Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde

I think we have the makings of a major temper tantrum thrower!

(video of Hannah coming soon!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, its Valentine's Day and in the Deibel household its not quite the fun-filled holiday we'd hoped. Hannah started running a fever again last night. When she got up this morning her temp was normal, but its now up to 101.1. Thankfully we already had her 3 year check up scheduled for today, so we'll be going to that here in a little bit. We'll have to come back another day for the shots - they don't give shots if they have a fever. But at least we'll be able to make sure its not her ears or strep throat.

Cailyn is doing well, though on a bit of a nap strike...well, not really a strike, just a weird phase. She only takes one nap a day (has since birth...one of her many unique "qualities" :o) ) and so its usually 1.5-2 hours long. Lately, its only been 45 min. - 1 hour....nice! Today we all laid down at the same time. It took Hannah awhile to get to sleep and literally just as she was drifting off (in our bed), Cailyn woke up. So, no nap for Mommy today...again. :o) Here's a snapshot on what we're doing right now:

Cailyn's enjoying a post-lunch "dessert" of Cheerios - always willing to share.

Hannah's hibernating on the couch "watching" a movie (aka - staring off into space). She already watched a short show this morning and we told her that was all she would get to watch today, but when she has a 101 fever, I feel so bad for her and she just doesn't want to do anything, so I gave in. :o)

Well, Cailyn is now throwing her Cheerios on the floor which is baby-speak for, "I'm done now, Mommy, please get me down so we can play." So I'll draw this to a close. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

(In case you're wondering, Seth took me out for a wonderful date a couple of weeks ago, so we're sticking close to home tonight. Some quiet time at home with the family is just what Cupid ordered!!)

Wow, more pictures!!

Seth is at a conference with the youth today; Cailyn is napping and Hannah is painting with water, so I thought I'd take a quiet moment for myself and upload some more picutres for I lose the time to do it. :o)


This first pic is of one of the 3 bruises Cailyn endured yesterday...not sure why none of the others are showing up, or why this one doesn't show in any other picture, but there it is. Its by far the worst of the three. She did this one to herself...she was trying to pull up on something and slipped and banged her head on a toy on the floor. :o( The other two occured when both girls had gone down the hallway together. I'm not sure of the whole story or how it exactly happened, but I think it involved Hannah trying to ride Cailyn like a horsey....



Cailyn's first haircut! Before:

After!

Hannah's first popcicle! I know, our child is deprived...she's 3 and this is her first popcicle. But, she's not a big fan of cold things...but she sure enjoyed this one on her sore throat!

Cailyn's latest obsession: standing! She wants to stand ALLLLL the time, and she won't settle for her exersaucer anymore (sad day for Mommy!!). She's balanced for a couple of seconds all by herself a few times, but mostly she likes to stand holding onto people's fingers, or these chairs.

Croupy Croup and the Funky Bunch....and Da-Da....2 unrelated but related posts. :o)

Well, last night I thought we were out of the thick of Hannah's croup, thinking "Wow, that was easier than I thought." It was as if those germs in her little lungs heard me and said, "Ah-ha, easy, eh? Well, we didn't do our job!" So, this morning she woke up with a fever and more coughs (I thought she hadn't coughed very much and just figured it was a fluke)...its still not a TON a coughing...certainly not what I envisioned croup to be, but certainly more of a cough than she's had. Her temp hovered around 100.3 all day, even with meds, but she stayed in good spirits (cartoon movie marathons during the week, when tv is usually very limited will do that I suppose!) and even got down to play with Cailyn quite a bit - which resulted in 3 bruises on Cailyn's face, but that's a post that should have pics with it. LOL So anyway, Hannah's doing alright, hanging in there. She devoured a hamburger in record time tonight, so that's a good thing. Certainly this little bout of illness is nothing compared to what other families are dealing with tonight, but just thought I"d update you.

Cailyn also said her first real word on purpose today! And it was....*drumroll please*...Da-da!! She said it several times, all in the correct context. I also THINK she said Hannah (came out aahhh-naaahhh)...she said it to Hannah, and once as if she was repeating me saying it. So, that's been exciting...her first real words. Of course, nothing close to Ma-ma..that's ok...even though I carried her in my belly for over 9 months...endured major abdominal surgery to ensure her safe entry into the world.....was her sole source of nutrition and comfort for over 6 months.....was up countless hours in the night......but no biggie. ;o) hehehe No, really, its great that she's communicating verbally now. She understands a ton...she vigorously signs "milk" as she drinks her bottles....she'll look in the direction of the right person if we ask "Where's ______?" She'll even "point" (her pointing is aiming the palm of her hand with her fingers pointing towards the floor toward whatever she's pointing at). So, its fun to see her grow in her abilities.

So, that's the latest in our house....wow, 3 posts in one week!! I feel so productive! ;o)

Cailyn Crawls!

I know this is a bit long, but I had fun with it. :o)

Croup! There it is.....Croup! There it is...

Tuesday, February 5, started out like any other Tuesday. The girls and I went to work, played, ate, napped (well, the girls "napped" while I worked). We went to a basketball game of a couple of our youth and it was a late night for everyone, but nothing out of the oridnary. Suddenly at 1am, I hear a barking seal in Hannah's room....only its not a seal, its Hannah! Seth and I both knew it was most likely croup, but Hannah couldn't catch her breath and was really scared, which made her hyperventilate, which made it harder for her to breathe, which made her more scared...viscious circle. So, Seth took her down to the ER and I stayed home with Cailyn.

I must pause at this point in the story and say that I had croup when I was about Hannah's age, and I, too, was taken to the hospital by my father, while my mom stayed at home with my brother. I remember bits and pieces of my dad and I's journey to the ER, and always pictured my mom and home in bed slumbering peacefully. Not sure why it never dawned on me that she would be wide awake at home with a million thoughts and prayers running through her mind.

Ok, back to our regularly scheduled blog....

So, I called my mom to let her know what was going on (if you're a family member and didn't get a call, please don't be offended...it was REALLY late - or early depending on how you look at it - and I was trying to keep myself together) and asked her how she stayed sane while dad was gone with me. I was able to calm myself down and once Seth called and said they'd taken her back right away to check her vitals adn that her oxygen levels were good, I was able to lightly sleep off and on, knowing I would still have to be useful today.

Hannah and Seth got back home around 5:30am and she already sounded better and was acting her usual silly self. We put the humidifier in her room and elevated one end of her mattress. She slept great the rest of the "night" and I never heard a sound from her (cough wise) until she woke for the day at 10am. She's now snuggled on the couch with her kitty, blankey, second cup of diluted Gatorade, watching Cars. No fever, and is in good spirits. Our main prayers are for quick healing and protection so Cailyn doesn't get it.