present, if it isn't then we know it was the amoxicillin and if it is then we dive deeper to figure out what is the cause.  On a good note though her ears looked great and are healing well and her lungs were clear so the RSV is on it's way out of my sweet girl's lungs!

While Thursday was not a particularly awesome day, at least we figured out what was possibly causing Maisie even more discomfort and the weather has been pretty mild here so we were able to get the kids outside and enjoy some fresh air.  I also had a very sweet and dear friend drop a little ray of sunshine on my front porch late Thursday afternoon to help lift my spirits after what is proving to be a very challenging month for us. 

Love.

Out for a stroll.

She loves her some chickens!

Enjoying some mild weather, with his first official solo catch of a chicken.

My "sunshine" that made me smile.

Finally seeing my baby girl get back to her old self.

FIRE STATION VISIT

Today my friend Heather and I took the kids to the Fire Station near her house. We have been talking about doing this for some time and have finally gotten around to it. As you can see from the pictures the kids had a blast climbing around inside the fire truck and 'driving'. I honestly think they were a little sad to go home! Thanks Heather for bringing your camera so we could capture the fun memories!

Apple Pickin'

This past Saturday, October 3rd we went to an apple orchard in SC with Jackson and Shane. It was a little different than last year which was a little disappointing especially for me since I was looking forward to sampling and taking home some of the tasty treats that they offered last year like dried apple rings and fresh apple donuts just to name a few of my favorites. They had done away with a lot at the orchard including tours due to some licensing that they had not obtained, so this year they were just sticking to apples. Oh well the kids had fun picking apples and chasing around the chickens.

Birthday Blowout Saturday!

This was one busy Saturday for us! Birthdays galore! Our friend's daughter, Sophie's friend Brianna, had her birthday at a local farm, Lewis Farm. Of course Sophie had an absolute ball. She has been so excited about Brianna's party ever since I mentioned it, which I made the mistake of telling her about too early in the week, when you tell a two year old that they are going to a birthday party at a farm with animals, they think they are going in the next few minutes, whoopsie on my part! The party finally came and I thought that she was going to burst with excitement! She got to ride a horse for the first time ever. The horse that she chose to ride was named Honey, and she was so proud of herself, she kept saying, "I ride the horsey, Honey." She played her little heart out there and was such a trooper especially since the party was dead smack in the middle of nap time, so needless to say she passed out in the car on the way home.

Nap time was cut short because by the time we got her home and in bed it was almost 3pm and by 5:10pm she was still out like a light, so I had to wake her up. She woke to find my parents here ready to celebrate yet another birthday! My Dad's birthday was Friday, but they came down to celebrate with us today. Sophie was so excited to give Papa his present, a great framed picture Neal took of the two of them doing the crossword together. After dinner we of course had cupcakes and ice cream, Sophie was so stoked and was pretty excited about the mess she made on her face.

It was a busy Saturday, and it does not look like there will be much rest for us tomorrow. Neal's parents are coming down to help us do some yard work out front, basically an over haul to make it look pretty since it is sort of desolate right now. Hopefully the weather will hold up for us and be just as pretty as it was today!

Feeding Honey some hay.

Patiently waiting her turn to ride the horse, she is so sweet!

Sophie and her new friend Honey.

Checking out the goats.

Giving Papa his present.

The picture that was in the frame.

So excited that she successfully helped blow out the candles.

Proudly displaying the mess she made of herself with cupcake and icing.

Easter Weekend Festivities

The Easter fun started on Friday with coloring eggs and it didn't end there, oh no it continued well into the evening on Sunday. I think Sophie is going to wonder why all weekends aren't as fun as Easter weekend. We were pretty much on the go all weekend, which is probably why on Monday she slept for 3 1/2 hours at nap time, I kept wondering if she was ever going to wake up!

After coloring eggs on Friday (which Neal had off from work, YAY!) Sophie took her nap and then we headed up to Gigi and Papa Slimick's house for dinner and an egg hunt. Sophie had a blast finding the eggs and all she wanted to do was eat the chocolate that she spotted in the kitchen upon our arrival.

So excited Gigi S. stashed stickers inside the eggs!

Saturday we spent at home. Our friend Shane came over with his son Jackson and we had an egg hunt in the backyard. The kids had a blast, naturally.

Enjoying the fruits of their labor!

Sunday morning Sophie was led to her Easter basket by a trail of eggs that the Easter Bunny had left for her starting right outside her bedroom door. She quit collecting the eggs once she saw what the eggs led to, bypassed the remaining eggs on the floor and headed straight for the basket of goods! The Easter Bunny was very good to her, chalk shaped like eggs, new markers, Sesame Street tattoos, Dora and Boots paint brushes (that she carries around all day long), a book, and a chocolate bunny. After breakfast it was off to church then home for a nap and then we headed up to Gigi and Papa Keilty's house for more food and another egg hunt!

Holding onto her jelly beans for dear life.

Patiently waiting for me to open the jelly beans.

Trying to figure out how these golf clubs work.

First golf lesson from Papa.

Wearing Gigi's special glasses from her eye doctor visit.

Poor Fred, Sophie insisted he wear the glasses too.

So now you see why she was worn out come Monday! We have another busy weekend coming up too, Papa K's birthday on Friday, a friend's birthday on Saturday and yard work with Gigi and Papa S. on Sunday (weather permitting).