Update on the Kids, Grandma Walton and Easter, Visit from Scott and Dan
Katie
We have had a very full week. On Monday night Katie came down with a fever. Because of Katie's kidney history we are required to take her into the hospital to have her urine checked for every fever. Chris took her in early Tuesday morning at 5:30 am. He took her upstairs to the surgery department (where he is working right now) and got 'excused' from work to spend the morning in the emergency room with his daughter. After a couple tests they determined she in fact does have a urinary tract infection. The first two urinary tract infections she had caused her to be admitted to the hospital but because she is older now they just gave her some antibiotics and sent her home. She will receive an ultrasound this week and then a follow up with the Urology team to determine if the infection did any more damage to her kidneys. Besides this, Katie is doing well. She is doing so many fun things and it seems like she's learning something new everyday. She plays patti-cake all the time now. Every time you say 'patti-cake', she'll start... especially when Ryan does it. She also waves bye bye... with BOTH hands. It's very cute. She has just learned the 'toss it up high' part of the patti cake song. As soon as we get to that part she'll lift one arm... just one. Ryan helps her lift the other one.
And... as of last night, she crawls. She is so proud of herself. She crawls a tiny bit and then looks up and grins. It is adorable and so fun to watch!!
Ryan
Ryan is such a big helper. He loves to help Mommy unload the dishwasher, make pizzas, take the clothes out of the dryer, get Katie some toys and clean up his room. He is a good boy.
On the way up to bed tonight I was chasing him up the stairs and lightly spanking his bum. Through his giggles he kept saying, "Mommy, you be nice."
He is now really into the 'what are you doing?' stage. He is constantly saying, "What are you doing, Mommy? What are you doing?" He has to repeat it twice. When he was helping me make the pizza last night he kept asking me what I was doing. I kept answering, "I'm putting the sauce on... I'm putting the cheese on... etc. Finally after he asked for the fifth time I said, "Ryan, what do you think I'm doing?" He looked at me putting the ham around the rim of the round pizza and said, "You put the purple go ring around the rosies." I had to laugh out loud for that one.
On the way home from church today Katie fell asleep. I'm always asking Ryan if Katie is asleep or awake. I asked him and he said, "Yes, Mommy. Katie is sleeping. Nigh-night, Katie. I wuv you." It was very cute.
Remember The Titans
Last night we got Remember the Titans to watch on video. It was great.
Visit from Mary
My mom is coming out on Tuesday night. I'm SO excited. Ryan knows she is bringing him a present so he's excited too. It will be fun to have her here. We are going to shop, sightsee, go to the park, go to Katie's doctors appointments, paint, cook and just play with the kids. It will be so much fun. We haven't seen her since September.
Amish Country
The day before Easter, while Grandma Walton was visiting, we drove up to the Amish Country in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. On the way we stopped at the outlet malls in Gettysburg and found some GREAT deals! It was fun to look through the Amish country stores and see the fabrics, handmade quilts and crafts. We also enjoyed driving through the countryside seeing the Amish people work in their fields and drive their little horse and buggies. We saw a couple little kids on scooters who were adorable. All the ladies were wearing bonnets and dresses just like pioneer times. It was so fascinating and the views of the countryside were amazing. It was a fun day!
Cherry Blossoms
Another day we went downtown to the Tidal Basin by the Jefferson Monument to see the Cherry Blossoms. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the walk. It made me excited for the spring and summer. We have had a great couple of weather days to let us know that spring is on the way!
Easter
The day before Easter we spent a beautiful morning outside. Chris hid some Easter eggs in the grassy area beside our townhouse and Ryan was so excited to find them and put them in his basket. Sometimes he would run past one while on the way to another. Grandma Walton was here visiting for the week. It was fun to have her here for Easter!
After the Easter egg hunt, the kids found their baskets which were hidden outside too. Ryan loved showing us what he got and he loved his Candy Land game. Katie liked her basket too but couldn’t help but notice that Ryan’s was much bigger. She kept trying to steal eggs from Ryan’s basket and he was quite frustrated with her. We couldn’t stop laughing. Katie got a little white rabbit (from Grandma) and a new pink bathing suit.
We also had a great time going over to the Shelton’s house to celebrate Easter with friends. We ate a huge dinner and then watched all the kids have an Easter Egg hunt inside. We put all the kids on and around teh couch for a big picture. Katie was SO funny. She was sitting on the couch between 2 other babies and wouldn’t stop grabbing their ears and tapping their heads. She was so amused with them. We are going to miss all these kids and families when we move this summer.
