Wednesday, August 18, 2010
2010 First Day of School
Jackson and Emma started the new school year today and we now officially have a 2nd grader and a 4th grader... ugh. They are growing up so so quickly. Two weeks from now and Brian will have his 1st day of preschool. :-)
Thursday, July 22, 2010
How long has it been?
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Party time
Heather with the entire class.
Brian with Jhourney and Haylie. Two beautiful girls - good job Brian.
And Brian's favorite person, Haylie. Beyond adorable!
Friday, November 13, 2009
school pics
And miss Emma's photo - a cutie for sure. This girl may take awkward photos at home, but put her in front of a professional and she's batting near 100% so far. Here she is 8 and in 3rd grade.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
The baby of the family...
Brian and Jackson are going to share a birthday party this year since they both wanted a Star Wars themed party. It is Brian's first time inviting friends from school and I know he is really excited. It will be crazy having a house full of boys running around with pretend lightsabers, but Dave will be so proud!
I'm sitting here typing out this post recalling just what I was doing 4 years ago, and I have a few tears. It's still hard to think he's the last baby in our family. Just doesn't seem real sometimes. But he's the perfect ending to our family. Like the icing on the cake :-)
Saturday, August 22, 2009
I've got tile!
"before"
"after"
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Back to school, back to school!
Here are pics from this morning.
On a side note, Emma had her gh stim test last week and did well. It was a rough day, but she hung in there and now it's all behind her. I go on the 24th for the results. Fingers crossed.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
New test date
Funny thing about yesterday though was that they measured her before the test. Dave said they had her at 46 inches tall. If that is truly the accurate measurement then I don't think we'll have anything to worry about. The whole reason for this test was because at Emma's last check-up she was 45 1/4 inches tall, which dropped her down to the -2% for height. The dr. said since her growth had stalled again we should really do this test. They measured her twice that day to make sure it was accurate. So a month later she's 46 inches? If she grew 3/4 of an inch in a month we'll have worried for nothing. But, at least we'll know for sure. I'm guessing they either measured her w/shoes on or rounded since it wasn't an official check. But time will tell.
Thanks for keeping Emma in your prayers. She recovered quite quickly yesterday and had a normal day.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Growth Hormone Stim Test
Tomorrow (tuesday, aug. 4th) Emma is having this test. I can't explain it well, so I'll copy and paste the medical definition
Definition
The growth hormone (GH) stimulation test measures the plasma level of human growth hormone (hGH) after the administration of the amino acid arginine and/or GH-releasing hormone. It measures the ability of the pituitary to secrete GH.
How the test is performed
An angiocatheter (IV) is usually placed in a vein, typically in the inside of the elbow or the back of the hand. The puncture site is cleaned with antiseptic, and an elastic band or blood pressure cuff is placed around the upper arm to cause the veins below the band to swell with blood.
A needle is inserted into the vein, and then removed while the angiocatheter is left in the vein. The band is then removed to restore circulation.
Your blood will be drawn 5 times. To prevent multiple punctures of the vein, samples will be taken through the IV line instead of repeatedly re-inserting the needle.
The first sample will be drawn between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., then an intravenous (IV) infusion of arginine is started and continued for 30 minutes. After the 30-minute infusion, GH-releasing hormone is administered intravenously and then four more blood samples are drawn at 30-minute intervals.
Why the test is performed
This test is typically performed to identify hGH deficiency as a cause of growth retardation.
Normal Values
A normal peak value is at least 10 ng/mL; 5-10 ng/mL is indeterminate; 5 ng/mL is subnormal. (A normal value rules out hGH deficiency; in some laboratories, the normal level is 7 ng/mL.)
Note: ng/mL = nanogram per milliliter.
So that was taken from "How stuff works" website. It was the least medical of all the explanations I could find. The reason Emma is having to have this test is her growth had stalled again. She is closely monitored by an endocrinologist and up until now she had been holding her own. Even though she was tiny, she was at least maintaining her own growth curve. After this last appointment her dr. said she was in the -2% for height. I didn't even know there were negative percents! Emma does know about the test and she gets more nervous as each day passes. She does like the attention and drama (no idea where she gets that from - LOL) but I think she truly is scared. It won't be a big deal I don't think once the IV is in place though. Her dr. did say she'd feel pretty yucky but could eat as soon as the test was over. I will send her with a packed lunch I think. Dave is taking her so I can keep the babies here, and also so she doesn't see me upset. I'm not sure why, but I think I'm having a harder time with this than warranted. But she's already been put through a lot at such a young age, I just wish it was all behind her.
Please, if you think of it, pray for Emma tomorrow. She will be there from 8-11 or 12. I'll post how she does once they get home.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
What a difference....
