thespicelands.com

I’m a redhead, and I love it! Before and after pictures:

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This picture of Tru was taken at dinner tonight. Look how old she looks. I can’t believe she’s growing up so fast!

We went to Atlanta to Ally’s house, and Kerri, Melissa, and Daddy met us there. Here are the pictures from our visit.

Heidi and Tru “swam” for the first time today. I bought a blow-up swimming pool at Target, but I didn’t realize how small it was! We may have been better off swimming in a flower pot! I let the water warm up in the sun, and then they had fun in it. Tru did a wonderful job of helping Heidi in and out of the pool. There are pictures available on page 2 and page 3.

There is also video of the birthday party and the swimming that Mike will put online as soon as enough people bug him about it!

We had a great Easter. We’ve been avoiding church this winter and watching sermons at home from Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church to avoid putting Heidi in the nursery during flu season. We did go to church this Sunday, though. We took Heidi to the service with us, which she previously had not tolerated well at all. She was great! She behaved while awake and slept through the sermon. She thoroughly enjoyed the choir’s rendition of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus at the end of the service, proof she is a Pinder after all! Pictures here.

We also dyed and hid eggs and made Easter baskets for the kids. We read the resurrection story out of John and explained to Tru that Easter eggs represent life. Baby chickens come out of their eggs alive just like Jesus came out of his grave alive. We also gave Tru a LeapFrog Leapster game system for Easter. We weren’t planning on getting her such a big gift, but we got it on sale at Target. She loves it.

My birthday is today. I’m 27 years old. We celebrated with some friends last Saturday at Surin of Thailand in Huntsville. It was a wonderful evening full of food and friendship! Mike got me a brand new laptop battery for my laptop, which seriously needed replacing! My laptop is actually portable now. Previously, my battery life was only about 30 minutes. I should get at least an hour and a half off of this new one. Tru got me some very pretty jewelry. We had a crockpot roast for dinner and a delectable chocolate Snickers birthday cake. YUM.

There are also more pictures here of Tru at her friend Fisher’s house on Easter.

We had Tru’s EEG to measure brain activity this morning. An EEG (Electroencephalography) records the electrical activity of neurons firing in the brain. EEGs are especially effective at diagnosing epilepsy and other seizure disorders. In preparation for the test, we had to keep Tru awake until 1 AM last night. Wonderful, sweet Mike let me sleep from 8 PM to 11 PM. I couldn’t go back to sleep, so the four of us (after Heidi woke up from a very late nap) watched Star Trek: The Next Generation until 1 AM. Tru conked out quite easily. This morning, I had to wake her at 5 AM and keep her awake until her 9 AM appointment, so we were quite tired by the end of the test.

Tru films Heidi before the test.

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Tru preparing for the test. The nurse took her to the test room and explained the procedure while I was in the bathroom. The chair Tru is sitting in is for the mother to hold the child if the child is too distraught to lay in bed. We did not have to use it.

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During the test.

The nurse scrubbed Tru’s scalp with a q-tip and put leads all over it with a gunky, conductive substance. Tru did not like being dirty one bit. The nurse then wrapped her head so that the leads would stay put, and Tru didn’t like this either. I thought she would have fun laughing at how silly the test was, but she was just too tired and cranky to enjoy it.

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First, the nurse measured her brain activity with Tru lying quietly on the bed. Then she asked Tru to close her eyes for a minute. Next, Tru had to blow a pinwheel for 4 minutes. I demonstrated to get her started and intermittently to keep her going, and I was totally out of breathe. I don’t know how Tru managed to do it for so long! The nurse said that 4 minutes is usually a pipe dream in a child as young as Tru, but she did blow most of that time. Next, she measured Tru’s brain activity while flashing her open and closed eyes with a strobe light with the light strobing at different intervals. Finally, Tru rested with the lights off for about 30 minutes. The hope was that she would fall asleep, but she never did go completely to sleep.

When we were finished, Tru’s hair was very dirty and gunky! She was not a happy camper, but Chicken McNuggets and Sprite cures anything. We immediately went to McDonald’s for lunch and home for a nap. Now that we’re awake, all of us are feeling much better! We should get the results of the EEG in about a week and a half. Cross your fingers!

First things first!  New pictures of Heidi on page 2 of the Tru and Heidi 2009 album.

Poor Tru is sick. We spent all night Sunday night and Monday morning consoling her each time she threw up and cleaning her off. She took three baths and I changed the sheets 6 times that night.  Monday morning, we got some Zofran (anti-nausea) into her and she did fine all day. She had to stick to a strict  BRAT diet–bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast, in addition to Gatorade and juice.  She was fine all night last nigt, but first thing this morning she chugged a cup of juice and promptly threw up again. Zofran and the BRAT diet again today!

Mike was sick yesterday, too, and stayed home from work.  Heidi has a stuffed-up nose, and I had to take Seiko to the vet yesterday for an eye infection. Everybody in the family was sick except me!

Heidi has done quite a few new things lately. She started crawling backward at 8 months old, and within the past week, she’s learned to crawl forward.  She can say Mama, Dada, and Nana, but I’m sure she doesn’t understand what she’s saying.  She’s started eating more solid food, as evidenced by the pictures linked to above.  She loves mashed potatoes and carrots, as well as bready things like pancakes.  She’s got two teeth and may be working on one more.  She can pull herself up with a little support, and she can stand and cruise a little, too.  She’ll be 10 months old on Friday!

Tru got her EKG today. It went well, but we don’t have any results yet.  Here are pictures of her at the doctor’s office yesterday and getting her EKG today.

Several developments today! Tru recently got very frustrated on several different occasions when Mike or I tried to teach her how to ride her tricycle or drive her Barbie Jeep. Today, she figured out both of them! We rode all the way around the block with Tru riding her RadioFlyer tricycle, and when we got back, she drove her Barbie Jeep around in the yard for about 30 minutes. Toward the end, I popped Heidi into it, taking care to buckle her in very securely with the seat belt. Heidi had a blast, and Tru loved driving her around. We’ve got pictures (the “Kerri Visit 2009″ album) and videos!

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New pictures up of Heidi in her adorable yellow outfit and Tru and Daddy on a walk on the mountain. Heidi was in my mei tai, and I was behind the camera. Here they are!