Sisterly Love...

The girls were being very cute cuddling under a blanket and reading together. One of Regan's New Year's Resolutions was that she would teach Riley to read. It is sweet how they like to sit and read together.

The Next American Idol??

Reece has become our little entertainer. Her new thing is performing for us in the family room. She uses the marble floor by the fireplace as her stage, she dresses up all nice and uses a play soup can as her mic. She will sing us songs usually in her own words and uses a lot of expression as you can see. I wonder who she gets this from?? Daddy??? ;)

Put it in the box...

Tony came home today and told the kids he had a Chick-fil-A Waffle Fry box for each of them (for those of you who aren't familiar w/ these - they are great packing boxes and pretty good size). We have been having some problems with the girls leaving their toys out lately and so we told them if they are left out they are going in a box for a month. Tony told them he also wanted them to think of toys they don't think they need anymore or don't play w/ much and put them in their box and if they don't miss them after a month then we are going to donate them, sell them in a garage sell or give them to Cousin Lizzie.

So, I came home from working at Kid's Night tonight and this is what I found:

Regan's box was empty -- our little pack rat!!! Actually, most of her toys get past down to her sisters. But, she does like to hold onto things!

Riley's box had two sets of Dora Explorer books that Reece LOVES and reads almost everyday. When I asked Riley why she had those in the box she replied, "I am over Dora now and don't read those anymore and I don't want them." I said, "Reece LOVES those books and technically they are hers now!" We can't put those in the box. That was the only things in her box!

Reece's box had ALL her favorite toys. I asked Tony if she had gotten in trouble for not putting them away. He said, "No, she put them in there." I don't think Reece gets this game!!!! She probably just thought it was fun throwing all her toys into a box. Wait until she finds out they will be gone for a month. Tony replied "Yes, that is why I have not done anything w/ her box yet."

So, not quite sure this "In the box" game is going to work. But, sounds like great punishment! :)

A Precious Comment By Riley...

Last night I was doing devotion with Riley and we were reading the story about Jonah. Riley said, "Mommy you know why I like the story about Jonah so much?" I said, "No, why?" She replied, "because it teaches me not to run away from God."

Update on Regan's Illness...

As most of you know Regan has been battling a bad illness for 9 days. We were told by one pediatrician last Sunday that it was pneumonia. Then, we were told this past Wednesday by Regan's primary pediatrician that she disagreed about pneumonia and that it was just something viral. So, I finally got all my answers by going back to Regan's Pulmonologist yesterday. She had been to the pulmonologist in Nov. and had tests and x-rays done and they were all normal. All of these tests served as baseline when we went yesterday, so it was very helpful.

They did chest x-rays yesterday and the radiologist said he saw a little infiltrate in one lung (which indicates possible infection) but the pulmonologist did not really agree. He said it was SO subtle that he did not think it was anything of concern. But, he did say it could have been pneumonia (like what the ped. had said last Sun.) and that it was bacterial and the antibiotic cleared it up. They also did sinus x-rays and the radiologist read those as normal but the pulmonologist did not. He said compared to last x-rays, she seemed to have some grey areas that indicated to him sinus infection going on. He said he thinks the sinuses is what was causing the long term fever (not the lungs). He said it takes the antibiotics longer to fight an infection that bad in the sinus cavities whereas the lungs probably cleared up pretty quickly b/c we caught the infection so quick. So, that explained why we thought the antibiotic was not seeming to work. Then, they did a lung function test and her results were much lower than the normal ones done in November. Which answered the question we have been wondering for two years --- Regan has mild asthma. So, the pulmonologist said the pediatricians were not wrong but they were all focusing on one aspect and not getting the full picture. He also said her cough had not gotten better yet b/c inhaled steroids take up to a week to start working whereas oral steroids take 12 hrs. So, that is why Regan's cough was not getting any better. So, he has put her on an oral steroid and she should start feeling better soon. She actually did not have a fever yesterday at the doctor's so her fever seems to be gone and she does seem to be doing a little better already. Also, he said going forth, Regan needs to be on preventative inhaled steroids through the Spring until the pollen is over. He did say her asthma is mild and not the kind that we should have to worry about asthma attacks, major difficulty breathing, etc.

So, we are very relieved and glad to have all our questions answered. He said she should be able to go back to school next week. Yay!!!

For those of you wondering about Reece, she is doing better. She was sick too w/ the same bad cough. Her fever has been gone for several days and her cough is slowly getting better. We now realize why the cough is not getting better quickly and that is b/c the inhaled steroids have not fully kicked in yet. So, her cough should really start getting better this weekend, we hope. The pulmonologist said Reece probably has a component of asthma too but she is just too young to test yet. So, we are treating her with breathing treatments, nose spray and antibiotics. So, hopefully our household will be back to healthy soon!!!! :)

Snow Can Perk A Child Up....

Yesterday, Reece was crying out at 5:30 am. She had a fever and felt miserable. I took her downstairs to get some medicine. We had left the blinds open in our den and the motion light on our back deck was on b/c of the snow. Reece saw the snow and immediately perked up. She YELLED "Oh wow it is snowing, look Mommy there is snow, wow it is snowing, can I make a snow angel?" She was SOOOO excited. I did not think I would ever get her away from the window. I did finally get Motrin in her and put her back to bed. Luckily, she did not wake the whole house up.

Part II of the story: Last night as I was putting Reece to bed, she asked out of the blue "What are the lights on for?" I replied, "What lights?" "The lights outside in the snow?" I said, "Reece were you looking out your window?" She got a sheepish grin and said, "Uh Huh!" She must have been looking out the window when I put her back to bed at 5:45 am. Who knows how long she was up in her room watching the snow. No wonder she was tired and did not wake up again until 10:00 am.

First Snow of 2009!

Yesterday we woke up to our first snow of the year. The girls were SOOO excited as was I. We only got about 1 1/2" much less than Raleigh (they got 6 1/2") but we still had a little fun. Unfortunately, Regan and Reece were still very sick so we only got to play in the snow for about 30 minutes. Regan was a trooper and had a big smile on her face while out but toward the end

of that 30 mins. we realized it was time to go in. She was laid up on the sofa the rest of the day. But, at least they were able to enjoy it a little. We do hope we get another snow before the winter is over so the girls can enjoy it more! But, as you can see from these photos, they made the most of the 30 minutes.

All Bundled Up - Ready To Play

Reece could not wait to play in the snow.

Making a snowball to throw at daddy.

Having a snowball fight.

Regan making a snow angel

This is the moment Reece had been waiting for since 5:30 am

Daddy giving Reece a ride on the sled - she is smiling...

Now Reece is NOT smiling. Daddy accidentally dumped her out of

the sled. She was covered in snow and giving Daddy a look like

"What was that for??"

But she did not give up. She got back on and had some more fun.

Regan's turn to sled. Going down our "hill" in the front yard.

Regan is snow climbing. Not sure why she is doing this.

Probably trying to catch pneumonia, no wait, she already has that!

Away Riley goes down the "hill." Wheeeee...

Didn't get very far. Stopped by a pile of snow.

Riley decided "sledding" down our slide would be more fun!

As you can see, our two sick girls have had enough after 30 mins. We are done!!!!

Time to go inside. The snow was fun while we lasted!