tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55007920904677145092024-03-13T21:18:30.963-07:00Kinley Seep MelcherKevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.comBlogger290125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-5323793349854361652010-10-25T21:07:00.000-07:002010-10-25T21:08:38.385-07:00Moving to Family BlogThis is sad to say, but this will be the last post to Kinley's blog.<br />
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Kinley's story is far from over, but due to the upcoming addition of our second child we thought it would be best if we started a family blog. Don't worry though, we will keep this blog active and continue to blog about Kinley on our family blog. Our family blog is www.themelcherfamily.blogspot.com. We are still working on getting the web page set up, but posts will start going up very soon. (SPOILER ALERT: Kinley's baby brother was born October 7th. Yes, we are already behind on posting about it.) <br />
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We would like to thank everyone who has followed and shared in Kinley's life to this point. Please feel free to follow her on our family blog. Her story has been an absolutely amazing one so far and we know that it will continue along that same path.Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-76632121765226523332010-10-24T22:47:00.000-07:002010-10-24T22:47:33.217-07:00Bounce HouseFYI - This is going to be a picture heavy post.<br />
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To help Kinley with the upcoming transition of adding our second child to the family, we bought her an early Christmas gift. It is a bounce house. The plan is that the bounce house will give her something to do while we are overwhelmed taking care of her little brother. We got the idea from our close friends who bought their 2 year old a bounce house for his birthday. It is an indoor/outdoor bounce house, but our main intention is to use it indoors since it will be winter soon. The bounce house is made by "little tikes" and we ended up ordering it online since not too many retailers carry them in stock. I believe we bought it through babyage.com because it had free delivery and we found an online coupon for 10% off. Little Tikes has many different styles of bounce houses. We ended up going with a triangle bounce house that has a slide on one side. We felt it was the best option to fit in our house. Below are a bunch of pictures from the first day Kinley was able to play in it.<br />
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</tbody></table>Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-34663270919764448882010-10-24T08:35:00.000-07:002010-10-24T08:35:49.838-07:00Your Baby Can ReadTo help with Kinley's speech development we have purchased the Your Baby Can Read box set from Bed, Bath & Beyond. One of our main motivations for purchasing and trying Your Baby Can Read is that one of the boys in Kinley's playgroup is using it and he has a very extensive vocabulary. Our second reason is that we are willing to try anything to help Kinley increase her vocabulary and hopefully catch up in her speech development. Buying the entire set from the Your Baby Can Read website was too expensive for us, but we were comfortable purchasing the smaller set using one, of our many, 20% off coupons to Bed, Bath & Beyond. Our set came with 4 DVDs, 4 word flap books and 4 sets of flash cards.<br />
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Kinley enjoys all 3 parts (DVDs, books and flash cards) of her box set. The DVDs are pretty short and not very fancy, but they work really well in the car. Her pronunciation still needs a lot of work, but she makes attempts to say most every word. She especially likes the songs on the DVDs. She attempts to do the hand motions to "Itsy Bitsy Spider." She touches her head during "Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes". She might do more body parts, but the song simply goes too fast for her to keep up. And she claps, stomps and yells hooray to "If You're Happy And You Know It." She likes the books also, but the flaps go all different directions depending on the page and sometimes Kinley gets frustrated. The flash cards are especially nice because they have inserts that slide out to reveal a picture of the word on the card. Kinley has fun sliding the cards. <br />
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Overall we are very happy with our purchase of Your Baby Can Read. Kinley still has a long way to go with pronunciation and verbal communication, but it has gotten her vocalizing more and has also greatly increased her vocabulary. Now when we read books to Kinley she loves to point to, and say all of the objects she knows.Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-47628874910838042232010-10-20T19:45:00.000-07:002010-10-20T19:45:13.434-07:00Lake HouseWhile we were vacationing at Tan-Tar-A earlier this year, Grandma and Grandpa Seep were doing some searching for a lake house. Luckily, for everyone, they found one that met all their requirements and they were able to close on it. Now, thanks completely to Grandma and Grandpa Seep, Kinley and her soon to be younger brother will have a fun vacation home that is not too far away. I guess mom and dad will simply have to suck it up and tag along. I'm completely kidding. I think we might be more excited about the lake house than Grandma and Grandpa.<br />
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After the closing was finalized we all (Kathy, Kevin, Kinley, Grandpa and Grandma Seep) took a family trip to Nebraska Furniture Mart. There Kinley helped us pick out beds and couches for the lake house.<br />
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We have been down to the lake house a couple of times with Kinley, but unfortunately we have not taken any pictures. Below is a pic that Grandpa Seep took of Grandma Seep, with the lake house in the background.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TL-pDrhos_I/AAAAAAAABV0/gOKMxgue2Hg/s1600/DSC00087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TL-pDrhos_I/AAAAAAAABV0/gOKMxgue2Hg/s320/DSC00087.JPG" width="213" /></a></div> Kinley really enjoys the water and she loves it when we go swimming off the dock. We do not have a boat yet, but Grandma and Grandpa Seep hope to have one by next summer. We also have plans to help out by getting a wave runner for the house, but need to do some researching and money saving first. Especially with baby #2 coming.Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-78492376869990137462010-10-19T10:36:00.000-07:002010-10-19T10:36:55.648-07:002 Year UpdateOK, well I guess Kinley has been two for awhile now, but I have been meaning to post a two year update since she turned two, so that is what we are going with.<br />
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Kinley is still sleeping very well. Her bedtime is typically between 8-8:30 PM and she usually sleeps until at least 7 or 8 AM the next morning. She also takes an afternoon nap which usually starts around 1 PM and lasts until 4 PM. She doesn't always sleep the entire naptime, but she is content to rest in her crib.<br />
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We don't really worry about Kinley's eating patterns anymore, which is great considering how focused we were on her nutrition status and weight at first. Kinley has really come a long way from the feeding tube, supplements and thickener that she used to require. Now Kinley eats breakfast when she wakes up, lunch around noon, a cup of milk as a snack when she wakes up from her nap, and dinner around 7 PM. Breakfast is usually french toast sticks or cereal with some type of fruit, usually a banana. Kinley will also get a cup of 2% milk with a 1/4 capful of Miralax mixed in. All of Kinley's cups are now cups with straws. She has outgrown the traditional sippy cup. Lunch and dinner varies from day to day, but Kinley's favorite foods recently are mac and cheese, grilled cheese, Dora yogurt, muffins, crackers and cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza and almost any type of fruit. Kinley is not big into vegetables or meat other than chicken nuggets, but we are working on it. Kinley gets water in her cup with lunch and dinner. I am sure Kinley would prefer milk, but we were told Kinley was getting too much milk, plus her appetite seems to be better for lunch and dinner when we give her water to drink. We have tried letting Kinley have some juice as a little treat, but she doesn't really like it. Kinley has recently learned to use a fork and spoon and actually prefers using utensils to her hands to eat since her hands get less messy that way. <br />
