Preschool Bound

Is it really possible that Kayleigh is almost 4? It can’t be so. Today Mom and Kayleigh went to the new preschool to meet the teacher and make some new friends. Turns out – Kayleigh’s teacher lived in the same dorm as Mom during her sophomore year at Ohio University. Yet another reason to always be kind to people – they may someday be taking care of your kid! It was a good visit. It took a couple hours before Kayleigh would venture to one of the play stations on her own, but she will get there. Her first day will be next Monday, and we are all preparing for an exciting change.

Water Girl

Mom and Dad have been wrapped up in enjoying both their kids and find little time to make blog posts. It is still surprising how fast time passes. Summer is coming to an end, and there is still so much more fun to have. The family recently returned from a vacation in Michigan. This was Kayleigh’s second trip to Holland, Michigan and her brother’s first. Kayleigh loves the beach. Several times throughout the year she would ask to go to the beach. She loves the sand and the water. She was really excited to be at the beach and at the hotel pool. She is becoming quite the water girl.

Throughout the summer Kayleigh has been to the zoo, the beach, the county fair, the playground and the Wapak pool. It is such a joy seeing her have so much fun. There is never a dull moment in the Rickert house.

Kayleigh has remained healthy throughout the majority of the entire year. She is seeing most of her doctors on an annual basis now. All of the checkups have resulted in good news. She is really thriving and becoming such a mature little girl. She loves to help Mom around the house. She voluntarily looks after her brother. She tolerates his tantrums and is always eager to give him a hug. She also likes to “tickle the grumpies out of him” when he is having a rough day. Her favorite activity with Dad has been learning to ride her big  girl bike. She is growing up too fast!

Kayleigh is transitioning to a new preschool at the end of the month. Although she says she is excited, she will have to put on her brave face the first couple of weeks. She has some difficulties with change, but Mom and Dad are confident that she will adapt just fine, and she will quickly make new friends.

My Baby Lucas is One!

Kayleigh helped Lucas celebrate his 1st Birthday. Kayleigh was a little overwhelmed with all the people at the house and all the attention on Lucas, but she made it through like a champ. Kayleigh has really taken to her little brother. She gets genuinely excited when Lucas learns new "tricks" like clapping his hands or waving. As Lucas becomes more mobile, the sounds of "Lucas STOP" and "NOOOOO"become more frequent. Nonetheless, she seems to adore the little guy, and Mom and Dad hope they will become great friends as they grow up together.

Nice to meet you, Santa

This is the first year that Kayleigh met Santa and she was truly excited to see him. Years past, she has been a little timid, but this year, she hopped up on his lap and even told him she wanted a monkey and a tractor for Christmas. Turns out, Santa listened and brought her the monkey she wanted, and even a set of tractors for her brother, Lucas. Guess he'll have to share them! Kayleigh wrote Santa a letter the night before Christmas, helped Mom bake him some gingerbread cookies and put out a glass of milk. Kayleigh was a very good girl this year, and Santa must have been watching because she received lots of very special gifts - among her favorites was a Minnie Mouse back pack (Kayleigh calls it a "pack pack") and foam building blocks.

A Minnie Trick or Treat

Kayleigh was Minnie Mouse for Halloween.  She had a great time going around the block to get candy, but she had even more fun passing out candy to other kids when she got home.  She collected lots of candy, but it’s going to take her a long time to eat it because Mom and Dad only let her have some when she finishes all of her dinner, which is still a challenge for Kayleigh!

MIckey and Minnie are still her favorite.  She loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and even though it’s a little early, the Mickey Mouse Christmas DVDs.  At night, Mom or Dad reads a couple of stories before bedtime.  Almost always, she picks the book of Mickey Mouse fairy tales.  Every once in a while, Dad gets to read a Dr. Suess book.  (The Sneetches is his favorite.)

"I Like Panda Bears!"

Kayleigh loves to go to the zoo.  Her favorite thing at the zoo is the choo-choo train.  Last time she rode a pony for the first time.  Mom was in Washington, D.C. all last week.  Kayleigh missed her very much, but when she came back and gave her a Panda bear from the National zoo, she was very excited.  She just kept saying, "I like Panda bears!"

My Baby Lucas

Kayleigh has really adapted well to being a big sister. She loves to hold her baby brother and enjoys giving him lots of kisses. She calls Lucas "My baby." Kayleigh is back at the daycare with her friends. Everyday when Mom arrives to pick her up, she proudly shows Lucas off to her friends. Mom and Dad are very proud of how Kayleigh interacts with baby brother and enjoy watching her shower him with hugs and kisses.

