Greek Festival

Saturday early, early morning Kaitlynn woke up with a 101 temperature. Children's Tylenol brought the temperature down. Kaitlynn was fine the rest of the day, again almost bouncing off the walls. We decided to go to the Greek Festival for dinner. The pediatric dentist called to check on Kaitlynn. I told him she was doing much better and wasn't running a fever anymore. We noticed that the redness on her cheeks was back and there was even some bumps on her cheeks. We assumed it was from the surgical tape and the heat. We were only in the heat a short amount of time (though). Dave saw a few bumps on her left arm, but we weren't sure what they could be from and kind of brushed it off. She seemed to be feeling fine, just a little irritable. We ate dinner, listened to music and watched some Greek children dance. Kaitlynn had fun taking pictures of Dave and me with the camera. We ate dessert and then Kaitlynn said she was ready to go home. She continued to seem fine with the exception of being irritable.

Short trip to the Zoo

Last Friday at midnight, Kaitlynn woke up very warm and crying. The ear thermometer we use for her wouldn't work - dead batteries. And they are special batteries, so of course we didn't have any! I couldn't get the other thermometers to register under her arm because she was crying and they just wouldn't take her temperature. We gave her a dose of Children's Motrin and it took the possible fever away. later that morning the surgery center called to check on her and I told them she seemed to be doing well, but did wake up warm, but Motrin took care of it. Late that morning / early that afternoon, Kaitlynn complained of her head hurting, so she took some Children's Tylenol. It seemed to do the trick.
She was fine the rest of the day, bouncing off the walls, so we decided to pack up some sandwiches for dinner and go to the Zoo for Jungle Boogie. Kaitlynn said she wanted to see the giraffes first, so as we were headed over that way, she got distracted by the ducks. She likes to watch them in the water. When we were finally able to pull her away from duck watching, we went into the new Zootenial Exhibit. Dave and I thought it was pretty cool, but Kaitlynn did not and was ready to leave. I think this is probably when she started to feel bad, but didn't tell us. Instead she started getting cranky and we thought she was just tired and /or hot. It was a really warm day! We saw the big cats, zebras, giraffes and donkeys. When she saw the donkeys, she told Dave and me that Jesus had a donkey. We told her that Jesus did ride on a donkey. We went through the Flight Cage and she rode the carousel. Then she said she wasn't feeling good. She said her stomach and head were hurting her. Her cheeks were really red. The pediatric dentist said that her cheeks might get red / break out from the surgical tape (holding the breathing tube in place). It seemed to be a combination of that and probably more so that she was flushed. We decided to find a nice shady spot or a nice cool building to eat dinner at. Kaitlynn decided that she needed to go home. Kaitlynn wanting to leave the Zoo is a big deal. She loves the Zoo and would stay there all day and all night if she could. I immediately became worried and started thinking something must have gone wrong with the dental procedure and / or with the sedation.

We got her home and she wanted to take a shower. She stayed in the shower for about 30+ minutes, just letting the water hit her. Her tummy was a little hard. She was complaining with her stomach and head hurting. We took her temperature and it was 102.1, so we gave her some Children's Tylenol. Almost an hour later and her temperature was 102.5. I called her pediatric dentist's cell phone and told him what was going on. He said that he didn't think her symptoms had to do with the procedure, especially since she wasn't complaining of her teeth or ears hurting. He said she probably caught a virus and prescribed some Amoxicillin. Within a half an hour we had the Amoxicillin and gave Kaitlynn her first dose. Her temperature started coming down (100.5) and she was able to get some sleep.

Still Here

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I have been feeling really sick lately. I am taking a medication that is really just kicking my butt! I plan on trying to get things up to date as much as I can in the next few days.

Pick Up Day

Last week, I again was having a bad week (with not feeling well). I made a call to my doctor and the nurse suggested taking my medication at different times of the day. We are going to try that for a week.

Kaitlynn and I went to the library to pick up some books and DVDs we had on reserve for her. We also signed up for a couple events in February.
Then we picked up our produce from the Produce Co-op. Kaitlynn loves pick up day. She kept asking if she could eat vegetables. I love the way she says vegetables. It's super cute! This week the produce consisted of 2 bushels of broccoli, 2 heads of cauliflower, celery, bananas (and we got an extra bunch of bananas, too), 2 bags of carrots, a tray of mushrooms, lettuce, 2 red onions, 1 red pepper, 6 Roma tomatoes, 6 tangerines, 3 apples, 1 honeydew melon and 3 pears!
We made pasta with veggies, cooked broccoli and cauliflower and baked sweet potatoes for dinner.

