Senadenos Kids

Ok so it's been forever since I updated

2009-03-14T19:58:00.006-04:00

Well, I suppose I should update once in awhile for the one reader that I have, LOL. So let's do a three month summary of everything that has been going on, followed by a whole bunch of pics...

Me - Well, I had a hair coloring fiasco, and instead of getting chocolate brown I now have jet black hair. It's faded a little since I initially colored it, but I have had a few people comment on how "goth" it looks, LOL. Other than that, things have been going good. Hit a little lull in the freelance business, so have been stepping out into the world of bidding on projects myself.

George has been busy with work. Not a whole lot new going on there (and he doesn't like me talking about him online anyways!)

Jasmine is in the second half of the year of preschool. She really enjoys it. They are starting to learn about letters and the sounds they make, so she is constantly asking us about what letter a word begins with. We are planning on putting her in kindergarten (homeschooling) next year.

Athena is doing much better. Hard to believe she is two! She is walking well and talking better. Still very much a drama queen about anything that doesn't go her way or is out of the ordinary.

Shane is getting so big - hard to believe he will be a year old as of the end of this month. He's definitely developing a personality and tends to be a bit of a mama's boy. He's pulling up to stand and starting to cruise a little - hopefully he'll walk sooner than the girls.

Here's pics, since I know that is the real reason why you read....

Our Very Merry Christmas, Not So Happy New Year, and Shane's 9 Month Checkup

2009-01-02T17:59:00.005-05:00

Wow, just under two weeks since I last posted and it is ridiculous what has been going on since then. So here is everything to catch you up.

Christmas was wonderful. As usual, you can see pictures at the end of the post. Jasmine was finally old enough to get excited about the big day. Her "auntie" Christine brought her and her sister chocolate Advent calendars from Germany, so she got a big kick out of getting that little piece of chocolate every night and waiting for the bigger piece on Christmas Eve. Athena wasn't too sure what was going on, though by the last couple of presents she started to get into it. Shane just enjoyed being the center of attention. We decided to do birthday cake for Jesus instead of Santa, and as you can see Athena was a bit enthused by the decision! And YES, those are pigtails!

Later in the evening Shane started becoming a bit wheezy. If you recall, he had an episode back in October, so we already had a inhaler on hand to start treating him. He didn't get better overnight, so we headed off to the pediatrician, and after a couple of treatments there he earned himself an ambulance ride to the hospital. Long story short we ended up spending the next three days and three nights there getting him better again.

To add to the holiday "fun" we apparently brought home a bit of a stomach bug. Nothing like having multiple children puking at the same time to really define the word "parenthood" for you! Needless to say New Year's resulted in everyone going to bed early - we didn't even stay up to watch the ball drop on TV this year.

Today was Shane's 9 month appointment, and thankfully a bit of good news. For those of you keeping track of his stats he is now 19 pounds, 2 ounces (30th percentile), 29.5" tall (90th percentile), and 18.75" head circumference (>95th percentile). That's up a bit in percentiles for height and weight and pretty consistent for his head circumference. Guess he is going to be another tall, skinny one!

He also earned himself his own nebulizer to use at home. Basically it will be two inhaled treatments twice a day as a preventative for any future episodes. Sure beats another trip to the hospital! They will not officially diagnose kids with asthma until after the age of two, but there is a good chance that if he continues on he will be diagnosed with it.

Anyways, here are the pics you've all been waiting for:

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2008-12-21T20:09:00.004-05:00

Well, it has been a busy couple of weeks here. Hard to believe that it is only a couple of days until Christmas.

George is busy with work - the holiday season keeps everyone busy. We had the company Christmas party last Wednesday. The kids came along - surprisingly everyone was pretty well behaved. Jasmine played with everyone, Shane tolerated being passed around, and even Athena made a friend - can we say future baby sitter?

Jasmine is all done with school now until next year. They had a sing-a-long on the last day, with plenty of cookies. I'm going to attempt to download the video of jingle bells. Bear with me, I'm still learning how to use the video function on my camera and get things online!

Athena is now officially walking. Which thrills her therapists to no end - we will be discharged from physical therapy at her next appointment. On the other hand it now takes three times a long for us to get anywhere - so hard for those short little legs to keep up!

Shane did not enjoy the weaning process - it took him nearly 24 hours to decide that he liked the bottle - but he seems to be doing much better now. His current favorite pastime is trying to get into the Christmas tree.

Not sure how much the kids are or aren't anticipating Christmas this year. "Auntie" Christine brought them German advent calendars, so they are really enjoying the chocolate at least!

Here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Let it snow!

2008-12-07T15:21:00.004-05:00

Well, it looks like we are in the midst of our first "real" winter snowfall today. Not all lake effect either. I guess we'll have to see how it goes.

Thanksgiving went well for us. We did a turkey breast and all the sides. Shane loved mashed potatoes and gravy!

Jasmine is enjoying school. They are now in the middle of Christmas projects and learning carols for the sing a long right before Christmas.

Athena is doing better, and she is walking more now. Our OT appointment got rescheduled for this week, so we'll see what they say then. She remains a very picky eater and is always fighting with her sister!

Shane is doing ok. He's not gaining as much weight as they would like him to, so he will be starting formula this week. Unfortunately that means we have to wean him, since he won't take a bottle otherwise.

Some new pictures for you...

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

2008-11-18T10:30:00.004-05:00

Yup, it has happened. We got our first sticking snowfall of the season. Yuck. Though I suppose we were due for it being that it is the middle of November and all. Jasmine of course is THRILLED to see it. Right now it is not much more than a dusting, you can still see the tops of the grass and all, but it is a sign of things to come.

And now for the catch up on everyone...

Shane is feeling much better now and off the inhaler. He's put weight back on too, which is a good thing. A not so good thing (for mommy at least!) is that he is figuring out how to do the army crawl. He's not able to go too far yet, but just far enough to start getting into trouble. Won't be too much longer and he'll be off chasing his sisters!

Athena was officially diagnosed as being "sensory defensive" last week. That is a form of SPD where she is more sensitive to outside stimulus, in her case mostly touch. For those of you that didn't read my earlier post, the therapist explained it is like that feeling you get when you are sitting in a dark room watching a scary movie and someone comes up behind you and taps you on the shoulder and you jump out of your skin. Except for her it is like that all the time, making her very anxious about places, people, and activities that she doesn't know. To be fair, George doesn't agree with this diagnosis. He personally thinks that she just likes her personal space and is a little stubborn and strong-willed. So I guess we'll see how things go. For the next two weeks we are using Wilbarger protocol of brushing and joint compressions. This means brushing her with a surgical brush several times a day. The idea is that this stimulates the nerves to cause the body to produce more endorphins to help relax her and cause her to feel less threatened by her situation.

