Sneaky Sneaky!

Hmmmm...what doesn't belong in this picture?

Figured it out yet? :o) Scroll down for the answer!

Oops! Busted in the potty room...again!

To Grandmother's House I Go!

This is me and my great grandma. I had fun visiting her today! I also got to see my great Aunt Vera and Uncle Dean too. I like Grandma and Aunt Vera because every time they see me, they talk about how smart and pretty I am. Now who wouldn't agree with that?

First Day of School

Here is what happens when you get up at 4:30 in the morning on the first day of school and then play during naptime. You fall asleep on the living room floor at 7:15! But I had a good first day and I didn't even bat an eye when the new kids were crying and screaming for their mommies and daddies. I just played with Christian (a classmate from last year) and helped him pull all the toys off the bookshelves. We were like old pros at school! And Mommy came during lunch time, but she didn't have to feed me. I ate everything for Miss Lauren, and she wasn't even part of the feeding experience this summer. Miss Lauren wasn't wearing a glove on her right hand, but after I took a few bites, she clapped for me, and guess what?! There was still a glove on her left hand! I guess she thought it wouldn't matter, but I snapped my head up and gave her a look, and she said, "Oh, okay! Sorry, I'll take that one off too!" Mommy is coming back tomorrow, so we can get the eating thing down pat right at the beginning of the year. That way if she starts working soon, she won't have to worry so much about me not eating at school!

Meet the {Same} Teachers

First things first...we all knew this already, but my sweaty results are in and NO CYSTIC FIBROSIS! Woo hoo! So my diagnosis is now officially pancreatic insufficiency. Mommy hasn't Googled it yet, so we don't know much about it. Maybe we'll have more info later.

Today was the Meet the Teacher at my school. Mommy was not happy that I was moved up from the Creators room to the Navigators room. She didn't think it would be safe for me since I was the only one not walking or talking. The room was really big and the toys were for big kids. Mommy had a talk with the director and when the director tried to use fancy teaching words, Mommy used some right back. :o) Oops, wrong Mommy to do that to! The director feels that the old class is not challenging enough for me, but Mommy feels the new one is too challenging and I will be left behind. So long story short, I will be back on Monday with my same teachers (yay, I love Miss Maria) in my same classroom but with new classmates. Mommy says she hopes she made the right call, but she feels like it is worth the risk. And look how happy I am in the pictures!

I Was a Sweaty Betty!

Today was my sweat chloride test. It was not nearly as simple as the doctor made it sound. But it wasn't too bad. First, they had to put these electrodes on my arms and I had to keep those on for five minutes on one arm, then five minutes on the other. They had a slight electric current that was supposed to open up my sweat glands. Whatever, all I know is I did not like it! It made me mad because Mommy had to hold my arms. So I kept yanking the wires out of the machine and when the nurse leaned in close to make sure they were still stuck to my arm...wham! I slapped her right in the face. It wasn't very nice of me, I know, but Mommy was secretly happy that I directed my anger to the appropriate person instead of hitting myself in the face. :o) Anyway, so then they had to put these plastic discs on my arms to absorb sweat, and they turned blue when they did. I had to wear them for 30 minutes. The nurse was concerned that because I had messed with the wires so much, I might not sweat enough for what they needed. She said we might have to do it all over again. Mommy said no way! So she gave me lots of water and then took me outside in the shade so I would definitely sweat! And I did...plenty! They got twice the sweat they needed. The doctor should already have the results, so Mommy is going to start pestering them tomorrow morning for the results.

About my tummy issues, it's still not "normal" but it has changed. I didn't go poo for almost two days, and Mommy was getting really scared that I was either constipated now, or when I finally went, watch out! Well, I finally went, and let's just say she had to hose me down in the shower, scrub the dining room wall, and mop the floor. Hmmm, and we wonder why she's looking for a new job! :o) It wasn't as runny but it was still pretty messy. And now it's been a whole day since I've gone. Wonder if it will happen during Meet the Teacher at school tomorrow?! I can initiate my new teacher quickly! Oh, and Papa brought me a card today that said, "Feeling poopy? Hope you're better soon!" Mommy said it was just perfect!

Just Tummy Problems?

Okay, so some not so great news. By the way, if you are squeamish or poo stories gross you out, stop reading now! You have been warned! For the last three weeks, I have had diarrhea. Really gross, I know. It started on the same day Mommy gave me baby food plums for breakfast. So she thought that's what it was, and decided she was not going to do that again! Only it still hasn't stopped. And Mommy was waiting for it to pass, but after a few days, she thought it probably wasn't the plums. And I'm not sick, I'm not getting dehydrated and I have no fever. So that's good, but it's still really annoying. And even though Mommy changes me fast like lightning, I still got a bad diaper rash. So then not only was my bottom sore, but my hoo-hoo was too. Don't tell Daddy that I said that. :o) And I don't like when Mommy puts the medicine cream on me, so I squeeze together my legs and everything gets blocked from my thighs. I'm pretty strong too, so it takes a lot of work for Mommy to get the cream on me.

