Bout time for an update on Jake, eh?

Looking back at the last few months of blogging and updating, it's occurred to me that in updating constantly about John, I haven't hardly posted anything about Jacob! Shame on me!!!

Jacob is now 18mo old, and my goodness is he ever a little stinker! From what I've been told, he is stomping right on into his grandpa's footsteps (lord, help us all lol) and being a little monstrosity! Crazy little dude is into everything, thinking he's big stuff, and just enjoying being a full-blown toddler :)

He is still wearing a brace on his right leg because his leg is still curved pretty badly, and his foot is still turned inward and rolled a bit; but he's defied the odds and the doctors predictions! They said he wouldn't even be standing by a year old, and he was walking by then! We're so proud of him! Every now and again he gets unsteady, but overall he's doing fabulous! The brace he's in now is supposed to last him until the end of the year, and then he'll be re-evaluated for another fitting and a new brace. I have no doubt he'll wear some sort of brace or stabilizer on that leg for a couple more years, but I'm not concerned since he does so well with it.

Jacob has proven to be a very strong-willed little feller. I always said that because John practically gave up his bottle at 6mo old, that my next child would be a nightmare to wean from the bottle. Boy, was I ever right! lol :) Jacob never took a pacifier, which was both a blessing and a curse -- blessing that I never had to take it from him, but a curse because the bottle became his ONLY soother! And man did he love that bottle. At 17mo old he was refusing to drink from anything BUT a bottle for me. I tried every type and style of sippy available, and he would just get ticked and throw them all across the room. Finally, I decided we weren't playing anymore games, and I threw his bottles away! He was not a happy camper for several days, but he is now a bottle-free tiny tot! His favorite type of sippy is the el-cheapo-cheapo kind from WalMart, which is okay by me! :)

Jacob thinks he is big stuff and never ceases to amaze me with the things he can do! He's become such an independent one. He feeds himself and even dishes his own food out for himself! It's incredible! I love watching him toddle around the house saying nonsense words to himself and his brother -- but man he sure knows what he's trying to say! He does have a few words in his vocabulary now, and every so often he pops out a new one that totally catches me off guard (like the other day he pointed to a window and said "winow" ... yes, jacob, yes that is a window! very good! lol). He also signs "more" when he wants something! So cute!

I love having the privilege and pleasure of watching my youngest grow and learn. He is getting so big (already wearing 24mo/2T clothes) and discovering new things every day. His big brother is such a great example to him (most of the time haha), and they are so fun to watch!

He still has his crazy curly hair, but he's turned into a blondie on me! When he was born I just loved his dark almost black hair, but now he's got sandy brown and blond hair like his mama! He will one day hate his curls, I have no doubt lol :) He's taken after his brother as far as being lactose-intolerant, which actually makes it much easier to buy just one kind of milk and everything between the boys and not having to worry about mixing cups up! One big difference I've seen between John and Jake is the fact that by now John had pretty much a full set of teeth -- Jake has (I wanna say) six or seven lol. Little bit of a late bloomer, but that's not stopping him from enjoy all of the tasty treats he can get his hands on!

Gotta love me some oreos!!!

Such a big boy now, drinking from a sippy cup!

Lounging with Brother (they're almost the same size!)

YOGUUUURRRRTTTTT!!!! YUMMMM!!!

My boys watching TV with Daddy -- they miss Daddy while he's away at training, but we got these awesome "Daddy pillows" as we call them, and they both love it!

Every Little Bit Helps!!

This morning I received a call from John's rheumatologist. They ran labs at his last appointment to see how elevated some of the levels in his blood were that are indicators of inflammation. Everything was perfect except for one -- his SED rate. The SED rate is one of the biggest indicators of inflammation. Normal levels are 15 or lower, and John's is still at 25. Pretty high for a little dude, but MUCH lower than they have been (is average has been around 40, and it climbed to 112 while we were at Riley's in December). This is excellent news!! He has been off of his anti-inflammatory meds for a few days now, and he's doing very well with it so far. The colder weather that's creeped back up on us seems to be affecting him a little bit, but he's doing well with just tylenol. We'll probably sneak a couple doses of ibuprofen back in there to see if that helps him, but overall he's really doing great! I'm so proud of my little mister man and how he's handled everything so far. Hopefully we'll continue to have good news with each appointment in the future, and maybe ... just maybe ... his body has truly done the impossible and cured itself of an incurable disease!!

Yesterday marked three months since John was admitted to Riley in December. Crazy, right? It feels like it was just yesterday but also feels like it was an eternity ago, all at the same time. Is that even possible?

Since our Riley visit John has overall done exceptionally well. We had that one ... let's call it an episode ... at the end of February that landed him in the hospital for a day, but other than that he's been good! His physical therapist said numerous times he is well beyond the average skill/mobility level for a child his age, and she even said he's doing so well that she feels he does not need the therapy at this point! Of course, we are to call her if we have any questions or concerns or if he seems to be stiffening up or backsliding in anything ... but as of right now, we are therapy free! Yay!

Today, John had check-ups with his ophthalmologist (let's call it Ophth for short) and his rheumatologist (let's call it Rheum for short). The Ophth was amazed at how cooperative John was with the tests -- even putting his chin on that little plastic rest and his forehead up against the bar so she could look at the back of his eyes! He does such a fabulous job with that one. I am so proud of him! The Ophth was also amazed that he knew all of his letters and their sounds. Way to go, Mister Smarty Pants! :)  She said his vision is far better than what a child of his age should have (we'll thank Daddy for that trait), and the issue with the nerve above his eye has completely resolved itself! They have no idea how or why, but it did! That means **drum roll, please** no surgery!!!! Woohoo!!! What a relief!!!

The Rheum was also very pleased with what she saw today. The warm weather seems to be helping John tremendously. She wants us to take him off his meloxicam (the anti-inflammatory), keep him on the daily regimen of tylenol 3x's/day, and keep a VERY close eye on him to see how he does. We're hoping that his mood swings will subside without the heavier medicine, and maybe just maybe he'll be alright knee-pain-wise without it! She said that it could be one of two things: 1- He does have a very very odd form of JRA that comes and goes and worsens with the cold weather and season changes. Very possible and would totally make sense for him. OR 2 - Sometimes, according to the Rheum, a child can develop an autoimmune disease (i.e. JRA) that hangs around for a few months, years, whatever. Then, the child contracts a different virus or something that causes them to be extremely ill with high fevers and the whole kit'n'caboodle (such as John had in December). Somehow the body and immune system almost manage to reset themselves for lack of better words, and the original autoimmune disease/disorder seems to clear up. Hopefully, this is what happened or is happening with John! That would be AMAZING! We have to go back to the Rheum in September/October (as the weather is starting to change again) to have John re-evaluated because she doesn't want to just assume whatever it is/was is gone now just because he's doing well at the moment.

This has been the first set of appointments since we started this whole journey that has had ANY glimmer of hope! I absolutely LOVE his new Rheum. She's amazing, and she listened to every single question and concern I had about John. It's very encouraging to finally have a doctor who is going to listen and try to help us figure out what's going on and how we can help John be a kid again!

