Trying Three

WoW! We have been so busy that every time I begin to Blog, I never get to a point where I am able to publish my post! Here is a post that should catch you up to speed on our CRAZY lives! This post will update the past two weeks and numerous adventures of The Smithson Family!

Friday a week ago (April 24th), Liam turned 3! He wanted to eat, “steak meat, chips, and cheese” for his birthday, so we went to El Sombrero for dinner. That is one of two places where he will actually EAT! The other place is Chick-fil-A, therefore that is where he had his party! Monday night, Liam and several of his friends, as well as some of our friends and family, gathered at Chick-fil-A for an eventful birthday party! It was so CRAZY that we waited until we got home to have Liam open his presents. He got so many cool toys! Thank you to everyone that attended Liam’s party. We really appreciate all of the awesome gifts! Now that Liam has seen the number 3 on his birthday cake, he believes us when we tell him he is no longer 2!

Liam and the Chick-fil-A cow!

Logan and the cow

Elizabeth and the cow!

Lainey checking out the cow!

Liam and his friend Brett ~ they are the reason why Brett's mom and I work!

Kaylah

Lanie ~ Lainey's friend who also has CF (read this previous blog)

Lanie's brother Landon

Last Saturday (April 25th) was Chris and Kelly’s wedding (Chris is my sister’s brother-in-law). The boys stayed with Papa Dan and Rachel, while my friend Jenn, Lainey, and I went to the wedding. Sid had to work and was unable to take off to go to the wedding. They got married at a beautiful house in Greensboro, Georgia. It took about one hour and forty-five minutes to get there, but we didn’t mind! The wedding was beautiful, Lainey was well-behaved, the food was yummy, the cupcakes were to die for, and the dancing was too funny to miss! Kelly was a beautiful bride.....and Chris looked cute, too (can’t leave him out)! Kelly had some wonderful smelling candles as favors......thank you for helping to mask the stinky CF diaper smell at my house!

Kelly and Chris

Lainey Bug

Tuesday (April 28th) we were scheduled to have our pictures taken for the Littlest Heroes Project. Everyone was home early from work and school, clothes were ironed, and all were dressed and off we went to the park to meet the photographer. Problem: The photographer wasn’t there. We waited for over half an hour, went to several parks incase she got lost, called her (no answer), emailed her, text messaged her, and still no photographer. As bummed as we were, we left and will wait to see if she contacts us again! I really wanted to have her pictures ready before her first birthday. As of now, we have yet to have our emails or phone calls returned!

Wednesday (April 29th) we went to Liam’s 3 year check-up! His weight was in the 75th percentile and his height was in the 50th percentile. He checked out well in all areas! Dr. Onal reminded us that SAFETY is the most important thing when caring for a 3 year old child! He can say that again because Liam is in to EVERYTHING! We have only called the poison control a few times (he took birth control, vitamin D, and an iron pill as well as drinking 1/3 of a bottle of Mucinex), there are a at least half a dozen bruises adorning his legs, he very rarely goes one day without a bump or cut on his face, and he is always sporting bite marks on his hand…..Don’t you bite yourself when you are mad?

Thursday (April 30th) began our series of birthday parties! Liam was invited to a party at Monkey Joe's. Sid and Liam went to the party while I attended a meeting at school. Yesterday I took the kids to 3 birthday parties!! We began at 10:00 with Brett’s party at the INK museum (Interactive Neighborhood for Kids), then Katelynn’s birthday party at 11:00 at the Hall County Humane Society, and finishing with Ajay’s birthday party at 2:00 at his house with the Bus Fair! Three birthdays, three cakes, three presents, three plates of food, and three tired children….and one worn out mommy!

Brett's 3rd birthday!

Katelynn's birthday party!

Katelynn turning 2!

Jenn, Ed, and Katelynn

Got cake?

Kaylah enjoying birthday cake!

Logan, Liam, and Dawson

Ajay's 4th birthday!

Lainey

Liam jumping on Ajay and Avery's jumper!

This next week will be just as crazy as the past! I will try to post, even if it is just pictures of our adventures! My birthday is on Tuesday, cinco de mayo! We have a birthday party to attend on Saturday, and then Mother’s Day and Lilly’s baptism on Sunday! We are also planning for Lainey’s First Birthday Bash! She has 17 days until her 1st birthday!! Oh yeah, She just began crawling this past week!! Enjoy the pictures and look for more from our week ahead!

DeAnn

Having A Ball!

Friday was Lainey's 11 month clinic visit. She is finally in the GREEN!!! She was 20 pounds and .02 ounces! Her length was 28 1/2 inches, putting her BMI in the 50th percentile. The antibiotics she has been taking seem to be doing the trick. Dr. Caplan said her lungs sound clear! Yea! We will begin introducing Pediasure, again. This time we will put a little at a time into her bottle to gradually wean her from the formula. I will also begin introducing a sippy cup. It is a pet peeve of mine to see kids older than 15 months drinking out of a bottle, therefore I must begin working with Lainey. Dr. Caplan said that Lainey will come back next month for her 1 year checkup, then we can begin scheduling appointments a little further apart! I won't know what do not having to go to the CF Center every month!

