Goodbye Summer

Well school has started and Labor Day is this weekend. Goodbye summer. Hallie has been in school for over a week now. Her first note home came on day #4. What did she get in trouble for? Being bossy. No surprise there. :) Otherwise she has been doing great. She remembers what she did during the day a lot more this year than last. She is excited to go, but she is also exhausted at night! We told her on the second day she had to wear tennis shoes because she had PE and that way she could run around. Her response... "We get to run in class?!" Yes yes you do Hallie.

I was home with both kids today. I had put Corbin down in the center of the living room so I could get online to pay a bill quick. I did that, looked down, and Corbin was gone. I turned around and he was in the dining room trying to get to Hallie. <3

It is the end of August which means one month until Corbin's birthday party! I tried my best today to get a picture of him for his invitations. I am not a professional. Here are some of the funny facial expressions, beautiful smiles but blurry body, and just plain crazy photos I got. He is nearly impossible to get a good picture of on my phone because he is constantly moving!!

Iowa City #2

Well the day we have all been anxious for finally came and went. We made the trek to Iowa City for the second time so far in our quest for answers. We met with the Neuromuscular Dr. again and went through all the questions. The good news is Corbin isn't as far behind as he was last time we were there (3 months ago). This means he is improving and getting closer to the average of his peers. The Dr. once again examined Corbin and his muscles and stated once again that his muscles don't appear weak at all. The tightness or increased tone in his legs and ankles has improved (thank you therapy and all the home/daycare exercises!!). 

So we are all in agreement that our goal for the appointment was to go through the tests that we feel may help us determine the cause of his delayed development along with the elevated CK levels. We did lots of lab work - they had to calculate it out to make sure they weren't taking too much. The blood tests were for a comprehensive metabolic panel, CMA (chromosomal microarray analysis), Chromosome analysis, and a couple others that I can't remember. The urine test wasn't much fun due to the fact they put the urine bag on him when we got there and requested we gave him plenty of fluids. We did as instructed and by the time they came to take it off, he had overflowed the bag and his diaper was full. Thankfully there was enough in the bag that didn't leak out they could still run the test. It was also determined that we would do an EKG and an Echocardiogram to ensure his heart wasn't the muscle causing the elevated levels.

Before we had left the hospital we had the metabolic panels results back and several were abnormal. We are waiting for a call to explain further. The EKG and Echo looked great. The ones we are all waiting (the CMA and chromosome) will take at least 10 days to get back. The Dr. was explaining to us that the CMA is one of the highest yielding tests available (the percentage of results that give a diagnosis). This was exciting news. He then proceeding to tell us that the highest yield he was speaking of is relative. The actual yield for this particular test is only 10-15%. Which means in 85-90% of cases, the diagnosis still isn't clear after the results are back.

I am a "realist" and Jon is an "optimist". By this I mean, I am constantly considering worst case scenario so that I am prepared. Jon is constantly considering the best possible option (sometimes maybe the naive version as well). The Dr. believes Corbin is going to lie somewhere between us. Not as bad as I think, but not as perfect as Jon thinks. We don't have to go back for 9 months unless something changes. All the results and discussions can be done via phone (whoohoo!). He assured us that we are doing everything right for our little man. The extra time being spent working with him, the hours of therapy, and the prayers are working. While we can't change his levels, we can keep working for progress. We can keep pushing and motivating him. We are both guilt ridden and believing it is our own personal fault that he is going through all this. Whether it is or not is almost irrelevant, but it helped hearing from a professional that we are doing everything we can right now, and he can see the progress in a few short months.

He was napping when they came in the room to do his EKG, and he slept through her hooking him all up!

All done and headed home. He was asleep before we even got out of the hospital. He slept from Iowa City to Stuart!

We ended up going to Iowa City the night before his appointment to cut down on total driving time in one day. He was soo excited when we got there. It was hilarious. :)

Tears of Joy

First day of Kindergarten. Every parent that has been through it knows what that day means. Your child is now going to school full time. Every day. Learning. Growing. Exploring new things. Of course they learned and grew every day before, but this is different. This is business. Desks, lockers, textbooks, tests. It means your baby is growing up. For this Mom that meant tears. Tears of joy because my baby is growing into a beautiful young lady. She is so determined and independent (maybe a few tears of sadness because of this too!). This little girl is going far in life, and I am thrilled!

I think little man is going to miss his sister at daycare during the day! He had a good night of working on kneeling and standing last night. He is getting stronger at keeping himself upright when kneeling and can stand against something briefly. We have a long ways to go, but I am thankful he is so willing and cooperative!

One last photo... Two of our nieces babysat the kids this past weekend, and they stayed the night. The kids (and Jon!) decided to play spoons. They had a blast. Spoons flying, cards flying, kids crying, bursts of laughter. Its these times that make my heart smile!

Crazy kids

I had too many cute pictures from this week not to do another blog! :) Sorry for the overload again, but seriously he is adorable. Not much new from Hallie this week considering she has been gone most of it! I'm glad she is getting to do fun things because her world is about to change. Kindergarten starts next week. These pictures are from her state fair adventures. From the sounds of things Grandma is spoiling her rotten. She isn't going to want to come home let alone go to school next week!! :)

Corbin's excessive eating continues. He had TWO scrambled eggs and an ENTIRE banana one night for supper. Unreal. He is adding to his likes, not a single thing to his dislike list yet. He is getting better and better at holding the bottle and sippy by himself. He drank 5 oz from the sippy cup yesterday. HUGE progress.

