Patrick's 6th Birthday

Patrick turned six at the end of May.  We gave him a few options for parties, but in the end he chose to celebrate by taking his best friend Nathan to the fire station for some special fire training.  We actually traveled on his birthday this year, so we gave him his presents and cake a few days early:

 All he wanted was Legos.  He built them all within the week.

I told Patrick his cake was a surprise.  His only request was that it have 80 tons of icing. It only had about 60 tons.

I think he was a bit underwhelmed by the cake - until we cut into it.

Beacause we were traveling through New Jersey the day after his birthday, we lied and told him we had to stop at a mall along the way and buy him some socks.  We detoured off the turnpike to King of Prussia Mall and led him straight to the Lego Store.  We don't have one here in Pittsburgh, so he had never been before.  He was allowed to pick out one set (he actually ended up with a Lego Superhero set).

The next weekend we convened at the fire station to begin the birthday training. 

 The kids got to use the remote to raise and lower the spotlight on the roof of the truck.

 There were a few rescue demonstrations using the back board, and of course, for fun, the mask.

 Uncle Mike (also a firefighter at the same station) came by to help out with training.

Patrick is still our thoughtful one, more than ever obsessed with building Legos.  He doesn't like to just build and leave them together though- he re-creates ships and vehicles out of the original model.  He prefers his own version.  He is cautious, and can be overly pensive sometimes, to the point where he talks himself out of trying new things.  He was fearful of taking off his training wheels, swimming with his head under the water, and going on the roller coaster.  His brother usually steps up first and then P tries it, maybe out of pride?  He loves school, is still a rule follower, and is an awesome big brother to Kaya (he and Tommy are still arguing too often over Legos).  He is a talker. He loves golf, and has the patience for it.   Everything about him exudes sweetness.  Happy Birthday, Patrick.

Tommy's 4th Birthday

Still known as Ten Second Tommy.  My darling T is FOUR. Wow.  He is as stubborn as I am, and all kinds of funny.  he inherited Tom's quirk of being able to recite lines from movies.  All the time.  He is into Legos like brother P, but he really loves super heroes.  He picked a super hero party at a little bounce/climbing place near our house and invited his preschool class.  As favors, each child picked a favorite superhero ahead of time, and were given a cape with that super hero's emblem when they arrived at the party.  Great in theory, but as you can imagine, most kids ended up wanting the cape another kid had picked.  Most of the kids wore their capes for at least part of the party.  All except one, who refused to put it on for even a nanosecond (It was Tommy, of course).  I ordered the capes from ThePartyMomma on Etsy.  For the price, they were fine, and the kids liked them.  I ordered matching felt masks from her shop for just my kids, and those were much nicer.  Tommy picked Captain America.

Kaya was Batgirl -

I made Captain America Cupcakes out of fondant and the pre-colored Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix colors they sell at the Super Walmart - the Aqua blue color was perfect for Captain America Blue.
 

 Kaya was at the party, but to accommodate the preschool class, we had Tommy's party on a weekday during school hours.  That meant big brother was not there.

Pap Pap was brave enough to venture in.

I bought sparkler candles thinking they would be fun, but they kept re-igniting after Tommy blew them out and got really upset.  Oops. they weren't supposed to be trick candles.

Since Patrick missed the party, I promised him a second cake and candles so we could sing to Tommy after school, too.

The extra addition on the far right, M, is the little brother of one of our party attendees, E.  E got hurt during the party and we thought he may have broken his arm.  We watched M while mom and dad took E to the E.R., where they found out his elbow had just been dislocated.  He was good as new.  

Tommy continues to perplex me.  He has zero interest in bikes and is content to just dig and collect "treasures" when outside.  He is my highest ranking "Timeouter" because he gets so angry and frustrated at the drop of a hat that he throws toys or hits.  But he is also so incredibly sweet.  He stashes his treasures all over the house (and hides Patrick's things as well).  He gets so attached to little Lego crystals (because they give him his super powers) that he smuggled them to school in his underwear after I started checking pockets outside of his preschool classroom.  He has one, big imagination.  Boopy, his blankie, is still a constant sleeping buddy. 

Happy Birthday, Tommy!

Saying Goodbye

Friday, this guy said goodbye to his first tooth-

He was visiting his BFF, and when I collected him up, his friend's mom handed me a plastic baggie with the teeniest, tiniest, tooth.  I was in shock- Patrick never ven told me he had a loose tooth.  Apparently it came out with a bite of pizza.  We put it on the nightstand next to his bed (because my kids are the lightest sleepers), and in the morning, he found this: 

Looks handwritten, but it was actually a free download I found at http://www.threelittlemonkeysstudio.com/tooth-fairy-letter-freebie/. You can edit it with any information you want.  

