Good-Gosh-A-Mighty Mamma!

The things kids say. smh

Levi was an early talker, with many words before he was a year old, 3-4 word sentences by 18-20 months, and full-blown conversations on his "cell phone" and with "Scout" at 24-28 months.

We've already shared his anecdote, "Lord-A-Mercy" in an earlier blog post. Well, a new one is "Good-Gosh-A-Mighty Mamma." I'm sorry, what? Yea...like, good gosh a mighty Mamma, I'm hungry. Don't ask me where he picked that one up, but at least his pick-ups have been clean...so far.

Well, except for the "s" word. Noooo, that that "s" word. But, the s-h-u-t-u-p one. I thought maybe I'd misunderstood when my darling little angel child said, "Shutup Mamma." Excuse me, what was that? "SHUTUP MAMMA." (followed by a silly little giggle) Ok, A. We don't use that word in our house (shush or be quiet are our words). B. EXCUSE ME?!? Did you REALLY just tell your own mother, the one who carried you in her belly for 39 weeks, and was in labor for 4 days, and was cut from hip to hip just to get you here, to shut up? Surely you didn't. So, yea. We had a nice little discussion about how that word is an ugly word and we don't use it in our family. He tried to pull it once more, this time, aimed at his Thomas the Train bathroom toys while playing in the pool. That was nearly a week ago. We haven't heard it since. Fingers are crossed that we don't hear it again.

And, the cutest new thing? Each night when I'm putting Levi to bed, we have a routine. Bathtime. YumYums & Chewies (medicine). Nose spray (allergies). Fish mask (breathing treatment). Love Daddy night-night. Crawl into bed. Mamma reads a 'tory'. We say bed-time prayers. We give kisses and noses. I rub his back for just a minute. I leave the room. Well, last night, I guess I was dragging a bit and didn't get to the back rub in time, so I get this: "Mamma, you pet me!" Pet. Well, I guess we've referred to he and Bailey as brothers for so long, Levi's starting to think that he's a dog. Who needs to be pet. Do we win the Parents of the Year award for that one?

Oh, and one more thing...

To my Daddy, Granddaddy, Father-in-law, Stepdad, and Husband, I wish you all a very Happy Father's Day! Here's a picture of me with my Daddy and my Husband. I love you guys so much!

Report from Duke Pediatric Specialists

Our most recent journey to finding the root cause of Levi's frequent respiratory illnesses led us to Duke Pediatric Consultative Services. In April we met with the Allergy/Immunology Specialist where Levi was skin tested for allergies and had some bloodwork done. In May we met with the Gastroenterology Specialist to discuss Levi's diagnosed "reflux" and how it's management affects his asthma symptoms. And, today, we met with the Pulmonology and Sleep Specialist to discuss his asthma care plan, next steps, and sleep disturbances.

Allergy/Immunology: Skin test was negative for all triggers. And after the test, specialist tells me that, while the test was negative, this does not mean that he does not have allergies because many children will not show a proper allergic reaction during a skin test until they are at least 36 months of age. The next step was bloodwork. The results are really inconclusive, but did show decreased levels of Ig-M (Immunoglobulin Type M - which aid in the creation of T-Cell antibodies), good immunological responses to all diseases against which he's been vaccinated, and a very elevated white blood cell count. The doctor is, at this time, not concerned with any of the results and we will follow up in August to see if things have improved.

GI: There is some concern that we have been treating Levi for diagnosed "reflux" since he was 3 months old when his symptoms sound more like Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE for short). While the treatement for GERD (reflux) that Levi has been on is a part of the treatment plan if he does, in fact, have EE, there will be an added medication to help reduce the swelling and inflammation associated with EE (which may be exacerbating his asthma symptoms when he gets a cold). In order to test for EE, Levi will need to have an Endoscopy. GI specialist will defer to Pulmnology before scheduling endoscopy because Pulmonology may want to do a Bronchoscopy and because Levi will need to be "asleep" for both procedures, it's best to do them at the same time.

