Sleeping Beauties

Jayden woke up fine this morning, but shortly after breakfast something hit her and she started complaining of a stomachache and a sore throat, something she complained about two nights ago after dinner.  So I kept her home from school to rest and she ended up sleeping the rest of the morning away!  She has been feeling better for the most part, but is a little hesitant to eat much and, in Jayden's words, make her tummy angry  :)  Then there is Sophia......she has had some drainage and issues keeping all her feeds down since Monday.  Which is typical any time she gets drainage.  But she was extra tired and needy today and it took all I had to try and keep her awake till naptime and ultimately, I failed.  So here are a couple pictures of the girls today around 11am..... 

Luckily we are fever free and it doesn't seem like anything serious, and we'd like to keep it that way!  We have BIG plan this weekend and we cannot miss them!!!! 

I Am Thankful For.....

**this is my thankful list, in no particular order**

I AM THANKFUL FOR:
1.  my amazing husband, who stands by me each and every day.
2.  two beautiful little girls, who I get to call my daughters.
3.  my health, and the health of my family.
4.  my freedom, and the men and women who have made it possible.
5.  supportive family and friends.
6.  my mother-in-law beating breast cancer this past year!
7.  my parents, who have always loved me unconditionally.
8.  my brother, who has been an awesome role model for me all my life.
9.  caring doctors, nurses and therapists.
10 a house to live in, food to eat, and the love of family and friends.
11 my husband's job.
12 days when we have nothing to do.
13 the opportunity to be a stay at home mom.
14 another successful surgery under our belts.
15 the ability to give our children wonderful childhood memories.
16 smiles, laughter, hugs, kisses and I love yous!
17 the best in-laws I could ever ask for.
18 my birth mother choosing LIFE 31 years ago.
19 trusting adults I can leave my children with.
20 accepting people.
21 faith in God.
22 insurance.
23 my camera.  I love being able to look back at my babies faces.
24 quiet moments alone, and complete chaos as a family.
25 my life.  It isn't always pretty, but it's full of amazing, wonderful people I love and who love me back!

                                                 I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving!



Being EXTRA Thankful

I am thankful for a lot of things in my life, but one thing that I never would have thought I would be THANKFUL for, is Down syndrome.  Ever since Sophia has came into our lives, she has shown me a whole other world of beautiful.  She has shown me true strength and determination.  She is one of the biggest fighters that I know.  She has taught me a deeper lesson in acceptance and respect, for ALL human beings.  Another blogging mom did a special Thanksgiving post over HERE and it is absolutely beautiful and well put together!  Check it out and you may just see a little cutie that you know :) 

Indian Girls

Today is Native American Day at Jayden's preschool

and Sophia is always in the mood for a little dress up too

Last year this was more of a dress, this year it's more of a shirt :)

Trying so hard NOT to smile.  She's such a stinker when the camera comes out!

And Dave the Dog is back with us for the holidays!

Cool Whip Kind of Fun

We busted out the cool whip for some nice and messy fun :)  And it's perfect in case Sophia decides she wants to eat something! 

The Best Part of Baking....

Tiny Dancer

Sophia LOVES to dance, even if it is just walking around in circles :) I hope you enjoy her moves and you'll have to excuse some of the video taping, but I just couldn't stop laughing!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Crazy Eyes

Road to Recovery

We are now on day 8 post surgery.  Last Wednesday Sophia had her tonsils and adenoids removed and a bronchoscopy.  The surgery went terrific and after a hour surgery she was on the road to recovery.  Coming out of anesthesia, in the operating room still, she immediately reached out her arms to be picked up, she is a lover after all :)  And with that little irresistible face looking at the resident anethesiologist, she got exactly what she wanted and was then carried to the recovery room, where she was then passed off to a loving nurse who rocked her till her mamma got there.  First class treatment if you ask me :)  So we spent that first night in the hospital, as a precautionary measure, and things went fine, actually they were great.  She was eating a little, listening to music, doing a little dancing in her bed, sitting up, and working the third floor PICU like nobody's business, then day two came......

Before leaving the hospital Sophia had started to get a low grade fever, which is normal after surgery, and she spit up a few times after feeding, which is normal for Sophia when she isn't feeling well.  So we went home thinking maybe we would be one of those lucky ones whose kid bounces back like it was nothing, but we weren't so lucky.  Sophia, and Mommy, had a sleepless night that night but was okay on Friday morning.  Then 3PM hit and it all went downhill after that!  She spiked some pretty high fevers, up to 103 at one point, and it continued all through Friday night.  We called the on call ENT and got a script for amoxicillin and finally by Saturday morning she was doing better.  Then the dreaded 3PM came again, not sure what was up with that time, but the fevers came back and she was miserable.  She also got a bad cough that night that kept us both awake all through the weekend.  Come Sunday evening the fevers were gone, but her energy level was at zero.  We got to our pediatrician on Monday and got a breathing treatment to help break up a cold that was settling in her lungs, but everything else surprising looked okay.  We started the treatments at home and worked on getting her back to her formula, she had been relying on Pedialyte for most of the weekend.  She continued to be extremely wiped out Monday and Tuesday and still today she needs a little more rest than normal.  But the breathing treatments seem to be helping and we are slowing getting back to straight formula, we are doing half formula/half Pedialyte right now.  When we went to the doctor yesterday, for a follow up from Monday, she said that some of the scab had come off, and it looked good.  And we can tell by her breath that things are healing because it isn't so rank anymore! 

I think that our road to recovery may still run into next week, especially with the cold set back that Sophia is having to deal with on top of her surgery recovery, but I believe that we are defintely on the upside of things now.  Especially since I got to sleep in my own bed last night, for the first time in over a week, and we both were able to sleep longer than 1-2 hours at a time!  We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers that we have received and all the kind gestures from friends and family!  Thank you :)

Sophia and Mommy right before surgery.  Sophia was beginning to feel a little loopy from the sedation drugs she was given for any separation anxiety that she would have :)

The rest are all pictures follwing surgery, at home recovering.

      

Healthy Teeth are Important!

**more pictures from before surgery**

Check out these pretty teeth!

My Shelby Dog

**These pictures were taken a few weeks ago, pre-surgery, but I thought I would share something since I haven't had much time to write.  I will post about Sophia's surgery and her recovery soon.  But in the meantime know that all is well, she is reovering slowly but surely, and enjoy the pictures :)

Prayer Request

Sophia will be having surgery tomorrow to remove both her tonsils and adenoids.  I know that this is a pretty routine procedure, for any kid, but we would greatly appreciate a little prayer sent her way.  It's always scary handing my little girl over for surgery and then having to sit and wait.  Her surgery is scheduled for noon tomorrow, and the procedure should only last about an hour.  We only expect to have to spend one night in the hospital and will hopefully be back home to begin what I hope is a fast and pretty painless recovery!