Sick Again!!

Just when I am beginning to think that we are all getting better, we get hit again, HARD!! Lily went to school last Monday, and Tuesday, then woke up with a fever on Wednesday. Her and Avery had both started getting congested and coughing (again), so I thought it was just sinus junk again. I didn't take her in to the doctor, mainly just hoping it would go away (like that ever happens). By the time they woke up from their VERY LONG nap Wednesday, they were both running fever. Not real high, but it seemed to stay steady at 101 even with medicine. So I went ahead and called the doctors office to make an appointment for Thursday. Their appointment was at 2:15, right in the middle of nap...but I thought that would be better than being worked in that morning. When we get worked in it usually takes around 3 hours. Not fun with 2 sick kiddos. So, I woke them up from their nap, and off to the doctor we went. Finally around 3:30, we got called back to the office. By then, both of the kids (and myself for that matter) were in a Very Bad mood. When got in the room, Avery climbed up on my lap, and would have went to sleep if the doc hadn't come into the room so quickly. That is NOT like him, unless he is sick. So turns out, Lily has a SEVERE ear infection. In fact, Dr. Collins asked her if her ear hurt. When she said no, he told her that if his ear looked like hers, he would be at home, on the couch watching TV, and crying. She thought that was funny, but by the look he gave me, I knew he was serious. She hasn't had an ear infection since she was 18 months old (I don't think anyway). When she got the last one at 18 months, I remember him telling me that if she got one more she would need to get tubes. That was scary, and I have to say that I am so glad she didn't have to have them. Anyway, both of the kids have some nasty sinus stuff going on, but thankfully Avery didn't have an ear infection. I'm telling you this constant sickness in our house is getting old. I have been sick, well pretty much since the kids have, but I didn't go to the doctor until Sunday. I woke up Sunday morning, and my throat was SUPER SORE. I just knew I was getting strep throat, and I wanted to catch before I started running fever. Turns out, I just have an upper respiratory infection. I was glad to get some medicine, though. I am REALLY hoping that this week will go better. I HAVE GOT to get some housework done. It literally looks like a small tornado has gone through my house. I am at least 2 weeks behind on laundry, and haven't done dishes in a few days. My mother-in-law and father-in-law came over on Saturday to visit the kids, and the house looked AWFUL (sorry guys!!). I am hoping that I can get all the major housework caught up this week, then get back to my cleaning schedule next week. Please pray for wellness in this house, we need it!!!

On Thursday evening (we didn't get home from the doctors office and pharmacy until 5:00) Avery was so stinkin tired that he just crawled up in my lap, and would have went to sleep if Lily had left him alone!! After he sat in my lap for a while, he moved to Adam's, where he stayed until about 6:00 when we gave up and went ahead and bathed them and put them to bed. They were both asleep before 7:00, and slept until after 7:00 on Friday!!! That is one thing about their cough medicine...it puts them to sleep.

You can't even tell by these pictures that she is a VERY sick little girl. She is such a little ham, it cracks me up!! One thing about it, I have ALOT of pictures of her!!!!

Avery Update!!!

I couldn't get any GREAT pics of Avery's pink eye...he doesn't pose for the camera like Lily does!!! It is starting to look much much better. Thank goodness...I'm ready for clear eyes again!!!

Avery's Pink Eye
I love this little guy!!! He LOVES Pop Tarts, as you can tell!!!

I love these looks...I actually get them quite often from him!!!

Avery absolutely cracks me up. He is talking up a storm now. If he can't say something or hears something new, he will keep trying until he gets close enough to the word. He is still in love with "Cars" and Thomas the Tank Engine. I think that he is starting to like Thomas more than Lightning McQueen, which is saying something. We have been doing Lily's birthday stuff lately and every time we go down the party supply aisle, or when we were looking at the cake book, he says "Thomas Birthday, Thomas Birthday", so I guess we all know what kind of birthday party he will get in September (if he still LOVES Thomas at that point)!!! He LOVES to play "Ghost", which means, he will put a blanket over he head and walk around making ghost noises!! He really gets a kick out of himself!! He also loves to play hide and seek (he can't stay hidden for long, and he always gives himself away!!), and tickle party (which is where we all tickle each other, in case you couldn't figure that one out)!! It is so funny and sweet when he comes up to me, seemingly out of the blue, and says, "Play tickle party" or one of his other favorite games. He also LOVES to pretend to be different animals. I think he favorites are frogs, and sharks. He likes to hop to around like a frog, and he loves to pretend to bite like a shark. He really is SOO stinkin funny!!!

