Bright and early this morning I took Lyssa to the dentist to get her two cavities filled. They had it down as a sedated appointment, but she had wanted to try it without sedation. She was scared and wiggled a lot, but I think did okay considering her age. The dentist, on the other hand, said after word that he thinks we probably should have sedated her. Just because she's going to have bad memories of today. She went out of the dentist office happily enough though. I think she mostly didn't like the tool they use to hold open the mouth. But for the cost difference on my end, I much prefer the non-sedated way.
Anyway, I laughed at her as we were in the waiting room. The movie "Alvin and the Chipmunks" had just ended and the credits were playing. She danced around to the song on the credits. She's just that way. Hears music and has to dance.
The following video is an example of it. I was trying to film her singing along with the credit song for the "Plants vs Zombies" game like she does. She saw the camera and danced instead. She keeps saying, "Click!" because she didn't know I was all ready filming her.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Emma's Baptism
As is obvious by the title, Emma was baptized today. She was very excited about getting baptized. She was supposed to have her baptism interview with the bishop on Tuesday but she had gotten sick and so didn't have it until last night. In a way I was amazed she answered the questions. She sometimes doesn't like to answer when people ask her things and will just kind of grunt. Not this time. She answered very easily and well.
When we got to the church building for her baptism, the church was locked and no one was there. Since we were having her baptism on a different day than they normally have them, I was almost afraid that they had forgotten and wondered what we were going to do. Actually, I was more worried that the font wouldn't be filled and we would have to sit around and wait while it filled. We didn't have to wait long though.
I thought her baptism service was very nice. I had actually forgotten until it was announced that I was saying the opening prayer, which is funny since I'm the one who gave the list of who was speaking and prayers and such. Emma asked her grandmothers to give the talks on baptism and on the Holy Ghost. I thought they both did good jobs. Emma, of course, wanted her dad to baptize and confirm her. Jimmy gave the closing prayer.
After the baptism we all headed over to Emma's favorite restaurant for lunch. We had such a large group with us that I wondered briefly as I was leaving if they were glad to see us go.
Russ and Emma in baptism clothes:
Our family after the baptism:
When we got to the church building for her baptism, the church was locked and no one was there. Since we were having her baptism on a different day than they normally have them, I was almost afraid that they had forgotten and wondered what we were going to do. Actually, I was more worried that the font wouldn't be filled and we would have to sit around and wait while it filled. We didn't have to wait long though.
I thought her baptism service was very nice. I had actually forgotten until it was announced that I was saying the opening prayer, which is funny since I'm the one who gave the list of who was speaking and prayers and such. Emma asked her grandmothers to give the talks on baptism and on the Holy Ghost. I thought they both did good jobs. Emma, of course, wanted her dad to baptize and confirm her. Jimmy gave the closing prayer.
After the baptism we all headed over to Emma's favorite restaurant for lunch. We had such a large group with us that I wondered briefly as I was leaving if they were glad to see us go.
Russ and Emma in baptism clothes:
Our family after the baptism:
Monday, November 23, 2009
Happy Birthday Emma!
It's hard to believe that Emma is 8 years old today! She's growing up too quickly. Looking out the window at the snow on the ground, I think it's appropriate in a way to have that snow. The night before she was born there was a snow storm. Of course, I still think it's funny that the day before she was born (which happened to be Thanksgiving that year), my brother-in-law, Mike, looked at me and said, "Tomorrow. 1:00." She was born the next day at 12:55. Hope you have a great one this year, Emma!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Dylan's Latest Echo
The past 6 months have flown by and today was time for Dylan's next echo. He had another sedated echo, which was quite obvious right away that sedated was the only way they would get an echo today. Anyone who has been around him knows that if you aren't in his immediate family and touch him, he's not happy at all. Even having the doctor listen to his heart with the stethoscope can be a challenge. Although I will add that if I'm not around, he tends to be a little happier with other people.