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When Kinley turned 2 years old we started giving her a chewy multi-vitamin to help with her nutrition. She is not on any meds, but we do give her a 1/4 capful of Miralax a day.<br />
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As of Kinley's last check up on 6/2/10, her weight was 25 lbs (30th percentile). Her height was 34.5 inches (75th percentile). And her head circumference was 19.5 inches (95th percentile). She does not need to go back for a check up until her 3rd birthday. As of Kinley's 2nd birthday, she was wearing size 18 month clothes, size 3 diapers and size 6 shoes. Currently (October 2010) Kinley is wearing size 2T clothes, size 4 diapers and size 7 shoes.<br />
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Kinley continues to be seen by Infant and Toddler Services of Johnson County (ITSJC). Her gross motor skills are up to date, but her fine motor skills still need a little more work. Kinley's biggest developmental delay, and ITSJC's main focus, is language/speech skills. In fact, her ITSJC appointments have been increased from every 2 weeks to every week to work more with her speech. Kinley is roughly behind by about 3 months in her speech development, but she has been able to keep pace to not fall any further behind. Hopefully the increase in ITSJC visits will help her to catch up on her language skills. Along with speech therapy from ITSJC, Kinley is seen by an Occupational Therapist (OT) every other week. Kinley's OT works with her on some sensory issues.Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-43021502468133596542010-10-15T15:57:00.000-07:002010-10-15T15:57:39.561-07:00Tan-Tar-AIn July, we took a family vacation to Tan-Tar-A Resort at Lake of the Ozarks. Kevin, Kinley and I, along with my parents, went last year for a long weekend and had so much fun that we decided to go for a whole week this year. Aunt Mary was also able to make the trip this year, so that was really nice. <br />
I say "make the trip" like it is pretty far away, but really it is just a 3 hour drive. It is the perfect length for a car trip with a 2 year old and the atmosphere at the lake is much more relaxing than at home. It was really nice to get away for a little while, and we are already planning our next trip back to the lake. <br />
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We spent most days at the various pools the resort had. Kinley is getting to be quite the little water baby. She loves the pool and being outside! The resort had a baby pool that Kinley loved last year, but seemed a little too big for it this year. We spent most of the time divided between the toddler pool and the adult pool. Kinley liked playing with all her water toys in the toddler pool, but towards the end of the week she figured out how to get out of the toddler pool all by herself and go over to the adult pool.<br />
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I am sure she would just jump into the adult pool if we were not right there to stop her. She has no fear! In the adult pool Kinley likes to swim with mommy and daddy. Grandma and Grandpa Seep bought her a noodle and she would hold onto the noodle and kick her little feet behind. We really need to get this girl into some swim lessons. On the last day of vacation daddy let Kinley jump into the pool and into his arms as he was standing in the pool and Kinley thought that was really fun. Kevin also had Kinley put her face underwater to get her used to it and she didn't even mind that. Like I said before, total water baby. Watch out mommy and daddy, we have to keep a close eye on her while at the pool.<br />
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We also rented a pontoon boat one day and took it out on the lake. Just like at Big Cedar, Kinley's favorite spot on the boat was front and center. She was content to stand there and watch the water and other boats go by. It got pretty hot on the boat, so we did stop in a little cove, put the anchor down and took a quick swim in the lake to cool off a bit. As with everything else water related, Kinley seemed to enjoy the quick swim, but was ready to get back on the boat when it was time to head back.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TLjbakWncYI/AAAAAAAABVs/D3Z7J4s3Jak/s1600/DSC00093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TLjbakWncYI/AAAAAAAABVs/D3Z7J4s3Jak/s320/DSC00093.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TLjbTtw4uEI/AAAAAAAABVo/X0fOb1_Eyuc/s1600/DSC00089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TLjbTtw4uEI/AAAAAAAABVo/X0fOb1_Eyuc/s320/DSC00089.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Overall Kinley did really well on vacation for a whole week. Of course she enjoyed all the attention from being the only child on vacation, but she also ate really well and slept pretty good too.Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-41619151632599009832010-07-31T13:05:00.000-07:002010-08-02T11:28:12.667-07:00Lenexa BBQWow, June was a pretty busy month for us. Each year some good friends of ours compete in the Lenexa BBQ and we try to make it out to the event to support them and taste the delicious BBQ! This year we were lucky enough to be able to make it out again. It was pretty hot out, even for being the evening, but that didn't stop us from having a good time and eating some great BBQ. <br /><br />Kinley liked to try out all the different chairs. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFcM_ONw5rI/AAAAAAAABUc/IPogEPrBQFs/s1600/IMG_5874.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFcM_ONw5rI/AAAAAAAABUc/IPogEPrBQFs/s320/IMG_5874.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500879750143469234" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFcM-qw5J5I/AAAAAAAABUU/EVOnfwOeRKA/s1600/IMG_5883.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFcM-qw5J5I/AAAAAAAABUU/EVOnfwOeRKA/s320/IMG_5883.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500879740627134354" /></a> <br /><br />Finally we got a couple of pics of Chase and Kinley together <span style="font-style:italic;">and </span>both looking at the camera! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFcNpdJnACI/AAAAAAAABUs/s4m7ePJ-css/s1600/IMG_5877.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFcNpdJnACI/AAAAAAAABUs/s4m7ePJ-css/s320/IMG_5877.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500880475707080738" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFcNo7YiAlI/AAAAAAAABUk/Yi6YautKdXM/s1600/IMG_5880.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFcNo7YiAlI/AAAAAAAABUk/Yi6YautKdXM/s320/IMG_5880.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500880466642862674" /></a>Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-42418025314859036742010-07-31T12:44:00.000-07:002010-08-02T11:19:50.947-07:00Shatto Dairy FarmAlso back in June, our playgroup took a little field trip to the Shatto Dairy Farm just north of Kansas City. Shatto is a family run farm and we credit them with helping Kinley learn to drink out of a sippy cup. When Kinley was transitioning from the bottle to a sippy cup we let her drink the various yummy flavors of Shatto milk in her sippy cup. I think banana was her favorite, but they also have orange, chocolate, root beer and strawberry. Shatto was having a family fun day at the farm, so there were lots of people visiting and it was pretty crowded, but Kinley still got to see the cows up close and personal. Turns out Kinley was not a big fan of the cows, but oh well. We stayed just long enough to see all the exhibits and then a huge storm rolled in, so we left in a little rush. We made it to the car before the big downpour started, so that was good. Wasn't able to get many pics from that day, but here are just a few. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFcLsssrsuI/AAAAAAAABUM/i6UFIm-8G7E/s1600/IMG_5810.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFcLsssrsuI/AAAAAAAABUM/i6UFIm-8G7E/s320/IMG_5810.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500878332397073122" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFcLsU1FhdI/AAAAAAAABUE/gU1WNRhFHw0/s1600/IMG_5812.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFcLsU1FhdI/AAAAAAAABUE/gU1WNRhFHw0/s320/IMG_5812.