Scary Weekend!

On Sat night Scott had a "friend" over to watch tv and hang out. He left about 11:30pm and Scott was hanging out on the computer when he got a knock on the door. He answered it and it was the police. They said a neighbor called bc someone was snooping around our house looking in the windows and around the back of the house. Well come to find out it was the "friend" who we thought had left earlier. He parked his car down the street and came back sneaking peaks through our windows. Then the police informed us he was a registered sex offender! So the police had to search our house and check on the girls to make sure everyone was okay. Then to make it worse they couldnt find Justin (the pervert!). He had run away and was hiding somewhere nearby. So they were searching the neighborhood for a couple hours then they just sat hidden hoping he would go back to his car. The police gave up about 2:30am. But the wonderful neighbors were bored so they hid in their car waiting to see if Justin would go back to his car so they could call the police. Sure enough he did about 3am and they followed him and called the police and they caught him at WestSide Park on main street. I hope to God they arrested the pervert! Apparently he has a thing for men and little boys! Weve checked the paper and havent seen anything which upsets me. How could they not arrest him after he ran from them!? Besides the fact he was being a peeping Tom! So anyway, we didnt go to sleep till after 4am bc we were so creeped out and we didnt know where he was! Yesterday we got more blinds and curtains so that now every single window is covered at night! We used to only have blinds in bedrooms and the living room leaving the kitchen and playroom opened up, but not anymore!
I must say we are pretty freaked out and we really hope this creep does not come back because he is angry and try to hurt our family in any way. We are just keeping a close eye on our house!

It Worked!

I wanted to give you all an update on Bekah's diarrhea. After 5 days on the medicine we saw dramatic improvement and after a full week even the smell was gone!! We finished the medicine to treat the giardia and now have only a few days of the probiotic left. We are excited to say that there are still no signs of smell or diarrhea returning! Bekah is gaining weight again, sleeping all night, and eating consistently!!!!! After a month or so if Bekah stays well the Dr wants to do blood work one more time to make sure all the swelling is gone so that we know for sure she is better. Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement through this rough time for us. We are truly so thankful it was only giardia. We are frustrated with ourselves for letting in a stray cat for a few days, but I will say we learned a valuable lesson. Now we see why it is so important to wash your hands after petting animals especially those you dont know where theyve been. But when they are in your house you can't do that constantly so I guess that means no more strays for us! haha! That's what parenting is all about...learning lessons everyday!Have a wonderful week!

Bekah and Riley

As many of you know today was the big day to go to Riley and hopefully get some answers. The answer we got was both encouraging and frustrating at the same time. After looking at everything the Dr has decided to treat Bekah yet again for Giardia. He figures after the medicine last time Bekah's colon just wasnt able to make enough good bacteria to balance things out again so the diarrhea continued. So to fix this problem he put her back on the same medicine for 2 full weeks and after one week she will start some probiotics for 2 weeks to help restore the good bacteria. This really makes the most sense for several reasons. First, we had a stray cat in our house for a few days right before everything began in early November and can be very contagious from animals who drink any water from outside or get it from another animal. Secondly, Bekah has never responded to antibiotics in the past without several tries or a stronger dose hence the reason she now has tubes in her ears. Thirdly, Ryan did get better immediately after starting the Giardia medicine when they were both treated earlier. Finally, she did test negative for Celiac Disease. We are praying this new treatment works. If it does not then she will have to have a scope done and a biopsy taken. They will then check for Celiac again, digestive problems, lactose intolerance, and so on. We really have our hopes up that this new treatment will work and no other tests will be done. We should know in 3 weeks how she is responding. Like I said this is both encouraging bc Bekah could be all better in a few weeks, but frustrating bc she didn't need to suffer for 2 1/2 months for Giardia! But we are praying and hope you will too that this is our long awaited answer!

