Pony Stampede

This is the unusual site I found walking into my breakfast room today.



It appears the My Little Ponies went on a stampede right up the front of our beverage fridge.

I wonder what inspired them to go on this little ride...



And when they will return to their stables upstairs.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Green for Birdie

While Birdie LOVES school and is learning so much, she still struggles behaviorally with the discipline in class.  Her teacher is a very strict disciplinarian who expects a lot from her Kindergators.  Birdie stays on "Green", at the top of the behavior color chart, most days, but rarely can make it through a whole week without a "warning" or a move down the chart to "yellow."  Since Christmas break, we've been a bit shocked for Birdie to receive the first "Red" marks of the family and quite a few of them in a short period of time.  For the most part, her disciplinary troubles have been minor - difficulty following directions and getting a little excited at times.

Despite her difficulty, we've been pleased with her progress through out the year. With the strict discipline, Birdie's teacher is lovingly preparing them for a successful future in school.  It worked for Ashley in this class and we don't doubt it will work equally well for Ms. Birdie Boo.

In March, things started to turn around for our little trouble-maker.  We noticed she made it through a week on all "Green," and then another week!  By Spring Break, Birdie's behavior calendar had only smiley faces (which means "Green").  After Spring Break, we challenged her to stay on "Green" for the whole month. Day by day she inched closer to the goal.

At the end of the month, Birdie's chart looked like this!!

Yay Birdie!!!!!  Great job!!!

She earned herself quite a treat and was able to take pride in the fact she could follow the classroom rules when she tried really hard.  

100th Day of School

My baby just finished her 100th day of Kindergarten!  Can you believe it?  Laurie absolutely LOVES school and is just thriving as a kinderGator. She can't wait to do homework every night and tell us ALL that she learned during the day.  We still deal with behavior issues at least once a week, (she ranges between "Warnings" all the way up to "Red Notes,") but I am confident she will eventually settle into the rules of kindergarten. Before the end of the school year would be nice.

Laurie on the 100th Day of School

The KinderGators had a great time Monday, making necklaces, hats and trail mix signifying the 100th day of school.  Laurie was thrilled.  Daniel & Ashley were a little sad it wasn't a big deal for them any more in the 2nd and 4th grades, but they had their turn.  For now, Laurie got the spotlight - and all the fruit loops she could fit on that necklace!

Are Birdie & Mommy Look A-likes?

With my hair straight today, Birdie decided that we finally looked just alike (without bangs).  And then she came down dressed all in green, just like me.  It was a picture worthy day.

Milestone for Birdie

Birdie lost her first tooth!!!

She didn't even realize it was loose or that it had fallen out.  While lying in bed at GrandMommy & GrandDaddy's, she reached up to take something out of her mouth.  Only then did she realize it was a tooth!  

We were all shocked.  She won't be five until August!  Boy, is she happy and proud!!!  

Since we were surprised with Laurie losing a tooth at 4, she didn't have a tooth pillow to use for the Tooth Fairy.  Laurie borrowed my tooth pillow made for me as a child by my Godmother.  We will go pick out fabric soon to make her very own tooth pillow, just as I made Ashley & Daniel's a few years ago.  

Birdie was excited to find 8 quarters in the pillow and the tooth the next morning.  Evidently the Tooth Fairy forgot to take the tooth.  Birdie left it again the next night and the tooth fairy returned and took the tooth.  

You can already see her new tooth coming in and a second tooth is loose!!!  

Check Up with Immunologist Leads to More Antibiotics

5 days after our ENT told me to expose Birdie to more germs, she came down with her first cold in several months.  2 days laster, we were at the allergist/immunologist for a check up.  Dr. T reviewed Birdie's history, we filled her in on Birdie's fluid in the lungs during December and she examined her.  Let's just say that Dr. T was not at all happy with how Birdie presented at the appointment.  Her nose, chest and sinus cavities were congested.  There was even green mucus coming out of her eyes.  So sad.  

Dr. T put Laurie on a 14 day course of antibiotics rather than waiting to see if Laurie could fight the cold on her own.  She explained that with a low IGa, her body needed the extra help faster than a normal child.  We couldn't wait because the odds are she would get worse without the help.  

