Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed celebrating the New Year. It was great to be with family for Christmas in OR, but our trip was unfortunately clouded by sickness. The positive side of things is that Kinsey did well with the travel days - she was fine on Monday on our way there and even though she had a cold on the way home, she actually did well with that flight too. The downside is that she was sick pretty much the entire time we were in OR and has been sick since returning home too.

Kinsey started to not feel well the first evening we were there and woke up pukey the next morning. By that afternoon she had perked up again, but it was short lived. She was very congested that night, didn't sleep well and woke up with a cold on Christmas morning. She also scratched her nose really badly during the night and had a pretty bad red spot that turned into a sore and scab. She perked up enough to open presents for a while, but was definitely not feeling well. After a late nap, she woke up extremely fussy (the "something's wrong" fussy) and we made a trip to the ER that night, ruining Christmas dinner (everyone else ate while we were at the hospital).  We were concerned about Kinsey's oxygen levels of course, but it didn't occur to us (or at least me) that we were at a much lower altitude in OR than she's used to here at home so her oxygen was actually at 100%. We're not sure what the problem was, but after we were able to suction all the stuff out of her throat, she was fine and we got to go home (the first time we've ever gone to the ER without getting admitted). Fortunately we had the nebulizer machine and her medicine with us (we learned that from the last trip when we had to borrow one from a friend in FL and get a prescription transferred), but we didn't have the suction machine (thus, the trip to the ER). So we got a prescription for that and Jamie spent the next morning trying to track one down from a local medical supply company. We had to pay for it out of pocket because the insurance declined it since we already have one - at home! Anyway, the next day Kinsey perked up enough to enjoy a small outing with the family - we all went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium where Kinsey enjoyed seeing the creatures.


 
Checking out the Oregon coast with mommy and daddy

   
And with Gramma - I LOVE her smile in this picture! 

   
Checking out the seal that was sleeping up against the glass

   
Touching the starfish

 
She really liked the jellyfish!

 

After returning home, Kinsey's cold got worse and she was feeling pretty bad for a couple of days. We were doing Christmas again on Saturday since we didn't take all our presents to OR, but Kinsey wasn't feeling up to it at first. She perked up enough in the afternoon to open presents so we did it, but it wasn't nearly as fun as it should have been. For the last week or so she's been getting the nebulizer every 4 hours, had 2 baths a day (using the moist air to help clear the congestion), and she's been coughing like crazy. She's been feeling better and acting more like herself the last couple of days, but she's still got a terrible cough that makes her pretty unhappy. I just wish sickness would leave our family alone!

On that note, Jamie and I have decided to make some changes to try to keep her healthy. It seems we're always trying something (like the chiropractor, which we're still doing, but I'm not quite sure why I keep taking her there). Anyway, our latest strategies are to:
1. Avoid crowds in general during the cold/flu season (Oct. - May)
2. Avoid parties and crowds year-round when we're within 2 weeks of an event (like a trip, a birthday, a holiday, etc.)
3. No longer travel during the cold/flu season (Oct - May), particularly by plane
4. Make better use of hand sanitizer, especially applying it to Kinsey's hands after she touches things in public (since she puts her hands in her mouth so much)
5. Be more careful about things she touches, particularly in doctors offices.

 If anyone has other suggestions for us, please share them! We know we can't keep her in a bubble, but there are definitely things we can do to limit her exposure to illnesses, especially during the time of year when they are more rampant.

Anyway, here are some fun pictures and videos from the past 2 weeks:

Trying to stand up while in the bathtub: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFMDUl-gqO4
Playing with Big Hugs Elmo (one of her favorite Christmas gifts): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km7cMxYsogA

 
Kinsey stuffing things into Gramma & Papa Wayne's VCR (she's never seen a VCR before and this one was at just the right level for her to mess with!)
 
 
Opening presents at Gramma's while sitting in her new Minnie chair
 
 
"Reading" Papa Wayne's magazines
 
 
Kinsey and cousin Sara both wearing their footie pjs

   
Gramma and all her girls

   
Kinsey knocked over her travel bed and was sleeping halfway out of it (you can see it's tipped up on its side). Guess we won't be using this travel bed anymore. 

   
Scooting around on her new ladybug from Aunt Linda & Uncle Jack. http://youtu.be/16IPt7OXtnA
She really loves this and has already figured out how to use it to get over to something, stand up and get off of it (holding onto something else of course - like the stove, entertainment center or baby gate). 

 
Playing with her new, huge dollhouse!