Personal Tragedy and Disclaimer

I was very excited to use my birthday money on myself. I made plans to get a new hairdo-something I haven't had for 1.5 years because of being pregnant and then the very time consuming care of Cora, especially the first 7 months of her life. So, I was getting rid of the "mom hair." Long story short, it got botched. I mean, Kimball could've cut my hair better than what I got. I was furious and cried! I cried a lot. I was not going home looking like that. I went to a second person to make me look as presentable as possible and then made a stop at a wig store. Yep, I bought a wig. My hair cut was that bad.

I don't really consider myself a vain person and I don't care about hair. But when you don't have hair or look like a boy or a lesbian, then it starts to bother me. The hair in the back was so awful....extremely short and not blended at all. I wore the wig for 3 weeks until we went to the Cox reunion. I mean, how was I going to wear a wig for 24 hours a day for 4 days?! The wig is ITCHY!! So I took it off and let my true hair show which was humiliating but I didn't have much of a choice, I wasn't going to sleep in the wig.

Needless to say, I'm still very upset but can't do much about it. I really, really, REALLY hate my hair but in the following pictures you'll see it. Boo. I've even been taking supplements and doing hair masks to get my hair to grow faster. It's taking a long time because it's SO short. I'm sure one day I'll look back on this and laugh but for now, it's still too fresh and painful. Ugh.

Cox Reunion 2014

Two weeks ago we drove down to Boise for the Cox reunion. It was such a loooooong drive!! Nevertheless, we had a great time eating, talking, singing, playing, etc. Friday was the Cousin's Carnival and Allison rented a bounce house for the day (genius). Donna and the girls planned out carnival games where the kids won tokens to cash in for prizes. It was so fun watching the kids play together all day! They loved all their new goodies and toys which were especially delightful for us on the way home as they helped keep Kimball entertained. Saturday we visited the zoo and had a picnic at the park. In the evening we had an adult dinner at the Olive Garden. That day we also made a quick 15 minute stop to see Grandma and Grandpa Watson to say hello. Grandma even let Kimball raid her M&M bowl, hence the baggie of M&Ms. It was a lovely time but we're not making that drive for a long time - I swear it gets longer and longer every time!

Random Pictures From The Phone

ENT

We visited the ENT yesterday which went very well. Cora has an upper respiratory infection in her nose. Because of the infection he did not do a scope or anything so he'll do a full exam on her next visit. The infection is from her chronic pharyngonasal regurgitation (aspiration back splashed from the throat and up the nose) which means she's had this infection for quite some time and I had no idea. I feel horrible! But, I'm glad she's been seen and it's getting taken care of. He's hoping the antibiotic that the pediatrician put her on will work and also prescribed some mucinex for her to take for the next 30 days. I'm crossing my fingers this will take care of the upper respiratory problems.

Her appointment with the pulmonologist isn't for another month but she's on the high priority wait list if there are any cancellations. I'm a little too anxious to see this doctor and really hope we get ALL of the answers we're looking for. She also has another appointment with her allergist just in case this is an environmental problem as well.

Until then, we'll pray and cross our fingers.

Abnormal Lungs

On Friday I called the pediatrician's office to reschedule Cora's 9 month check up because we'll be in Boise at the Cox reunion. I happened to mention her breathing and the nurse told me to take Cora in right away. Luckily, we were eating lunch at the park with friends so it was great timing. They did a chest x-ray on Cora and can't find her lungs it's really weird, they are transparent on the film. The doctor is not sure what would cause this or if/what is wrong. He put her on an antibiotic to be on the safe side and referred me to a couple specialists so they can help pinpoint what's going on. Our next visit is with ENT this week.

I feel a little guilty because I've always known and been concerned with her chronic congestion and cough since birth. She's always had it. It hasn't always been this bad but I just assumed it was aspiration again. It very well could be. Any appointment we go to I always mention and question her breathing but nobody seemed too concerned about it. The past few months I kept feeling that I need to get her in to see a pulmonologist just to be on the safe side. I guess I kept putting off that feeling because nobody else thought it was a big deal. I'm really glad I took her in on Friday, he said I should notice a difference by the end of the week to see if the antibiotics are helping/curing what's wrong. So far Cora's only getting worse. I'm also crossing my fingers that she doesn't become allergic to the antibiotic, any drugs they put her on she's super sensitive to and is allergic. This one is not erythromyocin based because I know for sure she's allergic to that one.

I'm crossing my fingers that ENT and pulmonology can help us figure this out. I don't know if there are other specialists that will be involved or not. I just worry that she's going to stop breathing during one of her coughing fits and it's getting more difficult for her to eat by mouth. I do not want to her develop oral aversion, she's made such good progress with her digestion that this would be absolutely devastating if she did. I don't want to put her back on the pump during the day so if things continue to get considerably worse then I'll bump up these appointments to asap otherwise I'll take her in to the hospital.

Family Resemblence

 Mom texted me these picture this morning. Oh to be 7 again with holes in my smile wearing, stretchy stirrup pants and black sued shoes. But, look at how much Kimball looks like little Scotty!

 And here I'm 5, I definitely see a lot of Kimball in me in this one.

Oh little Timmy, he's so cute! And me at 8 months....wow, lots of Cora there. I thought she was all Cox.

Man Trip To The Fair

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

Cora's Update

There are little tidbits about Cora's health that I keep forgetting to blog about. After we got home from our summer visit to TF, she had six various specialist visits. They all went extremely well (minus the neurologist) and they don't need to see her again until March-May of next year. Yay! I've never gone that long without doctor appointments for Cora so it'll be nice to have such a long break.

