Easter

Easter turned out to be a great holiday for Kale. He really enjoyed the concept of finding and pick up eggs (or balls as he calls them). His Easter week started out with an Easter Egg hunt at Daycare on Wednesday. All the kids got a basket and to go outside and find eggs. Erin was out of town and didn't get to go but I did and it was a great time. I took hundreds of pictures! He was so thrilled to run around and pick up the eggs "balls" he even held his own basket the entire time! I didn't think he would want to leave my side if he saw me while the eggs were out but boy was I wrong! Kale couldn't have cared less that I was there. He was so excited!

After hunting eggs at the daycare they played outside for a bit and the parents were aloud to stay and play as well. Most of the parents played with their kids but of course Kale was to independent and wanted to play on his own so I just sat on the side and took pictures!

On Friday we left Hutchinson and headed for Topeka for the weekend. Kale did great in the car and was very happy when we finally arrived in Topeka. Grandma and Grandpa were ready to play as soon as we arrived! We had a fun time playing with the eggs and toys that Grandma had gotten for Kale. Saturday we spent the day around town. We really wanted to get Kale to some other Easter Egg hunts but our luck was not the greatest! We kept missing the times or arriving on the wrong days! So we ended up at the park instead! In Topeka there is a carousel at Gage Park. I thought it would be fun to take Kale for a ride........wrong! Kale hate Carrousel's! He thought the horses were really neat when they were not moving, but when they started moving he was not going to be any part! Erin was on the ride with him and ended up holding him the entire ride! Afterwards he liked the horses again but just wanted to watch from a distance! Next we headed over to ride the train. This ride went a little smoother but got a little chilly towards the end! We headed home to eat and nap after .....Kale ended up sleeping for about 3 hours and slept right though the last hope of an Easter Egg hunt we had in town. So we just ended up throwing the eggs in Grandma and Grandpa's back yard and letting him pick those up!

Sunday we got to see Great Grandma Smith, we went to lunch with her and played around in her room for a while before heading back to Hutchinson. The long car ride home seemed to be worse on mom then Kale. He slept a good portion but once he woke up he was very good. He read some books and drew a few pictures, then looked out the window for a while. He is just a great traveler! Thank goodness!

Weather is amazing!

I can't believe we were outside playing in Kale's new sand box and outdoor play equipment just last weekend, and this weekend we have between 16''-18'' of snow on the ground!! Kansas is crazy!!! The snow drifted up against everything and we had drifts that were 3' to 4' deep!! It would have been great snowball fight now but Kale wasn't quite up to that yet! It was so deep that he could not walk without falling over.
Skeeter and Harley didn't know what to do! Skeeter would venture out but we had to knock down a path for Harley! He just wasn't as thrilled with the snow! Erin started shoveling the driveway and gave up. He got the sidewalks cleaned off (shortly before the neighbor came buy with the snow blower!!! ha ha I had to laugh). We didn't go anywhere during the weekend because....well we couldn't! But the very next day the temperature rose into the 50's and almost all the snow was gone. Within 2 days all our snow had melted completely!

Kale got out his sled and played for a bit but Erin had a hard time pulling him fast because the snow was so deep he could barely walk himself! Kale didn't understand why he couldn't go faster! Wish we would have had some hills!

About time for an update!

Well life has been busy in our world! We have been enjoying the nice weather the last few weeks and spending time outside. (that is until the drastic weather change!) My last post was in February and it seemed at the time like we were just swamped with things to do but now as I look back and try to write about it, I can't think of a thing!

One thing we did have to deal with was Kale being sick. He seemed to catch about everything going through daycare these few months. He ended up with RSV, pneumonia, ear infections, flu you name it he caught it....except the chicken pox which we gladly escaped! He seems to be doing well now having a few problems with allergies but we can handle those!

Kale is getting new teeth as well! He now has 6 (working on 8) on the top and 3 on the bottom. Hopefully they will come quickly and be painless! ;)

One major thing that we did in our house (in March) was redoing our bathroom. We had a few guys come in and completely gut out the bathroom down to the studs (even tore down the ceiling, and tore up the floor) and started over. It was a long and eventful process, I'm not sure the guys that we hired will ever come back and work in our house! Every time they thought they would be through the toughest part something else went wrong! That's what you get for living in an old house though! In the end the bathroom turned out great. I am glad we got it done before the baby comes. I will upload pictures there are a few things that still need to be finished but Erin is going to do them so no telling how long it will be!!!

