Back to the usual!

Today was a depressing day in our house...we took all the Christmas decorations down...even the tree.  Daniel helped by taking all the ornaments off the tree and he kept telling me how sad he was that Christmas was over and that we wouldn't see these decorations for another year!  It is kind of sad when you think about it.  But, I guess that's what makes Christmas so special right?

We had a great Christmas season this year.  It's been fun to re-live those Christmas traditions through Daniel and we've even started some new traditions this year.  It's been fun.  We have had quite the year and it feels as though we are ending 2011 appropriately. 

Christmas Eve was spent running around town to every store imaginable getting those last minute food items for Christmas dinner, that roll of tape that you need for that one stinkin' present, and a few more stocking stuffers.  I thought that just maybe we could have a relaxing Christmas Eve...but, no.  It was spent running around like a mad woman trying to get everything done before the Christmas Eve service at church.  I guess that adds a little to the excitement of Christmas?!  The Christmas Eve service was nice at church.  My dad and I sang a song together, which was really special.  It was nice to do something just him and I.  We sang "When Love Was Born" by Mark Shultz.  I have to say, I was SO nervous.  Growing up singing in the church you would think I would be used to it by now, but nope...the nerves still kick in every time!  After the service, we came home, got into our jammies and got back into the car to go look at Christmas lights.  Of course, that HAD to include going the the Jack in the Box drive thru to get hot fries and a drink!  We drove around and looked at lights for a while then headed home to open packages that we had received in the mail.  That's always fun.  We feel so loved and blessed because our family always sends us the most thoughtful gifts.  I always look forward to that. :-)  Once we did that, Daniel went to bed and we stayed up to finish some "last minute" things.  I think we finally went to bed around midnight only to be awaken by a overly-excited 4 year old ready to dig in to what Santa brought him! 



After we spent the morning opening gifts and indulging in cinnamon roll goodness we lazed around and enjoyed spending time together before we headed to my parents' house for Christmas with the family.

All in all, Christmas was great this year.  Teaching Daniel the true meaning of the season we enjoy so much.  Rejoicing in our Savior's birth and being thankful for God's mercy and grace.  We have so much to celebrate around this time of year.

I hope Christmas was great for you all.  I thought I'd include some more pics for your enjoyment!

PJ spending some quality time with daddy.



Daniel and his light-bright masterpiece!

PJ working on a big burp Christmas morning...I think we're feeding him enough...just look at those chubby hands!

Daniel giving PJ his gift from him.  He was so excited to give it to him.  He knew exactly what he wanted to give him for Christmas.  Can you see how much PJ loves his big brother?!

I think PJ is going to have to warm up to the teddy bear...he's not to sure about it yet!

Our biggest and most special gift this year is our PJ

Grandma Marsha sent PJ this hat for Christmas...isn't he a stud in it?!

 Daniel and PJ. 

6 blissful years!

Today, 6 years ago, I married my soul mate, my best friend.  It's hard to believe that it's been 6 years!  There is a lot that has happened in the past six years!  We've had 2 kids, made a few trips to Minnesota, bought a house, bought a couple cars, and changed careers.  There are several other things that we have gone through, some hard, some extremely fun and memorable.  I wouldn't want to go through them with anyone else.  We were truly made for one another and I am SO thankful  that God brought us together back in college 9 years ago.  Happy Anniversary Pooks!

Christmas Time!

As I said in my last post, Daniel sang at the senior center.  My goodness, these kids couldn't get any cuter! I give the teachers tons of credit because these kids aren't always easy to wrangle up.  Daniel was initially standing next to his buddies, but had to be moved because he couldn't keep his hands to himself. :-\   That meant that I had to find a new spot to take pictures because he got moved, which wasn't easy.  I finally found a good spot to sit and take pictures and videos of Daniel, although I probably was in somebody's way. oops.   He sang really good, despite the girl next to him shouting the songs the whole time.  His face was priceless!  I really wanted to post a video of him singing, but it wasn't working.  The video captured him singing a song and yawning and stretching in the middle of it.  It was hilarious! 

Santa Claus surprised all the kids at the end and it was so fun to see their surprise and excitement.  He jingled bells and walked in saying the traditional , "HO! HO! HO!"...Daniel was so shocked!  As you can see in the picture below, Daniel didn't know what to do or say when he meant Santa Claus!

