All school field trip

This year the all school field trip was to Adventure Rock and then to Lapham Peak for a picnic lunch followed by some hiking.  Yes, I decided to go with Camden and Logan.  What an interesting day! 

Isaac and Eli both did rock climbing, but unfortunately, I have no pictures of that. 

At Lapham Peak we hiked the intermediate trail with a jogging stroller with baby, a toddler and four boys.  A certain two-year old also had a case of the “runs.”  And I’m not talking about running with your legs!  About halfway through the trail, deep in the woods, Logan lets out a “POOPY!!!!” call.  We had to make a mad dash back to the bathrooms, which is no easy task with four boys, a toddler and a stroller with a baby.  Every little thing distracts them.  Please know that I had no idea that Logan had this  “problem.”  Otherwise, I would have never taken him into the woods.

We did find a snake right at the start of our hike.  Lovely.  Eli snatched it up immediately.  We also found a leaf moving and  underneath it was the biggest caterpillar I’ve ever seen.  The boys also found the best tree for tree climbing.  It was a lot of fun.  And I found out that I could handle six boys at once!!!!  So four should be no problem in my future! :)

 

 

Isaac, Eli, Nolan and Blake with THE snake. 

 

Tree climbing!

Olympic Day

Isaac getting ready for the 1/4 mile.

 

Isaac running the 1/4 mile.

 

Isaac in line waiting to do the bike/snail race.

 

Eli running the relay—Look at those legs!!

 

Bradley giving Eli a pat on the back for running so fast in the 3-man relay.  They ended up winning 1st place!

 

Eli & Bradley, running partners.

 

Eli & Bradley running the 100-yard dash.  Eli ended up winning 1st place, despite Bradley trying to scoot in front of  him.  Hee hee!

 

Isaac doing a practice run of the 50-yard dash.

 

Eli & Bradley getting their times for the 1/4 mile race.  Eli won 1st place!

 

Eli with all his ribbons.  wow, he looks so thrilled, doesn’t he?!?

 

Olympic Day 2009!    This is an all-day event at Eagleville.  The day is kicked off with opening ceremonies proceeded by the track/field events.  The afternoon is devoted to nonribbon events while the volunteers figure out who won what.  The day ends with a ribbon ceremony.  It was a fun day despite the cold weather.  Luckily it didn’t rain!  Gramma  Hart was able to come and cheer on the boys, along with Grandma and Grandpa.  I helped out in the bike/snail race, but was able to leave and go watch the boys race in their events.

Isaac took third place in the softball toss and the 1/4 mile race.  Eli took first place in the 50-yard dash, free throws, 1/4 mile race , 3-man relay and the bike/snail race.  He took third place in the long jump and 100-yard dash. 

Great job, boys!

Eli’s 8th Birthday

Today is Eli’s 8th birthday.  Happy Birthday, Eli!

Since his birthday always fall on or near Memorial Day, our Memorial Day weekend is usually spent celebrating his birthday.  On  Sunday we had a party for Eli with just my side of the family.  Due to the amount of kids now in the family, it is always a fun time.  Babies inside and bigger kids running around outside.  Thankfully the weather was nice.  Eli received everything that was on his short b-day list:  bike helmet, Hawaiian short, LED bike light, sweat band, wrist bands, Snow Buddies DVD and a gift card. 

On Memorial Day we celebrated Eli’s birthday again along with his uncle’s and cousin’s birthdays.  This was with the Hart family.  Eli, again, received many great gifts including a base set for baseball (something that I and E are really getting “into”), horseshoes, fishing gear, a new camoflauge hat, and money. 

Today Eli is at school.  It makes me sad that the majority of his birthday is spent away from us and away from home.  He took some cupcakes as a birthday treat.  Tonight we will be going to Chuck E. Cheese’s, which was Eli’s pick.  This weekend Eli has picked two of his bestest friends to celebrate his birthday with.  He did not want a big party, just a celebration with two friends.  Eli does not like to be the center of attention so this is his ideal birthday celebration.   I mean, singing Happy  Birthday to him is almost torture for the poor kid! 

