I don't usually get political here, but in case you haven't heard, there is a very important Election Day coming up next week. Please. Go. Vote.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
More Dr. Visits and My First Adoption "Run-In"
So I think poor Lily believes that every time we get in the car we are going to the doctors office. Poor thing. I don't blame her. Every time we have gotten in the car this week it has been to go to the doctor. I think we need to take her out to do something fun...very soon!
Anyway, we had to go back to the doctor this morning to have her TB test read and take another urine sample. The TB is negative and the urine is still chock full of protein. Her weight has gone down a little which is good. He sent us home and said he would call later with prescription info. When he called us, he said he wanted Lily to go to the lab for a couple more blood tests just to be on the safe side and rule out any other possibilities. I was not excited about that! But Lily was such a trooper today. She didn't cry at the office at all. In fact she was talking to the nurse and the doctor and running around like she lived there (which she practically has this week!). So after our morning visit, we went back to the office to pick up the prescription paper and the form for the additional blood work. We headed up to the lab, gave the nurse our paperwork and waited our turn. There was one other lady in the waiting room who was having fun watching Lily. She asked me if I was her mom or if I took care of her. I said, "She is my daughter.". She looked kind of shocked and said, "Oh. But she is Chinese." I said, "Yes. We adopted her." She said, "Oh. Ok." I thought that was the end of it until this brilliant statement came out of her mouth. "She acts like she thinks you are her real mom." ??????? After picking my jaw up off the floor I said, "I AM her real mom." She started to say something, but was saved by the nurse calling her in for her turn. I'm sure she didn't really understand what she was saying, at least I hope not! But after being home for a year and 3 months, this was the first dumb thing I've had said to me. Not too bad!:o)
Anyway, we had to go back to the doctor this morning to have her TB test read and take another urine sample. The TB is negative and the urine is still chock full of protein. Her weight has gone down a little which is good. He sent us home and said he would call later with prescription info. When he called us, he said he wanted Lily to go to the lab for a couple more blood tests just to be on the safe side and rule out any other possibilities. I was not excited about that! But Lily was such a trooper today. She didn't cry at the office at all. In fact she was talking to the nurse and the doctor and running around like she lived there (which she practically has this week!). So after our morning visit, we went back to the office to pick up the prescription paper and the form for the additional blood work. We headed up to the lab, gave the nurse our paperwork and waited our turn. There was one other lady in the waiting room who was having fun watching Lily. She asked me if I was her mom or if I took care of her. I said, "She is my daughter.". She looked kind of shocked and said, "Oh. But she is Chinese." I said, "Yes. We adopted her." She said, "Oh. Ok." I thought that was the end of it until this brilliant statement came out of her mouth. "She acts like she thinks you are her real mom." ??????? After picking my jaw up off the floor I said, "I AM her real mom." She started to say something, but was saved by the nurse calling her in for her turn. I'm sure she didn't really understand what she was saying, at least I hope not! But after being home for a year and 3 months, this was the first dumb thing I've had said to me. Not too bad!:o)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
My Poor Baby
We are in the process of confirming her diagnosis, but it looks like Lily has Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome. I'll start from the beginning...
About a week or two ago, I started noticing Lily was feeling heavier. I figured she must be experiencing a growth spurt, but deep down I had a feeling that something just wasn't right. It wasn't until this last Saturday that Robert and I both noticed something wrong. She woke up that morning with very puffy eyes and a runny nose. Maybe the puffy eyes were caused by the cold she apparently had? We went about our usual routine. Lily was of course her happy funloving self. We took her to the park in the afternoon. At one point she was going down the slide and I noticed her legs seemed to be larger than normal. My first thought was, we have GOT to cut back on the snacks! Sunday morning she woke up still very puffy. We opted not to go to church as she was still dealing with her cold and I didn't want her to be around the other kids. We did, however, decide to keep our lunch date with Robert's mom. When I got her dressed, I noticed the outfit I was putting on her that was a little too big just 1 week before was now fitting her very snug. As I was carrying Lily in the parking lot I couldn't help but think she was just feeling too heavy. I weighed her when we got home and according to the scale, she had put on 4-5 pounds within the last 2-3 weeks. Now Lily is a good eater, but she certainly hasn't eaten enough to warrant that much weight gain. First thing Monday morning I called her pediatrician and made an appointment. The doctor looked at her and confirmed she was definately puffy and bloated. He asked a few questions and mentioned the Nephrotic Syndrome, but needed a urine sample and blood work to confirm it. (Of course all I heard was, "Syndrome blah blah blah kidney blah blah protein blah blah steroids blah blah blah don't worry". Ha!) He attached a little bag to her and I put her diaper back on (the things they have in the medical field never cease to amaze me!). I took her to the park as she was pretty upset about having been to the doctor, and then went back to the office to return the sample. He came back within minutes and said her urine was "loaded with protein" and he was pretty sure of the diagnosis. Basically her kidneys are losing protein so water is moving into the body tissues which is what is causing the swelling. So we left the office and headed to the lab for her blood work. She'd never had her blood drawn like this before and needless to say, I was pretty nervous about it. While the phlebotomist was very nice, she had to poke and dig around in both of Lily's arms and came up with nothing. Lily was screaming her head off...louder than I'd ever heard her scream, and I was going back and forth between wanting to punch that lady in the face and feeling sorry for her because I