As for now, all of Lainey's meds will stay the same. The only change in Lainey's routine is to begin introducing Pediasure.....after she finishes the antibiotics. Dr. Caplan is unsure about introducing whole milk since it only has 20 calories and due to the milk protein allergy Lainey had when she was in the hospital. We are hoping that she continues to gain a lot of weight now that she is eating table foods. Lainey is taking a liking to french fries ~ salty and fattening ~ just what the doctor ordered!

Lainey and Gigi

A not-so-happy Lainey! She was ready for everyone to leave her alone!

Lainey was a happy girl after everyone quit "bothering"her!

On Wednesday, Logan began PeeWee T-Ball! Although it is called PeeWee, Logan was not so "PeeWee" looking compared to the other children! This team is for 4 and 5 year old boys and girls. Logan just turned 5 but looks like an eight year old out on the field! After practice he said, "Mom I love t-ball and I learned a lot!" Unfortunately Liam is too young to play t-ball. He wanted to play with the big kids so bad that he threw a major fit! When all of the t-ball kids were off the field, my dad (aka Papa the Coach) called him out and told him to run around all of the bases! He was faster than any of the other kids! It was awesome because he crashed when we put him to bed!

Logan is wearing Papa's blue hat. They were learning to catch ground balls.

Liam played on the playground while Logan practiced!

Logan telling his new friends that his "name tag says that his name is Logan, but it is really Peter!" He wants his name to be Peter because he wants to be like Peter Pan!

On Saturday morning the Gainesville Parks and Recreation had their annual T-Ball, Softball, Baseball parade! It took longer to get the teams in groups than it did to see the complete parade from start to finish, but Logan had a blast. Liam and Lainey enjoyed watching their big brother walking in the parade!

Dawson and Logan at the parade.

There were 520 kids and 100 volunteer coaches!

Logan dancing to the music the DJ was playing!

Lainey watching all of the kids!

In addition to the fun time we had at the parade, my mom and I headed to a bridal shower and my dad took the boys to the park. Lainey was the hit of the party! Of course she smiled at everyone and chowed down on the homemade french toast!

This next week brings a lot of fun and not-so-fun things! Not-so-fun ~ CRCT testing! My first grade students will have to take a three hour test on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. BLAH! It is so hard for them to sit still for that long, since we only get one break in the middle of the test each day. Also, progress reports go home on Thursday, so I have a lot of work ahead! Fun ~ Lainey will be 11 months tomorrow. Time is flying by! Liam's birthday is Friday! I can't believe he will be 3! Liam is also going on a field trip to Elachee Nature Center with his day care class. We have been telling him that he will be able to go to camp this summer at Elachee if he goes pee pee and poo poo on the potty! Hopefully this trip will encourage him to use the potty so I can catch a break with buying diapers! This week also brings a wedding. My brother-in-law's brother is getting married. We love Chris and Kelly and are very excited for the two of them! It seems like just yesterday when they got engaged (although it was really July 4th)! The best thing of all ~ Sid's long clinical days are over! From now until he graduates, his clinicals will be 8 hours, so he will be finished with school Monday through Thursday by 3:00 in the afternoon! Now he will be able to go to Logan's t-ball practice and spend more time with the kids and I.

For now, I am off to my busy week! I will post pictures from our many events hopefully by Sunday!

DeAnn

Red Room vs. RED RUM

So.......Have you ever had the feeling that it is just too quiet in your house? When you have a two year old boy that isn't into the whole "sleeping thing," but you don't hear him after putting him to bed.......be AFRAID, VERY AFRAID!

Sid and I were down stairs making bottles, cleaning the kitchen, and preparing for the kids to go to their Papa Dan's and Lainey and I to go to my grandparent's house. Our 5 year old, Logan, was already asleep, Lainey was sleeping in her swing, and we had just put Liam in bed for the umpteenth time, when I said, "I hope Liam isn't up there sitting on my desk eating Nerds! It is all of a sudden too quiet. Maybe you should check on him!"

Sid went upstairs only to find the biggest mess ever! Not only were there toys all over the room, but Liam had found the ONE and ONLY RED PERMANENT SHARPIE MARKER on my desk. Needless to say, one Sharpie marker can do A LOT of damage! Luckily Sid took care of the situation....in fear I would hurt Liam!!

By the looks of things, Liam is out to get Lainey and I! He only wrote on my desk, my papers, my night stand, a picture frame of mine with a picture of me in it, Lainey's baby doll, Lainey's baby monitor, and the carpet closest to my desk! In addition to the red marker, he also decided to squeeze a brand new bottle of Lainey's baby lotion all over the floor in front of my side of the bed and all over a decorative bed pillow!

I give my husband props for dealing with the child in a fairly calm manner (he is still alive) and for using numerous alcohol prep pads and a bottle of fingernail polish remover to get rid of most of the red marker. He even got out the carpet cleaner to remove the lotion...and he HATES that big cleaner!! Thank you honey!

