So Far So Good

Karla seemed better today. I did hear some wheezing this morning and this afternoon but it didn't seem to slow her down too much today. She is down to two breathing treatments a day and she seems to cough the most prior to her evening treatment. We haven't done anything this week other than run little errands. I'm hoping tomorrow we can go to church in the morning like we usually do on Thursdays. As long as the night goes well and she doesn't have a fever in the morning, we will go.

The three of us went on a (short) walk tonight and Karla ran most of the way! She kept Jason and I moving! She did start coughing at the end so I was glad we didn't go far because I don't think she would have stopped running if I wanted her to. I think that is a good sign.

Tomorrow I am going to call both her pediatrician and the allergist to update them on her progress.

Karla and I had such a nice time together today - well, at least I did. During her nap I worked on her lifebook/scrapbook that I started 2 1/2 years ago. I need to finish it now that I know how the adoption story ends! Working on it and looking back at all the old pictures made me SOOOO thankful that she is here! I feel so lucky to have her!

Questions

Karla is up. She looks better but I can hear her wheezing. We're about to go do her morning breathing treatment and make sure she doesn't have a fever. She ate breakfast so that is good - hasn't happened lately.

Does anyone have a toddler that uses Pulmicort and gets it for $5 with their insurance? If so could you email me, please.

Also, has anyone used Pull-ups with good or bad results? Lately Karla gets everything ready for a diaper change and wants to pull her diaper off for me, then see what is in the diaper, etc. BUT she gets very mad if we try to put her on the potty. Just starting to think about potty training and I've only heard two people talk about Pull-ups and it wasn't positive.
Thanks!

Doctor's Report

This is Karla with her nebulizer and mask on. I read a story to her while she sits on her bed.

I took Karla to the doctor this morning. This is the first time we had to wait at the office...so it feels like it consumed a lot of the day...well, that and the wait at the pharmacy. Anyway, I told the doctor all about our allergist appointments and ER visit last week and her continued symptoms this week. Then the doctor listened to her and said she was definitely wheezing. She said that, yes, Karla should be improving with all the meds she has - that was one of my questions. So, instead of today being the last day of antibiotics for Karla, she started a new one..a different one. Karla continues to have a lot of nasal congestion, post nasal drip and on and off low grade fevers. The doctor said she wants me to call her on Thursday to let her know if there is improvement. If there isn't then she doesn't want to wait any longer to do a chest x-ray.

Karla took a very short nap today (part of why I couldn't update the blog) and was more active this afternoon than she has been in days. So...maybe she is improving?? I hope! But that tends to be her pattern. She seems better and then a little while later, she's feverish or wheezing.

I realize this is a difficult time of year health-wise, especially if you have allergies. I just don't like seeing her so "pathetic". One good thing is she likes hugging and sitting on me and says "love you, Mommy" in a sweet little voice many times a day.

We'll see what the next two days bring...

another update

I am taking Karla for a check-up this morning because she isn't bouncing back as fast as we think she should for all the breathing treatments and medicine she has taken in the past few days. It is sad because she doesn't want to play a lot and it is finally nice outside!!

I uploaded some more pictures to flickr last night. :)

Karla's "House"

Karla was a little more "sick" today than yesterday...just didn't look as good and wasn't as pleasant. She went to bed early so I hope she gets a good LONG night's rest and feels like a new person in the morning! Jason and I just felt sorry for her today. I wish we could make her sickness go away!!

Karla did perk up today during a visit from her great-grandparents, Mammy and Pappy. She was so excited about seeing them this afternoon! It was pretty funny.

I've been meaning to post these pictures of "Karla's house" for a week. Karla (and Jason and I) are having lots of fun with the refrigerator box. :) Too bad it takes up so much room!!


Yes, even Karla's rocking chair fits in the box...

She has a table made of blocks inside. Mommy Oso and Daddy Oso stay inside as well as her stuffed dog and cat.

On the Mend

Karla is feeling better today. Still has a nasty cough though. She is wearing an adorable outfit from my coworkers and looks SO cute today! Had to share some pictures. If only she would hold still for more than a second I could get her actually looking at the camera... :) Oh well, movement means she's feeling better!

Eating nuggets on the deck. She ate 7!! She only ate a few bites of toast yesterday so it is good to see her eating.