Outside of her diagnosis she is definitely becoming a little girl. She is starting to talk more, loves dress up, and thinks that the slide at Jasmine's playground is the greatest thing since mac and cheese.

Jasmine is still enjoying school, though they will be off next week for Thanksgiving. She has learned to write her name now and has been bringing home some cute projects.

George and I have been busy with the usual work and parenting things, not too much exciting going on around that end. Christmas is coming up, so we are considering how to decorate the apartment for the holidays, as well as what should go on the shopping lists. George really wants a train to put around the Christmas tree, so if anyone knows a good place to find one of those, let me know. The only hobby shop around here locally closed down last year, and we haven't had a chance to check out good old Wally World for one yet.

And as always, here are some pictures for you to enjoy:

No Fun Being Sick!

2008-11-02T17:53:00.003-05:00

So, everyone this week managed to come down with a cold. Not much fun for anyone involved. But here is an update on everything else that has been going on.

Shane got the cold the worst of us, and had a little bit of chest congestion. So he earned himself a trip to the doctor office and an inhaler to take home. Thankfully the medication worked and he is on the mend now.

Athena got the cold too, but it just wiped her out for a couple of days and made her very whiny! Thankfully we have one bit of good news - she passed her speech evaluation! She is testing as having her skills emerging at an 18-21 month level, which is good enough to not need additional therapy. She'll have a re-evaluation after the first of the year. Swim therapy keeps getting pushed back, but hopefully we will get to start that in a next couple of weeks.

Jasmine had to miss a day of school this week because of her cold, but other than that she is doing well. They had great fun making spider hats for Halloween, and she has been wearing it around the house telling everyone she is "spider Jasmine."

Work has been keeping me busy, and add in the extra appointments and there goes the free time! For my "fun" work, don't forget to check out the congo! You can find it here: http://hyenacart.com/TheWholeSHEBang/ and we will be having a special stocking this month for the congo's birthday!

With everyone being ill, I haven't gotten any good new pictures. But here is Jasmine in her hat and mittens - yes, it has gotten cold enough to have to wear those now!

Fall Fun

2008-10-20T11:32:00.005-04:00

Can you believe that the month of October is almost over? Hard to believe that we are just two short months away from Christmas already! We were out shopping yesterday and the stores are starting to put out their Christmas decorations...

Not a whole lot new has been going on around here. School and work keep us busy and in the interim there are always plenty of things to do. However we did get a chance to go out and enjoy the fall weather this past weekend. A little on the cool side, but sunny. Many of the trees still have their fall color, and we let Jasmine pick out a pumpkin. Shane and Athena weren't too enthused about it!

So some pics for you to enjoy of our day at Patterson Fruit Farm:

It's October!

2008-10-02T17:21:00.005-04:00

Well, how did that happen? It is October, and the month is already behaving in typical Cleveland fashion and got COLD!! Ugh! I'm so not looking forward to this winter. We are planning on going out this weekend to get some plastic for the windows because the landlord will likely be skimpy with the heat again this year. Also going to have to invest in another space heater as ours is on its last legs. One good thing about a small place - at least it doesn't take much to heat it!

So here's what's been going on the last couple of weeks.

Jasmine - Jasmine is loving preschool. It is hard to get her to tell me what she actually does there, but it must be fun! I am going to be room mom again next week, so maybe I'll get to see more of what they do. Last time I was in there it was only the second week of school so they hadn't really gotten into the routine just yet. I know next week she is going to start Dalcroze, some sort of music and movement class. Also, if anyone would like a handmade painting by Jasmine let me know - she's bringing one home almost every day and I don't have fridge space for them all!

Athena - Athena is the same old usual self - some days good and some days bad. As you can see by the pictures below she is starting to stand up without holding on to anything, but has only taken a couple of steps. Slowly but surely. Some days she'll talk for us, other days not. We are still waiting to hear back from all the specialists about the referral appointments, and they tell me it could be another couple of weeks before we hear something. See the post below if you have questions about SID/SPD.

Shane - Shane had his 6 month check up yesterday and apparently his milk cow is drying up. He got another inch taller in a month, but is the same weight as last month. So we are working on getting him weaned onto formula, which he is not liking. He took rice cereal on the very first try and then hasn't wanted anything to do with it since. Such a stubborn boy! He is trying to "talk" all the time - guess he wants to keep up with his sisters. Rolls everywhere - we went and got the playpen out to keep him contained when we can't be watching him. Besides the lack of weight gain everything looks good.

George - George just had the joy of getting his wisdom teeth out. One of them broke off at the roots so he got the added pleasure of seeing the oral surgeon. Was in a lot of pain earlier this week, but is on the mend now. Work is picking up some so we are seeing him later and later in the afternoons.

Me - Well, the same old, same old here. My teeth are better, thank goodness, took about a week for them to stop hurting. Other than that just the usual. Been busy with the writing and then the Congo had a stocking this week. Fingers crossed that something sells!

Of course, here are some pics for all of you to enjoy!

Just What Is SID/SPD?

2008-09-17T22:46:00.006-04:00

For those of you that have been following Athena's diagnosis and treatment, it might be confusing to figure out what is going on. The following is an article I got from a parent's support forum I joined that simplifies it:

What is sensory integration? In words that we can understand?

Let's make this simple, because it is, really. The information sent to our brains from each of our senses; movement, touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell, is processed. Our brain tells us how that feels, what it looks like, what it sounds like, or how that tastes, and smells. This is simple sensory integration. Our brains perceive sensory information, process it, and reports back to us what is happening.

Think about how sensory information works for you. Touch a hot pan on the stove. The nerves send the signal to your brain, brain thinks about it, and let you know the pan is hot. Ouch!

That is sensory integration working at its finest.

Try more. Taste an apple that is crunchy and sweet. Step over a glass bottle that you see on the sidewalk. Hear the normal sounds of your house, the refrigerator running, the furnace kicking on, and ignore it. Sit in a restaurant and talk to your family, paying no attention to the other voices around you. This is all sensory integration. The normal processing of sensory information.

