Some Christmas Pics

"Kneeling before the alter?" Oh dear.


Really motivated to get into that cabinet.

No, thank you. I prefer cheetos. I feel this bowl makes a nice hat though.

This hat works for me.


I am so much cuter than my parents.

I just love being the show.

My favorite present- a Signing Time book.

Second Spontaneous Decannulation! Wheee!

So I ran some errands today while the nurse was here, and Kiera figured out how to decannulate (pop her trach out) a second time. If you recall, I was the lucky care giver the first time. Everything resolved okay. Thank goodness for my experienced nurses! Zane was a great assistant in the crisis and held her trach in place while the nurse was attending to her. It freaked me out a bit to know I wasn't here for it, but I'm grateful that I have competant people so that I can get out once in a while. It's such fun having a baby that can go from happy go lucky, fun loving, 2 yr old, to life or death action in a matter of seconds.

Kiera's making me laugh right now. She's sitting in her play area getting into everything. She's currently playing with the Playstation controller. She found a way to read her book by turning pages with her hands AND feet. Now she's trying to involve her brother in her mischief. She's BUSY, BUSY.

One can't help but notice the resemblance to a black French poodle of our puppy's namesake, Rene Descartes.

Latest fun pictures

"Monsieur Descartes Loren Wright" 5 1/2 wks


Puppy eating. "I'm awfully hungry, Momma."


Kiera eating. "Mmmm, that looks good. I'll have what he's having. What's in it?"



Pet the puppy.


Kiera helps decorate cut out cookies. She "picked" this one just for you.


"It won't bite back, Kiera."


Kiera and big brother, Zane, decorating cookies.


Nan's hat- "I make this look good, yo."


Kiera holds her cousin.

New Arrival!

My darling husband got me a standard poodle puppy for Christmas! His name is Mister Descartes Loren (and I'm considering the last name Squarepants). He's French of course and very smart, so I thought a French Mathematician and father of Cartesian mathematics was appropriate as a namesake. As Descartes would say in his Discourse on Method, "I think, therefore I am (a poodle)."[sic] :) His middle name is a tribute to Kiera's pulmonologist. Jer made me laugh last night when he said that Descartes is "graph paper trained." AWESOME!

Anywho, the funniest thing last night was when I fed Descartes, and my lovely Kiera with her oral aversion and unwillingness to eat anything other than suck cheetos and doritos thought that puppy chow somehow looked appealing and was perfectly happy to attempt eating that. :) Don't worry, we caught it before it went in the mouth. So I had to get some of her meltable sweet potato puffs and put them in a bowl so she could eat with the dog. She at least licked them and played with them, although they don't have the intensity of cheetos or puppy chow, so it left her underwhelmed. It reminded me of something I think her speech therapist told me about a kid starting to drink by copying their dog and only wanting to lap up milk from a bowl. Who new that getting a puppy was sound feeding therapy technique?

I'll post pics later today.

I'm too cute to take a nap, Mommy.

So Kiera was just cracking me up yesterday. She refused to take a nap when I put her down at 1PM until she finally crashed at 4PM. Previous to putting her down, she was making it quite difficult for me to run the restaurant payroll by "hardlining" my computer while I was working. (She likes the light up "off" button.) She grabbed the mouse and logged me out of the payroll program at one point. She grabbed the keyboard to change employee data. She tried to eat someone's child support paperwork. She's also a little funky lately and thought she'd like to projectile vomit a few times mid payroll...just to keep me on my toes. Very fun. So I put her in the pack 'n play for her nap. She then proceeded to play a game we call under over. She stood up in the pack n' play holding onto the changer and peeked at me under the changer through the mesh and then over the changer as best she could being a little short. Of course, she just flashed that big smile every time and did this over and over and over and over.... Soooo cute. Then she started blowing me kisses. Kiera doesn't just blow them...she chucks them at you. Her blow kisses could knock you over. Of course, she kept smiling still with a sweet, "I don't want a nap, mommy," look. Then she started fingering "Itsy Bitsy Spider" to get me to sing and play with her. She signed,"love" and "mommy." She gave me a kiss when I came over and laid her back down again. She definitely was pulling out all the stops.

4PM...she finally fell asleep. I win.

Did you get a load of this...?

So, the government is mandating a change to ALL asthma inhalers! Just saw this on KOAT7 news tonight. Of course, the change is being made so that the propellant is "ozone friendly." Since there will be no generic it will increase costs of meds for bajillions of asthma sufferers. This is the crap that happens when we let the government run health care!!!! I hope the meds still work the same. Of course, this is a maintenance med for for many people that they can't go without, so the difference between a $10 and a $40 co-pay is not just $30 but probably $60 more a month or $720 more a year! It's all going to get worse with the incoming idiots in charge. How much do you want to bet they didn't even consult the patients affected by such a change? Forget about choice. Environmentalism is the new mandated government religion to the detriment of the people.

