Swimming fish and people

When Thomas and I got married, almost 12 years ago we had a great day! There are a few stories that stand out, one being about a gift. It was in the middle of the reception when Thomas found it, a license plate frame... holding it up he asked to the people around, "Whose James and why did he marry my wife the same day as me?" Mortified by the name mistake one of my aunts came and got the frame, I can still see the look on her face, I actually feel badly for having this announced in the way it was BUT this story has provided years of chuckles. Today, my cousin (aunts daughter) got married. I was not able to attend because Thomas was sleeping during the day (he works nights) and there was NO WAY Liam would ever sit politely during a wedding ceremony, I was however able to view a small joke creation my mom created for them:

I hope that her husbands family can take jokes, because he is also NOT James lol. 

                                      Congratulations Melissa and Chris!

This week Ayiana started swim lessons, she was a bit nervous but has enjoyed each day, it continues through next week. Here she is sitting waiting on the first day

I found the pool rules a little lacking, see if you can find what I think should be there (hint: its usually yellow and probably should belong under number 7). My laugh came on Friday when a life guard asked "What is the number 1 pool rule?"  A little girl stated with absolute certainty that the number 1 rule for the pool was "No Peeing" bwahaha and ironically according to the life guard the number 9 rule should be number 1... 

After swim lesson on Friday, we went the pet store. One of our old fish past away the day before so we had just one remaining (he's at least 4 years old). Ayiana thought he needed a friend lol, so we went and got another, I think both of them could stare in the fish tanks there all day long if I let them!

And for our Dad moments, Thomas was so excited today when Liam came and saw him on the toilet and then wanted to go too lol. Thomas took him to his potty, sat him down, and he went! Thomas was so happy that he understood what needed to happen for Liam, and that they had a successful pee in the potty lol! Happily we are still heading in the right direction for potty training. We figure its going to probably be another 2 years down the road but we where on the slow lane for walking (Liam started at 28 months) and as far as we know there hasn't been a lane change yet. We are hopeful, that with diligently trying, Liam is fully trained during the day by Kindergarten. Here is a picture I caught of my 2 wonderful guys on Wednesday. Note: Liam loves to rub Thomas's hair (does every chance he is close enough to the top of his head) lol

Butterfly in the Sky

So mid-June we had some new arrivals to the home, they where little caterpillars which arrived looking rather dead. Our mail man had dropped them off early in the day though seeing as he didn't think that they would live long in his truck, he is a really good mail carrier, getting ready to retire, we will miss him. Anyhow, we read in the instructions how they would look rather lifeless for a day or so and then begin eating the brown colored food at the bottom of their dish. Thankfully they all did this right on time, then after a week of eating and getting rather big they crawled to the lid and
did there cocoon thing:

After a day we moved them into their new home, and waited a week, then in the middle of the night a week later, out they popped. 

We let them hang out for the day, and on Father's Day morning released them to eat, play, and be merry

Ayiana unzipping their enclosure

There goes another

Watching one go off into the sun

Up in the sky, Bye Bye Butterfly

This was the last one, he stuck around for a while before taking off in flight. 

If you have little ones this was certainly a fun thing to do, Ayiana spent a lot of time observing them. We purchased ours from a company called Insect Lore, we have had praying mantis' hatch, these, and next year maybe will do Ladybugs or Silk Worms. 

We have SUMMER

This week officially kicked off our first full week of summer break, after Liam's HIDA scan on Monday we have actually been pretty free for the rest of the week. The nurse did call regarding the results and evidently I'm blind because they came back "normal"... she said doctor was out but will review them later and call me back. I mean not that I would ever want a surgery for my child but when something is clearly wrong and the medication he is on is helping in many ways, obviously something else is not quite right then. The rate they look at came at 37%, mind you 35% and lower is considered abnormal so we are not far off that mark either but I was surprised that the math came back that high, it did not look to me that anything that went into the gallbladder ever left... oh well now we wait for the doctor. We did get another call from the plastic surgery team for a consultation in July for Liam's Sub mucous Cleft, so we are moving on that now too. Why does it always seem that medical stuff clumps together? Okay I'll stop whining! Other then all Liam's medical hoopla Ayiana and I have been crafting like crazy. I had gone to Michael's on Tuesday to pick up some of Ayiana's birthday gifts and while there picked up two kits... they where $5 a piece and each made at least 10 crafts each, such a GOOD buy! Here is some of her creations:

The left has bead on plastic boards, I ironed them and they come off. We will probably make those into Christmas ornaments. The rectangle pictures are actually sand with lots of glitter, the computer screen does not do them justice. These we will add frames around and give as gifts.