Sensory Integration Dysfunction (also known as Sensory Processing Disorder) occurs when this process is not working right. Think again about the above examples. You touch a hot pan, and it does not feel hot, so you don't know you are being burned. Your apple tastes bitter and is rough like gravel. You try to step over the bottle on the sidewalk, and lose your balance and fall down. You hear the sounds of your house. The refrigerator sounds like a freight train, and the furnace is blowing as loud as a tornado. You can't stand restaurants with the clamor of people talking, the clatter of silverware, and feet shuffling. You are unable to concentrate on anything. You hate crowds with all the bumping, and shouting and all those smells make you feel sick.

This is dysfunction. The brain is not processing the information from the senses in an efficient manner. Imagine brushing your hair with a brush made out of glass shards, scraping across your scalp. Someone touches your arm, and it feels scorched. Imagine the fabric of your shirt prickling so much, you want to scream and rip it off. This is it.

Sensory Integration Dysfunction has many symptoms, all originating with the senses. Too much or not enough is the general rule. When it is extreme, this disorder interferes with the normal living and learning in daily life.

Now that we understand the very simple thought that the brain might not accurately receive, process, and send the correct responses through our bodies, let's take this one step further. There are more senses influenced by this disorder than the six we have already considered.

The sensory systems of the internal organs. The heart rate, hunger, digestion, state of alertness, mood, bowel/bladder control, breathing. If we are seeing dysfunction in the first six senses, there probably will be some level of dysfunction in the internal organs, as well.

What if you couldn't feel hunger? Or know when you need to use the restroom? Suppose your heart rate and breathing does not speed up when you try to jog, or will not slow down when you try to sleep. Imagine not sleeping, for a long, long time.

Sensory information is also sent to our brains about our body position, received from muscles, joints, and ligaments. This greatly affects our ability to move correctly, and if the sensory processing is not working effectively, we may be unable to sit, climb, pedal a bike, and more. We may run into walls, or fall down. A lot.

This disorder affects people in different ways, and to various degrees. It is important to have a trained Occupational Therapist evaluate the person suspected of Sensory Integration Dysfunction. They can detect which senses are involved, to what degree, and how to proceed with therapy to help them.

You can't grow out of it. It doesn't go away on it's own. It will seriously inhibit a person's ability to learn, have relationships, and value themselves. Proper evaluation, diagnosis, and therapy designed specifically for each person is the path of recovery. The path to more normal responses of senses.

In "Sensory Integration Dysfunction - The misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and unseen disability", by Sandra Nelson, she states, "I cannot imagine a case of untreated SI that does not interfere with a child's education. If the child is distracted and annoyed by sounds, sights, movement (or lack of ), touch, smells and tastes (among other sensations), how could these irritants not interfere with his or her education? Is this possible?”

Try this: Turn on the radio, then turn it up as loud as it will go. Until it hurts. Put 150 watt bulbs in every lamp in one room, then turn them all on. Put on a pair of pants backwards, and somebody else’s shoes that are too small. Shove a stiff hairbrush down the back of your shirt, so it is poking at you, and driving you crazy. Now clean the kitty litter, change the dirty baby diaper, or scoop up the dog mess in the yard, and sit it square in the middle of the table, so it wafts. Sit at your table with a food you absolutely gag on, in a chair with one leg missing. Now, snack on that food you hate. How many seconds can you stand the music that loud? The lights so bright? The shoes too tight? And what is that smell!? Imagine if you cannot stop this. Cannot have a moment, ever, without feeling like you do right now.

Now imagine you are just a little kid, who does not know that it isn’t like this for everybody.

Michelle Morris 11/2003

September is a crazy month!

2008-09-17T22:46:00.004-04:00

OK, so here I am again getting behind on my updating! But with so much going on lately, it is hard to get work done, let alone the fun things! So here is another updating post with a little bit about everyone, and pictures at the end as usual.

Shane - Not too much unusual going on with him. He's outgrowing clothes faster than we can buy them, but that is about it. He'll be 6 months old in about 2 weeks, and that's when the real fun begins - solid foods. He has really got into rolling now, and can get across the room if he wants too.

Athena - Pretty much the same old, same old with her. All of the doctor's appointments have been pretty inconclusive - one minute they are saying that she has SID/SPD, the next they are saying things like she is intense/shy/likes her personal space. She did gain about a pound in a month, so they are happy with that. Still refusing to walk, though according to the neurologist is because she doesn't WANT to, not because she CAN'T. Anyone got a magic pill for stubbornness?

Jasmine - She started preschool last week, and she LOVES it. There are 8 other kids in her class - 3 other girls and 5 boys. I got to be room mom earlier this week, so I now know what a basic day looks like. The spend the first half hour or so out on the playground. They then go in and have circle time, where they discuss the weather, the month/day it is, their topic of the week (this week was friendship) and have a story. After that it is snack time, and then they have free play/project time. Jasmine loves painting, and we've been sent home more paintings than I have free space! So if anyone would like an original work, let me know! LOL

George - He's doing well, back to school makes the restaurant busy again. He survived his first day home with the younger two, and we found out Shane does not like bottles, LOL. Due to some unforeseen expenses and everything going on with Athena he is putting off going to Africa until the spring.

Me - Well, right now I'm in some pain - had to have two wisdom teeth pulled tonight! OUCH! It's been a rough week or so - my computer died late last week. So if you sent me an email and I didn't write back, please send it again! Thankfully George was able to save the harddrive, so I didn't lose the pictures and things.

And that brings me to everyone's favorite part, the pics!

All ready to go on her first day.

Her cubby at school

The playground! Get this - it is on the ROOF!

Someone is not a morning person!

See how strong he is!

Update post

2008-08-29T18:10:00.004-04:00

Uh oh, it's been nearly two weeks since I last posted, so better get you up to date. So I guess I'll run down the family and take it from there...

Shane had his 5 month check up today. He is now 17 lbs 2 oz and 27.75". That is 75th and 95th percentiles respectively. He can roll from front to back and back to front, and never stays on the blanket anymore. He loves "attacking" his stuffed animals and can get quite vocal when he wants something! He'll go back on the first of October for his 6 month checkup and shots.

Athena we are still waiting for evaluations on. She has gotten a little more verbal - like just now she came in and said Hi! and then MILK! and then when we asked her what you say when you want something she followed it up with please...We should have more information for her in two weeks.

Jasmine is now daytime dry for the potty training for the most part. Still wearing the Pullups for the evening. Another week and a half and she'll start preschool, though we have a new member orientation and meet the teacher events next week that she'll get to go to (and then the parent workday a week from tomorrow and a mandatory parent meeting in there as well).

