A day at Children's Hospital

Rhys has had reflux his whole life.  We put him on meds for it at about six months.  These days he's also, consistently, constipated.  We've doubled his prevacid to twice a day.  He still throws up in his mouth.  We've taken him in to the specialists at Children's, and they are running a battery of tests.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon there so he could get scoped through the esophagus, stomach and lower intestine, with biopsies taken along the way.

We arrived early, happily, as they called as we were getting signed in to let us know they could start two hours early if we could get there.  Rhys saw his best friend Trace in the lobby as Trace was leaving.  That made for two very happy little boys.

We got Rhys signed in and barely had to wait before we were taken back to the waiting room.  We had brought him his iPad so he just played games.  He didn't like the hospital clothes and he was afraid of the blood pressure cuff.  As we sat there he got scared but dug deep and found the courage to do what had to be done.

We were visited by the Dr, the anesthesiologist, her nurse, and two other nurses.  They finally sent in a lady to help Rhys understand what was happening.  She had a mask for him to try on and she showed him a bunch of pictures of another little boy who had a procedure.  He seemed better after that.

We walked back to the OR with him.  He had chosen strawberry for the flavor for his air.  They have a stick of "smell" that looks like chap stick.  They rub it around the inside of his mask.  He freaked when we got to the room but I was able to urge him forward and help him onto the bed.  He laid down and we held his iPad so he could keep playing while he fell asleep.

After that Tracy and I went and grabbed a bite to eat.  I hadn't eaten all day since he couldn't.  The food wasn't bad but we wolfed it down because the procedure was only supposed to take fifteen minutes.  Sure enough, a couple of minutes after we sat down in the waiting room, there was the Dr.

Rhys' pictures all looked good and normal.  No scarring and no damage visible.  We'll have to wait a week to find out the results of the biopsy.  This is good news but doesn't get us any closer to fixing his reflux issues.

We waited a few more minutes and they came to get us.  Rhys was doing fine, grumpy but tired.  Mostly he just slept until release.  His discharge nurse was the only unpleasant person we encountered there, so it was a double blessing to leave.

We told Rhys we would take him wherever he wanted to eat, since he hadn't gotten to eat anything since the night before.  He chose "the bean store", which is what he calls Las Delicias (Mexican) because that is where we get his favorite food, re-fried beans.  We had a nice little dinner, with Rhys eating guacamole and lamenting that he could not have salsa and hot sauce.

Following dinner we met Cousins at Target, as they had Owyn with them, and Rhys go a toy as a reward for being so good.

By the time we got home he was hungry again but we made him suck it up, as they had told us to make him take it easy.

Rhys was a trooper, as always, and made us very proud.  Now we'll just have to wait and see what the test results say, then on to the next step.

Rhys' first day of School - 2012

Today is Rhys' first day of second grade.  He's so excited he can hardly stand it.  As is now traditional, pictures of him standing out front.

He's actually much happier than he looks in this picture.

We'll take him over to the school soon, to drop him off.

Owyn's first day of school - 2012

Today is Owyn's first day of school; he is starting Kindergarten.   This is his third school year, having two years of preschool before this. This is the first year that I have been here for the first day of school for either boy.  Every other year I have been deployed.

He's not really grimacing in pain here.  The sun is just bright.

Cops & Robbers

We got a call from day care the other day.  Owyn's teacher wanted to know what we do in our off time.  "Why do you ask?" said Tracy.  Owyn was playing cops and robbers.  His plan was to rob a bank for beer money.

I'm unspeakably proud.

Happy Birthday Owyn!

Today our little Owyn is five years old.  Like all parents, I suspect, it is amazing to us that our baby is now five.  It really does seem like we just brought him home from the hospital.

Owyn is totally psyched for it to be his birthday.  Both boys were in bed with us at 0510 this morning.  Owyn was waiting in his room, right by the door, for Rhys to get up.  As soon as we heard Rhys' door, there was Owyn's and both boys were in bed with us.  I managed to doze a little bit until 0530, but then Finn started whining to go out.  I let the dogs out, and back in.  I turned on the light and Rhys and I sang "Happy Birthday" to Owyn, who just sat there with a giant grin on this face.