Another Month ... Another Hospital Stay

The months of January and February were pretty good for John. He only had a couple episodes with his knees/fevers that were worse than normal, which meant we only needed to use his codeine (if I remember correctly) three times. Yay!

He started physical therapy, which was very exciting. Denise, his therapist, is amazing. I can tell she really loves working with the kids, and she really loves John! She gave us exercises to do at home, most of which we can incorporate into every day playing, to help build John's leg/knee strength and keep his range of movement where it needs to be. Denise has actually recommended we put a hold on therapy for now because she can't find enough tasks to challenge him! John can climb steps one foot after another with no help (a task generally not learned until approx 4yrs of age), ride a tricycle on his own, and even rollerskate! He's a tough little cookie, and he's amazed all of us! Josh and I are so incredibly proud of how well he has done.

Although we haven't battled as many big flare-ups with John's knees, we have still dealt with the "normal" pain, stiffness, and aches he gets. We've also been passing the sicky germs around. No fun! Both boys had a stomach ick at the same time. We had towels and buckets strategically placed around the living room. Ick! Thankfully, that only lasted a couple days. Jake had an ear infection that was accompanied by a bad cough. Coughing is the only symptom he shows when he has an ear infection, crazy kiddo. Most of the time we have no idea he's got anything going on! He's doing much better now, though, and he's still as ornery as ever. :)

We did have a bit of a scare with John again last week. He was very sick for several days and ultimately ended up not even being able to keep down a little bit of water. We were in contact with his pediatrician at least once a day updating her on how he was doing, and we were all extremely concerned because his healthy just continually deteriorated. During the weekend his fever bounced from 100* all the way up to 102.6*, and he just layed in my bed whimpering and completely lethargic. His pediatrician tried a new antibiotic, but it did nothing. We tried alternating tylenol and ibuprofen, as recommended, but that did nothing. After a full day of keeping absolutely nothing down, his pediatrician and I both decided he needed a visit to the ER for IV fluids for hydration.

The visit to the ER was, as usual, less than pleasant. The doctor seemed to have "bigger concerns" than my sick child. In fact, he barely spent twenty seconds checking John before he got a call and had to leave. A nurse came in several hours later, after John's antibiotics were through his IV and about half a bag of fluids had gone through, and said we were being discharged -- that the doctor felt John was doing well enough at this point to go home. Funny thing is that John was just laying, almost limp, in my arms. I told the nurse to send the doctor back in, do  NOT touch his IV, turn the fluids back on, and we are not leaving. Josh ended up having to give the pediatrician a call (he was at work, and I was updating him via text) and letting her know the situation John and I were dealing with in the ER before anything got done. (The pediatrician is located in the same hospital we were at, just up a few floors.) Finally, the doctor came back in, pulled up a chair, and tried to convince me that John was fine and could go home. I told him John was NOT fine, he DID need more fluids, and we were NOT going home until he got them. We discussed things a little bit further, and the doctor made a recommendation to John's pediatrician (basically because of my demanding) that John be admitted for hydration and observation.

I am so incredibly thankful I insisted John be admitted. They gave him antibiotics and fluids through his IV all through the night, and by morning he was actually sitting up in bed and asking to watch cartoons. Yay! Amazingly huge improvement! And he'd stopped vomiting! Double yay! I got him to eat a few cheerios and a couple chocolate chip cookies (he is his mama's child), and by afternoon he was asking to play! Another huge yay! The turned off his IV, we pushed fluids from a cup, and I got him to munch on some little snacks here and there ... by late afternoon, I got word that we were going to be sent home. This time, I had a happy little man on my hands who was roaring like a dinosaur choochooing like a train. I hadn't seen him acting that happy in a LONG time! It was amazing!

He did super super well throughout the beginning of the week. Daycare drop offs in the mornings have been tough, but I expected that considering he was used to having Mama all week and had to readjust. The back and forth is extremely tough on him. I felt like we were finally coming into a clear patch until I got a call from his daycare this afternoon. John spiked a 102.2* fever at daycare, but it left just as quickly as it came. They know of his knee issues and the symptoms that come and go with that, but they always give me a call whenever something like that happens. They said he was drinking lots of water and a little juice and was just tired and cranky, but otherwise was doing fine. Since 102* is the average temperature he gets with these flare-ups, and considering the weather changing (which affects him sooooo badly -- think of your regular arthritis and multiply it tenfold or more, then pop that in a 2yr old's knees) and also considering the fact that his temperature was back under 100* and there was just about an hour left before normal pick up time, I decided to wait it out. Tonight he took lots of water, ate really well, and his temperature was back to normal. Hopefully it stays there!

One Step Forward. Three Steps Backward.

Yes, that seems to be the dance we're dancing lately with John's diagnosis ... or lack thereof.

Tuesday was John's first follow-up appointments (three to be exact) with different doctors at Riley since he was  down there in the hospital.  He had appointments with his ophthalmologist, rheumatologist, and ENT ...

Appointment One :: Ophthalmologist
John sees an ophthalmologist every few months because the JRA can also attack the eyes.  The bad part is that by the time outward symptoms show, the vision is almost guaranteed to be lost.  The doctor dilates his eyes every couple appointments and looks at the backs of his eyes at each appointment. John does surprisingly well with all of this. We make a game of his putting his chin in the little chin rest of the machines and his forehead up against the top bar part.

At this last appointment the doctor did not need to dilate John's eyes because they'd just been dilated when John was admitted to Riley in December. She kept repeating one specific test with him and saying "hmmmm" a lot, so of course I asked if everything was okay. She mentioned the fact that John holds his head very far to one side, but I could not figure out why that would make any difference for an eye exam. After finishing the test (again), the doctor told me that she is almost certain that there are six nerves surrounding the eye, and John has one above one of his eyes that is misfiring, per say. The misfiring causes double vision when John holds his head upright and normal, but if he tilts his head to the side, the double vision clears. Odd, right? What could possibly cause that kind of thing? Glad you asked! Apparently, this problem is most often seen right after a virus or infection occurs. Makes sense considering John started tilting his head to the side just a day or two before we left Riley (remember, he had the mastoiditis of his ear and the bone behind the ear).  The only way to fix the nerve and correct the vision and head tilting is with surgery.  I don't know the details on the surgery or recovery at this point, but we go back to see the pediatric ophthalmic surgeon on March 22.

Appointment Two :: Rheumatologist
Dr. Chira is John's rheumatologist.  From the beginning he has been baffled by John's case because John does not present classic symptoms of any one specific disease.  Tuesday, Dr. Chira decided that he no longer feels John has JRA, but he still cannot give us an answer (or now even a guess) as to what John does have. He tried to tell me that John may just be "confused" and "feeling an odd sensation that he can't describe, so he just says 'ow' to describe it."  This really ticked me off because a toddler does NOT wake up crying in the middle of the night and holding his knees/ankles/elbows and saying, "Mama, it hurts! It hurts!" because they are confused about some strange feeling. And boy, did I let the doctor know that I felt that was ridiculous! He then told me that John is apparently just having some random sort of chronic pain that has no rhyme or reason and can't be diagnosed or pinpointed ... I also let him know how I felt about that load of bologna!! Josh and I absolutely REFUSE to be told there is not reason, diagnosis, etc. for John's pain. We KNOW there is SOMETHING going on inside his little body, and we will NOT stop until we find out exactly what it is! He was a perfectly healthy child just six months ago, and we want to know what has taken that away from our little man.  After arguing with Dr. Chira for quite some time, he finally said he would consult with a neurologist and the pain team to find their thoughts on John's pain.  We see him again on March 22 as well.