Anyway, Mommy called the doctor and they faxed orders for a bunch of tests that Mommy had to collect 6 poo samples for. It was pretty hard to do since my diaper was immediately soaking everything up! So Mommy had to put Saran wrap in my diaper so she could get to it before it was gone! Mommy got everything turned in last week. It took a few days to collect it all since it had to be done from different diapers at different times. And some of it had to be kept frozen. Like poop-sicles. :o) Mommy tried for a few days to get someone at the doctor's office to call her back, but the receptionist kept saying the nurse needed to discuss things with the doctor first. Mommy wanted to know what things!! She was getting really mad and she said to Daddy, "I bet if I bring her down there and let her poop all over THEIR carpet, they would move a little faster!" Cause that is happening here a lot! I got it all over the wood floor here like a big puddle, and then I tracked it through my bedroom. Ick! I have to get my clothes changed several times a day, and Mommy says she feels like she can't take me anywhere. Cause I always poo and it makes a big mess. Plus, it is kind of loud so people look at us funny. Last week after Mommy dropped off the poop-sicles, we had to go grocery shopping and I pooed in my last pair of extra clothes Mommy had. So I had to go grocery shopping with no pants on. But Mommy shrugged and said, "Eh, it's WalMart." And she calls me Poopy Pooperton now.

Mommy finally got a hold of the nurse this week, and I am not contagious! Woo hoo! All of the tests came back negative. Exciting at first, but obviously something is not right! But the nurse said my pancreatic enzyme levels were low, so she was calling in a medicine that I have to take with every meal. It's a total pain, Mommy said, but that's another story. Then the nurse said she was sending us to Arnold Palmer to get a sweat chloride test done. Mommy asked what it was and how it was done. The nurse said it measures the amount of salt in my sweat. We have to go to the hospital and they put like a band-aid thing on my arm, then we walk around for an hour while it absorbs my sweat. Then they take it off and we wait. Mommy told Daddy it is absolutely ridiculous that the doctor allowed her to collect several samples of poo, but she can't do the sweat band-aid at home. It is kind of funny.

Anyway, so Mommy asked the nurse why I needed this test done. And the nurse said, very laid back, "Oh, it's to test for cystic fibrosis." Like it was nothing! Like it's not a potentially fatal disease! Mommy is pretty confident that I don't have it, but you know she started reading the symptoms and information and it fits for me. But that's not saying much, cause we can probably make me fit for just about anything! So we go for the test on Thursday, and I don't know when we will find out. So Mommy says please keep us in your hearts this week, even though she knows we will be fine. And for now, I continue to poo on everything.

5 Days Later

Look how good my eye looks! Mommy said she knew it wasn't as red, but she didn't realize until she took a picture just how much better it looks now. Tomorrow is the last day that I have to get eye drops in my eye. Then next week, I am going to visit the eye doctor for a follow up. I am doing really well, and I didn't even make Mommy cancel therapy yesterday. In fact, I was being so goofy during therapy that I don't think we really got much done. But I had fun anyway!

I'm Back, Baby!

Hi everyone! I wanted to let you all know that I am doing good today! I got a good night's rest after playing all day yesterday. Mommy said she got up every four hours last night to check on me and give me some Tylenol through my tummy tube. But I slept right through it! I took a bath this morning to get the sticky stuff off of me from the IV and the leads at the hospital. Mommy's not allowed to wash my hair, so it was the best bath ever! My eye is not draining or anything, and I am being really good about not rubbing it. I'm pretty upset when Mommy has to put the eye drop in my eye three times a day, and then it's hard not to rub it. But I forget about it pretty quickly and go back to playing. Mommy said we are just going to take it easy for a few days. I don't have anything planned until Tuesday, and then I have therapy. But Mommy said she will cancel it if I want her to. Hmmm....

Emily's Eye Surgery

Emily did really well today. Dr. Blumenfeld operated on the left eye, which was the weaker of the two. I'm a little bummed because her eyes are turning in the same as they were before, but it can take 4 to 6 weeks to see the accurate results. Still, it's hard to wait! But she pulled through the surgery like a champ. I could hear her crying and yelling in the hallway when they were bringing her back to our room to recover, and when the nurse came through the door holding Emily, the poor nurse was getting scratched, hit, and headbutted. So, obviously she quickly goes back to her spitfire self!

Everything went really quickly, and Emily has already eaten lunch and is tearing the house apart (so much for resting quietly!). She's got a balloon from Papa that saved that day. She is not rubbing her eye too much, so that's good. Older children have reported that after surgery, they feel like they have sand in their eye. So I imagine it would be virtually impossible to restrain from rubbing it! That feeling should pass soon, and the redness will fade over the next few weeks. For now, it looks like she came up too fast from scuba diving!

Here are a few pictures of Emily. I know it looks bad, but I promise she is doing really well!

Stay Off The Roads!

I got my driver's license today! Well, it's my state ID, but it looks like a driver's license! I don't feel comfortable posting it on my website, so Mommy is going to e-mail it to everybody. I had to have a state ID to get a disabled parking permit. That way no matter who I'm with, as long as they have my ID with me, it's okay to park in a special spot.

Tomorrow morning is my surgery. I won't really feel like writing a message on here, so Mommy said she will do it as soon as she gets a chance. Thank you to everyone who is thinking of me, and a special thanks to my Aunt Alicia for sending me a get well card! I chewed on it, but then Mommy took it away!

Green Light For Surgery

I had my pre-op checkup last night with my eye doctor. Things are all set for my surgery on Friday morning. It looks like he will probably operate on just one of my eyes, to align it with the other. The redness can stay in my eye for up to 6 weeks, but usually it's about 3 weeks. That doesn't mean it will hurt that long though. It just won't look nice! The results of the surgery are usually accurate about 4 to 6 weeks after surgery, but Dr. Blumenfeld said it's possible to see a change right away. Mommy said she is so used to my eyes being lazy that she will have to really pay attention to see the difference. Hopefully, I will not be one of the 20% to need a second surgery, or one of the 10% to need three or more. But you all know me!!! I like to be unique! :o)