What we did on Christmas Day...

Well, we usually have many family activities planned over the holidays, but this certainly was not on the agenda. Hannah came down with Pneumonia and Daddy, Mommy, and Hannah spent Christmas day and the next day at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis. Hannah came down with Pneumonia also at the age of 6 months, exactly three Christmases ago. Her Mommy also had Pneumonia at 6 months of age. I guess she is trying to carry out the tradition, although I think we could come up with some more pleasurable family traditions to adopt:)

She was not very interested in her stocking, as you can see...

Hannah had been refusing to drink or eat, so needed fluids and a different medication (the first med did not work for her). Once they got some fluids in her and the meds, she was able to finally rest and get some good sleep. Mommy got the privilege of sleeping on a luxurious cot beside her bed.

The next morning we got her to eat about a half of a pancake, which was about the only food accomplishment for the day. She was offered every juice, pop and popsicle under the sun, but did not want a thing. Lunch was one bite of pizza, one bite of chocolate pudding, and that was it. Talk about stressing Daddy and Mommy out! What child won't eat a popsicle?

Big sister came for a visit and brought a sweet get well letter for little sis. (Side note - when we called Nana (Angela's mom) to give her an update on Christmas night, Nana informed us that Emelia was now coming down with a fever and coughing alot... uff dah! So, Emelia had to wear a mask when she came to visit. Daddy also came down with Hannah's cold... so nice of her to share:) And Mommy was being protected by the Lord, for she can't be sick right now! For those of you who know Emelia, even sickness does not put this girl down. She came into the hospital bouncing as usual... we could hear her before she arrived, bringing with her her always full bag of joy!

For the rest of Friday, we tried to get liquids down Hannah (and food). But, she is extremely, extremely stubborn and would not cooperate. The doctor had a really hard time deciding whether to let her go home or not, because she was doing well for everything else, but still refusal to drink the minimum for survival. Ted and I think that Dr. Dobson may have to write another revised version of the "Strong Willed Child" just for her:) As you can see above, Hannah was not happy with her nurse when she insisted that Hannah get out of her bed and go for a walk to see how she could function before deciding whether to release her or not. And she was doubly unhappy when nurse told her she had to wear a mask.

Miss Grumpy Pants in her cute hospital nightgown.

Mommy's favorite part was her back end showing out the back of the gown:) She was mildly happy when she discovered the fish tank at the end of the hallway.

Finally a smile. Hannah gets to go home. YAY! She is sooo happy! We all decided that we would hope for the best (that she would decide to drink and eat when at home) and the doctor released her. She was a bit stubborn at first, but every time we tell her now that she needs to either (a) take the medicine/drink the juice or (b) go back to the hospital, she is suddenly able to make the right choice:) Oh, one last hospital funny... when we were waiting in the emergency room the nurse came in to take Hannah's temperature, and she totally refused to cooperate. While Mommy tried to come up with some creative way to convince her, the nurse cut to the chase and said, "OK, we'll have to do it rectally." When Mommy explained to Hannah what this meant, she cried no and opened wide her mouth. Yep, given a choice, she will make the right one:) We are happy to report that she is home now, and much happier, healthier. We hope your Christmas was much more un-eventful and hopefully next year ours will be too:)