Yeah...Biggest Day so far at Indy Grill!

We FINALLY got our liquor license on Wednesday, and Friday was our biggest day so far! Keep sending your friends and family in! When you go out to eat, think of Independence Grill! We are at 6910 Montgomery Blvd NE at Louisiana and Montgomery southwest of TJ Maxx and Shoes on a Shoestring. website is http://ABQburger.com and phone is 505-837-BURG. I assure you there will be something for everyone on our awesome menu. Don't forget that PICU and NICU staff will get a discount. Just bring your badge! (If your server seems confused ask for Jerry :) )

Kiera is doing GREAT this week! She is into everything! I got her this little push and ride toy at Other Mothers about a month or two ago, and Thursday she used it to walk across the room. She has also been trying to walk with her therapy walker, although it is a little more cumbersome. Maybe she'll walk for Christmas! What a concept?! Her first Christmas in 2006 I hoped she'd be home for Christmas. Her second Christmas in 2007 I hoped she'd survive till Christmas, and when she started improving that she'd be at least back in Albuquerque by Christmas. I actually get to have a Christmas wish this year that doesn't involve life or death or hospitals. Woo Hoo!

She is starting to try to make sound past her trach cuff...kind of an "Ahhhhh." She also interacts with Steve on Blue's Clues. When he asks questions, she blows kisses as her answer. It's so interesting. I wonder what her kiss is communicating in her world. She had many play dates this week. My neigher brought Audrey over to play, and my brother brought Kiera's cousins over twice! She has also been playing with her brothers which she really loves.

I am also getting NURSING for Christmas! Yippee! I have 3 more wonderful PICU and NICU nurses signing up to come help us out. I am so excited, especially after having to be up at 2:30 am, 3:30 am, and 6:00am this morning before my hubby handled some early morning cares so I could sleep a little longer. Thank God for coffee. :)

Gotta go. Something Stinky This Way Comes.

Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is Cheetos!

And Signing Time videos. :) Kiera has started enjoying licking the cheese off cheetos. It's about the only food she'll stick in her mouth. She licks them clean. Ever seen a white cheeto? Anyway, it's cute and makes her (and mommy) feel like she's eating with us. She only goes through about 4 in a sitting, but it's at least something. It reminded me of the year that all my sister wanted for Christmas was Easy Cheese. They must be of the same cloth. :) Funny thing...I had a Cheetos bag with nothing but Cheetos dust on my counter at Thanksgiving, and someone "helped" me without my knowledge by throwing it out. I hate to call all my family to find out who threw out Kiera's cheetos dust, but for future reference....visitors in my house must not throw out FOOD in even the weirdest form. Remember...one person's trash is another person's treasure. Kiera treasures her cheese dust. :)

Therese

Oh my Gosh...

Okay, so I know I don't have any pics posted, but there is just so much to keep track of right now. I'll get to it. I promise. I have some cute ones from Thanksgiving and of Kiera with the new puppy we are getting for Christmas. I just have to retrieve them from my camera.

I just have to share a surreal moment I had tonight. I was driving home from Socorro past Presbyterian hospital around 9PM. They light up the hospital with luminarias every Christmas as they did Christmas 2006 and 2007. As I was driving past I thought..."Look...the hospital...and Kiera's not in it."

What a strange moment. It's weird when you realize how different one event has made your entire world view. I had likely driven past the hospital for 19 holiday seasons previous to 2006 and never given the building, its occupants, or its decorations a second thought. For two seasons, 514 days, every time we passed we waved to Kiera, said hi to Kiera, commented that that's where Kiera was, etc. The building has come to be a huge presence, a constant reminder of Christmas past, present, and future.

Even though we were there today for a Dr. appointment, and we are constantly in and out, this image of the hospital was the most poignant. This view is the one that makes it clear that we will forever be emotionally involved with this building. It's where everything happened. We have changed restaurant businesses, we have moved to different houses, I've taught in and attended different schools...but this building is different. I can visit other buildings from my past and remember days gone by, but seeing this hospital lit up at Christmas can actually transport me to that place in an instant. I'm pretty sure it always will.

Funny thing...we put up our Christmas tree, and I was so excited imagining how Kiera would react when she saw her first tree. So I put her on the floor by it. She lightly grazed her fingers over it a little touching some ornaments and needles (it's a fake tree). Then the door bell rang, and I answered. About a minute later I look back at her, and she has crawled to the open bag of clean diapers and is chewing on them. Diapers- 1, Tree-0. I might as well decorate the tree in diapers. It would hold more appeal.

Here's to hoping this will be the first Christmas with Kiera not in the hospital.

Therese