Our house also got new windows in March. They were much needed! We needed to get them installed because our old windows felt like they were open at all times the wind just sailed right through them. They also were full of lead paint so it was good to get them out of the house with the kids. Luckily we got them in before the big snow storm. It really paid off. It was amazing how much warmer our house became!

Another big event in March was Kale's first haircut!! It was much needed. I tried to see how long we could get his hair, I wanted to see the curls, but people started asking if he was a boy or girl so I had to cut it! We took him into the salon that Erin and I go to. Kale was not thrilled with the process!

Here are a few pictures from the day! The one where he has his shoe in his hand is just funny to me. At one point he got so upset he kicked off his shoe! As you can see Erin and I both took turns holding onto him because he would jump back and forth thinking the other person would save him! The picture where he is grabbing his coat is after he got done telling Chelsea (our hair cut lady) "OK Goodbye''...he was ready to go! The only part of the entire thing he liked was the electric clipper part...not sure if he liked the noise or feel but he was calm so I didn't care! The last pictures shows Kale in his car seat afterwards! As you can see he wasn't giving us his happy face!

We're Home!

Well Kale finally got released from the hospital on Thursday he was sent home with orders to have a steroid for a few days, breathing treatments daily, and antibiotic for the next 10 days. We will continue to give his other meds as well. Hopefully he will start getting better each day. His appetite is starting to return little by little but being on so much medicine changes his taste's a little so foods he normally likes he doesn't want to eat right now. Kale is very worn out during the days he is sleeping most of the day and night, so hopefully his body will start healing! He is awake about 4-6 hours a day right now.

I'm not sure when he will go back to daycare but hopefully he will recover quickly. The Dr. said that RSV is something that kids can get over and over so I am hoping that he won't keep getting it as it goes through the daycare!

My mom drove down on Thursday to help Erin and I get a little rest from the long days and nights of taking care of everything. Erin has managed to stay well through everything so far but I was not so lucky! I finally got into the Dr. today and was given a prescription to help with the severe upper respiratory infection that I have. My mom had to leave early this morning because she was starting to feel ill. Upon getting home she figured out that she had the stomach virus that is going around! So looks like the family is in for another round of that. My dad and Erin's mom both came down with it on Sunday so I am sure it is only a matter of time before other family members do too!

Marisa has been sick as well she didn't have quite the same thing as Kale but she was very sick as well. She had the stomach virus this weekend then when Monica took her to the Dr. earlier this week she was told that Marisa also has Croup. Monica is feeling a little under the weather from being preg but so far nor her or Michael have come down with any other sicknesses!

Hopefully we will all start feeling better soon so that we can enjoy the wonderful weather we are having so far this month! Today at our house it is 73* I can't believe that it is this warm in February! But I am not complaining!

Sick baby Kale

Well for those of you that don't already know, Kale was admitted to the hospital in Hutchinson on Monday. He was diagnosed with RSV at the time of his admittance. On Monday evening he was diagnosed with Pneumonia as well. They have been monitoring his oxygen levels and all his stats. He was hooked up to monitors and had an IV put in immediately to help keep him hydrated. He has not had much of an apatite at all this week. We got to cap off the the IV yesterday afternoon, they let us leave it out as long as we could keep him hydrated with formula, water, and pedilyte. So far we have been able to keep it out, except for when meds are needed. He was given a steroid and also an antibiotic to help attack the pneumonia. This morning when they were listening to his lungs they said that he was sounding better on the left but still wheezing and full on the right side. The Dr. wants to keep him again tonight because his oxygen levels are not high enough when he sleeps. Last night was the first time he had to be put on oxygen and he has had to use it quite a bit this morning. He will have to be off oxygen for at least 12 hours before we can go home. He will also have to get through night or a decent nap without dropping below an oxygen level of 92. Through everything Kale is being very good and tolerable of all the nurses and Dr.'s that have required things from him. He is staying happy and is not letting anything get him down!

