Caden, My Son

Introducing...

2008-06-04T08:45:00.001-07:00

Caden & Sierra

2008-05-18T06:26:00.000-07:00

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Time to be a big brother!!!

2008-05-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

Caden is now a big brother. Sierra Nevaeh Masako Vermule was born at 8:53 AM on Wednesday May 14th, 2008. She weighs 8 lbs. 1 oz. and is 21" long.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

A Sister Next Week

2008-05-08T14:37:00.001-07:00

Caden's sister will be here next Wednesday. We almost thought that she was going to be here today, but it was a false alarm. The doctors have been checking Holly's amniotic fluid because it was measuring low. It went up for a little while, but it's down again. We thought that since it was down that we were going to see her today or tomorrow, but the doctor finally called and told us that she would not be joining us until next Wednesday when scheduled.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden Hospital Videos

2008-03-20T18:12:00.000-07:00

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

hypothyroidism

2008-02-26T07:05:00.000-08:00

We recently found out that Caden might have hypothyroidism. Which is an under active thyroid. (Check HERE to read on hypothyroidism.) So, on top of his syndrome that tells him to eat and hinders his metabolism, he might have this to hurt his weight gain problems as well. We are going to have him checked again the week before his surgery, and if his numbers come back the same the doctors are going to put him on medication for that. So, he'll get rid of the medication for his kidney and replace it with a pill for that.

How do you get a 2 1/2 year old to take a pill? I guess we'll figure something out.

He goes in on March 19th to get his bad kidney removed. So, prayers are needed then.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

The New Family Member

2008-01-10T11:42:00.000-08:00

Caden is now going to be a big brother as some know. Holly and I went to a perinatal specialist today and she told us that Caden is going to have a baby sister.

I will scan the ultrasounds and put them up soon.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Happy New Year

2007-12-31T21:13:00.000-08:00

Just a quick message to all to say that we wish you well in the coming year.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

A last kiss...

2007-12-29T06:42:00.000-08:00

Last night Caden got to give his great grandma Masako kisses for the last time. At 12:23 AM, Masako past on comfortably and quietly.

Caden, Holly, and I were at dinner with my brother Josh, his fiance Amy, and my nephew Cameron. Some time around 8:00 PM Josh received a phone call from our mother saying that Masako was probably not going to make it home today like we initially thought. We had just paid for dinner so we rushed out the door. We made it to the hospital within 10 minutes. They said she was in a coma.

Once Caden saw Masako, he wanted to give her kisses. Every time that we visited, he wanted to give her kisses. I picked him up and he gave her hugs and kisses. After letting her hear Caden and Cameron playing around we decided that it wasn't best for the kids to be there, so Holly took Caden home and my mother-in-law Debbie stayed with him.

Her heart rate was around 81 bpm when we got there and it slowly started to decline over the hours. We started talking to her and asking her questions...and she started responding. We took it as a sign that she could hear and understand us. We asked if she wanted some ice and she would reply, "Yes." Since she was talking we all were giving her kisses and telling her that we love her. My mother gave her a kiss and said, "I love you Mommy-san." Masako whispered, "I love you too." My uncle Steve went next and he got the same whisper. I gave her a kiss and told her that I love her and she belted, "I love you too!" The whole room heard her say it. This made us all start to cry. Now my uncle is a little jealous since I got a loud reply.

She held on for a few more hours and we could tell when she was passing because her heart rate was erratic, so we said our final goodbyes.

We will miss you grandma!!! !-{

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T13:59:00.001-08:00

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T11:12:00.001-08:00

Just want to wish everybody a happy Thanksgiving.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

YouTube - Clint Hurdle Colorado Rockies & Prader-Willi Syndrome Assoc.

2007-10-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Clint Hurdle Colorado Rockies & Prader-Willi Syndrome Assoc.

Back From Vacation

2007-10-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted, but we've had a lot happen. Where to start. Caden is going to be a big brother, we went on vacation, and Caden is walking more than anything now.

Until I have time to post more, here is some photos from Mt. Rushmore.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

My Little Cutie

2007-09-10T08:19:00.001-07:00

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Brother Bear

2007-09-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

Caden is going to be a big brother. Holly woke me up at 1 or 2 AM in the morning on Thursday to let me know she already took a pregnancy test. She called me into the bathroom and I thought she was getting sick. She had been nauseous all week. When I walked around the corner she put the test in my face. I looked at, turned around, and headed back to bed.

She said, "Aren't you excited?" I said, "I am, but you woke me up and I'm still sleeping. I'll be more excited when I wake up and once we have it confirmed by lab work."

I was more excited in the morning. Then on Friday we had it confirmed by lab work. They sent a tentative due date of May 20th. Holly will go in October 8th for an ultrasound and to see if we can hear the heartbeat.

So, please pray for us as we want a healthy baby.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

End of August Updates

2007-08-29T08:38:00.000-07:00

Caden is now walking a lot more. He still crawls a lot, but he is using walking as a way of moving quite a bit. He will walk with and with out help. He is still too scared to do it all by walking all of the time, but he is getting there. He almost never scoots on his butt anymore. Except when he goes down the stairs. He will now go down the entire flight of stairs by his self.

He is also now drinking from a straw. When we tried it before, he would bite the straw and attempt to remove the straw with his teeth. When we would give him a taste of something by a straw he would suck out of it then, so he knew how to. He just didn't do it. Last week I got an icee from QT and he wanted some. So, I told him that he had to drink out of the straw like a big boy to get some. I figured he wasn't going to drink out of the straw. Next thing I know, my finger that is touching part of the straw is cold. He did it! I was so ecstatic. So, we have used a straw several times since then and he has consistantly used it.

He had a visit from a speech therapist last week. We figured she would say that he would need help, but she says that he is doing fine. She was not even expecting him to be doing as well as he is. He is not using the same sound all of the time. Although some times it feels like it. He does use some words, but he is showing us a lot using signs. She said that we aren't giving him the credit that he deserves. Using signs is treated the same as normal speech. She went through an evaluation sheet for children his age with 7 or so development areas. He cleared 6 of the 7 and almost cleared the 7th. So, we'll just keep working with him as we are and it will all come together eventually.

On Monday I (daddy) took him to see his Nephrologist, Dr Lovell. She asked how he has been healthwise. Asked if he has been sick or had any Urinary Tract Infections. Which he has not, so she was happy with that. They were able to get his blood pressure on the first shot. That is not an easy feat with Caden. It was good. She looked him over and he appeared to be good she said. Caden is now 35 inches tall, and about 35 lbs. She also asked for a urine sample and for him to give blood before we left so they could ran their panel of tests that they like.

Tomorrow we will go to his Endocrinologist's office. We are not going to see Dr. Corley, we will see his assistant Arlene. I don't entirely remember why we aren't seeing him, but I think this visit is mainly to get height, weight, check for any concerns. Basically a checkup to make sure there are no problems. We'll see tomorrow morning.

We are also going to be on vacation towards the end of September. We will leave after Holly and I finish work on Thursday September 20th and then return back Tuesday September 25th. We are taking Caden to see Mount Rushmore. I have never been there. Holly was when she was younger. We are really excited to go and we hope that the weather will be nice to us. In the Black Hills, it can snow as early as September. So, we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

New Photos & Mouth Noises

2007-08-14T13:30:00.001-07:00

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

A Long Time Gone...

2007-07-26T12:13:00.001-07:00

Sorry that I haven't posted anything. There really hasn't been much to say. That's why I haven't posted.

As I write this, Holly calls me and tells me that Caden walked out of the bathroom his self. She had him in the bathroom downstairs where the changing table is. She changed his diaper and set him down on his feet. She told him to go in the play area expecting him to sit and then scoot on his butt or start crawling. He walked to the door, pushed it open, and then took a few more steps before he sat.

She calls me again and he walked from the couch to the TV. That is a good 15 feet or so. He was on the couch eating his afternoon snack and he had finished. He got off of the couch and was standing. So, she told him to "Go get Alyssa." Then he walked all the way across the room to Alyssa (his cousin).

I will be posting some pictures later today or tomorrow, so keep a lookout.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

The Badger Centennial

2007-07-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

We went to South Dakota to visit Holly's family. There was a celebration in the town of Badger, SD for their centennial (100 years). Caden went swimming in Lake Poinsett. He didn't like the swimming part as much as he like sitting at the water's edge and throwing rocks in as you'll see in the pictures.

There was a parade that Caden's 2nd cousin Casey was in. He entered in using his race car as his float. There'll be pictures for that as well.

There was a street dance in the downtown area, and we could barely keep Caden away from the stage. Every time that we pulled him away, he'd pull us right back and start dancing. When the fireworks were going off, Caden was paying attention to them, but he was also watching his 2nd cousin Andy. He would watch one go off, then he'd wait to see Andy's reaction and then mimic what Andy did. So, if Andy said "Wow!" Caden would. It was kind of funny.

The view the photos on pickle click here.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

7 steps and no help stands

2007-06-25T08:07:00.000-07:00

Caden took about 7 unassisted steps last night.

He also pulled himself to standing quite a few times in the middle of the floor.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Big Boy Bed & Chicken

2007-06-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

Caden as in his big boy bed:

Caden & Cameron Play Chicken Part 1:

Caden & Cameron Play Chicken Part 2:

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Time for a Big Boy Bed

2007-06-04T08:26:00.000-07:00

On saturday Holly and I decided that it was time to try Caden in a toddler bed. So, we pulled out the extra boards for his bed. It converts from a crib to a toddler bed, and then to a twin. We thought the instructions were wrapped up with the boards. Well, they weren't. I looked at the boards and one of them seemed to be the length of the front of the crib between the posts.

