Sibling Rivalry

Aidan turns 3

This boy.  This boy right here is my heart beat.  He is the music that moves me.  He is life and happiness and sunshine.  He loves to run up to me and hug me and tell me that I am his best friend.  He likes to get into everything and terrorize.  He is so curious, so smart, so happy, so curious, so wonderful.  Such a quirky little thing he loves family, he loves nursery at church, he loves all things Thomas the Train and he loves the temple.  His only birthday request was that I take him to play at the Gym and he wanted a red Thomas the train cake with rings.  His wish is my command.   

Happy THIRD Birthday Aidan Bug!

 

 

 

 

 

Worst. Blogger. Ever. (Aidan Update)

Seriously.  I'm the worst blogger ever.  I can't seem to keep up.  I don't know why....a lot of people have 7 kids and still blog. Blah.   So Aidan had an EEG for the seizures. NORMAL.  Then he had a EGD Scope and biopsy of his upper GI and they said he has Eosinophilic Gastritis (I probably butchered that) but basically he had all these little eosinophils (allergy cells) in the biopsy samples of his gut lining.  What does that mean?  His little body is allergic to something causing major tummy upset and malabsorption.  What are they gonna do?  Who knows.   They gave me two prescriptions (two different allergy meds) and a reevaluation appointment for the end of August.  Really, I'm just hoping that we can figure out what he is actually allergic to so we can solve the problem instead of masking it with medication.  You know? 

So that's that.....here is an adorable picture...

And a CT Scan or a CAT Scan....

...what's the difference? I have no clue.

So Aidan was scheduled for a Chest, Abdomen, & Pelvic Scan today. We arrived at Children's Mercy Downtown at 8:30 am for his scan in radiology.  When we arrived they greeted us with a smile and a tall cup of "Gastrografin," a contrast medium for radiological exams.  

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He was given one hour to drink all of it in preparation for the exam.  I tried to have him drink it out of the cup but Aidan wasn't having it so we opted to give him a sippy cup instead.  He liked that idea a lot.  Luckily, the contrast tasted like fruit punch so he just thought it was juice.  

We spent 3 hours just hanging out in the waiting room playing games, watching tv and mostly just....waiting.  

Finally, it was time to go back for the scan.  He was so, so good.  He fell asleep before we even started the iv so he kind of got a shock when he woke up to a needle going in his arm.  He was a real trooper though.  He tolerated it well and was in and out of the scan super quick.  In fact they didn't wind up sedating him because he lied so still on the table as they did all the scans.  The nurse was completely amazed because 2 year olds just don't lie still like that!  She said grown kids even have issues laying still (which I know first hand because Brinton always has to be sedated for his scans!). Imagine my surprise when I came back to the room when he was done and he was there just eating some cookies and drinking apple juice like it was no big deal.  Crack me up!  He is too much!  I'm so glad that through all of this he has been such a dream patient. He even got a Hot Wheels car for his bravery, which he was very proud of.  

Now starts the waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting.  There are several other tests pending but hopefully we'll have a complete overview of what it is and isn't by next week.  The wait is probably going to kill me.  *sigh* 

Aidan Sweat Chloride Test

About a month ago Aidan started having little facial tics that included rapid eye blinking and uncontrollable muscle movement in his face.  We took him to the dr to figure out what was going on.  Turns out that he had a strep infection and the facial tic episodes were caused by something called PANS (aka PANDAS) which is like an autoimmune response to a strep throat infection he had.  It's pretty rare but the pediatric neurologist felt very confident that this is what was causing this.  Interestingly enough as soon as he finished his round of antibiotics the episodes stopped and we haven't seen one since.  Big sigh of relief.

