Claire's Journal -- Month 38

May 10

 

Claire slept though the night and had a great morning. She was up drinking a bottle and then took a nap, up again and ate like a champ. Must've had about 6-8 oz of cereal and then wanted to play, but mom had to work, so Claire sat on mom's lap and practiced her propping while mom got caught up on email, then Claire got fidgety, so mom took her to the other room for some PT. She did really well standing, once, then refused to do it again, so sitting was next, she was leaning way back, then came way forward, then way back... about to give mom a heart attack since she was sitting on her bench and mom had her hands busy with holding Claire at the waist. Claire did do really well and finally came so far forward mom let her go and she went right into mom's chest and then to her lap. She had a big grin while mom tried to explain to her that that is what happens when you don't prop. Mom let her lay down for a bit on the blanket and look at herself in the mirror for a bit as they both had enough PT for the moment and mom went to get a bit more work done.
Mom is thinking that Claire's poor eating is a result of congestion, and mom gave her some Little Noses decongestant drops earlier this morning, so now maybe she is able to eat better because of that. Maybe.
Mom had a late cup of coffee and a decongestant, so she's having a productive day. :o)

May 9

 

Claire slept well. Not bit on eating today, tho mom and dad worked hard on it. Mom decided to keep Claire home today to work on her eating.
Dad had the first shift, but with mom's congestion and head cold, she didn't last long at work and went home even earlier than originally planned, knowing dad would be able to watch Claire for a few more hours while mom went straight to bed after taking an antihistamine. Mom was up in time for her Claire shift and dad was off to work.
Claire only had a few spoonfuls of cereal/mush and about 4oz of fluids by noon. Mom pulled out the big guns. No more messing around... you guessed it, straight bananas!
Claire was finicky at first, but warmed up and ate 4oz of those, then a couple more bites from another container, and mom decided they'd give it a break. Claire didn't eat much more than that later, but did take 3oz of her bottle before bed. No fever today. Yeah!
Mom was feeling much better in the evening. The nap did wonders for her.

May 8

 

Claire was up at 3:30am. She may have been hungry so mom fixed her some food. After a couple of bites, she gagged. Mom stopped feeding her and felt her, she was hot. Another fever - 100.6 under her arm. After Tylenol and temp down a bit, mom and Claire went back to bed... around 5am.
Claire was up a 9am. Mom fixed her a bottle and she drank well, then put her down for a bit and went back to check on her and Claire was alseep.
Claire had another fever around 2pm... It was 100.5 under her arm. Mom noticed Claire's fevers seemed to be hovering around 100+, so this time, she didn't give her tylenol, just monitored Claire closely and within an hour or so, her temp was down, on its own.

May 7

 

Claire had a pretty good night, but around 1pm, her temp was up again, 101.1 under her arm. Increase the fluids again and tylenol. Her temp went down, but was up again at 5:30pm to 100.3. Mom gave her a dose of tylenol to try to keep it from going higher. Claire's temp was down the rest of the night. Everyone got some rest. Mom is still trying to overcome her own congestion with decongestants and feeling very much under the weather today.

May 6

 

At 10am, Claire's temp started popping back up, 100.8, so mom gave her some tylenol and checked her again later, and her temp was fine. Around 4pm, it was at99.2, but fine for the rest of the evening. The family hung out much of the day as mom was feeling a bit under the weather too. Dad took Claire's sibs and big brother's friend over to her uncle's home to swim, giving mom and Claire some quiet time for a nap.

May 5

 

Mom picked Claire up today from daycare and she was in good spirits.
Around 7:30pm, she felt warm and mom took her temp. 101.2 under her arm. Mom didn't expect that at all as Claire had been doing so well. Mom started with the fluids and since she was keeping her food down well, went with some cereal too.