Cooking, Cleaning and Crocodiles

Monday after Kaitlynn's doctor appointment, she wanted to go to MawMaw's house. Since she is not contagious and was up for the visit, I took her over there. After dinner, we went to Target. Kaitlynn found some great stuff in the $1 section. It's one of our favorite stores.

Tuesday, Kaitlynn helped make chili. We finally got our Christmas tree and decorations down.

Wednesday, Kaitlynn and daddy attended Motor Masters at the ECC. After class, she kept talking about a crocodile because they sang "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". She loves the part "and if you see a crocodile, don't forget to scream." Later that afternoon, she helped me vacuum. She loves cleaning. Very domesticated girl! She doesn't take that after me!

Kaitlynn is still feeling pretty bad. She is still coughing and wheezing a lot. She isn't running fever. The steam from the bathroom doesn't seem to help, nor does the cold air. We are giving her steroids, tylenol and using the humidifier. I hope she starts feeling better soon.

FYI - she went to class because she was up to it. Even though she is really sick, she is still very active (accept when she is having a coughing attack).

Sick Again and Christmas Crafts

Kaitlynn came down with the stomach virus last week. She had diarrhea and was vomiting. The vomiting lasted about 7 hours.

Sunday evening, Kaitlynn woke up from a late nap with a barking cough. Sound familiar? Yeah, I think she has croup again. She had it right before Thanksgiving. I don't understand how my very healthy little girl went from hardly ever getting sick to being sick a lot. This year she has had an ear infection, several viruses, croup, stomach virus and now croup again. The only thing that has changed is that I am doing in-home childcare. But it's not like I have a house full of kids. I typically only have 1 child at a time, sometimes 2.

We are giving her children's Motrin and sitting in the bathroom frequently for the steam from the shower. I just hate seeing her not feeling well. I am really concerned with how often she has been sick lately. We need to purchase a new humidifier. We've never liked the one we purchased when she was first born. It's The First Years American Red Cross Cool Mist Humidifier. I just don't think it works and have never noticed a difference when we have used it.

Kaitlynn worked on some Christmas crafts Wednesday afternoon when she was feeling a little better. She had so much fun making these crafts. We had some photo Christmas cards left over, so I cut her pictures out and she pasted them to a couple of wreaths. She made a photo wreath for MawMaw, too. She enjoyed cutting the pictures of mommy and daddy and pasting them on a separate wreath.
Here's just a few of the crafts she made.

Morning at the ER

We were out pretty late for MawMaw's birthday. After we left MawMaw's to come home, Kaitlynn started swallowing hard, choking and gagging in the car. It lasted about a minute, then was fine. She fell asleep in the car shortly after that. We got home, put her to bed and she slept for about an hour. She woke up screaming and crying, swallowing hard, gagging, choking and seemed to be having a hard time breathing. We called the pediatrician's exchange and a nurse called us back immediately. She heard Kaitlynn over the phone and said she sounded like she was very uncomfortable and we needed to bring her in for a chest x-ray. Her concern was she might have swallowed something that she wasn't supposed to or that got stuck in her throat. We got to the ER and were put in a room pretty quickly. A nurse checked her out and she seemed to be doing better. She said they were very busy and it would take awhile for a doctor to come in. Thankfully they had movies to keep her busy. We watched "Cinderella". We waited a little over an hour before the doctor was able to see us. At that point, Kaitlynn was ready to go home. The doctor checked her out and ordered a chest x-ray. The doctor said the x-ray wasn't the most clear cut case of croup she'd ever seen, but all of Kaitlynn's symptoms really seemed to point to croup. They gave her a dose of steroids and Motrin and gave us information on croup and what to look for, etc. The doctor said she was concerned that it might be turning into pneumonia because every time we asked Kaitlynn where she hurt, she would point to her lower back and tell us her back hurt. We are thankful that it wasn't more serious.

Kaitlynn's pediatrician called that afternoon to check on her. It was reassuring to talk to the pediatrician. She said croup could last up to 5 days.

Kids in the Kitchen

Wednesday, October 21st Kaitlynn attended her Kids in the Kitchen class. The theme was Eating Like Bears / Bear Wants More. She made a tuna melt, salad, chocolate milk, cinnamon rolls and strawberry shortcake. She is always so excited when she comes home from class. She can't wait to tell me about it.

I hadn't been feeling well since Monday evening and by Wednesday I was really feeling bad. MawMaw came out to help with Kaitlynn and spent the night.

Thank God for her and all of her help!

Botanical Garden and Museum of Transportation

Tuesday May 26th Kaitlynn and I went to my mom's. Kaitlynn played with Auggie and Elliott. Dave met my mom, Kaitlynn and I at Applebee's for dinner.

