Shawn here. Fred is a very versatile guy at our house. I’ve been calling Nessa “Fred” at times for a couple of years now, often when I go into her room in the morning:
“Who’s this?”
“It’s your daughter.”
“Oh! Hi Fred!”
“No, your daughter Nessa Rose Brooks!” (usually said with a giggle, unless Daddy has bad timing or pushes it too far)
Nessa started taking allergy drops a year ago, and we need to count after placing a drop in her mouth. I soon changed the numbers to be:
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, Fred, ten”
This can be expanded if you need to count higher:
“… eighteen, nineteen, Fredteen, twenty …”
“… twenty-eight, twenty-nine, twenty-Fred, thirty …”
and so on. For a time I would count and stop at Fred, and Nessa would say “Tehh!” (“ten” without the “n” sound because she isn’t supposed to close her mouth or swallow), but that seems to have gone by the wayside.
This has been around long enough to become a running gag. Tami counts with Fred as well, and when she received her Garmin runner’s watch she named her virtual running partner Fred, because his pace is between nine and ten minutes. :-)
Recently, Nessa decided that Fred belongs between eleven and twelve. So now when I count, the conversation usually goes something like:
“No, Daddy! Fred comes after eleven.”
“Noooh--it comes after nine!”
“It comes after eleven. You can’t just move Fred!”
Notice that I’m the one who’s moving Fred. I guess that’s a measure of my success in introducing Fred as a number. Perhaps I can use Fred to teach Nessa base eleven arithmetic in a few years.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Beautiful Megan
I just want to quickly share this great pic I found when going through the pics on Shawn's phone. It's from Christmastime (see the tree coming out of her head). What a fantastic smile!!!
Ack, what am I going to do when the boys actually start paying attention?!? (middle school boys apparantly don't do that yet thankfully!)
~Tami
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Morning Musings
Shawn here:
I realize that Sesame Street evolves to stay somewhat current, but this morning I heard a Muppet doing a hip-hop song about a letter (I think). That was just a little too surreal for my sleep-deprived state.
Later, I was nodding off a bit while watching Sleeping Beauty with Nessa. When it got to the point where the three fairies put everyone in the castle to sleep, Nessa turned to me and said "You're not supposed to sleep, Daddy."
I could be imagining it, but it seems like Nessa's voice has changed since having her tonsils out. It seems a bit higher pitched, but clearer and more defined. It will be interesting to see if it stays that way.
Nessa has finally started drinking more and eating some today, for which we are grateful. She is also exhibiting some typical Nessa behaviors again. It is obvious that she doesn't have as much energy as usual, which is most evidenced by the fact that she doesn't fight taking naps or going to bed at night. In true Nessa fashion, she hasn't touched any of the popsicles Tami made for her recovery. Maybe tomorrow...
I realize that Sesame Street evolves to stay somewhat current, but this morning I heard a Muppet doing a hip-hop song about a letter (I think). That was just a little too surreal for my sleep-deprived state.
Later, I was nodding off a bit while watching Sleeping Beauty with Nessa. When it got to the point where the three fairies put everyone in the castle to sleep, Nessa turned to me and said "You're not supposed to sleep, Daddy."
I could be imagining it, but it seems like Nessa's voice has changed since having her tonsils out. It seems a bit higher pitched, but clearer and more defined. It will be interesting to see if it stays that way.
Nessa has finally started drinking more and eating some today, for which we are grateful. She is also exhibiting some typical Nessa behaviors again. It is obvious that she doesn't have as much energy as usual, which is most evidenced by the fact that she doesn't fight taking naps or going to bed at night. In true Nessa fashion, she hasn't touched any of the popsicles Tami made for her recovery. Maybe tomorrow...
Monday, April 27, 2009
Alarm 4, Tonsils & Adenoids 0
Shawn here:
The day started at 4(:15) AM today. We had to get up early to take Nessa in to have her tonsils and adenoids removed.
Nessa has always been a restless sleeper with light snoring, and some research led Tami to suspect childhood sleep apnea. The only procedure to treat childhood SA is having the tonsils and adenoids removed (with a 95+% success rate), so we made an appointment to have Nessa examined. One quick look and the ENT doctor said "Yup, those are impressive. I can see where they'd cause sleep issues." So we scheduled a tonsillectomy, and today was the day.
