Visiting Family in Michigan pt 1

Me and the Kids got here yesterday to start our journey visiting family in Michigan. Last night Auntie Sarah and Uncle Scott were so awesome to have my dad and Dorie over for dinner so we didnt have to drag the kids out! It was great!

Kaitlyn was doing ok until we all sat down and were all together having dinner. She got VERY anxious and starting running around and eventually abandonded her meal and went to hide in the bedroom to be alone. She has such a hard time around a lot of people... We just let her go since we knew she wasnt comfortable but she did do pretty well.

I called the Ped before leaving to see if there is anything I can do for her when she gets anxious or panic attacks (which has been happening!) and other than prescribing her a sedative he said we could try a good dose of Benedryl to calm her (and possible make her sleepy) so she's had a couple doses of that in the past two days but it's working to calm her enough to help her sleep. She is getting so anxious before bed and at bedtime that we're on the edge of tantrums... so the Benedryl is actually helping keep the screaming fits at bay! I wish it worked a little faster though!!

Ok we're getting the car loaded up and ready to head out soon for lunch with Grandpa and Grandma Dorie at Partridge Creek Mall.

Got a call from the Preschool Teacher

Ok so the Preschool teacher called today and we talked for quite awhile and I gave her some examples of behavior she might see out of Kaitlyn and really gave her an idea of who she is. The teacher seems very nice and willing to monitor Kaitlyn's behavior at school and we will talk everyday about how the day went in the first couple weeks. We will also be watching to see how her behavior is at home after going to school.

So yesterday when I finally got the diagnosis I KNEW was coming... for some reason it hit me like a ton of bricks because it was actually REAL and on paper. Immediately my brain started racing and I was asking myself where I went wrong and if I did something to cause this and all kinds of crazy things. I do know that there is nothing I did to cause this and I also know that my daughter is EXTREMELY smart beyond her years and is VERY in tune with herself and can totally learn the skills she needs to "beat" this and she will be perfectly fine. She is a strong little girl and she WANTS to be able to have friends - she told me and the Dr that - she wants to play with kids - she just needs the tools on how to do that! She will get there and it's SO early in her life that this will barely effect her in the long run.

Ok yesterday I let my emotions get the better of me... today is another day and it's like any other... just because there is a label doesn't change my love or parenting of my child or children, I should say! On we go to the next obstacle.... whatever that might be! :)

Diagnosis

Here are the Dr's words "My diagnoses for Kaitlyn will be Asperger's Syndrome and Overanxious Disorder of Childhood (which is comparable to Generalized Anxiety Disorder in adults)."

Thats really all I have in me right now... I have a lot to think about. I just keep telling myself this is not because of anything I did or didn't do...

:*(

Dr's - School Districts - Frustration!

Well the Dr (and US!) don't think putting Kaitlyn into the regular Preschool class is going to be a good idea. 15 kids and 2 "teachers" or not I know it's going to be a disaster. I called today to talk to the Chairperson for the Committee on Preschool Special Education about getting Kaitlyn reevaluated which is fine she says she is willing to do it because she understands our concerns. She wants us to WAIT though and put Kaitlyn into the regular PreK class and see how she does. I'm really not looking forward to doing that and it's really frustrating me. I mean, I understand the idea of it all... maybe she will do fine and I'm sure AT school she will do great but *I'M* the one who is going to have to deal with all the tantrums that come from her being triggered there with the other kids.

Right now... I just dont know what to do. Kaitlyn (even at 2 1/2) is REALLY smart and tested above average during her evaluations then (except speech) and I'm starting to realize that getting a child with Apsergers or even a Severe Social Anxiety Disorder help to be able to go to school is not going to be easy. I doubt Kaitlyn will even qualify for ANY services without the report from the Developmental Pediatrician saying specifically that she has Aspergers (since that is on the Autism Spectrum and there is a spot for that for them to agree to services) but going by the evaluation that the school district does, she will blow it out of the water and be fine. First of all it's done by adults whom Kaitlyn wil surely talk to and get along with... they need to see her around other kids and really watch her behavior overall and not watch her play with toys and can she stack some freakin blocks... ARGH! I'm getting angry about this and frustrated and sad.

I just wish I knew what to do to make it all better... if I had money I would just put her in a private school and say screw it to the public school system - but we are one of the "lucky ones" that have free Preschool and we should be happy about that...

Evaluations EARLY!!!