While we were trying to figure out what was causing all of this the doctors discovered another issue.  They did a full panel blood test and found that Aidan's liver enzymes AST and ALT were through the roof.  Over 2x the normal range for a child his age!  They sent him for an ultrasound of his liver right away and it came back unremarkable.  The next step was to schedule an appointment with a pediatric gastroenterologist at the Liver Care Center at Children's Mercy.  We had that appointment on Monday, June 3. While going over Aidan's history we realized that things that we considered normal for Aidan are actually not really all that normal.  His stomach is all out of whack.  The Gastro specialist felt like a battery of test was needed to rule out some of the scarier diagnosis and maybe help narrow down what's really going on in that little body of his.  At this point we've had bloodwork and more bloodwork, stool samples, urine samples, and a Sweat Chloride Test.  

The Sweat Chloride Test is a test that checks for chloride content of the sweat to diagnosis Cystic Fibrosis.  These little electrodes are placed on each arm for 5 minutes to "activate" the skin.  After 5 minutes the electrodes are removed and a special gauze is placed over the site.  This is covered with bandages and then we waited for 30 minutes while the gauze presumably collects the sweat.  The bandages and gauze were removed, placed in a vial and we were free to go home.  I guess it doesn't really hurt but toward the end Aidan was tearing at the   bandages to get them off.  All in all he did really wonderful.  He is a super patient!  Every nurse and doctor he has worked with so far has said that he is the best patient because he is so compliant. Hopefully, we'll get results next week.  We have a CAT Scan with contrast scheduled for this morning and hopefully that should be it for tests for this week.  We'll keep you posted! 

Sweat Test

Electrodes on the right arm

Waiting patiently for 30 minutes for the test to be over

Happy Birthday to you and you and you....

September is a busy, busy month in our house. Starting with my birthday on September 15th the festivities continue with Aidan's birthday on the 26th, then Jeremiah's birthday on the 27th, and Julianna's birthday on the 29th. All we need is a Bday on the 28th and we'd have 4 in a row!!

For Jeremiah's birthday we went to this amazing Brazilian restaurant called Fogo De Chao. It's a really ritzy all you can eat dining experience where they bring the meat right to your table and you can have as much of it as you want. I ate a lot of Lamb. Like A LOT of it. My tummy hated me for days after but it was so incredible.

Aidan's 2nd birthday was pretty low key. He got a whole bunch of new Lego blocks, some new clothes, 2 year photos and a cupcake just for him.

For Julianna's 7th birthday she had her very first "friends from school" birthday party. She invited all the girls in her class, a few girls from the other class, and a couple neighbor and family friends. In total we had 18 girls there, plus my kiddos and Ashlynne's friend who helped us out with the party. It was a No Zzzz's Pajama Party theme with pizza, cake (which I made), make-up, nails being painted, and princess hairstyles.

We set up three stations and split the girls into 3 groups and they rotated through the stations. I was at the hair station styling everyone's hair, Ashlynne was at the make up station taking care of the make overs, and Ashlynne's friend was at the nail station painting everyone's a nails. I was so busy with the hairstyling that I didn't have a chance to take an pictures of all the fun. We had an absolute blast but I was so excited to send the girls home at the end of the night. They had A LOT of energy. I'm seriously so over birthdays and birthday parties! Good thing we don't have another one until November.

Happy 2nd Birthday Aidan and Happy 36th Birthday Jeremiah and Happy 7th Birthday Julianna. I hope all your wishes come true!

Aidan-bug....

When I was pregnant with Aidan my kids downloaded this song called "Ladybug, Ladybug" onto my iPhone and they'd listen to it over and over and over again. After I had Aidan I often found myself singing this song as I rocked him to sleep, changing the word to "Aid-y-Bug, Aid-y-Bug.". Soon after I began calling him by the nickname BUG.

Aidan was a difficult baby....a very, very difficult baby. Often I would call him Bug and say "it's cause he bugs me" (true mommy confession right there. Please don't hate). Of course I adored my little bug but he cried a lot, he needed every single ounce of my attention, he hated nursing, hated everything, hated diaper changes, hated getting dressed, hated his car seat. He just wasn't the loving bundle of joy I envisioned and yet I loved him with every ounce of my soul even though I couldn't understand him.

