My favorite time of year....

I love the fall. It brings routine back into our home with the start of school and activities (typically...this year has been an exception!). The colors are just gorgeous and I love getting out of the house to drink in the fresh, brisk air. Even mundane errands are welcomed as they take me through tree covered areas full of rich reds, oranges, yellows and browns. I snapped this photo off the back deck this morning. Even on a cloudy day, I can see God's handiwork and feel renewed.

Ty's Appointment

Ty is doing really well! His hemoglobin is all the way up to 10.5!!! That is over a point increase in just under two weeks! We are optimistic enough to schedule his next hematology appointment two MONTHS out! He will have one CBC done on the 26th to make sure he is still maintaining unless he is symptomatic before. He giggled and grinned for the nurses and "talked" quite a bit too. His biggest talent at the moment is blowing bubbles! He typically sleeps through the night but occasionally wakes up at 4am for a feeding. When he wakes up, it is only for 40 minutes or so to eat and then he goes right back down. Yesterday was an exception. He talked and laughed until around 6am. He was in his crib, alone, in the dark having a great time! I loved the sweet sounds coming from his room.

Relax Girl!

Kate fell asleep on the couch yesterday....I couldn't resist!

Lauren and Kelsey have a great time together. If Lauren isn't with friends, she is "bored". Sometimes I think she checks in just to let me know she's "bored". It isn't often she lets anyone take her photo so I had to publish this one as a quick update on her.

Erin has been attending the high school football games since school started in August. She has made friends with Casey, the Happy Highlander (Mascot), Tyler the cow, Lucas (Moses who parts the F.C) and Austin the turtle....she likes her friends, as strange as they are. She has been quite social since getting to know other kids in summer school gym classes. These are the photos that came home from last night's homecoming game. She had a sleepover with two girls after the game.

One of our little buckeyes

These OSU overalls were Lauren's. I can still see her in long braids and saddle shoes....it's been almost 10 years but feels more like 10 weeks. Something about that outfit just suited her....probably the ability to catch her from behind and carry her out of trouble by the overall straps! She was a little spit fire to say the least! Makenna got to wear them, but they were too big for Kate last year and are a bit too small this year.

I ran Ty into the hospital for a weight check and blood test. First, his hemoglobin is still maintaining at 9.3. His last transfusion was August 14. We hope to see that number start to increase. I won't have him rechecked unless he is symptomatic of it dropping until he sees the hematologist on October 7. It feels so good to wait longer between blood tests. He smiled and cooed at the tech today....she was new and couldn't believe he was so pleasant about it. Then, we went upstairs for a weight check. We saw our delivery nurse, Dr. Allen and some of the other ladies that took such great care of us when he was born. He weighed 10lbs 1ounce!!!! That is a 14 ounce increase in four days! He is taking in so much formula to make up for his weight loss. I called Dr. Rezaei for further instruction on this "supplementation". That is entirely too much weight gain in such a short time. We are going to wait out the weekend in hopes he levels off. We also have some tips for fortifying breast milk. That is the direction I would like to go with this and wish we'd given him another week or so of monitoring before we changed course.

Smiling Ty

Makenna's turn with the camera again. The girls are getting pretty good at capturing the moment.

Kissable Wrinkles

Kate took this one. I cropped it and changed it to a black and white but I think she got a great shot.

Oh Makenna!

Makenna asked if she could use my camera for something....lots of photos like these came back. She is so silly. She auditioned for another play at Hannah's church last week and tried out for a one-line part. The director asked her if she would be willing to take on a larger role because he believes she is ready. She loves it. I always knew she had a flair for the dramatics!

Bottle feedings

As a result of Ty's check up yesterday and ongoing weight concerns for Ty, he will now also be bottle fed. The decision breaks my heart. He didn't gain any weight in the last month. Since pumping proves quantity is not the issue, quality appears to be the problem. So, big sisters are fighting over whose turn it is to feed him. We hope to fatten him up a bit so his pants no longer fall off. By the way, Kate does own other shirts but this one is her favorite. She wore it yesterday and it came out of the dryer this morning so it went right back on her! She got it from Grandma Carol for her birthday and it is worn a couple times a week.

2 month checkup today

Ty had his two month check up this morning with Dr. Rezaei. Other than being "skinny", he is doing very well. He only weighs 9lbs 2 1/2 ounces. She was thrilled with his development. His milestone markers are the ones she likes to see at a four month check up. He tracks things with his eyes and turns toward sounds. He pushes up onto his forearms and picks at things under him. He rolls from his tummy to his back. He found his thumb last night! He has tried so hard to get it and has been resisting the pacifier lately. He smiles and coos, especially at his sisters.

Pouty Lips....

I realize Ty doesn't want me to think this is cute, but I can't help it.....That sad face is adorable! To counter the unhappy photo, I've included some smiley shots of him checking out his trucks.

Still Stable!

I had Ty's blood checked today because he slept most of the day on Sunday and when he wasn't sleeping, he was crying. Those are symptoms they told me to watch for but it appears he was just being a two month old! He is still maintaining at 9.3. We don't have to be rechecked until next Wednesday at the hematologist unless he has another day like yesterday that warrants a precautionary blood test before then. He keeps me guessing and I am so grateful he wasn't my first or I would be a disaster!

Go Bucks!

Our friends, the Coulson's bought Ty his first OSU tee shirt and he modeled it this evening while watching the game with Daddy. He started sleeping through the night this week and is finally napping better too.....good baby when Mommy is around! Our dear friend, Miss Billee walked the halls at church with him this evening so I could sit through the first sermon I've heard in it's entirety in months. Thank you Miss Billee!

Ty's hemoglobin is still stabilized at 9.4. We get to wait a week before retesting him. He is clearly feeling better. He is "talking" more and engaging us with his expressions and "stories". He scoots all over his crib and wiggles all the time. Throughout the weekend he was held through naps so we are trying to reprogram him to sleep in his crib during the day. He'd much rather cuddle but I am rather busy and need some time without him occupying my arms! Thank you for the continued prayers. We honestly feel he is out of the woods and we are just to a monitoring phase with the blood tests.

Whirlwind Weekend!

I took Lauren, Makenna, Kate and Ty to Ohio to see a few friends and my grandma for two days....it was crazy to squeeze in as many visits as we did and we still couldn't see everyone we wanted to. Ty does not travel well and frankly, after Grandma loaded the little ones up with sugar and artificial coloring before the road trip home, we are all lucky I maintained the presence of mind to keep tonight's eleven o'clock news headline from being "Preschooler found on Highway"! There are still so many friends and family we'd love to see and share Ty with but there just wasn't enough time. I did get to see my Grandma. She looks wonderful and we had a great visit. I also stopped in to see both Cherie and Jill's new homes. They are both just perfect for each family. The highlight was of course, finally meeting Avry. He was born 5 weeks before Ty and weighed a pound and a half less than him at birth. Now, Avry weighs four pounds more than Ty! He is such a butterball....so stinking cute and animated. He laughs constantly and gives us a glimpse of how much fun Ty will be in the very near future. It was not easy to leave Kristin's. I get homesick every time I see her.

Ty did find his voice last week and expressed himself more this weekend. My dad was told some pretty big stories and his voice is still rather sweet....when he isn't screaming in the van!