Well we got a call yesterday from the Developmental/Behavioral Ped's office in Woodstock, NY and they had a cancellation for this morning at 9am! We JUMPED on it! It was SUPER hard since Jon worked all freaking night and then we spent 6 or 7 hours, with driving, after he got off work! We even managed to have Kaitlyn vomit all over herself, her clothes, and her car seat 2 miles from the office when we were running late as it was. It had to happen the ONE time I don't have a change of clothes for her, except a pair of panties, in the car. We ended up stopping on the side of the road, stripping her, cleaning the puke off her and out of the carseat and putting her in the clean panties and my purple zip-up sweatshirt jacket that luckily was in the back!! The poor girl had to ride the rest of the way to the Dr and home sitting on a poncho in her seat and I strapped the regular seatbelt around her. It was quite the drive and we did make it!

Jon, even being tired as hell, did good and handled the kids while I spent over 3 hours in talking with the Dr doing the Intake. It went well and we managed to get through everything and then she spent about a half hour watching Kaitlyn and asking her questions. The Dr told me that Kaitlyn managed to show her most of the bahavior of I was talking about in that short time (minus a meltdown, of course!).

While in the office she gave me a lot of "tests" to take home and fill out as homework - SCARED, CAST and a PDD one. I went through them breifly and realized... poor Kaitlyn has issues lol :) She also gave me names of places that could help out with Kaitlyn's Social Skills so hopefully we can get working on that but the main thing we want to do right now is get this whole school thing worked out. She even called the School District from her office while I was there to try to get the ball rolling on getting her reinstated/reevaluated by the PreSchool Special Education board to see about getting her either services or getting her placed in a Center setting. This all has NOTHING to do with Education... and everything to do with people and noise and stuff. We have ourselves a little Einstein here who is a super smart little girl and very literal but just cant stand being around people and gets very anxious - yes, ladies and gentleman - Einstein had Aspergers!!! As did many other very eccentric but very talented/intelligent people!!

The Dr, of course, couldnt do a full diagnosis today but does, in fact, agree with us that she believes she is "spectrumy" - as she called it! She believes that Kaitlyn would be better suited in a specialized school rather than thrown into a regular school where she may not be able to handle it.

So right now our main concern, as I said, is to get the stuff going with the school! :) So that is where we are and we have a follow up appointment with the Dr in Woodstock, NY in October.

Allergist/Eye Dr/Behavior Update

Well this post might be a little long! First off at Kaitlyn's 4yr appt the Dr sent her to the Allergist to finally find out if she had a true milk allergy and to see what other, if any, allergy she had. Well it turns out she really doesnt have any allergies (sensitivities) and she is also Lactose Intolerant. So when we want/need her to have dairy she can take a lactaid pill and be all good. We are keeping her on the Soy milk she has been on forever now because trying to switch her made screwed up up gastro-intestinally, lets just say. Poor kid was sick and "backed up" for a week or so!!

Also at her 4yr appt she failed her eye exam and was sent to the Opthamologist where we found out she is 20/25 in her right eye and 20/70 in her left (Hyperotic). It's basically something about her eye focusing behind her retina instead of on it. So right now she has some SUPER strong SUPER thick lenses on her cute little glasses to try and help fix her eyes. Hopefully the script will get better with time and we can avoid having to patch her... for now it's a waiting game and we go back to the eye doctor in two months after wearing her glasses and see how she is doing.

As for Kaitlyn's behavior... Jon and I did some serious hunting around as well reading in a few books on trying to figure out her behavior. When sitting back and observing Kaitlyn over these last couple of months and putting together everything over the last two years we went and had a meeting with her Pediatrician. Instead of trying to get it all written down here (because I could write for pages!) I will simply say that the Dr, Jon and I agreed that we need to have her evaluated by a Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrician to rule out Aspergers Syndrom or PDD. Thats where we are right now and we are going through A LOT with K regarding all of this and realized that it has been increasing over the past 2 years or so.

She has her evaulation in Kingston, NY since there are only 3 Dev. Ped's here in the area that do the screenings and they are all booking out into mid-year next year. The Dr who actually works in Woodstock, NY was able to pull some strings and find us an appointment in November at her Kingston Location... so I will more than likely update then.

Wish us luck!

New Blog - Fuchs Family Blog

Please see our new blog!!

http://thefuchsfamilyhappenings.blogspot.com/

My Big 4yr Old Girl!

Wow... ok, so it's been a year since I posted lol Kaitlyn is 4!!!

Kaitlyn has had a great year, she started taking dance in Sept 08 and just had her very first dance recital ON her 4th birthday! She takes Kinderdance (Ballet, Tap & Gymnastics) at Merrits and their recital was at Proctor's Theatre in Sch'tady... my baby girl on the big stage!

