Playdate at Jump On It

We had so much fun at our play date last Tuesday with all the cousins! We met Chelsea, Jamilla, Charise, Stacia, and Diane at Jump On It. The kids had a blast, and so did the moms! I'm so glad everyone lives so close so that we can get together and so our kids can get to know each other.

I Love My Silly Kids!

Dylan has become quite the photographer over the past few months. He loves taking pictures (of anything). I usually get a lot of pictures of things like the tv or his fish tank, but here are some of his best over the past week. By the way Grandma Brendan, thanks for the cute jammies! The girls look so cute in them!

Update on Bella

Bella has been doing really well on her new medication. They put her on "Depakote" and she reached the full dose this last Wednesday, so she had to go into the hospital to get her blood tested to make sure her liver was doing fine and to make sure the medicine levels weren't too high or too low. Well, unfortunately that morning at about 7am, Bella had her 4th seizure:( She sleeps in Dylan's room and so he was the one to run in and tell me. Dylan was so awesome...he knew exactly what was going on and what to do. After Bella's seizure ended he sat by her and patted her and rubbed her head! Moments like these tug at a mother's heart strings. I must say that although this has been a very hard struggle for our family, it has also been a bonding experience. I have been able to spend some quality alone time with Bella running her to and from the doctor and being able to be her comfort while she goes through tough things. Also, Dylan has been such a great big brother to her, making sure that she is always safe. And Audrey has learned her 3rd word, "Bella."

When Bella went to get her blood drawn, they had her sit on my lap and then 2 nurses held her so that they could put the needle in. Bella wasn't about to have it and somehow freed her other arm to grab the needle that was going in. She ended up poking her self on the finger causing it to bleed. We then had to hold her very tight while they attempted again. This time they got it. Bella was glad to be out of there. Then later that day, the neurologist called to tell me that they didn't get one of the tests, so we would have to go back in the next day to do it again! Oh man! I thought, there is no way! But Bella marched right back in there and this time held very still and it was quick and easy. From the results we learned that her medication dose is not high enough (which accounts for the seizure) so we upped the dose and we will have to go back in for a blood test again in another week. I'm sure once we get the dose right, the seizures should stop and less blood tests (thank goodness). I am getting used to the seizures, but that doesn't mean that it is not hard to watch. I feel so helpless when she has one. I'm just so grateful for all of the technology and medicine, I can't imagine dealing with this without it. Anyways, Bella is great...she a happy fun little girl and loves life! She's taught us a lot.

Audrey's 1st Birthday!

Our little preemie turned the big 1 yesterday and we celebrated it Valentine style. Audrey was spoiled and had a great day. Now that she is one, she decided she is big enough to pull up to the furniture, climb the stairs and get into all the cupboards! She keeps us busy and smiling. We are so proud of her accomplishments this past year! She was a little tired by the time the cake rolled around, but after she got a taste, she thought is was pretty great stuff.Bella and Andrew helped her eat it. We a had a good time visiting with Mike's cousin Dan Eves and his wife Rosalyn and their cute kids, Andrew and Evelyn. My brother Damon came over with his wife Jamilla and their cute daughter Miya. Thanks for all of the gifts and thanks Dan, Rosalyn, Andrew, Evelyn, Damon, Jamilla and Miya for celebrating with us! Also thanks to all those who called to wish Audrey a Happy Birthday, it means a lot to us! Here are some pictures of the special day:

Update on Bella

Well, we were hoping that Bella wouldn't have any more seizures and that we wouldnt have to worry about it anymore, but crap happens I guess! Bella had seizure #2 on Tuesday, February 3rd. It was very unexpected (of course it always is) we were headed to do some grocery shopping, just me and the kids at about 5:30 when she did it again. I was terrified, but calmly pulled over the car and monitored her. It lasted about 3 minutes, Dylan of course watched the whole thing too. It is not the funnest thing to witness for all of you out there that have seen one, but I least this time I knew what it was. She fell asleep when it was over and we went home, no grocery shopping. I called the neurologist that night and reported it to the dr on call, I was basically told that Bella's dr would call the next morning. So the night of anxiety began. We had her sleep in our room and every sound she made woke me up, so it was a very rough night. She ended up having another seizure that morning at 5:30 am. It had been a rough day and night and I was wondering what in the world was going on! The dr called that morning and immediatly called in a prescription for Epilepsy medication. So, now we are trying out the medication and hoping she can handle all of the side effects. So far so good and no seizures. I hope that she nor us has to go through that again and hopefully she will grow out of it. So, for the next couple of years she will be seen by her neurologist and monitored on her medication and then retested to see if her tendency for seizures is gone every couple of years. Pretty crazy stuff! Thanks again everyone for your concern and prayers. Bella has been so great through all of this and it's because she has a great support group!

The Test Results

Sorry I didn't post yesterday...I got a call from the Dr yesterday morning about Bella's EEG results and they did see "mis-fires" which means she does have the "tendency" to have seizures. They noticed it a lot while she was sleeping, so we are not sure if she's had them before, in her sleep, or if that was actually the first one, so....what does this mean? Not much really, just that now we know, and if she has another one they will put her on medication, if not, then I guess we are just lucky. They will test her again in a couple of years and if that tendency is gone, then that means she grew out of it. So, now we just wait and watch. Her greatest chance of having another one will be in the next 6 months...so no baths, swimming, anything that could cause her danger if she has one and then if she doesn't have another one, she can resume her normal activity. Pretty crazy stuff...I guess several people on my mom's mother's side (the Grimshaws) have had them or have epilepsy...so genetics prevail again! Thanks again for thinking of us...we love you all!