Wednesday, December 12, 2012

3 Year Stats

We just got home from Owen's 3 year check-up appointment with the pediatrician.  He is growing well and there are no concerns related to his general development..which is good!  I did question the pediatrician again about how he is digging/itching his ears all the time.  He assured me after checking them that they were fine.  Both canals looked good, though there was some ear wax in each of them.  He even checked the pressure and fluid level in his ears with a tympanogram.  He said that the left ear had a little bit of pressure, but that it was nothing to warrant any sort of intervention at this time...so we still have no explanation as to why he is itching his ears all the time.  I'm beginning to wonder if it has become a habit of some sort....who knows though....

Anyways...here are his stats:
Height: 39 inches-90%
Weight: 32 pounds-50%

Definitely no concerns with those:)  He is going to be a tall skinny boy!  We are finally going to move him to 2% milk too.  He is definitely a growing boy:)

Saturday, December 8, 2012

3rd Birthday Celebrations

Well...finally the birthday celebrations are over.  When all was said and done, Owen ended up with 4 parties!  It is crazy...with big families and scheduling conflicts, it was the way things ended up this year.  We thought about combining two (Tony's family and friends) but if we had it at our house it would be packed and it was just not quite enough people to justify renting a place....but we may consider it next year...I am pooped!  Every party was a pirate theme, so at least we could reuse some of the decorations:)  He was all about singing happy birthday, blowing out the candles, and licking the cakes!

Party 1:
Was at my mom's house for that side of the family.
My aunt made him an awesome pirate ship cake!  It had Jake, Captain Hook and the Tic Tock Croc:)  He loved it!  Action shot of him blowing out the candles!

Opening presents.

My brother and sister-in-law got him a chainsaw.  He kept walking around saying "I'm a sawing man!"
Party 2:
Was at our house for Tony's family.
I bought the cake for this party...notice the finger:)

Dalton and Owen having a good time....notice the blue lips!

He got a scooter...so he was helping Daddy and Nick put it together.

Putting his new cape to good use:)  He got the hang of the scooter pretty quick!
Party 3:
Was at my great aunts house.  She does parties for all the kids and even some adults!  It is a tradition:)
This is the best picture of the cake.  It's a pirate:)  Notice the hand trying to keep his fingers out of the cake!

He got a Jake computer!  He is all about the pirates!
Party 4 (the final one!!):
Was at our house for friends!  Just about everyone has kiddos now...or are about to have them!  Seriously just about every one of our friends is pregnant or just had a baby.  I tried to throw my first "theme" party...and I even made the cake:)
First the kiddos made "treasure maps."  Every pirate has to know where to find the treasure!
Notice the 3 preggos too!
Then they decorated treasure chests.  Every pirate needs a place to put their treasure:)

Next they got to dig for treasure:)  I borrowed a rice bin from one of my occupational therapy friends to "bury" their treasure in.  This is Owen and Leah looking for treasure:)
Owen and Jackson digging:)

My big 3-year-old boy with his cake:)  Daddy helped with the skull and crossbones and mommy did the rest.  We think it turned out cute...and he knew what it was, so that was all that mattered!
 I again can't believe that my baby is 3!  The time seriously does fly....next thing I know I'll be posting about his 4th birthday:(


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

A Third Letter

Dear Owen,
I cannot believe that you will be 3 tomorrow!  Where has the time gone?  It seems like every year of your life has gone faster than the previous one...and I want them to slow down!  You are definitely a little boy now and not so much a baby anymore.  You are potty trained (although you still have an accident every now and then) and talking up a storm.  It's getting harder for me to remember you as a baby and you remind me almost daily that you are "getting bigger":)  You are definitely a "momma's boy" and I can't tell you how happy that makes me, but sometimes it makes daddy sad when you choose me over him.  I love to hear your little voice call my name because it reminds me that you do still need me.  Your daddy and I talk almost everyday about how happy we are that you are in our lives.  Daddy tells me often that he is so glad I was persistent in our efforts to bring you into our lives because he can't imagine our life without you in it, and I have to agree.  I can't believe how much joy you have brought us in 3 short years and I can't wait to see what is still in store for us.  You are everything (and more) that I could have ever hoped, wished, or dreamed for.  Thank you for completing my life.
I love you so much!
Love,
Mommy

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Kidney Update

Well, it was time for Owen to have another follow-up with the Pediatric Urologist yesterday.  Tony had some vacation days to burn, so he got to join in all the festivities this time:)  We started the day with an ultrasound at the hospital.  This time they brought in a DVD player for him to watch while he was having the test done.  They put in a SpongeBob DVD...not my first choice by far, but it worked.  He was very worried about if the test going to hurt.  We kept reassuring him that it wouldn't, but he was having a hard time believing us!  He asked if there was going to be a shot in his arm...which I think meant he was remembering his last renal scan....I swear the kid has the memory of an elephant!  He did well during the test, rolled on both of his sides when asked, but was just a little dramatic at times about if it was going to hurt:)  This was our first ultrasound being fully potty trained, so when the tech took pictures of his bladder and it was pretty full, he immediately said he needed to go potty.  He was able to hold it until she was done and then for her to go and get a cup for him to pee in.  Daddy took him to the bathroom to get it all done.  Then he was back for a few more pictures after emptying the bladder.  He did really well and even got to pick a sticker and a toy, so he thought he was pretty cool:)

Next it was off to the Dr.'s office.  I was under the impression that at this appointment she would decide if he needed surgery or not.  I was fully prepared to hear that he would need it...but I was wrong....His right kidney still looks good, but the left kidney is still "suspect" at this point.  It still has fluid in it, but otherwise it is fine.  It is growing and working well at this point.  She said they they used to rush in to fix them, but now they just like to wait it out.  So, we continue to wait....we go back in 6 months for another ultrasound and check with the doctor.    I really do hope that it decides to fix itself, but only time will tell....

