A Ride On the River

Sunday was a really nice day, not too hot and not too cold. Daddy had finished painting the new baby's room (it's really pink!), so we decided to hop on the boat for a quick ride on the river. I had a really fun time, and we took my doggy with us too! As soon as I got on the boat, Mommy put my life jacket on me and I thought it was really funny. It made good scratchy noises, and I liked chewing on the strap.

Then I noticed that there was water on the other side of the boat, and I really wanted to splash it around. Daddy helped me carefully reach over the side so my fingers could touch!

Then we were off! I didn't like going fast at first, because I don't like the wind bothering my ears. But I quickly got used to it, and I had lots of fun! I even got to help Daddy drive the boat! And the wind was blowing my hair back and making it look so silly!

We took the boat all the way to Lake Monroe, and the lake was so smooth. It's a must faster trip now that Daddy has a bigger boat! We turned the motor off (after we started filming--oops!) and drifted around while I played.

The only times I started to get a little upset was when we were going fast and Mommy had to hold me in her lap. I wanted to get down and walk around, and watch the water splash up. Mommy and Daddy were laughing because the few times they've taken me out on the boat, I was throwing a fit either because of the noise, or the sun, or the life jacket. But this time it was none of those things! I just wanted to explore!

We stayed out on the boat for a couple of hours, and then we headed back to the dock. I was pretty mad when I realized that we had to get out of the boat. I was complaining and hitting Mommy the whole time she was taking off my life jacket and carrying me to the truck!

Mommy said although she wishes I would express my anger a little less aggressively, she was happy that I had such a good time! =)

Great News!

Mommy got the results for my sleep study today and they were even better than she was hoping for! Hopefully, my ENT feels the same way!

You may remember that after I had my tonsils and adenoids taken out in November of 2007, it cut my sleep apnea levels in half. However, they were still really high and it was still considered severe obstructive sleep apnea. Well, guess what?!?! Not anymore! Before the surgery, I had 330 episodes of shallow breathing caused by partial airway obstruction. After, one year ago, I had 198 episodes. And this time....drum roll please....I had NINE!!!!! My "severe OSA" is now called "occassional OSA."

The only number that didn't really change is the number of times I stopped breathing completely. Last time it was 35 and this time it was 32. However, throat surgery wouldn't do anything to help that. It's a neurological thing. And my levels are considered mild.

Everyone do a happy dance!!!!

Over and Done With!

Well, my sleep study is over with! Good thing they were studying me, not Mommy, because she was awake most of the night! She has a hard time sleeping now, and the bed was not very good for her aching back! But Mommy said it's okay, because I slept and that's all that matters.

It was very cold last night so Mommy bundled me up in my fancy jacket so I could stay warm on my way to the sleep lab. Daddy carried me to the car and he said he felt like he was carrying Maggie from the Simpsons when she wears her star-shaped snowsuit...

This new sleep lab is much nicer. Instead of folding up the beds during the day so they can be a doctor's office, the doctor's office is downstairs and the sleep lab is upstairs. So I had a twin size bed to sleep in and so did Mommy. The bed was much bouncier than my bed at home, and it didn't take me long to figure that out!

Of course, I was pretty upset while they were putting all the wires on me, and Mommy thinks I am much stronger this year than I was last year! It's a good thing Mommy loves me so much because she sustained a few injuries from my behavior. =) The only good thing about getting that worked up is that I fall asleep very fast. Otherwise, it would be virtually impossible to fall asleep with all this stuff on.

But this time I slept all night, and I didn't wake up until 5:00 when the tech came in to fix the wire under my chin. I decided not to go back to sleep, so he came back in to take all the stuff off of me. They were out of adhesive remover, which Mommy was not happy about, but I did really good while they were taking the stuff off of me. Mommy made the tech leave some of the bigger pieces on me so she could just let them come off in the tub later. She knew I was going straight in the bath when I got home, because we had to get all the glue out of my hair!!

We came home, and it didn't take long at all for Mommy to get me all cleaned and refreshed. We're kind of pros at getting the glue out now!

