Cooler weather & strep

Monday greeted us with Strep.

Around 2:30, HG told me her ear hurt and she was crying.

Too late to get to Doctor so i planned on this awesome Urgent Care for kids down the street.

An hour later, she mentioned her throat hurt.

i guessed allergies.

Her strep test turned very positive.

She too had double ear infections.

And eye infections.

My throat had hurt so bad on Thursday and Friday of last week.

i actually had an appointment on Friday morning that i canceled to take Harper to doctor.

Care Now to the rescue.

Yep, strep too.

We are not contagious after 24 hours on meds but we're giving it a bit longer.

Good thing for Harper, she is on a lot of meds and strep in her age is so uncommon.

 

i feel SO much better than i did last week but poor HG was really rough last night.

Today, holy hell has broken loose.

Whoa.

We have all been cooped up for too long.

 

 

With all this time being cooped up, we really haven't accomplished much.

No packing, house is pretty much clean, each morning we wash everything in site.

Harper and her big girl seat.
She was very focused on sitting a chair.

Prior to the booster.

Walls and corners have a funny way of jumping out.

Big, HUGE, a task hopefully accomplished.

Her straps are too short, couldn't remember which one she was at until this picture.
Her toe, it is on her molar.
 

Whoa Nelly!



indoor picnic

When one little girl can't go outside to play, we bring the indoors inside.

Picnic on the kitchen floor.

Our bread was only missing a few pieces but smelt exactly like nail polish remover.

Like BAD.

We just bought it from Sprouts.

So we loaded up, road around singing and thought we would end up driving through Rosa's.

HG was screaming for Wendy's.

Whatever.

 

Harper was eye balling HG's chicken.

Then she went in for the kill.

Dance party to the Fresh Beat Band concert on TV tonight.

Croup

Pretty girl before school Thursday.

Feeling better this morning. Steroids work so fast.

Finding the right babysitter can often be a task. We needed someone who could handle Harper's need to be with momma every second of the day and one that could make HG feel safe at the same time. HG is pretty good about taking care of herself but she is only 4. I think we sometimes forget that she is only 4. Last night we had a great sitter come. Originally, we had her scheduled to keep the girls while we headed to Zac Brown in Dallas. The husband surprised me with tickets, they are someone I've always wanted to see. I'm not really into concerts except certain ones or at Texas venues so he jumped at a chance to surprise me. Like everything else with kids, we have learned to be flexible with our own life. Sweet Harper love is sick, once again. With her being sick, even though she was going to be asleep, I didn't want to be over an hour away if we were needed. Plus, my allergies are killing my throat.  The tickets were sold in less than 15 minutes and lucky for us, we will get to hear all about it soon. Good friends of ours used them. Back to the sitter....she is a nanny and will work with us part time. I don't need a sitter daily or even weekly but grocery shopping alone is music to my ears. HG still wants to go to SS Noah this summer and I will probably let her (or them). It is really nice to have a date night where the girls are at home, in their own beds and we get to come home to our own house as well. No more driving them 30 minutes then us driving another 20-30 for dinner then repeating the whole thing again. Both girls did great and HG wants her to come again soon. With the husband's travels coming up, I love the idea of having a babysitter close. I actually have 10+ that I have interviewed and can call on. :) It is about time.

Harper totes the water bottle daily.

Pretty girl. She helped herself to Princess and Fairy tattoos up and down her arm without us knowing.
We sported the t shirt under the dress.

HG had her Spring Musical on Thursday night at the school. The sweet kids were so cute! Grandmommy made it just in time for HG's performance and it was a nice surprise for HG. Believe it or not, miss priss gets shy on stage and wasn't singing screaming like she does at home. Harper's favorite song at the moment is Who Built the Ark? The song has Noah, Noah, brother Noah built the Ark in it and Harper goes around chanting it. She would have loved it.  After the performance, HG scored a mommy dinner date at Fuzzy's. She loves the chips and queso. What I thought was going to be a pleasant dinner turned into me feeling like all did was work. A fly or two buzzing a little too close to Hailey Grace and HG let the entire place know. Have I mentioned she hates bugs of any kind? So between her squealing because a simple tiny fly was getting too close, her screaming shoo fly don't bother me, the looks and smirks from onlookers and her licking the spices off the chips like a dog, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. The cooks thought is was hilarious though. On the way home, she asked if we could do date night every night. Then dropped a chocolate dipped ice cream cone on the floor board. For real.