Appointment Three :: ENT
I was very thankful John had a follow-up appointment with the ENT who placed the tube in his left ear (while he was admitted to Riley in Dec) because as I put John into the car in the morning, his ear started draining this disgusting goopy stuff! ... The doctor was quite clearly NOT used to working with very very young children like John. He was very clinical and not especially "fun" when he tried to get John to cooperate with different things. I was not impressed, but I guess he checked what he needed to check in John's ears. He said that the drainage is from yet another ear infection, but the good news is that the tube is doing its job!  He gave us a prescription for ear drops that need to be used twice a day in that ear, so hopefully they'll do the job!


The long and short of the story is that we are once again without a diagnosis and treatment plan for John.  This frustrates us like none other, but we refuse to be told there is nothing that can be done and that there are no more options. There have to be options. There have to be explanations. We will do absolutely everything and anything we need to do in order to find them. For now, John's medications are being switched around a bit. Dr. Chira wants us to wean him off of the tylenol a little bit and see how John does with less/lower pain meds. We're also still waiting (about six more weeks, give or take) on the genetic blood panel to come back with results.  Hopefully those will tell us more.  Until then, all we can do is as much research as possible. I am reading up on chronic pain in children, JRA, and some other things. Perhaps those will give me some insight or direction on what we can do for John or where we can take him.  Please continue to keep him in your prayers as this road has just gotten more frustrating than ever before.

Angels In Disguise

I am amazed at the generosity of the people around us right now -- friends, family, and even people I just chat with every now and again on facebook.  Everyone has been so incredibly supportive of everything that's been going on with John and the journey we've taken thus far with him. The road has been stressful and frustrating and overall extremely difficult, but I am blessed to say we have not traveled it alone!

I wanted to put a special thank you out to everyone who has helped us. We appreciate each and every one of the angels that have entered into our lives -- from family who watched Jacob while we were down at Riley's, to those who have helped us financially in any way, to my co-workers for pulling together and covering my shifts so I could be with John, to those who have prayed for us, and even to those who have just been there to listen to our thoughts, concerns, and worries.

I cannot express enough how much all of you mean to us and how thankful we are to have you in our lives. We are still waiting on the genetic blood testing to come back -- it will take another 8wks approximately.  Once we have that, we will have a more firm diagnosis and hopefully be able to set a more solid treatment plan.  I have come to accept that this is not something that will go away for him, and it is not something that will get better for him. That is not an easy realization to come to, but knowing we have the support we do reassures me we can make it through whatever lies ahead of us on this bumpy road!

So ... thank you once again for everything.  You are all angels in disguise!

Home Sweet Home

As I believe most of you already know, we are home with our little man now. We were released from Riley on Wednesday the 28th because John was clinically doing much better. He was walking pretty well by then and had even tried to run a couple times. The doctors sent out a pretty extensive genetic blood screening the night before we were discharged, but those will take 8-10 weeks to get the results. We won't have a more definite diagnosis for whatever is going on with John's knees until those come back. We'll get into that a little more later in this post ...

John's nurses were all very sweet when we left. He'd fell asleep in the wagon, and they were all disappointed that they couldn't tell him bye! They were very kind and wished us the best with John's journey and finding out what is wrong with his knees.

When we left Riley it felt like we had orders for enough prescriptions to start our own pharmacy! John is on an antibiotic for two weeks, a strong anti-inflammatory, a stomach protectant, a high dose of tylenol, and he also has an extremely strong pain prescription for when he has another flare up in his knees.  Getting all of John's meds filled here at home proved to be quite the struggle due to their high grade and potency, but we finally got everything filled for him! His doctor also gave us another prescription for physical therapy.  I have a physical therapist that we will use; I am in the process of scheduling his first appointment. The goal with the therapy will be to have exercises that will help get John through the flare ups, and we'll also be working on getting his gait back to normal when he walks and runs. He's stiff and sore, so this could be a challenge; but the therapist we'll be going to is the same that worked with Jake's foot after he was born, so I'm confident she'll do a great job.

Now, back to those genetic blood tests the doctors sent out ... If they come back with positive results, then that will mean John has a severe genetic problem ... but we'll deal with that if we have to turn that corner.  If the genetic tests all come back clear, then the doctors fall back on Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis again. JRA is very difficult to diagnose because there is no specific test that can determine "yes, you have JRA." The only way to diagnose JRA is to eliminate everything else under the sun and hope you can find a combination of extremely potent medicines that help ease the symptoms. If in fact the doctors do fall back on JRA, then John will fall under a special category of JRA called "systemic JRA." It's a much more rare form of JRA, and we'll go into more details on it if we find out that's what he has.

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Now that we are home, we're facing a completely new set of challenges.  John is having nightmares of being poked with needles (which isn't surprising considering he was poked over 20 times while he was in the hospital for that week, and they woke him almost every night with a needle at least once). He wakes up screaming, "Stop it! Stop it! It hurts! Owie! Owie!!!"  It's absolutely heartbreaking to hear him cry like that and see him curled in a ball with his arms over his head. He is also afraid to sleep in his bed. I think it reminds him of the crib in the hospital because they both have bars/slats on the sides. I'm considering upgrading him to a full-size bed, but we'd have to get him a new mattress and the bed rails for his bed, so we shall see. The good news is that his fits to fight sleep are getting **slightly** shorter, so I guess that's a start.

Since we're back I probably won't be posting on here as often because I am very busy with working full time, tending the boys, coordinating appointments, and still running my crafty business (www.arielscustomdesigns.com for those of you who haven't seen it yet). I will keep everyone updated as much as I can, though! 

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a fabulous New Year! May this year be brighter than last, and may your hopes and dreams come true!

We're Getting There!

Sorry for the lack of updates the last couple days. There hasn't been too much going on around here with Christmas and whatnot. Let me think where I left off last ...

John's MRI came back mostly clear. They went ahead and just did it on his knees as well while they were in there. The results showed something "odd" in a couple spots on his brain, but the neurologist said not to worry about it. They don't know if it's just circumstantial because his body has been under so much stress, something that developed along with everything that's going on right now, or something that's always been there and is really nothing. We've been told to just watch how his motor skills are over the next several months to make sure he doesn't digress in anything. Overall, they aren't concerned with it. The rest of the MRI came back clear and gave no new leads on anything ... of course.

