A Tonsillectomy and an Adenoidectomy

It turns out Kaylee had one too many cases of strep throat over the last year. She went in for surgery yesterday. I've been stressing out about it since the day we scheduled her surgery. I realize that in the grand scheme of things a tonsillectomy isn't that huge but it made me pretty sad knowing I'd be sending her in feeling just fine and getting her back feeling really yucky.

We arrived at the hospital bright and early, which was a good thing since Kaylee wasn't allowed to eat after midnight the night before. The pre-op nurse was great with her and although Kaylee was feeling nervous and scared she was very brave. After the surgery her doctor told us what a mature girl she is. I would have loved to have seen what Kaylee did in the operating room to make him feel that way about her.

The surgery went well. Chris and I were brought back to recovery as she was waking up. She was a little cranky but it was what we were expecting. We were told that most kids come out of anesthesia mad and cranky because they're hungry and they don't feel well. Once they were sure she was stable they sent us home. The entire process took four hours total including drive time. 

It has been sad to see her hurting and feeling so sick but in a little over twenty four hours she's perked up considerably. Although her energy level is pretty low right now, I can tell she's already going a little stir crazy. Unfortunately she's not supposed to do anything too active for two weeks. I think it's going to be hard to keep her from running around but I'm grateful that I'll be having to force her to take it easy. To me that means she's healthy and strong and of course that is what we want. 

Playdate

Landon had his first official playdate today! There's a little boy we know that is exactly the same age as Landon (Logan is four days older). I've been thinking we should invite him over for awhile now so after calling his mom to see if he was available we picked him up and brought him over to our house. It was too cute listening to them chatter back and forth during the drive home. I kept hearing things like "Look Logan a truck!" And then from Logan, "Truck!" They mostly played with Landon's beloved trains but after lunch they migrated to his room and dug into his toy box. Landon had a great time and Logan seemed to enjoy himself as well. When Logan's mom came to pick him up, we talked about maybe making their playdates a regular thing. Landon must have been listening because after Logan left he announced that playing with Logan every Friday was a good idea.

Happy Birthday Ainsley!

Ainsley turned eight years old on January 18th. It's hard to believe she's already eight! The day before her birthday we threw her a surprise party. It was a pajama pizza party. The secret was kept by all who were in the know and she was completely surprised. It was a lot of fun!

Chris took her out a couple of hours before the party so I could decorate and bake cupcakes. Her friends arrived about fifteen minutes before Ainsley and Chris came home with a big stack of pizzas (Ainsley had been wondering why Chris had picked up four pizzas). During the party the girls ate, played a few games, watched a movie, painted their nails, made friendship bracelets, and opened presents. Ainsley had a blast!

On Sunday (her actual birthday) after church she opened presents from us and her grandparents. She really likes a series of books called "American Girl" and recently received an "American Girl" catalog in the mail. She fell in love with the Kit Kittredge doll and told us that was all she wanted for her birthday. For whatever reason, American Girl dolls are incredibly expensive so we told her she probably wouldn't get one. But, after discussing it with my parents, we decided to go ahead and get her the doll. Kit would be from both of us. She was ecstatic when she opened her gift. She also loved the books that Chris' parents gave her. That kid loves to read!

That evening we made a special birthday dinner for her with cake and ice cream for dessert. Ainsley had a great weekend and is looking forward to her baptism on February 7th. Happy birthday Ainsley! We love you!

No Naps

Much to my dismay, Landon has decided he's through with napping. He's roughly the age that the girls both were when they said "NO!" to nap time, so I'm not surprised. The problem is that I really think he still needs a nap. If he doesn't sleep during the day, he looks like he's going to pass out come dinner time. Plus he becomes extremely grouchy. He's tired!

So, I've pulled out the mean mom card and started locking him in his room around 1:00 most afternoons. He does get one chance not to come out but usually if I don't put a child lock on the inside of his door he either shows up in the living room five seconds later or he stands at the door opening and closing it over and over. Once the lock is in place, he gets mad for a few minutes, then he plays with his toys for a bit, and finally I find him like this. His latest trick is to fall asleep next to his bedroom door, so when it's time to pick up Ainsley from school I have to lay down on the floor outside of his room and call under the door to wake him.

Catching Up

Ainsley has been out of school for two weeks and it's been great. I always love having her home. She's such a big helper. She and Kaylee have been playing so well together. I think we're all going to be a little sad sending her back to school on Monday.

The training wheels on Kaylee's bike have always been a big pain for some reason. They tend to shift and pretty much fall off as she's riding so a few days before Christmas I convinced her to "just try" riding a two wheeler. She took off and hasn't looked back.

Landon was recently introduced to our Wii. The girls taught him how to hit a golf ball, bowl, and box. He's even tried baseball and tennis. It's fun to watch him play and listen to the silly things he says while he's playing. Unfortunately, he likes to play so much that he's constantly trying to negotiate more play time. Last Sunday while we were driving home from church he asked me if he could play when we got home. When I told him that we don't play the Wii on Sundays he said, "Then I'll ask Daddy" (Chris was at home with a sick Kaylee - more about that later). He's pulled that one a few more times since. Little stinker.

Chris's mom came for a visit a few days after Christmas. She only stayed a couple of days but we had fun with her. She spoiled us by taking us to many of her favorite restaurants, which happen to be our favorites too. Thanks Grandma! We also played lots of Junior Monopoly and took a trip to the Children's Museum.  

Poor Kaylee has had an ongoing battle with strep throat since the end of October. She just can't seem to kick it. She's now on her third antibiotic. This one seems to be working so we're keeping our fingers crossed. Her doctor is referring her to an ENT to determine if her tonsils need to be removed. She's rooting for the removal of her tonsils because she's been told she'll get to eat all the ice cream she wants. Plus Grandma Gadd has promised to come and take care of her if she has to have surgery. We haven't exactly told her what will happen before the ice cream eating and Grandma visiting. I figure it's best to keep that part from her until we know what (if anything) needs to be done.

That's about it! The last few weeks have been pretty eventful, which is more than I can say about our New Year's Eve. We did have fun with the kids before they went to bed. Apparently Ainsley tried to stay up until midnight but she told us she finally passed out around 11:30. That's more than I can say for myself. I ended up in bed at 10:00. Happy New Year!