Mommy dinner date.

She could barely open her eyes on Thursday evening.

Sweet Harper love is down again. Like clock work, we know when it is time. Friday morning, our new Pedi and I went over every sickness, surgery, test, antibiotic and doctor Harper has seen in 18 months. The sweet thing has been on far too many antibiotics, much more than the average adult has ever taken their whole life. There is a cycle with her and once off antibiotics, it is a matter of time before she is back on. We don't jump to put her back on and always wait or drag our feet. Example, Thursday for her well visit, she was sick but I told our Pedi I wanted to wait another 24 hours before even considering medicine. She is on Singular and Zyrtec but you could tell by looking at her, she had a sinus infection. When Friday morning sun rise greeted us with one hour of sleep because Harper couldn't breathe, I knew we couldn't wait much longer. I actually debated taking her in over night because of her rapid breathing and grasping for air. I knew before we ever schedule or called the doctor that morning that it was Croup. If you've ever seen one with it or have heard it then you can spot it a mile away so to speak. Sure enough, Croup it was. Then add in double ear infections, sore throat from all the drainage, a sinus infection and eye infections from her clogged tear ducts she didn't want to lift her head off my shoulders.  She felt miserable. Oh, let's not forget teething molars too. I am excited that our new Pedi actually wants to find out why Harper is constantly sick or catching stuff and just not blow it off. It all started at 2 months. We've heard comments made that we aren't doing things correctly or we should try this or that. I promise you, we are doing every thing and more. We keep her so sheltered and away from so many people. I STILL wear her at the store so people can't get to her. We waited until 18 months to start her going to the nursery at Mass or being around other kids in a day care/MDO setting. Harper LOVES other kids and would be okay with play dates every single day. I feel like not allowing her to be around other kids is hurting her. There are only a few that I actually do let her be around. She needs to be around other kids because they learn so much from each other. She seriously worships other children. We talked about how she might not be able to attend MDO this fall and definitely not a drop in baby sitting place if we can't figure out what triggers this stuff. It isn't fair for her to be so sick monthly.  I mean she is on Singular, Zyrtec and breathing treatments (as needed) around the clock. Every day.  Right now, she is on a steroid, ear drops, eye drops, breathing treatments and a 3 week round of antibiotics. We are trying a suppressant therapy round of antibiotics right now and will be seeing an Immunologist in Dallas.  It could be asthma (she has been diagnosed with reactive airways since a couple months old), could be a food allergy or a simple one like grass or sun allergy. It might be that she just is that kid that will catch every thing. Whatever it is, we want to try and figure it out. I want my girl to be able to play in the backyard with friends and not be cooped up inside watching through the window.

Flowers will always brighten a gloomy day.

Hg working on her inserts for her birthday party in July.
Yes, we are working on them now. She likes doing things at HG speed like her daddy .

The steroids work great.
She went from laying down to wild child in about 15 minutes.

Harper thought this was a hoot.

Picky eater but loves some Chick Fil A.

Anything to reach those molars.

A little obsessed.

So yummy. Chopped vegetables topped with an egg or egg whites and spices.
Quick and easy.

Bathing babies.

We're gearing up for Western Week, a Texas lunch, a play date (Harper won't be contagious after the weekend just might sound like an 80 year old smoker for 3 weeks), a birthday party and hoping for good weather.

Nos & Sprinklers

Everything is no with Harper lately. Six months of shaking her head no has now turned into saying no. I remember this exact phase with HG but she said it just to say it. I would mention the sun was out and Hg would say no. Or asked if she wanted dinner and she would say no but then cry because she really meant yes. Harper on the other hand, she means it when that little body lets out a power NO.