Thankfully, Birdie is a trooper with meds.  That appointment was a Friday and by Tuesday Laurie spiked a fever with her cold.  I kept her home for 2 days with me to rest.  

One good thing that came out of this cold - we introduced Birdie to the sinus wash.  It had been recommended to us for a while, but I'd been hesitant because of my own experience.  But, she and I bit the bullet and did it (on both of us) while she was home with the fever.  She did great.  But when the green yuck finally poured out of her nose, it freaked her out a little.

After we got it all out, she was congestion free for days after. And it seemed to really be a turning point for her cold.  By the end of the week, she was her normal old self.  No trace of fever or cold.  I'm hopeful that our continued usage will make a huge difference for her health.  

Ear Check for Birdie

Laurie had an ear check with her ENT last week.  All looked great!  He said the tubes are still in after 18 months, but look like they will be out in the next 6 months or so.  Our Dr. seemed a bit surprised when I filled him in on Laurie's last year illnesses since we last saw him.  

While speaking with him I realized it has been 3 months since Laurie was last on antibiotics of any kind.  Woo Hoo!!  That is the longest she's gone illness free since last June. Her latest bout back in late December/early January came close to pneumonia, but her lungs cleared with one heavy dose of antibiotics and lots of breathing treatments. 

Our ENT advised me to quit avoiding germ infested places with Laurie.  He strongly recommended letting her do and go everywhere we normally would to help her further build her immune system. I've always been a mom not afraid of a few germs, always the last one to break out the hand sanitizer for the kids. However, I'm still a little hesitant now about germs when I picture Birdie attached to her nebulizer so often for 6 months.  I might consider letting her play at Chick Fil A again soon since I know in my heart he is right.  It is just so hard to open the door to the possibility of exposing her to more sickness again.

Birdie returns to the immunologist/allergist later this week for another check up. It has been 5 months since we last saw Dr. T and we have our fingers crossed it will be a quick visit and be given the all clear.

iPhones in stores

I found these pictures and several others like it on my iPhone today.  From the shoe, I can tell the culprit is Laurie.  The funny part is that  I don't even remember handing her my phone in Hobby Lobby that day.

I have lots of pictures of items in the grocery store, of me shopping, and anything else she likes from the cart.

Course, she was probably just learning from my example.  I take pictures of lots of things in stores.  Here are a few others found on my iPhone from the same day.

I thought Ashley would love these

Aren't these cute?

Don't forget about fabric.  I have LOTS of pictures of fabric!

Laurie fell in love with these fabrics

I took a picture of 8 rows of bolts so Ashley could find something she liked.

 I probably should create a whole folder on my camera of pictures Birdie takes in stores.  See the world from her perspective.

Cute As A Button

For Valentine's Day, the preschool kids were directed to sign their own valentine's and address them to their classmates.  Perfect.  Once my kids could write their name or the letter to their first name, they have always addressed their own cards.  

Laurie chose cute Tinkerbell valentine's at Target and we came home to address them.  Big problem.  The space to sign her name was extremely small.  She might be great at writing LAURIE, but not that small.  After lots of frustration and some tears, we gave up on Tinkerbell. Did I mention this was the day before her class valentine's were due? So, I hit the internet to find new valentine's with space big enough for my Birdie to sign.  

We found an adorable valentine, but it printed 8 to a page and the to/from was on the same line, so too small.  Not to be deterred, I downloaded the valentine and "fixed" the bottom so she could sign her name.  We printed them out 4 to a page to give her even more room.  I got her started signing and glueing buttons as fast as possible.  

It reads, "YOU ARE CUTE AS A BUTTON! Happy Valentine's Day."  And it has a button glued at the top.

She managed to finish up the next morning before school.  Whew!  Crisis adverted.  And she had a really cute "homemade" valentine for her friends.  Happy Valentine's Day.

Wacky Birdie

Another wacky outfit from Birdie today...

She very proudly told me "I dressed Wacky today!"  Yes, Birdie, you did!

A Reading SuperStar

I've been noticing Laurie reading words here and there, so while we were sitting at the Dr. office yesterday I started to write down words to see if she could read them.   I wrote and had her read (not in this order) -

Hot, Hat, Goat, Mat, Bat, Man, Pet, Pig, Wig, Boat, Food, Star, Pine, Pie, Popcorn, Boat, Bear, Pin, Pill, Pull, Pot, Put, Bar, Bare, Bad, Car, Care, Good, Bake, Take, Banana, Apple, Grape, Paper, Lost, Park, Bark, Target and Hobby Lobby. 

