First Day of Pre-K

I hadn't gotten around to posting this until today.  Pre-K is going so well for Clayton.  He goes half day, everyday to our public school, and is really loving it.  Clayton especially loves Wednesdays which are library days.  He gets to check out a book there.  On Fridays they get to spend their pre-k coins that they've earned at the treasure store, which is also very exciting.  Each week they have to memorize a nursery rhyme.  If they can recite it on Friday, they get a rhyme club card, and this too has been fun.  We work, work, work on those nursery rhymes each week.  I've been so surprised how much Eli has picked up as well.

I think this is going to be a really great year.  Clayton's teacher has tons of experience in early childhood education, and I'm thinking they will be a great match.

Ophthalmology...

Just add it to the long list of specialists we visit regularly with Clayton.  Thank goodness for good insurance (when they actually pay, but that's a whole other can of worms).  Anyway, did you know that when you have juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, you're at a high risk for developing inflamation of the optic nerve?  Well neither did I, until recently.  So off to the ophthalmologist we went today.  Clayton's eyes got a clean bill of health, but he will have to come back every six months until he's an adult or forever if his arthritis continues.  Fun, fun. 

In other health news, we still haven't heard anything from Stanford on Clayton's Fontan.  I'm hoping they forgot about us, so we can just ignore the situation.

Heart Cath

It's been a couple weeks since I've update on Clayton.  The cath lab called and got us in a lot earlier than I was expecting.  It was probably better that way because I didn't have weeks to agonize over Clayton's heart cath.  So anyway, Clayton had his heart cath last Thursday, August 18th, which was also the first day of school.  Oh well.  Everything went really well.  We checked in at 6am.  They started around 8am, and he was out around 10:30, much sooner than I expected.  He was intubated for the procedure.  Although we haven't heard anything official, the cath lab doctor said the pressures in the lungs were fine, which is one of the main measurements they look for before a Fontan.  They were also looking for collateral veins that often develop in his situation, and they only found one worth coiling off, which is probably why they were done so quickly. 

Clayton was pretty cranky coming out of anesthesia and had a little nausea, but once we moved out of the initial recovery room and into a little more private quarters, he did much better.  A huge thank you to the inventor of the portable DVD player.  Clayton had to lay flat for three hours.  Try telling that to any 5 year old boy in a hospital.  The DVD player was a trememdous help with that.  Clayton was discharged at 1:30pm, and we rested most of the rest of the day.  They entered through veins in his neck and groin.  The neck entry went well, but wow, there was (and still is) some severe bruising at the groin site.  I'm thinking this was partially due to him having to be held down by two nurses and a doctor before I could get back to the recovery unit after the procedure.  It will still be weeks before that goes away.

The next morning Clayton felt up for school, so we let him go.  We live about two minutes from the school, and the teacher said she'd call me if she had any concerns.  Everything went great with that, and he even went to his first t-ball practice that night.

The information collected in the cath has been sent to Stanford, and they will get back to us with their recommendations for Clayton's surgery.  I have no idea when it will be, but we're hoping to put it off at least a couple months, as Ryan is in a really busy season with work.  We'll see.

Thank goodness that step is over.  Seeing Clayton thrashing around after the cath and begging for something to drink after being intubated sure does make me dread surgery.  I know it will not be fun. 

Cardiology Clinic

Clayton had his cardiology check up on Wednesday.  Weight gain since January... wait for it... none.  Yep.  I promise I feed him (see attached picture).  So I had to ask the question, "Is it even possible for Clayton to achieve 15kg?"  And the answer I got was, "Maybe not."  That said, after some discussion between OU and Stanford, Clayton will have a heart cath this fall here at OU Children's (I'm trying to be okay with that).  Those numbers will be sent to Stanford, and they'll decide if they want to go ahead and proceed with Clayton's Fontan.  Clayton is going to pre-k this year, and it would be nice to have this done before kindergarten, so we'll see what they say.  The whole thing makes my heart pound a little too much.  I'm in no rush to do this surgery, but I do really want it behind us.  I can't believe it's been almost five years since we've been to Stanford.  I can still hear the beeping (and smell the parent lounge... gag).

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!

One year ago today I woke up really early in the morning and thought, "Oh no.  This better not be what I think it might be."  And it was.  I was in labor, and my husband was out of town.  Oh well.  This baby couldn't wait. 

