Monday, July 6, 2009
Happy 4th of July!
We had a BUSY 4th of July with lots of friends and family! We started with Aaron's 1st fourth of July picture with his sisters. Then we partied on the Guadalupe at Gregg and Rebecca's river house. We finished with fireworks at Aunt Noel's and had some VERY sleepy kiddos!
Aaron's first experience with "tubing" the Guadalupe! It was quite entertaining to watch the tubers get through the chutes!!! The girls were able to get in the water and fish with Daddy.
Shayne - enjoying a break from all of that River excitement! The boys did an Awesome Fish fry for about 50 people and I think he needed to cool off!
Allie, Ashlyn, Hannah, Aaron, Drew and Luke waiting patiently for the fireworks. Once they started we found out that you could actually NOT see the Landa Park fireworks from Aunt Noel's. They were completely blocked by a tree so the kiddos (with the exception of Aaron) hopped in the back of Shayne's truck to move closer to the action. I am not sure if they were more excited about seeing the fireworks or getting to ride in the back of a pick up!
One last wagon ride before heading home!
Grammy (Shayne's grandmother) meeting Aaron at our house.
Papa (my grandfather) was also able to meet Aaron over the Holiday at Mom's house!
Aaron's first experience with "tubing" the Guadalupe! It was quite entertaining to watch the tubers get through the chutes!!! The girls were able to get in the water and fish with Daddy.
Shayne - enjoying a break from all of that River excitement! The boys did an Awesome Fish fry for about 50 people and I think he needed to cool off!
Allie, Ashlyn, Hannah, Aaron, Drew and Luke waiting patiently for the fireworks. Once they started we found out that you could actually NOT see the Landa Park fireworks from Aunt Noel's. They were completely blocked by a tree so the kiddos (with the exception of Aaron) hopped in the back of Shayne's truck to move closer to the action. I am not sure if they were more excited about seeing the fireworks or getting to ride in the back of a pick up!
One last wagon ride before heading home! Grammy (Shayne's grandmother) meeting Aaron at our house.
Papa (my grandfather) was also able to meet Aaron over the Holiday at Mom's house!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
We can count our blessings!
Tuesday June 30th we had a one month check up for Aaron. The goal was to make sure he is still growing and feeding well and to have a Q&A with our pediatrician now that the shock has subsided a bit. Dr. Rieger was kind enough to invite our family to attend so the Andersons, Griesings, Noel, Shayne and I crowded in the room to ask questions and feel better about Aaron's diagnoses.Here are our blessings:
1)Aaron gained 1 pound in two weeks and 1/2 inch! Yea!! Feeding can be a big issue in Children with Down Syndrome and he is eating well.
2)Aaron's thyroid levels are normal
3)His platelet counts are normal
4)His digestive system seems to be working A-OK
5)We had previously learned that his heart is fantastic!
6)Aaron is lifting his head and focusing his eyes - everything a one month old should be doing.
I will be registering him with Early Childhood Intervention this week so we can get him started in therapy in the coming months. (thank you Rebecca G for your help and expertise!) We will begin testing his vision in the next few months and we will test his hearing and thyroid levels again at six months.
So far so good - please keep the prayers coming for this little guy. We are so VERY BLESSED to have such a large and wonderful group of friends and family. Everyone has been quick to offer support and to share experiences, tears and laughter. Together we will jump over this hurdle and give Aaron the best possible life that he can live!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
A Necessary Fieldtrip
One of the great things about living in New Braunfels is that there is so much to do! My sister, Abby, came in town Fathers Day weekend to meet her nephew. We had planned on staying home most of the long weekend since Aaron is so small.
WELL....we quickly realized that we were going to need to find alternate entertainment. As I was feeding Aaron, Abby ran inside and tells me that Ashlyn has decided to go #2 in the yard and then proceeded to smear it all over the white exterior stone. HUH?!!! I asked Ashlyn why she did it and she said "I dunno." Awesome. She is either bored or still mad that Aaron is not a girl!!
As I cleaned poop off of the wall we planned a trip to the Wildlife Ranch - something the kiddos would enjoy and we could do from the safety of our car.
One note: If you visit the Wildlife Ranch - I would splurge for the $3 guide that identifies each animal. Unless you are like Shayne and have a Wildlife and Fisheries Science Degree then you will not know most of them!
Allie and Ashlyn scoping out the animal situation...
Abby feeds the Zebra and Ashlyn wonders if his head is too far in our vehicle. The Zebras were so cool but we quickly rolled up all of the windows when the Ostriches and Emus arrived. The ladies in our car did not like large pecking animals.
Zebras.......What Zebras?
