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.

School Evaluation, Potty Training, and more testing…

We met with the school system last week to discuss Henry’s recent developmental evaluation and his eligibility (or need) for special pre-school services. It was determined that Henry does not qualify for additional services beyond his normal preschool setting. This does not mean, however, that Henry does not have any developmental delays. It simply means that his delays do not impact his ability to learn or function in typical day-to-day activities. In other words, he should achieve all his milestones in his own time without the need for intervention. Delays were noted in the areas of Adaptive Behavior, Social-Emotional, and Physical. In regards to Adaptive Behavior, delays were noted concerning self-care/self-help skills, such as feeding (use of a cup, utensils), dressing, and potty training. In regards to Social-Emotional, delays were noted concerning Henry’s difficulty in vocalizing his frustrations as well as his hesitation to fully participate in group activities with his peers. As far as physical delays, Henry has reached all his milestones, but has poor body strength and is not as well balanced as other 2-3 year olds. The good news is that Henry was considered average (consistent with his peers) in cognitive and communication skills. So after this week, Henry will no longer be receiving any more therapies.

Overall, Will and I are very pleased with the outcome of the evaluation. We suspected that Henry would not qualify for additional services. In regards to his delays, we expected that his feeding skills would be behind, but considering the obstacles and difficulty he has had to overcome with his allergy and GI condition, he has made progress with feeding in leaps and bounds! We also feel that it is Henry’s personality to prefer to play alone some of the time. Henry has always been this way, even as an infant. We are very happy that his speech is on target. He has made noticeable progress in his speech abilities since getting the tubes in his ears in September. In fact, a recent hearing screening revealed that he no longer has moderate hearing loss, which can be contributed to the drainage of fluid allowed by the tubes. And as far as the physical delays, Henry has come a long way from 1lb, 10oz!!

Henry has very little interest in potty training despite the fact that he know exactly what he’s supposed to do. How do I know this? Here’s a conversation Henry and I had the other day about potty training:
Me, as I was changing his poopy diaper, “Did you go poop in your diaper?”
Henry, “Yes.”
Me, “Did you go poop in the potty?”
Henry, “No.”
Me, “Does Mommy poop in the potty?”
Henry, “Yes.”
Me, “Should Henry poop in the potty?”
Henry, “Yes.”

And this weekend I thought I smelled something as Henry was playing quietly in the living room, so I asked him, “Henry, are you pooping?” He jerked his head up with a huge smile on his face like I had caught him doing something wrong and says, “No! Be quiet!” LOL!!!! Almost every time I ask him if he wants to sit on the potty he responds, “Nope.” I’ve even offered to let him wear underwear, which he declines. Up until now we haven’t pushed him to potty train because things have been so hectic adjusting to three kids! But I’m really starting to get tired of having two kids in diapers and changing poopies! I think we may need to get firm with him and have a potty weekend!

So I was going to try and post more often about the fun stuff and less about the medical stuff, but unfortunately, the medical stuff is such a large part of our lives. In my January update I commented that Henry hasn’t gained any weight since getting the tubes in his ears in September. He has gained a few ounces, but nothing significant and we are still confused as to how he can eat so much but not gain weight. And although the vomiting doesn’t occur with the frequency it used to, it just isn’t normal for a child to vomit so easily and as often as Henry does. In fact, Henry had a cold last week and over the course of 5 days vomited at least 10 times. We spoke with his Pulmonologist last week and agreed that it would be worth getting him tested for Cystic Fibrosis. CF is an inherited disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. My previous knowledge about CF was that it seemed to be more of a disease that impacted the lungs. Since Henry hadn’t had any serious issues w/ his lungs, I had dismissed CF as a potential issue. I was not aware that CF can also have a significant impact on the digestive system. And now that we’ve learned how important the Flovent inhaler is for Henry’s health, we now have a “lung” component in addition to the many digestive issues Henry has. Of course, there are other potential reasons for Henry’s low weight and Flovent needs… it could be a combination of his allergy, Eosinophilic Gastritis, and the fact that most of my side of the family is small stature (especially my paternal side). In addition, Will suffers from asthma and the Flovent could just be the first signs of a potential asthma diagnosis later. However, we decided that the CF test, which is not evasive, is a potential diagnosis that we’d like to rule out. Henry visited UNC this week for the test and the results were normal… he does NOT have CF. By the way, just thought I’d mention that CF is now included in the newborn screening for NC and was not at the time Henry was born in 2008.

