In Like a Lion - Out Like a Lamb

March started out finishing our hospital stay for Brady’s intussusception.  Due to some complications we ended up doubling our predicted stay in the PICU. There is a kind of reverence that falls over the children's hospital when visiting hours are over and the only people left are the parents of the children and the staff who are working hard to get them well. As much as I dislike being there I can't help but feel so so grateful to have this place so close. Without Primary Children's hospital I wouldn't have either of my kids with me today. What an incredible work those people do!

Luckily Aunt Shelby was able (and willing) to take time off work to come stay with Kimber and help keep her life as “normal” as possible.  She helped me keep up with her therapy and doctor’s appointments which this month included our yearly Prader Willi Clinic.  Kimber did AWESOME. The message we took over all was "keep doing what you're doing!" We have been given the OK to check out of PT whenever we feel ready (but I'm not so sure I'm ready!) and the speech therapist was BLOWN AWAY by the conversation she had with our Bean. 

After the clinic we got Kimber's yearly scoliosis screening done (because why not right?!) I'm not a doctor but everything looked pretty darn straight! She had the xray techs laughing SO hard they actually couldn't operate the machine so it took twice as long and for her standup comedy she earned a Doc McStuffins sticker, which she cherished and showed anyone in the hospital who would look at it... Until she saw Brady when she decided that he needed the sticker "to help him feel better and come home to his Kimber". Oh my heart! 

"Look Mom!  That's a number one and a eight and that's a 18!"

She told me all about the adventures she's been having with Shelby, thanked me for taking her to lunch and to see "her friends the doctors" over and over, and when I told her we couldn't come home with her yet she was so brave, looked at me with little watery eyes and said "that's ok mom. Brady needs you to help him feel better." I've been blessed with INCREDIBLE kiddos!!!  We were SO happy to finally be discharged two days later.

We got out of the hospital just in time to celebrate our 4 year anniversary.  My husband is AWESOME! On our anniversary he brought me roses (so sweet. He had to work 13 hours that day) and promised dinner out this weekend. I thought we were going to Texas Roadhouse, our usual. NOPE! He surprised me with Coopers over in Bear Lake (seriously SOOOO good!) AND a night away from the kids! Seriously he arranged it all and just kept revealing one little surprise at a time. He's the best!

When I first met Shawn we were on a group date and a guy drove his truck off a cliff. We spent the evening calling life flight and helping search and rescue. Our first date the tire fell off the truck. We spent the night up the canyon combing the dirt road for lug nuts until deer hunters saved us in the morning. I should have known our life together was going to be "high speed" and far from ordinary but even with all the craziness our life is so SO good! Life with him is certainly a big adventure!

Kimber had her first run in with the rooster this month. Apparently she wasn't pouring the food fast enough for him. As she was running away she didn't make the connection between him and the can of food she still had her arms wrapped around. It's a good thing Wrangler was there because I was pretty much useless doubled over in laughter. As Wrangler chased him off her heels she spun around and yelled "Ha! Not today angry shicken! Not today!" Growing up in the country - the best way for a kid to grow up.

She loves playing doctor and will give anyone a checkup who is willing to sit still for two minutes.  The other day she was convinced that I was deathly ill and kept telling me "oh mom, I know you don't feel well... But don't you worry. Kimber's here. I am here. Let's get you home. You need a bwanket and a toke (coke) and a little bit rest. Don't worry mom. You feel better soon. Rest is best!"  She often tells me "Mom, someday I be a REAL Dr Miller..."  I’m sure she will be!

What I thought was a onetime ice-skating trip with Uncle Jared has become a full blown obsession.  We ordered her some little skates off amazon and she goes any time he is available.  When we arrived the other day there was a figure skater doing twirls in the center of the ice. I pointed it out and said "Look at her! Isn't she pretty doing twirls? Do you want to learn how to do that?"  Kimber glanced up from her skates and said "Ummm no... I just want to play hockey...."  I think it about brought a tear to Jared’s eye.

The end of this month we started testing for placement in preschool.  We just left our appointment testing all areas of her speech.  She has to get 7 answers wrong in a row for the test to stop. We went for over an hour and got up to the level of a 6-year-old when Kimber pushed her chair back and said "Whew! This is exasperating!" The speech therapist decided at that point it was best to reschedule a time to come back and pick up where we left off... Take THAT PWS!

Here are some of my other favorite Kimber moments this month:

While helping me cook dinner Kimber starts hitting the can opener on the counter: 

"Hey Kimber please don't bang the can opener on the counter. We have to be soft so we don't break it."

"Oh ok, sorry mom.......... Hey mom? How about you close your eyes for just a little bit.... Ok, you close them tight?" (Bang, bang, bang) 
If I had a dollar for every time I dish out a consequence and then RUN to the next room to crack up where she can't see me I could buy a can opener manufacturer!

At the grocery store Kimber runs up to the display of bell peppers at the grocery store: *gasp!* "mom! This is my FAVORITE begatble! Can I please get it! Oh please oh please oh please!"