Monday, November 19, 2012

Fall 2012

Well, I am behind in my posting....so I thought I would do one big Fall 2012 post:)

We again did our annual trip to Tanner's Orchard.  We didn't end up going until the weekend before Halloween because our schedules were so busy!  It was kind of nice because when we went there were hardly any people there and the place was having a lot of sales....but it was also freezing cold that weekend.  Owen didn't seem to care, but his friend was not too happy about it.  We ended up cutting our trip a little short this year....but we still had fun!

Annual family photo in front of the sign.

A semi-good one with the pumpkins.

Owen and Jackson.

Feeding the goats...he loved it!

And of course we had to get a pony ride in:)
Since Halloween was right around the corner, next up was carving pumpkins.  He and daddy did this while mommy was the photographer.  He didn't want to touch the insides of the pumpkin at first...He said "EWWW!" over and over.  He did finally decide to dig in a little at the end:)

Not sure about touching....

He liked digging with the spoon:)

Finally decided to give it a try!

Helping Daddy:)

Finished product!
I didn't end up taking many pictures on Halloween for some reason.  He originally told us he wanted to be an alligator, so I searched until I found one on line.  Of course when it arrived it didn't fit!  He was too tall and the place didn't do returns or exchanges.  So Daddy and Owen went looking for costumes one day and he picked out another one!
And he chose Jake, from the Disney Jr. show Jake and the Neverland Pirates. (He looks enthused doesn't he!!)

Posing with his pumpkin before we started our rounds:)
Fall has been busy and now it is almost Thanksgiving!  Which also means his birthday is just around the corner:(  I can't believe how fast he is growing up!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

ENT Follow-Up

Well, for the past couple of months, Owen has been having ear issues again...more specifically right ear issues.  First it was swimmers ear, then an ear infection, then they thought he had eczema in his ear canal...which all finally lead to another appointment with the ENT. All of this was brought on because he is constantly itching at his right ear...and I don't mean a casual rub, he digs his finger in as far as it can go.  When you ask, most of the time he says it itches or that there is something in there that he needs to get out.  To be honest, I was getting a little frustrated with the whole thing.  We went through 2 different ear drops and 1 oral antibiotic to try to help him.  The Nurse Practitioner at the pediatricians office also dug ear wax out of his ear a couple of times during this whole process as well...nothing seemed to help more than a couple of weeks, then he was back to digging in his ear again.

So, about a month ago we had another visit to the ENT.  The PA there (don't get me started on how we haven't seen the actual doctor since he put the tubes in his ears....) looked in both ears and said things looked fine.  They sent us for a tympanogram to check the pressure in his ears-that came back fine, and then they tried to check his hearing-which was an epic fail!  So, he suggested that we try zyrtec and nasonex (two allergy meds) for a month to see if the itching was allergy related.  Well....needless to say when we went back for our follow-up appointment today, he was digging in his ear again!  They sent us back for another tympanogram-which was again fine, and didn't even try to test his hearing again.....the only thing he saw was that there was again wax in his right ear canal.  He said it was dried and hard, so that is probably what has been causing him to dig so much.  So....now we are going to put baby oil in his ear 2-3 times a week to help with the wax build up.  We have another follow-up with that office in 6 months to see if things are still good.  If they are, then we will be released again.

Needless to say, I am happy that he did not have to get another set of tubes put in.  Tony and I were convinced that this was the route we were headed, so it was a bit of a relief when he said that Owen didn't need them.  But...I really hope this baby oil thing helps because it really bothers me to see him digging so bad in his ear!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Potty Training = Complete?

Well, I am almost nervous to write this post because I don't want to jinx anything....but I think that Owen may finally be fully potty trained....YEA!!!  HAPPY DANCE!!!

Like I had said earlier, he's had the peeing down for a long time but it was the pooping that was taking a while.  Well, last week we had a breakthrough....he had been pooping for me, but not really for anyone else.  And he was only going because I made him sit on the potty every night before his bath.  Finally I guess he just decided that he was going to do it....so last week he announced to Gramma that he had to go poop...and he did!  He finally was able to earn the basketball hoop that has been sitting at Gramma's for months!  And Gramma even sweetened the pot by letting him pick out a donut when they went to the store...and he chose one with sprinkles and gummy worms!  Now he just announces when he has to go and then goes and does it...so proud of him!!

So, for more than a week he has had no accidents!  We still wear a pull-up for naps and at bed time but otherwise he is in underwear full time.  I've also started to trust him to tell us when he needs to use the restroom and not ask him every 20 minutes!  In fact, he likes to go by himself.....we just have to work on pulling the pants back up when he's finished:)

Overall it has been a long road!  I'm so glad we have finally reached the end:)

Here are the pictures Gramma sent me on the day he finally pooped at her house:

Here is the basketball hoop he finally earned!

With his donut:)

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

"Owenisms"

I've had several friends blog about the "cute" and "funny" things their kids say and I thought I would join the trend:)  I know that there have been several funny things he has said or done lately that I can't or won't remember them all.....which makes me a little sad:(  I can't believe how big he is getting....less than 2 months until he is 3!!  I will try to be better about writing these things down so that they will have a permanent record:)

The "My's": I know I've mentioned how Owen uses "my" instead of "I" and probably my favorites is when he is saying his prayers at night...."should I die before my wake...."  Although, I am sad to report that he is beginning to use "I" much more than "my" lately.....:(

One day after he woke up from his nap, he was on the floor playing.  My mom offered him a snack and he said, "I'm busy Gramma!"  He's used this a few more times as well:)

He is really into singing lately.  One of the songs he has been singing a lot the last couple of days is "This Old Man" and my favorite line of the song is "knick knack paddy whack, dig a dog a bone."  :)

We went to the ISU homecoming parade on Saturday to watch Tony (who was a guest of the Environmental Health Department) march in it.  Owen loves parades, especially the bands!!  He marches around playing his trombone and singing the high school fight song (he knows most of the words...seriously!).  After the parade we were in the bookstore and he grabbed two of the pom poms and started marching around the store singing the fight song. When he finished he said "thank you, thank you very much!" and then proceded to start again!

