Caleb-
He was running to the car after church and fell down. I called to him to see if he was OK. He got up and said after a few seconds, "I'm OK. Next time I won't run. I will walk". As simple as that sounds, nothing is simple when you hear Caleb's intonations accompanied with his sweet voice. There was a parent walking almost right next to Caleb when he fell and he laughed at Caleb's comments telling Caleb that he was a smart boy. Not too many kids think about what they'll do NEXT time.
Often when Caleb is trying to tell you a story or explain something, it takes a while for him to consentrate and spit it out. He'll start and then have to try and figure it out while he stands on his head. It's pretty entertaining.
After playing in the grass at Grandma & Gpa Farr's house, he opens the cabinet doors in the kitchen, kind of shuts them on his chest so he's sort of inside, and says, "I think Jesus should not make grass so sharp."
Ayla-
Says poo poo regularly now. Her list of words she can say now is
bye, bye, hi (first word), baby, eyes (I think her 2nd word), ma ma, pa pa (for grandpa), some sound that sounds like grandma-gma?, car, cracker, woah, go, a muffled- lets go,
She used to say da da, but won't say it now. Just like she was signing for milk when she was about 8 months (?) old and then stopped a month or so later when she learned to nod or smile in response to when I asked if she wanted milk.
She also can blow kisses as of last week.
Ayla does somersaults. She started by just getting ready on her head with her bum in the air. I would then peek at her through her legs. She loved that game. That's been going on for months now. I then flip her legs over her head and she loves it. Now she's just about got the whole motion all by herself.
She is just such a happy happy baby. Sooooooooo smiley all the time. She is not much of a fusser at all. She loves to go to people and lay her head on their shoulder for a second.
Abby-
Since Ian's been home sick, I've been able to walk Abby to school by ourselves (with me carrying Ayla in a sling) and leave the boys home. We've been able to spend some good one on one time together. I really enjoy it and Abby does too. It's been really good for us.
Abby read the 4th Harry Potter book all by herself!!! She finished it up last week. I read the first HP book to her during the summer before she went into the 1st grade. I read the 2nd one to her the following summer before 2nd grade. I started reading the 3rd to her but she wanted to read the rest so she read probably 2/3s of it herself. Then read the whole 4th book. Motivation to read the rest of the 3rd and the 4th by herself was that Ian started reading the HP series from the beginning for the first time. She wanted to beat him reading the 3rd before Ian got through the first 3. Ian finished the whole series now, but Abby kept plugging along on the 4th. Her friend at school, Caitlyn, was about where she was in book 4, so then it became a race to finish it before her. She read it and read it quickly (for a 3rd grader!) I'm so proud of her! She started the 5th book already and is doing great.
She was voted to be in Student Council this year- her first year at a new school. That says a lot. She was in Student Council in Martinez too. We might just have a leader on our hands.
Abby wants to constantly change her hair this school year. First she wanted it short - we did that. Then she wanted bangs - we did that. Now she wants to die it blonde. She doesn't think it's fair that Ayla has blonde hair and blue eyes or that she's the only one with brown hair of the kids. She also wants to perm her hair. It's interesting.
Eli-
Eli's last day of preschool was today. Ms. Lorrie was his teacher. Such a fabulous teacher. We signed him up through Hayward Area Recreation District (HARD).
His is such a good sport while playing games. He never ever throws a fit if he looses. He enjoys winning, but doesn't get discouraged if he looses. He just wants to play again.
He is an amazing sharer. He will have some valuable food items like Starburst candies or fruit snacks, etc. and eat them very slowly to make them last longer. Caleb or someone else will eat theirs very quickly then be sad that they can't have any more. Eli will often say that they can have his. I try to say sometimes that he doesn't have to share, but he feels badly for them and says, "no mom, I want to". How do you say no to that? He is so soft and kind when it comes to things like that. He doesn't want them to be sad.
Eli also is enjoying walking with me while Caleb and Ayla sit in the stroller. I tell him I want him to walk first because he's the fastest (and he is). Caleb gets too distracted and "tired" to walk quickly. But Eli loves having that honor, I guess. It makes him feel good. He'll say, I don't want to sit in the stroller. I want to exercise...chase me mom!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Summer
For FHE we made a list of all the things we'd like to do this summer-staying local! Even though things are on the list, it doesn't mean we will do them (eg. Santa Barbara. Although we'd LOVE to go).
