Elsa's First Mischief.

I bought a brownie at Panera and hid it in my bag to eat when the kids were asleep.  I just DIDN'T want to divide it in thirds, and let's be honest, the kids would probably beg for most of it since they are as crazy for chocolate as I am.

I put DHH down for a nap and stopped by to check my email in the computer room.  EK was in the living room alone for less than five minutes - something that's not that ordinary since she can crawl and loves to play a little Find and Seek, crawling around until she sees us and then squeals.   I was expecting to see her little head pop into the doorway as I checked my email, but I didn't.

I heard some rustling, and went to investigate.

She'd gotten the brownie from my bag, from inside the plastic clamshell container it was in, and had devoured most of it.  The frosting was all over her clothes, my bag, and her face.

I said, "What are you doing?" and she started giggling.

I laughed and that made her laugh harder.

No photo on this activity... I spent the time tickling her and licking some of the chocolate off her precious cheeks instead!

Elsa Everday 2-27-12

Elsa has been sick for five days (which explains the lack of photo
emails from me), but today she ate a whole sweet potato and coughed
out most of the gunk in her lungs. I think she's getting better!

Project 52, Week 6

My kids think its hilarious to web chat while they are in the bath
tub. My parents were really amused by them, too.

(Some how I forgot to post this two weeks ago!)

Project 52, Week 8

DHHtakes on a different tone of voice and manners when he steps into
the role of his sister's teacher. He becomes straightforward, non
violent, and perhaps a bit bossy.

EE 2-20-12

You'll never know dear, how much I love you.

EE 2-19-12

Elsa crawls to my leg, tugs at my pants, and begs to be picked up a
few times each day. She is especially interested in whatever her
brother and I are doing at the kitchen table or what is cooking on the
stovetop. She peers down from her quiet perch on my hip. studying
the world she usually cannot see.

DDD and EE 2-18-12

I did it- behind again!

On Saturday, Dan put away the small tub and worked hard to get the
bathtub in order for use. He replaced the drain that had broken and
scrubbed for nearly an hour.

The kids enjoyed the change and bathe together most nights.

DDD and EE for 2-17-12

Now that Elsa can crawl and pull up wherever she wants to, we notice
that she has similiar tastes to her brother! Both really liked looking
at the pilot light in the fireplace at my parents' house.

EE 2-16-12

Elsa played with a box of new clothes and their wrappers for about an
hour on Saturday after the box arrived in the mail. She picked an
item up, shook out the clothes from the bag, and passed the bag back
and forth in her hands. She also picked apart the tissue paper that
was packed in my shoes. I haven't seen her this focused on one object
ever. Maybe she'll inherit my online shopping love.

EE 2-13-12

It snowed! They loved it!

EE 2-15-12

Elsa got so upset that her brother and father went out to play in the
snow without her, so I bundled her up and let her have a look at the
snow, too.

EE 2-14-12

For her first Valentine's Day, Elsa got a heart balloon from her daddy
and cards from her grandparents.

EE 2-112

Elsa got some good playing in with Aunt Jessica this past weekend.

EE 2-12-12

Elsa finds small items that our vaccuum seems to miss. She carefully
studies them and then a) puts them in her mouth, or b) hands the item
to a parent.

EE 2-10-12

Eli Weidlocher came to visit, and he and Elsa chatted together and
passed toys back and forth. They are so close in age and size that I
think they'll photograph well together for quite some time.

EE 2-9-12

Three Elsies! That is what her brother said, anyway.

I got Emma and Charlotte dresses to match the one Elsa already had (a
gift from Aunt Rachie) and they wore them to the library for story
time. Several people asked if they were triplets!

EE 2-7-12

Elsa has been busy lately, so the EE's got a little backed up. She's
been liking the outdoors and playgrounds, so we take her there very
often.

Elsa Lately..

Has been spending most of her time on her feet, pulled up, and peeking around to see objects at new heights.

Fusses when going to take an afternoon nap and for bedtime, sometimes so obnoxiously so that her brother covers his ears and moans.

Is cutting a top tooth and enjoys toothbrush time.

Laughs, claps, and chatters, often saying her newest word Dad-gee! Da-da-da-gee!

Eats all foods I present to her, even tonight's dinner of Taco Soup, nachos and guac, and gooey butter cake.

Kisses pictures in books, usually babies or baby animals, but sometimes trucks or plants.

Goes through phases of not nursing well and biting to nursing perfectly and on a schedule.

Loves sippy cups.

Sits in front of the stove and chats at her reflection, then pulls up and shrieks at her reflection.

Weighs about 18 lbs and is 30 inches long.

Really likes shoes.  She likes shoes on her feet and on other's feet.  Laces fascinate her, and she enjoys chewing on shoes, too.

Cries dramatically when her brother takes toys away, smacks her, or makes loud noises.

Is the apple of our eye.

DDD and EE for 2-8-12

We took Daniel and Elsa to get photos with Charlotte and Emma Hoemann
today. There was only one photo that had all four kids in it looking
semi-happy. And here it is!

Re: Elsa Everyday 2-6-12 and Prayer Request

Here's the info on Elsa's heart appointment, written in the format I posted on my blog today.  Thank yo so much for the support you showed and prayers you showered on my family.   Dan and I were able to have a good conversation with the doctors and we feel okay with how Elsa is doing.  She's not showing any symptoms, which is great for a girl with a large hole in her heart!   

Thanks for your love.

Yes, this precious face went to her heart specialist today.  

She wasn't nearly as relaxed while we were there, however.  

In fact, she was a mess most of the time.

She didn't like the doctor at all.  

She made the "all done" baby sign through most of the visit, and let them know she was all done verbally, too.

 

 

Here's the condensed version of the story, in case you are pressed for time.