He calls Frank the Combine (from Cars) Frank the Cucumber:)

He is getting much more independent with his potty-training.  In fact, if he goes into the bathroom and you try to follow he stops, puts up his hand and says "Stop, I can do it by myself" or "I don't need help!".....which he does do a good job, except for the part of pulling his pants and underwear back up!  Usually he comes hopping out of the bathroom with them around his ankles:)

Those are all for now....but I will try to be better about sharing more as they happen....or as I remember:)

Monday, September 24, 2012

Not Just a Car

Tonight we had another big event happen at our house....we sold our beloved Pathfinder.  Tony has been talking and talking about getting a new truck/SUV, but we could just never pull the trigger because we both loved the Pathfinder so much.  Finally last week, we bought a new Ford F150 4x4 truck....which meant that it was time to finally say goodbye to our most favorite car.  Tonight was the night that the Pathfinder left our possession...and it was bittersweet.  

When I got out of the shower tonight, this was on the computer:

If I had a blog:
I know people say it’s just a car but it’s more than that. It was the first “Real” purchase that Jenny and I made. I had graduated college and moved to the burbs and it was time to get rid of one of our economical cars and we picked out the one we wanted and it was awesome. It was the first car that someone has said “that’s a cool car” and I felt like they meant it.
It was the car that Jenny drove through crazy Chicago land traffic. I knew no matter what she encountered she’d be safe in it. Snow, uh, 4x4.
It was the car that we would load up when Jenny, Tasker and I would come back into town to visit family. It was big enough to carry the three of us plus the cage. Actually there wasn’t a time when it wasn’t big enough. It was the car that Jenny would come to greet me on late Friday nights from the airport after I’d been out of town all week on business. Again, the car was always big enough ;)
It was the car we took to Buffalo to see the Bills, Michigan to see the Wolverines, numerous states for mountain bike camping trips, Chicago to see the Cubs, and the UP to see that not all Labs can swim.
It was the car we packed up and moved away from the suburbs to head back to Pekin.
It was the car that we would take to doctor’s appointments where they would tell us that yet again Jenny wasn’t pregnant and it wasn’t looking like it was ever going to happen. It was the car that I would sit in to call and tell family to give them the bad news……and after four attempts at IVF it was the car that I brought my perfect little boy home from the hospital in.
It’s much more than a car, it was “Daddy’s White Truck”. It’s been around for 3 different houses, the majority of a dog’s life, and the car that I handled precious cargo in.
Yeah I’m a little sappy about a car, but to me it was much more.

It made me cry....and I thought I would share:)

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Potty Training: The Elusive #2

Well, I thought I would get on and update how potty training has been going.  It seemed like we had been at a standstill for a very long time.  He had been wearing pull-ups and it seemed like he would be dry all day, but when we switched to underwear he would pee!  It was getting very frustrating.....and he was refusing to poop on the potty...UGH!  We would have him sit at night (his preferred time of day!) and sometimes we would get a little but never a lot.  He would cry and not sit down.....it was a fight!  Then, without fail, once we left him in bed to go to sleep he would come out 5 minutes later and tell us that he pooped.  We tried every kind of bribery for when he would poop and punishment when he would go in his pants.....nothing seems to make a difference!

So, after a few weeks of going strictly back to pull-ups, I felt like we were finally making some progress.  He had started telling us when he had to go pee much more consistently.  I started trusting him when he answered "NO" to my incessant asking of "Do you have to go potty?" and didn't force him to go every 40 mins.  I really wanted him to tell me....and it started working!  He has also started waking up dry from his naps too most days...so I thought that was good progress as well.  This weekend was our town's local festival (parade, vendors in the park, etc.) and I decided that I wanted to be brave:)  Yesterday, before leaving for the parade I asked him if he wanted to wear underwear...and he said yes.  So, off we went....and guess what?....Dry All Day!  He made it through the whole parade before I took him potty and then we walked around the park for a little bit and drove home before he went again.  I'm very proud of him!  However.....he still does not like to go poop on the potty....what is it with boys and poop?!?!  I really hope this is resolved soon! (especially after having to clean poop out of underwear today!!! YUCK!!)

Oh.....and we were having issues with him wetting through his nighttime diapers as well.  Tony suggested waking him up when we were going to bed and having him go then and seeing if that helped.  Well, he was a genius!  It not only helped with the wetting through, but he has been waking up dry every morning!

So, I would say that he is 95% potty trained....I just hope it doesn't take forever to get that last 5%!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Preschool 2012

Through some of the mom's at the church playgroup, we found out about a local church that has a 1-day a week preschool program for kids as young as 18 months.  I was excited to see if they might have a spot for Owen...and they did:)  It is on Wed mornings from 8:30-12:30 with lunch.  It started this week, so I took Wed morning off to be able to take him for his first day.  They only stayed until 11:30 this first week with no lunch.  I was a little nervous about him making it the whole time because when we take him to the Toddler room at church, he has gotten used to us picking him up after only one service, which is a little over an hour....or he starts to cry...and when you ask him why, he says "because I have to."  So we had a long talk about how we don't cry at Preschool.  He told Gramma he wasn't going to cry there (we picked her up on our way so she would know the procedures when she takes him from now on) so I was hopeful:)

He was not at all apprehensive when we got there.  He spied the toys and got right to playing!  I had to drag him away from a toy to get a hug goodbye!  I didn't cry either:)  When we went to pick him up later, he told me he only cried a little bit:)  So, I think he is going to have fun....and next week he gets to take his "cars" lunchbox which he was mad that he couldn't take this week:)  Hard to believe he is getting so big!

Here are a few snapshots from Wed morning before we left:)  (and don't mind the horrible quality...we really need to get a new digital camera!!)