She had a Mickey Mouse Themed birthday party complete with a Mickey Bounce House and even Mickey Mouse M&M's in her favors!!! We had lots of family here too for the whole weekend. Grandma Debbie, Grandpa Reese, Cousins Kinsley and Derek all came from Michigan for K's birthday party and recital. Grandma Lois, Aunt Donna, Cousins James and Anthony also came up from Long Island as well! It was a great weekend and the kids all enjoyed playing together.

On Tuesday 6/16/09, after the birthday & recital stuff was over, we took a vacation to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania. The kids had a great time at the park and K went on her first Roller Coaster and LOVED it!! We had lunch with all the Sesame Street characters two of the days we were there. It was a very exciting trip and even though we had a LOT of behavior issues from both of the kids in the hotel from being way off routine, it was still awesome and we cant wait to go back!!

Kaitlyn is going through this "phase" (it started about a month or o ago) where she is Little Miss Sassy, talking back and yelling and demanding. Apparently this is something kids go through for about 18 months around this age and we just need to keep "reminding" her that she needs to ask nice and talk nice over and over and over and over and... oh you get it. Needless to say she gets LOTS of Time Out's these days!

She has also (since about a week ago) started telling awesome and very creative stories. She will use toys and talk to them acting out stories... it's a lot of fun!

So we went to the Dr today for her 4yr check up and she is a pretty healthy little girl. We are FINALLY getting her into the allergist to see about her Milk/Dairy problem which we are extremely happy about. The Ped. is also sending her to the Opthalmologist because she didnt pass her Eye Screening. Her right eye was 20/40 but her left she aparently couldnt make out anything on the board. She has actually grown a little! She was 32lbs and 40 1/8 inches tall. Everything else was great though!

This year we also started going to Church and became Members at Immanuel Lutheran in Niskayuna and Kaitlyn started Sunday School in Jan too and will start up that again in Sept 09. She is also starting Pre-School in Sept too and will be going to school for 2 1/2 hours a day M-F. She is growing up so fast and really becoming a wonderful girl and we love her so much and are extremely proud of all of her accomplishments.

Kaitlyn's 3!!

Wow! Three whole years! Just a quick update here because I plan on starting a whole new blog to cover the whole family in one place - now that we are a family of 4!

Kaitlyn is 39" tall and 29lbs and quite the smart little thing! She's talking out of control and started speech again in Feb 08. She had Speech Feb - June and will have it again Sept - Dec when the school year starts up again. She is really talking so much and is doing amazing. She has some articulation issues but they are slowly coming along! Her speech therapist was amazed that she could tell a 2 1/2 - 3yr old WHERE to put her tongue and how to move her mouth to make sounds... she kept telling me she was too young for it, until she tried it!! LOL

Kaitlyn is also the BEST big sister! She loves her little brother and helps out so much with him. Kaitlyn became a big sister this year when Tyler was born on April 23rd 2008. He was 7lbs 12oz and 20 1/4" long.

Anyway, there are about a billion things I could write here since it's been so freakin long but I do want to say that if you were keeping up on Kaitlyn here please feel free to check out my myspace blog because I will be updating there about the whole family. It is too hard to have so many journals!!

New House, New Life

Well we are finally moved into our new house and Kaitlyn loves it! She already knows she has a play room and calls it that. She has been asking and sleeping in her own bed since about a week after we moved. The first week we were here daddy was not here yet as he was finishing up his last week of work on Long Island. Since daddy got home here she has wanted to be in her own bed and in her room. She is doing so well sleeping in there too. most naps and nights she goes right up and climbs in bed and goes to sleep!

The first week we were here in the house we spent a couple nights in the ER because K had a 104 fever for 5 days. I ended up having my friend take us to the ER twice. It was a crazy first week!

We also found out that K is going to be a big sister!! We think she is going to make a wonderful big sister too! We decided for the next 7ish months that we are going to talk to her about it everyday, kinda like we did with the house. I anticipate the change going very well because of this. The transition into the house went VERY well so I dont think we will have too many issues with the new baby either.

Other than that, not much else is going on... Kaitlyn's speech continues to flourish and she has new words everyday even ones she hears on tv or from other people. She really is doing very well!!

A Little Late But Not Never...

Well we finally got a chance to take K for her 2 year photos and I thought I would share a few that I really like.

