Does Chuckie understand sign language?

So finally the trauma and the drama of the tonsils is finally over. They are not kidding when they say two weeks. That was 9 days of pure torture for everyone here. Lortab was a saving grace and the worst enemy. It made her so dizzy she would almost fall down when she tried to walk. It made her tired, but she couldn't sleep. It also numbed the pain enough to let her drink. Let me start at the beginning. You've got time right?

They made us stay at least 24 hours at the hospital. Outpatient, but we had a room. The nurse came in just after Lily was brought to the room after surgery and gave us "the rules." In order to go home on Wednesday her sats have to stay above 90 and she has to drink 4 ounces every shift. I misunderstood that last one at first. I thought if you drink 6 on one shift then you only had to drink 2 more. No, it's four ounces every shift. So from 7-3 she drank 4 ounces. From 3-11 she drank 6 ounces, ate 2 pudding cups, some french fries, and a tiny piece of a chicken tender. At 10:30 she fell asleep. At 1 am her sats dropped into the upper 80's. Lily really only likes to fake cough, not real cough. She had junk in her throat that she wouldn't swallow or cough up. It was probably tonsils. (just kidding.) So it took two hours and a respirtory (sp) therapist to come to this conclusion. Also those toe things are worthless. She came in with her little portable one and it read about 6 points higher. I want one of those for Christmas. The nurse reminded me she had to drink 4 ounces before 7:00 to leave. I said she had drank plenty, look at my little chart. See my little lines for wet diapers and the little lines for ounces. Nope, 4 ounces every shift. So I woke my sleeping baby up. Turned on the television, dragged out the musical toys and the syringe and got 4 more ounces in her by 5:30 am. It was not a pretty sight. When we left the hospital after not sleeping, Lily signed chicken and lion. She wanted to go to the mall, eat chicken nuggets and ride the merry go round. What a trooper!

The big syringe and Chick-fil-a sweet tea is the only way we kept her hydratred that first week. I'm really thankful we stayed at the hospital with the iv that first day and night. Even though I was a little grumpy the next day. I think the iv got us over the hump of the second and third day when it was really hard to get her to drink. We gave her medicine and liquids in the bathtub, on the swing in the backyard, on the front porch, and in the middle of the night half asleep. Don't worry. I filled the syringe before I went to bed. Ask mom about checking the mail at midnight. I know our neighbors think we're nuts! But at least we wear clothes.

The results have been worth it. Now she is sleeping, eating, drinking, and trying to talk. It has been amazing. I have to get up and poke her sometimes at night to see if she's breathing. You can not hear a sound at all. Spooky. I was going to record it and post it here, but then I thought all you have to do is plug your ears up. Hear the silence, that's what it sounds like. Oh another thing, she's been laughing so hard lately. You know how Lily only kind of laughs a little. And it usually sounds forced or fakey. She's been doing these really big true belly laughs. It's hysterical. She also is crying louder and harder. Hmmm, double edged sword.

To celebrate we went to Chuckie Cheese. Lily loves pizza, large and small animatronics and people dressed as characters. Chuckie Cheese meets all those requirements. She loved Chuckie and ran up to him hugged him and started signing something. In this one she is watching the animatronic Chuckie at the stage. She did not want to leave him. We've got to get back to Disney World. People give Lily the most free stuff. It's really kind of sweet and funny. A nice woman walked up and smiled at Lily. She said she's so cute and gave her a coupon for a free ice cream. It was good, I ate half of it. Lily doesn't like ice cream very much. Mom and J ate the other half. Lily only licked at my half. It was probably a good thing the woman was on her way out the door.

The past week was really fun. We have been so patriotic. We went to the square in Headland for the patriotic concert. It looked like something out of a movie. The gazebo had red white and blue streamers around it and the church choir was standing inside. The orchestra was seated next to them underneath a white tent. There were people sitting behind tables with red, white and blue decorations passing out free fans (to keep the bugs away) and selling raffle tickets. Everything was lit up with little lights. I thought I had stumbled onto the set of the Gilmore Girls. The temperature had dropped into the upper 80's with a breeze and it was really nice. Everyone had brought snacks and they were sitting on lawn chairs and blankets waiting for the music to begin. We walked up. I was carrying chairs, mom was pushing "I" and dad had "J" and Lily in the wagon. As we walked up the fan lady said Hello Mr. Kirkland and chatted away. As soon as we walked away, she started talking about who everyone was and why they were there. The joys of a small town, very few secrets. On Saturday, we grilled hamburgers, ate homemade ice cream and brownies, then went to the fireworks at the ballpark in Headland. They fireworks were suprisingly pretty good, but I'm glad we didn't sit too close because a couple of them went sideways towards some of the audience. I saw people running, but as far as I know, noone was hurt.
Here is two of Lily watching the fireworks. She really liked them. Her new word is "eeeee." It's supposed to be see and she says it when she points. Too cute! Oh and her new favorite snack food is cheesy bugles. That's what she has all over her face.

Oh we've been potty training and she's doing so well. She's in big girl panties most of the time. Only it takes forever for her to pee. That's been the big thing I had to learn. She has to sit there for about 5-10 minutes. First she has to look at a book, then play with the tp roller, then tap the toilet lid, then sign all done, then fuss a little bit, then pee. It's crazy, but she really is beginning to understand. Last night she was in a diaper before she went to bed, suddenly she signed potty, then did the pee pee dance. I felt her diaper and it was warm and wet. Success! She understands what I want to happen. Now to put it all together and lose the crazy routine. I'll show you the pee pee dance in August. You may need it someday.

That's just about everything for now. I'll talk to you later!