Love his face:)


And one with a great smile:)

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Reading

I LOVE a good book!  I mean who doesn't? :)  In fact, I have really been enjoying my time over these last few weeks to read!  Some of my favorite authors are Nicholas Sparks-good books but when I try to remember the plots from some of his books, they all seem to run together:)  Jodi Picoult-I love how she takes topics that are relevant and morphs them into a very good story!  Of course I loved the Harry Potter books and then there is the Twilight series...couldn't put it down and can't wait for the last movie to come out in a couple of months (GIRLS NIGHT!!!).  I enjoyed the Hunger Games series as well!  Most recently I've read the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.  The True Blood series (on HBO I think) is based on those books.  I've yet to see the series, but have been tempted to go and rent a few seasons to watch and see what I think.  Most recently....I was sucked into the Fifty Shades of Grey series!  Yes, there is sex...a lot of sex....but for those of you who have read them, there is a love story there....and I am a sucker for a good love story!  I mean, what girl doesn't dream of some handsome, very rich bachelor falling in love with her and sweeping her off her feet....ok, so maybe it doesn't exactly happen that way, but I still enjoyed the series.  In fact....I've read the whole series twice in 8 days!  When I find a good book/series, I get a little Obsessive/Compulsive about finishing it....I stay up late trying to suck in as much time as I can in the books.  I'm a fast reader, so I devour books quickly...then when I reach the end I'm worried that I read too fast and missed some important details...so then I start the journey again.  It makes Tony furious because he can't understand why I would want to read the same books over and over (oh and maybe because I totally ignore him while I read!)...but if they are good, I love getting lost in the story all over again:)  I've done this with all of the recent series that I have read (sans the Sookie Stackhouse because there were just too many of them!).  With Twilight, I had to physically remove the books from my house so that I wouldn't start on them again, I put the Hunger Games away in a cabinet so that I wouldn't seen them laying out...and now I need to do the same with the Fifty Shades series!...because I'm tempted to start them again:)  Although, I have read it a few other recent books on the iPad...so it is hard to "remove" them from my proximity:)  But I am determined not to read them again....so I went downstairs and picked up my copy of Twilight....maybe just a quick chapter before I turn in for the night:)

Monday, August 13, 2012

I'm Sure It Won't Be the Only Time

Towards the end of our summer school program, my mom brought Owen out so he could see all of the buses lined up to take the kids home.  (he loves buses, so I thought he would enjoy this)  While we were outside looking at all of the buses and getting kids loaded, one of the assistants (who knows me, but doesn't really KNOW me) asked when Owen would be getting a little brother or sister.  I quickly responded "He's not!" and then turned to say something to him.  My mom, who was standing there with us, was a little shocked by my abrupt answer and starting talking a little more to the person trying to fill the awkwardness.   It felt a little liberating to say it out loud....and didn't bother me like I thought it would....and I'm sure it won't be the only time I'm asked that question in the future......

Monday, August 6, 2012

Purging Complete!

Well, the purging is complete at our house. We had our garage sale over the weekend. I am not a huge garage saler, so I really wasn't looking forward to it. They are a lot of work, but thankfully my mom was available to come over and help me go through the several totes of baby items that I had.  I was amazed at how much stuff we had accumulated over the past 2 1/2 years! 

It was a little hard to go through the stuff, but surprisingly Tony had a harder time with it than I did. We definitely saved some of his special outfits and toys as we went through things, but we still had a ton of things to put in the sale. I also had some friends come over to pre sale on Thursday night before we started on Friday. 

We had the sale on Friday and Saturday. Friday was crazy busy! We barely had time to sit down at times. Tony's aunts and my mom came to help with the sale (one aunt and my mom put stuff in the sale also) and to help with Owen. He definitely did not like his stuff being out there, and of course any time he saw a toy he liked he wanted to get it and play with it again. They were all toys he hasn't seen in more than a year!:) both days someone finally had to take him and leave the house because he just couldn't handle being there, or rather yet it was just easier for him to be gone:) As busy as Friday was, Saturday was not! We finally started packing up about an hour before we said we were because it was SO hot and no one was coming. I still had some things left, so I bagged up the baby things and sent them to a pregnancy resource center and the rest of our household things went to Goodwill. It was all gone by the afternoon and it felt pretty good.....we are continuing to move forward and this was one of the first steps.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Potty Training Update

Well, sadly this is just another update post about potty training.  I hope there is one soon about it all being over!  So here's where we are:

Ever since we began with the potty training, we've kept Owen in pull-ups.  I didn't want to go "backwards" by going back to diapers.  We tried to take him potty very frequently and were always constantly asking him if he needed to go.  Of course, he would always say no:)  He would still always go on command when we took him.  Of course, he wasn't always keen on stopping whatever he was doing and would sometimes throw a fit.  We started putting him in time out for this...which usually only lasted a few seconds and he would get up and walk to the bathroom.  Pooping is still the most frustrating issues of it all....because he knows when he has to go and usually hides somewhere and does it when we aren't paying attention, or does it when he is laying down for his nap.  Then he walks out, says he pooped and then goes in and lays down on his floor to be changed!  So, I KNOW he knows when he has to do that!  I questioned sometimes how well he could "hold" his pee...so I tried to cut him a little slack in the peeing department.  We offered him "treats" for both peeing and pooping....and he can tell you what he is supposed to do, but just never did it!  Very frustrating at times:)

The last week or so of summer school, he was only using one pull-up a day at my mom's house.  I was feeling pretty positive about that.  I had already decided to really push the potty training after summer school was over, so the fact that he was doing well inspired me.  Of course, it was still because my mom was taking him every so often...he wasn't telling her when he had to go.

I decided to make a chart for him to put up in the bathroom.  We had tried a plain old sticker chart, but it wasn't quite motivating enough for him.  I decided to give skittles, m & m's, and time on the iPad for peeing (which is what we were already basically doing).  I created a "special basket" for pooping which contained juice boxes, trains (inspiration from a friend!!), cars, and candy.  Finally when he had dry pants all day he got to put up a sticker to earn a ride on a city bus.  Of course all these things are huge motivators for him.  

