Some Good News!!!

Yesterday we spent the WHOLE day in Grand Rapids. It was a long day but a lot of fun. We had 3 different appointments scattered over the course of the day with time left over to go to the museum and have lunch.

Our first appointment of the day was to the Cardiologist for Ms. Kaitlyn. It was a hassle free quick visit. No echo cardiogram this time. The doctor said she was doing great and we didn't have to go back for a YEAR! I have to tell you how crazy this all is. Her surgery was only 5 short months ago. Those first months of her life she was such a sick baby, and here we are such a short time later, her heart is repaired and she is as healthy and active as ever! It's truly amazing, seriously there are times when I think back and can't believe that was our "crazy" life this past fall!

With the rest of the morning free we headed to the Public Museum. I had never been to this museum we always went to the Children's museum. We had a blast. It was 3 stories high and had so much for the kids to see and do. I think the Bug exhibit and the Planetarium were the biggest hit among the boys. I have a lot of pictures to share and I'll do it soon on a separate post.

After the museum we headed to lunch, we were all starving, our morning had started very early. After lunch we headed to the Pediatric Opthamologist for a follow up appointment for Brady and Kaitlyn's first eye appointment. Both of the appointments went really well. We brace ourselves each time we head to the eye doctor. Brady has been wearing glasses since he was 2 1/2. It is very common for children with glasses to get their prescriptions changed often, its been every 6 months for Brady. Which gets quite expensive. I am happy to report that Brady didn't need new glasses this time. Yay!!!

Next up was Kaitlyn. In the last 6 weeks or so I had been noticing Kaitlyn's eyes crossing. We aren't new to estropia, this too is what Brady has, but I was so sad Kaitlyn was getting it so young. All I could think is how in the world do you keep glasses on a 9 month old baby face. (She's 9 months old today, Happy 9 months baby girl!) And rubber glasses, really, very practical, but not cute! No I'm not that vein, but on a baby her face would be lost behind those glasses, and having Down syndrome, it is clear she already has a disability, and I will spend my whole life trying to get people to see her and not the stereotype. Glasses would be just one more thing that people would see instead of the beautiful baby behind the frames.

So what did we find out...

Kaitlyn is somewhat farsighted and she too has intermittent estropia (crossing of the eyes some of the time). We can expect glasses in her future. How soon? We are not sure! He wants us to go back in 3 months.

This was the doctors explanation...

Due to Kaitlyn having Down syndrome, therefore low muscle tone, and having had heart surgery, developmentally she is somewhere in the 4-6 month old range verses her actual age of 9 months. So when deciding the plan of action he took that into account. It is "normal" for a 4-6 month old baby to still be working on developing the eye muscles that stabilize the eyes. So for now we wait. When we go back he is hoping to see some improvement, if not we will talk about options (glasses or patching of the eyes).

So for us it was a great day! We spent time as a family. Medically speaking the kids are doing great, and the day didn't cost us a small fortune! Awesome day!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures I snuck in the post. I will never miss an opportunity to share my beautiful kids with all the friends and family who come to read and SEE them.

One more quick update. My parents are coming this weekend for the week. My Mom is officially in remission and can't wait to get here and hug her grand babies. We are all so excited. She hasn't seen Kaitlyn since she was 5 weeks old. It will be a happy "extra special" Mother's Day for sure!

A Fun Filled Week And A Lot Of Pictures

Since a picture speaks a thousand words I'm going to let the collages do most of the talking, with a few added details. Easter was a lot of fun! The boys are at a great age and are starting to remember our yearly traditions. Instilling traditions is a job I take very seriously as a Mom. Growing up my Mom worked extra hard to make sure holidays were memorable and very special. She still does, even from far away with cancer. And no matter how old I get it is something to look forward too. There isn't a holiday that she doesn't celebrate, that we don't celebrate. I am enjoying creating traditions now for my family.