We are not doing too well on the potty training front. I have to say that I think it is from lack of enthusiasm on my part. If I really work with him, I don't think it will take TOO long, but I just haven't really felt like doing it this winter. I have vowed to really start trying, though, cause diapers are so stinkin expensive, especially when he could be trained if I had been working harder on it. I did get him a new potty seat thing to go over the big potty seat on the big toilet, and it's "Cars", and he has gone a few times on it (I just got it on Friday). I think he really likes going on the big potty...he feels like such a big boy. I also got him some Thomas underwear. I haven't shown them to him yet, but I am hoping some bribery might work!!! Other than not being potty trained, he has reached and surpassed (by a mile in most cases) all of the stuff they're "supposed" to do at 2 years old. I couldn't be prouder of how smart and beautiful my children are. I can imagine that every mother feels this way about their children, but I am just such a proud mommy!!!

Lily's 5th Birthday!!!!!!!

It's so hard to believe, but I have been blogging for a year now!! I have to say that I am so glad I decided to start doing this. Even though I haven't been keeping up with it as well lately, I am still so glad that I have these memories for my precious children!!!

We have been celebrating Lily's 5th Birthday this week!! We had her party at school on Monday Feb. 9, 2009 (when I noticed her pink eye). She had a great time!! I don't know if I've ever seen another kid that LOVES being the center of attention like she does!!!

Chocolate Cupcake Mouth!!!

So hard to believe that there are 5 candles on that cupcake!!!! It just doesn't seem like she should be that old already!!!

Lily and her best friend from school, Gemma!!! They were playing a wiggling game...they couldn't go outside to play cause it was raining!!!

Wiggle Game...it was SOOO cute to watch them all!!!!

Today was Lily's Family, Friend Birthday Party. I was a little worried about having it on Valentines Day, but it ended up being just fine. We had originally scheduled it for January 31, but because of the ice storm, and lack of electricity, I had to reschedule. I felt really, REALLY bad about it, cause I didn't really have a way of contacting anyone. Anyway, I decided to reschedule for today...It was the soonest I could do it. Not everyone was able to make, but that is understandable, considering it was Valentines Day, and there are still some people who don't have electricity, or just got it back. Lily had a FABULOUS time (as always!!) I want to thank everyone for coming, and helping us celebrate Lily's 5th Birthday!!!

Lily originally wanted to wear this crown for the party, but within 15 minutes of getting to the church building, it was gone!!

She was crawling and running around playing with balloons, while waiting for everyone to get there. She was so excited!!!! Anticipation can be horrible sometimes!!!

Lily's balloon bouquet!! I thought it turned out pretty good!!! As you can tell, the theme for the party was TinkerBell!! I thought it was really cute!!

Lily's cupcake cakes!!! We got them from Wal-Mart, and I couldn't have been more pleased with them. They were so stinkin cute!!!

Singing "Happy Birthday" with Zane, Brooke, Madison, and Kendra!!!!

Lily and Madison...2 peas in a pod!!! Madison's Birthday Party is tomorrow!!! Talk about a lot of celebrating this weekend!!!!

Lily, Madison, Kendra, and Brooke. I somehow didn't get pictures of Claire, but they were the cutest little group of girlfriends!!! It was precious!!!!

Playing with balloons!!!!

