So we went to Vanderbilt on Monday morning to check on Ben. In a nutshell here are the highlights: We will take him back in 1 week to do one more set of tests to check for a few more obscure things; As long as those tests come back the way they anticipate, we will begin Synthroid (a thyroid medicine); We will go back to check how he's responding to the medicine in one month after that. They said that so far this hasn't affected his development, and with the treatment, it shouldn't be affected. It'll probably take both boys about 2 years to catch up to where they need to be on growth charts. He could have to be on the medicine for 2 years, or as long as the rest of his life......but at least we know what's going on inside his little body now, and we have a treatment plan. It's comforting just to have a course of action.
I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate all your prayers for us. I definately felt peaceful and at ease going into the appt, and the boys' mood couldn't have been better. We serve a powerful and compassionate God!!!
We'll keep you posted on how they're doing, and I'll try to get some pictures on here soon....since that is the REAL reason you come to this blog!! ;)
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Quickly...
as i sit here and type, Ben is destroying Michael's office here at home book by book, and Drew should be waking up from his nap any second now. So, I'll be quick about this.
Many of you know that the boys have had trouble gaining weight, and after some blood tests, we think we know why now. Ben's (and only Ben, so far this isn't affecting Drew) hypothalamus (that's in the brain, i think) is for some reason telling his thyroid glands to produce too much of one hormone. That's why he can't seem to ever gain any weight, and grow like he should. They call it a hyperthyroid condition that we'll probably start treating with medicines.
At first we were obviously a little upset. But our wonderful pediatrician Dr. Leeper says that it's definately treatable, and we've caught it very early on. He shouldn't have any long term developmental problems, and we thank God for this!
Anyways, the boys and I go to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital on Monday to talk to a Pediatric Endocrinologist. Please pray for our son and his health. God has had His hand on us every step of the way, I we trust that He'll continue to do so. But there's no such thing as too many prayers. And also, pray for Michael since he'll be away from us for a little bit due to work, and I know that he hates that.
We'll keep you all posted as soon as we know more. Much love to you all!
Many of you know that the boys have had trouble gaining weight, and after some blood tests, we think we know why now. Ben's (and only Ben, so far this isn't affecting Drew) hypothalamus (that's in the brain, i think) is for some reason telling his thyroid glands to produce too much of one hormone. That's why he can't seem to ever gain any weight, and grow like he should. They call it a hyperthyroid condition that we'll probably start treating with medicines.
At first we were obviously a little upset. But our wonderful pediatrician Dr. Leeper says that it's definately treatable, and we've caught it very early on. He shouldn't have any long term developmental problems, and we thank God for this!
Anyways, the boys and I go to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital on Monday to talk to a Pediatric Endocrinologist. Please pray for our son and his health. God has had His hand on us every step of the way, I we trust that He'll continue to do so. But there's no such thing as too many prayers. And also, pray for Michael since he'll be away from us for a little bit due to work, and I know that he hates that.
We'll keep you all posted as soon as we know more. Much love to you all!
Friday, September 15, 2006
I'm in a New York State of Mind....
Last week Michael had to travel to New York to do a little business, and invited me to come along with him for a little break by ourselves. I know that this blog is supposed to be all about Ben and Drew - and I promise I'll get to that - but I just have to take a second to brag about my wonderful husband. He treated me like a princess, and it was just so wonderful to be able to spend time laughing and enjoying each other. We each have a baby in our arms and diaper bags to contend with most of the time. So to even be able to walk down the street holding hands is a treat.
Even the timing of the trip was pretty special. We were there on September 12th; five years and one day after the attacks on the twin towers. So we visited Ground Zero to pay our respects. It was very moving.
This is St. Paul's Church, across the street from where the twin towers were located. It was a refuge for all the first responders and volunteers, and is also the city's oldest public building still in use. 
We shopped, had great food, and I went to the Today show to see Meredith Viera's first day while Michael had meetings. I even made it on TV for like 3.2 seconds, which is a pretty big deal to me since that show has helped me make it through many crazy mornings around here. Anyways, enough already. I love you, hunny, and I had a great time!
And I just had to include these two pictures of my sweet little boys having a ball at the park. I don't know how I was lucky enough to capture both of these cute pictures, but Drew is having a great time on the swings. Just look at those teeth! And Ben (if you can't see it) is shoving hand fulls of dirt and mulch into his mouth and having a wonderful time. I make him yummy food every day that he flatly refused to eat because he'd rather play. But dirt, he'll gladly eat. Ugh! Boys will be boys, I guess.
Have a happy Monday, everyone!
Even the timing of the trip was pretty special. We were there on September 12th; five years and one day after the attacks on the twin towers. So we visited Ground Zero to pay our respects. It was very moving.
This is St. Paul's Church, across the street from where the twin towers were located. It was a refuge for all the first responders and volunteers, and is also the city's oldest public building still in use. We shopped, had great food, and I went to the Today show to see Meredith Viera's first day while Michael had meetings. I even made it on TV for like 3.2 seconds, which is a pretty big deal to me since that show has helped me make it through many crazy mornings around here. Anyways, enough already. I love you, hunny, and I had a great time!
And I just had to include these two pictures of my sweet little boys having a ball at the park. I don't know how I was lucky enough to capture both of these cute pictures, but Drew is having a great time on the swings. Just look at those teeth! And Ben (if you can't see it) is shoving hand fulls of dirt and mulch into his mouth and having a wonderful time. I make him yummy food every day that he flatly refused to eat because he'd rather play. But dirt, he'll gladly eat. Ugh! Boys will be boys, I guess.
