A couple updates

Just in case you are wondering, Kevin is doing fabulous! I've only given him gluten rich foods twice simply out of my own fears. For some odd reason I feel like I am giving something that will hurt him if I give him anything containing gluten, so I have to get over that hurdle. All of his bodily functions are normal, which is wonderful. That's the update for now. Thank you for the many many many messages of encouragement and love over the last few days. I know Celiac is not the worst thing in the world, but it certainly changed our world for the last few months. I appreciate everything!

Little Taylore is home from the hospital. She is a tough girl, tougher than me, that's for sure. Hopefully I will see her this weekend.

Off to be with Mom this weekend.

Mom's Day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! If you could see the many birthday notes and cards made by Juliana over the last week, you'd be amazed. I guess that's what you get when you are the World's Best Grand(mother)! X's and O's!

Not too much has changed since this picture was taken. Still youthful and still smiling! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

CELIAC MONSTER IS GONE!

GO AWAY CELIAC MONSTER! I got the phone call from Kevin's new doctor that Kevin does NOT have Celiac! After almost 4 months of putting the poor little man through a total lifestyle change, he is back to a regular diet. The doctor said he has never tested someone for Celiac and had all of their tests come back negative, so he is 90 percent sure that Kevin is going to lead a gluten rich life. He actually suggested that I give him a big bowl of pasta for lunch! Haaaaa! He made sure that I understood the side effects of Celiac and to watch Kevin for any signs of rejection, and obviously to give him a call immediately if he reacts to gluten whatsoever.

For lunch today, I gave Kevin half of a peanut butter sandwich on regular bread, a gluten free cookie, and I was nice and gave him a couple chips too. As you can see in the photos, for the first time EVER, he ate his entire sandwich willingly and with a happy face. I am hoping and praying that all goes well!



I was telling Jason that while I was making his sandwich on regular bread, I started to cry. Silly, I know! I felt like I was intentionally hurting him. For so long, we have been so careful to keep him free of gluten and to keep him healthy. I hope this is finally the correct diagnosis (or lack thereof).

Sending love to everyone... FROM A HAPPY MOMMY!

Little Taylore

While at the library tonight, I got an e-mail that there was a message on our phone. I didn't think much about it, so I came home, did some homework with Juliana, put the kids to bed, and checked the message. It was my sister Stephanie telling me that Taylore was in surgery. She broke her arm above the elbow and that is all I know. Keep my neice, little Taylore, in your prayers tonight! I can only imagine going through surgery as a 6 year old. LOVE YA KIDDO! GET WELL! I can hardly stand the phone not ringing right now.

For Tricia

Remember the other day when I mentioned "Confessions of a CF Husband". Well, there is somewhat of an inspirational challenge out there in blog world to write a list of things... just read "CONFESSIONS OF A CF HUSBAND" to find out more! The idea for this is simply remember how lucky most of us are to come home from the hospital healthy and to have a healthy baby too. We all hope Tricia is able to enjoy these moments with little Gwyneth one day soon. Here is my list...

1. When you realize you are using the last clean bottle and have a dozen to wash AND realizing the importance of a (bottle) nipple brush.
2. Nudging your husband for the second time to feed the baby.
3. Clearing out the car and the car seat just to rid the car of vomit.
4. Planting your nose in the carpet to find out exactly what that stain is and how to get rid of it.
5. Fingerpainting with mashed potatoes.
6. Realizing that your mother is not right when she tells you to check a diaper by sticking your finger in it.
7. Ni-night smooches!
8. No longer able to spell out names, things, or situations to avoid your child from knowing what is going on.
9. Glass does break when a toddler throws a figurine into it.
10. Hearing the "uuuuuuuuuhhhhhh" noise when you get a big hug is the best sound in the world!

Thanks for opening my eyes Tricia, Nathan, and Gwyneth! GET WELL!

Spring Forward

Well, Kevin FINALLY had his Celiac second opinion on friday. What a difference a doctor can make! His new specialist took about 45 minutes to an hour to talk to us about what happened at the hospital in November and what has happened since then. To make a long story short, his initial reaction is that Kevin does have Celiac, although there are a few things that make him doubt that too. He and the nutritionist (that we talked to for another hour), are also concerned about his BMI, Body Mass Index. His height is close to the 80th percentile, and his weight is in the 5-10th percentile, which puts his BMI well below what the charts can actually show. They think it is about the 2nd percentile, but aren't completely sure. All of this is consistent with Celiac, although since he has been on a gluten free diet for 4 months now, he should be gaining weight. He is only up 18 ounces from when he left the hospital in November. After we spent the time with the nutritionist, we headed to the lab for poking and prodding. Kevin had about 4 vials of blood taken for various tests. Those tests should be back early this week. He was quite angry in the lab, although was over it quickly and was back to his active self within minutes. It was a successful day!

