Scopes: Caleb

Last month, Caleb and Russell both had endoscopies.  On the same day.  Boy was that fun.  Russell also had a sigmoidoscopy again (which is like a mini colonoscopy).  Both looked perfect to the naked eye--no redness, nice and smooth, etc.  That's pretty normal for people with lower EGIDS (aka, the disease is in the stomach, small bowel, or colon--not in the esophagus).

He was really, really excited about the toy cars at the hospital.

All drugged up and ready to go to the OR!

The biopsies are where the real results are seen.  We were pretty nervous about Caleb's results.  A few times the week before, Caleb had told us, "I ate too much and now my tummy hurts," and that was after eating no more than a few bites.  He has also been burning out with his oral eating.  He can no longer eat enough to gain weight, so we've had to increase his tube feedings by quite a bit.  It's awful having to do that.  He's used to the routine of having to eat, so he asks for food but then he won't eat it because he's just not as hungry.  But his health is more important than his oral skills, so we've had to lower our expectations when it comes to actually ingesting food of his own accord.  We just can't have it all, I guess.  (Side note: since starting to increase his tube feedings again, we've been giving him 5 ml of coconut oil 2-3x daily, and it has really helped him gain weight!  He's up to 26lbs 11oz now, which is a great improvement for him!)

So, we were nervous about Caleb's biopsies, but they came back clean!!  YAY!  No eosinophils!  If he had been reacting to any of the foods that he's been eating, it would have been a really big mystery trying to figure out what food to remove from his diet.  We were so relieved that he can keep his foods, and that we can trial a new food!  So he can now have anything except: dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish.  We're trialing wheat, and so far so good.  It usually takes him at least a month before we see concrete signs of a food reaction (vomiting, complete food refusal), so for now we'll just enjoy crackers and pretzels and tomato soup and new cereals and bread and cake and cookies.  :D  The other day we made my favorite kind of chocolate cake, without any substitutions!  It was incredible!

Helping me make a celebratory cake.

If there is any question as to whether or not he's reacting to wheat, we'll have him scoped again.  But if two or three months from now, we still can't tell if he's reacting or not, he'll have another scope.  Which would work out perfectly, because we've met our out of pocket max for the year and any surgeries from here on out are free.  ;)

Hooray for hot dog buns!

Hooray for toast and jam and cinnamon toast!  (I used coconut oil to substitute for butter.)

So, wish us luck!  How awesome would it be if Caleb could end up having everything except for dairy and soy (which we already know he reacts to, so we don't expect that he'll ever be able to have them again)?  That just sounds like a dream come true, compared to where we've been!  It's always possible that he could develop a reaction to something he's not currently reacting to, or that he'll stop reacting to something that he used to react to, or that he's not currently eating enough of something that he would react to (like celery or quinoa or oatmeal, which he has only had a few times), so we still have to be very aware of what he's eating, but this is a giant, huge, awesome step in the right direction!

 We had a little pretzel and cracker party with our best friends on the day that we got the good news.

 Eating some yummy wheat cake!  He actually didn't like the cake much, but he was a big fan of the frosting.

In case you were wondering...

Here are some unexpected details regarding delivering a premature baby:

First off, you don't get to make a lot of decisions.  No one ever asked me if I wanted an epidural.  They just gave me one.  They don't ask if you want your water broken, or how you feel about pitocin.  If it's necessary, it happens.  They certainly weren't about to ask me how I felt about a c-section.  They were ready to do it, in case it was necessary to save my baby's life.

As soon as he was born, they took him away to put him on life support.  They said it was my husband's job to go with him, and leave me in the OR with just a doctor and a nurse or two.  That I'd see him when things settled down a bit.  I didn't question it.  I didn't even think about how it would feel to not see my baby, or to be left alone.  In that situation, feelings don't matter.  It's all survival mode.  Literal survival mode.  Please save my baby, and do it fast.

After I got to spend a few minutes with my new tiny baby (while he was getting his very first IV put in...aww!  I got to experience a "first" already!), the first thing I had to do was sign a paper saying that if I didn't pump enough milk for him then they could use human milk bank milk.  That was the very first matter of business.  That is how important breast milk was to his tiny, underdeveloped, immature digestive system.  I gladly signed it, even though I didn't know before that moment that there was such a thing as a human milk bank.

Then, a few hours later, a lactation consultant came to my room with a pump and asked if I wanted to pump and eventually try to breastfeed my baby.  Uh...of course...you mean I can breastfeed him?  But holy cow (no pun intended), I was not mentally prepared for that.  You mean...just how does this work?  Oh, so you're going to help me?  Great...let's just throw privacy and propriety out the window then.  But eventually I got to the point where half the medical professionals in Utah County had seen me try to breastfeed my baby and I hardly felt the need for a shirt when I was in the NICU.  Ok, that's a slight exaggeration, but still.  It was just a fact of NICU life.