Wednesday the 27th Kaitlynn, Olivia and I met the Mommy and Toddler Playgroup at the Botanical Garden. Emily, Ella, Trisha, Kylie, Tara, Bailey, Kathy, John Paul, and Tara's friend and her son were there.

After playing on the sheep, we fed the Koi fish, then went to the Children's Garden.

Before we left Kaitlynn and Kylie played in the water at the Children's Garden.

That evening my mom and I went to dinner and to get our hair cut. It was a nice relaxing evening.

Thursday the 28th Kaitlynn and I attended the Momslikeme.com Playdate at the Museum of Transportation.

Kaitlynn played bingo and won a coloring book.

Then she made bubbles with the bubble wands.
Kaitlynn climbed on the train, but said she was too scared to go through it.
She played with sidewalk chalk.

Then we did a craft and played with the bubbles again. Kaitlynn saw her friends Kylie, John David, Bailey and Ella.
We didn't stay too long because Kaitlynn said she was ready to go. She was complaining about her ears and had a runny nose. I called the pediatrician and was able to bring her in to get checked out. I thought for sure it was another ear infection, but thankfully it wasn't. Dr. Quinn said Kaitlynn's ears looked great. There wasn't even any wax build up. She said that she probably has allergies (seasonal) or she is getting her 2 year molars in. I think it is allergies. Kaitlynn was such a big girl during the visit. She just sat there and let Dr. Quinn exam her. She did throw a fit when we laid her back and she checked her diaper area, but she never likes when she has to lay on the table. She was also checked for strep.

We went to my mom's for lunch. Kaitlynn played with Auggie and Elliott.

Friday the 29th Kaitlynn and I were supposed to meet the CBW Playgroup, but I had a terrible sinus infection, so we didn't get to meet them.

Babysitting and MNO

On April 13th, I watched Olivia. Kaitlynn had a cough, runny nose and was having some tummy trouble. Tuesday the 14th, we missed the CBW playdate at the mall due to Kaitlynn not feeling well. I was tired from being at the hospital with my mom on the 12th, too. These reasons also lead us to miss the first Motor Developers class at the ECC on the 15th. Thursday the 16th, Kaitlynn and I went to my mom's to watch Elliott while she went to the dentist. Dave watched Kaitlynn that evening so I could go out with the moms from the CBW group. We got pedicures at the mall and then went to the Cheesecake Factory. We had a great time.

We were going to get a group shot of our toes, but that would have been tough considering the group we had. There were 12 to 16 of us.

Friday the 17th, I watched Olivia and we went to my mom's.

Hospital Visit

The evening of Sunday the 12th, I called my mom to check on her because she wasn't feeling well that day. She had to go lay down after we ate. She was still not doing well, so I called her doctor's exchange. He said that she needed to go to the hospital because he was afraid she had developed pneumonia. I met my mom and brother up at the hospital around midnight on the 13th. My mom had to have a chest x-ray and CT scan. Thankfully everything came out OK. She had a really bad sinus infection and the medicine she was given last week didn't kick it. They gave her some pain medication along with more antibiotics.

Doctor's Appointments

Monday morning Kaitlynn woke up coughing and then vomiting at 2AM. After getting cleaned up and finally falling back to sleep, she woke up with diarrhea. I called her doctor's office and they suggested I bring her in. So Kaitlynn, Olivia and I headed to the pediatrician's office. We didn't get to see her pediatrician, but saw one of the partners. Kaitlynn had lost a little weight since her February visit, but not much. He checked her stomach, ears and lungs, but wasn't able to find anything wrong. He said she may have a stomach bug. He gave us some Dr. Smith's diaper cream to prevent a sore bottom from the diarrhea. I asked if she was contagious and he said that it was hard to say. He said that as long as she didn't get into Olivia's face and we practiced good handwashing that Olivia should be OK. I took the girls to Bread Co. to get Kaitlynn a smoothie as a special treat.

Kaitlynn fell asleep on the drive home. I fed Olivia and then she fell asleep. I packed a lunch while the girls were sleeping, then dropped off the study products. I had my hands full walking into that building - Olivia in the car seat, Kaitlynn in my arms (because she was still tired), paperwork, and the bag of research products.

We went to my mom's preschool to pick her up. We got there early, so Kaitlynn could play with the kids. She likes going to preschool. The preschool gave us a few things for our yard, so I called my niece to haul them to our house. My mom and I had doctor's appointments. They drew blood to check my thyroid level and ended up requesting other stuff, since I have not been feeling well for awhile. I hope I get the results on Friday. I would love to find out what's wrong with me (I hope it's nothing bad). Kaitlynn was really ornery at the doctor's office. Olivia was an angel. She did start to get fussy at the end because she wanted to eat and was tired of being in the car seat.