Our present to Eli was a new bow.  I wish I could have captured the look on his face when we told him.  Pure joy!  He had his eye on it when he was shopping with Dad.  He was stunned when we told him that was his gift.  We’ll go and get it set up for him soon.  I’ll be sure to post pictures of him with it. :)

My tribute to Eli:

Eli, you have grown into such a sweet boy.  You are liked by so many in your class simply because of your kindness.  You are always looking out for others.  You are the last one to leave your class at the end of the day, always making sure everyone has all their stuff and no one is forgetting anything.  You jump at the chance to help someone out.  Such wonderful qualities!  I pray that you continue to follow the path you are taking.  Your kindness, sensitivity to others and patience will take you far!  I love you to the moon and back, Eli!

 

Eli on the zip line.

Spirit Day

Whose kids are these with GREEN hair?!?!?!?!?

 

Spirit Day,  May 22nd, 2009

Track and Field Event

 

The school district had its annual track and field event for 4th-6th graders.  Isaac entered the long jump and 50-yard dash.  He was thrilled with his second-to-last place in the 50-yard dash! 

“Mom, one kid almost tripped and that’s how I didn’t get last!”

Good job, Isaac.  I’m proud of you for trying and doing your best.  That’s all you can do, your best. 

Garden

This is a picture of the start of my garden.  We planted it last weekend as a family (boy, that was interesting).  We planted watermelon, cantaloupe, corn, lettuce, carrots, yellow beans, green beans.  We will add some pepper plants and tomato plants and maybe some potatoes.   My mom is giving me some raspberry bushes to add.  We’ll see how it all goes….

 

Basketball Jones

Eli’s obsession with basketball is back in full swing!

 

Coming to America….

Isaac has been studying the growth of our land into the state of Wisconsin this year in 4th grade.  He learned that in the early 1800s many people from other countries helped make this area become the state it is today.  Everyone’s background helped give Wisconsin the rich ethnic heritage that it has today.

They celebrated this  ethnic tradition yesterday with an Immigrant Dinner.  Every child was asked to prepare a dish that  represents his background.  Isaac with his red hair and fair skin represented his Irish background and he brought Irish Potato Casserole. 

The children were supposed to dress up as an immigrant who was coming overseas to America.  Each child received a passport, which listed all the “stats” about them. 

Here is Isaac’s passport:

Surname:  Mr. O’ Brien

Given name:  Patrick O’Brien

Origin/Meaning of surname:  exalted, noble

Country of Origin:  Ireland

Date you left:  May 20th, 1898

Occupation before coming to U.S.:  potato farmer

List other family that traveled to the U.S. with you:  Children:  Aaron, Adam and  Aaden;  Wife: Cathleen

Reason for leaving your country:  famine

Where you settled in the U.S.:  California

(***Joy, you will love that!)

What do you do for a living here:   I open a shop for gold miners.

Describe your biggest adjustment:  different climate

Physical therapy

Camden’s physical therapy assessment was today.  He passed with flying colors.  He received certain points for things he could do. and zero points for things he didn’t do, obviously.  The therapist didn’t even bother adding up the points at the end.  She could tell he qualified without that.  ***sigh***

He bears no weight on his legs.  He doesn’t roll over either way.   He screams bloody murder on his tummy.  His tone in his upper arms and shoulder area is weak.  He doesn’t try to transition from sitting at all.  Need I go on?

A positive thing is how well he sits.  He has  great balance when sitting, even when she tried giving him a little push.   Oh, and he can put his toes in his mouth while sitting.  How many of you can do that???

The plan:  Therapy will start on June 1st.  It will be every Monday at 3 p.m.  Thankfully, she comes to our house.

She gave me some recommendations on some things to try at home while we wait for therapy to start.  This Monday is Memorial Day so we have to wait another week.  Camden is not pleased at all with any of these maneuvers. 

Our speech therapy evaluation with Birth to Three is pending.  They’re having some scheduling problems due to one therapist being out on maternity leave. 

Our feeding evaluation at Children’s with the feeding clinic’s speech therapist is on June 8th.   Camden is to come hungry and they will watch him eat to see what he does.  This evaluation will determine whether or not they do a video swallow study.  I asked the Birth to Three coordinator if we should do this all or if their speech therapist would do it.  She said to go forward with it because they normally refer that type of thing out to people like Children’s. 