I also made shirts for our upcoming Disneyland trip, everyone has said to us that although it is really "touristy" to wear same colored shirts it is MUCH easier to find everyone in the group, so we have these shirts. Mickey on the front and a much bigger Goofy on the back:










Thomas joined Ayiana a few times per her request to craft with her, such a good Daddy! Nothing like creating a sword and shield out of beads with a beer next to it :) That still makes crafting manly right? hehe

Yesterday I took the kiddos to the Zoo, it was fun despite Liam absolutely melting down at the end because he could stay in Sting-ray-bay FOREVER if we let him! Here are a few from yesterday! My first little monkey!

and my second monkey looking and smiling watching another monkey swinging back-and-forth

Oh I almost forgot the funny from the zoo. I am a rather clumsy person, I frequently drop and break dishes and knock stuff over...yeah I don't go antique shopping much lol. Yesterday at the Elephant enclosure I had put my glasses inside the front of my blouse (you know one of the side pieces for the ear down the front and the rest out). Well I leaned over to take a picture of Liam and blop out came my glasses.... they landed on the front section of the enclosure, WAY out of my reach! Now I am normally not someone to care but I actually splurged and bought a good pair this time...first time ever too...go figure. Sigh, I go to the front and let them cashiers know what happened and then a lovely zookeeper met me back at the enclosure glasses in hand. Good thing they didn't slide another 2 feet because they would have been down and crushed by our big grey friends. 




We also had a visitor this week. This is Norton, he is my parents dog. He snorts all the time, so "Snorting Norton" is his nickname, he snores as well...good thing Ayiana didn't seem bothered by it, as he slept on her bed most of the nights! I think though, that our house was a bit busy for him. He usually sleeps all day while his parents are away. He was also rather confused each night when Thomas left for work, he eventually learned to follow Bella's lead,  not following Ayiana or I all day long and resting. And I hear him snoring on the couch as I type lol. He will be going home tomorrow, I'm sure he will be glad!

HIDA scan

This morning I took Liam for his appointment at Children's Hospital. This was for a HIDA scan. A HIDA scan checks the functioning of the Gallbladder and can also show if bile ducts are blocked from the Liver as well as bile flow through the body. We know that Liam has a 9 mm Gallstone, which for his age is odd in the first place. We got to the hospital around 7:30 in the morning, we where taking back just after 8:00.... then he needed the IV placed for the test. Yikes! Liam is a very hard stick, today proved that... over 45 minutes of trying to find and not blow out a vein and 4...YES 4 attempts later it was in (sigh) I think the head nurse there say it best "Thank you Lord" as the hard part was finally over. Liam laid on a table, now pretty exhausted from all that ruckus over placing his IV line, and watched Little Einsteins. I had thought in advance and brought a show I knew was fool proof for us. The first medicine placed is a radioactive isotope. I watched it fill his liver and eventually trickle to and fill his gallbladder. A good sign meaning that his bile ducts are open, which was one concern. Then a second medication is injected through his IV line, this one is called CCK, it is a hormone which causes the Gallbladder to contract as it would during a really fatty meal. Then we waited, and waited. Most of the isotope went through his liver and out into his intestines, but the isotope in his gallbladder did not move. After 45 minutes of the "up to an hour" (mind you it was 11:15 by now) the nurse said we're done, if it ain't moving for the first 45 minutes there is very little to say about 15 more. So, in my completely untrained medical eyes, Liam's gallbladder appears to have next to no function.... we will wait to see what the doctor says on Wednesday but I'm pretty well prepared for a talk about surgery, especially if it is just collecting "junk" or "bile" and it never leaving, that in itself will lead to stones forming over and over. Although I was originally anti-surgery, the more I have read the more I am comfortable with the idea should that be the doctors thoughts,.... why? Because a diseased gallbladder can lead to cancers not only in the gallbladder but the pancreas which is right next door. Thankfully, Liam was a super star for the laying portion, poor baby just does not have very many visible veins, the nurses found the one that finally stuck by using a flashlight under his hand! They said hardest stick they have had to do all year (YEY, we are first place in something right? j/k).   And now we continue with our summer break, here is to the hope of a restful Tuesday!