Pulmonology: No bronchoscopy at this point so GI Specialist will proceed with scheduling endoscopy. Despite testing negative during the skin test for allergies in April, his diagnosis is Asthma/Allergies from the pulmonologist after speaking with the allergy & immunology specialist we saw there. Will defer to GI to schedule and perform the endoscopy, determine diagnosis of EE, and start treatment if diagnosed. Will follow-up in September to allow for diagnosis and at least 30 days of treatment of EE (if diagnosed) to determine if there has been a significant improvement in asthma symptoms. Anticipate scheduling a sleep study in October to test for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). If diagnosed, will recommend removal of tonsils, and follow-up to see if there is improvement. Assured us that while he's not making any changes to treatment plan now, he has "a few tricks up his sleeve" but wants to make sure all 3 of our specialists are in agreement on the plan moving forward and can't do that without the results of the testing we anticipate taking place in July.

Basically, we want to be sure that we are treating the ROOT CAUSE of Levi's frequent infections and not simply the symptoms. His frequency and depth of asthma flare-ups are more than are to be expected from a child his age, with his history, on the treatment plan in place right now.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE THIS LITTLE BOY?!?

The New Classroom and Adjusting

So...when there's a change in your child's life, how long is "normal" for adjusting to it? Levi was moved up the first of May. Since moving, he has cried. Every.single.morning. when I drop him off. What is wrong with my kid? For months upon months, he hadn't cried at drop off unless he was sick. He's not running a fever and doesn't have any abnormal complaints, so sick can't be the problem.

Is it normal for it to take a month or more to adjust? Is it just because the first week, he missed 3 days, then the 3rd week he missed 3 days (he was sick that time), and now, going into the first week of the new month, he had a 3-day weekend that was extended by one day on account of a doctor's appointment, making it a whole 4-day weekend? Sure, maybe that's all it is, and once we can settle into an actual "routine," he'll settle down. Right?

Lord-A-Mercy!

So, yeah, where have I been? Anyway, here's a little update on what's happening around my little mess these days...

Levi has graduated to his Thomas the Tank Engine toddler bed. What a nightmare that was! For...forever...I have rocked him to sleep, nearly every night of his short little life, before putting him in his bed (crib). Sooo, I *should* still do that. Right?!?  The toddler bed shouldn't make a difference. And the transition will be easier if we stick to the same routine, right?!?  WRONG! After a solid week of getting less than 2 hours of something-sort-of-like-sleep, I decided that maybe the problem is, I rocked him to sleep.

So, now, we don't rock anymore. And I miss it. But, the change has made all the difference in the world. There are the nights that he sneaks out of bed 3 -or 12- times before he falls asleep, but we can handle that. One night, husband and I went to bed early (his day shifts mean a 4:30am alarm clock!) and we were watching Levi's antics on the baby monitor (best money we spent on baby gear was the mobi cam with night vision!) and suddenly it got VERY quiet. And there was this mound of something (blanket, webkinz cat, Levi's behind?!?) on the screen. We thought maybe he'd given up, passed out. But the mound was a little too still. So, after 3-4 minutes of debating on the mound's identity, husband decided to investigate. He opens our bedroom door, Levi tears back down the hallway at lightspeed, shouting "I just lay in my bed now!" That little bugger had been standing at our bedroom door listening to us talk about him the whole stinking time!!!

Another new development is that Levi's been moved up to the 2's classroom at school. They're working on potty training with him. Yesterday afternoon, he was playing in his kiddy pool and suddenly he shouts, "Lord-a-mercy I gotta pee!" I thought husband and I would fall over!

Bailey, that's Levi's pooch, had a haircut. He looks a little silly but he sure acts like he feels better. I'll try and post a video of the two of them playing in Levi's kiddy pool this weekend.

Now, I have a hot date with a pile of laundry that's begging to be folded, so, here I go...God bless you all!

A Routine Baby...Out of his Routine

So, this week was the 2011 National Smart Start Conference. It's a time when early childhood professionals from all over the US (and even some internationals!!) converge on the Sheraton at Four Seasons to sit in on workshops covering topics on early childhood education quality, stress management, board operations, administration of Smart Start programs, and child development, among others. The last physical conference was 2009 (in 2010, due to budget constraints, the conference was held as a series of webinars, and, IMHO, it was much less effective). At the time of the 2009 conference, Levi was *almost* 3 months old. I was nursing, and the conference was a 4-day event for me, so he and my husband came along. Then, it wasn't that bad. He would sleep alot. And was content to ride around in his stroller. At that age, routine wasn't all that "necessary."

