Busy

Connor decided last week that he wanted a tent. So Dave put up his old tent for the boys to play in.

As you can see, they were pretty excited. They even played together some!

Connor got out his sleeping bag and insisted on "napping" in it most afternoons last week. It's down now so we can get back to "napping" in his room!

(The tv niche that is too big and too small all at the same time.) We spent a few hours at IKEA on Sat, with a million other people, trying to figure out what we wanted to go in here.

This is what we decided on...now we need a new tv because this looks bad. Evan has a bad habit of messing with the buttons on the tv and now it's even lower! Right this minute he is going through the drawers pulling everything out I put in there last night while he was asleep.

I've spent a lot of time in the last week researching MTHFR and trying to find successful studies and treatment protocols...not a lot out there. It was just discovered in 1995 and they just recently started to do "studies". There are a lot of people out there that say that a certain, very aggressive, treatment protocol for pregnancy works, but they aren't official studies so many doctors are not following it. I am anxious to meet with my hematologist next week and OB the next week to see where they stand. I know that the specialist acted like it was no big deal and yet also seemed to be convinced that it contributed to the loss. I am trying to read all I can so I can be knowledgeable when I go in and ask for a certain treatment.

Evan is saying lots more words these days. He spends much of his day following me around saying "MAMA" and "UP" which gets tiring. He puts all of his toys on his head and says "hat." He says "more" and "all done." One of his favorite games is still chase Sophie..which is pretty funny since she is so annoying. He says "dada" when he hears Dave coming, but still shies away from him most times. His other favorite games is still "make Connor cry" which he does pretty well. NO is another favorite word too!

Connor is hooked on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse which in turn makes Dave and I crazy because the silly songs get stuck in your head. He likes to sing the songs and when he plays you can hear him repeating things from the show...it is kind of cute.

On Wednesday we are going to look at new school for Connor. We had decided to keep him where he is and then I walked past the older 3 yr old class that was working on letter names/sounds. I know this is too easy for Connor so I talked with his current teacher. She said that she would recommend Connor go into the younger 3s class because she feels he would fit better with that teacher. We don't want him to get bored and turned off or start causing problems..since he's working on spelling works and reading them. (He's starting to have some issues already of wandering away or just doing his own thing.) So we are going to look at a Montessori school that may let him work at his own pace a little more...only problem is he has to be completely potty trained to go to this new school! We've got some work to do!

Answers...Maybe?

We had another appointment with the specialist this week for a follow up of some blood work. We completely expected them to find nothing and to never have any idea of what happened to Sam. BUT...something came back. It turns out that I have a gene mutation called homozygous MTHFR C677T. So both of my parents were at least carriers of this mutated gene since I got two of them. This can cause blood clots and inhibits your body's ability to use folic acid correctly...both things that could have contributed to the loss. It can be treated with folic acid, b vitamins and baby aspirin daily...for the rest of my life. If we choose to get pregnant again then they will monitor me and the placenta.

It is a relief in some ways to have something that definitely supports our thoughts that it was a placenta problem. It's sad that there was nothing wrong with Sam and that he had to die for us to find this problem, but on the other hand he could have saved a lot of people in our family if others have this. And he saved me from possibly having other medical problems during and after pregnancy.

This genetic mutation was only recently discovered and there are varying answers on the best way to treat it. I had some more blood work done yesterday to now see if the mutation is affecting me. I am scheduled to see a hematologist in 2 weeks and then after that have an appointment with my OBGYN to discuss all that we found out and make a plan for the future.

It's been kind of interesting trying to look at both sides of my family and see who may have had it also (anyone with heart attack or stroke because it can cause atherosclerosis). I have strongly encouraged my mother, sister and uncle to be tested to see if they are carriers and therefore at higher risk of these illnesses. I look forward to those results and that will help me put the pieces together too. I'll let you know more as i find it out.

Today

I'm a big boy and I sit at the table now! Still wearing the stethoscope!

Ready to go! Also notice the difference in hair between this pic and the next.

After my hair cut....I did a good job, but my brother cried so hard while he was getting his hair cut that I started to cry too because obviously something was wrong!

Aren't we cute?

Being silly!

So after 2 dr visits and another call to the dr...Evan has been diagnosed with Unilateral Laterothoracic Exanthem...a rash. It is rare and not contagious. Average age of onset is 2 and twice as likely for a girl to have it as a boy. He has a horrible rash on his left side from his elbow to the top of his thigh...and today it started on the other side (hence the phone call to the dr). They have no specific cause but they think it's viral (not sure which one) and on average it takes 5 weeks to heal but can take 4 months! This is his 2nd "rare" condition in his short 15 months. We are going to be at the dr a lot with this one I think!