George is doing well. Just sent off for his visa for the Benin trip this past week, so hopefully we will be getting that back here shortly. After that we will be buying his plane ticket. October is coming up fast!

I'm doing well as well. Have to go and get two wisdom teeth pulled next week - not much fun there. Also joined a "congo" for my jewelry sales. Essentially a congo is a group of sellers that advertise and stock together with the idea of bringing in more business as a group. Got to get some jewelry making done this weekend! If you would like to check out the congo, you can see that here.

And now what you really came here for:

A new one of Shane

Jasmine playing dress up

Athena and her hat

Watching Sesame Street

Win a baby carrier!

2008-08-12T18:51:00.002-04:00

Win a Beco Butterfly Baby Carrier and Beco Toy Carrier from Along for the Ride.

Of course I hope it's me that wins, but you are welcome to try too! ;)

Athena's 18 month appointment

2008-08-08T11:28:00.003-04:00

Unfortunately, this is not a happy post. Sigh.

Yesterday was Athena's 18 month appointment, she actually turned 18 months on Tuesday. Not very good news.

First, we've got growing issues again. Her height is remaining pretty consistent - she grew 3/4 of an inch in 3 months putting her at 31.75". Her weight not so good - she only gained an ounce in the same amount of time (putting her at 21 lbs 15 oz) which drops her back down to the 10th percentile for weight (she was about the 25th percentile at 15 months).

Our pediatrician also has us fill out a developmental questionnaire, and she is not meeting her milestones either. She is behind not only in the physical developments, which we were already sort of aware of with all the physical therapy, but also in the speech department.

So we have lots of new plans for her:

Keep her on one Pediasure shake a day to make sure she is getting nutrition. However, she is not allowed to substitute a bottle/sippy for more than one meal - the rest of the time she either eats solids or goes hungry.
A weight/height check in one month to see how she is doing. This will be an appointment with the doctor, not the nurse, so we can also discuss how the therapies worked out.
A continuation with the physical therapy we have been doing.
A trip to the neurologist to make sure that there is no underlying program. I'm currently waiting for the scheduler to get back to me on that one.
A referral to Help Me Grow. For those of you that are not from Ohio, Help Me Grow is a state-funded early intervention program. They will do an evaluation of her and recommend other programs/therapies that we should do.

I will keep you updated. Unfortunately she's been a bit of a grump lately (she was up every hour on the hour last night) so this is the best pic I have.

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Jason Armstrong!

2008-08-04T09:05:00.003-04:00

My friends Kim and Jason were married this past Saturday! Congratulations and a long and wonderful lifetime together to you!

I got to be a bridesmaid - pics to follow when they get in!

Shane's 4 month appointment

2008-08-01T10:36:00.003-04:00

Yup, it's been a whole month already! Shane is now officially 4 months old, and yesterday was his doctor's appointment. Still a big boy, he is:

16 lbs 6 oz (75th-90th percentile)
26.5" (90-95th percentile)
17.75" head circumference (off the top of the charts!)

He did amazingly well for his shots - squeeked a little when the doctor poked him but didn't cry at all. He is a little sleepy today but nothing too bad. The doctor said we could start cereal with him, but there was no rush. So we will probably hold off a little bit longer - Mommy is still spoon feeding Athena half the time! Also being over 26" he has officially outgrown the baby carrier-style car seat. Mommy was hoping his big sis Athena would be walking before that happened, but no such luck. Guess she'll be getting some strong arm muscles!

Of course, the pics that you all enjoy so much:

Getting too big for the swing too!

Hanging out with Athena again:

You can also see his 3 month professional pics here. If you need to sign in, it is Shane Month 3 and the password is 6223

Jasmine's 3 year appointments

2008-07-29T08:53:00.003-04:00

Yes she is three, and that means three year appointments! Yay! (not!) LOL.

So Saturday we had our first ever dentist appointment. I went first, and she got to watch. I did have 2 small cavities, but they aren't going to fill those until a separate appointment - so just the cleaning. However, even after showing her how "easy" it is she still threw a fit about getting into the chair! Oh well, once she was there she didn't give the dentist any problems.

Yesterday was her 3 year appointment at the doctor. No shots, just a well child checkup. She is now 32.5 lbs and 39 1/8" tall - 75th percentile for both. Which if you plug that into the online calculators means she "should" be between 5'8" and 5'11" as an adult - I guess we'll see!

Anyways, here's some pics for you:

Like Daddy, like daughter:

Say Cheese! Our new shades and clean teeth:

Oh, and we don't have any pics of it, but one HOORAY! Yesterday we also went out and bought Jasmine her "fancy panties"! She is now daytime dry! HOORAY! She is really excited about going to Mr. Marty's Sunday school class and going to "school" in the fall now!

The big THREE!

2008-07-20T21:15:00.005-04:00

Yes, today is the day that Jasmine turned THREE. Hard to believe that my baby is now a "preschooler." It was also really the first birthday that I think she actually understood what was going on - she kept saying that it was her birthday today, on her birthday she was three, and similar comments. Winifred stopped by for a visit and Grandma and Grandaddy called - she was pretty excited about getting sung to on the phone!

We kept the celebration small - just family this year. Though I suppose it won't be long and she'll be wanting to invite friends over to help her celebrate as well. Of course I know y'all only stop by for the pics, so here you go!

At breakfast this morning. Athena is not a morning person and did not feel like acknowledging my presence.

Showing off her new shirt. It is much cuter IRL. (Want one of your own? Stop by here and let her know I sent you!)

The big present (and Shane's feet!)

Our new "computer" (Winnie the pooh and does numbers, colors, shapes, spelling)

Our Dora music book (she loves singing along with the MP3 player)

The horsies from "Great Grandma"

Doing the dry erase writing pad with Daddy

Athena helping to clean up

Cake, glorious cake!

I'm this many!

And one of Shane, who was less than impressed with all of the proceedings today.

Glean Ministries E-Newsletter

2008-07-19T18:19:00.009-04:00

I know that some of you have expressed interest in our future Africa plans and what is going on there. Please see below the newsletter to get an idea of what is going on. You can also see my previous post, "Sending George to Africa" for additional information and how to donate. Even if you cannot donate with time or money, prayers are always appreciated! If you would like more information, leave a comment with your email addy and I will get back to you! (All comments are moderated, so I will not post your email addy if requested). Click on any pics in my blog to make them bigger.

*My apologies to the original creators of the newsletter, I did need to change the original format slightly to make it more "blog friendly."

