Lone Star Family

Like we need anymore equipment!

This is how we spent our Friday afternoon/evening.

In a Pediatric Urgent care center.

K has been struggling with allergies for the last few days. Itchy eyes and a runny nose for the most part but happy and acting normal. Friday afternoon came around and he began to make wheezing sounds and his breathing had increased. He was not in any distress, but this was definitely not normal for K. Immediately the nurse in me kicked in and I knew that slight wheezing and increased breathing could turn into something. bad. fast.

So off to the urgent care center we went. By the the time we got there his respirations had increased to the 60-70 breaths per minute range ( a 2yr old should not be above 40) and his wheezing had increased. The doctor checked him out and ordered some steroids and a breathing treatment for him. K was not a fan. He threw a huge fit, kicking and screaming. Each time the doctor or nurse came in he would say "away!" then look at us and say "bye bye?"

He felt sooo much better after his treatment. After it was done he said "Daddy hug?" My poor baby!

Now we are not quite sure what caused K breathing problems, but the doctor thinks it could be allergies topped off with a slight cold that put him over the edge. If he continues to have breathing issues we may have to look into the asthma route. :(

So for now we get to take home this nifty nebulizer, to do breathing treatments at home. Yes, the M&M's are part of the ~~bribery~~ treatment. If he does his treatment and takes his medicine he gets to have 5 M&M's!

Oh one more thing, the doctor and nurses were so impressed with K's listening and speaking. Right after they mentioned that to us K got impatient and yelled "Open the door! Bye Bye!" He was done with this place!

Me A to Z

A. Age: 33
B. Bed size: queen. Wish I had a King
C. Chore you dislike: all of them. Wish I had a maid.
D. Dogs: Mini Schnauzer (although he's not mini) Raider
E. Essential start to your day: taking the dog out.
F. Favorite color: red
G. Gold or silver: ~~diamonds~~ Silver or white gold
H. Height: 5'3"
I. Instruments you play(ed): recorder (didn't we all?) violin
J. Job title: mom, registered nurse
K. Kids: 2 little boy, my husband
L. Live: The Eyes of TEXAS are upon you...
M. Mom’s name: Mom, Isa when I'm mad at her ;)
N. Nicknames: Bones- from my dad for being skinny, Smelen- the only name my drunk college friends could think of that rhymed with Helen. It has nothing to do with my hygiene habits. Call me either one now and you will get hurt.
O. Overnight hospital stays: 4 (eye surgery, kidney stones, gallbladder removal, baby)
P. Pet peeves: non RSVP'ers and people who say insulting remarks followed by "I'm just kidding!"
Q. Quote from a movie: "Lieutenant Dan. Ice cream!"
R. Righty or lefty: Right
S. Siblings: Older sister and younger sister & brother
T. Time you wake up: when I hear my toddler yelling through the baby monitor or 3pm (after working a night shift)
U. Underwear: yes. cotton bikinis. None of that thong crap, I choose comfort.
V. Vegetables you don’t like: cauliflower, steamed/cooked spinach
W.What makes you run late: lately,toddler temper tantrums. I'm a stickler for time so it's rare for me to be late. I try to accommodate for temper tantrums.
X. X-rays you’ve had: teeth, kidneys
Y. Yummy food you make: desserts. I consider them a food group.
Z. Zoo animal favorites: lions, elephants

Melmo

K has a " slight" obsession with Elmo right now.

He goes everywhere we go...

restaurants, grocery stores, birthday parties....

K loves to share his bananas with him each morning, leaving mommy to have to scrape them out of Elmo's mouth later. Fun times.

He's just part of the family.

So to help K get his daily Elmo fix I took him to see Sesame Street Live, Elmo's Healthy Heroes!

K and his cousin Nolan, and yes we gave into buying the overpriced toys.

K was so excited he kept on yelling out "Melmo and B bird!" and looking back at me as if to say "mom are ya seeing this?!"

Can you guess what the letter of the day was?

K!!

The number of the day was1 but all the moms thought it should have been 15. $15 dollars for parking, $15 toys, $15 food... UGH!!

The boys playing with their "Melmo round and rounds"

Kemper's little girlfriend Ella and her mommy Olivia joined the fun. Funny how our kids don't look too impressed, but I promise you they were!

I bet you can't guess what K's 2nd birthday theme is! ;) ;)

Go Stars!!

K went to his very first professional hockey game! ( yes we have one in Texas)

Dallas Stars vs. Nashville Predators

We have a family full of hockey fans. My older sister Maria ( a.k.a. the nephew whisperer) has season tickets, so she took K as her date. My mom, younger sister, and her little boy also came along. Maria even got the boys little hockey jerseys to wear to the game.

Elmo even got to go to the game. Elmo has become our version of the American Express card. Don't leave home without it him!! This picture makes me laugh. I think K looks like a Sesame Street character himself, with those big brown eyes and shaggy hair!

K with his grandmother "Wela" (abuela), best seat in the house.

K even made some new friends at the game. Notice the man in the background? He has bilateral cochlear implants too!! Crazy, a stadium with thousands of seats and they just happened sit next to each other. He told my mom that he was implanted 10 years ago at the age of 20 and he has been very happy with them. I think it made his day to see another C.I. user too.

My sister has been wanting to take him to a game for the longest time, but I was hesitant thinking it would be too much for him. As you can tell I was wrong!

No nap that day and K was wired! He finally crashed at 8pm that night and didn't wake up until about 9:30 the next morning!

In the end the Stars won and it was a great day! K says thanks to his aunts and his Wela!

1st Hearing Birthday!!

Today we celebrated K's first hearing birthday. I can't believe it's been one year already! It seems just like yesterday we were bombarded with all this new information and equipment.We were scared and had no idea what the future held. Flash forward to a year later and we have a happy, hearing, talking almost 2yr old boy. We couldn't ask for anything more.

I made a little video about Kemper's hearing journey. I guess you can call it my therapy. It took quite some time for me to come to terms with K's deafness and I will admit I still struggle with it at times. When he was first diagnosed I cried everyday for the first three months. The crying gradually decreased but never went away. I still cry sometimes, but more often than not they are happy tears. I am so thankful for his cochlear implants and their gift of hearing. I am so proud of my little boy and all that he has accomplished. I am so thankful for our family and friends. I was so scared in the beginning, but today I was finally able to say "He's going to be okay!"

It seems so exceptional
That things just work out after all
It’s just another ordinary miracle today.
~Sarah McLachlan - Ordinary Miracle

Happy 1st Hearing Birthday Baby K!!!

We love you!!!

Stir crazy!!

Click on image to enlarge

via

We have been stuck in the house for the last 4 days. It all started last Tuesday when we were hit by a huge ice storm. It turned the city of Dallas into a ice skating rink. Literally 2-3 inches of nasty slippery ice everywhere! Then last night and today we were greeted with 6 inches of pretty fluffy snow. Schools have been closed, most stores have shut down, everything has come to a standstill.

You see Texans don't do well with snow, at least not with snow that lasts more than one day. All over Texas there were "rolling blackouts", but lucky for us our power stayed on. I bet all the Green Bay and Steelers fans visiting this weekend for the Superbowl are laughing at us.