Grilling like Daddy...

update

The allergist was very helpful today. Karla does have an infection (probably another sinus) and he gave her an antibiotic. (She didn't have one as of Tuesday when we saw him) She is also going to use a nebulizer now. It is a machine that gives her breathing treatments. She also has a lot more medications too. She'll have a lot of breathing treatments and medicine for the next few days and then hopefully only Singular and the nebulizer after that. I am glad to have this figured out but it is a little sad too that she's going to have so many breathing treatments. Hopefully she'll grow out of this.

ER

Not long after I posted last night we could hear Karla having difficulty sleeping and difficulty breathing. Ended up going to ER at 11:45 pm. Luckily we got to come home after Karla got a breathing treatment and a dose of steroids. She dramatically improved, thank goodness. I hope the allergist is helpful this morning!!

Allergist

Karla's appointment on Tuesday at the allergist went so well (except for having to wait an hour before actually seeing the doctor). She didn't cry once (even for testing)and kept herself entertained - with my mom's help - while I talked to the doctor and the whole 2 1/2 hours we were there. I was proud of her! The allergist thinks she definitely has asthma and allergies. She didn't test positive for anything they tested her for which I guess isn't that uncommon for kids her age. But when he examined her (nose, etc.)and I reported her medical history for the past 6 months he said he was convinced she has allergies. He gave her a new medication and nasal spray and wants to see how she is doing in 6 weeks to determine if she needs to use an inhaler on an on-going basis. I guess he made the decision about asthma based on her history and how she sounded on Tuesday. He used to be a pulmonologist so that has to be good, right? We also went for a neck x-ray right after her appointment to see if her adenoids were large and they are not! So, no Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor is necessary. Whew! He said he will want to test her more extensively in 1 - 1 1/2 years when it will be easier to pinpoint what she is allergic to and we are supposed to go see him rather than the PCP if she has any flare-ups.

Well, this afternoon (already!) it happened. Karla was coughing some this morning and then woke earlier from her nap than usual because she was coughing so much. She coughed for 1 1/2 hours straight almost before it dawned on me that maybe I should get her inhaler and see if it helps. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly and she was wanting me to hold her so I was distracted by that and trying not to worry. It took me several minutes to locate the thing because I had put it "somewhere where I would remember it in case on an emergency". Ha! Good thing this wasn't an emergency because it took some digging to find. We haven't used it since December I think. I figured trying the inhaler today couldn't hurt. I gave her the inhaler and she stopped coughing!! She only coughed twice in the next hour. So, we'll see how tonight goes but we're going to the allergist tomorrow for this "flare-up".

Maybe if the weather would just make up its mind....

Finally Some Nice Weather

*Tuesday morning (also "fridge day) I dropped Karla off at 8:40 a.m. at Grammy and Pap-Pap's house. Pap-Pap was going to watch Karla for a while by himself and then Grammy was going to be home later to play. Jason was working from home so he could be here when the fridge came this time so I went to the store, did some sewing, and got to eat lunch with Jason while watching "The Office" episode we missed last week. It was a great morning!! I think that is the farthest I have been from Karla for the longest amount of time (15-20 min away for 4-5 hours). I think it was good for us both. I did end up calling to check on her after 4 hours...I couldn't wait any longer. Of course she was fine.

*Wednesday we stayed home all day. Karla and I spent lots of time playing in the her new "house" - the refrigerator box. Yes, Karla picked her outfit that morning.

*Thursday morning we went to church like usual and then "Nana" Shirley had us over for lunch.

*Friday morning Karla surprised us by running into our bedroom as we were waking up. She has never done that before. She always calls for us until we go get her. It was funny to see Jason jump! Friday we also had a "blind playdate". We met another mom and her daughter who is also adopted from Guatemala at the park. They live close to us and it was nice to meet a family kind of like ours. Karla had lots of fun on all the slides and swings!

*Today felt like a near perfect day! Grammy and Pap-Pap came over this morning and played with Karla here and then took her to the park. They were busy with her until lunchtime while Jason did tons of yard work and I did tons of housework. We all ate lunch together and then Karla, Jason and I all had a nap. Then it was time to go to buy some steaks for the grill! Jason and I got steak a lot last summer and grilled...every time wondering how soon Karla would be here (and it was usually late after all the neighborhood kids were getting ready for bed b/c it made me sad to see them all playing knowing Karla wasn't here). Well, tonight Karla was with us! She wasn't that excited about steak but she was happy with the other food and of course...the cookies!