The bone scan confirmed the mastoiditis (infection in the inner ear that also spread to the bone behind the ear), but it didn't give any new information either. John is on ear drops and antibiotics for the mastoiditis, and the tube in his ear will also be helping that. The fluid from his ear that they sent out for lab tests came back fine, but they half expected that considering he'd been on antibiotics for nearly a week before it was tested. The doctors said the antibiotics basically sterilize any fluids like that and make the lab results not nearly as helpful.

Now that John has decided to start walking again, he doesn't want to stop! We took him for a walk around the hospital last night for some exercise. I expected him to walk for a little bit and then chill in the wagon the rest of the time. Nope! He actually decided he was going to pull the wagon himself! Silly boy! We literally had to fight him to let us carry him so his knees could rest! He's not walking completely normal yet, but that is probably a combination of the joint pain, not being on his feet for a week, and suddenly being on his feet constantly.

Today he's been pretty happy and even joined in for activity time in the playroom on our floor. He painted and played with trains and had an all around great time! So wonderful to see him playing again!  He does seem to be overdoing it a little bit with all this walking, running, and activity. His knees are very sore, and he's whiney and irritable. But he's landslides better than he was when we first got here!

At some point today he has to have some pretty extensive blood work done to test for some less common problems. Also, a hem/onc doctor is supposed to come talk to us about some other tests to rule out any form of childhood cancer. His doctors said they don't think it is because he isn't presenting a classic case of symptoms ... but then again, he's not presenting a classic case of symptoms for anything at this point. We're just trying to rule out anything and everything we can think of at this point.

This morning the doctors said they expect us to be able to go home in the next couple days! Yay!

Hangin' In There

John woke up in MUCH better spirits today than he has so far this week! He actually smiled and played off and on this morning. I spoke to his doctor about decreasing his morphine dose, so we cut it in half. Apparently, that was just a little too soon for him, and we had to bump him back up for a couple doses. He's back down to the half dose right now, and he's doing well with it.

This morning's blood work came back with some good news and some not so good news. His wbc is completely normal again, but his sed rate is still at 95. Down a little, but nowhere near where it ought to be (normal sed rate is 15). His rheumatologists feel that they can "blame" the high wbc and extreme irritability on the ear problems, but none of his doctors feel that his knee/joint problems can be blamed on the ear issues -- especially considering the joint issues began back in June.

They are all still very undecided as to what is causing John to have the flare ups. They are saying that it may just be a different "class" of the rheumatoid arthritis. Either way, he is going to end up on much stronger medicine. We still aren't sure if he is going to have to have the bone marrow testing. His regular rheumatologist is on the floor starting Monday, so we'll talk more with him then (he's been talking to the rheumatologist who's making rounds this week, but he'll be actually making rounds starting Monday).

Today, he finally decided he wanted to eat a little something. Yay! He had about one and a half travel-size boxes of cheerios, which is fabulous! And he's been downing sippies like a champ, too -- another great sign!

Each day the nurses set a goal of something we want to accomplish. Today's goal was to "have a poop" as they put it. lol : ) Mission accomplished! Finally!

Another goal I set for us was to try to get him to walk or at least stand today. He tried! Another yay! He didn't get very far and was extremely stiff, but I am extremely proud of him for at least trying! Considering he hasn't been able to bear any weight on his legs since Tuesday, the fact that he even tried is amazing.

Crazy child is completely wired right now and does NOT want to go to bed lol I'm hoping he passes out soon because I am exhausted. I believe Santa is visiting the hospital tomorrow, so that'll be fun!

Here you can see him playing in a wagon -- they use wagons here to transport the kids around the hospitals rather than wheelchairs. Makes it more fun, and John really enjoys it! He generally naps in his wagon after he has tests done, and (as you can see) he even likes to play in it when he has no tests!

Little Taste of Sweet Relief

**This entry was supposed to be posted late on 12/23 but for some reason never posted. Figured I"d post it now so there weren't any gaps in John's story** :)

John didn't get back from his MRI until after 10pm tonight. They said it went very well, and they had no problems during it. We won't know the results until tomorrow since it was done so late today. He was very upset when he came out of the anesthesia, but once I got there and held him he was okay. Little stinker peed all over my lap (and I do mean ALL over lol) while I was holding him! :)

Once we got back to the room, I was prepared for an absolutely inconsolable child. He was due for his pain meds at 6pm but obviously didn't have them since he was in MRI. To my surprise and delight, he was actually not too bad! He was still irritable and upset, and he cried a little about pain -- but it was NOTHING like how he was before! Prior to getting the fluid drained from his inner ear and the tube in his ear, he was an absolute mess. Any time he was awake, he was screaming and thrashing from pain. Now, he's just fussy! HUGE improvement! He's still on antibiotics and has to get drops in his ear. He also had a dose of morphine tonight, which (as usual) sent him on a loopy ride. Silly boy, he cracks me up.

So, like I said, draining the fluid from his ear and getting the tube definitely helped, but didn't totally fix things. We'll have to wait and see what the bone scan, MRI, and fluid test (from the fluid they drew from his inner ear) all come back to say; and we'll go from there! I'm so incredibly encouraged with his progress from the ear procedures today. I'm anxious to find out the test results and see what other tests lie in his near future ... but we'll deal with those as they come!

Whirlwind

Today has been just that -- a whirlwind.

The nurses woke John twice last night to draw blood -- both times from his foot. I didn't even know that was possible, but apparently it is! He was obviously not a happy little dude. The results from that showed in his favor, though! His white blood count was down to 13k, and his sed rate was also starting to drop a little (I don't know the numbers for his sed rate). The antibiotics are apparently helping fight whatever infection he has going on in there right now. He's still in a ton of pain and is resting well with his morphine.

John had another very busy day today. Doctors have been in and out all day, and so have we! He was limited to just clear liquids starting at 9am, but he was sleeping then so he hasn't had anything since 8am. At 10am he was given an injection (into his IV) that would show certain things on the bone scan he had to have at noon. For the bone scan, he had to be sedated. He did wake up and fight a bit at one point, but they just gave him a little more meds and he was right back out.

While he was sedated they figured they'd just go ahead and do the spinal tap on him since he would need one anyone to rule out a few other big diseases and infections. It was very sad to watch them pick him up and lift him from one table to the next while he was completely limp. I had to leave the room during the spinal tap -- there was no way I could watch that, and since he was completely sedated I was okay with leaving.

After the spinal tap we headed back up to our room. We weren't up there very long before an ENT came to take a look at John. He said that John's left ear is infected, and one of the CT scans he had showed there was fluid in John's middle ear (behind the ear drum) as well as in the bone by the ear. They weren't sure if there was infection or not, so they wanted to go in and drain the fluid from the inner ear and possibly put a tube in; and he said there was a good possibility it would happen today (mind you it was already like 2pm).

Right as the ENT was leaving, the rheumatologist team came in. The doctors all went back out into the hallway to discuss things and make sure they were on the same page. When they came back in, they told me that John would indeed be having his left ear drained and a tube inserted, and he was also going to be having an MRI tonight. The MRI would be of his head, neck, and full spinal chord. I asked if they'd be doing his knees as well, and she said there wouldn't be enough time tonight, but that he will most likely have one before we leave. The rheumatologist explained that John's spinal tap came back irregular -- his white blood count in the fluid was like 20x's higher than normal (hence the MRI of head, neck, and spine).