Late yesterday afternoon I had gotten a call from the hospital telling me that Dylan's cardiologist was quite sick and would be unable to be there tomorrow but recommended keeping the echo since they were pretty booked up and it would probably be into January before we could get him in for another. Since Russ had taken the day off of work for it anyway, we decided that would be best and scheduled an appointment to meet with the doctor on Tuesday. Just after they started with the echo, one of the nurses stuck her head in and said that his doctor would actually be in today and to make sure we didn't leave without talking to him.
They do an iv for the sedation so they can give the medicine to them easier and give them a little more if they need it. Dylan was very unhappy when we laid him on the exam table so they could start the iv. He wasn't happy with being touched. When the iv needle poked him, his cry didn't change at all from his crying that they were touching him. When they left the room, he stopped crying briefly. Then started up again because he didn't like the little foam board thing they had taped to his hand to help keep him from pulling out the iv. After the echo when he had become conscious enough to drink a bit of apple juice, he was very good and held very still for the nurse to take the tape off to remove the iv. Until she got the foam board off. That's all he really wanted off. He didn't want her to touch him after she had the board off.
It has actually been somewhat entertaining to watch how wobbly Dylan has been after his sedation. When we were in the room waiting for the doctor to come in he really wanted us to let him try to walk around. We knew he wasn't quite ready for that. Russ did let him try to crawl where he proceeded to crawl right into the wall then say, "Uh-oh," just before doing a rolling fall. After getting to my parent's house (thanks mom for letting the others sleep over and watching them for us during the echo!) he would try to walk a bit then fall down then try to stand up only to fall again. Didn't take long until he was a little more steady though.
Anyway, when Dr. M came in, he told us that everything looks good. His heart function is normal. His conduit, as always is a little leaky (he said about medium leak) and slightly narrow, but functioning well. We go back in another 6 months. In the past he hasn't given a time-frame of how long he thinks we can go before he needs to have his conduit replaced. Today he said he would like to try to get Dylan to at least 3 before replacing it. I had been almost expecting him to say that it would be time really soon for that surgery so it was really nice to hear 3. That's right in the middle of the average age that Dylan's surgeon had told us he typically sees for the time when they need the second surgery (he said between 2 and 4, some earlier, some later). Hopefully he'll be able to go even longer, but it's nice to think of going at least another year and a half.
Late yesterday afternoon I had gotten a call from the hospital telling me that Dylan's cardiologist was quite sick and would be unable to be there tomorrow but recommended keeping the echo since they were pretty booked up and it would probably be into January before we could get him in for another. Since Russ had taken the day off of work for it anyway, we decided that would be best and scheduled an appointment to meet with the doctor on Tuesday. Just after they started with the echo, one of the nurses stuck her head in and said that his doctor would actually be in today and to make sure we didn't leave without talking to him.
They do an iv for the sedation so they can give the medicine to them easier and give them a little more if they need it. Dylan was very unhappy when we laid him on the exam table so they could start the iv. He wasn't happy with being touched. When the iv needle poked him, his cry didn't change at all from his crying that they were touching him. When they left the room, he stopped crying briefly. Then started up again because he didn't like the little foam board thing they had taped to his hand to help keep him from pulling out the iv. After the echo when he had become conscious enough to drink a bit of apple juice, he was very good and held very still for the nurse to take the tape off to remove the iv. Until she got the foam board off. That's all he really wanted off. He didn't want her to touch him after she had the board off.
It has actually been somewhat entertaining to watch how wobbly Dylan has been after his sedation. When we were in the room waiting for the doctor to come in he really wanted us to let him try to walk around. We knew he wasn't quite ready for that. Russ did let him try to crawl where he proceeded to crawl right into the wall then say, "Uh-oh," just before doing a rolling fall. After getting to my parent's house (thanks mom for letting the others sleep over and watching them for us during the echo!) he would try to walk a bit then fall down then try to stand up only to fall again. Didn't take long until he was a little more steady though.
