Fun in Montana!

We had a super impromptu trip to Montana to visit Aunt Lisa while Daddy is at the cabin with Papa Brian, and we've been having fun!  When the cat is away, the mice will play for sure.  Grace has been having fun playing with Nyssa, and Levi has been such a good little boy.  Both kiddos have gotten sick because they shared with Nyssa's cold (pre-pneumonia) but it doesn't really slow them down!  We took Levi to the walk-in clinic because he's got a really wet cough and is raspy, but after having an x-ray and just seeing minimal clouding, the doctor said he'll get through it without much help.  So we are going to pick up a prescription for an inhaler of albuterol.  We've been just hanging out since the kiddos are sick, but have been making Walmart runs here and there.  Today we'll go to pick up a TON of Easter Eggs and candy because Lisa is putting together a hunt for her neighborhood, and I'm so excited to help her fill them!  We're hoping it warms up enough to take the kids to the zoo but so far, it's been pretty cold.  

 Grace absolutely LOVES this big dog!!  It's super soft so I can understand why.

And she got to get a bag of goldfish because she had such a good morning yesterday (March 23).  And she REALLY likes Nyssa's car!

All in all, a wonderful trip.  We went to Heather's baby shower first in Belgrade on Saturday and headed to Lisa's house afterwards.  The drive was long...the kids had just a little trouble but that's understandable.  The trip I'm worried about is the 6 hour drive home on Friday.  But we'll take lots of stops and everything will go fine.

Amanda

Getting Better

You are doing so much better now from being sick.  We ended up not going to Utah for your Spina Bifida Clinic because you still have a cough, and so we couldn't stay in the Ronald McDonald house.  So we'll go in two weeks.  That means you get to go to school tomorrow and you get to wear your pajamas!!!  It's Dr. Suess' week so you get to have a party :)  I'm pretty excited as well because you have a pair of zebra pajamas that you LOVE and you are going to be so excited to wear them!

Not much has gone on because of you being sick, and now Mommy and Levi are sick as well, so we've really just been hanging out not doing much.  But there is one thing we have been working on, and you've been a big help!  You had a friend in your preschool class, and she's been in your class for the past 3 years.  Well, she's got brain cancer, and is in the Huntsman Cancer Center getting treatment.  We've been working hard on a comfort box full of tons of things from people in the community.  Everyone in the community were just so absolutely loving for her, and they gave so much stuff to her!  Here's what you and I collected together!

We did a great job together, Grace!!  And here is your friend.....

Fight, girly, fight!!!

Amanda

Hospital Visit

Gosh, Grace gets sick SO FAST.  She went from playing with her friend on Friday to a runny nose on Saturday and an absolutely horrible Sunday.  Of course the doctors office was closed so she couldn't be taken in, so we just did what we could to comfort.  That night her breathing was so fast that I thought she had just run a marathon, and the nebulizer treatments weren't doing anything to help.  Come Monday and Grace was still pretty sick.  I turned a show on for her and told her to relax.  I had given her a nebulizer treatment at 4 am but it really didn't help.  After a while the wheezing was so loud that I could hear her from her room.  Not only that but she was BEGGING to go to the doctor.  She'd grab her chest, tell me her chest hurt and ask to go, over and over and over.  I called the doctors office but they couldn't take her in until 1:20 pm!  Seriously?!  Even though I told them she was having trouble breathing?!  So I decided to take her to BYU-I health center. They told me the walk in time wait was an hour long and that's just insane.  Grace is in my arms, crying and moaning and flapping her hands from the inability to breath more than an extremely short gasp.  I said, "so what if I told you she couldn't breath?"  He looked at her and was like, "Oh!  I thought she just had a cough."  Pretty quick he got me in the front of the line, a nurse came out and saw how horrible Grace was doing, and we were taken back within a couple minutes.  Her weight was taken...with a HUGE fight...36 pounds, and then we went to the room.  This is the funny part.  There were two nursing students working with Grace, and the poor girl just didn't want anything to do with it.  After a while she let the alligator nibble on her finger (pulse thing) and after a few minutes the nurses said, "Hm, I think the machine is broken...I need to go get another one."  And then I heard her whisper to the other one "that's too high."  They got another machine and tried again..."Hm...I think it's broken, too."  Seriously girls?!  So they got a different type of alligator bite but by this time, Grace was done with this.  So they tried to manually take her pulse on her wrist...waiting, waiting.  "Well, I can't count them."  "That's just because children's heart rates are so fast."  NO.  It's because she's SICK and her heart is struggling to handle it!!!  So they finally went out and the doctor came in and said, "I don't want you here.  You need to take her to the hospital.  The heart rate is too fast and that's dangerous.  They can do more for her there.  I'll call to let them know you're coming."  And off we went.

