Florida, we made it.

My Sophie always has had a knack for getting sick right when a holiday was coming, or a vacation or special day.  I don't know how she does it but it is quite amazing.  It was no different a few weeks ago when she came down with a cold and then, bam, the day before we were leaving for Florida she develops full on pneumonia.

Recuperating with Nana

I think I was in denial at first but I really did know that I had to take her in to be seen.  Her sats were really bad and her heartrate was even worse, all declining overnight.  So I took her to our local Urgent Care centre first thing in the morning.  Of course it didn't take long for them to diagnose pneumonia with the assistance of x-rays and I thought we would be on our way with some antibiotics.  The Dr. had other plans and let me know that she couldn't go home and they were ambulancing her to Children's Hospital.

Now, she wasn't looking great, but she certainly wasn't the worst I have seen her so I was taken off guard when all this started to unfold.  But it reminded me that Sophie is a complex little girl and many doctors just aren't comfortable or experienced enough with kids like her to have her in their care.

So off she went with the paramedics and I met them at Children's and we got everything sorted.  We knew the doctor that was on that day from previous visits and he got her sorted with antibiotics and other orders.  They would have kept her longer because of her heartrate (in the 150's) but they understood that we were leaving to catch a plane that night and we had a Dr. and night nursing set up for once we arrived.

Sophie did really well on the trip down south and was a real trooper.  She was sick for the majority of our 10 day trip but she was certainly able to enjoy her time in the warm weather regardless.  We had to add in a few breathing meds to help her out and she had a couple seizures but all in all she did amazing.

We had planned a trip to Universal in the middle of our Florida stay, which unfortunately wasn't great because she was so sick.  But we got through it, we had a wonderfully caring night nurse there and Sophie got to sleep in her first hotel!  All the staff at Universal were very friendly and very accommodating for us.

Lucas loved Universal, there was so much to do and see.  Of course this also meant it was very overstimulating and overwhelming for Sophie, but we did our best to make it enjoyable for her as well.  This really wasn't the best side trip for Sophie because it was just too much.  One day would have been just right for her instead of three.

Sophie loved the Dr.Seuss land and really enjoyed the show they put on.  All the characters had their photos taken with her after and were really sweet on her.  She got to ride the Suess carousel which I think she liked but it was hard to tell.  It was a lot of movement and sound for her and she was taking it all in, it may have been too overwhelming but we were just so happy we found a ride she could go on!  Sophie did not like Barney.  Enough said.

Our last day in Orlando was cold and a bit rainy so we didn't mind that that was the day we were heading out.  We had seen almost everything and had enjoyed two nice dinners by the hotel pool watching Little Rascals on the big screen one night which Lucas loved.  The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was amazing along with so many other parts of the two parks.  I am glad that we were able to go and experience it all as a family!

We were happy to get back to Nana and Opa's house and relax with them.  Sophie was finally feeling well the last three days of our trip and was able to enjoy it more.  She did have another seizure the last night we were in Florida but I am sure that was just out of exhaustion by that point.

I can hardly wait until next year when we are back to paradise again.  Even though this trip had it's challenges we still had an amazing time and it sure beats being sick in -30C weather!

January chills and thrills

This is the coldest January I can remember for most of my life.  When I lived in Montreal for a couple of years we regularly had days with -40C to -50C wind chill in the dead of winter but it isn't the norm here.  We had a record -26.5C at the beginning of the month and it is heading that way again it would seem.

Sophie has been having a great winter so far even though it has been so crazy cold and lots and lots of people have been sick in her school and in our community in general.  Influenza is quite rampant as well as gastro bugs and colds.  Then this weekend Sophie got sick with a cold.  She stayed home from school today and seems to be feeling better than yesterday.  She also had a seizure last week which may have been the start of this bug or it just could have been due to exhaustion.  She had been doing really well in the seizure department for a few months so I hope it was a one off.

We have been keeping busy inside with all the new toys from Christmas.  A week or so ago we had a glow dance party one night, Sophie and Lucas thought it was awesome.  We had on the music and pretty much every glow/light up object we own turned on and Sophie was up dancing in her HOPSA.

The photos are horrible because the kids were moving to the music and it would have totally ruined the effect to have the flash on.  So the photos are more to get the feeling of the night then to see it in any photographic glory.  :)

On the subject of photos, I am happy to report that I have some of my photos in one of the University galleries right now.  They are in a show as part of the photography club that I am a member of.  It is the debut show of our club and I have to say it is exciting even if not many people will see it.  I have been getting great feedback for the four photos I have up though and I am very proud of how they look!

Snow much fun

Last weekend we had a couple big storms like the rest of North America and we got a lot of snow.  That made the perfect opportunity to try out Sophie's new toboggan that my mom and dad got for her for Christmas.  Sophie is very tall now and has grown out of the one we have used with Lucas and her for years.

These first two photos are of Sophie on her first little bunny hill on the front lawn of our old house when she was 2 1/2 years old.  She loved it.  Laughing and cooing and smiling from ear to ear.  We went up and down and ran in big circles and had a grand time.

Sophie is an adventurer at heart and loves all the action she can find.  The faster and the higher the better for this little girl.  Now that Sophie is almost 8 nothing has changed.  Lucas is the same and loves all the big roller coasters and so do I!

Sophie's new toboggan is really nice and long and will last her many years.  I can sit in it with her easily and the little sides keep us in quite nicely.

Who is that sweet angel?

Head first!!

Lucas was a great big brother that day and helped pull Sophie up and down the street.

Sophie and I made a few runs down our front lawn into the road and she loved it.  Of course there are no photos because if it isn't me taking them it generally doesn't happen ;)

Lucas made some pretty good runs right to the other side of the street.  There are definitely advantages to living on little side streets!

This photo isn't great but it shows the little polar booties Sophie has on.  I got them here on clearance and they are awesome.  They are very adjustable with the velcro straps and kept her feet nice and warm.  We have been using them all week to go to school (well, the 3 days that we didn't have no school/snow days) and she has kept them on really well.  They didn't even come off once while tobogganing and she often had her foot outside the toboggan dragging alongside!  Finding boots that stay on her feet is an impossibility most of the time and it has been way too cold for the knit ones that her great-grandma made for her that we love and usually use.  There are lots of options at this store as her feet grow as well.  Because Sophie has a hard time regulating her body temperature and gets cold very easily and very quickly it is a relief to find great products that will keep her safe in the cold!