Merry Christmas!

We had a fantastic Christmas even with our big storm! Christmas Eve day we had lunch with Scott, Kara, and Kali Rose, went to church, and came home and spent the night and Christmas day just the four of us. It was the perfect Christmas of peace and quiet, minus the noise of two kids in the house! Here are some pics!!

I'm trying out my new hockey skates! First we got double blades, but talked to some hockey coaches who said if they learn on double blades, they will have to learn again how to balance on single blades. Adina got some Christmas money from her Great Aunt Marsha Klawiter and Uncle Tom Klawiter from California. That is what she used the money for and here she is practicing on the carpet pushing her shopping cart! Thanks Tom and Marsha!! That was really special!


Little Miss Kali Rose found her present early! With a face this serious we were not about to take it away!


The kids in their Christmas outfits.


Adina with the muff and hat she received from her Great Grandparents in northern MN. Adina first thought the muff was a duster!! Might be a great way to have her help me with the house work!!


Family picture time.


Yes, Adina and her baby are matching.


Adina explaining to her baby that Baby Jesus goes here, Mary and Joseph there, the shepherds who watch the sheep go there, and some other guys (wise men) live over there. She later saw a woman wearing a long fur winter coat and yelled, "Mommy, it's Mary!!" The woman kind of laughed, I'm not sure, is that a compliment to have "Mary" style clothes?


In our Christmas jammies from mom and dad.


Leaving cookies and milk for Santa. Yes, we believe in Santa in OUR house. Adina understands that Christmas is about baby Jesus. Sometimes we like to lighten up and have some fun! So, Santa lives in our house, until Adina figures it out in school someday.


The finished plate of cookies. Wow Santa(s) must have been hungry! Adina was a bit frustrated that Santa only took one bite of the last cookie and left it. She thought it was a bit wasteful! Guess she caught Santa there.


Adina reading Oliver his new black and white book. She really loves reading to Oliver.


Oliver smiling at the silly sounds mommy can make!

I'm all smiles! This Santa stuff is great!!


Adina helping Oliver open his gift. We don't do it for him, we put the paper in his hand and he will rip it. Oliver takes part in everything that we do, we never just do it for him!


Adina next to her kitchen that Santa brought for her.

Conversation

We made a last minute trip up north last week to visit my grandparents for Christmas. We have not traveled much since Oliver started having seizures, this was a bit of a test run. Oliver did great, minus the fact that he didn't sleep. He never sleeps, but it is a bit harder to manage away from home. Besides that, it all went well. We just know that the only people that can hold Oliver is myself or John. I know people want to hold him, but if we give in, then we go home and the seizures start. This may seem drastic, but as we have learned from other parents of children with seizures, this seems to really set some kids off. It's just life. My grandparents got Oliver a big stuffed Zebra. (Marty from Madagascar) Oliver can see him somewhat because he is black and white. They are now best friends, where ever Oliver goes, Marty goes too. I took him away the other night and Oliver let me have it. I got a video of Oliver talking to him. He will go on and on like this. He was a bit distracted here by me, but you can get the idea. Too cute for words!
Adina and I also baked some cookies for Santa. She loves to make cookies, well, eat cookies is more like it. Today we got Adina her first pair of ice scates, double blades. We will try them out tomorrow!
Yummy, the finished product!


Dumping the Sugar


Unwrapping the candy


Stir it up!


Marty my man! What's up!


Hey Mom! I'm just relaxing..


My three favorites.


More Christmas pictures to come. Looks like we might be snowed in for Christmas if the storm keeps coming this way. Perfect way to spend Christmas! The four of us warm and cozy at home.

G'day

Well, I made it home and loved getting to spend all of Friday with Taryn and the kids. Now, as you can tell by the time of the post, I'm severely jet-lagged. Oliver woke up at 11:30 tonight and is still awake, so my 2 hours of sleep felt like a power nap and I can't fall back asleep.

Highlights from Down Under?
--Hearing the Dalai Lama laughing when he came on stage and was playing with the peace offering of the Aborigine leader
--Watching the Dalai Lama try to convince a 4 year old girl who was on stage to try to sit in his lap-he was unsuccessful
--Learning how to play "footy", Australian Rules Football from the pros of the North Melbourne football team
--Daily dialogue and wonderful sessions on media, climate, Pagans, and Intelligent Design/Creationism... ask me about it, I'll talk your ear off
--Having a great group from Luther Seminary to talk about our experience and to explore with
--Getting a surprise phone call at 5:15 in the morning from Taryn and Adina--Oli didn't talk on that call
--On our last night, we got to see baby penguins come to shore and feed by poking their heads through rocks on the shoreline, it was pretty cool to be five feet away from them
--Feeling like the rest of the world's religions have a lot more in common with how I believe than you might think--a desire for peace, love, and mutual understanding while accepting each others differences
--Getting home to Oliver and Taryn being awake at 1:30 in the morning, and then Adina giving me a great big hug in her sleep (it made the cold of the 4 degree temps melt away)


I'll post pictures this weekend, but it's time to try to get over the jet lag and get some more sleep.