Anyway, when Dr. M came in, he told us that everything looks good. His heart function is normal. His conduit, as always is a little leaky (he said about medium leak) and slightly narrow, but functioning well. We go back in another 6 months. In the past he hasn't given a time-frame of how long he thinks we can go before he needs to have his conduit replaced. Today he said he would like to try to get Dylan to at least 3 before replacing it. I had been almost expecting him to say that it would be time really soon for that surgery so it was really nice to hear 3. That's right in the middle of the average age that Dylan's surgeon had told us he typically sees for the time when they need the second surgery (he said between 2 and 4, some earlier, some later). Hopefully he'll be able to go even longer, but it's nice to think of going at least another year and a half.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Alyssa's Thankful List
Today at preschool Lyssa made a "Thankful Tree." I'm sure you've seen one before. Picture of a tree where each leaf has written on it something that person is thankful for. A few things on her list made me laugh. So that you may enjoy it too, here's her list:
Dog that's dead Xena
Mac & cheese
Neighbors
Baby
Molly's toys
Dad
Cat Cid (Yeah, the cat died long before she was born.)
Mom
Jesus
Sweety Bell (one of her toys)
Store
Yes, I plan on keeping her paper for a long time.
Dog that's dead Xena
Mac & cheese
Neighbors
Baby
Molly's toys
Dad
Cat Cid (Yeah, the cat died long before she was born.)
Mom
Jesus
Sweety Bell (one of her toys)
Store
Yes, I plan on keeping her paper for a long time.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Dentist Appointments
Way back in September (which really wasn't all that long ago), I made dentist appointments for my kids for cleanings. Which got postponed because of a stomach bug. Then postponed again because of flu and strep. Then postponed again because I decided they had missed too much school with being sick and wanted a time where they could go without missing school. That turned out to be today. And I changed Jimmy's for Friday so he could go to a birthday party.
Molly was the most nervous, which is a big change from usual. She's my child who doesn't even flinch when she gets a shot. Emma wasn't nervous at all. Lys was bouncing because she was so excited about her turn. Dylan just liked their fun house mirror.
Admittedly, my kids don't brush as well as they should so I expected them to have cavities. Especially Molly. She's gone from my best brusher to one of my worst. I was right. Emma and Lys each have two teeth with cavities. One of Lyssa's I could easily see. Her front teeth didn't seem to have enamel on them when she was born because as soon as they started coming in, they started to break down and get cavities. So the reason her teeth look so good is because they're fake. She has a partial for her front teeth. The one I could see was next to the partial. Her other one is just a small one. Emma has two small ones, but they want to put in a spacer where her tooth was pulled and she hasn't wanted to let them take a mold at all. Molly has 4 cavities. The hardest one for them to fill will be one that is growing around a filling, so they'll have to take out the filling and start over with it.
Emma and Molly both panicked at the thought of getting work done on their teeth so they will have the sedations. They've scheduled Lyssa for a sedation appointment but will try to do it without sedation first since she seemed like she may actually be okay with it. I think Emma would be okay with it if she hadn't just had her tooth pulled. On the way to the dentist she mentioned that it hurt a little to get her tooth pulled. I also think Molly would be okay, but she was the hardest one today. She tried to run when it was her turn for the cleaning.
Shortly after getting home, I heard Molly tell Jimmy (who decided to come home from his party early) that the dentist was fun. They loved getting new toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss. But most especially loved getting a token for a small toy.
Molly was the most nervous, which is a big change from usual. She's my child who doesn't even flinch when she gets a shot. Emma wasn't nervous at all. Lys was bouncing because she was so excited about her turn. Dylan just liked their fun house mirror.
Admittedly, my kids don't brush as well as they should so I expected them to have cavities. Especially Molly. She's gone from my best brusher to one of my worst. I was right. Emma and Lys each have two teeth with cavities. One of Lyssa's I could easily see. Her front teeth didn't seem to have enamel on them when she was born because as soon as they started coming in, they started to break down and get cavities. So the reason her teeth look so good is because they're fake. She has a partial for her front teeth. The one I could see was next to the partial. Her other one is just a small one. Emma has two small ones, but they want to put in a spacer where her tooth was pulled and she hasn't wanted to let them take a mold at all. Molly has 4 cavities. The hardest one for them to fill will be one that is growing around a filling, so they'll have to take out the filling and start over with it.