Owyn had a present bag waiting for him, on the kitchen table, this morning.  It had a new Scooby Doo movie in it as well as ten of the little Monster books, which both boys love for bed time stories.  He "just loves all my presents so much".  So that was a success.

Owyn got to have some chocolate donuts for breakfast, then off to school.  Tonight Mama will pick up Owyn and go to the party store to pick out his invitations.  He is inviting ten kids from "one school" and "two school" as well as the thirteen other friends and family kids who will be there.  Ouch.  Herding cats.  After the party store Mama and Owyn will go pick up pizza for dinner, because it's not a birthday without pizza.  Meanwhile, I'll pick up Rhys and we are going to go to the Lego store and get Owyn the rest of his presents.

This will be a good day for Owyn.

Story Time

Last night, as the boys were staying with their Aunty, they got to the bitter sweet moment in the evening when it is story time.  Bitter sweet because stories are, of course, awesome, but they also mean that it is bed time.  The boys were sitting with Aunty Karm, reading their new Scooby Doo story.  Much to Owyn's surprise, people other than his parents know how to read.  "Aunty Karmen, you really do know how to read".  That was a bit of much needed positive reinforcement, I'm sure.

Bathroom antics

Mama and I are spending the weekend at a nice hotel in the mountains.  Rhys and Owyn are staying with their Aunty, in the same town.  This morning, Owyn needed to poop.  He got into the bathroom and then realized that there might be a problem.  "Aunty Karmen?  Do you know how to wipe butts?"  Happily, Aunty Karm does, indeed know how to wipe a little boy butt.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's day is always something special for Tracy and I.  Our first one, many years ago now, was an idyllic weekend at a Bed & Breakfast in Williamsburg VA.  We have been apart for many of the Valentine's days since then.  We may have hit 50% together this year.  We usually don't go out to dinner on the day, too much stress with that.  We usually get some nice steaks and some seafood of some sort and make dinner and hang out.

This year we had the boys with us.  We got some steaks and scallops.  Tracy made green beans and I grilled the meat and seafood.  Owyn ate fruit and mac & cheese for dinner.  Rhys had beans and a tortilla and hot sauce, (his all time favorite meal).  It was cold and dark while I was grilling.  I was outside in my shorts and slippers and a polar fleece and hat.  I had a beer, because you have to have a beer when you are grilling.  Rhys and Owyn and Finn all insisted on being out there with me, though Owyn came to his senses fairly early and went back inside.

While we were out there Rhys needed to pee.  He did not want to go inside.  I wish I'd had the camera.  He was standing there on the patio, bare ass shining in the moonlight as he tried to write his name in the snow. 

Tracy was able to enjoy her dinner in peace.  At my end of the table Owyn and Rhys were glued to me, eating their way through my food.  Owyn discovered that scallops ARE for little boys.  He also liked the steak and both boys ate piles of green beans.  What I got to eat was pretty tasty.

After dinner we put the boys to bed and then Tracy and I sat in front of the fireplace and drank some port and ate chocolate covered strawberries.  Then Tracy headed off to bed with her (probable) case of strep throat.

It was a good night.

Big Snow

We had a big snow last weekend.  We reportedly got 10 1/2 inches in town.  I suppose that possible but it was a lot more in our yard.  The cousins came over and the boys, girls and dogs were all thrown in the yard.

Hannah and Owyn (In his bumble Bee hat)

Finn is being very fierce.

Owyn is actually enjoying this, oddly.

Rhys just went down the slide and is already plotting his next exploit.

Finn is all worn out.  Poor puppy.