May 4

 

Claire slept all through the night. Mom woke her and she ate great, opening her mouth for each bite and keeping her hands away from her face for the entire meal. Dad took over after a bit as mom was running late and still had to make her more food for school.
Mom's been using Soy Silk milk for Claire. It has a sweet vanilla flavor to it, even mom thinks it is quite tastey. Since mom has been using it, up to 1/2 and 1/2 isomil, Claire has been eating like a champ. Mom has to be careful that she doesn't eat to much, or she will spew it, like last night, but she kept opening her mouth, what's a mom to do but keep feeding her, and keep filling up the bowl again, and feeding her more. Mom can't stand the thought of missing when Claire can eat more, and still feeding her the same small amounts ... like misses the que.
Claire seemed to have a great day. Mom picked her up exactly at 6pm, it was a long day at work for mom, but very productive, so she was sure Claire would understand. Claire was fast asleep when mom got her. At home, daddy put her in her crib, with her light and fan on, and mom will get her up in a bit, after dinner and a little update here.

May 3

 

Claire slept all through the night. She had a great day, eating more than anyone child her size has a right to, but she wanted more, and what was mom to do? After the first 6-7 oz, mom put her down for a nap, but Claire didn't sleep, so mom got her up and fed her more and more... of course, with that much food, mom kept her in her bumbo seat for a good10-15 minutes before laying her back down again, and Claire went to sleep after a few kicks (her favorite thing to do these days). Mom got some work done, then got Claire up and ready for PT. She had a great day, but the therapist noticed she was 'slipping' in a few things. One thing she noted was that Claire's hips are tightening up. Mom is really hoping to get the PT at Claire's schools soon, this once every two weeks isn't cutting it for Claire. Mom tries to keep up with it at home, but it is tough considering she works during the day, and Claire naps in the evening when she gets home... and mom has to get dinner on the stove, homework, etc. It would be nice if she got more one-on-one at school. The teachers work with her when they can, but the reality is they have a lot of kids to care for, and those kids are also special needs kids too. sad.

May 2

 

Mom picked Claire up today from daycare and the teacher mentioned that Claire had her PT evaluation. She said that it wasn't PT, just and evaluation and we would have to wait to get her 'staffed in'. Still waiting. It has been almost 3 months since Claire's birthday and she was no longer in the Early Steps program which provided PT and OT. Now her teacher is suggesting she should be getting Speech Therapy, but first things first. Mom is frustrated... and doesn't feel qualified to pick up all the PT as Claire's therapist, herself.

April 30

 

Claire slept all through the night. Hardly a snore. She ate a little, then played and kicked and had a big time on her blanket, then a bit more food after getting dressed for church and off. She slept through church and after church even more. Mom decided to use that time to clean the house a bit and get caught up on the journal.

April 29

 

Claire was up crying and fussing. Mom is thinking it is from the Miralax and will cut the dosage today. She was up early and eating breakfast. Mom decided Claire was in such a good mood, they would have a Claire photo shoot. Without combing the hair, no time, and the wonderful disposition could change, so she was going with what she had. Hope everyone enjoys the 'many expressions of Claire'.
Claire had Miralax tonight, mom only gave her half a dose, probably give her 1/2 dose in the morning and another 1/2 at night. And a little dose of Mylacon to top it off. Mom picked up some Soy milk and is going to try to replace that with the formula, a little at a time, since mom thinks the regular milk was a bit too harsh on Claire's tummy. Fingers crossed.

April 28

 

Claire had a great day. She's keeping her food down and eating pretty well. She went to daycare and had a fun time with her friends, and as usual mom picked her up while Claire was sleeping, she slept all the way home and at home slept for at least another 30 minutes. When she woke up she was very hungry and mom filled her as much as possible. Claire hung out for a while, then mom gave her more food later in the evening before bed, then meds and off to sleepytime.
Mom started Claire on Miralax to help her with hard stools. She started on a full dose with water.

