I am really slackin' on this these days. And I know you're all just sitting on the edge of your seats anxiously waiting, right? hah... kidding. Truthfully, I'm hoping to turn most of this into a memory book for the kids some day, and this is my easiest way of keeping track of what we do on a somewhat regular basis (used to be much more regular than it is now) because god knows I will not remember much of it to ever tell them without a reminder. I can barely remember things week to week anymore.
Emma had a few nuclear radiology tests in March. We were at the end of the list of tests that needed to be done to make final decisions on her kidneys. She has been such a trooper... but it has not been an easy ride. 8 months of hospitals, specialists/doctor appointments, CT scans, multiple blood draws and catheters, a PICC line, a surgery to put a stint in, and a surgery to remove it a few months later, a VCUG test, a MAG3 test and lots in between. She has been on an antibiotic every day since September, and the last of the tests were to determine whether we would go with a surgical procedure to attempt to correct the blockage or not. She has reflux in both kidneys, which really can't be corrected... it will hopefully just improve with time as she grows. However, they kept seeing a little blockage in one of her kidneys, so the last test she had done measured the rate at which the kidneys each drained. One drained at 10 minutes and one at 16. But the fact of that matter is that both are draining and they're happy with that, and would not consider doing a surgical correction at this point. On a scale from 1-5 (5 being the worst) one of her kidneys is a 2, and the other is a 3, which is considered 'moderate' at this point. So the final outcome was, she stays on antibiotics and goes in for an ultrasound check approximately every 6 months.
Getting ready to leave the hospital - all dressed and ready to go with her apple juice. Just doing the last pulse check.
Waiting for the car, snacking. (Unfortunately, we've gotten to know the ins & outs and tricks of the hospital, and to valet your car is actually much cheaper than hourly parking) She can't eat or drink anything before the tests, so I schedule them as early in the morning as possible and bring snacks for after until we can get a meal into her.
A friend of mine from high school was in town, so after the hospital Emma and I headed into the city to meet them for lunch at Rainforest Cafe.
My boy was tuckered out when we picked him up from my moms on the way home. He gets majorly spoiled when he gets to spend the day with Mimi by himself. It usually ends with a new firetruck, or monster truck of some kind.
My munchkins watching tv in my bed
We also had Daddy's birthday at the end of March.
They love baking and decorating goodies, so we made a lemon cake
Once they were done decorating and we finished sprinkles, letters and candles, I put it up on the kitchen counter to assure we would still have a cake for Andrew when he got home from work that day and I noticed a nice long little finger mark through the icing. Then, as I looked back at the pictures - notice the top left pic. Busted!!
I let each of them hold the icing for a few letters as I guided them through the word daddy.
Although speaking of that! Check out what our Emma does BY HERSELF with no assistance these days!!
Her name! And on a magnadoodle no less! I can barely write on those things...
I'm not sure if most kids write their names at 3 yrs old? I have tried practicing letters with Drew and he is way more concerned with figuring out how he can disassemble the pen and put it back together. Definitely a different interest/focus there.
She has since moved on to 'Emma P.' - so she now has the first initial of her middle name in there. Smarty pants.
She practices on their chalkboard
Back to Andrew's birthday...
We like birthdays around here. Usually your birthday lasts several days, one of which includes a dinner at my parents and the birthday girl or boy picks whatever they want her to make for dinner & dessert.
And then celebrating again at home, with the cake we made for daddy....
There really aren't as many candles on it as this picture makes it appear. I'm not that mean ;)
In case you didn't notice, Emma insists on being up front and center any time there is a cake with candles to be blown out. No matter who's birthday or cake it is.
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