Michigan's All Dirty!

Can't Get Enough of Mickey

Kayleigh loves her Mickey Mouse buddies!  Almost every day when she comes home from daycare, she says, "I watch Mickey Mouse!"  She watches the same episodes over and over again, but never seems to get bored with them.

Another Successful Surgery

Today, Kayleigh traveled to Cincinnati Children's Hospital to have the pin removed from her arm. This was a surgery that was long overdue, but had to be postponed this summer due to her heart surgery. After spending nearly 3 1/2 hours on the drive from Columbus to Cincinnati (thanks to the rain and rush hour traffic), we finally arrived, and Kayleigh went immediately to the surgery prep area. Mom and Dad stayed with her until she went to sleep. Mickey and Goofy went with her to the operating room, and just a mere 45 minutes later, the doctor delivered the good news that the surgery went well.

Kayleigh no longer has the pin in her arm, but she will continue to wear a splint most of the time to keep the ulna and tendons surrounding the wrist stable. Kayleigh slept most of the way home, but once she arrived home, she was ready to play. Mom and Dad, on the other hand, felt like they had been through surgery themselves and were completely exhausted. Kayleigh continued to play for the next several hours until her normal bedtime, at which time, she was ready for sleep.

This was Kayleigh's 5th surgery in just 2 short years. Mom and Dad are hopeful that this will be the final surgery for a very long time. Although it has really been a stressful road at times, Mom and Dad have really learned how strong Kayleigh is and what she is able to overcome. She proves over and over that she is a little fighter.

Two Year-Olds Don't Sleep in a Crib!

On September 23rd, little Kayleigh turned 2 years old. Hard to believe. Mom and Dad celebrated Kayleigh's birthday with a Mickey Mouse theme, including a Minnie Mouse dress. Mickey Mouse is one of Kayleigh's latest obsessions. Kayleigh enjoyed the low-key party with her grandparents, and marveled at all the attention. She loved when everyone sang Happy Birthday to her, but better yet, getting to eat all the cake -- well, mostly icing.

Since turning two, Kayleigh has kissed her pacifier goodbye, and she just recently moved into her big girl room/bed. She made a very smooth transition and seems to be enjoying more independence by exploring her new surroundings. Next step - potty training.

Home Sweet Home

Kayleigh came home on Monday, remarkably just three days after her surgery. She has been laughing and playing and is very happy to be back home. She's starting to get her appetite back and is eating better. Things are very close to being back to normal. Mom will be staying home with her for at least the next couple weeks. Mom and Kayleigh have really been enjoying their time together so far. Daddy, however, really misses Kayleigh when he's at work.

Mending a Broken Heart

Kayleigh's surgery was very successful. She's recovering very well and is now out of the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). The surgery lasted for about four and a half hours and went about as well as possible. She was in the PICU for 22 hours and was moved into a recovery room at 3:00 this afternoon. All of the tubes that were connected to her have been removed and she's now just hooked up to a wireless monitor, so we can pick her up and move her around or hold her.

This afternoon, Mom and Dad took her for rides through the hallway in a red wagon. She really enjoyed getting out of her room for awhile. She also enjoyed watching Elmo videos. She's been starting to eat and drink, but her appetite is not that big, yet.

Overall, everything is going very well and we hope to be able to bring her home within a couple of days. We also want to say thank you to everyone for their thoughts and prayers and support.

"Giddyup, Horsey"

This was a fun-filled day at Windmill Island in Holland, Michigan on Kayleigh's recent vacation. Kayleigh really enjoyed riding this antique carousel and repeatedly said, "Again, Horsey" after the ride came to an end. She also got to wear a pair of wooden shoes. Mom and Dad ended up buying her a pair of her own, and she loved wearing them around the hotel the remainder of the trip.

Pretty soon, Kayleigh will have a little partner to play with and share all of her toys. Mom and Dad are expecting baby #2 in mid-January. Kayleigh is excited to be a big sister and already stated she would like to have a brother. We'll see how that goes. Mom and Dad are a little anxious, but looking forward to bringing another child into the family.

Little Dutch Girl

Kayleigh recently traveled to Holland, Michigan for her first official vacation. It took a little convincing to get Dad to travel to the "state up North", but he finally agreed. It turned out to be a relaxing and fun filled week for all. Kayleigh had her first experience at a beach and playing in the sand. She was a little timid at first and actually refused to touch the sand, but after she was slowly coerced to play with her buckets and shovel, she loved it. She also enjoyed sitting at the water's edge despite the very cold water temperatures. Kayleigh also watched her first fireworks display on the 4th of July. She exclaimed several times, "Wow!" and "See that?"

