Kaitlyn's 8th Birthday in Chicago!

Pictures are here....also some added details of our fun trip!

Friday, December 21st
Kaitlyn had her follow-up appointment this morning. Doc said she still sounded great, shocking for as severe her pneumonia was. X-ray showed it was the same…this was good, we wanted it to look the same or better. She had a flu test and lots of bloodwork…all was normal considering her pneumonia. Doc felt it was fine to go to Chicago since we’d be near many hospitals. Since this was day 7 of her extremely high fever we added another antibiotic.
We left the clinic and went to get snowman donuts for her classmates (and her brother’s classmates), we delivered the donuts and said Merry Christmas to her teacher at school and then ran by the house to grab our suitcase and medicines.
So Kaitlyn and I went to Chicago for her 8th birthday. At check in at the Omni Hotel the man (Ben) asked if Kaitlyn was tired. I explained she was recovering from pneumonia and since it was her birthday trip we decided to not cancel the trip. He told us he had it in January and had been hospitalized.
We went up to our room and immediately the phone rang, it was Ben. He said to stay put and if we didn’t need the sofa bed he wanted to switch our room to a corner suite. He also asked how to spell Kaitlyn’s name and said he had a little something for her.
-Kaitlyn taking in the view (on ledge above bed headboard) of our room and watching the horse drawn carriages.




We decided to go down to Navy Pier to check out the Winter Wonderfest…we never found it! Instead we shopped in Build a Bear. We got a little something for Robby, Kimberlyn and Kaitlyn there. I was ready for dinner and expected Kaitlyn to want a bit to eat…she had only eaten half of her hot Krispy Kreme donut after the doctor appointment that morning. I know, how does anybody only eat half of a hot Krispy Kreme donut?!?!?!


Kaitlyn's private photo shoot with Sanat as the clerk told us he was doing his last sitting....this is after the Santa picture taking area was closed and he, Mrs Claus and their Elf were headed away.

We headed back to our room as Kaitlyn hit a low point and just needed motrin and sleep. She took her motrin there and by the time we arrived back it was kicking in to action. Kaitlyn found this huge platter decorated for her birthday with a slice of super yummy cake, a chocolate covered strawberry and a hand written card! She doesn’t like chocolate cake, but was so cheered up by this. She even wrote Ben a thank you note. I can’t find the words to express how touched we were over this extremely extraordinary surprise! We had a fabulous view of the horse-drawn carriage ride starting point. Kaitlyn watched and counted horses for what felt like all night. She even woke at 5 am to see if any horses were out!



-the cake and the thank you note!

She woke up seeming to be doing better, THANK GOD- I mean it was her birthday and I did NOT want her feeling so sick on her special day!

This is one of the pictures we took of our room from outside just before breakfast (our room was a few floors higher)-- breakfast was 2 special ordered pancakes, but after eating 1 1/2 small strawberries she was too full. She even puked as soon as we got back up to our hotel room. Our poor sick birthday girl!


We headed to American Girl Place and realized that Aunt Jess’ hotel was just a half a block up the street; they drove in late the night before. We went and waited for her to come down. Then we all headed to AGP just a few blocks up the street. We were one of the first ones there. Kaitlyn was the second girl to get her picture done with her doll. So cool they make the girl appear on a magazine cover. Then we browsed, browsed and finally shopped! Kaitlyn was very careful on picking out her purchase. I was proud. We strolled through the Disney Store and then headed for a quick break in our hotel room….oh, I forgot to mention- Ben extended our check-out time until 3pm. He also asked what our plans were for dining and I mentioned wanting to take Kaitlyn to dinner at The Rainforest Café…he asked what time and it was a done deal. We had a hand delivered reservation confirmation within about 10 minutes!

Kaitlyn and Aunt Jess before we went into American Girl Place.

Kaitlyn during her AG photo shoot!

Mom and Kaitlyn after the photo shoot!


Back to the break time in the hotel room…after this we headed to our lunch at AGP. It was marvelous. The girls brought their dolls and they provided a special doll seat for them. They also brought out a tiny tea cup for the doll! The food was very tasty…Kaitlyn ate about 3 bites of her macaroni and cheese. She just is unable to eat! For breakfast the special ordered her pancakes and she couldn’t eat them when they arrived. She had eaten one and a half strawberries and felt full. Unfortunately she puked as soon as we got back in our room. Later for dinner I think she took just one bite!

Lunch at American Girl Place Cafe!


After lunch we went to crash at the hotel again…still no crashing happening…this time she played with her doll and her new accessories. We checked out and they held our luggage. We went to the AGP Holiday Show….it was a fabulous musical. We both enjoyed it! After this we walked to dinner…it was a nice, slow walk. I promised to get a cab after dinner as Kaitlyn was beat.

--See, no crashing happening! Instead a wardrobe change?!?!?

We arrived home to her favorite coffee cake and a few presents. I’m extremely happy to report that she is making great progress at getting better. I think the new antibiotic is helping. She has gone 24+ hours since getting motrin and has woken in pain. She took some motrin and is back a sleep… She goes for another check up on the 26th.

