Bath Time

I just love this picture of all the kids! I had bathed Brandon and Katelyn first and gotten Katelyn out but Blake wanted to get in with Brandon and then when the two of them were having so much fun Derek had to get in two and Katelyn was content to just stand on the side and direct things (this comes very naturally to her). I can't remember if we've said on here that her "first words" appear to be "Hey guys" shouted - always shouted! I fear her next word will be stop it. I don't know where she learns these things?????? Brandon is waving and saying hi, but not unless he is in the mood!

That is Blake's fist coming over and making Brandon roar with laughter!

I just love this picture of all the kids! I had bathed Brandon and Katelyn first and gotten Katelyn out but Blake wanted to get in with Brandon and then when the two of them were having so much fun Derek had to get in two and Katelyn was content to just stand on the side and direct things (this comes very naturally to her). I can't remember if we've said on here that her "first words" appear to be "Hey guys" shouted - always shouted! I fear her next word will be stop it. I don't know where she learns these things?????? Brandon is waving and saying hi, but not unless he is in the mood!

First Day of Kindergarden!

Blake & Derek are at Kindergarden right now and Brandon and Katelyn are both asleep. I am so gitty with this free time that I don't know what to do. But I wanted to share some of these cute pictures of Derek & Blake on their way to school. They were so excited! I can't wait to go get them and hear how it went!

No news is good news

Dad and the kids

The Fox kids and the Sinema kids (execpt Lilly who didn't want to be in the picture) on an outing to Thanksgiving Point.

Blake at Thanksgiving Point.

Derek at Thanksgiving Point.

Fortunately there hasn’t been as much to report lately. We are really busy but things are going well.

Brandon is rolling around and sitting up much better. We continue to work with him but we are very pleased with his progress. He is using both feet and both hands much more often. Even without crawling he can roll and spin. He gets around pretty quickly. We are concerned about his eyes and worry that he might need another surgery. He has an appointment this week so we should find out more.

The big news with Katelyn is that the dermatologist told us about a new drug that seems to be very effective for getting rid of hemangiomas. This new drug usually works quickly and effectively without many side effects. We are waiting to get approval from her pediatrician before we start. The spot on her lip has been significantly reduced by her current treatment but it requires her to get multiple shots every couple of weeks and it has taken quite a while to shrink it down to where it is now.

They are both growing. It’s not huge growth but we are pleased. We often get strangers asking how old our babies are. When we answer 13 months there is often an awkward pause. It’s funny because people will say all kinds of things that could be considered offensive but most people seem to fear that they will offend us if they say anything about them being small for their age. The other day, Amy took the kids to a restaurant. She was feeding the babies macaroni and cheese and Brandon was excited about eating the meat. Amy said that she was being closely watched by a lady near by. She finally asked how old the babies where and once she found out that were over a year old, she told Amy that they looked really young and she had been worried about what Amy was feeding them.

Progress Report

It’s been a while. Both our computer at home and my computer at work have had major problems. We finally had to break down and get a new computer at home. Also, work has been crazy but now that I’ve got access to computers, I have fewer excuses not to post.

Brandon has recovered really well from his surgery. He still has a couple of steri-strips on his incision (one has come off and the others should come off soon) but other than adding a new scar to his collection, he’s totally recovered and doing great. I’m glad he’s a boy because I’m hoping that all of the scars on his stomach are cool and not embarrassing when he is a teenager. Brandon has been doing well with his oxygen. He went a couple of nights without needing any. His alarm has been going off tonight so he is on 1/32 (the lowest possible setting). He’s also making progress on other developmental stuff too.

We took both Brandon and Katelyn in for another follow-up clinic the other day. While he is making great progress the neurologist told us about all of the potential problems to watch for because of his hemi-paresis. It was pretty discouraging to hear but I have to remember that we have heard about a lot of terrible possibilities and things have turned out great so far. We will get a MRI done soon so we can better understand why he has the hemi-paresis. We continue to see therapists and work with Brandon with many different exercises and stretches. Progress doesn’t come instantly but it does come and we are very encouraged by this progress? Brandon’s newest favorite thing to do is wave Hi.

