Summer Storms

The weather has been unseasonably cooler and wetter than normal for this time of the year. The last few days we have had small thunder and rain storms roll through in the afternoons. It reminds us of Georgia and we are loving it!


Yesterday we had an intense storm blow through; it rained so hard that little rivers formed in the street and the rain turned to hail. Zuri, our little adventurer, had so much fun running in the rain and jumping in the puddles, that she refused to come inside, even though she was soaked through and cold. Ah, to be young again, sometimes it would be fun.

Picaboo!

There is just something about kids and a box. So simple and yet boxes can provide hours of fun. Zuri was having a blast today because we have begun the packing process and pulled out the boxes, which she naturally took over as her own. :-)

It's a Guy Thing

Disco Ball

One of the nurses at Primary Childrens brought in a miniature disco ball for Kai and it is his favorite "toy."  He will just stare at the ball, and if he isn't in a good position to see it, he will maneuver himself so he can see it.  He especially loves when we spin it.  It is so fun to watch the wonder on his face as he watches the ball.

He is a very sweet little guy.  He loves to be held and swaddled.  He really only fusses when something is bothering him, but other than that he has a very calm temperament.  He loves to watch and observe all that is around. 

Kai is also gaining some weight; he is getting cute little baby rolls on his arms and legs.  His last weigh in was on Sunday, when J took him to Primary Childrens to have an emergency replacement on his g-tube button because the balloon wasn't holding in the water.  He weighed in at 2.9 kg (6 lbs 6.2 oz).

Zuri is handling having a sibling around much better and much worse than I thought.  She only has minor bouts of jealousy with Kai.  Usually it is when I am holding him and then she also wants to climb into my lap and be held.  The hardest times are when I am busy with Kai and Zuri wants something right now that we have the most problems.

Earlier today we had a scare with Kai, he was crying and not able to breathe correctly even after suctioning several times.  He was rapidly turning purple so we hurriedly took the trach out and put in a new one.  Turns out the trach had become plugged with some thick mucus.  Zuri, not understanding the severity of what was going on, was busy throwing a tantrum because I had left her in the middle of our activity to help J with Kai. 

On the other hand, she is also very attentive with Kai.  She loves to watch him sleep, and always wants to touch him.  She knows that she must put on hand sanitizer before touching him, so I always have a clue as to what she is up to when she asks for the hand sanitizer.  It is really cute.

Wild Hair Diva

Zuri was out playing in the kiddie pool today after her nap.  She will take her hair out of whatever hair style that I have her in before she falls asleep, so when she wakes up her hair is really wild.  I didn't redo her hair before she got in the pool, so her hair was really wild for this shot, but I thought it was cute anyway.

Impulse Buying

We are not normally impulsive people, but we made an impulse buy on Saturday.  We kept getting flyers in the mail to trade in our Maxima for a new car at Ken Garf Nissan, and at the bottom of the flyer is a coupon for an oil change.  So, we decided to take advantage of the coupon and take a gander to see what they had in inventory and what the price range would be.  We in no way actually thought we would be buying a vehicle.  

Because of all the equipment that we have to bring with us for Kai whenever we go anywhere (oxygen tank, trach and g-tube emergency kits, monitor, feeding bag, plus all the normal things you need to bring for a newborn), we knew that we were going to have to upgrade to a bigger vehicle sometime in the near future.  We were looking at seven to eight passenger vehicles (SUV's and minivans).  When we took a look inside this Tahoe, we fell in love.  It has bucket seats for the second row, leaving a gap in the middle (perfect for placing all of Kai's equipment), and allowing easy access to the third row without having to remove any car seats.  The previous owner had taken really good care of the Tahoe and we knew we couldn't pass up such a great deal.  We were able to get a higher trade in value for our Maxima than we thought and we got a new vehicle!  

I still can't believe we bought it, but we absolutely love it.  The Tahoe had only been in the lot for two hours before we bought it, and as we were getting all the paperwork filled out, we heard two other people asking about the Tahoe (they post their inventory online)--good thing we got to it when we did!  It is hard getting back into a car payment because we had both our vehicles paid off.  The payments are just slightly more than what we had had with the Maxima so they really aren't that bad, especially considering the Tahoe is worth much more than the Maxima.  Nice thing too, the Tahoe is $3 less to insure (hey, every penny counts)!

In further news, we will be moving at the end of the month.  We are getting an apartment with my brother, Shin.  We are really excited for the move, although we are going to a one level place, which we haven't been in for two years now, so it will be quite the change for us.  We will still be in Orem (can't seem to escape Happy Valley), but it will be a good change for all of us.

Siblings

Zuri adores Kai.  She is constantly checking on him to make sure that he is doing okay.  When he cries, she tries to soothe him and she loves to peek at him in his crib.  We had a check-up today with the ENT for Kai's trach.  All went well; the trach site is healing nicely and looks great.  Kai has also gained a pound since he has been home in the last week and a half!  He is now at 6 lbs 4.5 oz!  He is starting to get cute little rolls on his arms and legs.  :-)

Ah, the miracle of miracles: both children asleep at the same time!  My mom was visiting with my younger sister and brother; and my sister, McKenzie, wore Zuri out.  Zuri was showing her the iPad and they put on Swan Princess and Zuri fell asleep.  So funny, and ever so nice.