Well, this year, all plans were in place for Levi to stay home with Daddy while Mamma when to Conference. Mamma would get a much needed break, and Daddy & Levi would get some MUCH-needed bonding time. And then Duke Children's Consultative Services ruined it. The appointment we'd been waiting MONTHS to get with a GI specialist, was scheduled for May 3. The first day of conference. Half-way between conference and home. Our options were very limited. So, we packed up our family and made arrangements for the care of our 3 pooches, 1 donkey, 2 turkeys and I-lost-count-of-how-many chickens. And off we went.

Well, over the last 2 years, Levi has grown very accustomed to his routine. Wake up at 6:15. Breakfast by 8:30. Lunch by 11:30. Nap by 12:00. Snack at 2:30. Supper by 5:45. Bath by 7:30. Bed by 8:00. Do it all over again.

Hotel life, eating out 3 meals, and being away from school (read: daycare) and his friends was NOT what Levi had in mind. Napping was a joke. Sleeping was even funnier. And eating?! Please. Apple Sauce, Cheerios and Cheese. Nothing else would do.

We were terrible at taking pictures while we were gone. Mostly because we didn't really do anything. But, here's one of the few times he actually slept some. :)

And this is when we got him to eat something besides cheerios, applesauce and cheese. Though it is cheese pizza...

And, THIS is how he spent the majority of his time. Notice the giant bag of cheerios beside of him. smh

Happy (Belated) Easter!

I'm behind. Hopefully you'll all forgive me. Easter weekend was very busy for us. And, I'm just getting around to posting my baby boy's A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E Easter photos. The photos were taken by CSM Photography of Erwin. Connie Sue did a fabulous job. We bought the copyright release & CD, so I'm using these images legally! :)

Enjoy!


My little GQ man

This is the politician ad pose (though I pray he doesn't become one of those!)

And these 3 are the wagon & bunny pictures

Hey there Buddy the Rabbit!

This picture was featured on our Easter cards. Too. Precious.

And this picture is what my baby looks like when sheer joy shines on his face.

Just another headshot.



And, last...just because I think he looks great in black & white:

So, for Lindsey & my other readers...that's my beautiful baby's Easter pictures.

I hope all of you enjoyed celebrating the resurrection of our Lord this past weekend. Please don't ever forget that Easter isn't about hiding eggs and a giant bunny. He is Risen!

We Needed a Reminder

Oftentimes, our lives...our "little messes," if you will...become so overwhelming that we forget to stop and be thankful for what we have. A roof over our heads. Food in our refrigerators. Family and friends who love us.

The tornadoes that ravaged parts of our state on Saturday were a true, genuine reminder for me of several things.

1. How blessed I truly am with all the things I do have in my life. I may not have a big house or a fancy car or a big boat. But, right about now, I have a LOT more than a LOT of people who've lost their belongings, their cars, their homes, and even more importantly, their loved ones to those storms.

2. That I need to get my priorities straight. God and family come first. Period. Everything else is gravy.

3. A little bit of grace goes a very long way.

4. The Lord is capable of many things, not the least of which he demonstrated to us on Saturday. To stand in a family member's yard and look in all directions and see nothing but devastation, and be able to look at that family member swinging on his front porch swing. It showed me how truly awesome our God is! Though there were lives lost, and others injured; compared to the number of homes and businesses that were damaged and destroyed, the ratio is so small it's unbelievable.

5. Be kind to one another.

6. Pick up a rake and help your neighbor.

7. And by all means, don't insult victims of disaster by using them for your entertainment. If you're going to drive by at 3mph videoing them work to clean up what's left of their lives, pull over, get out, and grab a chainsaw. Or a limb. Or a log. Or a trash bag. I can't imagine wanting to see the things I've seen over the last few days.