April 27

 

Claire slept well last night. Mom turned on her ceiling fan to try to get her to wake up some, and it worked. A little Claire stretch and they were off to brush her hair and get meds and breakfast in her bumbo seat. She ate well, mom included her vitamins with her mush. Afterwards, she was off to school with ready made food (mom has been making it up ahead of time to get some idea of what exactly she eats at school - but she also has some chicken/ sweet potatoes, etc at school for variety).

April 26

 

Claire had a nice day. She was up eating and had a bath, then mom put her down for a nap, but she wasn't tired (tho she looked like she'd fall asleep in her chaire). Mom took her out of her bed and fed her more... she probably had close to 10oz before she went back to bed and fell asleep. She had a nice nap, meanwhile big brother came home from school with a headache. A little decongestant and a nap and he seemed as good as new. Big cold front came in today, the temps were suppose to get into the 40's this week (well, 49) and mom isn't thinking that will happen with highs expected in the 80's.
When Claire woke up, mom tried to feed her a little more, but she wasn't hungry, so they sat in front of the computer, Claire strattled on mom's thigh and elbows propped on the desk by the keyboard watching the screen, and mom typing and mousing away. She did so well on her propping, mom was proud and therapy while she worked, talk about multitasking. Claire eventually got wiggly and mom put her on a blanket on the floor so she could be a little more independent and move around a bit and mom could get more work done. Later they did some standing exercises with the little red ball mom bought at the grocery store, it is smaller than the exercise balls and a perfect size for her. Still working on straightening those hips too.
Mom felt a large stool today in Claire's tummy, so Claire got some prune juice/apple juice and seemed to love it. Should help soften what's in there and help her pass it. (Hey, you know anything can be posted here :o).

April 25

 

Claire was up around 4am and mom went in at 5am as she was just sounding so busy in there. Mom thought she might be hungry and didn't want to miss the opportunity. Mom gave Claire her meds a little early and Claire was only slightly interested in food, more interested in her thumb, so after a little food, mom put her back to bed and crawled back into bed herself. Claire was snoring, so mom knew she was back to sleep (mom also turned off Claire's ceiling fan, she may have just been a bit cooler than sleep temp).
Claire ate well. Mom has taking most of the cows milk out of her 'mush' recipe and now using about 80% or more of Isomil again. She's considering buying storebrand soy milk and see if that is any better, maybe a little cheaper.
Claire kept her food down and all the way to school too.

April 24

 

Claire was up at 2am throwing up. Dad was on it... he woke mom and went in to get the peanut... saved the sheets! Mom was very impressed with his quick response as she was pretty exhausted.
In the morning, mom fed Claire and gave her meds afterwards (not recommended). Claire was blowing bubbles on the way to school, likely as a result of the meds on a full tummy, it reacts oddly after she's eaten and seems to cause a flemlike substance in her mouth. Mom cleared her mouth up as she stopped along the way to daycare, and Claire seemed fine.
Evidently, after mom dropped Claire off at daycare, the little peanut almost immediately threw up. When mom heard, late in the day, she decided to stop the cows milk, or at least lower the levels Claire was getting. Maybe it was just too harsh on her tummy. Her teachers said she didn't cough or anything right before, just threw up. Makes mom think she had a sour tummy ache. Her teacher also said she was wide awake all morning and much of the afternoon. They wanted to feed her in small amounts, so after a small snack (she had eaten at home, tho threw it up), Claire was in her crib being quite loud. This was during naptime and her friends were trying to sleep. Her teachers took her to another room to feed her, but as they were warming up her food, guess who fell asleep. You guessed it. Moved her from the quiet dark room to the bright lights and she fell asleep.
She continued to sleep until mom picked her up in the evening, tho many had tried to wake her to feed her, all failed. She was just exhausted, maybe from her middle-of-the-night escapades, but it caught up with her finally.
In the evening, mom mixed up more food and Claire ate pretty well after not eating much at all during the day. Meds and off to bed.

