Frustrated!

We finally got to see a rheumatologist today! I didnt sleep hardly at all last night because I was so anxious to hear what the dr would have to say. I was happy that Bekah had no fever all day yesterday and 2 full nights of sleep with no pain, but worried we would see the dr and then go home for it all to only return again. Because of her feeling better again it left the dr up in the air. He feels it still may be viral, but could be juvenille arthritis. So if the fever and pain come back he gave us orders for more blood work and a chest xray. I hope and pray the pain does not return as it is so hard to see her in so much pain. The fever however was back this evening so we will see what happens tonight.
Caleb had his surgery yesterday to remove his adnoids. He had a very hard time waking from surgery. Usually they get to go home one hour after surgery but we had to stay almost 3 because he refused to drink anything, threw up a lot of phlem, and screamed non stop when he was not asleep. But after 3 hrs he decided a drink wouldnt be so bad so we went home right away! After getting home we gave him some ibuprofen he ate a huge lunch and took a small bottle of milk, slept one hour and woke up like nothing ever happened. We give him ibuprofen every 6 hrs and I forget he even had surgery yesterday. Last night he woke only once on a single dose of ibuprofen! That is better than he has slept in weeks! The Dr did confirm after surgery that he followed suit of his sisters and had very large adnoids. Yeah! That means more than likely we found the true culprit from not sleeping all night since 8 months old! So glad it is over and now we begin praying that his tonsils dont grow and cause sleep apnea again like Bekah's did. Owell we will cross that bridge when and if it comes. We are hoping to cancel the sleep study for next month but will make sure the surgery did indeed fix our little man!

Christmas 2010!

I thought I would write about our Christmas before another day passed because let's face it otherwise it would never happen! We had a great Christmas Eve eventhough we did not get to spend it with my side of the family as planned. My brother and his wife refused to have their children around Bekah so they celebrated without us. I will admit I was pretty hurt and still am a little but I have to respect their decision right? All of the Dr's said she is not contagious which would explain why none of the other 2 have caught it, but what can I do? So instead of infecting my family we went to the Christmas Eve service at our church. They had a camel, donkey, lamb, and other strange animals I know nothing about. Scott and his family would be ashamed but I grew up in the suburbs! Give me a break! Caleb loved the animals! He actually was chasing after the camel when it went into the sanctuary (Scott and Caleb had left the service bc Caleb was bored). I thought some toddler is following the camel...Oh wait that is my toddler! Luckily he only made it no more than 10 rows when I caught him. All three loved the giant slide they built onto two flights of stairs and the cookies! After church we came home and watched Rudolf and slept out in the living room for the night. Ryan checked one more time before we fell asleep to make sure the presents hadnt arrived. She was pretty excited! By midnight Scott moved to his own bed (in his defense he had slept on the floor all week bc of Bekah being in so much pain and in our bed so it was hard to pass up an empty bed) and Bekah lasted until 2am before moving in with Daddy bc of pain in her legs. Once Ryan and I woke in the morning excited Ryan the night before forgot what happens Christmas morning. Well at least for 20 min or so. But then she jumped up and ran to the tree and squeeled with excitement when she saw all the presents! She kept explaining to me that nothing was there when she fell asleep but now their were So many presents for everyone! Once everyone else awoke we had homemade cinnamon rolls (I premade them Christmas Eve) which we put a candle in each of the kids and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. Yes cinnamon rolls instead of cake because we have birthday cake only 5 days before Christmas for Bek's birthday! We had our Christmas story and after that we made a giant mess the rest of the day playing with every new toy no longer than 10 min Im pretty sure! At the end of the day during prayer time Ryan did remember to thank Jesus for giving us Christmas. If it made her thank you list (which isnt usually very long) I know that means it was a Great day!

Juvenille Rheumatoid Arthritis?

So we thought our Bekah was better from her post viral arthritis as she was running and jumping with no complaints or fever for 2 full days. However, on Wed after her nap she woke up crying in pain again (refusing to walk) along with another fever. The Dr's at Riley told us that if this happened to see our Pediatrician immediately. Luckily we already had a follow up appointment thurs morning so we decided to just wait it out with Ibuprofen. Once with the Dr I was shocked to hear that she may actually have Juvenille Rheumatoid Arthritis. I thought Riley had definitely ruled that out. Apparently, I was wrong. With this auto immune deficiency it is common to have pains and fevers that come and go. However, with Post viral arthritis once the fever and pains were gone they shoudve stayed that way. We are going to be scheduled a visit with a rheumatologist soon to find out for sure. We know that God loves our little girl and whatever diagnosis or healing that comes we will glorify Him!