He also has an audiogram (or hearing test) on June 2nd at 1 p.m. followed by the allergy testing at 1:30 p.m.  I’m still waiting for someone to call me regarding the date for the tubes.  I’ve heard nothing but positive things from so many people about tubes, how it changed their lives, drastic improvement in sleeping and eating.  I pray we have the same type of results!  It makes putting him through it easier.  If nothing gets better after the tubes, you  may find me in the psycho ward of the nearest mental hospital.  

Okay, I’m kidding with that last statement.  Well, half kidding……I think.  :)

ENT appointment

As of last night I was NOT going to this appointment.  I didn’t think Camden needed it.  It would just be another expense for us.  That  is until I was climbing into bed and mentioned it to my husband.  He firmly said, “No, if you have an appointment, you’re going.  We’re trying to do everything we can to get that little boy better and if that includes an ENT, then you’re going.”  I was shocked!  I mean, this is my husband, right?  The anti-doctor guy? 

So I woke up this morning and proceeded like I was going back to Children’s.   I had the attitude that I wasn’t going to learn anything new, it was going to be a waste of time, but at least we’d know there was nothing else wrong there. 

Boy, was I wrong!  Before I explain, I must say that I LOVED this doctor.  If anyone needs a good ENT doctor, I have one to recommend!  Compassionate, understanding, patient.  Just wonderful.

When he walked in and asked me what was going on, my response was, “Ah, my doctor referred me to you  because he has bad reflux and just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”  That’s it.  I didn’t offer anything more.  I had done this in the past and it didn’t really seem to get the doctor too concerned.  So he started asking me questions.  He was very concerned about his eating (or lack thereof) and really wanted to come up with ways to help (even though this wasn’t his specialty). 

So we went through that and then his history.  The doctor looked in his ears and announced that Camden had a terrible ear infection in one ear and lots of fluid build up in the other.  WHAT????  You can imagine my shock.   He prescribed another antibiotic for that (to which I am so unthrilled……he’s still fighting off the yeast buildup from the last antiobiotic).

Then he said he wanted to do a laryngoscopy and look at Camden’s upper airways to make sure everything’s okay.  This is where they stick an endoscope (a tube with a camera) down his nose through to his throat.   It allows him to look for any problems in the upper airway.  It’s clearer than an upper GI because of the camera.  They also record it to look back on later and hook up a microphone to check his breathing during the test.  Everyone has to be very quiet during the test. 

They sprayed some  medicine up Camden’s nose to numb the lining of the nose.  The whole procedure took less than five minutes, but it was a long five minutes.  Camden screamed and I couldn’t say anything to console him. 

Everything looked fine except for some swelling.  The swelling tells us that the Prevacid is not doing all of its job.  Or not working 100% the way it should. 

A myringotomy and tube insertion was highly recommended for Camden.  This is Camden’s fourth ear infection in four months.  Plus, he has lots of fluid build up.  This may cause some hearing loss.  A myringotomy is a surgical procedure.  It is often done when a child keeps having ear infections or fluid behind the eardrum.  Camden is a good candidate for this also because of his eating problems.  He said a lot of times kids won’t eat because of their ear pain.  It hurts to chew or swallow.  Therefore, they refuse it.  He’s seen many kids benefit after tubes were inserted.  Reflux babies are also predisposed to get repeated ear infections.

So we are scheduling the surgery.  I talked it over with Josh and he agreed that we should go forward.  I know it will only benefit Camden, but the thought of my little baby going under for surgery makes me a nervous wreck.   We were given all the surgery papers, procedures and also some ear plugs and ear band to wear while swimming, bathing, etc.  As soon as the scheduling nurse  calls to schedule the date, I will let you know. 

I’m so thankful we’re getting answers.  It’s not fun or easy but we’re getting answers.  I hate seeing him go through things like a tube being inserted in his nose or a needle being stuck in his arm, but I know it’s getting us on the right path because I hate seeing him suffer. 

Keep praying!

