Happy, active, & a diagnosis

I am sad to say that Tyler has not received nearly the amount of updated posts that his older brothers did when they were his age. Three kids can keep you busier than two, I guess. But that in no way means that he is any less of a joy! It has been so much fun the last few months to watch his personality start to development and the infectious smile he always has. Tyler is very sociable and admires his older brothers. Although he loves them both, Aaron is his best friend! This is an example:

Tyler wants to walk so bad and is on his feet as often as possible, holding on to anything to make that happen. It won't be long before he's walking on his own. And when that happens I better watch out! I will no longer need to run every day- I'll get plenty of exercise chasing him all over!

(I hate it when the writing turns blue and underlines. And I don't feel like retyping all of it so it won't be. So the rest of it'll be blue!) Tyler is very small and skinny for his age and this picture shows it. In fact, the last time he saw the pediatrician his weight showed him at the 0.5%ile on the growth chart. Starting in January his eating of solid foods started to decline to the point that he refused everything. For a couple of weeks he was barely drinking any liquids each day. I was beginning to get worried, especially when he lost 1 lb within 2 weeks. He didn't have any extra pounds to lose and at this age it's not a good thing to lose any weight regardless of skinny or not. When I talked to the pediatrician in February about this he referred me to a GI doctor, the same one that Andrew sees for his acid reflex.

After having a thorough blood test done nothing was found. A swallow test indicated no problem. By this time it's mid March and we had already visited the ER twice for dehydration. Last week he had an endoscopy done and a diagnosis has finally been found! Eosophophilic esophagitis. In English that means his esophagus is inflamed from top to bottom. Whenever Tyler eats solid foods he feels like he's choking and gagging, which he sometimes does. Right now the only solid foods he'll eat are small crackers, cookies or cereals (Cheerios, etc.) that dissolve quickly. The solution: a steroid (through the nebulizer) and a visit to an allergist. Most likely the cause of it is food allergies. My guess: dairy. Because right now milk is about the only things he eats/drinks. And I started noticed a decrease in solid foods in mid-January when he transitioned from formula to whole milk. An allergist has been referred to me and I hope to see him ASAP. This evening we started with the steroid, which can help to decrease the inflammation as well.

But Tyler is a trooper! He is happy, cheerful, and ALWAYS active and moving everywhere! We love you Tyler!

4 years, 2 boys, 1 happy Mom (&Dad)

These sweet boys turned FOUR yesterday! Aaron and Andrew have blessed our lives so much and are little miracles. Having twins has been so much fun because they always have a best friend. They have a very close relationship that I hope will always be as tight as it is now. Their personalities are very different but yet they continue to work and play well together. Love it!

Andrew has a new twin brother! For Christmas this last year Santa brought Andrew a cowboy outfit- which included a hat, sheriff's badge and a holster with a gun in it along with a long rifle. That was the perfect gift! Since then a pair of boots has been added, we already had a Woody vest and he has to wear a 'cowboy' shirt (i.e. a plaid shirt). Oh, and he wears undies with Woody on it- always. But you'd never know it unless I told you! All he talks about is cowboys- all day, everyday. So it was very fitting that he get the Woody toy he has been dreaming of for a long time!

Aaron doesn't have anything that he loves- his 'favorites' change all the time and could be something as simple as business cards (yeah, that right...business cards!) that he carries around with him for a few days before finding something else. But the one thing that he has continued to bring up repeatedly is cars. He has loved the Hot Wheels tracks and cars we already have. So we hit the nail on the head with this gift. And the best thing about it- it has two tracks to set up a car on each that races to see who wins. Aaron and Andrew have been playing with this ALL day today.

Visit to the 'farm'

Yesterday we went to visit our friends in Overton about 45 minutes from Las Vegas. Overton is a small family community that was a result of Hoover Dam being built and the community of St. Thomas being flooded over when the dam was built. Steve first met Garren Fulmer in high school and have been good friends ever since.

When we told the boys that we were going to go on Monday and visit our friends- and a little about what it would be like- they were more than excited! When we told them they had 3 horses, dogs, chickens, and cats Andrew exclaimed with excitement, "Oh, it's a farm!!?! He's a cowboys?!!!!" They had a lot of fun and so did we. Here are some pictures to prove it:

Aaron petting one of the cats. Even Tyler touched the cat and it was okay.

Had fun watching the chickens

Probably the highlight of the visit was a ride on their pony, Suzuki. Riley, their 13 yr old, rides horses and kindly held the reins while giving each of them (and me too!) a ride around the house. They loved it!!

Andrew and Aaron went riding on the back of one of their ATV's to the 'top of mountain', which was actually a small mesa right by the house.

Simple faith of a child

Not long after Christmas Andrew's little doggie got lost. This is not just any doggie. His doggie has been him soulmate, companion, best friend since he was about a year old. It has been with him with him during his kidney surgery and all his medical tests, almost every night in bed, and through the thick and thin. The dog's name: Doggie. At first Andrew didn't seem too upset that we couldn't find him so we assumed we'd never see him again. The last we remember seeing him was when the boys were outside playing in the back and front yards while Steve was doing yard work. But I'd already searched the backyard and front yard and had luck.