The doctors were able to coordinate everything to where John was taken down to the ENT, put under for the draining and tubes in his ear, sent to recovery for just a few minutes, and then sent straight over to MRI and put back under before he was even fully awake and aware. His MRI will last close to four hours, and then there will be recovery time, etc. afterwards. I'm waiting for him now in our room, and when they're done they are going to call the nurse's station here and have someone take me to wherever he is (they aren't sure which recovery area he'll end up in).

All we can do at this point is wait for the test results and go from there. The doctors are talking about testing his bone marrow, but they are putting that off for the very last thing only to do if we have to. Their goal right now is to obviously figure out what's caused his symptoms, treat it until it goes away, and find a way to manage his pain (obviously without morphine so we can go home). The doctors are excellent and are all working together. They're very concerned for John and are trying very hard to figure things out. Many times I've been told "He has this symptom, but he's not following it by the book," so it's very difficult for them to put everything together. They're still trying to figure out if everything started with his arthritis, if there's something else coupled with the arthritis, or if there's something bigger all together.

I'll keep everyone updated as best I can. Thanks again for all the prayers and thoughts.

Sick Little Man

As you can clearly see, John is very sick right now. He had a flare with his arthritis late Friday, and things just kind of went downhill from there. Let's start at the beginning ...

Late Friday night, John developed a rash on his knees. I knew immediately when I saw it that within the next two days he was going to have a flare-up with his arthritis. Come Saturday he had a fever, and his knees hurt (classic arthritis flare-up). Sunday he was still hurting but doing better.

Monday he was still feeling icky and stayed home from daycare. Josh took him to the pediatrician that afternoon, and they didn't see anything. We figured it was just the arthritis flare-up lingering a bit, had him rest all day Monday, and sent him to daycare on Tuesday.

By Tuesday afternoon his fever was back (102*), and we picked him and Jake up from daycare around 4pm. By 6pm his fever was up to 103, and we called his pediatrician. She suggested we take him to urgent care. Before Celeste could get there to watch Jake for us, John began vomiting. His fever spiked just over 104, and he became extremely lethargic. Josh and I decided to head to the emergency room rather than urgent care, and we are so very glad we made that choice!

Once we got to the ER, John was immediately taken for height/weight and taken to a bed. The doctor was very concerned with his temperature and the fact that he was so dehydrated his mouth was nearly dry. They tried to start an IV, but the first line failed. They tried a second time in the other arm and managed to get it started.

After what felt like forever, a bag of IV fluid was hung. The doctor saw a slight ear infection in his left ear. Nothing major, but he ran a bag of antibiotics as well. Right after they started the antibiotics, we were sent down for x-rays of John's knees. The x-rays came back normal, but during the process John's IV line infiltrated (basically went through the vein and poured all the liquid/medicine straight into his arm). His arm became extremely swollen around the IV -- it felt like a balloon that was about to burst -- but it started going down right away when they just pulled the tape off the IV and stopped the fluids. His arm ended up bruised a bit, but nothing major from it thank goodness.

His fever started to go down but was still over 100* when the doctor started talking about sending us home. I said we would rather have him admitted and monitored overnight, and the doctor said that was fine as well. Around midnight John officially became a patient of the pediatric wing of St. Joseph Med Center in Mishawaka.

Throughout the night he was clearly in a lot of pain. He refused to eat or drink anything, and he had continuous fluids running through his (new -- that made three) IV for hydration. The poor child was extremely lethargic and very whiney.

All Wednesday morning he was monitored, hydrated, given antibiotics, and cuddled. The doctors could not see anything irregular on his labs (this being the second time bloodwork was run made for five pokes) and were very worried about him, especially since there were no clear indicators as to what was going on. Wednesday afternoon I asked if we needed to take him to Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis, where his pediatric rheumatologist is located. They agreed, and after just a couple hours John and I were loaded into an ambulance and headed down to Riley.

We arrived at Riley around 7pm Wednesday evening. They were able to get us admitted right away and get John to his room. Immediately, I could see that his team of nurses and doctors was excellent. They were all very concerned for John. A special team came in to start his IV -- they used an ultrasound machine to locate a good vein (there's six pokes ... here's when I stopped counting). John was very fussy and uncomfortable throughout the night. His fever gradually got lower and lower until it pretty much returned to normal finally. When his labs came back, I learned that his wbc (white blood count) was actually down to 26k (was 40k at the hospital in Mishawaka), but his sed rate (indicates inflammation and possible infection) was clear up to 112 (was 88 in Mishawaka and just 40 two weeks before all this). One doctor said his sed rate was "impressive." I joked that when we do something, we go all out. They rarely see a sed rate this high, especially in a child, and it has been cause for great concern.

All throughout that first night, we were up every hour or less for another poke, prod, or something. Poor John was just miserable. He even had to have catheters done twice in attempts to get urine samples for tests. By about 1am, he was just laying in his bed screaming and crying that he wanted to go home. Talk about break a mama's heart! I sat in the recliner with him all snuggled into my lap all through the night and the next morning.

Then the testing started. John had his blood drawn ... again ... and a little red wagon was brought into his room and padded with blankets and a pillow. They don't put the little children in wheelchairs here. They pull them in wagons, which makes it much more fun and less scary when/if they know they're going for another test.

Thursday the doctors and nurses were in and out of the room constantly ... and so were we. Seemed like as soon as John would get settled in and start to sleep a little, we had to fuss with him and take him downstairs for another test. He had a CT of his head, xrays of his knees, and an echo-cardiogram of his heart. The CT showed that his minor ear infection may have set into the bone by the ear, but there was not a definite answer for that yet. The xrays were normal -- no bone damage, which is a HUGE praise. The echo-cardiogram results wouldn't come back immediately -- have to wait for a doctor update on that. John didn't like any of the tests. The xrays and CT scans scare him -- especially the CT -- but he fell asleep during the echo! He was super excited after the echo because he got two little two SUV trucks that he LOVES.

Amber and Daniel came down Thursday afternoon to visit, which made John very happy. Poor auntie got to be a makeshift bed for fussy little man for over an hour, but she was happy to make him happy.

The whole time we'd been down here, I was telling the doctors that he's in a lot of pain -- waking up crying and screaming in the night, can't stand, very very upset whenever he's awake, and even whimpering in his sleep. They tried tylenol at first, which didn't help. Then, they switched to tylenol with codeine in it, which was better than regular tylenol but still left him crying and very upset most of the time. The codeine just allowed him to sleep a little bit, which was good, but he needed more. Finally, the doctors allowed the nurse to give John 1mL of morphine through his IV. I could tell the instant the morphine kicked in. John was a completely different child. His tears dried, and he relaxed and fell asleep (this is where Auntie got to play mattress for John). When he woke up, he was very silly. He asked Uncle Dan, "Who wants to do wagon races in the hallway?" After a couple seconds pause, John raised his little arm that's covered in a padded sleeve to protect his IV and yelled, "MEEEEEEE!!!" He played with his trucks a little but was decidedly upset that one didn't talk to him when he pressed the hood (he has a toy car at home that does), and then he napped some more in his bed.