Sick

Rhys was sick yesterday.  I picked him up from school and he immediately told me, "Daddy, my stomach hurts".  He is often constipated so I asked him if he needed to poop.  He said he did but I was pretty sure that was not the problem.  He is usually very animated when I pick him up.  He is telling me about his day.  He has a little bit of a bounce in his step.  This walk, from the school to the car, was very quiet and very subdued.  He just trudged along beside me, eyes down.

We cancelled his therapy.  Thursdays are when I go down to the local game store and play games.  I normally take Owyn with me While Rhys goes to therapy.  When he is done with therapy Tracy grabs dinner and brings Rhys down to join me and takes Owyn away with her.  Rhys looks forward to Thursday night all week long (as do I).  Last night he told me, "Daddy, I'm not going tonight, I'm sick".  That's when we knew he really was not feeling well. 

He threw up and had diarrhea.  Tracy called me.  I wrapped up and came home.  We all sat on the couch together and snuggled. 

He was feeling much better this morning.

Bunny Teeth

Rhys has now lost both of his bunny teeth.  Both top, front teeth are gone.  He lost the first one a week or so ago.  The second one was very loose, but not quite ready.

We had a big snow storm this weekend.  The kids had cabin fever so we sent them out sledding with their cousins.  Rhys fell off the tube he was riding on and got run over.  He was pretty cheerful about it but decided that he was cold and wet and wanted to come home.  We had set up a ton of snacks for the day so he came back and built himself a plate of pepperoni and crackers and chips.  He was sitting on the floor next to me, took a bite of something, stuck his fingers in his mouth and handed me a tooth.  He was very excited, then he went back to his eating.

He has been happily smiling for anyone who wants to see it.

Rhys, the Dr and Mama

On Wednesday Rhys had his seven year well child appointment.  There are some big things to think about in that sentence.  Rhys is seven years old.  I remember bringing him home from the hospital like it was yesterday.  We've been through so much in the last seven years.  We've discovered that all is not well with our little guy but that we can all work through it together.

The well child appointment went really well, mostly.  Rhys has gained a lot of weight and is now 49 pounds.  He's filled out so that we do not have to see his spine and ribs anymore.  He is healthy and happy and everything looked good.  We have him on a good balance of meds right now, but we'll see how it plays out over the next couple of months.  We've been monkeying with those for three years, so it would be great to get him stable.

The kink in the program came when he was asked if he had had his flu shot yet.  "Yes, when I was a baby".  Now, I had told him and Mama that he was going to need to get it but she was in denial and he was adamant that he was not getting a shot.

In the end Mama and I held him down while he got his jab in the leg.  It turned out that both of us could stop the kicking and screaming long enough for her to get the needle in and out.  It also turned out that it did not hurt nearly as much as he thought it would.

Mama had promised Rhys a surprise if he was good.  We didn't count the shot fit as that was totally understandable.  Mama had been thinking Red Robin but I wanted a steak, so off to Saltgrass we went.  Rhys and I got there first and were waiting at the top of the stairs for Mama before we went in.  As Tracy walked up the wind caught her hair.  "Your Mama sure is beautiful isn't she Rhys".  "Yes she is".  "Mama, you sure are pretty!".

I'm your heart

Last night Mama was getting Owyn ready for bed.  Owyn said "Mama, I love you".  Mama said the same.  Owyn: "Mama, do you know why you love me?".  "Why Owyn?", Mama was curious now.  "Because I'm your heart!".  It's hard to argue with that one.  Mama didn't even try.  "Yes Owyn, you are my Heart.  I love you very much".

Puppies chew stuff

We have had our new puppy, Finn, for a week now.  She is three months old.  She is sort of house broken.  She is not even close to being able to decide for herself what she is allowed to chew on and what she is not.  The boys have learned, the hard way, that their toys will be eaten if they are left on the floor.  The worst  casualty so far is Owyn's large Bullseye toy.  It stands about six inches tall and is hard plastic.  Bullseye is Woody's horse from Toy Story.  Owyn was devastated when he found Bullseye with no nose or stirrups and with a good chunk of his tail gone.  To me he looks like a chocolate Easter bunny after it has had it's ears bitten off.  Apparently he looked that way to Finn too.