April 23

 

Claire had a nice day. She went to mass early and then home to hang out with the family. Dad had an open house and that kept him busy much of the day. Big brother wanted to hang out on the Internet and was allowed 2 10-minute increments between reading his book and playing outside. Big sis went to Earth Day festivities and apparently had a big time. Mom wanted to go with her, but had Claire to watch and big brother would have certainly been bored with the younger children.
One of the mom's on the Trisomy list recommended Brain Vibrance Supreme Powder for another mom to try. Mom was very interested and asked the dr, he said it could be good for her, so mom wants to give some to Claire. Waiting on a dosage tho, but will probably order it in the next week or so. The mom recommending it has a T18 girl who is 8 years old. The little girl is actually nodding yes and no appropriately. Very cool. Mom is always looking for ways to help Claire, tho this is pretty expensive stuff, mom is willing to try it. Doesn't seem like she will get a very large dosage anyway, so it should last for a while.

April 22

 

Claire slept well. Mom woke her up late and started feeding her in small increments. She started with fluids, and Claire kept down all 5oz. Then off to thicker stuff, bananas with duocal and rice cereal. She seemed to handle it well and kept it all down today.

April 21

 

Claire slept well. She had an early appt with a nutritionist and then off to school. Mom was up in the air about taking her to school, and reflected much on what she should do. Claire hadn't thrown up with breakfast, and didn't have a temp since her 'random' one yesterday morning, so it had been 24 hours. Mom decided if she wasn't sick enough to go to the dr, then she was well enough to go to school. Not that the dr would do much more than put her on antib's (or test to see if she should be on them) and she was on them anyway. She left word that she would come if Claire had a fever or thew up (duh - and they would call of course). And mom worked relatively close to Claire's school, so she left Claire and went to work.
Mom didn't hear a word all day, so she believed Claire had a good day, but found out that Claire hardly ate anything all day. Ho Hum. Fortunately, it is the weekend, and mom will have full control over eating, etc. Claire ate 7oz in the evening and saw 3 of them a little later. She fed her a few more and Claire kept her meds down well, then off to bed.
Big brother was at a sleepover and dad was out with his band, so mom and big sister had a girls night in. They painted nails and toes, then went on to do make up... and what was on in the evening? Miss USA pagent of course. Miss Florida was in the top 5, mom was cheering her on. Big sister couldn't stay awake for the evening gowns, too bad, they were beautiful. She got up and went right to bed, mom was trying to convince her it was the best part... oh the irony of that scene. Mom followed her, tucking her in to bed within minutes, only to see her little girl was already asleep (or a good faker).

April 20

 

Claire slept well and mom did too.
She was up getting Claire ready for school and Claire felt a little warm, so mom took her temp. She was at 100.4, and a while after her bath, she was down to 98.1. Mom wasn't concerned as Claire's temp seems to fluctuate sometimes, so mom got her ready and took her to school. On the way to school, mom had to pull over to the side of the road as Claire was throwing up a bunch.
Mom turned the car around and called dad and he said he could watch her today. She took Claire home and went on to work. Mom picked up more pedialyte today so she'd be ready for tonight.
Claire had a pretty good day with dad. He fed her fluids and mom is nearly out of duocal, so she's ordered some more that should be ready for pickup tomorrow. The pharmacy has been good to mom lately. Adding duocal to Claire's pedialyte seems to help improve her energy level when she's not feeling well. Mom called the nutritionist with the HMO and set up an appointment for tomorrow to see what other things mom should be doing for Claire.
Mom fed Claire some bananas mixed with rice/banana cereal - about 3 oz - and she threw up 1 1/2 oz of that. Mom will try more fluids soon.
Dad is singing downtown tonight, but should be home relatively early. Mom will make it an early night.

April 19

 

Claire slept well and mom was feeling better after another naproxen, so she went and got her. Didn't take much bending over and put her in her bumbo chair for breakfast on the counter. Claire had meds and ate okay, then dad put her back to bed and mom went back to lay down until it was time to get ready for Claire's therapy.
Claire's therapy went pretty well, tho they only got about 15 minutes in, it was enough to evaluate Claire and see the progress she's made in the past two weeks and decide that she was quite spoiled being held much over the Easter weekend.
Mom got some work done after that, as the naproxen was working pretty well.

