Katie's 30th Birthday

Well, Big Katie's 30th Birthday was a success! Dave and I met her and Chris at Buca di Beppo in Southlake. We had a nice dinner and got to catch up. Katie was my roommate my sophomore and senior years in college. We had some great times together, and we still do. There's just something about the bond between college roomies. I was just lucky that mine turned 30 before I did. :)

Another trip on the boat

We ALL headed out to Benbrook Lake for one last trip on the boat before it got too cold. Mom, Dad, Brett, Katie, Dave and I went to meet Grandma, Grandpa, Pat and Syrilda at their campsite. We had a nice day at the lake. When we returned to land, we had a nice cookout followed with S'mores.

Katie's 3rd Trip to the ER

When the rain blew in on Thursday evening, Katie started wheezing a little. No biggie-we cured it with a breathing treatment of Xopenex. Friday morning before school she was a little wheezy so Dave gave her a treatment at 7:30 AM. At 5 PM, my mom called me and told me to get Katie ASAP as she had gotten terribly worse over a 3 hour period. So, I got her home and I gave her a breathing treatment at 5:30, 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 and 1:30. At 2 AM she threw up cough syrup on her floor. Then, she continued to cough and was so miserable she was hysterical. I cleaned everything up and woke Dave up at 2:30 and said I wanted to take her to the ER since we hadn't gotten any sleep and she wasn't getting any better. I called the Dr. on call, and he said a trip to the ER sounded like a good idea.

We arrived at Cooks at 3:15 AM. They sent us immediately to triage to check her vitals, where she threw up all over my pants. They gave me a pair of scrub pants. We got transfered to a room, and we saw a Dr. immediately. They almost put her on oxygen because her oxygen level was 89%. They gave her a treatment at 4:15, and it took 45 minutes. They said it was enough albuterol for 3 treatments. She stopped coughing instantly and passed out for the majority of the treatment. They noticed improvement and wanted to give her some oral steroids. The minute she took them, they came back up again. We had to wait for her heart rate to slow down and her oxygen level to raise again. We waited an hour then went to radiology for an x-ray. About 1 hour after that, she got another treatment. After that treatment (2 vials of albuterol), she was talking to anybody and everybody at 7:30 AM. She was my normal kid all over again. Cooks Children's Hospital was the best. God truly blessed us this morning.

As soon as Katie finishes the donuts she requested on the drive home, I'm going to bed. :) I'm also going to get Dave to post the pics I took. Call me awful, but I will remember this forever.

It's Game Day, Baby!

Football season officially started at the Martin household. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the first Longhorn game because of a feud between DirecTV and Versus. We found out early in the 3rd quarter that we could watch the remainder of the game at my parents...so we went over to see the end. We all had fun! Yes, Katie is sporting a cheer dress and the "Hook 'em!"

Top Ten Things I Love About My Katie

Top Ten Things I Love About My Katie on her 3rd birthday

10. I love how she agrees with you even when she has no idea what you're talking about ("Yeah, that's my favorite too.")
9. I love how she's Captain Obvious...always stating what we already know, but for her it's like she's just discovering it. ("Wow, that is really loud.")
8. I love when she wants me to pick her up and she wraps her legs around my waist her and her arms around my neck.
7. I love when I'm lying on the couch with a blanket, and she says, "Want to cuddle?" She doesn't even wait for me to answer, she just climbs in next to me and pokes me with her bony body a thousand times so I don't want to cuddle anymore. :)
6. I love when out of the blue, without warning, she reaches over and kisses me. When I look over at her, she's got a giant smile on her face.
5. I love the pouty face she makes when she doesn't get her way, and she wants sympathy. (Don't think it's going to work on me, Little Missy, I taught you that look.)
4. I love the way she smiles at me when I get home from work or I pick her up at school.
3. I love when I kiss her goodnight, she intentionally wipes it off because she wants to be showered in kisses. I know this because if I leave without covering her face in kisses, she yells through the door, "Mommy, come back, I wiped off your kiss."
2. I love how after her prayers every night she thanks Jesus for the little things I don't think of. She starts by saying, "Thank you Jesus for..." and she specifically names every person in her life, and ends with things like "outside, the water, ducks, and Great Grandpa's boat."
1. I love how when we've only been apart for a short time, like a couple of hours, she runs over to me gives me a hug and whispers in my ear, "I missed you."

**Disclaimer: There are a lot more things I love about Katie, but these things stick out the most in my mind.

Katie's B-Day Party

Katie's birthday is on Monday, and we decided to have her party at the Carousel at the Parks this year. She loves riding mini carousels at stores, so I was sure this would hit the spot. It came highly recommended from our friends (they do all the work for you-providing the cake, invites, thank-you cards, cutting the cake, clean-up, etc.) It ended up being a success. She had a blast, and the parents said their kiddos loved it.

Top Ten Things I Learned in NOLA

10. The city stinks, like has an unpleasant odor, sometimes smelling like garbage...other times smelling of other unmentionable things.
9. The French Quarter actually has more influence by the Spanish than the French (thanks Richard.)
8. All above ground cemeteries are closed on Sunday.
7. Beignets are like heaven covered in powdered sugar and should only be eaten with Cafe du Monde coffee, which is the strongest coffee I've ever had in my life.
6. Mardi Gras beads are available year-round and have some interesting things on them, if you're wondering what, just ask. Plus they still hang from trees in the garden district.
5. Just about every third door on Bourbon Street is a daiquiri shop which is like the Baskin Robbins of bars, 31 flavors of daiquiri.
4. Johnny's Po Boy and Ralph and Kakoo's aren't what we expected.
3. Snugglepuff and Hunky Dunky are great names for spouses.
2. "My mama told me..."
1. "Beware of the dingus attack!"