So, I pulled the plastic wrap off the boards and the board was the correct length and it had the holes on the sides for the bolts. I removed the front part and put the board in place. It was the correct board. I later looked up the instructions on the internet and I did it correctly according to them. I also found out that when we are ready to change it into a twin bed, we are missing a board. So, we are going to contact the place where we bought it from out of chance that they will replace it.

Holly had a "girl's come buy some stuff so I can get free stuff" party saturday night, so Caden and I went over to uncle Josh's house to watch movies and play with his cousin Cameron. Cameron has some toddler size, battery powered four-wheelers. Josh put Cameron at one end of the hallway and I put Caden at the other end and let them both go. They went for each other on the 4-wheelers and played chicken. It was funny to watch. I'll post the video to it later or tomorrow.

Since we were at Josh's, when we came home Caden was already sleeping. I put him into his toddler bed for the night. I was up all night checking on him. He rolled out of bed twice and got out of bed once.

The first time he rolled out of bed, we didn't even hear him. I came in the room and there Caden was sleeping on the pillows we put at the side of his bed in case he did roll out. The second time, I was walking in to check on him as he was rolling out of bed.

When he got out of bed, I didn't think it was him at first. I was already up for the day. I heard a rustle at the child gate we put on his door. I thought it was Kira, our cat, just rubbing against it. Then I heard Caden grunt as he was standing up at the gate. So, I picked him up and sat back on the couch with him. He fell asleep on me, so I put him back to bed. He was good for the rest of the night.

Last night, he moved all over his bed like he usually does, but he didn't roll out at all. So, it may have only taken him one night to get used to being in a toddler bed. If he did roll out, he got back into bed all by his self. We'll see over the next few nights if he is used to it.

NOTE: Pictures and video to be posted later tonight or tomorrow.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

God Sent to Me an Angel

2007-06-03T06:08:00.000-07:00

A child on the Prader-Willi boards that I read on Yahoo! Groups has past at the age of 11 1/2 months. He was due to turn 1 today and be christened. I ask that you send some of your prayers to the family.

Someone also posted this poem on the boards that I thought I would share.

God Sent to Me an Angel
By Paul Dammon 11/96

God sent to me an angel, it had a broken wing.
I bent my head and wondered "How could God do such a thing?"
When I asked the Father why He sent this child to me,
the answer was forthcoming, He said "Listen and you'll see."
"My children are all precious, and none is like the rest.
Each one to me is special, and the least is as the best.
I send each one from Heaven and I place it in the care
of those who know my mercy, those with love to spare.
Sometimes I take them back again. Sometimes I let them stay.
No matter what may happen I am never far away.
So if you find an angel and you don't know what to do,
remember, I am with you, love is all I ask of you."

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Bomb Pops

2007-06-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

PT at Children's

2007-05-17T14:02:00.000-07:00

Caden had his first PT (Physical Therapy) session at Children's Hospital in Omaha, NE yesterday morning. His therapist's name is Katie. She evaluated how he pulls up, crawls, walks, and climbs stairs. She did ask about what his current services are and said that she likes what his current therapists are saying.

She doesn't think it'll be much longer before Caden walks. Which is good news of course. We scheduled Wednesday mornings for the next 6 weeks, but she is guessing that we won't need that many. We can only hope.

On more of a funny comment. Caden wrestled one of the daycare kids to pin her. He and Cara were sitting in a turtle sandbox that we are using as a ball pit. Holly said that he got face to face with her, really close, then he pushed her over and put his arm around her neck to get her down all of the way to pin her. I don't know where he learned this from since I don't watch wrestling.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

2 Years Old

2007-05-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well, neeedless to say, but yesterday was Caden's 2nd birthday. I've got a couple pictures at the moment of his party. The rest will come shortly. I do also have some short videos of Caden eating his cake and ice cream.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Family Awareness

2007-05-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

This is Prader-Willi Awareness week/month. So, we decided to do some awareness in our family and friends. The Prader-Willi Association sent us some orange support bracelets to hand out, some information pamplets, and an "Early Years" video to watch.

We invited mostly family, and some friends to come watch the video. We were so happy with all that showed up. Even some people who said that they weren't coming over still did. We treated them to dinner and a show (the video). They had a few questions, which we were able to answer, and some comments.

We are so thankful that those who came did.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden Climbs the Stairs

2007-04-23T09:57:00.001-07:00

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

A new friend

2007-04-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a visit from a family that has a 19 year old son with PWS, namely Jeff. When they first got to our house, Caden and I were downstairs playing. Jeff was kind of reserved to start, but opened up quickly. He was playing with Caden and Caden was loving it. They were crawling all over the basement, chasing each other, and playing hide-n-seek. Caden had a ball.

Holly and myself got to talk with a family first hand and ask some questions, as well as asked some questions about Caden. Since our situations were a bit different, they seemed curious about how we approached the diagnosis.

Jeff was diagnosed when he was 2 and 1/2 years old. So they did catch it a little late for him. Jeff walked when he was 17 months old, so earlier than Caden will. When he was 3 he weighed 84 lbs. Last year he went to a place in Pittsburgh and they helped him lose over 100 lbs. Go Jeff!

I am sure we will talk with them more in the future.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Leaps and Bounds

2007-04-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

(NOTE ON POSTING DATE: This was supposed to be posted 3/22/07 at 2:40 PM.)

Caden is now climbing everywhere he can. On tuesday night Holly called me while I was at work. She was watching a little boy named Mario and of course Caden. They were in our basement, which is where Holly has her daycare, and she went into the bathroom and when she came out she asked herself, "Where's Caden? Where's Mario?" She looked around the stairs real quick then she darted up the stairs. They were up stairs and headed towards the bedrooms and Caden's playroom.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Happy Easter

2007-04-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to wish you all a Happy Easter with this cute face.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden's Cough

2007-03-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Caden has had a cough for 4 days and it is getting stronger. Sometimes it’s to the point where he’ll gag. The past two nights I’ve ran the humidifier in his room to help. He didn’t cough either night. But, when he wakes up he starts coughing.

Holly called the doctor’s office yesterday, but I couldn’t take him in since I was in a meeting all day. The doctor’s office was upset that we weren’t able to bring him in, but they said to call this morning and we could set up a time for him to come in. We called when they opened and they were able to get him in this morning.

Dr. Krenzer is not in the office on Tuesdays, so Caden had to see Dr. Mikuls. He has seen her before. She said his ears look great, so no ear infection. She actually said that around two years of age is when it is kind of rare for kids to get ear infections.

They gave him a breathing treatment which he struggled to not receive. I almost couldn’t hold him. When he was done he coughed up a storm, but that’s what they wanted to hear. They said he would be fine, just to continue what we’ve been doing.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden vs the Stairs

2007-03-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

I know you are going to say, quit playing but this is true. Caden, climbed our basement stairs. I even got video of it. It is currently in short 15 second clips in a format that I can't put together right now, but I will. I came home from work earlier this week and Caden was half way up the stairs. So, the video will pick up from half way to the top.

Caden has also started climbing onto and off of the couch. The stairs we understand that he would learn pretty easily, but the couch. He put his leg up on the couch and pulled his self up. He is also getting his self off of the couch by rolling to his belly and sliding to the floor. I have yet to get this on video, but I will.

I also have some video of Caden swinging and loving it. He was giggling and laughing the whole time.

Caden is doing very good when we take away his plate. He has his days, as everybody does, where he just doesn't care and is pissed that you took it away. But, if we say "This is the last bite, then it's all gone." Then we give him the bite and say, "All gone." (While making the sign for "all gone.") He really doesn't care that he's done.

Caden now knows the signs for: mine, more, please, milk, thank you, and he uses a point and a hand closure for "I want."

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden's Website has changed

2007-02-28T10:45:00.000-08:00

Caden's website is now at http://vermule.brinkster.net/caden/. The videos are down at the moment, but I should have them up soon. In the mean time, here are a couple new pictures.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

"What the...?"

2007-02-09T07:23:00.000-08:00

I was on my way to work this morning when Holly called my cell phone.

Holly: "Guess what Caden just did?"

ME: "I don't know, what did he say?" (I thought she said, "Guess what Caden just said?")

Holly: "No, what he did! He took the lid off his cup! He unscrewed the lid off of his sippy cup and poured the milk out on the floor. I was wondering what he was doing because the other kids were just looking at him and laughing. I looked over and he had the lid in one hand and his cup was empty in the other hand. So, now he is covered in milk and there is a puddle on the floor."

ME: "So, now the floor is going to smell like rotten milk."

Holly: "And I also have to change him because he's soaked from trying to drink it."

I took Caden to the doctor yesterday for a 21 month check up and his doctor said that he is a smart boy. He is now 33 inches long (tall when he stands), he weighs 26 lbs. 6 oz. He is in the 40th percentile for height, and the 30th percentile for weight. His doctor said he has been staying consistant with those percentages and she is happy with the balance between the two. She also said that she expects him to be walking within a couple months.

Caden also has a new cousin. 3rd cousin to be exact. Holly's cousin Casey and his wife Koye had a little boy on Wednesday. Kahne Anthony is Caden's new 3rd cousin to join his extended family. So he now has 2 cousins (Cameron [11 months] & Alyssa [1 month]) and two 3rd cousins (Taya [5 months] and Kahne [2 days]).

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden Walks!!!

2007-01-18T11:00:00.000-08:00

Holly called me this morning with some wonderful news! She was sitting on the floor and Caden was standing holding on to her hands. He let go and walked 2 or 3 steps to her!!!