Thank goodness we have such wonderful friends here. Since the appointment took so long, Juliana went to Alissa's house after school to play. A HUGE THANK YOU MARTINE!

Later on friday night, we headed to see Disney Princesses on Ice. We thought it started at 7pm, ohhhhhh nooooo, it started at 7:30. We were there about 6:15 to get a decent parking spot too. You would think we would have been bright enough to look at the start time on the tickets. Apparently not! Haaaaaa! Once we got through the doors, Juliana and I sat down in the seats, while Daddy and Kevin went to look for some special treats. All I have to say, is that a Daddy knows how to spoil children. He came back with a Little Mermaid cup with an icee, a $20 program, a Mickey Mouse doll, cotton candy, Flounder hat, and a light up tiara for Juliana. LUCKY KIDS!

I think that was the only fun Daddy had, because he and Kevin left the show about 15 minutes into it. Kevin was terrified with the applause and the lighting changes. Daddy had a good attitude about it, and came to pick up Juliana and I after the show. Too bad he forgot to turn his phone on when he left the building and I could not get a hold of him at all after the show. I was a bit scared standing there with Juliana, but it all ended well. I think the best part of the night was seeing Alissa, seeing her girl scout friends, and even her friend Jocelyn from school too. FUN FUN FUN!

Yesterday we headed to my sisters house to celebrate my Dad's 65th birthday. The kids had a great time playing, running around, getting attention from aunties and uncles, and of course getting attention from Grandpa too. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! After the dinner and cake, we headed to Mom's house to pick up Shadow. We were home about 10pm, with a wide awake Kevin and Shadow, and a zonked Mommy, Daddy, and Juliana.

Today we are heading to another birthday party. I suppose I should go wrap the gift.

NO PICTURES. I am not sure what was going through my head during this weekend, I just never picked up the camera. Try not to be completely heartbroken. HA HA!

Journal Sessions

There are times that this blog turns into somewhat of a personal journal. Since my jury duty has been postponed for another few hours, HERE I AM! Aren't you lucky?!?!?

Juliana and I went out for donuts this morning since Daddy was home with Kevin. She reminded me that today was Great-Grandma's birthday and she wanted to know if we were going to her party in Heaven. Haaaaaa! Yes, I did chuckle at that comment and not cry. She said, "All we have to do is go to Home Depot to get a ladder big enough to go to Heaven." She said it with the sassy and confident voice that simply states that she knows more than me. Almost immediately after that comment, she said she wanted to get balloons to send up to Heaven since they will get up there faster than if we were to climb a ladder. I AGREED! After we got to the store, I could not bring myself to buy balloons, especially since Juliana only wanted to buy Great-Grandma a huge Easter rainbow balloon. Ohhhhh geeze! When I got home after dropping Juliana off at school, I told Jason all about what happened this morning. He strongly suggested that we not get balloons since they will probably land in the ocean and "choke a whale or something". He said we should just go out for Grandma's favorite dessert, Root Beer Floats. So, that will be our outing tonight in celebration of Grandma.


(Juliana and Great-Grandma-- according to nurses, Uncle Don and Aunt Marie, this was one of the only days that Grandma communicated through smiling and blinking since her stroke 2 months earlier. I remember asking Grandma while she was holding Juliana if she was proud of me. She smiled, and gave a long blink with a tear coming out of her right eye. She smiled again as I wiped the tear from her eye. A moment I'll never forget. This picture was taken as I was ready to leave the room. The last time I ever saw Grandma. We headed home to Massachusetts the next day.)

Boy, I feel so much better! Last, but not least, thanks Martine for your last comment. Hugs....

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I am actually writing this section of the entry hours after what is written above this. After I found out my jury duty had been called off, I mustered up the courage to take Kevin to "visit" Grandma for her birthday. I am sooooo glad I did. When we got there, I was sad, although not like I thought I would be. Since I thought we were the only people around, Kevin and I started singing "Happy Birthday" quietly. I found out quickly that we were not the only visitors, since I heard giggling somewhere. I never saw anyone, but the place is enormous, so who knows. The giggling continued when we left and Kevin started blowing kisses. He is not quiet about blowing kisses. You hear, "MUAAAAHHHHHH" very loud! As you can see in the photo, Kevin even took time to smell the yellow daisies. Ahhhh, so cute! I am glad we went, and I actually feel much better.