100th day

Kirsten's class on the 100th day of school

She is in the back in the green shirt giving a big thumbs up!

I can't believe that she is over halfway done with first grade!

Tubes

At Katie's 18 month check up, her pediatrician was concerned that she had yet another ear infection, and was  delayed in her speech.  She talks all of the time, almost non-stop, but it is just mumbling and copying our inflections.  She referred us to an ENT who found that she had fluid in her left ear,  puss in her right ear, another infection in her right ear and she did not even respond on her right side when they did her hearing test.  We decided that tubes would be the best option for her.

I was admittedly very nervous about the whole thing.  I knew that she would be alright, but the thought of them wheeling my baby off to an operating room without me to be put to sleep was a little unnerving.  My in-laws came over last night to help Jeremy give her a blessing, which helped me relax some.  

So today was the day.  We got to the hospital at 6:15 this morning.  Katie amazed us all by walking herself down the hallway to the pre-op area and climbing right up into the hospital bed.  She sat very still while the nurses took all of her vitals and I spoke to the nurses, the doctor and the anesthesiologist. 

 We changed her into the tiniest hospital gown I have ever seen with tigers all over it and they took her back.  It was over in about ten minutes and they came and got me to meet her in recovery.  All of the nurses were shocked because apparently pretty much all little kids scream when they wake up from the anesthesia, and Katie just sat there.  Her nurse just loved her and wanted to keep holding her.

 Pretty soon she woke up enough to realize I was there and began reaching for me emphatically.  Although, it took her awhile to figure out exactly where I was, she was pretty out of it.

I held her for about ten more minutes until she jumped off my lap, grabbed my hand, and started dragging me towards the door.  Apparently she was done with that place.  The nurses said we could go, so I changed her back into her pajama top and she walked herself to the car.  We were home by 7:45.

They found a solidified ball of puss the size of a marble behind her right ear drum.  They had to put a solution in to break it down and then drain it.  They drained her left ear too and put tubes in both sides.

She seems to already be feeling better and has been very pleasant, but very cuddly, all day.  She got a little scared when Kirsten started playing the piano after school, but they said to expect that as she gets accustomed to the louder noises around her.  Jeremy was wonderful to take the day off work and stay with her all day.  All in all, it was a very pleasant, smooth experience.  I look forward to watching her develop and learn with this new sense of awareness.

Thirty-eight pounds....

You may ask yourself - What could I do with 38 lbs of apples?  Well let me answer that for you.  We got 38 lbs of apples on Saturday for $22.50, too incredible to pass up. I had great plans for them, but honestly had no idea how quickly they would multiply as we started cooking them!

They came in a huge box with 5 layers of apples. 

 Jeremy and Kirsten very diligently peeled, cored and sliced the apples.

 Then we cooked the apples

 And stirred....

 Then we had to mash, and mash....

 and mash some more.

Put that mush into jars

And then the best part - processing them in the pressure canner I got for Christmas!

The result......

14 pints of homemade applesauce

13 jars of apple jelly, and 4 containers of apple freezer jam.

Not bad for a days work!  The best part is that we only used about 24 pounds of apples and still have 14 pounds left.  I ran out of jars, so tomorrow we will be getting more and I am going to try canning apple pie filling.  I really enjoyed doing this more than I ever imagined and I can hardly wait to try something else.  I  think a salsa garden may be in the works this spring!

Everything Else

I figured I would quickly fill in the blanks of everything else going on so far this year with a few pictures.

Katie is completely adorable and growing up so fast.  She loves to go to Kirsten's school and run around the cafeteria.

Katie is also developing a very strong opinion in certain areas.  She insists on picking out her clothes everyday and her pajamas every night.  If we pick it out, she just takes it off.  She wants shoes and her jean jacket on all of the time, and only lets me fix her hair if she is in front of the mirror and can see what I am doing.

She is also refusing to sit in her highchair anymore.  We had the Cochran's over for dinner last Sunday and so we pulled to booster seat out for their little one.  Katie climbed into it and sat there for over an hour.  It has since become her permanent place at the table.

She is also starting to play with her friends more and is particular about which ones she wants to play with.  Here she is with Luke and Owen playing the world's most beautiful piano trio!

Katie also LOVES brushing her teeth.  She seriously does it about six times a day.  She copies Kirsten exactly which has helped Kirsten become more diligent in her brushing. It has become part of their nightly ritual - bathe together, matching pajamas, brush teeth together, read a story in Kirsten's bed together, sing a song together, and then get tucked in at the same time.

 I feel seriously blessed that they love each other so much and love being together and doing things together.  Kirsten told me the other day that she and Katie were best friends in heaven, so Jesus let them be sisters.  It brought tears to my eyes to realize just how much she loves her sister.

We have been trying to enjoy some family time whenever we can.  Friday was kind of crazy so we had a picnic in the living room and watched CARS 2.  The girls were thrilled to stay up past their bedtime.

My dad spent the last month in Afghanistan.  We have been so worried about him and praying continuously for his safety.  His birthday was Friday and he came home Saturday.  They came straight from the airport to our house and we were able to celebrate his birthday with dinner and carrot cake.  The girls were so excited to see their grandpa.

I found at that I am going to have to have surgery on my ankle.  I injured on my mission ten years ago and it never fully healed.  I re-injured it running this fall.  The tendon just under my ankle bone is ruptured.  We have decided to schedule the surgery for March 5th so that I will have two weeks off of work - one being spring break.  I will have to be completely off of my foot for a month, which should be interesting with Katie, but thanks to wonderful family and friends, I think we will actually be able to make this work.  As much as I am not looking forward to this, I am looking forward to an end to the pain that has been plaguing me for so many years.

You're a STAR STUDENT!!!!

Kirsten was the Star Student in her class at school this week.  She was so excited to be chosen and has been looking forward to this all year long.  She was able to go to the library and pick out a dog to bring home for the week.

 She chose Biscuit and brought him home, complete with a carrier and book.

We also made a poster all about her that she got to take to school.

 On Friday we went to Good Morning Ogle where they honor all of the Star Students.

Here is Kirsten with her STAR

 Dancing on stage with all the other Star Students.

Kirsten also brought home her report card this week.  She got all checks - an absolutely perfect report card!  Kirsten is truly the "STAR" of our lives!

Jeremy's kind of fun

Jeremy has a big smile on his face because he is having a ton of fun...

 taking apart my computer!  

He enjoyed himself way too much.  I do have to admit that I was thoroughly impressed though (while simultaneously being freaked out).  He was able to change out the mouse touchpad on my lap top for a grand total of $8.  Add that to the dryer and freezer that he recently fixed, and he has saved us hundreds of dollars in the past two months.  I am so blessed to have such a versatile handy-man in the house!

A song and a trip

Friday was a big day for Kirsten.  It started off with her class performance at Good Morning Ogle.  They sang a really cute song about telling time. 

 Grandma Alleman came up to watch her perform and then took Katie home with her so that I could go with Kirsten on her class field trip to Frisco Fire Safety Town.

They started out with a class on car and pedestrian safety.  It was not the highlight of the day....

 But soon enough we made it outside where Kirsten's class got to drive the Jeeps.  It became pretty chaotic and we were joking that we now know what the Liberty HS parking lot will look like in ten years!

 After about 30 minutes, they switched with the other class and her class got to practice pedestrian safety through the little town.  Kirsten loved running around with her friends, especially Caroline.

 Mrs Bolling's class in front of the fire truck

 Mommy and her angel

We had such a great time together and I loved being able to spend this special time with my special girl.