Back To Normal!

We are glad to have life back to normal around here after our trip to Children's! Cody had his follow up last Thursday from his surgery and the doctor thought his incision looked great. It's funny when we look at pictures of him now, his shunt was definetly blocked and making his head get bigger! You don't notice it because it's so gradual but he's all back to normal now!

The boys are talking up a storm! Connor is saying some colors now and they are both starting to put words together. Alice has them saying "Please, Thank You and Bless You." They are becoming little boys!

Casey is on spring break right now. He got new golf clubs today from Grandma and Grandpa. His trip to McDonalds was the hi-light of his day, though.

I get off work on Friday and Matt has a vacation day.......it's off to find Easter outfits for all 3 boys, dress shoes for Connor and soccer shoes and a jacket for Casey! Plus maybe an Easter dress for me????? We'll see if I'm still in the mood after getting that stuff!

Monday is Cody's next big appointment. We see the orthopedic surgeon about Cody's hips. When we went in November he was just really starting to walk so we need to see if his walking has done any damage and we need to do surgery or if we are going to leave them the way they are...time will tell!

Here's a link to a video of him walking:
http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w265/twins2707/?action=view&current=codywalkingapril2009002.flv

Thanks for keeping up with us!

We are home.......

What a week! We just got home late this afternoon. Cody did great with both surgeries yesterday. The nurses thought he was adorable! He wasn't as into them as they were into him! He did not need any pain meds until during the night and then only needed Tylenol and Motrin. The nurses said he did better than most of the big kids do! Connor and Casey are glad to have us home. They spent the week with mom, grandma and Alice. Casey enjoyed spending part of today with his friend, Clay.

Thanks for the prayers, e-mails and text messages. We are so thankful for all of those who care for Cody! He's certainly a trooper!

Cody's big adventure.......

We are on quite a ride here at Children's! Cody had a CT 2 weeks ago and it showed larger ventricles than 6 months ago. We were scheduled to get a follow up CT today (Thursday). Well on Monday he started vomiting and continued doing so on Tuesday. We got him in on Tuesday and they decided yes, he did need a shunt surgery.

So they admitted him and planned to do it yesterday. Well that all changed yesterday!

When the nurse practitioner was examining him yesterday she noticed his ear was still infected. We knew he had an ear infection because we'd had the twins to the pediatrician on Friday and they had ear infections. They were actaully scheduled to see about getting ear tubes on April 3rd.

Well Cody beat them to the punch!

They cancelled his surgery yesterday until we could get the ear stuff figured out. We saw the ent folks yesterday and they decided he needed tubes. So they scheduled that for yesterday. He obviously needs a revision soon. So they have decided to do both surgeries on Friday. I guess that's good in the regard that he'll only have to go under once. They just don't want him to have any infection in his body when they do the shunt surgery.

The ENT folks did not think he had as much infection and he had fluid. That makes me feel better that he is not 'infected' and that he will be okay for surgery in that regard.

So........Cody gets ear tubes and a shunt revision on Friday.

They ended up keeping him since he is indeed in shunt failure and want to watch him. As of now he's not having any 'symptoms' like vomiting or anything so he's early on in shunt failure.

Please keep him in your prayers!

Trip To Children's......

Yesterday was a big trip for us. Cody and Connor both needed CBC's and lead tests as part of their 2 year well checks. I decided since we were going to Children's anyway, we'd get it done there. So we did that first.

Then Connor had an X-ray of his spine........he has a dimple at the base of his spine. Thankfully, it is not spina bifida oculta. If it was we knew it was not causing him any trouble but we just wanted to rule it out. Cody's neurosurgeon read the x-ray for us so I'd know for sure.

Cody had his 6 month CT of his brain to check his shunt. Unfortunately, we have to go back in 2 weeks because his ventricles in his brain are larger than they were 6 months ago. We are praying that it's just the size they are going to be. If they have grown, it could be because his shunt is not working and he will surgery to revise his shunt. For those just joining our story, Cody had a shunt placed at 3 months of age and it was blocked (like it possibly is now) at 7 months of age. Since then he's been fine. Most kids with spina bifida need shunts because thier spinal fluid builds up in their brains. The shunt drains into thier bellies and causes no problems (unless it gets blocked..........) We go back in 2 weeks for another CT and another appt. I will post after that.