[NOTE: This was posted on Monday 1/22/2007. I accidentally saved this post as a draft instead of publishing it.]

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Doctor Visits, Surgery, and a Surprise

2006-10-30T12:40:00.000-08:00

Daddy took Caden to have his kidneys checked out last Wednesday. The kidneys still look the same, so I have no real update there. I do want to say what a big boy Caden was while we were there. He fussed only at a minimum and did everything that he was supposed to do.

Mommy took Caden to his pediatrician, Dr. Krenzer, today for a checkup before his operation on Thursday. He is now 32 inches long (long since he's not walking yet) and weighs about 25 lbs. He had his clothes on which obviously won't weigh very much.

Thursday he will have the second operation to finish bringing down his testicles. This one is going to be intensive. The doctors have scheduled the surgery for 5 hours. I would say that is intensive for a 17 month old. Holly also talked to Dr. Donovan, Caden's kidney doctor, and he said that if they have time they are going to see about trying to fix Caden's reflux. They don't know if they're going to have time, but they said that they will see what happens. They also don't even know if what they are going to try will work. Obviously we'll have to wait and see.

The surprise is what Caden did yesterday while grandma was watching him. She had him sitting on the couch with his book and she went into the other room to get something. When she came back, he wasn't sitting on the couch anymore, he was standing at it!

She has no idea how he got down. She didn't hear any noises or anything. So she stood back and watched him for a little while. He was just playing with his book. And when he dropped it, he would hold on with one hand and bend over to pick up the book only to resume standing and playing with it.

What a big boy!

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Photo's from the pumpkin patch

2006-10-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

The photos from Vala's Pumpkin patch are now posted on Caden's website.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Teeth, Growth Hormone, Pumpkin Patch, & a Frog

2006-09-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

Caden visited the dentist. Mommy's friend Rachel said that one of his teeth kind of looked like a shell, so she thought that he might already have a cavity or just a weak tooth. We took him in, and the dentist said that his teeth look great. She actually said that his teeth were hard and strong. This was a shock and happy news for us. She said that his tooth was formed and aligned for the tooth on the bottom.

The dentist has worked with children with Prader-Willi before, so that is one of the reasons why we chose her. That and mommy's friend Rachel works there. The dentist also went to school with Caden's pediatrician, Dr. Krenzer. Isn't it truly a small world?

Caden has started his Growth Hormone (GH) shots (Click here to read more on Growth Hormones). He got his first shot this last Sunday (September 24th, 2006).

We went to the place that will be supplying the GH for us, OptionCare. We got there about 1:00 PM and our appointment was at 1:15 PM. The lady assigned to teach us was just getting there. She lead us in and asked us how much we had been briefed as to what he was recieving. I had done my own research and Holly had heard tidbits from the doctors as well as myself. Caden is being given GH called Humatrope which is made by Lilly, a pharmaceuticals company. (As with any drug, the name varies based on the company that makes it.)

We have what is called a Humatrope Pen (at right) that the GH is stored in. It contains the doses that he will recieve for 4 weeks (exactly 28 days). We will use this every day to give Caden his shot.

Believe it or not, mommy actually volunteered to give Caden his first shot. I am so proud of both of them. She went through with it immediately. No hesitation. She was crying before she gave him the shot, as well as during and after. He only cried for maybe 2 seconds. He looked at mommy like, "Why are you crying mom?" He did so awesome.

Last night when we gave him the shot, it was daddy's turn. I wasn't worried about it at all. I knew I could do it and that Caden could do it. I got the stuff ready, and gave him the shot. He didn't cry, he didn't flinch. He just sat there and waited for it to be over with.

My little boy is such a trooper.

We took him to Vala's Pumpkin Patch on Saturday. He absolutely loved it. They have goats there and all he wanted to do was touch them. We went on the hayrack ride to get a pumpkin. As soon as it started moving, Caden was all smiles. He was looking around and laughing.

We took him on the train as well. You can only sit two to a seat, so mommy decided that it was daddy's turn since mommy and aunt Tiffany sat next to him on the hayrack ride. (Hey, somebody has to take pictures!) I sat him on the seat and put his blanket over his lap. Then I sat next to him.

When we started to move, I had him hold my left hand. I didn't fully expect him to hold on for too long, but he didn't let go during the whole ride. He actually signaled for me to move closer. After I did, I put my arm around him. He then grabbed my right hand and held on to it as well. He didn't let go of either hand until we were done with the ride. He sat there the whole time holding my hands, watching all of the little towns and scenes that they had set up. Sometimes smiling, but always watching and holding on to me.

We took him into one of their "haunted houses," which is nothing more than a bunch of glow in the dark paint and "scary scenes." When we exited, he had this mad look on his face and he just let out a big, mad sigh. "Hugh!!!" It was kind of funny. There were a couple of people outside that saw this and got a chuckle out of it.

I bet you were wondering about "...a Frog." Well, that is Caden. Rather, that is what Caden is going to be for Halloween. "Aunt Amy" was at Old Navy and saw a frog costume there and told us about it. We were going to have him be Pablo from one of his favorite shows "The Backyardigans." Holly had found the costume on Nobbies' website, but since Amy found the frog we thought that we might as well check it out. Well, we liked it and decided to get it.

NOTE: For the pumpkin patch and Caden's costume, pictures are soon to come.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

20 burgers, 40 bags of chips and I was still hungry

2006-09-19T11:48:00.000-07:00

20 burgers, 40 bags of chips and I was still hungry

I know this article has nothing to do with Caden right now, but it does help us to know that there is some kind of hope. The guy in the article has Prader-Willi Syndrome and he lives with his new wife who has cerebral palsy.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden as Motivation

2006-08-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

(Click to see larger.)

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

It's been a while...

2006-07-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

I know that it's been a while since I've given any kind of update. It's been nearly a month. Sorry.

Where do I start. Caden did see more fireworks around the 4th of July. Caden also got to see, and pay attention to his first parade during the Ralston 4th of July parade that goes right past Grandma Debbie's house.

Caden is now getting his 4th, 5th, and 6th teeth in. This will now be kept (somewhat) updated on the right hand side along with his height and weight. He has regressed back to the bottle a little bit. We had him off of the bottle or about a week and a half, but he got sick and he didn't want to eat or take his sippy cup. So, the best way to get him to take anything was to give him a bottle again. "Two steps forward, one step back." Isn't that what they say?

There are more pictures posted on his website, http://vermule.brinkster.net/caden/. They are family pictures with aunts, uncles, and cousins. I do plan to post images of the 4th and other images when I get the time.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden's First Fireworks Show

2006-06-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

Caden's aunt Tiffany was with her mom at the ball fields in Carter Lake, Iowa where they light fireworks off every year. Holly had called to talk to Tiffany and ended up talking to her boyfriend Isaiah. He told her that she would be there. So, Holly decided that she wanted to see fireworks.

So we went.

He wasn't as afraid of the fireworks as we thought that he might be. We had thought, "He's a baby, so he is going to be at least somewhat scared at first." But, he wasn't.

When the fireworks started, Caden did jump a little. He buried his face in Aunt Tiffany's shirt and threw his arms around her neck. Then, he decided to look and see what was making the noise. He was lost to us after that.

Once he got a look at the fireworks, he was mesmerized except for when he was looking to make sure that we were still there and that we were watching them as well.

(Pictures and Video to come shortly.)

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Pool Time & Eye Surgery Followup

2006-06-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

We took Caden to a local pool and he liked it. At first he shivered because the water was chilly. Even I understand that. We put him in some more and he got used to the water.

We put him in his raft that his grandpa had given him for his birthday. It has a bottom with holes in it for his legs so that he can kick in the water. After a little while of being in the water, he was splashing with his hands. Eventually he figured out that if he kicked he could move some.

I was on my knees walking beside him when I needed to get up. So, I got up and then I got Caden out and set him down on his raft so that he was laying on it. He crossed his feet and put his arm out as if he knew how to lay in the raft. (See picture.) He seemed to be comfortable and enjoying his self, so I left him for a little while. There is another pool photo on his website at http://vermule.brinkster.net/caden/.

As for his eye surgery, the anesthesiologist called on monday telling us to be there around 6:00 AM. Initially it was 5:30 AM, so we get an extra half an hour of sleep. When we got there, they had me put Caden in the same type of hospital gown that he sported for his testes surgery. We got to go play in the playroom for a while before Dr. Troia came to talk with us. He is such a nice doctor. He brought Caden a really soft plush puppy. He said the procedure should be short and quick. The anesthesiologist came very shortly after Dr. Troia.

When they came to get Caden, the nurse told me that I shouldn't go anywhere because it would be a quick surgery.

It seemed like I had just looked at the TV and Dr. Troia was already coming into Caden's room saying that it was done. He said that there was a very thin layer of skin that was blocking his tear duct. He gave me some drops that we have to put in Caden's eye four(4) times a day. He said that there could be some inflammation and/or bleeding, but we'd just have to watch for that. If it bleeds into the eye, we'd have to get Caden to the ER immediately.

When they brought Caden back to the room, they were carrying him. He was awake and looking around, but you could see he wasn't too happy. I took him and he immediately put his head down on my shoulder and started to cry a little. Since he had to stay a short in the hospital, I kept a hold of him and sat down in the chair. I laid the chair back and we fell asleep watching TV together. I fell asleep for only a minute or two, but he fell asleep really quick and slept until a moment before the nurse came in to check on him to see if he could go home.

They said to watch him all day and to be sure I give him the eye drops.

