A Special Visit with Santa

This past weekend we got to make a special visit to see Santa Clause.  He was in town at Cheryl's and we were fortunate enough to be invited by to say hello!

Luckily, the Columbus Zoo also had some guests stop by to see Santa: a fox, an otter, a penguin, and two baby cheetahs!

SO, not only did we get to see Santa Clause and partake in a few arts and crafts, we also got to see some really cool wild animals up close!

Santa!

Decorating a cookie!

Baby cheetahs!  We were allowed to look, but not touch!

Kate absolutely loved seeing the animals!  She was able to touch the fox and would've touched all the other animals (cheetahs included) if she was allowed!  When the zoo assistants had the penguin out, he was waddling in a little area on a leash.  Kate was determined to go over to that little guy, who was just smaller than her, and say hello and/or pick him up!  We resorted to saying hello through the glass, but she was fearless!  It was a fun, cold day!

That night, however, Kate came down with croup and this scared the living daylights out of Brian and me. When Kate got her bath, she wasn't very mobile.  She just sat there while I got her washed up.  I figured it was a long day and she didn't have her afternoon nap, so maybe she was just so exhausted. 45 minutes or so after we laid her down to sleep, she woke up with the characteristic "bark" cough that croup is known for and a very wheezy breathing.  The thing that scared us the most was how quickly these symptoms appeared, for when she went to bed there was no sign of them.  Literally 45 minutes later, and we were calling the pediatrician after hours, sitting in the bathroom running the hot shower for humidity, and then taking a short walk around the yard in the crisp, freezing cold air - all of which are at-home remedies to alleviate the discomfort of croup.

On Monday, we took Kate into the pediatrician's office where she received a steroid shot to decrease the swelling of her larynx and trachea.  This really is the only treatment option offered when you have a child with croup.  Well, that, and time because symptoms should start lessening in 7-10 days too.  Unfortunately, the steroid shot made Kate sick, so she was home for the rest of the day to rest and recoup.

Seeing our baby not feeling well still breaks our hearts, so we soothed and held and hugged and cuddled A LOT!  We know that she is already feeling better, so we are very thankful for that and hope that this crud doesn't stick around for too much longer.