Nessa was the first patient of the day, so we had to be there at 5:45. We just left Nessa in her jammies, bundled her in the car, and off we went. When we got there, Nessa got to put on the tiger jammies they showed her during our tour last week, and then she played while everyone talked to Mom and Dad. Nessa was very good and attentive during the pre-op stuff, although she did not like the medicine they gave her to make her drowsy. It also made her loopy, and she was pulling her surgery hat down over her face.
Our associate pastor came in and stayed with us during the pre-op routine, and when we had a moment said a wonderful prayer pitched right at Nessa's level of understanding. I got to accompany Nessa into the OR, just like in Rochester, and stay until she was under. That was not as wrenching this time as a year ago, but I still recommend avoiding seeing your child placed under general anesthesia if possible.
The doctor came out about half an hour later and told us that everything had gone fine. Nessa was in the recovery room for another 30-35 minutes before they paged us, so it was about 8:15 when we got to go back into the private post-op room. That's when the adventure started. Nessa was not happy about how much her throat hurt, and she did not want anything to drink or suck on. She cried her "I'm hurt" cry and pulled in on herself, making it hard to comfort or talk to her. Finally Tami got into the bed and held her, and I sang all of Nessa's old favorites to calm her down as I did when she was little. The combination of the two seemed to work, and Nessa fell asleep. Apparently I was singing a little louder than I realized, because when the nurse came back and saw Nessa asleep she said it must have been the wonderful singing that did it.
Nessa slept fitfully, waking up and crying every so often, refusing all liquids and popsicles, and then falling asleep again. At that point she sounded just like a percolator. (Yes, I'm old.) Every so often the oxygen monitor would go off, so after a time the nurse hooked up a hose and funnel that blew air past Nessa's face (much like my CPAP, but without a mask). That worked when Nessa was asleep, but it kept waking her up and she didn't like it when awake, so it was a bit of a battle for Tami, who was holding Nessa all this time. I was out of the room for part of this, getting some breakfast, making phone calls, and so on. At one point Nessa was awake long enough that we tried putting a movie in, but as soon as it got started she fell asleep again.
The nurse was getting a little worried that Nessa wouldn't drink anything or have a popsicle, and at 10:30 it was time to give Nessa more Tylenol. Nessa wasn't having anything to do with taking Tylenol orally, and after 10 minutes of trying and some increasingly agitated fussing, we gave up and let Nessa go back to sleep. A bit later the nurse came in and gave Nessa a Tylenol suppository, which went fairly easily and did not disturb Nessa. That solved that problem.
I went off again to find something for Tami to munch on and some water. We were both doing periodic Facebook updates, so some folks watched the whole drama as it played out. When I got back, Tami took off to walk around a little. The nurse came in to put a third bag of fluids on the IV. Originally they had planned to give Nessa about 1 1/2 bags, but they were worried that she wasn't getting any liquid and the anesthesiologist ordered the third bag. By this point Nessa sounded more like an electric hair clipper, and the oxygen alarm hadn't gone off in a long time. The nurse talked to the ENT doctor, and they decided that Nessa could go home about 1 PM. Finally, at around 12:30, Nessa woke up and agreed to take sips from her water bottle. That was enough to convince everyone that she could go home, and we got her out the door a little after 1:30.
We got home a little before 2 PM. Nessa seemed a little more alert, and started to watch The Little Mermaid II, but quickly fell asleep again. I went out to get more Tylenol and run a couple of other errands (including getting more movies), but when I got back Tami told me that Nessa was flatly refusing to take any liquid Tylenol. This worried us, so I took the just-purchased liquid Tylenol back and got some melt-away tablets. Nessa didn't want to take those either, but we got one into her mouth. We only wanted it on her tongue, but it went all the way down her throat. We were not her favorite people at that point.
Nessa kept sleeping, Tami kept watch, and I kept busy doing whatever else. Finally, about 6:30 PM, Nessa told us she was hungry, and she ate an ice cream bar. As I type this she has been awake for over an hour and is watching The Little Mermaid II again. We still have to figure out how to get more Tylenol into her before bed, and how to get her to drink more liquid tomorrow (the IV fluids will keep her hydrated until about noon), but she is responding like the Nessa we know and love. She's talking about what's happening in the movie, telling Tami what's going on--that's our Nessa. :-)
All in all it's been a tiring day. Tami was almost wiped out, but has come alive a little after getting something to eat and seeing Nessa revive. I'm going to crash any time now. I think it will be early to bed for everyone. We know that today will have been more than worth it in the long run, but it's scary to see your child in pain and not be able to help or comfort her. That's a pretty good definition of feeling helpless.