Here is a picture of the chart.  Not the best since it was taken from my cell phone.
So, yesterday was day 1....and as you can tell in the picture, he earned a sticker at the end of the day!  He was totally dry, told me he had to pee a few times, and went poop a couple of times!  Tony and I praised him all over the place last night!  Today is day 2....and it started off well.  I think he pooped 2 times before 7:00AM!  Unfortunately, he pooped again before nap and I did not insist that he keep trying for more.  So, he chose candy and ate it....but then after laying down for a few minutes he came out and said that he had pooped:(  No sticker for today and I'm trying not to be too discouraged......here's to hoping tomorrow is better!

I will update again soon......I really hope he gets this soon!  or I may have to consider barricading him in the kitchen naked all day....



Thursday, July 19, 2012

St. Louis Zoo



As promised, here are some pics from our trip to the St. Louis Zoo in early June.  Owen had a GREAT time.  He is so into animals right now, so it was really fun to take him to see everything.  His two favorite animals are elephants and giraffes.  We got to see the elephants, but unfortunately the giraffes weren't out....and if you asked him, he would definitely tell you about it!  He was mad!!:)  Anyways, we had a great time, and he was tuckered out by the end of the day.  In fact, we didn't even make it through the whole zoo before he conked out!  We were able to stop and have dinner with one of my college roomies and her family on our way home, which was fun and it allowed Owen to get out and play a little before the drive home as well:)  It was a win/win for everyone!


Riding the train....this was a huge favorite of the day!
  
Watching the rhinos with daddy.
He loved watching the hippos!  We stayed at this exhibit for a long time!
Watching the elephants.  This was another exhibit we stayed at for a while:)
Feeding the sting rays.  He let daddy do the feeding (and so did I!!), but he did  pet a few:)
Petting the guinea pigs in the Children's Zoo.
Riding the carousel with mommy:)
And, he's done!  This is how he saw the last part of the zoo:)


Monday, July 9, 2012

Long Time....No Post!

Wow...it has been awhile since I have been able to blog!  It has been a very busy summer so far, but mostly the no blogging is because I took 2 summer grad classes!  What was I thinking?!?!?!  Well, needless to say, I finally have a minute to post!  I finished one class up over the weekend and am only down to one with most of my last project almost complete, so I thought I would take a minute to post.

Things are going well.  I'm working 4 1/2 days a week with class two nights a week (although this is the last week of those classes).  My summer work will be finished up next week, leaving about 2 1/2 weeks before "real" work starts again......

Owen is growing like a weed and we are enjoying every minute of it.  We took a trip to the St. Louis Zoo at the beginning of June, so when I am home one afternoon I will try to post pics of it.  He LOVED it, so I want to make sure I give the trip post justice:)  We have another small trip planned as a family at the end of this month, so we are looking forward to that. 

We've had 2 friends announce that they are expecting, so that has been exciting.  Both of them went through my maternity clothes and took a big chunk of them, one of them bought my breast pump, and both will be coming over and going through things when I have my garage sale next month.  Tony and I have totally embraced that we will only have Owen and are ready to move on into the next chapter in our lives.  Usually when we make a decision like that, it means we are ready to purge:)  I'm so glad that we are both purgers and not savers:)  Now...that doesn't mean I won't have a hard time when I go through all of his clothes and things....and I'm sure a few outfits will be saved:)  I know there will probably be times when I will wonder "what if" or wish we had another baby, but it won't do me any good to dwell on things that won't happen!

So onward to new and exciting things.....and I promise to blog more:)

Friday, June 8, 2012

Renal Scan & Kidney Update

Owen had his renal scan last Friday afternoon. After our experience with his first one, I went armed with many different toys and options to keep him entertained during the procedure. Gramma stopped by the morning of and dropped off some suckers and a Dumbo DVD (she remembered that they offered a DVD player the last time we went). When we arrived they put numbing cream on both of his arms in anticipation for the IV. He wasn't too keen on it, but we kept him busy for the half hour that we had to wait before we went back for the actual procedure. They had pediatric nurses come in and put in the IV....they were nice but not so quick with the procedure. He was pretty upset but we got Dumbo started and away we went with the procedure. He did amazingly well and Tony and I didn't have to hold him down like the last time...which made it even better! We were really thankful for Gramma bringing Dumbo....it was a lifesaver! We were able to see the test as it progressed on the screen. It was very apparent that the left kidney did not clear the dye but did respond after the Lasix was pushed. We weren't sure what that meant but were hoping that it wasn't bad:)

We saw the pediatric urologist today to hear what the test results meant. She said that it was good that the kidney responded to the Lasix because it meant that it still had its functionality, although he was still presenting with some of the other symptoms of having a blockage. She said that she really didn't want to put him through surgery since it was still working correctly at this time. She wants us to see her again in 6-months and see how things are since hopefully he will be full potty-trained by then. So, good news on the surgery front but I'm afraid it's still not off the table for the future. Again, only time will tell...

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Final Cycle: Moving On

Well, now that I am "officially" done with all IVF treatments it is time to move on.  I had a few rough moments last week when I got my results, but overall I think I felt relief.  There will be no more "what ifs" when we are thinking about our future.  We can plan and talk about doing things without thinking about treatments or if I would be pregnant.  I'm ready to have a huge garage sale and pass on Owen's baby stuff to others....Tony said maybe I should wait a little bit in case I'm not as ready as I say I am.  Anyways, it would be later in the summer because I'm taking two grad classes this summer plus working our Summer School program...so we'll see how I feel at the end of the summer....I think I'll still be ready though.....  I have a friend who is pregnant, so I offered her my maternity clothes...I will be sad to see those go (Tony said he wouldn't mind those being gone!!) because I had really hoped to experience a pregnancy again, but it will be nice to pass them on to someone else who needs them.