So all in all, his surgery went great. His eye already looks clear and he won't have another surgery until the end of November. That is when he has the second and 'final' surgery for his testes.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Eye Surgery

2006-06-01T10:48:00.001-07:00

Caden has had some drainage from his left eye off and on for a little while. His ophthalmologist, Dr. Sebastion Troia, thinks that he has a blocked tear duct.

On Tuesday June 13th, Dr. Troia is going to do a simple procedure where they take a real thin, smooth wire and stick it into Caden's tear duct to poke a hole into where the block is. The surgery is going to be at 7:00 AM at Children's Hospital in Omaha, NE. We have to be there at 5:30 AM. The nurse that set up the surgery said that we should be out of the hospital around 9:00 AM or so.

To read on blocked tear ducts and surgery, look at the following links:
http://kidshealth.org/
http://www.webmd.com/

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Up!!

2006-05-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

Caden said "Up!" He only said it once after I had said it. So, we have heard him say: Mama, Dada, Baba, More, & Up. Those are the ones that we are sure that he has said at least once. There have been people who thought that they heard him say other words, but were not sure if they did or not. So, I'm not going to list them.

On the sidebar, there is a map now. This way Caden's family and friends can put themselves on the map and he will be able to see where you are.

There is also a box on the sidebar so that you can put your e-mail address, so that when a new posting is up, you'll automatically recieve an e-mail letting you know this.

Caden got some pictures taken at Sears with his cousin Cameron on Saturday. They are the last photo set on his website, http://vermule.brinkster.net/caden/.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

My Son the Movie Star

2006-05-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

Everybody knows that Caden has therapists that come over and work with him, but over the past couple of months, they have been bringing along a student with them. She is learning and doing an internship.

When they were over last, the student asked if she could film the session for her class. Holly said that it was okay.

The student called Holly today and said that her teacher had asked if the video could be used as a training video. They want to use it as a part of their course. Holly had told her that it was okay.

Imagine that, he's only a year old and already a movie star.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden's Surgery

2006-05-13T12:23:00.000-07:00

Holly woke up around 5:45 AM and I woke up around 6:00 AM. The doctors told Holly we should be there at 7:00 AM since his surgery was scheduled for 9:00 AM. I had the initial times that they gave us on my schedule. They had told us to be there at 6:00 AM, and that his surgery was scheduled for 8:00 AM. I suppose they changed the times. Such is life, I guess.

We brought him in around 6:50 AM, and they got his registration done right away. After asking us a long string of questions, we got to take Caden to the playroom to play for a little while. (See the pictures.) he was liking some of the toys that they had in the playroom.

They have this fire engine that the kids sit on and push with their feet. They even get to steer the wheels with a real working steering wheel. He got a trike from Uncle Josh, Aunt Amy, & family for his birthday, so he will probably be on that more.

Caden was doing good in it. He was slightly pushing forward, but he was pushing backwards pretty good. His therapist said that children tend to go backwards first. I'd move him forward to me, and he'd push back to mommy.

The nurse came to get us so that we could get his pre-op vitals and other things done. They had came to get him about half an hour early. They said that they were running a little ahead of schedule. They gave Caden a mild sedative so that he'd be a little more reluctant to go with the nurses without mommy and daddy.

So, for mommy and myself, we were stuck with the Waiting Game. We decided to go get some breakfast down in the cafeteria. They asked us to be back in the room around 9:00 AM. Even though they came to get him around 8:30, and the doctor said that the surgery would take between 1 and 1 ¹/₂ hours.

We were back in the room at 9:00 AM and no answer yet, which we had expected.

Around 10:00 AM, the nurse had came in and told us that the operating room had just called and that Caden was doing just fine.

The doctor came in and told us that his testicles were in his abdomen, and that they did the first of two operations to get his testicles to his scrotum. He had said that they found them pretty quickly and that they appeared that they may have been on the verge of descending. But, they had moved his testicles down a little and they had cauterized an artery so that it would grow and strengthen for his next operation.

Caden didn't get back to his room until around 11:15 AM. So, we waited for over an hour when it was communicated to us that it would be 20-30 minutes. We started to get very anxious and worried.

When they brought him in they said that he had had some trouble getting off of the oxygen. They said that it was expected due to his low muscle tone and his syndrome. And they hadn't said this to us.

Caden was a very tired baby. For the most part, all he wanted to do was to sleep. He did wake up a few times, a couple of times he was in pain so they gave him Tylenol with codeine.

We didn't get to take him home until around 4:00 PM because is SpO₂ or oxygenation level kept going down below 90. It had stabilized several times during that 4-5 hour period, but it kept dropping, mostly when he seemed to be in pain or when he was sleeping with his head bent forward.

When we finally took him home, he slept quite a bit, but he did want to play and sit up a little when he was awake.

Since the day after surgery, you wouldn't guess that he had had surgery. He's been rolling around, sitting, wanting to stand, and playing. It's amazing how fast he bounced back.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

1st Birthday & Surgery

2006-05-12T09:16:00.001-07:00

I know I didn't post anything for Caden's first birthday, but as you might know, I was very busy the days before and after.

Caden had a great birthday. I will post pictures later of how much he loved it. He especially loved his cake.

Caden's surgery went will. They found his testicles and did the first of the two surgeries.

I will post a little bit longer on both things when I get more time. I am very busy at work right now, partly due to his surgery, and partly due to some tight deadlines.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

A Shameless Plug

2006-05-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

I figured since everybody was doing things for the "March of Dimes" around this time, that I'd make a stab at letting people know about one of the things they help with and what my son's future will entail.

The link HERE is the story of a boy with Prader-Willi Syndrome and will help you understand more about this syndrome. There is also a PDF at http://www.pwsausa.org/AwarenessWeek/GA-01A.pdf that also contains some more information to help understand.

Now, this isn't a plug for money, but more as an awareness plug. Prader-Willi Awareness week started on Sunday April 30th, 2006 and runs through Saturday May 6th, 2006 (Caden's first birthday).

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Only 10 days left...

2006-04-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

It is very hard to believe that Caden is almost a year old.

Where did the time go?

The funny thing is, I can barely remember what it was like without him. I wouldn't have it any other way of course, but it's just funny that way.

We are going to have a party for his first birthday at our house, and we are going to grill out. We already have his balloons on order, some decorations bought, we're in the process of picking what food we are going to grill.

We're going to get his cake from the The Cake Gallery. We are going to get him a small cake with a frog on it since he seems to love frogs so much. Then we are going to get a cake to match the party's theme. I won't say what the theme is yet, you'll just have to wait until you get there, or until I do the after party posting.

We are going to put Caden's picture on Channel 6 news for the "First Birthdays" segment they do everyday; like we did when he was 7 months on Channel 7 for thier "Birthdays on the 7's" segment.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden walks assisted!!

2006-04-17T09:58:00.000-07:00

Mommy said that she held him up to stand and he stood straight up for her. Then when she stepped, he did also.

Obviously I can't write too much since I wasn't there.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden Stands!!!

2006-04-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

We were at the mall and we Holly decided that she wanted to put Caden in one of the moving vehicles for kids. She decided that she wanted to put him in the Bob the Builder steamroller.

At first, he looked at me like, "What are you doing?" After a he got a hold of the wheel. He didn't care.

We put the quarters in and Grandma Debbie stood behind it with her arms through the back to make sure he stayed still. She moved away when he started to scoot forward.

I took a couple of pictures, but wanted some from the side too. So, I moved to the side, and he was standing there playing with the wheel. And I do mean "standing" in the literal sense. I couldn't believe my eyes. Both mommy and grandma were just as excited and surprised as I was.

He stood for a good 30 seconds before turning to the Bob the Builder next to him, then to me when he started to cry. So, I had to pick him up of course.

To see the other pictures, you do have to visit his website: http://caden.vermule.com. Then click on "Photo Collections" link.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Another Ear Infection

2006-04-04T12:20:00.000-07:00

Caden has yet another.

Caden was stuffy this past weekend, he has also had a slight cough, and you can tell that he's had a sore throat. He has also been kind of cranky lately.

I took him to see Dr. Krenzer, his pediatrician, yesterday and she confirmed that he had an ear infection. She prescribed him Augmentin (by GlaxoSmithKline) which is used to treat many things including ear infections. So, that means he'll be on that twice a day for the next 10 days.

Since he is on that, he can't be in the Amoxicillin that he normally is since Augmentin contains Amoxicillin. He'll resume taking that once a day after he is done with the Augmentin.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Bath Time Pictures...

2006-03-22T14:45:00.000-08:00

There are new pictures posted on Caden's site. Just go to http://caden.vermule.com and to the photos section to view them.

As usual, the newest pictures on the bottom.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Where to start?

2006-03-22T14:42:00.000-08:00

Caden is actually saying some words. He kind of says "Momma" and "Dada." But, he has said "More." We actually think that he kind of knows what it means.

One day we were feeding him some baby food, and we kept saying "More. Caden, do you want more?" And one time, he actually said it. He didn't say it for the rest of the jar of baby food, but he did say it that night when we visited grandpa Jay.

He also said it for grandma Debbie a couple of times.

Today, his therapist Kaye came over and when she was leaving, she said "Bye bye." and waved. Caden waved back. Holly and the therapist about hit the floor in amazement. He did it 3 times when she waved to him and said bye.

Earlier on today, Holly had called me because she had brought down a cube toy that Caden has. It's one of those toys that has shaped holes in it and the little shapes that children are supposed to start recognizing to get the shapes in the cube. The lid comes off pretty easily and Caden figured that out one day, so he took it off. We left it off and kind of used it to hold those pieces and a couple of other toys around easily.

Caden dumped the toys out in front of him, then he sat the cube next to him. He then proceeded to pick up the toys he dumped out and then put them back in the cube. How smart is that?!?

