The End of an Era

Yesterday was a very eventful day.  Just a day after posting pictures of our 2004 Toyota Tacoma on Craig's List we got about 15 people wanting to come and see it.  The first man who came brought cash and that was that!  It was nice to have it done so quickly but sad to see it go.  That was the first big purchase Paul and I made together, we drove away from our wedding in it, drove across the country with the Eastmans in it, bonding us for life, we brought Hayden home from the hospital in it, my list could go on and on...It was so nice to have a truck, but it was costing us a fortune with Paul commuting to work and gas prices. 

We took one last picture before we said goodbye!  Pardon my immodest shorts, I was on the way to the gym!

 

We had to take a picture of the money because it is the most cash we have ever held in our hands!

Now car-less, Paul and I went looking for a car.  Paul has been doing a lot of research for the past month and we decided on a Honda Civic mainly for their great gas mileage and reliability.  We found one equal to the price we sold our truck for and purchased it last night.  Hayden decided to try and be big and did not nap at all yesterday while out looking at cars.  Well she only made it until 6:30 pm and then I had to wake her up this morning at 9 am!  She was beat. 

Paul with his new car (actually a gently used 2008 :) )

Hoarder

Hayden continues to change so much.  For instance, she now goes to the YMCA without crying so much, she actually liked nursery last week, and she now screams every time she wants anything (I knew I should have taught her sign language!)  But our personal favorite is her hoarding!  She doesn't want just one pen, she wants 15 and all in one hand!  Here is another classic example of her hoarding:

 Here she is playing with side walk chalk but just wants to hold them all instead of use them!

 Hayden thinks it's so cool to wear her sunglasses in the car like mom and dad!

Easter Day

It is so fun to be a parent on special holidays.  You never know how your little one is going to react to all the excitement.  Well this year Hayden definitely shocked both Paul and I.  We brought her down to look at her basket and she was not having any of it!  She did the same thing the day before when a lady I work with at church brought her a gift after her surgery.  She opened it and just cried.  What a little stinker she can be!  Paul captured the magic on video:

She eventually did look at everything and was excited about it!  It was so fun for me to find little things to go in the basket.  So many things kids love only cost a buck!  Grandma Anne also had lots of fun things added to the basket, Hayden's favorite was probably the movie Tangled (she watches it almost everyday).  The Pratts were also nice enough to get Hayden's Easter dress. Grandma Robinson sent a cute little outfit and recorded book! 

After church we had our Easter Egg hunt.  Hayden started to get the hang of it and seemed to have fun.

 playing with stickers

Later that night we went to the Mendenhall's house where we were joined by another 2 families for a big Easter dinner.  They also had another egg hunt for the kids!

A funny side note.  In the morning Paul was getting Hayden dressed and put this dress on backwards.  I could hear him saying, "this is really low, I don't know if this is appropriate for church."  Without even seeing it I knew he had it on backwards!

Dying Easter Eggs

This is the first year Paul and I have not used PAAS to dye our eggs.  I was a little late in getting an egg dying packet this year and so I got some random 3D box.  Hayden LOVED the stickers though and now Paul is very concerned that she is going to want to tattoo her whole body someday.  She could not stop staring at herself! 

 

After some of the fascination died down, we sat down to work on the eggs.  I struggled all around this year and a bunch of my eggs cracked while they were boiling, so we only did a few this year. 

 Hayden was pretty shocked when she saw the egg come out a different color!

  She was a cautious observer this year.

 She did enjoy the white crayon and went to town of a few of the eggs

Hayden's special crayoned up egg!

Adenoidectomy

Hayden and I arrived at the Paulding Hospital at 6:45 am on Friday April 22nd.  After registering and paying our lovely bill, we were brought back into the surgery center.  Hayden was very excited because this was on her bed:

She thought, "what a fun place my mom has taken me, toys, pens, a new bed, no wonder she woke me up so early!"

