Bad Bad Blogger - Long and full of updates!

Ok so it's been over a year since I've written anything. I wasn't even sure anyone was reading this so I guess I wasn't overly concerned with updating. Maybe while reading the blogs that I visit daily, I should remember to write in my own. Even if no one is reading - I'm sure it would be something good to look back on. And I just happen to know of one person who DOES check this thing out and was gently reminded that I had no updates. It's good to have friends who can give you a little nudge in the right direction - You know who are you - and THANKS!!



Let me start with the girls...

Abigail has finished up life as a 1st grader and made all A's the entire year. It was a lot of work on everyone's part. I only thought my homework days were over. Well they aren't - not by a longshot. She LOVES reading and almost always has a book close by to pick up when she has nothing else to do (aka grounded from the TV and computer!) She's really into "chapter books" now - but still likes the ones with a few pictures. She also finished up her 2nd semester at The Little Gym. She's really grown a lot in her gymnastics skills and has a great time. We're going thru some trying times with her attitude right now but I think it's just the age. At least that's what I keep telling myself. Still working on loosing more teeth - 2 down and about 3 loose ones to go.



Emily is my 4 yr old drama queen. She starts Pre-K in the fall and im SO happy that she will be wearing a uniform. I'm tired of hearing "I don't like that color today","not like pink i wanted dark pink" or "I want a dress - a purple dress" every single morning. I finally gave up trying to pick out her clothes so I just ask her now. She loves clothes and shoes and will ask for those above a toy on any trip to the store. I know I'm headed for trouble with those teen years. She too has been in The Little Gym and is having a blast. She is fearless when it comes to the balance beam and was quite eager to perform a forward roll on the beam (which is about 3 ft off the ground) during show week.

Healthwise she's doing very very well. She just had a checkup with the CF Clinic and she's finally up to about 29 lbs. She had a big boost in her height too. One of the issues we have is the amount of pancreatic enzymes she has to take. Basically we have to open the capsules and empty the little "beads" into applesauce for her to eat. It's nothing for her to have 10-12 of them with any meal. Side Note: the enzymes she takes has beads small enough to fit thru her g-tube should she be so stubborn as to refuse to eat the applesauce. Due to some issues with the FDA we are have to change her enzymes. There are no others that are small enough to fit in the g-tube so she's gonna have to suck it up and eat that applesauce - OR - she can learn to swallow them. What that means basically is that the beads in the caps are bigger (and higher strength) so she will actually take a fewer number. We discussed this with the dietician and I was given a contact number to schedule Emily for pill swallowing class. I thought they were crazy when they first mentioned having a class sometime last year but really - they have one. We had tried getting her to swallow tiny M&Ms but that didn't work - that whole part of "melt in your mouth..." is really true! So this weekend we decided to just see what she would do if she tried to swallow a pill. I explained that she couldn't bite it, just drink and let it wash down. And... SHE DID IT. Not just one pill - she continued until all 5 were gone. She has since become obsessed with swallowing her pills. This makes for a very happy Daddy who so wonderfully gives her the meds daily. No more mixing up applesauce and enzymes !! She is so proud of herself - so much so that she had daycare call me yesterday to tell me she swallowed 10 (yes 10) after her lunch. WAY TO GO EMILY!!

Are you still reading?? I told you this was going to be a long one!

For Jonathan and I, things are pretty much unchanged. We both made it thru layoffs at work a year ago and everything is going good now. The years seem to just get faster and faster with kids in school. It doesn't seem like we should be having a 2nd grader already. We received horrible news in December that our 1st "baby" (our yorkshire terrier, Skittles) had lymphoma. It was a hard decision on what course of action to take but we couldn't help but to think of the bond that Emily has with "her boy" as she calls him. So what other option did we have but to treat it. It was caught early and I'm happy to say the lumps are gone and he's in remission. HOORAY!

I'm counting down the hours until we start vacation. No major plans but my parents will be coming down to spend the week. We'll hit the local museums and "touristy" things and then head to San Antonio at the end of the week to see my sweet niece (and her parents too of course!).

I promise to be better about this blogging thing - especially now that I know someone is watching!

To Emily

I can't believe my baby is 3 today. It doesn't seem that long ago that you were a tiny baby in the NICU. Today is truly a celebration. There were many times during that first 6 months that I wasn't sure if you'd ever see 1 - not to mention 3. Just a few weeks after you were born was the worst day of our lives when you were diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. I can still see you laying in the bed with tubes and wires from head to toe. I remember being so scared for you, knowing that you did not deserve the amount of pain you were going to endure. You made it thru not 1 but 3 major surgeries - all with flying colors. You were the favorite of all the nurses because you always had a smile for them. In all of your 3 years you have blessed us each and every day with that smile that just lights up a room. To a stranger, you would never appear to have any health issues at all. You have such joy and energy all the time that one can't help but to smile when they are around you.
You don't know it yet, but you have a very long road ahead of you. To you, the medications and g-tube are just a way of life - all that you've known, but to us they are the necessities we need to keep you healthy and alive. I promise to do all that I can each and every day to make sure we have done all that we can to take care of you and give you the life you deserve to have. I pray each day that you live a very long healthy life and that maybe a cure for this horrible disease will be found.
You've come a long way from being the green little baby we brought home to the lively little girl you are today. Thank you for being such a wonderful daughter and little sister. We are so thankful to have you in our lives.