His therapists say that it is like day and night when they visit the other child in Ralston with Prader-Willi Syndrome. They said that the other baby was at about a one month level, and he is only a month younger than Caden.

On a sad side note, the therapist told Holly that the other child in Ralston that the therapists were working with passed away about a month ago. They said he was so weak and he couldn't eat. Please send your prayers to the family.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden is 10 Months Today

2006-03-06T14:02:00.000-08:00

For this post I primarily wanted to point that out.

Don't for get to check Caden's new website here.

I'll post more later.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

New Pictures

2006-02-24T09:30:00.000-08:00

I have uploaded some new pictures. (Daddy finally got a bluetooth for his computer so that he can get the pictures off of his phone.)

To see them, go to his website, then click on "Caden Photo Collections," and then select the group you want to see.

I have Valentine's photos, photos of his first haircut, and some other assorted pictures.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Some Updates

2006-02-22T09:50:00.000-08:00

Sorry that it's been so long since my last posting. A lot has been going on, so I haven't had a whole lot of time. Let's see, where do I start?

As you all know, Caden was hospitalized due to him contracting RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). Holly had taken Caden into the doctor the Thursday before he was admitted because he was sick. The doctor looked at him and figured that it was RSV, so she sent Holly home with a nebulizer and some medication to help Caden breath easier. Holly said that he started breathing a little easier when the did the first treatment at the doctor's office.

Over the weekend he was doing okay. He kind of looked sick and had a stuffy nose as well as the breathing problems, but he was eating the same as normal and playing just fine.

On Monday, February 6th, Holly said that he didn't really want to wake up and he looked a little pale. She called the doctor and she said that she wanted to see him. The earliest urgent appointment she had open was at 1:50 PM. We went in and she said he seemed the same as when he was last in. Stuffy nose, and the same crackling while he was breathing due to the secretion build up. She decided to check his oxygen level, and it was down to 73%. It is supposed to be 90% or higher. Preferrably in the high 90's. Dr. Krenzer said that with an oxygen level that low, she would feel much better admitting him to Chilren's Hospital and putting him on some oxygen, at least overnight.

Of course, this put Holly in tears. I completely understand why, we already had 6 weeks of worrying; and with all of the other news that we've had. They gave him another breathing treatment then put him on oxygen. We had to sit and wait at the doctor's office a short while before we could go over to the hospital. Luckily it is only a few blocks away. They said he would be fine without oxygen until we got over there. We left daddy's truck at the doctor's office and just drove the car.

Dr. Krenzer had called over so that the paper work would be ready and we could get right into a room. When we got there I dropped Holly and Caden off at the front doors and then went to park. I expected that they would already be going up to his room by the time I hit the lobby to find out where they went. When I got to the lobby, there they were sitting at one of the admittance desks. They said that they didn't have a room ready yet. So, they took us up to the 5th floor and put us in a treatment room so that they could get the stats that they needed from Caden. Mommy filled out paperwork and answered questions while daddy comforted Caden.

They got us into room 514.

As soon as we walked in, we knew this room was better than the one he had in the NICU. It was bigger, it was completely private with a door you can shut, it had it's own private bathroom, more seating, and a TV.

We figured he'd be in the hospital for 2 nights for sure; not the 4 (almost 5) nights that it was. He didn't get released unil Friday night.

We also figured that Caden was too old to leave in the hospital by hisself and he was too used to sleeping in his own bed that we decided that at least one of us should stay with him overnight. The first night, Holly stayed at the hospital overnight with Caden. The second night, I did. And the third and fourth nights Holly stayed.

They took some blood, a urine sample, and gave us instructions on what we should do. (Ex. keep track of how much he takes from each bottle, not throw away his dirty diapers,...) They said they could do a Rapid RSV test to verify that that is what we are dealing with. The next day they actually did the test and did verify that it was RSV.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

A Hospital Visit

2006-02-06T15:45:00.000-08:00

Due to Caden's RSV, he is in the hospital. I'll write more in a day or so when I have more time.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

A Day of Turmoil

2006-02-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

Holly just called me. It turns out that Caden has RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) and an ear infection. I of course did some fast research and the ear infection may have been caused by the RSV.

Dr. Krenzer prescribed Caden an aerosol treatment called ribavirin. We put it in a machine and Caden has to breathe it in. They also recommended we raise his bed a little and use a humidifier in his room.

Holly has to take tomorrow off as well, and the kids can come back next week. We have to watch him to make sure that it doesn't get any worse. We don't want him to be hospitalized due to this.

NOTE: I found a preventative you can get that will help prevent RSV. It's called Synagis. It's a shot that helps those at a higher risk that will help protect you for 30 days.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

A Night of Turmoil

2006-02-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

Last night I woke up several times to try to suction Caden's nose out. He hated it and cryed out to let me know. This woke up mommy. One time when I was trying to suction, he thrust forward and his nose bled a little, but it stopped quickly.

Then we noticed that he was really congested and had a little bit of a cough. We tried several things to soothe him including Vicks BabyRub, Children's Tylenol, & holding him.

He eventually calmed down and was breathing better. We put him back to bed and went to sleep. When we woke up at 6:30 AM to give him his first bottle, Holly decided that he needed to be seen by the doctor. Not wanting me to take anymore time off, she called her daycare parents and told them that she had to have the day off to take Caden to the doctor.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden's Follow-up Is Today

2006-02-01T09:31:00.000-08:00

They drew blood from Caden's arm last Monday. They had trouble getting to his vane at first. Then they got some blood. They weren't sure if it was going to be enough or not. So, they had me take Caden for a walk for about 15 minutes before checking to see if they'd have to stick him again.

We went to fix Caden's bottle and the water in the bathroom got barely above luke warm. And Caden likes his bottles warm, so I wasn't sure how well he'd eat. We had some time to waste before going back, so we looked in the gift shop and Caden just started to talk.

We went back to the window and they said that the machine just finished spinning and they had enough. I was so glad, I didn't want them to have to stick him twice in one day.

When Caden recieved the shots last week, the nurses did it well enough that Caden didn't even know that he was getting a shot until it was pretty much done. So, all he got out for a cry was an initial "Ahh!" and then some "Why did you do that?" wimpers.

On Saturday, we didn't get the same luck that we did on Monday. Mommy didn't even want to go in because she didn't want to hear him cry. They tried his right arm again. I'm not sure why they did, since they could tell that's where he was stuck earlier in the week. They were having troubles again, and Caden was just belting out the complaints. He was giving them his patented lip and looks. He looked at me with his look that just says, "Daddy, help me! Why are they doing this?" I just wanted to stop them, but I knew that they were only doing it for good.

They stopped and put a band-aid on since they knew they weren't getting anything from his right arm. They allowed me to pick him up to soothe and calm him. As soon as I laid him down to get blood from his left arm, he gave me the "Don't give me back to them!" look.

This time, it was much quicker. They stuck the needle in and blood came out almost immediately. I was so happy. They put a band-aid on and I picked him up immediately. He put his head on my sholder to calm down. They nurse held up a basket of stickers and we let Caden pick his own. He actually picked up a sheet with kittens on it, but then dropped it to go for one with a Colt on it instead. I couldn't believe that he actually picked one out on his own, and neither could mommy when I told her.

We are going to see Dr. Donovan again, and he is going to give us the results. I just hope for good results.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden's Christmas Photos in a Video

2006-01-31T09:35:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post a quick link to Caden's Christmas Video in case I haven't sent it to you already.

http://caden.vermule.com/caden/Videos/X-Mas_2005.wmv

Doctor Day Cont'd

2006-01-19T10:07:00.000-08:00

When we went back to the doctor's office, he was going to see two different doctors. One doctor is a kidney specialist, the other is the doctor that did his surgery to remove the valves that he had when he was born.

They got his weight, height, and blood pressure. His blood pressure was unusually high. It was something like 129/92. Not only did it surprise us, but it surprised the nurse. Holly was getting kind of worried about it, especially since I have high blood pressure. The nurse said that he may have moved a little to much or something, and that we could try again a little later.

Then it was the kidney specialist's turn to look him over. Her name is Dr. Lavelle. She also gave us the results of his ultrasound and blood tests. She said that the left kidney hasn't grown. She said that it still looks to be the same as it was previously. She then told us that his right kidney had grown. And that so far it looked like it didn't have any damage from the reflux, but we'll have to keep bringing him in to monitor it.

She then proceeded to tell us that if his kidney's don't do their job, that in about 18-20 years, Caden could be on dialysis or have a transplant. She did also say that if the right kidney grows enough to make up for both kidneys, that he may not even have that. She said that there are a lot of people living normal lives with one kidney; many don't even know it.

Normal kidney processing is between 80 and 100 mL per minute. (I think that's what the doctor said.) Caden is currently at 80 mL per minute. So, if it stays in the normal range, he'll be just fine. She also commented on his blood pressure. She said that children with kidney problems tend to have higher blood pressure. She wanted to try his blood pressure again, because if it is high, he'd have to be put on medication for it.

Once she left, we thought it would be a good time to try his blood pressure again. Was this ever a mistake. We tried about 8 or 9 times, and Caden just screamed and kicked. (He is so strong now.) We just thought we'd give up for now.

Dr. Donovan came in and looked Caden over, but he still couldn't feel his testis. He decided that we should try to give Caden some hormone shots to see if his testosterone levels spike. If they do, he has testis and he will schedule surgery to have them pulled down. If they do not, then he doesn't have them and we'll know for sure that he won't be able to have children.