Pink Eye and Ice Storm

It seems like when it rains, it pours!! I, generally speaking, don't like to be a whiner. But, I can not even begin to describe how much I would LOVE to have a few boring days. Lily, as you read in the previous post, had an ongoing urinary tract infection that took 2 rounds of antibiotics to clear up. Thankfully, it is gone. But in it's place came pink eye, and laryngitis. I noticed on Monday (Feb 9) when I got to her school for her birthday party (delayed from the ice storm) that her eye was a little red, and asked the teacher if she had noticed it (It was NOT red that morning). She said that Lily had complained about there being something in her eye earlier in the day, so it might just be irritated from that. Needless to say, it was NOT better the next morning. Also, when she woke up on Tuesday, she could barely talk. So off to the doctors office for a 3 hour wait we went. Luckily, they worked us in pretty quickly, so we were only there for about 1 1/2 hours. Doctor said it was pink eye (which I had pretty much already figured out on my own), and laryngitis (also already figured that one out). She has been on the drops now for 3 days, and she still has it. I am really hoping it is gone by Monday...she has missed so much school lately, we really need to get back in to routine of things!!!!

Taken on Tuesday (2-10-09) right after the doctors appointment!!
Taken today (2-13-09). Looks a little better, I guess!!!

We have yet to clean up the destruction left behind by the ice storm. We survived the ice storm fairly well. We blocked off the bedrooms, and bathroom from the rest of the house, and with our little kerosene heater, we were able to stay warm. We did loose all our food (fridge, freezer, and deep freeze). Thankfully, the insurance company is reimbursing us for that. I am just so glad that nothing to major happened. We lost a few sections of our fence and have some major tree damage, but nothing happened to our house, or vehicles, or really anything major. It could have been so much worse. Not having electricity for 7 days was a HUGE eye opener, I have to say. It is truly amazing how much we rely on electricity and various technical devices.

These pics didn't turn out very well at all, but it at least gives you the general idea.

I hope you are all well!!! Love ya!!

Lily's ER Visit

I know I have been slacking on updating the blog lately. I am really going to try to start doing better.

As most of you know, we took Lily to the ER on Saturday night (1-10-09). We had plans for dinner with Jennifer, Phillip, and the girls that night at five. We laid the kiddos down for their nap around 12:00, and at that point they were both fine. I went downstairs to start making rolls around 1:30. I had just floured the counter and heard Lily WAILING. She was screaming that her stomach hurt. So I ran upstairs to find her doubled over. Talk about scaring the pee out of me. I could tell she was also running fever. So I sat her on the potty (thinking it may be just poopy cramps) and took her temp. 102.6. That is not all that high for her. When she is REALLY sick it goes from 103 to 104.7 (that's the highest it has ever been). She didn't go to the bathroom, but I pushed around on her belly and she did act like it was tender in a specific spot, so I thought it was just poopy cramps. I gave her some tylenol and pepto and she went back to bed. Adam and I discussed what we should do (I also called Jennifer and she suggested calling the ER to talk with our doc). We decided to just put her in bed with us and let her finish her nap. When she woke up an hour later, her fever was up to 104.2 and she was still complaining of her tummy hurting. It didn't seem to be as bad, and still didn't hurt in a specific spot. I decided that it was probably pneumonia or strep. She said her mouth hurt and she has had a cough for a while now. She had already been on 2 different antibiotics and 2 different cough medicines for the cough, but it hadn't gone away. So by this time, Mediquick was closed, and our only option was the ER. If it WAS pneumonia or strep, we couldn't just leave it until Monday, and there was still a little part of me that wanted to rule out appendicitis. So, off to the ER, we went. By the time we got there and they checked her temp, it was down to around 100 (figures, huh). They went ahead and ordered a blood test, urine test, and chest x-ray. First came the blood. I have to say that the lady that took her blood was AWESOME!! Lily never saw the needle, and I'm not real sure she even knew what was going on. Next was the urine. NOT FUN!!! They had to do an in and out cath. It was so awful. She screamed, and I had to REALLY fight back the tears. I knew that if I started crying it would make things worse for her. The started with a small child sized cath and it was too big...they couldn't get it in. So then they had to start all over with a newborn sized cath. To be fair to the nurses, how often do they really have to insert a cath into a 4 year old. But, it just seemed to take a bit long, and then they weren't even sure they were in until the pee started coming out. To say that the whole ordeal was awful would be an understatement. Next, the chest x-ray. Compared to the previous proceedure, the chest x-ray was a piece of cake. And, she got to ride in a wheelchair on the way down to the room, and on the way back. That was fun for her!!! So, we sat down and waited for the results. After a little bit the doc came in and said her chest x-ray was fine (hurray!!) her blood work was fine (hurray!!!), but she had a severe urinary tract infection (what????). Never, in my wildest dreams, would I have thought she had a UTI. I've never even had one. How would I have diagnosed that??? So, anyway, they gave her a shot, and a prescription for some antibiotics. I have been giving her cranberry juice for the last week, and just praying that when she goes back on Wednesday (1-21-09) it will all be a distant memory. She seems to be feeling better. I have asked her if it still hurts when she goes pee, and she said no. But I'm not real sure. She never told me that it hurt in the first place. My fear is, she has had this for a while, and wouldn't know the difference. It makes me feel horrible, but I really don't know how I would've known. I'm just glad they found it, and hopefully it is gone.