Then, later that same day, there were two different people who came to my hospital room to request our participation in medical studies.  Who knew, right?  The very day I delivered a baby at 27 weeks.  He didn't even have a name yet!  One requested a whole vial of my saliva, and a swab of the inside of Caleb's cheek, to try to determine a genetic link behind prematurity.  The other wanted to pull a card out of an envelope to determine if Caleb would go on a "high flow nasal canula" or a "continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)" machine when he was ready to be taken off of the ventilator, to determine if one showed better results overall.  He was chosen for the high flow nasal canula, in case you were wondering, but he eventually ended up using both at separate times.  I never heard of the results of either of those studies.  Nor the study that they did a month or so later, trialing a machine that monitors oxygen flow to the brain.  But of course I wasn't going to turn down the chance to participate in these studies.  Anything to help out babies to come.

And those were the unique experiences surrounding the delivery of a premature baby.  Those are all things that seemed so small, but absolutely did not happen when I delivered a healthy baby.

If you're interested in seeing the whole story behind Caleb's crazy entrance into the world, here it is.

It's always so weird to me that in our photo files, this picture:

 Is followed by this picture:

We were soooo unprepared for a baby!

My first time touching him...on the only extremity that wasn't occupied by a monitor, tube, or wire:

What a sweet, beautiful little surprise!

Home Improvements: The Kitchen

This is one of my very most favorite things that I've ever done to my house.  It's incredible.  Sometimes I just sit at the dining room table and look into the kitchen, admiring its beauty.

The backsplash.

Backsplashes are what take an ordinary kitchen to a kitchen with character.  It automatically makes a kitchen look high end.  From the very beginning I have wanted to put up a backsplash, but I always thought that tile was the only way to go, and that seemed kind of daunting.  And messy.  And easy to mess up when you have a lot of space to cover.  And hard to change when you get tired of it.  But when I saw one of my favorite bloggers do a tutorial on how to install a bead board backsplash, I knew I could do it.  Bead board went right along with the farmhouse style that my house is turning out to be.  And it was so inexpensive.  It cost me less than $30 and only took two nap times and two evenings!  And I did it by myself, with no help!  Ok, so Nate helped by pounding in two nails in the corner where my left-handed swing couldn't get the job done.  But as long as you can use a circular saw, you can do this!  And if you don't know how to use a circular saw, just ask me.  It is easy, and will open up a whole new world of possibilities!!!

I had originally planned on using liquid nails to adhere the bead board to the walls, but Nate was hesitant.  He wasn't convinced that he would like the bead board, so he wanted me to use something less permanent.  Come on, hubby!  Show a little faith!  I've never led you astray before!  I knew we would love it, so I just said "ok" and used nails.  You can see where the nails are if you look closely (despite the fact that I countersunk them, patched the hole, and sanded them before painting), but you won't notice them unless you try.

This is the "before" shot.  It doesn't show much of how the kitchen looks, but you can see the plainness:

And the after:

 We have a seriously huge kitchen with loads of counter space.  It's awesome.

 Cutting the holes for the outlets was by far the hardest part of the installation.  If I had a jig saw it would have been a piece of cake, but I did it with a knife.  Unfortunately (and fortunately!) our kitchen has a lot of outlets.  Oh, well!  I also had to buy these little spacers to put behind the outlets so that they could be pushed out far enough.  Note: Lowes doesn't carry them, but Home Depot does.

 Calk is your best friend when doing a project like this.  Any imperfections can be hidden with just a bit of calk.  I also put a small piece of wooden trim along the exposed edges of the bead board, to give it a finished look.

I love plants in the kitchen.  It's so much easier to remember to water them when they're there.  ;)  I have something decorative, aloe vera, and basil.  

Our second kitchen makeover project:

Replacing the hardware.

I don't know why I didn't do this sooner.  I guess I just didn't know what direction to take it in.  But once I got a little more confidence in my decor tastes, it was a cinch.

The before:

Rustic.  Sooo rustic.  Like everything else in this house was.  I think this was the "splurge" from when the old owners completely renovated the kitchen.  These handles were something like $5 each.  And there are a lot of cupboards in my kitchen, people.  A lot.  Well, I removed them and sold them online to a very eager buyer for $20, and I replaced them with this!:

 The vertical handles were in a multi pack from Target, which saved us a bundle.  The horizontal handles were bought individually from Home Depot and were a bit more expensive.  But I love them so very much, so it was worth it.  With as many cupboards as there are in this kitchen, it would have been a bit overwhelming if the horizontal handles were the same as the vertical ones.  It needed to be changed up a bit.  And this makes it seem a little more custom, too, which is a very good thing!

And last but not least...

The curtains.

When we first became homeowners, I felt this itch to get curtains for every window, but I just couldn't find any that I liked.  I had a distinct idea of what I wanted, and you can't just find something in your mind like that at Target.  So, I bought a sewing machine for my birthday, learned how to sew, and scoured the internet for the perfect inspiration.  I found it here, and I've since followed her blog and it has helped me identify my own style preferences.  It's been great!

