Longest three minutes

It's been over a week now since, I think I can safely say, the worst day of our lives.  Mady had woken up from her afternoon nap with a fever of 101.  I gave her some Tylenol and started keeping an eye on her.  She was acting pretty normal, like nothing was bothering her, until dinner.  She didn't eat much and became very lethargic.  She just sat in her highchair staring.  After we cleaned up I grabbed her and took her to sit on the couch for a little while and watch a movie.  That's when I noticed her start convulsing and looked down and saw that our precious little girl was having a seizure.  I called out to Nick who immediately called 911 and rushed to our neighbors house who is a nurse.  The seizure lasted about three minutes and it was the longest three minutes of my life.  She started having trouble breathing and began turning blue.  I was going crazy.  There was a time when Nick and I both thought we might lose her because of her not being able to breathe.  Thanks to the grace of God, he got her through it and the seizure passed.  The ambulance showed up and took us to the hospital.  After five hours and several tests later (unfortunately for Mady) we learned that she had a viral infection called bronchiolitis which caused her fever.  Apparently, a small percentage of  children have seizures when their fevers spike very quickly (nobody told me that!)  Her fever was at 103 when we made it to the hospital.  This doesn't mean that she'll have seizures for the rest of her life and she has no long-term effects, but now that it has happened to her once, she has a 30% chance that it could happen again when she has a fever, up until about the age of 5.  They grow out of it.  Needless to say, we will be very cautious now when she gets anywhere near a fever.

The next day she still felt horrible and after a doctor's visit in the morning, she spent the entire day in my arms or on the couch.  I have never seen her that sick and I was watching her like a hawk.  She is now doing much better.  She still has a bit of a runny nose but no fever and she's in great spirits.

I can't even explain the feeling of helplessness and fear we felt for those three minutes.  It got me to thinking of all the parents out there who have children battling for their lives with various awful diseases.  They feel that same helplessness and fear for much longer than three minutes.  I can't imagine.  I thank God now every night for keeping her safe and healthy.  I keep those parents in my prayers because I can't imagine being in their shoes. 

I really want to thank all of our friends and family who were there for us with support and prayer. You have no idea how much we appreciate it. 

Mady thanks you too!

Austin Trip

So last Friday, Nick was going to Austin to play in a golf tournament with some of his friends.  It didn't occur to us until Thursday afternoon that Mady and I should join him and make a little trip out of it.  So in a matter of an hour we had a hotel reservation and a reservation to board Lucy for a night and we headed out on Friday morning.  When we got there we dropped Nick off and Mady and I headed on an adventure to find the hotel room and check in.  We made it just fine but lugging all our bags onto a luggage cart and getting it up to our second floor room while having a 15 month old in tow sure was interesting.  Luckily, nobody was around to see this ridiculousness!

Mady and I settled in and she LOVED the hotel room.

Where's Mady?

There she is!

Boo!

By the way, she does this at home all the time now!  After she took a nap, we went and explored the Arboretum area, which is where we were staying.  We walked around a little outdoor mall and then ate some ice cream at a nearby park.  She LOVED chocolate ice cream but who doesn't?!  She didn't want any at first but once I got that first bite in, her love affair with chocolate began...  Life will never be the same!

Mommy, give me more ice cream!

SOOO GOOD!!

The next day we started the day at the Capitol.  Nick and I both went when we were younger so it was pretty cool to go see it again.  Afterwards we grabbed some lunch and took it to eat at Zilker park.  What a cool place!  We had lunch, walked around, and took a ride on the train.  Once we had our fill of the heat, we headed to the mall and Mady took a little nap while we walked around.

 For dinner we headed to a restaurant right by Lake Travis.  Such a pretty view!  After we picked up Lucy we headed home from a quick, but fun getaway.  We had a great time and proved to ourselves that we can still be spontaneous, even with a toddler! 

First day of Preschool

Mady is only a year old but her first day of school was today!  We decided to send her to a preschool this year on the days that I teach.  Today was her first day and as I was getting her stuff ready last night I couldn't believe it.  This past year has gone by so fast and everyday I see her as more and more of a kid than a baby.  When we first dropped her off she started crying a little like she knew we were going to leave.  But within a minute she found the toy kitchen and was off playing and forgot we were even there.  She has short days this week because they want them to get use to it the first couple of days so Nick picked her up at eleven.  He said they were all sitting around in a circle reading a book and she was right there listening intently.  So cute!  I wish I could of seen it.  I pray she continues having great days and truly enjoys her school which I think she will. 

