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We haven't posted anything in a LONG time, but here are some pictures from the trip we took to Colorado in July.

We've been pretty busy lately which has been a good thing.  I volunteered to coordinate the preschool Vacation Bible School.  It has actually been really nice to have something other than housework to do.  I feel like I'm contributing outside my household a bit which has been nice.  That said, I am looking forward to getting back into our routine next week.

Reese has been suffering from some tummy problems for about 6 months now.  It all started back in January when she took a couple rounds of antibiotics for ear infections.  We've been to the pediatrician a few times.  He had us start a non-dairy diet.  It seemed to be helping for a little while, but it doesn't seem to be doing the trick.  The doctor finally took some stool samples and couldn't find anything wrong.  He referred her to a pediatric GI specialist.  We went to see him today.  He seemed to think that it is still possible that this is related to the antibiotic use.  Antibiotics kill bacteria, including the good bacteria, which is why they cause diarrhea.  Apparently when this happens a bad bacteria called C. Diff. can take over and can mess with your intestinal tract.  Reese tested negative for this bacteria in her stool testing, but the doctor seems to think it is still a possibility.  Instead of having us repeat the stool testing over again, he is going to go ahead and treat her for it, with, ironically, another antibiotic.  He also took some blood (a horrible experience for poor Reese) to test for Colitis and Celiac disease (Oh Please God, NO)!  He's also having us give her Benefiber and a probiotic.  Hopefully these 3 things will help her feel much better soon!  He does not think she will need to continue the dairy free diet.  I'm just so ready for my baby to feel better!

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It's not Friday, but I have some free time right now.  I never find time to blog, but I really enjoy reading other blogs.

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Mara is almost 18 months old!  Yikes.  She is really starting to talk more and more and is FINALLY calling me Mommy.  She has been calling Karl "Daddy" for 6 months, so this has been a long time coming.  Her latest is counting to 3.  You have to use your imagination, but she definitely says it.  When I count to 3, she usually looks at me, smiles and then runs to time out.  I guess she's seen me do it with her sister a few hundred times.

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Reese is really enjoying computer time lately.  We even set her up with her own user account.  She can really use the mouse and can even get to her favorite games.  Her favorite is the Lemonade Stand on Sesamestreet.org.  She's REALLY good at it. 

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We went camping for Mother's Day/Karl's birthday.  They were on the same day this year.  I don't think either one of us were excited about sharing our day with the other initially, but it turned out great.  The girls did a great job camping.  They were both so tired when we got back that they took a 4 hour nap.  I took a 2 hour nap.  It was fantastic!

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We are planning our summer trips.  We are spending a night on the Riverwalk for our anniversary in June.  I lived in San Antonio for 26 years and never stayed on the river.  We're planning a Colorado trip in July and our first Montana trip as a family in August to visit Karl's brother.  We will drive to Colorado and fly to Montana.

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Reese is almost finished with her first year of preschool.  She only has 3 days left.  She really enjoyed it.  We're planning to take her 3 days next year, adding Friday mornings for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.  

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I was recruited to coordinate the preschool program for Vacation Bible School.  What was I thinking?  I have no experience with preschoolers.  I don't know why they think I would be good at this, but hopefully I will do a good job.

For more quick takes, check out Conversion Diary.

I wrote this post a while ago and was waiting to get some pictures of Mara's birthday uploaded.  Being the lazy person that I am, I didn't even take any pictures of my own child's 1st birthday.  I left that to my mom, who takes great pictures.  I went to visit them last week and forgot AGAIN to get the pictures from my mom.  So here is the post, without birthday pictures of Mara.  Maybe I'll get them up someday.

 I'm a very bad blogger.  Mara is nearly 16 months old and Reese's birthday was 3 weeks ago and I haven't blogged about their birthdays yet.  First up, Mara:

From March 2010

Mara turned 1 on November 23rd.  She began walking the week of her birthday (which is the same thing Reese did).  She is really developing quite the little personality.  Her vocabulary is increasing.  Her most common words are:  Daddy, dog, sit down (said in the bath tub), uh-oh,  and peek-a-boo (or something that sounds like it).  Her favorite thing in the whole world is her panda bear.  She really enjoys swings, slides and eating sand.  Her favorite foods are toast and raisins.  She's a big meat eater, too.  She is sleeping well and is generally a happy girl.  I officially weaned her at about 14 1/2 months.  She's done really well transitioning to a sippy cup.  She's a lot smaller than Reese was at her age.  Reese was wearing 18 month clothes when she was 8 months old, Mara is still wearing 12 month clothes at 15 1/2 months old.  Her stats from her 15 month appointment are:

 Weight: 21 pounds, 8 ounces (25-50%)

Height: 31.25 inches (75%)

 We had a little playdate at the park with some friends for her birthday.  She had a great time.  Check back soon for some pictures of our little stinker.

 Now, Reese:

From March 2010

Reese celebrated her 3rd birthday on February 20th.  We can't believe she's been with us for 3 years!  She is a delightful girl 90% of the time.  She is fully potty-trained during the day, but wears pull-ups at bedtime.  We're working on getting out of those.  She attends pre-school at St. William's 2 days a week.  She really enjoys it.  Her favorite thing about school is "chapel" where she learns songs.  She has moved from learning new words every day to carrying on full conversations and asking really good questions.  Here is a conversation we just had today:

Mommy:  Reese, do you want to go to your gym so you can learn how to do a somersault?