UPDATE: I forgot to mention this part! The doctor also ordered a feeding evaluation done by a speech pathologist and possibly followed up by a video swallow study. This is at the feeding clinic at Children's. I just got off the phone with the lady from there. We set up the feeding evaluation for Monday, June 8th. I must bring Camden there hungry and they will basically watch/observe him eating. I also mentioned that Birth to Three will be coming out this Wednesday to evaluate him for physical therapy and feeding therapy. She wants a release of those records so they can coordinate and talk about Camden. Depending on how the feeding evaluation goes, they may order a video swallow study, which is basically like an X-ray while he's eating. He ate really well up until yesterday. Then he started refusing again. Could be because of his ear pain though. I am concerned on how much he gags on table foods and the fact that he threw up so much after eating a bite of cracker so we'll see....

Camden's allergist appointment

Camden's allergist appointment at Children's was yesterday. Not too much new stuff to report. Dummy Mom gave him Benadryl the night before and apparently they have to be off of Benadry for at least 48 hours before allergy testing. Argh! I was told this weeks ago when I called to make the appointment and totally forgot. Camden had had two really bad nights where his ears really seemed to be bothering him. He wasn't sleeping longer than three hours. I gave it to him to get some sleep and help stop the itching! Oops! So we have to go back in two weeks. The allergist would like to test him for some environmental allergies--mainly animals and dust mites.

Camden's ears have gotten really bad. The allergist said he's never seen a problem in that part of the ears. And he's seen lots of different rashes! The problem is that it's gotten so bad that it's now turned into a staph infection. He gave us a prescription for some ointment to use on his ears to help clear up the staph infection. As to what's causing the itchy ears, we don't know. It's either the allergen foods I'm still eating and Camden's consuming through my breastmilk or an environmental allergy.

He strongly suggested I eliminate the other allergen foods (wheat, egg, tomato, cod, tuna) to see if it helps Camden. I responded to that by leaving there and going to the store and buying a bottle and formula! I just don't think I can do that. I feel terrible saying that because Camden will have to avoid those foods, but at least he gets to start from scratch. I'm 31 years old and have eaten whatever my whole life! I have learned to live with no dairy or dairy substitutes, but I just don't think I can do everything else. Camden did not take the bottle well. My mom tried giving it to him and then I tried. No luck! He screams when he sees it. I wasn't going to nurse him at all until he took SOME of the bottle, but after 5 1/2 hours, I gave in. I had so much to do and it wasn't the best day to attempt this. I am going to take a day very soon and anticipate him starving himself but just not give in until he takes the bottle. They say babies will eventually eat when they're hungry. I will believe that he will eventually take the bottle. I will anticipate it being a hard day of watching him cry. But I also know that this is what may be best for him.

Camden's ears already look so much better this morning. He was still up a lot last night though. In time.

June 2nd is our appointment for the allergy testing. And I now know not to give him any Benadryl for three days prior!

On a much better note, I did attempt to feed him some solid food the other night. I figured I would at least try every day. I wouldn't force him. I would just offer it. And guess what? He actually OPENED his mouth up and ate it!!!! Woo hoo!!!! He ended up eating half the jar of squash! Hooray! I was sooooo happy! I quit as soon as he wasn't opening up his mouth anymore. I tried again last night and got the same results. I pray that this is opening up a new door and we're on the road to eating solid foods!

On a not much better note, he has thrush AGAIN. We battled this in the beginning months and it was so hard to get rid of. It's back! Ugh. This is just another reason that I feel like I should wean him. I can't go down this road again! Camden has an overgrowth of yeast (probably from that month of being on antibiotics) and we need to get rid of it. I am giving him a probiotic but it's hard to get it in him every day when he wasn't eating. I'm hoping now that he's starting to eat food, it will be easier.

Keep praying! It's helping. I'm seeing some improvement in him. As of right now, I'm cancelling the ENT appt. for Monday. That was mainly to check out his swallowing problems, but he has been swallowing fine the past two days with his food.

He has also attempted to put some table foods in his mouth. This hasn't gone well at all. He threw up repeatedly after a small bite of a cracker. I just think he's not ready for that yet. I was proud of him for putting it up to his mouth and trying though. Hard to believe that this little guy will be 10 months old in five short days....