Then a nurse came in and tried to hook Hayden's toe up to a monitor to get her heart rate and oxygen levels.  This is when the real drama began and Hayden was not having any of it!  I finally distracted her by taking her out to the fish tank and looking at the "fishies" while the nurse got her numbers.  Then came trying to put on her hospital bands and gown.  She did not like this one bit either!  They wanted the bands on her ankle and Hayden wanted them on her wrist, clearly the place a "bracelet" should go. 

Then the next nurse came and they were ready to take her in for surgery around 8 am.  The nurses kept telling me that many parents think their child will cry when they are taken away, but many don't.  I was pretty confident that she would lose it and I was definitely correct!  She was not happy when they carried her away, but the anesthesiologist said that it was actually better for her to cry because she would take bigger breaths in between sobs and go to sleep with the gas very quickly.   After the surgery was over the surgeon told me that her veins were too small to get an IV in and I was relieved because that would mean she would wake up without one in.  If she was trying to tear off the monitor on her toe, then I can only imagine what she would have tried to do to an IV.

The surgery lasted about 30 minutes and then Dr. Vick came and talked to me while she was waking up.  He told me it went well and that her adenoids were so large that there was absolutely no space between them and the end of her nose.  He also said it was so tempting to cut out her tonsils because of their size, but there are lots of risks associated with taking them out in young children.  He hopes she will grow into them, but believes we will probably be back in a few years to have them removed.  He also said she was quite congested so he drained out her sinuses.  

Then Hayden was brought back to me in her gown and wrapped up in a blanket, holding her favorite blanket. I wish I had a picture of this, but I was alone, so that did not happen.  I know this sounds weird but it was almost like having a new born brought to me.  She was so tired and I held her just like a little baby...This was wonderful....until they wanted her heart rate and oxygen levels again!  Hayden woke up from a dead sleep the second they tried to put it on her toe and was so angry that her numbers were all way to high for discharge.  She drank some fluids and they again tried 2 or 3 times to get the numbers, but all efforts were futile!  Eventually they discharged us without the numbers and told me to watch her color through the rest of the day to make sure she was getting enough oxygen.

I didn't even dare try and get her shirt back on, so we went home shirtless.

She got spoiled the rest of the day by having her blanket and pacifier with her all day!  She was so happy when we got home and had tons of energy.  She got super tired around noon and took a long nap.  It is crazy how kids recover so quickly.  Today she still has a runny nose, but seems back to normal!  Hopefully she will learn how to breath through her nose again and breath better at night. 

Temple Open House

On Thursday I met my friend Susannah Sanders and we took our two little girls through the Atlanta Temple Open House.  I invited Susannah because it's not everyday that an LDS temple is open to the public and I thought she might like to see what they look like inside.  I also wanted Hayden to go inside since she will have to wait a long time before she goes in again.  Of course she did not appreciate it that much, but I can still tell her she walked through it!  Payton Sanders did so great, but Hayden was a little out of control.  She wanted to get on all the couches and chairs so I finally put her up on my shoulders and she seemed to do better.  The chandeliers in the celestial room and sealing rooms are absolutely beautiful!  The prettiest ones I've seen in a temple.

For lunch we headed to Chick-Fil-A and I managed to get a few pictures!  Sadly I didn't get any pictures outside the temple.  Since we were both carrying our girls, that left little room to carry much of anything else!  Overall it was a fun afternoon.  I wish we lived closer to the Sanders while they are here in Georgia so we could get together more often...

Both smiling but looking down of course!

The B.R.A.T Diet

Consisting of bananas, rice, applesauce and toast.  This has been all Hayden can eat because she has had terrible diarrhea and a very sore little tush (had bowel movements at night but did not wake up to let us know). It's the worst diaper rash she has ever had by far.  She won't sit down and walks with her legs as spread apart as possible.  Thank goodness my friend Brittney Curby told me about this way of eating because we are finally starting to see some improvement.   Poor Hayden has had it rough for the past couple of weeks: strep throat, allergic reaction to penicillin, bad cough, teething, and now diarrhea.  Don't worry in 2 days she gets to have surgery at 6:50 am. Hopefully this will make breathing easier for her.

