Never a dull moment...

Will and I have quickly learned that with three kids in the house... there is never a dull moment! (Or free time!)

Stewart was tracked out for most of March and enjoyed soccer camp at XL Soccer World. He must feel like he lives there because he spends all day there Monday through Friday, and then goes for games and practices! Will also plays on an adult league at XL. Most of the time his games are late in the evenings, but we all got to watch him play the other night at an earlier game time. It was a tie game, but we did get to see Will score a goal and also take a ball to the face! He was OK! Stewart just started practices for the Morrisville outdoor soccer league. It'll be a nice change of pace and give us a chance to enjoy the Spring weather. Stewart went back to school this week for his last 9-weeks of 2nd grade! Unfortunately, his teacher retired after the last 9-wks, so he will have a new teacher for the remainder of the year. This has been concerning for us because Stewart was also placed with a new teacher halfway through his 1st grade year. Consistency is important, and given that he is the youngest in his class (due to his birthday being the previous school cut-off date), we want to make sure that he is fully prepared for the 3rd grade. Will and I will be following up with his new teacher to ensure that Stewart is where he needs to be at the end of this school year.

Callie had her 6 month check-up with the pediatrician in early March. She is doing fantastic! She weighs about 11lbs and is about 23 inches long. She is still adjusting to daycare. She doesn't sleep as much at daycare as she does at home, but I think time will help. She did catch a cold, which is no surprise, and spent some good quality time at home with Mamaw for several days! She was also just diagnosed with her first ear infection this week, which was probably a result of the cold. The doctor said that if kids are over 6mo in age before getting their first ear infection that is usually a good sign that ear infections will not be problematic. However, we will be watching her closely because Henry did not get his first ear infection until he was over a year old and he ended up with tubes! Callie's personality is really starting to come out... she seems to be happy most of the time as long as she can SEE somebody! She absolutely adores Stewart! She smiles and laughs for Stewart more than anyone else! Developmentally, she is on-track for her adjusted age. She is 7 months, 6 months corrected. I expect that she'll start sitting on her own in the next month or so.

Henry had his 3-year check-up with the pediatrician in early March also. Although he hasn't put on much weight, he has grown about 4 inches over the past year, which is great! We are still concerned that he has not put on much weight. UNC has done a great job getting Henry on the right track, but it seems that we have gotten stuck in a rut and they can't seem to get past the fact that Henry no longer has a problem eating enough food. We are getting a second opinion from a different Pediatric GI in May.

Henry is scheduled for surgery next week. He has had a hernia since he was about 18 months old. The surgeon believes that it is an incisional hernia resulting from the initial placement of the G-tube (which of course, he no longer has). While the surgeon is fixing the hernia he will also take a look at Henry's stomach. There is concern that when his stomach healed after removal of the G-tube that it may have adhered to the abdominal wall. This could cause his stomach to be mishapen which would not allow the sphincter muscle to completely close the gap between the esophogus and the stomach. This could be a potential cause for Henry's continuing issues with reflux and vomiting. The surgeon is also planning to investigate to determine if Henry needs surgical intervention to descend his testicles. It is not uncommon for preemie boys to take longer for the testicles to descend. The surgeon feels that Henry's will descend on their own, but it is easy for him to check while he is already operating.


I want to thank you all for your previous support in our fundraising efforts for the March of Dimes! We have decided to take a break this year and not participate in the walk; however, I do encourage you to continue to support the MOD. Although I will not be setting up a personalized MOD web page, we still plan to donate to the MOD through their NC chapter website. If you would like to support the MOD, please feel free to donate at http://www.marchofdimes.com/northcarolina and click on "Donate Locally Now." I'm already brainstorming fundraising ideas for the 2012 walk! Hopefully, our lives will be a bit calmer over the next year and I'll have a bit more time to do some MOD planning and organizing!

For those of you who have followed and prayed for my neighbor, Bryan, I wanted to let you know that he lost his battle with brain cancer yesterday. This is a difficult time for his wife, daughters, and extended family, all of whom have been very active in his care over the last several months. If you are interested in donating to their cause, you can visit www.angelsamongus.org and select Team List on the lefthand side... then select Team Bryan.