Jessica celebrated her birthday tonight with many of her Beehive friends. They watched "The Return to Zarahemla", had sodas, ate popcorn, pizza rolls, and cheese sticks. But mostly they just hung out, playing games and giggling. Great girls!


She wanted a Sushi cake and since she's a realist she knew I would not be the one to make it for her. :) So, she made it herself. It was her first time playing with fondant. I think she did a great job!

Baby Ryan's New Chair

One of our amazing therapists recommended a Bumbo chair for Ryan to help strengthen his core muscles and to allow us to work on his grasp. I was skeptical but we bought one. He only tolerates the chair for a minute or two, but he looks SOOO cute, doesn't he?


Ryan gets tired pretty easily when holding up his head. So, in the next picture you'll see Daddy gently helping to support the weight of his head.

Happy Birthday Dwight & Jessica!

As you probably know, Jessica and Dwight share the same birthday. It was planned that way ... well, not from the VERY beginning, but from the time that we knew she would be delivered via c-section. Dr Nelson and Dwight scheduled the c-section around the Grateful Dead concert. (Priorities, right?) Dwight liked the idea of sharing his birthday with Jessica. He says then he just has to look at his license to remember when her birthday is. Perhaps I should create a little business card with the rest of our birthdates, laminate it and put it in his wallet. (Maybe I should include our anniversary too ... if only I could remember it.)

Anyway ... so Jessica turned 14 today! I love this 14 year old girl. She's really great! If this is "the terrible teens", I can't wait for the other kids to get there. I could not wish for a better daughter, a kinder person, or a more loveable child. I am very blessed!

Check out ALL those candles!

You should have seen all the smoke ... and yes, he almost did it in just one breath. He is an amazing man ... not just cause he has a huge lung capacity, but he's a great Mann. giggle giggle. He is a wonderful father, a caring partner, an excellent provider and a very thoughtful sweetheart! I am truly blessed!

Jacob was very excited to give Jessica his gift and to see her open her presents!

Johnathon and Deborah were also excited. When Deborah finally got that it wasn't her birthday, she ran to the livingroom to see if the tree was back. I suppose she was hoping that there might be more presents for her. She eventually accepted that the gifts were for Jessica and Daddy, and she decided to play with "John John" instead.

We all had a great day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today has been a super fun day with friends, as you can tell from the above picture!
More pictures coming soon... and I'll tell you all about our day!

To: Mom and Dad

I added some new posts tonight, but keep scrolling down and you'll see the video that I told you about. Make sure your sound is on and then click on it. I'm sure you'll enjoy it! Love you!

All About Jessica

It's tough to get a picture of Jessica, and when I do there's typically a book or a sketch pad covering her face.


But today I managed a couple of shots!


I took Jessica and her friend to the Gallery Night at Jessica's art school. Unfortunately, it was a special fund raiser night so all the art had been donated by community artists. I was hoping to see some of Jessica's work. Oh, well... After we finished at the Gallery, we went to Freddy's and they had some frozen custard. As you can tell, they were very giggly girls.

This is the "challenge" sweater project that I've been working on for a while now. I have finished all the knitting and now I'm just adding the finishing touches. Then I will sew the sleeve seams and it will be done. I'm a little sad to finish this project as it has been challenging, fun, and rewarding. Deborah is SO excited about it. It's a size 18-24 months, but it won't fit the little lady until next fall.

It speaks for itself...

Incredible!

Jacob has been so great lately that I decided to surprise him with a night out with his friend. We picked up his friend and went to Incredible Pizza for their unlimited games night. The boys had a great time and I enjoyed some uninterrupted knitting.


(Notice the evil eyes? They really aren't evil kids, but those eyes do look pretty possessed!)

HAPPY GROUNDHOG'S DAY!

Today is such an important day. Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow on Gobbler's Knob? How will you be celebrating today?

You can learn more about it ... if you don't already have a great appreciation for it, at:

http://www.groundhog.org/about/history.php

Knitting and Time Management

I know I don't have time, but lately the knitting bug has really bitten me again. I finished Ryan's little striped sweater, have almost completed Deborah's gingham sweater (my challenge), and have started working again on Deborah's cabled tennis sweater. A reasonable person might think that's enough with everything else going on right now, but apparently I am not reasonable. I also started the pattern work on a size 12-18 month cabled hooded sweater in a beautiful deep red.

