Happy Birthday to Quinlynne

Quinlynne Lucille Paige Hoffman turned 3 years old on August 22. Can you believe it?? My tee tiny baby girl is 3! She is 36.6 pounds and 40 inches tall. I know it has taken me a while to get this posted. I mean, she's been 3 for over a week now. But- just like 3 years ago- I'm playing catch-up.

Quinlynne's birthday party was at Pizza Hut. The girl loves pizza, so I figured that would be a good place for it. Also- August 22 is just too dang hot for an outside party. Believe me, we've done it twice now. I did not want to do it again. I had the party on her actual birthday, which was a Friday. I was really surprised at the number of people who were able to come to the party. Thanks to everyone for coming! It was a dang good time.

I kept asking Quinlynne what she wanted her birthday party to be and for a month and a half she's been telling me "Pink flowers and butterflies". Sounds simple enough, right? Not so much. I ended up having to make her invitations because I could not find anything anywhere. By the time I did, it was a week before her party and obviously too late to get the invitations. We did get her napkins and paper plates though- turned out cute. Again, problem with the cake. I could have made the butterfly cake again- like I did for her recital. I went with this from Sam's though. You can't tell in this picture- but it was a pretty pink with lavender flowers.

I was quite impressed with the behavior of all the kids at the party. It is very nice that we had so many young kids at the party and so few behavior problems. Especially considering Quinlynne had been up since 7 that morning and going strong all day. We had her pictures done, went shopping, had lunch, went to Sam's, dropped off stuff at the fairgrounds for Just Between Friends, came home, and had her party...and the child never took a nap. She didn't even go to bed until 11:30 or so that night. Sheesh- what a day. But what a GREAT birthday! I will post her pictures when I pick them up in a few days. They turned out so well. Happy Birthday, Precious!

Terrible

As most of you know, Uncle Charlie and Uncle Connie play a huge role in our lives. Uncle Charlie has a great granddaughter named Kayli. (For those of you who don't know- here's how the family tree goes: Uncle Charlie's 1st wife is my dad's sister, Dianna. Connie's 1st husband is Jimmy. Jimmy's 1st wife is my mom's sister, Charlsie.) So, Kayli is my 2nd cousin's daughter. We received a phone call from Aunt Di on Sunday with some devastating news. Kayli was very sick, had Coded in the Urgent Care clinic. Long story short, Kayli passed away. THIS is what we eventually learned. Isn't it terrible???

Behavioral?

OK, I don't know if I've shared this before, but Quinlynne is having quite the time going poopie in the potty. She will go in her panties or her Pull-Up or whatever she may be wearing. I know I told you that not too long ago that I had to take her to her pediatrician because she was constipated. Well, I ended up having to give her an ADULT dose of Miralax to get her bowels to move. Even after that, the product was not what I would have expected.

We have adjusted Quinlynne's diet. We make sure she gets grapes, apples, carrots, tomatoes, not too much cheese, plenty of water, etc. The girl can let THE stinkiest toots, and still no pooping. I let her sit on the potty, read a book, let her have her time, sit and talk to her in there, and still nothing. Then the girl will go in her pants. It's like she's more comfortable going standing up than sitting down. Also, and please forgive the non-medical terms here.... One little terd will come out and stick between her butt cheeks. What in the heck? This happens all the time.

I have tried taking her movies away from her, talking to her, spanking her, not allowing her to do things she wants to do, etc.

So, I take her to the pediatrician again this past Friday. The doctor (rather bluntly) just tells me it's a control thing and it's all behavioral. She said it's Quinlynne's way of controlling me. I, however, do not completely believe that. Yes, I do think that she "withholds", but what in the heck is it that makes that one little terd come out??? All the time!!!! It is so entirely frustrating. The doctor did a rectal exam (havne't seen that actual cry from Quinlynne since she was tiny) and said she has good sphincter tone and she didn't feel anything weird in there. She also sent us to the lab to test for parasites in the stool. Thank goodness they gave me a container to take home and bring back. I would have just died if they would gone in and taken a sample.

The doctor has me starting a bowel regimen on her. Basically, it consists of me giving her Miralax and additional fiber until her movements become....normal. Good grief. I can't believe I'm actually posting MORE about bowel movements!!!

New Teacher

Quinlynne has now moved up to the 3 year old class at her preschool/daycare. I went to the open house last week, and almost had a breakdown afterwards. I was so sad!!! Her new room is more like a classroom than her old room. They have little centers and different subject areas. I just don't know if I'm ready to have her grow up on me! Don't get me wrong, I'm so very proud of her and her learning accomplishments...but she's my tee-tiny baby girl! Good grief- what am I going to do when she goes to Kindegarten...not to mention High School and college?? I realize that it's my job as a good mom to let her go and let her know how proud I am of her and support her. However, inside I'm thinking to myself "stop growing up, baby girl!" Now why on earth do I let her going to the Super 3'S class affect me so greatly? Sheesh- Shandolynne!

help the man

OK, I know I have told you about this beautiful family in North Carolina previously. They are the Lawrensons. I believe I introduced you to Nate's blog, which details not only things about his wife, Tricia's Cystic Fibrosis and lung transplant; but also about their beautiful little girl, Gwyneth. Since Tricia's double lung transplant, it has been discovered that she has Post-Transplant Lymphoma. Tricia has started a more aggressive chemotherapy and Nate has set a personal goal of raising $3000 in a week for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

As you all know, Cancer is something that has affected my family. My dad was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in 2001. He had his prostate removed and never had any further elevated PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) levels. Then, in 2005 we discovered Dad had another form of Cancer. This second time he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, or bone marrow cancer. Multiple Myeloma is treatable, but there is no cure for it. After a few battles with his body, my dad ultimately died from complications of the Multiple Myeloma. I detested watching my dad be in pain and watching him be unable to do the things he wanted to do. I always think of my dad as being my big, strong dad who could take care of anything. There is seriously no way for me to tell you just how strong I think of my dad as being. The day my dad left our house to go to the hospital (which ended up being the day he died), my dad barely had enough oxygen to put one foot in front of the other because his hemoglobin was 5. But he drove himself and my mom to the hospital with ice all over the ground, then he wouldn't let the hospital workers take him, in a wheelchair, inside out of the cold until he made sure that my mom was going to make it safely across the ice to him.

OK, I hate to have gone off on a little sideline memory stroll there..... but please go to Nate's blog and help him help his wife and brother in-law. Too many people are affected by Cancer. Thanks!