Erin and I are lucky to both have jobs that are very understanding of us needing to be with Kale during this time. I stayed with him all day Monday and Erin spent the night with him. Then I stayed with him on Tuesday morning while Erin left for a bit to go home and get around. I went into work for a bit on Tuesday afternoon then stayed with him in the evening. Erin spent the night again with him so that I could get some good sleep at home in our bed. We are working it out so that we don't go crazy sitting in the room, and we are both trying our best not to get sick!

We have an appointment tomorrow with the baby Dr. it is just a check-up no sonogram until March. I will keep everyone updated on Kale and the rest of the family!

Life as we know it!

Well one of these days I really will keep up with my posting on a regular basis! A lot has been going on lately but none of it is to exciting! I had another Dr's appointment for the baby a few weeks ago. She didn't do any sonograms at this appointment but said everything was looking good and we would get one in a month or two. I have been very sick with this one. A lot of morning sickness.....even though I am not sure it should be called "morning" sickness since mine seems to last all day long! I had been trying to get through it without having to take any medicine for it however I broke down this week and called in to tell her I couldn't handle it anymore! It was getting to hard to control at work and it is very awkward to be in the middle of helping a student and have to run to the back room!!! They just don't get it! On top of that I have gotten a sinus infection as well. So my head has been hurting all week! Today I am starting to feel a little better so hopefully it is almost gone!

Last night I sat down and uploaded a bunch of pictures of the camera to place on our family page but it still is not done yet! I had hoped to get them on here tonight however, I have to meet with my group from school to tie up a few lose ends on a project that is due tomorrow! So maybe by the end of the weekend I will get them on here! School is going well we are in our second class now, Business Research Methods. The teacher seems like he will be interesting but it is kinda a dry topic!

Erin has been keeping busy at work installing new camera's, setting up new systems for the pharmacy's and ordering new theft prevention items. He really enjoys his work and the people in his office. His Amsoil business has also been picking up a little in the past few weeks. He is starting to sign up more and more dealers under him. So hopefully that will bring us some new business partners in the near future and help Erin expand his business!

And most importantly Kale! He is doing great, he seems to have avoided most of the sicknesses so far this winter.......knock on wood! He has been teething a lot this past week or two. He know has 4 teeth on the top and 2 on the bottom (matching with his cousin, Marisa)! Hopefully the rest come in soon cause they are really causing him some pain. He is walking and talking faster and loader each day! He loves the outdoors and is constantly standing at the door yelling "outside" "outside" he does not ever want to be in the house! He is starting to say small sentences such as, "dog go outside", "I want that", or "What's that". It is a lot of fun to learn along with him because he seems to have invented his own little language! Along with talking he knows some simple sign language. His daycare is really great at teaching him and he has learned many new signs such as, "eat", "more", "thank you", and "poop (his newest accomplishment)". He really picks up on things very quickly! Kale is also very into reading right now. He loves to get the books of his shelf himself and bring the books to Erin and I to read. He won't let you pick the books anymore, we only read what Kale wants! He is even learning to put the books back on the shelf!

Good News

Well we got some more good news in the family this week. Monica (Erin's sister) and Michael's family is growing like ours! Monica is currently expecting their second child. She is due on August 19th. So that makes us only 4 weeks apart! (My due date is July 16th). We are happy to share the experience together for a second time! Kale and Marisa are 8 weeks apart, this time the kids will be even closer!

Children's Mercy Appointment

Well we got back home yesterday from our long stay in Topeka. It is nice to be home but now it is time to get the house all cleaned up from Christmas!

Kale's appointment in Kansas City went pretty well over all. Our day started out early from Topeka at 5 am. We left the house about 6 to arrive at Children's Mercy to get Kale's Labs drawn prior to his appointments with the Dr. Kale does very well with getting his blood drawn but he really hates having to be held down. He actually doesn't cry when the stick him only when they have to restrain his arm to long!

From the lab we headed to Radiology for an Ultra sound and VCUG. Ultra sounds used to be simple but now that Kale doesn't like to lay still it takes alot of distraction to keep him still enough to get the pictures! The tech was really good this time and we ended up getting all the shots on the first try!