Wow we love you guys. We wake up talking of you and go to bed talking of you. We pray for you and wonder how you are doing. The distance complicated by the intensity of life makes it hard to keep up on a daily basis but nothing makes it hard to keep our precious friendships in our hearts. Thanks for being there!

One saw, but the pain in his heart from the gravity of the problem was so overwhelming so he removed himself from the pain. He didn't know that Jesus could move in the midst of any problem.

One saw, but believed his position superseded his duty to respond. He didn't know that Jesus is not a respector of persons.

One saw and let the pity in his heart turn to compassion and the compassion moves him beyond his position and his fear for himself or his prosperity. This one moved and helped and Jesus says this one was obeying the command of His Father. This one was not hindered in his way as the others feared - rather he was blessed as being the one who knew the heart of the Father.

Our friend Edith moves us, we are deeply moved by this girl. In the midst of her bitter pain she believes God loves her. She said, "Yes," to Jesus and prayed to commit her life into His hands. One time when we visited her we found that she spends her days caring for her younger brother. Tenderly making sure his needs are met!

By standards of the world she is "expendable." By standards of this world this is a situation that could cost us a lot of money we don't have-she is too expensive. We can't get over the fact that Jesus made each one of us worth the price of His blood.

Glean Ministries has a grand vision for Benin. You are supporting us to start churches all over the country, a school to educate hundreds of children with a Christian education, a radio station so thousands can hear the Word, a Bible school to invest in leaders for all of West Africa and various plans to reach the communities directly for Christ If in fulfilling this vision we pass by the heart of Christ, we have wasted your support, trust and faithfulness to us. No reward is waiting in heaven for completed work, only for obedient hearts. We as a family have already decided to care for Edith.

We still would like someone capable to look at her x-rays and lab results to give any advice, but we have found a surgeon here who says he can do the surgery. We are praying that it is the right decision for now. The total cost of one surgery, tests and 5 subsequent treatments of chemotherapy will be a little over $6,000. If you want to help with your expertise you can contact MaryAnn Petzold at 216 921-8005. If you can make a donation enclose a separate sheet of paper marked Edith and send it to the Glean Ministries address. Surgery $186.00

Anesthesia $84.00

Lab Analysis $60.00

Chemotherapy 5 treatments $1,446

Hospital Stay $1,561.00

Transport to and from hospital to her village for appointments, surgery, post appointments, and chemotherapy $1,200.00

Care of family while staying with her in the city (six hospital stays of one week each)$1,214.00

Pharmacy bill unknown
MRI $481.00
TOTAL NEEDED thus far $6,232

We are working out a dilemma of sorts right now as we look to get the Bible school started and the Glean offices out of our house. The amount of people in our living room each day is enormous. Sometimes we have work going on from 7 in the morning until 11 at night. We are beginning to feel as if we have no refuge. In addition, the container is arriving shortly allowing us to set up our computer, sewing, poultry labs, ESL, Bible and seminar classrooms and bringing up our need for storage again. The Bible school students are returning their applications and we have promised to start classes.

Prices have sky-rocketed as American aid has allowed the president to promise construction projects that lead everyone to believe that their land is now worth 5 times as much as it was before. We could build a temporary structure on a friend's land, rent a space or try to buy a small area of land for a temporary structure with plans of buying more land in the same area when we expand. We do not see the wisdom in pouring good money into renting, but our needs are becoming immediate. The hours spent on searching for land are uncountable. Just when you think you have found something, you pay to have the land researched and find out that it is disputed land. Or it turns out that they never paid the government the portion it requires making it much smaller than promised or four people try to sell you the same land and you wonder which one it really belongs to. Sometimes things look good but the promised deed never shows up or another sibling changes the price at the last minute or this, or that! Believe us when we say our efforts to find land that we can afford are endless. We know that God will make a way and we know that He is leading us so wait and pray with us please. Pray for wisdom in meeting our immediate need and patience for the future.

We forgot our quote the last time - sorry!
When Oise heard that all our personal belongings did not make it onto the container and the kids were very upset.
Oise said, "Don't worry guys we will just see what we get and then we will rearrange our priorities." Ebi (3) responded in tears, "I don't want priorities I just want my Barbie bicycle!"
Just so you don't worry the bicycle made the cut and is on the way, so for now she won't have to "rearrange" too much.

We want a team to come do medical missions in October or November. The last mission was very effective and we feel it is time to serve our villages in this way again. We have some commitments that we could not fulfill last time and we see how effective this type of mission is for deeply touching people's lives. Last time we hired many people to make it work, and we would love to staff the mission with volunteers supported from the States and Romania this time. We will choose an exact date very soon so if you are interested and have any preferences let us know.

You are looking at spending about

$1,800.00 air-ticket

$600.00 Room and Board (two week stay)

Then you will need to update your shots for the tropics, apply for Benin visa and provide yourself with any needed supplies for the mission.

If you feel you want to go but do not have the money let us know we will begin to pray with you.

We also need support staff very badly! For example, patients sometimes wait all day long to see the doctor. You could be doing a children's program (there are usually 100 or so children hanging around the site) or a Bible study, giving a talk on nutrition or anything in your expertise, or simply praying with individuals. We also have set up and tear down, organizational needs, or cooking. If you can come we can use you!

Did we also mention that it is A LOT of fun?!

Thanks for being interested!

Glean Ministries exists to...

...gather those untouched by the main harvest. Individuals may be unreached by God's Word because they live in hard to reach areas geographically. Perhaps the obstacles are economic, social or purely spiritual. We trust God as He overcomes the "obstacles" and draws His precious creation closer to His heart.

Glean Ministries believes...

...that our lives are not our own. It is not about our own gain but about His kingdom and His glory. The Father's heart aches for the oppressed and the lost so we make ourselves available for His work. He then frees and guides His children home.

To contribute to the work in West Africa, please send any gifts to:

Glean Ministries

3670 Winchell Road

Shaker Heights, OH

44122

Any questions?

Contact MaryAnn Petzold at glean1ro@sbcglobal.net

Busy Weekend

2008-07-15T16:49:00.003-04:00

Well, it has been a busy week/weekend around here, and I just realized that I hadn't posted for last week. So here you go, for all of you waiting on the edge of their seats for update posts. :-P

Anyways, last week was rough. Had the return of the dreaded "Aunt Flo" and with it the expected drop in breastmilk supply. So Dr. Reider has put me on a trial run of Reglan (metoclopramide). For those of you not familiar with the drug, it is actually used to treat GI disorders, but has the side effect of creating a milk supply surplus. So in theory we should be able to keep breastfeeding longer. Right now it is just a 12 day trial run. Best case scenario it does the trick and I won't need any more medication. Worst case scenario it won't work at all (which it does seem to be working). Ok scenario it will work but I'll have to remain on it for the rest of the time we breastfeed.