And, as if that's not enough ... I've started to reconsider the idea of working a "Master Knitter Certification". Sounds really geeky, right? But, I would learn so much. Plus I love the idea of having experts critique my work.

Since I can't knit while I nurse ... Ryan won't tolerate it ... I tried, I have started reading knitting stuff online. This morning I came across a GREAT website. It's not for light reading as it is really the technical stuff about knitting... just what I LOVE! In case you're interested...
http://techknitter.blogspot.com/2007/02/alphabetical-index-for.html

Deborah, Ryan, and I are all home from church today with what may be a cold. However, I'm beginning to think I may have a flu. Not fun.


And, since I'm just jabbering away ... 2 cute little Deborah stories. Last night we went shoe shopping for the boys. (Can you believe David wears a men's size 6 and Jacob's in a men's size 7. Maybe that doesn't seem so big to some of you normal sized people ... but I wear abt a 3-5 in children's. So I think they have HUGE feet!) When we were finished shopping, we went to a sandwich shop for dinner. I was standing next to the stroller with Ryan in it. Deborah walked over and started pushing me away saying, "My Ryan. Back off. My Ryan." Cute, right? Well, it was cute when she told the kids to back off or strangers, but me? Maybe not so cute. We've discussed it and now she's agreed that Ryan is hers and mine and Dad's. No one else's.

And, then last night ... as a reminder that she is 2, oh so very 2, she decided she brought me her pj's. They consisted of pair of play pants and her "Jack" shirt. (One of Deborah's favorite movies is the Nightmare Before Christmas. We made Halloween t-shirts this year and she calls hers the "Jack shirt.") Anyway ... thinking that perhaps that was all she could find clean, I got her a real pair of pj's to put on. Daddy started to dress her and she completely flipped out! "No, I want my Jack shirt!!!" And, since we're on our 6th child and in our 40's ... she was promptly put to bed ... in her Jack shirt. :)

Another little scholar

Ryan's new glasses arrived today. Cute, right?

Ryan's MRI

Ryan had his first MRI this morning. Our day started VERY early. Ryan wasn't supposed to nurse after 6 am. I had set my alarm for 5.30 am thinking that I could nurse him just before 6. But, Ryan apparently had other plans. He woke up at 5 am. I took my time changing his diaper in hopes of delaying his feeding, but he was finished nursing by 5.30 am and wouldn't nurse any more after that.

We left the house around 6.45 am and arrived at the hospital at about 8 am. We went downstairs to the pediatric radiology waiting room to register. After about 5 minutes, we were taken to the prep/recovery area. They weighed him (14 lbs) and took a medical history. I met with the anesthesiologist who decided that we would just try an IV sedation.

It took 5 ... yes, you read that correctly ... FIVE attempts and 1 1/2 hours to get the IV placed. It was heart-wrenching to watch as they pinned down his legs and arms, and pushed and twisted his little limbs in a desperate attempt to find his tiny veins. When they finally had the IV placed, he went straight to sleep before they even started the meds. The little guy was just exhausted from all the trauma.

They took him back to the MRI and of course I wasn't allowed to go with him. They said he'd be back in 30-45 minutes, but it was 65 minutes before he came back. He apparently slept through the MRI, but woke as they took him out of the MRI. He cried all the way back to the room, and as soon as picked him up he went right back to sleep.

We spent quite a while in the recovery room trying to get him to wake up enough to take some clear liquids. They couldn't discharge him until he had kept some of the clear liquid down for a while. We eventually got him to drink enough of the glucose water and to keep it down, so we were discharged.

We got home around 2.30 pm. He and I slept for about an hour. I was hoping for a little more sleep, but I'm glad to see that the sedative seems to have worn off completely. I'm thankful that the ladies were eventually able to get the IV placed and Ryan was able to have the MRI done.

Now we wait ... about 62 more hours ...

Fun flash back

I was showing Deborah pictures of her today as a baby. When I saw this one it made me smile. And, Deborah was so impressed with herself. "Me read book!" Deborah was 6 months old when this picture was taken.