He made sure when it was his turn to meet Santa that he told him what he wanted for Christmas.  He asked me before he sat on his lap if he could ask him for 2 things.  I told him to go for it and give it a try...you never know!  He asked for a Cars 2 movie and Slinkey Dog...let's hope Santa can deliver!! ha! :-)

We've been busy with school, Cubbies, work, and the annual work Christmas parties for work.  It's been fun, but this time of year gets so busy!  Somehow, I'm trying to maintain some sense of routine.  Thankfully, we've been able to maintain our sanity to continue to enjoy this time of year.

Daniel finally was able to feed PJ.  He fed him the whole bottle and did very good!  He's a great big bro!

Since our sugar cookies from last week have lost their satisfaction in this house, we had to make chocolate covered pretzels.  Those have NOT lost their satisfaction! :-)  Daniel was a great helper!  As you can see in the picture, he was the sprinkle king!  I'm sure you can guess which ones he decorated!!

PJ is all smiles lately.  It's so FUN!  He absolutely loves the changing table.  I think it's partially because he loves loves loves to be out of his clothes.  He is one happy boy just hanging around in a diaper.  His smiles have progressed to full-faced, joy-filled smiles and they absolutely are worth the work in getting them sometimes!  He sure is growing and I am holding on tight to each bottle-feed, snuggle session, and diaper change that I can!  It is zipping by already!  Can you believe that he is 10 weeks already? I feel like saying 2 1/2 months is too much for me so I am still hanging on to the weeks!

The two pictures below show his relief and happiness being clothes-free!

I'm going over to my mom's today to make the very sinful Gobs that we make a couple times of year.  Picture this:  soft chocolate patties/cupcake tops filled with creamy white filling....mmmm....such a treat and I lose all will power when it comes to those!  It's an Amish recipe that we have been making for years!  Maybe one day, you can all be honored in having one! ha!

Jingle Bells!

Daniel has been singing Jingle Bells A LOT lately due to his constant practicing at school for their "performance" at the senior citizens center this morning.  It's so cute to hear this sweet voice in the back seat singing along with the Christmas music on the radio in the car.  He truly loves all things Christmas.  He's been daddy's helper hanging lights, trimming the tree, and even doing a little last minute yard work.

Daniel and I made Christmas sugar cookies the other day and let me tell you....Daniel almost needs no help!  He loves to help me bake and cook.  To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if he turned out to be a chef when he gets older!  And if that means me not having to cook later, yay!

Please excuse the undies. :-\

He's even been a great helper to me. Helping me decorate inside the house. When we were unwrapping the ornaments he kept calling them presents because it was like a suprise was awaiting us every ornament we unwrapped. I have to tell you, he is a great helper and it makes the season even more enjoyable. 

 Here's an ornament we got when we first had Daniel.  Oh how I love Caribou coffee!

Just look at this picture!! This was Daniel's first Christmas!  Isn't he just to die for?!  Ornament courtesy of my amazing mother :-)

PJ has even gotten into the Christmas spirit with his Christmas jammies.  There might just be a slight smile there!

We've been enjoying this Christmas season so much this year.  There is just so much to celebrate and be thankful for!  We've been talking with Daniel a lot lately about what makes Christmas so special and why exactly we are celebrating.  He was so cute the other day.  He was playing with a nativity scene that Grandma Marsha sent us and he took the angel and faced it to Joseph and said, "you are going to have a baby"...I mean, my heart melted.  He didn't know that I was watching and I think he was a little embarrassed when I was like, "Daniel!  Tell Daddy what you just said...it's ok, tell him, tell him!"...haha...It's so neat (AND SCARY) how much he is soaking up and learning and home, school, and church.  It has definitely kept me on my toes, that's for sure! ha!