Saturday night was Kim's bachelorette party. Not as fun as you might imagine with a 3 month old to drag around with you. The restaurant was too noisy and he couldn't fall asleep. Oh well. Hard to believe that it is less than two weeks until the wedding!

The next couple of weeks is going to be really busy here. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and my annual OBGYN appointment Thursday. Jasmine's birthday is on Sunday, the following Saturday is her birthday, and then we have all sorts of appointments for all the kids at the end of the month and the beginning of August. So if I'm a little late posting updates, that is why.

Anyways, I know most of y'all only stop by to see the pics, so here you go:

I love this smile on Shane:

A cute one of the girls:

Kim in her tiara:

All of us after dinner (sorry it is blurry, someone else took it):

Shane recovering the next day (isn't he getting BIG?):

Shane's 3 month appointment

2008-07-03T14:43:00.003-04:00

Well, after all of the weight issues we had with Athena, we are doing monthly weigh ins for Shane. So yesterday was his 3 month check in - we didn't see Dr. Borus, just the nurse. His stats were:

15 lbs 9 oz
25 1/4"

I didn't get an "official" percentile since we didn't see the doctor, but plugging those numbers in online on the different charts and I get anywhere from 75th to 90th percentile. Graphed out it looks like he is sticking pretty true to his growth curve. So HOORAY and GO BOOBIES!

I'm sure it doesn't surprise you, but he is also much bigger than the girls were. Neither girl was over 25" tall until after their 4 month appointment. Jasmine didn't weigh over 15 lbs until after her 6 month appointment and Athena didn't weigh over 15 lbs until after her 9 month appointment.

So big boy all around! He's also wearing 6-9 month clothing now and size 2-3 diapers!

A picture from this morning (isn't he the handsomest little devil?):

And to get a better idea of just how big he is, here are a couple of Athena "helping" with tummy time:

Revisting Ghana

2008-06-28T23:13:00.004-04:00

To go along with the "Sending George to Africa" post I thought that it might be appropriate to show y'all our original trip. The summer before Jasmine was born (2004) he and I went to Ghana along with a group from NewSong (our church) to work with Book of Hope.

For those of you not familiar with this organization, Book of Hope has taken the books of the Gospel and put them into a children's format (one different one for elementary, middle, and high school ages) in their native tongue. Groups from Book of Hope partner with local churches to deliver the books to school kids around the world.

Anyways, a picture is worth a thousand words right? So here you go:

Me talking to a little boy. He was not a Ghana native and was a little overwhelmed by all the excitement:

Few paved roads equals a lot of walking! Though you can see how beautiful the scenery is!

Doing the "Hokey Pokey" with the kids at the orphanage. They also got a blast out of Duck, Duck, Chicken (the translator didn't know the word for "goose" in Ewe):

This is one of the nicer schools - enclosed buildings. Many of the schools look like the preschool picture further down - open air:

Praise (one of the local girls) and I doing a presentation to a school:

George, with me getting mobbed by kids in the background (they were fascinated by my pale complexion!):

A sample "preschool":

George passing out books:

Win baby carriers!

2008-06-26T21:40:00.002-04:00

So easy, just tell them your favorite tip about baby wearing! My fingers are crossed!

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

Sending George to Africa

2008-06-23T09:00:00.002-04:00

Some of you might recall that we were planning on going to Benin as missionaries. Well, those plans got put on hold a little bit with the arrival of baby Shane, and know we are back to planning again! Part of the plans require George to go to Benin for about a month. This trip will accomplish several things - make sure that this is something he feels God is calling him to before he moves the entire family overseas, give him a chance to meet people he'd be working with and see the job he'd be doing, and doing simple things like figuring out what we'd need to take with us and what we could buy there. If all goes well with this trip, then we'd start the serious plans of getting the entire family there.

As you might imagine, getting to Africa is no small thing. Ideally, Glean Ministries would like him to be there for the month of October. The first step to doing this is raising funds. We need to raise (dollar amounts are approximate):

$120 for the Visa to Benin
$300 for vaccinations and a malaria preventative.
$1000 for room, board, and travel expenses in Benin. This covers everything he'd need the 4 weeks he was there.
$2000 for the round trip plane tickets

Then we would also have to save up money to take care of myself and the kids while he was gone, since obviously he would not be at work during that month!

We are asking prayers on this. Prayers that God will help bring the money in, prayers that the trip will go well, and prayers for me that I don't lose my sanity being a single mom for the month!

If you would like more information on the trip or our plans, let me know! If you would like to be a sponsor, you can send in a one time or monthly donation to Glean Ministries. Please make checks out to Glean Ministries. DO NOT WRITE OUR NAMES ON THE CHECKS. This affects Glean's non-profit status. Simply attach a note stating that it is for George and Nicole Senadenos. You can also use the below address to request the newsletter that is sent out on a semi-regular basis.

Glean Ministries
3670 Winchell Rd
Shaker Heights, OH 44122
USA

Please Visit My Etsy

2008-06-21T20:26:00.002-04:00

To the left you will see a new addition to my blog - the Etsy shop! Yes, I have finally gotten things up and running. Please check back regularly for new additions to the store. Don't see what you want? I will also do custom orders!

Father's Day Weekend

2008-06-20T22:38:00.007-04:00

Thought I forgot about y'all this week, didn't you? Nope, just busy. And not really anything noteworthy to say.

Saturday was Kim's bridal shower. Can't believe it is only a little over a month and she'll be getting married! A picture of me, her, and Christine:

And this picture I just couldn't resist sharing with you. Could Shane be any cuter?

For those of you who didn't know, I screwed up and thought that the weekend before Father's Day was Father's Day. Of course didn't think to grab the camera to catch the pics of the kids giving George his presents.

So on the "real" Father's Day we decided to go to the zoo. It was free for dads. Athena and Shane really could have cared less, and napped part of the time, but I think Jasmine got a kick out of it. I of course got a sunburn (surprised anyone?).

So some pics of our trip:

The kangaroo - looks like he is posing, doesn't it?
The elephant - tossing dirt to cool off.

Black bear - he was jumping in and out of the water.

Have no idea what this is, but he was cute taking a nap.