First day of preschool (she was very ready to go, I wasn't)
Not last day but during summer after preschool...can't believe I forgot to take a picture on the last day!
First day of Kindergarten...
Last day of Kindergarten
First day of preschool for Jackson and 1st grade for Emma
Last day of preschool for JB
another of Emma on first day of 1st grade (anyone have the veggietales singing in their head right now?)
Emma on the last day of 1st grade (the biggest change for her I'd say so far)
first day of Kindergarten for Jackson and 2nd grade for Emma
last day of kindy for Jackson and 2nd grade for E....(huge change in Jack!)
I definitely hope to keep this going with them, for as long as they'll let me. And now I'm going to stop typing and go get some tissue!
Friday, May 29, 2009
We Have A Bruiser!
Doesn't that just hurt to look at it? OUCH!!!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Zoey
Zoey is a sick little kitty. On her first birthday we had to rush her to animal emergency because she was extremely lethargic and falling over. We were afraid she had feline aids or leukemia but those tests were negative. Her red blood cell count was less than 10%. Under 8% is fatal. Had we not brought her in when we did she would have probably died overnight. She is currently receiving a blood transfusion to get her cell count back up. This is only a band-aid and they still need to figure out what's making her so anemic. Hopefully it's just an infection that can be treated. If it's not, we'll have no choice but to put her down. We won't know more until later this evening...
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
A better attempt
Competitions are done for the season. We're still unsure of what Emma will do next year. Her dance teacher said she can stay on the team she's on now, but she's most likely too old for it. They check birth certificates. I think technically she was too old for this team this year but she squeaked by somehow. But if she's with girls her own age she sticks out like a sore thumb (and by that I mean the cutest sore thumb anyone could ever hope for). So we'll see what next year holds. Emma has her recital on May 16th which will include these two dances as well as a ballet routine. And Jackson has his recital on May 30th - check back for videos of both of them. I can't wait to see Jackson and a whole group of goofy boys doing hip hop - should prove to be very entertaining!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
She's (almost) famous
http://www.heraldonline.com/143/story/1293965.html
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Jackson takes a dive...
Can you see how the tooth on the left (his right) is lower than the other one?
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Emma's first win
Emma's first competition. She is the one far back corner on the right. They are great little tappers!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Praise
Another reason to praise our loving God is Emma is growing! We had a follow-up appointment with her endocrinologist yesterday and she has grown almost a full inch in 6 months. Her dr. said they should grow about 2 inches a year, so she's right on track. So for now we're in a holding pattern and just letting her be. If she has another drop in growth like the one that dropped her from the 50-75th% to below the 3rd%, then we'll go ahead with the growth hormone study to see if she has a deficiency. If she does, then we would go ahead with the replacement hormone most likely. If she does not, and the hormone replacement would be solely for esthetic purposes then we would forego that option. But who cares about that for now! She measured in at 45 inches tall and 47 pounds (although that was fully dressed in jeans and two shirts, but hey - we'll just ignore that fact). Those measurements still keep her below the 3rd % but she's maintaining a steady pattern and that's all that matters for now. Yay!
Jackson, while the sickest of us all, remained in good spirits throughout his quarantine. He never complained, ate well, took his medicine without a fight, and kept busy most of the time. You'd never have known he was as sick as he was if the Dr. hadn't told us. He's such a good little man! I'm just so thankful he wasn't miserable.
And just one more reason for praise(really there are too many to post). Brian is potty trained! And he did it himself! We still allow him to wear pull-ups simply because he's afraid to poop on the potty (sorry for TMI), and he's constipated most of the time so we never know when he'll go. I just don't want to clean up that mess. But he hasn't peed in his pull-up in almost a week, and he's telling us when he has to go now. So I'd call that done. I'll be honest, I was a little sad to see the last diaper go. I know, I'm pathetic. But I LOVE having babies and I think the Lord knew I needed a cutoff made for me because I'd have probably had at least one more if it hadn't been decided for me.
The kids have spring break next week but we'll be staying home this year. But Dave and I will be traveling in May on a much needed vacation. Our first "true" vacation since our honeymoon 12 years ago. We're both soooo excited.
Well, that's about all I have for now.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wow
So all three kids are on Tamiflu, and I'm praying like mad that Emma stays healthy because she's got a dance competition in Asheville this weekend.
Nothing like a little stress to make the week go by faster, eh?
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Has it been 10 days already?
But I'm excited for my girls night out tonight. Doesn't seem fair to get to go out to dinner tonight, considering in exactly one week I'll be in Charleston with 11 other women enjoying a few days of R&R. But I'll take while I can!
Monday, March 2, 2009
sweetness
and with them in his hand he said "I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you." Wow - am I not the luckiest wife ever? He - is awesome.