Have a happy Monday, everyone!
Monday, September 11, 2006
What a Fun Weekend
So many pictures, so little time to post! We had a fun weekend and I just wanted to let you see some of my favorite pictures.
We went to the park to celebrate Brax's first birthday and had a picnic with all the kiddos. Lots of fun!
This is Ben, Drew and Lincoln (who is half their age, if that tells you how little they are) working really hard at moving the balls back and forth.
Ben and Maisy sharing a swing.
Drew having a ball on his own swing. Just look at that smile! What a QTpie!!
Then we went to the actual party for Brax at Pump It Up. Ben and Drew were a little overwhelmed by all of the bouncy things, and were a little out-of sorts since they hadn't had a nap all day long.
But, I know for a fact that all 45 of the grown ups had a GREAT time. Check out these actions shots of Michael having a ball on the toys. ....And yes, that's us playing in the boxing arena. We duked it out, and I totally won!!! ;) Thanks for letting us celebrate with you, sweet Brax!!! We love you and hope you had the happiest birthday!
And then on Saturday night Ben and Drew had two very hot dates. Aunt Britt, Lisa, and I had dinner together while Michael had a guys night out. There were more pictures that I wanted to put on here of the weekend, and playing with their buddy Wyatt. But aparently Blogger thinks that I've got too many on here as it is...so maybe next time.Love to you all!!!
Thursday, September 07, 2006
And One More Thing....
You'll just have to forgive my absentmindedness. I got so caught up in battling Blogger that I forgot to mention the stats from yesterday's Doctor's visit. All of the voicemails from you all asking how things went reminded me. Thanks for you care, prayers and concern.
Drew is FINALLY for the first time in his life, on the growth charts, weighing in at a whopping 17 lbs, 7.5 oz!!! We are in the first percentile on weight, thank you very much.
Ben, on the other hand is not on the charts yet. No surprise there since he's so active. And he weighs 15 lbs, 8 oz. We did more tests and blood work at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital yesterday afternoon, and we'll keep you posted on the results.
Drew is FINALLY for the first time in his life, on the growth charts, weighing in at a whopping 17 lbs, 7.5 oz!!! We are in the first percentile on weight, thank you very much.
Ben, on the other hand is not on the charts yet. No surprise there since he's so active. And he weighs 15 lbs, 8 oz. We did more tests and blood work at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital yesterday afternoon, and we'll keep you posted on the results.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Out and About Adventures
Alright, I admit it: the long weekend has really messed me up this week. All day Monday I thought it was Saturday, Tuesday I thought it was Monday, and so on. So, I've been all out of whack this week, and I think that might be to blame for the week being almost over, and just now updating on our holiday weekend. Anyways, we had a great weekend, and had a great time just being together.
We said goodbye to the summer, and said hello to my very favorite time of year. We kicked off the football season with the first UT game at our friend Bubba's house. And yes, all four of us had on our orange. Michael had on ESPN GameDay from the time the boys woke up, and I think he had a great time introducing them to his gameday tradition of smoking meat on his grill.
But the best part of the weekend was taking the boys to the zoo for the first time. They LOVED it, especially little Drew, who squealed and kicked his legs and threw his hands up in excitement at every new animal. Here are some of our favorite pictures of the day for you to enjoy. Thanks for checking in on us!
In the habitat for the meerkats you can go through this little tunnel and pop up in their little village to see them up close. Both Ben and Drew loved it. Just pretend that there are meerkats in the picture....the photographer was a little distracted.
This was by far Drew's favorite part. He and Daddy got to feed the parakeets and he wanted to hold them so badly. He just couldn't understand why they didn't want to play with him too.
And this one wasn't taken at the zoo. It was taken at our favorite Sunday place to eat, Vittles. I just had to include it. Somehow this little buger chewed through the wrapper holding the butter in the packet, and he was enjoying every bit of it as you can see from his hands and cheeks. We tried to take it away (thoughts of clogged arteries by age 7 flashing before our eyes) but he screamed and cried so hard that it really wasn't worth the fight. Hence, the smile and showing us the butter that he likes to eat. What a stinker!
We said goodbye to the summer, and said hello to my very favorite time of year. We kicked off the football season with the first UT game at our friend Bubba's house. And yes, all four of us had on our orange. Michael had on ESPN GameDay from the time the boys woke up, and I think he had a great time introducing them to his gameday tradition of smoking meat on his grill.
But the best part of the weekend was taking the boys to the zoo for the first time. They LOVED it, especially little Drew, who squealed and kicked his legs and threw his hands up in excitement at every new animal. Here are some of our favorite pictures of the day for you to enjoy. Thanks for checking in on us!
In the habitat for the meerkats you can go through this little tunnel and pop up in their little village to see them up close. Both Ben and Drew loved it. Just pretend that there are meerkats in the picture....the photographer was a little distracted.
This was by far Drew's favorite part. He and Daddy got to feed the parakeets and he wanted to hold them so badly. He just couldn't understand why they didn't want to play with him too. 
And this one wasn't taken at the zoo. It was taken at our favorite Sunday place to eat, Vittles. I just had to include it. Somehow this little buger chewed through the wrapper holding the butter in the packet, and he was enjoying every bit of it as you can see from his hands and cheeks. We tried to take it away (thoughts of clogged arteries by age 7 flashing before our eyes) but he screamed and cried so hard that it really wasn't worth the fight. Hence, the smile and showing us the butter that he likes to eat. What a stinker!
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