This one is my favorite and we got this one done in Sepia to put on our living room wall once we get moved in our new house!!!
Just had to put this one here because she is so funny... she was trying to walk away (about a million times) during the shoot and this was one shot... K can be such a nut at times! The bad thing is... is she KNOWS it!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I could probably sit here and write a book about all the things Kaitlyn has been doing in the past almost two months, however, I wont. There is no way I could remember it all anyway. She is chatting away like crazy, new words come everyday and she finally started saying two word sentences! She does get a little lost when she tries two or more syllable words but she is getting so much better!!

We joke and call Kaitlyn an Elephant... this little girl remembers EVERYthing! She knows where the railroad tracks are that we go over on the way to Jon's work and she even remembers ANYthing we tell her. There is no saying "later" to her and thinking she will forget. She remembers... and then asks for it later!!! She's so smart it almost hurts!! Hahahaha

K's also had a bit of some issues for the last two months. She is MUCH better now but for the last two months she had diarrhea and could not get over it. We ended up taking her completely off dairy and she was drinking Rice milk and getting Acidophilus and Florastor twice a day to try and replenish her normal flora in her belly. She also ended up gaining over a pound in a month! She is now 33 1/2 inches tall and weighs 26lbs... she's getting so big now, she is definitely not a baby anymore.

Well almost every morning Kaitlyn and I go for a walk and go to the park. I stop at the Deli and get my coffee and when we get to the park K wants to swing & swing & swing on the swings. She usually will stay on them for at least a half hour. It's fun and gets us both out of the house for an hour or so and we love spending the time together without the tv going or the computer.

We've also been very busy this summer because we are buying a house! We found a beautiful house upstate, NY in Schenectady. Jon will be going back to work at Albany Medical Center and I will continue to stay home with K. I may go get a little part time job since Jon will be working evenings and that will give me a chance to make a little extra money and also give me a break from watching K 24/7.

K's not really understanding that we are going to have a new house but I keep telling her. She is having a hard time with the fact that I have packed up a lot of her toys. I just make sure to keep telling her about the new house and how the big orange moving truck is going to come and take all of our things and her toys to our new house soon. We're moving Aug 24th but we will be heading up there next weekend for the closing and to clean and get the house ready to move in.

I hope that once we get moved in a settled in the new house I will have more time to update Kaitlyn's blog. Until then...

Birthday Girl!!

Happy 2nd Birthday to my little girl!! Some say the time goes too fast but to me it really feels like it has been 2 years, am I strange? Maybe it's because I am home with her and seeing everything hour to hour, day to day, week to week, month to month and year to year where others are not. Who knows! All I know is that I love being here for it all and I love my little girl. Today we remember one of the happiest moments in our lives and celebrate the wonderful little girl that has blessed our family.

Today Kaitlyn went to have her 2 year check up at the Dr and she is 33 1/2 inches tall and she is 24 3/4lbs. Both of which put her in the 25 percentile for her age. Her head still measured at 47cm so she's certainly not a fat head! She did not get shots this time around and does not need them now until she is 4!!

We had a small birthday party at the park last weekend to celebrate her birthday and two of her friends showed up, Joseph and Joshua. We met them through the mom's group I am a member of and she gets along with them really well. The kids enjoyed playing together in the sand and swinging on the swings. We had a little bit of a Blues Clues theme for her party here and made a Blue's Clues cake. We even colored the cake and pudding filling blue too!Jon and I made little Shovel & Pail favors and put stickers, rings and little things in them for the kids. Grandma Lois, Aunt Donna, Uncle Charlie & James, Aunt Michele & Uncle Jon didn't make it to the park to celebrate with us but we did end up seeing them that day.

Kaitlyn still has two more parties to celebrate her birthday! We're having a get together in Michigan at Papa Paul's on Father's Day and then Grandma Debbie is planning a great party at her house in Niles, MI which we are very excited about. We're doing a Dora & Diego theme for the party at Grandma Debbies and it should be such a great time.

We're leaving tomorrow for our annual trip to Michigan so we will update about all the fun we had there when we get back!

Happy Birthday baby, we love you so much!!!

Adenoidectomy & Partial Tonsillectomy

Well yesterday May 9th was the big day. We got up at 5:30am and got together a few toys, got dressed and grabbed a couple bottles of water. Woke Kaitlyn up at 6am (not on purpose) and got her changed and ready to go. We left at 6:30am and headed to the hospital... though not without stopping at Dunkin Donuts for some coffee first!