Her little birthday party at home. Kimberlyn refused to get in the picture, so Dad hung her in real quick :)

Nicki and Katie (dolls) meeting for teh first time. They hit it off fabulously!!

Pray please...

Kaitlyn was given too small of an augmentin dose in the ER over the weekend. The high fever is back and the x-ray showed the pneumonia in her lungs is worse. They (two docs- her appt doc today and her PCM) both listened and are in disbelief as to how she sounds so good. She is very uncomfortable and has gone through 2 bottles of children's motrin already--- If her breathing gets fast/labored we are to go to Children’s Hosp and she will be admitted! This is no way to be just 3 days before your birthday! Saying prayers… She has a checkup on Friday morning to “see” if we are cleared to go to Chicago…please pray with us!

We're alive...

Surely not so well. We are getting there...

So let's back track....Tommy finished his round of antibiotics a week ago and is still clear, well actually his nose started running yesterday, so I've put my eagle eyes in looking for possible warning signs of another infection.

OH, NO!! TODAY MAKES 9 MORE DAYS UNTIL HIS FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

Here's a fun comparison for you...Tommy March 11th and Tommy Dec 10th---- 9 months makes a pretty big difference, huh??



Last weekend we had a BLAST sledding....

Notice the top picture looks fun...the bottom picture my heart was racing...they spun and were headed downhill head first?!?!?



Above: Tommy just sitting watching evryone... Below: Kimberlyn so excited after finally take a ride down the hill. Notice her name on her sled :)




Before viewing, I must remind you ALL SURVIVED :)














This would be Tommy's second trip down the hill alone. First was while they thought mom wasn't looking and I (mom) ran, and intercepted Tommy mid-hill. Now, since Robby missed the picture of the baby sledding alone, SILLY mom decided we need to send him down one last time for teh perfect picture...Robby was to intercept him mid-hill. Mom was too concerned about having Robby in place and also missed the baby sledding alone. Instead I got the interception! --hehe!



This past Friday we had the neighbor kids over to decorate edible Christmas trees with us. Robby then went to their house for a sleepover.






The girls and I (and Tommy) the went to Burger King to eat and play, Dad was needing some time to decompress from the first of 3 finals! Kaitlyn was cold, she was wearing more layers of clothing than I and was complaining so much about being cold. I thought she was tired...typical for her after the long week of school.

Got home and she had a fever...we thought of gee, another fever with her head hurting. She hasn't suffered from this for months, but the feeling of her always having the fever/headache still feels like it's all the time??!? Anyhow, she slept well and woke up Saturday feeling "off" - We had been giving her mortin and she'd bounce back (just as in the past) and was a happy camper. Wanted to go see the reindeer and all.


We got more snow on Saturday....



We wanted to go see the reindeer but our neighbor and Larry were concerned about the snow and us going out in it :) I basically flat out asked Larry if he supported my decision to go, God forbid we ended up in a ditch I didn't want a lecture, I'd only want help....hehehe! The roads were clear and weren't BAD, you couldn't drive the speed limit, but they weren't toally dangerous---this is coming from somebody who likes driving in the snow anyhow. When we left the house the snow turned to sleet, now ice scares me- By the time we got out of the car, stroller loaded and actually down by the reindeer it was raining. It was COLD (33 degrees), soggy and a SUPER FUN TIME!
So we arrived to see Santa's reindeer at "The Greene"---love this place. http://thegreene.com/ They had Santa's reindeer in a pen right behind his "house"....it's a really cool set up.


And how 'bout that Christmas tree?!?!? Does Kaitlyn look like a girl with pneumonia?!??? We had a grand ole time and even (sit down) stopped in for some icecream :)




Kaitlyn seemed to get worse by evening time. She wasn't really eating and her fever seemed like it wasn't responding to motrin alone. I took her temp in her ear it was 104.7-- we thought that the thermometer was going whacky and switched to a digital one under her tongue, it said 103.1. Still not good! We tried to add in tylenol and she puked after the first tablet. Her temp pretty much hung out at 103.1 for the next couple hours. I honestly wonder if that thermometer max'd out at 103.1???

We tried to go to bed....but as every hour passed we felt more like the ER was our only option. Larry took her in just after midnight. Her temp was taken first, 104.9....YIKES! The nurse guessed pneumonia and Larry said "I hope not"....she was right!


Kimberlyn had her Christmas Singing Program at school...here's a favorite shot. It was a great performance, we were very surprised at how well they did!


Here is Robbay after his "Rockin' Reindeer Revue" last week. They did a rockin' good job!


Kaitlyn missed her singing performance at Church last night....very sad since our family "singer" didn't care. She was so sick!

Since this blog was started for the miracle boy...I suppose you are wanting an update on him...he's still that, our miracle boy!

He's doing great, a bit too mobile, but GREAT! Robby told me last night he thinks Tommy can get almost anywhere in the house in 3 seconds or less, how cute. And so true!