The tech couldn't tell us much about the study except to say that my oxygen level seemed to stay high all night, so that was good! We should get the results sometime early next week, so we'll let you know what they find as soon as we hear something.

Very Resourceful

I found a new use for my Bop and Wobble Penguin!

Let's Try This Again!

I am doing much better with my coughing. I never did have another croup episode, so that's good. Mommy rescheduled my missed appointments, so now I go for the sleep study tomorrow night. We should have the results sometime next week. Although Mommy is not looking forward to the sleep study, it will be interesting to see what the results are. They are in a brand new building, so Mommy is hoping they have something a little more accomodating than a recliner for the parents to sleep in. And maybe rails on BOTH sides of my bed so she doesn't have to worry about me falling out!

Honk Honk

Well, I was supposed to go to school yesterday, then the eye doctor, then my sleep study. But I managed to get out of all of it because I am sick! See how sick I look...




But really, I promise, I really am sick. Wednesday night I woke up with a "honking" cough and sounding like I was gasping for air. Mommy and Daddy don't even remember how they got out of bed, across the house, and over my baby gate...but they did it with lightning speed! They'd never heard me breathe this way, not even when I've had pneumonia or bronchiolitis. In fact, Mommy almost called 911 except she could tell the sound was just that--a sound. I was taking deep breaths and I wasn't struggling to breathe. It just sounded horrible!

They did several breathing treatments and I fell back asleep for the rest of the night. The next morning, I still sounded the same way and still had a honking cough, but I wasn't acting sick at all. No fever, no stuffy nose or anything. Still, Mommy was worried because she's never heard me sound like this. I usually sound congested or wheezy. So Papa came right over, Mommy packed me breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner (we've got this emergency stuff down pat now), and we left for the pediatrician's office. As the morning went on, and as we waited in the office, I started sounding better and better. By the time the doctor came in to see me, I was going crazy laughing and yelling and playing with Papa. No one would even know I was sick!

The doctor listened to Mommy's description of my honking cough and my noisy breathing and diagnosed me with croup. It's a viral infection of the larynx (voice box) and trachea (windpipe). It's usually caused by allergies or an upper respitory infection. Most of the time, viral croup comes on gradually after a cold. But the most frightening kind is called spasmodic croup--it comes on suddenly and without warning. The episodes are usually just at night and can last for a few days. The doctor said there's not much that can be done to treat it, just relieve symptoms like using a vaporizer or sitting in a steamy shower. Sometimes driving around with the windows down in the cold air can help too, but Mommy said it's our luck that we'd wind up back in there with pneumonia!

The doctor prescribed a steroid for me to take, and Mommy is doing breathing treatments like crazy with my nebulizer. Good thing we already had that so we were able to use it right away that night! Fortunately, I did not have any episodes last night, and I sound a million times better today. What a way to get out of a sleep study! =)

Horsin' Around

After months of searching online and in stores, Mommy found my exact rocking horse on Craigslist yesterday. Go figure that we'd end up getting it from a lady just a few minutes away in Oviedo! Her kids hardly ever played with it, so it's in great condition! Much better than the one I have now. It was filthy (even after cleanings) and cracked, pieces were starting to break off, and it didn't play music anymore.

I'm sure you're thinking, wait, didn't she just get a beautiful wooden horse for Christmas? Yes, Grandma Candy got me that one because she couldn't find my original either. I like the new wooden one, but my original horse is my best buddy and has been with me for years! Grandma Candy gave it to me for my very first birthday, and although it took me a while to learn how to ride it, I got pretty good at it and even learned a few tricky ways to ride!

Mommy surprised me with the new horse yesterday and I was so happy, I rode it for 3 hours! I even refused to let go of it when she needed to change my diaper!

And now, let's remember my old horsey with lots of pictures, who has been my best friend since my first birthday, Februrary 2005. He's not really gone, just cleaned up again and over at Papa's house (also known as the Island of Misfit Toys since he gets all my stuff that gets replaced).

Age 18 Months - My first time riding

Age 2 1/2 - Trick Skill #1...

Age 2 1/2 - Me and my cousin Rianne (she was only 1!)