Katelyn loves to clap and she is still a ball of energy. She seems to be more on track with her adjusted age and her biggest challenge continues to be her growth. She has been eating fairly well and she loves anything that we are eating. However in the last couple of days she has decided she isn’t interested in nursing. The problem is that she still doesn’t drink from a sippy cup or a bottle so we have to work hard to make sure she gets enough liquid. Brandon is small too. He is just less than 14lbs. but Katelyn is still under 12lbs. and progressing very slowly. The good news is that we are going to try switching what we use to supplement her food. What we are now using is incredibly expensive. 6 cans run $250. We’ve also started a medication that should increase her appetite. I’m pretty hopeful that it will have a very positive effect and help her grow.

Katelyn loves her soft blanket and she will curl up with it and go to sleep almost anywhere. Yes, she's asleep in this picture.

Blake and Derek got toothbrushes with suction cups on the bottom. They thought it would be funny to hook them together.

This is a sketch I did of Katelyn while she was asleep in church. We haven't taken many photos lately.

Surgery Details

Brandon dressed for surgery.

One of the hard parts about getting a baby ready for surgery is that he can’t eat for several hours before the surgery. They gave us a complete schedule. His last solid feeding was the night before. His last feeding of breast milk was early in the morning and his last bit of clear liquids came about three hours before the surgery was scheduled.

Everything didn’t go super smooth. We made it to the hospital right on time. We filled out paperwork and dressed Brandon for surgery. It was going great until the nurse came in and told us that there had been an emergency surgery and that we had to wait another three hours. Brandon was able to drink some apple juice at that point but he’s not fond of drinking out of a cup so he got VERY little.

The funny thing is that Brandon is very outspoken when he gets hungry so I anticipated trouble but he was great! We walked around the hospital most of the time to keep him distracted and he was pretty happy the whole time. I was amazed.

We had been told that he had two hernias but when the surgeon looked at Brandon he felt like only the left side needed to be repaired. Afterward he said it was a very complicated surgery. Because of his former surgeries he had a ton of scar tissue. The doctor said it was bad enough that he couldn’t tell what was what. He told us that when this happens they need to use “another technique” but he also said that it went really well and everything was good.

As I mentioned, when Brandon woke up he was mad. One of the nurses said that he was one of the loudest babies she has ever heard. He has learned to scream lately and he can certainly make some noise. We he is calm and happy it’s hard to imagine but he and Katelyn can to a great job of disrupting church every week. Even the next morning Brandon was pretty drowsy when we first went back to see him but he was pretty calm. He was able to begin nursing right away and he was acting pretty normal within a couple of hours. He was however very calm and he just wanted to snuggle with his mom. Both Brandon and Katelyn have a slight fever but they are doing well and I assume the fevers have nothing to do with the surgery.

We had been told that the goal was to keep Brandon less than 24 hours. Based on what we heard we were expecting it to be closer to 23 hours but when Brandon was doing so well in the morning they sent us home pretty early.

We got a chance to stay at the Ronald McDonald house (Katelyn, Blake, Derek and I), or as the boys call it, the Old McDonald house. In addition to a very inexpensive place to stay it’s a great place. They have a huge kitchen. They have a bunch of free food that is donated by various people groups and restaurants. And a different group comes in each evening and cooks dinner for everyone. In addition they have stuff like free passes to the zoo and the children’s museum. The boys wanted to stay longer than one night. However, we did get a chance to hit the zoo for a couple of hours so they had a lot of fun. As great as it was, I hope we don’t ever go back.

This is the wagon we used to pull Brandon around the hospital.

Katelyn didn't want to stay in the wagon but luckily Amy moves fast.

Brandon in the recovery room.

Pictures from the zoo. (My grandfather always pointed out that those cougar statues were sculpted by a relative - Unle Avard)

The funny part about this picture is that Derek was actually mad at me for finishing his ice cream cone. He was grumpy so when I told them to look mad he didn't want to do what I said and he smiled, Blake looked mad liked I asked. They should be actors because they both look convincing.

Good news

Brandon's surgery was a success! He is doing well. He was very sleepy when I left but the docter said that when he first woke up he was as mad as a hornet. That was good news.

I will posts more details soon. Amy is at the hospital with Brandon. I'm at the Ronald McDonald house posting with my phone. The boys are asleep and I hope Katelyn decides that she is sleepy soon. I'm very tired.

Third Time's A Charm

Well, I think we might make it for Brandon's surgery this time. This is our third time on the schedule and so far so good. Brandon is well and so is everyone else in the house. In fact Brandon didn't need his oxygen most of the night last night, so he is stronger and doing better! He is also bigger and I think he is going to do well. We'll keep everyone posted tomorrow. He is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon and the goal is to be there less than 24 hours.