Goodbye, Hello

It’s true we are moving! Since Kennedy got to break the big news, I will fill you in on the rest. Right after I posted the blog about looking for a house I went online and browsed our local paper’s classified ads. There was a 3 bedroom 2 bath house in the area we were hoping to live in our price range and it had an address so I could go see what we could get the price we could afford. I made the call and it was still empty and they were doing work on it so I decided to drive by the house and look t the outside. I map quested it and off Kennedy and I went. It was the first time I picked up on the spur of the moment and went somewhere with Kennedy with out any advance preparations. We were following the directions that map quest gave us and as I started getting closer I started thinking how familiar everything looked. Then I realized that I was going the same way Shawn and I drove a while back to look at the house that my friend Jenn and her husband were buying. Turns out the house I was looking for was two houses over and three houses up from their new house. If the price+ the size + the location of the house didn’t sell me then that sure did. How awesome it would be to live so close to my best friend! The house was older, but nice on the outside and since it was so close to D&J I decided to call the office back and ask if I could peek inside. They said it would be fine so Kennedy and I went in. I filled out the application to rent and then called Shawn to see if he could swing by and sing the app. before I turned it in. Shawn came by with a buddy from work. While they were there the owner of the house came by to check on the progress his crew was making and it turns out that the guy who owns the house has know Shawn’s friend from work for the past 15 years. Fate, luck, divine intervention- what ever your flavor it must have been on our side because by Monday afternoon they offered us the house on the condition we thinned our herd of cats. It was an exceptionally bitter sweet moment for me. We were getting this house that was so much more than we expected to find in a great area within a five minute drive of most of our friends and a very short walk from two of them, but we were also forced to choose between all our cats. I spent the better part of two days crying every time one of them would walk past me. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my cats. It was a horrible decision to make and in the end we did what we thought would be best for all involved. The brothers, Jackson and Julian, have never been apart and Jackson is already depressed about having Kennedy take his place as my constant companion that we just don’t think he could take it if he and his brother were separated. I even joke that we would come home to find him a tiny noose and a paper with a kitty paw print as a suicide note. Pants and Gray were ok before us and they are so adaptable they will be fine where ever they end up going so for now I am doing my best to look at it as another rescue only this time they got to be extended guests in our home. Today we are supposed to go and get the keys for the house. Last Shawn and I saw the house it was still under construction so I am super excited to see the inside all done. They were completely redoing the inside- New carpet, paint, kitchen counters all kinds of good stuff. I will post pictures soon as I get some. Kennedy had an appointment at the BPD clinic on Tuesday. She weighed 12 pounds 10 ounces and was 23 ¾ inches long. They lowered her oxygen from ¼ to 1/8 and increased her dose of Pepsid since she was still getting the same amount as when she left the NICU and has almost doubled he weight since then. She is off Reglan and Diuril completely and they ordered some blood work to see if we can wean her off the Phos-Nak. They still aren’t as happy with her weight gains as they could be but she is doing ok and we talked about starting solids. I had already started Kennedy on rice cereal a while back so Tuesday night I made her some sweet potatoes and she loved them. She has had them everyday since without a reaction so far so I think I will be trying something new soon

