Growing Up So Fast

Seems like just moments have past since Kaitlyn was learning to walk and now she is 4 1/2 and in pre-K. I had a conference with her teacher today and she is doing very well in school. She loves school and takes in everything about the day. She has learned almost all of her alphabet, counts to 20, recognizes most numbers 1-10, writes her own name, understands syllables and deletions, jumps, gallops, and shows improved eye hand coordination. WOW...talk about surprised by the last one--we never expect positive feedback related to vision but so proud of our girl! She is definitely showing readiness for Kindergarten next year. She is so excited and talks daily about how she will turn 5 this summer and go to the big school with mommy next year. So cute!

Kyleigh too is making great strides in her growth and development. She is learning sign language. She claps when she is happy but she also uses this as a sign for "more". She can sign for eat and drink although it resembles putting her fingers in her mouth. She has many more sounds including "bye bye" thanks to the repetition of practice by mawmaw the other day in the car. Soon Kyleigh will attend the Infant Toddler Program at Gateway. We are so happy to have found people that are able and willing to help us transport her in the morning and afternoon. She is making a gradual entrance into the program. Her teacher is so very nice and loving. As hard as it will be to leave her soon as I return to work, I know she is going to be getting the ultimate therapeutic care and increase her development even more.

I am so blessed to have two very beautiful and bright children that learn at their own rate but so strong willed and determined to be great.

Where's the Sugar?

So when life hands you lemons---make lemonade, right? But the saying forgets to tell you to add the sugar or else it has an awful taste unlike the yummy Kool Aid you remembered as a kid. What am I getting to? Just when we thought things were going smoothly and Kyleigh was doing better we get bad news at the eye doctor today. Her eye pressure in her right eye is high again. The pressure in her left eye was 10 -- -good! The pressure in the right eye was 35---BAD! So the first step is to add an eyedrop to the routine for a month and recheck her pressure. If the pressure isn't significantly lower we are faced with the decision of having surgery on her eye to reduce the pressure before long term damage occurs. She could redo the laser surgery like before but this could ultimately cause the eye to stop producing fluid altogether and isn't the preferred option. Or she could put in a shunt on the eye to reduce the fluid in the eye. A retina specialist would be in on this surgery as it requires the removal of the vitrous fluid behind the eye and can be dangerous to the retina when inserting a shunt. Even if her pressure is better by the end of March, Dr. Freedman was clear that we will down the road be faced with this surgery. So, back to my opening statement---I think I must have forgotten to add the sugar to my lemonade because just when I thought things were going our way we took a swallow and gag on the after taste---blah!

Bye-Bye No-No's

Kyleigh had her post-op appointment today with Dr. Georgiade. He was pleased with her recovery and healing. She no longer has to wear the arm restraints (no-no's). She can also stop using the pigeon valve bottles and we can start working on using sippy cups. I never thought we would see the day where she could actually use a sippy cup! She is also recovering well from the bronchiolitis and is almost finished with the medicine. So glad to have had a happy visit to Duke today!

Sickness Plague

Kyleigh continues to have the horrible cough and is now wheezing. Kaitlyn has a cough and puffy eyes. Kaitlyn was crying when I arrived at school today for her Caring and Sharing Party. Unfortunately, that meant we took another fieldtrip to the good ole' pediatrician. Turns out Kyleigh has bronchiolitis which sounded like a made up diagnosis to me at first but turns out to be infection of the bronchioles and similar to RSV. Kaitlyn has conjuctivitis (not pink eye) but just infection of the eyes and a bad cold. So they both left with prescriptions and we headed for the CVS.

Meanwhile, Dennis is at a PTA meeting fundraiser tonight for his school. They came up with a snazzy little jingle this year --

Putting Mr. Foster on the Roof- $300

Having Mr. Foster sleep on the roof- $1000

Seeing Mr. Foster freeze like a popsicle- PRICELESS

I have to give it to the PTA they are working hard to raise the money for students that can't afford to attend fieldtrips. Sadly, it happens to be one of the coldest nights in February and is currently snowing. I hope for his sake that they don't raise all of the money tonight and he can come home "safely" to a warm house and bed.

Either way, keep us in your prayers for health, safety and sanity.

Kyleigh Update on Fever

Kyleigh ended up going to see our pediatrician this evening. She has lost almost a pound but that is expected with her recent surgery and illness. She had a fever of 101.7 after Tylenol. The doctor wasn't pleased with the lingering fever or cough. He questioned if she had pneumonia and wanted to verify with a chest x-ray. So off to Wesley Long we headed for an x-ray. She hated as they strapped her in the contraption with her arms above her head. We returned to the pediatrician office to await the results. Thank goodness, she does not have pneumonia. There is some respiratory gunk but they can't verify if viral or bacterial at this point without doing blood work. Since she had already begun the antibiotic the doctor has decided to continue the medicine. If her fever persists another 24 hours I should call and bring her back in for blood work. If it is viral she should take a turn for the better in the next 24 hours since it is 1/2 way through the length of an expected viral infection. All this said, she is still a sick little girl and we are no closer to a solution than we were hours ago.

Kyleigh's Fever Lingers

So Kyleigh hasn't shown any improvements on the first antibiotic prescribed a week ago by the attending pediatrician at Moses Cone ER. So she went to our pediatrician's office this Saturday. Other than, "her throat looks really red and she should see her surgeon soon to make sure it isn't supposed to look this way", the doctor didn't say much. He did change her antibiotic to Augmentum and told us to keep doing Tylenol. Well, needless to say she has the worst cough and drainage. Of course, she didn't cough while at the doctor office-just like taking your car to the mechanic! Anyways, her fever just will not go away with Tylenol or Tylenol with Codeine. So I called the attending physician at Duke Hospital tonight and got clearance to give her Motrin. He said it sounds like they should check her for strept throat but we should call the surgeon's office in the morning to get his opinion. That's all for now-will keep you posted.

Recent Pics of the Girls

Uncle Chris came to visit --- we love Uncle Chris, but we missed seeing Aunt Liz this time. Hoping to go visit them in SC this Spring. Kaitlyn showing off her violin skills.
Kaitlyn challenges Uncle Chris to a game of Hi Ho Cheerio--don't remember who won but I'm sure they both had fun! (Love ya Brother!)
Kaitlyn ventures out to the backyard to play in the crunchy snow and kept falling down.
Smiley girl playing despite the "no-no's" on her arms---such a trooper!

Update on Kyleigh

Kyleigh has been making slow improvements as she recovers from surgery. She is needing the Tylenol with Codeine less and less. She is eating more solids and drinking more of her soy formula. On a good feed she is taking 3 ounces which is a miracle compared to day 1 post surgery. Her schedule is a mess right now, as she doesn't really have one. It is hard to have a schedule when she is eating small amounts at a time. Tomorrow is her first day back to the therapy sessions and it is OT so that should help her with the feedings. As many of you know we have had snow and it has resulted in "no school" for Kaitlyn. We are starting to get cabin fever and actually would prefer the winter weather to stay away as they are calling for more this weekend. Despite the cabin fever, we are still thankful that both girls are healthy and home.