I felt so bad leaving her all day yesterday, but Paul and I got the opportunity to volunteer at the Atlanta Temple Open House.  We collected booties at the end of the tour which was definitely not a glamorous job like tour guide, but it was still fun to be apart of the event.  People were so appreciative that I would bend over and take their booties off!  It was fun to spend the day with Paul.  I am excited to take Hayden through with my friend Susannah and her daughter Payton.  Hayden will probably not appreciate it like I want her to, but I still want her to be able to see it. 

3 Things

• We officially paid off our Honda Pilot yesterday after 18 months of our purchase date! We are proud of this accomplishment as it was not easy to make the double payments since I stopped working.
• Yesterday Hayden and I went to our first ever "play-group."  Hayden was too young in Cheyenne and I worked on the day they had it & they never had a play-group in Indiana.  The moms in the Lost Mountain Ward are so kind and inviting.  We both had so much fun: I had adult time and Hayden ate tons of junk food and played.  We had an Easter Egg hunt for the kids, but Hayden hasn't quite caught on yet.  She was happy after she found a sucker and she was done!  I don't know if it was all the sugar or what but she was so jazzed up that she didn't even take a nap yesterday!
• I took Hayden to her pre-operation appointment today.  I signed lots and lots of papers (with Hayden's help of course), was given post-op instructions, and they examined her again.  Her tonsils looked bigger to the doctor today and she said she will definitely have to have them removed in the future.  She said they measure at a 4 on a scale of 1-4!  I am most worried about not being able to give Hayden milk the morning of the operation.  She loves her milk!

Tucker

This morning I left the house at the early time of 7:15 am to meet with the LDS Family Services Director to officially become a community resource.  My appointment was not until 9 am, but it was about 50 miles away and right during rush hour!!!  I bypassed the worst freeway 285, but it still took me a little over 1 1/2 hours to get to Tucker and only about 45 minutes to get home!

I really enjoyed meeting with the director and talking about therapy. It made me realize how much I do miss the whole therapy world.  One thing about going it alone in private practice is that I won't get the conversation with other colleagues which I really enjoy.

One great thing that came out of the meeting is that LDS Family Services often has trainings to get continuing education hours and I can also attend for free!!!  Also, he showed me a map of the areas where LDS therapists are located and there is literally no one in my area but me.  He kept saying what an ideal location I lived! 

I have gotten one phone call from a woman asking about my services for her son, so we'll see what happens.  It is starting to look a lot more real!

This is what it looks like all over her body :(

Again????

So I realize I post almost daily lately, but it is so therapeutic for me to write it out.  Hayden woke up earlier than normal, so I went in to change her diaper only to discover a rash all over her body.  She had a rash back in February that she got from her cousin Jett, but it was just a viral one.  So I wondered if it was that, but thought I better call her pediatrician.  So after talking to them I was told to bring her in yet again.  That's right, I'm averaging 2 appointments a week right now and it is getting a little old and expensive. 

The doctor examined her and it looks like Hayden is allergic to penicillin which they gave her for strep.  I guess it is normal that she took it for 8 days and just broke out with a rash.  I was told to stop the antibiotics as she has no signs of strep any longer and wait for the rash to go away.  She said the rash typically lasts 7-10 days.  If it doesn't go away, she gets a fever, or stops eating, I'm suppose to bring her back in again.  At least I don't have to pay for a new antibiotic :)

I know that life could be much much worse and I am a big Debbie Downer once again, but really?  Could things go right for a couple of weeks for us?  Could we actually keep a little bit of money in our savings account?  I feel really down today, so I've decided to make "brinner" tonight, that's breakfast for dinner.  That's got to cheer us all up right?

One side note, last week a lady in my ward taught me how to make these cute hair bows or rings for me.  It was so fun to learn and cheap!

ENT

Hayden and I went to Dr. Michael Vick (kind of funny huh) today and he examined her and looked over her x-rays.  It was decided that she will have her adenoids removed on April 22nd.  He said her tonsils are also quite large, they measure them on a scale of 1-4 and she was about a 3.  The recovery for adenoids is apparently pretty easy, but tonsils are another story and the Dr. does not like taking them out in young children.  So that surgery may be on the horizon in the coming years.

