Awesome News Today

After a very thorough evaluation, Dr. Rezaei determined Erin was having "mini migraines". They don't fit standard migraine descriptions but the blurred vision, dizzy spells and intensity gave her enough information to label them. She says Erin would have shown symptoms during the neurological exam or the ophthalmology exam if it were something as serious as a brain tumor. Praise God! So, for now we will treat the symptoms with a prescription allergy medication and her new glasses for two weeks. She is to keep a dairy of her headaches and if they are still as frequent at that time, we will get the MRI to see if there is an issue with the blood vessels. We are relieved. I will add a photo of her in her new specks next week when we get them. They are quite cute on her. She just hopes we don't have to get the bi-focals Dr. Amstutz suggested for the ease of transferring from close up work to distance focusing. On that front, as severe as he says her issue is, she should outgrow it with the help of the glasses.

Our Chunky Monkey

Ty is quite the chunky monkey lately! He makes us smile everyday.

We are the Murphy's of "Murphy's Law"!

Ty and Makenna had physicals today. They took almost three hours...honestly, I go out of my way to avoid germs and spend three hours in the doctor's office! Anyway, Ty's gained 1 pound a week for the last 4 weeks and is now 13 lbs 8 1/2 ounces! He moved from the 9th percentile to the 50th in a month! His hemoglobin is all the way up to 12!!! That is such an incredible blessing. Makenna checked out just fine and had nothing to report....other than I shouldn't wait another three years to have her evaluated (oops...can you say busy Mom?)! I mentioned Erin's unusual headaches to the doctor and told her we have an appointment with an ophthalmologist on Thursday to see if eye strain is the issue. Dr. Rezaei is concerned they don't sound like migraines, eye strain or cluster headaches. She wants to evaluate Erin on Friday, right after her eye appointment and has indicated she'll likely order an MRI. I was not too concerned until I saw the doctor's reaction. AND.....this evening, Lauren is running a fever of 99.5 and has a sore throat. I hate to bug everyone again for prayers, but we would appreciate Erin being lifted up as we await some answers.

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit

Dale and Carol are home from Florida for a week and a half so they squeezed in a quick road trip to see the kids. Carol and Erin shopped for her "Back to School" clothes (This trip has been a while in the making). They brought Lauren her 13th birthday gift, a cool OSU jersey bag and an iPod Home. Ty smiled and blew lots of bubbles to entertain them. At one point Dale read the comics to Kate and she replied "is that supposed to be a funny one?"! Guess she doesn't get Charlie Brown's humor just yet....

Theresa's Annual Halloween Party

We always have a great time at Theresa's Halloween party. We went to her house early this year so the kids could help decorate cookies. It was a full 24 hours of fun! Brennen was very excited to see baby Ty and was eager to help entertain him. Mason asked to take the baby while he was in the walker and we were distracted making all the icing colors for the cookies. The next thing we heard was the sound of a race in session down the hallway....Ty was being run up and down the hallway by Kate and Mason! He had big eyes but a smile on his face! Future roller coaster rider???

Pumpkin Carving

Makenna says, "the paparazzi AGAIN!"
Officer Brennen arrested our unruly Lauren...three times!
Baby Tigger was cozy and warm while pumpkins were carved.
Snow White said Grandpa was Dopey when he insisted he could wear her costume!

First Cereal

After a night of very little sleep, Mommy decided to try some cereal to help fill Ty's growing belly. He was sleeping through the night until about a week and a half ago. Last night, he was up every two and a half hours convinced he was starving. He never seems to know what to do with his tongue so I wasn't sure how successful this attempt would be. He ate well. Manners will just have to wait though. He tried to tell me how good it was while his mouth was full!

Fall 2009 Photos of the Girls

It has been adventure trying to find a nice enough day to take some photos of the girls outside. We still can't work in an opportunity to take one of them all together! Erin is 14, Lauren will be 13 next month, Makenna is 9 and Kate is 4. I like updating this time of year.

Is it that bad?

Ty's shirt says "I want my Mummy". Sadly, Mommy is the one laughing at his expression!

To those who say my hands are full, I invite you to look at my heart

Who's watching the baby?

Ty is three months old today

Ty is a smiley, happy baby most of the time now. It is amazing the transformation that has taken place the last few weeks. We assume the raising hemoglobin is the reason for his new found contentment. We are thrilled to see it! He loves tummy time and the baby in the mirror is just so cute!

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.