We got a call from the specialist's office today concerning Sam's testing. They found no chromosomal abnormalities. I had some blood drawn (some = 11 vials!!!) yesterday. Hopefully they will have the results back for my appt next week....one month after the procedure.

Funny...Dave was in Buffalo this past weekend for a family wedding. He got back in late Sunday night. He got up Monday morning as usual and when he got to work he found out that no one else had come in because it was a holiday! Oops!

Sophie and Bodie have discovered that it's ok to play together! We had hoped this would happen but now that it has we are regretting it. Sophie barks her head off the entire time and Bodie jumps around like a lunatic. They run into lamps and kids and leave dog hair all over the place in large quantities! Then sometimes Bodie will turn on Marley..then the game's over because she'll chase him down!

Evan is 15 Months

Evan had his 15 month check up yesterday....which took forever! He was 31 inches (50%) and 24.15lbs (55%) and his head was in the 90th%! He had a rash on one side of his belly and under his arm...not sure what that was about.

He talks all the time now. He attempts to say anything and even though it doesn't always sound like what it should you can tell what he's saying (when you have visual reference) by the syllables. He's working on animals sounds...he's got woof, rahr, quack, moo, neigh and maybe an oink every once in a while. Of course NO is his favorite word!

He loves to take anything his brother has away from him. He got to meet the Time -Out spot on his birthday because I caught him crawling on the kitchen table..which he did to steal his brother's hot chocolate. He did it 3 times! Also he threw Connor to the ground the other night when the neighbor girls were at the door because he wanted to see out. He's rough and is going to get what he wants no matter what!

His other favorite hobby is following me around crying to be picked up. He does this non-stop and if Dave's asks him if he can take him, he says "NO" and shakes his head. He just wants to be with his Mama all the time...except when there's something to climb on!

He's a sweet boy too! He loves to give hugs and kisses...especially to Elmo and anything with a dog on it! He goes to bed easily and sleeps all night and takes a nap during the day. He runs to the laundry room when you say "Time to feed the dogs" (where their bowls are kept). He runs to the stairs when you say time for bed or a bath. He understands so much it's amazing! Can't wait to see him grow into a sweet little boy!

Krismas

Connor had a cookie with some icing on it...tough to eat when you're 2!

Look the stockings have presents in them! The night before Dave was trying to read the Night Before Christmas to the boys..who weren't really paying any attention. So when he finished Connor told him that he had better turn off the fire and put the stockings back up right (assuming he meant so Santa could come)...guess he was paying attention!

Bodie got a nice big bone which he promptly tried to take outside...but it was too big to fit out the dog door! He eventually figured it out (or I opened the door) then he came back in when he was finished and helped the other two dogs polish off theirs too..presumably without asking.

A pirate ship! The night before we'd tried to get Connor to write a letter to Santa...but all he said he wanted was letters and a treasure chest...we got lucky with those two requests!

Evan worked hard to figure out how to get into big brother's new play-doh!

The boys had a nice Krismas (we found this spelling on The Meming of Life blog and we think it represents our approach). It took FOREVER to open presents and we really tried to make it a small Krismas...not too many presents at all. But they wanted to open and play with each one and then we had to stop for breakfast after a few and it literally took 2 hours just to open them all (and really this picture shows most of them). Connor played straight through until 4pm and then crawled into a corner by the couch and collapsed. They had lots of fun and definitely enjoyed the day.

The dogs were exhausted too!

Every time you turn around Evan has run off, climbed up on the chair and is trying to bust into the computer. He has almost figured out the mouse and is working on cracking our passwords! He's exhausting these days..and he just laughs when you tell him NO! He got to meet the Time Out spot on Friday...which was his 15 month birthday!

Evan got a vet kit that had this stethoscope in it. He has been wearing it like this since Friday (it's Tuesday now and he's still wearing it).

Practice Video

Here's Connor spelling his name and he was able to write the first 3 letters by himself this morning! Big day!

Pics

The boys playing at the park....Evan is mad that Connor is on the side he had been using and is trying to push him out of the way...Connor thinks it's funny!

Evan says...ok, maybe it is funny!

Connor working in his ABC book.

Evan wants to work at the table too. He can climb up onto the chairs now and esp likes to do it when no one is looking. He loves to stand in the chair.

Auntie Breezy and Josh were in town so we had a nice lunch with them! They gave the boys noisy toys...thanks A LOT!