WOW November came & went – I don’t know about the rest of the world but we were so busy that we blinked and it was December.

November had a bunch of birthdays – including 2 of our own. Mommy & little Drew are 30 yrs and 1 day apart so we did lots of celebrating.

That’s right, Andrew is now 2 years old. We had his pictures done right before he turned 2 and he was awful for them, but they turned out pretty cute anyway. The one to the left is just one of the 4 that we chose. No props this time, he threw them all away from the scene! And I know what you are thinking – as most say – terrible 2′s right? Yep, except he’s been in it for about 6 months now. Fun!

Now don’t get us wrong, he’s not all bad. He’s actually pretty good when he’s got some toys and is hanging out solo with ya. He is very mushy and loving as he’s always been. And we all know what a cutie he is. He’s very smart and already taking after his daddy with the music stuff. More than I ever thought… he seems to have a natural drive for the guitar and we won’t be surprised if he follows in his father’s footsteps with that. I can’t really explain it, you just have to see him with it to see his enthusiasm for it. Amazing!

He’s 29 lbs now (only 2 lbs less than his sister!) which is pretty average and he’s 33 inches tall now. He has been growing well, though he eats pretty well…. if you give him what he wants. He is kinda picky. He is showing some interest in potty training, but doesn’t quite get when he’s gotta go yet… so it will come with time. He does say over and over "my turn" after ME goes potty – so we put him on anyway. He talks well too, chattering away all the time.

And as always he loves his big sister and copies and wants to do EVERYTHING she does… can’t blame him but it’s hard sometimes!

Mary Elizabeth is doing rather well. She is loving school and doing great with the 5 day a week schedule. She looks great, is talking great, eating great…. speaking of which – her gtube area is all healed up and other than a scar and a bit of pinkness – her belly looks AWESOME. She’s been known to lift her shirt up to show people… haha, she can’t help but be proud of her belly! She’s come so far!

Today we were supposed to go down to NYC to get a scope of her airway done and perhaps a little lasering to some areas in her mouth. They were hoping to see how she did with the tonsilectomy and to determine when/if the trach was ready to come out soon. (Thus starting a long but good process of decannulation -aka trach removal). We were sad to have had to cancel that due to some congestion ME had. She is fine, but the congestion prevented her from going under anesthesia today. We are hoping to have a new date soon.

Other things that have gone on in November were lots of dr appts, helping a family member out with their surgery and recovery, the Imagination Movers concert (a kids show concert), Thanksgiving, parties for Drew, a party for his 2nd cousin Owen, celebrating with mommy for her birthday, School events and Daddy starting a NEW JOB!

Yes, Andy got a new job, something we’ve prayed long and hard about. He was blessed to have landed a great position as a Network Administrator for a large Tugboat company. So things are looking up, but he’s quite busy!!!

Enjoy the photos we have posted and as always we will keep you updated on our little family

It’s already 5 days into October?!? Where did the time go?

September proved to be a busy month, we had lots of fun going Apple Picking and hanging out at some farms, continuing to have lots of playdates, celebrated some birthdays… and of course ME started her 2nd year of preschool!!!!

This year Mary Elizabeth is going to school 5 days a week, still half day of course, but it’s a lot. Though it’s a lot- she loves every minute of it. She has an awesome teacher, great kids in her class and we already know it’s a great school. She’ll be learning lots this year in preparation of Kindergarten next year! But still having fun nonetheless. She likes to stay busy so it’s perfect for her.

She also started dancing school this month. We did miss the first class because she was having more tummy troubles due to leaking from the gtube hole that has yet to close fully (it’s getting closer but still not all the way yet). She has since done much better but like I said missed her first class. The first day she was able to go- she was thrilled. She loved dressing up, loved following the teacher and loved dancing. She is very natural about it and well you can just tell it’s definitely up her ally. So cute to see!