Just some other tidbits about our day-to-day activities! Stewart’s teacher will be retiring in March, so he will have a new teacher for the last 9-wks of the 2nd grade. We have signed Stewart up for the Spring outdoor soccer season (in addition to his continued involvement with indoor soccer at XL Soccer World). Henry has broken our TV. It was working every now and then, but it appears that the frequent toddler abuse is taking its toll and it hasn’t worked for several days now! Callie is doing well! She is now about 9lb, 14oz and is eating great! She is also sleeping through the night! However, with 3 kids, it isn’t uncommon for at least one of them to have some kind of issue at some point during the night! I start my new job on Monday, February 28th! Right now we’re getting ready for Henry’s 3rd birthday this weekend! We took some video of the boys reading books together the other night… they were so cute! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quPzgjHZkEA


Please say a prayer for my neighbor’s family, Bryan, Sherrie, Emily and Rachel. Bryan has been fighting brain cancer (Glioblastoma Multiforme) since July 2009. An MRI last week indicated that Bryan’s battle may soon be over. Bryan and Sherrie have been our neighbors for almost 8 years and we have enjoyed watching their girls grow up and occasionally chatting outside on nice days. We are praying they find strength and comfort in their family and friends during this difficult time.

Toddler Attitude!

As promised, I plan to try and blog more! And I thought it would be fun to talk a little more about some of our day to day activities instead of always being so “informative” on health issues.

Stewart was funny yesterday morning. He told us it was February 2nd, and I responded that it’s Groundhog Day. Then Will said that it would probably be Spring soon because he didn’t think the groundhog would see his shadow. Stewart said, “Do I have to go to school?” Funny!

Yesterday did not quite turn out to be the day I planned. Since I’m starting a new job at the end of the month, I needed to complete my drug test. My plan was to run to the lab and then take Callie to relax at Starbucks. Well, she insisted that she’d rather eat first by screaming in the car. After circling the Starbucks three times, I finally got a parking space. Being the social baby she is, she immediately stopped screaming once she could see me. So we relaxed at Starbucks for a bit and had breakfast together. Then off to the lab. Apparently, there are people out there who will do anything to pass a drug test, including things like ringing baby pee out of their own child’s diapers. So I had to call Will to come and sit with Callie since they wouldn’t let me take her back with me.

Later, while sitting in the Smithfield’s drive thru, I got a call that Henry needed to be picked up from daycare because they thought he might have pink eye. Of course, I needed to pump after my long morning out (and eat at the same time… good thing I can multitask!). So Will picked up Henry and dropped him off at home. At the urgent care, Henry decided to fall apart in an overtired, toddler meltdown because the train tracks in the waiting room wouldn’t go together the way he wanted them to. This meltdown continued the entire time we were there with a few breaks, thanks to the red light on the pulse-ox and the green sucker (which created another meltdown because the sucker was sticky). Sigh. Of course, we love to support our local town pharmacist, but it only goes with the day that she would be out of the antibiotic drops the doctor prescribed. So yet another script transferred across the street to the chain pharmacy.

Once home, I told Henry that we needed to go upstairs and take a nap. My overtired almost 3-year old slammed the baby gate shut, crossed his little arms, and glared at me! I couldn’t help myself! I immediately bust out laughing! Too bad I didn’t have my camera ready to catch that attitude!

Callie started giggling this weekend! Grandpa Stu got her started and then it seemed like she was giggling for everyone! So cute! She weighs 9lb, 2oz! Yay, Callie!

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

Pictures!!!

