*Star Patient*

Before

After

Paige had her tonsilectomy and adnoidectomy on Friday, January 27th. They had a little trouble getting an IV started in her hand, so had to put it in her foot. I think that was the worst part of the whole ordeal!

She came out of anesthesia great and wanted to start drinking water right away. That was a really good sign. By 4:00, she had 4 popsicles and some pudding. She was up and playing and was in a great mood. The nurse kept telling us she was the best T&A (tonsils and adnoids) patient she'd ever had.

Grandma Laurel brought Kyle and Cameron down after school. She was very happy to see her brothers and Grandma. And, of course, Grandma brought lots of stuff for Paige to play with.

She fell asleep about 4:30 and slept through her dose of pain medicine. When she woke up at 6:00 she was very crabby and running a fever. And her throat dried out while she was sleeping. Josh and the nurse got the meds in her with quite the fight from the little redhead. After her meds kicked in she was back to normal.

Josh and I both spent the night at the hospital with Paige. It was a very long night!! Grandma Laurel stayed at our house with the boys. Thanks, Grandma.

Paige was a real trooper and I am very proud of her. I know she's a tough little girl and she really proved it! Daddy did a good job, too. I think it was harder on him than on Paige.

She was discharged about 9:30 on Saturday morning and has been doing great since we got home. Grandpa Roger and Aunt Renae came over to visit this afternoon and Paige was very full of energy and happy to see them.

We go back for a check-up with Dr. Gonzales in two weeks.

The Pre-Op Party

We went to the hospital tonight for a "Pre-Op Party". It's set up by the Volunteer Services at the hospital. They gave us a tour of all the parts of the hospital Paige will be in. She saw the Operating and Recovery Rooms, the Waiting Rooms where Mom and Dad will be, the Pediatric Unit and, of course, the Toy Room.

We watched a video all about being in the hospital. And then had juice and cookies.

Paige really seemed to enjoy going to all the different places in the hospital and I thought it was very informative. It makes me feel a little less nervous. Kyle and Cameron came along to support their baby sister. I was really impressed with the way they were there for her. Even though they don't TELL anyone how much they love her, they really showed it tonight.

The Tonsils Are Coming Out

Today Paige went for another visit with Dr. Gonzales, the Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist. The steroids are not shrinking her tonsils at all. She has been taken off all her medications.

She is scheduled for a tonsilectomy on January 27th. Since she is so young, she will be spending the night in the hospital.

When Dr. Gonzales told Paige she'd be able to eat all the ice cream she wanted after the surgery, she replied to him (with typical Paige attitude), "I already get all the ice cream I want, my dad's an ice cream man, duh". I'm sure that's usually a big deal to all the kids getting their tonsils out. But most kids don't have an "ice cream man" for a daddy!

Jinkies

Paige said the funniest thing today. We were looking at a photo album and we came across this picture. It's my mom's graduation picture. Paige got very excited when she saw the picture. Then I found out why....she said "Look, it's Velma from Scooby Doo!" How cute is she? I'm sure her grandma thinks she's "real cute"!!

Paige and Heather at age 3

These are photos of Paige and I taken when we are about the same age.

Iowa Weather

Only in Iowa can it be Sunny and 65 on Sunday and then snow on Monday. Gotta Love It!!!

Family Time

We had a wonderful family weekend. Saturday morning Cam went to help Josh at the shop while Kyle and I picked up the house with Paige's "help". We all went to church together and then ordered pizza and rented movies. On Sunday Josh and Kyle fixed the washing machine and then we watched the new Star Wars movie. We actually ate EVERY meal together this weekend!

It may not sound too exciting, but it was so much fun just being together. We don't get to do things like that very often since everyone's schedules are so crazy. In only 2 years Kyle will be graduating from high school.

Paige News

I took Paige to the specialist today for her tonsils. She is now on steroids for the next 3 weeks, as well as another antibiotic since she has ear infection to go with her tonsillitis. Hopefully, these "drugs" will shrink the tonsils and clear the ear infection. We go back on January 26th for a check-up.

Christmas Break Update

We had a great holiday at the Hohensee house. We ran too much, ate too much and spent too much. But isn't that what the holidays are all about.

On December 24th, we went to Newell to Josh's Grandpa's house. We had lunch over there and spent the afternoon with family.

We always do Christmas morning at our house. It's the only tradition we really stick by. We actually had to wake Paige up at 8:15 or so. Opening the presents always seems to go by too quickly. But that was ok this year, we went to Ayrshire to the Hohensee Family Christmas. We had dinner, played Bingo and visited with everyone. We always have so much fun up there. After Ayrshire, we went to Josh's mom and dad's to celebrate Christmas over there. That sounds like a full day, but being the troopers we are, we took Paige and the boys to the movie to see Chicken Little. Paige enjoyed it a little more than the boys, but we rarely get a chance to go to a movie as a family. Since the movie theater here only has one screen, sometimes it takes awhile for a family friendly movie to come to town. We all slept well Christmas Night!!

We accomplished a few projects over the break.

Kyle got his driver's license and his first car last week. He's very excited about having a car, but now he'll get to learn all about car payments, insurance payments, gas money and maintenance. We'll see how long he stays excited about his car.

Paige has tonsillitis. She went to the doctor for antibiotics last Friday. They are not working so now she needs to see the Ear, Nose and Throat specialist on Thursday. I really hope she doesn't need to get her tonsils out. But if it's for the best, we'll deal with it then.

I am ready to get back to school and get back into a routine. The boys say they are not ready to go back, but I'm sure they are too. Paige is definitely ready to go back to daycare. She misses all her "best friends".

I think that's about it for our holiday update.

Have a great 2006!!!!