Birthday Scare!

On Friday, Bekah woke up extremely whinny as we were preparing for her big birthday party scheduled for Saturday. I figured she was only tired from staying up late the night before. Well once again I guessed wrong. She went down easily for her nap, but when she woke up she couldnt walk because she said her left leg hurt too badly. So I then took her temperature and she did indeed have a fever. She layed on the couch crying the entire evening. Sat morning she woke up and was limping with the a low grade fever so we figured she must be getting better. So we decided to keep the party but only allow family to come to protect other children in case she was really sick. She woke up from her nap 20 min before the party and I realized she was not going to have a lot of fun. She once again could not walk at all and didnt care about all the people and the party. So we quickly had cake to hopefully get her in the mood which did help a little. Then during presents she stood in one place loving all of her presents but wouldnt move or bend down to reach the gifts. After the party I took her temp and her fever had gone back up even after Ibuprofen so I called the Dr as she laid on the couch crying. Of course we were sent to the ER nearby and they were stumped because the pain was never in the same knee at the same time. If it were an infection in her joint it is almost impossible to have 2 joints on different sides of the body infected. But it had to be more than achiness to keep a 3 yr old from walking. After having no clue what was wrong and taking her blood after already attempting and failing the first time which they found a high white blood cell count they decided it must be viral. The next day (Sunday) Bekah still could not walk and still had a high fever. Our pediatrician called to check on Bek and was severly disapointed in our last visit to the ER, so suggested we go to Riley. The first dr who saw us at Riley said he would never send a 3 yr old home who will not walk with a high fever without ruling everything out! So they admitted us and ran several tests. Yes more blood work on our poor little girl but at least they knew how to do it quickly! Xrays on hips and knees to check for fluid and signs of juvenile arthritis. Luckily the xrays looked normal. In the ER alone 3 different Drs examined Bekah do determine what was wrong. Once in the infectious disease unit 4 more Drs examined her! I couldnt believe the attention they gave her. It felt so good to know they cared as much as we did. After everything they are almost 100% sure it is a post-viral reaction in this case post-viral arthritis. A virus never escaped about 2 weeks ago and found its way to her joints. However, they do know they still could be wrong so we have to keep a close eye on her fever. If it comes back we will need to run more tests. Or if the pain becomes severe again and she is back to refusing to walk again we have to run more tests. Some pain may persist up to 6 weeks! We hope not! She has been walking, running, and jumping today but still complains her right knee hurts and now her left shinn. Scott and I were bummed to spend Bekah's 3rd birthday at the hospital, but she scored some pretty cool gifts while at Riley. They made sure it was a special day anyway! It is hard not to continue to worry when Bekah still is not 100% and knowing it could get really bad again with more testing. We are trying to trust God in this whole matter knowing he does care and has his hands on our little girl! Our goal before Christmas is to get some sleep and get everyone healthy!

My Tribute to Ryan!