She wailed, they took images of her heart with ultrasound and x ray, we asked a hundred questions, we learned that the hole is now very large, we were assured that she is growing and developing quite well, and the plan is to come back periodically with the long term plan correcting the defect at age 4-6.

 

The appointment was at 8:15 AM, and we dropped off her brother at a friend's house. (He is old enough to have a friend!!!)

The staff at Women's and Children's Hospital were polite and good at their jobs.  Every little procedure, even measuring her length, was a challenge.  She was NOT in the mood to be messed with.

I thought EK had grown significantly in the last two weeks, and it was confirmed.  She went from 92% for height to off the charts in height.  That doesn't make sense mathematically to me.  She has also increased in weight from the 27% to 52%, so that's probably why it feels like she's been eating twice as much as she did before.

 

After the nurse weighed, measured, took blood pressures and plus ox levels, we went into another patient room. The doctor came in to have a listen to her heart.  EK gave him a dirty look the second he arrived.   I don't know how he managed to hear her heart sounds above her sobs.  The doctor's sidekick doctor, who was bald, didn't have any more luck.  EK seems to have a strong distaste for bald men and throws fits whenever she sees one.  

Then we went into a different room for an ultrasound of her heart. 

When we were at her first visit, she was 11 weeks old.  She laid on the bed and I held her hands with my thumbs.  She was relatively still for that 45 minute procedure.

This visit was shorter, but it was different in that EK wanted to participate in the exam. She tried to grab and taste the ultrasound wand.  She played in the jelly used to lubricate the device.  She squirmed and arched her back in defiance.   This time I sat on the table, holding her on my lap.  It was a very different experience.  Not bad, and I didn't have any time to stare at the screen and try to anxiously decipher what I was looking at.  I was busy trying to get her to chill the heck out.

 

Next was the ECG.  She was okay with this situation, probably because it lasted only a few minutes. She was so curious about the wires and the stickers on her chest.  

Dan and I joked that DHH would have loved this procedure.  He would have insisted on hooking up each one of the clamps to the chest stickers and been fascinated by the wires.  EK was interested in it all, but she didn't try to pull at them or reconnect them in any other way like we think her brother would have.  

After the procedures were done, the specialist came back into the room and told us that the ASD has not decreased in size.  He called it a very large hole.  

Remember how it was called a moderate sized hole at first:? Then a moderately large hole? And now this description?  I think they must down play the size of the defect to parents so they don't go nuts when they learn their three month old has a heart condition.  Now that my daughter seems more sturdy and can crawl around and feed herself, it seems more manageable that she has a hole in her heart.  

We asked many questions, namely wanting to know the best and worst case scenarios and prognosis.

Worst case scenario: Our girl stops growing (which clearly has not happened).  She labors for breath, has a hard time eating, sweats excessively, gets several chest infections.  The she gets the hole corrected very soon.  

Best case scenario: EK continues to breath fine, grows and gains weight appropriately, doesn't catch an above normal amount of colds, and behaves like any other child.  Then she gets the hole fixed when she is 4-6, which is the doctor's ideal window of time to do the procedure.

And by procedure, I mean open heart surgery. There is another way to fix the hole, and its similar to plugging the hole, but he didn't think that would be what he'd do to fix the hole.  It would be a surgical procedure.

She'd need a night in the hospital if the ASD got "plugged" and would be normal very quickly, since its not as involved as open heart surgery.

The surgical option means she'd be in a hospital overnight for at least three days, but her recovery would be pretty fast, barring any complications.  Apparently, little kids bounce back from surgery really quickly.

Well, that's the news, internet friends.  

I asked several women in my life via email yesterday for prayers and positive vibes, and I got seventeen emails of support from these ladies.  Their words made a difference in keeping me focused on my daughter's long term health, content in her current health, and at peace with this situation.  I know this appointment wasn't about me, and I was able to keep it that way because I wasn't so freaked out about her heart-hole that I wasn't able to help her feel safe and secure.

Thank you so much.

On Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 1:28 PM, Bethany Haid <bethanyhaid@gmail.com> wrote:

These days Elsa is waving, pulling up to standing at any opportunity,
clapping and cheering and singing, saying Da-gadee, and eating any new
food we present to her. She is a thriving, joyful girl.

Tomorrow is her second cardiologist appointment for her heart defect.
Please pray for her (us) that the appointment give us more information
about what her medical needs are and the best way to treat them.

--
- Bethany Haid

Elsa Everyday 2-6-12 and Prayer Request

These days Elsa is waving, pulling up to standing at any opportunity,
clapping and cheering and singing, saying Da-gadee, and eating any new
food we present to her. She is a thriving, joyful girl.

Tomorrow is her second cardiologist appointment for her heart defect.
Please pray for her (us) that the appointment give us more information
about what her medical needs are and the best way to treat them.

DDD EE 2-5-12

Daniel earned a Mickey Movie for no fits the previous day, and Elsa
was curious about his muffin. Later I found her eating the banana
peel, so I think he shared with her!

DDD and EE Feb 4, 2012

We watched a concert on PBS and Daniel asked to get our box of
instruments down. Both kids loved being noisy with their lungs, too.

EE 2-3-12

My heart.

Us on 2-1-12

Family photo taken by one of my Korean students, 7:30 PM on Wednesday
at a graduation dinner. The kids were handling the paparazzi like
photo shoots pretty well for so late at night and so little experience
with a dozen screaming Korean college girls and greasy food bars.
And Dan was a good sport.

DDD and EE 2-2-12

Their dad constructed it for them, and they loved it.

EE Feb 1, 2012

When her brother forgot about his ice cream cone dessert, Elsa
remembered it. She chewed on the cone for awhile and watched everyone
at the graduation dinner we attended for my students last night.