Soon our schedule gets busier because we finally found a new speech therapist and she begins that this week. Amongst her dr appts, school and dancing school!

Poor little Drew has to spend lots of time transferring everywhere but mommy has been making lots of playdates for the kids to have fun, and then he does get to have some one on one time with mommy while ME is at school. After the holidays pass by and the weather starts to get too cold for outdoor playdates, we’ll sign him up for some sort of mommy/me class so he can have a nice activity to go to. He had some music classes over the summer which he enjoyed, we’re thinking some sort of gym like class for him to get his monkey-like abilties out! haha.

October has already been busy as well, and we have lots of fun things planned. Some that we already have done (Like the Bronx Zoo!!!) So stay tuned.

Also- remember Mary Elizabeth has her surgery on October 12th so keep her in your prayers. She will be having her tonsils removed and they’ll do a scope of her airway to see how things are and if anything further needs to be done there.

Mary Elizabeth did great on Friday getting her gtube removed. It was a short procedure – as the procedure itself took less than 15 minutes, though because of prep time, the iv being put in etc. – she was in there from 7:45 until 8:20. Still not bad! Thing is- she was a sleepy head and slept from then until 11ish, So mommy and daddy spent a lot of time staring at her in recovery!!

When they were bringing her into recovery, we talked with the Doctor. He said her hole was REALLY big and stretched out. We knew this- as that was what caused the leaking… leading to soreness/redness – a horrible rash with some bleeding at times and thus pain of course. Yet he still prefferred that the hole would close and heal on it’s own, it would be better for her that way and typically 75% of the time the hole does close completely on it’s own. If it should not, it will close most of the way and the stitching would be minimal.

She has a HUGE bandage that seems "Super-glued" onto her belly and where the gtube WAS is still a bump- reason is- he had put some special stuff on the area with lots of gauze as to sort of keep it "plugged"  but without it being inside of the hole so the hole could still close. So it sticks out a little there, but it helps prevent leaking. The bandage SHOULDN’T come off, but we can’t emerge it in water or get it too wet. So sponge baths for 2 weeks.
In 2 weeks we go back and he’ll take the bandage off and check to see how it is doing. He’ll decide then if the bandage needs to be reapplied.

He will give it a couple months to fully close. So far we haven’t noticed any leaking and she’s been doing good with the bandage on. She is very happy and is often lifting her shirt to show everyone and anyone that she now has a bandage and no gtube. So very proud! She’s come a long way and deserves to be proud- we are too!

Seems unreal that we are done with that, we are praying that before long we will be thinking that about the trach too, but only time will tell.

Anyway for now we are enjoying the rest of the summer. Mary Elizabeth though is anxiously awaiting going to School, starting September 14th and also starting Dancing School around then as well!!! We all know that she’s a social little butterfly so a busy schedule is just up her ally!

Drew… well he is now officially, today, 21 MONTHS OLD!
He’s a very active little boy, so he sleeps REALLY well (Thank Goodness!!). He is a happy lil kid though and loves his big sister, they are a bit of trouble when together…. but fun nonetheless. Drew is talking up a storm and says just about everything. He loves to sing along to songs and he has a SERIOUS addiction to guitars. Not kidding there, do not take his toy guitars away from him!!! He definitely seems like a natural, but he does have those musical genes on both sides of the family so that might be why. Soon we’ll be starting to plan his 2nd birthday. Seems unreal!!!!

Wow… been a while since we updated. Sorry for that. I can’t say why we didn’t update in April… but May so far has been the usual fun, yet extremely busy month!

Well on Wednesday, May 20th- our little princess, Mary Elizabeth turned FOUR years old, yep she’s 4!!! We cannot believe how time has flown. She had a great birthday party with all of her friends at a local park with the Disney Princess theme… and yes, she was a true princess herself. It was so much fun!