Of course the news of Caden possibly needing two surgeries upset us, but we know it would be in his best interests. Neither surgery is for sure. The kidney surgery won't be for almost 20 years. And that's even if he needs that. The surgery for his testis, we'll find out in about a week and a half. He starts the shots on Monday, January 23rd, 2006. He'll have them Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He'll have blood drawn Monday morning before the first shot, and then Saturday, a day after the last shot.

So, please cross your fingers. This is the surgery that we actually do want him to have.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Doctor Day

2006-01-10T12:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a day full of tests and doctor visits.

We started the morning with Caden getting a bag taped to him so that the nurses could get a urine sample. Holly thought that they were going to put a catheter in to get the urine sample. She said that is what they did last time.

We then went to Radiology so that they could do an ultrasound of Caden's kidneys. (If you don't remember, when Caden was readmitted to the hospital, it was because he had a Urinary Tract Infection. He had some extra valves that weren't allowing him to urinate properly, so he had backflow into his left kidney. He is on amoxicillin so that it does not damage his kidneys.)

Caden was such a trooper. When the technician was doing the ultrasound on his right kidney, he didn't fuss at all. When she was doing the ultrasound on his left kidney, he didn't fuss until she was almost done. Then we had to put him on his tummy so that she could see them from the back. He did great at first, then he started to get a little fussy. He did a great job. The technician left the room to let the radiologist look at the ultrasound pictures and numbers. When she came back, she said that it looked the right kidney had grown, but the left kidney was unchanged.

The next trip was to get the bag removed. But, this was only if he had went potty since it was put on. It looked to be as though he had when we were in radiology. When the nurse took the bag off, he had went. But either most of it had leaked out, or as I have just thought, it may have been pushed out when we were moving him around during the ultrasound. The nurse decided to ask to see if the little amount that was in the bag would be enough. We were in luck, it was.

We now had to go to the lab so that they could draw some blood. Obviously we weren't looking forward to this, but we knew that Caden had done this before and that it shouldn't be to bad. When we got in there, they said the blood needed to come from his arm. Now we were worried at how he would handle this. As soon as the nurse held his arm down he started to cry. He knew they were going to do something that he wasn't going to like. He is so smart.

After this, we had a break before his clinical visit. So, we decided to visit daddy's work and grandma Debbie's work. And as usual, everybody loved him. When we stepped into daddy's department, we got about two feet in before we had a mob of people around. Everybody said that he is getting so big and that he is so cute.

To be continued...

A Couple Developments

2006-01-06T12:49:00.000-08:00

Holly called me around a quarter to noon today, "Caden rolled over!!"

She said that he just went for it, and he made it over. When he tries normally, he doesn't quite get his arm out of the way. But, today he did. I'm so proud of my strong little boy.

The next thing we need to work on is getting his arm strength up.

Speaking of arm strength; I need to get to the other development. Caden will hold his bottle on his own. Sometime last weekend, I think Saturday he did it for the first time.

When we feed him, we hold the bottle to him so that he'll get the recognition of, "Oh, a bottle. I must be getting fed." He has got that concept down to a 'T.' He has followed the bottle for a while now, but he has been reaching for his bottle for around a month.

I decided to let him take the bottle. He took it right away, and put it in his mouth. He ended up taking 4 ounces from a 6 ounce bottle. I was so proud. Then on his next bottle, he finished it.

He holds his bottle for most of his feedings now. At 5AM, he is not really even awake, so he doesn't hold it then. And sometimes on his bottle before bed he doesn't, but otherwise, we let him do it. He goes until he finishes, gets tired of holding the bottle, or just plays so much that he is making a mess or will take a really long time.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

A little scare...

2005-12-30T10:23:00.000-08:00

Wednesday morning, I woke up to feed Caden and he had a red ring on his upper lip. It looked kind of like a kool-aid mustache. At first I thought that he'd scratched his upper lip. I went on our 5AM routine of making his bottle, changing his diaper, then heading downstairs to watch the news while he eats.

When he was done, I took a better look at his lip. It didn't look like a scratch mark now that I was awake.

Then I remembered that one of Holly's daycare kids had had thrush, so that got me a little worried. I took him to bed, then went back downstairs to do some research.

I had found out that redness around the mouth was not a symptom of thrush, so I was a little relieved. But, I still didn't know what it was.

NOTE: It's not too common, but thrush can be a sign of HIV in infants.

About this time, Holly appeared at the top of the stairs with her usual morning question. "How much did he take?" I told her, then I proceeded to tell her about the redness on his top lip. She told me that it couldn't be thrush because that was not a sign. I told her that I had just found that out when she called down the stairs.

She wasn't thinking anything of it at first, then she went to look for herself. She thought it looked like a rash or something, but wanted me to take him to the doctor to get it checked out. So, I agreed to not go into work so that I could take him in when the doctor's office had an opening.

This is sometime between 6:30 and 7 AM that this is being decided. So, Holly decides that she wants to be there too. She called the parents of the kids that were supposed to show up and said that Caden was going to see the doctor.

Holly called the doctor around 8:30 AM; when they opened; and they had an appointment at 10:10 AM.

By now, Caden was awake. We looked at the redness and it had lightened up a bit, but we were going to take him in just to be safe.

When we got to the doctor's office, we waited a short while before they called us back. The nurse asked the usual, "Why are you here? What are his allergies? Do we want him weighed?"

And of course we weighed him! He now weights 17 lbs. 14 1/2 oz.

When Dr. Krenzer came in, she asked us what our concern was. She then looked at Caden and said that it looks like he was sucking on his lips. She said that's all that it appears to be.

Boy did we feel stupid.

We also asked her about thrush since the other baby had had it, if she could look since we were there. She said his mouth looks fine. The whiteness on Caden's tongue just seems to be formula and nothing else.

We were relieved about that as well.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Christmas Officially Over...

2005-12-27T08:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas is officially over, but Caden hasn't had all of his "Christmas.'" We haven't had Christmas at Grandma Sharen's yet.

Caden is making out like a bandit this year. I think he has already received more toys than I got in the first 5 years of my life.

Caden has got everything from his first Teddy bear (with his name on it), to a book subscription until he is 5 years old, to a turtle that he can pull that teaches him colors, to a drum that teaches letters and numbers, to...

The list goes on, but I'm sure you don't want to read just that.

Starting on Christmas Eve, Caden was sitting up on his own. We sat him down at Holly's aunt's house so that everybody could open up their gifts, and he wanted to sit all by himself. And he did it!!! I'd say he sat there a good 20 minutes before he moved to much for his muscles to control.

Since then (I'm writing like it was a month ago or something), he has sat up for about 20 minutes by his self every day. He really likes sitting up; as some already know. Pretty soon he'll be able to sit up by his self, and keep him self up for longer amounts of time.

I'm so proud of my little boy.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Changes

2005-12-27T08:30:00.000-08:00

Caden now has a website http://caden.vermule.com

Caden's videos are now located at this site.

Caden at the Zoo

2005-12-22T10:20:00.000-08:00

Caden at the Zoo

We went to the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo had lights and other stations setup inside some of the exhibits. This is a picture station inside of the Pavillion.

He loved the lights and other things at the zoo. I can't wait until Spring, so that we can take him and see the whole zoo. The only parts they had open was: the Aquarium (minus a couple exhibits), the Creatures of the Night, the Pavillion, and the Treetop Restaurant.

The Pavillion had art made by animals and you could buy them. They were also selling coffee, hot chocolate, and cookies.

The Treetop Restaurant had crafts that you could make (didn't see what).

When we were in the Aquarium, he didn't pay much attention to the animals at first. He was always looking to see who was talking or trying to find Holly or I. He did look at the penguins, but not with much interest. He actually watched the monitors more than the actual penguins. Once we got to the tunnel, (where you get to see the sharks, some large fish, and a new turtle) he perked up. One time, he was looking at a shark and the shark almost seemed to swim right at him. His eyes grew, his jaw dropped, he loved it. He also liked the jellyfish tank and the school of fish.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Sorry...

2005-12-19T18:20:00.000-08:00

Sorry about it being so long between the Thanksgiving post and this one. With the holidays and a new son, it is really hard to keep everything going like normal.

I will have pictures up shortly from Thanksgiving and the time in between.

Caden will have a new place you can see his pictures from soon. The web address is http://caden.vermule.com. Right now there isn't much there, just a few photos and videos, but it will soon have a lot of photos and other content.

Caden's first Christmas is right around the corner, and has kind of already started. He opened his gifts from grandma Debbie last night. He loved them. We'll be in South Dakota this coming Christmas weekend. And we still have grandma Sharen's and Grandpa Cecil's (AKA Jay).

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden's First Thanksgiving

2005-11-23T09:53:00.000-08:00

Since we have room in our house, we are going to have Thanksgiving at home this year. Holly is going to cook.

Don't laugh.

Now I said not to laugh.

Okay, you can laugh a little. Debbie is helping, so don't worry...too much.

We've invited several people, but as expected, a lot of people have prior plans, are making their own dinner, or can't make it for other reasons. We are just glad that we can have Thanksgiving in our new home.

We have a lot to be thankful for this past year, and for many years to come. We're thankful for every day that God gives us, our beautiful son, our wonderful new home, Holly's thriving home daycare, our families, my career, the love that we recieve, and so much more. I'm sure you don't want to read everything that we are thankful for, but those are some highlights.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

I'm so proud...

2005-11-11T11:29:00.001-08:00

I took Caden to the doctor yesterday. Both Holly and myself had butterflies in our stomachs because we were so curious as to see his new weight.

As you know, Caden had a feeding tube in and decided to pull it out about 4 weeks ago, and this appointment was not only his 6 month appointment and flu shot appointment, but it was to determine if he was gaining enough weight on just what he was taking out of the bottle.

