Feliz Seis de Mayo

At church on Sunday someone offered to take a picture of the family. I love having pictures with all of us in them! The kids look pretty good despite the fact that they are seriously sleep deprived by the time we get out of church at 4. Kevin falls asleep on the way home every week, and Elena joins him about half the time.
Here is the reason why I brought my camera in the first place. We (the YW presidency) took pictures of all the mothers in the branch (congregation) with their kids. We'll pass them out on Mother's Day. Look at my cute kiddos! I'm so lucky! Sometimes it is so strange to think that I am someone's mom - I am definitely not old/wise enough to do this. Surely my own mom never felt this way, right? :)
I've been waiting for this moment for years! Elena's hair is long and thick enough for me to practice multiple kinds of braiding. I can count the number of times that I have french braided someone else's hair on one hand, so I am psyched to play around and get good it. I'm glad that Elena doesn't mind (as long as PBS kids is on). She's so patient with me. I'll get done and then say, "Hold on, Elena, let me try again." By the time she's old enough to care, I'll actually be good.
Elena had fun at Caleb's Harry Potter birthday party a couple of weeks ago. Cianne structured it really cute with different classes: "Potions" was making edible Play Doh, "Care of Magical Creatures" was pin the tail on the unicorn, etc. Everyone had a great time, and Caleb's older sisters were so helpful. Where can I get a 10 year old of my own? Oh right...I have to wait 7 years.

E. in her Harry Potter glasses.

Oh - this was fun. The same day that Kevin's roseola rash appeared signaling the end of his 6 days of high fever, he began to rub his eyes. I thought he was just tired from being sick and sleep deprived, so I let it go until I noticed the yellow crud. Off we went to the doctor for the SEVENTH time in 30 days. (Please note that I only have TWO kids.) He was diagnosed with a double ear infection and pink eye in both eyes. The doctor said that's the way a sinus infection presents itself in a baby. This picture was taken after he got on the antibiotics. For some reason, one eye looked great the next day and the other looked worse than before.
Pretty girl. Elena's quote of the day on Monday: "Mom, how did I get in your belly?" We had been talking about when I was in school and teaching and whether or not she was in my belly or still up in heaven. She grasps the whole pregnancy/birth/baby concept well, but I will still surprised to have to answer such a direct question from my 3 year old. I did pretty well though. :)
Elena story #2: During her prayers the other night, Elena said, "Please bless everyone in the world and please bless the strangers and the bad guys that they will go far - away from our village." So cute. We had just talked about stranger danger earlier in the week. I love the way that little kids' minds work. And I love that she genuinely enjoys sharing her gratitude and thoughts with her Father in Heaven.

Snapshots

I hardly ever take pictures of the kids together because they don't stay put, and they never smile at the same time. I only have 2 kids! It shouldn't be this hard, right? :)
I took these on Saturday because I want a new picture for my desktop background. Which one do you like best?
One of the rare times that Elena is photographed with a true smile and not a cheese-y smile.
I love this outfit so much, I squeezed him into it on one of the first warm days we had! (My first instinct is always to say "squoze.")
I took this picture halfway through his dinner tonight because Kevin was so messy. It was a mixture of things: pasta salad, frank and beans, and banana slices.
I had to take another picture at the end of the meal because he got so much messier! Now that he doesn't like to be spoon fed, he gets with food everywhere, every meal! I strip him down before dinner and bathe him after. (He's not throwing the sippy cup. I'm holding it up to get his attention.)

In Her Own Words

My sister-in-law Barbie had a great idea. She said that we should have Elena tell us the story of her little hospital stay and record it. When I read it to Dan, he said that it had to be posted, so here it is. Everything in parenthesis was added by me for clarification.
"When I was sick, Mommy took me to the doctor and then to the hospital and Dad slept in my bed with me and we had a fun time there and then I got better.

"I ate pancakes and waffles and pizza. I played at the special place (playroom) with the Dora backpack song (some toy) and in the play area (playground). It was a silly, tricky, fun, play area because it was bouncy and I liked bouncing every time I jumped (it had one of those recycled tire floors).

"I didn't like it when they put the cold water (saline flush) in the straw (IV) or the medicine. I did questions with Daddy (his practice test questions). He brought his computer. Every time you came (in the AM), he would go check on other kids to make sure they were okay (on a pediatric psych rotation 2 floors up).

"They (the nurses) kept waking me up every night. Every nurse was not going to poke a hole in me or do anything. Some were nice. There were lots of girl doctors (the med students) when the boy doctor (the attending) would come in.

"All it was fun because I played upstairs and watched movies like Handy Manny and Dora."

(Her final thought) "Chicle (gum) is always good for you when you're sick."

Happy Post

Here are some good things that have happened in the past couple of weeks:

I made Elena a dress (reversible) and matching bows. It was so fun to do. Thanks for the pattern, Summer!
Elena and I made tamales for a fundraiser. I'm going to camp this summer with the Young Women (12-18 year olds) from church. I am super excited! Since we will be horseback riding and white water rafting, it's not going to be cheap. We made 1,300 yummy tamales. Well, it was mostly the girls - I probably only helped make like 500 before I left around 2 pm for E's nap. I took the picture, so I'm not in it.
We went to an Easter egg hunt at the church early Saturday morning (top)and then had our own on Sunday afternoon(bottom):Saturday night we hurriedly dyed eggs after dinner. There is such a small window between dinner and Kevin's bedtime. You can see all the dishes on the table still.
These first two are the view from the roof top playground at the hospital. This was the highlight of Elena's stay for all of us. The weather was perfect and the playground was a lot of fun.
Dan is floating away (Elena is playing on a spaceship):Kevin has so many little stages that only last a week or two. This is one thing that has already ended, but it was so cute for a while. Whenever we would say, "Hooray, Kevin!" He would raise his little fists above his head and look so proud of himself. Even a couple of weeks ago when his cold was really bad, he would raise them up part-way and do a little smile. He's such a sweetie!!!This is the result of too much "hooraying" while eating. The strawberries stayed up there the whole meal.
A cute pic of Elena and Granny on Granny's first night in town 2 weeks ago.
I love this picture because my parents have pictures of most/all of us kids reaching up in this same way.
I know I already mentioned Curious George Live, but it was so fun - Elena talks about multiple times a day. Here's two more pics:

Pneumonia (updated)

The post title doesn't match the first two pictures, but I'll explain.