A Message from Kennedy

Hi everyone! Thanks for reading about me, I am glad you enjoy the blog Mommy does. I bet your asking yourself right now, “If little Miss Kennedy is glad, then how come she looks so sad in this picture?” You see, Mommy and Daddy told me that we are moving very soon. I know you’re thinking that I am only eight and a half months old so what’s there to be sad about. Its not like I am going to have to change schools or anything. But I am sad. I’m sad because I am going to have to leave behind two of my best friends, and that’s why I asked Mommy If I could have a little space on the blog. Mommy and Daddy said our new house is real nice, but that we can’t take all our kitty friends with us. My two best kitty friends are Panther and Mr. Gray. I love them cuz they let me pet them and grab their fur and sometimes when Mommy is feeding me Mr. Gray rubs his head on my hand and purrs. I am so sad about not being able to take them with us and mommy is too. She cried for two whole days when she found out and she still gets a little sad every time they come to snuggle with her. I guess cuz she is going to miss them so much too. I’m hoping that someone who reads Mommy’s blog about me will be looking for two of the best kitties in the world to be their friend and come and give Mr. Gray and Panther a good home. About a year ago Mr. Gray would come around the house, but he was too scared to let anyone touch him. One night Mommy gave him turkey and catnip and tamed him. The next night he showed up with his friend Panther and they never left. Mommy and Daddy call Mr. Gray their karma kitty. They said he is so sweet and loving that he came to us because of all the kitties they have saved and found homes for in the past. He is really fluffy and all you have to do is say his name and he starts purring and doing dough paws. He loves to be petted and curl up next to you. Panther is a all black kitty. At night when he sleeps on the couch and the lights are off you can’t even see him. Just two eyes and sometimes a pink tongue if he is taking a bath. He is super sweet too and will soak up all the attention he can get. He also loves when you go outside with him. He likes to frolic and play. Both kitties are neutered and like to be able to go outside, but they also need to snuggle on the couch inside too. They are best friends so it would be good if they could find a home together, but they would be ok if they had to be split up. They are very adaptable and would be ok in a home with other cats. We don’t have any dogs, so I’m not sure how they would do with dogs, but I have seen Panther stand up to a few in the yard and he sure didn’t look scared to me. So, if you know anyone how might like to have two of the best kitties ever as their pets can you pretty please with a cherry on top and sprinkles have them e-mail my Mommy? They can send it to ourbabykennedy@verizon.net . I will be sure to let you know when we find them a home so until you see it on the blog we are still looking. Ok, that’s all for now. Mommy is going to post pictures of the kitties for you to see. Blog to you later.

Kennedy

Panther

Mr. Gray

I've been tagged

I've been tagged by Tricia, so here it is, the 4th picture in my picutre file:

It's a picture of a surprised Kennedy with a shirt on her head. Since the people I know who have a blog have already been tagged i'll leave it up to you- Make a blog and post the 4th picture in your "my pictures" file.

Have fun!!

We need your help!

This blog has helped us in the past so we are turning to it again. We need your help finding a house. Due to ongoing issues with Kennedy I am unable to work out of the home right now, and it is going to be that way for a while. Where we live we rely on propane instead of natural gas and it is incredibly expensive. Since Kennedy has been born we have been receiving a great deal of help from my parents but we don't want to have to continue to rely on them. Shawn and i have decided the best way for us to be able to save money it to cut back on our housing expenses but we are having a hard time finding a place to rent that we can afford. What we are hoping is that one of our readers might know someone who has a rental house that can help us out. We would prefer it be in Hesperia since it would be a shorter drive for Shawn to work, but we are open to Victorville, Apple Valley, and Adelanto as well. It would need to be on natural gas and at least 2 bedroom 1 bath but preferably 3 bedroom 2 bath. We are planning to stay a few years at least so it would be nice if it had a small yard for Kennedy to play in. If anyone knows someone who would like to help out 5 cats, 2 parents, and 1 adorable baby please email me at ourbabykennedy@verizon.net to discuss rent and details.

Thanks!
Katie, Shawn & Kennedy

Happy New Year!

Ok, I know its almost half way though the month and these belated greetings are getting a little old, but better late than never right? I was going to write yesterday, but it was my birthday and I just didn't feel like it so I vegged out instead. Truth be told the reason I have been so tardy with my posts lately is because of my addiction. That's right I'm not afraid to say when I need help. Hello, my name is Katie and I am addicted to World of Warcraft. About a year, year and a half ago Shawn bought World of Warcraft but our computer wouldn't run it. Well when my dad gave us this new to us computer he made sure it could run the game. At first I didn't want Shawn to put it on the computer because I didn't want him to get all wrapped up in it and be on the computer constantly, but I caved and after 3 days of downloading patches there it was a shiny new icon on my desktop that I was sure I would never use. Oh that tricky Shawn, he got me to make a character under the guise that it would be fun and I didn't have to play if I didn't like it but I did. It was only a few days after Thanksgiving that we started the game and already I have switched guilds a couple times, I'm working on my second character, I chase down alliance with all enthusiasm of a lioness after a tasty gazelle, I talk about how I had to spend 3 days in Mulgore farming so I could finally buy my mount, and I would love to have that girls shirt with the Horde logo on it. If you have no idea what I am talking about then its for the best, don't go googleing or anything or you too might get sucked into the online sensation that is World of Warcraft. By the way you know how I was worried about Shawn spending all his time in front of the computer? He spends maybe a tenth of the time I do playing so I guess I should learn to keep my mouth shut. Can anyone say "moted." lol

