Big Kids

Yesterday got away from me before I blogged. I guess it'll be 30 for 21 for me.

We've had a crazy week around here. After a healthy summer, the kids, of course, managed to come down with a nasty virus three weeks into school starting. Jackson started running fever last Saturday. Kira started on Monday. I took them both to the doctor for strep tests. Not strep.

On Wednesday night, Jackson was still running fever and it got up to 104.4. So, back to the dr we headed on Thursday. Not mono. Not flu. Headed to the children's hospital for xrays. Not pneumonia.

On Thursday, Jackson's fever broke. I've found that his illnesses require a sacrifice of expensive medical testing before they'll go.

Kira ran fever for over five days, too. Though she never ran that high. It's funny because people assume that she's our medically fragile one. I always mention that she started crawling a week and a half after heart surgery. She's a tough chick.

And speaking of her heart surgery...we got the all clear from her cardiologist last month!! She only needs to see Kira on an "as needed" basis from now on!! Kira was born with a PDA and an ASD. Her cardiologist attempted to close the PDA with a device that essentially plugs it up, but Kira's was ginourmous and the device pulled right through it. So, on Feb 14, 2008, she had surgery to close it. They went in through her side and deflated her lung to get to it.

We thought she would just have to live with the ASD, luckily it was small. But when she had her echo done last month, there was no sign of the ASD!! Woo-hoo!!

I am so thankful that we have Cook Children's Hospital. My kids feel right at home there, and I'm thankful. I know that's kind of a weird thing to be thankful for, but when Jackson has needed to go in for xrays or whatever, he's not scared. He loves going there. Kira is understandably not thrilled to go for blood draws, but she isn't scared of the hospital. And y'all, she was SUCH a big girl during her testing last month. Sat up straight and tall during the EKG, kept it together, even though she wasn't entirely sure what was coming next. Tough chick.

We always eat lunch in the cafeteria when we're there. Last time, I looked down and realized that no one was in a stroller. They were both sticking close to me while we waited for our food. They stayed in line with me. We walked to our table together. They entertained one another while I went to get napkins and straws and stuff. I had to take a sec and recognize that here we were in the next stage, together. Two big kids and their mom enjoying lunch. They're still my babies, though.

Hug your babies, y'all!

Love, W.

P.S. While I was looking for a pic to put in this post, I remembered something else I wanted to say. When Kira started saying "Mama", I wasn't sure if she was really saying it, or just practicing her "muh" sound. After the failed attempt to plug the PDA, when they brought her too me right after she came out from under anesthesia, she snuggled into my arms, looked me straight in the eye, and breathed "Mama" with a sigh of relief. It was perfect.