So, I whipped up these curtains, and another set over the sink to match, out of some nice linen:

I used the same fabric to make curtains for the dining room, but I sewed them in a different style:

A lovely view of the backsplash, the hardware, and the curtains along with the numbered bar stools that I gave new life to:

And lest you think my kitchen is always this spotless, this is how it looked after a very good cleaning:

If only it would stay that way.  Just keepin' it real, kids.  

So, let's be honest.  Do you love it as much as I do?  Because I love it.  A lot.  There is nothing I would change about it, and that is a wonderful feeling!

Minnesota: Mall of America

Our last day in Minnesota we devoted to the Mall of America.  That place is crazy.  We bought some souvenirs and debated going to the aquarium.  It's pretty expensive, but we knew that Russ would absolutely love it (he looooves fish), but was it worth it just for an 18-month-old's simple enjoyment?  Absolutely.  Most of the trip was catered to Caleb, because 3-year-olds just get so excited over things.  So it was nice to do something just because Russell would love it.  And we all ended up loving it anyway, so it was a great choice!

 We got to pet starfishes:

And they had like a billion jelly fish:

Jelly fish are fun to photograph:

Oooo...an octopus:

Star fish on the glass:

Sea horses!  I think the was my first time seeing sea horses:

They were cool.  Did you know that they hold themselves still by grabbing things with their tails?  I didn't know that.  For some reason I just thought they floated in place:

After the aquarium, we debated if it was worth it to go on rides in Nicelodeon Universe (formerly Camp Snoopy, which was a much better name).  After all, we weren't sure how many rides our little guys would be able to go on.  We decided to buy a few tickets anyway, and we're so glad we did!  There were tons of fun things for toddlers.  We didn't get a lot of pictures, but here are a few....

Let's start off with Blue.  We're big Blue's Clues fans in our house:

Last year when we went to Sea World, Caleb went on a ride like this and absolutely loved it.  It goes up high and then drops down, fast, a little bit at a time.  The entire time he was on it, Caleb said, "wee!" and held his hands up in the air:

Driving the big truck:

And again, the big dropping thingy.  They aren't even ready to go yet and Caleb already has his hands in the air!:

What else did we do in Minnesota that didn't get documented with pictures and blog posts of their own?  We had lunch with a family that Nate taught on his mission.  It was a blast.  If it wasn't for a long overdue nap time for our boys, we could have spent all day with them!  We're going to be great friends when we move back there some day, I just know it.  We also got a deal on tickets for a big bouncy house center and went with our friends and their three boys, ages three and under.  Let me just say, the kids had tons of fun, but it's possible that the parents had even more fun!  I think I know what Caleb will do for his fourth birthday party....

It was all together a glorious trip.  We saw so many wonderful friends, Caleb slept in a big boy bed in the hotel all by himself...and only fell out two of three nights.  We figured out how to feed Caleb on trips--almost no eating out, and a lot of hot dogs, fruit snacks, spinach, and poppy seed dressing.  And we enjoyed Minnesota so much that not a day goes by that I don't think about moving back.  Some day.  Some day....

Minnesota: Como Zoo!

St. Paul has a wonderful little zoo that is free to the public.  Of course with our two little animal lovers we couldn't pass this up!  We called up a good friend of mine who has two little boys close in age to my two, and we had a wonderful time.

 They had these great gardens and greenhouses that we enjoyed strolling through:

This plant is pretty much like clovers, but all of them have four leaves!  I was a fan:

Umm...holy gorilla!:

Two giraffes:

Two giraffes and two boys:

Two more boys.  They're gonna be good buds some day:

Aww!:

A snow leopard!  Cool!:

And a tiger:

Minnesota: Sight-seeing around MSP

After spending a wonderful week in my hometown, we drove our rental car five hours south to the Twin Cities.  We have lots of friends there that we wanted to visit, and we wanted to do some regular vacation-y things, since we never go on vacations other than to visit family.

So, here are a few things that we did!

First off, we went to the big Hmong festival.  It's the biggest Hmong gathering in the world!  We went with some friends, and we only saw one other white family while we were there.  Ha!  But I didn't even think of it.  I felt so at home among all those Asians.  And I looooove Hmong food.  I've been dreaming of purple sticky rice ever since!

I've heard of this sport before from Nate (he taught Hmong people on his mission for our Church, and he speaks fluent Hmong), but it was something else to see it in real life:

It's pretty much volleyball, but using your feet.  Insane.  I was impressed.

We saw a few other things (like their spinning top competition), but I didn't get any other pictures.  Why?  Probably because it was insanely hot and crowded and we had two antsy children in their stroller.  But it was fun still.  And now I want more purple sticky rice and Hmong sausage.  Mmmmm....

One of the most anticipated parts of our trip was the cherry on the spoon.  Caleb asked about it for weeks leading up to our trip.  It seems so simple, and yet it did not disappoint!

How could we not??:

More great Minnesota experiences to come.  :)