Tear Duct Surgery

Alayna has had clogged tear ducts since she was a newborn. It would get sort of get better and worse and I had to massage and wash them constantly to keep them clean. She would regularly wake up with her eyelids "glued" shut from the goop. Finally, when she was about a year old they seemed to clear up, although the right eye would still get slightly clogged whenever she had a cold. Around her second birthday, however, the right eye got really clogged up again and was worse than ever. It was almost impossible to keep it completely clean and it started to get infected regularly. Her pediatrician gave me eye drops which would clear the infection and keep the goop under control, but as soon as I stopped using the drops several times a day, it would goop up again.

This is a picture of her on Thanksgiving and you can see her eye was really goopy and red, getting infected again.

So, after the pediatrician gave us several rounds of eye drops and antibiotics, I asked to be referred to an eye doctor. The eye doctor said that she would need lacrimal tear duct surgery, in which they put a stent in the tear duct in order to help it drain better and remove it after 6 months, when the tear duct should be opened enough to drain itself.

In April, we went in for the surgery. It was difficult, especially because she wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything the day of the surgery, even water, and the surgery wasn't until 2pm. She had to go under general anesthesia, which was very scary for me since I had no idea how she would react. She was very brave though and did well with the surgery. Here is a picture of us just before she went in to surgery. Notice my fake mommy "Everything's ok" smile, ha ha!

When she woke up she was very sad and wanted to just be held for a long time, and was trying to rub her eyes which of course she wasn't allowed to do. After she woke up fully though and got to finally eat something she felt much better, she wasn't in any pain, and she didn't remember a thing about it by that evening. Her eyes have been great and clear and beautiful since then. Now we just have to wait until October to see what happens when the stents come out.

Christmas in Tennessee

We spent last Christmas in Tennessee with my parents. It was bad and good. Bad because we unfortunately all got very sick and pretty much stayed sick for the whole trip. First, we all got a very nasty stomach virus, which started with Alayna projectile vomiting on the airplane trip out to TN. It went around to everyone in the family and took us each down for at least a couple of days. I also got a huge rash of what seemed to be poison sumac all over my face, hands and arms, and couldn't really take much for it because I was pregnant. On top of all that, I ended up getting what I thought was a terrible cold but turned into a bad case of bronchitis! Being so sick really does ruin a Christmas vacation, but at least I was around family who helped out with Alayna while we were sick.

The good part of the trip was getting a break from the Casper snow (see picture), and of course being able to see our family. We have especially been missing family on the holidays and this was the first Christmas Alayna got to spend with her grandparents. We also got to see Mike's brother Jason and meet his girlfriend at the time, Joanna. It was exciting because he actually proposed to her while they were staying with us. Unfortunately they ended up also getting Alayna's stomach thing and were terribly sick - but they didn't get it until after the engagement, thank goodness!

Alayna opening this great instrument present from Eric & Christa



















Jason & Joanna
















Alayna looking all grown up, bundled up outside
















Saying goodbye to Grandma & Grandpa at the airport

Alayna's 2nd Birthday!

We had a nice little party for Alayna's 2nd birthday at our house with a few close friends. Of course, she was all dressed up with a princess tiara!

She asked for an Abby Cadabby (from Sesame Street) cake, so I did my best! First, I made a delicious homemade chocolately german chocolate inside out cake (the german chocolate frosting is on the inside, chocolate frosting on the outside because it's easier to decorate). I printed out a picture of Abby that I found online, cut it out, and then traced around it with a toothpick on the chocolate frosting in order to get Abby's shape onto the cake. Then, I piped frosting to color in Abby's dress, face, hair, etc, as well as add her name and age. I think it turned out pretty cute, and Alayna loved it!

Almost a year later!

Wow, it's almost been a year since I've blogged! I can't hardly believe how fast time flies. I kind of stopped because I just got really busy and it didn't seem like anybody noticed so I figured nobody even reads it so why do it? But so much has happened in this last year and we have a new addition to the family, our second daughter, Cecily Joy. So, I decided even if nobody reads it, I should really try to keep blogging just for myself and our family so we can remember these times when our children are growing up. So, I'll add a few catch up posts and then try my best to keep up with it better!

Following up on the last potty training post, Alayna was starting preschool and I didn't want her to have accidents in school, so we decided to use pull ups and not push her too hard - if she wanted to use the potty great & she got M&Ms or stickers, if not no problem. She was really motivated by the M&Ms and she eventually got the hang of it. By 2 and a half, she was fully potty trained, even through the nights. Hooray!

Alayna went to preschool at Paradise Valley Christian School three days a week from 8:30 to 11:30am. It was pretty hard for the first few weeks - she cried every time I dropped her off and then I would walk out to my car and cry too. But whenever I went to pick her up, she was very happy and having a great time, so I knew it was good. After those first few weeks, she would just walk in and start playing with her friends without even saying goodbye to me and she started asking to go to school on weekends and off days. I wasn't very happy with her teacher at first because she had a bad attitude and really wasn't teaching the kids anything. Thankfully, she ended up quitting and the new teacher was amazing. Alayna learned so much from her and totally loved going to school!

A picture from her first day of school and one from her last day of school.

Adventures in Potty Training

We have started potty training Alayna, and it has been interesting, to say the least. I felt like she was ready because I got her a little potty and she was really interested in it and had learned all the relevant words, like pee, poop, wipe, etc. I read that the best way to start training was to let her go pant-less and have kid potties around the house that she can run to whenever she has to go. So, we did that and she did really great. At first she would sit on the potty, then get distracted 5 seconds later and run away, then a minute later run yelling "pee! pee!" back to the potty, jump off again, and repeat until she finally went on the potty or had an accident. But, within a few days, she caught on and she was going consistently without much incident, and was very proud of herself.


She is scared to go in public restrooms, however, and isn't ready to hold it over night, so I have still been putting her in diapers when we go to town and when she goes to bed. I also, of course, have been making her put on pants or at least underwear (when she's wearing a dress) when she leaves the house or goes outside. This is where the problem lies. She has decided that she loves being pants free and has started having serious, full-out tantrums EVERY time I try to put any diaper, panties, shorts, etc., on her. Whenever I try to put pants or a diaper on, she says she has to go potty, even though she really doesn't, and will sit there for a LONG time, trying to wait it out until I'll forget about the pants. When I don't give in, again, it's a knock-down, drag-out tantrum. So, I end up either having to force it on her as she screams if we have to go somewhere, or we just stay inside and she cries about not being able to go play outside. She also tries to use the potty as an excuse to get out of bed during naps, yelling over and over that she has to pee when she really doesn't. She used to go down for naps without any problem, but now this is causing nap time to be a nightmare too!

Ugh. Crazy toddlers! I know this is just a phase, but please tell me that she'll get over it quickly! Anybody have any wise suggestions?