knew she was doing her best. Lily was just so dehydrated that is was difficult to find her veins. She advised me to take Lily home and give her water, water and more water, and bring her back in the morning. Yes....that's what I want to do...put my daughter through more torture. The nurse felt so badly, she kept handing Lily more and more stickers to try to make her feel better, which actually did work! Anyway, I took her home and tried to keep myself calm about the whole thing. I looked up the syndrome on a website the doctor recommended and felt much better about the prognosis. This morning I got Lily up and when I got her dressed, her feet were so swollen I couldn't even get her shoes on, so she wore her kitty slippers, which she loved! We had a much better experience today. The phlebotomist got Lily's vein on the first try. Lily still screamed the whole time, but at least it's done now. She stopped screaming and was happy again as soon as the needle came out...and let's just say Lily has quite the sticker collection going! So now we go back to the doctor tomorrow to read Lily's TB test. I guess she had to have it again because the treatment for this syndrome is steroids and she has to have a negative TB. We also have to wait for the bloood tests to come back to confirm everything and then the doctor will talk more about her treatment. She will need to be on a low sodium diet, which is just as well anyway...for all of us. The good news is she will outgrow it. She may never even have another bout with this, or she could have them occasionally through her teens. At least it is minor and there will be no permanant damage. I keep wanting to feel sorry for her, but she has no clue there is even anything wrong with her! She is such an amazing little girl...a little trooper. She is so full of joy and laughter. We are so blessed. The doctor told me I should take pictures of her...not sure why. Maybe for the specialist he will refer us to after the blood work comes back? Anyway, here is my poor puffy baby.
About a week or two ago, I started noticing Lily was feeling heavier. I figured she must be experiencing a growth spurt, but deep down I had a feeling that something just wasn't right. It wasn't until this last Saturday that Robert and I both noticed something wrong. She woke up that morning with very puffy eyes and a runny nose. Maybe the puffy eyes were caused by the cold she apparently had? We went about our usual routine. Lily was of course her happy funloving self. We took her to the park in the afternoon. At one point she was going down the slide and I noticed her legs seemed to be larger than normal. My first thought was, we have GOT to cut back on the snacks! Sunday morning she woke up still very puffy. We opted not to go to church as she was still dealing with her cold and I didn't want her to be around the other kids. We did, however, decide to keep our lunch date with Robert's mom. When I got her dressed, I noticed the outfit I was putting on her that was a little too big just 1 week before was now fitting her very snug. As I was carrying Lily in the parking lot I couldn't help but think she was just feeling too heavy. I weighed her when we got home and according to the scale, she had put on 4-5 pounds within the last 2-3 weeks. Now Lily is a good eater, but she certainly hasn't eaten enough to warrant that much weight gain. First thing Monday morning I called her pediatrician and made an appointment. The doctor looked at her and confirmed she was definately puffy and bloated. He asked a few questions and mentioned the Nephrotic Syndrome, but needed a urine sample and blood work to confirm it. (Of course all I heard was, "Syndrome blah blah blah kidney blah blah protein blah blah steroids blah blah blah don't worry". Ha!) He attached a little bag to her and I put her diaper back on (the things they have in the medical field never cease to amaze me!). I took her to the park as she was pretty upset about having been to the doctor, and then went back to the office to return the sample. He came back within minutes and said her urine was "loaded with protein" and he was pretty sure of the diagnosis. Basically her kidneys are losing protein so water is moving into the body tissues which is what is causing the swelling. So we left the office and headed to the lab for her blood work. She'd never had her blood drawn like this before and needless to say, I was pretty nervous about it. While the phlebotomist was very nice, she had to poke and dig around in both of Lily's arms and came up with nothing. Lily was screaming her head off...louder than I'd ever heard her scream, and I was going back and forth between wanting to punch that lady in the face and feeling sorry for her because I knew she was doing her best. Lily was just so dehydrated that is was difficult to find her veins. She advised me to take Lily home and give her water, water and more water, and bring her back in the morning. Yes....that's what I want to do...put my daughter through more torture. The nurse felt so badly, she kept handing Lily more and more stickers to try to make her feel better, which actually did work! Anyway, I took her home and tried to keep myself calm about the whole thing. I looked up the syndrome on a website the doctor recommended and felt much better about the prognosis. This morning I got Lily up and when I got her dressed, her feet were so swollen I couldn't even get her shoes on, so she wore her kitty slippers, which she loved! We had a much better experience today. The phlebotomist got Lily's vein on the first try. Lily still screamed the whole time, but at least it's done now. She stopped screaming and was happy again as soon as the needle came out...and let's just say Lily has quite the sticker collection going! So now we go back to the doctor tomorrow to read Lily's TB test. I guess she had to have it again because the treatment for this syndrome is steroids and she has to have a negative TB. We also have to wait for the bloood tests to come back to confirm everything and then the doctor will talk more about her treatment. She will need to be on a low sodium diet, which is just as well anyway...for all of us. The good news is she will outgrow it. She may never even have another bout with this, or she could have them occasionally through her teens. At least it is minor and there will be no permanant damage. I keep wanting to feel sorry for her, but she has no clue there is even anything wrong with her! She is such an amazing little girl...a little trooper. She is so full of joy and laughter. We are so blessed. The doctor told me I should take pictures of her...not sure why. Maybe for the specialist he will refer us to after the blood work comes back? Anyway, here is my poor puffy baby.