As promised, I've finally got some pictures together for sharing! After spending way too many hours on this site unsuccessfully trying to get the pictures uploaded and laid out, I finally resorted to Photobucket. Please visit: http://s727.photobucket.com/albums/ww271/patnaud/Callie%20and%20the%20Boys%20Sept%202010/

Apparently, blogspot is not user friendly when it comes to posting more than just a few pictures. So to give everyone a "taste" of what's at the link, here are a couple of my favorites!

Callie is doing well at home. We are still getting adjusted and trying to set up routines, which have been a bit disrupted for everyone! She is eating and gaining weight well, averaging about 1/2 pound a week! She is now over 4 1/2lbs.

Henry is doing well. It's been a month since the tubes were placed in his ears and he hasn't had any ear infections! He has been a bit jealous of Callie and we are dealing with some typical 2-year old behavior (throwing, biting, hitting, etc!).

Stewart is also doing well. He started back at school last week after being tracked out. Stewart's 7th birthday is in a week and we are getting ready for a big soccer birthday party!

I love this time of the year! October is usually a busy month for us... Stewart's birthday, the NC Fair, corn mazes, Halloween! And the weather is turning beautiful!

Homecoming!!!

Callie came home on Monday, September 20th, weighing a whopping 3lb, 8oz! She was 20 days old and a day shy of 38 weeks gestation. She has been doing well at home. It has been a bit of an adjustment for her getting used to a new environment (temperature, noises, etc). Her feeding volumes have dropped slightly as she seems to loose energy during feeding, but it is probably due to the energy she is using adjusting to home! We did take her to the pediatrician’s office Tuesday and she weighed in at 3lb, 10oz. Hopefully, in a couple of days she’ll start adjusting and picking up her volumes.

Since Callie is so tiny and still adjusting to home, we are trying to keep things quiet and easy for her. Although we would love to have visitors, we’d like to keep things quiet for a few weeks to allow her to adjust, as well as put on some weight and build up her immune system. Although the weather is nice and illnesses are not as frequent, Callie’s immune system is very fragile and her low weight would make it very difficult for her to fight off even a slight cold. Please remember, RSV season technically begins in October (although people can still pick up the virus any time of the year!). Due to Callie’s gestational age at birth, she will probably not qualify for the RSV vaccine (Synagis). As many of you remember, Henry got RSV while still in the NICU in late April of 2008 (the end of RSV season). He weighed about 4 ½ lbs at the time and was significantly impacted by the virus, which caused him to be on a ventilator for 5 days and extend his NICU stay by several weeks while he recovered. Obviously, keeping illness away is quite a challenge with two brothers in school/daycare! So, we have been practicing LOTS of hand washing, changing clothes, coughs and sneezes away from the baby, etc!!

Callie will have several appointments over the next several months. Next week she will have an appointment to examine her eyes for maturity and ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). ROP is more likely in babies who require oxygen support after birth; however, babies who are smaller than their gestational age are also required to be examined. Callie will also have another pediatrician appointment next week to check her weight and perform some follow-up labs. She will receive her 2-month vaccinations in November. Callie will also be followed by Wake Med’s Special Infant Care Clinic (SICC) to ensure that she is gaining weight and developing appropriately. Like Henry, Callie also qualifies for services through Wake County’s Early Intervention (EI) program. We will be meeting with her case manager next month.

The boys are very excited about Callie’s homecoming! Stewart is very interested in Callie and is very concerned with her well-being. Henry is also very interested in Callie and needs to be reminded to be “gentle!” Callie’s new bedroom is coming together well, with the new lavender walls adding a touch of “girl” to the house!

Henry seems to be doing well after having the tubes placed in his ears. He has picked up a cold and was complaining that his ear hurt this morning. Sigh… we’ll have the doctor check his ears today. We heard from his GI nurse practitioner last week that the biopsy results from his endoscopy are clear! What good news and such a relief! This means that Henry has been tolerating the small amounts of dairy he has been getting through occasional foods like pancakes (or “ca’cakes” as Henry calls them!). We haven’t heard what his allergy results are yet, but should know early next week. We are hoping that his allergy levels have decreased, indicating that he will likely grow out of his dairy allergy! We are keeping our fingers crossed!