Tommy likes to b-line to the bathroom to play in (and spill) the dog's water bowl...

Tommy shows interest in the Christmas tree up until he touches it. It's pokey and makes him almost cry when he does venture out to touch it! This picture shows the back side of him being sad that the tree poked him!



Tommy took his first and I pray LAST trip down the stairs...it was terrifiying...sounded like tumble, tumble cry.....tumble tumble tumble tumble CRYYYYYYYYYYYYYY---repeat a couple times. I flew down after him and still haven't figure out how I don't fall myself. This happened as I was rushed tryign to get Kimberlyn ready for her program....she was on the pot and I set him in the doorway of the upstairs bathroom while I was going to put her socks on. She's NOT into tights and also NOT into mom putting on her socks while she pees! So, as to save time I ran into my closet to get a different shirt, I was dying of heat and wanted a light shirt. In my 20 seconds of being gone...he managed to fall down the stairs!

Thank God he wasn't hurt. He wasn't even crying a "hurt" cry, it was a scared cry! He got a fat lip and that's it! At this point I really needed a lighter shirt, hect honestly I need to put the stinking shirt ON! I didn't take apicture of that, sorry...I do not intend to repeat for the perfect picture!

Here's a little photo shoot with Tommy and his car. Taken just 15 days before his birthday!!





Lastly here's pictures of the kids we had done when Tommy turned 11 months old! Robby 9 1/2 , Kaitlyn is almost 8 and Kimberlyn 4 1/2.

Another ear infection...

Tommy's first visit with Santa. 11-25-07, 11 months old!

So Tommy went to the pediatrician again today....two weeks ago he was diagnosed with his first ear infection, both ears were infected! No fever no nothing!

Today is day 6 since finishing his amoxicillan and he has had the snotty nose for 3 days, started puking from the mucus yesterday and now today has puked 5 times and it's just after lunch. THANK GOD he has kept his new medicine down. He's either got a new ear infection or the old one didn't go away all the way?? Now he's on augmentin to try and beat this infection to the curb.

We are so blessed, even sick, he's one happy baby. While sick he just needs more interaction time---has no desire to play alone.


Tommy 11 months old
Playing with his homemade drum and his big bro!

Early Intervention has come out and are happy to see him where he's at, at his adjusted age skill level. They will be thrilled to know he is now making the "ba" sound....before this it was just vowel sounds and I guess for this age they wanted to hear other sounds too.

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner with some friends. Every year I think the turkey and fixin's turn out better, I'm just slightly biased but would be the first to say if it turned out bad.... Made my Grandma P's Butternut Squash Pies....and KIMBERLYN ATE IT!! She loved it and it warmed my heart to have her eating a family tradition!

After dinner, Larry convinced Kaitlyn he could open his Christmas gift early. Ha accidentally found the tracking number link when typing in the store's web address. You know how the browser tries to help you with the drop down of choices, yep...it sure helped Larry know his Robot was DELIVERED! It was fun, and I'll let it be his birthday gift as he must have presents under the tree for Christmas :)




Friday after I was feeling REAL sick and not sleeping well due to a bad cough...so I skipped Midnight Madness shopping at the Outlet Mall...instead went and got a few bargains at the mall before heading to Cincinnati to meet up with Rudy and Erin. We had a fabulous time. We went to the OVERLY crowded Newport Aquarium in Kentucky and then ate at this German place for dinner. At the Aquarium we got to see this Scuba Santa show...kind of cool.
After dinner we went to Downtown Cincinnati to ice skate....it was CHILLY!! We ended up being in JUST the right spot at the very right time. While waiting for the ice skating show to end for the tree lighting before the open skate we saw SANTA and his REINDEER! They flew in to help light the tree. They had a live cam on his sleigh and then we were right near the spot where he landed! He then walked up right by us on his way to "light" the tree! Larry got some shots to include his paparazzi shot of Santa :) We missed the ice skating fearing we'd get home too late and worried about being out in the cold too long. Afterwards we saw horse drawn carriage rides....Kaitlyn had been so anxious to go on one, so we splurged. We got a nice Downtown tour and dropped off right at our van!

Robby, Kaitlyn and Tommy pose with Scuba Santa at the Aquarium.







Kaitlyn's in heaven...she was so happy to be on the carriage ride!


On Saturday Cray, our crayfish molted and WE SAW IT HAPPEN! Way cool, we didn't get the video camera in time and got the camera a bit too late. We do have pics of his shell and him with his floppy body in the background. Today he's feeling feisty and has been going after Baby Cray---our other "baby" crayfish the kids caught JUST before we moved from Oklahoma. They brought Cray home over a year ago....then just before moving they hit the jackpot of crayfish and brought home like 10-15 baby crayfish....Baby Cray was the only to survive....well four of the minnows survived as well and are thriving!





Kimberlyn's first time to enjoy snow (Nov 23), although a small amount, she's never been fond of it in the past. She's gonna have a blast when the real snow comes!



Cute picture from Kimberlyn's Pre-K Thanksgiving Feast at school.