Well, he weighed in at 16 lbs. 7 oz.!!! He is also now 27 inches long. For weight, he is holding steady at about the 30th percentile. But for his height, he jumped up to the 75th percentile!!! If he keeps this up, he is going to be a tall boy.

The doctor was so happy with the progress that he is making. He is sitting up with minimal support, he is taking at an average of 5 oz. a day by bottle, he is talking to us, playing "games" with us, playing with toys now more than ever.

Going back to the "games," he has this new thing. He shakes his head "no" and waits for us to do it. And then when we do it, he laughs and does it again. It is so cute, I hope to get it on video and upload it soon so that those not local can see it.

I also have a bunch of pictures to upload. I am going to upload some photos today that we got taken professionally.

From the move into the new house, I have yet to set up the computer. Even when I do, I have to find a power source. The corner that is "perfect" for the computer and desk has no outlet. So, for now, I have to find a way to run an extension cord so that it does not pose as a hazard to the kids.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

6 month pictures

2005-11-11T11:28:00.000-08:00

The crib

2005-11-02T14:42:00.000-08:00

We finally broke down and put Caden to sleep in his crib last night. When we decided to do it, Holly almost cried, but she did fine. Even I thought that she would be the one checking in on him.

Nope.

1:30AM - I thought I heard him, so I checked on him. And he was fine.

2:00AM - He was kicking a little, so I looked in. This time I think he was trying to kick off his covers; as both he and his mother love to do.

2:30AM or 3:00AM - I thought I heard something outside, so I looked around, but didn't find anything, so I decided to check on him again.

Am I horrible or what?

Except for me getting up, he did great. He slept there all night and seemed comfortable. He was so comfortable that he didn't want to wake up this morning.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden is suprising us yet again.

2005-10-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

Last week he took a full six-ounce bottle in ten minutes on two seperate feedings!!! Holly and I were shocked. As you may imagine. He has been taking about 4-6 ounces in 30-50 minutes on the norm. I am just so proud of my beautiful son.

But, the good news doesn't end there.

Yesterday, while I was at work, Caden wanted to sit up. Which as we know he really isn't supposed to do because of his age and syndrome. When I got home, I let him sit in the corner of the couch; I let him do this to get used to the feeling of sitting up and to try to help him strengthen his neck and back; and he didn't want to sit back.

He leaned forward a bit and sat up, sort of. He was wobbly, and he leaned to the side and forward a little more than he should, but he was doing it. And he sat there for a short while.

Today, I went home for lunch, and I was holding him some. Part of the time, I was holding him facing away from me with my arm around his belly and waist so that he could hold his head up, and we was doing a great job. He has been able to do that for a few days now.

I laid him down on his back in his gym so he could play and watch TV. He started to cry. I think part of it was that he didn't want me to put him down, but the rest was that he wanted to sit up. He'll get to that point soon enough.

I know that he doesn't understand that he can't sit up all of the time yet. But, he obviously wants to.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden's first pumpkin patch.

2005-10-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

Caden looking around

I almost didn't get to go. I was scheduled to work from 1 to close at Nobbies, but someone changed hours with me so that I could work from 11 to 5. Then I tried to pawn that schedule off so that we could go during the day more, but it didn't work out for me. I still worked.

Caden slept about half of the time, but he seemed to enjoy or was at least inquisitive about what he saw.

I have more pictures posted at his picture site.

Sorry...

2005-10-11T10:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry that it's been a while since the last posting. It's been kind of hectic lately. I've been working a few extra hours at Carlson, and I got a temporary part-time job at Nobbies (Nobbies is a party store).

I took Caden to the doctor last Thursday. The doctor wasn't happy, but she wasn't sad. He only gained 1/2 an ounce. So, he now weighs 14 lbs. 12 1/2 ounces. She said that the feeding tube has to stay in until his 6 month appointment at the beginning of November. She also said that we need to go back to tube feeding the rest of the morning bottle. Lately, we have only been tube feeding the rest of the before bed bottle.

Well, that night, Caden decided to pull his tube out again. The tube was ready to be replaced any way, so we figured that if he took enough of his bottle before bed, we wouldn't try to put a new one in. We'd let him sleep a night without a tube stuck in his nose.

HE TOOK THE WHOLE BOTTLE!

We were ecstatic. It was a good thing too because we checked and we had no more tubes. Holly called and said that we needed one since we were out and she told them that we thought we had one left. They said they would put us on the list to get a delivery on Friday since our normal deliveries happen on Wednesday.

Well, the tube didn't come by 5. So, Holly called and they said that something had happened and we weren't put on the list. So, the receptionist said that he would drive over hisself and deliver on to us. We were very happy that he was willing to go out of the way for us.

It turns out though, that we didn't need the tube quite yet.

Caden took around 4 ounces from his morning feeding, normally 3-4 ounces. Then he took the next three full 6 ounce bottles, normally 2-3 ounces. We couldn't believe it. We then figured if he could take at least 5 ounces before bed, we could leave the tube out another night. And he did! And Saturday was a repeat of Friday; and so was Sunday!

He did good on his bottles yesterday as well. There was just one where he took 3 ounces instead of the now normal of 5 ounces.

Holly called Dr. Krenzer and she didn't disagree with keeping the tube out, but at the same time she didn't agree. She said as long as he consistantly does 5 ounces a feeding, he should be fine without the tube in and we'll find out how he does with a weight gain on his next visit. Of course, if he doesn't do good, we'll have to put the tube back in, but we're all praying for that to not happen.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

A House in the Near Future

2005-09-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

We are buying a house. It can be seen HERE. We are so excited. It's going to be a great place for Caden to grow up.

The best parts are: he'll still get the same great services (therapists and such) that he is right now, we're only moving 3 blocks, we'll own our own home, and our address stays virtually the same; '4741 S 83rd St' to '4741 S 80th St.'

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

The Results are in...

2005-09-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

NEGATIVE!!!!

There is nothing wrong with my chromosomes. They said that if I was to have another child, there is a very, very slim chance that they would have Prader-Willi.

They said there are no deletions & no rearrangements.

So, what happened to Caden was purely an accident. I love him to death, and I wouldn't change my son. He is God's gift to my wife and myself. I just wish that we could do something for him so that he wouldn't have the future problems with eating.

I guess the say, "God only gives you what you can handle." probably applies.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Back from the trip...

2005-09-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

I only have a few seconds to write.

I just wanted to let everyone know that Caden did awesome on the trips to and from Wisconsin.

I'll post pictures and write more when I have more time.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Push-ups...

2005-09-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

Caden is now starting to do some push-ups. He is holding hisself up and picking up his head some to look around. On Saturday, Holly had set him down on the floor for "tummy time" and he picked himself up and lifted his head. He looked around some before getting irritated. We tried it again 3 more times that day and he did the same thing every time. (Video soon)

We are so proud of our little boy.

Caden also got his first haircut on Saturday. He had about 1 - 1 ¹/₂ inches cut off. He looks so different without all of his hair. (And of course, pictures will be up soon.)

He is also smiling a lot more, especially in the morning. And he giggles a lot. He smiles/giggles the most in the morning when he wakes up. We think that he is going to be a morning person. He is starting to giggle when you tickle his feet and give him raspberries. And of course there is the once in while giggle when he see's daddy.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Still no word.

2005-09-06T06:53:00.000-07:00

As you've been able to tell from my silence about it, we haven't heard anything about my test results.

Since last Tuesday was 14 days, Holly called last Wednesday to see if the doctors had heard anything. They hadn't.

So, I think Holly is going to call today to see what is going on. It is now 21 days. We understand that yesterday was a holiday, so it is technically 20 days. But, the test process doesn't need 24/7 monitoring.

I'll let you know.

Caden in the Bath

2005-08-31T07:07:00.000-07:00

Caden in the Bath

I just thought that this picture was so cute that I had to post it.

South Dakota Trip Photos

2005-08-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Caden's second roadtrip, being planned

2005-08-23T07:23:00.000-07:00

We are going to Wisconsin. We are going to stay in Peshtigo, WI. We are going to leave Omaha on Thursday, September 8th after I get off work and drive half way and stay in Platteville, WI. Then we'll get there early afternoon on Friday the 9th. We are going to come back Monday, September 12th. The trip back we'll driving the whole distance in one day.

I can't wait. I'm going to be uploading some of the pictures from our trip up to S. Dakota today. We went to the Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead, Caden stayed with Penny at the entrance building. He was out of it, and we didn't bring his stroller because we weren't planning on doing anything like that. You bet we'll bring it up there for the "just in case" situation(s).

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Changes...

2005-08-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

I have added Caden's last known measurements to the right.

I will be adding a photo viewer for all of his pictures.

The picture on top is now a professional picture we had taken in his christianing outfit.

Daddy is getting tested...

2005-08-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

Mommy and Caden went to the genetics doctor, Dr. Buehler, on Monday and he was telling her a little better about what to expect during Caden's life.

When Caden turns one, he will start getting growth hormone shots. From what the doctor said, Caden will get the shots on a daily basis, and will be administered by either me or Holly. Fun, fun, fun. He will also start to see a dietician so that he can be checked out to see what type of foods he should be eating and how much of each food.

They also said that his speech will probably be delayed (typical of a child with Prader-Willi), but he will understand what we are saying. He will have a speech therapist as well to help him so he will be on track once he starts school.

