SICK

We are all sick! Yuck! We caught that nasty bug that's been going around. (Well, Hutch caught it and gave it to us...dang it.) Livie has had a fever for the past 2 days. Today, though, it hasn't gotten above 99. Livie's pediatrician said that where this flu bug is a virus, it can't really be treated with antibiotics, we just need to let it run it's course. We are just hoping that this virus doesn't affect Livie's lungs too much, or that could be a bad thing.
So for now we are laying low and getting lots of rest. (And it's an excuse to stay in our jammies all day long! ;)
Oh, and Livie has already had influenza once, and yes, she did have her flu shot. Apparently this year's flu shot hasn't been that proactive.


I felt bad Livie's been so sick, so I gave her a "fun dip" (you know the lic-a-stix candy, I didn't even know they still existed.) She loved it.

Tag

I was tagged again...

10 years ago:
I believe I was just starting my freshman year of high school baby! I was loving it, loving the boys ;) and cheering was my life. And I also might have given my dad a few grays hairs....just a few.

5 places I've lived:
Logan UT, Blackfoot ID, Rexburg ID, Boise ID, and SLC UT

5 jobs I've had:
1.FEEDING CALVES every day(the job I had the from the time I was 12 until I went to college.) 2.Receptionist. 3.Waitress (okay, so I worked at Sonic, and yes I had to wear the roller skates...and I do NOT skate well!) 4. BMH admissions
5. My current job, the hardest and best at the same time...being a MOMMY! I love it.

10 years from now: I want to be truly happy. I have met some of the most extraordinary people who do not have a lot, but they are truly happy. And because they are truly happy, they have it all.
I want Alyvia to be healthy and well. For my future children to have good health. Good health is one of the best blessings we can have.

Our Week

We have had quite a busy week. Alyvia is officially potty trained!! Wa-hoo! She's actually been wearing panties for the past couple of weeks, but we've had a really busy past week and she didn't have any accidents, not even when we were traveling in the car--knock on wood!)

Livie also had a play date. We went to Katy and Madie's house and Alyvia loved it. Madeline is close to Livie's age, and they played great together. Alyvia did really well, (she did get a little tired, probably from running around so much) but she is already asking when she can play with Madie again! (:
Livie hasn't been around kids her own age in a long time, so I was a little worried how she'd interact, but she did just fine. In fact, Livie gets to start a play group (Early Intervention) pretty soon so she can have some child interaction. I think it'll be great for her. Especailly since she is an only child.

Hutch has been REALLY sick (along with everyone else it seems) so we are trying super hard to keep Livie healthy. Hopefully she does not catch this nasty bug thats going around...bleh!

And lastly, my child has reached that point in age which I've heard others refer to as "the terrible two's!" ;) Livie is very independant now. She gets to decide what she wants to wear, eat, ect. Our day today was something like this: Alyvia gets up and decides she just doesn't like any of the clothes she owns and tells me she just wants to be naked. I of course say No, then Livie proceeds to take all her clothes off anyway. All of them. I finally convince her to at least wear her panties. I then fix her favorite bowl of cereal, and Livie says, "No, I don't like that mom." She ate it yesterday, and the day before that, but whatever. So I make her something else. (she didn't like it either.) Then it's potty time. I take her to her choice of potty (she has 2) and of course she doesn't like either one of them. She likes my bathroom with the big toliet. So I let her use it, and she fell in! It didn't even phase her, she did her duty and was off playing with her toys. Naked.
I've heard this is normal behavior for a 2 1/2 year old. So I think we're doing alright.
Alyvia has this new found independance and is loving it, maybe a little too much, haha. She makes me laugh everyday with the things she says and does. She has got so much personality! As stressfull as it can sometimes be, I really do love being a mom.

WARNING: This is just a warning to anyone who might stop by our house, there is a very good chance my child will be running around buck naked. (;


Alyvia's "big girl Dora panties!"
What a cute bum!! Cheese!

Valentines

Alyvia got some ballons for Valentines Day and she was loving them, she packed them all over the house!


She was trying not to drop her teddy bear and hold onto the balloons at the same time



It's hard to believe that 2 months ago Livie couldn't walk. She is running all over the place now!

We've been tagged

We've been tagged. You are suppposed to list 7 facts about yourself...and since this blog is mostly about Alyvia I am going to list 7 things about her too.
Here we go....

Megan
1. I absolutely love summer, I LOVE camping and boating. I also like fishing and just being outdoors. I love when it's warm enough to jump on the trampoline and sleep overnight on it.

2. I love fashion. For as long as I can remember I have loved clothes and jewelry, and just shopping in general. I like purses and shoes, I like getting dressed up. It's just who I am. However, I am quite the bargain shopper, I very rarely pay full price for something. (Really, I think Rachel and I are the thriftiest shoppers around!)

