Happy Thanksgiving!

What a wonderful Holiday... who doesn't love to get together with family (and friends!), eat delicious food, share what we're thankful for, and have a puking child! Well, okay, our day wasn't all bad. We were able to spend the day with my family (and Aubrey!) and the Jamie's family in the evening. However, Wednesday night Sean came down with some sort of stomach bug. He seemed SO much better on Thursday, but first thing Friday morning we started in again.

I'm happy to say that he is feeling MUCH better - still not 100%, but certainly getting there! And, we were fortunate enough to have a calm stomach Turkey Day (well, we ate WAY too much... does that count?).

Thankful for you all! God bless! Now... on to Christmas!!!

Sean's first Speech Therapy appointment

Today we met with Anna, Sean's new Speech Therapist. First, let me tell you how much I love her! She was SO nice and SO good with Sean. I know what some of you are thinking... it's their job to be good with kids, but we all know that is not always the case. She was so sweet in her tone and so kind in talking with Sean, he warmed to her instantly - what a relief on my end. They played and she observed and asked me a lot of questions.

At the end of our session, she said she was impressed at how well Sean did some things and at how advanced he was for his age in some areas. She said he is a excellent listener and followed directions extremely well. And, just like Dr. Striegel told us, Anna said he is on the brink of talking up a storm! She does think that therapy would benefit him in the continual building of sentences.

There is a waiting period to get in to therapy, so we now have to wait for an appointment (which is anywhere from one week to one month). We are willing to wait if we can get that 8:00 a.m. spot with Anna. It took me over a half an hour to get from work, to daycare, then to therapy! If you think Champaign-Urbana is not big, think again!

As we were leaving, she said that we have a very sweet natured little boy. She said she could tell he was very loving and that he is very loved. Of course WE think so, but what Mommy doesn't love to hear that about her child! :-) Overall, it was a very positive experience, and for that, I am VERY grateful!

16 week check-up

Today was my 16 week check up. It's hard to believe I'm already four months pregnant! Only 23 days until our sonogram and we can hardly stand it! Of course we are anxious to see if we can tell what we are having, but more importantly, it is always nice to hear that things look perfect with the baby, and that he/she is developing right on track!

Okay, back to today. I have gained two pounds since my last visit four weeks ago, which brings my total weight gain to six pounds - right where I should be! My blood pressure is almost exactly the same and still showing no signs of pre-eclampsia (although I was good at this point with Sean too). Like our last visit, this little critter I'm growing was all over the place, so they couldn't get the heartbeat to register. Three people later, they brought in the portable sonogram machine (I tried to convince them to keep their eyes out for any little "parts", but no such luck!) The baby's heartbeat was at 149 - that's the highest it's been, and MUCH higher than last time (it was 122, I didn't like that).

They said everything looks good and we are good to go for another three weeks when we have our sonogram. Woo-hoo! Go Baby Lance!

Goodbye friend

Today we said goodbye to our sweet kitty Jolie. For those of you who never saw her (she wasn't out much), here is a picture. It was very sad to see her pass, but Jamie and I know it was the right thing to do. If you have never lost a pet before, you are a very lucky person - it is one of the hardest things to do. Thank you all for your emails and calls to see how we are doing. We miss her, but fortunately we have three other pets to keep us plenty busy (and a two year old)!

Updates: Sean/Jolie

Well, today was the day of making appointments. I called St. Louis Children's Hospital and got Sean scheduled for March 16th. We are on the waiting list in case there are any cancellations, but for now, that's the date.

I also heard from the vet... we have scheduled to take Jolie in Monday at 11:40.

I truly appreciate all your emails. It means so much to know we have such a great support system.

Jolie

Many of you know our cat, Jolie. Or rather, you've heard that we have a cat named Jolie (lovingly referred to as "the fat one".) Jolie doesn't come out much unless it is to eat, but she is a sweet, sweet kitty none the less.

Last Saturday she was supposed to go in for her annual exam and shots. But since we've been having a lot of problems with her urinating (everywhere), we decided to have some tests run. This evening the vet called with the results of her lab work... As it turns out, she is severely diabetic (along with a possible neurological issue). This leaves us with a few options, but the one we are choosing to go with is to have her put to sleep. We don't want her to suffer.