About two weeks ago she saw the Ophthalmologist again and he was stunned! There was a resident doctor who was there with him and he said, "You should've seen this baby five months ago....1000 times better! Oh my gosh!" He was amazed at how well she looked and was doing. He didn't do an eye exam or anything and I only had one question: she tends to have watery/teary eyes all the time, what does that mean? He said she's got a plugged tear duct or something which is an easy surgery fix and he can do it at the same time as her heart surgery. Win, win!

She STILL has this chronic congestion/cough going on. I called the GI doctor to see if she could get me a referral to a pulmonologist (we had discussed this option if her upper respiratory didn't improve after the surgery). She called me back and said she'd get me another referral to the ENT we saw earlier this year. I don't know what the problem is or what's causing this, she's had it since she was born. My gut feeling is that she's still aspirating. It seems every swallow study we do we find that she's aspirating, try to fix it with thickening her foods, and then a short time later she starts aspirating again. I'm not sure what to do about it all, she doesn't seem to be outgrowing it which was my hope. If anything, it's getting much worse.

I finally started up again introducing solid foods to her. I had to quit about a month ago because of her cough and then again because she had mild HFMD. Last week I introduced a probiotic to her diet which she's been on for a week and seems to be handling it just fine. I don't really see any difference in her digestion at all, maybe it takes more time to work. Today I started her on squash.....crossing my fingers this goes much better than the carrots!

She's had a long break from her physical and speech therapy, today we started back up again and I've been so anxious to get them back! Especially her PT, she does wonders for Cora and I always notice a huge difference, I'm always amazed at Cora's progress at the end of the session.

Overall, she's still doing great and making good progress. I wish her eating and digestion was less complicated, it seems to be the crux of the majority of her problems. But we continue to hope and pray and trust a loving Heavenly Father. I try my best to work with her everyday, she's shows so much motivation and absolutely astounds me.

You Owe Me

"And still, after all this time, the Sun have never said to the Earth, "You owe me." Look what happens with love like that. It lights up the sky."
- Hafez

Face The Future With Faith

"It is true. We live to die, and we die to live again. From an eternal perspective, the only death that is truly premature is the death of one who is not prepared to meet God."
- Russell M. Nelson

Darling Cora Belle

Facial Expressions

We know that autumn will soon be upon us so we're taking every opportunity we can to visit the parks. The weather has been in the perfect 70's with a little breeze in the air. But combine that perfect weather to a very cold splash pad and you get this freezing cold reaction. He wouldn't move.

 Kimball is such a Pettingill, in every aspect. Especially when making faces.

Even Cora had to pull a face.

Love My Cubs

Sleepy Head

Charity Never Faileth

"Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others."
- Thomas S. Monson

This Girl Keeps Stealing My Heart

Partial Faces, Loads Of Charm

Cora at 7 months

 Kimball at about 10 months

Grateful Heart

"I am about to lay my head on my pillow after a very full day.  Sad day, humbling ending and grateful heart for lessons learned in between.  Today I spent time with a sister on my Visiting Teaching route.  Beginning by packing and storing the substance of her life in a 5 X 10 foot storage unit as she could no longer stay in her apartment.  Assisting her with errands and other tasks that minute by minute ate up my plans for the day.  Two loads of laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, grocery shopping, pedicure, Ward Picnic now substituted with 2 trips to the storage unit, 3 stops to stores searching for a phone card, packing and repacking her small bag of belongings trying to determine which items were most important, because after the Ward Picnic she would be laying her head on a new pillow in a new bed in a room shared by 5 women who were strangers.  I imagined I would be glad to have her go through the gate at the Women's Shelter, leaving me in my car in silence, not needing to make reassuring responses to her somewhat frantic nervous chatter.  But it was not at all that way... as we pulled up to the back gate I was startled by the 10 foot chain link fence and electric lock.  As we rang the buzzer to wait for admittance, I noted perhaps 20 women milling about on a concrete patio. Locked in for their "safety" they looked nothing like the victims they surely were and every thing like the prisoners of poor choices they had become.  As the facility staff came to the gate for the sister I brought, I noted with overwhelming sadness tears streaming down her face.  She said, " Please don't make me stay here, I am afraid."  With every ounce of composure I could muster, we sat on the bumper of my car while I did all I could do, pray for her well being and comfort. I could not spare her from the consequence of negative actions.  Like the overprotective parent leaving the Kindergartner on the first day of school I got in my car and watched as they ushered her inside.  Then I cried, not just for her but for all of these women behind the bars, who did not have the blessing and knowledge of a Savior who loves them more than His life.  As we sleep in our beds tonight may we offer a prayer of gratitude for what we have and for opportunities to share it with Sisters in Zion who are not as fortunate.  I am so grateful for all of your good hearts and vast service and for the good things I have in my life because you are in it."
- Vicki Townsend, Shiloh Hills RS President

Buckets Full

"Drop by drop we fill our buckets until they overflow. How we fill them is a choice. Each drop of hope, of kindness, of tolerance, of respect, of laughter, of joy, of friendship, of light can fill our buckets just as easily as despair, negativity, hate, distrust, bigotry, malice or darkness. How are you going to fill your bucket today?"
- Amelia Lewis

My Two Lovies

 Who wore it better? Both at 9 months of age.

Nothing Sweeter Than Clean Baby Cuddles

The Right Perspective

Kimball is obsessed with taking photos on our phones. This angle wasn't too bad.

Mall Fun

Kimball loves to push Cora in the stroller. LOVES IT! If I even so much as to help him steer where he's going or dare touch the handles, he gets really mad. I think it's super cute and let him steer her into walls and hall displays. I only help steer when he starts running people down.