She is doing great in school- learning lots and loving the socialization. She is doing better with her behavior since we are out of the terrible 2′s and defiant 3′s. But she remains to have that independant and stubborn nature so yes, our little girl can be fresh at times!! She does great with one-on-one things and loves to play games and cards with mom & dad. She, being the girly girl she is- LOVES doing nails together, pretending to do make-up & hair too. She is very into dressing up and pretending, loves pocket books and shoes… she’s just adorable!
ME has tons of fun with her little brother and loves being "mommy" to him. She can be bossy though but Drew handles it pretty well.

We were told recently that if she drinks more milk she can get her gtube out. She eats well and has no problem drinking- I just think she wasn’t as used to drinking as much since she never had a bottle, so she is lazy or forgetful about it. So keep in your prayers that she DRINKS UP so we can get there. We don’t want to remove the gtube and then have her lose weight, she’s a peanut and a little skinny minnie as it is. Her dr appt was today and she’s 28.5 lbs and 37 inches. Growing fine on her own little curve she has been. We just need a little more weight on her!

Drew just turned 18 months old today- yep he’s a year and a half old!! He’s QUITE a handful. Active as can be, a true BOY, climbing and exploring and getting into all sorts of stuff. He laughs when you tell him "NO" – even if you are very stern and serious about it! But he’s fun and adorable too, very affectionate and cuddly. He likes to play with his toys and is still very inquisitive.
Drew just loves his big sister and when they aren’t getting into trouble together there’s a lot of fun and laughter which just really puts the joy in the household.
He is learning lots and saying lots. He says more words than I can count. You can tell he really wants to talk, he’ll babble and make arm/hand gestures while he tells you a whole story. So once he starts talking in sentences, I don’t think he’ll ever stop. At this point he’s putting a couple words together here and there which is right where he should be. Most of the time he’s saying "Get Down" to himself – he says it before mommy can!!!
Andrew loves to be outside, and will often be upset when you take him in. He loves his little power wheels and playing in the sandbox with his sister (or throwing sand on top of his head).
Anyway, he too had an appointment/checkup this week and he is now 25 lbs 3oz and 30.9 inches tall. Growing nicely- as we’d expect, since the boy can eat!!! (Especially if it’s pasta of any sort!)

So all in all we are doing well, have our hands full but are having lots of fun. The kids are enjoying the beautiful weather and being outside. We have some nice summer plans set up and are looking forward to that. 

On another note, Mary Elizabeth’s surgery it is this Tuesday May 26th and she is having Sclerotherapy done again. This as you know can be a biggie with swelling issues etc. So keep her in your prayers and of course the Doctor as well who is performing it (Dr. Bernstein).

Lots of Dr Appts were going on here….

Andy: He ended up recently with a touch of the flu (along with ME who recovered just fine). His caused a sinus infection and double ear infection. His ear infections got so bad that his ear drums ruptured – BOTH of them. He ended up one night in the ER with his ears bleeding and found this out. Which got him a ticket to see an ENT dr. Since then he is doing and feeling a lot better, his ears are just gonna take a while. So if you see him and he doesnt appear to realize you are talking or hear what you are saying, it’s because of his hearing being affected for a while (Dr says at least a month, or two). So we’re all repeating ourselves 2-3 times around here for now Otherwise Daddy is doing well and busy with work and musical endeavors.

Jessica: Not as big of a deal (well most likely not). But ME found a ‘buggy’ on mommy’s back. And sure enough it was a tick. (Which freaked mommy out big time!!) So off to the dr with that and they’ll do bloodwork to be sure nothing is up. I’m sure its not but I didn’t save the tick- oops. All in all Mommy is fine and doing well, other than being hectic and running around all over the place.

Drew: He went for his 6 month check up with the eye dr and his "lazy eye" which was hardly noticeable before (only noticed when he woke up from a nap)…. is even less noticeable now. I rarely see it at all. The dr said it improved and he barely can even call it lazy eye but it’s there a tad so we’ll see him every 6 months just to check it. Drew is also doing well and being absolutely adorable as ever. He seems to be learning a new word everyday and is babbling a lot! So cute!