BBQ, Big Boy Beds, and Doctors Visits

This week has been full of activities, first we had a wonderful time at a friend house swimming and enjoying good company on Monday. Here are a few shots from that, Ayiana thoroughly enjoyed swimming and is so excited to start swimming lessons in 2 weeks!

Ayiana enjoying the water

Ayiana the clown, she is so silly!

Liam would not go into the water until the bubbles in the spa kicked in....then he was all for it, go figure! Most people WANT to see the bottom of the water they are getting into, but not him!

I love these people!

Liam's class had a small field trip for lunch at Burger King on Wednesday, he enjoyed himself there. It was really cute inside, they have little tables that fit the kids perfectly I had know idea!

Liam loved his field trip!

Last night I decided it was time to take down the safety rail from Liam's bed so he can get out easier. He is in a toddler bed and has half railing on the side anyways I just had him double protected but he couldn't get on/off his own bed with it... WHAT WAS I THINKING lol, okay I know I was thinking more independence for him and that's certainly what I got! At 12:30 midnight he was being loud I went in asked if he wanted some milk, which he did so I went to the kitchen to retrieve it and he instantly was out in the hallway, taking his diaper off (also a new skill this month lol) and then he turned and ran (also another skill he is getting proficient at) and took off to Ayiana's room. I found his nude butt standing in front of her nightlight. She woke with a smile, she had said she knew he was going to "escape" tonight lol. I took him back to bed and closed his door. This morning when I went in, this is where I found him.....

His favorite Yellow Blankie is even on the rug with him, silly boy! 

Good thing I started this idea in summer, now if he learns to open doors I think the baby gate is going to be necessary at his bed room door as well because he also learned last week how to crawl out the doggies door, so he could end up outside at night if we aren't careful!




Thursday was Liam's last day of school as the programs both ran in the morning today and he had a doctors appointment. I can say that I really like our genetics doctor, he is down to earth and gives the best referrals! He will refer us to the cleft palate team to check more into Liam's sub mucous cleft palate which was found in February, he said they may or may not see us since we have an ENT, but he would try! Then he is also giving us a referral to a Developmental Peditrician. This is the BIG one, that is awesome of him to do because this doctor will be able to diagnosis Liam with things for EDUCATIONAL needs. I have and continue to believe that Liam likely has Autism on top of all of his medical needs and genetic changes. Thus far we have had many doctors, teachers, and specialist give us mixed ideas on that. But what I know about Liam is that he does have a lot of behaviors consist with Autism, he actually spin in circles the whole time the genetics doctor and I spoke (about 15 minutes) and rocks in class if he is not being stimulated by something (toys, songs etc). So a trip to the Developmental Peditrician (DP) is a very good referral and I am hopeful will help us access more services for him. I should also note that a new DP is coming in the end of July and I am so hopeful we get her, as the current one is very aged and does not understand all the current standards as the new one does. The genetics doctor left it up to me regarding more chromosomal testing or not, there is another test similar to one previously done but it is even more precise, I said yes. My take on this is that as Liam's mom I am going to take every opportunity to help him developmentally, sometimes a test will reveal a change that can be helped along, for example one syndrome I have researched leads a body to build up cooper levels, so those individuals are monitored and obviously do not drink water from cooper pipes, or cook with cooper pans.... so I think if I can help Liam in anyway by finding information then that is important.   And since we already have done and found some information previously this may add to it or define it more then before, including genes in the region. The other test that the doctor will run for us is Cholesterol levels, this is not something generally looked at for children; however, Thomas and I both have had abnormally low levels (like combined low/high under 80) and there are some syndromes which this creates developmental problems with. It is also interesting to note that our liver creates 70% of our bodies cholesterol, we only eat up to 30% of our total, so it is possible that the Gallstones could be linked to something in his Liver function too. The doctor is asking our insurance for approval of the genetics test and then we will go in with Liam fasting to do that and a cholesterol test.