Sorry, no pictures this time!!! I’ll try to post some in a few days!

A Time to Brag!

Everybody is doing very well!

Callie is 2 weeks old, or 37 weeks gestation. She is still in her isolette due to her small size. Although she is maintaining her own temperature well, the isolette is enclosed, which helps limit noise. Since Callie doesn’t have to “work” to filter out noise, the isolette helps her maintain her energy so that she can grow well each day. The isolette also helps her not work so hard to maintain her own temperature. Callie now weighs 3lbs, 3oz!!!

On Saturday, Callie decided she was done with her feeding tube… she pulled it out three times before the nurses finally decided to just leave it out. She has been taking her full feeds, which is now up to a minimum of 28mls (for reference, 30mls is 1oz), all by herself since Sunday! Callie and I have also been successfully breastfeeding! This is such an accomplishment, and a goal that I very much desired! Ignorance and poor nurse support ended my attempts to breastfeed Stewart. Henry and I rode the breastfeeding roller coaster from hell that ended with a screeching halt. Callie was quick to learn and has breastfed for many of her feedings!

Callie has had several lab tests over the past couple of days. Her bilirubin levels have resolved. Her red blood cell count is appropriate and she is making her own red blood cells. Will and I also requested that a Complete Blood Count (CBC) be taken. A CBC measures the concentration of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets in the blood. The test details the concentration of the various types of white blood cells, as well, including Eosinophils. We were interested in knowing if Callie’s Eosinophils were elevated, as high Eosinophil counts were the only sign of a problem with Henry when the cow’s milk allergy was first suspected. Fortunately, all of her counts were normal!

The neonatologists are very pleased with Callie’s progress. In order to go home, babies have to achieve four goals: 1) no apneas (pauses in breathing), 2) taking all feeds orally (no tube feedings), 3) gaining weight, and 4) maintain their own body temperature. Callie is successfully doing each of these things. Now she needs to do all of these things together. On Thursday, the plan is to move Callie to an open crib. Once this happens, she will need to show that she can maintain her own temperature, filter out noises, continue to take all her feeds orally, and continue to gain weight. Once she has successfully accomplished this for several days, we can go home! If she is able to do all of these things, she could go home as early as next week! We are very excited and proud of our little girl!

This picture of Callie was taken today and shows her typical sleeping position with her arm draped over her face! In fact, we were never able to get good ultrasound pictures of her face because her arm or hands were always in the way! I’ve been told that this was also the typical sleeping position of her Great Grandmother Callie, who she is named after! Here is a video link of Callie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb8pHbyQST0

Henry had surgery Monday at UNC for his ear tubes and endoscopy. The surgery went very well. The ENT observed a lot of fluid in Henry’s right ear and was able to drain much of it. She also looked at his adenoids and it was decided not to remove them at this time. The GI specialist observed normal looking esophagus, stomach, and intestines. Small biopsies were taken from each of these areas to be analyzed for Eosinophils. It will take a couple of weeks before we have the results. In addition, blood was taken to be analyzed for cow’s milk allergy, which will also take a couple of weeks for the results. Although the surgery was not scheduled until mid-afternoon, Henry recovered very well. He was running around playing with Stewart later that night! Prior to the surgery, Henry was given Versed to help relax and calm him. They should’ve given me some of that before my C-section!! Henry was quite the smiling, wobbly toddler! We couldn’t help but take a quick video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1WhfdI9w8E

Stewart is also doing well! His last day of his 1st nine weeks of 2nd grade finished up on Friday. He came home with a good report card! His teacher noted that he has mastered his math skills and needs to continue practicing reading and writing. He is enjoying soccer camp this week and we are looking into other types of camps for his remaining two weeks to try and vary his track out activities.