We got to North Shore Hospital in Syosset at 7am and got Kaitlyn all registered. I do have to say that the registration process was amazingly fast and NOTHING like it used to be when going to the hospital. It took all of about 10 minutes at most to get all the paperwork signed and information verified. After registration we were escorted up to the Surgical suite and we got settled in Pre-Op with our Nurse Bridget. This is where they got all of Kaitlyn's vitals and told us what all would be happening and got K into her hospital gown and mommy into her protective wear, since I was the one going into the OR with her. I gotta say she was so adorable with that hat on!! Kaitlyn's surgery was scheduled at 8am and we ended up being in Pre-Op until a little after 8 and then Kaitlyn and I were taken into the OR where they put the mask on her and I had to watch and try to calm her as she was put to sleep. I have to say, as a mother, this was absolutely the hardest thing I have ever seen or had to endure. I held K as long as possible but I had to eventually put her down on the operating table and she started to scream and kick and cry. I mean, I know it was so scary and overwhelming for her to have 5 people there holding her down and shoving a big plastic mask in her face. It was horrible watching her fighting and screaming as they tried to get her to sleep but finally she went off. It's not like when you are an adult and you close your eyes and go to sleep. She looked so weird and her eyes were still open but she was sedated. The even harder part was turning around and walking away so that they could do the surgery. Leaving her there laying limp on the table hurt me so much inside. I trusted them and her Dr. He is so wonderful and told us everything that would happen and was very helpful in keeping us calm. Not that Jon and I aren't calm about all this stuff but it was nice for him to be so reassuring!

So after I left the room and Kaitlyn was sedated that is when they put in her IV and all of that so she never knew that was happening. I'm so glad they did it that way because the time we had her in the hospital for the dehydration and holding her down to get the IV in was hard too! I'm glad we didnt have to go through that!

The surgery really didnt take that long and the Dr came to get us at about 9:10 or so and she went in and they started the surgery at about 8:25am. So rather quick if you ask me! I'm glad we didnt have to sit there for hours waiting and waiting to hear how things were going. Her Dr said everything went very well and this surgery will definitely help her breathe better and everything. He said, "her adenoids were very enlarged." In the office he said they were enlarged but he said after taking them out they were very big and it was no wonder she seemingly had a chronic stuffy nose.

Here is another hard part! When they came to get us after surgery and they were waking Kaitlyn up from the anesthetic she was screaming and twisting and turning and just very out of it. It was hard seeing her that way and her not really being awake or understanding what was going on. She was so hoarse and her little cry sounded so weak. Thats just Kaitlyn though, she doesnt cry very loud and scream like some kids. We also had to keep this "wet air" blowing in her face so she didnt get dried out and start hurting in her nose and throat more and she kept batting at it because she didnt want it in her face. After about 5 or 10 minutes she started to wake up a bit more though and wanted me to pick her up so I did and she calmed down a bit and went in and out of sleep while laying on me as I sat in the rocking chair.
After a good hour and a half she came out of the anesthetic more and was still crabby, whiney and you could tell she was hurting but she got more alert and we turned on the tv and some cartoons for her. We kept trying to get her to drink some water, juice or anything and she only wanted to hold her cup and not drink. Eventually I got her to eat some ice chips though so that was good. She didnt even want to eat any of the Cherry Italian Ice they gave her! Though, I dont blame her one bit! So she watched about a show and a half on tv (Dragon Tails & Bob the Builder) and then wanted me to hold her again and she fell asleep on my lap in the rocking chair again. It was about Noon then and we still had another hour to go until we could be discharged. So we hung out there with her sleeping and boy, did I want to go to sleep too! Then at 1pm they took out her IV and the annoying Pulse Ox monitor off her toe (she kept begging for it to come off the whole 4 hours in recovery!) and we got her dressed and headed to pick up her prescriptions and come home. The Dr has her on Amoxicillin for 10 days to prevent any infections and he gave her Tyelnol with Codeine for pain. She has a post op follow up appointment on May 21st to see how she is doing and I know she is going to be just fine and dandy.

When we got home yesterday she slept off and on and she was very whiney and crabby and just wanted to cuddle with mommy a lot but she was doing very well.

She is doing very well today too... a little crabby and whiney still but drinking good (even asked for a drink) and had a few bites of fruit this morning too. She's walking around and playing but she gets frustrated easily but I know that just because she doesnt feel completely well.

Grandma Debbie in Michigan sent Kaitlyn a beautiful Get Well gift also so when we got home K had a delivery! She got a great little Bear and a Get Well Balloon and she also got a vase with three very pretty white roses in it. She really liked getting her present and even took a nap with her new bear!All in all the day was great and the hospital was great too. We had a very pleasant experience through it all and I'm happy about that. Now we just wait out the healing period and watch for Bright red blood or anything. I'm sure everything will be just fine since she is already doing so well today!!