The husband is working in town the next few days and I think everyone has a to do list for him. Houses to be found, work to be done, preparing for a major food show, house hold stuff he we have been neglecting, the list goes on. Regardless, we always sleep better knowing he is downstairs working and wish he never traveled. :)

Harper cried today at swim for the first time ever. We've whined or fussed but this was all out hysterical cries. The whole group grasped and Mrs Julie was crushed. Harper loves Mrs Julie and loves swim. Not sure what was going on this morning except we went from two 2 year molars to four trying to come in. Ugh. Poor girl. If you remember your wisdom teeth, that is what I imagine molars feeling like. No thank you! Food has not been on her mind, a little milk and a bite or two of waffle. The teething rings don't fit nicely back there and she gags herself on wash cloths. Her teething item of choice is now a baby tooth brush. When she is not walking of course.

With this warm weather, we've been singing schools out for summer. Yep, just a little early but how much fun have we been having? Loads.

Keller Crawfish Festival 2013

Our summer might have started a little early.

Oh that water was oh so cold.

Girls at 18 months

Hailey Grace at 18 months. Poor thing was put in the hospital shortly after 18 months. :( She was always such a big person in a little body. So precious.


Harper love at 18 months and had surgery a couple of weeks before.

18 Months

What an amazing and challenging 18 months for sweet our sweet Harper. Oh we all love you so.
She is funny, witty, independent, opinionated, loving, sneaky, fast as lighting and best of all, a fireball.
The husband and I seriously can not believe that 18 months ago, our little bleach blonde 5 pound baby was born.
Oh Harper, you sure know how to keep everyone on their toes.
You love Hailey Grace so much.
Slowly but surely, you are out growing the need to be with mamma every second of every day phase.
It is bitter sweet of course.
Expect for the last few days. We left you in the nursery at Church on Sunday for the first time.
You did great and only shed a few tears when you would get bored with a toy.
This week, we plan to try a new place for a few hours.
Your vocabulary is always surprising.
At your one year check up, we were actually worried.
Now, yeah not so much.

Big words for your 18 month old mouth
Uh Oh Spaghetti O's.
Swimming pool.
Tick Tock Clock.
Elephant.
Alligator.
Outside.
Mickey Mouse.
chicken chicken aka Chick Fil A.


The rest of your day to day words form as expected. You can communicate well with what you want.
Animal sounds, you mastered those a month or so ago. Pigs still give you trouble and you want them to moo when we say oink. Yep, that doesn't always make you happy.

You love anything with sparkles or bling, animals, baby dolls, Elmo, Minnie and Mickey, Strawberry Shortcake, Dora but yet you won't watch tv unless in the car. Silly girl. Oh and Ariel and the Princesses. You love the song 'All abroad th Choo choo train, all aboard the choo choo train'. The whole house stops and dances with you when it comes on. The smile you shed is amazing.

You love babies and other toddlers. Everyone under the age of two is a baby to you. When you say big girls, they must be HG's size even though we are trying to talk you into believing that YOU are a big girl. I put you to sleep every night. Whether I rock, sing, cuddle or let you cry for a moment then cuddle, I cheerish those times. You won't be small for long and we will miss it. Eating, that is still a task with you. Breakfast is a great meal and you would eat it three times a day. Pancakes, waffles, granola, breakfast bars, yogurt, raisins and chicken minis are all your favorites. Lunch and dinner are hit or miss. Spaghetti, chicken nuggets, purred corn with rice, mixed veggies that are purred, sometimes a  tortilla with cheese. Purple grapes, blueberries, strawberries,  blackberries and any freeze dried fruit is your favorite. Oh the mess it can create.You still have texture issues and dairy issues. I keep trying yogurt and it keeps coming back up but you love it. You are still on Lactose free milk and will try regular whole milk sometime soon. More than likely, you will be on the lactose free until older.  Anything chunky, slimy or diced, you act like it is killing you.  Amazingly, you can put away a four piece nugget from Chick Fila in a mere 3 minutes. Mashed potatoes are your enemy. Always choking for some reason. Mac n cheese, yeah you think it is killing you too. Seriously, kids not liking that?

You and HG are a like in many ways and so different in others.

Our love for you is incredible, indescribable. God has an amazing plan for your future and we are incredibly lucky to be part of it.