There are so many things I love about this girl! I know I know one year ago I didnt think the two of us would ever get along again. I still loved her but man alive it was rough! I told Scott a couple days ago that I could have a house full of 4 yr olds. She has become so easy going and obedient that it is hard to believe that last year I thought she was going to be a runaway teenager! Once Ryan had her tonsils removed she has been a new girl. She no longer pees in her pants or throws tantrums. I know the tantrums are partly because she is getting older but I do believe that sleeping better at night has helped too. Who knew that taking out her tonsils really would work and potty train her? I didnt believe it, but honestly was very hopeful. We were out of ideas. Of course having her actually pee in the potty does help me with my patience, which then helps us get along better. Evenings were always long with Ryan because she was tired, but these days that doesnt seem to be an issue. Im so happy for her that she feels better.
Ryan will be 4 1/2 January 5th. Closer to Kindergarten. Arrgh! (even if we do homeschool!) These days she still prefers one on one time, but now it has switched to Mommy time instead of Daddy. During the rest time of the other 2 we do whatever Ryan wants and let me tell you she easily fills that time. She picks things like working on phonics, reading, coloring, puzzles, playing pretend with princesses or my little pony's, playing Sorry or Dominoes, or playing PBS games on the computer. I really do enjoy spending time with someone who can converse and sit still for more than 2 minutes! She is also getting to an age where she calls me out if I do something that is not kind. That I could do without. haha.
One of the new things I love about Ryan is her sense of humor. Recently she has started talking in funny voices and making us laugh quite a bit. She has also learned how to tease. Bekah doesnt appreciate it though! It is neat to see her moving from preschool aged to school aged.
My sad moment this week was when she was complaining of her shoes being too tight which we only bought 3 months ago! Sure enough she needed size 11. I didnt think much of it until we arrived at the store and quickly figured out that 11's are not toddler shoes! First of all, girl sizes are more expensive; and secondly she is growing up! She already grew out of toddler clothes over the summer and now shoes! How does this happen so quickly? Of course she was so proud to pick shoes from the girls section.
Ryan has a very tender heart. She will do whatever Bekah wants so that she wont be upset. Her feelings are very easily hurt which can get me into a lot of trouble sometimes. Ryan clings to teachers and visitors as though she never gets quite enough love. I love every moment that she sits on my lap to read or watch tv because I know this too will be over before I know it!
Ryan is also adventerous! She enjoys trying new things. Whether it is eating something new or going some place new to do a new activity she is game! It is nice to have someone who takes change well and actually prefers it.
Ryan's favorite meal is beans and rice (bush's baked beans with ground beef over white rice with cheese melted on it and sour cream!) All 3 love this meal actually! They ask for it everyday! Ryan's favorite drink is Strawberry Banana Jucy Juice. Her favorite treat is a Twix candy bar. Her favorite cookie is an Oreo. Her favorite Color is Purple. Her favorite cartoon is Curious Geroge and Cat in the Hat. Her favorite stuffed animal is SeaHorse. Her best Friend is Bekah. Her favorite grandparent is Grandpa Moon. Her favorite books are Amelia Bedelia (I dont even know if she gets the humor yet!) She tells me at least twice a week her favorite activity is Ballet even though she tells me she is so sad we cannot afford it. Her favorite "healthy" snack is a cheese stick. Her favorite "unhealthy snack" is Fritos. Her favorite breakfast is Pancakes with sprinkles!
There you have it! My tribute to Ryan! Look forward to Bekah and Caleb's coming soon!

Second Oppinion!

I took Caleb to the ENT last week to see what she thought could be wrong with him. I wanted to know if she thought we should wait for a sleep study or if it was most likely sleep apnea that didnt have to wait for such a miserable study! She thought it would be very unnecessary to suffer until February for the sleep study. With our family history (which she added those girls had huge adnoids! How could they even breathe!) and the fact that Scott and I have seen sleep apnea 2 times already she figured we knew better than anyone else (that is scary). I wish I had as much belief in us as she does! We have also had such amazing results from both of their surgeries. Anyway, she left it up to us but definitely believed that removing the adnoids would get us sleep at night and get him off of his evening inhalants. She said his tonsils are actually small (that gave us so much relief) and should never need to come out for sleep apnea. Getting the adnoids out wont be much fun for a few days but it is not nearly as hard a recovery as the tonsils. Bekah had a hard time from having only the adnoids removed but she has a hard time recovering from anything such as an ambilical cord that had to be burned off at 16 weeks old!!! Gross!!!! So we are counting down the days until Dec 29th! I hate surgery but I do love the results!! We will keep the sleep study scheduled in case the surgery isnt the answer and we are still having trouble, but hopefully we will not have to put that poor boy through that! Yes I do believe a sleep study would be far worse than a quick surgery! Have you ever seen pictures of kids in their sleep study? Pretty rough! But seriously, we have been in constant prayer since 8 months old praying what could be causing such screaming and both Scott and I feel complete peace with this decision. Believe me after 5 surgeries already on the girls it was not easy to come to conclusion that we needed to do it again, but on our "little man."

Our happenings!