Summer Ideas:
Beach
Camping
Baseball Game
Ranch
Hikes
Swimming
Walk the Golden Gate Bridge
Bike rides
Play Dates
Drive-In movies
Sleep over at Grandma & Grandpa’s
4th of July celbration
Farm to visit animals
Wii
take turns cooking (Caleb's idea, but I'd like all of them to help)
BBQs
Teach Eli to read
Teach Eli piano
Guitar- Dad, Abby, Mom
Chore list
Library Events
Library books
Read Novels to family
Read ½ of Book of Mormon
School Shopping
Plan Abby’s b-day
Abby sewing
Learn Spanish
Games
Computer games (find new learning ones)
Look up free local events
Air Show
Kites- Kite Show in Berkeley
Fishing
Tildon
Big family Puzzles
Service Projects
Lemon Aid/Tomato stand
Plan Halloween costumes
Free Water Parks
Regular Parks
Tennis
Santa Barbara
IPAD?
Summer Ideas:
Beach
Camping
Baseball Game
Ranch
Hikes
Swimming
Walk the Golden Gate Bridge
Bike rides
Play Dates
Drive-In movies
Sleep over at Grandma & Grandpa’s
4th of July celbration
Farm to visit animals
Wii
take turns cooking (Caleb's idea, but I'd like all of them to help)
BBQs
Teach Eli to read
Teach Eli piano
Guitar- Dad, Abby, Mom
Chore list
Library Events
Library books
Read Novels to family
Read ½ of Book of Mormon
School Shopping
Plan Abby’s b-day
Abby sewing
Learn Spanish
Games
Computer games (find new learning ones)
Look up free local events
Air Show
Kites- Kite Show in Berkeley
Fishing
Tildon
Big family Puzzles
Service Projects
Lemon Aid/Tomato stand
Plan Halloween costumes
Free Water Parks
Regular Parks
Tennis
Santa Barbara
IPAD?
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Ian + Wegeners Granulomatosis
I wrote this to my family on May 4th, the day Ian was admitted to the hospital.
He has been battling some health issues lately. It first started with a really bad winter with viruses flying through our family over and over. Abby ultimately got pneumonia because her system had been hit too repeatedly for it to fight the last sickness. She got over that, then another 2 bugs hit our family, the last being a one day fever. It hit Caleb one day, Eli 2 days after that, then Abby and I. Ian got it last except his hasn't gone away and it's been 2 1/2 weeks since his first fever hit. He's in the hospital right now. I'm home collecting things (getting this email out) before I head back to be with him. He's had a fever every day since his first one, sweats profusely all day, he can't bend his joints (except after Ibuprofin), coughs like his lungs will come out with it, which keeps him up all night (and me), so then he sleeps off and on all day. He's lost weight, has very little appetite (if any at all), and feels constantly dehydrated despite the fluids he's trying to take in. A CAT scan a week ago showed 11 nodules in his lungs. Today they did an x-ray and they are 50% worse. This isn't good. They thought that he had/has "Valley Fever" which is a fungal infection in the lungs that has symptoms that are similar to Tuberculosis. They've been treating him with antifungal medications which take a lot longer to get rid of the problem than a bacterial infection would with antibiotics. They didn't expect his chest x-ray to look WORSE today, which means it probably isn't a fungal infection. SO- they are now treating him with both anti fungals AND antibiotics. But this doesn't answer all the doctors questions. They have him quarantined due to the fact that it could be an infectious disease. He has a few other symptoms, but that's the majority of it. So. They have him on meds and are getting him hydrated through an IV. They will be doing a biopsy on his lungs looking for bacteria, fungus, and cancerous cells (most likely not cancerous). They are also testing for possible infectious diseases. Ian hasn't ever had a broken bone or stitches (other than having his wisdom teeth out and some minor stitches on his finger as a kid) so going under is a bit scary. He is so worn out from his illness these last couple + weeks. I thought I'd let you all know what he's doing/going through and would like to ask that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
thanks so much.
Anne-Marie
June 8th, I wrote to my family:
So, I've been saying I would send our family update but just haven't been able to bring myself to sit down and write it. Here it goes.
Ian- First of all, thank you thank you for all your prayers, well wishes, and fasts. I really feel our prayers have been heard over and over and that we've been blessed in so many ways. The most recent one being this last week. Ian completed his chemo treatment of Rituxan on Tuesday May31st. At that time he did his usual blood tests to monitor a number of things, but one main one is his kidney function. Every week, his kidney results were getting worse and worse- the numbers doubling each week. The doctor told Ian that if a particular result goes above 1.0 then he will need to put him on a different chemo treatment called Cytoxin. It's a much harsher chemo and has several harmful side effects. Needless to say, we did NOT NOT NOT want Ian to have to take this medicine. So he did his labs that Tuesday and sure enough, all his tests, minus 1 test, came back. They all had doubled again. The one we were waiting for had to be above 1.0 based on his other results, but we didn't know FOR SURE since it wasn't back yet. These test results get emailed to us practically instantly, but the most important one still wasn't back. Anyway, we waited and waited. Because we didn't get the test result back, we figured the doctor was holding it from us. Friday came and Ian emailed the doctor about what was going on. The doctor looked into it and discovered that the test had NOT been run. So Ian had to go back to the clinic and run ALL the test over again. When I heard that the test had not been run, I just KNEW that was good news. We had been fasting, praying, putting Ian's name in the temple, going to the temple, etc. This was it. So Ian went to get his blood work done again. And sure enough, all his scores had gone down a TON except for the one we missed originally. That one HAD gone above 1.0, but because ALL the other scores had dropped so drastically, the doctor said no to Cytoxin. We are so so happy. I'm sorry that was such a long story. Cytoxin is still an option if things go poorly again, but most likely they won't. The Ritoxin that he has been taking usually takes 4 to 6 weeks to start working. The doctors didn't want to wait it out if Ian's kidneys were getting bad, but now they don't have to. I hope this all makes sense.
