8/29 Niece update

Today has been a hard day. They were at the hospitals for most of the day so are just generally drained and also emotions are starting to struggle.  The news from the appointments is not all that promising.  They are concerned about the heart.  They can't tell exactly where the problem is, but it is with the valves.  If the problem is on the left side, then there will be no surgery, I'm guessing because it is too severe..... Also, the docs would not give a percentage chance because they are never accurate enough, so that was discouraging to them.  There may also be a problem with one of the arms.  The result of today:  Induction for September 10th as of now.  More appointments tomorrow and then they are done until September 5th.

On a lighter note, they are at the Ronald McDonald House now!  We plan to go out to dinner with them Friday and do some fun Seattle sights, like the new Great Wheel on either Sunday or Monday.

As for us, the boys had dentist appointments today; Logan's first and he did awesome!  He didn't even cry until the very end when he tasted the fluoride.  Shaun did great also including x-rays, and both have no cavities!

Ethan & Coral are here

Ethan and Coral arrived via train yesterday morning. The train was about an hour late; they traveled for 12.5 hours overnight! When taking Amtrak, overnight is the only option going to and from Montana.  We did it once back in 2000, not fun. The boys picked them up, Shaun loved it; trains are so exciting at 4! They then relaxed and visited at our house until I came home mid afternoon to take them to Seattle.  It was nice to see Ethan again and meet Coral. I got them to their first hotel, The Talaris, which was paid for by Children's.

They then had a couple of appointments today at UW Hospital to check the heart and lungs, etc. The doc said that there may be an issue with the heart, but won't know for sure until after birth. Tomorrow they get to go to Children's to meet the docs, nurses, etc who will be caring for baby and get a tour.

Tonight they are in a 2nd hotel that is affiliated with UW, The Collegiana.  They found out today that a room is opening up at the Ronald McDonald House tomorrow, so they get to move there tomorrow; yay!  This will be cheaper and better because it is more home like with a common kitchen where they can cook or even volunteers sometime come in and cook for them.

Niece update.....

Here is the latest:

There wasn't a surgery before birth like I thought.  They both will be on their way here Sunday night on the train.  Ethan was able to get a month off from work, thank you God! They arrive here in Everett at about 8:30 in the morning on Monday.  Bill is then going to pick them up and bring them back to our house for the morning so they can relax/recover from the 12+ hour train ride.  They have a hotel booked in Seattle, which I will take them to Monday afternoon.  They are hoping to be able to get other housing, like maybe the Ronald McDonald house at some point.  We would have them stay with us, but there are a bunch of things that don't make it a good idea: possible hour+ drive in traffic to get to all the appointments and if something urgent comes up (or longer bus ride), they would be relying on us to drive them, no extra beds here just a couch. The main reason being, we don't want to be responsible for getting her to Seattle in an emergency situation since this is not a healthy baby. The doctor has also concurred.

Then, they have several appointments with the doctor at UW this week where they will learn what the exact game plan is.  Her official due date is mid September, but they could do this pretty much any time I think. 

Be praying for the obvious and how we can be there to help.  Whether it be our presence, buying them snacks/food, taking them around Seattle to get them thinking about other things, etc.... Thanks!

Baby niece update

The latest we've heard is that Mom will be coming here to Seattle probably about August 21 for delivery and maybe before that for an in-utero surgery. Baby's chances have dropped to 30%.  She can be expected to be in the hospital for 6 months, Lord willing.  Please pray for the obvious and for Ethan (daddy to this little girl).  He is struggling in all the ways you would expect.

Logan's 18 month check up!

Logan had his 18 month check up today.  He's not 18 months until Thursday, but this was the closest day to get an appointment. :)  He is well!  He got 3 shots and did well.  He didn't start crying until the 2nd shot, but then settled down really quickly.  Here are his stats at 18 months:

Weight: 24 pounds 2oz; 27%.  He gained 2 pounds 1 oz in 6 months; down from the 33%.

Height: 2' 9.75"; 89%.  He grew 3.25 inches in 6 months; up from the 66%.

Head: 50.2cm; 97%.  It grew 1.3cm in 6 months; remaining at the 97th%.


Here is how the boys compare at 18 months:

Weight:  Shaun was 7.6 ounces heavier.

Height:  Shaun was 1.15 inches taller

Head:  Shaun's was .8cm bigger!

Even though Shaun was bigger in all 3 areas, they are pretty close to each other; must be brothers!  :)

Logan is jabbering up a storm.  He is always  saying something.  The actual words he is saying  are growing and getting clearer, but still mainly parts of words that we can tell what they are.  The latest is 'fish' and 'shoe', which sounds so cute when he says them because his lips go way out as he says it!

He is also interacting and trying to keep up with big brother a lot more.  He is trying to run and chase Shaun and egg him on with various screeching, teasing, etc.

