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.
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.
Caden as in his big boy bed:
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.
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.
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.
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.