Now for the biggie….

Mary Elizabeth: she just saw her radiologist in NYC this afternoon. I cannot express how fond I am of this man and amazed at his knowledge. It helps how great he is with Mary Elizabeth too. Anyway, Dr. B says she’s getting a lot of good results from the Sclerotherapy and wants to continue with it. He scheduled us for May 26th for her next one. He wants to tackle the floor of mouth area, a little chin and cheek perhaps. He decides for sure as he is doing it with the ultrasounds. He put a picture up of her before her first sclero, and one recent one we sent him. Amazing to see how far we’ve come. These are different pictures and not the exact same angles and whatnot but the first one is from a few days before her first sclero (back in June of ’07) and the other one is from this past St Patrick’s Day. While it is 2 yrs apart that is because we have had to space the sclerotherapys out a bit. And we had a huge break back when I was pregnant and Drew was first born.


Now sure she’s grown in 2 yrs. But the difference in her cheeks and the sides of her face etc is great. She has definition around her chin area, more around her mouh and you notice her nose more because its not surrounded with cysts.
While it does seem that her chin is more pronounced or "longer" that’s because her face isn’t as wide as it used to be so we notice it more… and she has grown. The future jaw surgery will help push her chin back instead of outward. Also apparantly she has a bit of scar tissue in there they will have to remove.
We are glad that she has had results from this and are looking forward to seeing more.

Aside from that she has a small dental procedure in the OR on April 2nd. So we pray that goes well too.
And all in all she is doing quite well. We are amazed that she is going to be 4 yrs old soon. She is cracking us up left and right with her witty comments and all-knowing ways. She’s such a cute little smarty pants!

Hope everyone had a good day!

Her Surgery date has changed!!!!

Tuesday, February 10th was the original date for the sclerotherapy/injection surgery. It is now changed to Monday, February 9th.

The reason why they changed it is because they want an updated MRI and the only time they could get her in for the MRI in the hospital was on Monday. Instead of making us go to the city twice and put her under anesthesia 2 days in a row… they reorganized things to make it happen all in one day. Sooooo….. change your calendars and say your prayers.

In addition, pray that God will put a little bubble right around Mary Elizabeth. Mommy is sick with a head cold (and daddy a little too now). So far she seems fine. They said surgery will be good to go as long as she doesn’t get a fever or an abundance of green mucous/secretions. So we hope she can stay healthy until then… and of course we pray for a successful surgery with no complications and perhaps an easier time with recooperation than she’s had in the past.

We will of course, post an update as soon as we have more information.

Mary Elizabeth- After her strep and infection in her cysts/chin area… she was itching from the swelling in her chin. She gave herself some scratches, which she picked at. Then she was scabbing up. So her chin was a mess for a bit. It is better, but still has a big scab underneath in one area. And she of course is better and well.
She loves school and so do we- especially in the winter. It’s hard… she misses her swingset and going to the park! Ever since she was a baby and had Physical Therapy for that short while, they said she was advanced in her fine motor skills. Well her current teachers and speech therapists of today tend to agree that she still is. She is cutting and pasting like a 5-6 year old. She’s very crafty and creative. Lately her favorite thing to do is paint mommy’s nails (both fingers and toes). I feared my 3 1/2 yr old doing this- but she actually did a decent job!!
We’re trying to visit, have play dates and do as much as we can as we have her next surgery coming up on February 10th. A reminder that this is the sclerotherapy/injections again. So we know that means swelling and discomfort for her. Please keep her in your prayers as always.