Have a good weekend! Tomorrow is my big rummage day down in Illinois with my mom and sisters. We call it the Motherload Rummage! Isaac has decided to join us this year. We'll see how he enjoys a day with all the girls--of course, his lil' baby brother will be with and his boy cousins. :)

Upper GI

I am so happy to report that everything looked good!  No abnormal findings!  Hallelujah!

Camden’s upper GI was today.  We arrived at radiology and we were given a little bitty hospital gown to put on Camden.  And they tagged him.  :)

They flavored the Barium with sugar and kool aid and gave it to him by syringe.  I told them not to even try the bottle.  It would just make him upset right off the bat.  Not that laying him down on a  metal table with strangers forcing a syringe down him was enjoyable!  Josh was able to come with me so even though he felt helpless, I was glad he was there for support.  He did as promised and kept his mouth shut. :)

Camden screamed and hated every minute of it.  They took some views on his back and then on  his side.  It’s when they laid him on his side that he really lost it and they asked me to come over and hold his hands, talk to him.  That didn’t really help anything.  And then I had to just look at his face helplessly.  :(

Although it wasn’t an enjoyable experience for any of us (most of all Camden), it was kind of neat to see inside of Camden…..his stomach, esophagus, small intestine, mouth.  It’s over with and I’m relieved.  And thrilled that nothing physically is wrong in him.  They did say he was refluxing, but duh! We already knew that!

Mother's Day

My Mother's Day was good. We had to stay home from church because Camden woke up with his eyes swollen shut with green gunk! Thanks, Logan, for sharing your germs with your lil' brother! We had nursery duty so I figured it wouldn't be too kind of us to bring him in there and contaminate all the babies. :)

We went to Auntie Tana's for lunch and then over to Aunt Mare's for dinner, so both sides of the family.

I have to say that I love handmade gifts! They are the best gifts.

Eli's card had me in tears this year. In case you can't make out what it says above, I'll interpret: "Mom, you are the best because she cares for me. I love you. You are great. If you are not great, then who are you!"

Ha, ha! He's a poet! He came up with that all on his own. I love it!

He also made me a butterfly hanging, which is what is in the picture by the window. Isaac made me a planter with flowers in it.

Josh gave me a rotating belgian waffle maker and a spa day! He really appreciates me and all I do and wants me to go enjoy a day at the spa. Hmmm....when can I leave this lil' baby that's attached to my hip???? :) He also dug up and rotatilled a spot for my garden. It's BIG! I can't wait to start my garden.

I hope all you mothers out there enjoyed a day of rest and relaxation and some wonderful family time. Happy Mother's Day!

Upper GI scheduled

Camden’s upper GI is scheduled for Tuesday, May 12th at 1:30 p.m. 

I need to feel some peace about this appointment.  I don’t have any right now as I type this.  I am a nervous wreck.  I scheduled the appointment, hung up and cried.  I wasn’t expecting it to be so soon.  I was thinking it would be in a couple weeks and I’d have that time to deal with it.   It is non-invasive so that calms me.  I think it’s just because moms don’t like to see their babies go through anything rough.  We’re so much like mama bears and we want to protect them.  I am being a mama bear right now. :)

 

GI appointment

Everything is a puzzle and we need all the pieces to get the big picture.

That's my evaluation of the day. Camden is a puzzle and we need to get all the pieces to make him better.

The GI was so very nice and friendly. I truly felt that he wanted to help Camden (and me). He listened very intently and asked me lots of questions. He referred us to an allergist and ENT, to which I said "DONE!" Once Camden sees those two, the three of them will put their reports together and see what they get.