Easter Sunday
The kids had new Easter outfits for Sunday. My Mom made an Easter dress for Katie. We went to the fabric store, picked out material and a pattern, borrowed a sewing machine and then made it. It’s adorable. Small pink gingham with a white collar and white apron.
Katie’s Urinary Tract Infection
We have been to the hospital for Katie a lot these past couple weeks. She has a urinary tract infection that they can’t seem to get rid of. Her symptoms are gone and she is acting just fine but apparently the infection is still showing up in her urine. We have tried several different medications. This morning they decided to put her on an IM medication which is a shot in either thigh. She screamed and hated it. She has to have it tomorrow morning too, only Chris is just going to do it at home. Poor girl. On Monday we will go in again. If her urine is still plagued with this infection then we’re off to Walter Reed Hospital to be admitted. She will have to be IV antibiotics for a couple days to get rid of the infection. What a pain. We are praying that the IM shots will do the trick.
Ryan
Ryan just finished watching Jurassic Park again. It’s his favorite movie of the week. He is enthralled with the dinosaurs and doesn’t seem to get scared at all. It’s amusing to watch him. Ryan is constantly saying, “Katie is a wittle baby”. I guess I’ve said that to him and he has picked it up. Whenever she gets into anything that he doesn’t think she should touch, he says “Katie, don’t touch”. Then he turns to me and says, “She’s a wittle baby”.
Katie
Well our ‘wittle baby’ is getting bigger. Katie is now a very experienced crawler. She crawls all over the place and gets whatever she wants. She’s also attempting the stairs and we’ve found her on the third step a couple of times. Time to put up the gate. She loves to stand up on the furniture now. Ryan was sleeping on the couch the other day and Katie crawled over to it, climbed up and squealed really loud. She was so excited to see him. He didn’t wake up though and that just made her squeal louder. Katie just had her first mouthful of dirt yesterday. She stood up to the window sill where Ryan had his preschool plant. Katie tipped it over and then sat down to play with the spilled dirt. When I found her she had just licked her fingers. Yum. As soon as I saw her I automatically said, “Katie, NO”. She looked up at me and then started crying. I guess I hurt her feelings. She is not used to getting in trouble. What a cutie. Katie loves to give kisses - especially to her Daddy. Yes she has him wrapped around her little finger. She loves her Daddy and gets so excited when he comes home from work.
Washington Wizards box seats
Last night Chris was able to go to the Washington Wizards basketball game. He went with his 2 best friends. Brian Breinholt works for Marriott and so they got to sit in the Marriott box. He had a great time. The Marriott box is right next to Michael Jordan’s box. Even though they couldn’t see him, they could tell when he arrived because everyone turned and pointed.
Smithsonian National Zoo
One beautiful day, a bunch of us from the Montgomery Village Ward decided to take our kids to the zoo. We had a great time. We went with Amy Carlson, Kathryn Burbidge, Staci Creswell, Missy White, Terri Breinholt, Geneva Chugg, Kristin Stuart and all our kids. The highlights were seeing the new baby pandas, letting Ryan and his friends play on the bear and getting a huge group picture taken.
Scott and Dan
Scott and Dan were able to visit after their college finals and it was so great to spend time with them. As soon as they arrived, we headed straight downtown. It was fun to see the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the DC Temple and all the neat downtown sights with them. We also went on a tour through the FBI building and the Holocaust Museum. Visiting Gettysburg was another highlight. We also went to the park a lot, watched some great movies and played lots of games - mostly Rook and Risk. The kids had a great time being with Uncle ‘Cott’ and Uncle ‘Dah’.
New York
We headed up to New York for a couple days. We stayed on Staten Island and took the ferry over to Manhattan. We had beautiful spring weather. We also took the ferry to Ellis Island to get an up close look at the Statue of Liberty. It was neat to be there. The views of Manhattan were great. We got a great shot of the Twin Towers and the New York Skyline … one that is much more meaningful now because of the tragic events of September 11, 2001 just a few months later. We also saw the World Trade Center and Times Square, walked down Broadway, went to Wall Street, toured the New York Stock Exchange, shopped in China Town, walked through Central Park, rode lots of subways and had a great time! Scott and Dan also went to Les Miserables for $20 and went to the David Letterman show. Chris wasn’t able to come with us to New York because of medical school tests, but it was fun to be vacationing with my brothers and my kids. New York is such a fun place to sightsee!