April 18

 

Claire slept well and was up at 6am, hungry. Mom fed her and put her back to bed and she's slept for a very long time. Mom decided to keep her home until she could start the antibiotic. She called the dr office and was told to wait until the nurse called back to schedule an appt. Mom called back an hour later and was told the nurse was calling the school. When the nurse finally did call back (just before noon) mom was informed that the antib was to come from the Health Dept as they wanted to monitor the cases. She also told mom that the HD was giving out the antib's as late as 8pm last night (as mom was calling around to get the prescription).
Mom is SO out of the loop!! Lesson learned: Next time, add the HD to the list of calls!
Mom called the HD and left a message. Called again 10 minutes later, got the machine again. Called the school and found out a HD nurse was there... asked why the other parents already have kids on antib's. No answers. Mom was already very upset by this time. Oh the frustration. Every word mom tried to utter was met with 'you will get the antib'... 'the HD nurse will call you'... 'I don't know why those other parents got the antib last night (agreeing that they did)'... The nurses were completely unhelpful and mom is a bit ticked that even this morning they were telling her to wait for the dr's office to call back, when the HD was the one giving out the prescriptions for the antib. Claire is a quite different than most of the kids, and mom, may be biased, thinks that she should have certainly been contacted by now. Not to mention mom feels she is being slighted and pushed aside by waiting for calls that don't seem to come fast enough. But mom gets a bit frantic and overwhelmed, esp at the thought of Claire catching such an infection.
Mom asked if she could at least tell the school nurse to tell the HD nurse where to call in the prescription, but told that the HD nurse would have to ask a few questions first. geez.
Finally, by 1pm, the HD nurse called. The HD had evidently been given a short list last night by the school of parents to call and prescriptions to order. Perhaps those kids were showing signs of a cold, as that would explain a lot. She said that the drs office could call in the prescription, and that another family had already gone to their dr, gotten the prescription and the child was back in school! Mom insisted that the HD nurse call in the prescr and mom could be done with this whole 'run around'! Mom had also called Claire's teacher, and she was quite calming. She mentioned that since last night, the process for dealing with this crisis, which they hadn't dealt with before, had changed and the HD was calling all 45 children's families, one at a time. With Claire not showing signs, maybe that is why she got a late call. ... maybe.
Mom will have to wait for the anti and then get Claire started and by tomorrow she will go back to school. Evidently the antib is also the 'cure' if she did get it. The HD nurse said that as long as she was showing no signs, she wasn't contagious and so Easter with family should not be a concern. For the first time in a while, Claire does not have a cough, green snotty nose, or any sign of a cold (fingers crossed)... and ironically, will be put on an antib.
Claire's dad says this journal is mom's therapy. He's probably right.
A favorite nurse of mom's called from Claire's school and apologized for all the changes in protocol and restated that it was all new to them and she was hoping that Claire was having her needs met from the nurses, etc. Mom felt much better after that call and thanked the nurse for taking the time to call. :o)
Later in the evening, mom was sitting on the floor and putting Claire on one of her mats for therapy when she turned to put Claire on the mat, something hurt... it was her lower back, and she couldn't get up without much pain. She thinks it is her sciatic, as it feels the same as when she was late in her pregnancies. Tho it was initially a little bit in her leg, the pain is worse in her lower back.
Eventually, she made it to the couch and sat there, but getting up from there was painful...and then she decided to get the phone and later get some ibuprofin. Oh yes... quite painful, and Claire was safe on a blanket on the floor, tho she often rolls around so much she comes off it, she eventually fell asleep for her late afternoon nap. The kids came home with their dad and he had dinner and antib's for Claire... and he took over Claire duty so mom went and layed down after dinner. Later, she took naproxen and was able to sleep at night, as long as she didn't move too much. Dad fed Claire and gave her antib's and meds and put her to bed. Mom is hoping to be much better soon, but wondering how she can avoid this in the future... she was just lifting Claire onto her mat, sitting on the floor. gee.