Elena had a high fever that began on Tuesday night of last week. My mom came into town on Thursday to spend a long weekend with us and go to the Curious George Live show, so she was helping out. I took Elena to the pediatrician on Friday who said that Elena probably had roseola (even though she's had it before) and that her fever should be gone within 24 hours. She said that if her fever was below 101, we could go to the show. And it was, so we did.
Elena had a great time. Kevin too. He couldn't take his eyes of the stage. The show was fun and bright and cute. E has been a huge Curious George fan since the days when I first started letting her watch TV. We love PBS kids. Someday (when we have an income) I'll be happy to donate to public television. For now, we are total moochers. Anyway: it was a blast and she hasn't stopped listening to the soundtrack since.
Over the weekend, the fever didn't go away, it got higher (up to 104.7 a couple of times). And a little, very infrequent cough that I wasn't even concerned about previously became worrisome and frequent. So, we went back to the doctor on Sunday. This doc said that she could hear a little pneumonia on one side and sent us home with an antibiotic (Azithromycin).
Monday and Tuesday were the worst. High fevers, horrible cough day and night. I noticed no positive change with the antibiotic. Things seemed worse. Our actual doctor whom I love (Dr. Armentrout) was working, so I took E back to the pediatrician on Tuesday. Dr. Armentrout only works Tuesday/Thursday because she also stays at home with her kids the rest of the week. LOVE her! Long story short: I'm sure the other doctors diagnosed the best they could according to how Elena was presenting at the time, but by Tuesday afternoon: Dr. Armentrout found an ear infection, pnuemonia, and borderline O2 levels (89-90). She called ahead and then sent us to the ER (called the ED here) which is just down the street. After a very short wait, we got back Elena's chest Xrays. Pneumonia in both lungs. She was admitted at about 7pm.
They started her on IV antibiotics (2 different ones) and oxygen (You can see in the pics that it took her a while to get used to it and leave it in her nose). She is now doing great. She hasn't had a high fever since the middle of last night, she has been off of the oxygen for a few hours, and she's eating now. Last night she was breathing fast and shallow and now her O2 levels are normal (96). They are keeping her tonight to observe her and make sure everything stays great. We are expecting to take her home tomorrow. We even got to unplug her and take her upstairs to the rooftop playground. She started coughing like crazy after a while but had fun. It was so nice to see her run around. Sick, quiet, zombie Elena is so sad to see.
I'll have to post the playground pics soon. These photos are the only 5 that I uploaded while I was at home earlier. I just wanted to say thanks to my mom for staying longer and taking care of sweet Kevin and the house, thanks to Bethany for letting me steal Mom on your bday (Happy Birthday!), and thanks to you guys for your prayers and concern. I have to say that we knew that she was in good hands and going to be fine, but it is a scary/strange thing to have your kid in the hospital. No me gusta.

Last night when her fever was high, and her alarm kept going off because her oxygen was low, and she was so out of it that she was sleeping and crying at the same time, I said to Dan, "We are so lucky to be raising our kids now rather than 200 years ago." I can't imagine...

We are so very blessed. :)

4-1-10 UPDATE: She's home, happy/tired/cranky (mood swings in full effect), and not contagious!

What we've been up to:

Kevin is doing something new each day it seems. I took this picture a couple of weeks ago because he was constantly kneeling and peeking his head over the coffee table at us all. Now, I need a new picture because he doesn't kneel anymore, he only stands.
Kevin's first time eating spaghetti:
I started sewing. My mom came to visit and served as my personal instructor. I made these pajamas for Elena, and I'm now in the middle of a dress for her. She wanted scrub-like pjs since she wants to be a doctor when she grows up.
I am such a beginner at sewing, but I love it! I made some simple skirts (with Whit) and a pair of pajama pants (with Kathy) in college, but I've never followed a real pattern and made quality things before. I'm honestly shocked by how much I love it. It's so much fun.
Dan had a Saturday off and we went to the science museum. It was so great to spend time together as a family out of the house. Kevin was starting to feel a little sick that day, but he was a good sport (as always).
If you take a close look at E's hair as she watches Dan come down the slide, you can see that I was able to french braid it! I was so proud of myself (and of her for sitting still).
These pics are from the Virginia Zoo. Doesn't this turtle remind you of the one on The NeverEnding Story? Okay, maybe it's just me... :)
The zoo had a little train. The kids loved it, but it ended up being a tour of construction because they are currently building a huge new habitat, and the trains spends half of its time driving around there.The Contemporary Arts Center of Virginia has a really great Maurice Sendak exhibit right now. Elena had a blast playing with lots of fun props and my mom and I couldn't get enough of the stories of his life and events (including the Holocaust) that influenced his work. It was very interesting. This link is about an exhibit in San Fransisco, but it includes some of the stories about him.
We weren't allowed to take pics in the museum, but here's an awesome glass chandelier in the lobby. It's by Dale Chihuly and called Mille Colori. I've seen his work before, but I especially love this one because of the brilliant colors.
Finally: I am such a nerd - I loved filling out the census this week! I just felt like it was so cool to counted, to be part of my family, and to be American. I even took a picture of it. Nerd.