I was talking with a friend (who also went through IVF and just recently found out that she will only be having one baby) and she said that she was doing fine until she saw someone post pictures of a 2nd baby on FB.  She said she had been fine and then all of a sudden it hit her.  I'm sure I will have my moments over time, but I don't want Owen to ever think that I am not happy with just having him.  He is someone that at one point I wasn't sure would ever come into my life and when he did I was SO happy.  He is our everything now and we can move forward with our family, which we are so ready to do!

And thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts about the negative....it was very nice to know I had so many people thinking about me.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Final Cycle: Results

Well, Owen will not be a big brother....results were negative.  Not sure what else to say, other than it sucks......

Monday, May 21, 2012

Final Cycle: Thoughts

Hope can be a good thing or a bad thing when it comes to IVF.  I've been through it enough times that I can see it from both perspectives.  It's good because one should never give up hope....we should always hope for what we want most in the world.  Hope is bad because if it doesn't work out....then you are putting yourself out there for disappointment.....I'm a little worried because I actually have a little hope that this cycle could have worked....we actually had 2 grade 2 embryos to put back in this time, which is better than our last cycle.  I'm worried that if it doesn't work out, I will have a harder time getting over it....one because I had hope that it may have worked and two because it is our last time no matter what.  I guess I just assumed that since we figured out the right combo once that it would automatically work again and Owen would get to be a big brother....but I was wrong with that assumption.  Now here I sit on the eve of my second beta (took my first one on Friday last week) with a little bit of hope and a lot of worry about the outcome.  I'll say it again though....I will be perfectly ok with just Owen...he is everything I/we ever could have hoped for originally.  I won't deny that it would be nice to have another baby and get to experience it all over again, but I will be ok if I don't.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Diet and Exercise

This is a guilt post....because I have not been good at either thing lately.

Exercise: Around the time I got pregnant with Owen, Tony found CrossFit.  He has always been into working out and he is always wanting to try new and innovative things.  CrossFit is a little hard to explain, but basically a guy combined a whole bunch of workout techniques: plyometrics, Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics to just name a few.  A lot of the workout of the days (WOD) are time-based and they are short because you try to finish it quickly.  Others are strength based and you try to break your last personal record (PR).  I really feel like I am doing a poor job of explaining it, so check out the link CrossFit.  There have also been several CrossFit gyms opened up in the past year or so in the area as well.  So, Tony started out doing a few of the WODs at home or when he went to the gym, but with having a new baby he didn't want to be gone from the house a lot.  So we made an executive decision for him to cancel his gym membership and spend that money instead on some things for our home gym....we had a few things, but it was sparse.  I thought he was crazy when I saw him do a few of the WOD's, but after having Owen I decided that I needed to be better about working out, so I started doing CrossFit as well.  We put it into our daily routine...went downstairs after we got home from work...and it has stuck really well.  Owen has been going with us since he was just a little baby in his bouncy seat, and it was important to us to instill good habits in him.  We want him to see us working out and know that it is good for you:)  We have also gotten into running...Tony more than I...but I do openly admit that I like it and the way it makes me feel.  We each usually run 2-3 miles a few times a week on avg.

Well...being in cycle I am not allowed to exercise once I start my stimulating medicine up until the point I find out if I'm pregnant.  This is several weeks of time....I try to tell myself that I will walk or do something light, but since I'm used to working out hard, it is difficult to for me to do.  I've tried to take the dog for a walk a few times, but I really need to be better about it!

Diet: One of the things about CrossFit is eating REALLY healthy.  People who do it "for real" either eat the Zone Diet or the Paleo Diet.  Tony has tried both of these things in the past, but I have a harder time giving up my carbs and dairy products.  So since I didn't do it with him, he had a hard time keeping to it.  I begrudged him his nightly dinner recipes....a few I would have rather not had....but after a while he just kind of gave up on it.  Well, I had a friend (shout out to E.P.!!) who decided to try the Paleo Diet with her boyfriend for a whole month.  She blogged about her results and I was impressed.  I mentioned to Tony one night that I might be willing to try it....and he was all over it!  Basically the Paleo Diet is called the "caveman" diet.  You don't eat anything that the cavemen didn't have.  No dairy, no carbs, no processed foods....this would mean a huge overhaul for me!  We decided to try it in March...let me tell you, the first couple of weeks sucked!!  We actually got angry one night when we went out to eat with Tony's mom because we couldn't have the food we wanted!  We laughed about it afterwards, but in the moment it really stunk!!  It takes a lot of planning in advance as well....and it's not cheap!  Why is eating healthy so expensive by the way?!?!  Anyways, after a few weeks we really started to notice a difference.  We decided to try and stick with it as best we could from that point one.  We had also decided to give ourselves 1-2 cheat meals a week as well, which helped with the stress of everything as well.

Lately though....I have been terrible about cheating....I have not been able to walk past the candy bowl at work and I feel like I am craving bad things!  Tony said he has been having a hard time too....so at least it's both of us!:)  I think since I can't workout, I just figure what the heck-lets eat like crap too!  We are both trying to be better this week....hopefully we can get back on track....and I won't feel the need to write another guilt post:)

Friday, May 11, 2012

Kidney Update

A couple of weeks ago Owen had his 6-month check up with the pediatric urologist.  This meant an ultrasound first at the hospital and then over to the Dr.'s office afterwards to review the results.

Owen did amazingly well during the ultrasound.  The lady was really nice, but she was SLOW!!!  My mom and I packed a few suckers to hopefully make it through the test....but Owen has discovered biting suckers instead of sucking on them:)  Needless to say we went through a few larger suckers while we waited for this lady to finish.  He laid really well, and at one point asked if he was getting his belly cracked!  (that is in reference to going to chiropractor appointments with both Gramma and Daddy).  We assured him that he was not and we tried to interest him in looking at the blurry pictures on the screen as he "crunched" his suckers....when she finally finished we headed over to the office.