Happy Birthday my little girl!

Love,
Mommy

Happy New Year

2009. Wow where did 2008 go? It's true when they say having kids makes time go by faster. Many good things happened this past year. Just a few of the big things are...

Started a new job (the best EVER and I still love it!)
Another hospital free year for Emily
Abigail has completed the 1st half of Kindergarten
I became an Aunt to the oh so cute Zoe
Reconnected with many friends from the past

Probably the most important of all of those is keeping Emily out of the hospital. We know with the CF it's very easy for her to get sick and end up in the hospital but we do our best to make sure she stays healthy. The sinus surgery almost a year ago had made such a difference too - no more sinus infections and we are all happy about that. It's hard to believe she'll be 3 in less than a week. She's still the happy smiling little girl she was when she was born.

Kindergarten was such a big event. I'm happy to say that Abigail loves school. I thank her teacher for that. She loves her teacher and all of her new friends and said she was going to miss them all over Christmas break. I'm sure as she gets older she'll come to love the breaks even more though!

It's hard to believe I've been in my current job position for a year now - a year today was my official start date. I'm coming up on 7 years at MD Anderson and of those, my current position has been the best. It's amazing how different things can be just because you have a good boss. I finally feel like i'm being treated like the adult that I am. So refreshing!

While overall 2008 was a good year, it was definately not without it's low points. I won't go into things such as politics or the economy - we've all heard enough about that and have our own opinions. Heartache and tragedy has hit closer to home this year more than any. From job loss and illness to death - I've seen family and friends struggle with the reality that life is too short sometimes. I continue to keep these people in my prayers and hope that 2009 will be a nicer kinder year to them.

I want to wish you all a very Happy 2009. May this year bring you many happy times and be the best ever.

Merry Christmas!

I know.. it's been a while since I've posted anything but around here no news... is good news! It's been a fairly uneventful few months and I'm quite thankful for that. The holidays have crept up on me way too fast and I'm in no way ready for Christmas. I did manage to get the girls out to visit Santa yesterday... I was very pleased with their picture. Enjoy!

Some Good News

Emily had her routine visit at the CF Clinic yesterday and it was a great appointment. She gained a little weight and overall they are very pleased. We can cut down her nightly feedings to 3 times a week and hopefully within 6 months we can stop those all together.
Daycare finally saw the light and agreed to let us get a note from her doctor saying that we could dose her enzymes according to the daily menu. Sadly they didn't see the big issue with this until they started potty training her. You see not enough enzumes with too much fat ends up with VERY bad accidents. No wonder it only took then a few days of that to ask what they could do to help. I fully expect to see less accidents now. Oh I'm sure the normal dosage would be fine and dandy if the child ate a normal serving but she's eating 2-3 servings of the main dish for each lunch. They have been given permission to feed her as much as she'll eat and she certainly does that. My girl is an eating machine....her breakfast this past Sunday: 1 cup chocolate pudding,3 whole Grands biscuits and some eggs. She still only tips the scales at 24.7 lbs. I hope with the enzyme changes at daycare more weight will pile on.
Abigail has finished her 1st 6 weeks of Kindergarten - wow that was quick. Granted she did miss 6 days thanks to Ike but nonetheless we will be getting report cards this Friday. She still loves school and her teacher and is making lots of friends - even some 2nd grade friends that ride the bus back to daycare. She's just growing up so fast. She's a smart little girl (what parent doesnt think that right?) but a few nights ago she said something that just left me speechless. Flashback to when Emily was born - Abigail saw her sister the day after she was born and then not again except for in pictures for 4 months. We were very careful of what we said around her and never discussed Emily as being Sick. We were vague with our answers to her questions about why she was there but it was never mentioned in a negative way. Fastforward to this week... Abigail comes over to me and says "Mom, Im so glad Emily didn't die." My reaction was "What do you mean? Die when?" and she simply said.. "you know...in the hospital before you brought her home." I was stunned. I never could imagine she would feel something like that - 1) she was only 2 at the time and 2) that was nothing we talked about even though we knew it was a possibility. That just goes to show you how much young children can pick up on.
Nothing else new going - except that I finally got a new monitor at home and I must say a 22 inch widescreen monitor ROCKS! How did I ever live without it. Maybe I dont need that eye exam this weekend after all.