Of course my heart is breaking. I'm very sad by this as I've had her for eight years... she's a sweet, loving kitty - even if you haven't ever met her. We will discuss timing with the vet tomorrow. Please keep us in your thoughts as losing a pet is never easy. We appreciate it...

Update on Sean's growth

As many of you know, Sean had some tests run at his two year check up to see if his bones were showing signs of growth. Between a bone scan/x-ray and blood work, we were hoping to find out if there is a problem, or if he's just our little man.

Last week we received a call that his blood work came back normal (other than being a little low in iron, but nothing to worry about there) and his x-rays all looked good (showed signs of his bones growing). Of course we were thrilled with this news!

This evening, I received a call from Sean's doctor. They received the last of his blood work test results back, and there was one marker that showed a little cause for concern - the IGF 1 growth hormone. A normal two year old should fall in the range of 45 - 222. Sean is at a 25, which is where a one year old should be. This means that he has what's called short stature growth hormone deficiency.

Per the instructions of Sean's doctor, the plan of attack is that in one month, we will have the test run again to make prove that it is a "reliable" test. Tomorrow, I will call to make an appointment with a pediatric endocrinologist at St. Louis Children's hospital. Apparently there is a four month waiting period to get in, so we're looking at sometime in March (hopefully). The doctor gave us the names of three doctors, and she said they are worth the drive - they are the best. Well, we of course want the best for Sean, so the distance is NO issue.

Once we meet with the specialist, we'll know a lot more of the plan. Based on the research I've done, it looks like we will have to administer a daily injection of growth hormone to Sean. Depending on how severe they determine his low level to be, will depend on when the injections start - but most research says when the child is 4 - 5 years old. Research also shows that he will be administered the shot until his bones are at the maturation age of 16. The shots are virtually pain-free (according to several websites), but very costly.

Of course this news is not what we wanted to hear, but we ARE grateful that he is otherwise healthy. Like the emotional Mommy I am, I have cried a lot about this and ask for prayers that all works out. I know that things could be SO much worse, but no Mommy (or Daddy) wants their child to have to experience anything bad. We appreciate your prayers for Sean that everything will work out in the way that God sees fit. I'll be sure to update the blog as we learn more. Thanks everyone...

Just being cute!

Sean got a few new toys for his birthday... new stuff is always fun (although, so are the boxes!) Here he is playing with one of them being all cute! I love his smile in this picture!!!

Visit from Grandma Becky

This weekend Jamie's Mom was hear for a visit. We had a lovely time. You could tell that Sean recognized her since we just saw her in September, so the warming up period was much better. Becky was kind enough to watch Sean on Saturday night so that we could have dinner with our friends the Meyers. We went to Alexanders (YUM) and were able to visit for awhile. We were very appreciative of Grandma Becky for that!

While she was here, we also took a trip to Toluca to visit Jamie's Grandmother, Jan. We met up on Sunday night for dinner at Mona's (Becky and Jamie's FAVORITE place to eat... me, not so much! :-) ) We hadn't seen Jan since Sean was nine months, so it was nice for her to see how much he's changed!

Although it was a short visit, is was nice for Becky to spend time with Sean. He's changed so much from when we were there in September!!!

Thank you Aunt Lois!

My Aunt Lois always gets the most wonderful cookies for birthdays, holidays, you name it. Here is the one she had made for Sean's birthday. Isn't it amazing??? It was YUMMY too!

Sean's Birthday

On Sean's actual birthday, we had my family over for a mini celebration (Pizza and cookies). That was SO much fun! He loves being with the family, but especially his cousins! They are so sweet together! Here are some pictures:







Happy Birthday my little love!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEAN!!!

I can't believe it, our little man is TWO! Maybe it's hormones, or maybe it's the fact that my baby isn't a baby, but I have been a little weepy all day! Where does the time go???

Sean started his birthday at 4:30 this morning (yes, you read that correctly). Apparently he knew today was special! :-) Little did he know that the day was starting with a trip to the doctor for his two-year check up! The good news is he's healthy as can be, and for that we are truly blessed. On the other side, the doctor is a little concerned with his size. He is weighing in at 19 lbs, 1 ounce (< 1 percentile) and is 30 5/8 inches long (< 1 percentile).