Bottom line- we're being watched over. We've had so much help from ward members, family, and friends. It's been so sweet to watch our kids' reactions to all the kindness too. I just had to share with you that little miracle for us. And Ian is getting better. His voice still is very hoarse (has sores on his vocal chords), but his cough is practically gone. If he doesn't slack on taking his steroids 4 times a day, he doesn't have much of any arthritic flare ups. His legs are still weak, but he's been able to do some easy yoga and light walking on the tread mill this week. His sinuses are still really bad including daily nose bleeds, but his mouth sores aren't as bad. He is able to do some work at the computer from home and is finding some comfort in some Wegener's boards on-line. When Ian got home from the hospital he had lost a total of 20 pounds. Unfortunately, his high dose of prednisone (steroid) has a very common side effect of severe hunger. The doctors say he needs to seriously avoid stress so not to worry about what he's eating. :) I tell him now he knows what it feels like to be pregnant or nursing!
One downfall lately is that Abby got a fever today (103) so Ian had to go to his parents house to escape the possibility of getting sick. Fun times! We are all hanging in there even though Abby feels so guilty that she's sick. Poor girl.
We are looking forward to a summer with dad at home, but will be planning lots of local activities that don't involve big crowds (unless I go alone with the kids). We'll also need to wait a while longer before taking dad (Ian) with us. Because his immune system is so low, he really shouldn't be around too many preventable germs.
I am excited to have Abby home for the summer. Then Eli starts kindergarten in the fall. Caleb will start preschool and life is moving so fast. Ayla is just a ray of sunshine. SUCH a happy happy baby. We want to eat her up- we love her babiness so much.
We know we aren't the only ones with "stuff" going on in our lives. We are praying for you all too. We would love to help in any way we can, IF we can! Let us know what's going on with you so we might be able to help in any way.
love to you all!
Anne-Marie
He has been battling some health issues lately. It first started with a really bad winter with viruses flying through our family over and over. Abby ultimately got pneumonia because her system had been hit too repeatedly for it to fight the last sickness. She got over that, then another 2 bugs hit our family, the last being a one day fever. It hit Caleb one day, Eli 2 days after that, then Abby and I. Ian got it last except his hasn't gone away and it's been 2 1/2 weeks since his first fever hit. He's in the hospital right now. I'm home collecting things (getting this email out) before I head back to be with him. He's had a fever every day since his first one, sweats profusely all day, he can't bend his joints (except after Ibuprofin), coughs like his lungs will come out with it, which keeps him up all night (and me), so then he sleeps off and on all day. He's lost weight, has very little appetite (if any at all), and feels constantly dehydrated despite the fluids he's trying to take in. A CAT scan a week ago showed 11 nodules in his lungs. Today they did an x-ray and they are 50% worse. This isn't good. They thought that he had/has "Valley Fever" which is a fungal infection in the lungs that has symptoms that are similar to Tuberculosis. They've been treating him with antifungal medications which take a lot longer to get rid of the problem than a bacterial infection would with antibiotics. They didn't expect his chest x-ray to look WORSE today, which means it probably isn't a fungal infection. SO- they are now treating him with both anti fungals AND antibiotics. But this doesn't answer all the doctors questions. They have him quarantined due to the fact that it could be an infectious disease. He has a few other symptoms, but that's the majority of it. So. They have him on meds and are getting him hydrated through an IV. They will be doing a biopsy on his lungs looking for bacteria, fungus, and cancerous cells (most likely not cancerous). They are also testing for possible infectious diseases. Ian hasn't ever had a broken bone or stitches (other than having his wisdom teeth out and some minor stitches on his finger as a kid) so going under is a bit scary. He is so worn out from his illness these last couple + weeks. I thought I'd let you all know what he's doing/going through and would like to ask that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
thanks so much.
