The Best Words

Rob and I ushered in 2010 with much the same fatigue as the years leading up to it. We were asleep very early last night, after being up much of the night before with a congested, crying Katherine. Last night we went to sleep too early to report to the public given that it was New Year's Eve. Even with our super early bed time, we woke exhausted after being up with Katherine again. We had sensed that her ears were bothering her, as they often do, but were left feeling hopeless. After a very bad experience with Tamiflu a few months ago, Katherine has refused medicine. Any medicine. Even Motrin. After two unsuccessful attempts at holding her down while shoving Motrin into her little mouth, we gave up.

Rob's mom generously offered to take the girls for a bit today so that Rob and I could nap. When we arrived to pick the girls up, I got a look at Katherine and could see yucky stuff coming out of her ear. She has ruptured an ear drum before so I knew what we were dealing with and that we would need to find a way to get some type of medicine into the poor soul.

After much talk, bribing and begging, Katherine took the medicine on her own, swallowing it from a cup like the big girl she is becoming. Bribes aside, she decided on her own to take charge and do what she needed to do. The smile on her face was contagious. You could feel the pride washing off of her.

A little while later, she walked up to me and squeezing my leg in a huge hug, said, "I am so proud of myself."

Hearing these words from her mouth and seeing the look on her face made all the tiredness and stress almost worth it... almost...