A funny Karina story

At the cabin, there is a main house and two small cabins.  One is for their boys and one is the guest house.  The guest cabin was perfect for our family, with a loft area that Spencer and Karina slept in.  There is a bathroom in the house, but there is also a porta-potty by the boys cabin so there are not 10 people to one bathroom.  It is the cleanest porta-potty I have ever seen with rugs, a seat cover, decorations, etc. 
Karina has been working very hard on potty training.  She is about 90% there and have been such a big girl going to the bathroom by herself.  At this cabin, she loved this porta-potty.  The first day, it was a bit cold in Chelan but the second was much nicer and Karina spent all day in her swim suit.  As you ladies know, one piece swim suits can be a bit difficult to potty in. I didn't even think about that when Karina ran in and announced she was going to the bathroom.  I watched as she ran to the porta-potty.  When she came back to the house she very proudly announced that she loved the shoe holder in the potty.  Shoe holder?  What?

She told us a second time that she used the shoe holder...it took a bit to figure it out.  This way cool shoe holder was the urinal.  To go potty, she had to take off her swim suit...to take off her swim suit, she had to take off her shoes...and of course they go in the shoe holder.  We laughed and laughed and then cleaned off her shoes. 

....still makes me laugh....a urinal....

A day on the boat

The first day in Chelan, the weather was okay.  The kids were so excited to swim, they tried their best but it was a bit cold.

Mom, it's cold!

Mom, it's COLD!

Dad, it's cold!

Not cold enough to stop me from playing on the jet ski

 Luckily, the weather the second day cleared up and the kids got to go intertubing.  Spencer loved it and was a crazy man.  Karina wanted to go faster, but we limited her speed...she is only 3 years old. Matt and Jessi had some crazy tubing also.  After a few hours, we took a tour of the lake and towed the tube slowly with Karina, Spencer, and cousin Jessi.  I didn't think it was possible, but Karina fell asleep on the tube.  We got a good laugh at that.  Gab also slept most of the ride.

Dad had to go first

Dad and kiddos

Sleepy Gab

Sleepy Karina

Showboating Spencer

Good news

The good news is that I got my camera back from my mom, just in time for our family trip to Chelan.  When I got it back, there was this video my mom took of Gab, Karina, and my sister Nanima....enjoy!

Bad news

I have some bad news for you, I have no camera.  It accidently hitched a ride to Portland and it might be a few weeks before I get it back.  I can try to use Matts camera phone, but I would more likely expect that you will have to take a break from seeing our three stooges.  Sorry. 

In other news, Gab has not been feeling well so I took her to her pediatrician who found an ear infection.  So with one medicine added for 10 days, that should be an easy fix.  Other than that, we had a good break in Seattle and are getting back into the routine that is our life. 

The games we play

With school being out, Spencer and Karina have a lot of time to play together.  Most of the time they get along pretty good.  The last few days, I have watched them invent several games.  It is hilarious to listen to what they are doing. Below are a few pictures from the new games:

This game is called "Go get it".  Karina has the yellow golf ball, Spencer the white.  They roll them and see which ball Gabrielle crawls to. 

"Get the yellow one, get the yellow one"

This is the "Jail" game.  Karina puts Spencer in jail and he breaks out and hides.  After she finds him, he goes back to jail.

I don't know what this game is called, but I know there was a lot of screaming and a dad having fun snapping a towel.

Fathers Day and a fried chicken feast

I know it is a bit late...but...Happy Fathers Day to all dads out there but especially to my wonderful dad and my husband.  It has been a tough year for both.

To celebrate, we had a homemade fried chicken dinner.  Matt's chicken was perfect and the kids loved it!  Karina ate two chicken legs (she is the meat eater of the family).  Gabrielle enjoyed the mashed potatoes and found the peas that I mixed in.  Not surprisingly, the peas ended up on the floor.



First day of summer break

Today was the first day of summer break...and we started it off with a bang.  What could be more fun than meeting friends at the beach.  Somehow we got lucky and the sun came out.  It was a great time!

View from Owen's Beach

Karina loved playing in the rocks

Somehow, Karina stayed the cleanest.

"Look mom, I am being good and wearing a hat."

The hat was not as much fun as the cup.

Spencer was too busy throwing rocks to pose for a picture.

Trying to explain the unexplainable

Over the weekend, we headed to Portland to see my Grandma Carol and Aunt Marcy.  They were watching my sisters while my parents are in Israel and it has been too long since I have seen them.  It was good to see everyone but it was also another eye opening experience with how blessed my family is.  I spent a lot of time talking about Gab and her transplant, how she is doing and explaining the unexplainable.  Gab is truely unexplainable. 

P.S. Tonight is the first night that I will not be waking up at midnight to give meds...we got the okay to switch to twice a dosing.

Making "snores"

Even though the weather wasn't as nice as Saturdays, we decided to make the most of it.  Sunday, we decided to make "snores".  That is what Karina calls smores.  I wish I was able to record conversations at this house, the things these kids say crack me up. 

First came the fire...

then came the crackers...(Gab couldn't wait)...

and finally, the marshmallows

The kids couldn't wait for the fire to settle down, and as you can see, they both problem solved the situation.  Spencer decided that he needed to wear shades to protect his eyes and Karina stripped.  Which kid takes after which parent??? 