He ordered a couple of things first though. He wants an upper GI done. This will tell us what, if anything, is going on and also if anything physically is wrong. I do agree with looking inside there and seeing what's going on, but I worry about it because Camden does NOT take a bottle. For this test, he's required to drink a bottle of Barium. Hmmmm.....I said he does take his medicine from the syringe so this may be the way we have to go. Second, he wants an evaluation done by a speech therapist at Children's, but we've decided to stick with the therapists we have already. He does want a swallow study done so I need to check and see if our therapist will do that. I'll find that out on Monday. Third, he ordered some lab tests be done. We're going to wait and do that next Thursday when we're there with the allergist in case he orders any lab tests. That way Camden is only being poked once. He wants a CBC (complete blood count) and his iron checked. He wants to make sure he's not anemic too. He put him on a prescription for a medicine that is basically like a muli-vitamin with extra iron. Fourth, he referred him to the feeding clinic at Children's. This is a team of doctors that will work with Camden on his feeding issues. Supposed to be remarkable! The only problem is that there is a six-month waiting list. Ugh. I believe that God has opened many doors though and if Camen truly needs this, he'll get in sooner. I really hope six months from now that Camden is eating food!

I feel that this whole thing is a process and we're on the right track. It's just going to take some time and patience to get there. I felt really good when the GI recommended the allergist and ENT. Just another sign that we're on the right road.

Meanwhile, Logan's been diagnosed with a sinus infection so he's on antiobiotics for that and also eye drops as he's still having gunky eyes. We had another bad night last night with him....crying and saying his throat hurt. Hopefully the medicine kicks in and tonight is better. One kid being up is enough, I don't need two up at night!

The Cemetery

First of all, Eli is reading wonderfully now.  When we’re out and about, he’s constantly reading things to me. 

We’re driving through town last night and Eli pipes in from the back seat, “Mom, you know that place where people go when they die and they’re planted?”

“Yes,” I say, trying REALLY hard not to burst into laughter (people planted????).

“Well, one of them said Swine, so I think that person died of the swine flu.”

 

It’s funny to me in two ways.

Camden's evaluation....and more

Camden's Birth to Three evaluation was yesterday. It went well and he has passed to the next level (not sure if that's good or not). He will be assessed on May 20th by a team to see if he qualifies by at least 25% or more for therapy. The coordinator felt in her gut that he would qualify, but the therapist has the final say. I think he probably will too considering we already had one PT tell us he should have therapy. The coordinator was more concerned with his feeding issues and wants him evaluated for feeding therapy also. Not a big surprise for me. Hopefully the speech therapist can come out on May 20th to evaluate him; otherwise, that assessment will be another day. We're going to go to an evaluation at HealthReach and see what they suggest too. I feel that they're a little more qualified, but not sure about receiving treatment there. Our insurance will only cover 20 visits for therapy so we may have to split up between HealthReach and Birth to Three. Camden was nothing but CUTE for the coordinator, flashing her all sorts of flirty smiles. :)

On another note....I called yesterday to schedule Camden's GI appt. I was praying so hard that it wouldn't be a month before we could get in. Ideally, it would be better to have that appt. first, as I think that's where we need to start. They had a cancellation for Thursday and we able to offer it to us! So, TOMORROW is the big GI appt.!!!!! Honestly, I am nervous. But I know it's the next step that we need. Even the coordinator from Birth to Three was relieved to hear we were going to a GI. Our appt. is tomorrow morning at 9:50 at Children's Hospital.

I feel that all our appointments go in order of importance: gastroenterlogist, allergist and ENT. Depending on what answers or info we get, I may cancel the ENT. We'll see. I feel that a lot of those symptoms are the result of allergies, but I'm no doctor.

Meanwhile, Camden is about the same. I have my journal to bring with tomorrow. We have so many appts. this month it's a little overwhelming. Next week Monday is the evaluation with the feeding therapist; Wednesday is the evaluation with the physical therapist; and Thursday is the allergist appt. so back to Children's.

On top of that, Isaac is having a terrible time at school and Logan's eyes swelled up the other night and continue to have green gunk and tearing. I've called the doctor about it and I'm waiting to hear. Josh and I both thought he was having an allergic reaction to all the pollen outside. He was outside a lot this past weekend. But now I'm wondering. He tells me his mouth hurts (which I interpret as his throat hurting) and is coughing. He cried on and off for half the night last night and then Camden was up twice. So yes, I'm tired.....but what else is new?!?!?!?!

Isaac had a field trip today to Madison. He's visiting lots of different places up there and bringing home a dog tag for Hunter from the Veteran's Museum. I can't wait to hear all about his day. He won't be home until almost 7 tonight!

That's about it. 'Til tomorrow.....