The doctor also gave Holly some more packets of information about PWS which she got through part of it and had to stop because it was making her even more worried and sad. I read the whole thing, obviously feeling horrible, but I read it so I knew. Then at the end, when they list the references, I was noticing the dates of the articles and documents referenced, the date span was from the late 1960's up until the early 1990's, and a one from 1996 and two from 1998.

So, I impressed upon Holly that the documents referenced were from earlier on into the "discovery period" of PWS and that the use of growth hormones weren't approved until 2000. So, this is a brand new generation of children with PWS, and there are medical advances and studies happening every day. Maybe this generation will have the eating more under control, and will be able to be more independent. We can only wait and see.

Now to address the title of this post. They are testing me to see if I have "issues" with what is called the "imprinting process." Even though the doctors think that it will come back as normal, they are testing me to be sure. I want to know anyway, because Holly and I plan to have at least one more child, and if I have something wrong, I don't want to put another child through what Caden is going through. I also don't want to have to put my wife and family through all of the worry that we did and are doing with Caden.

NOTE: The imprinting process is where the body "imprints" it's set of chromosomes that are to be given to offspring.

Another reason why I am getting tested is my wife had mentioned to the doctor that a child on my mom's side of the family is very heavy, 150+ lbs. at age 7, and they are worried that I may have received the imprinting "defect" through my mother's genetics. If that is so, then there is a chance that both of my brothers have the defect.

We'll find out shortly if I have it. I gave my blood Tuesday night, and it takes 2 weeks to get the results back.

When I find out you will find out as well.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Bottle Challenge was lost...

2005-08-12T14:09:00.000-07:00

I just realised that I never said how the challenge went.

Caden lost 5 ounces during the week he was on the bottle challenge. So, the doctor that is sitting in for Dr. Krenzer while she is out on leave prescribed glucose to be added to his bottles.

That didn't go over very well either. He only took about an ounce for two bottles.

Since we were going out of town, we decided that we didn't want to have her family listen to him while we put the tube in. So, we put the tube in. Over the weekend the little stinker took a couple full bottles and did really good on the others.

We'll try another challenge in the future, but not right now.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Caden's First Trip

2005-08-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

Grandma Debbie found out that she had friday, saturday and sunday off. So, when we were at dinner with grandma, mommy said, "Sounds like it would be a good weekend to go to South Dakota." She said it half jokingly, half seriously. Grandma said that she was just thinking the same thing.

So, of course mommy tells daddy that he needs to get off early because we have a lot to do.

Originally, mommy was working on friday, so we weren't going to leave until saturday morning after we fed Caden. So, we were going to have all night to pack and get things ready. But, mommy just took friday off so we could leave friday night. She checked to make sure grandma was okay with it after she took the night off.

And of course, she was.

We left Council Bluffs, IA around 7:30 PM after eating and dropping a key off to my sister so she can take care of Kira (It was supposed to be 6:30 PM.). We pulled into Arlington about 11:00 PM. My usual 3 ¹/₂ hour drive.

We spent the time visiting family and even visited a local attraction. We went to the "Little House on the Prairie." It's the Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead. It is located in De Smet, SD. It was pretty neat. Of course, Caden didn't pay much attention to anything. We'll bring him back when he gets old enough to actually enjoy it.

NOTE: Pictures of all, soon to come.

The Bottle Challenge

2005-08-04T06:40:00.000-07:00

As everybody knows, Caden is on a feeding tube and we are trying to feed him by bottle as much as possible. Since he has low muscle tone, he does have a poor sucking ability. But it is getting much better.

PROOF: Yesterday Caden took two(2) bottles that were 5 ¹/₂ oz each.

On Monday, 4 August 2005, his substitute pediatrician, Dr. Michaels, thought it would be fine to do a "bottle challenge." It's where we take out the feeding tube for a few days and only feed him by bottle. Just to see how he does. If Caden loses weight, or doesn't gain any weight, the tube will have to go back in.
NOTE: He has a substitute pediatrician because Dr. Krenzer had a baby.

In the eighteen days between his last doctor visit and monday, he gained 24 oz. Which as you can tell, is a little over an ounce a day. He should be gaining about ³/₄ to 1 ounce a day. During the last month and a half he had to play a little catch up since he spent the 6 weeks in the hospital and was on and off of IV's and other fluids that fluctuated his weight.

If Caden can keep the tube out, obviously this is what we want, but that means that we lose the daycare that was supposed to be provided for him. If he doesn't, he still gets to keep the daycare. Either way, it works itself out.

It looks as if we don't have to worry about it now though. Holly has decided to do a home daycare, of sorts. In the future, I'm sure she'll do it more of what you would think of a home daycare, but for now, it's just a couple of friends' kids. So, Holly will be able to say home with Caden. We do hope at some point to open a proper daycare in the future.

Listen to me, it sounds like I am helping her to do this. I know that if, in the future, this does happen, I will be helping her with the different aspects of it (Advertising, painting, location search, etc.). But, that will happen eventually. Not now.

I just need to hit the lottery so that she can start right now. I know that I would still work my current job, and that she would open a daycare. Obviously she would hire out for more staff, but she would still be there. And of course our kids would get to go there for free.

Until Next time, I continue to ask for and thank you for your prayers.

Bottle Battle

2005-07-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

Now, everybody knows that it has been and will continue to be a battle for Caden to drink all of his bottle. That is the reason for the feeding tube.

Caden is up to 160 mL per bottle 5 times a day. Roughly 30 mL is 1 ounce. So, he is up to 5 1/3 ounces.

Yesterday, Caden took 100 mL of his bottle, then the next feeding he took 105 mL. I was so happy to see that he took the 100 mL, that was the most that he's ever taken. Then, he took the 105 mL, and then that was the most he'd ever taken.

Holly just called me and informed me that he took all 160 mL of his bottle. So, needless to say, this makes us very happy and proud of him.

Once he can do that for all of his feedings, he can get rid of his feeding tube.

As usual, keep praying. Our prayers are being answered.

Baptism Recognition Pictures

2005-07-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

Click a picture to view larger





Thanks to Angie for the pictures

Caden's Baptism Recognition

2005-07-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

First, I want to say thank you to those who attended and sent gifts. You all mean the world to us.

Since Caden was baptised in the hospital, today was just the church "recognition" of the baptism, welcome into the family of Christ, and presentation of his sponsors (godparents).

Everything went as expected. He was wide awake through the whole service. He got a little fussy when we were actually doing the ceremony, but he calmed down pretty easily.

Online Photo Album of Caden With Animals

2005-07-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

Caden Rolling Over

2005-07-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

Caden Rolling Over

For all that didn't believe me, here is my 2 month old son rolling over. For him having low muscle tone, I'd say that he's doing good.

How about you?

Caden and the pediatrician

2005-06-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

We went to Caden's pediatrician visit.

We asked her about the gas levels, and she said she thinks his CO₂ level was at 58. That is on the high end of where he was running this last hospital visit. The level also goes up and down naturally based on the amount of physical activity you are doing. It is harder to remove CO₂ when you are doing more activity. Just the same, it is harder to keep your oxygenation levels up when you are doing physical activity. But, when they checked Caden's oxygenation level, he was at 99 out of 100. So, he is keeping it up above where they expect it to be (89 to 95).

He gained 12 ounces since last Wednesday, which is what she was hoping for. His weight is on the lower end of where it should be, so she is having us pump him full of calories to help him increase his weight and get where he should be for his age.

She has changed his feeding schedule and amounts again. We were at 105 ml every 4 hours, now she is changing it to 115 ml every 3-4 hours during the day and 120 ml for the feeding before we go to bed and the first one in the morning. She is trying to give us a 6 hour window in which we can get ("hopefully") uninterrupted sleep. We'll see what actually happens.

Caden vs. Dr. Norohna

2005-06-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

Caden met with the pulmonologist, Dr. Norohna, on Monday. The doctor said that it sounds like Caden is breathing deeper. He also said that it looks like he is breathing deeper as well. So, all in all that is good to hear. They took his blood gas levels and another test, just to see how he is doing with his CO₂ (Carbon Dioxide) levels and other levels.

The nurse for Dr. Norohna's office called yesterday, they said that his levels were about where they expected them to be and that everything looked good. Both Holly and I wish that they had told me "what" the levels actually were. Since we learned so much in the hospital, we would have at least had a general knowledge about them.

Today, Caden's physical therapist and "teacher" were supposed to come by for the first time at 10:15AM. They are going to come once a week to my understanding. But, only the teacher showed up. The "teacher" said that it was very unusual for the physical therapist to not show up. But, the "teacher" did what she came to do anyway. She is going to help him with playing with his toys, like batting at them, and things like that.

They are also going to set up a time where we can meet all of the people that will be working with him. (i.e. the physical therapist, the "teacher," the occupational therapist, etc.)

Caden's baptism.

2005-06-29T12:20:00.000-07:00

Caden before his baptism.

Caden's Baptism Certificate

Caden with his certificate.

I asked the pastor who performed the baptism on Caden, Pastor Carlos Schneider, to write down the history of why sea shells are used when children are baptised.

Here is what he wrote:

"Whether the baptismal shell originated with John, the Baptist is not known for sure, but there are medieval paintings that show John, the Baptist using a shell in his hand to pour water over the heads of the one being baptized. That seems to be the origin of the tradition of using a scallop shell in pouring the water in Holy baptism. A scallop shell is fan shaped and has grooves or lines on the outside. The inside is bowl-shaped, making it suitable for scooping up the water and pouring it over the head of the person being baptized.

Because Baptism is in the name of the Triune God, over time, three drops of water were added to the bottom of the shell, as a symbol for the Holy Trinity.

Because shells are closely associated with water, it may have been a very easy process to integrate the shell as a symbol for Baptism."