15 Months!

It's been a long time since my last blog post, I almost forgot what the site was to get to the blog!  We have been crazy busy this past month and a half!  The second summer session ended a week ago so I've had a chance to breathe again (at least for a little while). I would have written a post before today but I got hit with some kind of stomach bug that delayed me.  Those really are the worst!  Well, after we got back from Port Arthur and New Orleans, I started back teaching for the second summer session.  I taught two classes from Monday thru Thursday until about 12:30.  By the time I would get home Mady would be getting ready for a nap and I wouldn't see her until she woke up around 4.  It was exhausting talking for four hours straight and keeping up with the fast pace that goes along with a summer session.  But with all of that it still was a great experience because I had a great group of students.  They really made it all worth it and looking back at it, it really did fly by!

Mady is fifteen months old now and we went to the doctor Monday and got all her stats:

Height: 28.5 inches
Weight: 20 lbs
Head: 17.75 inches

She is definitely on the small side, especially her height but while it is in the lower fifth percentile, for Mady, that is her normal.  She has short parents, so what else can we expect?!  She is right on track with her development and is as healthy as can be!

She is still a bundle of energy and is not walking all over the place, but running!  She does not stop moving all day besides her nap.  Our house looks like a tornado has gone through it at the end of every day.  Toys are scattered all over the floor, mixing bowls, Lucy's bag of treats, and the broom are all over the kitchen floor and I love it.  While I am more busy keeping up with her than ever she makes it so much fun.  She makes us laugh everyday.

She is also learning new words almost everyday.  Right now she is consistently using about eleven or twelve words in the right manner and she will repeat or at least try to repeat almost every word you ask her to try and say.  She can name most of her body parts.  The cutest is when you ask her where her belly button is and she lifts up her shirt to find it.  She loves showing her belly button.

She's also become quite the helper lately.  She recognizes so much more of what we say now so she will put stuff up when you ask her to, and she loves to help mommy sweep the floor with her new toy broom.  While she does not cuddle much because she just can't stay still she is so sweet and loving.  She loves giving hugs and kisses and I just soak it all in, haha!

Eating has been quite a challenge lately.  She has become quite the picky eater, but her doctor says its perfectly normal.  Normal or not, it can get frustrating sometimes.  She loves bread so she will eat up a pbj or grilled cheese.  Dinner can be the worst meal and sometimes I will just put whatever we are eating in bread just so that she will eat something!  She does still eat her sweet potato, peas, and corn, and loves her fruit so I'm grateful for that!

This coming week Mady and I both start school again.  She will be going to a preschool on the days that I teach.  I couldn't believe that I was buying schools supplies already!  We went to a meet the teacher the other day and she had a fun time playing in her room.  She does have a bit of separation anxiety, for example, she always cries when we leave her with the other kids at church.  But when we pick her up they always say she ended up having a great time, so I think she'll be fine at school (fingers crossed!)

Mady took her first trip to Aggieland and got to take a look at her future school. We went to visit our good friends, Shel and Elizabeth and she LOVED it!!  We went on campus and walked around and took a look at the newly renovated MSC and she had so much fun running around the place.  It's like she already lived there, she was so comfortable! The brainwashing starts already!

Here are some more pictures of our little girl:

Getting better at eating with her fork

Her new favorite thing...laying in Lucy's bed

 

Vacation

We just got back from being out of town for about a week.  We went down to Port Arthur to see our family and in between all that Nick and I snuck away for a couple of days to New Orleans.  We went back to spend the Fourth of July with Mady and we came back home yesterday.  It was a crazy busy week and it was so much fun but it sure was nice to get back home.  We are trying to get back to normal before I start teaching on Monday.

Here is our past week in pictures:

Sweet cousins!  We had so much fun hanging out with these kiddos.  It's going to be so much fun watching these guys grow up together!

Having fun in Mimi's pool with daddy

Celebrating Trevor's 5th birthday with some good chocolate cake courtesy of Vance!  Can't believe he is already five and going to kindergarten!

Mady says she loved the cake :)

Someone had a blast at her Abuelitos while we were away in New Orleans.  I don't think she missed us one bit!

