Merry Christmas
At Grandpa Veeck's house in Raleigh
Meeting the newest addition to our family, our cute little nephew Tristan
It's hard getting a good picture of a 3 1/2 year old, a 1 month old and a 2 month old
Christmas morning at our house
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Never a Dull Moment
While we were waiting for the pediatrician at Owen's 2-week appointment (and Ethan's therapy check-up with the same doctor) I started having lots of pain in my stomach. Ten hours later we decided it was time to go to the hospital where they determined I needed an appendectomy. Definitely not what I was expecting 2 weeks after delivering a baby! So, after having my appendix removed, Owen had his first bottle. He did great with the bottle and did great returning to nursing 12 hours later.
While I was still at the hospital recovering, Ethan and Tim went to AmTryke's tricycle giveaway (which had been planned for months) where Ethan received his special tricycle! I was so sad to miss this special day, but Tim took pictures and I've been able to watch him ride in the neighborhood since then. They tried him on two different bikes, so the first few pics are of him on a different tricycle than the one we ended up choosing for him. As you can tell by his smile, he really enjoys the freedom this little bike gives him!
Once I got home, we took his tricycle for a spin around the neighborhood so I could watch him ride. If you're on facebook you may have seen the video of him riding his bike. Unfortunately, blogger isn't allowing me to upload videos right now. I'll try again later.
Because of my incision, Owen can't ride around in the moby wrap for a little while. But (at least in this picture) he's enjoying a walk in the stroller.
As for Owen's doctor's appointment - at his 2 week checkup he weighed 8lb. 10 oz. The pediatrician said he felt like everything looks good with Owen and his eye contact looked better than expected. Ethan's geneticist also took a look at Owen during Ethan's genetics appointment this week and she said Owen looked great. Of course, it's too early to say for sure and I don't think we'll breathe easier until he starts meeting his milestones. Owen is an alert baby and we love him so much already. As for sleep, well that's another story. This picture below may be the only one you'll see with his eyes closed! He struggles with sleeping just as Ethan did at this age. I guess that's part of being a newborn. I am just looking forward to a few more hours of sleep at night.
Less than a week after having my appendix removed, we had Ethan's long-awaited neurologist and geneticist appointment. They both seem to believe his cerebellum atrophy is progressive (meaning, it will continue to atrophy throughout his life). However, they said his atrophy is in an unusual place and does not fit with many of the cerebellum atrophy conditions they know about - 430 of them to be exact. They ordered a few more blood tests (Yeah, more needles!) and will both be spending the coming months researching those 430 conditions to see if any of them look like a fit with Ethan. If so, they will order more tests. In the meantime, we just continue his therapy as we've been doing all along.
As far as being a big brother - Ethan is doing a wonderful job! He really doesn't seem phased by Owen's presence. He's getting a little more interested in touching is feet and his head, but that lasts about 5 seconds and he's on to something else. We have been able to capture a few pictures of him kissing his little brother, but I have to admit they are prompted by, "Can you give baby Owen a kiss?" And our obedient little boy obliges.
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Happy Halloween!
We had a very quiet Halloween this year. Ethan and Owen dressed up at skeletons. Ethan really enjoyed going from house to house and said, "Trick-or-Treat" at each door. Once he realized he was getting candy, he started trying to "run" to the next house saying, "Run, Daddy, Run" to try to get Tim to help him go faster. Owen stayed in the moby wrap so he was nice and warm for our little walk around the neighborhood. It was definitely different than our previous Halloweens in Portland - no chili or hot chocolate or people coming in and out of the house all night. Made us miss our friends and neighborhood in Kentucky. But hopefully next year we'll be a little less sleep deprived and able to invite some friends & family over for a bigger celebration.