Employee: "Did I just hear what I thought I heard?"

Kimber has been singing all morning. She just came around the corner singing "Jesus climbed up the mountain to the garden to pray because He loves me! He loves Kimber!"

We absolutely cannot imagine our family without her sweet spirit and hilarious personality.

Brady is 7 months old! He has a hilarious personality and is already such a tease. He loves pulling Kimber's hair and then he just laughs and laughs! Don't be fooled though! If anyone ELSE tries to give Kimber a hard time they will hear the wrath of Brady! He babbles CONSTANTLY and has the cutest little soprano Tarzan yell :) He has finally recovered from his hospital stay and is sleeping through the night! It's been a long time coming with lots of snuggles and late nights on the couch but now he happily lays down for naps and bedtime with no crying! He snarfs down a jar of mashed peas like nobody’s business but gags on mashed bananas about three bites in. He is SO happy all of the time. We LOVE him so so much!

Here's some other favorite photos from this month:

Big boy sitting in the shopping cart!

Watching sissy iceskate

This is what 4:00 AM looks like at the Nielsen's

Boy and his dog

Start 'em young!

Working in the yard and I hear Kimber yell "Mom quick! I need a hammer!"

Easter Morning!

Kimber informed us that the Easter Bunny's name is actually "Bunny Bunny Pete"

Aunt MiKayla comes to visit!

Visiting Jared at his work at the Provo airport!

Kimber got to fly the simulator

16 hours a part - Totally adorable  Brady and Sage

Kimber and Emery

Kimber loves the horses at Emery's house

What in the Hippo?!

February was a little crazy in the Nielsen home... Ok a LOT crazy.  Maybe that's why it's taken so long for me to sit down and blog it.  I'm afraid to relive it!  However, I do have to admit that among the crazy there were some adorable Kimber quotes and memorable moments.  So here we go!

Kimber wanted to take her rose to nap with her but I was able to convince her to leave him to get a drink by his friends. She kept telling me "mom this smells loveliest ever ever ever! You smell it?!"

Our Valentine's Day celebration consisted of dinner from the taco truck, Netflix, and then Shawn surprised me with a deep freezer.  I guess that makes us adults?! Honestly though, it was the perfect Valentine's Day celebration for me.  I'm so grateful for an awesome husband who "get's me" and our deep freeze is going to save us SO much money with Kimber's dietary needs.

Kimber has discovered Ward Choir... so I guess we are part of the choir now!  Grammy is the choir director and we are so grateful for her patience.  The other day we were trying to site read a piece of music to prepare for Easter Sunday.  When we finished stumbling threw it Kimber exclaimed "Whew!  That was TERRIBLE guys!"  She's definitely always good for some comic relief.  She's had some great moments this month that have just kept us laughing.  Here's some of our favorites:

The other day Kimber brought me her little magna-doodle and asked, "Mom you draw Brady?" 
I drew a stick figure. 
She was SO impressed!  "Oh mom! That's Brady! It's perfect! You draw me?" 
I drew a stick figure with hair. 
"Oh mom! That looks just like me! It's Kimber! You draw Duke?" 
Fueled by her enthusiasm I drew a dog complete with floppy ears, a wagging tail, collar and dog bowl. I passed it back to her expecting her mind to be blown. Instead she just stared at it completely silent... "Ummmm that doesn't look like Duke.... That's ok. Thanks for trying." And she walked off...

I left Shawn with the kids for a little bit so I could run a quick errand.  I walked in the back door to find Kimber calmly sitting on her timeout chair. She very matter-of-factly said "Oh hi mom, I had a little freak out."

She carried a box of toys from her room to the living room all by herself.  I complimented her and said, "Wow Kimber! You are so strong!"
To which she nonchalantly replied, "Ya.... I work out...."
This girl! I don't know where she gets these things!!

Her new expression when something shocks her is "What in the HIPPO?!" and she called olives "Olafs" (that one took some time to figure out!)  She also uses the phrase "Hot Dog!" when shes excited.  As in: "We're going to get a haircut today?  Hot dog!"

Some days I am reminded of how different her life is from the average 2 year old.  One morning she woke up and asked me, "Mom can I just stay at Kimber's house today?"

I looked at the calendar and realized that we actually didn't have any appointments scheduled.  I enthusiastically answered "Yup!"
She let out a little gasp. "I don't have to go to work?!" (What she calls therapy)
"Nope!"  I told her
She punched her fist in the air and yelled "Saweet!"

She continues to work so so hard to accomplish things that come so easily to other kids and I couldn't be more proud of her.  

Sometimes fine motor skills get super frustrating and you just need a supportive friend.  Duke is such a great dog.

Her social skills have come such a long ways this month.  Last week she even played with a little girl she didn't know very well and only came to me once for about two minutes for a little "break". I know she is going to LOVE preschool but I'm not so sure I'M ready! The other night when I put her to bed she said "Mom, I don't want a song tonight. I am just TOO sleepy... Is that ok?" 😢 Stop growing up!