Then yesterday morning Andrew woke up about 5:00 a.m. crying hysterically. He wanted Doggie, missed Doggie, had to have him. I'm pretty sure he had a dream about him. It broke my heart to see him so sad and I wished I could make him magically appear. Andrew was able to go back to sleep and when he woke up again about 6:45 he was still upset. He came and crawled in bed where I was reading. He snuggled up next week to me and we talked about Doggie. Then all of sudden Andrew said with enthusiasm, "I know!!! We could ask Jesus to help us find Doggie!!". Not what I would've come up with but Andrew has tremendous faith. So I suggested we say a pray at which we knelt down by the bed and prayed that we could find Doggie.

Then my doubts came. What if we don't find Doggie? What do I tell him then? Steve suggested we tell him Doggie went to heaven. But what if we tell him that and then we do find him? My idea: Doggie was resurrected.

Well, yesterday I did some serious searching again thinking that maybe I missed it on my quick search a while ago. No luck. Last night as Steve and I were talking, trying to think of any places in the house/garage it could be the idea came to my mind: what about that little basket on Aaron's tricycle? Sometimes Andrew would put Doggie in it. But I got distracted for forgot to check. Until this morning.

While I was on the phone and the boys were in the garage dorking around I went in their to make sure they weren't getting into anything harmful. Then I remembered the tricycle basket, lifted the lid, and I held my breath. Was it Aaron's "twin" doggie (Andrew knows the difference) or was it THE doggie. Sure enough- it was Andrew's!!!!! I quickly ended the phone call and put the basket lid down and yelled for Andrew. When I saw the look on his face when he saw that dog I started to cry. To put it lightly, he was ECSTATIC! He immediately began talking nonstop to that dog as if to catch him on the last 4 weeks.

I asked Andrew who helped us find the doggie and he said, "Jesus." So I told him that we should say a prayer to thank Jesus for helping us, which we did. The picture shown was one I took shortly when Andrew was reunited with Doggie. Tonight when Andrew went to bed he was sooo happy to have Doggie snuggled up against him. And so was I!

Tyler turns 1

One year ago today Tyler was added to our family. I am so blessed to have a baby like Tyler. Since the time he could smile one of his nicknames is Smiler Tyler. He is happy all the time and rarely cries.

Just in the last 2 days Tyler has occasionally started to crawl on his knees. He can usually be found on the floor crawling all over on his stomach playing with toys and following his brothers around. One item that can usually be found in his hand are darts & there's plenty of them everywhere! Aaron and Andrew love to lay on the floor on their stomach and get Tyler to chase them around.
Tyler loves his big brothers, Aaron and Andrew. And the more interactive he gets the more they love him. I love having boys! Very busy but so much fun.
Tyler's first visit with Santa. He looked him with curiosity. But had he been on his lap much longer Tyler would've began screaming. Andrew and Aaron obviously were not afraid of Santa at all.

St. George 1/2 Marathon

Although I've done a lot of running in the past it has never been consistent. As a student in high school I was on the cross country team but I put no extra effort into it and I'd almost always place last. ANYone could be on the team if they wanted so it was nothing special.

Other times I've ran: In college I ran off and on. In 2001 I trained for the St. George marathon, ran two 20 milers and a month before the race I injured my knee. Rather than injure my knee permanent I chose to not run the race. In the fall of 2006 I trained for a half marathon to run with my brother, Eric, and his wife, Lisa, in Boise. Three weeks before the race I learned I was pregnant. Probably could've ran the race but after thousands of dollars spent to get pregnant I didn't want to risk it. Since then I've either been pregnant, had a new baby, or not willing to bother trying to run. Until now.

Yesterday I ran my first half marathon! Some friends were planning to run this race and all of them have had a baby since I did last January. If they could do it so could I!! And I talked my sister, Marylynn, into doing it too.

The course was beautiful, mostly downhill, and well organized. It is a popular race with over 2000 participants. But the weather was horrible. Rain and snow throughout the night before the race and COLD and wind the day of. But thankfully the sky was clear during the race with no rain or snow. Just cold. Very cold.

I owe a big thank you to Steve for staying at home in Las Vegas to watch the boys while I took a short trip to St. George. We decided that would be easier than dragging them all there, staying in a hotel, and dealing with the bitter cold weather. And it felt great to have a little time to myself.

If you want to know what sore is, run a half marathon! It hurts to walk down stairs, sit down, stand up, walk, to move. But it's all worth it. And I'm now looking into running another half marathon this January in St. George.

Way way behind

It will be impossible to catch up but the only thing I can do is start from here. The only excuse I have is being lazy. And tired. And busy.

So here are a few pictures and comments. My goal is to add a post once a week. We'll see how I do.

Hard to believe Tyler is 9 months! He is THE happiest, easiest baby! Perhaps I'm just saying that because he doesn't have a twin. He adores his brothers- all they have to do is walk in the room and he smiles and laughs and hysterically.

Andrew and Aaron started preschool in mid-September. They love it! And so do I. :) They love taking a backpack like big kids. When they return home they have a lot to tell me about but are worn out.

One day while Steve was weeding and doing yard work in the backyard Andrew decided to be a dragon and help out. He insisted on wearing the knee pads along with the accessories of a weeder.

This is a NEVER. For a couple of reasons. It is VERY rare that Aaron will fall asleep cuddled to a stuffed animal. Even more rare that he takes a nap. That particular day I was hoping they'd both fall asleep while Tyler was napping. Two out of three isn't so bad. Andrew, who needs sleep most, was the one awake.

I love this picture! This is a typical scene at our house. The twins love tearing up the cushions on the couches and making boats, mountains, submarines, forts, you name it. But they're pretty good about being gentle when Tyler is close by.