Happy 8 months old pretty girl. Oh how I love this little one!
A special package came in the mail this past week from my parents. The coming of a package means there is reason to celebrate. Easter sweets and treats for the little and big kids alike. Thanks Mom and Dad!
Also in the package was something extra special for Brycie. His birthday present from his Grandma and Grandpa S. He loves it! Today is Bryce's actual birthday,
Happy 4th Birthday Buddy!

Spring break has just started for the boys so this too will be a busy week, I can't wait!!!

Happy Easter Morning!

The morning started EARLY with tons of excitement from two precious little boys. They started by finding the eggs the Easter Bunny had hidden and in the process stumbled across their Easter baskets full of treasures and sweets. All of this time sister was sound a sleep. Soon after, she woke up, and the boys couldn't wait to show her the basket the bunny had left for her. It's been a great morning but we are missing our Daddy who is at work and Grandma and Grandpa S who couldn't make it up this year. Grandma is getting better though and we will see them soon. We took tons of pictures of all the Easter festivities and will post them shortly, but for now we show our morning giving Gma and Gpa a reason to smile! Wish you were here!

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

A 5 year olds silly sense of humor

Every few days we try to make it a priority and have the boys talk to my parents. They are down in Tennessee and we miss them terribly. My Mom's treatments will be over soon (4 weeks), so hopefully we can see them soon. Brady and my Dad have always had a special bond. They tend to spend their conversations being silly with one another (playing on the phone). This morning I recorded a small clip of the two of them "playing." My Dad didn't know, but he will soon !!!

Brady has entered a new phase, he loves magic, and TRIES to tell jokes. They make absolutely no sense, but we laugh and he keeps going. He's hilarious, and loves an audience. This video is for you Dad.....Surprise! Hope to see you both soon!

-Pause the music to hear their conversation-

An All Around Update

On a day to day basis things have been pretty quiet around here, but when you look at the last weeks all put together I think I have come up with enough for a post. So here are a few updates...

My Mom...

Back in November my Mom was diagnosed with Bone Lymphoma. The cancer was pretty aggressive, when they found it it was already in both thighs and her ribs. She began chemotherapy right away. The plan for treatment was 6- 3 week rounds of chemo. The doctor seemed confident that she could "kill" the cancer but said she had to treat it aggressively, and that she did. My Mom is half way done. The chemo has been tough to say the least, she's been hospitalized twice, and the doctor has scaled back on the strength of her treatments each time. My Mom is a petite lady, they could only give her as much as her body could handle. After the third treatment it was decided that they would give her a break and let her regain some of her strength and some of the weight she's lost. This ended up being just what she needed. She was able to put on some weight, get her appetite back, and start feeling better. She went this morning to start her 4th treatment. Last week during her "break" she had a PET scan done to look for the cancer. And with a huge "sigh" I can tell you she had a clean scan, no cancer seen! Thank God! All the horror of the last months is paying off. Thank you to everyone for all your prayers! They worked for Kaitlyn and now they are working for my Mom. She will continue her treatments, but as of now things look good!

Brady and Bryce...

Brady is our 5 year old. The two boys are the best of friends but are polar opposites of each other. Brady is sensitive, shy and quiet in public, but at home he keeps us in stitches. His new found sense of humor is something else. He is so goofy. He's bossy at home and SHY at school. For some reason he really has a hard time opening up at school. It is so hard to watch. We try so hard to give him the tools (words) to be more CONFIDENT! But none the less...he loves school! He is a bright little boy, he learns everything they teach him and more. He's writing sentences, and starting to read, he's way above where he needs to be academically. We are very proud of him, but at the same time sad that he lacks confidence with his peers. His teacher reassures us he is making progress. His shyness baffles us because at home and around friends and family he's so different. He is such a comedian, and is working on becoming a magician, and he LOVES to draw and write. It is so fun to watch him grow into this next stage of boyhood. I love this little man.