Thursday night ... well, early this morning (Friday ... uhhh ... I think? lol) was a little rough for him because they needed to draw more blood. They couldn't get any blood to pull out of his IV (it's still flushing well and letting fluids through, just not drawing back), so they had to poke him again. His nurse opted to find someone else who was more familiar with drawing blood from a child. She said she didn't do it very often, and she wanted it to be a "one and done" poking situation -- totally appreciate and respect her for that! The nurse that came in found a really good vein in John's foot, poked once, got what they needed, and were done! Now, we're just waiting on the doctors to make their rounds for the morning (that'll start in 45min or so).

John has been restricted to clear liquids (water, apple juice, etc) since 6am -- which is fine considering food is not an issue for him right now (he hasn't eaten since late Tuesday morning). After 9am he can't have any food or liquids whatsoever. Come 10am he's scheduled to received an injection for the bone scan he has to have at noon. He will be sedated for the scan. I am pushing and hoping they will do an MRI on him, too, since he has one scheduled back home for January 3rd anyway. May as well get it all done here while we can, right?

So, now we're just waiting on the doctors and waiting on more tests. The results of his bone scan and **hopeful** MRI will determine what tests he'll need next -- a spinal tap and some other pretty invasive tests are being talked about if the bone scan doesn't show anything.  Keep John in your prayers extra today and especially this afternoon -- it's gonna be a pretty painful one for him.

I'm updating more often on Facebook, and my mom is getting texts throughout the day with updates. If anything new happens, Mom will know. Contact her for updates or check facebook! I know Celeste is updating Facebook here and there, too.

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. The nurse just came in saying they didn't get enough blood, so we have to poke the poor child again. I'll try to update again late tonight with any news.

John's Arthritis

As you all know, we've recently discovered John has JRA -- juvenile rheumatoid arthrits. We have a rheumatologist we visit every couple months (or more often if needed) down at Riley Children's Hospital. I've gotten a TON of questions on what all is going on with him, so I figured I'd start from the beginning ...

Back in June, John had ... let's call it an episode ... where he began limping. I talked to his pediatrician who said to "watch him" over the weekend and bring him in that Monday if it didn't go away. His limp didn't go away. In fact he got to the point that he literally could not stand up straight or walk. Any time he'd try to run after something, he'd fall and sit there holding his knees while he cried "Mama, it hurts. It hurts!"

Over the next three weeks, we saw three different pediatricians and made a couple trips to the emergency room. Blood work and x-rays were done. John's regular pediatrician sent us down to a pediatric orthopedist at Riley Children's Hospital who diagnosed John with "synovitis" which is basically just an inflammation of a membrane or the fluid around a joint. He thought John had it in his hip and said it would go away within 4-6wks and not to worry. We headed home with hopeful spirits, and in about two weeks all of John's symptoms disappeared. He could walk, run, and play just like any other normal 2yr old.

Less than a month later, he started that same limp again. I immediately touched base with his pediatrician and the pediatric orthopedist to find out what we needed to do next. He was seen right away by his pediatrician, and we were sent to Riley Children's Hospital again ... this time to see a pediatric rheumatologist. Right before we went down to Riley, John had another really bad episode that was worse than the first. We took him to the ER, and they put him on a steroid as an anti-inflammatory. Unfortunately, the steroid masked anything the rheumatologist could have seen, which put us one step behind on treatment and diagnosis. The rheumatologist (Dr. Chira) started John on ibuprofen three times each day to see if that would help the inflammation, rather than the steroid. He also referred us to a pediatric ophthalmologist down at Riley because juvenile arthritis can also affect the eyes. (Thankfully, John's eye exam was perfectly normal, although he does have to be seen by the ophthalmologist every 3mo.)

The ibuprofen seemed to help for a couple weeks, but then John began to continually complain of pain in his knees again. Another call to Dr. Chira (this was early October), and Tylenol was added to John's daily meds. He was then taking ibuprofen three times each day and Tylenol in between each dose. As you can imagine, getting a toddler to take a minimum of six doses of meds every day was a challenge. On top of the medicine fights, John had other symptoms that would come and go -- high fevers, head-to-toe rash, slight limping, severe pain, vomiting, swelling, and uncontrollable shaking/chills.

His last "flare" as it's called with the arthritis (about a week ago) had him in so much pain that he could not walk, he spiked a fever of over 102, his knees were so swollen they were the size of softballs, and he shook so hard you would have thought he was having a mild seizure. The crazy thing was that it disappeared as fast as it hit. Friday morning he was fine and dandy, Friday evening the flare hit, it lasted through the night, and come Saturday evening you never would have thought anything had happened!

I called Dr. Chira first thing Monday morning, and he wanted to see us that week (Wednesday was the earliest they could get us in). We made another trek down to Indianapolis, and of course by then all of John's symptoms were gone and the doctor again could see very little. He did notice that John refuses to straighten his legs all the way, even when he's walking/running, and that John turns his toes slightly inward when he walks/runs. Dr. Chira referred us to have an MRI done on John's knees to find out exactly what is going on in there, and he also wants John evaluated and seen by a pediatric physical therapist.

Dr. Chira took John off the ibuprofen and put him on the generic version of mobic for the inflammation. It's WAY easier for him because it's just once each day rather than three times each day. He's also on a stomach protectant that was prescribed to him a couple weeks ago because the mobic can cause severe upset stomach. Dr. Chira said John can continue to have tylenol as needed for pain management, but even that he hasn't needed nearly as often as he did before.

The pediatric physical therapist has a 3-4mo wait list right now, but I am working on getting him into Indiana's First Steps program. They will get his primary evaluation done and start his plan of action for therapy, and hopefully by the time he's three (since First Steps only goes up to age 3), John's name will be up on the wait list for the physical therapist. (Jake is also going to be seen by the First Steps program for his leg/foot, too, but that's another story lol) We're still trying to get the details ironed out for John's MRI -- it's not easy to find a place that accepts our insurance AND will do an MRI under sedation (he has to be sedated for it because he's so little and would never hold still, especially his legs). Hopefully that falls into place very soon.

Once John has his MRI done, Dr. Chira will be putting him on a much stronger medicine to try to put the RA into remission and hopefully avoid bone/joint damage for as long as possible. This does not mean he won't be in pain, but hopefully Tylenol will manage that for him. The stronger medicine can have some pretty severe side effects, and we will have to get John's liver checked every couple months.

JRA (juvenile rheumatoid arthritis) is not the most pleasant of diagnosis, but I keep reminding myself that it could be worse. John will have to deal with this for the rest of his life, but hopefully his doctor(s) will be able to find the right combination of medicines and rehabilitation that will slow it down so it doesn't affect him horribly. It's not something that he will "grow out of" or just go away on its own. There is no cure for it, but doctors have come very far with treatment for it. We hope and pray that we are able to keep John on a normal path for a very long time and that he is not hindered or stopped from doing things he loves. This journey will be a long one, but we'll hold his little hand every single step of the way. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers, and hope his journey with JRA isn't especially difficult for him.