In between the UltraSound and VCUG we were sent back into the waiting room. Kale made friends with a little girl there also to get a VCUG her mom was from Hutch, they now live just outside of Salina. We also met a little boy who drove in from southern MO. He was very nice and gave Kale .50. The kids/families at the hospital are always very kind! Talking to them also makes you realize that many families go through alot of the sames things that we do, and you always remember that someone is always worse off.

Once the room was finally prepped for the VCUG scan we took Kale in to be prepped. Part of the prep is having a catheter put in. This was not something that Kale enjoyed! The nurse had alot of trouble getting it in, and getting it to stay. Since I am pregnant they would not allow me to stay with Kale in the room while the scan was done. Thank goodness Erin has a strong stomach when dealing with Kale and his medical needs. Even while being restrained Kale pushed out the catheter 3 times before the nurse finally allowed him to leave it out. He also pulled out of the restrains a few times. He is very strong!

After completing the VCUG we headed up to the Kidney Clinic to see Dr. Vandevoorde. Since the hospital is so efficient the Dr. already had the results from the Labs, Ultrasound and VCUG before we got into see him. He gave us the results of the labs and all his levels looked good except his PTH. The Dr. gave us a new medicine so that it would be brought back to normal levels. He also reviewed the ultrasound pictures to tell us that the left kidney has not shown any new signs of growth but the right side was showing signs of growth. They also said that the reflux study showed that his reflux on the right side was grade 4 and the left side was 5 still. (This is the reflux of his bladder back up into the kidneys). Since Kale has gained weight the Dr. increased his other two meds to ensure he was getting a large enough dose.

The last person that we spoke with was the Dietitian. She was very happy with the progress that Kale has made with the OT and how well he was doing with new textures and flavors now. She still will not allow him to have Cow's milk but she did make it sound that hopefully in the next year we will be able to start giving him small amounts. She thought that we needed to give him more calories to help him gain weight so that is what we will work on for the next couple of months before a weigh in with his Dr. here in Hutch.

We were happy with the information received in this appointment!!! We are scheduled to go back for another follow-up in 6 months!

Good News

O ya! Guess I didn’t mention in the previous updates our newest news! Erin and I are currently expecting our second child. We are due on July 16th. We told our parents for Christmas by wrapping up sonogram pictures for them to open. We have had one appointment so far. I will update the sonogram pictures as we get them! Kale is excited to be a big brother! We are not going to find out if it will be a boy or girl ahead of time. We are going to keep it a surprise like we did with Kale, so if anyone has any good baby names we are always open to suggestions!!!

Still in Topeka

After Christmas we stayed in Topeka for a few extra days before Kale’s appointment in KC on the 31st. We decided it would be easier to stay up here rather than to drive back and forth! Kale has really enjoyed playing with all his new Christmas toys this week, and also finding all sorts of new toys at Grandma and Grandpa’s house! He has really keep Grandma on her toes! He never stops running around the house, he loves to dig out all of grandpa’s hats and try to pull the dishes out of the island! Today Kale stayed with Grandma and Grandpa while Erin and I drove to Lawrence. Erin is doing some work and I decided to ride along. To first store was interesting. I walked around inside to check out all the new additions! They had a sushi bar that I enjoyed watching for quite a while! The man was making fresh sushi rolls, kinda fun to watch! I think he thought I was strange for watching him so long though! O well! We are now sitting at the second store. Erin has a Construction meeting at this store. So I am waiting in the car working on updating the blog!!!

