Boy Love

There is a lot of love flowing around these parts.

Isaac loves Theo...

a lot!

Carl loves Theo. Come on Theo, show them a real smile!

There it is.

Isaac loves Carl.
This is the first picture we've ever seen Isaac draw. It's usually just a whirlwind of color, you might call it scribbling. Last night Isaac drew something we could identify as a person of some sort. He told us it's a picture of Carl. He's also been 'writing' messages lately. The other night he wrote, "Carl loves me all the time."
Yes. Yes, he does.

Apple Orchard

We love to visit the orchard. There are apples and pumpkins to pick, animals to pet, play structures to play on, hay rides, and a very bumpy cow ride. Here's a little bit of what it looked like this year.The boys.

Wagon puller.

Pumpkin picker.

Apple eater.

Cow rider.

The rest of us were there too, but Isaac saw most of the action. We're sure Theo will be in there with him next year.
One of my favorite parts of going to the orchard is the apple crisp Carl makes from the apples we pick. His crisp is the best!

Big Guy

There was a time when Isaac was followed by a handful of doctors. There was the physical therapist, the geneticist, the neurosurgeon, and the endocrinologist. Now, he just ses the endocrinologist once a year. She's a very nice, shorter lady. That visit was yesterday. Isaac is still falling somewhere between the 5th and 10th percentile for height which means he's following his curve. This is great news. He had an x-ray of his hand to see if his bone age is still behind his biological age. The doctor suspects it is and that's a good thing. You stop growing when your bone age is 17. So, Isaac should continue growing after his peers have stopped. Based on his place on the curve and the bone age factor, the doctor predicts his final height will be somewhere between 5'7" and 5'9". Wow!

In the meantime, Isaac lives his life like he already is a big guy. I understand. I'm always surprised when I see myself next to taller friends and family members. I feel taller than I am and I think Isaac does too.

That's Isaac resting on the top platform. I love that big guy!

4 months plus

Oh Theo!
Theo is a little over four months old. He weighs 16 pounds, 10 ounces and is 26 inches long.


He's certainly had some rough days, but we're hoping they're behind us. His fever and spots landed him in the ER three times before they decided to admit him based on his strange combination of symptoms. Seven doctors looked at him and all they could agree on was that he had some kind of virus. That virus cleared up and he quickly caught the cold bug floating around our house. With an irritated throat, he didn't sleep longer than an hour at a time for almost a week and a half. Ugh. We finally tried the car seat and he's been sleeping much better. So for now, he's a car seat sleeper. This feels like a step backwards and like progress all at the same time! But we'll take the sleep any way we can get it for now!

Theo Needs Your Love

Theo is having some trouble. He's been in the emergency room twice in the last three days. On Monday night he had a fever and a few spots on his legs. The emergency room doctor said to keep an eye on him and bring him back if his fever went above 101.5. He had a very happy fever free Tuesday only to wake up screaming this morning with more spots and a fever of 103. I took him back and through blood work they found his white blood cell count to be 'significantly higher than normal'. They gave him antibiotics and sent him home. They don't know exactly what's going on with him. He has to be seen in clinic on Thursday and Friday for follow up. Please think of our little guy. He is usually such a happy boy and it's hard to see him hurting. All of your prayers and positive thoughts are appreciated.

Tubes

Isaac woke up at 3:30 this morning and was ready to go. He couldn't wait to start his day and who could blame him.

He was looking forward to driving the cars.

He got to watch a show while waiting for his procedure.

He picked the bubble gum flavor to put on the mask he wore while getting anesthesia.

And he played with another car. It's totally okay for a kid in purple pajamas to be hanging out in the back of a toy pick up truck in the middle of the hallway. I love Children's for this.

Here he is with his popscicle following the procedure. He really did very well and he's pretty well back to his usual self - except he seems to be hearing a little better. Yahoo!

What?!

Isaac began having trouble hearing us back in February and 'what' became a frequently heard word around here. After trying loads of other things, he's having ear tubes put in tomorrow. Though they refer to it as a routine procedure, it's not routine for us. We will be up early and at the hospital by 6:30 to prepare for his 8:00 surgery. He is both excited and a little anxious. He's certainly looking forward to hearing better. When I explained why we were going to the doctor for surgery his face lit up. He's toured the hospital in preparation for tomorrow and is mostly taking it all in stride. This morning he did mention that he doesn't want to ride on the wheelie bed. I'm hoping he relaxes about this once we're there.
I'm glad we're able to do this at the Children's Hospital. They've always been great with our kids and Isaac's looking forward to the toys in the waiting area, the gift shop, and the promise of popsicles after surgery. We're hoping all goes well and that we get to bring this smiley boy home with clearer hearing. When I asked the 'Child Life Specialist' what the hardest part of the surgery experience is for most children she said they're often most distressed by how loud things sound after surgery. Please keep us in your thoughts and I'll let you know how it goes.