Aaron Wesley Zeitler

7/29/2010

8lbs, 3oz

19 inches

Happy First Birthday to my sweet son, Aaron Wesley Zeitler.  I can't imagine life without this guy.  In the last month or so, his little personality has really been shining through.  He loves to watch his brothers play and is becoming more and more interactive with them.  It's no secret that Aaron's a mama's boy, but he's also really been warming up to his daddy lately.  He loves to eat, eat, eat.  Anything he doesn't like, he just drops over the side of his highchair.  Mommy loves that.

Aaron is over 20 pounds now, probably about 20.5lbs.  He has the eight teeth he had at six months, but just yesterday, one of his 12 month molars poked through.  The other three are swollen, and I can feel one really close to the surface, but we'll call it 9 teeth on his first birthday. 

We were lucky to have Ryan's sister and kids here last week, so we had Aaron's birthday party while they were here.  It was so much fun to share Aaron's birthday with his cousins.  They were so sweet to him, and all the kids were so excited to have a party.  Eli questioned me several times throughout the day, making sure we would be having cake after dinner.

We had walking tacos for dinner, a fun little treat I learned from my VBS ladies at St. Andrew's.  Then we had a little cake.  Aaron dug in like he was an old pro, and he ate every bite of his slice.  He also ate a bit of ice cream, something the other two wouldn't eat until they were older.

This morning I made blueberry muffins, and the boys and I serenaded Aaron with his birthday muffin.  We went to Chick-fil-A for lunch and then went to the library.  Aaron opened a couple presents from family tonight after dinner, and that was that. 

I can't believe my baby is one year old today.  The big boys are growing so quickly, and I was hoping Aaron would stay my baby forever.  I don't think it's going to happen.

 Birthday muffin

 Deer in the headlights

 Lunch at Chick-fil-A

 Silly brothers

Gifts from Papa and Gigi

Birthday Party Pictures:

Party prep

 Table set and ready for the cousins

 Eli put on his hat and couldn't understand why we all thought he looked so funny.

 Yummy cake and Bluebell, of course

Bring on the cake

 The birthday boy

Singing Happy Birthday

 My niece and nephew

 Trying it out

 It'll do.

 Getting going

Finishing it up and obviously loving being one year old

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag sweet Aaron!  You are loved!

Cousin Time

We were so fortunate that Ryan's sister was able to bring her kids out to Oklahoma this month.  The kids hadn't seen each other in 18 months, so it was kind of like meeting each other for the first time.  We had a busy, but fun time together.  They were also able to be here through a lot of Clayton's arthritis hoopla, and that helped me tremendously with the little boys.  Aaron was a little cautious around Ryan's sister the first day or two, but by the end of their stay he was actually reaching out for his aunt to hold him.  I think he earned some brownie points for that.

While they were here, we had several fun outings and spent a lot of time just hanging out at home, letting the kids play.  I wish it hadn't been so hot, but we still managed to have a little outdoor fun.  I have a million pictures to share, so if you're not into pictures, you can stop reading now.  I tried to narrow it down.

We spent a lot of time in the backyard.  Water was always involved.  The hose was the most popular toy.  Sometimes a spray was welcomed, and sometimes it wasn't.



We went to the science museum.

These two were the only ones brave enough to pose with Otto.

We went to the splashpad.

 Aaron is my most enthusiatic splashpadder.  He sat at this little fountain for a good half hour.



We went bowling.



And just spent some time being cousins.

There was also a short trip to the zoo, lunch at Chick-fil-A, more ice cream than should be consumed by small children, and sno cones, of course.  Time with family is a rare treat for us, and we had such a great time.  Clayton remembers his cousins and aunt, but they were just pictures for Eli until this trip.  Now he knows them and is talking about them nonstop.  We really, really appreciate them making the trip out here, and I especially appreciated all the company/babysitting/cooking/cleaning help.  Love you guys.  We miss you already.

VBS 2011

In the middle of all Clayton's health drama, we've had a very busy Vacation Bible School season around here.  I love VBS.  I went almost every summer as an elementary schooler, and I believe in its ministry.  I love that kids who never have the opportunity to attend church show up for VBS.  As we work and work to put on the program, I always try to remember that many of our kids will only have this one week each year to learn about Jesus. 

Our VBS was July 11-14, and this year's theme was Pandamania.  Clayton was able to attend the preschool VBS again this year.  He had the same teacher from last year, and we love her so much.  I wish I had some pictures to share, but trust me, between all the VBS prep, teaching at VBS, and Clayton's issues, a camera was the last thing on my mind. 

I'm so thankful to belong to a church with so many ladies dedicated to making VBS a success.  It's a summer staple, and I'm so grateful to be a part of it.