The boys are loving their "Finnerator" but the training is going both ways and not entirely to the human's advantage.

Talking to Mama

Owyn was in the car with Mama.  From the back she hears "Mama.  Mama, I have to tell you something".  Usually this is a lead in to "I love you".  Mama "What is it Owyn"?  A moment of silence, "I've got nothing".

Ireland

There is a girl at Owyn's daycare named Ireland.  Owyn went to a birthday party this weekend and was playing with his two best friends.  While he was there, Ireland came up to him and patted him on the back and said "Hi cutie".  Owyn just smiled.

Tracy and Owyn were talking later and Tracy asked Owyn if he had a crush on Ireland.  He looked down and smiled, then looked up at his Mama and said "Yeah, I love it when she calls me cutie."

Owyn's four.  He is way too young to start this.

Momments of discovery

We had to drop papers at Owyn's school.  His bus was there to pick him up so we sat in the car and watched.  He came strolling out of the school, all by himself, walked up and got on the bus. 

It's strange that our kids have lives without us.

Finn

 

 We have a new puppy.  We named her Finn.  Tracy and the boys went and picked her up on Saturday while I was at work.  She has settled right in.  The boys are in love.  Bogart (cat #1) is ok with her.  Hobart (cat #2) is not. 

 It was driving Owyn nuts that she didn't have a name.  He did not like having to call her "puppy".  Pets have names, she's a pet, she needed a name.  All was not right with the world.  He's digging calling her Finn.

Last night Rhys was laying in bed after stories.  Finn was on the floor in his room.  He looked at me and very carefully said her name, enunciating the leading "F".  This is a sound we work on in speech, and that he can make, but that he doesn't use in his normal speech.  He did it all by himself, with no prompting from me.  I was so proud I almost cried.

She is very sweet, though not feeling very good.  She got a shot right before she left for home.  She has already discovered that the couch is her favorite place.  She is sleeping in Hannibal's kennel, which seems to suit her.  We have had a lot of pee spots but not too much.  She seems to be settling right in.

Swim Lessons

The boys are back in swim lessons.  Mama put them in while I was gone.  They are both doing very well.  Rhys is more coordinated and stronger than when we pulled him out.  He still has a lot of difficulties with getting his arms and legs and head to all do the right thing at the right time.

Owyn is LOVING it.  He was terribly jealous of his brother the last time around.  This time he gets to swim and is proving to have his Daddy's fishy genes.  He is advancing rapidly and loves every minute of it.

Who knew goggles could be so much fun.  Everything is blue.

Speech II

Rhys and I went to speech yesterday.  We met his new therapist, who seems like she will work out well.  The first part of the session Rhys played with a game and we went over the basics.  I told her what worked in the past and what didn't.  I also recommended that he speak to his first therapist, Sarah, since she had done so well with Rhys.

Once we had the preliminaries out of the way she jumped in with Rhys and they got started.  I would normally leave at this point and let the two of them work alone but between it being his first day with Ms Allison and how needy he has been towards me lately, I stayed in the room.  All through the session he would come over to me and give me a hug or a kiss before going back to work.

They played a couple of games.  Hi Ho Cherry-O worked out well.  Before each turn they had to say words.  A new innovation of Miss Allison was two cards, one with a happy face and one with a sad face.  If she said a word incorrectly he pointed at the sad face.  If she said it correctly then he was to point at the happy face.  Then he did the same for his own words.  This is an effort to ensure that he is hearing the sounds that he is making.  He was 90% with hers and about 75% with his.  We worked on S sounds the whole time, mostly as part of a sentence.  "I spin".  That sort of thing.  I had told her that Rhys responds well to signs with his sounds so she used those.

Rhys can make almost any sound required.  He just doesn't use them spontaneously in conversation.  He was very proud of himself at the end of the session and he told me that he liked Ms Allison and thought he could work with her.