He also is showing a lot of emotion lately, mainly frustration.  He has been throwing 'mini' tantrums lately by banging on the wall, throwing himself on the ground or just plain screaming.  Doc said the best way to deal with them is to ignore.  They will probably get worse before better, but then his only options are to go hoarse or give up!

Next checkup @2 years old!

Prayers for our baby niece

Bill's brother, Ethan and his girlfriend, Coral are having a baby girl soon, Alaxa Skye. We request prayer for her, the parents and the family.

We recently learned that she has been diagnosed with a diaphragm hernia, which I believe is a birth defect called CDH (Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia). It basically is where the diaphragm didn't close properly early in gestation and so abdominal organs were allowed to move into the chest cavity. It is life threatening because the lungs and/or heart are prevented from fully developing because of space constraints from the other organs invading the chest cavity. She has been given a 60/40 chance.

There is a surgery that can be done after birth to rearrange the organs and repair the hernia, but the real key is getting the lungs and heart to work properly.

They are in Montana and are going to come here to Seattle's UW Hospital for delivery and then Children's hospital for surgery, healing, etc.

We first request prayer that God's will is to be complete healing for Alaxa Skye. We also request prayer for new Mom & Dad as they go through the tough road that is to come, emotionally and physically. Also pray for their situation logistically. Ethan seems to only be able to be here for a really short period of time due to work obligations, which then leaves Coral by herself recovering from delivery (c-section maybe) and baby in the hospital. Pray that we can be a support to them all since we are in the area. I have never met Coral, but want to be as much support as I can and show God's love.

Coincidentally, I was following a blog in April/May of a friend of a friend going through the same situation. They are very strong in their faith and continually showed that in their daily blog posts as they were with their daughter for her 20 days of life. Looking back, I may have been lead to follow that blog to prepare me with words of comfort for my brother in law and "sister in law". Ethan is a young 22 years old.

Thank you. I will post updates as I know them.

Happy Summer!!

I thought it was time to post an update on the boys if there is anyone out there that reads our blog. Time gets away from me in blogging lately! The boys are both doing great!

Logan is jabbering up a storm. He says a bunch of words, not totally clear, but we can tell what they are. Some that he says are: ba (ball), boo (book), fich (fish), peace (please), Abby (clear as day!), Daddy, Mommy (both very clear), cu (cup), gul (Wiggles!). And I'm sure there are more that I can't think of right now. He is Obsessed with The Wiggles! He is always pointing at the TV and wining, "gul, gul, gul!", however we don't always give in, but in a pinch it occupies him nicely!

Logan also started swim "lessons" in April and toddler school this month. He loves both. "Tiny Tots" is for 6 month old to 3 year olds. He wasn't too sure about the pool at first, but after the 2nd time, he was having a good time. It is twice a week for 30 minutes and we'll do them through August. We even got to join cousin Antonio for his last few sessions before he moves up to the preschool level. Antonio got to join Shaun for his last season too, so it was a nice overlap for both boys!

The toddler school is at the Children's center at the Pavilion for Women &Children at Providence. This is the same class "system" that Shaun went to from 3 weeks old to 3.5 years. Their schedule didn't allow them to go with Logan before this month, but they will be able to continue also when Shaun goes back to preschool in September. The baby classes were more for the parent for the young babes, so I didn't feel too bad about Logan not getting to go, but oh well, the life of a 2nd born! I'm glad Shaun and I went when I was on maternity leave because that is where we met our playgroup friends that we still see twice a month! He is also running around like crazy trying to keep up with big brother.
Logan goes back to the doctor in a month for his 18 month checkup so we'll see then what his stats are!

Shaun is and has been having fun in all of his activities. Sports wise, he did basketball in January/February, indoor soccer in March/April and now is in T-ball; all through the Y. He enjoys each one. It gives him somewhere he can run around and maybe even learn something about the sport and getting along with others.

Preschool ended mid May. He LOVED it and was sad that it had to end. We have a preschool workbook that we bought last fall, but had only done a few pages. One afternoon Shaun got it out and wanted to do some “homework”! How can you say no to that? So, for a couple of weeks now, Shaun has been doing about 5 pages out of the book each day. There are sections on writing letters, numbers, sounds, matching, etc.

Shaun has also started to READ! He knows most of the letter sounds and has started to sound out a few words like cat, sat, mat, etc. I can’t believe that he is putting sounds together in words! He is one smart boy, but I’m a little biased.

Shaun continues his swim lessons in the mornings. He moved up to preschool level 2 in January and is progressing nicely through it. I don’t know how long it will take him to move up. He was in level 1 for 10 months, so we’ll see. He is having fun. They do a lot more under water and swim strokes, etc on their own.

Last week the boys started going to the Children’s museum once a week for the summer. We got a membership last December and had gone a few times since then, but not a ton. It only took 2-3 visits to make up the cost so the rest are all “free”. They have had a blast these first 2 times this summer. Today they even got to go on the roof where they have a gigantic play structure; so much fun for boys!



Happy first day of summer!!!!