3. Biggest misconception about me: Because I like fashion and shopping, people assume I am prissy...NOT true. I grew up on a farm. I had to feed calves every single day and work on the farm. My dad made sure I knew what hard work was, manure was a part of my every day life. In fact, some of my fondest memories growing up are rounding up cows with my dad and checking the cows during calving season (I still go check cows with him.) I guess I really am a country farm girl at heart.

4. I have a lot of SCARS!! I was in a really bad car accident 1 1/2 years ago. In addition to breaking 7 bones the glass did quite a number to my arm and back. The glass also cut my face/eye up pretty bad. I had to have 2 reconstructive surgeries to repair the damage done to my face/eye. My scars used to really bother me, but not anymore. They are just a part of me.

5. I love hot baths! I rarely shower, bathing is my thing.

6. I also like to READ! I seriously read everything. I read books from the Twilight series, to Ann Rule, to National Geographic, to People magazine.

7. I have the greatest family ever. I have been blessed to be a part of such a large, loving extended family. Cousins, aunts, Grandma's....I love em' all.


Livie bug
1. Alyvia loves Dora the Explorer, I mean LOVES Dora.

2. Livie also really loves ranch. She would dip her cereal in it if she could.

3. She has got the smallest feet! She is finally in a toddler size 5 now. She just has little feet.

4. Alyvia is a night owl. She always has been. She never goes to bed before 10:30 PM, but she does sleep in, which is nice since Mom is not a morning person.

5. Livie also has quite a few scars from everything that she went through in the hospital. Someone once told me that Livie's scars were "scars of strength." I agree.

6. Along with the usual nursery rhymes she sings... Alyvia loves the Avril Lavigne song, "I don't like your girlfriend." She blares it at the top of her lungs. I am not sure where she picked this up, it's not the typical toddler song, but she loves it!

7. Alyvia's got a lot of spunk! She loves pink and princesses, but she also loves snakes and motorcycles. She makes me smile every single day, and has got quite the personality. I sure am lucky I get to be her
mom.
Now I tag....Summer, Jenny, Mikelle, Stef, and Shelley, I want to know 7 things about you guys!

Just a little update

I found her like this...

Alyvia had a flare up of C-Diff this past week....Yuck! I hate C-Diff, and I am pretty sure Livie hates it too! C-Diff is so hard to get rid of!! Luckily, we got it under control again. Antibiotics don't seem to help at all, but we found an awesome pro-bacteria that works really well.
We also got the lab work results back from when Livie was at Primary's and her iron is pretty low. (Which could be from a couple things: being so sick, C-Diff, having so many blood transfusions...)So we are starting Livie on an iron supplement. Alyvia's breathing episodes have gotten better, but she still passes out a few times a week, the doctor thinks this is happening because Livie's iron is so low....I guess we'll find out.
Overall, Livie is still doing great! She was quite cranky when she had that C-Diff flare up, not that I can blame her, but she is finally starting to sleep better at night, and her "seizures" are under control. She is also walking just about like normal and her "roid swelling" is finally going down...although she still has a double chin!! (:

Livie and her Occupational Therapist

More OT


What can I say, she's my little Thug!

Doing pretty good

Love her to pieces!!

Alyvia is still doing pretty good. She still has some issues with her breathing, but the siezure medication seems to help with that. She's been a little more agitated this week (we've had to give her Ativan.)
Livie's lungs have also been really wheezy. I don't know if it's because she's running and moving around a lot more, she just gets so wheezy she has to take a break and sit down because I am afraid she'll stop breathing. (I talked to the Dr about it today and we are going to try a different asthma treatment for her to see if it'll help.) Alyvia had asthma (bronchial spasms) in the PICU when her lungs got so sick, but she never had asthma before all this happened. The doctors said that because of the ARDS (lung disease) her lungs will never be really great, she has so much scar tissue (and a little fluid still in them) but her lungs will grow until she's 8 years old, so that will help. She'll get some healthy new lung tissue as they grow. So for now, Livie has to take it a little easy, her lungs are still pretty weak....Which is why she still can't go out. We've had a few visitors, but Alyvia's still not ready to go out. (Sometimes we put her in the car and go for a drive though, just to get her out the house--okay, and Mom too!) So until the weather warms up, we're just hanging out at home.

Livie and "Hutchie"
She closed the door and got her nightgown stuck!


Silly girl!!

Charlie Cooper

I wanted to post about this little guy. Charlie is in the PICU at Primary Children's. He has Pneumoccocal Meningits. He is only 8 months old and having the fight of his life right now. I have never met him or his parents, but Charlie has really touched my heart. Charlie's health problems are so similar to what Alyvia went through. In fact, when I read through his blog it was like having deja vu. I cried and cried because it hit so close to home. I can really relate to what this family is going through.
Please pray for little Charlie.
I know that prayers helped save Alyvia's life....


If you would like to look at Charlie's blog it is: charliecooperjackjack.blogspot.com