Currently:
Nina’s on day 9 of her stay at the hospital. I admit things are getting a bit trickier around here. I heard Ian’s cries from the monitor last night, and ran upstairs to find him out of his bed, and sitting in a chair, rolled up in a ball. He’s getting more and more insistent that he does not want to go to daycare, the fits starting when I tell him today is a “school” day instead of during his arrival. This morning he even refused to eat his cereal bars at first — that sounds a little something like this. “No. I don’t WANNA eat cereal bars. NOM. NOM NOM NOM. NOM NOM NOM NOM.” Please include Ian in your prayers, Nina’s not the only one that needs strength to make it through this.

It is almost funny how many people have an RSV story when you explain what’s going on in your life… I went to Qdoba yesterday evening with Ian, and ended up talking to the guy behind the counter about the virus. Out of sympathy for the overall situation, he gave Ian a cookie. The man behind the counter’s son was in the hospital for 11 days. I keep hearing numbers sort of around there, but these children usually aren’t as young as Nina, or they don’t have a heart issue like Nina’s. I talked to a nurse in the elevator at the hospital and she confirmed that a great many of the kids in the children’s hospital are there for that exact reason. It’s a serious virus.

On the way to the hospital I got to experience a rare defining moment in Ian’s toddlerhood. I pointed at something outside of the car and asked Ian what the letters said. He didn’t know but could identify the letters. I started pointing out a few more things and I could see and hear him lighting up like a lightbulb. Letters and Numbers. Are. Everywhere. I said “See? On that roadsign and on each car?” and he started pointing them out… I wasn’t sure if he was just humoring me or what until I heard him say “There’s a bug and it has a W and a G!!!” He was referring to the passing sign for a place that sells buffalo “WINGS” and has a corporate logo with a winged buffalo on it. I’m not saying he learned to read before my eyes, but I think he was seeing that perhaps the reason he’s learning these shapes and sounds is because all of the various places where they are displayed are trying to communicate with him — almost like the first time he figured out that a voice on the other end of the phone is a real person.

I got to hold Nina for a bit yesterday and she was quiet and content… looked around and coughed from time to time, but otherwise seemed alright. If she could talk, it looks to me like she’d mostly be saying “Ouch” after her coughs, and that’s about it, choosing silence over straining her voice.

More on Nina’s story to come shortly, I’ll be copying/pasting Melissa’s entries from Nina’s Care Page right into this blog, with a few pictures that we’ve taken along the way.

Here’s more from January…

January 24th — Grampa Dave and Grandma Marcia show up to help us celebrate Ian’s birthday. Check out that cool gift wrapping! Almost good enough to eat! See this image larger.

Wow does she look tiny in this shot! See this image larger.

*Guess which hand has a penny in it, Grandma Marcia, go on, guess!* See this image larger.

She’s thinking about a nap. See this image larger.

First attempt at telepathically summoning Mommy’s breast milk. See this image larger.

Such cute little hands… (The penny was in this hand, Grandma.) See this image larger.

January 26th — Mommy took this shot and I love it. Watching Ian’s imagination unfold is a real treat! See this image larger.

January 28th — Nina tries to explain that every little thing is gunna be alright. See this image larger.

January 29th — Seth finds a good place to get some warmth, as does Nina, and Mommy. If you look hard enough, you’ll probably discover that Nina is feeding, so if you’re offended by that, don’t look so hard. See this image larger.

And that was January!

Don’t worry Connor, that’s pretty much her way of saying “hello!” See this image larger.

I sort of see an older married couple when I look at these pictures. Kaylee – *Oh, this is my favorite catalog.* Ian – *Oh God not this again.* See this image larger.

Kaylee – *Oh, lookit, Scooby Doo videos are on sale again!* Ian – *Videos, why is it always videos.* See this image larger.

Kaylee – *These drapes would look fabulous in the den.* Ian – *I need a drink.* See this image larger.

They had a lot of fun together, it is neat to have them so close in age. See this image larger.

Later that day (yep, this is still the 17th, Melissa Schoenborn and Levi showed up for awhile, and gave Ian a neat bug toy! Thank you! See this image larger.

Uncle D wanted a picture of a silly face, and Connor delivered! See this image larger.

And that’s pretty much it! See this image larger.

Just trying to get smiles, which is your favorite shot? See this image larger.

I think this one is mine! See this image larger.

This one worked well too! See this image larger.

This one, well, we can’t have all the pictures of them straight on, I guess, right? See this image larger.

Nina wishes her aunt a safe trip the next day… See this image larger.

Ian soberly realizes that his cousins will have to go home. We had a great time, thanks for visiting and sharing birthdays with us! See this image larger.

Latest update on Nina is available at her Care Page at the link below. Eventually I’ll be incorporating those entries here into the blog.

Back to the Kunze visit, for now…

We spent some time outside on the 16th… Our neighbor happened to scoop a pile of snow off of his driveway, and across his lawn for more places to park his vehicles, and it made an excellent ramp once the vehicles were gone. Connor was a regular daredevil when it came to this particular run. From where I was standing, he’d flip up and over the hill, and disappear with a quiet thud, followed by “AWESOME!” or “DO IT AGAIN!” See this image larger.

His attempts to break the sound barrier were met with failure, but not by much! See this image larger.

The conqueror of Mt. Chapman! See this image larger.

We got a little stir-crazy on the 17th and decided it was time to go outside again! See this image larger.

Ian quickly discovered that the orange ball was the better choice for this particular course. See this image larger.

Kaylee gets in on the action! See this image larger.

And so does Ian! Halfway down the hill for the little ones, of course, it would be crazy to let them go down the full hill, am I right? See this image larger.

Intermission! See this image larger.

If you looked at this without thinking “Awww!” you have failed. See this image larger.

Some snowy football action! See this image larger.

Ok… so… Ian asked me to help him climb to the top of the hill. Aaaand then we talked about how to get down. Now I know you’re probably about ready to send these pictures to child protective services, but believe me when I tell you, we had this all figured out. Unlike the orange sled, which has a small, long contact area… the lid from the turtle sandbox and has a wide, textured undercarriage, resulting in a slower, smoother ride. And unlike the orange sled, where my weight would have just made it go faster, I could tell this just sank down deeper. Regardless, he faced it bravely, and he went ALL…. See this image larger.

…THE… See this image larger.

….WAY!! And this is probably a good thing, too, as I’m not sure how many more times we’ll be able to sled on this hill as we’ll probably end up moving. If you’re wondering… we came nowhere close to falling out of the sled, and made a perfectly safe run. See this image larger.