Long Overdue Update!!!

I guess its official… I’m a terrible blogger! My apologies for not posting sooner! And more apologies for the length of this update.

I’ll start with October, which by far is one of my favorite months of the year! October is usually an enjoyable, busy month for us with Stewart’s birthday, the NC State Fair, and Halloween. Stewart’s birthday was a blast! He celebrated turning 7 years old with a soccer party at XL Soccer World. Henry even got a chance to kick the ball around a bit. Grandma topped off the celebration with a great Star Wars cake and cupcakes! I love the NC State Fair! The atmosphere, watching the kids have fun, and of course, the food! Stewart and Henry had a blast. Henry was a bit hesitant at first and probably a bit overwhelmed by the sights. He didn’t ride much, but did enjoy riding in the big colorful cars several times! He also enjoyed feeding the goats carrots. Stewart had fun as well, with his favorite attraction being the giant slides. He also had fun with one of the fair’s newer rides, huge hamster balls floating in water that you climb inside! It was hilarious to watch! Surprisingly, we didn’t eat very much food, but enjoyed some of our favorites, like BBQ, turkey legs, and chocolate covered bananas. Although we didn’t try it, we had to take a peek at the new Krispy Kreme hamburger. Halloween was great fun too! Stewart dressed up like Darth Vader and quickly disappeared with his friends to hit all the houses in the neighborhood. He came back with quite the loot! Henry was adorable dressed up as Mickey Mouse and enjoyed seeing all the activity. Spiders and witches “scare” him, but he couldn’t stop talking about them!

Callie is doing fantastic! She is 4 ½ months (3 ½ months, corrected age) and weighs 8lb, 12oz. She has gained over 6lbs and grown over 5 inches from her tiny birth weight! She is smiling, cooing, and just starting to let out a few giggles! She enjoys sitting upright so that she can take in all the mayhem that occurs in our house with the crazy boys. It is amazing how different she is developmentally and medically from her brother, Henry. She has been sick twice… the first time was the end of October where she had an unexplained high temperature. Caution should always be taken with infants that run temperatures above 100°F, especially if it’s before several key vaccinations. So, we called our pediatrician who recommended that we take her straight to the ER. We ended up at Rex Hospital over a weekend while they ran a bunch of tests and gave her a lot of antibiotics. Fortunately, all the tests came back clear and we went home assuming that she had caught a virus. In early December she was diagnosed with bronchiolitis. She had some breathing treatments at home and her cough finally cleared up after about a week. I think we’ve been lucky that she hasn’t had more colds considering all the exposure she gets from her two brothers.

Henry is doing well! The ear tubes that he received in mid-September seem to be doing their job because he hasn’t had any ear infections since! Yippee! In October we took Henry to see a pulmonologist about his persistent cough that often times resulted in vomiting. We came up with an “asthma” plan that includes a daily Flovent inhaler and Albuterol, as needed. He has not officially been diagnosed with asthma, as I understand that is not typically diagnosed until kids are several years older. We have discovered, by accident, that the Flovent is crucial to Henry’s health. There have been two occasions where his Flovent inhaler has run out (slap us on the wrist for not noticing!). Those two occasions are the ONLY times Henry has been sick since September! Neither occasion required antibiotics, but we did deal with a runny nose, lots of coughing, and unfortunately, some vomiting. However, Henry has been the healthiest in the family over the past few months! Henry has also been “discharged” from his GI follow-ups. They have run several tests and everything has come up negative. So, it doesn’t appear that there is anything that needs to be watched other than his weight. Unfortunately, Henry has not gained any weight. He weighs nearly the same now as he did last April and is holding at 22.5lbs. His weight fluctuated quite a bit throughout the year due to the multiple ear infections and vomiting. However, I’ll admit I’m a bit disappointed that he hasn’t put on any weight since September. He has his 3-year check-up with his pediatrician in March, and we’re hoping to see some weight gain by then. Fortunately, he is gaining in height.

Henry will be aging out of the Early Intervention Infant-Toddler Program that has been providing all his therapies over the past few years. He has a formal evaluation next week to see if he will qualify for any services through the Wake County Public School System after he turns 3 years. He is no longer receiving Physical Therapy or Feeding Therapy. He does continue to see Occupational Therapy to address some of his sensory issues (mostly texture sensitivity with his hands), and we are also working on transitioning to more age-appropriate activities, such as drinking from a cup and potty training. Henry had a speech evaluation a few weeks ago which revealed his speech is age appropriate and his receptive speech is close to that of a 3 ½ yr old. I never doubted that he understands most of what we say!

Stewart is doing well. He is half-way through the 2nd grade and working on activities far beyond what I learned at his age! He is developing writing skills, excels in math and is currently working on fractions, and is coming along with his reading skills. He is currently reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Of course, he continues to play and excel at soccer! However, his latest interest has been in football. Unfortunately, his size will not lead him to a football career, but he enjoys watching professional football and playing with his friends in the backyard. Stewart is usually our healthy kid, but had Strep Throat for the first time and also an ear infection.

Due to some company downsizing, I got laid off from my job in November. I don’t necessarily consider this to be a bad thing. I had been with the company for six years, and over the past 2 years there have been several changes, including a buy-out and management changes/re-organizations. When I started at the company six years ago, I traded a 5 minute commute for a 45 minute commute and it was well worth the drive. I was proud of my work, proud of the company’s product, enjoyed my management and all those I worked with. Things have changed quite a bit over the years and a 45 minute drive with three kids at home has become too much. Fortunately, I’m getting a good severance package that gives me time to look for a better fit closer to home. It also gives me more time at home with Callie and keeps her out of daycare a little longer. And the good news is that I’ve just received an excellent offer for a position with another company!

Will is also doing well. He has enjoyed playing indoor soccer, which is fun and helps keep him healthy! Work is busy as usual! He has had several sinus infections over the past few months and his doctor is working hard to keep him healthy.

Christmas was nice! Stewart really enjoyed the holidays this year and “Mr. and Mrs. Santa” had to work a bit harder this year to keep the magic. Hopefully, the excitement and surprises will continue on for a few more years!

The kids got a special treat last weekend! We headed over to the airport for lunch in the café located within the General Aviation building. This is something we do on occasion because the back of the building is covered with windows and overlooks the private jets and one of the runways. On this particular occasion, a big jet was pulled up right to the building’s balcony (close enough to wave to the pilots) and loading up the Carolina Hurricanes as they headed off to Boston! Stewart got to wave to his favorite player, Eric Staal, as well as the coach and several other players. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to see Cam Ward who must’ve gotten on the plane before we arrived. We also got to see the plane take off!

Apologies again for the overdue update and the length of this post! I truly will try to post more often! Here’s a link to some of our pictures over the last several months: http://picasaweb.google.com/106909865050408173991