Jasmine waiting for lunch.

More pics of relatives

2008-06-12T08:37:00.004-04:00

That is what you all come here for, right? The pics? LOL Anyways, here are some more pics from the visit of my grandparents and uncle, courtesy of Uncle Ron...

Shane's 2 month appointment

2008-06-04T10:04:00.003-04:00

Ok, one last post for today and I'll finally be caught up, LOL!

Monday was Shane's 2 month appointment. It probably doesn't surprise you all that he is still a big boy! His 2 month stats:

14 lbs. 5 oz. (95th percentile)
24.25" (90th percentile)
16.75" head circumference (90th percentile)

He had a bunch of shots but barely cried. The pediatrician is very happy with his development so far. Because of all of Athena's issues we will have a weight check appointment at 3 months and then our regular appointment at 4 months.

Discovering his fist

Check out those thighs! Yummy! I've never had a baby with rolls before!

Our day at the park

2008-06-04T09:58:00.004-04:00

This last Sunday was so beautiful that we went out to the park for a walk. Got to take advantage of the nice weather when you get it! A few pics from then:

Family Visit

2008-06-04T09:37:00.007-04:00

Ok, for this one I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Wednesday and Thursday my grandparents and my Uncle Ron came to visit (for those who don't know, that's my dad's parents and brother). I haven't seen my grandparents since Jasmine was 6 months old and I haven't seen my uncle since before my dad passed, so it was really nice to see some family. I hope they had as good of a time as we did! Jasmine was too funny, I kept slipping up and saying "Grandma" and she'd go, "No, it's GREAT Grandma." Funny how I have to relearn 27 years of calling her Grandma to make my 2 year-old happy.

Grandma and Shane (you can see Granddaddy and the dog in the background - Jasmine was so sad that the dog didn't like her)

Jasmine with Grandma and Grandaddy

4 generations of men

Ok, this next series is funny - everyone is looking in all different directions in all of the pictures because there are two or three people taking pictures at any one time:

Just some other pictures:

All of us at dinner on Thursday night

Memorial Day

2008-06-04T09:24:00.004-04:00

Yup, you can tell by the dates I'm still catching up, LOL.

Memorial Day turned out to be pretty nice. There was a 50% chance of rain so George and I were debating the whole time whether or not to go to the annual church picnic out at Orange. I ended up winning the argument, and it was pretty nice. They had one of those inflatable bouncy houses and Jasmine LOVED it! A couple of pictures:

They also had barbecue and games for the older kids. Later on they had a craft for the younger ones. Jasmine loved gluing! Athena was content just to crawl around and play:

One last picture - I was messing around with the photo editing program that came with my camera and apparently it auto-saves over the original...

Sunday

2008-06-04T09:14:00.004-04:00

Ok, so I'm still trying to catch up on Memorial Day weekend, so bear with me here. I have a ton of pics to share for anyone who is interested.

The Sunday of Memorial Day weekend wasn't anything too unusual. It was the fourth Sunday of the month, so my week of the rotation to work in the church nursery. Pretty normal, though I did get this cute picture of Jasmine and her friend Liliya:

Going Shopping With Kate

2008-05-29T08:35:00.012-04:00

I finally have a chance to update on my weekend, LOL. So here we go....

Saturday Kate (aka Lunabug from the forums) was in Ohio. So she, her husband, and her mom met us out at the outlets at Aurora. It was a beautiful day! I managed not to get lost getting out there, which is amazing since its been a couple of years. Kate got lost, but they are from out of town so we'll forgive them, LOL.

Here's Jasmine, waiting for Kate to show up. She was so excited to go shopping!

Shane, on the other hand, was not so excited.

Here is a rare smile from Athena. She showed Kate that I am not lying when I say that she is a drama queen about everything 24/7.

Kate's husband Mike, and their little girl Madi. That's her mom in the background taking pictures.

Jasmine and Mike. She bossed him around the entire afternoon. Madi, if Jasmine was able to get him to do her bidding so easily, it will be a piece of cake for you!

One group photo of Kate and I with the kids. This was at the end of the afternoon, so as you can tell some of them were starting to melt down.

Overall, it was a great day, and way too short!

Nothing New To Say

2008-05-15T09:13:00.003-04:00

Unfortunately, not much new going on at our house. Mother's Day was a dud, but no use dwelling on that. So instead, some cute pics from the last week.

Is that a smile?

2008-05-09T09:23:00.003-04:00

So, I was snapping a few pics last night of the sweater a friend made for us. Unfortunately the weather turned warm so I don't think he'll get a chance to wear it before he outgrows it. But as I was going through the pictures, I found this one. I swear it looks like he is smiling! What do you think?

Athena's 15 month appointments!

2008-05-08T08:42:00.003-04:00

So the past couple of days have been busy with appointments for Athena. She saw the physical therapist on Tuesday. She was impressed with the progress we've made in the last two months, and wants to see her back in a month.

Then yesterday we saw the pediatrician for our 15 month checkup. He was very happy with her size. She is now 21 lbs. 14 oz (50%), 31" (75%), and 19" head circumference (>95%). So she no longer has to be on the Pediasure or any other special diet.

He does want her to consider physical therapy until she is walking on her own and occupational therapy until she eats with no problems.

She also got her tetanus booster - which she was not happy about. Pediatrician says her being such a strong-willed child is a good thing. But he doesn't have to live with her! LOL

Shane's 1 Month

2008-05-02T08:40:00.004-04:00

Wow, hard to believe that my not-so-little man is a month old already! How quickly they grow up!

He had his one month check up at the pediatrician's yesterday. True to form, he is remaining in the 90th percentile for everything. His official stats were 11 pounds, 9 ounces for weight 22.5" for length, and a head circumference of 16.25". One big boy!

We had to move him up to 3-6 month clothing because a lot of the 0-3 month stuff was too short for him. As you can see, everything swims on him right now, but at the rate he is growing it won't take long to fit them!

Sleeping is still touch and go - the night before his doctor's appointment he was up every two hours. Last night he was nursing practically constantly from 9-11, then finally went to sleep. Slept until 245, and then again until 645. So not bad overall - especially for his first full night in the crib!

He is starting to smile a little bit every now and again - of course George says it is just gas but Dr. Borus says it is possible and that he will definitely start smiling for real in the next two weeks. He handled his booster shot like a pro - only cried for a second. Still has some breastmilk jaundice, but the doctor says that can take months to go away.

Here's to our little man!