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500878325989869010" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFcLrwzEULI/AAAAAAAABT8/c8PIkzkp0_w/s1600/IMG_5814.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFcLrwzEULI/AAAAAAAABT8/c8PIkzkp0_w/s320/IMG_5814.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500878316317724850" /></a>Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-23642566294628439082010-07-31T12:30:00.000-07:002010-07-31T12:43:18.804-07:00Hearing UpdateBack on June 14th, Kinley had a follow up visit with the audiology department at Children's Mercy Hospital. Her previous appointment showed a slight, low frequency hearing loss, but nothing that should be interfering with her speech. We were told to try and get her used to using ear buds or headphones so that they could do a more thorough exam at this visit. <br /><br />Kinley did great during this exam. They were able to do the more extensive hearing test and found that Kinley does not have any hearing issues at this time. She passed with flying colors and we do not need another follow up appointment until next year! We will still need to have her hearing monitored since children born with CDH are at greater risk for progressive hearing loss, but at this time everything looks great!Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-31401855743551445662010-07-30T11:44:00.001-07:002010-07-30T13:03:28.277-07:00Kinley 2nd Birthday PartyFor Kinley's 2nd birthday, Kevin and I bought her a new swing set for the backyard. We decided to have her birthday party be a backyard BBQ so that she and all the other kids could play on her new swing set. Looks like everyone had a fun time!<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMgAZg-1HI/AAAAAAAABR8/v0y7SHVeOp8/s1600/DSC_0024.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMgAZg-1HI/AAAAAAAABR8/v0y7SHVeOp8/s320/DSC_0024.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499774761170818162" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMf_xcNI4I/AAAAAAAABR0/rrzIVpNdLUI/s1600/DSC_0006.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMf_xcNI4I/AAAAAAAABR0/rrzIVpNdLUI/s320/DSC_0006.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499774750413366146" /></a><br /><br />Kinley climbing up the ladder. She needed some help at first, but now she can go all the way up by herself and down the slide. She is getting so big, so fast!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMgA-B-KqI/AAAAAAAABSE/OBpOOeTfG_Y/s1600/DSC_0068.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMgA-B-KqI/AAAAAAAABSE/OBpOOeTfG_Y/s320/DSC_0068.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499774770972863138" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMjjVNsl4I/AAAAAAAABSc/jmmfgCWm37g/s1600/DSC_0123.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMjjVNsl4I/AAAAAAAABSc/jmmfgCWm37g/s320/DSC_0123.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499778659846494082" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMl2sHtIhI/AAAAAAAABSs/cD0CpCHHB9g/s1600/DSC_0125.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMl2sHtIhI/AAAAAAAABSs/cD0CpCHHB9g/s320/DSC_0125.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499781191436149266" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMl24SHNrI/AAAAAAAABS0/rs1UJdmraU4/s1600/DSC_0132.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMl24SHNrI/AAAAAAAABS0/rs1UJdmraU4/s320/DSC_0132.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499781194701026994" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMm50yHegI/AAAAAAAABS8/VWlrmektKXs/s1600/DSC_0137.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMm50yHegI/AAAAAAAABS8/VWlrmektKXs/s320/DSC_0137.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499782344812755458" /></a><br /><br />Now what mom?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMl2AVYVcI/AAAAAAAABSk/a93nIouFRew/s1600/DSC_0109.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMl2AVYVcI/AAAAAAAABSk/a93nIouFRew/s320/DSC_0109.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499781179682346434" /></a><br /><br />Trying out the different swings.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMjiz2iZPI/AAAAAAAABSU/zkgQ2MTMo6g/s1600/DSC_0093.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMjiz2iZPI/AAAAAAAABSU/zkgQ2MTMo6g/s320/DSC_0093.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499778650890986738" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMjiLpp5EI/AAAAAAAABSM/x4-f3U3zf9w/s1600/DSC_0087.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMjiLpp5EI/AAAAAAAABSM/x4-f3U3zf9w/s320/DSC_0087.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499778640099533890" /></a><br /><br />Opening up presents!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMskzw40lI/AAAAAAAABTc/WznmCtohODE/s1600/DSC_0175.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMskzw40lI/AAAAAAAABTc/WznmCtohODE/s320/DSC_0175.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499788580831679058" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMrGIy7C4I/AAAAAAAABTU/jTVkKbYmLCI/s1600/DSC_0170.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMrGIy7C4I/AAAAAAAABTU/jTVkKbYmLCI/s320/DSC_0170.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499786954389785474" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMrFWltjYI/AAAAAAAABTE/CAebNBK42zs/s1600/DSC_0150.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMrFWltjYI/AAAAAAAABTE/CAebNBK42zs/s320/DSC_0150.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499786940912602498" /></a><br /><br />Look Dad, barrettes! (Now all we have to do is convince Kinley to keep the barrettes in her hair. She hates hair in her face, but won't keep any barrettes, hair ties or headbands on.)<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMrF74COTI/AAAAAAAABTM/NRk6I2B0qVQ/s1600/DSC_0156.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMrF74COTI/AAAAAAAABTM/NRk6I2B0qVQ/s320/DSC_0156.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499786950921566514" /></a><br /><br />Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday Dear Kinley, Happy Birthday to you!! We love you!!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMsmKiQ9rI/AAAAAAAABTs/8FLv_ik7XP0/s1600/DSC_0194.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMsmKiQ9rI/AAAAAAAABTs/8FLv_ik7XP0/s320/DSC_0194.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499788604124231346" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMslvyfVSI/AAAAAAAABTk/MGTBWNOynLU/s1600/DSC_0189.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMslvyfVSI/AAAAAAAABTk/MGTBWNOynLU/s320/DSC_0189.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499788596944524578" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMtLlz0hSI/AAAAAAAABT0/Tl5hcNWEII8/s1600/DSC_0197.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TFMtLlz0hSI/AAAAAAAABT0/Tl5hcNWEII8/s320/DSC_0197.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499789247100781858" /></a>Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-66909196079816551752010-07-01T13:13:00.000-07:002010-07-01T13:31:34.910-07:00A Big SisterOne of the reasons that I am so far behind on blog posts is because of some exciting news. Kinley is going to be a BIG SISTER!! Her little brother is due October 13th. So far the little guy is growing well and looks healthy! We don't have a name picked out yet, no furniture has been ordered yet, and I can't find any bedding that I like so we haven't even started decorating the new nursery. Lots to do and time is flying by. <br /><br />I keep trying to explain what is happening to Kinley, but I don't think she will understand until he is here. I hope she adjusts alright. I worry since she is used to being the center of attention being an only child for now, and the only grandchild on both my side of the family and Kevin's. Also, given all that Kinley went through after she was born, well, lets just say she might be a little spoiled. <br /><br />For the most part Kinley seems to take everything in stride though, and I am sure she will be a great Big Sister once she warms up to the idea.Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-51539497318560799082010-05-19T05:46:00.000-07:002010-07-01T13:11:51.570-07:00Big CedarI feel like every time I am about to get caught up with the blog, things happen and then I fall even more behind. So, I am back to playing catch-up.