Christmas 2008

Christmas was such a fun 4 days for our family this year! The girls had a blast seeing family and getting lots of new toys. It all started for us on Christmas Eve morning when we celebrated Christmas at home just us and the girls. When Ryan woke up and saw all the presents under the tree she was so excited. Scott asked her who they were for and she said, "All for Bek!" We felt bad because she thought it was still Bekah's birthday and didn't know she was getting presents too. But we quickly explained that it was Jesus' Birthday and everyone gets presents for His birthday. Ryan was then even more excited. So Daddy and Ryan then made us some homemade pancakes and quickly ate them as Ryan instructed us to. Then we read the story of Jesus' birthday and then of course sang happy birthday to Him. Then we had a blast opening all of our presents. Ryan got a new big girl Dora bike, new bible, candy, and Candy land. Bekah got bowling, Monkey for sleeping with, and clock puzzle. Bekah really didn't care too much about opening presents she just wanted us to go play. Ryan however really enjoyed it all this year.

On Christmas day we went to Grandma and Grandpa Cupp's house to celebrate Christmas with my brothers and Sister-in law (Scott and Laura and Joie) neice (Sydney) and Nephew (Chase). We had such a nice dinner and more fun opening presents. It was fun to watch the cousins all play together. Ryan got lots of Thomas bedroom items like a lamp, pillow, and laundry basket. It doesn't really match the girl colored trains in her room but she loves it all anyway! Bekah got the new Elmo Live. Both the girls absolutely love playing with him and let me tell you he eats batteries!

The next stop was Grandma and Grandpa Moon's house. We of course spent the entire day at their house. Scott Brother (Tim) and Sister (Sister) were both there with Tim Fiance and Melissa's husband. We had a nice time visiting with everyone and eating and opening more presents. The girls got so much stuff at their house I can't even think of anything. Im sure they enjoy it all! I do know they had a great time!

Our last stop was on the North side of Indy where my brothers and I with our families met up with my Dad and Grandma Jarred. It was such a nice visit. We really enjoyed getting to see them as it had been 1 1/2 yrs since we'd last saw them. Bekah was able to meet her Grandpa Jarred and Great Grandma Jarred for the first time. Im so glad everyone was able to make that work!

I must say that after these four days we were all exhausted! I couldn't believe how tired I was, but it was worth it! The girls had a great time and still are now that they are able to play with all of their new toys and books! I have never seen so much stuff all at one time! We are so thankful to have been so blessed!

One Year Checkup

On Monday Bekah finally got to see her Dr for her one year checkup. This came at a time when we had a lot to discuss regarding Bekah's health. She weighed in at 18lbs 4oz which brought her weight from the 25th percentile to the 10th. Her height was still at the 100th percentile though. Her weight not staying consistent, diarrhea for 6 weeks, hives, not drinking much, and not sleeping well at night had her Dr a bit concerned. As it did us too! So the Dr ordered a whole lot of blood work to be done. They were checking everything they could basically. Such as basic allergies (wheat, milk, eggs, dust, peanuts), electrolytes, anemia, lead, white blood count, you name it they were checking it. Anyway, the Dr's biggest concern is Celiac disease basically an alergy to wheat (gluten). But if it isn't controlled can have consequences. As of Tues morning one test already came back a bit conerning. The basic gist of it was that there was definite swelling in Bekah's small intestines. This is usually caused by diarrhea which she has had. This is also very normal for someone with Celiac disease. We are still waiting for the allergy tests to come back, but because Bekah does have an abnormal test already the Dr has transfered us to a GI specialist. So now we are waiting to see the GI specialist and waiting for more test results. We are praying that all this just clears up on its own or that it is all just caused by a simple allergy. Although Celiac disease would be an absolute pain we can deal with it. All we really want is to find out what is bothering Bekah and fix it so that she can feel well!

Bekah's First Birthday!!

It is so hard to believe at times that Bekah is already one! This last year has been such a joy with our little Bekah. Eventhough she has been so sick most of the year she has been the happiest little girl. Bekah is so different from her sister Ryan, but that is okay with us. Bekah absolutely loves to get into everything. If things aren't thrown all over the floor like magazines, books, cooking spoons, crayons, or toys then you can bet Bekah will make sure it happens right away. Bekah is so active it is hard to sit down and play with her because she crawls off to do something else. Bekah is always smiling and content with life, however if she does want something she has learned to speak up. She hates to be left out of anything. If Ryan is eating or doing anything then that is what Bekah wants to do. Bekah thinks that Ryan walks on water! She becomes a different person when Ryan walks into the room after being gone for a while. Bekah looks so much like her Daddy, so therefore is beautiful! I could go on and on about all the things that make Bekah who she is, but we would be here all day Im sure! Basically, I want to say that we have enjoyed this last year with Bekah and look forward to many more to come!