 Drew- Gosh he’s 14 months already. He’s getting big, fast and learning lots of tricks from his big sister. He’s climbing on everything and being totally boyish! He is of course a big mush and a sweetheart though. He keeps chattering away and though a lot of it is still babble – we hear him saying lots of words. Such as: Hi, Bye, Mama, Dada, Teeth, Row Row (as in row row your boat), Trees, Shoes etc. He even said Shiva the other day (Uncle David’s doggie’s name). He tries to say "grandma" and I realize he is trying to say Mary Elizabeth which is REALLY HARD, and comes out like "ShaSha" – as if he’s trying to say the Elizabeth part the most. Hard to explain of course.
He did ok after the strep, and all is well expect for some teething here and there. He’s only got 2 teeth right now, I think we’re looking at a 3rd soon though.
He goes for his 15 month check up next month. I know he’s doing rather well though. And in March he goes for his follow up eye exam for the lazy eye (which as mentioned we only see after he wakes up from naps). Well, I have to say that I am seeing it a whole lot less- if at all. So I dunno if there was improvement or what. I guess we shall see.

Both kids are doing good with eating. They will eat a variety of things, but if you really want them to eat a lot- feed them one of the following: pasta/meatballs/chicken nuggets/macaroni & cheese/hot dogs/peas. Well at least we have the peas in there. Yea they’ll actually eat their peas. Especially when I put it in the macaroni & cheese which is my trick for getting them to eat more greens!

All in all they are great, they love eachother so much and have a lot of fun- they also drive us crazy but that’s toddler-hood for ya

Both kids are sick!!! What a way to start 2009 huh….

OK let’s rewind…
A few days ago (say Friday) ME was complaining "my tooth hurts". Well she just had dental surgery just a few weeks ago so I couldn’t imagine anything being wrong quite yet. She persisted so I told her to show me where. And she’d point lower down like on her gums/jaw line. So I thought perhaps she had an infection. Fri night/Saturday morning slight temps of 100. Max temp on Saturday was 101.5. But went back down quickly with motrin. Our thought was to call her dentist on Monday and ask him.
Well Sunday she seemed fine, nothing over 100.5. Motrin helped the pain in her gums.

Sunday night around 10:30 her fever was around 103. We gave her Motrin again and got the ball rolling with an email to the dentist (he would prob check that early). Then, she woke up a 1:30am with a 104.7 fever – YIKES… (and stayed up from 1:30am til 5:30am- keeping Andy and myself up while she was at it)… We called the pediatrician, she said after she woke up tomorrow – bring her in. We then noticed in the middle of the night that her chin/jaw line was red and warm to the touch – so this indicated her malformation (cysts) was infected.

Morning came she slept in a bit and her temp was a bit lower but she was still on motrin/tylenol. The chin area was very red, we sent pics (and a detailed description) to her dentist and her main Dr that treats her condition. They agreed she has this "LM Flare up"- (aka cellulitis: an infection). And we knew this too because we’ve seen her get this swollen/red/warm blotches on her face (where the cysts are). Since her gums are affected by the malformation it seems they were affected in this particular flare up.

So I took her to the pediatrician anyway- even though the Drs in the city already sent in her prescriptions. Come to find out- she now has STREP THROAT too.

Now Drew felt fine… until we were on the way to the Dr. He felt warm. When the Dr found out ME had strep, she checked Drew while he was there. Low and behold- 103.7 fever, and yep tested positive for Strep.

So I have 2 sick kiddos here at home. And I’m playing nurse here making sure they still eat/drink well and get their rest and all their meds!

Drew is only on an antibiotic and then takes his tylenol or motrin.
ME on the other hand, has those 2 as well as being on a steroid (for the swelling) and then zantac (to ease her stomach from the steroids).

They really haven’t been sick in a long time other than a minor cold. So I am fortunate for that. And honestly they are handling it pretty well. Once the motrin kicks in- they are up and playing (and you can certainly tell by the whining when the motrin is wearing off!!!) I am glad this will be taken care of once the antibiotic kicks in.
… Now that I think about it … Drew has never been on antibiotics. So I guess this is his first real sickness. That’s not something worth celebrating though!