Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The one where the kids got mono!

Yes, my 10 and 8 year old have mono.  I have no clue who they've been kissing.  We don't know of anyone who has it.  They don't share drinks (or kiss) anyone that we don't know so I'm guessing it may have been picked up through a water fountain perhaps.  Or maybe last month when Matthew was sick, he had it and didn't know it was mono...just thought it was a cold.  We're baffled to say the least.  But as much as I hate to "waste" our summer being sick, I guess this is the best time to get it.  We don't have to be anywhere or do anything.  They can just rest and relax and get it knocked out of their little systems.

I'll try to condense the story down.  Kinley was sick at the end of April.  Don't know if she had it, but could be.  Then in May Matthew got pretty sick.  He was wiped out for a good week or two.  At the end of May (Memorial Day to be specific) Brady started coming down with similar symptoms to Matthew.  Took him to the doctor and they thought for sure he had strep.  Everything came back negative.  He wasn't getting any better so they thought maybe it might be a sinus infection so they had me fill a prescription for Amoxil which he started on Friday June 3rd.  Then this past weekend Abbey started coming down with it.  We were out of town at Disney for the weekend.  So Monday when we woke up I called the doctor to schedule an appointment for her.  After checking her over he announced that she had an enlarged spleen.  He checked Brady also and he had an enlarged spleen too.  The doctor drew blood on both of them and they both came back positive for mono.  Now we have to keep them inactive until the swelling goes down.  All I have to say is the Lord was certainly looking over them.  I keep thinking back to all the physical things they have done that could have caused their spleens to rupture prior to us knowing the diagnosis.  Thank you Lord. 

So now we will plan on a very quiet summer.  I told them it was going to be the summer of their wildest dreams:  They get to lay around and watch TV and play video games and read all day long without me telling them to "go outside and play!"  We will be hitting the library, the free movies at the theater and any other low key activities I can come up with!  This is just forcing us to slow down and take a much needed breather!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Parenting...FAIL!!!

What is that saying?  "The best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry"  Yes, here it is June.  My Itty Bitty turned ONE on May 11th.  And not only am I just now getting around to writing her 1 year old post, but because of the crazy hectic month we have had, her birthday party WILL NOT be until the end of June!  Can we say THIRD CHILD SYNDROME?  So without further ado, the much awaited, highly anticipated One Year Old Post!!!




Dear Itty Bitty,

Look at how much you have grown in just 12 short months!  This past year has flown by.  This year has been both difficult and amazing all at once.  What we once thought was colic/acid reflux, I am now beginning to wonder if it wasn't just your strong will.  You know what you want when you want it and make sure everyone around you knows it as well. 
We can still call you Itty Bitty.  At your 12 month check up you weighed in at a whopping 16 lbs. 9 oz. and 27" long.  That is the 1% for weight and 3% for height but your head circumference is near 50% which means you're too smart for your own good!  What is surprising is that you are eating us out of house and home.  We have yet to find a food that you will not eat.  You want black beans and rice? Okay! You want a dill pickle? Alrighty! You want a whole corn on the cob? You got it, Girl!  The only thing we are having trouble with is getting you switched over to whole milk.  You are still nursing 3 times a day, but twice a day you take an 8oz sippy cup of formula.  I tried weaning by slowing increasing the amount of whole milk and decreasing the amount of formula, but you didn't really care for that too much.  So then we tried cold turkey and gave you all whole milk, which you rather impolitely turned your nose up to.  So we've decided to just keep you on formula for a little while longer.  And frankly, with the summer coming up and all the go-go-going we've got, formula is a LOT more convenient!
Your favorite things right now are your Elmo couch (which used to be Sissy and Bubba's "weekend" bed).  You love to sit/lay on it and read your books, play with your toys, drink your milk or even conk out for a little cat nap!  Although you can walk a good bit, you still prefer to crawl.  It's your comfort zone.  You're speedy and coordinated with crawling, but walking? Not so much!  In fact, you crawled into Brady's room the other day and pulled out his big Pokemon Book.  This book weighs almost as much as you and yet you managed to get it from his room back out to the family room so that you could lay on your Elmo Couch and read it.  You are getting more bold and brave in your walking tho.  If you start to crawl, we tell you to stand up and you do.  I think it's just a matter of confidence for you.
You know where your toes are.  You can tell us what a cow and elephant say.  You love to be sung to and you try really hard to sing back.  If we ask you what song do you want to sing, you always put your fingers together for the Itsy Bitsy Spider.  Your vocabulary is not very big right at the moment.  You can say mamma, dadda, hi and bye, ball (which sounds like bye).  You make a noise that sounds just like you're saying "what's that?" and it usually is accompanied by a point of the finger.  You have practically lived at Abbey and Brady's school this year.  Everyone at the school oohs and ahhhs over you and you love it.  You are still very much Momma's girl (which I thoroughly enjoy), but you also enjoy flirting and entertaining people as well.  There's not a whole lot of people you will go to other than me, but if they are offering food it certainly makes you rethink the whole Momma's girl decision.
You're gorgeous and goofy at the same time...a dangerous combination in my opinion.  I have enjoyed this past year with you and I look forward to many more years of you learning, developing and becoming this amazing little girl!  Happy Birthday to my sweetness!