As he is getting older his little personality has started to come to the forefront and he is a little loving terror on two legs. There is never a dull moment and I rarely have a chance to sit or do much of anything while he is awake because I am constantly having to keep my eye on him! I will say on the flip side he has been the only baby other than Brinton that I have been able to lie down in a crib, walk away and have him fall asleep both nap and nighttime with minimal fuss starting at 6 months. In that he has been an amazing baby.

True to his little self however he recently learned how to climb out of the pack and play where he sleeps, open the bedroom door, and come down the stairs with the happiest little grin like he is the most wonderful escape artist in the world. Today alone I put him down for a nap at least 7 times before he finally went down....or so I thought....the last time I laid him down and he seemed to finally want to go to sleep. He cuddled into his blankets and I went downstairs to do some dishes. About 10 minutes later I hear someone playing the piano!! Brinton was me so the only obvious explanation....

Aidan-bug!

I laughed so hard, then I took him right back upstairs and laid him down. He stayed sleeping for the next 1 1/2 hours. Shorter than normal but I got a couple of things done so I'm not complaining. Gosh, I love that boy! He sure does keep me on my toes!!

Friday Foto #10: Grandpa makes me giggle

Aidan Has Perfect Timing....

Monday was a beautiful day. The weather was amazing, the sky was a beautiful clear blue...it.was.perfect. I was feeling great because we had planned our family photos for Monday afternoon and it was obviously going to be a great day for pictures.

Until....

Poor sweet Aidan was going about his business, toddling around the house like he owned the place when he tripped on Liam's shoe and Wham! Whacked his head on the side of the fireplace. It started bleeding so fast and so much I could hardly keep enough pressure on it. The laceration was about an inch long across his left eyebrow and seemed to be gaping. After 15 minutes of bleeding I decided to take him to the ER to see if stitches were needed. Luckily, he escaped with some glue and three little steri-strips.

We headed straight home to get dressed for pictures laughing all the way....our pictures are gonna be fantastic! You know what? I don't think I'm even gonna retouch his eyebrow. I think I kind of want to remember that things aren't always perfect.

P.S. I'm writing this blog from my new blogger app...so far it seems pretty decent.

Friday Foto #9: Oldest and Youngest

Friday Foto #8: Brotherly Love

Happy 1st Birthday Aidan!!

This last year went way too fast and before I knew it zooooooommmmmmm it was Aidan's birthday and he was turning one years old! Holy Moly! So in honor of his first birthday (Monday, September 26th) you can check out his home birth story if you so choose:

Aidan's Birth Story Part 1
Aidan's Birth Story Part 2
Aidan's Birth Story Part 3

and because everyone loves a picture of a baby smashing through his cake here's a little slideshow....

Aidan's First Birthday

10 months and walking....

This little guy is 10 months old today!

And he is walking!!

This was taken last Wednesday at story time and since then he has really started to walk all over the house. He walks from room to room but he still falls down occasionally.

I can't believe my baby is walking! He's just so little.

Our first "Why is it so quiet??" moment....

We've had our first....Why is it so quiet moment.....

Aidan got into some facial creme/make up remover in the bathroom cupboard, upstairs. Do you know how hard that stuff is to wash off? On the upside his skin is super smooth and smells so good.

KIDS!

All is well....

Thank you for your prayers, thoughts and comments...Aidan's little surgery went well and he did awesome.

He now gets to have tubes put in his ears next Monday so we'll go back under for that...Yay us! (can you sense the sarcasm??)

Now some cute pics:

All dressed up and waiting for the anesthesiologist and the urologist to come and visit before surgery...

Being wheeled down the hall to surgery...I cried a little when we parted ways :(


In the recovery room after surgery. He was a cranky little boy!

...but then he snuggled up to mommy and everything was okay! :)