So Easy, Even a Three-Year Old Can Do It

 Ah technology...such a good and bad thing.  What a different time our youth is growing up in.  I remember what a big deal it was to have the internet, and a computer; duck hunt and mario were all the rage.  With the upcoming generation you have ipads and tablets that can do everything, and they know how to use it--better than many adults.  Crazy. 

Zuri is all over J's ipad.  She calls it "Zuri's i-pad."  No joke, and she can navigate it better than J.  She can do everything from Angry Birds to Art Glow to Net Flicks.  Oh yes, she can navigate Net Flicks, and that one she learned completely on her own.  She calls it "red" because the app is red, and she knows how to get to the movies and shows she likes.

I am constantly amazed at Zuri.  She is so smart--sometimes too smart, wrapped up in a tiny little body.  She is also underestimated because she is so small.  She is also getting quite sassy as well.  Hmmm...not so sure I like that one as much.  She is looking more and more like a little girl and less like a toddler.  She has grown over two inches in the last few months!

Little Ham

 The last month of posts have been so Kai based, that I thought it would be good to do a quick post with Zuri.  She is growing up and is no longer a toddler but a preschooler.  It really is amazing how quickly they grow. 

 Climbing on the crib to look at Kai. 

 She was being really funny and laying on the floor.  I took this shot and it looks like a model picture!

There's No Place Like Home

Kai finally got to come home!  It has been a crazy few days.  He had to come home on a little oxygen, which we weren't really prepared for since he has been doing so well on room air.  We think that needing the oxygen is due to all the blood that has been taken from him.  His platelets have been low and there has been mention of Kai needing a transfusion but we have been able to hold off because he has been able to make enough red blood cells on his own, but just barely.  He also came home with a monitor which monitors his oxygen saturation and heart rate.  Then we have the trach and g-tube stuff, so there are still lots of wires attached to him.  We are also unable to take Kai out in public for at least three months.  Specifically mentioned were the grocery store and church.  Basically, unless it is one of his many appointments, we need to keep Kai home so he doesn't get sick.

I think that he has enjoyed being home--he certainly seems more relaxed and hasn't been as fussy or spit up as much.  When he does get fussy, all we have to do is pick him up and he calms right down.  Oh, how he loves being held.  He is going to be one spoiled baby, that's for sure.

We have been blessed to have a nurse come in at night and take care of Kai for us so that we can get some sleep.  He has to be in line of sight because although he does cry, with the trach it is a silent cry, so the only thing that would alert us to his distress is the monitor, but that only goes off at extreme levels.    The nurse comes in from 11pm to 7am--and because of having the nurse here, we have put Kai's crib in the living room, which is strange for us, but it working out quite well.  

Zuri is really cute with Kai.  She loves to look at him.  She will climb on the crib and say "look! Baby Kai!"  She always wants to touch his head.  It is really funny.  She hasn't had the opportunity to hold him yet, we have just been so busy, but she will soon.

Kai has also had a chance to spend some time in the swing and bouncer.  He enjoys both but likes being held better.  You can get an idea of how small he is--pictures really do make him look a lot bigger.  He is a newborn size in clothes with a preemie length.  At his doctor appointment yesterday, he weighed in at 5 lbs 9.8 oz. There should be a caution label: objects in picture are much smaller than they appear. ;-)

Rooming In

We have been super busy, this last week and a half.  My family came in from California and we had an enjoyable time with them.  We didn't really get the chance to do much besides go to the hospital, but it was still really nice to have them out here.  They left Tuesday morning and we did the 24-hour room-in at the hospital Tuesday to Wednesday.  

The room-in went well, except it was very busy and we only ended up getting an hour and a half of sleep total.  We were expecting a nice calm 24 hours, but from the time we entered room we had visitors.  We had several specialists drop by, some evaluations done (such as they redid his hearing screen; results are the same: moderate hearing loss in right ear, severe in left ear), family dropped by, people from home health came by to bring some equipment for us that we would need at home.  --Side note: I think it would be easier to have all the equipment brought by at the same time but each piece of equipment was brought by different people at different times--all from the same company! 

During the night we didn't get sleep because Kai's heart rate kept jumping above 200 which would set off the alarm on the monitor.  We would get up and attend to him, but most of the time he was sleeping.  Additionally, we had to do his "cares" (change him, take temperature, put on/off splints, feed him, etc) every three hours, so when the monitors weren't beeping we had to get up for other reasons.  They have Kai on a dose of caffeine for his respiration, which increases his heart rate.  We also think he may have been a little too warm as well.

Overall though, the room-in went really well and we were able to bring him home Wednesday!