Emma and Molly both panicked at the thought of getting work done on their teeth so they will have the sedations. They've scheduled Lyssa for a sedation appointment but will try to do it without sedation first since she seemed like she may actually be okay with it. I think Emma would be okay with it if she hadn't just had her tooth pulled. On the way to the dentist she mentioned that it hurt a little to get her tooth pulled. I also think Molly would be okay, but she was the hardest one today. She tried to run when it was her turn for the cleaning.
Shortly after getting home, I heard Molly tell Jimmy (who decided to come home from his party early) that the dentist was fun. They loved getting new toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss. But most especially loved getting a token for a small toy.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
SEP (aka Parent Teacher) Conferences
Today I had parent-teacher conferences for Jimmy, Emma and Molly. I scheduled them far enough apart this time that I could go home in between and not have to drag everyone along for them. Jimmy wasn't really happy about that. Says he likes having everyone go. Mostly he wanted to show off Dylan to his teacher.
They have changed how they do them a little bit. For the kids older than kindergarten, anyway. They have the student kind of lead the conferences and show their own reports and things. Makes it a little more entertaining.
Since Molly's conference was first, I'll start with her. She was the only one who didn't bring home a report card last week. Her teacher likes to go over them at the conferences, which I was aware of so I wasn't surprised when Jimmy and Emma brought theirs home and she didn't. They've changed the grading system this year so they get a 3 for at or above grade level, 2 for below, and 1 for far below. Molly got all 3's except for one 2 for not knowing a few letter sounds. I quizzed her on those sounds on the way home and she knew them. Said she just gets nervous when she's asked in class what the sounds are. Her teacher said she's very nice and a very good artist. Said she really likes her cousin who is in her class.
I got home with Molly and remembered that I hadn't filled out a couple of papers Emma's teacher wanted taken to her conference. Luckily I had a few minutes and filled them out quickly. Emma is also doing really well. She is doing math a little above where they should be at this point. Which is nice since math is her favorite subject. Her reading level is right where it should be. She just needs to work on starting her work when she's told. She hasn't had the problems of not finishing work like she did in kindergarten and 1st grade though. She is starting to talk a little more. Emma seemed excited to read to me a story she had written in class titled, "The Trouble with Big Brothers." I thought it was a cute little story. She even put the Plants Vs. Zombies computer game into her story. She hadn't had that graded yet or else she would have been able to bring it home. Her teacher gave me a copy of a skills test Emma took. Her scores on that were nearly 100%.
Jimmy's conference was last. We got there a little early so we could stop by the book fair. Then we went to his classroom where we waited for about 20 minutes for the people ahead of us to finish up. While we waited Jimmy pointed out which picture of parents hanging on the wall across from the classroom the one he had done. I wasn't sure what to expect from his since he had such a long list of missing assignments but it went really well. Of course, she found two of his missing assignments just before the conference. He is reading well into a 6th grade level. Two months ago he showed reading nearly 2 grade levels lower. So he's improved a lot there. He's typing faster than level and his math is slightly above level as well. I was given a copy of his IOWA test. Most of his scores fell in the high average range. Jimmy says his conference rocked.
All in all the conferences went well. Kind of nice to have them over with too. Now to get them to do their homework...
They have changed how they do them a little bit. For the kids older than kindergarten, anyway. They have the student kind of lead the conferences and show their own reports and things. Makes it a little more entertaining.