My All Star

Spencer had a great baseball game on Saturday.  He is a talented little player.  I know that all parents say that about their kiddos...but watching him play was pretty amazing.  He hit the ball every at bat and two of them were legitimately in the outfield.  I watched the ball sail over the heads of the other teams players while he ran as hard as he could.  Not only did Spence hit the ball, he made a few great plays while in the field.  I loved seeing him scoop up the ball and throw it to first base to make an out.  I am so proud of my all star!  I look forward to watching him grow up playing ball and loving it, just like his dad. 

The pancake and the pull-up

The pancake:

These pictures are priceless.  I gave Gab a pancake cut up on Saturday morning and she devoured it.  The second pancake I gave her was whole.  I was going to cut it up for her but the reaction was adorable.  I am glad that I had my camera close! 

The pull-up:
For those of you who know Gabrielle, you are well aware that her preferred method of transportation is rolling.  She barrel rolls to wherever she wants to go.  When she turned one, I started worrying about her because she did not show any signs of crawling.  As soon as I started asking our pediatrician and tx nurses, Gab started getting up on her hands and knees and doing the rocking back and forth baby thing.  Then just the other day, I saw her legitimately crawl.  I really think that she rolls because it is easy.  The exciting news is that Gab has started pulling up to standing on things all by herself.  Her two favorite pull up spots are the dishwasher door (when I am trying to load of course) and the bottom of the steps.  She likes the ottoman too...but she has to try really hard to pull up because it is a bit taller.  It is just so exciting to see her do new things.

Bikes and birthdays

Tomorrow, Spencer is turning 7.  I cannot believe that my baby is seven...now I feel old!  Anyway, we have had steady birthdays since March and Spencer ended up without a big party but a week full of parties instead.  This is mostly due to the fact that every time we asked him what he wanted to do for his party it changed and also his birthday his squarely on Memorial Day weekend.  The birthday celebrations started off with a new bike.  Spencer went with Matt to help pick the one he wanted and it was a good thing that he did because he  picked an awesome bike. 

 
Of course, the bike had to be assembled.  I was cooking dinner and Matt was trying to put together this bike.  Spencer was so excited he kept forgetting to hold the bike steady.  Karina wanted to help so bad...but Karina is not a very good helper if you are trying to get something accomplished.  Gabrielle also had to get in on the fun and rolled from the kitchen to the living room and was kicking Matt as he was assembling the bike.  I moved Gabrielle several times back to the kitchen but she really wanted to help and kept rolling back.  Finally, the bike was ready for a test ride so we all went outside.  In true Washington fashion it was sunny and sprinkling at the same time.  Spencer rode his bike and  Karina rode the scooter and Gab got her first ride on a baby toy.

At first, Gab was happy to sit and watch the fun. Just content to sit there and push the buttons on the toy.  But then, she figured out that she can push with her feet and backwards she went. 

Until she hit the grass...

After the bike riding was presents and ice cream with Nana.  It was a great start to birthday week!

SC appointments

Today was Seattle Children's appointments day.  6 and 1/2 months post transplant.

First off, the day starts way too early.  Me, Karina, and Gab get to SC by 7:30 for labs.  Blood draws are never fun, but Gabrielle does really well considering.  Thankfully, we get our favorite phlebotomist (sp?) and he gets all he needs the first poke. After labs, we head to the heart center to wait for echo.

Today was a relatively short wait and we go into echo where Karina demands to watch Dora.  Gabrielle always starts the echo being very cute and today was dancing to Dora.  But in true Gabrielle fashion, when she thought she was done, she was done.  Gab started pulling the wand off of her chest and after a bit of wrestling, we got all the pictures and went to wait some more.

Waiting, waiting, waiting.  Gabrielle had a few friends stop in to say hello and comment on how cute she is.  Then finally, a transplant nurse followed by Dr. Law.  Gabrielle was not going to let anyone listen to her heart without a fight and was pulling the stethoscope off of her chest for both Jason and Dr. Law.  But she remained happy and playful.  Waving, blowing kisses, smiling etc. 

Final outcome:  Everything looks great.  Her echo showed that her heart is growing nicely and proportionately.  No signs of rejection from the echo or labs.  All labs looked good and depending on her cyclosporine levels, we can go to twice a day dosing for her medicine.  That means I can be done waking up at midnight to give medicine.  I am very excited that this is a possibility.  Dr. Law, in his normal fashion stated that Gab is only 6 months post transplant and he would normally not suggest changing the dosing schedule but for Gab, there is no reason not to.  She meets all of the other qualifications and at some point he has to "take the jump". 

Everyone at SC is amazed by our little Gab.  I realized while attempting to add a tab about Gabs hearts, how crazy this journey has been.  Hopefully I can get that up with a few pictures in the next few days. 

A start at blogging

A friend of mine has mentioned that I should blog several times now...so I am officially giving it a go.  I realized that blogging is a great tool to reach the masses.  That is not quite what I am going for but it will reach those who are interested in my families hooligans  (both the noun and the verb).  I am hoping that this will be an easy way to chronical life and the attempt at some hobbies along with updating about Gabs health. 

You will have to be patient while I learn all the little things that can go along with blogging.  I also hope you find a bit of joy following this blog as I find joy in checking a few friends blogs to find a new post.  I don't know if I will be that entertaining, but I know my kids do plenty of crazy things to keep a blog flowing with stories. 

With that, I will end my first official blog post with a picture of my beautiful kids.