Surgery in a Week

Well Kaitlyn is having her surgery one week from today. She is getting her Adenoids out and her Tonsils "shaved" in hopes that she will be able to breathe much better and keep her mouth closed. I really hope it works because two years of having plugged up ears and a stuffy nose has got to be annoying! Things are going to be so different for her in a few weeks when the swelling and everything goes down.

We went to get Kaitlyn's blood work done for her pre-op stuff, 2 year CBC & Lead and also got her allergies tested. Everything came out great and no allergies! So we have NO idea why she is reacting to things the way she is. Tomato is a huge one that gives her hives and stuff and we cant figure it out. Maybe she is just sensitive to it and then it wouldnt come up on an allergy test? I have no idea. I'm glad everything came back ok but I think I might take her to the allergist anyway to see what else might be causing it. Jon is going to run a few more tests on her blood today since there are some tubes left at his work and he is running the allergies today!

I have been very upset lately regarding Kaitlyn's second birthday. I wanted to have a small party here in NY with some of the family and a couple of my mom friends, however we really have no day to do it since there is so much going on in June now with Donna doing James' baptism and us going to Michigan. So I'm thinking about combining Jon and Kaitlyn's birthday's and doing a day at the park or something. I figure the boys can play basketball and the kids can play in the sand and on the playground. I guess we can just do cake at the park or something too. I havent decided if I want to do that or just have a small party at McDonalds and then I dont have to worry about the weather. I'm leaning more towards the McDonalds venue. It's only about $8 per child so that might be what we do and then we will just bring our own cakes and I think the kids get food too. I figure if the adults that come want something, they can just order their own.

Not to mention that the party we were thinking of having in Michigan is looking like a wash too it's just all stressing me out and really getting to me. I have decided that we are not going to cater to everyone else anymore when we go home to visit. This year we are going home to visit my dad for a few days and then to see my mom and not going to worry about making our plans around visiting everyone else. I was trying to do it so that everyone could see Kaitlyn but I think it's best just to let her spend some time with Grandpa and Grandma and get as much time in with them as possible and maybe we can make it to the Zoo this year like we were going to try to do as a yearly event. We'll see how this whole visit works out and then maybe re-think how we work the vacations/visits for next year.

Anyway, this year I'm just going to make the most of what we have and even though it's not much, hopefully K will still enjoy her birthday. She really wanted a Blue's Clues Party but it looks like all she will get is a Blue's Clues cake since Jon and I will be making that.

Got My Eater Back!

Well K is doing MUCH better!! She has been eating very well since yesterday and she's got firm poop again! What a great thing to be excited about but after pure water coming from both ends the past week, this is great news!

Anyway, just wanted to update since she is doing so well. Also, a couple nights ago I started putting Kaitlyn down to bed and leaving the room. So far she has been doing excellent at going to sleep on her own. Once in awhile she will cry a little bit but she is doing a great job. I can't believe what a big girl she is now. Tonight was wonderful too, I simply put her in bed and told her that it was her turn to go "Night night" and that mommy would come down later when it was her turn. I gave her a kiss and told her Good night and didnt hear a peep out of her and she went right to sleep. She is still falling asleep in our bed but still she is doing it on her own and I no longer have to lay down with her to get her to sleep! Soon she will be going to sleep in her OWN bed... then... in her OWN room!!

Not sure if I'm ready for all this growing up, to be quite honest. I'm beginning to miss those times with her. I love cuddling with her while she goes to sleep but there are times when I dont want to. I just know that she is getting to be a big girl and soon she wont need mommy for any of that anymore. Soon we will probably be fighting and at each others throats like all mothers and daughters are. I have to admit that I actually like when she comes over to me in the middle of the night saying "mama" and wanting to come up in bed with us. I think her being in her own bed all the time might be harder on ME than it is her. Oh well... she does have to grow up but I feel like I miss her sometimes even though I'm with her all day.

Anyway, I cant remember if I mentioned this before but we signed Kaitlyn up for a class at Orly's Treehouse and it starts this week on Friday... though I dont think she is going to like the class much. I'm going to be switching her over to the class her little 2yr old twin cousins are in on Mondays so the girls can all play together and then their mom and I can chat too!! It should be a great class since it's in the Olympic gym and they get to play with balls and things. I think it will work out much better than the class I originally signed her up for... it wasnt all that fun when we went in for the trial class.

Ok it's time for mommy's to get some sleep, especially emotional ones! I'm so happy my little monkey is feeling better, man I love her so much!!