Sorry, about the rambling!! I hope all is well with everyone!! We love you all!!!

2008 Christmas

I hope everyone had a Great Christmas!!! We definately did here!!! I have put quite a few pictures on here...I hope that they tell the story!!!!

The excitement that my kids showed on Christmas morning was so contagious!!! We couldn't have wiped that smile off their faces if we had tried!!!! It is always so magical!!!!
Adam was helping Avery open his present from Santa!!! The kids got entirely to much, as always!! I do have to say that we did much better this year (didn't get them quite as much as last year that is). It is so easy to get carried away!!! I really have to work hard to not buy them everything I see that I know they will love. The truth is they would love anything!!!
One of the MANY new "Cars" figures Avery got!!! He is lovin' them!! He can't just play with one or two, though, he has to drag them ALL out!!!! And he can tell you the names of all of them. It is TOO cute!!! Adam and I got a Digital Camcorder for Christmas so we are going to record him naming them all. I'll put it on here when we get it done!!!

Lily fixed her hair herself on Christmas morning!!!!!!!! She was so proud of herself, and I was pretty proud also!!! She is learning. I wonder how much longer I will be able to fix her hair for her!!!!

When the local book store went out of business, Lily found this HUGE, REALLY NICE train set. Adam and I were contemplating a train set for Avery for Christmas anyway, so we got this set that was originally $100 for $40. Since Lily is the one who found it and showed it to us, this was Avery's present from her. We got it back in August and she has remembered it since, so when it was time for Avery to open it, she was right there to watch his reaction and help him with it!!!! It was so cute!!!

Avery did pretty good at opening his presents this year. Once we got them started for him, he would rip the paper off!!! Of course, he had Lily to help, also!!!

Lily LOVES snowglobes. We really discovered it by accident. Adam got her a couple of miniture ones for Easter last year, and she LOVES them. So after some talking, we decided to start getting her a big, nice snowglobe for Christmas every year. We thought it would be a good collection to start for her!!!! We got her a princess one this year, and to say she loves it would be an understatement!!! You can tell by the picture how much she loves it, and is taking care of it!!!!

We took about 50 pics, so I can't post them all. Needless to say we had a GREAT Christmas, and I am so SO glad to have my house back to normal!!!!

CHRISTMAS AT MY MOM AND DADS

My parents are as bad, if not worse than us about getting the kids WAY to much for Christmas!!!! Their dog's name is Sarah!!! Lily named her. Shorty (our dog from when I was a teenager and still at home) had to be put down back in the summer. Sarah is their new dog. They got her in October, and she is SOOO much a puppy. Quite a change for my mom and dad who were used to Shorty who was quite old and would just lay around and snuggle. I LOVE Sarah, and I have to say that when the day comes that we have to put our dogs down, we will definately get one like her!!!!