We got the steaks and then she and I played outside while Jason made dinner. We had a yummy dinner and then played with the neighbors! It is amazing how much you get to know people by just having a kid. :) Our next door neighbor is exactly 1 year older than Karla and they were playing together this evening.

The weather was so wonderful today! We all loved it!

Karla's language continues to amaze us. We are convinced she understands everything we say and she is putting 5+ words together sometimes. She says new words all the time. New ones today were ankle and sidewalk.

I'm worn out - in a good way! Better get some sleep while I can!

Fridge Day!

Here is our old fridge, 15.5 cu ft.


Here is our new fridge, 23.6 cu ft.


Here is Karla on the couch watching Dora while Jason and I had fun organizing the new refrigerator. She was not impressed.


Long story short - the fridge we got last Tuesday was too wide for the space...it was 25 cu ft. (I'm really in to cu ft now) It was too wide by 1/16 of an inch and possibly could have been shoved into place. The fridge was actually wider in the back than in the front - and NOT labeled that way. We had measured and measured and didn't figure out why it wasn't fitting till we measured the back of the big thing. Anyway, we got the next smallest size and had to wait till today to switch them. So, we had a big old refrigerator basically in the middle of our kitchen blocking the entrance to our dining room for a week. It was pretty inconvenient.

Tonight we took a family trip and loaded up at Giant Eagle! Two weeks of "getting ready for a new fridge" and using a fridge we weren't really supposed to use or have for a week cut down on the food in the house!

Happy Easter!

HE IS RISEN!

Jump for joy!

Easter weekend in review:
Friday Jason took the day off. The three of us went to Karla's doctor in the morning. (fun, fun) Then after Karla's nap (which Daddy attempted to lay her down for - lots of screaming followed and Mommy was at the store and had to come home) Karla and I made some Easter cupcakes and dinner. We were in the kitchen for a very long time. We had fun though. We tried a new dinner recipe but none of us really liked it. We all liked the cupcakes though. :)

Saturday morning Karla had choir practice at church. She has been practicing each Sunday for the Easter morning service for several weeks now. She really likes one of the songs and sings it (or makes me sing it) a lot at home. We weren't going to get our hopes up about her getting up in front of church to actually sing but the choir director told us she was doing the hand gestures each practice and that was all she really expected of the 2 year olds. I should say Karla is the 2nd youngest in the group. Grammy and Pap-Pap came to practice with us since they were going to be at their church on Sunday morning. Karla stood up front the whole time and did some hand gestures. She danced a little too but I don't think there was much singing. I was impressed though! I am going to post a video on flickr. It was too cute - of course I cried.

After practice we came home and dyed eggs. I think Karla is still a little young to understand what we were doing but she liked taking the eggs in and out of the colors...every few seconds.

After nap we went to Grammy and Pap-Pap's for dinner and an Easter egg hunt. Karla found lots of eggs in their backyard and of course got some presents - a lawn mower that blows bubbles and some other bubble toys...and chocolate.


On Easter morning Karla enjoyed pulling her gifts out of her basket.

We went to church and when it was time for Karla's little group to sing - she wouldn't do it. She was standing up front reaching for me saying "Mommy". So I went up quickly, tried to get her to stand there with the other kids and then just sat down with her in the front row - in case she decided she wanted to go up when they started singing. She didn't want to sing until the group and the two of us had to head back to our seats. Then she started crying and saying "sing, sing". Oh my. Then, it was my Sunday to be in the toddler room so Karla and I and lots of other kids hung out there for the rest of the service. It was a little overwhelming. I felt exhausted by 12:00pm. Then we (well, Jason) drove to Ohio to my parents. I finally relaxed. Karla visited with her 4 great-grandparents and Grandma and Grandpa for a while before her 3 cousins and Aunt and Uncle arrived. Then things got loud and fun for Karla! :) She had another Easter hunt that had clues hidden in eggs. Grandpa can you read this for me?


