Ellie's First Piano Recital

Today was Ellie's first piano recital. She started piano with her teacher in January and today, 5 months later she performed. She performed a piece playing with both hands and dynamics. We are so proud of her hard work to get to this point.

Grandma Pam and Grandpa Mike came down for the concert (which I'm sure brought back memories of watching me and Susie perform these same pieces). The recital was held at the Community Room at the South Pasadena Public Library which is a great space and terrific for the recital. All of the studio performed, approximately 35 students, ranging from ages 4 to 17 and with a huge range in experience. It was really great for all of the kids to see what could be next for them as well as to be reminded of where they started. We even ran into a family from Ellie's preschool who are part of the studio as well.

Ellie was in the middle of the program and the third of four kids who played the same piece. We took Calvin and he was well behaved until after Ellie performed when he, accompanied by Grandma Pam, left the building. Her performance wasn't perfect, and I wouldn't have expected it to be. However, she did really well. She played strong and had a perfect ending. Her dynamics were there. And she was confident and had fun, which is really all that matters.

 

Ellie really seems to enjoy piano and doesn't mind (well, sometimes she minds) putting in the hours practicing. She really likes her piano teacher. And I do too. She is an incredible player and is really good with the kids. She encourages them without being too pushy, but definitely holds them accountable. I'm so happy that Ellie likes piano and it is so much fun to watch her learn and perform. Although, I think I was way more nervous than she was for this first recital!

Spring concerts

On May 27th, Ellie performed in two concerts at school. One was during the day and was with her classmates. The second was after school and with her after school program (held at school, with her classmates too).

The program during the school day was directed by her school's music teacher and had a theme of world music. Ellie and her class sang three songs. The first was in English and Spanish. The second was a Moroccan song. And the third was Australian. It was really well done. The only downside was that she was positioned right behind the music teacher, so getting a good picture of her was tough. But she was pretty excited not to have to wear her uniform to school! The kids were asked to wear dressy clothes.

After the concert I took a moment and spoke to her music teacher and told her that I really enjoyed the concert and thought she did an excellent job. Ellie has enjoyed her music class all year. She asked who my daughter was and I told her Ellen, and then she smiled and said she was fantastic and a joy to have in class. I told her that we had started piano and then she said, "oh! that explains why she is so good!". So that was nice to hear.

In the afternoon the show was titled, "It Came From the 80s!". All the hits were there, Safety Dance, People are People, Who can it Be Now, Sweet Dreams, and of course, the well know and beloved, Never Turn your Back on Mother Earth. Yeah, the kindergartners got that one. I guess finding 80s songs that have elementary school appropriate lyrics can be difficult. Whatever, the kids don't know the songs anyway (unless they are the daughter of Nick who is 80s-pop culture obsessed). They all did a great job and some of the older kids really got all dressed up in 80s garb which was really cute. Calvin came to the afternoon show and was really well behaved...maybe he likes 80s music as much as his dad.

As part of the show all their work and art for the past semester. It was really cool to see everything displayed and collect her work. She was really really excited and happy to show us her work, as were her friends.

Its always fun to see Ellie hang out with her friends. They are such cute and great kids who are really friendly. She also loves her after school teacher and is really upset that she won't be in her class next year.

Ellie's school has an awesome auditorium that was just renovated. It is gorgeous and a really cool space to get to watch her perform in. As this school year comes to an end, there are so many things to reflect upon and realize that yes, our neighborhood public school is pretty awesome and a great place for our family.

14 months and a trip to the hospital

 Calvin is 14 months today. It has gone so fast. Hes a walker and has become quite the communicator lately by signing, pointing, and grunting. He's become opinionated and is still the charmer. He has 10 teeth and is getting 1 or 2 more.