We had a blast in New Orleans.  A couple of days away was all we needed to recharge our batteries.  Did you know that place has AMAZING food?!?!

Hanging out at the park waiting for the fireworks

Mady was scared when the fireworks started but I think she enjoyed them once she got use to it (and as long as she was in Mommy's arms, haha)

Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July!

Summertime

We are enjoying summer over here at the Hampshire house.  At least until these 100 degree days start this weekend!  We have a pool and splash pad by our house and we have been going there several times with Mady.  She loves it more and more each time.  The last time we went she had a blast and was kicking her legs like crazy!  She wants to swim already! 

We also had some good friends of ours, the Mosiers, come and visit us a couple of weekends ago.  They have two boys and Mady had a great time playing hostess and we had a great time seeing and visiting with them! 

Nick had to to work at 4 on Father's Day but we took him out to lunch at his favorite restaurant and then we went to a park close to the airport to watch some airplanes which Mady loved.  Then later we went to his office and had dinner with him Overall it turned out to be a great day!

My niece is coming to see us tomorrow and she's going to stay with us for a week and then we'll be heading down to Port Arthur to see our family for a little while.  In between our time there Nick and I are going to take a trip to New Orleans for a few days.  This is our first time away from Mady overnight so needless to say I'm a little nervous about it.  More so for me than her.  I know she'll be just fine because she'll be with her grandparents but I'm going to miss her like crazy! 

Mady is just growing more and more everyday.  I can't get over how much fun she is right now.  She is all over the place and if I turn my head for two seconds there is no telling what I'll find when I turn back around!  She's learning new things everyday.  She still hasn't gained many more words besides bubble, ball, mama, dada, and go.  She is starting to say duck and dog, even though Nick says otherwise ;)

She found the cotton balls I keep in the pantry to clean Lucy's ears

She has also learned where her head, ears, tummy, toes, and knees are.  She just can't get nose but we're still trying.  We live close to the airport so you can see the planes taking off from our backyard, and like I said earlier, Mady LOVES watching them.  Our new activity in the evening is to go outside and watch the planes.  She'll point and smile so big when she sees them. 

Just love her!

 Hope everyone is having as good a summer as we are!

Summer has started

Well summer has started because it is hot outside and will be for the next several months.  This means a lot more time outside and Mady loves it.  For Memorial Day weekend we headed down to Port Arthur to visit the family and we got to spend Mimi's (Nick's mom) birthday with her hanging out in her pool.  This was Mady's first time in a pool and while she seemed a little unsure at first she got more comfortable and I think she had a good time.

This past weekend our good friend from college got married.  Nick was the best man and Mady was one of the flower girls.  It was a busy weekend but we had so much fun seeing our friends and celebrating Shel and Elizabeth's big day.  Mady was a bit tired by the time the ceremony came around (she could be heard in the back of the church crying while waiting to go down the aisle) but she made it down without crying and handled the ceremony pretty well.  We took her to the reception for a while so she could eat and I thought she wouldn't last very long but I was wrong.  She loved the music and lights and was having a blast dancing, haha.  She stayed up way past her bedtime but there's nothing wrong with doing that every once in a while, right?  I was a horrible mother though because I left the camera at home and didn't get one picture taken.  I can't believe it and I'm hoping I can maybe order some once their pictures are ready. 

I have the first summer session off of school but I am still keeping busy getting my classes ready for the second session and I'm doing some online training.  My boss at school recommended me for distance learning which means they want me to each online classes.  I'll still be teaching on campus but will also have the chance to teach online from the comfort of my home!  This does mean a ten week training course which has been keeping me busy.  I definitely take advantage during Mady's naps!

The city has been doing some work down the street from our house for several weeks now.  We still have no idea what they are doing but today that work moved closer to us and we had a backhoe (that's what Nick says it's called) in our backyard, right behind our fence!  We were out there with Mady and when it cranked up and started digging dirt Mady freaked out.  She was so scared and screamed and started running over to me.  Poor baby!  I'm hoping they're not there very long because she is not a big fan. 

Other pictures from these past few weeks:

Lucy has definitely been warming up to Mady

Hanging out with Mimi

Swinging with Abuelita

She loves my sunglasses.  I can't wear them without her trying to take them from me!

My little helper