When we got to my house, Meghan was waiting there to pick Olivia up. My niece was also waiting for us. My mom took Hanna, Kaitlynn and me out to dinner. Elliott and Auggie came over my mom's. Kaitlynn had fun hanging out with them. She loves those boys.

Tuesday, Kaitlynn woke up vomiting at 7AM and had a few episodes of diarrhea. I was also feeling sick, so Dave stayed home from work. Kaitlynn and I slept until 2PM. We were definitely not feeling well, sleeping that long. Kaitlynn seemed to be feeling better after sleeping. Dave went to the store to get some juice boxes and rented an Elmo DVD for her.

Wednesday, Kaitlynn and I were supposed to meet with a group at Purina Farms, but I wasn't feeling well and I wasn't sure about taking her out. Dave was going to stay home again, but then decided it wouldn't be a good idea. He was going to take Kaitlynn to work with him, but he had so much to get caught up on, that he decided against it. Thankfully Kaitlynn let me lay around until I started feeling a little better. I felt guilty that she was stuck in the house Tuesday and most of Wednesday, so I took her to my mom's. My mom had a few errands to run. I got really sick at the last store and had to sit in the snack bar and wait for them. I wish I would start feeling better soon.

Singing Songs

Friday morning while we were getting ready, Kaitlynn was singing a song she made up. She was singing "I'll see you when I see ya" over and over. It was really cute and funny. She loves to sing, mostly things she makes up. What a creative little girl!

We met with 2 SAHM from the ECC. I met them at the SAHM+D group I went to back in February at the ECC. We have been emailing since then and finally were able to meet up. Katie just became a SAHM about a month ago. She has an adoptive son named Luke (who will be 2 in July). Amy has 2 girls. Jane turned 2 in January and Abby was born in January. We met at the ECC in the Common Area.

Jane and Kaitlynn had an almost instant connection. They sang / played ring around the rosie, held hands, and kept hugging each other. They were total girls. I have never seen Kaitlynn act like such a girl before. It was so awesome, but also kind of sad. My little baby girl is growing up and turning into a big girl.

Even though Kaitlynn and Jane had fun and played (sometimes they would include Luke - but not often), Kaitlynn was in a mood. She was taking toys and throwing temper tantrums. She was mainly doing this with Luke and a few other kids there. I think she wasn't feeling well. She has a stopped up nose, yet it is really runny. I gave her Tylenol when we left the ECC, because I thought it might help her feel better.

We got home and ate lunch. Well, I ate lunch, Kaitlynn wouldn't eat. She did take a good nap. We waited for Whitney to come over. Whitney was kind of fussy, because she was tired. Once I was able to get her to sleep, she was better. I only watched her for 4 hours before Matt picked her up.

Dave, Kaitlynn and I ate dinner. I gave Kaitlynn a bath and Dave put her to bed.

Warm Weather in March

Friday it was in the 70s! I couldn't believe how warm it was. Kaitlynn and I actually got a little bit of a sunburn. We went to the Zoo with the Yahoo and Mommy and Toddler Playgroups. We met Emily, Ella, Julie, Kaylee, Tara and Bailey there.
We went to the Children's Zoo first

then to River's Edge. Kaitlynn and I mainly walked around with Julie and Kaylee.

After River's Edge we went to see the zebras.

Posing for a picture after seeing the big cats and on the way to see the giraffes.

Then we went to the cafe to eat lunch.

After lunch, Kaitlynn and I saw the polar bears, penguins and apes by ourselves. We met up with Emily, Ella, Tara and Bailey after they finished lunch. We left shortly afterwards.

While driving to my mom's, Kaitlynn started vomiting in the car. I made it to the next exit and pulled into a parking lot. I figured she was overheated. I got her out of her clothes, cleaned her and the car seat and we got back on the highway. Shortly afterwards, Kaitlynn started vomiting again. I was too far from an exit so I just pulled over on the side of the highway. I cleaned Kaitlynn up, cleaned the car seat up and we headed to my mom's. Thankfully we made it without another vomiting incident. I gave Kaitlynn a bath as soon as we got to my mom's. She seemed to feel better. After my mom got home from work and Kaitlynn felt better, we picked up Steak n Shake and went to our house. My mom spent the night. Kaitlynn started vomiting again that evening while I was trying to get her to bed. After getting her, myself and the bed cleaned up, I called the pediatrician's exchange. While we waited for the nurse to call back, I gave Kaitlynn a bath. After the bath, the nurse called back. She said that Kaitlynn probably had a virus and gave me things to look for. She said that Kaitlynn would probably get diarrhea and would have to be on a special diet for a few days. Kaitlynn didn't get to bed until after midnight.