Isabella's helicopter ride and other updates

Wow, has it really been 3 months since we’ve written anything?  Gwen & I are always saying, “We should put that on the blog.”  But apparently we never do.

Well, our family had settled into a spring routine:  therapy twice a week for Isabella, preschool 3 days a week for Nathan, and Isaac licking everything he could get his tongue on.  Until this past week, it has been a rather cold, wet spring, but we did find time to put together the playground for the boys (except for the canopies, which aren’t necessary for the boys to have fun).

Then Isabella got a cold that caused her to have trouble breathing.  This was not her first cold (one or more of us have been sick for most of the winter & spring) but none had made her struggle to breathe like this one had.  We ended up taking her to the ER on Thursday, May 12^th and they took her by helicopter to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh later that day.  They treated her for bronchialitis, giving her nebulizer treatments, steroids, and keeping her on oxygen.  Her heart function looked normal (thankfully) and when she left the hospital her lungs sounded pretty clear.

She finally came home on Tuesday May 17^th.  She is still on a little bit of oxygen at night, but she is doing much better.  She is happier now than when she first came home, which is always a good sign.  She is also showing signs of teething (finally!), which gives us something else to keep an eye on.

In April we celebrated Isabella’s 1^st birthday with our families.  It was the first time some of them had ever seen her.  It’s hard for us to believe that she’s one now, since she is barely sitting unsupported, does not crawl, and does not have any teeth.  She is definitely bigger now…she weighs 19 lb. 6 oz.

Nathan turned 5 at the beginning of May.  We had a party for him at our house.  He invited his whole preschool class.  Thankfully, not all of them could come.  The friends who did come had to brave the rain to enjoy the scavenger hunt, obstacle course, and balloon volleyball in the garage.  Nathan also graduated preschool.

One Saturday morning not long ago, Isaac ran to Gwen and whined, “Nathan took my pretend power!”  He was so serious, and Gwen & I just laughed.  I told him I would give him some special pretend power that Nathan couldn’t take, but Nathan took that power, too, and Isaac got upset again.  That scene is pretty common these days.  Gwen said that Nathan is like the Nemesis.  Both of them have been getting more and more into pretending.

On that same Saturday, Gwen asked Nathan what we should do first (since Saturday is our “work day”).  Nathan said we should make a list … just like Gwen would do.

Sometimes Isaac calls our church the “wine church.”  We’re assuming it’s because we go past a few wineries on our way to church, and also go past the park where they have Wine Fest.

We got our garden (mostly) planted a couple of weeks ago, just in time for another massive downpour the following Monday night.  We had about 5 inches of water in our basement, which killed our dryer.  Everything else seems to be OK as far as we can tell.  It certainly has been a wet couple of months.  Gwen is excited to be able to work outside and take the boys out to run off some energy.  Nathan with his fair skin has ended up with freckles on his face and a little sunburn.

Nathan has also been playing soccer.  They’ve been practicing for about 3 weeks now, in between the raindrops, with games starting next week.  He's definitely improving with each practice, and he really enjoys playing.  Just last night during one of his water breaks he told Gwen, "This is a really good practice."