I want to thank everyone for the prayers, positive thoughts, and well-wishes on our behalf throughout the day. We truly felt surrounded by love and care, and Tami even said at one point that she was floating on it. It helps so much to know that others are sharing your burdens, even in a small way, and that you are not alone. Thank you.
The day started at 4(:15) AM today. We had to get up early to take Nessa in to have her tonsils and adenoids removed.
Nessa has always been a restless sleeper with light snoring, and some research led Tami to suspect childhood sleep apnea. The only procedure to treat childhood SA is having the tonsils and adenoids removed (with a 95+% success rate), so we made an appointment to have Nessa examined. One quick look and the ENT doctor said "Yup, those are impressive. I can see where they'd cause sleep issues." So we scheduled a tonsillectomy, and today was the day.
Nessa was the first patient of the day, so we had to be there at 5:45. We just left Nessa in her jammies, bundled her in the car, and off we went. When we got there, Nessa got to put on the tiger jammies they showed her during our tour last week, and then she played while everyone talked to Mom and Dad. Nessa was very good and attentive during the pre-op stuff, although she did not like the medicine they gave her to make her drowsy. It also made her loopy, and she was pulling her surgery hat down over her face.
Our associate pastor came in and stayed with us during the pre-op routine, and when we had a moment said a wonderful prayer pitched right at Nessa's level of understanding. I got to accompany Nessa into the OR, just like in Rochester, and stay until she was under. That was not as wrenching this time as a year ago, but I still recommend avoiding seeing your child placed under general anesthesia if possible.
The doctor came out about half an hour later and told us that everything had gone fine. Nessa was in the recovery room for another 30-35 minutes before they paged us, so it was about 8:15 when we got to go back into the private post-op room. That's when the adventure started. Nessa was not happy about how much her throat hurt, and she did not want anything to drink or suck on. She cried her "I'm hurt" cry and pulled in on herself, making it hard to comfort or talk to her. Finally Tami got into the bed and held her, and I sang all of Nessa's old favorites to calm her down as I did when she was little. The combination of the two seemed to work, and Nessa fell asleep. Apparently I was singing a little louder than I realized, because when the nurse came back and saw Nessa asleep she said it must have been the wonderful singing that did it.
Nessa slept fitfully, waking up and crying every so often, refusing all liquids and popsicles, and then falling asleep again. At that point she sounded just like a percolator. (Yes, I'm old.) Every so often the oxygen monitor would go off, so after a time the nurse hooked up a hose and funnel that blew air past Nessa's face (much like my CPAP, but without a mask). That worked when Nessa was asleep, but it kept waking her up and she didn't like it when awake, so it was a bit of a battle for Tami, who was holding Nessa all this time. I was out of the room for part of this, getting some breakfast, making phone calls, and so on. At one point Nessa was awake long enough that we tried putting a movie in, but as soon as it got started she fell asleep again.
The nurse was getting a little worried that Nessa wouldn't drink anything or have a popsicle, and at 10:30 it was time to give Nessa more Tylenol. Nessa wasn't having anything to do with taking Tylenol orally, and after 10 minutes of trying and some increasingly agitated fussing, we gave up and let Nessa go back to sleep. A bit later the nurse came in and gave Nessa a Tylenol suppository, which went fairly easily and did not disturb Nessa. That solved that problem.
I went off again to find something for Tami to munch on and some water. We were both doing periodic Facebook updates, so some folks watched the whole drama as it played out. When I got back, Tami took off to walk around a little. The nurse came in to put a third bag of fluids on the IV. Originally they had planned to give Nessa about 1 1/2 bags, but they were worried that she wasn't getting any liquid and the anesthesiologist ordered the third bag. By this point Nessa sounded more like an electric hair clipper, and the oxygen alarm hadn't gone off in a long time. The nurse talked to the ENT doctor, and they decided that Nessa could go home about 1 PM. Finally, at around 12:30, Nessa woke up and agreed to take sips from her water bottle. That was enough to convince everyone that she could go home, and we got her out the door a little after 1:30.