In order to make sure there is nothing to be concerned about, she sent him for x-rays of his bones to make sure that they are growing, and more blood work to see if there is any medical cause to his small stature (that's what they call it - it sounds so much better than "short" and more manly than "petite".) :-)

We started with the x-rays which did NOT go well. Try telling a two year old to sit still and hold his hands out flat. Yeah, not going to happen. With me being pregnant and not being able to be in the room, he had to sit on the technician's lap (of which he did not know and she was oh so helpful... not) and they had to tape his hands down. That didn't last... my little magician wiggled free. I, on the other hand, was doing my best to not cry as I listened to him screaming from the outside of the room. FINALLY that was over and we were on to the lab...

Sean has had blood drawn one other time to test his iron. He did SO great with it this time - just a little cry, but he was SO brave. He did SO much better than Mommy. We should have the results back from both of these the beginning of next week. This will tell us if we need to meet with an Endocrinologist to discuss administering growth hormones (of which scares me half to death).

In the meantime, we'll meet with a nutritionist to discuss other ways to get in calories... MAN I wish I had that problem! ;-) We're also going to meet with a Speech Therapist to help him with his sentences. The Doctor says he's right on the brink of talking up a storm, and she's NOT concerned, she just wants to make sure it doesn't become a problem. She said in a couple of months I would be hating her for taking him there... he won't stop talking! :-)

Okay, so I just got a call from Sean's Doctor... it turns out they were able to get the results back and everything looks fine! His thyroid and the rest of his blood work looks good, with the exception of being low in iron (not surprising since he doesn't eat much), but NO cause for alarm. AND, his bones ARE growing! They are estimating him to be 5 feet, 9 inches. I can TOTALLY accept that... as long as he is growing. THANK THE LORD!!!

Back to my sweet little boy... we sent him to daycare today so that he could be with his friends and play. He really, really loves it there! When we walked in, everyone started singing. It was too cute! This afternoon, I took in some goodies to his class to celebrate - here are some pictures:






We're having family over tonight for pizza and sweets, so I'll post more later. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEAN!!!!!

Sean's birthday party

Although tomorrow is Sean's actualy birthday, last Saturday was Sean's birthday party! We had such a great time with so many family and friends... it was crazy with a house full of children, but I wouldn't have had it any other way! Here are a few pictures of the day.

The WONDERFUL Mickey Mouse cake that Mrs. Pam made special just for Sean:



Sean and Aunt Elaine:



Grandma and Sean:



Tim and Jack (Jack's Mommy, Heather, was there too):



Dustin and Aubrey (don't they look so cute in their Mickey ears???):



Luke coloring:



Owen and Grandma Barb "talking" on the phone:



Miss Avery (isn't she SO cute?!?) showing the wonderful picture she made for Sean!



Sean and friends playing:



I bought a Mickey Pinata and was SO excited about it! It is the kind where you pull a string, and one magical string releases the candy! Well, that's how it's supposed to work anyway. Turns out this one was so magical that none of them worked. No fear though, Grandpa got out the keys and made a hole... thus the waterfall of candy occurred!






Opening presents:






And one more of Avery because she's so stinkin' cute!!!

Playing in the leaves

The other night was such nice weather... We had a yard full of perfectly crisp (but not dry) leaves, so what does that mean? FUN!

The future of America...

Okay, so he may be too young to vote, but he's still so stinkin' cute! :-) Here he is gearing up for Election Day!

My attempt at "carving" a pumpkin

Okay, I'll be honest, there was really no carving involved. We had a pumpkin "carving" contest at work and were paired up with another person to create the best pumpkin. Customers would vote on the best and the winner would get a prize. There were two rules: 1) you could not take the pumpkin home, and 2) no Illini themes.

Well, I don't carve pumpkins at home, so what made them think that I wanted to carve one at work is beyond me, but I wanted to be a good sport. So my partner and I brainstormed and here is what we came up with... by the way, WE WON!!!

Halloween 2008

I'm FINALLY getting around to posting pictures from Halloween... if figured I'd better be busy since I'll have pictures from his party to post this weekend! Even though little man was around last Halloween, 11 months doesn't make for a whole lot of trick-or-treating. But THIS year was a different story! Our little monkey got all dressed up and went to a few houses on our street (and Grandma and Grandpa's of course)! Here are a few pictures:

Sean's Daycare Parade




Kyle and Nick


Sean and Grandma reading a book


Trick-or-Treating with Daddy


Getting ready for bed after a long, but FUN day!