Lesson Learned: Put the 2 year old in a cage when you want him to stay in one place!!! Just kidding, but we are looking into some different methods of keeping him safe. This is just one of many dangerous/damaging tricks he has pulled....and I am sure it won't be the last! I am also sure he would probably continue to act like this even if he wasn't the middle child! Until then.....no writing utensils within a 2 year olds climbing range!!

My desk.......and the floor with red permanent Sharpie marker.


Some books and the carpet with more red marker!

A wedding picture of my friend, Dara, and I....covered in red marker!

The floor beside my bed doused with an entire bottle of baby lotion!

All is clean.....except for the carpet! No such luck! I can see a big rug purchase in my near future!

DeAnn

The pink eyed, slimy nosed, three eared monster

Well......there are sick children at our house again! Liam, our two year old, has a double ear infection and pink eye! Liam has already had 3 sets of tubes and adenoids removed then scraped because they grew back. He has also had his tonsils removed and a bilateral ear wax removal. With all this, one would think he would be semi-healthy.....not so much! This double ear infection is after having strep throat two weeks ago. On Friday had Liam just finished the antibiotic to treat strep throat. On Monday Liam's day care called suspecting he had pink eye. We were convinced it may be due to his sinuses draining. His eyes were getting worse and that is what prompted us to take him to the doctor. He is now on antibiotics for a double ear infection and pink eye!

Lainey is also having some issues with sinus drainage. She has had a slimy, green nose and the beginning of an ear infection in her right ear. She was running a fever on Monday, so I called her CF doctor. Of course Lainey is now on the old standby ~ Bactrim! With the combination of the Bactrim and the eye drops she was prescribed, Vigamox, her eyes are looking much better!

I am hoping everyone is well soon because this weekend the boys are going to hang out with their Papa Dan and I am going to my grandparent's house in South Georgia. I will be taking Lainey, but she is really easy to deal with even though she requires numerous meds and CPT. Maybe I will get to relax and actually hang out with adults! I always enjoy visiting with my grandparents. I am very lucky to still have both grandparents on my dad's side as well as my mother's side of the family!

Please pray that everyone is well soon, therefore I can keep my plans of relaxing and hanging out with my grandparents this weekend!

DeAnn

Birthodaycoccal Partyngitis

On Monday Logan had his 5th birthday party at Monkey Joe's. Along with the goodie bags, he and his little brother, Liam, passed out Streptococcal pharyngitis germs....aka ~ Strep Throat! Yep, that is right...Logan and Liam both had strep throat at the birthday party...and I didn't even know! Liam ran a low grade fever off and on last week, but never confirmed that anything hurt. Logan began complaining of a headache and his throat hurting on Friday, but he continued to eat. The last time he had strep, he wouldn't eat....so I thought it might be a cold or sinus drainage! WRONG! When my mom looked down his throat while the other kids were jumping on the inflatable toys at Monkey Joe's, she called it....and we called the doctor.

There were no openings at the pediatrician's office, so I took the boys yesterday. A little miffed with me for not bringing the boys to them in earlier, the doctor confirmed positive strep tests for both of them. Although Liam seems to be responding well to the antibiotics, Logan is still lagging behind. Logan has had a fever averaging 101 and he has been throwing up! He also is not wanting to eat....and if Logan doesn't want to eat, there is obviously something wrong! I think Liam was close to being over his strep throat since he was running a low grade fever most of last week. He has acted fine, but isn't eating much....like usual! The best thing the doctor said was that Lainey should be okay....babies do not usually get strep throat! I have never heard that, but I'll take it and hope she stays well!

Although Logan was not feeling well, I was determined to make sure he still had a good time at his party. Monkey Joe's is fun....but not so much when you aren't feeling well! Logan's favorite part of the party was opening gifts....who's isn't?! He got so many cool gifts! Transformers, Power Rangers, Legos, and Hot Wheels are just a few of the things his friends gave him. Thank you to everyone that came to celebrate Logan's 5th birthday. We hope you had a good time and we really hope Logan and Liam did not give your child strep throat!

Here are some pictures of Logan's BIG day at Monkey Joe's!

Lainey hanging out at Monkey Joe's.

Monkey Liam!

The Birthday Boy!

Hanging out with Strep Throat!

The Transformer Birthday Cake.

Logan and his friend Monkey Joe!

A cool UGA cork board from Reagan!

Thank you for the awesome gift Andrew....BAKUGAN is all Logan talks about after hanging out with you at school!

Thank you for the Power Ranger Grandma Carolyn and Papa David! Wish you could have been at the party!

For what is left of this week, I am hoping that Logan will get to go back to school. Liam went today but Logan stayed at Gigi and Papa's house. The boys are no longer contagious, but Logan still needs a little rest. Today I haven't felt very well, so I hope I have not caught any of the bugs that have been in our house.

Lainey is suppose to go to the CF Center on Friday for her monthly check up. Since the boys have been sick and may not be going to school, I might have to reschedule her appointment. My parents both have to go to Emory for a check up with the cardiologist on Friday, February 27th, so I may reschedule her appointment for then since the CF Center and Emory are so close to each other.

Please pray for a speedy recovery for the boys. Prayer is also needed for Sid, Lainey, and I....we really need to stay well! Thanks again for all of the birthday wishes and gifts!

DeAnn