We had one other piece of big news in Kimber's world this month.  The beginning of the month she started complaining that her tube was hurting her. After talking to our medical team (and finding a dang syringe! Seriously! Who would have thought it would be so hard to find a syringe in this house?!) we pulled it! I am realizing how much of a "security blanket" having that tube in place has been for me but Kimber kept saying "Thank you for taking my tube mom! I feel so much better!" Now prayers she keeps drinking well and that we don't have to have it surgically closed! Yay Bean!

Brady kept us on our toes this month...

After several days of not feeling well with what I thought was teeth, I finally took him in.  Turns out he had an intussusception, where the bowel folds in on itself and causes blood supply to be cut off which can kill the bowel.  When our pediatrician discovered it he instantly sent us down to Primary Children's Hospital.  He said that usually they can do a small procedure to fix it here in Logan but enough of Brady's situation was "weird" enough that it made him uncomfortable to try.  He wanted him to be there in case they decided they needed to do surgery.  This ended up being the right call which probably saved Brady's life.

When we got to Primary Children's Hospital they did an ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis.  The ultrasound tech was a little surprised that we didn't bat an eye when she told us that not only did he have an intussusception but he had a RARE FORM.  Apparently that's how we Nielsen's do things.

After the surgeon took a look at the ultrasound he was uncomfortable with how things looked and decided it would be safest to do surgery instead of an air enema.  Again, another inspired call by our medical team that probably saved Brady's life.

The first words out of the surgeons mouth was "so we opened him up and instantly found something only 2% of the population has..." We about fell out of our chairs! We really need to go buy a lottery ticket...

Basically they found a "finger" or little growth off the side of his small intestine. That wasn't causing the problem but was going to cause a problem in the future almost guaranteed. So they removed that. They also took out his appendix "since they were right there anyways" and then they got to the intussusception. He said it wasn't just a small amount of bowel that was "telescoped" but a very LARGE amount. After pulling it apart he discovered about 5 inches of small intestine to be "dead DEAD". This had to be removed and the bowel sewn back together. 

We were hoping for about a 5 day recovery but we ended up being there for 10 because he couldn't keep food down.  It was hard having my kids separated for that long (siblings under 13 aren't allowed to visit during flu season) 

 Kimber was such a good sport and tried so hard to be understanding.  I apologized to her for not being able to go home with her and she told me "It's ok mom.  Brady needs to for help him feel better."  She's such a good sister.  

Towards the end of the stay I could tell she was REALLY struggling though so Shelby and I coordinated a sneaky kid swap where we TOTALLY broke the rules to give them a few minutes together out in the hallway.  It was only about three minutes but all three of us needed it!

In other news Brady is now 6 months old.  He is smiley as ever and a MAJOR flirt.  Before his surgery he was SO close to scooting but it set him back a bit.  He is becoming very vocal and despite my best efforts loves saying "da-da".  He's not a huge fan of baby food but if it comes off our plates he's game for just about anything!  We love him so much and we are SO grateful to have him well again!

Here's a few more pictures of Brady's hospital stay and some of our favorites from the rest of the month!

Playing with his toes two days after surgery

Finally get a smile about three days after surgery

Taking a break from the IV's in the "Forever Young" playroom.  So great to see him sitting up!

Kimber came to visit mommy!

Discharge Day!  Finally!

Today we were pirates hunting for treasure, we made valentines and we cooked play dough birthday cakes. We also cleaned up lots of spit up, survived many "freak outs" and endured a potty training disaster. I'm just feeling very grateful tonight to have these two little people in my life. I can't wait to see what adventures await us tomorrow!

Balloon reward for surviving the dreaded "clicking shopping cart"

You know what they say, give a girl the right shoes...

Just another day of PT for supportive sibling Brady!

Busted! Kimber did her best to defend her partner in crime and explain why he absolutely HAD to sit on the couch next to her... ("He couldn't see the TV")

Not a fan of baby food...

Kimber loves going to the farm with dad and grandpa on Saturdays to feed the cows. Which means I get to spend some one on one with this handsome man!

Today was crappy. I'll just say it. Shawn left for work EARLY and won't be back until late. Kimber got into a bag of jelly beans this morning and if you think diet doesn't effect your kids think again. She was incredibly food focused all day topping it off by eating the wax out of the sentsy warmer. I was ready just to throw in the towel, put her to bed and try again tomorrow. But as I went to put her in bed she said through watery eyes "I'm so sorry mom. How bout I try to spit it out for make you happy." I am refusing to end the day on that note so we are snuggling and watching "Olaf" because PWS will not win!

Holding Kimber during nap time was like cuddling up with a little teddy bear. Cuddling with Brady is like trying to hold and angry pelican under water...

Girls' afternoon out on the town!

Our little ski bum!  Kimber loves wearing dad's "ho-met"

My little "pwano" player

Brady FINALLY starts sleeping through the night!

Super hero sighting in the living room!