Some she knew right away, and others she had to sound out or be reminded about the silent "e" rule.  But she read each one.  I was stunned.  She's not even 4 1/2 yet.  

Last night I sat down and gave her easy reader books to see how she did.  We started with Hop! Hop! Hop!, which was one of the first books Ashley read at 5.  Would you believe she got most of it? Certain words gave her trouble like - he, around, clunk, splash, plunk, squish, stump, then.  But she read it.  

I then gave her Ducks in Muck, which was one of the first books Daniel read.  I think she only had to be helped with - what, unstuck and yuck.  

I kept thinking maybe one of the other kids has been reading it to her so she memorized it.  Like the famous story of how when I was 4, I showed my Granny Merr that I could "read" with my eyes closed!

Watching her read these two books, I'm pretty convinced she was actually reading the words.  It was very exciting!  And Birdie was sure proud of herself!

Back to see Dr. D.

Laurie made it 18 days into the new year before needing a sick visit to Dr. D.  Over the MLK weekend at the ranch, Birdie started sniffling and getting congested.  She got really upset with us because we wouldn't let her out in the cold damp weather with the other kids.  By Monday, she was really green, snotty and running a low grade fever.  The green goo oozing out of her eyes is what convinced me she had to go to the pediatrician.  Thinking it was a bad cold, I made the appointment yesterday morning.  On our way there, she told me her throat hurt because she needed a drink.  

While discussing her symptoms with nurse Kristie, I mentioned her throat.  After a rapid strep test, Dr. D came in to tell us Laurie tested positive for strep. (Her chest was clear.)  I was not expecting that.  But, at least it is easy to treat.  Course, as I left the office, I wondered about Ashley, Daniel, Brian and I.  And all our friends and their kids who were just with us at the ranch.  Many phone calls and text messages followed to let everyone know they were exposed to strep. 

Since Laurie still shows an aversion to going to the Dr. office, I treated her to new tennis shoes (and flip flops since it was a BOGO) at Payless and told her to choose a place for lunch.  She chose getting a large soft pretzel at Target instead of any fast food.  That worked for me, I love Target.  We picked up a few new leggings and tunic shirts for her (since that is all she ever wants to wear) and a Starbucks coffee for me.  Then it was over to Hobby Lobby to look for a few things, drop off the prescription, and over to the new Goodwill store to browse.  We rounded off our day with a quick stop at HEB to pick up something for dinner before jumping in the carpool line for the big kids.  Obviously she wasn't feeling all that bad.  In fact, before her Dr. appointment she helped me finish getting the Christmas tree down, in the box and out to the garage.  (Yes, my Christmas tree was still standing naked in my living room on the 18th of January).  

Jekyll & Hyde

I have a child that is a little like Jekyll and Hyde.  Monday, she was helpful and loving.  Did what I told her and followed directions well. She was even given back one of her Barbies (her room was cleaned out of all the toys last week for throwing a fit and refusing to clean up). No problems - it was a great day.  Thinking we had turned a corner, I was excited for Tuesday morning.  YIKES!  

Picture a blond little 4 year old lying on the floor kicking, screaming and crying when I asked her to get her clothes on for preschool.  For almost an hour, I reminded her to get dressed, gave her the choice of getting dressed & going to school or staying in her pajamas and staying home.  I did have to decide if I really meant it, when I said she would stay home.  Yes I decided, it was worth it to me to follow through and make her stay home if she didn't comply.  

Actually, you don't have to picture it, because I TOOK PICTURES of her!

Finally, about the time Aunt Leah should have been here to pick her up, Birdie decided she needed to go to the bathroom.  When she was done, I gently reminded her that if she wanted to go to school, she could just take her PJ pants off now and put on her jeans.  For some crazy reason, she complied.  After 55 minutes of crying and screaming, she stopped and got her clothes on.  I was pleased, but seething inside that she had to go through all the drama first.  

Thankfully, Aunt Leah was late getting to our house.  So Laurie was dressed, teeth brushed and hair sort of brushed by the time their car pulled up in front of the house.  

