Playdate with the Wilsons

Yesterday my good friend Rachel and her two kids, Madeleine and Harrison, came over for a playdate. It is so neat because our kids are so close in age--Madeleine just turned 3 and Harrison is only 1 month older than Lincoln. It is SO nice to talk to someone who is going through the same things that I am with having two kids. We really understand each other--the lack of sleep, the attempts at disciplining, the battling of the wills, the constant picking up of toys, as well as the joys of seeing our kids laugh at each other, and the excitement when they do something for the first time. It is a neat friendship--one I am very grateful for!

Lincoln slept the first hour and a half that they were here. I finally kind of woke him up cause I couldn't wait to see the little guys together. Lincoln still looks kind of out of it in some of the pics. I don't think he knew what to think of Harrison who is already crawling around! They were so cute together!

So cute! Harrison was kissing the baby doll!

Madeleine and Hannah play extremely well together! They don't fight much and are pretty good about sharing toys. Madeleine loved Hannah's doll house. She played with it in Hannah's closet for a while. Hannah seemed more interested in "Karrison" at the time. She has a hard time saying Harrison so she calls him Karrison. So cute!!

Love this picture! Harrison and Hannah checking each other out!

Once the girls started playing together they had the best time! They played in Hannah's room for a while reading books and playing puzzles. After lunch, they went swimming. They love to pour water on each other and just laugh and laugh!

Finally they came in the house and said they were tired. They went back into Hannah's room and must have gotten in Hannah's bed for a few minutes. This didn't last too long though! They played and played with ALL of Hannah's toys as can be seen in these pictures! Ha!
It was a GREAT day! I think everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. I know I did!

BOO!!

Last night while we were eating supper, I put Lincoln on the floor with something to keep him busy for a few minutes. We all had the biggest laugh at the poor little guy! Here's what we saw....

BOO!!

He was scared of himself in the mirror! He'd slowly look over the mirror and when he saw himself, he'd immediately jump back and start screaming! It was hilarious! He did this several times--enough times for me to get the camera! I love it!!!

My little roley poley!!

I have had so much fun watching Lincoln the last couple of nights. He has finally figured out that he can roll around and actually get to things. It is very entertaining!! He squeals with delight the whole time.

Look at those rolls!!!!!!

Lincoln is trying so hard to crawl. He gets on his belly and flaps his arms and legs back and forth really fast. Here's a few pics of him trying.

Here's Hannah "counting" the money that I gave her for being good while we ran errands today. She calls it her "cash", puts it in one of her purses, tells us she's going to Wal-Mart or Sams, and kisses us good-bye. She thinks she is SO big!

Lincoln thought it was so funny that Hannah took off his diaper. He just giggled and giggled and so did she. It is awesome to see them laugh together. I love this!! Later tonight while I was feeding Linc in his highchair, he got to laughing so hard at Hannah who was playing peek-a-boo with him behind his chair that he could hardly eat. I love these happy moments of them together!!

Visit from Grandma and Granddad

This past weekend Kris' parents came for a visit. It had been quite a while since we'd seen them, so it was good for them to be here. We didn't do anything too exciting. We played a lot of cards (Canasta & Pitch). I'm proud to say the ladies prevailed!!! They brought us lots of good stuff from their garden--canteloupes, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, corn, and green beans. Yummo!!!

Hannah and Lincoln enjoyed getting to see Grandma and Granddad. Granddad couldn't get over how big Lincoln was. He kept saying how good of a boy he was too--hardly ever fusses or cries. It's true. We've been blessed with such a sweet little boy--at least so far!!! I wonder what he'll be like when he's 2 though!??? Who knows!

Granddad and Lincoln

Grandma and Lincoln

1ST SHOT

Well, Kris gave Hannah her first shot of Methatrexate last night. She did AWESOME!!!! Kris got the syringe ready while Hannah took a bath. After her bath, she sat down on the couch. We quickly told her that she was going to get her medicine. Then, Kris wiped her arm with the alcohol swab, pinched her arm, and stuck it in. She cried a little before he did it, when she realized what was about to happen. It was over so quick that she probably cried for just a minute and that was it. Once it was over, Kris asked her if she wanted a bandaid. She said "Yeah, a skittle one." That's what she calls her Wiggle bandaids Daddy brought back from Australia. That was it. She kept looking at her "boo boo", but other than that it was pretty quickly forgotten!

All in all, it wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined it would be. We are just going to pray that she doesn't experience any side effects from it and most of all, that it helps her joints to feel better!

Hannah

This blog is hard to write, but I really want to update everyone on Hannah and most of all, just ask for your prayers for her.

Back in January, we took Hannah to her pediatrician because she had been waking up in the mornings and at naps with a limp. She would also scream and cry when we tried to put her arms in her shirt when dressing her and when someone would try to pick her up by her wrists. The dr did x-rays on her hips and her right wrist to see if maybe her wrist was broken or something and to see if she was having issues with her hips again. (She had hip displasia when she was born). Her hips looked perfect and nothing showed up on the wrist. He also did blood work. It came back with an elevated sed rate and a positive ANA--two things that made him think rheumatoid arthritis. He sent us to Childrens Hospital to see Dr. Paula Morris, a pediatric rheumatologist. She basically confirmed that Hannah probably had JRA, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. She started her on Naproxen twice a day.