We are excited for the weekend for sure! Corbin's upper teeth (looks like maybe 4 of them) are trying to come in. This  has made him super cranky and up quite a bit at night. We are exhausted!

Where's dad? What's he doing?

Work day with Mom.... I chew on everything because I have several teeth coming in up top!

Work is just plain exhausting!

Some of Hallie's vacation at the fair adventures! Thanks Grandma for the pictures!

 

Battles

This sums up everything I believe. I have seen lots of people battle over the years. Some of them you can see the battle written all over their face. Others the battle is lodged deep inside. This is why it isn't always so easy to see what the other person is going through. Most people can put on a good face and continue their journey as planned.

Battles can be so different. For some maybe its mental illness that they struggle with daily. Robin Williams' death is a sincere reminder to all of us that mental illness can affect anyone. Just because someone has money or is famous doesn't hinder them from the same struggles you and I face. As a daughter of someone who struggled daily I can tell you how heartbreaking it is. For them life isn't valuable. They can't see the good in what they have. They are many times called selfish, but are they really? Could you imagine being trapped inside your own body? Could you imagine feeling like you literally have no other options? I truly believe severe mental illness is an incurable disease. Unfortunately for the people left behind like myself, it is hard to come to terms with. It is hard to accept that was their fate, and that you couldn't do anything to change it.

Everyone is fighting a battle whether you believe it or not. Stress, mental, emotional, fertility, growth, development, financial, marriage, divorce, abuse, relationships, etc. are just a handful. Hardships do not know sex, age, race, religion, or any other item that may set you apart. Never assume someone has a great life because "they are loaded" or "mommy and daddy gave them everything" or "they seem so perfect". It is all relative. What did they have to give up to get those things? Do you know the "real" them or just their appearance? Your versions of "perfect" and mine may be two very different things.

Last item on my soapbox agenda, and I'm done :) Be careful of what you say to people. Things for me are "Isn't he crawling yet?". No, he isn't. I don't owe you an explanation. Every kid is different. Remember how insensitive questions can be. Don't ask about specifics regarding a child. Instead say "What's new with____?" "How is he/she getting along?" "What fun things is he/she doing now?" Don't ask about family choices. "Aren't you ready for another?" "When is the next one?" "Why don't you have kids yet?" Questions about money/finances are off topic unless offered. Now I do understand there are exceptions. Family, close friends, people who know your circumstances and stories. Acquaintances, social friends, or making small talk needs to adhere to social etiquette. And please, if you feel you may have overstepped a boundary APOLOGIZE. There is nothing worse than making a hard topic worse or opening up a recently closed wound. Our parents taught us to be courteous, respectful, and polite. Don't forget that basics.

Off soapbox. Have a great day!

Theme Song

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it ."
- Psalm 118:24

This verse may be my "theme" for the year. Day by day. Be glad. Be thankful for the blessings we have been given. Remember that He has this all figured out for us. Trust that He will not lead us astray. We sing This is the Day frequently in church. I am holding myself accountable for a better attitude. This may be my theme song for getting through difficult times. When life has me down and my attitude sucks its hard to remember. While we are busy making goals for the kids to conquer, maybe we should look to ourselves and make goals too. Mine would be patience, understanding, and trust.

I can not believe it is August 12. Where has the summer gone? Hallie starts school next week! She is using her time wisely by not being home! :) She was gone Thurs night through Sunday. Home for two nights. Leaving again today for the State Fair with Grandma Deb and won't be home until Friday. We spent quality time last night. Jon was at the city council meeting, so we braided hair, painted nails and cuddled. It was fantastic! :) It was my first time french braiding her hair entirely. I didn't think I did too bad!

Corbin is doing fantastic. Continuing to get stronger. Our biggest accomplishments for the week have been holding his own bottle and eating table food. We are very excited. He is actually drinking his bottles better now that he has the control. Yes!! We started table food on Friday night, and it is going very well. Peas, carrots, yams, kiwi, banana, oatmeal, cottage cheese. He loves it! Next things we are going to try are green beans and scrambled eggs. We are very excited that he is doing so well with this transition! Here are few pictures of how happy is eat when he is in the high chair (he knows what comes next!!) We are in love with his smirks and smiles!

Holding his own sippy!!!! He hasn't gotten it figured out how to drink sitting up yet. But we are okay with that. We are just happy he will hold it and drink from it by himself. He HATED the sight of his sippy before let alone drinking from it!

He can stand briefly against the couch or the ottoman. He gets pretty excited because he is "big stuff"  now!

 Reading his book. He loved the tractor page... imagine that!

Oh did I mention Corbin has decided he doesn't like sleeping at night again? We think he is teething (look at the determination chewing that rag of his!). It looks like several of his upper teeth are coming through. Please hurry teeth... we want sleep!

 Oh Corbin...

If you are sick of pictures too bad. Here are a couple last ones. We opened the door to the pick up and found Corbin sitting like this. Make yourself comfy buddy its all yours! :)

First of many golf cart rides with Grandpa and Sissy. These are the memories that will last forever!