Today Jason got to go to the Y with us for Karla's last gym class. We are taking a break from Y classes since it should be warming up and we can be outside more. After the class we went swimming for a little bit. It was kind of cold so we didn't stay long.

This evening we went to look at a few swing sets for the backyard. All we want is 3-4 swings and a slide. Everything is so big and elaborate! We've got to keep looking. Then we went to Moe's for dinner. Karla had never been there and it is one of our favorite restaurants. I hadn't been there since before Guatemala!!! One of the workers (possibly the manager) took a real liking to Karla and even got to hold Oso. We had a great dinner! Karla even ate a taco.

Today I also made an appointment with an allergist in a couple weeks. I'll be glad when that is over.

Check flickr for more pictures!
Tomorrow our fridge story continues...

Moles, Holes, Boo-boos and Tunnels

These are a few of Karla's favorite things right now.

Since I have many moles, Karla is very interested in them right now and I think she is wishing she had one. She had a tiny scratch on her nose earlier this week and it was circular so she kept telling me she had a mole. Unfortunately, last night in the bathtub when I washed her face, the little scab came off. I didn't tell her and I don't think she has noticed yet.

For some reason (Aunt BETH) Karla is very interested in holes, particularly in NOSES and ears (yes, piercings). She also finds holes in everything else too (not body piercings) - under the table, in a piece of wood on the deck, toys where they are screwed together etc., and things I would never have noticed holes in before. Since Karla spent the day with Aunt Beth and her 3 cousins over a week ago Karla tells me everyday that "Tia Beth - hole - nose". Then she looks at the holes in my ears...and it has actually made me start wearing earrings again. :) I hadn't been taking time to put them in. No, I will not be getting my nose pierced...and (hint, hint) hopefully other Tias won't either. Oh - and even though Karla likes wearing her clip-on princess earrings that Grandma gave her and saying she has a hole in her ear - she is not getting her ears pierced!

Boo-boos...oh...I think Jason and I are tired of hearing that word. She has a few right now and we hear about them ALL the time. She is also aware of everyone else's boo-boos. This includes if you bump into something, which it seems like Jason and I do a lot this week because we have a huge refrigerator in the middle of our kitchen (that is another story). Karla now has a limit of 3 band-aids per day. She doesn't know there are band-aids with Dora and other characters on them yet so we are using plain old band-aids. :)

Karla has been saying "tunnel" almost the entire time she has been home with us. I think it is because of the Dora tunnel Aunt Beth got her. She makes tunnels out of everything. Her creativity for this amazes me. I am a tunnel in the kitchen (she runs between my legs) and at bath time (my arm is a tunnel on the side of the tub so her toys can go under). She can make Oso be a tunnel and lots of other things...I just can't remember all of them right now.

In other news:
*this week wasn't too great so I am not going to take time to reflect on it. Maybe I will tell the fridge story when it is over...it will be continuing this Tuesday.
*we took Karla to the doctor again this week on Friday (Jason came too) and we (Jason, myself and doctor) feel confident that Karla is having congestion, coughing (sometimes this causes her to wake up at night-which we don't need) because of allergies. I was so hesitant to take her AGAIN Friday but even Jason agreed with me that we should. :) It was good because the doctor has gotten to see her a few times now and gotten to know ALL about her. The doctor is now confident that there isn't anything going on other than allergies. Her ears, throat, and lungs were fine - which made me relax some. However, her nose continues to be very "pale and swollen" indicating allergies. I guess if it was red that would mean infection and Karla's has not been red since we've seen this doctor. Karla sounds so congested sometimes so now we know it is nasal and post nasal drip (sorry to gross ya out) - not something more serious.
*Karla is now taking allergy medicine and a nasal spray. I will be scheduling an appointment with an allergist soon. I had to go through all that when I was little :( She fits right in with both sides of my family!
*the past two nights Karla has slept until 5:45-6 am and then gone back to sleep after I go into her room. We'll pray this continues. Thank you for prayers this week!!!
*I am blogging right now because we are at Grammy and Pap-Pap's and both Tio Kevin and Tio Ryan are here. I'm "hiding" in the computer room. :) Time for ice cream so I will re-emerge. :)

HAPPY EASTER everyone!!