On a PJ note, we went to San Francisco last week for another Spina Bifida clinic.  He had an ultrasound on his ventricles, his bladder, kidneys, and his hip.  A HUGE PRAISE, his ventricles are remainging stable!! Not shunt so far!! YAY!!  We were so relieved.  As you can imagine, we are on the edge of our seats when it comes to that because we know 80-90% of kids with spina bifida get a shunt.  We are praying constantly that PJ can be that 10% that doesn't need one!  God has a plan for him and if that means getting a shunt, we are ok with that, but it's looking good so far!  His bladder looks great and we are getting all of his urine out when we cath him, which is good.  There is risk for UTI's and kidney damage if we don't empty him out all the way, so we were relieved to know that we are doing it correctly.  On a discouraging note...his left hip is dislocated.  We did have him in a harness for his hip for 4 weeks prior to this ultrasound, so we are very dissapointed about that.  So now he is in a meatier, more aggressive brace that he has to wear 12 hours a day.  He is getting adjusted to it, but it is hard on all of us.  We return to San Fran in 5 weeks to see if it's working and to check on his ventricles.

Please pray for his hip to be corrected with this brace.  If this doesn't work, the next step would be casting or surgery.  We don't want to do either.  We don't know what we would do with out everyone's prayers.  We know that we have tons of prayer warriors out there and there are no amount of words to express our appreciated and love for all of you.  God has been doing amazing things in our lives and we feel so blessed and honored that He would chose Mitch and I to be parent's to these 2 amazing boys.  The days aren't always easy and fun, but there are plenty of moments that make us melt and tear up because we just feel incredibly blessed.  Like I always say, God is GOOD!  I will try to post more frequently than I have been, but it is hard to find the time and also, the pictures take FOREVER to load!  We hope you are enjoying this beautiful time of year!!  God bless.









Reflections

It's hard to imagine what could possibly happen w/in the next coming year. Thinking back to this time last year, I could have never imagined that we would be where we are. A year ago we were finally adjusting to Daniel being in preschool, wondering if he would ever really like going to school. Now, he loves school and gets excited to see his friends every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Praise God! In a year, Daniel has learned how to write his name (first and last!), add numbers, recite bible verses (amazing!), ride a bike and learn how to become a big brother!

 Daniel in 2010 first day of preschool

Daniel in 2011 first day of Pre-K

  Daniel has grown in ways that show us, as adults, that we can continue to grow and learn, even when our brains seem not to work as well as they did when we were that young! :-)

A year ago we were grieving over a miscarriage.  Wondering if God would ever bless us with another child.  We didn't know what God wanted us to do and wondered if Daniel would be an only child.  I learned that miscarriages are so common, more common that I ever knew.  It made me sad and sympathetic to all of those women who had experienced a miscarriage.  My close friend had experienced one a year before we did and I never fully could understand the feeling of loss, loneliness, and sadness until we had experienced one.  I felt for all of those women who desired to have children but never could, or struggled to.  It brought me closer to God.  During a time where it seems like it would be so easy to be angry at God and to question Him.  I was thankful for His words in the bible and the comfort that those brought me during that time.  I knew that He was to be glorified through it all and I knew that He would be, whether that would be then or later down the road.  One thing I realized was that as women, we are tough and God has designed us to be that way.  Proverbs 31:10-31 explains what a Godly woman is and how we are designed to be; noble, dependable, strong, hard working, hospitable, and confident, just to name a few.  Our responses during times of hardship are what molds us into the women that God wants us to be.  I found that my response to our miscarriage was just as important as my response would be to another time of trouble.  I'm not saying that everyday I chose to be "ok" with what we went through, but I had faith that God had this amazing plan in store for our family and I needed to be patient (yikes, that's hard!) and trust that He would show us His will for our family.  Then came January 18.  We went to a fertility specialist (I'll spare you the details) and w/in a few weeks after that...we were pregnant!  It was like God was telling us "settle down, I have a plan for you and you need to TRUST ME"...if that wasn't ever so clear?!  Then fast forward to June 27.  We found out that our baby has spina bifida.  Yet, another reason to hold on for dear life that God has a plan for us.  Here was another opportunity for us to trust God and for Him to be glorified.  I have a feeling that this one is going to be glorifying God for years and years to come.  I had another opportunity to be a Proverbs 31 woman.  I fail daily at it, but I have many daily reminders of keeping at it and trusting in God to help me be that woman.  It's kind of neat how once you have children, your perspective is so different.  I have a responsibility to take care of these children that God has loaned to me.  These are HIS children and when I think of it like that, it makes me want to do an even better job at my role as their mother.  I see areas in which I fail, daily, and ask God to help me learn my lesson. 
I guess I got a little away from the beginning of this, but I was just looking outside this morning with the fresh snow and bright sun and thinking "it's already almost Thanksgiving?!"...another year has gone by!  Things that I was so worried about a year ago aren't my worries anymore (why did I worry in the first place?!).  Makes me realize (I never learn enough!) that God is in control.  That all I have to do is trust Him and hang on for the ride! 

