With this being our first full day of vacation in Utah, you might think I would have all sorts of fun things to write about. I do not, though, because the wonderful thing about today is that we just spent it not doing much more than relaxing around the house and enjoying one anothers company. It has been heaven.

Tomorrow we are heading up to run a few errands and visit more people we love! My goal for tomorrow is to take some good pictures and get them posted on here.

Stay tuned!

We've Arrived

After about 14 hours in the car today, my boys and I made it to my families house in Utah. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, but I'm glad we don't have to do it again for a week.

The little boy's are in bed and Marcus and I are ready to join them...

Packing for Utah

Tomorrow our little family is leaving to drive to Utah for a week. We are SO excited for a break from everyday life and to visit with our friends and family back home (yes, Utah still does feel like home to us).

Typically, when we drive, we stay overnight in Albuquerque, the half way point. But this time we're only going to be able to drive 5 hours on our first travel day, stay over night, and then have to drive 13 hours on the second... AAAH! I have a feeling day 2 will be long. Hopefully with a few good movies, snacks, and a little napping, the boys will survive.

Wish us luck! We just might need it!

Because I Don't Want To Break My Goal...

I'm writing this post.

I know I told you to stay tuned for a post about how much I heart good physicians, but that's been more difficult to write than I anticipated. I am sure you probably couldn't really care less if I ever got it done or not, but I do, so it's coming. Just not tonight.

My husband is home. My kids are in bed (ok, so that's a lie.. Connor's screaming in time out right now, but he's on his way to bed :) And I want to do nothing more than collapse on the couch and catch up on my favorite tv shows.

Hope you each have a night as wonderful as mine!

Update #1: Doctor's Visits

Since I last posted about James a lot of good has happened.  His blood counts began improving without any intervention shortly after our weekly visits to the hematologist began.  In fact, he just had his final visit with the hematologist last Friday.  His blood counts were not quite back to normal, but with the progress he has made, the doctor's feel certain he will fully recover on his own within the next few months.  It was the news I expected going into the visit, but it was wonderful to hear anyway.  He will just need to follow up with his pediatrician this Summer.

He also had his EEG last month and the neurologist said it looked normal, which was fantastic.  James has been diagnosed as having a generalized seizure disorder, though, since the doctor's are certain the seizure was not a result of another condition or stimulus (fever, virus, etc.).  The seizure we witnessed was either a series of smaller seizures that gradually worsened, or a quite lengthy seizure that really took it out of the little guy for a while.  We are just playing the watch and wait game with him now.  If he has another one that we see, he will return to the neurologist for further evaluation.

Connor had his 4 year well child visit the day after his birthday and he's doing as good as ever.  After spending his entire life under the 2nd percentile for height and weight he's finally catching up!  His stats are as follows:

Weight: 31.5 lbs, 10%
Height: 39 in, 25%

His vision was normal for his age, as was his development.  He failed his hearing test, however, and has to follow up with an audiologist the middle of next month.  It will be interesting to see how the appointment there goes.  He seems to be able to hear fine in everyday life, so I'm not worried about him, but he genuinely struggled with responding to some sounds during the test.  I'll keep you posted! 

I have been thankful these last few months for incredible doctors.  Those of you who have read this blog for a while now  know how sad I was to leave behind the physicians we had back in Utah.  And those of you who have read this blog for a while now know what a struggle I had finding ones I love and trust just as much here in Texas.  Stay tuned for tomorrows post all about our awesome doctors and why finding good ones matters so much to me!     

30 Days of Blogging

I desperately need to get back into the blogging groove. I swear I have been trying to rejump my blogging drive, many times actually, but a post or two goes by and I'm all of a suddent back in a slump. Time passes, and I start to get overwhelmed by the amount of things that I have neglected to write about. I start one post after another that I never actually finish or publish. Blah...

SO, I am challenging myself to 30 days of blogging. I figure 30 days is time enough for me to not only get back into the habit, but maybe also get caught up. We'll see!

Wish me luck and stay tuned!

P.S. Does anyone know where to spell check on the new compose menu?  I can't seem to find it anywhere...

Four Years Ago...

From this very minute, my teeny-tiny 4 lb Connor was born, and my life changed forever for the better.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN!

5 Years Ago...

I married my most favorite guy in the world.


He's still one of my favorite guys in the world...

Transient Erythroblastopenia of Childhood

Just rolls off the tongue doesn't it?