Bryce is our 3 almost 4 year old. He and his brother are 16 months apart. He goes to preschool two mornings a week. We both needed this this year. It seems to be just what he needs. He enjoys being with me on his off days and misses his brother terribly when he's at school. Bryce is so different then Brady, they compliment each other well. Bryce is outgoing, silly, but emotional. When I say emotional I say it in all sense of the word. You never have to guess what he is feeling. He's a lover, Mommy's little boy. He tends to be the patient child, but also gets grumpy, angry, frustrated, and he speaks his mind :) This is his best and worst quality. He has grown up so much in the last months. He too is hilarious. He loves music, dancing, and his guitar! He's become quite the entertainer. What melts my heart the most though is the special spot in his heart he has for his baby sister. He's had this since the day she came home. The two of them are going to have something special. He is able to make her smile like no other! I love that little boy.

Kaitlyn...

Can you believe she is 6 months old already! The last months are such a blur. I watch her "Heart Story" movie that I made and lived and feel like I'm watching someone elses life. It is so crazy. The scar on her chest fades daily, she's doing great!

At her last wellness check she weighed in at 13lbs 10ozs. She is gaining and growing wonderfully. She still seems like such a little peanut though. After surgery we learned that she was aspirating. She had such a problem with projectile vomiting the weeks before surgery and chronic congestion. We had her scheduled for a swallow study before surgery but with her surgery date getting moved up it didn't get done until after surgery. The swallow study confirmed what I had thought, she was aspirating! Luckily it wasn't bad enough where we had to thicken any of her formula, instead we had to keep her on a very slow flow nipple and feed her sitting upright. Since surgery we had a follow up swallow study and she did much better. No more aspirating. She also had a 6 month hearing screen. It was recommended since hearing problems can be common in children with Down syndrome. She passed it fine, and we will follow up again at 12 months. Developmentally she is doing new things constantly and getting stronger by the day. An Occupational therapist comes to work with her every week. She is rolling some from her back to her belly, she is reaching and grasping at things. Her muscles in her core and legs have gotten so much stronger. We've started her on cereal and veggies. It took time and patience but she is learning to eat from a spoon. She loves dinner time! She makes each day so much better!

Baby #4...

I can't believe I am 16 weeks pregnant already. Having a busy household make the time fly for sure. Yesterday I had more blood taken for the second part of the sequential screen (We are testing for Trisomy 21 and 18). We should have the results Friday. Friday I am scheduled to have an amniocentesis, I go back and forth daily about whether or not I will have it done. I had the procedure done with Kaitlyn, I hate it, it doesn't hurt, its just my nerves, and the idea of the whole thing, if I want diagnostic results I need to have it done. We will see.

My morning sickness is almost gone. It creeps up on me from time to time. Right now my greatest problem is headaches. They say they should get better after the second trimester. I'm hoping! Other then that things are fine. Hopefully Friday we will get some reassuring news about the health of this baby and maybe even find out the gender. Thanks for following...stay tuned...

Happy 5th Birthday Brady!

FIVE YEARS OLD

Please, everybody look at me!

Today I'm five years old, you see!

And after, this I won't be four,

Not ever, ever, any more!

I won't be three-or-two-or one.

For that was when I'd first begun.

Now I'll be five a while, and then

I'll soon be something else again!

-Mary Louise Allen

I can not believe Brady is turning five. The years are flying by. This past Saturday we "threw" together a party. Normally I spend much time planning a party for the kids. I really enjoy having our friends and family over. My favorite part is making a special cake. Brady's actual birth date is the 17th. Because Kaitlyn's surgery is scheduled that day we had to do things different this year. I made a few quick calls to local friends, my dear friend Tiffany made an awesome cake and we had a party. My mother in law watched Kaitlyn for us, we had to keep her away from all possible germs. It was a great day! Thank you to everyone who helped make this day special for Brady!

Caden, Morgan, Brady, Bryce, Macey, Elyse, Paige, Caleb