Most of the time, you wouldn't even know there was anything wrong with Hannah other than that she doesn't use her right hand like she would normally. She will write with it some, but she almost always puts her whole arm down to climb up on something. When she gets sick, though, she will run a fever and this causes her joints to really hurt, especially her right wrist. In the last month and a half, she has had 3 "flare-ups" where she runs a fever and her joints hurt. The last few times, she has had pain in both her wrists and her right ankle. When she doesn't feel well, she just wants to lay on the couch and watch tv. She holds her hands out away from her body so they don't touch anything. The slightest touch makes her cry. It is extremely hard to watch her go through this and not be able to do much to comfort her. Sometimes she doesn't even want to be held.

Her latest flare-up was this past weekend. Sunday night when Kris put her to bed, this was what she prayed for: "Momma, Momma, help me to feel better and not be sick, Lincoln, Daddy, and Momma. Jesus Name, Amen." Breaks my heart. She is becoming more and more aware I think that something is wrong with her. This is so hard for a 2 year old to understand.

Hannah had an MRI on her wrist a couple of weeks ago to verify that the swelling/inflammation was actually JRA and not something else. The MRI confirmed that it was, but did say that as of now there is no joint damage. So, Dr Morris has prescribed a more powerful drug, Methotrexate, to be given once a week--by injection by us. She also has to take folic acid everyday except the day of the injection to help with the side effects (nausea). We will give Hannah her first shot this Thursday.

Needless to say, we are not looking forward to having to do the shot at all, but are very willing to do it if it will help her feel better. So, I'd just like to ask any of you reading this to say a prayer for Hannah--that she will "feel better and not be sick".

Thanks so much!!!

Cute Picture

The other day I was busy doing something and realized Hannah was being awfully quite back in one of the bedrooms. So, I decided to go check on her. Here's what I found!!!

FUN WITH THE FAM!

This weekend we went home to Texarkana to visit my parents and go to a birthday party for my cousin's little boy who was turning 1. Hannah was really excited about seeing MeMe and Pappaw. She could hardly wait to get there. My brother, Jeff, who lives here in Little Rock rode down with us. My brother, Wes, and his girlfriend Tandy came up from Dallas. It was great to all be together for a few days! We had a lot of fun!

Hannah being doctored by Uncle Wes!

On Saturday, we went to my aunt's for a 1st birthday party for my cousin's little boy, Eric. It was a Nemo party. There was Pin the Tale on Nemo, a Nemo pinata, a Nemo cake, and even a pool to swim in! It was a cool 1st birthday party!!!

Wes & Tandy-Aren't they cute!?

Hannah & Addison

Jeff, Mom, & Kris just hanging out

Shawn (my cousin), Eric, & Brenda

Hannah loves to swim!!! We got a membership to the YMCA and have been going swimming 2-3 times a week. We got her a swimsuit that has floaties built in. At first, she would want to hold on to us while in the water. A week or so ago, she decided she wanted to swim by herself. She has learned to tread water and has realized that she really can't sink with her swimsuit on. So, she totally enjoys swimming around. My parents couldn't believe how well she was doing at the party. She especially loves to jump into the water from the side of the pool. I am just so proud of how well she does in the pool!

Lincoln loves the water too!

Dry All Day! HOORAY!

As I mentioned in my first blog, we are in the middle of potty training Hannah. She has been doing pretty well lately after a rough start a week or so ago. I actually got so frustrated after the first day that I decided to quit. Funny thing is, she woke up the next morning and actually wanted to go to the potty. I decided to just put her in panties with plastic pants over them versus using pull-ups all the time. Hannah hasn't had any dirty pants in quite a while!!! Yeah!! However, she hasn't quite gotten the hang of staying dry yet. Yesterday she had several wet accidents. So, I decided I'd try a little incentive. I told her that if she stayed dry all day long, she would get to go to Krispy Kreme the next morning and get donuts! This seemed to excite her. I just reminded her about it several times yesterday. I was so proud of her!!! She actually did it!! So, this morning we got up and went to get donuts. She wanted one with sprinkles. She looked like she was enjoying it.

However, when I asked her if she liked her donut she said no! Go figure!

First Blog

Welcome to the Keim Family blog!! I am so excited to get started with this. Some of our friends have been blogging about their families, so I thought I'd give it a try. Hopefully, all our family and friends, near and far, can keep up with us with just a click of a few buttons!!!

Let me give you an update on what is going on with each of us.

Kris currently works for Computer Systems of Arkansas. He also co-leads a Life Group on Wednesday nights. Life Groups are small home Bible studies designed to build relationships and study God's Word. We have hosted a group in our home for the last several years. Kris is also one of several deacons of Life Groups at church.

I stay home with our two kids, Hannah (almost 3 years) and Lincoln (6 months). They keep me plenty busy!!!! I spend my time reading stories, watching Barney, playing in the floor, changing diapers, picking up toys, cooking, cleaning, etc etc etc. It is VERY hard work, but I am SO glad I am able to do it!

Like I said, Hannah is almost 3. She is a mess!!!! She has such a little personality. She continually makes me laugh...and then cry...and then laugh. She is a real handful sometimes. She is getting so big. She wants to do everything by herself, i.e. "I do it!" We are in the middle of potty training. Man is it hard work! She is actually doing pretty well. I shouldn't complain too much.

Lincoln is my precious little boy! Actually he is not that little. He weighs 21 lbs at 6 months old. I just love all his rolls! He is such a joy! It is hard to believe he is already 6 months old. He is a very happy baby, smiles all the time! He is sitting up really well, so he loves to just sit in the floor and play with his toys. He loves his big sister too. It doesn't take much for Lincoln to laugh at Hannah. They are so cute together. Here are a few pictures!!