Christmas

We put all of Persy's presents into an igloo tent on Christmas morning. She had a lot of fun playing inside. We spent Christmas in Logan with extended family and had a great time that weekend hanging out, bowling, running, going to "Sherlock Holmes," and even playing laser tag.

Persy and her cousin with their new Mongolian princess hats.


Gabe, exhausted after all the festivities

Twas the Night Before Christmas . . .

There is something about being in a children's hospital at Christmas time that is very humbling. Persy ended got sick last week with a cold and then ended up in respiratory distress again. As we took care of her I couldn't help but notice the other weary parents there with children much sicker than our own. I felt sad for them, and so grateful that Persy was able to leave on Christmas Eve so we wouldn't have to spend our holidays at the hospital. I also felt grateful that we have some new medications to try with Persephone and also received additional counseling regarding her peanut allergy. We are so very fortunate to be near to excellent medical care.

Nativity Cast and Crew

Every Christmas my family gets together to act out the Nativity. There's always a festive dinner of clam chowder and Christmas candies. There's always the somewhat rambunctious group of cousins running about dressed as angels, shepherds, etc, and there's always the stern warning against lighting house and hair on fire as we each light a candle and sing "Silent Night." It's always a fun event that everyone enjoys!

Our Little Angel

The Wise People

Mary, Joseph, and a Shepherd

The night ended with Persy getting to open gifts from her Grammy and Grandpa.

Scary Santa

I can't stop smiling at these pictures of pure terror we caught on Gabe's iphone . . . I hope this doesn't reflect poorly on me as a mother.

More Medical Adventures

Sometimes I wish I had a medical degree. It would certainly be more useful in my role as a mother than the anthropology degree that I currently hold. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to expand my medical knowledge yet as another crisis unfolded with Persephone.

We were sitting at dinner and Persy was picking at her meal and whining about the nuisance and eating when I decided to give her some peanut butter in hopes of enticing her appetite. We had her 18 month appointment earlier in the day and the doctor had cleared me for introducing this new food into her diet. Within seconds of her first lick she began rubbing her eyes and sneezing. I hurried and snatched her from the high chair and immediately ran to the car as hives began to spread across her face.

Even though we live close to medical care, it always seems a long drive to me when I'm fighting traffic and I can't see her from the rear view mirror. Persy was coughing a little and I was quite worried that her respiratory problems would worsen during my drive to Instacare and she might go into anaphylaxis shock.

Fortunately, she remained stable through the drive and with a dose of benadryl her condition improved after a couple of hours of monitoring. I think the benadryl made her a little hyper because she spent the long evening at Instacare running around, saying "hi" to every entering patient, and delighting in the otterpops and suckers that the enamored nurses were supplying. The poor girl looked all swollen like Quasimoto, but she couldn't have cared less.

So, short story long, it looks like we will need to visit an allergist to confirm the peanut allergy. We also have to keep Persy away from any products that may contain peanuts, (which are a lot,) because any additional exposure greatly increases her risk for anaphylaxis shock. This child certainly knows how to keep things lively and expensive!

18 Months

Our smiling, running, jumping, laughing, dancing, difficult to capture little girl is growing up way too fast!

Sous Chef

I've been making a lot of cookies with the help of the world's cutest sous chef. She likes to help pour, knead, frost and sprinkle. She enjoys smelling each of the spices with an enthusiastic "Mmmm. . . " Fortunately for me, she is also enthusiastic about helping to sweep and clean afterwards.

Mixed Reviews

Lights on Temple Square got mixed reviews from Persy this year. She loved going inside the visitor's center to see the giant statue of Christ, but she was cold and a little cranky for the outdoor portion. Classic grumpiness! :)

Bed Head