In the name of the New Year, looking back, and fresh starts I hereby declare this Kennedy's official New Year update. Hopefully next year this time, maybe sooner :0) ,I will do another big update for the year and we can look back and see how much Kennedy has grown and changed. Can you believe that Kennedy turned eight months old on Sunday? I can't. I know they say time flies and you don't believe how fast they grow, but its so true. Its even weirder i think for me because even though Kennedy is 8 months old she still looks like she is only 3 or 4 months plus she has only been home for 3 months so it really doesn't seem like that long. Every day she amazes me so much. She is always doing something new, or better and exceeding our expectations. She laughs at daddy all the time now and always has a smile for everybody. We are working on strengthening her core so she can sit up and she loves doing baby crunches. Her hair is really starting to come in, although, only we really notice it since she is still such a baldy. No teeth yet, but for the last week or so I have been letting her have cereal so she can practice eating solids. Most of it gets spit out, but she has a good time with it and seems to look forward to it when she gets set in her high chair. Yesterday she even opened her mouth real wide for the spoon when I said "ahhh." She rolls from her back to both sides evenly now but hasn't been able to make it all the way to her tummy. She is reaching well and has become an expert at getting her hand to her mouth in one try. She cant hold the bottle yet and has difficulty getting the pacy into her mouth the correct way but every day she gets a little better. Shawn and I have her on a schedule for feeds (8, 12, 4) and have recently stared a bed time routine. She gets a bath, bottle, and book and is in bed by 8pm. She usually wakes around 7 am and I am currently trying to figure out the best nap schedule for her. She is still eating poorly. On good days she will take around 530ccs (about 18 ounces) for the whole day. When she came home from the hospital she was taking about 450ccs ( about 15 ounces) and that's what the bad days still look like. It was ok but she keeps getting longer and not gaining much weight so she is getting to be a pretty thin baby and she is starting to loose some of her rolls. Its to too bad yet, but enough that I am anxious to talk to the doctor about it next week. We have weaned her off her Diuril (diuretic). Ten days ago we switched her reglan to twice a day instead of four times and she was doing so well on it that Sunday we took her off all together so hopefully she will continue to do well and it will be one less medication she has to have. So for right now she is on Pepsid 2xs/day, Phos-Nak 3xs/day, Eyrthromicin 4xs/day, and a multi-vitamin once a day. Last week Kennedy weighed 11 pounds 7 ounces which was two ounces more than last month- not a lot but still going up and up is better than maintaining and way better than loosing. She is wearing size 3 months clothes and I have a feeling she will be in them for a while since I just got rid of the last of the newborn size stuff just after Christmas. Even though Kennedy is still 3 1/2 pounds from the weight limit on her bassinet Shawn and I went ahead and retired it anyway. We both decided that we aren't quite ready for her to sleep in her own room yet so we moved her crib into our bedroom.
I almost forgot to tell you! Kennedy way given an apnea monitor to wear at night when she came home. Mostly is was given to us because I kept pushing for one after she had a few heart rate drops close to her discharge date and because the insurance didn't put up a fight when the doctors requested one for us. We had alarms since she had been home, but as far as we could tell they were all false and they usually only have you keep the monitor until the baby is 6 months adjusted so a few weeks ago Shawn and i decided to let Kennedy try a night off the monitor and we haven't been back since. The discoloration where her leads went has improved and Kennedy still scratches her chest but far less frequently than when she had to wear the leads every night. All in all Kennedy is doing great. Amazing considering where she was eight months ago. Well that's all for now. Type to you soon!