We got home a little before 2 PM. Nessa seemed a little more alert, and started to watch The Little Mermaid II, but quickly fell asleep again. I went out to get more Tylenol and run a couple of other errands (including getting more movies), but when I got back Tami told me that Nessa was flatly refusing to take any liquid Tylenol. This worried us, so I took the just-purchased liquid Tylenol back and got some melt-away tablets. Nessa didn't want to take those either, but we got one into her mouth. We only wanted it on her tongue, but it went all the way down her throat. We were not her favorite people at that point.
Nessa kept sleeping, Tami kept watch, and I kept busy doing whatever else. Finally, about 6:30 PM, Nessa told us she was hungry, and she ate an ice cream bar. As I type this she has been awake for over an hour and is watching The Little Mermaid II again. We still have to figure out how to get more Tylenol into her before bed, and how to get her to drink more liquid tomorrow (the IV fluids will keep her hydrated until about noon), but she is responding like the Nessa we know and love. She's talking about what's happening in the movie, telling Tami what's going on--that's our Nessa. :-)
All in all it's been a tiring day. Tami was almost wiped out, but has come alive a little after getting something to eat and seeing Nessa revive. I'm going to crash any time now. I think it will be early to bed for everyone. We know that today will have been more than worth it in the long run, but it's scary to see your child in pain and not be able to help or comfort her. That's a pretty good definition of feeling helpless.
I want to thank everyone for the prayers, positive thoughts, and well-wishes on our behalf throughout the day. We truly felt surrounded by love and care, and Tami even said at one point that she was floating on it. It helps so much to know that others are sharing your burdens, even in a small way, and that you are not alone. Thank you.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Megan's First Communion & Seder Supper Photos
Tami Here:
The Wednesday of Holy Week Megan had her official first communion along with a celebration Seder Supper. It was the first time I participated in a Seder Supper and I really appreciated the experience as it was very meaningful. I was also very excited for this milestone for Megan.
And as you can see from the photos Megan is turning into a beautiful young lady. Her poise and maturity nearly match her looks as well. ;-)
We also were able to spend some great time with my parents that day, but the photos of Megan with Grandma and Grandpa are on their camera I think so we'll have to try to get digital copies of those pictures to share.
Thankfully Megan did not inherit the "eye closing" for photos gene that my mom and I have ... Megan is much more photogenic!
The Wednesday of Holy Week Megan had her official first communion along with a celebration Seder Supper. It was the first time I participated in a Seder Supper and I really appreciated the experience as it was very meaningful. I was also very excited for this milestone for Megan.
And as you can see from the photos Megan is turning into a beautiful young lady. Her poise and maturity nearly match her looks as well. ;-)
We also were able to spend some great time with my parents that day, but the photos of Megan with Grandma and Grandpa are on their camera I think so we'll have to try to get digital copies of those pictures to share.
Thankfully Megan did not inherit the "eye closing" for photos gene that my mom and I have ... Megan is much more photogenic!
Princesses on Parade
Tami here:
I know you all have been wanting to see what Nessa does with her princesses, and you're especially curious about how Nessa uses the princesses when she plays with the legos. Well it's interesting to me anyway...
And actually we have pictures of the princesses in the toy tractor wagon and also in the Barbie van as well ... will have to gather those pictures and post a flickr and Facebook album. Until then, enjoy these quick photos...
Tonsilectomy Prep -- Nessa with her mask and her new teddy bear
Tami here:
Nessa had her Pre-op appointment with the ENT at Gundersen who will do her surgery this coming Monday (we really like the doctor and everyone we have dealt with there through ENT), and she also had an apt. with their "Teddy Bear Care Program." We found it really helpful, and of course Nessa appreciated the stuff she got to take home!
Below she is practicing with the mask they gave her. She is to practice blowing out in it. Of course just getting used to it is the main thing I think (I hated putting a mask on when I first had surgery at 16 so I can only imagine a young child.). Then below that is her great teddy bear she also got, but Nessa did not want to actually be in the picture with the bear (this is just Nessa being Nessa). The bear often practices with the mask as well. Nessa also received a certificate with her name on it saying that she completed the program and she has been surprsingly protective of that piece of paper as well ... or at least she was in the hours after she got it.
Nessa had her Pre-op appointment with the ENT at Gundersen who will do her surgery this coming Monday (we really like the doctor and everyone we have dealt with there through ENT), and she also had an apt. with their "Teddy Bear Care Program." We found it really helpful, and of course Nessa appreciated the stuff she got to take home!