<br /><br />The weekend of May 7th we took a family vacation with my parents to Big Cedar Lodge at Table Rock Lake. The resort was beautiful and we had pretty good weather. It was a little cool, but at least it didn't rain on us. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzoyJYNkWI/AAAAAAAABRI/4EjoHdYCWbA/s1600/DSC_0140.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzoyJYNkWI/AAAAAAAABRI/4EjoHdYCWbA/s320/DSC_0140.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489017994066366818" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzmx2YbZeI/AAAAAAAABRA/kzW5l2ibQm0/s1600/DSC_0128.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzmx2YbZeI/AAAAAAAABRA/kzW5l2ibQm0/s320/DSC_0128.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489015789943743970" /></a><br /><br />Kinley is getting so independent and wants to walk everywhere by herself these days. She loved all the bridges at the lodge. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzoy_ByEdI/AAAAAAAABRQ/Ki85kQtiKzQ/s1600/DSC_0137.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzoy_ByEdI/AAAAAAAABRQ/Ki85kQtiKzQ/s320/DSC_0137.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489018008467804626" /></a><br /><br />Kinley wasn't used to all the hills and did fall a couple of times on her walks, but for the most part she did really well and had a great time exploring her new environment. <br /><br />There was lots of fun stuff for Kinley to do at the lodge. One of the first things we did was take her horse back riding. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzh03IB-QI/AAAAAAAABQI/-NWTdYDI1AI/s1600/DSC_0037.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzh03IB-QI/AAAAAAAABQI/-NWTdYDI1AI/s320/DSC_0037.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489010344124872962" /></a> <br /><br />Kinley wasn't too sure about this, but we gave it a try anyway.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzh1vKltLI/AAAAAAAABQQ/JTRVk31cYB4/s1600/DSC_0052.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzh1vKltLI/AAAAAAAABQQ/JTRVk31cYB4/s320/DSC_0052.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489010359167988914" /></a><br /><br />She did great petting her horse. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzk478-69I/AAAAAAAABQY/oTlaqd6EaYA/s1600/DSC_0062.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzk478-69I/AAAAAAAABQY/oTlaqd6EaYA/s320/DSC_0062.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489013712675072978" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzk5WSJ-4I/AAAAAAAABQg/bZ63-rjVzPw/s1600/DSC_0070.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzk5WSJ-4I/AAAAAAAABQg/bZ63-rjVzPw/s320/DSC_0070.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489013719743200130" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzmwsFEj-I/AAAAAAAABQw/GDIYSB7OalY/s1600/DSC_0091.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzmwsFEj-I/AAAAAAAABQw/GDIYSB7OalY/s320/DSC_0091.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489015769998331874" /></a><br /><br />But not so great when it came to actually riding the horse. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzk51y6jNI/AAAAAAAABQo/f0lqc6_Va6k/s1600/DSC_0080.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzk51y6jNI/AAAAAAAABQo/f0lqc6_Va6k/s320/DSC_0080.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489013728202099922" /></a><br /><br />She was happy again once we let her run around on her own. At least she tried something new and cheers up quickly after it is over!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzmxfYFCmI/AAAAAAAABQ4/BKIuWckdFZM/s1600/DSC_0095.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzmxfYFCmI/AAAAAAAABQ4/BKIuWckdFZM/s320/DSC_0095.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489015783768263266" /></a><br /><br />The lodge also had a little turtle pond with tons of turtles. Here is Kinley getting her chance to see the turtles with grandma. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzh0LxHz7I/AAAAAAAABQA/S-U6BJeSAnI/s1600/DSC_0028.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzh0LxHz7I/AAAAAAAABQA/S-U6BJeSAnI/s320/DSC_0028.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489010332486062002" /></a><br /><br />Later on that weekend we rented a pontoon boat and hit the lake. Kinley is such a water baby. At the back of the boat helping grandpa drive.<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzqAxWgweI/AAAAAAAABRo/PYuYdr9qAr4/s1600/DSC_0174.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzqAxWgweI/AAAAAAAABRo/PYuYdr9qAr4/s320/DSC_0174.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489019344826450402" /></a><br /><br />Hanging out with grandma at the front of the boat and enjoying the view. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzqAYVpMpI/AAAAAAAABRg/AUcE7QKW7ks/s1600/DSC_0170.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzqAYVpMpI/AAAAAAAABRg/AUcE7QKW7ks/s320/DSC_0170.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489019338111922834" /></a><br /><br />It was a little chilly on the boat, so we tried to hang out on the front of the boat where the sun was. Luckily we put sunscreen on Kinley's face, but since I was just trying to warm up in the sun (not tan) I didn't even think about putting sunscreen on me. Bad move. My pale skin was not used to any amount of sun and I got burned. Oh well, at least it was near the end of the trip anyway. Lesson learned. <br /><br />Even with her sunscreen, Kinley ended up hurting worse than me after the boat ride. While we were on the boat Kinley took a spill and gave herself a pretty good fat lip. We were able to get her all cleaned up, gave her some ibuprofen and iced her lip. She was a trooper and daddy knew just how to make her feel better, <span style="font-style:italic;">Phineas and Ferb</span> on the ipod until she fell asleep and took a nap on daddy's lap. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzoznc-K8I/AAAAAAAABRY/Fc1FGciJUl4/s1600/DSC_0202.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/TCzoznc-K8I/AAAAAAAABRY/Fc1FGciJUl4/s320/DSC_0202.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489018019319262146" /></a><br /><br />Overall a fun weekend. It is always nice to get away, even if it is just for a long weekend.Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-23750536703840776692010-05-18T13:15:00.000-07:002010-05-18T13:56:49.916-07:00Boo CroupI can't believe I forgot to mention that a few days before we left for Texas Kinley got sick for the very first time since she came home from the hospital. She has had a couple of minor colds, but this was the first time we actually had to take her to the doctor because she was sick. <br /><br />Kinley had been running a temperature around 100-102 for a couple of days. We didn't think much of it, and just gave her Tylenol and Motrin to help. After a couple days of having a fever Kinley started to get a really bad cough. The cough was so bad that she even threw up a couple of times. You could just tell that she felt horrible. She was really fussy and didn't want to eat or drink anything. Kevin and I felt so bad for her that we basically let he have a few free days where she could eat her favorite foods and watch more <span style="font-style:italic;">Phineas and Ferb</span> than we usually let her watch.<br /><br />Once the cough got to where it caused her to vomit a couple of times, and since she had a fever for several days we gave in and took her to her doctor. Dr. S. took one look at Kinley, listened to her breathe and told us she had croup. He also did a strep test to rule out that possibility, but it came back negative. Just croup. <br /><br />Croup is a viral infection that may or may not be accompanied by a fever. There is a characteristic cough and swelling of the upper respiratory track. It does not affect the lungs however, which is good news for Kinley. Dr. S. prescribed a 3 day course of steroids to help with the swelling of her upper respiratory track, but since it is a viral infection antibiotics would not help. We were told to keep giving Tylenol and Motrin for her fever. Dr. S. said croup usually lasts for about a week and since he saw her on day 3 of her fever she was about halfway through already. He said that she should be fine for our trip to Texas and that there was no need to cancel any plans. That was good news. <br /><br />Sure enough after a couple more days Kinley started to get better which was great news for everyone. I think Kevin and I took Kinley's illness harder than she did. It was just heartbreaking to see her feel so bad. I know that we have been <span style="font-style:italic;">very</span> lucky Kinley has been as healthy as she has been since coming home from the hospital, but that doesn't seem to be very comforting when you are dealing with a sick child at that moment. I guess I should be happy that all she had was croup, a fairly common childhood illness that any kid could get.Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-14665180274789209072010-05-17T21:02:00.000-07:002010-05-18T13:14:57.735-07:00Back to TexasOn April 22nd we packed up the car and headed back to Texas for another long weekend. The trip was planned around a baby shower for a good friend and sorority sister of mine. It just so happens that she married a friend and fellow TCU baseball teammate of Kevin. We stayed with them the last time we went down to Texas and we were able to stay with them again this time which worked out really well. They are expecting a baby boy this June and we wish them nothing but the best!<br /><br />Each time we travel to Texas we always try to get back to visit the TCU Campus at least once. Last time we were there during football season and were able to catch a game. This time it was baseball season and we were able to go watch them play Friday night. TCU recently got a brand new baseball stadium which we saw for the first time on this trip. It was such a nice stadium! There was a picnic and grilling area out near right field that you could reserve, a little hill that looked over the first base line that kids would slide down while sitting on flattened cardboard boxes, and another area on the third base line with some more tables you could rent. They also host parties for kids. While we were there a little boy was having a birthday party and during one of the breaks between innings the kids at the party were allowed to run the bases. It was more like a minor league game than a college game. It was really fun to be back on campus and see the new field. Kinley did pretty well sitting through most of the game. She ate some nachos, Dippin Dots ice cream and towards the 5th or 6th inning she was getting a little restless, so Dad let her watch some <span style="font-style:italic;">Phineas and Ferb</span> on his iPod. We ended up leaving around the 8th inning, but only because it was past Kinley's bedtime and we still had an hour drive back to the house. Here are some pics of the new baseball stadium at TCU. Pretty impressive. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IYdlf2q-I/AAAAAAAABP4/7NWCJKEam5U/s1600/DSC_1126.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IYdlf2q-I/AAAAAAAABP4/7NWCJKEam5U/s320/DSC_1126.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472463393769565154" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IYdOuDIGI/AAAAAAAABPw/ASG6RtrQVrw/s1600/DSC_1133.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IYdOuDIGI/AAAAAAAABPw/ASG6RtrQVrw/s320/DSC_1133.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472463387655086178" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IYcm6AXKI/AAAAAAAABPo/q9JcM-a1TIc/s1600/DSC_1137.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IYcm6AXKI/AAAAAAAABPo/q9JcM-a1TIc/s320/DSC_1137.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472463376967818402" /></a><br /><br />Saturday morning we thought we would take Kinley to the Fort Worth Zoo. I was hoping that she would be interested in the animals, but the zoo was set up so that it was too hard for Kinley to see anything while in her stroller. We tried letting Kinley out of her stroller, but then she just wanted to run anywhere and everywhere. Kinley didn't seem to care about the animals one way or another. It didn't turn out how I imagined, but we still had a good time. Unfortunately this is the only picture I got of Kinley at the zoo, and you can't really even tell it was taken at the zoo, but oh well. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IWjpI56eI/AAAAAAAABPg/DRe24wJx4_A/s1600/DSC_1141.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IWjpI56eI/AAAAAAAABPg/DRe24wJx4_A/s320/DSC_1141.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472461298803010018" /></a><br /><br />Later on that day we took Kinley to the park in the neighborhood where we were staying. She had a blast going down the slides and exploring all the new playground equipment. The weather was so nice while we were in Texas that we tried to spend as much time outside as possible. Kinley loves being outside right now! <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IWjJxcrcI/AAAAAAAABPY/KYc4aNHTCeY/s1600/DSC_1154.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IWjJxcrcI/AAAAAAAABPY/KYc4aNHTCeY/s320/DSC_1154.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472461290383125954" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IWirk1sWI/AAAAAAAABPQ/K0i88n2ziBQ/s1600/DSC_1179.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IWirk1sWI/AAAAAAAABPQ/K0i88n2ziBQ/s320/DSC_1179.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472461282277175650" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IU0Mx4ULI/AAAAAAAABPI/aYtRSplqJ1M/s1600/DSC_1189.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IU0Mx4ULI/AAAAAAAABPI/aYtRSplqJ1M/s320/DSC_1189.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472459384224764082" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IUz5YGn3I/AAAAAAAABPA/rpybnsymU4I/s1600/DSC_1193.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IUz5YGn3I/AAAAAAAABPA/rpybnsymU4I/s320/DSC_1193.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472459379016376178" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IUzK7N9DI/AAAAAAAABO4/0ifwy58RTxo/s1600/DSC_1201.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IUzK7N9DI/AAAAAAAABO4/0ifwy58RTxo/s320/DSC_1201.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472459366547190834" /></a><br /><br />We must have worn Kinley out on Saturday because she slept in really late on Sunday. While I was at the baby shower Kinley stayed home and rested with the guys. Sunday was pretty uneventful and then it was back home on Monday so I could get back to work. We always have a great time whenever we travel to Texas. Too bad it is an 8 hour drive or we would go more often.Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-89624175404443947832010-05-17T18:53:00.000-07:002010-05-17T21:00:45.302-07:00Fairy Tale Village & Crown CenterTowards the end of March Kevin and I took Kinley to Fairy Tale Village at Crown Center. Fairy Tale Village was a free exhibit for kids that we thought Kinley would enjoy. There were castles, bridges, forests and other fairy tale themed sets that the kids could play in. Kinley must have been overwhelmed by it all because she was not very interested in the exhibit. We did get a few pics though. <br /><br />By far Kinley's favorite thing at Fairy Tale Village was this bridge. She just kept going over...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_H-9APByBI/AAAAAAAABNg/GLuhMSegqDg/s1600/DSC_0984.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_H-9APByBI/AAAAAAAABNg/GLuhMSegqDg/s320/DSC_0984.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472435346220369938" /></a><br /><br />And back.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_H9Nj5rHPI/AAAAAAAABNQ/n3lf7T0COxE/s1600/DSC_0995.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_H9Nj5rHPI/AAAAAAAABNQ/n3lf7T0COxE/s320/DSC_0995.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472433431649131762" /></a><br /><br />Here is Kinley crossing the bridge to get into the castle. You can't tell by the picture, but all Kinley did was go on the bridge, she was not interested in going into the castle. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_H44uCvRXI/AAAAAAAABNI/72TOxXHu8N8/s1600/DSC_0990.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_H44uCvRXI/AAAAAAAABNI/72TOxXHu8N8/s320/DSC_0990.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472428675547743602" /></a><br /><br />Here is Kinley going into the 3 Little Pigs' House. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_H43z1KcVI/AAAAAAAABNA/ZU2OaJEt_mg/s1600/DSC_0976.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_H43z1KcVI/AAAAAAAABNA/ZU2OaJEt_mg/s320/DSC_0976.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472428659921547602" /></a><br /><br />And here is Kinley making a dash for the exit. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_H43fVRkuI/AAAAAAAABM4/23g-nmtRkxY/s1600/DSC_0983.