The Sneetch of the Week Goes to Chuck E. Cheese's

The Cat in the Hat is introduced to Golden Spoon frozen yogurt.

The Cat meets Chuck E. Cheese! Sky also saw her friend (and our neighbor a few houses away), Maggie, a fellow kindergarten student (although not in Sky's class).

The Cat goes for a ride with Sky and Chuck E.

The Cat enjoys playing in our backyard with Sky, Brad and Timi, a friend from Sky's class.

The Helmet

Lila got her prosthetic helmet on Monday. She seems to have adjusted to it well. She will need to wear it 23 hours a day for the next 3-6 months with follow up appointments every other week during this time. She gets to have the helmet off for 1 hour a day for bath time and also to wash the helmet itself. She sweats quite a bit in it and I can only imagine how much more it will be when summer gets here.

The hardest part about the helmet, for me, has been that it takes up so much of her face so that there is much less area for kissing that sweet little face. I try to make the most of the time when she has the helmet off. It's also been hard to deal with people's stares and questions about the helmet. I'm sure that the questions will dissipate once I have relayed the information to the people that I see most often but, right now, it is just exhausting. I feel sad that people don't see Lila as the cute little girl that she is any more.

We also found out that our insurace covers 80% of the cost (which is over $2,500!). So we'll be using some tax return money for this fancy hat.

Since these pictures Sky has decorated the helmet with flower and heart stickers. The stickers can be removed with rubbing alcohol and then new ones applied so Sky is enjoying that aspect of the helmet.

We're still working hard on her neck issues, seeing a chiropractor at least once a week and also doing exercises and stretches at home. The chiropractor adjustments seem to be working very well. Her range of motion is so much better and the chiropractor is very excited about her progress.

The post hospital trauma seems to be improving. Lila is waking up 2-3 times a night rather than 5-6 times a night and she eats and goes back to sleep each time. She had lost a pound through the hospital ordeal so I feel like she is now working hard to make up for it. I do wish she would eat solid food or even take a bottle or sippy cup because I am truly exhausted with the short sleep spurts.

A few days ago I was up with her at 4am feeding her in the living room when I hear Brad vomiting in his bed. So I call out for Ken to go to Brad and I join him in the clean up efforts as soon as I get Lila back to sleep. While we're stripping his bed and changing his clothes, Sky is spouting out questions from her perch on the top bunk: Is Brad going to throw up again? Did any of it get on my Barbie book? It sure smells bad in here! Why are you taking the sheets off of Brad's bed? which finally culminated in: Adam and Eve really shouldn't have done what they did! (meaning that what they did brought sickness into the world) We changed the sheets, gave Brad a bath, put him in clean clothes, got the washing machine going, etc. and crawled back into bed. About 5 minutes later we hear Brad throwing up again so we head in for clean up of round 2. Thankfully there was never a fever and Brad has been completely fine since. Someday I'll look back and laugh, right?

Way Fun

This keeps happening to poor Brad. I dress him in size 3T jeans (size 2T are too short) but a few minutes later he comes to me like this. Guess we need to invest in some adjustable pants or belts...

This is Sky enjoying the sled run at our church's snow day.

Lila enjoyed the festivities today. She is so content to watch everyone having fun around her.

Sky had a blast in the bounce houses! There were lots of kids there-even 2 kids from her kindergarten class.

Sky and Brad got some balloon kitties at snow day. It was an Olympic village theme and each Sunday school class represented a different country and gave out free samples of that kind of food at their booth. Brad ate 3 snow cones from the Iceland booth, definitely his favorite.

We also spent a long time at the playground area with friends. The kids had a blast! It was a perfect day. Sky had been praying that it wouldn't rain as the meteorologists predicted and tonight she thanked the Lord for answering her prayer.

Crazy Kids

Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln!

Lila was evaluated for molding helmet therapy this past week. It was a fascinating procedure using an eye safe laser to scan her head. It captures the head shape using 4 lasers and 8 cameras in less than 2 seconds! It then shows the degrees of difference between what is considered normal and what Lila's head is . It was determined that she would benefit from this helmet therapy and so we are taking the next step to get the helmet for her. She will need to wear it for 4-6 months and it should improve the shape of her head dramatically. It's ultimately our decision as it is mostly a cosmetic problem but since our insurance covers most of it, we are going to go forward with it. Maybe someday she'll thank us???

Lila also saw a new chiropractor this week. He deals a lot with children and infants and he was able to pinpoint 2 of Lila's issues (digestive problems and a weak immune system) just by looking at her neck problems. I was very impressed with him and he seemed very positive about being able to fix Lila's neck problems.

Lila also had her hospital follow up appointment with her pediatrician this week. Her oxygen levels were great and her lungs were totally cleared up. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief after hearing that! We also were able to discontinue to breathing treatments. She still needs to take her antibiotic which she really puts up a fight over. I actually brought it with me and asked the nurse to administer it since I have such a hard time and the nurse did no better than I do. Lila just won't cooperate. Thankfully she received 4 full doses in the hospital and we do get SOME down her each day. Hopefully she can stay healthy and get back on track with her sleeping!

Sky continues to love school and is learning so much every day. Brad is such a funny guy. The other day he said to me, "How is my hair looking?" which is especially funny since he has no hair.

Happy Valentine's Day

Ken and I celebrated Valentine's Day by going to Pasadena together (with Lila). Pasadena is a beautiful city nestled beneath some magnificent mountains. We went to a used bookstore that we've been wanting to see for a while and found a few books that we "needed". Then we went to the most amazing place for dinner, Roy's Hawaiian fusion. It was sooooooo good. And the manager came and gave us a $20 voucher for our next visit there. Meanwhile Sky and Brad played with the babysitter, Haley, a Biola senior who really works them hard and tires them out. Did I mention that we also went to a birthday party for one of Brad's little friends this morning? Needless to say, it was a fun day had by all.

Good Bye January!

January was a very challenging month for me. Between treating Lila's head/neck issues and some unexpected illnesses, I took Lila to 12 doctor's appointments, Brad 2 doctor's appointments, and the cat to her vet appointment. And, of course, ultimately ending up in the hospital on Jan. 31.
I also had 4 Saturdays alone with the kids while Ken taught his interterm class and a toilet flood on one of those days. Let's just say it was a rough month and I'll stop complaining. Unfortunately, February doesn't look like it's going to be any easier as I face more appointments for Lila and she will probably get her helmet this month.
I am thankful for Lila's improving health-I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I guess I'm just overwhelmed with trying to keep up with these 3 little people while being a support for Ken.

Going Home

Look Mom, no tubes!!!

I just spoke with the doctor and, it's official, we're going home today! We will have a follow up visit with the pediatrician next week and Lila will need to continue taking antibiotics for 10 days but her lungs are finally clear and she is definitely back to her old self. Unfortunately, she has lost a full pound because of this illness! She looked really full in some of the blog pictures because she had been pumped full of IV fluids. Thanks everyone for your prayers for our sweet baby Lila and the rest of the family. It will feel good to get things back to normal! Please pray the she will stay healthy now.