Thursday, October 30, 2008

Beileve It Or Not, I'm 11 months old Today!!

" It is a rare occasion you catch me asleep not in my mom's arms!"
Think I'm spoiled?

" It was that silly swing that put me to sleep!"


" Big Brother Braiden was begging to put me in this
costume today! Mom says she can't decide between
this mouse or a little brown bear for Halloween
tomorrow. Personally, I just want it off. Please!"





Happy 11 months little Miracle Mason. We love you more than words can express!
Hugs and Kisses, Mom, Dad, Kaitlin, Preston, Braiden, & Ammon







Monday, October 27, 2008

Pictures for "Busy" post

Mason eating an apple.
He is doing pretty good with food now!

And here are the pictures from
CRAZY HAIR DAY:
Kaitlin

Preston

(and look how good Mason is sitting up
in the background. Not very safe on the bar
I know, but hey he is sitting up!)

Braiden



And then they got a hold of Ammon w/ the
color hairspray after school too!

Ammon





Friday, October 24, 2008

Busy

Life is sooo busy! And that would be why I've slacked in my blogging. So sorry to those of you who check the blog diligently wondering about our little Miracle Mason. Mason has been doing pretty well this week. Except for thinking he needs to wake up every hour at night and still not nap much (on which I recently have learned to blame his arrhythmia med, Amiodirone)! His cough is better and his lungs are not as junky, but had a fever last night. Hopefully it was just a fluke and not the beginning of the sick cycle again.





We've had lots of Dr. Appointments the last 2 weeks for both Mason and Ammon (which of course means more frequent flier miles....Is anyone keeping track for me?). One was at our pediatrician and three (well actually 4, one was a "2 for1") were up at Primary's, and of course on three different days. Good thing gas prices have come down a bit lately!



Monday the 13th was when I had Mason at our ped. Dr. Whiting with the nasty cough and possible pneumonia in the lungs which was treated with a shot of antibiotics.



Tuesday the 14th we went up to Primary's for Ammon to have follow visit with Neurology. It had been over a year. (The search for Ammon's diagnosis was put on the back burner when Mason was born. And 3 weeks ago I went to his preschool to meet with his teachers and therapists for his IEP meeting. Their biggest concern right now is how very short his attention span is....3 seconds...it affects how little he can actually get out of his therapy sessions. That is when I realized two things: 1. How fortunate Ammon is to attend his special preschool with such amazing teachers and therapists & 2. It is time to get Ammon back in with his doctors to make sure we are doing all we can during this early intervention window of time!) So, our Neurologist was very impressed with Ammon's progress, but said that Ammon still "baffles" him with being able to make any kind of diagnosis. Ammon had some blood drawn to look for certain enzyme deficiencies. I had put these tests off for 6 months, and little Ammon didn't even cry. He has a very high pain thresh hold and also kind of a delayed reaction when he gets hurt...so he was quite the champ in the lab! So for all have come back normal. One is still pending.





Then on Friday the 17th I took Mason back to Primary's for a check up with his ENT that put his ear tubes in last April. I had figured we would have a 45 minute appointment and ended up there for 8 hours. This was the "2 for 1" day. (Good thing I already know to expect the unexpected with Mason) The ENT, Dr. Park, said his ear tubes looked good and wasn't sure why he'd been having all the ear infections that weren't draining ( of course they look fine after going all the way up there right?!). But he did not like the way his lungs and cough sounded. And I actually thought he was sounding better since Monday. He said he heard quite a bit of weasing. Which is not good! He then sent us for a chest x-ray and got us an appointment that day with a Pulmonolgist. I was definitely glad after all, because the Pulmonoligist saw some Pneumonia(probably viral), a bit of fluid, some very constricted airways, and even a slight collapse on the lower part of his left lung. So he sent us home with 2 inhaler meds to do twice a day. (Why not add more to our daily routine? We like busy, right? And we definitely like more expensive meds!) Mason absolutely hates these breathing treatments, but they do seem to be helping. I must say I am grateful for all the wonderful specialist we are able to see here in Utah at Primary's.


Then, this week on the 23rd, I took Mason and Ammon up to Primary's for Ammon's eye appointment. His teacher's and therapists were concerned with a possible vision problem. If you can imagine trying to ask Ammon if he could see certain pictures across the room for the eye exam, you'll imagine it was very comical. First of all even though he is talking so much better, his vocabulary his much less than other 3 year olds, so he couldn't tell them what pictures he saw. Secondly, he thought pushing the up and down buttons on the exam chair was much more entertaining! Long story short, they put dilating eye drops in to get a more accurate exam, and his vision his normal for his age. Which is good, but still no help for answers on his inability to pay attention at school or home for more than 3 seconds.


Along with all the above my other kids had UEA fall break( It's a 3 day Utah school holiday which I personally don't like, sorry, but just 3 more days the kids are looking for entertainment!) Then we've had Red Ribbon Week at school with dress up days each day. I've got great pictures from "crazy hair day" and some cute ones of Mason, but my computer won't let me down load any pictures right now. I will post some when I figure out the problem.

Also, I'm sorry to those of you who are just trying to follow Mason's progress, for talking so much about the rest of our family too, but I do it for journaling purposes. I need to start a blog for my family too, but I just haven't had time. Imagine that!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Snowing Sniffles and Coughs Again!!!

So the storm blew in a new yucky cold and cough to Mason! It was a cold snowy storm that blew in over the weekend, one of the earliest snows on record. The kids were all so excited to go play in the snow, before it melted by afternoon that is. And some how I had forgotten over the summer how much work snow clothes are! Well, Mason did not go out and join them, because he has a fever and a nasty cough again. That truly means: another weekend he and I spent out on the deck and in the big red chair in the middle of the night tangled in O2 cords! Yes O2! Poor little guy can not maintain his o2 sats when he gets this nasty cough especially at night. And of course we also earned more frequent flier miles (I wish) at the pediatrician Friday and today. His lungs are junky again so he got a shot of Rosecifin to kill any pneumonia bacteria.

On a positive note he weighed in at 14 lbs today! Which is awesome because he has had trouble putting weight on while he has been sick. ( All the medicine makes him poop too much.) Also he can sit up all by himself for a long time! And it makes him so happy. For those of you who are not "heart baby "families , most "heart babies" are delayed in their motor skills due to hospital stays and just overall less strength, so he is doing pretty good.

Keep Mason in your prayers please so he can get better once again and not end up at the Primary Children's Hotel.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

I'm 10 Months Old Now

Look at me I am 10 months old now. Wow!


Ammon loves Mason. (But, sometimes he
doesn't quite know how to show him softly.)

Braiden & Mason are on the famous "Big Red Chair".



Teaching Mason to ride the rocking horse!


"I still like my toes better than baby food!"

Poor Mason! Kaitlin wishes he were a sister sometimes!

Mason turned 10 months on Tuesday September 30th. What a long 10 months this has been! Though, I am so grateful for all we have been through with Mason. It is amazing what motherhood does to you. Once you have this new little newborn, you instantly love him more than you can imagine, and would do anything you had to to save his life! Now, if you had asked me a year ago if I could handle what lay ahead (being that Mason was not pre-diagnosed), I may have said "oh, there is no way. My hands are already so full! He will be a happy easy baby!" (Well, the part about the easy baby I did say, cuz my last 2 were extremely colicky, and I figured Ammon's special needs were enough for me!!!) But when you are given a special baby like Mason, you just do what you have to! That is a special gift given to mothers from our dear Heavenly Father. Not that I don't have teary, frustrating, crazy, days. Cuz I do have lots of those. But am grateful for the Love of Motherhood!