I uploaded some new pics to flickr the other day. I have more from today's Easter egg hunt and Karla's choir practice! I will hopefully upload them in the next day or two.

Okay

Things seem better after lunch. :) I am feeling better, thank goodness. My doctor called in an antibiotic for me and my sister is going to go get it for me this afternoon (isn't she great!?). Hopefully Karla just has a cold...and I'm sure that is why the past few nights have been especially rough. We'll still take prayers for sleep improvements though!

As I was writing this...the mail lady came to the door with a package! It is a very special gift from Karla's baby shower. I will take a picture and post it later! That perked me up too. :)

It is nap time. We are BOTH going upstairs for some (hopefully) quality sleep!

Prayer Request

Could you please pray for us. I am not feeling well - probably a sinus infection and I will be calling my doctor right at 9am. Karla is not feeling that great which makes her grouchy (and me concerned). So the two of us are not a good combo right now. We need
*health
*SLEEP (this would help all 3 of us). This is really taking a toll on all of us. We (Jason and I) are getting frustrated because it has been 5 months and little improvement. Right now I feel like I have NO idea what to do. I've read books, tried MANY different things....nothing works. In fact, things seem to be getting worse. Nap times are now challenging and they used to be easy.
*Karla to allow Jason to do at least a little of the comforting both during the day and during the night. She likes spending time with her Daddy but for some reason when she needs comfort it has to come from me. That is okay but when I am (literally) sick and tired it is hard on the 3 of us!

Things always seem difficult when you are tired, I know. But 5 months?! It is a long time.

Thank you!!!

We're going to take it easy today.

FIVE

This week wasn't too unusual. Are we finally settling in? Aside from nighttime being very frustrating, of course. I've actually slowed down on the picture taking too?!!!

Tomorrow it will be FIVE months since Karla has been home! That means she has been with me for almost 6 months now. I can't believe it! :) I'm still not to the point yet where I can say..."it feels like she has always been here". But that isn't a bad thing. Everything is new and exciting with her. Like tonight, we went to Arby's for dinner and then to Costco. Who thought that could be the best night out? Especially at dinner when we were sitting in the booth and Karla was leaning against me and at one point holding my hand while eating. Doesn't get much better than that!

Karla is almost 2 years, 5 months old. Am I old enough to have a child that age? :)

We were invited to two different birthday parties today but didn't go to either one. Karla and I weren't feeling our best...another cold... :(

This week Karla enjoyed making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I know it is a fall-type thing but that is how long I've been wanting to try the recipe. Thanks Ann! They were very good! Might make more this week.

Notice Karla's new Elmo pants from the sale we went to last Saturday...and the Elmo "scrunchies" in her hair from Tia Beth. Karla loved the pants - and they got covered with chocolate and flour!


I think the highlight of Karla's week was when Tio Ryan came over for dinner and some quality play time on Friday night. He was officially on spring break! I told Karla in the afternoon that he would be coming over for dinner...and then that is ALL she wanted to talk about the rest of the afternoon! She was very excited!

In other Karla news, she has started to daily go through all her family members (Mommy, Daddy, 4 grandparents, 3 cousins, aunts and uncles) and has to state where they are - home, work, school. Sometimes we do this multiple times a day. I don't know how she remembers everyone's name!

Karla went with me to my yearly endocrinology appointment. I have had the appointment scheduled for a long time and didn't have anyone to watch Karla on that day. Luckily she was an angel! All the office staff just made a big fuss over her. I was very proud of her. She seemed to like watching Mommy be the one to have her blood pressure taken, etc. instead of her. She looked happy because she knew exactly what the blood pressure cuff was and the stethoscope. Whoever invented the play doctor kit was very smart!

This week we had some visitors. My friends Sara and Jennifer came over (yeah for Spring Break!) and then we had a playdate with Austin.

Monday Karla was more outgoing in gym class. She had a substitute teacher so I would have thought that she would be quiet like usual...not this time. The teacher asked what they had eaten for breakfast and I was shocked when Karla yelled out "Cheerios".

Today Karla spent some time helping Daddy with household projects because I was really tired and not feeling good. Here they are, preparing the space for our new refrigerator (coming Tuesday) by removing a section of baseboard. (Yes, Karla was in her PJs most of the day with wild hair...but isn't that what Saturday is for?)