Alex and Maddy

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Two months!

My days are so busy right now I am struggling to find anytime for myself and especially to blog!

Let me see where do I begin...Early in December we were invited to Breakfast with Santa by Make a Wish. We always enjoy our time with the MAW family. We feel so blessed to be included in their fun activities.
 
On December 19th, Alex had his next belt testing. he tested for his orange belt and did an awesome job. I love watching him devote himself to something and working hard to achieve his goals. The instructors love working with him and Bug loves them. They are so positive and encouraging. Joining Kick Tiger martial Arts has definitely been a highlight of this year for us. Alex was so worried about breaking his board, but succeeded on his first try.
 
Mimi and Pop-Pop came to visit for Christmas. We were so excited for them to arrive and counted down the days before their arrival. We loved having 8 days to enjoy each others company. they got some good time with their Bug. He went out with them a few times on his own and even had a sleepover at the hotel! Mimi and Pop-Pop also got to enjoy seeing Maddy's little personality starting to shine through. She was full of smiles. I was grateful to have Mimi's arms to share the snuggle time and give me a break. Pop-Pop also helped Bruce fix some things around the house which was so helpful to us.
 
The kids had an awesome Christmas. One of the highlights was Santa coming to our house on Christmas Eve. I wish you could have seen the expression on Alex's face when he answered the door. We also laughed watching Maddy.  She loved Santa. She was just grinning at him. Alex says maddy is the best Christmas present. I have to agree.


















(Somehow we had no pictures of Pop-Pop. Sorry Pop-Pop)
 
Mimi and Pop-Pop left on New Years Eve. It is always so hard to say goodbye. We desperately wish we lived closer to family and they could enjoy the kids on a more regular basis. I love watching the love between the kids and their grandparents.
 
Medically speaking we are doing okay. Alex had an MRI of his liver on December 20th. I was so proud of him as he did it unsedated for the first time and was a champ. He was so brave. he amazes me daily with his incredible spirit. We are struggling once again to get his nutrition at a better place. He has been very fatigued over the past month.  We are unsure whether it is the leftover issues from being sick or nutrition based, but we are working to try and get it sorted out. Otherwise, he is doing well.
Maddy turned 2 months old on December 31st. We had her 2 month check up. She weighed 9 lb 2 oz. She is really becoming more alert. She is a mama's girl. She loves to be held and is full of smiles. She is meeting all of her milestones. We are still trying to get a grasp on her reflux. Poor baby really hurts some days. And holding this child without a burp cloth is not advised! She loves her brother and he continues to be the BEST big brother. He must kiss her a thousand times a day.
 
I think that gets us caught up! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and that the New Year is every thing you hope for.
Ali

Monday, December 9, 2013

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Update on both kiddos

First our official birth announcement for Maddy!



These beautiful photos were taken by Heather at Heather Parker Photography. She was awesome to work with and got soe beautiful pictures. I will post a fe more at the end of this blog.

Now for an update on my best boy...As most of you know he spiked a fever of 104.9 on Sunday and wound up being airlifted from Cook Children's ER to Houston. His doctors were pretty concerned when he arrived in Houston as he did not look well. Our initial thoughts were that he had either sepsis from a line infection or pancreatitis. Luckily, he made a fairly quick turn around and has parainfluenza. He is still not feeling great. His temp was back up to 101 yesterday and he has a pretty nasty cough that started last night. We are watching him closely. We are sp grateful for the long stretch we have had without needing to be hospitalised. We are praying this is just a small bump in the road and that we will have another long stretch infection free!
We are also trying to once again get him nutritionally sound. After several months of him looking and feeling great he has declined over the past few months. He has not gained any weight since last February and he is once again deficient in several vitamins/minerals. Unfortunately, the special prescription vitamins that he was on that he actually absorbs have been backordered. We are working hard with our Gi to find an alternative and get him feeling great again!

While we were at the pediatrician following up on Alex today, we weighed Maddy. She has gained a full pound in the past 2 weeks. She is now 7 lb 14 oz! Woohoo! We are continuing to struggle with reflux and both our pediatrician and allergist are pretty sure she is reacting to something I am eating so I am having to change my diet in order to keep her as healthy as possible.

Alex is gearing up for his next belt testing in Taekwondo. We are continuing to enjoy our break from school while we relish this time to enjoy our new baby. We will restart right after Christmas. Grandpa was hear visiting for Thanksgiving and we are excited for Mimi and PopPop to come for Christmas so it is pretty busy around here!

Here are some more pictures from the past 2 weeks as well as some from Maddy's photo shoot:
















Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us over the past few weeks.
Love,
Ali