The vacation couldn't have come at a better time. Shortly before the vacation, Mom and Dad were informed that Kayleigh would need a second open-heart surgery. The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, July 20th. The same surgeon who performed her first surgery will also be conducting this surgery. Kayleigh's left ventricle has some muscle tissue growth that resulted from her first surgery. The tissue near one of her valves and is blocking blood flow, so it needs to be removed. The entire surgery will take approximately 4-5 hours. She will once again be at Children's Hospital in Columbus for about a week.

Please keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers.

The Future's So Bright

Now that the weather is getting warmer and sunnier, Kayleigh loves going on walks with Mom and Dad. She gets very excited, almost like Shadow, when going for a walk is mentioned.

She's also starting to pose for pictures, as you can see. She's a little rock star now.

Spring has Sprung

Kayleigh finally got to wear one of her new Spring dresses. Here, she is on her way to church on a nice, sunny morning.

Kayleigh -- and Mom and Dad -- have been dealing with another bout of Rotovirus this week. Luckily, it wasn't nearly as bad as last year's and it's completely over now. Kayleigh stayed home from daycare from last Friday until this Wednesday. Grandma even came to stay with her on Wednesday! Thanks, Grandma!

Scarlet and Gray Day

Kayleigh attended the Scarlet and Gray game at Ohio Stadium on Saturday. The annual event is an Ohio State intrasquad scrimmage, marking the end of spring practices. An Ohio State record 75,301 fans got a glimpse of what the Buckeyes will look like next season. During Kayleigh's first trip to the Horseshoe, the Gray came from behind to beat the Scarlet 17-9.

Kayleigh enjoyed herself on a beautiful day. Because of the large crowd, the walk from the car to the stadium was a long one for Mom and Dad, but Kayleigh had it easy in the arms of Mom or on the shoulders of Dad. Kayleigh experienced her first stadium hot dog and soft pretzel. It was an exciting, but exhausting day, and unfortunately, she couldn't make it to the end of the game. Leaving at the start of the fourth quarter made Dad very sad.

"Off, off!"

Yesterday was the day Kayleigh was able to say, "Bye, bye, purple cast." Her arm was finally free to move around and feel the air. The doctor said everything is healing well, including the bone that was straightened. Shortly after the cast was taken off, Kayleigh was fitted with a new splint. The splint is much smaller and allows her to move her elbow and use her fingers and hand. She has to wear it 24 hours-a-day, though, for probably about a year. She's been saying, "No!" when Mom and Dad try to put it on, but she'll get used to it after awhile.

She'll see the doctor again in two months for a follow-up, and she'll have another minor surgery to remove the pin in her arm in August.

Kayleigh is already noticeably happier and, to Mom and Dad, it feels like they have their Kayleigh back now. On the ride home she talked on her Elmo cell phone and giggled a lot. She's been learning more and more words and speaking them more clearly -- none of them, it seems, more clearly than "No."

Kayleigh LOVES Momo

It has been nearly 3 weeks since Kayleigh's arm surgery, and she is feeling much better. She has adapted very well to her cast and is getting more and more brave using it. It was only a matter of days before she was resting her sippy cup against her arm and balancing it when she took a drink. She is now able to use it a lot more and even held a crayon with her little fingers.

Kayleigh had several doctor appointments last week, one of which was to see the orthopedic doctor in Cincinnati. The doctor removed her cast, took an x-ray, and put on a new and improved purple cast. Her current cast is not as bulky or heavy. The doctor was very pleased with the results of the surgery and even stated she may get her cast off at the next appointment in April. This is much sooner than Mom and Dad anticipated. Kayleigh's arm would then be protected with a splint, so Mom would be able to give her a regular bath again. Kayleigh is not too fond of sponge baths!

Aside from the doctor appointments, Kayleigh did get to enjoy some time outside during the beautiful weather this past week. Mom and Kayleigh spent time at the park and Kayleigh had a ball going down the slide. It was great to get outside and take in the warm weather.

Tomorrow, Kayleigh heads back to daycare to play with her friends. Mom and Dad are hopeful that the transition will be smooth. During her time away, Kayleigh was introduced to Sesame Street and Curious George. She LOVES Elmo (or Momo as she calls him) and will miss seeing him everyday. Mom will also miss the time she has spent with Kayleigh. She is already looking forward to the weekend.