A few days ago, I was fighting a pretty bad headache all day and when it came time for bedtime Emily was all ready for me to go in and read to her. I asked Tom if he would mind putting her to bed that night and I whispered to Em, "Go give Daddy your puppy dog eyes."
She promptly did as directed. She walked right over to where he was sitting, paused just long enough to say "Bow Wow!" and kept right on walking to her bedroom. He had absolutely no idea why she was barking at him and once I caught on and quit laughing I translated for him.
Ah, the fun never ends in the Hypes House.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The Thin Mint Saga Continues
All right... which of my faithful followers tipped Emily off about my fear of her eating all my thin mints?!??
This morning, she went to the cupboard, brought me the box, looked at me with puppy dog eyes and held up 1 finger. Then, she went so far as to calm my fears by saying "not 2" and held up just 1 single finger again.
Oy, what's a mother to do! I gave her one.... and took the 2 she didn't want for myself. Hehehe.
This morning, she went to the cupboard, brought me the box, looked at me with puppy dog eyes and held up 1 finger. Then, she went so far as to calm my fears by saying "not 2" and held up just 1 single finger again.
Oy, what's a mother to do! I gave her one.... and took the 2 she didn't want for myself. Hehehe.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Potty Parties!
We decided last week that we were going to make a second attempt at potty training while I'm off for spring break. Emily agreed that she was ready to try again (a little peer pressure from her cousins, Abby and Gracie, who are well on their way helped a LOT).
Last week she used her little potty chair several times for us and out of the blue, this weekend she doesn't want to use her little potty chair but wants to use the big potty... fine by me! She still hasn't quite managed to let me know ahead of time when she has to go, but she manages to go every time I set her on the toilet.
She's been fascinated with some new Elmo and Disney Princess underwear that has been in her drawer and she shared last night that she wanted to try wearing them today.... we'll see how it goes!
Last week she used her little potty chair several times for us and out of the blue, this weekend she doesn't want to use her little potty chair but wants to use the big potty... fine by me! She still hasn't quite managed to let me know ahead of time when she has to go, but she manages to go every time I set her on the toilet.
She's been fascinated with some new Elmo and Disney Princess underwear that has been in her drawer and she shared last night that she wanted to try wearing them today.... we'll see how it goes!
Hats?
Emily went shopping with me this morning and as we passed through the "intimate apparel" section of the store, she spotted the bras and happily proclaimed to me that we were surrounded by "whole lot hats"! I did need to add a few new "hats" to my collection so we purchased some and Emily begged to carry the bag to the car for me and held onto it until we reached our next destination.
I watched through the rear view mirror as she took all of our goodies out of the bag and then watched her open the box that held one of my "hats". Sure enough, the "hat" went on her head and looked quite -- uh, how should we say -- special. I caught the whole thing on video since we were at a stop light but seeing how quite a few of my family, friends, and co-workers read this, I don't think I'm quite ready to share my dirty, er, clean laundry with the whole world yet.
Some day, when she's ready, I'll let her know they aren't really hats... but I don't think we're ready for that talk just yet. :-D
I watched through the rear view mirror as she took all of our goodies out of the bag and then watched her open the box that held one of my "hats". Sure enough, the "hat" went on her head and looked quite -- uh, how should we say -- special. I caught the whole thing on video since we were at a stop light but seeing how quite a few of my family, friends, and co-workers read this, I don't think I'm quite ready to share my dirty, er, clean laundry with the whole world yet.
Some day, when she's ready, I'll let her know they aren't really hats... but I don't think we're ready for that talk just yet. :-D
Monday, March 23, 2009
I've Made a BIIIG Mistake
Hmmmm, I'm trying to figure out how to undo this one. Let me know if you have any ideas...
I let Emily have one of my Thin Mint (Girl Scout) cookies this afternoon for her snack. She's hooked. She keeps asking for more. I was kind of cherishing the fact that Tom liked them but not that well and I was the only one in the house that really enjoyed them! I fear I'm going to have to hide my other box and at the very least I'm going to have to remove it from the snack cupboard that's conveniently located at toddler level!
And, no, I will not be sending my coveted thin mints to your house for safe keeping so it's probably not a good idea to even suggest that!
I let Emily have one of my Thin Mint (Girl Scout) cookies this afternoon for her snack. She's hooked. She keeps asking for more. I was kind of cherishing the fact that Tom liked them but not that well and I was the only one in the house that really enjoyed them! I fear I'm going to have to hide my other box and at the very least I'm going to have to remove it from the snack cupboard that's conveniently located at toddler level!
And, no, I will not be sending my coveted thin mints to your house for safe keeping so it's probably not a good idea to even suggest that!
A New Look
I've been getting a bit of spring fever today and decided to change our blog's template today to a more outdoorsie look. I tried finding some spring-looking templates for our blog but didn't care for the ones that I found.
Hope you like it!
-j
Hope you like it!
