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.

Bye, bye baby!

Today has been a big day! First Tommy was caught standing in his crib when Kaitlyn went to get him this morning!! His crib is now on the lowest setting as of lunchtime today...



Then as the day progressed it became very clear that he was done sitting around and would instead pull-up on anything and everything.
We went to dinner at our favorite Mexican joint (here anyhow---definitely NOT our old Pick Up Taco) and he devoured some refried beans....basically all he'll eat unless it's in a jar or a cracker...
We get home and I feed him his bottle, and then we played on the floor for a bit off and on. That turkey pulled up on the xylophone in my lap, I lifted it so he could use it to balance. HE LET GO and stood for about 5-10 seconds!! Then crawled over to my scrapbooking table and pulled up AND CRUISED 3 steps. Seriously, what happened...our baby ran away last night I think! It's so fun, but so sad to realize our last baby is saying bye-bye to babyhood....







Lastly, tonight while playing the xylophone Tommy CLAPPED!!! We always clap to give him the reassurance needed when he falls or something....and when he does something cool. So he clapped back at us tonight!!

C-R-A-W-L-I-N-G

This is serious now, I know I told you he was mobile and crawling, well now he's really crawling. Still the army low crawl, BUT very efficient! I put him by his toys in th eliving room while I showered. Came back to him on my utterly nasty floors way over due for a cleaning! THEN he proceeded to the kitchen while I made Kimberlyn's lunch! Crazy BOY!

Robby is home today with a sore throat and fever...hoping it is hsort term sickness. Tommy is going in for a check up due to having the cough and snots so long. Last night was his first night w/out puking due to congestion...just a fluke though. He's still very congested!

I'll be back later....

10 1/2 months old...getting scary!!! Too close to ONE!

So here we have another post. Some days I feel I have no clue what to say until I start labeling the pictures....in no particular order.....


First, we'll start off with Miss Kaitlyn! Here are a couple pictures of her with Lacy "her" horse for riding lessons. We (I) were/was very blessed to carpool with another mom last month to the pumpkin patch for Kimberlyn's class field trip. Something came up about her daughter riding and I said "horses??" She said yes! So, these are some pictures from her second lesson, silly Mom forgot to bring the camera to her first lesson. Kaitlyn loves Miss DeeDee and Robby hit it off with her son. Kimberlyn played shy to her daughters (she has 5- one of which is 5 days older than Tommy), but certainly was in hog heaven with the kittens! DeeDee is amazing, she must be the best riding instructor a girl could have! We are so blessed to have found her!


Before leaving to the lesson (a 45-50 minute drive) I was frantically looking for my cell phone, I was starting to feel sick! I may misplace something, but with in an hour, or a few hours I recall where I left it. WELL....I asked Miss Stinker -AKA Kimberlyn- if she saw my phone, if she played with it, if she touched it....no, no and no she told me. Larry forgot his cell phone at home, so I took his just in case. He got home and called his number looking for his phone and got ME! I explained how concerned I was. I finally quit worrying and thought we'll cancel it and i can buy a more simple phone (not a fan of mine). It was still on vibrate from church the day before. Larry kept calling it and hearing the vibrations ALL through the house- in the basement, in the hall, by the computer, upstairs ---he felt like a crazy man...I think he figured out he spent 30-45 minutes searching for my phone...

THIS is where he found it. SLIPPED into this cassette tape slipcover, UNDER Kimberlyn's dollhouse IN her bedroom UPSTAIRS! After getting the news, I question Kimberlyn again. Still no, no and no to all my questions. FINALLY she says "Mom I wasn't playing with it" Mom says did you touch it? she says "I didn't touch it, it was on the floor"....we had a NICE LONG talk about telling the truth and NOT LYING! She is one piece of work....and we love her to pieces!


Here are some pictures from our overnight trip to Indianapolis....we went to the Children's Museum. WOW!! We had a blast! We got in just after dinner, checked in, changed and hit the water park! Yes, WATER PARK-- INDOORS too! It was a huge Holiday Inn with an attached water park. Man...was great! Kimberlyn was sick, but still managed to have a good time. The kids had looked forward to this trip, neither of us had the heart to cancel! Robby and Dad were die-hard and stayed until 10pm-- Mom, Tommy and the girls pooped out just before 9pm!
Daddy doing the traditional "dunking" for the first time with Tommy...my poor baby!
Tommy LOVED lying back and he practically floated alone! He just loved this. OH, I should add this is the hot spa...the pool was chilly and Mom's a wimp!
Dad playing paparazzi snapping pictures instead of grabbing Tommy to help me...
Robby having fun in the water fall in the hot spa...
Kaitlyn giving it a try too!
Mom and kids...
Tommy just got blasted in the kiddie area...it was a neat water park!

The next day we met my friend Katie (with her mom nad son) at the museum....and the kids were amused every minute. We left at 4:45 just 15 minutes before it closed AND we about had to drag the kids OUT! We knew we needed to find dinner FAST before the kids crashed. After a late night before and a long playing day...they were beat.

We used "Betty Lou" (our GPS) to help us find dinner. We chose Steak n' Shake since it was just 3.1 miles away! That darn GPS took us deeper and deeper into downtown Indy...I finally said, she's lost and BOOM right on a corner was Steak n' Shake. Larry's not the downtown type so I said keep going we'll find somewhere else, at the same time he said "look for parking signs".... WOOHOO, we parked, felt lost but came above and right out the doors of the parking garage with Steak n' Shake in plain sight! It was great! Eating dinner and watching the horses go by pulling carriages....ah, I miss NYC!

We also used "Betty Lou" to take us to a church across twon from our house...it should have been a 25 minute drive....BUT "she" took us about 5 1/2 miles the wrong way on the street. We had to call the church and ended up being about 25 minutes LATE to see my cousin Trevor's show. Late is better than never....it was fun and we all enjoyed the show. Afterwards we went to Perkins to get a bite to eat and visit.

http://www.trevorthomasdramaministries.com/start.htm

Lastly-- here's a picture of Robby, Kaitlyn, Kimberlyn and Tommy's cousin holding their newest cousin! Brice is finally a BIG BROTHER!

Patrick William was born on Nov 7th. My brother and his wife adopted him and welcomed him home right from the hospital just 2 days later! What a blessing! So far they say he's a good baby and barely ever cries! He's just waiting to let them get settled in I bet!