Then on Saturday, we packed up the crib that slept all three of our babies, and Tom drove it to my cousin's house. It will welcome her little one in August.  I ordered Kaya's big girl bed, but of course, it is backordered like everything else I pick.  So for now, we set up her mattress on a box spring on the floor.  She did pretty well her first 48 hours. It is the first time we have been crib free in over six years.

All bittersweet...

May 4, 2015

It was about 5:45 when I called Tom from my cell phone. I was on my land line with 911.  Kaya was laid out in front of me on the floor. She was just coming out of a seizure. Her poor body shook and shook. Her lips and her cheeks had turned blue. I think my heart stopped when I saw her like that.  About two minutes after my perfectly healthy, completely happy, 21-month-old started having a seizure, she stopped and began to come out of it.  She began breathing better, and the blue left her face.  She was groggy and kept closing her eyes.

Patrick was home, playing Legos upstairs in his room. I called him downstairs, and being the amazing big brother he is, he wanted to know what he could do to help.  He became the ambulance look-out.  Tommy was at my mother-in-law's house just up the road.  A phone call to her- come over right away, I said,  Kaya just had a seizure. She pulled in just behind the ambulance.

(This was Kaya in the ambulance-she slept most of the way)

It is about a twenty minute ride to the Children's Hospital.  On the way, the paramedic assured me she was probably having a febral seizure (caused by a fever) which is common in young children.  He took her temperature - it was normal.  Tom actually beat us so the hospital.  We arrived at 6:34 pm. In the E.R., the doctors and nurses also said it was probably a febral seizure.  Her temperature though, continued to read normal.  They put on heart monitor stickers. They pricked her toe to check her blood sugars. They ran an EKG. Everything was normal.  They put in an IV so they could give her fluids.  Even when they admitted us for the night and we finally got into our assigned room around midnight, they still assured us it was probably just a febral seizure.  We prayed for a fever, but her temperature remained normal throughout our entire stay. 

We gave her history what seemed like a zillion times over the course of the next three days:

 No medical conditions. I had taken her to the pediatrician earlier on the day of her first seizure because she was crying and acting fussy. I suspected maybe she was getting an ear infection since she had a bit of congestion over the past three days. I gave her a dose of ibuprofen at 8:30am. At 8:45 she threw up. I took her temperature -it was normal. I put her down for a nap around 9:00, and she slept until 11/11:30. I gave her a little apple juice and some crackers, but she wasn't hungry and asked to take another nap again. Slept 12-1:30ish. Upon waking, extremely fussy and could not be consoled.  Cried and cried.  Called pediatrician at 2:00 and was given a 2:30 appointment.  On the way there I believe she had her first seizure, but I did not realize or even suspect at the time.  I glanced in the rear view mirror and she seemed still and had a strange expression.  I called her name a few times and was about to pull over when she broke her gaze.  She slept on me inside the pediatrician's office, which she never does, even when sick. After an exam, the doctor verified both of her ears had the beginning signs of an ear infection, and they prescribed antibiotics that Tom was going to pick up on his way home. Home we went. Kaya slept until about 5:00, woke, and ate a pretty good dinner of tortellini. She was acting her usual self, if not maybe a tad more clingy.  We sat on the couch together and we're watching cartoons when the shaking started. 

When it was determined that Kaya would be admitted for observation due to the lack of fever to explain what was happening, Tom left to return home and spend the night with the boys after we were moved to a room about midnight.

TUESDAY, May 5.

 Kaya slept through the night until about 5:30 a.m. She seemed more herself, and drank some milk while watching cartoons on my lap.  I put her back in her crib about 6:00ish, and she fell asleep. About 6:20 she had her second seizure. A whole team rushed in and this one lasted about a minute.  Her cheeks became blue again, but the doctors assured me she was breathing through it. She recieved a dose of Adavant to relax her. Around 8:00 a.m we took her for an EEG.  I loved our EEG tech, Russ.  He was fantastic with her.  After swaddling her arms and attaching 25 electrodes to her scalp, the process of mapping he brainwaves began. A little over halfway through the test, Russ got up to pass some lights over her eyes as part of the test. He immediately began unswaddling Kaya's arms. He could tell she was about to begin another seizure, which she did. This one lasted two minutes in length, shaking.  We didn't realize at the time how fortunate we were that she had a seizure during the one test that could track where the seizures were originating in her brain.  We learned that they were partial seizures that originated in the rear occipital lobe responsible for vision.  She fell asleep in her crib about noon, and at 12:30, she received her first dose of Keppra, an anti-seizure drug. We prayed more. Tom was back at the hospital.  She slept until 2:30. Around 3:00 she drank Apple juice and had some puff popcorn. She threw up a little about 3:30.  She had her next seizure around 3:45 while Tom was holding her (this was the first he witnessed). She had her next seizure at 4:50, but this one was a bit different- just glazed over like she wasn't there.  They gave her a second anti-seizure drug that I can't spell. She was immediately taken for a CT scan to rule out an obvious mass on her brain, or brain bleed. It came back normal (praise God!). 