-j
RyRy, Play-doh Please
Emily's speech has taken off quite a bit over the past couple of weeks. She's starting to pick up new words on her own now and we sometimes hear her practicing her words through the baby monitor. She's also starting to putting several words together to make short sentences.
She looks forward to the weekends when her brother, Ryan, comes home and she practiced and practiced saying, "RyRy, play-doh, please." She couldn't wait for him to come home this weekend to ask if he would play play-doh with her. And, being the good brother that he is, this 17 year old boy obliged and made his sister VERY happy.
She looks forward to the weekends when her brother, Ryan, comes home and she practiced and practiced saying, "RyRy, play-doh, please." She couldn't wait for him to come home this weekend to ask if he would play play-doh with her. And, being the good brother that he is, this 17 year old boy obliged and made his sister VERY happy.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Botox 2nd shot - Follow-up
NOTE: I originally wrote this email to our family last week on Tuesday, March 10... but have debated posting it on here because I was simply so frustrated after the appointment and it came shining through in my email. I little dose of PMS didn't help the situation one bit. (Did I just tell the entire world that I'm not perfect and had PMS last week?!?!) However, after thinking about the whole situation and having time to step back for a bit, I think it is important to include this in our blog. There are other families dealing with situations similar to ours and it's not always pretty. There are bound to be speedbumps and hiccups along the way.
Tom and I have lived our life and our faith out loud. Our life is and always has been an open book. I'm also post-dating this blog entry so that it shows up correctly on our blog timeline.
- - - - - - - -
Hey all!
Em had a Botox follow-up appointment at Children's Hospital this afternoon at 4pm. She was in a great mood on the way down especially since we were going to meet up with Aunts Shell and Laura afterwards for supper. We got called back right about 4pm so it was looking good... but then apparently there was some sort of emergency ahead of us and it was nearly 5:30 by the time
the doctor finally came to our exam room. I hate it when they do that because by then Em's patience is running thin and she's played with everything in the room and chatted with everyone in the hall, etc.
Even on the way to Columbus, Em seemed really concerned when I mentioned they might take her shoes off or that they might roll her pant legs up. And when they asked me to do it she threw a royal hissy fit while squirming around and sitting on my lap. Instead of waiting for her to calm down, Dr. B seized the moment to see how much range she had in her ankles. Needless to say, Em was not at all happy and my shoulder was covered in her tears and snot in the few seconds it took to check her out.
Later, when things settled down a bit, Dr. B suggested that I give Em a dose of Benedryl prior to bringing her in... in other words mildly sedate her. I understand what she means... but really?
I wasn't real impressed with that and probably should have just asked the doctor to wait for her to calm down... after all, we waited an hour and half for her to come see us. ;-) But, I was thinking about Em and how to calm her down and get her to cooperate and wasn't feel snippy and brave at the time. Don't get me wrong the doctors that saw her were very nice and played with her and took time with her after the initial eval. But thinking it over in retrospect, we all know Em has an excellent memory and now THIS will stick in her mind the next time we need to come see Dr. B.
She was already worried about getting "ows" (shots) because she remembered that trauma from the last time when we came for the actual botox shots. I have a really strong feeling it's going
to get harder and harder for her to enjoy going down there if she's traumatized each time.
Dr. B still didn't feel that Em had much if any improvement over her initial evaluation (prior to Botox). She simply recommended increasing the dosage the next time Em gets the shots. She asked if Em had a lot of pain from the last set and I said "no" that she has never shown signs of
pain, she is just REALLY bothered by the fact that people hold her down when she gets the shot. Dr. B prescribed a topical numbing cream for us to put on Em an hour before her next Botox shot so that she won't have to deal with the numbing spray they've been using. Great. Now I have to attempt to put lotion on the back of her legs, get her to agree to leave a band-aid over both of them while we drive for an hour to get to our next appointment. This oughta be a hoot.
Some of our other discussions this afternoon were about the possibility of serial casting (using leg casts to hold her feet in position since she's still tiptoeing everywhere). However, Dr. B felt that serial casting could cause more damage. Seeing how Em reacted today, she felt she would
have to be sedated to get the casts put on (and I'm thinking also to have them cut off). Sedation has its risks - the casts could causing scarring if she fought them, etc. Another option our PT recommended was a type of night splint. Dr. B was also concerned about these, Em would probably have to be sedated to have the splint sized and made. They cost about $1,200 for each foot and would have to be replaced about once a year because she would outgrow them. She wasn't sure that would provide enough support and the right kind of bracing that Em would need. The other option that was thrown in the ring was surgery... but was quickly discarded because they said she wasn't old enough... they usually do those around 6 yrs. of age. At the end of the brainstorm-out-loud session, Dr. B. said that Em was a tough one and that she was really making her think.
I didn't leave this appointment feeling as optimistic as the other appointments we've had down there. Em was in much better spirits when we left there and was laughing and teasing with everyone as usual, but I don't feel like we have any firm plan of action yet. I'm going to talk
to her physical therapist again tomorrow and review the day with her. I think I'm also going to start seeking some information on my own and see what others are doing for kids this age. You'd think we had a pit bull or something with as much sedation talk as we had today!
