Elliot's adventure

Wow, what an adventure!

I took Elliot to the doctor on Thursday for a couple of reasons:
1) he's been complaining of being tired a LOT
2) he had a fever
3) his little friend Lauryn who he sees every day at Zero Gravity had tested positive for strep that morning

Dr. Booker asked a lot of questions and he decided it was best to have some blood drawn to see what could be causing his tiredness. And he did a strep test. He told us to come back Monday if he still had a fever. Elliot had a slight cough then, but nothing concerning (with all the rain we've had recently, the molds are super high)

Over the weekend he was feeling pretty puny. At one point I thought we were going to have to make an after-hours trip, but then he perked back up. So, I went ahead and waited until Monday.
Dr Booker checked him over and asked a lot more questions. He then went to check the blood results. We already knew he was negative for strep, his thyroid was OK and he was not anemic. We also knew his white blood count was high.

The blood results showed a positive result for Ebstein Barr (mono) ... not currently, but recently. This probably is the cause of his tiredness!

Elliot was breathing pretty hard and heavy and Dr. Booker didn't like how his lungs sounded, so he ordered an XRay. Before heading to XRay he checked his oxygen level and really didn't like it, so he had us do a quick Nebulizer treatment. When we got back from XRay his oxygen levels were still lower than Dr. Booker likes to see and he saw yuckiness in his right lower lung ... so he came in and said "He has pneumonia and needs to to the hospital" ... my answer was probably something like "Huh?" ... then he said "we are going to have to transport you via EMS because he needs to be on oxygen right away" ... then my answer was something like "HUH?!?!?" .... so we waited for EMS and off we went to Dell Children's Hospital. He perked up on the ride, but was still breathing hard. They admitted us right away and then we waited and waited and waited to see a doctor.

There is some confusion on what is truly going on in his lung ... they know there is some pneumonia there per the XRay, but they don't know if it was caused by part of the lung collapsing in a little bit (from all the mucus) or if it's an asthma reaction or if it's because he's been smoking too much for his young age ... the only thing they were able to determine was it was not bacterial pneumonia because he responded so well to the nebulizer and the oxygen and he no longer has a fever.

We will follow up with is regular doctor on Thursday (sooner if he gets worse instead of better) and give him puffs of albuterol every 4-6 hours until we see his doctor.

We could use more prayers ... prayers for the doctors to be able figure out if there is something making him sick or if this is just a one time problem (please please please!!!)

Thank you everyone for your support and concern ... it really means a lot to all of us!

Here are a few picture of his adventure ...

Nebulizer in the office

Our ride to the hospital

Elliot on stretcher :(


Elliot in his seat riding to the hospital

Superman cape the EMS guy made for him (since we neglected to bring his to the doctor's appt!)

*UPDATE - (Wednesday) today started out stressful - Elliot barfed up a ton of mucus and then started looking puny ... I called the nurse and talked to her a long time. Then called back to let her know Elliot had started getting a fever again ... so the doctor wanted to see him.

By the time we leave for the appointment he had two breathing treatments and totally perked up. The doctor was super happy for how he's bounced back. We are too ... phew! Now we just have to keep him healthly through the winter. After EBV and Pneumonia back to back, we might be in trouble. Sounds like we'll be getting flu shots this year (blah!)

Is it Elliot or Superman?

.... you decide :)

Elliot has been into super heroes lately. So much that he's decided we will all be super heroes for Halloween. According to him, he will be super man, Emily will be super girl, daddy will be batman, mommy wonder woman (that's so not happening - HA) and Lily will be wonder dog ... I need to start looking for costumes NOW!

He found a super man cape at school and hasn't taken it off since Wednesday. Actually had Mrs. Deana and his friends call him Superman. If they messed up and called him Elliot, he was quick to correct them! He is so funny!

When I told our friend Christy about his love of super man, she told me she had the perfect costume for him complete with muscles. When he saw it this morning, he squealed and wanted to put it on immediately. He wore it to take Emily to school, but took it off to play with Caitlyn. He DID wear the cape and he brought her a pink one so she could be a super hero with him. He put it back on to go to Cathy's this afternoon. The kids had the BEST time pretending they needed saving and he'd save them every time they called for help - it was so funny!
Maybe he IS superman!

He would probably STILL be wearing the costume if I would have let him ... (it's a little warm, so I told him he couldn't sleep in it - HA)

Below are pictures of him fighting crime (he likes to wear the costume with the cape from school!)

heading to save Sissy from Daddy


ready for anything ...

tuckered out from all the super hero work

First Day of School for Elliot!