April 17

 

Claire slept through the night. Mom was glad because it was a very exhausting weekend.
Mom woke her for meds and food and off to school. No time for a bath this morning, but a nice warm sudsy one tonight will be fun.
Mom sent her to school with a little sun outfit on... for hot weather. It may get up to 90 degrees today. She left instructions for Claire to have a blanket and socks for her nap, or she probably won't sleep.
When mom picked Claire up in the evening, she was met by a nurse who told her there was a case of pertussis diagnosed in Claire's classroom. The room Claire is in is shared by two other classes and only separated with partitions. The child was in another class, but the same room essentially. The nurse had very little information, but told mom that Claire should be put on and antibiotic as soon as possible and to call her dr in the morning.
Mom called the after hours number when she got home... waited an hour and called the second after hours number and called back much later only to be told that it would have to wait until the morning. Meanwhile, mom called the HMO emergency care and after an hour called back and was told they were backed up. She called back again and eventually got a call back as the dr was looking up the disease and telling mom that it would have to wait until the morning.
Mom feels like it can wait until the morning (as she had no choice in the matter) and Claire seems fine. She did call grandma and let them know about the case so they can keep an eye open for any extreme coughing, etc.

 

April 16

 

Claire slept through the night. Everyone celebrated Easter early with a sunrise mass on the beach. Mom changed Claire's diaper, clothes and gave her meds. The family left grandma's house at 6:20am or so for the 7am mass. Dad fixed a bottle and off they went. She slept the entire time -- the mass was beautiful. She slept even more when they got back to the house, so mom had to wake her to feed her, and she wasn't really into food. Grandma did a great job with feeding Claire. They sat on the swing in the back yard and worked on a bottle until it was gone. Claire certainly didn't lack for attention the whole weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's home.
She picked up her eating a bit more and was full when the family packed up and headed back home. About 3 hours into the trip, she was hungry again and mom fed her just enough to keep her satisfied, but not put her to sleep as it was still a bit too early for sleep.
Once home, Claire got her meds, diaper change, and ate until she started blowing the food back at her mom.. then off to bed... ahhhh.

April 15

 

Claire slept through the night.
There was much preparation to do for Easter tomorrow, including shopping and coloring eggs. Claire lounged around in Grandma's arms much of the day and ate all she could as it was offered. She spent much of the time outside and the breeze was cool... just perfect for her. Every now and then, she'd take a nap inside, but not often for too long. She loves being outside. Claire got to meet her Great Aunt too! They had so much fun together.

April 14

 

Claire slept through the night. The family was up early for driving down to Grandmas for the Easter weekend. Traffic was pretty smooth.
The kids did great, even Claire caught a quick nap towards the end of the trip. Mom fed her well before leaving so she was set for the drive. Once they got there, she ate more and rested a bit before going off to lunch... for fish. Good Friday afterall.
She hung out much of the day and played with everyone. Her great aunt was visiting and that made the holiday weekend so very special for Claire... and for her great aunt.
Life is good.

April 13

 

Everyone was off to school and work today. The older sibs have half day, and mom has an afternoon meeting. Afterwork, everyone packed and loaded up the car, only to realize they were much too tired from the busy week to drive to Grandmas for Easter, so they went to bed early.