EEG, Geneticist Appt, and a Sweater

We started this morning bright and early with an EEG. Ryan was a real champ! He slept through the whole thing and gave them a perfect reading on the first attempt. We will find out the results next Monday when we meet with the Neurologist again.

This afternoon we had an appointment with the legendary Geneticist. He's great and we really appreciated him. He was reviewed the results of the Chromosome Microarray with us ... normal, no problems diagnosed. After an extensive history and thorough exam, he feels that the next step is to see what the MRI reveals to us. He's going to personally view the MRI on Monday and will give us a call Monday afternoon.

So, Friday is Ryan's next appointment. Hopefully, he'll sleep through the MRI also and we'll be able to avoid having to sedate him.

And, on brighter notes... I finished his little sweater ... Just in the nick of time, too. I'm pleased with the results. It's a very handsome little sweater. I also ordered 2 new knitting books by Debbie Bliss, one of which has patterns for 3-10 year olds. I saw a cute little boy sweater in it and think I might make it for Johnathon for next winter. Speaking of knitting... I think I'll go do some now...

Oh, but first, one more picture ... Jessica took this picture of Ryan and I sitting on the couch tonight. I know ... I look exhausted (becaused I am tonight), but look at Ryan. Doesn't he look like such a big boy?

Neurologist Appointment

My Notes: Possibly cortical dysplasia? Especially interested in viewing the midline brain structure and the lower brain structure, specifically below the thalamus. Could be minor hydrocephalus... slight possibility. Ryan orients to the light. The light is getting in. Dr Seals does not think it's true amblyopia but probably perceptive amblyopia.

The pet. hem/calcifications identified on the CT Scan & Ultrasound in the NICU are definitely "artifact".

Diagnosis: Encephalopathy

The Neurologist Appointment

I met the Neurologist today. This Neurologist came highly recommended and I liked him a lot. He was very kind, but obviously incredibly talented/knowledgeable. I took him a well-organized set of all of Ryan's medical records. (He has a lot for a 5 month old baby.) It was super helpful to have the records and especially helpful that I was so familiar with them.

He spent a lot of time, probably an hour, going through Ryan's health history and asking me questions. Then he spent another 1/2 hour or so examining Ryan. He ordered an EEG for tomorrow and an MRI of Ryan's brain for Friday. He would have liked to have done the MRI earlier; however, it takes 2-3 days to get the approval from our insurance company. He didn't want to spend a lot of time talking about the possible diagnosis until we have the test results back.

So, it was pretty much what we anticipated ... he ordered more tests. We have EEG on Tuesday, and the MRI on Friday. Then we see the Neurologist again on Monday.

I am thankful for a friend who is a Neurosurgeon, and for his recommendation in finding this Pediatric Neurologist. I am thankful to have immediate confidence in his knowledge. I am thankful that there are so many wonderful men and women who are willing to sacrifice so much to attend medical schools. They are such a blessing in our lives. I am especially thankful that the men and women who have assisted us with Ryan's health concerns have been so kind and good to us. It sure makes our lives much easier.

Tomorrow's the Day

I was visiting a website I had bookmarked a while ago, and came across the following statement. I can't imagine being able to pen what I'm feeling better than this. Tonight I don't want to go to sleep because I suspect the morning is going to be hard. But, anyway, here's what it says:

I remember the pain of the unknown, I still have it. How does someone overcome it - or do we just learn to accept it? These feelings are still fresh, but the sting isn't as painful. There is hope, and things do get better. If you are just starting this journey - remember that! You will find a way to survive and make it through. Your child is still the little child that will always lay their head on your shoulder and look into your eyes and give you that awesome feeling. They didn't ask for any of this, but it is our job as their parents to help them through it. You will still have your dreams; they will just need to be adjusted. You'll wake up from the nightmare and you will just dream new, more fulfilling dreams.

You are not alone.

(Thanks to: http://djmsprangerwelcome.blogspot.com/)

Tomorrow's the Day

Tomorrow morning we have our appointment with the Neurologist. I suspect he will just order tests, but I am anxious. It's going to be an even busier week this week than last.