WELL....we quickly realized that we were going to need to find alternate entertainment. As I was feeding Aaron, Abby ran inside and tells me that Ashlyn has decided to go #2 in the yard and then proceeded to smear it all over the white exterior stone. HUH?!!! I asked Ashlyn why she did it and she said "I dunno." Awesome. She is either bored or still mad that Aaron is not a girl!!
As I cleaned poop off of the wall we planned a trip to the Wildlife Ranch - something the kiddos would enjoy and we could do from the safety of our car.
One note: If you visit the Wildlife Ranch - I would splurge for the $3 guide that identifies each animal. Unless you are like Shayne and have a Wildlife and Fisheries Science Degree then you will not know most of them!
OK - maybe Ashlyn has a bathroom issue. Or maybe she is just 3. Of course, halfway through the Wildlife exhibit she announces she HAS TO GO POTTY RIGHT NOW! What am I supposed to do? There are clear signs everywhere to stay in your car. There are no bathrooms and I have no idea where we are in the exhibit. I might add when Ashlyn says she needs to go - she means in the next 30 seconds. Okay - so don't judge me but I happened to have a pullup in the diaper bag. We quickly changed into a pullup from panties and our problem was solved. I know - mother of the year, right?
Ashlyn LOVES animals and hung out of the vehicle through the entire park trying to get them to eat out of her hand!
Allie and Ashlyn scoping out the animal situation...Abby feeds the Zebra and Ashlyn wonders if his head is too far in our vehicle. The Zebras were so cool but we quickly rolled up all of the windows when the Ostriches and Emus arrived. The ladies in our car did not like large pecking animals.
Zebras.......What Zebras?
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Some Good News
Thursday June 18th we had a cardiology appointment for Aaron. Congenital Heart defects affect 50% of kiddos with Down Syndrome and often lead to surgery. Praise God - Aaron's heart is perfect! Dr. Patel was amazing on the sonogram machine and it was actually quite fascinating to watch him view the heart and the blood flow. His exact words were "Aaron's heart looks fantastic!" This is such great news and a huge milestone for our little man.
Aaron's 1st BBQ
Aaron sleeps through his 1st BBQ at the Jenkins home!
Heather and Rilyn (8 months) with myself and Aaron. Aren't these kiddos adorable?!
Heather and Rilyn (8 months) with myself and Aaron. Aren't these kiddos adorable?!
The day that changed our life - June 15th
Once Aaron was born hospital nurses began to notice markings that warranted a test for
Down Syndrome. This came as quite a shock to myself and Shayne. We had the quad screen that produced a negative result and had 5 ultrasounds and a completely normal pregnancy. There was absolutely no reason to suspect that there was anything wrong with our son.
The physician ordered a chromosomal test and we waited two weeks for the results. Despite his normal behavior and appearance we received the confirmation at his two week appointment. Aaron has Down Syndrome. I am still in shock as I write about this. It has been a very emotional week and a half and I do not see that changing any time soon. Shayne has been an amazing strength in our family and we would absolutely not be coping if it were not for the support of our close friends and family. We know that it is not a death sentence. We know that at some point we will look back and be thankful for this special gift. Right now, though, we feel heartbreak for our little boy who will have so very much to overcome in his life. We feel overwhelmed with the surprise of the news and the mountain of information to learn about his prognosis. Please pray for our strength as we adjust to the shock of the news and try to move forward. We have been told many times this week that God only gives you what you can handle. Did someone leave out the "on Zoloft" part of that saying? the Anderson family has had a rough 2009 so far and we are only 1/2 was through. We can only hope for some positive news in the coming days.
Down Syndrome. This came as quite a shock to myself and Shayne. We had the quad screen that produced a negative result and had 5 ultrasounds and a completely normal pregnancy. There was absolutely no reason to suspect that there was anything wrong with our son.
The physician ordered a chromosomal test and we waited two weeks for the results. Despite his normal behavior and appearance we received the confirmation at his two week appointment. Aaron has Down Syndrome. I am still in shock as I write about this. It has been a very emotional week and a half and I do not see that changing any time soon. Shayne has been an amazing strength in our family and we would absolutely not be coping if it were not for the support of our close friends and family. We know that it is not a death sentence. We know that at some point we will look back and be thankful for this special gift. Right now, though, we feel heartbreak for our little boy who will have so very much to overcome in his life. We feel overwhelmed with the surprise of the news and the mountain of information to learn about his prognosis. Please pray for our strength as we adjust to the shock of the news and try to move forward. We have been told many times this week that God only gives you what you can handle. Did someone leave out the "on Zoloft" part of that saying? the Anderson family has had a rough 2009 so far and we are only 1/2 was through. We can only hope for some positive news in the coming days.
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