End of Summer 2014

Labor Day is quickly approaching and there is so much to celebrate as we close this chapter of 2014.

Weston celebrated his 4th Birthday

Emily learned how to ride her bike sans training wheels! 

Someone FINALLY is potty trained

Mom had a minor freak out when she received this germ-laden picture

 Bebes took a plethora of selfies

Now we find ourselves at the end of August and the beginning of a new school year.
Weston is starting his first year of "official" Pre-K.

ALL of his pics are blurry!! :-(

Just in case you couldn't read in the first pic.
Yes, he wants to be an elephant. 

 Emily is starting 1st Grade!!

Emily says she wants to be a 2nd Grade Teacher so she "can give really hard homework"

 Bebes are still at the same school together and both go to Extended Care.
Emily likes to report on Weston's behavior.

My Loves!!
They're growing SO FAST!

Emily, 6 years old, 1st Grade

Weston, 4 years old, Pre-K

Emily requested to be photographed in the following pose:

 Weston quickly counter with his own 

I hope their teachers are ready for what's in store!!

The End of Another Year

Another year, come and gone.
It's been a pretty big year for all of us.

We moved back to Austin this summer.
Billy and I both started "new" jobs.

Emily graduated pre-K and started Kindergarten, not to mention losing 5-6 teeth.
Weston had a bumpy fall with more test, blood transfusions, surgeries and an ambulance ride; but happily we were able to stop steroids and his hepatologist said overall he was in a better place now than a year ago. He also started a more enriching pre-preschool and we have seen a marked improvement in his speech.

It's been a rough last week of December.
Unfortunately, the Houston BA group is mourning the loss of a precious baby girl that passed as a result of multiple major complications before/during/after her transplant.
It has really upset us all.

Any loss like that is absolutely heartbreaking, but even more so because it hits so close, literally, to home. Please keep Madelyn's family in your thoughts and prayers.

Another baby also lost his battle with BA up on the East Coast shortly after Madelyn passed.
And, there was a really devastating situation that presented itself at work today.
Lots of prayers for that young patient and their family.

 

And not to mention, we almost lost our Max Cat yesterday from acute renal failure.
Billy found him lethargic and drooling and rushed him to the vet just in time for them to intervene. Evidently male cats can have problems with urinary blockage.
The people at the vet acted swiftly and though Max is still at the vet receiving treatment, he is doing better.

SO, even though 2013 has ended on a pretty sour note, maybe it is a sign for change in the New Year.
Many blessings to you and yours in 2014.


November in Review



No updates in a month!

Here's what we've been up to:

 

DaddyDaddy:
Billy's first season of coaching Volleyball came to an end; rightfully boasting an impressive 8-1 record. Way to go, Coach!
Basketball season is already underway and they started his favorite sport off with an unprecedented 54-9!!

 

Mommy:
Work and call.

No joy, there.
Contemplating a career change.
Seriously.

Nursing, specifically OR nursing, blows.

 

 

Munchkins:

Emmy preparing food in her Cooking Class

Baby Picasso

Playing at school

Perusing the latest issues of Toys Illustrated

Show and Tell!!

Lovey Bug at her Thanksgiving Feast!

Sweet Pumpkin

Don't ALL cowboys wear dino footie PJs?

Self proclaimed "Queen of Eating Dinner" on Thanksgiving

We had a nice Thanksgiving at Nana's. Turkey was great and it was "pants optional", thanks to Bubby.


 

We Moved!

Yes, in the time since my last post, we have moved back home.

We are so happy to be back in our house and in the Austin area.

Emily remembers the house, but I'm not sure if Weston does or not.

The house felt like new, as we repainted and got new living room furniture.

LOOOONG OVERDUE.

Emmy has a purple room and is super excited about that.

First bath back home

It's nice to have a backyard that they can play in without threat of snakes or charging bulls.

Taking the Jeep to the carwash

Look at that face

Weston was having NONE of the swimsuit.
Little man is going to have sun-kissed cheeks!

Weston is a big fan of the new furniture.
Lots of places to kick back and relax...

We had fun with friends at the Liberty Fest on 4th of July.

What great weather!

Very mild!
We got a free Cory Morrow show and an amazing fireworks show.

I am working Monday thru Friday...something that I haven't done in a long time.
Like since Emily was 6 months.
I miss my three 12 hour shifts, but I am grateful to be where I am.

Daddy Daddy Summer Camp is in full swing.

