Shriners Does it Again

We went back to Shriners last week for the skeletal dysplasia clinic. After having 20 (I'm not kidding) doctors looking over Daphne's x-rays from the last time we went and having basically 20 different opinions on Daphne's unique skeleton, they took a bunch more x-rays and we're going to be scheduling another MRI soon.


















Daphne isn't the only one who likes the waiting room entertainment at Shriners.

The MRI will be at Doernbecher's where there is an anesthesiologist to give her the happy sleeping drugs. She's too little to be able to hold still long enough to get good pictures taken so she has to be sleeping for the procedure. Then maybe another surgery for her feet soon? We'll see what the new x-rays and MRI say.


















Posing with her bro. They were accidentally matching with their blue/pink animal print, but I think it turned out pretty cute. I need to make them match more often.

I tell ya, I didn't like going through her surgeries/MRI back before her first birthday because it was so sad to see her uncomfortable but not understanding what was going on. Now she'll be old enough to be aware and I am just not looking forward to it. Plus now that we have Christian, David and I won't be able to just camp out that the hospital the whole time and one of us (me) will have to leave Daph and sleep at home with him.












One of the best parts about the doctor...they give good treats. She got 'praying bear' as she calls him, and a little Hello Kitty Mega Blocks set. We got her some Hello Kitty Mega Blocks as her Christmas gift, so she loves the addition to the ones she already has.

But I'm trying not to borrow trouble. Daph will probably love her hospital time, as she usually soaks up any experience where she is the center of attention. And who knows, maybe she'll get some more treats.












Cheese snacks while waiting in our room.

Cinderdaphne

I hope Daph will always be so eager to help with the housework.












Do you think she will?

Baby Christian is having a rough time so I could really use her extra hands. Poor baby wants to be held constantly and is very fussy. I wish I could help him because I miss my happy and content boy.

At least my arms are getting very good workouts. Well, as good as workouts as you can get with a 1 percentile-for-weight baby.

Christian Cuteness

Fun news from our house: while Christian still gets overwhelmed when Daphne intrudes too much into his personal bubble, if she stays a safe distance away and dances around crazy-like, he will laugh and laugh.

















I found them a sit and stand stroller (best purchase ever for toting around 2 kids) for half off in a clearance pile at Target, so now Daphne can ride facing Christian and can keep him laughing as we stroll along.

















I have been afraid that the two of them would never be friends but now I have hope.

My 3 Valentines

We've decided to keep Valentine's Day a fun family day and not make a big deal about it being a mushy, romantic kind of day. We'll do fun meals, little Valentine gifts, and whatever family activity sounds fun. This way our kids will always want to stay at home with us on Valentine's and never want to go out on dates.

(Hahaha! I just cracked myself up thinking that our kids will always want to stay home with us and never go on dates. Although we just watched Breaking Dawn Part 1, and Bella's wedding was so sweet and beautiful that I decided Daphne is never going to get married. She's going to stay home with me forever.)

We had a yummy heart pasta Valentine meal, on heart plates with heart cups.

























Even David, my #1 Valentine, had to use a heart plate and cup.












Here's my #2 Valentine, asking where our Christmas tree went. Apparently she just now noticed it was gone.












My #3 Valentine was in bed during this meal. When you have to take naps you miss a lot of the fun. But here is a cute picture of him from a few days ago when David was trying to play with him but he kept turning around to flash me big smiles. (I'm his favorite.)












Have you seen those new Friends LEGOs? They are super cute. David loves playing LEGOs, so he got Daphne a box of them for her Valentine gift. This morning there was fun playtime for all.












With this much Valentine fun at our place, you can see why our kids will never want to leave the house.

Just Some Questions

Christian slept great for 4 whole nights but he's since decided that was nonsense. As an added bonus, if he naps at all during the day it's only for 1/2 an hour at a time. Maybe he doesn't like me as much as I thought he did?

Everyday I spend the entire day cleaning the house and loving on the kids, but by the end of the day the house is a disaster and the kids are crying. Is it possible I am doing something wrong here? Does this same phenomenon happen to anyone else?

Remember this photo from September?


















Here's an updated version, although now Christian can use his eyes to tell you exactly how he feels about the situation:












Daphne is such a good big sister. Someday soon Christian will recognize that when she's sitting on his head it's actually because she loves him so.

Sometimes it Takes a Shriner

For 3 years now we've known that we could take Daphne up to Shriners for a visit. They have a skeletal dysplasia clinic that is apparently very good, plus it doesn't hurt that all their work is free.

When Daph was first born we were so overwhelmed by going to the doctor all the time that fitting in another hospital just didn't seem appealing. At her 3 year well child visit, though, her doctor brought it up again and we felt like now was as good a time as any to make our first visit.












Hello, Shriners, where have you been all our lives?! They are amazing up there. I don't want to complain about our current insurance and health care plan, because in light of everything we've done with Daphne we know we're quite blessed to have the coverage we have, but our insurance group is not very easy to work with. It's not uncommon when we're working with a doctor outside of our coverage for him or her to comment on how difficult our insurance is to work with. Even our doctors talk about it. So I'll just admit, I don't love our insurance. I don't really even like it.

We went up to Shriners on Thursday and couldn't believe how quickly and efficiently they work. The doctor saw her and wanted x-rays, so they sent us to get x-rays. We're needing some new shoes for Daphne, so after x-rays they sent us to get new shoes (no more spending 100s of dollars on her shoes). Then they scheduled our next two visits, both of them happening in the next month. I had to call them yesterday and confirm an appointment and I was on the phone for all of about 5 minutes. In comparison, I spent Monday and Tuesday trying to call our insurance to get Daphne's latest x-rays and never was able to get someone to help me, even though I talked to approximately 13 people. Did I mention that Shriners is efficient? And quick? And amazing?

As we were driving home David said, "they kind of make me want to be a Shriner."

(If you need to step away from the computer because you're nervous about a lightening bolt from Heaven in response to that comment, I understand.)

Our new family motto is 'Sometimes it Takes a Shriner.' (Another lightening bolt? Maybe.) Because when you need to get the job done, you just go to Shriners Hospital.

I'm sad they only work with sick children. I want to go there, too. (Probably another lightening bolt there because of making light of sick children. I am on a roll.)

















Shriners has the best waiting room toys. If you ever have to go there, go early just to hang out in the waiting room for awhile.

We were told we probably won't get to go to the skeletal dysplasia clinic until May, but as we have established that Shriners is amazing, we'll actually be going in two weeks.

We probably should have done all this years ago. I think it would have saved us a lot of time and energy.

Football at the Park

David has decided to take up kicking a football again because maybe someday he can be the kicker for the 49ers.

It's never too late to dream.













We have been loving the mild weather lately; perfect for walking to the park for some football practice and playing.


















Playing football is one of Daphne's most favorite things. Silly David thought he needed to have a boy to be able to play the game with.

Daph can play football with David and Christian can play My Little Ponies with me.


















Speaking of Christian, he was there too.


















Snuggled up with me, his best friend.


















I tried kicking the football once, but I nearly fell over and squished the babe. He and I went back to watching and snapping photos.