Breathing Easy

Lorelai has had a tough go of it lately.  I had a cold, then Wyatt got it, then Lorelai.  That was 8 days ago.  About halfway through the last week we thought she was doing better.  Then it got markedly worse.  Of course I noticed because I was up most of the night with a kiddo that couldn't quit coughing.  So you run through everything in your head that the doctor/nurse will ask if you go in.  Fever - No.  Nasal discharge - No and what she has is clear.  Eating well - No too bad.  Lethargic - No.  So, I didn't take her in thinking she had a run of the mill cold and would be better tomorrow. 

Last night I was up yet again most of the night with her and the ugly cough.  So, because I don't like sleeping in a twin bed with a 3 year old (Wyatt and Lorelai share a room) so I could be close to her, I called the doctor.  They had me come in and the doctor stuck his stethoscope to her chest and promptly said, "You sound terrible."  To which Lorelai promptly started screaming.  It was quite funny.  He told her he didn't mean her to take it so personally but I don't think she cared much.  He had them bring in a breathing machine for a treatment and then listened to her again after a couple of minutes and voila!  Better!  I literally couldn't hear her actively breathing like before when every time she inhaled and exhaled she sounded rough.   I was so excited to have her breathing clearly! 

This brings us to the "diagnosis"  I use this loosely because it isn't exactly a diagnosis, more of a wait and see.  The doctor called it Reactive Airway Disease and said that if this keeps happening to her, she may have asthma.  He gave her this diagnosis for two reasons.  One, she has eczema.  Two, her Dad has asthma.  These two things are linked to a higher incidence of asthma.  From what I have read, it is very difficult to diagnose asthma in children before age 6 so Reactive Airway Disease is used for those who are showing symptoms like Lorelai but just can't be diagnosed. 

Lorelai now has an arsenal of meds to get her over this bump in the road.  I am hoping the breathing treatments and oral meds help her recover and with any luck, this will be the only episode she ever has.  My fingers are crossed.  I just want her to feel better and breathe easy.

Purple People

I bleed purple.  Of course this is a figure of speech but Kansas State runs pretty deep in me.  I grew up a Wildcat.  Both my parents graduated from KSU, it is actually where they met.  I don't remember them pushing us kids to like one team over another, it just happened I think.  My Mom tells me I attended my first KSU football game with I was just a few months old.  She said they just bundled me up under the bleachers!  Football was different then.  KSU was not good, not even close to good, so there were a lot of empty seats.  I can remember as a child going to games and running around in the empty stands on the south end of the stadium.  Like my parents, KSU is now my alma mater and I am so excited that my sister will graduate from there in May!

This brings us to my kids.  Like me when I was a kid, my son has an affinity for the Wildcats.  I suppose I have encouraged this and to tell you the truth, I love it and I don't care one bit.  He knows the words to the Fight Song, The Alma Mater and currently is trying to figure out the words to The Wabash Cannonball.  When I signed up Lorelai for the Born to be a Wildcat program, Wyatt truly thought she turned into a Wildcat.  We got a magnet in the mail of a baby Wildcat and the other day when he was moving it around on the fridge he told me he was moving Lorelai to the cabinet.  Pretty cute if I do say so.   Maybe if I am lucky I will have two kids who bleed purple!

On October 1st, I got to take Wyatt to his 3rd KSU football game.  It was Lorelai's first!

Lorelai in her purple and white tutu Grandma made her and Wyatt in his number 87 jersey!

Wyatt and Lorelai are getting to experience the games in a different manner than I did.  The stadium was packed, two loud jumbo trons blaring, thunderous roaring when something good happens.  And boy did they have fun!  Wyatt was in heaven (and so was I!).  He didn't know where to look first.  He was super excited to see the players come out of the tunnel and of course, loves the band.  Go tubas!  Then there is the matter of Willie the Wildcat.  He loves him...... from afar.  Doesn't like when he gets too close or he loses track of him! 

We went with my parents and my sister was there working for the athletic department. 

It was major fun!  After the game we took our time getting back to my sister's and Wyatt and Deetda played football in the grass at the agronomy building where we parked. 

Lorelai trying to eat Wyatt's helmet!

And he hasn't stopped playing since.  Just yesterday, he and his dad played in the yard for 3 hours!  He asks me all the time if he is a K-State football player and of course I say yes.  Then the other day he got the idea to pretend like he was running out of the tunnel from the side of our house.  Let's just say if you walk by the front of our house at any given time you will here me announcing number so-and-so, Wyaaaaaaaaaatt Sullenger!

I guess the purple mania is all my fault.  I am secretly hoping that Wyatt and Lorelai are 3rd generation Wildcats.  I know it is a ways off but a girl can dream, right?  Afterall, EMAW!!!!!

Big Week In A Little Life

Lorelai had a big week.  It just reminds me how fast they grow.  One minute she isn't crawling, the next her little legs are moving together and she is after something that caught her eye.  Monday, the 10th, my little baby girl started moving forward.  She became mobile and I became frozen.  Frozen in the moment watching her go.  It is absolutely amazing to be there to see it happen. 

Her favorite things to go after: Number one is definitely electrical cords.  She finds them in places I didn't know existed.  She loves her brother's Matchbox cars (yippee, tiny pieces in the mouth).  And lastly, the dog water bowl.  Why oh why can't any of her age appropriate chew toys be on this list?! 

Second big to do for the week, she can pull herself up on her knees and has done it once to her feet.  This happened two days after learning to crawl.  She didn't get my memo to SLOW DOWN!!!!!  So, today Mike lowered her baby bed so she can't topple out on her head. 

Last, she started eating finger food in her high chair.  I gave her some Gerber Puffs and she thought they were the best ever.  Until she finally got one in her mouth.  It went in and came flying back out.  So funny!  She isn't to happy about eating anything but her milk and oatmeal cereal so this isn't a big surprise but made Wyatt and I laugh.

So, this week has had some milestones and I know there are many more to come but I am trying to separate and enjoy each one.  We spend so much time with our first child excited for them to reach each moment.  The last child is different.  You want them to go about things slower because you know this will be the last time you get to experience a little life of yours doing something important for the first time.  So special......