I get pics like this at work:

Happy smiles!

I got this one this morning accompanied by the caption:

"This kid will not stop talking! A bazillion questions. All followed by 'right daddy?'"
Cuteness.

All worn out from too much fun with friends at the park.

Next week, Emmy is going to Princess Ballet Camp!!
OH EM GEE

She's going to lose her mind!

Picture Purge

It's SNOWING!!!

I don't know which one got the baby powder out, but something tells me it was
THIS DEVIL BABY!

We don't do personal space in this house

Emily teaches Grandpa how to use the iPad

Eating bubbles

Watching some draft horses plow a field...

"Look!! A hawse!!"

Still enamored with horses and cows right now.

Can't believe he didn't end up in there.

Chil'ren

If there had to be a reason for the horrible stomach virus of 2013, it must have been to help Weston's system flush itself.
While everything lab-wise is still abnormal, there was a HUGE improvement in his labs a couple weeks ago. His bili level was half of what it was before. YAY!

He is doing well and we are hoping to have a good check-up on Wednesday.

Yes, we are making the trek to Houston for Liver Clinic this week.

JUST FOR CLINIC! 

Ya heard?!

Passed out! He doesn't like to miss his nap.

Great pic of Bubby and giraffe from our Safari

Every time we get labs drawn we have to go to the hospital and register through the ER.
EVERY TIME.
Wes passes the time by trying on masks, playing with tissues and meticulously sanitizing his hands.

Emily...

GOOD LORD

She's been on a sassy, crazy bender lately.
She got in trouble for having a potty mouth (poop, butts, doodie, fart, etc) and had her baby doll taken away. 

This is what happened next, no exaggeration:

*throws self on floor, wailing and gnashing of teeth*
"I want my baby back!! I want my baby baaaaaaaaaack!"
(full on Sally Field, Not Without My Daughter)

Emily, when you go 24 hours without saying nasty things, you can get your baby back...blah, blah, blah.

*continued wailing and gnashing of teeth"
"I am not a mommy anymore!! Now I am just a regular girl!"

o-O

How could you not love this?

December?

1. Christmas Cards
Your Christmas card is going to be late...and, no offense, you might not get one.
First time ordering cards via Internet and they got our order wrong.
So, just in case, Merry Christmas!

2. Jack

Don't feel sorry for him, he totally deserves it

Ok, so the new puppy smell has worn off and now Jack is an accident having, biting and terrorizing little fuzzy demon.
Alright, he's not that bad. But, the honeymoon is definitely over.
Emily is still in love.
So, that's good.

3.Emily
She's been on a roll lately.
"I can't go to sleep; I'm allergic"
I wish I would write her words of wisdom down when she says them...I can't remember the rest, but trust me, they make you shake your head.

She had her Christmas Party at school yesterday.

"I had too much hot chocolate."

She's precious as ever and looking forward to Christmas.
She has asked Santa for a microphone so she can be the "hopstar" of Princess and the "Hopstar".
She is quite the performer.
We get multiple choreographed renditions of "Here I Am" from the Princess and the Hopstar, and "Extravaganzalorious" from Elf on a Shelf.

4. Bubby
Bubby and DaddyDaddy are both sick with icky colds.
They're so sad.
:-(

On the liver front, he remains a weirdo. While his enzymes have all improved (including his GGT by 1000 points), his bili level is up above 7.
What the heck, man?

He's almost as yellow as he was for his first Christmas.
:'-(
We're just going to watch him and see where it goes.

He crashed Emmy's party yesterday and discovered Doritos.
I guess it was the first time ever to have the evil cheesy chips and he couldn't get enough.

Check out those Doritos stains on his sleeves!

Poor little guy.

5. Me

I turned 30 last week.
I guess I am officially an adult now.
:-/
The DaddyDaddy was wonderful and surprised me with a dinner Saturday night with friends and family...even though I had to wear a sombrero and be the target of loud singing.
As a present to myself, I went and had a physical.
I mean,  guess that's what old people do?
Along with the realization that I am an adult, I guess I need to really start taking care of myself.
So, had to get all the baselines checked.
Blood pressure was good, blood sugar was certainly in range, cholesterol and LDL were NORMAL (shock) and even my HDL was in range.
Triglycerides were the only area I need to work on...and as I incorporate more fruits, vegetables and flax seed (like old people should), that should come down.

So, that's what we've been up to.

Can't wait to see what Santa has in store for us!