Age 3 - Riding bareback

Age 3 1/2 - Trick Skill #2

Age 3 1/2 - Me and my trusted horse

Age 4 1/2 - Trick Skill #3...

Merry Christmas!

Christmas was very busy for me! On Christmas Eve, I played with things I wasn't supposed to while Mommy got last minute stuff together.

Then we left to pick up Papa and drive all the way to my Grandma Candy and Grandpa Chuck's house in Umatilla. It was a long drive, but it was worth it, because I got lots of fun stuff! I got a new rocking horse that I already figured out how to make more fun to ride!

It was going to be way past my bedtime by the time we got home, so everyone was glad that I slept the whole way, because I rarely ever sleep in the car. I was already in my Christmas pajamas, so I went right to into my bed when we got home at 11:00.

I slept in on Christmas morning, and when I woke up, Santa had come with lots of presents for me!

I got a baby that coos and moves her head and arms all by herself. I have a baby cradle now so I can rock her to sleep, and it has its own mobile which I really liked!

Then I saw a new pink and purple car with a big red bow on the top! That was my favorite present from Santa!

There was also a stroller for my baby doll and it looks just like the stroller Mommy had when she was a little girl.

When I opened some of my presents, there was another baby doll for me to play with! I was very excited to tear the paper and see her smiling face!

There was even a little fishing pole just for me, from my Daddy. Now I can swing my fishing pole around instead of his, and maybe it will be a little safer for everyone!

One of my presents from Papa was a big, glittery bouncy ball, and it came in a big glittery bag. I liked them both! I even threw the ball back and forth with Papa a few times.

Then the day got even busier...my Aunt Tracie, Aunt Jessie, cousin Rianne, and Grandma McNabb came to visit. Then came my Aunt Crystal, Uncle Shawn, and cousins Brittney, Shane, and Anthony. They all brought me more presents! After they left, we got all dressed up to go to visit more family at my Uncle Craig's house. I was pretty much done with the day by then, but so was everyone else, so they understood! It was a long two days, and even though I am still catching up on my sleep, I am having fun wth all of my new toys!

My Christmas Pictures

Okay, here they are...the three pictures that Mommy bought when we went to Picture People last week for my professional portaits!

Helmet Head

Well, after 3 years of my self-injury behavior, yesterday was the kind of the last straw for my school. Mommy had to come get me because I banged my head on the table when I was mad during speech therapy. I was pretty upset because my teacher was trying to keep ice on it while Mommy drove fast like lightning to my school. When Mommy got there, I was calmed down and she saw that I had a big bump and it was bruised, but it's not nearly as bad as some of my other bumps (thank goodness).



(I was laughing at Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on TV this morning).

My school has now decided that I have to wear a helmet if I want to keep coming there, because they want to prevent any "future trauma." My insurance doesn't pay for a helmet, so the school is letting me use one of theirs in the meantime. So it's a yucky boy color. Mommy promised me that when I get one of my own, we can get a prettier color. We brought the helmet home so Mommy could try it with me before they do it at school. I did pretty good with it on, but I don't like the chin strap. It's itchy.

It didn't take me long to figure out that if I bang my head with the helmet on, my head bounces a little. That was pretty funny, but still a little frustrating. Papa says it's like trying to sneeze when you can't! I also find it pretty funny to stick my finger in the vent holes. And this morning when I had it on, I was slapping myself in the head and laughing!

Since it wasn't made for me, this one is a little too big, so hopefully I can get my own soon. My therapist is checking in to how much it will cost. It makes Mommy and Daddy very sad that I have to wear a helmet, because they hoped for so long that I would outgrow the head banging phase. But it makes them sadder to think about me giving myself big bruises and bumps, so they know that the helmet is the right choice. And Mommy is checking in to behavior therapy again. We've done that twice in the past for the same thing, but it's never worked. But since I have changed a lot in the last year, we're going to give it another try!

And I wore the helmet at school today, and my teacher said I didn't seem to mind it much. Luckily, tomorrow is my last day of school until the new year, so I won't have to wear it as much at home. It messes my pretty hair up!