It is a 20 minute surgery and it is very straightforward, so hopefully everything will go well.  He said that this will make it much easier for her to breath, it won't be 100% better due to the tonsils, but nonetheless a lot better!

 Also, this is what happens when I leave an 18 month old alone with a pb&j sandwich!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL

Both Paul and I only have one year left in our 20s! We both can't figure out where the last 10 years have gone...Yesterday was Paul's 29th birthday and we had a pretty good day.  Paul's company is in the process of interviewing potential candidates and they had an interview on his birthday.  The interviewee brought his wife along so they asked me to meet them there to keep her company while the interview was going on.  After, we all got to go out to lunch and I "accidentally" let it slip that it was Paul's birthday to his regional manager.  So he notified the staff who brought him a yummy birthday treat.  Hayden did have a melt down because she wanted her shoes off, but other than that she acted so great at lunch sitting on my lap (bc she won't sit in high chairs anymore, it's a booster seat or nothing!)

I prepared Paul's favorite meal, Turkey Bolognese and Hayden helped him open up presents.  We got him some new cologne, a WHITE t-shirt (because he always lets me know he only has one good white shirt), some workout shorts, a new pair of work pants, and knitting needles for making ebelskivers.  Paul was very indecisive about what kind of a cake he wanted, so I tried out something new: Paula Dean's Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cakes and let me tell you, they were AMAZING!


Here is the recipe for anyone who loves chocolate:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/double-chocolate-gooey-butter-cakes-recipe/index.html

I completely forgot to get candles, so this was "28" with a meat thermometer that counted as 1 :)

I hope Paul had a good birthday!  Hayden and I had so much fun meeting with him for lunch and spending a quiet evening together.  I am so proud of Paul and how hard he is working at his new job.  He had a big presentation yesterday and the owner stopped him and asked him how long he had been working for BMH and when Paul said 7 months, the man said, "how in the world have you learned so much in only 7 months!"  This man teaches a class on the products Paul sales at a college and was so interested in how Paul has learned it all so quickly and wishes he could teach others how to do the same!  Love you!

Hayden's Pictures

http://poshphotography.zenfolio.com/p407037628

Here is the link to view all of her pictures.  We got some cute ones, but my favorite is still the one I already posted.  I just can't stop staring at it!

New picture

We had some new pictures of Hayden taken and I am in love with this one and wanted to share it!  We should be getting the link to all the pictures soon, so I will post it when I get it. 

Don't let this angel face fool you!  Today she discovered that she can put her hand in her diaper and scoop out poop!  That's right, I went in after nap time and it was smeared on her face, pacifier, legs, no fun!  I think my screams scared her into never doing it again!  She was not a happy camper and hated having the poop on her hands.

X-Rays

Paul had the day off (kind of, he still worked from home) on Friday since he has traveled so much so he came with me to get Hayden's x-rays.  It started off great.  Hayden was smiling at all the nurses, waving, blowing kisses, labeling body parts.  She even said, "thank you" when a nurse handed me my receipt.  They all loved her...  Then the screams began!!!  We took off her clothes and she had to stand on a platform.  I had to hold her arms down which she did not appreciate and Paul had to hold her head in place.  She is so strong and would wiggle her way out of our grasp so it took quite a long time to get the x-rays right.  She screamed the whole time and then when it was finally over and I tried to put her clothes on she had a huge melt-down.  SOOOO EMBARRASSING! I don't know how else to say it.  The nurse probably told me 5 times that I could leave as I was trying to put her pants on.  Anyway, they sent the results to Hayden's pediatrician and she said that her tonsils and adenoids are very large.  They don't know if the tonsils are still swollen from strep or not.  But at that point she had been on her steroids and antibiotics for 3 days, so we'll see.  She meets with the ENT doctor on Wednseday.  Her doctor believes they will probably want to take them out, goodbye new floors (or any other home improvement project) hello surgery :)