This week Scott is finishing the laundry room! Im so excited because our laundry room is part of the new garage which is very cold this time of year. Part of our grand plan was to close it in before this winter. Well winter came quicker than we expected I guess because it is cold! Since I do 99% of the laundry in our home Im ready to have the area heated. It is also our mud room for coats and shoes. The girls hate putting on ice cold shoes and coats. So hard to please! haha. Im hoping by this evening this newest phase of our home remodel will be finished by tonight. May be wishful thinking but it has to get done before the pipes freeze this next week with low temps in the single digits. Im so lucky to have a great hard working husband!!
The kids and I are anxiously awaiting Christmas! It has been so much fun this year as they finally remember what Christmas is from years past. So we have been going around looking at Christmas lights and let me tell you it doesnt take much of a display to get them excited! We do have a farm 2 miles from our home which goes all out and decorates all three homes and the barns and their yards. We call it the Christmas Wonderland! It is awesome! Everyone in Greenwood visits the display every year. We can visit it every night! We hope in the van and drive through a couple nights a week for something to do. It doesnt take much to make a (almost) 3 and 4 yr old happy. Weve visited the museum one day last week and once this week as they have their famous Jolly Days exhibit. With that comes a huge slide from the 2nd floor down to the 1st. All three kids LOVE it! Caleb giggles everytime with huge smiles! There is also a huge pretend cooking Stove with all kinds of foods and desserts with many familiar kitchen gadgets that Mommies and Daddies use at home. This is one of our favorite annual exhibits at the museum. So amazing to live so close to such a great facility! This week we hope to also visit Christmas at the Zoo as Im sure if the girls dont freeze to death they will love!
We are looking forward to celebrating Christmas for 3 days with Scott's family, my family, and by ourselves. I think Im more excited than anyone else! (This coming from someone who didnt enjoy the Christmas celebrations for many years!) I hope when the celebrating has ended the girls will remember that it was all because of Jesus!!

Life moves too quickly!

I actually forgot I had a blog until I saw my facebook page and saw the link. Our lives got busy during the fall with lots of fun activities so by the end of the day I didnt have time to blog. I suppose spending my evenings doing BSF instead of blogging is probably much more beneficial in the long run. I do enjoy it too! Also, lack of sleep from Caleb screaming a whole lot in the night and a whole lot during the day makes a tired mama who doesnt even feel like writing anything. On that note Caleb was scheduled for a sleep study but it isnt until Feb which for 2 very tired parents seems like an eternity away! So we are seeing an ENT to see if she thinks it is indeed sleep apnea without needing the sleep study to prove it. With the family history it certainly wouldnt be surprising. On one hand we hope it is sleep apnea because we know it is curable with surgery. On the other hand the surgery is a rough one! But in the end we are always glad we went through with it. Sleep is so precious to us!
Caleb finally started walking two weeks ago. To be honest I didnt think he would ever figure it out! But he did and that has made him a bit happier and less needy. He has had 2 sinus infections in one months time and a 3 week stint of diarrhea. He is constantly climbing anything he can and pretending to talk on the phone saying, "hi hi!" He loves to wrestle already and I must say he is vicious! We actually run from him! He always win!
Bekah and Ryan are getting more and more independent. As a matter of fact I was begging them to play with me yesterday! I was bored and tired of doing nothing important however they informed me that they would rather play church and school together instead of playing with me. So sad! But dont worry Caleb kept me busy getting into constant trouble! My goal is to keep him alive. Nothing more will ever be accomplished Im sure!
Bekah is turning 3 in 2 weeks! Im more shocked that it means Ryan will be 4 1/2! No way! But dont worry it is also a relief that they are indeed growing up some. I will say that Im dreading having a 3 year old in my house again. I didnt enjoy that age with Ryan and I can already see some of the challenges from then starting with Bekah. The screaming tantrums for 30 min at a time have begun and I dont see them ending soon. However, I do handle them better now since Im not so shocked to see these battles. Im hoping since Bekah was a little more difficult at 2 than Ryan that she will be a little bit easier at 3. Who knows but Im sure it will be a fun year anyway! We of course are having another Dora party (the same as her 2nd bday) to my disapointment, but I guess it isnt my birthday!
Ryan has completely made it to her age level in speech. They are continuing to work with her on Kindergarten speech since she is already enrolled. She told me today that she is so happy that people understand her now when she talks. Im so happy for her! Bekah is making many of the same mistakes Ryan did at 3, but we have not decided if we will have her evaluated now that I know how to work with them. But I like the fact that it is free and having someone else help out. I will decide in January.
Well since Ive written about nothing important and my son is on the kitchen table eating markers I better get away from here! I will write again soon!