Busy, Busy

Well things have been a little crazy around here lately. About a week after Ella came home from the hospital we ended back in the emergency room. We had fish for dinner, and within an hour Ella was vomiting and unresponsive.It was exactly what had taken us to the hospital the first time. The strange thing is that we had fish the first time as well, which made me think that it was the fish. They watched her in the ER and sent us home because we had an appointment the next morning with the pediatrician. She was quite dehydrated but bounced back quickly. So now we wait for an appointment with an allergist...poor baby! Ella has lost some weight through all of this, so we go back to see the pediatrician on Monday to make sure that she is gaining it back.
Also in the last couple of weeks Kevin and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary!!!!!
Last week I had Belle at the vets because she has an eye infection. Apparently it is a herpes like virus which she has had before. There was evidence of an ulcer scar in her eye. She is on drops to clear it up, but it could reoccur at any time. As if that isn't enough, she hurt her paw the other night. I was going to take her in to get checked, but have been watching and she is getting better. She is in constant motion so I am not surprised that she hurt herself as she is quite a klutz. If she isn't fine by Monday, I'll take her in then!
Other than that it has been run, run, run, and trying to get caught up from the kids being sick for well over a month!!!!
xx to all!!!

Fun in the Sun

We had beautiful weather on the weekend, and here are the girls enjoying the day.

Before and After

Morgan decided a couple of weeks ago that she would like to get her hair cut as short as Paige's. Keep in mind that when you pulled her hair straight it went to the bottom of her shoulder blade!

Here they are after their hair appointment, while we were at the hairdressers, Morgan decided that she wanted her hair straightened with the iron for fun.
What cuties :)

Playing ball

I've been meaning to post this for a while now, but time seems to keep getting away from me....more pics, and an update to come.

Miss Paigie hard at work!

 
 
 

Baby's got her groove back!

She is walking around the kitchen like an old pro. Actually she's walking farther than I've seen her go before!!! HOORAY ELLA BEAN!!!!!!
Check this out:

Easter eggs and Easter bunnies

The dying of the eggs! Note the spotty face.


This year they coloured them with marker as well.


The lovely basket of eggs.



And of course of resident Easter Bunny!

Chicken Pox are not a joke!!!!

Last Sunday Ella had an off day. She was extremely cranky, not eating, etc.... We just put it down to teeth. Then after dinner she started throwing up. When I put her into the tub to clean her up - she fell asleep, sending off all sorts of alarm bells. I told Kev that we needed to take her to the hospital.
We took her to the General, which is closet to our house, a) because I didn't want her in the car for long while she was vomiting, and b) because I wasn't thinking straight and it didn't even occur to me to take to the children's hospital where her pediatrician is - DUH!!! I know.
They started an IV and took her for a chest x-ray. They told me that she had a double ear infection, and pneumonia. After consulting with Mac they decided that they would give her a dose of antibiotics through her IV and then transfer to Mac via ambulance. I went with her by ambulance and Kevin had to go home to relieve our neighbour. Around 1am at Mac, they told me that she was very dehydrated and had gastroenteritis (stomach flu). Keep in mind she only vomited for three hours and had no diarrhea.....They also said that she had no sign of pneumonia in her x-ray and that both ears were clear. WHAT???? Apparently pediatric chest x-rays are hard to read and they had been mistaken at the other hospital. Also nobody seemed too excited that she was only just over the chicken pox.In the meantime she was really out of it. Around 4am they told me that they would admit her and that they were just waiting for a bed upstairs.

We finally got somewhere the next morning when the pediatrician came in and actually listened to our story. (Kev was with me by then after taking the others to school). She asked us how Ella's balance was and was she still able to walk. So we put her on the floor and she couldn't even keep her balance to stand. That's when they said she possibly had acute cerebellar ataxia caused by post-varicella cerebellitis. In English that means that she had loss of balance due to swelling in her cerebellum (which is your balance center). Apparently they think that this is an auto-immune response to the chicken pox virus. She needed neurology to consult and we would go from there. It was then decided that Ella would have to have an MRI to rule anything else out. She had that done on Tuesday and after she was cleared by neurology and the pediatrician we were able to come home late Wednesday afternoon. This a condition which clears on its own, and she is already almost back to her normal self. We go to see our pediatrician on Thursday. Quite a scary time though.
Poor old Paigie Pie broke out in spots on Tuesday night, and is starting to feel much better now! Thank you so much to L for stepping in and taking the girls throughout last week so that Kevin could be at the hospital with me, and to Grandma for spending Paige's first day of spots with her!!!!
xxoo

Here comes trouble!!!!

