week ending dec 28, 2008:

Week ending Dec 28, 2008: On Monday I took Chloe into the doctor because she obviously had pink eye. While there the doctor noticed her coughing and asked a bunch of questions. I reported that she coughs infrequently except when she exercises or when she transitions from inside to outside. The doctor said those are classic asthma symptoms, and I know that so I say “but her symptoms don’t bother her, she just coughs for 5 minutes and then she’s done.”. The doctor explained that even kids with only mild symptoms can have big asthma attacks, so it is important to keep the airways open. He prescribed medicine for the nebulizer and said that if the medicine helps her then it will confirm the diagnosis of asthma. Well for the rest of the week Chloe had coughing attacks (I mean she could barely talk between the coughs) every time she ran around or elevated her heart rate with any activity. One time she was watching me do a workout video and she loves the part with the jumping jacks. Doing jumping jacks set off the coughing so I gave the medicine in her nebulizer and turned the video back on while she inhaled it (it takes 5+ minutes to inhale all the medicine). While she was breathing through the nebulizer she stopped coughing and started doing jumping jacks again with the nebulizer pipe still in her mouth, this time with no coughing. I guess that proves that the medicine helps and she does in fact have asthma.

Alex has been enjoying playing with all his new Christmas toys, and it has been driving Chloe (and by default me) crazy. She relies on having him to play with and has very little tolerance for playing alone, but when he plays video games on the Wii, plays with his new Transformers, or folds paper airplanes from his new paper airplane book, she’s left to amuse herself. I’ve even offered to play with her, but she greatly prefers Alex and when asking him nicely to include her doesn’t work, she tries more devious tactics.

The kids were really cute at church this week. Each week the pastor asks all the children in the congregation to come to front of the church and he does a very short children’s lesson while and allows some time for them to talk briefly about what’s going on in their lives. One week a boy’s father had come home from a business trip in Norway and brought him a hat with horns. The boy wore the hat to church to share with everyone. The kids knew right away that they each wanted to bring a Christmas toy to show off. Alex brought his electric guitar and Chloe her bunny from Build-a-Bear Workshop. Chloe dressed in an outfit that matched the bunny and knew Pastor Dave would notice. Pastor Dave asked Alex to play his guitar in front of everyone and Alex obliged and everyone applauded. In this way the kids really feel like going to church is “for them” and that the church congregation is their extended family. Chloe also wore her new sparkly-light-up princess shoes and several people complimented her. She’s got a reputation in church for her amazing shoes.

Well, another year is coming to an end. I feel like I should wax philosophical on the events of the past and contemplate the future, but I really don’t want to. Here’s what I wrote in my Christmas note this year: ‘Notable “firsts” for this year include first snorkeling, first cruise, first time skiing, first time seeing the circus, first soccer clinic, first time canoeing, inviting friends to their birthday party for the first time, first pets of their own, and Chloe’s first ballet class.’ A big year for us!