Stehwien Family Fun: March 2011

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Happy Birthday Tanner!

Where, oh where, does the time go? Tanner is 5 today! He is very excited about being 5...even with me trying to convince him to "stay 4" for the past month! He has grown so much this past year...not only is he taller, but he talks so much better and really has become inquisitive about things. He is a very easy child, only once in awhile does he throw a true fit and then you better watch out! He gets his feelings hurt quite easily and often he is mad at me for things like "You told me to go to bed, you are so mean!" and "You didn't let me stay up to look at books so I slept in the hallway!" You can tell a theme, bedtime is his tantrum time, but they are still mild, sweet and funny! The other night after telling Curt and I that he wasn't going to bed, we found him with his blankets sleeping at the top of the stairs. He was so precious all covered up in the hallway, but we put him back in his bed. He will be doing preschool 4 days a week come August and he is very excited to go to "Trista's school." She is also excited that she can show him around. Happy Birthday Sweet Tanner! You have made incredible strides from a few years ago and we have always loved you so much! Love, Mom and Dad

What a cute little guy! Much darker than your sister!

Most of the baby pictures include oxygen, but he is still adorable!

Chubby little boy loving Thanksgiving dinner 2006.

Fun at the "beach" (aka Sand Dunes)

Flight for life to Colorado Springs...no fun, but well taken care of!

After a week in the pediatric ICU, you started to get bored and want to play!

Time for camping!

Too many steroids = broken legs (this picture is from the 2nd broken leg)

Hospital again...after ear tube surgery
One tough kid!

Thomas the Train in Durango

Mmmm, Gatorade (and fishing).

San Diego Zoo

What a handsome little boy!

Showing momma some love...he gives the BEST hugs!!

Riding Gunnar in Windsor

A few good men...follow in the footsteps of men like this Tanner and you will be great!

Summer 2010, getting so big and tall!

Healed Up!

Well, Curt and Trista are past the 2 week period after having their tonsils out...we are all relieved! They are feeling much better. They still have the scabs in the back of their throats and report that feels "funny" but they are eating and drinking normally. It was rough for about a week! Trista decided she wouldn't open her mouth and got pretty dehydrated. She wouldn't take pain medication or fluids! Needless to say, she wasn't a happy person and she was challenging! Even after an ER visit, she refused for 2 solid days! The Friday after her surgery I went in to work. I had my mother-in-law come down to keep an eye on Curt and Trista. I had no idea how big of a challenge I was leaving her with (well, I sorta did, I had dealt with the same stuff the day before but I was really hoping that my 2 patients would behave). Trista still refused to open her mouth, so Mary would wrap herself around Trista while Curt forced the syringe into her mouth, and Trista would spit the medicine back at them! What fun that sounded like! Then, Curt went against wife and mother's advice to fight a brush fire for 6 hours, 2 days post-op. We were pretty worried, knowing that smoke and high winds are probably the worst thing for a healing throat. He was pretty tired from that day but he continued to heal well. I already knew that Mary was an awesome mother-in-law but she gained true warrior status that day for putting up with some MAJOR Stehwien Stubbornness! Trista has since started drinking and eating food. She took her time with food and has lost 8 pounds (11% of her body weight!) so she is pretty skinny right now. She has her appetite back and is making up for the lack of food! We are all glad those weeks are behind us and that we didn't wait any longer!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Tonsil Time!

Trista and Curt have had strep a lot this year! I think Trista is up to 6 times since August but I have honestly lost count! Curt got erythema nodosum last spring/summer which was very nasty and can be caused by strep. Every time he has got strep since, the joint pain is coming back. Trista is missing lots of school and tired of being sick too, so her and Curt are getting their tonsils out on Wed. the 15th! Trista ended up with strep again this week! Luckily it was Monday so she had enough time to clear up for surgery. Both Trista and Curt are anxious for it to be over with but are not looking forward to the first few days. I think Trista will be back to normal long before Curt, but we'll see.

Here they are! Resting before their big day! We are stocked up on fluids, ice cream, popsicles, pudding, jello, etc. so we should be set! Wish us all luck! We are excited to be a tonsil-less household!

After they get their tonsils out, there will not be any tonsils left in this household. I had mine out without even knowing it (my parents didn't know it either). I had sinus surgery when I was 12 and apparantly the ENT thought I'd be better off without tonsils. I never had strep prior to or since then, but oh well! I just found out they were gone a few years ago and my mom was just as shocked as I was! Tanner is winning with the most surgeries in this house (not a good thing to win at). He has already had 6 surgeries (among all the other hospitalizations, flight for lifes, procedures) but he is doing amazing because of them. He had his tonsils and adenoids out 3 years ago due to his breathing problems. His operation was not elective and he has never had strep either, but he sure does breathe good!

We'll keep you updated on their recovery!

Thirty Wonderful!

I celebrated my birthday on the 6th and had a great weekend! On Saturday, we went to Colorado Springs and hung out at Mr. Bigg's (family fun center) and then met up with family for dinner. My cousin Kendal's birthday is on the 5th so it worked out perfectly to have dinner with her family at Outback. Unfortunately, I didn't take a single picture while we were with them! Sunday, Trista and I went out for some girl fun. We met up with a couple of my friends and got pedicures and had lunch. Again, no camera but it was lots of fun! We went to the Bistro Realto for dinner Sunday night with my Mom to finish off the weekend. The celebrating continued throughout the work week catching up with friends and co-workers for lunch. It was a great way to celebrate and hopefully it will be a great year! Here are some pictures (the few I took) from the weekend.