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_H43fVRkuI/AAAAAAAABM4/23g-nmtRkxY/s320/DSC_0983.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472428654419088098" /></a><br /><br />After Fairy Tale Village we headed to the Crayola Store.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IFM5ZSjUI/AAAAAAAABNw/i1qPkruTNzg/s1600/DSC_0955.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IFM5ZSjUI/AAAAAAAABNw/i1qPkruTNzg/s320/DSC_0955.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472442216332037442" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IFMdc0awI/AAAAAAAABNo/OTWrJFIBM9Y/s1600/DSC_0951.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IFMdc0awI/AAAAAAAABNo/OTWrJFIBM9Y/s320/DSC_0951.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472442208830647042" /></a><br /><br />Kinley had a lot of fun in this store. She colored on the easel,<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IJESvzt_I/AAAAAAAABOY/ZQJOX9TZym8/s1600/DSC_0904.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IJESvzt_I/AAAAAAAABOY/ZQJOX9TZym8/s320/DSC_0904.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472446466565060594" /></a><br />at the craft table,<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IJD3g6T3I/AAAAAAAABOQ/-IVOVZOB1gw/s1600/DSC_0941.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IJD3g6T3I/AAAAAAAABOQ/-IVOVZOB1gw/s320/DSC_0941.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472446459254820722" /></a><br /><br />and ran around the store to see what else she could find.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IHvAKX78I/AAAAAAAABOI/DkUSYOjzp3s/s1600/DSC_0944.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IHvAKX78I/AAAAAAAABOI/DkUSYOjzp3s/s320/DSC_0944.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472445001287331778" /></a><br /><br />She found a colorful wheel of crayons.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IHu1RSS4I/AAAAAAAABOA/sF0xujn_iNg/s1600/DSC_0925.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IHu1RSS4I/AAAAAAAABOA/sF0xujn_iNg/s320/DSC_0925.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472444998363532162" /></a><br /><br />She also found a coloring kit she thought she had to have. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IHuQgZGPI/AAAAAAAABN4/Q101zX1G1tk/s1600/DSC_0919.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IHuQgZGPI/AAAAAAAABN4/Q101zX1G1tk/s320/DSC_0919.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472444988494780658" /></a> <br /><br />Next we let Kinley work up her appetite by letting her run through the glass skyways downtown. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IMVicyPhI/AAAAAAAABOw/ur0NBOMpTVk/s1600/DSC_1013.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IMVicyPhI/AAAAAAAABOw/ur0NBOMpTVk/s320/DSC_1013.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472450061372898834" /></a><br /><br />"Keep up Dad, quit taking so many pictures of me." <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IMVNhRJsI/AAAAAAAABOo/Q3sEiavguNs/s1600/DSC_1029.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IMVNhRJsI/AAAAAAAABOo/Q3sEiavguNs/s320/DSC_1029.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472450055754557122" /></a><br /> <br />After all that it was time for lunch! Grandma Beamer, Grandpa Melcher and Aunt Kate all work near Crown Center, so we were able to meet them for lunch. We ate in the Crown Room at Hallmark. Hallmark has a really good cafeteria and by this time we were all hungry. The pics from lunch didn't turn out great, but here we all are eating lunch together. What a fun day!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IMUgAtN2I/AAAAAAAABOg/-dfXzluNA-U/s1600/DSC_1067.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S_IMUgAtN2I/AAAAAAAABOg/-dfXzluNA-U/s320/DSC_1067.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472450043538388834" /></a><br /><br />We went back to Fairy Tale Village a few weeks later with Chase and his family, but sadly we didn't take any pics that time. Kinley enjoyed the exhibit a little more the second time around. I guess she just needed a warm up trip first.Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-79367247469286269492010-05-10T07:50:00.001-07:002010-05-10T19:35:12.616-07:00Kinley's Second HaircutI want Kinley's hair to grow out, but she was getting quite the baby mullet, so back in March we took her for her second haircut. This haircut was just to trim up the back a little to make her hairstyle less of a mullet and more like a bob. <br /><br />Here are a couple of "before" pics. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-hWpVesNyI/AAAAAAAABL8/LEmQbAMXVMk/s1600/DSC_0843.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-hWpVesNyI/AAAAAAAABL8/LEmQbAMXVMk/s320/DSC_0843.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469717015581964066" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-hWol9nYvI/AAAAAAAABL0/6Uo_stOr-D8/s1600/DSC_0850.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-hWol9nYvI/AAAAAAAABL0/6Uo_stOr-D8/s320/DSC_0850.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469717002826769138" /></a><br /><br />And here we are just outside the hair salon. (I think Kinley figured out where we were going.)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-hWoLDNHfI/AAAAAAAABLs/SZxloAvijiM/s1600/DSC_0852.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-hWoLDNHfI/AAAAAAAABLs/SZxloAvijiM/s320/DSC_0852.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469716995602456050" /></a><br /><br />We went to the same salon we took Kinley to for her first haircut, but this time she picked to sit in the pink car. It worked out well for her because they were playing <span style="font-style:italic;">Dora The Explorer</span> at that station. They did a good job trimming Kinley's hair and once she got over her initial shock she seemed to calm down a bit. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-hbCq_TKoI/AAAAAAAABMc/Kn8vaICk5QI/s1600/DSC_0864.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-hbCq_TKoI/AAAAAAAABMc/Kn8vaICk5QI/s320/DSC_0864.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469721848899119746" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-hZpIExiPI/AAAAAAAABMU/386YWt6XeMw/s1600/DSC_0859.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-hZpIExiPI/AAAAAAAABMU/386YWt6XeMw/s320/DSC_0859.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469720310518483186" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-hZniTHAPI/AAAAAAAABME/WsCWz26IVgk/s1600/DSC_0874.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-hZniTHAPI/AAAAAAAABME/WsCWz26IVgk/s320/DSC_0874.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469720283198193906" /></a><br /><br />This was the best "after" pic that we could get of Kinley before she darted out of the salon. Off she goes!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-hbDrQQxbI/AAAAAAAABMk/6CdmmRBs5iE/s1600/DSC_0879.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-hbDrQQxbI/AAAAAAAABMk/6CdmmRBs5iE/s320/DSC_0879.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469721866150135218" /></a>Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-67303315661236728912010-05-10T07:21:00.000-07:002010-05-10T07:47:24.085-07:00Happy Valentine's DayYes, I realize it is May and I am just now posting on Valentine's Day from February. Better late than never, right? <br /><br />I made Kinley a special Valentine's Day breakfast. She had heart-shaped eggs in a frame with freeze-dried strawberries. Delicious! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-gYPdskPmI/AAAAAAAABLU/0u7inryFDs8/s1600/DSC_0826.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-gYPdskPmI/AAAAAAAABLU/0u7inryFDs8/s320/DSC_0826.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469648401390124642" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-gYOkpGzhI/AAAAAAAABLM/tBRgrbbkMaM/s1600/DSC_0820.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-gYOkpGzhI/AAAAAAAABLM/tBRgrbbkMaM/s320/DSC_0820.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469648386074791442" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-gYN5Ue7zI/AAAAAAAABLE/EujJ_RhpzWM/s1600/DSC_0812.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-gYN5Ue7zI/AAAAAAAABLE/EujJ_RhpzWM/s320/DSC_0812.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469648374445567794" /></a><br /><br />She also wore her Valentine's Day outfit compliments of Aunt Mary. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-gaJnlh0UI/AAAAAAAABLc/w-Rz2BVszvQ/s1600/DSC_0755.