Elliot started back to school today at Zero Gravity! He was super excited (see his cute grin).
He is in the monkey class (fitting for 3 year olds!) and his teacher is Mrs. Deana - he LOOOOVES Mrs. Deana!

Caitlyn will be with him on Tuesdays, so I'll try to remember my real camera tomorrow and get some more pictures to post!

1st Day of 2nd grade injury report

Emily took a tumble off the swings today and banged up her nose a little bit.
I wonder if she did it just so she could go see Nurse Tara ... she LOOOOVE Nurse Tara!

Her arm is sore too, so we'll keep an eye on it for the next couple of days to make sure it's A-OK.

Can you tell by this picture that she did NOT want me to take it?

*update - her arm is fine - she must have just tweaked it yesterday! Her nose is a bit scabby, but she's doing GREAT!

Emma and Emily .....

After I posted the 2nd grade pictures, I decided I needed to find the ones from Kinder and 1st grade ... then I decided to check for preschool ones and found a few precious ones ...

I hope they have a super duper first day of 2nd grade!

First Day of 2nd Grade!

.... and another year starts! Can't believe Emily is starting 2nd grade! They get letter/number grades this year and Emily is a bit nervous but I know she will do GREAT!

Emily and Emma are ready

Emma's sister Anna Marie started Kinder this year!

the smallest siblings weren't as excited to be up!

and she's off ...

Emily and her teacher (should have turned off flash!)

already working ...

Lordy Lordy looks who's 40!

Here we are celebrating in our party hats!

It's my handsome hubby!!!!
We love you tons and want you to have a GREAT day!

Summer 2010

Wow, we are only 2 weeks away from the first day of school ... Are you ready???

We weren’t able to plan a vacation this summer because of Wayne's new job, but we are super fortunate to have wonderful parents who are willing to take our kiddos and show them a good time and Emily and Elliot are VERY lucky to have Grandparents who love them so very much!

I have always assumed all Grandparents were this way because that’s how it was when I grew up … I knew without a doubt my Grandparents loved me and we spent lots of time together … but I’ve learned over the years this is not always the case!

For Emily and Elliot to have TWO sets of Grandparents who love them more than anything in the world and live within driving distance … WOWZERS!! We are SUPER blessed!

Here are some pictures from their adventures this summer:
Emily in Winnie
Emily in Winnie
Marquez with the Daniel's
Elliot in San Antonio
Emily at the beach
Elliot in Winnie

Thanks Me Me and Paw Paw and Nana and Grandfather for helping make their summer memorable!!

Marquez and Hilltop for the 4th!

Emily spent almost 2 weeks in Winnie this summer. I think she would have stayed longer if we would have let her :)

When it was time for her to come home, we decided to meet up in Marquez at Dana and Trey's house. We lucked out and Cynthia and the Penry's were at Hilltop (about 20 minutes away) ... so we had a GREAT time visiting with everyone.

Dana and Trey live out in the forest (according to Elliot) about 200 miles from anyone and miles and miles and miles down a dirt road :)

Click here to view photos

Their home is beautiful!!! The kids (and Lily) keep asking when we can go back for a visit ... hopefully we can sneak down before the summer is over (with Wayne this time!)

Family Reunion in San Antonio

We had a great time visiting with family in San Antonio!
The kids had a super time in the pool .... and there was lots of yummy food!

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It was great to see everyone!!

Elliot's Summer Trips to Nana and Grandfather's

Elliot spent the last week with Nana and Grandfather in San Antonio and before Nancy left I copied the pictures from her camera!

Click here to view photos

There are some from the weekend he stayed with them (while Emily was in Winnie) but most of them are from this week.

They rode the train, went to the Kiddie Park (looks like lots of FUN rides!), swam in their blow up pool, went to the toy store, went to the movies and just had tons of fun together! I don't think he was ready to come home and sure wasn't ready to hear the word NO yet ... LOL

Last day of FIRST grade

Awwww, I can't believe Emily is finishing first grade today!

We are planning to see Shrek to celebrate ... can't wait!

Here are some pictures from this morning ...

with her teacher - Mrs. Alsina

with her buddy Emma

Click here to see the First Day of First Grade
Click here to see Emily and Emma on the last day of Kindergarten!

Random April and May pix

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These pictures didn't fit into any of the categories :)

May Winnie Trip

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Random pictures from our trip to Winnie!