Below she is practicing with the mask they gave her. She is to practice blowing out in it. Of course just getting used to it is the main thing I think (I hated putting a mask on when I first had surgery at 16 so I can only imagine a young child.). Then below that is her great teddy bear she also got, but Nessa did not want to actually be in the picture with the bear (this is just Nessa being Nessa). The bear often practices with the mask as well. Nessa also received a certificate with her name on it saying that she completed the program and she has been surprsingly protective of that piece of paper as well ... or at least she was in the hours after she got it.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Earth Day Lessons
Tami Here:
I think both of the girls learned the lessons about how awful litter is today! It's so interesting how much easier it is for kids to understand that when they are picking up trash along the road!
I have been noticing some trash on the roadside near our house for awhile (up several blocks where there is a stretch that is close enough to the railroad tracks that there are no houses on that side of the road), but now that I often go running on that stretch of road I see it UP CLOSE. And it isn't pretty.
Every time I ran past it during the last week or so I thought, "we really should just come and pick it up." But I never scheduled a time to do it, so you know how without scheduling it, things rarely get done. Then today I was wondering what to do or say about Earth day with the girls, and of course had an ah-ha moment!
So, I sprang it on them after supper about how our family time was going to be spent picking up trash and they looked at me kind of dubious at first, but happily got things ready to go. Thankfully Shawn brought the entire roll of trash bags because I don't think I would have brought enough if it was me. I don't think I realized just how much trash there was there! We stuffed 6 large kitchen size trash bags full plus filled a large rubbermaid container that we also found along the road! And the sad thing is that there was still about another bag full in some thick underbrush near the tracks that is still left to pick up!
As a side note, it did not escape Megan's attention that most of the trash was fast food or convenience store wrappers, pop and alcohol bottles, and cigarette packaging. :-(
Nessa was very enthusiastic and very helpful until I picked up something she wanted to pick up and she melted. She was tired so eventually Shawn walked home with her while Megan and I finished. However Nessa had already picked up nearly a bag full of trash by herself and seemed happy to be doing it so I was very proud of both Nessa and Megan.
As we were finishing up Megan kept going on and on about how people could ever allow all that trash there! That is my girl. I hope she remembers and shares her lesson with others.
And my lesson -- IT WAS SO SIMPLE!
We need to do more of this. Each of us doing our little part to make the Earth a better place.
By the time we got home we were tired and dirty ... and we felt better inside than when we left.
~Tami
xoxo
I think both of the girls learned the lessons about how awful litter is today! It's so interesting how much easier it is for kids to understand that when they are picking up trash along the road!
I have been noticing some trash on the roadside near our house for awhile (up several blocks where there is a stretch that is close enough to the railroad tracks that there are no houses on that side of the road), but now that I often go running on that stretch of road I see it UP CLOSE. And it isn't pretty.
Every time I ran past it during the last week or so I thought, "we really should just come and pick it up." But I never scheduled a time to do it, so you know how without scheduling it, things rarely get done. Then today I was wondering what to do or say about Earth day with the girls, and of course had an ah-ha moment!
So, I sprang it on them after supper about how our family time was going to be spent picking up trash and they looked at me kind of dubious at first, but happily got things ready to go. Thankfully Shawn brought the entire roll of trash bags because I don't think I would have brought enough if it was me. I don't think I realized just how much trash there was there! We stuffed 6 large kitchen size trash bags full plus filled a large rubbermaid container that we also found along the road! And the sad thing is that there was still about another bag full in some thick underbrush near the tracks that is still left to pick up!
As a side note, it did not escape Megan's attention that most of the trash was fast food or convenience store wrappers, pop and alcohol bottles, and cigarette packaging. :-(
Nessa was very enthusiastic and very helpful until I picked up something she wanted to pick up and she melted. She was tired so eventually Shawn walked home with her while Megan and I finished. However Nessa had already picked up nearly a bag full of trash by herself and seemed happy to be doing it so I was very proud of both Nessa and Megan.
As we were finishing up Megan kept going on and on about how people could ever allow all that trash there! That is my girl. I hope she remembers and shares her lesson with others.
And my lesson -- IT WAS SO SIMPLE!
We need to do more of this. Each of us doing our little part to make the Earth a better place.
By the time we got home we were tired and dirty ... and we felt better inside than when we left.
~Tami
xoxo
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