Brrr..

We finally got our first snowstorm! Only about six inches so nothing too bad. Some parts of the state got over a foot plus they are having blizzard conditions. My favorite kind of storm! I know all of you in California are jealous that you did not schedule a visit to MN now!
So a few updates since the last post. I know that I said last time that the urine tests all came back negative. Never mind that info. Genetic doc called today and she just received word from Mayo clinic that one level in the urine was elevated. I guess this comes with a slug of potential metabolic concerns. The doctor at mayo suggested that we retest to see if it is elevated again and then we will see what is next. I am a bit bummed about all of this testing we are doing again. I was hoping that this Christmas we would be passed this phase, perhaps next year. I could say no to all of it, but sometimes we feel that Oliver is really in pain, and if this testing can figure out why then we will do it. I would tell you the compound that is elevated but it is long and I forgot =) Like I said, I will worry more if it is elevated again. I am amazed at all of the different places they send these labs. California, Boston, Chicago, Mayo, Oliver has been studied many different places!
GI (tummy) doctor was last Friday. He said to continue as we are doing. He was a bit concerned about the fact that Oliver has been starting to vomit again, especially since he had lung issues last May. If he does get severe Pneumonia we will have to change his feeding tube to go lower into the intestines or perhaps a surgery. When Oliver vomits, he does not really know to cough it up and instead sucks it right back into his lungs. This could lead to severe problems. So far we have heard him gasping every time and run in his room and roll him over to help the little buddy. We sleep light, but don't worry, we do get our rest. As much as any parent of young ones I guess!
Last bit of fantastic news(sarcasm added here), Oliver was again denied by the state for nursing care. I am waiting on some calls to figure out exactly why. I know that when our fantastic (sarcasm again) Governor made budget cuts last year he cut a lot from where this money comes from. Yet, we have two new athletic stadiums, priorities. I am going to fight this until I get a good reason of the denial. I will camp out in front of Pawlenty's office door if I have to, not that he is ever in his office, or the state for that matter. It is very frustrating at times. We have run into people who feel that individuals with disabilities get too many services. Sure there are people who take advantage of the system, but every parent that I have talked to has to jump through the many hoops to get help for their child, often getting rejected. If you ever run into these people, set them all straight for us! Perhaps in a more tactful way that I often feel like doing!
John returns home tomorrow night (Thursday), very late. He did not bring a coat or his hoodie. I do believe they will all be in shock when they feel our below zero temps! John has not been able to write much, but I know that he had a great time and is ready to get home. Myself and the kids are really ready! Oliver gets angry with me every night that daddy does not get him up for the middle of the night feed. John sits and watches ESPN with him for a while, I feed him and put him back to bed. It is easy to see which parent he likes better in the middle of the night!
I hope you are all staying warm! We stayed in our pajama's all day today and watched the blowing snow out the window. Good day, would have been perfect if all four of us were together. Tomorrow!!

Good Results

The genetic doctor called today and told us that some of Oliver's urine lab results came back all clear. I couldn't tell you what they were testing for because there are and have been so many. As long as they are negative I don't keep track. Then she said, unfortunately I have some really really bad news. At this point I almost started to cry, they were just words you don't want to hear from a genticist. Holding my breath I asked what it was. She said I hate to tell you this but...they lost Oliver's blood sample. Ahhhhh.. I almost laughed, she was so upset by this news. I just told her that really it is no big deal, things get misplaced, life goes on and we just redo the blood draw. Geez, there are bigger things in life to worry about. She said she called the lab, I am guessing she let them have it. I reassured her many times that really it was no big deal. The more I think about it the more I giggle. I hate to have him poked again but what do you do. I should just tell them to take an extra vial and keep it on hand! So, good news so far! My celebration for making it through the day while John is gone is three Oreo's and a glass of milk, that is where I am headed right now.
Sorry if there are any grammer/spelling mistakes, my proof reader is away for seven more days!

Having Fun

John has sent a few emails from Australia and is really excited! I think he was going to post at some point but the internet connection is turtle speed. I told him not to worry about finding faster internet connections and phones and to just enjoy himself, 10 days goes fast. I am sure he will give a great update over everything he saw when he gets home. Until then, he just wanted everybody to know that he made it safe and is enjoying the 80 degree weather! Lucky guy! It is going to be in the 20's here tomorrow, gotta love Minnesota. Adina and I are patiently waiting for the snow! As for me, I still have hair! The kids are being perfect little sweethearts. Well, as much as an 18 month old and a 3 year old can be
anyway! =)