Since Molly's conference was first, I'll start with her. She was the only one who didn't bring home a report card last week. Her teacher likes to go over them at the conferences, which I was aware of so I wasn't surprised when Jimmy and Emma brought theirs home and she didn't. They've changed the grading system this year so they get a 3 for at or above grade level, 2 for below, and 1 for far below. Molly got all 3's except for one 2 for not knowing a few letter sounds. I quizzed her on those sounds on the way home and she knew them. Said she just gets nervous when she's asked in class what the sounds are. Her teacher said she's very nice and a very good artist. Said she really likes her cousin who is in her class.
I got home with Molly and remembered that I hadn't filled out a couple of papers Emma's teacher wanted taken to her conference. Luckily I had a few minutes and filled them out quickly. Emma is also doing really well. She is doing math a little above where they should be at this point. Which is nice since math is her favorite subject. Her reading level is right where it should be. She just needs to work on starting her work when she's told. She hasn't had the problems of not finishing work like she did in kindergarten and 1st grade though. She is starting to talk a little more. Emma seemed excited to read to me a story she had written in class titled, "The Trouble with Big Brothers." I thought it was a cute little story. She even put the Plants Vs. Zombies computer game into her story. She hadn't had that graded yet or else she would have been able to bring it home. Her teacher gave me a copy of a skills test Emma took. Her scores on that were nearly 100%.
Jimmy's conference was last. We got there a little early so we could stop by the book fair. Then we went to his classroom where we waited for about 20 minutes for the people ahead of us to finish up. While we waited Jimmy pointed out which picture of parents hanging on the wall across from the classroom the one he had done. I wasn't sure what to expect from his since he had such a long list of missing assignments but it went really well. Of course, she found two of his missing assignments just before the conference. He is reading well into a 6th grade level. Two months ago he showed reading nearly 2 grade levels lower. So he's improved a lot there. He's typing faster than level and his math is slightly above level as well. I was given a copy of his IOWA test. Most of his scores fell in the high average range. Jimmy says his conference rocked.
All in all the conferences went well. Kind of nice to have them over with too. Now to get them to do their homework...
Monday, November 2, 2009
Dylan's 15 Month Check-up
Just when I thought I had finally gotten caught up with posts, I remembered that I failed to mention taking Dylan today for his 15 month check-up.
Dylan is just above the average for height and a little below average for weight. His head size, on the other hand, is in the 90th percentile. He's growing and developing nicely.
He usually smiles at the doctor. Not today. He kind of frowned at him today and wasn't happy at all with being examined. The doctor said that his lungs sound really good, which was nice since he's had a cough and a runny nose and bronchitis has been going around. He did say that his heart makes so much noise that it's hard to say anything one way or another about it. He did seem happy to know that I take Dylan later this month for an echo to check his heart again. Dylan was just happy to be given a sucker after his exam. Wasn't happy at all about the two shots he got though. Which made me forget that I needed to schedule his 18 month appointment until I was almost out of the building.
Dylan walks everywhere now. I'm sure he'll start running soon. Seems to be starting to talk more, too. He can say go, yes, no, banana, dog, thank you (but more like "tak oo"), bottle, and things like that. I've made a monster out of him with books too. He is always wanting me to read to him. And knows if the book is upside down or not, which makes it funny to watch him with one book we have where a girl is standing on her head.
Now we just need to try to keep him from catching everything this winter by keeping him home from everything and making everyone wash hands often and we'll be good. :)
Dylan is just above the average for height and a little below average for weight. His head size, on the other hand, is in the 90th percentile. He's growing and developing nicely.
He usually smiles at the doctor. Not today. He kind of frowned at him today and wasn't happy at all with being examined. The doctor said that his lungs sound really good, which was nice since he's had a cough and a runny nose and bronchitis has been going around. He did say that his heart makes so much noise that it's hard to say anything one way or another about it. He did seem happy to know that I take Dylan later this month for an echo to check his heart again. Dylan was just happy to be given a sucker after his exam. Wasn't happy at all about the two shots he got though. Which made me forget that I needed to schedule his 18 month appointment until I was almost out of the building.