Just had to share these (especially for L & A).


She wasn't cooperating, which is why her head is cut off. What a cutie.

Long, long week!

Well it has been a very long week. Ella is much better, but is teething and very miserable. Morgan spent the first couple of days being very itchy and miserable although she was very good about the whole thing. Then cabin fever kicked in. They aren't used to being at home everyday! Once Morgan started feeling better, the girls started being quite wild. Even though they were spending a ton of time outside and we were going for walks most days, they were wild crazy kids! Getting homework done has been quite a task as well. I must say that I am looking forward to her going back to school ;)
Paige shows no sign of getting spots, and I seem to have a bit of a cold.

Two down, one to go!

Morgan broke out in chickenpox on Saturday, so is off school for the week. She is very itchy, but handling it really well. Ella is still quite miserable, and Paige is so far fine. The weather is beautiful outside though, so at least they can get out in the backyard to blow off some steam!

The purple icing:

Last week the girls and I made cupcakes, and they requested purple icing. It wasn't the prettiest colour I have ever seen, but they were pleased with it, and had a great time icing the cupcakes themselves.




Two cuties colouring.

Morgan is home from school today. She is running a fever and is generally miserable. She has a couple of suspect spots but I am not entirely convinced that it is the chickenpox...time will tell. Ella has a gazillion more spots today and is being a trooper! She is in the best mood of the three of them!!

Guess what?????

Ella has the chicken pox!!!! The older girls haven't had it yet, so we are potentially in for a very long month!!!!! I have no idea how she got it either.
Wish us luck!!!
xxoo

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Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

First Steps

Ella just took about five steps BY HERSELF in the kitchen!!! We're in trouble now.... what a star :)

XXOO to all.

Taking a little breather!!!!

We have been running non-stop for I don't know how long!!! March break is finally here and we are taking it easy. A very welcome thing! The in and out of the van with boots and snowsuits is getting old (and exhausting!) so it is really nice not to have to be rushing three little people into the cold every morning.
We are back into a hectic appointments for everybody. Dentist, pediatrician, family doc, etc....Ella has had a bunch of appointments, and all is well. She had her eye appointment and her eyes look great! We go back again in six months. Now we're just waiting for ENT and her follow-up hearing and speech appointment.
Had a nice weekend - visited with friends from Montreal whichwas awesome. We really wish we all lived closer!!!!!
Other than that it has just been the daily grind - and I have been slacking in the picture department.
xxoo to all :)

Birthday Pictures

The Birthday Girl and Tasha!


The Birthday Cake chosen by Paige:


Eating of the cake :) No mess here; it all went in her tummy!!


Opening of presents!

The big snowstorm:

Last week we got a huge dump of snow. They say somewhere between 70 and 80 cm of snow hit our city....Here is what it looked like when we got up in the morning:

This was the view from our patio doors.


From the kitchen window:



The living room window:


The kids had a wonderful time out in the snow:


This was taken from the kitchen window; Paige is almost as high as the window.



Morgan was having too much fun throwing snow in the air to come any closer for a picture.

Today in guiding we celebrate Thinking Day. This is in honour of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell's birthdays. They were the founders of guiding, and shared the same birthday. Very cool! Morgan is wearing her Sparks uniform to school today to mark the day.

Happy Birthday Ella Grace!!!

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Originally uploaded by The Doodlebugz.

I can hardly believe how quickly this year has passed, and that your birthday is already here! Hard to believe that at this time last year Maggie was bigger than you- much bigger than you!!!You have brought such love and joy to all of us, and to everyone that loves you. We love you little Miss Ella Bean, Happy Birthday!!!!!
Love,
Mama, Daddy, Morgan, and Paige
xxoo