It's Been What ... Forever?

Good golly, it's been a very long time since we've updated this thing here! So sorry ... but here goes! (Let's keep this short and sweet cuz this mama's tired lol)

Josh is now the back room supervisor at the Niles Walmart. He's doing really well and hoping to be able to move up even further. The hours are no fun (3pm-12am), but such is life! He's still in the Army Reserves and attending the regular monthly drill sessions. We're hoping for a

promotion to SGT within the next year! Wish him luck and cross your fingers! :)

I'm working as a teller, and I absolutely love it! According to my m

anager, if I continue on the path I'm at right now I may be able to get a supervisor position shortly after my year at the bank hits (that'll be in March), which would be super exciting! I'm also running my own little crafty business that has taken off far more than I could have ever imagined. I have my own website even! www.arielscustomdesigns.com

John is getting so big! He is about four months short of being three years old already! Already?!?! Everyone who spends time with him cannot believe how smart he is -- he knows all his letters and their sounds, numbers up to 20, shapes, colors, animals and their sounds, and s

o much more! It's very exciting to watch him grow and learn new things every day. He's a little ball of energy most days.

As most of you already know, we've found ourselves in the middle of some odd medical circumstance with John. He has been diagnosed with JRA (juvenile rheumatoid arthritis) in both of his knees. Everything began when he randomly started limping one day -- no other symptoms, no apparent pain, no swelling, he just couldn't hardly even stand up. It was like his leg would just collapse underneath him. We saw three different pediatricians, had inconclusive bloodwork and x-rays done multiple times, and were eventually sent to Rileys' Children's Hospital down in Indianapolis to see a few different doctors down there. His pediatric rheumatologist is certain it is arthritis in his knees that causes the occasional limping and th

e now constant pain in his knees. He was on a daily regimen

of ibuprofen and tylenol, but now he is just on tylenol until further notice because the ibuprofen may be causing severe stomach issues. We should find out more on that next week. Overall, he's doing well. Right now it's just finding a balance of pain meds to manage

his pain, visits to a couple specialists down at Riley's every 3-6mo, and waiting to see where we have to go next with all this. At this point he doesn't have to go the serious routes like receiving injections in his knees to reduce the swelling or anything, so we're very thankful.

Jake just turned a year old in September. He's our little bruiser, as we call him. His foot is doing extremely well -- we're waiting on his last brace to come in! The foot still rotates in a b

it, but with practice he'll be just fine. He's a bit of a late bloomer in the teething area -- he's only got a couple teeth right now, but he seems to be working on seve

ral more. He's discovered the wonderful world of walking, and he rarely ever slows down!

The boys are both in daycare full-time at La Petite Academy, and they both love it! Jake is in t

excited he forgets to even say bye. But overall, they are doing really well. I love La Petite Academy and think it's an amazing fit for them both. The teache toddler room. He eats table food and drinks out of a sippy cup all day long while he's with his friends (not so much at home, little stinker). John is in the preschool area, and he is doing great! One of his teachers t

old me that he knows more than most of the kids in the class AHEAD of him! Go John! We have easy and tough drop-off days, depending on the boys' moods. Some

times drop-offs are full of fits and tears, and other times John is so

hers seems to be genuinely concerned for their well-being, and I feel they get the attention and love they need while they're there.

As you can tell, our lives are hectic and busy and crazy and fun all in one. The boys are growing faster than we can believe, and it's amazing to watch them! Hopefully it won't take me another year or so to post on here again ;)

Until next time ...

Finally Another Update :)

Since my last post on here, a TON has happened! I'm sure a lot of you will already know most of the stuff I'm updating on in here, but I'll start from the beginning for those of you who don't ...

Jacob was born on 22 Sept 2010. My labor was ridiculously easy. I never once actually felt like I was in labor the whole time! He was healthy and perfect (7lb 1oz and 20in) except for one of his little feet. The doctors diagnosed him with a positional club foot, which basically meant he didn't have enough room to grow inside me and his foot was bent into an abnormal position. At two weeks old his pediatrician sent us to see an orthopedist who then sent us to see a children's physical therapist. His therapist (Denise) was wonderful. She did a series of castings called Ponsetti castings which stretched the muscles little by little with each cast until he was back to an almost normal position. Denise was very caring and concerned with Jake's well-being and made the whole process a lot easier to handle. Each cast was left on for one week, and he had a total of five casts before he went back to see the orthopedist. Dr. Rozzi decided that although Jake had made a TON of progress, he would need to have an Achilles tenotomy (where they make a small incision and cut the Achilles tendon). We went in for Jake's re-check on a Monday, and his surgery was scheduled for that Wednesday. Another cast was put on Jake's leg for two weeks to hold his foot in a flexed position while the tendon grew back. We were just able to take his cast off this past Thursday (Dec 9) for his post-op check with Dr. Rozzi. He said that the surgery went great, and Jake has healed perfectly! He can flex his foot wonderfully now, but he will need a brace called a Dennis Brown bar (it's got special shoes that attach to a bar that will hold his feet at a specific angle so his club foot doesn't return since the muscles are used to the wrong position). He will have to wear the bar 24/7 for three months, and after that he will have to wear it just at night for a couple years. All things considered, he's doing really well. He has a hard time eating still and spits up a lot. Hopefully once he gets used to having his brace on (which he should get Monday), he won't be as stressed and will do better with that. I think he may be a bit behind on being able to push his chest/head off the ground when he's on his belly, but I have to remember that he hasn't been able to spend any time on his belly because of his casts thus far. As of his 2mo checkup two weeks ago, he weighed in at a whopping 10lb 8oz and 22in long. Seems like he's growing faster than I can get the next size clothing unpacked from the storage bins!

John is doing really well, too. He is getting soooo big! He absolutely loves his baby brother. We'll tell John "go check on your brother," and he'll walk over and plant a big ole "mmmmmmwah!" kiss on Jake's forehead. He's running and climbing like a crazy little man now, and he doesn't let anything stand in his way. John also has braces on his feet, but they're for a completely different issue than what Jake has. When John walks, he rolls his feet in toward each other so he's basically walking on the arches. His pediatrician sent us to a podiatrist who said the issue could potentially cause major problems later on, and he sent us off to a place that would order special braces called SureSteps for him. They're just a plastic little thing that molds to his foot and uses pressure to hold his feet in the right position while he's walking. He wears them inside his shoes, and he absolutely loves them. When we take them off for naptime or bedtime, he actually gets upset and tries to put them back on! We can see a HUGE difference in his balance and walking while he's wearing the braces compared to when they're not on, and we're extremely happy we decided to get this taken care of now. He will have to wear the braces for several years most likely, but if it fixes the problem then we're okay with that!