Well, that's enough for tonight... I'm ready for my own sedation. I'm beat.
-jenni
Tom and I have lived our life and our faith out loud. Our life is and always has been an open book. I'm also post-dating this blog entry so that it shows up correctly on our blog timeline.
- - - - - - - -
Hey all!
Em had a Botox follow-up appointment at Children's Hospital this afternoon at 4pm. She was in a great mood on the way down especially since we were going to meet up with Aunts Shell and Laura afterwards for supper. We got called back right about 4pm so it was looking good... but then apparently there was some sort of emergency ahead of us and it was nearly 5:30 by the time
the doctor finally came to our exam room. I hate it when they do that because by then Em's patience is running thin and she's played with everything in the room and chatted with everyone in the hall, etc.
Even on the way to Columbus, Em seemed really concerned when I mentioned they might take her shoes off or that they might roll her pant legs up. And when they asked me to do it she threw a royal hissy fit while squirming around and sitting on my lap. Instead of waiting for her to calm down, Dr. B seized the moment to see how much range she had in her ankles. Needless to say, Em was not at all happy and my shoulder was covered in her tears and snot in the few seconds it took to check her out.
Later, when things settled down a bit, Dr. B suggested that I give Em a dose of Benedryl prior to bringing her in... in other words mildly sedate her. I understand what she means... but really?
I wasn't real impressed with that and probably should have just asked the doctor to wait for her to calm down... after all, we waited an hour and half for her to come see us. ;-) But, I was thinking about Em and how to calm her down and get her to cooperate and wasn't feel snippy and brave at the time. Don't get me wrong the doctors that saw her were very nice and played with her and took time with her after the initial eval. But thinking it over in retrospect, we all know Em has an excellent memory and now THIS will stick in her mind the next time we need to come see Dr. B.
She was already worried about getting "ows" (shots) because she remembered that trauma from the last time when we came for the actual botox shots. I have a really strong feeling it's going
to get harder and harder for her to enjoy going down there if she's traumatized each time.
Dr. B still didn't feel that Em had much if any improvement over her initial evaluation (prior to Botox). She simply recommended increasing the dosage the next time Em gets the shots. She asked if Em had a lot of pain from the last set and I said "no" that she has never shown signs of
pain, she is just REALLY bothered by the fact that people hold her down when she gets the shot. Dr. B prescribed a topical numbing cream for us to put on Em an hour before her next Botox shot so that she won't have to deal with the numbing spray they've been using. Great. Now I have to attempt to put lotion on the back of her legs, get her to agree to leave a band-aid over both of them while we drive for an hour to get to our next appointment. This oughta be a hoot.
Some of our other discussions this afternoon were about the possibility of serial casting (using leg casts to hold her feet in position since she's still tiptoeing everywhere). However, Dr. B felt that serial casting could cause more damage. Seeing how Em reacted today, she felt she would
have to be sedated to get the casts put on (and I'm thinking also to have them cut off). Sedation has its risks - the casts could causing scarring if she fought them, etc. Another option our PT recommended was a type of night splint. Dr. B was also concerned about these, Em would probably have to be sedated to have the splint sized and made. They cost about $1,200 for each foot and would have to be replaced about once a year because she would outgrow them. She wasn't sure that would provide enough support and the right kind of bracing that Em would need. The other option that was thrown in the ring was surgery... but was quickly discarded because they said she wasn't old enough... they usually do those around 6 yrs. of age. At the end of the brainstorm-out-loud session, Dr. B. said that Em was a tough one and that she was really making her think.
I didn't leave this appointment feeling as optimistic as the other appointments we've had down there. Em was in much better spirits when we left there and was laughing and teasing with everyone as usual, but I don't feel like we have any firm plan of action yet. I'm going to talk
to her physical therapist again tomorrow and review the day with her. I think I'm also going to start seeking some information on my own and see what others are doing for kids this age. You'd think we had a pit bull or something with as much sedation talk as we had today!
Well, that's enough for tonight... I'm ready for my own sedation. I'm beat.
-jenni
Friday, March 06, 2009
That is awesome!
....that would be her dad's response to the video below.
Since Daddy's out of town tonight, we worked on a surprise to send him. We worked on this at supper. I'm not sure if she'll say it without being prompted yet or not... but it's a wonderful start. It only took us 2 1/2 years to get here... but isn't it lovely!?!?
The other phrase we learned right before bedtime tonight was "Be nice"... she supposed to tell Daddy that the next he decides to tickle her!
Take care and be blessed (we certainly are!)
-jenni
Since Daddy's out of town tonight, we worked on a surprise to send him. We worked on this at supper. I'm not sure if she'll say it without being prompted yet or not... but it's a wonderful start. It only took us 2 1/2 years to get here... but isn't it lovely!?!?
The other phrase we learned right before bedtime tonight was "Be nice"... she supposed to tell Daddy that the next he decides to tickle her!
Take care and be blessed (we certainly are!)
-jenni
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