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-gaJnlh0UI/AAAAAAAABLc/w-Rz2BVszvQ/s320/DSC_0755.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469650499989000514" /></a><br /><br />And we can't forget the traditional Valentine's Day gift of a swimsuit.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-gbUzt0AYI/AAAAAAAABLk/0kKGzW--5xo/s1600/DSC_0834.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-gbUzt0AYI/AAAAAAAABLk/0kKGzW--5xo/s320/DSC_0834.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469651791735161218" /></a> <br />I guess Kinley thought she could play in Kobi's water dish since she had a swimsuit on. Not cool Kinley, that is Kobi's. <br /><br />Happy late Valentine's Day everyone!Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-40869661703377376962010-05-09T18:52:00.000-07:002010-05-09T19:21:10.220-07:00Movie NightAs I was trying to upload pictures from the blood drive I came across some older pics that I thought I had uploaded and posted already. Apparently I was further behind on Kinley's blog than I originally thought. Sorry. <br /><br />These pics are from waaaay back in January when Kinley had a movie night with her friend Chase. They ate pizza and watched "Up". It was a fun night and Kinley sat for more of the movie than I thought she would. She also loved exploring the room, but that is Kinley for you. She is on the move 99% of the time, but we love her!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-dp6hhqFAI/AAAAAAAABKk/Jm5dWZB4TCM/s1600/DSC_0709.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-dp6hhqFAI/AAAAAAAABKk/Jm5dWZB4TCM/s320/DSC_0709.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469456726617625602" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-dp6MyahbI/AAAAAAAABKc/APJTCpbimO0/s1600/DSC_0712.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-dp6MyahbI/AAAAAAAABKc/APJTCpbimO0/s320/DSC_0712.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469456721050764722" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-dp5iysCrI/AAAAAAAABKU/mAcxAReWUIU/s1600/DSC_0710.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-dp5iysCrI/AAAAAAAABKU/mAcxAReWUIU/s320/DSC_0710.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469456709777623730" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-dtIOXeZsI/AAAAAAAABK8/MH2oDeOPPJE/s1600/DSC_0720.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-dtIOXeZsI/AAAAAAAABK8/MH2oDeOPPJE/s320/DSC_0720.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469460260527695554" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-dtHb0wNXI/AAAAAAAABK0/wq9mevrDvGY/s1600/DSC_0722.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-dtHb0wNXI/AAAAAAAABK0/wq9mevrDvGY/s320/DSC_0722.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469460246960289138" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-dtGl4ganI/AAAAAAAABKs/ZFeeQZNSc98/s1600/DSC_0718.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-dtGl4ganI/AAAAAAAABKs/ZFeeQZNSc98/s320/DSC_0718.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469460232480516722" /></a>Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-9030585937680936462010-05-06T19:32:00.000-07:002010-05-06T20:00:40.187-07:00Keeping An Eye On HearingOn March 19th Kinley had another hearing test. Kinley is followed by an Audiologist at Children's Mercy for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that she is delayed in her speech, and the second reason is because of all the risk factors for hearing loss that go along with CDH and the treatments for it. <br /><br />The first couple of times Kinley had her hearing tested the results were borderline, but within normal limits. This time Kinley showed some mild, low-frequency hearing loss. The good news is that structurally everything looks good with her ears and the Audiologist does not think that hearing, or even some mild hearing loss should be affecting Kinley's speech. <br /><br />Kinley will need another follow-up appointment in 1 to 3 months to re-evaluate her hearing. In the meantime Kevin and I are supposed to work with Kinley and get her used to using either headphones or ear buds so that at her next appointment they can try to test each ear individually. Up until this point Kinley's hearing tests have been done in a sound proof room and they are only able to test overall hearing. The hope is that at the next appointment Kinley will be able to tolerate a hearing test with either the headphones or ear buds and that way they can test each ear individually for more accurate results. <br /><br />Kevin and I have our work cut out for us as Kinley does not usually tolerate anything being put on her head. I am still working on getting her to keep bows in her hair or sunglasses on her face. As soon as I put anything on she just takes it right off. Wish us luck with this challenge.Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-747113428868355982010-05-06T18:35:00.000-07:002010-05-06T18:57:56.338-07:00No Surgery For Kinley This Year!Back on March 9th, Kinley had a check up with Dr. S, the surgeon who did her repair surgery. Kevin and I were expecting to hear that Dr. S would like to go in sometime this year and fix the hernia that was created during her repair surgery since Kinley has not had any major complications with her initial repair and has been fairly healthy. <br /><br />Let me backtrack for just a moment to get everyone on the same page. When Kinley had her CDH repair surgery there was not enough room in her abdomen to accommodate her stomach and intestines since they had been growing in her chest cavity. Dr. S was able to bring her stomach and intestines down to her abdomen, but was not able to close all the layers of skin, just the top couple of layers. Hence a hernia was created during her CDH repair surgery. We were told that in time her abdomen would expand and sometime in the future she would need another surgery to close the innermost layers of skin in her abdomen.<br /><br />We were surprised to hear that Dr. S was not in any hurry to correct that minor hernia. He said that since she is doing well and does not seem to be bothered by the hernia that we could wait until she was bigger and stronger before doing another surgery. He said that we could wait up until she was 7 years old as long as it does not seem to bother her. Seven years is the magic number since that is approximately how long lungs continue to develop. Kinley had a chest x-ray just to make sure everything was where it should be and then we were on our way. It was a short and sweet appointment and she does not have another appointment for a year.Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-74267777466578350282010-05-05T12:52:00.000-07:002010-05-05T14:38:46.240-07:00Finally...Blood Drive Pics!Well, it has been a while since we updated the blog and we have been getting a lot of requests for an update. Sorry to those of you who are out of town and have not been able to see any recent pics of Kinley, but we have actually been pretty busy around here with more details on that to follow. In the meantime, here are some pics from the blood drive for you to enjoy. <br /><br />Kinley trying really hard not to smile<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-HZNx6KapI/AAAAAAAABJU/iPewUWdEgOE/s1600/DSC_1080.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-HZNx6KapI/AAAAAAAABJU/iPewUWdEgOE/s320/DSC_1080.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467890253363309202" /></a><br /><br />Kinley with her Baa Baa & Elie and Sofie with her Hoo Hoo<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-HZ0gMn5mI/AAAAAAAABJc/GJxY1tRGb9Y/s1600/DSC_1073.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-HZ0gMn5mI/AAAAAAAABJc/GJxY1tRGb9Y/s320/DSC_1073.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467890918623798882" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-HYmFe7b3I/AAAAAAAABJM/neT9RC_3CLE/s1600/DSC_1086.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-HYmFe7b3I/AAAAAAAABJM/neT9RC_3CLE/s320/DSC_1086.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467889571423022962" /></a><br /><br />Kinley sharing her crackers as Sofie feeds Hoo Hoo<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-HbWLT6jUI/AAAAAAAABJs/Nk-uLP4PU9Q/s1600/DSC_1091.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-HbWLT6jUI/AAAAAAAABJs/Nk-uLP4PU9Q/s320/DSC_1091.