Otherwise, everyone is doing well. We're ready for spring so we can outside! Connor is really starting to talk and put two words together. Cody is hanging on to everything and walking around things! His PT is ordering him his very own walker this week! Casey is still doing well in kindergarten. We're very proud of him!

Matt's busy with ball games........The teams in his county are really good!

I'm loving our new wii, especially wii fit! I'm trying to lose my twin weight two years later!

Too Cute!!!!!!!!

Tonight Cody said "Night-night" so I knew he was ready for bed. I asked Connor if he wanted to go night-night too and he smiled. I started to pick Connor up because I was going to take him in first. He shook his head no. He then went over and stoody by Cody and said "KeKe". How cute!!!!! He knew Cody would need carried so he was going to walk so I could carry Cody. When I was changing Cody, Connor went and got both of their blankets and brought Codys out to him.

I just think it is great that Cody will have Connor (and of course Casey) to watch out for him!

Casey just signed up for soccer and signs up for t-ball this week. It is going to be a busy spring and summer!

Cody goes for a CT scan next Tuesday. He has not had any issues so we do not anticipate any problems. We will update after the appointment!

Two Year Check-ups....

The boys had their 2 year check ups today. I still cannot believe they are 2! It's been a great 2 years! Lots of stress but all worth it! :)

Their check ups went great! Connor was first. He's still only 22 pounds but growing on a curve so that's great news! :) He was running all over the office exploring everywhere! (As you can imagine, we are quite an adventure when we have appointments!) She is very happy that he's catching up to his 'real age' in speech and developmentally. Overall, great check-up!!

Cody only weighed 21 pounds, 3 ounces. It's okay, she's not too concerned but he's not growing on a curve anymore so we will continue to monitor their weight every 3 months. She said another 1/2 pound and he's be back on the curve. She's not concerned since they have been sick, just something to watch. She talked to us about his gross motor skills. She is very happy with his progress spina bifida wise.

Casey also went because he had to get his second Hep A shot.......that was QUITE a scene!!! He SCREAMED like they were killing him before he even got the shot!!!!! But that's over and done with, thankfully! We also had his ears checked and he has double ear infection!!!!! He said they were hurting today. So another antibiotic for us!

Cody and Connor's ears and throats looked good. Thankfully their 2 rounds of antibiotics worked (actually 3 rounds for Connor!)

After that it was on to the Yucatan for supper!

Casey got an early birthday present yesterday....a wii! We love it! It's good family fun! Casey loves the boxing game. I like the tennis. Matt's favorite is the baseball. Takes him back to his glory days!

We are ready for spring at our house! Matt starts the girls' tournament this week and I am teaching an after-school math and reading program. Busy, busy, busy!

The twins are 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot believe the twins are 2 today...It's hard to believe that as I write this it was 2 years ago today that Connor and I were at OSU and Cody and Matt were at Children's while Cody was having his myleo closed. In 2 years, Cody has had 3 surgeries, more doctor's appointments, CT scans and kidney ultrasounds than I care to count, hours of physical therapy and aquatic therapy and lot of smiles and tears from me! He is such a little miracle! It's amazing what that guy has been through and yet he always smiles! I am amazed that he is walking at 2 years of age! Connor has really developed his speech skills....at one point he was showing a bit of a delay but has really caught up! He told me 'more' today when he wanted more milk and he says 'here' when he wants gives me something. At their last evaluations, their results showed they are both almost age appropriate for speech and development. They are AMAZING!!!!! Casey continues to do well in kindergarten and absolutely loves it!

Me and my babies........

Casey and his brothers!

Cody and Connor....

Connor with the wild hair!!!!!!! (What hair he has!) LOL!

Cody and his grilled cheese.......