Unfortunately, the results of the test were not stellar.  The good news: Both kidneys are growing well and the right kidney only has a bit of fluid on it, but she is not worried about it.  The bad news: The left kidney has gotten worse since 6-months ago.  She didn't necessarily say "what" was worse about it, but she wasn't happy with how it looked.  She wants to do another renal scan....it wasn't dire and needed right away, but by this summer.  I asked her if the results of the renal scan came back bad what that would mean....and her answer was surgery before the end of the year!  She thought that if surgery was needed that he would be a candidate for having it done laparoscopic, so that was a plus....but I don't really want him to need surgery!  We got the renal scan scheduled for June 1st-they only do them in the afternoon so Tony will be taking a 1/2 day off to come with me.  This was not a fun experience the last time he had one done, so I can only hope that it is better this time....We won't see the Dr until almost a week later on June 7th to find out the results.  We are hoping and praying for good results that mean no surgery!

I also asked if his UPJ could do anything to hinder potty training....her answer was no....so I guess that just means that I have no excuses:)  We are still wearing pull-ups and he still is just not telling us when he has to go, but will go when we take him.  When school is out in a few weeks, we will hit it hard again:)

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Final Cycle: Transfer

My Embryo Transfer was today at 1:00.  Tony took a 1/2 day off and was able to come with me....I much appreciated this as it was a little weird with him not being at our last one in December due to his new job. (although my mom did a stellar job as a stand in!)  When we got there they gave me my valium and then the embryologist came in and reviewed our cycle with us.  She said of the 6 that were mature, 4 fertilized normally (which we already knew) and of those 4 only 2 were left.  We had 2 that "arrested" on day 2 and stopped growing.  Of the two that were left, both were grade 2's and one had 8 cells and one had 10 cells.  She said they they expect them to be between 7-10 cells on day 3...so that was good.  So, we transferred both of them:)

Again, the worst part of the whole thing was the pushing of the ultrasound on my very full bladder.  I joked that I hoped that I didn't pee on anyone:)  Luckily it all went smoothly and quickly.  I remembered that someone had given me some meditation music for post transfer, so I remembered to bring my iPod so that I could listen to it during the 30 mins after transfer that I have to lay and wait.  I joked with Tony that I'm not very good at meditation....just can't ever turn my mind off all the way....but I sure tried today:)

After transfer, we headed home so that I could start my bedrest.  Officially I should be on modified bedrest (basically being a couch potato and only getting up to use the restroom and eat) for 24 hours.  My mom is keeping Owen for us tonight and tomorrow night, so I'll get a little more close to 36 hours before heading back to work on Thursday-thanks again Mom!  I also have a 10lb lifting restriction...which will not be fun with a little boy who wants his momma to do everything:( 

My blood tests are 5/18 and 5/22-the dreaded Friday/Tuesday betas again!

So again we wait.....:)

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Final Cycle: Fertilization Report

One of the nurses from the clinic called this morning with my fertilization report: Out of the 11, 6 were mature and 4 fertilized.  This is about normal for us from past cycles.  Our transfer is set for Tuesday at 1:00.  Until then we wait and wonder.....

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Final Cycle: Egg Retrieval

Well, I am home and now awake from my 2 1/2 hour nap after egg retrieval.  Everything went well and they got 11 eggs....just like the paper said:)  Like I mentioned, I don't expect them all to be mature and all to fertilize so it will be interesting to see what we are left with.  I'm feeling ok....very bloated and a little crampy.  No side-effects from the anesthesia except for being sleepy:)

Another big shout out to my mom and dad (aka Gramma and Grampa) for helping out today. Grampa took Owen for the morning while my mom took me for the procedure.  The boys went to Menards-one of his favorite places to look for "forktrucks" and then to the park before heading back to their house for lunch and a nap.  They offered to keep him tonight so that I could be fully recovered before he came back home tomorrow, which is much appreciated since he is back in his "only mommy can do things" phase.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Final Cycle: Time for Trigger!!

So, at my appt today the doctor decided that it was time for my HCG trigger shot.....which means that egg retrieval is on Saturday.  We figured this much, so when talking to my coordinator I mentioned that Tony was in a golf outing....but I wasn't thinking that much would come of it.....golf outings are kind of small in comparison to making babies:)  They called me later this afternoon with my trigger time and retrieval time...drum roll......I have to trigger at 1:30 AM...which means that retrieval is at 12:00 on Saturday.  Couldn't really be a worse time for Tony:(.....he is going to go and golf as many holes as he can, then come to the office at 11:15 (my arrival time), break donation time records-his words, not mine-and then head back to the golf course:)  Owen will stay with Grampa and then Gramma will come with me to be my driver:)

As far as my appt overall....my lining is still good (don't remember the number!!) and my follicles are still growing good.  I have 11 total, but that is because a few smaller ones have popped up.  I don't expect them to be much of anything at retrieval though, so still counting on about 7-8 good sized ones.  I guess only time will tell:)

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Final Cycle: Going Rogue and CD11

So today was my CD11 appt.  I only had an ultrasound as measuring my estrogen really doesn't tell them anything because I'm taking extra of it.  My lining measured at 13 today...so still good on that front.  My eggs had grown a little, mostly 16's or so though.  That means one more night of meds and back tomorrow for another ultrasound.  Hopefully I will trigger tomorrow night and have retrieval on Saturday....yes this is bad news for Tony's golf outing but we are hoping for an early time so he doesn't miss too much of it:)

As for the going rogue part....during my December cycle they added an antibiotic to my protocol.  It is something that I have seen other centers do on their protocols, but it wasn't done at mine.  I guess since we are on a steroid we are more prone to catching infections...so they give an antibiotic to just be cautious of that fact.  Well I was a little worried last cycle because lets just say that I am a little "sensitive" when it comes to taking antibiotics.  In fact, I have a long standing prescription for diflucan from my OB/GYN because of it.  I told them this last cycle and they told me to go ahead and take it...and low and behold I got a yeast infection!  And the worst thing was that I couldn't take ANYTHING for it because of my cycle.  So, it is on my protocol this time too....and I'm not taking it!  Not doing that again...it was a miserable couple of weeks, let me tell ya!  So, I'm going rogue:)

Monday, April 30, 2012

Final Cycle: CD9 and Update

Sorry about the lack of posting lately....life seems to have gotten in the way!  This final cycle is plugging along.  I started my stim meds last Monday...a whopping 750 units every night!  I added Luveris on Thursday night and also had my intralipid infusion-which could be considered another possible last if we don't get pregnant.  Other than that, things have been going well.  I feel bloated of course!