It was a good first session.  Sadly, right now, we only see her every other week, alternating with OT.  That is not enough but that is what is available right now.  Ms Allison is going to keep her eyes open for openings that will let us get him in every week.

Speech I

Rhys has been out of speech for the last few months.  He just did not get along with his last therapist and we were seeing no progress in return for a significant amount of pain on all of our parts.  We decided to give him a break while we waited for a new therapist to open up.

He does not do well, to say the least, when they try to beat him down and force him to do what they want.  The best therapist we have had was Ms.  Sara, his first speech therapist.  She was nearly always able to get him to comply with her and to have a productive session.

Today we start with a new therapist who we have not met before.  We are keeping our fingers crossed.  Tracy is out of town for the day so I'll be picking Rhys up at two schools (1st grade).  We will go directly to speech, which should be pretty painless today as it will be more of a sensing session; getting to know each other and setting expectations.  After that, as long as he is good, we'll hit McDonald's for dinner, pick up Owyn and head home long enough to eat.  Tonight is my gaming night at the local game store so the boys and I will troop over there and hang out until Mama gets in.

It should be a good night but we'll see how it all falls out.

Missing Daddy

Last night I went out to a whiskey tasting with a friend and my folks.  Tracy and the boys were at home.  Rhys was very angry with Daddy for not being there with him.  I got a text from Tracy telling me that Rhys was mad at me and was taking it out on them.

He was very apologetic this morning.

Hannibal

Tracy had to put my dog down while I was deployed.  Hannibal, my doberman, developed a growth around his throat that was slowly killing him.  He finally got to where he couldn't eat and was just miserable all the time.

She took Deuce (the weasel hound) with her to the vet when they put him under so she would know that he was dead.  It seemed to work, she never went looking for him.  She is very lonely though and very needy.

Rhys desperately misses Hannibal.  Just about every day he tells me "I miss Annibal".  He knows that he is dead and gone and that he is not hurting anymore, but he misses his dog.

Tracy is looking for a puppy.

Money

Both boys have recently talked a lot about buying things.  Rhys understands the connection between work and money.  He knows that I have to leave him and go to work to make money to pay for the house and food and clothes and toys.

They both understand that money is how they get things at stores.  We have  chore chart.  It is magnetized with the seven days of the week on top and different chore bars on the side.  There are different colored dots, with smiley faces, to put on when they do their chore.

We pulled the chart back out this weekend.  The chores are things like feeding pets (dog, cats and fish), helping to unload the dishwasher, clearing the table and doing homework.  Rhys is getting three or four a day.  Owyn is working on one or two. 

We have not decided how much they will get per dot.  Tracy is leaning towards a flat rate no matter how much they do.  She's apparently a communist.  I am thinking a base amount with each dot worth a certain amount.  I want them to see the connection between their work and how much they get paid.

We'll work it out this week and see where each of them stand at the end of the week.

Catch up

I've been gone for about nine months, back for two weeks now.  The boys are both thrilled to have me back.  Rhys, especially, has been glued to me.  Each boy has a favorite parent.  While I was gone and they just had Mama she was their go to, but now that I'm home they have fallen back into their old patterns. 

Rhys is happy because he has Daddy.  Owyn is happy because he gets more Mama time. 

I had a DS for my deployment.  I never had time to play it.  I bought Rhys a Lego Star Wars game.  His two favorite things, Lego's and Star Wars.  He has been playing a lot.  We are thrilled because it keeps his attention and it is developing his fine motor skills.  He just likes to kill bad guys with a lightsaber.

Rhys also got an iPad for his birthday.  They use them at school.  Tracy got the list of apps they use and we put them on for him.  He would much rather watch Power Rangers on Net Flix but we force him to play his games first.  He is a wiz at navigating his tablet.

Back in business

I've been gone for a long time.  I went off to war and just didn't have time to update this.  I'm home now and I hope to pick it back up.  A lot has changed in the last sixteen months.  The boys have come a long way.  They are still a joy, and good for a laugh, every day.  We'll see how it goes.