Christmas

Well Christmas this year is a long lasting holiday! Our first Christmas was on Christmas Eve with Erin’s parents, his sister and her family. We went up there shortly before noon in order to help make the meal before everyone arrived. Monica played with Marisa and Kale while I prepared all the foods that I was going to make for dinner. We had Turkey with apple rice stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, honey/applesauce glazed carrots (sounds much better than they turned out!!!), home-made rolls, and a 6 fruit crisp! It was a lot of work but I really enjoyed making it all! The food all turned out good for the most part, the rolls surprisingly turned out wonderful, along with the turkey, the stuffing inside however just wasn’t a taste many were fond of! The carrots were a disaster but we had plenty of other vege’s to cover for them! Ohhh ya we also had home-made creamed corn! The 6 fruit crisp was a great dessert, I will make that again I really enjoyed it! After my prep work was done and before we ate we let the kids open a few different presents. We then ate, and opened the rest of the presents. The kids started getting pretty tired so we packed up and headed home for the evening.
On Christmas morning we opened presents as a family (Erin, Kale, Skeeter(dog), Harley(dog) and I). We all woke up and ate breakfast and opened presents in our PJ’s. Erin and Kale both wore their footie pjs! It was really fun! Erin and Kale did very well with Christmas gifts this year, I got a new pair of diamond earrings!!!
After opening presents we went back up to Erin’s parents house to eat left overs from dinner the night before. We then went to visit Kale’s Great Grandma Fischer in Buhler. We sat with her for a bit and wished her a Merry Christmas. We headed back into town and played Wii with the Dreiling family before heading home to bed!
The day after Christmas we loaded up and headed to Topeka . We celebrated at Grandma Swansons that night. There was a great turnout of family this year for Christmas! Kale made friends with everyone, he especially loved to play with all his cousins and their toys! On that side of the family he has many young cousins. Henry is the closest in age being only 4 months younger than he is. Gracyn is exactly 1 year older. Kaitlyn and Cayden were also there, Kaitlyn is a few years older, and Cayden is almost 1 year older. They all got lots of toys that Kale was more than willing to play with when they were not looking!! Nicole, Josh, Evan and Paige also got to come with us to Frankfort, they enjoyed playing with Gabe and Cody and all their new games. Stacy was there with her husband, Linda got to come but her boyfriend got stuck working back in Emporia so he was unable to make it.
We got home late in the evening so we opened presents with Grandma and Grandpa Smith the next morning. Nicole, Josh, Evan and Paige also stayed at Mom and Dads so we had a full house! Kale enjoyed watching and helping everyone open their presents! Evan got a new set of mind bender games which turned out to be a trick for the entire family! Nicole got one apart that none of us were ever able to get back together! There was even one that none of us could figure out how to get apart! Guess it was a sign we didn’t need to! Paige loved her new clothes and Pj’s! Kale got a new tricycle that he really enjoys playing on….even though he can’t reach the pedals! We will see how that fits back in the car!

Santa

Today we took Kale to see Santa and Mrs. Clause. He wasn’t a big fan of them but he also didn’t scream his head off like the little boy in front of us! He seemed to like Mrs. Clause better than Santa.

The daycare also had a Santa come to visit. Kale seemed to like this Santa a lot better. Not sure if it was because he was getting used to seeing him or if it was because he actually knew the guy that dressed up as Santa! I am updating this from Topeka so I will add the pictures when we get back to town!

Christmas Card Pictures

Today we went around town to find somewhere to take our Christmas card pictures. We ended up bringing along Erin’s parents to take them for us. Here are the ones we ended up using:

(I am currently in Topeka, will upload the pics when we get back home!)

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving plans never seem to stay consistent with our family! We had planned to head up to Topeka, and Frankfort this year for Thanksgiving but that all changed when Kale came down with the stomach virus that was going around! It started out with Kale’s Grandpa first then spread to Monica and next to Kale, after Kale got it then Michael and Jan both got it. I ended up with it last. Erin was the only one out of all of us that escaped without the nasty virus! Kale had it for a full week. I got rid of it after about 3 days but it really had us down! We were in close contact with Kale’s Dr. the entire (here and in KC) to ensure we followed all their directions in regards to his diet! We got blood work done for his as well during it all to ensure all his levels stayed in the range they need to. He fought through and ended up not having to be admitted to the hospital at all!

We ended up going to Monica and Michael’s house for Thanksgiving. Michael made the turkey, which was really great, and Monica and her mom made everything else. It was fun to have the kids together along with the family. Michael’s parents along with his niece and nephews came also, so there was a full house.