After our genetics appointment, Liam had to have a blood draw today for Liver function, this is from his Gastrointestinal Doctors request.... thank goodness the gal who did the draw was GOOD, first stick! WOO HOO our usual is 3 times or so :( but today's was pretty good, here is Liam with his little sticker on, dinosaur bandage, and toy Zebra in hand from the doctors office.... we go back on Monday for his HIDA scan, wish us luck!

Ready to get on that elevator and go home!

PS: My husband says I should write this in word for grammar and spell check, yes I am aware that my spelling and grammar is a bit off frequently...but seriously after typing all that I do not have time every time to do it haha, case in point Liam is now touching all over the key board and mouse while laughing at me! So I will say it like he does "all done" 

Forget that last post

So after saying "oh yey, summers on the way" (see post below :) it dropped 30 degrees, we had a wind much stronger then normal and oh yes, our tree snapped in half into the front yard!

Our fallen Tree

Insert a few days in between the first sentence, when I was interrupted, distracted and had to stop, haha. But that is also very indicative of the kind of week it has been.

So what the heck did we do this last week? We had a few big events, Ayiana's kindergarten class had a small performance on Friday, and Thomas and I received a Tiger Lilly (her school is Tiger themed) for helping on Tuesday mornings in her classroom.

Ayiana being a star on stage, her class sung parts from "America the Beautiful", "This Land is Your Land", and "My Country Tis of Thee". 

 Then Liam had a water play day at school, which did not take to much preparing for but still some. I did a major reorg of the household toys to limit the amount in the house (which took all day Wednesday) the idea is to rotate them around so that the kids make less mess and play with them more, so far it is working! This idea comes from a class I am taking, it is to help parents learn the basics of something called ABA therpy. ABA is used primarily for individuals with Autism and/or developmental delays. I was required to take it so that a behavior therapist can come out to assess Liam's behavior needs and then get some additional therapy hours for that. So far I have gotten a few techniques to try, some have worked others not-so-much, but they will also assist with potty Trainning which happens to be my goal for summer break....we will see how far we get!  Okay so seeing I have only a few pictures above, I have been wanting to share this video of Liam talking.... I took it into his IEP (individual education plan) meeting end of May, his speech teacher about fell out of her chair, one word is especially good just after the minute mark!

http://youtu.be/DvBM-0KqjUo

Summers on the Way!

Yesterday, Ayiana's caterpillar's arrived, today I think I've heard thank you for getting them at least 12 times...I guess she is really enjoying them crawling around, we anticipate having butterfly's around fathers day, and she is very excited. Other then that, our weekend has been very dull, I think relaxing is usually the word we choose for dull, but I am okay with either! The mornings have been quiet, we even slept in past 8 this morning, granted that was only because Liam was up at 4:30 am for some reason before going back to sleep and the cat woke Ayiana at around 6, she said she petted him some, checked on her caterpillars, and came into my room and fell back asleep! I will certainly take that as sleeping in all the same :-) I usually have to close Ayiana's door or the cat tends to wake her, they are close buddies, as you can tell.....

and who ever said cats and dogs can't get along never came to our house. Today while outside I watched the O'Malley go under Bella's legs numerous times, he also rubs on her almost every morning.... then I found this photo Thomas must have taken last week

Our only big event of the day was running through the sprinklers, so I took a few pictures from that. 

As you can see sometimes I go outside and then we just play, no planning...today that equaled
 regular clothing getting soaked!

I am not sure what to think about these dollar store goggles!

We are officially on the countdown to the end of school, only two weeks left and Ayiana will officially be a first grader, it's almost hard to believe!