The Adventures of Jadon and Kalina: December 2013

We had a good December. Grandma Fry came to visit us at the beginning of the month. She was here for Andy’s work holiday party and took care of Jadon and Kalina for us. We had a good time and so did they! They love spending time with her. Grandma was also here for Andy’s church choir concert. It was good to see him singing again (he recently rejoined choir after an ~11 year hiatus J).

As mentioned in a previous post, we took a quick trip of Illinois in mid-December. The occasion was sad but it was nice to see all my family.

December 20 was the last day of school before winter break. It snowed the night of the 19^th so we had a late start to school on the 20^th. This meant no school for Kalina. She was a little bummed about not being able to see her friends one more time before break. Luckily, one of her friends had similar feelings are we were able to arrange a quick playdate. Before school, Jadon, Kalina and I enjoyed the snow. Jadon and Kalina really wanted to help shovel. So, we shoveled and made snowballs. This is the first time Jadon and Kalina have had shoes and could walk in the snow. What fun! The snow was pretty much gone the next day.

A school break would not be a break without a few appointments for this family. First on the list was Venus, our 19 year old cat. We discovered she is having some thyroid issues, which was a lot better than the alternative diagnoses we were thinking she might have. We now treat it with medicated cream (instead of a pill). Jadon and Kalina had an appointment with their “new” pulmonary doctor. He isn’t actually “new”. He was part of the pulmonary team that took care of Jadon when he was born – and he remembered him. Their former pulmonary doctor, Dr. Carter, moved last year. We love him and miss him but think the new doctor will do a great job, too. Everything looks good for both of them, from the pulmonary side of things. Next, Jadon had another CT scan of his head so we could see what was happening with his ears, one in particular. This summer his CT scan showed something and we were not sure what it was. It didn’t help that he developed an ear infection two days after that scan. Luckily whatever was there (probably something related to the infection) is gone. We are so thankful because if it was still there, he probably would have needed to have surgery to remove it. Kalina also had an eye appointment (in early January). Her vision was questioned at the school screening and pediatrician’s office so we wanted to make sure she was seeing ok. She is! No need to worry.

We also managed to see a few friends over break. Most important, we enjoyed our family time. Andy can get pretty busy at work these days so we enjoyed having him home for a few days to relax with us.

We had a quiet Christmas at home. We have come to enjoy the traditions we have as a family. We went to one of the Christmas Eve services at church. I love hearing Jadon and Kalina sing. They always enjoy the candle lighting during Silent Night. Christmas was a lot of fun – how can it now be with two sweet kiddos.

We rang in the New Year at home. Jadon and Kalina managed to stay awake until about 10 pm – pretty late for them. We enjoyed watching the Seattle celebrations the next morning.

Here is to a great 2014!