The "Good Boo Boo"

Well we had Kaitlyn in the hospital for the last 8 hours and just got home. She has been sick with "Acute Gastroenteritis" (or the stomach flu) since Tuesday and she finally got so dehydrated the Dr said it was time to take her in for IV fluids. She hadn't had a wet diaper since Tuesday and couldnt eat or drink anything without puking or pooping it out so it was time.

When we got up this morning K was so lethargic and wasnt talking or walking around or anything. She just laid and cried and could hardly stay awake. I finally called the Dr and walked over there (in the snow!) and he checked her out and noticed she was dehydrated. He said we had a good chance of bringing her back if I could get her to drink some fluids but when we got home and I did manage to get some juice in her she barfed it all back up within a few minutes after drinking it. I called the Dr back and he sent us immediately to the hospital.

It took about 8 hours of IV fluids (two of them bolouses(sp?)) to get her hydrated again and to the point where she was able to go pee. According to her blood work she was just one number away from being admitted so we were lucky! She did great in the hospital though... it was rough for her to get the IV but the PA who put the line in was great. She was quick and did a great job and K cried but only for a little bit. K handled it so well! We were both so proud of her!! The whole time she was there with the IV in she kept pointing to her arm and saying "oohhh bo bo" (translated that is Ow, boo boo) and Jon just kept explaining to her that it was a "Good Boo boo" and that it was going to make her feel better and she wouldnt be sick anymore. She seemed very happy with that explaination and went about her business of sitting there staring at Dora (which the Child Life Specialists had put on for her).

I'm just very proud of her... it was a long day and we are ALL crabby and tired and it's time for bed! She is such a big girl!!!

Explosion!!!

Yesterday Kaitlyn had a speech therapy session, they are usually every Monday and Thursday. Well I was sitting there with Ms. Lori after K's session and she was filling out the necessary paperwork and we were chatting about stuff. K was sitting on the couch between us minding her own business reading a new book Ms. Lori brought over. It was a "Little People" Lift-the-Flap book and K loves the Fisher Price Little People. So what I'm getting at is that Kaitlyn has never seen the book before. Anyway, she is flipping the little flaps and out of her mouth clear as day and perfect as ever comes "Dina." Ms. Lori and I looked at each other, both shocked and then we looked at what Kaitlyn was looking at... sure enough, Kaitlyn had found a picture of a DINOSAUR!!! It was SOOOOOOO awesome! So I asked Kaitlyn just then, "Is that a dinosaur?" and she, matter of factly, says "yea!" The only time we really talked about dinosaurs recently was Monday when we were at the ENT appointment. While we were there I took out a Happy Meal toy she got that happened to be some weird lizard dinosaur thing. Anyway, it was so incredible to hear her say that on her own and so super clear!! It was perfect!

So she is basically exploding with words and her comprehension is incredible. She is so quick now to respond to what I ask her or things we would like her to do. Well most of the time anyway, sometimes she KNOWS she should be doing something and deliberately doesn't! She's got some heck of a sense of humor already too. She will do things that are funny or that she thinks are funny and she will come out with this big huge HA HA HA laugh. She cracks herself up... and us!! I just love it, I love how pretty much everyday she is changing. I could not have asked for a better daughter she makes me melt inside.

Ohhhh yeah, so we're in the middle of a LOT of fun right now... K is getting a couple top Eye teeth and everyone knows, I HATE teething. So my poor baby has had diarrhea and her but is rashy now and I'm sure it's on fire and she cant stop chewing on her hand. I have to keep giving her the chew necklace thing we got her and reminding her to bite on that. I can't believe how hard she bites her little hand, she leaves teeth marks! I so hate that she has to go through teething - I so hate that I have to go through it with her! I know we will make it through all of the teeth but I just dont like feeling helpless against nature. Ah well... nothing I can do about it!

So I thought of more words Kaitlyn has so here they are (some are not used often or are only said if we make her say them): "Mooh" (moon), "Op" (up), "Nih Nih" (night, night), "Ih" (in), "Dee" (drink), "Tee" (tree)... Ok it's early and this is all I can think of for now...

We're off to Orly's Treehouse again today, she didn't do too bad on Wednesday when we were there. She didnt scream and cry and I got in 22 minutes on the treadmill. Hopefully today will go just the same!