Anne-Marie
June 8th, I wrote to my family:
So, I've been saying I would send our family update but just haven't been able to bring myself to sit down and write it. Here it goes.
Ian- First of all, thank you thank you for all your prayers, well wishes, and fasts. I really feel our prayers have been heard over and over and that we've been blessed in so many ways. The most recent one being this last week. Ian completed his chemo treatment of Rituxan on Tuesday May31st. At that time he did his usual blood tests to monitor a number of things, but one main one is his kidney function. Every week, his kidney results were getting worse and worse- the numbers doubling each week. The doctor told Ian that if a particular result goes above 1.0 then he will need to put him on a different chemo treatment called Cytoxin. It's a much harsher chemo and has several harmful side effects. Needless to say, we did NOT NOT NOT want Ian to have to take this medicine. So he did his labs that Tuesday and sure enough, all his tests, minus 1 test, came back. They all had doubled again. The one we were waiting for had to be above 1.0 based on his other results, but we didn't know FOR SURE since it wasn't back yet. These test results get emailed to us practically instantly, but the most important one still wasn't back. Anyway, we waited and waited. Because we didn't get the test result back, we figured the doctor was holding it from us. Friday came and Ian emailed the doctor about what was going on. The doctor looked into it and discovered that the test had NOT been run. So Ian had to go back to the clinic and run ALL the test over again. When I heard that the test had not been run, I just KNEW that was good news. We had been fasting, praying, putting Ian's name in the temple, going to the temple, etc. This was it. So Ian went to get his blood work done again. And sure enough, all his scores had gone down a TON except for the one we missed originally. That one HAD gone above 1.0, but because ALL the other scores had dropped so drastically, the doctor said no to Cytoxin. We are so so happy. I'm sorry that was such a long story. Cytoxin is still an option if things go poorly again, but most likely they won't. The Ritoxin that he has been taking usually takes 4 to 6 weeks to start working. The doctors didn't want to wait it out if Ian's kidneys were getting bad, but now they don't have to. I hope this all makes sense.
Bottom line- we're being watched over. We've had so much help from ward members, family, and friends. It's been so sweet to watch our kids' reactions to all the kindness too. I just had to share with you that little miracle for us. And Ian is getting better. His voice still is very hoarse (has sores on his vocal chords), but his cough is practically gone. If he doesn't slack on taking his steroids 4 times a day, he doesn't have much of any arthritic flare ups. His legs are still weak, but he's been able to do some easy yoga and light walking on the tread mill this week. His sinuses are still really bad including daily nose bleeds, but his mouth sores aren't as bad. He is able to do some work at the computer from home and is finding some comfort in some Wegener's boards on-line. When Ian got home from the hospital he had lost a total of 20 pounds. Unfortunately, his high dose of prednisone (steroid) has a very common side effect of severe hunger. The doctors say he needs to seriously avoid stress so not to worry about what he's eating. :) I tell him now he knows what it feels like to be pregnant or nursing!
One downfall lately is that Abby got a fever today (103) so Ian had to go to his parents house to escape the possibility of getting sick. Fun times! We are all hanging in there even though Abby feels so guilty that she's sick. Poor girl.
We are looking forward to a summer with dad at home, but will be planning lots of local activities that don't involve big crowds (unless I go alone with the kids). We'll also need to wait a while longer before taking dad (Ian) with us. Because his immune system is so low, he really shouldn't be around too many preventable germs.
I am excited to have Abby home for the summer. Then Eli starts kindergarten in the fall. Caleb will start preschool and life is moving so fast. Ayla is just a ray of sunshine. SUCH a happy happy baby. We want to eat her up- we love her babiness so much.
We know we aren't the only ones with "stuff" going on in our lives. We are praying for you all too. We would love to help in any way we can, IF we can! Let us know what's going on with you so we might be able to help in any way.
love to you all!
Anne-Marie
Just Starting
Ayla loves her stories before nap time. I read "But Not the Hippopotamus" last week and at the end when it says, "but not the armadillo", Ayla said, "uh oh". The next time I read it to her she said uh oh to when the hippopotamus got left out. Today she said it every time the hippopotamus got left out. She totally understands the context! It's so cute. Other cute Ayla-isms are when you ask her if she wants something, like water, milk, take a nap, a certain food, go outside, etc. etc. She nods yes or no totally appropriately. This started a couple months ago with nodding yes to every question I would ask her, but now she does it correctly to what she really feels. She's a smart cookie. She is very social. She goes to other people very easily. If you roll down the window she automatically starts saying hi or bye and waving. The same goes for when people leave our house. Ayla loves her grandparents but seems to be especially fond of grandpa Farr lately. She get super excited to see him and even says "Pa Pa!" and gives him hugs.
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