First Week of School and Guess What...

Dallas gets sick!!! I finally decided to send Dallas to a really nice Daycare not far from the house two mornings a week. We are working on her social and emotional skills at the request of her speech therapist. Tuesday went pretty well. She didn't even cry when I left. She only hit a kid twice so that's a plus. I went to pick her up at 2:00 pm and they said she was okay until naptime. She refused to take one and proceeded to scream for two hours!!! No problem as I gave her a late nap at home. Thursday was a different story. She was crying as I walked out the door. Three hours of peace and quite at home!!! Then the phone rings. My heart sank when I saw caller ID. "Come pick Dallas up." She screamed for three hours and refused to eat lunch. We agreed to try it again next week for a few hours and slowly build up. Yesterday(Friday) Dallas woke up with "Summer Snotfest 2007" going on. She was also drooling more than a St. Bernard. Off to our favorite ENT, Dr. David. As much as all the members of my family visit her office, her kid's college education will be paid for!!! So today we have to stay home and miss the annual FWCC luncheon. One look at her snot crusted eyebrows would probably get us tossed out anyhow. I was so looking forward to adult conversation today. Hopefully her medicine will kick in soon and she will take a nice nap.

First Trip to the Beach

We stopped at Bilioxi Beach last week while taking Skip over to take care of some business for work. The devastation from the hurricane is still overwhelming. Most of the beaches in that area are closed but we found a few in Bilioxi that were opened but still not lots of people around. Dallas didn't know what to think of the water and sand. She wasn't scared but she wasn't going in!!! It was at least 100 degrees so we didn't stay for long before making the 3 hour trip back home. We will be back in the area after Labor Day so hopefully we will have time for her to play in the sand and get wet.

Few Ideas for the Quilt

I been going through websites looking for ideas for the quilt. I really don't know what I want it to look like yet. The final design depends on how many squares I receive. Now to figure out who I can get to make the quilt for me help me make the quilt!!! Here are several designs that I am leaning towards.

100 Good-Wishes Quilt

To welcome and celebrate a new life, it is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei or 100 Good-Wishes quilt. The custom is to invite family and friends to contribute a square of fabric and a wish for the baby. Most of the square is sewn into the quilt, while a smaller piece goes into a creative memory notebook with the wish for the child. The quilt contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a square of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

Here is what you would need to send if you choose to participate:

(1) One 12x12�square of pre-washed 100% cotton fabric. This type of fabric is best, as it washes and wears better. Select a fabric that is meaningful to you. If there are several members in your family, please feel free to send more than one good wish note and pieces of fabric. In China, these quilts were originally made from the garments of family and friends surrounding the child with luck and good wishes.

(2) A 3x5(or larger) card with a wish dedicated to Dallas. Please include a separate scrap of your fabric glued to the card. What would you wish for a child to have in her life? Some ideas are good health, perseverance, compassion, love, and a sense of humor. Use that as a guide for your good wish note. It can be something original you wrote, a favorite poem, lyric, or quote that has special meaning to you, or your favorite Bible verse. Please remember to sign your wish and include your city and state. Your wish-card can be elegantly simple or colorfully decorated with stickers and photographs, or whatever else that tickles your fancy. Anything goes. This card will go into a scrapbook for her to always be able to see all those who waited and prayed for her to come home.

Skip and I hope you will be able to participate in this gift for Dallas. We just want for her to know how loved and cherished she is, not only by us but by so many others. I haven’t decided on how I want the quilt to look yet and what main colors I want to add to it. So I will wait for all the squares to come in and then decide once I see all the beautiful squares you have sent. If you do decide to participate, please email me at lingbabygirl-blog@yahoo.com.

One Year Ago Today....

Dallas stood for the very first time by pulling herself up in the computer room. I remember turning around and there she was standing up grinning at me. I tried to take a pic but I got one right after she fell. Then about 5 minutes later, she did it again and I was waiting with the camera. Then she practiced it over and over until she got tired. Later that day, she started crawling for the first time. Seems like a lifetime ago. Definitely one of those moments I will never forget!!!

Finally an Answer!!!

I am finally getting around to posting about problems we have been having with Dallas' health lately. I really didn't want to post about this earlier because I have been so worried and didn't want to make myself more paranoid about what could be wrong. For several months now Dallas has been having what I would call "assplosions" or mush several times a day. Anywhere from 2-9 a day to be exact. She is finished teething so that wasn't a concern. Her appetite was normal and she was growing and gaining weight. She was very active and literally bouncing off the walls. Couldn't get any answers from her pediatrician as to what could be causing this "problem". I took in diapers on two different occasions to the lab to be tested. Nothing infectious or unusual in either sample. We changed her diet and still no relief. We even tried Soy milk with no relief.

The worse feeling for me was watching Dallas child scream and cry because she was in so much pain and didn't want me to change her diaper. Dallas had a horrible yeast infection from going to the bathroom so much. I finally called a pediatric gastrointerologist and made an appointment. I lucked out and got her an appointment the next day because of a cancellation or we would still be waiting. He examined her thoroughly and couldn't determine what might be causing the problem. So he did an upper GI endoscopy on her last Thursday to rule out some things. Dallas did very well up until she saw the IV in her hand and then freaked and wanted it out immediately. Although not the cause of her diarrhea, he did say she has a hiatal hernia and reflux.

I finally got the remainder of all the tests/biopsies in today. She has been diagnosed with "Toddler's Diarrhea". It should resove itself eventually. We have had to cut out most of her juice intake and limit her mostly to whole milk and water. She was tested for Celiac Disease and it came back negative!!! All her stool tests have come back negative for any parasites. They did put her on Prevacid for the reflux/hiatal hernia. Hopefully after a while her esophagus won't be as swollen/irritated. Dallas has never shown any signs of reflux that's why we were shocked when he told us that she had it. Things seem to be returning to "normal" with her digestive system since we altered her diet last Thursday!!!

I just knew something wasn't right with her lately. I am so glad I kept pushing until we found an answer. There were many times when we both cried during her diaper changes. That "problem" is also clearing up slowly and she doesn't cry any more. We will continue watching what she eats and limit the fried, spicy, and sugary foods in her diet. She has to go back to the pediatric gastro in September for a check-up and hopefully all will be back to "normal" by then. Sometimes the more you try to find out what could be wrong, the more worried you become. I was terrified that something horrible might be wrong. Thank God there isn't.

Cutie-Patootie Pics