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Samantha Jane happy in a swimming pool…can it be???
By Michelle | April 11, 2008
Papa has Fridays off after his 4×10 work week, so he helped me take Sarah Jo to swimming lessons last week. She has a new teacher and new friends in class. She did well with the adjustment, but my dad mentioned to me that he thought she would progress faster if we tried to get her in the pool one other time during the week to practice her skills. I put Auntie Le Le on the hunt for a "warm pool" somewhere on the Eastside. Our friend Carmen gave us the tip of the Bellevue Aquatic Center where they have two pools, one of which is a therapy pool and is nice and warm. Sis and I decided to check it out with both the girls on Tuesday night for an open swim. I got to leverage the activity of swimming all day on Tuesday and even got the girls down for a 2.5 hour nap during the day…yes I told Sarah Jo if she did not nap we could not go swimming…we’ve all done it before…admit it!
Before we left, sis and I made a bet. I told her that I thought Sammy Jane would do fine and not scream or cry, so said, "No Way!!". So we decided to make a little wager, if she did fine, Le Le would buy ice cream…if she melted down, ice cream was on me. Of course Sarah Jo was SO excited to get there and she was even able to bring her swim toys along. The pool had a long ramp for wheelchairs because it is a therapy pool and Sarah Jo thought that was the coolest thing. She told Le Le that the swimming pool had it’s very own stream! The temperature was even warmer than the WaterBabies pool and as soon as I got in I knew that there was hope for little Samantha. Needless to say, I won the bet. Sammy Jane had a great time and even allowed us to practice some skills that we learned in her previous classes like going under. After awhile she did tire of us dunking her under, but she was a great sport and really enjoyed swimming with her big sissy. Of course Sarah Jo had a wonderful time and kept telling Le Le and I how much fun she was having. She is specifically working on floating independently on her back for 20 seconds, swimming and turning for breath, the beginnings of the elementary backstroke, and having as much fun as she possibly can in the pool!! On our drive home, Sarah Jo called Nana & Papa, and Daddy & Sheridan and told them what a great time she had and that she cannot wait to go to the cool stream pool again!
Last weekend, NanaK took daddy and Sarah Jo to the movie, "Horton Hears a Who". She was so excited when she got home and told Samantha and I all about it. She said that the screen was SUPER BIG and daddy and NanaK let her have popcorn, Papa’s eggs (M&M’s) and even a few drinks of pop. She also let me know that she cannot wait until she can go on her next movie adventure with NanaK!
We’ve had a lot of doctor appointments this week and in fact the last two days I have spent most of my time in the car. I know, I know, wait until the girls start school!! I’ve been having pain in my right leg that starts in my hip flexor, goes down the front of my leg, behind my knee, and into my calf. My sister has been telling me to go to the natropath clinic in downtown Redmond because they are the only ones who have been able to help her with her back pain. I took her advice and am feeling a bit better after the stretches, ultrasound, and electrical stim. they have been giving me, but it is still pretty painful. I have a couple more appointments next week so hopefully I will turn a corner soon. I told Jeff I’m just going through my 35,000 mile check-up, as soon as I get all fixed up, I’ll be like new. Thursday I took Sarah Jo in to see the doctor because she has this rash around her mouth/chin that flares up. The doctor thinks it is eczema and gave us a prescription that has steroids in it. I’m not too keen on the steroids, so we are trying to avoid using them and are attempting a more natural approach. I did get her weight while I was there and she weighs a whopping 31lbs with her clothes on. The girl is definitely going to be in a car seat a LONG time!
Today was crazy busy because I had an appointment with Dr. Davies, the endocrinologist in Seattle, and Sarah Jo had swim lessons in Bellevue at 2pm. Papa took care of Sarah Jo while Samantha and I met daddy at his work and he took us to the doctor. We were a bit late getting there because they closed the freeway down due to the Dalia Lama’s motorcade. I could not have timed it better because when I was trying to get back on I-5 after using random side streets, his motorcade whipped right past us. I told Jeff thank goodness the Odyssey has the navigation system built in or I’m certain I would still be sitting on 520. The appointment went well and Dr. Davies is ordering the radioactive iodine, so I should be getting a call from the nuclear medicine guys next week to schedule the actual days that my treatment will occur. I will have to come off my thyroid meds 5 weeks before the treatment and he said I will definitely have some side effects, but honestly I’m looking forward to just getting it over with. My blood work looks good, but I’m still pretty tired. He promised that I should start feeling different after my body has time to adjust to the meds, so I’m hopeful that by the end of this year I will be feeling a little more energetic.
I’ve written a book here today, but it feels nice to capture the past few weeks with words. It is supposed to be sunny in Seattle this weekend, you can definitely not beat that. Have a great weekend!!
Topics: General | 1 Comment »
April 12th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Wow, you guys sure keep busy considering how tired you must be! Way to go getting your girls in the pool so young; they are sure to be fish like you and Melissa!