Reese:  No, I want to learn how to do a pepper-salt.

Mommy:  What is a pepper-salt?

Reese:  Oh, it's a somersault for boys

What a goober.  Reese is still growing like a weed, but seems to have slowed down a bit.  These were her stats at her 3 year appointment:

Weight: 34.2 pounds (75%)

Height: 38.75 inches (75-90%)

We had a Strawberry Shortcake party at our house for a few of her little friends.  She had a great time.  She's really learned how to open presents and look for toys.  She has the "throw the clothes aside and move on to toys" thing down pat.  Enjoy some pictures of our big girl, as well.

These last couple of months have been rough for us.  In December all the girls in our house were sick.  Mara had the flu.  Reese was sick, but tested negative for the flu and I had some crazy virus that eventually caused pink eye and an ear infection. 

We thought we were better by Christmas.

Then Reese got the flu at the beginning of January.  Mara wound up getting it AGAIN.  I managed to stay healthy the second time around.  Mara wound up with an ear infection and was on antibiotics for 10 days.  Just as she was getting better, Reese woke up in the middle of the night with a fever of 103.  We went to the doctor the next morning and found that she had an ear infection...so 10 days of antibiotics for her, too.

We thought we were better at the end of January.

Then Mara got sick again.  She went to sleep this past Monday night feeling fine.  She woke up at midnight with a horrible sounding cough.  She sounded like a seal.  We called the triage nurse who advised us to go to the ER.  We did and were told that she had the Croup.  They gave her some steroids and sent us home.  Tuesday she was a lot better and then the cough came back with a vengeance on Wednesday.  Thursday night she started wheezing.  By Friday morning I thought it was time to take her back to the pediatrician again.  I dropped Reese off at Dell to have lunch with Daddy...she was so excited to go to Daddy's work.  I thought the pediatrician would just tell us she needed fluids and rest.

I was wrong.

When Mara and I got to the pediatrician the receptionist heard her coughing and said we needed to be seen right away.  They called us back and immediately checked her oxygen levels and found that they were at 87%.  They should be between 95 and 100%.  Her doctor was in the room a moment later and said he couldn't hear anything in her chest through all the wheezing.  He gave her a breathing treatment in the room and told me that he wanted her to go by ambulance to the children's hospital.  Needless to say, it scared the heck out of me.  Less than 3 minutes later there was a stretcher and a few paramedics outside the room.  I called Karl to tell him what was going on.  He still had Reese at work and had no car seat for her since I had dropped her off.  The next thing I knew I was in an ambulance with Mara on the way to the children's hospital.  I barely remember being in the ambulance. 

Meanwhile, my parents drove up to Dell to pick up Reese so that Karl could come to the hospital.  Karl got down to the lobby to wait for my parents and Reese vomited.  He managed to get her cleaned up and my parents got her home.  My mom called me a while later to tell me that she checked her temperature and it was 104.4!!  I called the pediatrician's office and made Reese an appointment for my parents to take her in.

Mara had another breathing treatment at the hospital (her 3rd in an hour, she'd also had one in the ambulance).  They did a nose swab to check for RSV.  It was positive.  They took her in for a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia.  This was the most traumatic part of the day for me.  They put her in this contraption that restrained her (I find it very funny that the kids in the pictures are smiling).  She couldn't move and had her hands pinned above her head.  I started crying and she was screaming.  Thankfully, it was over soon and the x-ray looked fine...no pneumonia.  The doctor at the ER decided that she was good to go home.  She sent us home with a nebulizer machine and a prescription for Albuterol (which is what they give asthma patients). 

The doctor could not find anything wrong with Reese, so he thought she might have a stomach virus.  She only vomitted the one time.  Her fever came down last night and today she is feeling well.  Mara has had a few breathing treatments at home and is sounding much better.  I'm hoping they are on the mend, but I've said that before.

This whole experience has taught me 3 things:

1)  There is no point complaining about any of this.  They are my kids and it is my job to take care of them.  It doesn't matter how many times I get vomited on or pooped on...I signed up for this.

2)  My husband and my parents are SO helpful!  I could not have done all of this by myself.

3)  My kids have been sick multiple times, but when I was at the Children's hospital, I kept thinking, "There are other kids in this building who don't get to go home today.  There are other parents who are way more worried than I am."  I am counting my blessings that all of this illness is temporary. 

And to end on...a cute picture of Mara in her hospital gown.  I thought the diaper hanging out the back was adorable.

I can't believe how fast my girls are growing.  I know everyone says that, but it just amazes me.  It seems like yesterday that Reese was born.  Now Reese is about to turn 3 years old and Mara is officially weened.  I feel some relief that I can be a little more independent, but at the same time I am sad that she doesn't need me as much.  I know they will both always need me.  I still need my mom, but they will never need me in the same way again.  Never again will Mara have a need that only I can meet.  I know it's a good thing, but I can't help but be a little sad.  I guess it's time for another one.  :-)  Don't tell Karl.