We all share the same moon no matter where we are in the world!

Jan 27, 2011

Chinese Cultural Night



Taylor's school, GVA celebrated Chinese Cultural Night with music, dance, food, and a performance by local Kung Fu talent. Our friend Kalea performed with her Kung Fu class. Tay won the drawing for the grand prize: Hello Kitty gift basket! She was so happy.
Taylor was fabulous dancing with all the 1st graders front and center. Kendy and I were in the hospital, so daddy took Tay and said she was awesome. By the pictures and video, she definitely enjoyed herself!

Jan 24, 2011

Letter to Chinese Government



Taylor and a few classmates were each chosen to write a letter and draw a picture for the Chinese President. Taylor's says how much she likes goig to school at GVA and learning Mandarin.

Jan 21, 2011

Sick Little Girl




When we first held Kendy in China she had a little rattle in her lungs, but nothing serious. Of course the exam in China went smoothly and she had no others signs of anything beyond a slight sniffle. This past Saturday she began her journey which lead us to Children's Hospital in Parker. She started with a small cough and woke up around 11:00 pm with a fever of 102 and a barking cough. The on-call nurse over the phone diagnosed Kendy with croup and so we did the steamy shower thing and Tylenol to reduce her fever. Sunday she just moaned in short bursts all day, ran a fever, and coughed more. I took her in Monday to her pediatrician and she now sounded like she had RSV (Tay was diagnosed in Oct 09) and we tried a new protocol-oxygen at home. By Tuesday 1:00 am Kendy was not breathing very well so I took her to the ER. We were sent back to our ped, ordered a chest x-ray, and tried a nebulizer treatment. We were then sent home.
It is now Friday pm and we have been in the hospital since Wednesday evening. That night our ped called and said to take Kendy to the ER for care. Hallelujah! It was so tough to see my little girl struggling so hard to breath and on top of all that, she had had a fever of 101 for a few days.
She has a mean virus or airway disease that traveled down to her lungs and is very difficult to treat. Sure wish we could just pop a pill and call it good! Kendy is not able to keep her oxygen levels up on her own and she is not taking any fluids (8 oz vs. 24 oz) to keep hydrated. Her breathing or panting was 80 per minute rather than 30 while sleeping. She was so exhausted from just panting to get air that she would stop occasionally and so taking a bottle is clearly not something she has the energy for at this time.
We are planning on going home tomorrow. Tonight she finally drank 2 more ounces of pedialyte and is holding steady with her oxygen levels in the 90's while sleeping. And she smiled! Again, hallelujah!
Taylor slept with us at the hospital the first night and then at home last night because Kip returned from his Chicago work trip. She has been a wonderful big sister and shared her kitty pillow with Kendy. I love seeing my girls snuggle together...now picture me on the edge of the bed that first night....and we actually slept for the first time in 36 hours.
Thank you to Natalie for taking care of Taylor when I couldn't and to Patty for taking care of me when I couldn't. Love you gals.

Jan 8, 2011

Two Months of Kendy




We have held Kendy in our arms for two months today! Sometimes we can even put her down and she won't cry....just kidding. Kendy is bonding wonderfully to us and especially likes to follow me around now that she is walking. I love it, but she does need to be able to let me go into another room and know that I will return. I remember Taylor would do the same thing. Kip would tease with her as he does with Kendy. It is so important for her to learn that we will not leave her, ever. I also remember writing about the sadness in leaving Taylor at daycare (Safe & Sound) and the joy on her face when I would pick her up. Kendy will realize this soon too.
Kendy is such a happy smiling baby and is really quite a copycat too. I can't believe how she plays with the phones and remotes. Yesterday I was singing the ABC's and she toddled over to the refrigerator and brought me back the Leapfrog ABC magnet game and pushed the button. Well that just sent Kip and I over the moon and we have pre-enrolled her into Harvard!
She does not want to share her toys now with the other kids, so we are working on this. Fortunately all the kids are sweet and have plenty of toys and time for Kendy. I am so lucky to have such great kids around my kids and including my kids.
Kendy eats everything and still loves her bottle. She lights up when she sees it coming. Our pediatrician suggests about 24 ounces of liquids for Kendy so she doesn't fill up on bottle and still eat. So far so good. We still have recent memories of her not eating anything so this is a big relief. She is a great sleeper at night and will almost roll out of my arms when she is ready to go down around 8:30 pm. She might wake up once in the middle of the night but not daily and she gets up around 6 am like clock work. Day naps are tougher since I usually have another child in the house. But if I am in the car she is out. She will wake up if I try to continue the nap in the house. I love this little sweetie pie and can't wait for you to meet her and fall in love too.

Jan 4, 2011

What We Did Over Christmas Break


I took the girls swimming and Kendy loved it. Taylor is a fish and loved spending time with her friend Isabella at the Trails Rec Center. We also saw Yogi Bear the movie and the girls laughed like we used to as kids. We had play dates with friends and slept in and watched cartoons. We met up with Cheryl, Lexee and Kaylanee for lunch and some shopping of course. Cheryl was my shopping buddy in China while our girls did cartwheels down the streets. Another gal from our China trip lives nearby and her daughter Aria is now being watched by my friend Natalie. I am so happy to have these connections for myself and the girls.
The one thing we haven't done is play in the snow. It has been too cold for that, but we are ready with our snow gear (thanks Chandra for the cute outfit for Kendy). Taylor is a wonderful big sister and really helps me with small things like letting me know Kendy has a poopy diaper! No, she is good and is adjusting to sharing mommy really well. We had several dates with just the two of us over the break or with friends and left Kendy with daddy. It was refreshing for both of us. Thanks Natalie for the pictures of my cutie pies!


Kendy and Aria enjoying a good laugh!