April 12

 

Claire slept through the night.
Dad woke her this morning for meds and a bath. She had an appt this morning with a clinical psychologist and mom figured she would feed her more in the waiting room. Upon arrival, the dr was running late, and mom thought, 'perfect, time for Claire to eat'. She chatted with the receptionist and another woman in the office. Mom had a cup of coffee while she was there and turned into a very chatty mom, and that worked to the dr's advantage.
He asked for Claire's story, but mom wasn't sure where to begin... so she teasingly started with, 'when I was a very young girl...' and laughed. She started with giving him Claire's website, and he pulled it right up on his laptop. She went on about the amnio, the family, how they've dealed with each situation as they came up, etc. He was so kind and listened to every word.
The oddest thing mom thought about the whole morning was that she was going to this dr in order for him to write up that she was disabled, in order to get on the Persons with Disabilities list. Mom just thought the amnio results would be enough for that, but given all the different people in the world, she guessed everyone should be held to the same test.
The dr was certain that she could hear and noticed her looking around for her mom as she was held. He said Claire's story was inspiration and gave mom a few additional ideas regarding Claire's big sister and what she's been through these past 3 years. He gave mom some really good advice and she's going to work on that asap. (Thanks Doc!).
Claire fell asleep shortly after she med him in the office, and he had a great comfy couch so mom layed her down and she was zonked out. Afterall, she just ate.
She snored through much of the session about her.
She slept all the way home and mom put her in her crib with the ceiling fan on and that child may never wake up. Lots of movement going on outside these days, including the city guys putting in new pipes under the driveway. Totally blocking the driveway with dirt and tractors, so mom parked in the neighbor's driveway. Tomorrow, the neighbors will probably have to park in Claire's driveway. Claire is sleeping through all the excitement.

April 11
37 months

 

Claire was up in the middle of the night. Mom went in to see her. Her sounds were as if she was constipated and working hard on the BMs. When mom went in, the greeting was, 'Hi mom, c'mon in, the party is just getting started'... no blanket, but big grins and happy noises looking right at her mom and waiting to be picked up, lying on her back. Mom couldn't resist, and it sure made getting up at 2am all worth the effort.
Claire was in a great mood, and mom changed her diaper and took her temp to see if that would help loosen things up a bit. While they were all up, mom made her a bottle, but Claire was so uninterested, that mom put her back to bed and covered her well to keep her warm. Not another peep out of her until mom woke her in the morning... more grins... so wide you would think her lips would tear... and more teeth than any baby could ever fit in her mouth at once.
She had a nice day at school, and when mom picked her up, they had just gotten out of the pool. Yes it is that time of year again!
Mom went back by the house to get Claire's diaper bag, as there was much to do tonight. Dad picked up the older kids and they went out for a sandwich, then over to get their hair cut. Mom met them and Claire got her hair cut too. Then mom ate her sandwich on the way over to one of the local elementary schools where they were having a Reading Is Fun fair.
The fair was nice. One of Claire's caregivers in her after school belongs to the International Honor Society at the university, and the society sponsored the fair. A number of kids were there, but Claire's older brother was looking forward to it the most. Athletes from a local university would be there, and word on the street was that one of them in particular was going to show up. His favorite football player was going to be there. Sure enough, they walked into the library, and who was standing there? You guessed it.
Mom asked Claire's brother, 'Who is that guy?' and the biggest not-trying-to-smile grin came over his face and the name followed that would make a boy gleem. Of course, mom had the camera (dad had gotten it early for her) and there was quite a photo op there. She left them to talk and big brother was speechless as he sat there for nearly an hour with his mentor. Also a couple of starters for the Men's Basketball team were there, so life was hitting big brother rather well at this point. Later, he and dad shot the breeze with one of them, and dad was pretty fired up for next season. :o)
Claire's big sister had a fun time too. She made friends early with a cheerleader who taught her to play and took her to act in a play they were putting on down the hall. Afterwards, she had some pizza and then off to make a puppet so she could be in the puppet show. Mom has some nice video of that.
When the family got home, big sister wanted to do a dance for mom and dad. They were very impressed as she's not had a ballet lesson, but she had poise and grace and they clapped very hard when it was over. Mom took video of that as well and grandma and grandpa should be getting a copy of it very soon.
The evening ended and Claire had a bunch of food and meds, then off to bed. Mom followed. Bath will come in the morning as she has a dr appt then.