Thursday, March 29, 2007

Two month anniversary!

Two months ago an amazing little girl entered our lives and we are so very thankful that we get to be her Mom and Dad. We still look at her and say "Wow, I can't believe she's here!" or, "I can't believe we're parents!".


I know a lot of you are looking at our blog for the first time since we just sent out the announcements. If you'd like to read our old blog postings, you can get there by clicking through [the calendar over there on the right] (editor's note: use the archive links in the sidebar). Click on the month you'd like and then click on a day. The days that have blog entries are highlighted in a darker grey. We left for China on January 23, so all the blog entries from January 24th through February 7th were done from China. We toured around Beijing for a few days before we picked up Maggie in Hefei on the 29th.

You can also click on the Photo Gallery links at the side of this page. You can look at pics of the Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square and the Great Wall of China there. The first pics of Maggie and me are in there too, under the gallery called "She's Here".

So, that's all for now. I have a hungry 2 year old who needs lunch and a nap. I will try my darndest to keep adding pictures and giving you all updates on a regular basis. In all my spare time when I'm not taking care of Maggie or getting the house cleaned up and ready to sell. (that gives me about 2 minutes on Sunday nights!)



Original Comments on Post

Re: Two month anniversary! By Lori on 3/30/2007
I was just thinking that same thing - I can't believe she's here. Do you think we will still be saying that in a few years?

Re: Two month anniversary! By Joy on 4/4/2007
Thanks for the picture card. She's adorable of course. It's on our fridge. Our house number is 5917..but we still got the card. Rachel learned how to eat with a spoon today and she slept in her own real bed for the first time last week. Still working on that potty training thing though. She sits on it but she doesn't go. Her new sibling is busy tenderizing my insides with her feet. It won't be long now. I'm as big as a house. This is going to be the last time...surgery is set up to happen soon after. As wonderful as it has been to carry babies, I won't miss the constant discomfort. You are fortunate Mary in many ways. :) I'm happy for you both.

J

Monday, March 5, 2007

One last picture

To dust the t.v. just like mommy, you need two things: A paper towel and a big ra_ _....hmmm, gotta' keep this kid friendly.
OK, a paper towel and a pile of kleenex in your shirt.



btw - We did NOT do this to her. She came up with this one all by herself.


Original Comments from Post

Re: One last picture By mom- Joan on 3/8/2007
That is sooooo cute!

Re: One last picture By Keith on 3/13/2007
So THAT'S what's been going on for the past year.

She's cute as a button. Hopefully she's twice the trouble, too.

Congratulations!

Re: One last picture By Auntie Loie on 3/16/2007
This child is so charming! I'd have a hard time not spoiling her.


Another Picture

Fashion Rule #1: Your outfit should always match your dinosaur mask.

More Pictures

Maggie enjoying her Tombstone pizza after leaving the hospital. And yes, she ate the whole slice. Her face is shiny because we put Aquafor lotion on her to help remove her cannula stickers. Her oxygen tubes were stuck to her face with those stickers.


Original Comments from Post

Re: More pictures By Sam on 2/3/2007
Love the pictures. I'm so glad I have a God Sister.

Re: More pictures By Joan on 2/3/2007
Miotkes and Millers here-its only -15 below right now. Hope you guys are enjoying the warmth. Looking forward to seeing you guys home safe and sound. Take Care. We loved the pictures!! The view at night with the lights is Way Cool!!!

Re: More pictures By Ellen, Ariel, Charlie, & Kyra on 2/4/2007
Thanks for the pictures of Maggie! Kyra loves them!

We're all so jealous of the amazing adventure you're on and hope you come home safely soon!

Re: More pictures By Ellen, Ariel, Charlie, & Kyra on 2/4/2007
Today Kyra calls her MowWow!

Re: More pictures By Kari Grimes on 2/4/2007
I just love checking the website to see the latest updates. The shot with the towel (I am thinking she is right out of the tub...) is adorable. She looks very happy.

I think its so wonderful you three have been able to be away from it all just working on being a family. I know you want to get home but enjoy this precious time - its gonna be over before you know it. (and its really cold here.....)

See you soon. Can't wait to meet her. She truly is a cute kid and will fit right into the rest of your family.