Lily helps my dad play Santa. Now that she is starting to read, she can do it almost completely by herself. She just has to be slowed down a little!!! She loves helping him, and has done it since she was big enough to walk!!! SOOOO cute!!!

CHRISTMAS AT THE GOODS

We always have Christmas with Adam's mothers parents. They are so full of life, and wonderful to be around!!! They made this Gingerbread house for the kids. They did such a FANTASTIC job. We tried making one last year with Robb and Cindy (Adam's brother and his wife), and to say that we weren't all that successful would be an understatement!!! So it is even more impressive to me now, just how good of a job they do on these things!!!!

Robb and Cindy's kids Zane, and Kendra with Lily and Avery!!! Kendra is 5 months older than Lily so they are close. Almost like sisters. They can play and be best friends one second, and be fighting like sisters the next. I am so glad that they are so close in age, though. I hope that they will always be a good influence on each other, and be there to keep each other in line!!!!

CHRISTMAS AT ADAMS PARENTS

Of all the stuff that Avery got from Adam's parents (Ken and Ginny) he spent the entire night playing with a box of "Cars" Mac and Cheese. He doesn't even like Mac and Cheese, but he is just in LOVE with this "Cars" stuff.

Lily got this wardrobe!!! Adam's dad (Ken) built it for her. It is SOOO wonderful. It is built with one hanger pole on the left side and two on the right side. She can put her dress up dresses on the left side. And all her doll clothes on the right side. Then there is a drawer on the bottom to hold all her "accessories". This is SUCH an awesome piece!!!!! She can use it forever. I think I was more excited about this than anyone else. Just call me sentimental. I just think about how awesome of a story it will be for her to tell her grandchildren!!!!

Well, I hope this wasn't too long for everyone to read. I had a lot of stuff to catch up on!!! We will be back to the daily grind on Monday. I have enjoyed having Lily home for the last two weeks, but I have to say that I will be glad to get back on a schedule. It is probably going to be a rough week, trying to get the kids used to getting up early and going to bed early again!!! Here's praying for an easy transition!!!!

We love you all!!!!

Dodson Christmas

I took these pictures this morning (12-21-08)!!!! I had the kids all decked out in their Christmas clothes for church and I had to get pics of them looking SUPER CUTE!!!!

We had Christmas with my dad's family last Saturday (12-13-08)!!! We, as always, had a GREAT time!!!! Avery was a little scared of "Santa" at first, but once he got a few presents he REALLY warmed up to him. Now he is talking about Santa non-stop!!! My dad's family always does too much for Christmas!!! The kids get so many presents, it's crazy!!!! Avery got a Lego set that had a train from the Thomas line. He has carried that "choo-choo" around ever since. He got so many other things it's hard to remember. He got a winnie-the-pooh golf set...it is SOOOO cute!!! Lily got a Bella Dancerella Cheerleader DVD thing. It is SOOO cool. She has been Cheering every night now. It is suprising how quickly she is catching on. She also got a Sleeping Beauty doll that has a skirt that twirls around, a little mermaid baby doll, and countless other things. Like I said, they got a lot of stuff. We are so blessed to have such a big family who loves us all!!! We really are a big happy family. It is not one of those family things that you go to, and are uncomfortable the whole time. We laugh, and joke around, and just have a fabulous time!!! It is so wonderful to be a part of such a loving family!!!!
My cousin, Stoney, was Santa this year. Both of his kids (Morgan, and Chat) are old enough, that they don't believe in Santa anymore!!! He did a GREAT job at it!!!

From left to right-Chat, Abby, Avery, Lily, Maddie, Morgan, and Cody (at the bottom).

Lily was SOOO excited to see Santa. She had to give him hugs, even though his hands were stuffed with presents!!!!

Avery was not super excited to sit on Santa's lap. Once he got his first few presents, he was only too happy to sit on his lap and get another one.

Lily was excited to point of being bashful (which she is NOT)!!! I couldn't have wiped the smile off of her face if I had tried!!!

We want to wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

Love you all!!!!