Josh and I are doing well, too. Josh is now working full-time at WalMart in Niles unloading trucks. The only bad part is that his hours are 4pm-1am, but at least it's money! He's also in the running for South Bend Police Department. We aren't sure exactly when they're planning on hiring, but Josh knows several people who work there and it seems like things should be moving along fairly quickly. It would be an insanely huge blessing if Josh could get hired on there (and soon)! ... Not much is new with me. I stay home with the boys, get little sleep because Jake has decided it's still not fun to sleep through the night, and enjoy watching our babies grow and learn.

And here are some pics for y'all to enjoy! (Those of you who get email updates may not be able to view the pics until you visit the actual blog) ...

-Here is the progress made on Jake's foot with Just the casting. The top pics are how his foot was turned in at birth, and the bottom pics are after his 4th cast. His leg is nice and straight now, and with the tenotomy done, he can flex his ankle much farther than you see in the bottom set of pictures.

-Here's our lil man jake. He was born with a full head of dark hair, and he hasn't lost much of it yet! His eyes are turning into a beautiful light blue just like his brother's and daddy's.


-This is John's reaction when he sees us pull out the camera and start taking pictures. I bet I have hundreds of photos of him with this big ole cheesy grin and his eyes all scrunched up like this. He's too cute!

-And here is John wanting to give his brother a kiss, but Jake obviously wasn't too thrilled with that idea! lol :)

Almost Time!!!

My goodness, has it been a while since we've posted anything on here! Sorry, everyone!!

Things are going well. John is getting so big. He's nearly 18 months old now! He runs around like a crazy little man and shouts and jabbers to us in his own little language. Any time he hears music he just has to stop and dance to it. He's pretty much the cutest little thing, and he loves to give Mommy and Daddy big ole slobbery kisses. :)

Josh is still on the job hunt, but we are hanging in there. He's got a couple different security job leads, but those are still in the works and waiting on information. We can't believe he's already been home for a year since the deployment!

Ariel is at the end of her pregnancy! Her due date was 20 September, and the doctor decided to induce her tomorrow (22 September). We will update everyone with stats on mama and baby once things settle a bit! We're all excited to welcome little mister Jacob Owen Anthony into our family and become a perfect little family of four!

That's all for now, just the basics this time :) Look for another post soon about baby Jacob!

Love,
The Anthony's

Baby Anthony Is A ....

Well, I had another check up today for the baby. Everything measures perfect, and the baby is looking healthy and great! Our little one was very cooperative and definitely not shy, letting us clearly see that John will have a baby brother come September! His name will be Jacob Owen. Today he measured at about 9 ounces, and his length is right on track length-wise. Due date is still set for 20 September. We will continue to update with each appointment as things progress!

John is getting so big now. He is walking on his own, just a few steps here and there, but his confidence is increasing. Pretty soon he will definitely be walking all over the place (then mommy and daddy will really be in trouble, haha)! He is already half as tall as his mama (literally), so perhaps he will end up tall like his daddy someday.

Josh still hasn't heard anything back on the various police departments he has tested for. We're pretty much playing the waiting game and will let everyone know if/when we hear something!

The Anthony's

Lil Update

Hey, everyone. Things are going really well for us. John will be a year old on Wednesday, March 31 (gosh, how time has flown)! He is standing on his own here and there and has even taken a couple steps by himself! We're excited but also dreading having a toddler running around here soon, lol. :)

I had a check-up today to check how things are coming along with the new baby. Everything looks great -- heart rate sounded good via the doppler (he didn't tell me the numbers for the heart rate, so sorry), I'm measuring right on track, and my weight gain is good. I have some blood work to get done in the next couple weeks, and my next appointment is in a month. The ultrasound is scheduled during my next appointment, in one month. Let's hope the little one is cooperative!

I'll keep updating with news on my doctor appointments and with how things are going with John.

Love,
The Anthony's

Baby Update

I had my first "actual" doctor appointment today, and everything went great! The doctor couldn't find the baby's heartbeat right away, so he sent us off for an ultrasound (oh darn, right?). Baby looks fantastic and is growing right on track. The heartrate was a fast 180bpm, but the ultrasound technician said it was good. We got to see our lil peanut's legs stickin out, the umbilical chord runnin by its body, and we could see the definite shape of the head and body. Soooo cute, and so very exciting!!!

Big News!!

Hi, everyone! My goodness, has it been forever since we've posted on here! As you all know, Josh is home safe and sound now -- he got home mid-September. We aren't planning on any deployments any time soon, but we have to be realistic in that aspect. He has three years left in the military, so there will probably be at least one more deployment. Hopefully we'll get lucky and not have to go through anymore!!

This blog is going to kind of switch modes from a deployment update blog to a family update blog. Yay!!

John is pushing a year old already. My, how time flies! His birthday is March 31, 2010. We cannot believe how big he is getting. He says mama, dadda, up (while he's reaching), and byebye (while he's waving). He also loves to point to things now. Our little man pulls himself up to his feet and can walk while holding someone's hands or while holding onto furniture. It's amazing how much he loves music. Any time he hears music on TV or anything, he stops whatever he's doing and listens. Once he's a little bit older, we are going to try to get him involved in some sort of music lessons (if he wants to, of course, but we will strongly encourage him in that area). At his last appointment, he weighed 20lb and a few ounces. He's tall and skinny (well, when I say skinny I mean he doesn't have the normal rolls on the legs, arms, and belly that most babies have). He is still under the 50th percentile for height and under the 25th percentile for weight. He has both his front bottom teeth and is in the process of cutting both his top front teeth. We love watching him learn and grow more and more each and every day!

Josh is working part-time for Daniel Zebell and looking for a full-time job (specifically in law enforcement, but at this point anything will do). He is drilling still once a month for the Reserves, of course and trying to complete his "packet" for promotion to E5 (Sergeant). Coming home after the deployment has been an adjustment, but he is doing well. John took to him immediately when he came home, which was a huge blessing. Now, when Josh gets home from work, John starts bouncing up and down and yelling, "Dadda! Dadda!" and reaching for his daddy. The two are an adorable site, that's for sure!

I am working part-time from home entering data for the insurance company my mom works for. It's tedious work, but it'll help with some of the bills! The nice part is that I can set my own hours, which means I can put in a couple hours here and there in the evenings after John goes to bed. I love being able to stay home with John all day (although sometimes it does get rather difficult if he's extra fussy that day).

We have some big family news to share!! Most (if not all) of you probably already know this, but we are expecting our second little bundle of joy. I am ten weeks into the pregnancy (1/4 down!), and feeling good for the most part -- just exhausted, but that is to be expected! With John I was extremely sick every day for the first ten weeks, but with this one I have just been a little nauseated on and off (what a relief). We will get to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time on Monday, March 1. Josh is coming to the appointment and is really excited to hear this baby's heartbeat first-hand. We are very excited for this little addition to our family, and we are hoping for a girl this time (but of course, just being healthy will be perfectly fine. We will keep everyone updated as the pregnancy progresses.

Well, I think that is all we have to share for now. We'll try to post on here fairly often (well, as often as we can remember, haha). Comments are more than welcome! :)

Love,
Josh, Ariel, John, and The Little Surprise