Change of Plans

Remember from our last post that PJ was getting 2 MRI's and x-rays on Friday?  Well, plans changed.  About mid-week I got a call from the nurse at the hospital that they do the MRI's at.  She began to tell me what the whole process entailed.  She told me that he would be under anesthesia for at least 2 hours and that we would have to be admited overnight for observation.  Remember, PJ is only 6 weeks old and has already undergone surgery the second day of his life.  After the nurse told me that it would be at least 2 hours he would be under, I just didn't feel right about it.  Also, these MRI's aren't medically necessary at the moment, they were ordered just for the dr. to see, basically to get a baseline of where PJ is at.  Right after I got off the phone with the nurse, I called our go-to nurse in San Fran, the nurse practicioner for Dr. Gupta, to see what she thought.  She proceeded to tell me that they have never been a fan of MRI's on newborns and she didn't find it medically necessary to do them right now. PHEW!  I was so relieved to hear that.  She also said because we are monitoring PJ's hydrocephalus so closely with the possiblity of a shunt soon (he would be under anesthesia again) that it just wouldn't be good for PJ.  So, Mitch was on the phone the next morning with the Reno hospital and cancelled those appts.  There is just something about that mommy-intuition that God gives women when something isn't right for their child.  I'm sure that all of the moms out there know exactly what I am talking about!

We had already reserved our hotel in Reno for the night and planned on taking Daniel to monster trucks...well, Mitch and Daniel were going together while PJ and I hung out in the hotel.  We decided to keep our reservation and go anyway.  We needed some family time together and we figured that this would be fun for Mitch and Daniel to do together.  But, OF COURSE, Daniel had to come down with an aweful cold the day before.  He was still set on going to see monster trucks and so we thought that we would just go for it.  The drive to Reno consisted of "Daniel, COVER YOUR MOUTH!"  I think I said that about a million times!  That boy gets the worst cough when he is sick.  I felt like we were in an airplane where you don't get any air circulation.  I had to stop thinking about it because I was getting paranoid about PJ getting sick.  PJ's carseat was covered with a big blanket the whole way down to Reno! ha!  The following pictures are about all Mitch was able to capture during the monster truck show before Daniel had a meltdown and said that he missed me and wanted to come to the hotel.  See for yourself.

Could he look more excited?

Of course he had to get a picture by the Bounty Hunter!  He was able to muster up a little smile.  

 Here he is, about 10-20 minutes later...out like a light.  Mitch said there was even some drool!

Poor guy just didn't feel good!  They weren't even able to stay long enough for the opening acts to be done and for the monster trucks to do their stunts!  I felt so bad for him.  Our night to follow was an interesting one.  PJ woke up at about 1am to eat and so that meant everyone woke up because it's quite the ordeal.  Daniel woke up with a fever of 101 as well.  Oh my.  What were we thinking going to Reno!  The fever was nothing a little tylenol couldn't fix.  Finally, after we all went back to bed, we were all able to get some rest.  Daniel woke up feeling a lot better, but still coughing. 

Even though Daniel was sick on our little trip, we all had a really great time spending our time together as a family.  The past trips that Mitch and I have taken haven't included Daniel because they just couldn't, so it was really nice to be together and not have to be in a hurry to get to a dr. appt or get home because we missed Daniel.  We just took our time, it was great.  Not to mention all of the Christmas decorations all over Reno!  Now if that doesn't get you in the Christmas spirit!  We even bought the new Michael Buble Christmas album! Don't worry, it's still in the plastic.  I'm trying to wait until Thanksgiving to turn it on!  I don't know though...I might just have to make sure it works ;-)

More dr. updates.