Well, we had a good time at the Hematologist/Oncologist place yesterday (James really didn't enjoy it much) but we found all the answers we were looking for and it's GREAT NEWS!

Our little man has Transient Erythroblastopenia of Childhood and basically, as far as blood disorders go, it's one of the best things you can have. For the past little while his red blood cell count has been significantly decreasing. This happens to children with TEC until eventually they recoup and start producing normal levels again. It is not uncommon for a child to need a transfusion if they drop a bit too low... but that's about it. James was at a 7 yesterday, and the Dr. will continue to monitor him for the next several weeks. If he drops under 5.5 they will need to consider transfusion.

So, Marcus and I are thrilled with the diagnoses and now his pediatrician is back to exploring what caused his seizure (the blood and seizure are definitely unrelated). His EEG is scheduled for next Wednesday.

Update on Sweet Baby James

Although my little James has been acting as healthy and normal as usual (well, with the exception of having a cough, runny nose, and vomiting once during a coughing spell) his little medical saga continues. Here's the basic recap of what has been going on:

Thursday, January 21: James had a seizure. We took him to the ER and they diagnosed him as having a new onset seizure and mild anemia. James was first tested and diagnosed with anemia at 12 months and was simply but on a multivitamin with iron to solve the problem. At 15 months his blood was retested and it was determined he was no longer anemic.

Friday, January 22: James had a follow up appointment with his pediatrician where he appeared to be in general good health. She discussed seizures with us and determined he needed an EEG to explore the possibility of a seizure disorder further. She drew his blood for testing to take a closer look at his anemia.

Monday, January 25: James' pediatricians office called with the news that his anemia was not being caused by iron deficiency but may be caused by blood loss. They immediately ordered a CT scan of James' abdomen and pelvis to check for internal bleeding (a CT scan of his head was preformed at the ER and was clean). Everything looked good with the scans.

Tuesday, February 2: James visits his pediatrician for his 18 month well child visit and follow up. He again appeared to be in general good health. She did diagnose him with allergies (he had been coughing for three weeks without a fever and had a runny nose on and off). She prescribed a medicine to help him with it. She sent him to a lab to have more blood work done to look at his red blood cell count and speed of cell reproduction.

Thursday, February 4: James' pediatrician called with the news that his recent blood test looked worse than his previous ones. His red blood count and hemoglobin were even lower. She is now sending James to see a hematologist/oncologist today or tomorrow. We are waiting for the office to call back with his appointments for both that and his EEG.

It's been a little crazy because every time I leave a Dr's appointment I feel relieved... reassured that James seems to be doing so well. I know they are doing follow up tests but I tend to assume they will come back just fine and life will go back to normal. I continually am caught off guard when the pediatrician herself calls with the news that James has abnormal test results and she's concerned for his health. At this point I am definitely wanting the doctors to be able to get to the bottom of his problems and work towards fixing them.

Poor little baby! He is an absolute mess every time he sees a physician because he knows he's going to have blood drawn or IV's inserted and go through tests that have been scary for him (he was not a fan of being restrained for the CT scans).

His 18 months stats were:

-21.4 pounds (less than 5th percentile, but normal for him)
-31.5 inches (25th percentile)

At 18 months James is:

-LOVING meal times and snacks.

-Sleeping pretty well at night (12 hours or so.. sometimes waking up once or twice).

-Taking one nap each afternoon.

-Learning to talk more and more each day. James can say: Mama, Dada, Thank you, Please, No, Choo Choo, McDonalds (yeah, I'm not proud of that one), Snack, Bite, Hi, Bye-Bye, Night Night, Nap, Baby, uh-oh and I'm sure a few others that I'm missing right now.

-James loves to makes animal sounds as well. He knows what a monkey, kitty, and puppy say.

-James is learning all about his body. He knows where his belly button, head, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hands, bottom, tummy, and feet are.

-James LOVES his Daddy, Mommy, and big brother Connor. He also adores (and torments) the kitties.

-James LOVES his puppy and monkey (stuffed animals).

-He still has a pacifier, but is not addicted to it. We let him have it when he goes to sleep (which his pediatrician says is JUST FINE...no hating please :) .. We've also let him have it whenever we need him to be quiet out in public or lately when he needs comfort at his doctors appointment. He loves that bink!

-James loves bath time and even likes to shower.

-He is a big time singer and dancer.

-James definitely is a fan of Elmo's World!

-James gives "lovies" and "kissies" with the best of them... and we ALL love that!

-Overall James is a HAPPY little guy and WE LOVE HIM SOO MUCH!