The doctors ruled out febral seizures, and we were told a neurology team would be assigned.   Tom ran home to pack a bag and check on the boys.  My amazing sister (who works at Children's as a nurse part-time) stopped by to visit and helped me un-tangle Kaya's multiple cords and wires every five minutes.  By the time we were moved to a new room on the Neurology floor, Kaya was much more herself and even laughing.  She slept through the night. Tom slept in the room with me while my mom stayed with the boys at home.  

WEDNESDAY May 6

We knew the night prior that Kaya would have an MRI to try and pinpoint why she was seizing, but we didn't have a scheduled time. That meant no food or drink after midnight.  Thank goodness she slept through the night (our amazing nurse, Ryan, was like a ninja and could take her vitals without waking her, or us!) From the time she woke at 7:00 until they took us down for the MRI around 2:00, Kaya cried for milk and food.  She was so unhappy, she did not nap that entire time. It was horrible. 

Kaya remained seizure free all day and ate some pizza after the MRI. 

 Tom brought Patrick and Tommy to visit that evening and Kaya was all smiles while they were there.

THURSDAY, May 7

We found out around 8 a.m. that Kaya's MRI was clear! Turns out that in something like 75% of cases, no cause is ever found for the seizures. We were discharged around 1:00 that day with an epilepsy diagnoses. That evening, we set up a twin size blow up mattress in her room, and that became my bed for the next four nights.  

Kaya will take Keppra twice a day for the next two years.  She had one episode the Saturday after we were discharged where her behavior mirrored her fussiness the day of her seizures.  She acted this way over an hour, then seemed fine. 

There has been nothing since. God continues to watch over her, and we see our neurologist again in August for a follow-up. 

(I want to return to blogging more regularly, and apologize for the first post being so long. I just wanted to document what happened before the details slipped away).

We Went to Mississippi, Y'all.

April 11th, Tom and I boarded a 5:15 AM flight bound for Jackson, MS.  We left the kids at home with my mom to attend the 25th anniversary of the appointment of the judge Tom clerked for while we lived in Mississippi.  We were only in Jackson a little over 24 hours, but it was worth the trip!

After landing and waiting an hour on the plane, just three feet from the jetway, we finally deboarded and met up with some of Tom's former coworkers and spouses at Mama Hamils.   I am a little upset that Tom never took me here when I was pregnant and we were living here, because I am still dreaming about the food.

It is buffet style, and being a lady, I can't tell you the exact number of plates I burned through.  

After lunch we headed a little bit north to visit our old neighbors.  Our neighbors were like our family while we lived there, and we couldn't have asked for better ones.

This was the first time we met their littlest, who isn't so little anymore.

We checked into our hotel in downtown Jackson, and then headed to the Jackson Mississippi museum of Art for our event.

I was giddy because I finally got to wrap a big hug around this girl-

Tresa and I had our first babies just a week apart.  We met briefly, then realized that we worked in the same building.  We would waddle around the grounds during our lunch break, hugely pregnant. We threw each other a baby shower (we were each other's only guests). We each had our next two babies about the same time, although I had long moved to Pittsburgh,where we joke I live her parallel life. 

After the event, we hit a club downtown where I did a shot. Yes, a shot. 

The shot was in honor of this girl (on the left), N. N recently got married to a fellow we all love. And this other girl, K, is soon to tie the knot, too!

Less than 24 hours after we arrived, we made our way to a breakfast the next morning to say farewell to the judge and to finally meet the rest of Tresa's boys.  How handsome is this crew?

Now, I just need to get Tresa to Pittsburgh...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A Much Needed Kick-In-The-Pants

Isn't it funny how a God so carefully navigates us to where we need to be? Had Tom not had so much work and the kids had not been sick, we likely would have been away this past weekend, skiing. But instead, we were here, and headed to our home parish Sunday morning for mass.  There was a guest priest.

It was Father Joseph Freedy, age 35. A young priest recently put in charge of vocations by the Pittsburgh Diocese. He was dynamic, and inspiring.  Every person in the pews listened to every word spoken.  I would have stayed longer, if he would have kept talking.  So when he mentioned he was giving a talk the next night from 6:30-9, Tom and I agreed we needed a sitter. 

Father Joe talked from 6:30-9:30 to a packed room.  That is three hours on a Monday night.  Even after short breaks, no one left early, or  cut out, or appeared to be dozing off.  Tom ended up getting stuck at work, but I am so grateful for the chance to hear this man talk about God's love for us. I wish everyone reading this could have been there.  Because I will be honest.  It has been a long time since I have been really, sincerely excited to go mass.  With the three kids in tow, and a not-so-dynamic priest, it has been hard to muster a lot of extra enthusiasm.  A great kick-in-pants during Lent.

Here is a link to a talk he recently gave:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b-5MltgR9Xc