Dinner with "Uncle" Tony

2008-04-30T09:24:00.005-04:00

So, Sunday night was Shane's first experience at a "real" restaurant, LOL.

"Uncle" Tony is in town last week and part of this week, packing the container to be shipped to Africa. Hard to believe that they have been there for almost a year now. Even harder to believe that we are finally starting to make a few plans to go ourselves one of these days!

It was so nice to hear everything that is going on, yet a little overwhelming at the same time. Things have definitely not been easy for them!

Surprisingly enough, all of the kids behaved at dinner. Jasmine is totally enamored with Uncle Tony - she's loved him since she was a newborn and was so excited to see him again. Athena was all smiles, which is unusual for her. Shane wanted to be held the whole time, of course, which made eating a bit of a challenge for me. Also ended up NIPing TWICE while we were there - even though it freaks Daddy out.

A few pics to share:

Tried our new stroller out today

2008-04-25T23:28:00.002-04:00

Since the weather was so lovely, decided to try out I wonderful new Sit N Stand stroller and walk up to Zagara's. Needed a few veggies for supper, and figured I might as well take the girls along since Shane was taking a nap. The stroller is great! A little bit of a pain carrying up and down the stairs to our apartment, but I suppose any stroller that size would be.

On the way there Athena rode in the front and Jasmine sat in the seat in the back. Then at the store I got one of those baskets and put in the back seat and Jasmine did the standing feature. That's actually how we ended up walking home - two paper bags of groceries will fit on the back seat, if anyone was interested in knowing, LOL. And my purse fits perfectly in the bottom basket.

However, can someone please tell my 2.5 year old that just because I said "hop on" doesn't mean she literally has to hop? She hopped on my poor toes several times!

Gotta Love Cleveland Weather

2008-04-25T08:51:00.002-04:00

So, after nearly 2 weeks of 70 degree weather I did what any native Clevelander should know better than do - I packed away the winter clothes. Of course, what did I hear on the news this morning? That temps are supposed to drop back down into the 40s and 50s next week. Sigh. All that work and now I'm going to have to go and dig them back out again. Fingers crossed that the weather man was wrong!

However, a positive side of it - we had to move Athena up to 24 month/2T clothing (I still don't know what the difference is, LOL). The jeans she has on this morning are a little on the long side, but not too bad. And since she was only in the 18 month stuff for about a month, I think that means we had a growth spurt! Which of course means that the Pediasure "magic" milkshakes are working! Woot! We go next month to see both the pediatrician for her 15 month check up and the physical therapist. I'm thinking we'll get good news!

Sleep, glorious sleep!

2008-04-23T08:42:00.005-04:00

Is there anything more peaceful than a sleeping baby? Last night was Shane's first night of sleeping through the night - 1130 PM until 6 AM! Hooray! Hopefully this is the start of something good!

So what did we do yesterday to prompt such good sleeping? Honestly, I don't know, because it seemed like he slept most of the day. Morning routine was pretty normal. When Daddy got home from work we drove out to Babies R Us to get our new stroller - and he slept in the car on the way there and a good portion of the way home. Had enough time to assemble the stroller before I had to cook dinner, then after dinner we had a planning session for our summer Bible Study that he came along to. He was awake for a portion of that, and the rest of the time he was sound asleep in the mei tai.

Now, if only we can convince Daddy that he needs to come to bed before midnight! Since while Daddy gets to take naps in the afternoon, it seems like Mommy never does!

ETA: Apparently this was a fluke - the little booger hasn't slept through since!

Happy Birthday To Me

2008-04-17T09:20:00.002-04:00

Yup, it's that time of year again. My birthday. The big TWO-SEVEN. Having a bit of a time with it this year - I'm starting to feel old. I suppose being two and half weeks post partum really doesn't help with that either.

When did birthdays stop being "fun"? I remember I used to look forward to birthdays. Now it is more or less another day of the week. Of course with 3 kids under 3 it makes it kind of hard to go out and have dinner or see a movie. And since they are so young we aren't to the cutesy handmade cards and gifts where "Happy Birthday" is misspelled and crooked...

George did make me eggs and juice in bed this morning before he went to work. And the weather is nice today - sunny and warm already and I think it is supposed to hit 70 this afternoon. Better than the years where it has snowed on my birthday! Maybe I'll go out for a walk later...

Pictures from "Auntie" Kim

2008-04-16T09:23:00.008-04:00

Mommy's friend "Auntie" Kim came to visit us this week, and just emailed me a few of the pics she took. Kind of different being in front of the camera instead of behind it!

Here's a great shot of Athena. Amazing how she has changed so much in just the past couple of months. Still very much the drama queen of the family, but she is definitely having more silly moments in between as well. And now that she is fattening up she is becoming quite the cutie - maybe I should enter her in a photo contest?

Here's one of Jasmine's "CHEESE" face. Is there some unwritten rule in the "How To Be A Toddler Handbook" that says you cannot smile naturally for a picture after the age of two? And yes, we did attempt to brush her hair that day. I'm hoping that once it finally grows in some more it will start to get under control.

One of me and Shane. No, I am not stoned, just exhausted! And have I ever shared with you that I am WHITE? LOL! I look so pale in this picture. I suppose it will only be worse this summer - the kids will get darker and I'm one of those people that never tans...

And one last one of baby Shane. Nestled up in his favorite spot in the whole world - next to the boobies! Such a man already - favorite things to do are eat, sleep, poop, and snuggle the boobs. Too bad mommy doesn't get to keep that cleavage after we are done nursing...

Shane's 2 week appointment

2008-04-15T08:32:00.005-04:00

So, the Heffalump continues to live up to his namesake. His two week appointment was yesterday, and he is now weighing 9 lbs. 14 oz. - up 18 oz. in just 10 days! What a little porker! They are still putting his length at 21.5 in, and his head circumference is now 15" (up about 2 cm from his birth circumference of 36 cm).

The appointment went well - the pediatrician is very pleased with his weight gain. Go Boobies! Shane is still looking a bit yellow, but they tell me that is a result of the breastmilk and will clear up eventually. A small part of his circumcision isn't fully healed just yet, so they gave me some ointment samples to put on it. They told me it should heal up in the next week to ten days.

He goes back in two weeks for another check up and to get his hepatitis vaccine boostered.

Even more exciting, we lost our umbilical cord stump last night! So guess who is getting a bath today...

This is only a test

2008-04-14T10:30:00.001-04:00

Good morning all! This is only a test to see how this thing works! Check back for more updates later.