Dylan walks everywhere now. I'm sure he'll start running soon. Seems to be starting to talk more, too. He can say go, yes, no, banana, dog, thank you (but more like "tak oo"), bottle, and things like that. I've made a monster out of him with books too. He is always wanting me to read to him. And knows if the book is upside down or not, which makes it funny to watch him with one book we have where a girl is standing on her head.
Now we just need to try to keep him from catching everything this winter by keeping him home from everything and making everyone wash hands often and we'll be good. :)
November Birthdays and such
Happy birthday this month to Mike, Susan and Emma! Hope each of you has a good birthday this year!
And to make this not such a short post, I'm adding the "and such."
A little while ago, Russ bought the game Plants vs Zombies. Dylan loves watching people play the game. In this first picture, I managed to catch the look Dylan kept giving me as he was watching Russ finally beat the game (I beat it a while ago). There have been times that Dylan has tried to open up the laptop to watch it and stood there crying because he couldn't.
Here's Russ and Dylan playing the game.
For those who may be interested, you can download a free trial of the game here. But be warned. It can get addictive.
And to make this not such a short post, I'm adding the "and such."
A little while ago, Russ bought the game Plants vs Zombies. Dylan loves watching people play the game. In this first picture, I managed to catch the look Dylan kept giving me as he was watching Russ finally beat the game (I beat it a while ago). There have been times that Dylan has tried to open up the laptop to watch it and stood there crying because he couldn't.
Here's Russ and Dylan playing the game.
For those who may be interested, you can download a free trial of the game here. But be warned. It can get addictive.
Halloween
All of the kids were very excited for Halloween. I couldn't tell you how many times Lyssa asked me when they could go trick or treating. Jimmy went with a friend and so I didn't get a picture of him in his costume...he rushed out the door too fast and had wiped off the makeup before he came home. Emma also went with a friend but stayed in her costume so I could get a picture of her after she got back. I took Molly, Lyssa and Dylan around. Dylan seemed happy just to be on a walk.
Here are the pictures of the others in their costumes. Jimmy was a zombie. Wish I could have gotten a picture of him. Here's Dylan in his monkey costume:
Lyssa as Batgirl.
Molly was a fairy. Russ added the makeup around her eyes.
Emma was a candy corn witch.
Just for fun, I'm throwing in this picture of Dylan happily getting suckers out of his candy bucket.
Here are the pictures of the others in their costumes. Jimmy was a zombie. Wish I could have gotten a picture of him. Here's Dylan in his monkey costume:
Lyssa as Batgirl.
Molly was a fairy. Russ added the makeup around her eyes.
Emma was a candy corn witch.
Just for fun, I'm throwing in this picture of Dylan happily getting suckers out of his candy bucket.
Lyssa's Halloween Program
I'm a little bit behind on posting about things. So I'm going to post a couple today and try to catch up. And with the camera working again, I can add a few pictures too.
Thursday Lyssa had her Halloween program at preschool where they sang a couple of songs for us and had snacks. All of the kids were very excited about it and did a good job with their program. Lys had been so excited about it that she had been asking for days if it was time for her to sing to me yet.
Anyway, here are a few pictures from it. this first one was taken of Lys just before the program started. She had taken off her mask earlier at preschool and hadn't grabbed it for the program yet.
Here they are getting ready to sing a song.
Lyssa and her preschool teacher.
I was going to add a video of one of the songs they sang, but it won't upload for me. Keeps having errors. So no video. Sorry.
Thursday Lyssa had her Halloween program at preschool where they sang a couple of songs for us and had snacks. All of the kids were very excited about it and did a good job with their program. Lys had been so excited about it that she had been asking for days if it was time for her to sing to me yet.
Anyway, here are a few pictures from it. this first one was taken of Lys just before the program started. She had taken off her mask earlier at preschool and hadn't grabbed it for the program yet.
Here they are getting ready to sing a song.
Lyssa and her preschool teacher.
I was going to add a video of one of the songs they sang, but it won't upload for me. Keeps having errors. So no video. Sorry.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)