Lily having lunch after her horrible no good day at the doctor's office. She would look at the bandages on her arms, then look at me with a very serious face and say, "All done doctor's office." She is so stinkin' cute!
Her legs look really puffy in this picture.
And here she is, cracking herself up, with no clue as to what's going on. Just a happy, sweet little girl.
And here she is, cracking herself up, with no clue as to what's going on. Just a happy, sweet little girl.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Ring Around the Rosie...
I'm sure you know this hit song, but I'm sure you've never heard this version:
Betcha didn't know you could carry pee-pees around in your pocket!
Betcha didn't know you could carry pee-pees around in your pocket!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Fireproof
You must go see this movie. If you are considering marriage, are engaged or ever plan to get married, you need to see this movie. If you are a newlywed or have been married 50 years, you need to see this movie. If you are happily married or on the brink of divorce, you need to see this movie. Robert and I saw it tonight and I am so excited about what this movie can do for marriages all across this country and around the world. Please go see it, and I'd love to hear what you thought about it!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Daddy's Day Off
We were blessed to have Daddy home for a week day again. Thursday was Yom Kippur which for us means...no school! Robert got to come with us to gymnastics class (or as Lily says, "nastics cass")...
After gymnastics we went to the park (with a brief trip to the library in between). Lily had so much fun. I remember when she used to be scared of everything there. (I have a feeling there will be lots of "I remember when's" in our future!) Now she loves it all.
Lily walking on the balance beam. She still won't do this without holding my hand. One day...
Looking so cute playing around on the mats.
Swinging all by herself. It took her a while before she could do this on her own...now she won't stop!
One of her favorite games at class...the parachute. This is the part where she has to wait her turn. Ms. Darcy calls two kids at a time to run under and touch the middle. It was a little tough in the beginning, but she does so well with this now.
Everyone lined up for their stamps afterwards...
This time she got a "pumpin" stamp. Ms. Darcy gives one stamp on a hand and one on a foot. Lily loves to show off her stamps during the week...until they wash off.
After gymnastics we went to the park (with a brief trip to the library in between). Lily had so much fun. I remember when she used to be scared of everything there. (I have a feeling there will be lots of "I remember when's" in our future!) Now she loves it all.
Getting ready to go down the slide and looking cool in her shades.
Riding on the seesaw with mommy and daddy. I think the swings are Lily's favorite, but this was mine!
Robert captured some beautiful shots while Lily was on the swing. I love the fall leaves in the background. If I'm not careful, every wall in our house is going to be full of Lily pictures...not that that's a bad thing!
Friday, October 3, 2008
"Mommy found Jesus!"
Out of the mouths of babes. Let's start with yesterday. I left Robert at home with Lily so I could go with my mom to see Neil Diamond at the Hollywood Bowl (fantastic show!). At one point (ok...twice!) I called home to check in. Lily was having her daddy read to her...so sweet! Robert told me she was asking for her "Jesus" book. Well, she has several and neither of us knew which one she was talking about. I ended the conversation with no idea what happened or if they found it. Fast forward to this afternoon. My mom, Robert, Lily and I are getting into the car to head over to the mall...mostly just to get out of the house for a while. As we're loading Lily into her car seat, I happened to glance at the box of books we keep for her in the car. I saw one of her bible books, picked it up and handed it to her. Lily took it and very excitedly shouted, "Mommy found Jesus!". Robert and I just cracked up! Yes baby...mommy sure did find Jesus.
Here are some of the pictures Robert took on his day off.
Here are some of the pictures Robert took on his day off.
Lily playing with her shaker eggs in her music class.
Lily and I got to beat a drum together.
Lily in the pumpkin patch.
This sheep sure looks a lot like Lily!
I just love this sunflower photo. Beautiful color.
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