Zero Gravity Observation Week

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Emily had parent observation week at Zero Gravity ... she LOVES gymnastics and is really good at it! They asked if we would sign her back up for the summer, but it seems silly when she'll be out of town so much ... we'll see. It's just $100 for the whole summer, so even if she missed a few weeks, it might still be worth it. We don't have to decide until next week :)

Field Trip to Elgin Tree Farm

Click here to view photos

First Grade went to the Elgin Tree Farm as their field trip this year! They had a great time! It was hooooot, but lots of fun!

Fontenot Crawfish Boil

As usual, I am waaaay behind in my picture download/upload/whatever load!

Here are some pictures from the Fontenot's Crawfish Boil. There was tons of crawfish, lots of BBQ, wonderful family, good friends and good music!

Click here to view photos

Wow ... Emily will be in SECOND grade next year!

I can't believe Emily will finish FIRST GRADE on June 4th. How is that possible? Doesn't it seem like just yesterday she was a tiny little baby??

She's had a great year. She loves school and tries really hard to do her best in everything she does. She's a huge teacher helper (those of you who know her aren't surprised are you?) and helps all her friends when they get stuck with their work. One thing that IS surprising is she does not get in trouble for talking all day in class like I used to ;) .... maybe that means she's actually listening and will comprehend more than I did in school - HA!

One thing I have a hard time with is finding books that are appropriate for her to read! Some of the standard chapter books that everyone recommends (Junie B Jones, Katie Kazoo) have words like "stupid, hate, shut up, dumb, etc etc" in them. She will be reading silently, come to one of those words and say "mom, what can I say in my head when the books says s-t-u-p-i-d?" .... I talk to her about how they are just words and as long as she doesn't SAY them, she can read them, but she doesn't like it ... so, I am on the hunt for better options. If you have suggestions, let me know!

I was hoping to post her student led conference powerpoint because it's too big to email, but it looks like blogger doesn't like powerpoints! I'll see if I can make it work somehow!

Sad ...

Today we head to Winnie to celebrate the life of our grandma Marjorie Barton.

She was 88 years old and diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure a little less than a year ago. She was admitted to the hospital in mid-March and just couldn't get better!

When I think about my Grandma I remember her always being there ... no matter what was happening, she would always be where the family was hanging out. For years we'd gather at her house every Sunday for a roast, rice and gravy, layered salad and "whop" biscuits. Everytime I see a can of Grands biscuits, I think of Grandma! Everytime we make a roast I wonder if it'll taste like hers. I am still not sure exactly how she made it :) She always had cookies, apple butter and sprite.
Everytime I think about some our family did ... I remember SHE was there ... no matter what it was ... she would be there ... it's going to be weird to have an event without her sitting right in the middle of it all.

She survived uterine cancer ... when she was diagnosed her doctor got a shock after asking her when her last pap smear was ... her answer? When Judy was born. She also waited until her 80's to have her first mammogram. She had both her knees replaced and was out of PT quicker than some people half her age. She volunteered up at the hospital so she could help the "old people" ... and was always doing something for someone. She was all around GREAT lady and will be missed by so many.

I was sooooo lucky growing up and never realized just how lucky until I was grown and sat down to really think about it. I grew up in the same town as FOUR grandparents that I can remember well. I saw them all weekly (some times more often!). I assumed everyone did too ... until I went to college and talked about seeing my grandparents all the time and learned what I had was very rare and so super special.

I know I am forgetting important things ... like board games (especially Scrabble and Monopoly) and Dr. Suess books ... but one thing is certain ... I'll miss her very much and wish there was a way she could have been with us for another few years!

It gives me comfort to know she is hanging with Jesus and has been reunited with her parents, her husband John, her sister Rhetta, her daughters Judy and Frances, her great grandbabies Connor and Zachary and her best friend Bessie.

Slacker Update ....

I have been a bad blogger lately!

There isn't much to report ... that's my excuse!!

Wayne started his new job at Randalls this week ... so far he's been doing lots of computer training ... today he gets to do some hands on stuff ... he was looking forward to that for sure!

I picked up a teaching job on Monday and Wednesday at a local MDO through the end of the school year. Elliot and I will stay busy for sure! He's meeing lots of new kiddos between Zero Gravity on Tuesday/Thursday and HCBC on Fridays!

Emily is doing gymnastics and loving it so far! I need to talk to her about what she wants to do for the summer. Swim Team or gymnastics ... we'll see what she decides!

That's about it for our world ... see nothing much to report!

I did put a lot of pictures on Snapfish ... so check the blog posts for a link to the pictures!

We hope you are enjoying this spring weather - we are ...itchy, watery eyes and all!

Wayne snapped this picture yesterday after a trip to PetsMart with Lily ... we will try to get some more before the bluebonnets go away!