Days like this, behavior like this makes me wonder how she is feeling, if she is getting sick again. She seems ok, but she spent most of December and Christmas break sick, so who really knows.  She doesn't look good in the picture because her face was a little swollen from crying so hard for so long.

This morning, we avoided drama (for the most part) and got her out the door with minimal fussing.  Course it might have had something to do with it being Wacky Day!

Notice in the pictures of her pajamas that she actually is wearing 3 pairs of pajamas.  First, a nightgown, then a pink set of pajamas, then her Christmas pajamas (she'd taken off the green shirt because she got breakfast on it).  You have to love our crazy dresser.

Yes, We love her to pieces, but could do without all the drama!

Wacky Wednesday

It is Wacky Wednesday again at the preschool.  Some friends would say that Laurie dresses Wacky every day with bright conflicting patterns on her clothes, jackets and coats.  It goes against every fiber of my being to let her wear some of the combinations she comes up with to wear, but I'm trying to embrace her individuality.  

I'm beginning to think she is just a non-conformist rather than a crazy dresser because she wasn't too thrilled about getting to dress wacky today when everyone else does to.  She did resist a little at first.  Maybe she just was confused because I for once, was encouraging it rather than "discussing" her clothing choices before letting her out the door.

She did allow me to assist her in getting her dressed as wacky as possible.  First, we picked out her favorite leggings and skort and put them on together.  Then found two of her favorite shirts and put those on.  To top it off, she chose Halloween socks and a Christmas hair scrunchie.  Overall, this might be even wackier than last year! See for yourself.

Boy was she a happy camper wearing all these patterns together. 

As she walked out the door to school, I realized her leopard coat just threw it totally over the top.

Laurie EOY Health Update

Would you believe that Laurie made it 6 weeks between doctor visits?  And then it was only for a follow up with Dr. T.  She made it 9 whole weeks between sick visits.  Just before Thanksgiving, Laurie had to visit Dr. D's office for a head cold with a wicked cough.  Unfortunately, Dr. D was out and her sub Dr. was not great.  He did not think her cold warranted much attention even with her history.  Because I had leftover Xopenex for the nebulizer, I started her on breathing treatments.  It didn't do much good because we were back 8 days later to see Dr. D. Laurie's cold had gotten worse and now her chest was tight.  She was given an antibiotic and more Xopenex, every 4 hours.  

After another 10 days, on Ashley's birthday, Laurie was back to see Dr. D, this time with wheezing in her chest.  She sent us off to the hospital for a chest x-ray and blood work.  We were thankful that it showed no pneumonia, but a viral infection in her lungs.  A little good news.  It appeared the pneumonia vaccine she was given back in August was working.  More antibiotics, steroids and breathing treatments.  Birdie missed a great deal of preschool in the month of December, but did go to her Christmas party, or at least 30 minutes of it.  It has been another rough few weeks for her.  Dr. D. is hopeful that she will outgrow her respiratory issues.  I told her my goal is to make it through cold & flu season without another trip to the emergency room or a hospital stay.

Merry Christmas!

The week of Christmas Laurie was finally off the antibiotics, but back at Dr. D.  Her chest was finally clear, but her congestion and cold appeared to be back.  Another round of antibiotics and breathing treatments were ordered.  On a positive note, Laurie is finally back up to 39 lbs, what she weighed before she started this journey of sickness in May.

At the end of the year, she is once again done with her meds and appears to be doing great.  Let's pray that 2011 finds Laurie in better health than 2010.  

Full of Personality

This is the Laurie most people see... the happy, easy going, sweet girl...

However, she is also a silly, crazy, and feisty little girl.

To get the above picture, we had to go through a bit of effort...

She is a hoot!

Laurie Soccer Pictures

 Team Jones U5

Uncle David & Brian - Coaches

Fall 2010 Soccer 

Sweet Birdie

Laurie was so cute this morning playing in the hallway that I had to stop and take a picture of her.

Such a Sweet Birdie

Poor Sleepyhead

This is how the day started for our poor sleepyhead.  

(Notice that she is sitting on her basket of books)

Hopefully she will perk up before preschool.

Why...

This is why Brian coaches Laurie's soccer team....