There were nurses waiting!  Wow.  And they were the sweetest nurses.  But it was absolutely overwhelming for Grace and I felt so bad for her!  3 nurses rushing around, sticking on monitors on her chest, taking temperatures, putting on pulse things and checking oxygen levels...my poor girl was screaming and flapping and kicking.  :(  What helped?  TV!!!  She watched Doc McStuffins and was calmed down instantly.

Fast forward through a steroid dose, x-ray and breathing treatment and we found out she had bronchitis. I'm so thankful her lungs were clear.  Now it's Tuesday and other than a slight wheeze when she gets too rowdy, she's doing SO MUCH BETTER!!!  And she got to get new cups and a fun box of animal crackers for being such a brave girl in the hospital.  I love you Grace, and I love your strength.

Love you, Girly.

Amanda

Good day Today

It was a pretty good day today.  This morning it was a bit tough to want to get dressed to go to therapy but that makes sense :)  And there was a meltdown at therapy because Grace drew on the table and got into an argument about where people should draw...paper or the table.  But after a few minutes Grace said, "Ok, I'm happy now.  I play with Jeff."  Super cute girl :) 

We went for a walk today and it was the first time Levi was in the stroller for the first time.  It was really tough for Grace because it was HER stroller for so long, and that's definitely understandable.  Grace has done SO well with sharing everything in her life and I'm so proud of her!!!

 This is a picture of my sweet girly waiting to help Levi with his bath.  She so loves helping out with Levi, and is such a great helper.  I try to keep her involved as much as possible so she doesn't feel left out :)

And there we are, ready for our walk!!

Amanda

Catch up :)

So Grace and I finally spent some time in her preschool room!!  It's been ready and waiting for us but it's hard to find time and when there is time...she or I are usually too tired or stir crazy to actually do anything!  Anyways...

03/03/15

This was our exercise since it's too cold to go outside.  She chose a card and we'd do the dance move!

 Here is Grace showing us her lovely version of the chicken dance!

 And then it was time to do a puzzle.  I like these ones because it doesn't have raised edges to show her exactly where the piece goes...they are all meshed together.  She did so well and did this puzzle two times.

 And then one to one correspondence.  I didn't even know she could do this!  Keeps surprising me daily!  

And then just a random picture of her because she's so stinking awesome!  Grace got these pajamas from Daddy and loves them SO MUCH.

I cut her hair by the way :)  It was TOO long and was getting rats nests in it every morning which were then a fight to brush out.  This is much nicer.

03/03/15

This is the same day :)  So, little Grace has ALWAYS had a huge fear of this play structure.  It's in McDonalds.  Actually, she's had a fear of every single play structure we've ever been to (even blow up bounce houses which she's now slowly getting over with gymnastics).  So it was SO amazing to see her climbing around in there!!!  I didn't make it a huge thing when she first started edging to the entrance, which is where that girl is that's kneeling.  I played it off, offered more food when she'd come back, and made it not seem like a big deal.  When she had started climbing up, I nonchalantly walked over to the yellow bubble window to wave because I could see the fear in her eyes, and after awhile, she didn't need that anymore.  And about half an hour later, she'd gone down the slide about 5 times, went into the train to the right of this picture, and just seemed like she'd always played in this structure!!!  It was wonderful to see!

Great job, Grace!!!

Oh, one more tidbit...

We like laying around in bed watching TV.  For this picture, it was Sid the Science Kid.

Amanda