Today was my CD9 appt.  I had a blood draw and ultrasound.  My lining was at an 11, so that was good and I had 4 eggs on each ovary.  They ranged in size from 10-13, so still pretty small.  I have 2 more days of meds and go back on Wed for another check.  I'm guessing retrieval will be Friday or Saturday.  Tony is really pulling for Friday because he is in a golf outing on Saturday:)  I told him he could just leave and miss a few holes to make his "deposit" and then go back...don't really need him for anything else!  My mom is on back-up to drive me in case that happens:)  I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens on Wednesday.....

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Potty Training: Week 2

Thought I would get on and update about the potty training. After over a week of cleaning up messes, I decided that maybe he still couldn't realize when he had to go. I didn't want to go backwards and put him back into diapers, so I switched to Pull-ups. He still does really well if we take him on a schedule so that is what we have been doing. He did tell Tony one night that he had to go, so Tony rushed him into the bathroom and he did go, so that was exciting and promising! He did well back at Gramma's house this week as well. He woke up dry from his nap a couple of days, so we thought that was promising as well:) If you have noticed...no mention about pooping.....that is because it is still an elusive act that has yet to show up on the potty! So frustrating because he ABSOLUTELY knows when he has to do it! He picks very opportune times to do it as well....during a workout, or when we lay him down for a nap or nighttime, or any other time when he can steal 30 seconds away from us to do the deed. We try to watch him like a hawk too...but to no avail! We will continue to work on things and maybe try underwear again soon....I'll keep you updated:)

Final Cycle: My first "lasts"

This being my final cycle, it has gotten me thinking about some "lasts" that I will experience. This week, I experienced two of them....1. I took my last birth control pill! To think of all the years I wasted $$ buying the darn things too! 2. My last Lupron shot. I switched to Ganirelix on Saturday, so no more Lupron for me. I found it a little silly that I bought this medicine and only took it for a week...what a waste because now that it is opened I can't do anything else with it...but it is all part of the protocol, so what do I know!:)

So far, things have gone ok. I did almost forget to take my Lupron shot one day and had to rush back home to take it before work! I couldn't believe it when I realized it...NEVER have I forgotten to take a shot! I guess having a 2 year-old around makes things a little different now:) I think I have my first "medicine headache" today...so over a week before I got one. I hope it doesn't linger! I had bloodwork done on Friday and it all came back ok...so onward we go! Tony gets to give me a couple of estrogen butt-shots this week, so that's what I'm looking forward too:)

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Potty Training: Day 5

Day 5 of Potty Training went pretty well. I forgot to mention that on Day 4 he did not poop when he was with daddy and grandpa in Chicago....so we were waiting for it:) He ran off into the other room (his tell-tale sign) and I was off to get him. He kept telling me that he didn't have to go, but I was persistent. Finally he pooped...YEA!! He was so funny because he stood up and said he made a "big poop snake"!! I couldn't help but laugh:) I tried to get him to poop more but he was persistent that he didn't have to go anymore....so he earned his sucker and went in to sit with daddy while I cleaned up and then took my shots. As I'm finishing my shots I hear Owen tell Tony that he's "alright"...Tony said "ok" and then as we both processed what he said, went running after him, but it was too late....he pooped in his Pull-Up:( Oh well, we got one part! The rest of the day went well, but we were again taking him every 45 mins or so. He even did well at a restaurant when we went to meet some out of town family for dinner. I'm just not sure how this is going to end up before I go back to work....just not sure that he is getting the whole "tell me Before you go" part of it.....I guess only time will tell:)

Final Cycle: Cycle Start

Well, I have officially started my cycle.....I started my Lovenox and Lupron shots yesterday morning, along with my PreNatal vitamins and the dreaded Dex steroid....here's to hoping I don't pack on the pounds and am able to sleep without hot flashes! :)

Friday, April 6, 2012

Potty Training: Day 4 AND Opening Day!!

Well, I mentioned yesterday that Day 4 could be interesting....and it's because Owen, Daddy, and Grandpa Steve (Tony's Dad) all went to the Chicago Cubs Opening Day Game! We had been joking for a while that I would be working hard on potty training for a couple of days and then he was going to take him on Thursday and mess it all up....luckily, it didn't go that way!

I packed a couple of bags for Tony to use on their trip...one for the train trip-they took the Amtrack train up, and then one for the game. They left one bag at a locker at union station so it was less to lug around with them all day. They left bright and early yesterday morning at 6:00 and didn't get home until 10:30. It was a long day, but Tony said Owen did great....and the best thing?.....only 1 wet pull-up ALL DAY!!! Tony said he was going to try and take him to the bathroom every 45 mins or so and for the most part he was able to do that. He said Owen was very cooperative about going and even did well in the new situations (the train bathroom, the wrigley "troughs" as Tony calls them, and different restaurant bathrooms). He said the one pull-up that was wet was hardly so that he actually had to check the little sensor to make sure! I'm so proud of both of my boys! One for a daddy that was so good about taking his little boy to the potty all day long and one for a little boy that did well outside of his home surroundings! So I count Day 4 as a success!

Here are a few pics from their day:

Riding on the CTA train in Chicago-he loves trains!

Daddy and Owen in front of the Marquee:)

Three generations celebrating Opening Day 2012 together!

Grandpa Steve and Owen taking in the surroundings before the game.

Of course he had to have a hot dog!!