Wordless Wednesday

Track Season is in full-swing

Chad's first outdoor meet was last Friday and he has two this week - tomorrow night and Thursday night.  I love the sport of track.  I loved running the hurdles when I was in high school, I loved coaching it (for a few years), and I love watching Chad's team.  Although we miss Daddy while he is at practice and meets, we know he has a team full of girls relying on him.  I am so excited to take Payton to some of his home meets this year.  I think she'll be pretty cute sportin' this little onesie :)

These Darn Teeth!

This is pretty much how you will see Payton these days - with her fingers in her mouth rubbing her bottom gums.  She is working hard on those bottom teeth.  They seem to come up, then go back down, and repeat. 

1 Year Ago Yesterday...

....we found out we were having a baby girl!

Throughout my pregnancy, I wrote letters to Payton.  I got the idea from one of my friends who had written letters to her daughter and then put them in her scrapbook.  Here is the letter I wrote one year ago:

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Dear Baby,

Today we had our 20 week ultrasound (even though I am only 19 weeks along). We found out some very exciting news – you are a little girl!! We called many of our family and friends to tell them our news. We are so excited!! Your measurements are right on track with the due date, so that made me feel relieved to know that you are growing properly, even though my tummy isn’t very big.

Love,

Mommy

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since that wonderful day when we learned we'd be having a girl.  We are so lucky to be her parents and love her oh so much!

We've had a sick little girl :(

Payton did not go to daycare at all this week as she has been quite sick.  She started running a fever on Sunday night.  She still had it Monday morning, so I stayed home with her.  I attributed her fever and crankiness to possible teething.  Tuesday she was still running a fever and seemed to be much more uncomfortable.  Chad stayed home with her and took her to the doctor, where she definitely got the work-up.  They took her blood three times because they couldn't find a vein, did a chest x-ray, and then put a catheter in to see if she had a urinary tract infection.  Her white blood count was high, so they gave her a shot of antibiotics.  Chad said it was just awful watching her endure all this.  He said she cried for a straight hour.  And then he cried too.  The urine sample showed some bacteria, but they still weren't positive it was a UTI.  I didn't even know babies could get those, but apparently they can.  She was STILL running a fever yesterday, so we called my dad to come stay with her so we could go to work.  Her fever finally broke today, but we still didn't take her to daycare in hopes that by keeping her home she could get some extra TLC from Grandpa and lots of rest.  A big thanks to my dad for staying with her the past two days!  We owe you!  This evening she seemed to be feeling a lot better, but still a bit cranky. 

On another note, we got our appointment scheduled in Iowa City.  It's not until March 31. 

We don't have school tomorrow, and I am heading to DM for the Women of Faith Conference.  I am going with some ladies from our church and some of my girlfriends from Newton.  I am very excited for the girls' weekend, but also nervous to be away from Payton.  This will be the first time I've ever spent the night away from her.  I know that she will be in very good hands with Chad, and they will have lots of precious "daddy/daughter" time.  He plans to take her to track practice and wear her in the Baby Bjorn.  This ought to be good :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

7 Months Old

Payton is 7 months old today!

I'm a Big Girl!

Payton is getting so good at holding her own bottle!  The other day I had one in my hands ready to give her, and she took it right out of my hands and put it in her mouth!  I was quite surprised as she has never done that before.  It was pretty funny!

Playing with my BFF, Addie

Friday night we went to dinner with our friends Matt, Carlie, and Addie.  Their little girl, Addison, is just one week younger than Payton.  We hadn't seen them forever, so it was great to catch up.  The girls had fun playing with each other.  It was so cute!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Today was Dr. Seuss' birthday (Read Across America), so we had a little celebration in my classroom.  Here is the cake I made for the kids.

Crazy Mrs. Pietig

We have been doing a Human Body unit in my class for the past few weeks, and Friday was our culminating activity.  We made "Anatomy Aprons" and "Brain Hats" and sang our human body songs for the first graders.  Here is an example of one of my favorite Human Body songs (sung to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
Kidneys clean and filter blood, filter blood, filter blood
If one fails and is a dud, the other does it's job

For your viewing pleasure, I posted a photo of me in my "Anatomy Apron" and "Brain Hat."  Isn't it hot?  :) 

Payton's Newest Duds!

I had some $10 off coupons for Old Navy and Gap that expired at the end of February, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to get to the mall in time to use them, so I went online.  I bought this adorable cable knit dress from Gap and this cute little bikini from Old Navy.  When I showed Chad the bikini, he said, "My daughter will only be wearing one pieces!"  :) 

Update

Payton had her CT scan yesterday morning.  I took the morning off work and about 8:30 one of the nurses called to say that our insurance company was not going to approve the CT.  So...I called our company and was a little short with them.  After much calling back and forth between the insurance company and our doctor's office, it finally got approved.  The actual CT only took like 5 minutes.  Chad stayed in the room with her while I waited outside.  He sang to her the whole time!  I'm sure the nurses appreciated that!  :)  It actually really calmed her down to hear his voice.  Chad went back to work and then I took Payton to daycare and went to school for the afternoon.  They said they would have the results within a couple days.

Payton's pediatrician called this afternoon and her suture is indeed closed. Not sure what all this means. Her pediatrician is referring us to a neurological specialist in Iowa City. She said that they may decide to do nothing, or it may need to be corrected with surgery. There is just one suture that is closed, the metopic suture. She still does have a soft spot on the top of her head, so that is a good thing. I am not sure what age this metopic suture is supposed to close. I think it's around 1 year. ?? I am trying to remain calm and not freak out too much, but it's hard. The waiting is the hardest part. They are supposed to get an appointment set up in Iowa City, but I don't know how long we'll have to wait. Please keep us in your prayers.

Here is a study that my friend Kristy found online.  It sounds reassuring:

RESULTS: The earliest evidence of metopic suture closure was at 3 months, the age at which 33% of patients (4/12) were closed. At 5 months of age, 59% (13/22) of sutures were closed. At 7 months of age, 65% (15/23) were closed. At 9 months of age, 100% (10/10) were closed. All patients greater than 9 months of age within the study had complete metopic suture closure. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that normal or physiologic closure of the metopic suture occurs much earlier than what has been previously described. This study establishes that metopic fusion may normally occur as early as 3 months of age, and that complete fusion occurred by 9 months of age in all patients in our series. Therefore, 3-D CT scans showing complete closure of the metopic suture at an early age (3 to 9 months) cannot be considered as evidence of metopic synostosis, and thus, should not be the decisive factor for early surgical intervention.