On Sunday we had her teddy bear birthday party. Bekah loved it! I made her a teddy bear cake which she just loved. She ate as much as she could and had frosting all over her face and loved it! She got a baby doll and stroller which the girls have fought over since. She got a fun noisy toy which she loves, a big alphabet/numbers puzzle floor mat, and a new quilt for her crib. All in all I would say she scored well for her first birthday. Bekah had such a good time climbing on her presents instead of opening them. She really enjoyed the wrapping paper too. Ryan just didnt understand why the presents weren't for her. We figure after Christmas Ryan won't care anymore. We had such a great time at her birthday party with Gma/Gpa Moon, Uncle Tim, Jane, Aunt Melissa, and Gma Cupp.

Life goes on!

It has been so long since I blogged! I cant believe time really goes this fast. In the moments it doesn't seem like it is going so fast, but when you look back you can't figure out where time went! So much has happened in these quick 2 months.

Sickness: This last month my girls have been sick. As soon as we think they are better the diarrhea comes back. During the first round of diarrhea Bekah was hospitalized for 3 days because of dehydration. It was really hard to get her to drink anything. Finally we got her taking a syringe of liquids. Bekah has recently started her third round of diarrhea which is a bit discouraging! I didn't even take the girls out of the house the last week and a half hoping they would get better and stay better. Ryan had a high fever all weekend, but after two days seems to be gone. Ryan hasn't eaten much the last several weeks so I don't think she is out of the woods yet. She just doesn't act like she feels well, but I have no idea what is wrong. I'm keeping the girls home till the holidays hoping I can have them better so we can have some fun!

Bekah: She is changing so much these days! In 3 weeks she got 6 new teeth! We didn't think she would ever get more teeth, but she did and she made up time! Teeth always make babies grow up so fast. We are really liking her new smile though. Right before she turned 11 months old I weaned Bekah completely to a cup. That brought amazing freedom and relief. However, Bekah refuses to drink a whole lot. We are grateful when she drinks 4-6 ounces in an entire day! Not a whole lot for a one year old! However, Bekah eats a ton! She eats more than Ryan and sometimes more than I do. Sometimes I worry she is over eating, but then I remember she is under weight and just let her eat. Bekah has also moved to one nap a day! This makes my life so much easier. We can be gone as long as we want in the mornings now and I don't have to put Ryan in front of the TV to put Bekah to sleep anymore. I do miss the one on one time it gave me with Ryan during Bekah's morning nap, but we are managing. Bekah took her first steps this week! She gets so excited for herself and squeels so loud! It is so funny! She loves to try over and over again to walk to us. Bekah has her one year check up next week where the Dr will discuss whether we need to do testing for an immune deficiency disorder such as Chrones or Celiac disease.

Ryan: Ryan's new favorite thing to do is sing! Everything is turned into her own new song. It is quite cute. I really enjoy listening to her sing. She has started using the potty again on her own. She decided she hates cold wipes, but likes warm toilet paper. Whatever works!! ha ha! We give her the choice to wear diapers or panties and she seems to like having the choice. If she has an accident she has to wear the diaper until she goes into the potty again. So far it is working, but we are not getting our hopes up to high! We are just happy when we have one good day! Boy has our perspective and expectations changed!! Ryan is starting to enjoy Bekah much more now that she can play more. They love to chase each other around the house and scream and squeel. Ryan loves to look at all the Christmas lights. She gets upset when people don't have them on during the day. She loved helping me make Christmas cookies this last weekend. She iced each cookie until there was no cookie showing anymore. This girl loves to color and will do it for an hour at a time, so coloring cookies was amazing to her. It was so much fun to do them with her this year! My mom and I took Ryan to Disney on Ice recently too! She had a blast! She thought Mickey Mouse and Sleeping Beauty were the best! She loved all the princesses but has stopped talking about sleeping Beauty's dress. It was a lot of fun with my mom and Ryan. I'm glad we went!
We have some fun days coming ahead as Bekah turns one in 4 days! Then we get to celebrate the birth of Jesus for three days with family! We are excited about seeing all of the fam this next week and teaching Ryan what Christmas is all about! I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas too!