After spending 5 days in the hospital it seemed only appropriate for him to take his tiger picture in his hospital mask. Yep, 5 whole days. Last Monday, May 4 we got a call from daycare that Calvin had a fever and had some rapid breathing. Previously we had asked daycare to watch for his breathing while he was recovering from head colds in case he needed a treatment with Albuterol. We have taken his nebulizer to school and they have given him treatments. So teachers there are aware that he has had issues in the past.

When I picked him up and got him home I realized he needed a treatment immediately. However, the treatment didn't seem to really help. He was breathing very rapidly and very shallow, more than he ever had before. He wasn't wheezing or coughing. It didn't seem right. And so I called the doctor and we got an appointment that evening. After checking his oxygen level and giving him another treatment at the doctor's office, the doctor sent us to the ER. They called ahead and told me what to ask for. His doctor said he needed to be monitored overnight and have a chest x-ray.

And so off to the hospital ER Calvin and I went at 7:30pm. We saw the triage nurse right away and then sat. And sat. I told the nurse what the doctor had told me about the X-ray and oxygen monitoring. I asked every hour when he would be seen. Around midnight I could tell that the last treatment he got was wearing off and his breathing was getting more and more labored. I told the nurse he needed an albuterol treatment and I was told that he couldn't get one there because they didn't have a bed for him. And so I made the decision that since I had a nebulizer and albuterol at home it would be better for him to be there. And so we left the ER.

Tuesday morning we got an appointment with this doctor as he was still having labored breathing. His doctor was frustrated with the ER given our experience but very concerned about Cal's breathing and his oxygen level. And so we were direct admitted to the pediatric unit at the hospital. Calvin was hooked up to a monitor to watch his oxygen and heart rate and put on oxygen to help keep his O2 levels up.

Tuesday night was a bit scary. His couldn't eat or drink because his breathing was too rapid (80 breaths per minute). And so he was put on an IV. He still had some fight in him and it took 3 nurses and 4 tries to get an IV in him. He wasn't responding to treatments and his breath rate stayed high and his O2 levels just barely at 90% saturation. We almost got sent to the PICU. But we made it through the night and he started getting better.

Thursday we celebrated Nick's birthday in the hospital. Not where anyone wanted to have dinner or cupcakes, but at least we were able to be together. Fortunately KTLA threw a pretty great party for Nick and he had an awesome cake, so the hospital cafeteria food didn't seem so bad.

Slowly but surely his breathing slowed down. He started responding to the treatments. And he could keep his oxygen levels up above 90% with less and less oxygen. Friday night he was taken off oxygen to see if while he slept he could keep up his levels...unfortunately he had a few dips below 90% that he needed help in raising his levels (moving him or waking him up). Saturday he had a couple naps where he was able to keep his levels up or raise his levels up on his own without intervention during his naps and so we were able to go home.

While there we definitely took advantage of the toys, books, and wagons that were made available to us. As soon as Calvin was given the go-ahead we busted out of the room and went walking and to the playroom and on wagon rides. Of course, when he was out of the room he had to wear a mask which he didn't fight as soon as he realized it was his ticket out of the room. He enjoyed the hospital food, mostly applesauce and scrambled eggs,

He was technically diagnosed with bronchitis. It definitely knocked him down. If it was another kid the viral infection wouldn't have hit them so hard. However, little Calvin appears to have inherited him family history of asthma and lung issues. However, we know what to look for and he is used to the nebulizer and albuterol treatments and doesn't fight them.

It was a rough few days at the hospital and we both didn't get much sleep. It is really good to be home. While he isn't 100% he is definitely better and his personality has come back in full force!

Happy 35th Birthday Nick

Happy 35th Birthday Nick!



Such an amazing cake and surprise at work for him this morning!

Which was very nice because his birthday dinner and celebration was not that exciting. Hospital food from the cafeteria and not wacky cake cupcakes (but by the same bakery as did the cake for his party at work). Oh well. At least Calvin seemed happy and was well enough to enjoy the party in his hospital room (when we are out of here I'll provide an update on Calvin and his hospital stay. He's recovering well currently.)




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