Have you ever noticed how cute baby sneezes are?  Just as I was opening this window to write a new blog, PJ, swinging away, sneezed 3 cute baby sneezes.  So adorable.  His sneezes seem to come in rounds of three...a little characteristic of my little warrior.
Last Wednesday-Friday we were in Reno/San Fran for check ups and dr. visists (already?!).  Wednesday was spent (2 1/2 bloody hours!) at the pediatric nuerologists office meeting the dr. and becoming aquanted with him.  He seems like a smart man, but a little out-dated as far as requesting hard copies of PJ's head/hip ultrasounds rather than the disc that the ICN discharge coordinator so politely prepared for him.  I know that doesn't mean he can't do his job, but it definitely dated the doc.  He was very nice and he seems to really be interested in PJ and his condition and also very proactive as far as ordering MRI's and x-rays.  We go down to Reno on Friday for an MRI of PJ's brain and spine and x-rays of his spine.  Please pray that PJ would take the anesethia well and that it would all go smoothly.
After that appt. we rushed out of there because there was a wind advisory for the day and we had to make it over Donner pass still to get to San Fran.  Why is it that when you have to go somewhere there the weather can't just be nice?  Of course there was a wind advisory!  Why not make things more interesting?!  Along with that is time to cath/feed PJ which totals around an hour.  So we felt a little rushed although we had no more deadlines for the rest of the day.  We finally made it to San Fran around 8pm.  Driving our Tundra in San Fran is no easy feet.  We had multiple near heart attacks! ha!  At least I did.  I thought I would give Mitch a break from driving so I drove the last bit and I am not proud to say that I think I have a bit of road rage!  I think Mitch should do the driving from now on!  I think he would agree with me on that one.
Thursday we had a head ultrasound at 11:30.  PJ did so good just laying there...getting his hair covered with ultrasound goop.  It's funny, he kept getting compliments on his hair for the rest of the day and we made jokes about the new hair gel on the market.  When we went to the spina bifida clinic, we were taken to our own room and from there all of the dr.'s that we needed to see (urologist, nuero surgery, physical therapy, orthopedics, social worker, CNP) came in one at a time and checked PJ out.  The nuero surgery team said that PJ's back looks really good and hopefully by the end of this week, we shouldn't have to dress it anymore!  Urology came in and made sure we were doing ok with the cathing situation, which we are.  Physical therapy came in and talked to us about stretching PJ's legs out, making sure he gets enough tummy time to build his back/neck muscles, just like with any baby.  Orthopedics came in and decided that we needed to put PJ in a pavlic harness.  That is a harness for hip dysplasia.  His left hip isn't totally in the socket and if we don't correct it now he'll have problems with hip dislocation when he is older, which we don't want!  So, he is in a hip harness for 6-8 weeks.  See pic below.

The nuero surgery team came in and told us that there is some more fluid between his vetricles than when we last did the ultrasound which was about 2 1/2 weeks ago.  So, they want to do another ultrasound in a month and see where we are then.  One thing I appreciate about them is that they are conservative with putting a shunt in.  They don't want to rush and put it in if it isn't needed.  We are still praying that God would take all of that extra fluid away and not have to get a shunt.  The dr. reassured us that shunts aren't a big deal, but it still is brain surgery and those word in and of themselves are scary!
So for now, we are trying to make it to Dec. 2nd w/o any complications or major concerns.  It seems like it is so far away but I know that it will be here before we know it!

Other than those visits we are trying to adjust (still!) to our new life.  We are grateful and thankful for every day that we have together as a new family.  Daniel has said to me a couple of times "Mommy, PJ is so cute...he should get in trouble for being so cute!"...does that just melt your heart or what?!  It has been so great to see Daniel's love for PJ growing everyday.   Daniel looks bigger and older than ever now days, which I know is because PJ is so small.  It is a bittersweet feeling.  I can't believe that he is going to be going to kindergarten next year!  I mean, where did the time go?!  I honestly can't even think about it w/o getting a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye!  I don't know what I am going to do!
This Friday, along with the MRI/x-ray appt. the boys (Mitch and Daniel) are going to the monster truck show while PJ and I hang out in the hotel room.  You should have seen the excitement on Daniel's face when we told him what we were doing!  He is so excited to see the monster trucks.  I must admit, I'm a little jealous I can't go, I think it would be entertaining just to watch Daniel watch the monster trucks!  It will be good for Mitch and him to have some quality time together, so I will just get over my jealousy ;-)  I'm sure there will be pictures to be posted of their adventure!