Not much

Not many new things going on in our world right now. Erin is gone for a few days for work so Kale and I are just hanging out by outselves! Kale is staying well even though everyone around him seems to be getting sick. Aunt Monica has now come down with the flu, yuck! The kids at daycare don't seem to have the flu stuff yet but the respiritory stuff seems to be going around. Kale is now in his new room and enjoying all the new big kids.....except for the one that bites! Kale got bit on the face his first day in the room however he seems to have recovered fully :) Owies seem to be drawn to Kale his is a little bit of a klutz! Yesterday he full head first into the wall and have a huge bruise on his forhead! I am sure there are more bruises and bumbs to come though!

I have started back to school now so I am trying to stay ontop of my work! The first class is not real exciting, it is kinda like being a freshman again our teacher treats us like we have never been in school before! O well it will be over soon then on to the next class!

Thanksgiving is coming up and we will be on the road alot. We are going to try and get up to Frankfort for lunch on Thanksgiving day. We really wanted to see both sides of the family however it is just not possible when they both eat at the same time, and are on different sides of the state! Maybe for Christmas we can see the other side!

Short Video

Birthday Party

Well the birthday party went well this weekend! Kale had a great time and got to see most of the family, I say most because Erin's dad was unable to make it due to having a severe case of the flu!
Kale opened a few presents, he was more interested in playing with the toys once they were opened, than putting them down to open something new! He received lots of new clothes, a few new books, some new cars, a very nice blanket (handmade by Grandma Dreiling), some new pj's, and other small items. Erin and I got him an electric car which he loved. He has been riding it around the living room and some outside when it is nice!
He playing in the frosting of the cake, but never once tried to eat it! Which is fine with me, makes monitoring the diet much easier!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Wow, can you belive that Kale is a year old today!!! Time has just flown by! He is sure ready to celebrate! I had his presents wrapped up all week for his party on Sunday, but since he wasn't bothering them I just left them out in the living room. WELL, lastnight he figured out how fun it was to unwrap things! He got back there and started tearing into them! Here is a picture of him acting innocent! Sorry it is not a great pic but I took it with my cell phone!

It is a bitter sweet day for the daycare today. He is celebrating his birthday by having a party at 2 PM however that means it is his last day in room one. They are very sad to be losing him, but room two is very excited to be getting him! He is going to have a special treat and ballons! He was very excited this morning when he saw the balloon!

There are a few pictures of Kale this morning with Erin and I before going to school. He was giving me a kiss in one of them! He is so loving! Kale gets his style from his father as you can see! Erin loves to dress him in the morning to match what he will be wearing! They are so cute together!

Trip to the zoo.....October 5th, 2008

On October 5th, we decided it was time to take Kale to the zoo. We went to the Sedgwick Co zoo in Wichita. We had a great time and it turned out to be a nice day for it........except for the major winds! O well still had a good time. Kale tried to name all the animals but they all seemed to be "dog's'' or ''kitty's'' to him! He really enjoyed watching the Gorilla's and the giraffe's play. We were there to watch feeding time so it was fun for him to see them all up moving around. Towards the end he was getting tired. This picture he was leaning up against Erin resting while watching some of the animals!

Halloween

Kale, Erin and I had a great Halloween. Kale was Superman and Erin dressed up as Clark Kent it was really cute. Here are a few pics! We trick-or-treated to the family's houses, then to the neighbors. We then went to the first College basketball game at 7. Kale loves to watch the games and they even had a costume contest at 1/2 time. He actually won the contest! I wish I could have gotten better pictures but I didn't have my good camera with me so they are fuzzy since he was so far away. Erin and Kale went out there and stood in the middle of the basketball court for the contest, Kale just loved all the noise and attention for him. He waved and blew kisses to the crowd so of course they all had to cheer for him!



Kale posing with his pumpkin at Grandma and Grandpa Dreiling's house!

This is Kale and Skyler together in line waiting to go into trick-or-treat at Erin's office. There were hundreds of kids that went through. Kale had a great time checking out all the other kids costumes and picking the candy out of their boxes.

Here is Kale and I at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Kale really wasn't in the mood to sit with mom!!!

Grandpa got out the remote controlled Hummer to run over Superman but of course Superman was stronger! This is Kale chasing the car down the sidewalk and dad chasing them both!

Superman flying with Dad!

Grandma Dreiling dressed up as a girl with orange hair! This is Kale and her at the basketball game on Halloween night!