Surgery on the Forefront

Well we took Kaitlyn to her follow up with the ENT and we decided to go ahead with the surgery to help Kaitlyn feel a little better. First of all, he said that her ears had finally drained the fluid and they looked very good so there is no need for tubes at this time. However, he did take the time to stick a camera up her tiny nose to have a look at her Adenoids and they are enlarged. So he said they should be removed and that he would also shave down her tonsils a bit too since they were a little big but not in need of removal.

This surgery will hopefully help Kaitlyn's snoring, night wakenings, chronic mouth-breathing and should help some with her speech. The Dr said that since the Adenoids are at the ends of the Eustachian tubes (where the ear drains) and they are enlarged they are not letting her ears "pop" well or drain well. So this should really help with that and she should seem to be hearing muffled anymore.

Kaitlyn has been doing AMAZING with her speech!! She says so much now and is really watching me talk and tries to say things I say now!! I love it!!! She knows who Mama and Dada are now and once in awhile will even call us by name. It's so great, she's so smart and I'm so happy she is able to express herself better now and we are all working really hard to get her to talk as much as possible.

Let's see... Kaitlyn now says (regularly and consistantly) Mama, Dada, Nana (banana), Uh uh, Yea, Moh (more), Bubo (bubble), Behbo (Elmo), Doda (Dora), Boo (boots), Bahh (ball), Rohh (roll), Teekie (stickie/er), Dih (drink), Deeeeeee (please), Ewww (just said this for the first time today!!!), Diity (dirty), iity (empty), Deedee (baby), vrumvrumvrum (any vehicle driving), Nnnn (nose), Boo (blue), Yaya (yellow), Dahpeh (diaper)...

Gosh there might be more, but this is all of the ones I can think of right now... I will add more if I think of them! Anyway... she was saying NOTHING at 18 months and here we are 3 months later and she is saying over 20 words. It's great... speech therapy has been a huge help... not only for her but for me, because I am learning what to do to continue her "therapy" 24 hours a day. I think because I work so hard with her that that is why this is coming along so quickly. That along with the fact that K is VERY determined to speak!

I'm also excited because Friday the 13th of April K and I start her class at Orly's Treehouse! I signed her up to take "Big Champions" it's a little class where they sing songs and get to play in a gym that is all soft climbing things. I'm hoping I picked the right class for her because we did a trial of it and she didnt seem to want to sit down and sing the songs or anything... she wanted to roam around the room and play with the balls... so now I'm wondering if maybe the Sport Tots would have been more for her since it is in the bigger gym and they get to run around and play with balls and work on catching and throwing things. I might see if I can switch classes... who knows, I'll see on Friday when we go there again!

Well I guess that about catches us up, for now.

Sass-A-Frass

This is Kaitlyn giving us the sassy eye when she doesnt like something we tell her... it's just great! She's so freakin cute and sometimes we cant help but laugh at her!

We went for Kaitlyn's 21 Month appointment yesterday and she is 23lbs (after eating a banana, cereal bar and a 9oz of milk), 32 3/4" tall and her head measures 47cm. She's getting so big!!! She got her Chicken Pox vaccine yesterday too and did so well... she didnt even cry. She got a little mad and was going to but I told her it was ok and it was all over and she handled it great! I bet she is going to be like Mommy and actually LIKE shots!! Ha ha ha!

Ah well... she really is doing well. She usually only eats one meal a day and will pick at her meals the rest of the day so a couple times a week she drinks a Pediasure and we give her little drinkable yogurts as well to get in her protein and nutrients. We started vitamins as well and she likes eating them! Since the water here in Levittown does not have any Floride I decided to buy her her own water that has it in it. That way she can get in her floride without having to take nasty liquid vitamins! I hate giving them to her and she hates taking them. The kids vitamins are so much better and she likes being "in charge" of them!

I can't believe she is going to be 2 soon! It's amazing! I'm having some trouble, actually, deciding what to do about her birthday party. She really has no kid friends here so it makes it hard to plan anything at a play place. Most of them are parties only for the kids and they are $300-$400 for 12-16 kids... all we have is maybe 5 kids at most and 16 adults! It's hard at this age. I'm thinking about just having a family dinner out somewhere with Mommy, Daddy and Kaitlyn and then just paying to have a real party in Michigan when we go home to see my side of the family. Kaitlyn has more cousins and I have friends with kids there which make it more worth it and more exciting for an actual birthday party. I'll see though... it's really a hard thing to try and plan for a 2 year old. Might be easier if our families weren't spread out across the world... that and if my friends who have kids were closer too!!

I guess it will get easier when she is older and she has some little friends from school! I guess I should go because she is standing here jumping up and down screaming at me because I wont give her MORE vitamins! Now I have to go explain that she only gets one a day!!