I think she has won everyones heart that has been following the pictures and updates.

Sunday, March 4, 2007

A true story "How Maggie Went to the Hospital During a Blizzard".

Miss Maggie came down with a nasty virus on Thursday that landed her in the hospital for 2 days with bronchiolitis. Bronchiolitis is a generic medical term for "your child can't breathe". Her resps were at 70-80 per minute and they should have been at 40, she was also retracting (pulling hard on her stomach and rib muscles to breathe). We ended up taking her to the Woodwinds Hospital ER at 9:00 in the middle of the blizzard because they were the closest. They took her oxygen saturation levels there and found her at 90%, so they immediately put her on oxygen and ordered a nebulizer treatment. She had 3 nebs at Woodwinds, and couldn't keep her oxygen sats over 90% without oxygen, so an ambulance was ordered and we took a trip to Children's Hospital in St. Paul. When the ambulance is only doing 30 mph on 94 and you're still fishtailing all over the road, you know it's bad outside.

As soon as we got to Children's, they gave her a nasal cannula to give her oxygen. Those are the short little tubes that go into your nostrils. If you want to know how to really piss off a 2 year old - stick something in their nose! They started her on nebulizer treatments every two hours and then we waited. She had a pretty rough night/morning, but finally stabilized and they were able to take her off the oxygen by the early afternoon. We spent Friday night in the hospital also because she was getting nebbed every 4 hours and they also wanted to make sure she could make it through the night without supplemental oxygen. Maggie and I shared a bed on Friday night and we both slept 8 hours! We woke up a little bit when the respiratory therapist came in to neb her, but otherwise we were out. Thank goodness - we were all very sleep deprived. When baby can't breathe, baby can't sleep, and if baby can't sleep, nobody can sleep! Bryan and I both had about 3 hours of sleep total Thursday night into Friday afternoon, and Maggie had about 6 total. Not good.

Anyway - Bryan came home a few times to pick up supplies and shovel snow. When he came home on Friday night our driveway had been snowblowed. I believe it was Sean from next door who did that for us. We owe you big time Sean! It saved us a lot of time and trouble, and Bryan was able to come back to the hospital that much earlier. We have great neighbors.

We came home from the hospital on Saturday morning and immediately got some food into the kid. Hospital food is no good if you're a toddler with an "interesting" appetite. For example, she won't eat pancakes or french toast for breakfast, only the sausage or bacon. She doesn't like milk, she gets her dairy from yogurt. She doesn't like any fruit but bananas, peaches and pears. She doesn't like apple juice, she only likes peach juice....etc. We tried to special order her meals, but in the hubbub of trying to keep her from turning blue, the menus got lost in the shuffle. So we all had Tombstone pizza for lunch and Lil' Sizzlers and eggs for dinner to celebrate being home. Nummy - best meals ever!

So - that's the story of "How Maggie Went to the Hospital During a Blizzard". We are nebbing her at home and she made it through the night without a neb treatment! She was breathing long slow breaths in the middle of the night without coughing so we let her sleep. Right now she is bugging her dad in the living room and all is right with the world.


Original Comments from Post

Re: A true story "How Maggie Went to the Hospital During a Blizzard". By Mom- Joan on 3/4/2007
So glad to hear that all is well. It's uncanny how bad the timing of medical crises can be. Glad you are all well. Hugs...
Mom

Re: A true story "How Maggie Went to the Hospital During a Blizzard". By Auntie Loie on 3/4/2007
I remember when my oldest contracted croup the year I was pregnant with her sister. Brian's Mom told me I could expect every baby to get in some hospital time within the first two years of life. Welcome to parenthood! But now for some better times for you all to share. I will be thinking of you and praying for more of those.

Re: A true story "How Maggie Went to the Hospital During a Blizzard". By Ira on 3/4/2007
Thanks for the update! We were concerned at the office.

Re: A true story "How Maggie Went to the Hospital During a Blizzard". By Jennifer on 3/5/2007
Glad all is well. We have been through RSV w/Mackenzie at 5 wks. Remember sitting up watching her breathe all night. Very scary. You sure got baptised into parenthood quickly!