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467892596644416834" /></a><br /><br />Sofie had a great time pushing Kinley around in her stroller<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-HbVpukGRI/AAAAAAAABJk/vC8wxIwhehs/s1600/DSC_1119.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-HbVpukGRI/AAAAAAAABJk/vC8wxIwhehs/s320/DSC_1119.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467892587629386002" /></a><br /><br />And here are some of our wonderful donors!! Notice all the turquoise!<br /><br />Aunt Kate<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-He14ZD34I/AAAAAAAABJ8/xivSaTiNYoE/s1600/DSC_1116.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-He14ZD34I/AAAAAAAABJ8/xivSaTiNYoE/s320/DSC_1116.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467896439856422786" /></a><br /><br />Grandpa Seep multi-tasking a conference call while donating<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-He1BQyVuI/AAAAAAAABJ0/D0ojVaZ8GG8/s1600/DSC_1113.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-He1BQyVuI/AAAAAAAABJ0/D0ojVaZ8GG8/s320/DSC_1113.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467896425057769186" /></a><br /><br />Grandpa Melcher getting ready to donate<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-HgDnPnELI/AAAAAAAABKE/6bVvL70y8T4/s1600/DSC_1124.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-HgDnPnELI/AAAAAAAABKE/6bVvL70y8T4/s320/DSC_1124.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467897775283179698" /></a><br /><br />And of course...Daddy!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-HgEIpZlbI/AAAAAAAABKM/mMmhl5ntEg4/s1600/DSC_1125.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S-HgEIpZlbI/AAAAAAAABKM/mMmhl5ntEg4/s320/DSC_1125.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467897784249718194" /></a><br /><br />We had a great time at the blood drive and were able to collect 33 units of blood. Thanks to all our family and friends who came out to donate. We really appreciate your support and you really are life savers!Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-80135695269364165412010-03-30T11:23:00.000-07:002010-03-30T11:38:31.824-07:00Last Minute CDH Blood Drive ReminderTomorrow, March 31st, is very important for two reasons. The first is that it is CDH Awareness Day. The second is that it is the day of our annual CDH blood drive.<br /><br />If you have not signed up for a spot yet please follow the directions below. Anyone who comes to donate will receive a goody bag. Walk-ins are more than welcome. So please pass the notice of tomorrow's blood drive to anyone you feel would like to participate.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S7JEZYcEQSI/AAAAAAAABIs/qJ9DKMk1txs/s1600/Kinley+Blood+Drive+Poster+2010+jpeg.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S7JEZYcEQSI/AAAAAAAABIs/qJ9DKMk1txs/s320/Kinley+Blood+Drive+Poster+2010+jpeg.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454497301546680610" /></a><br /><br />It is easy to sign up, just follow these steps:<br />1. Log on to www.savealifenow.org If you haven't registered already, you will<br />need to register before you can sign up.<br />2. Select "Schedule an Appointment"<br />3. Find the drive by entering sponsor code "sofia".<br />4. Click on our drive, which is listed as "Rees Masilionis Turley Architecture<br />1st Floor Lobby"<br />5. Click the "schedule" link to the right of the time slot you want to sign up<br />for. You will receive a confirmation once the appointment is scheduled.<br /><br />If you aren't able or don't wish to sign up online, Jen (Sofia's Mom) can sign you up. Just email her at jen@sofiascdhstory.com with the following information:<br /><br />1. Your first and last name<br />2. Your zip code<br />3. Your email address or phone number.<br />4. The time slot you prefer (1st and 2nd choices).<br /><br />We have three time slots available every 15 minutes from 10:00-2:45. So we should be able to accommodate everyone pretty easily.<br /><br />We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow! Remember, March 31st is also CDH Awareness Day, so be sure to wear turquoise all day!Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-72041965693805174532010-02-28T19:22:00.000-08:002010-02-28T20:28:50.342-08:00Team Sofie and Team MJWe are thrilled to be teaming up with Team Sofie again for this year's CDH Awareness Blood Drive. Check out everything that Sofie has been up to at www.sofiascdhstory.com. <br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S4szl4DfAbI/AAAAAAAABIc/plDnqnjrt6k/s1600-h/Blood+Drive+2010+Sofia+Flyer.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S4szl4DfAbI/AAAAAAAABIc/plDnqnjrt6k/s320/Blood+Drive+2010+Sofia+Flyer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443501300402553266" /></a><br /><br />Last year was such a success that we had to raise the bar for this year. If you remember, the goal last year was to get 30 people to donate blood and we ended up getting 41 donors! This year we raised the goal to 50 donors and I am confident that we can meet that goal. One reason I am so confident is that we added another CDH family to host with us this year. MJ's family will be taking part in this year's blood drive. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S4szmRAkYWI/AAAAAAAABIk/eZLxQ6zIVnI/s1600-h/Blood+Drive+2010+MJ+Flyer(2).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S4szmRAkYWI/AAAAAAAABIk/eZLxQ6zIVnI/s320/Blood+Drive+2010+MJ+Flyer(2).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443501307101208930" /></a><br /><br />MJ fought very hard to beat CDH, but after 35 days he earned his wings. MJ's twin brother Will is a healthy little boy and we can't wait to meet him. Learn more about MJ and everything his parent's are doing to honor his memory at www.mjsmemories.blogspot.com. <br /><br />Please help us spread awareness for CDH and donate blood by attending the 3rd Annual CDH Awareness Blood Drive. Kinley, Sofie and MJ required many blood transfusions while at Children's Mercy Hospital, especially while on ECMO. Even if your blood does not directly go to a baby with CDH it will still be helping someone in need.Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-55743009264202546132010-02-26T11:12:00.000-08:002010-02-27T11:57:26.554-08:003rd Annual CDH Awareness Blood Drive<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S4l5FHplHUI/AAAAAAAABIU/kxQhL2Uikt8/s1600-h/Kinley+Blood+Drive+Poster+2010+jpeg.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wlUy0F6ulks/S4l5FHplHUI/AAAAAAAABIU/kxQhL2Uikt8/s320/Kinley+Blood+Drive+Poster+2010+jpeg.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443014753513708866" /></a><br /><br />It is easy to sign up, just follow these steps:<br /> 1. Log on to www.savealifenow.org If you haven't registered already, you will<br /> need to register before you can sign up.<br /> 2. Select "Schedule an Appointment"<br /> 3. Find the drive by entering sponsor code "sofia".<br /> 4. Click on our drive, which is listed as "Rees Masilionis Turley Architecture <br /> 1st Floor Lobby" <br /> 5. Click the "schedule" link to the right of the time slot you want to sign up <br /> for. You will receive a confirmation once the appointment is scheduled.<br /><br />If you aren't able or don't wish to sign up online, Jen (Sofia's Mom) can sign you up. Just email her at jen@sofiascdhstory.com with the following information:<br /><br /> 1. Your first and last name<br /> 2. Your zip code<br /> 3. Your email address or phone number.<br /> 4. The time slot you prefer (1st and 2nd choices). <br /><br />We have three time slots available every 15 minutes from 10:00-2:45. So we should be able to accommodate everyone pretty easily. <br /><br />We look forward to seeing everyone March 31st! March 31st is also CDH Awareness Day, so be sure to wear turquoise all day!Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5500792090467714509.post-66615810887793894272010-02-10T13:50:00.000-08:002010-02-10T14:03:14.630-08:00Mark your calenders and get ready to donate!That's right, it is time again for the 3rd Annual CDH Awareness Blood Drive! We are teaming up with Sofie's family again and are excited to be adding a third family, MJ's family into the mix this year. This year's blood drive will be held on March 31st from 10 AM until 2 PM. The location will be the same as last year...908 Broadway, Kansas City, MO. More details to come as they become available. Thanks in advance to everyone for your support!Kevin and Kathy Melcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166903275799873921noreply@blogger.com1