A Very Special Ornament

This very special ornament arrived the other day. We just wanted to share it with everyone.


To remember our little angel always.

Adjusting To Mother's Day Out

When I walked in the door to pick up Logan from Mother's Day Out this past Friday, one of his teachers let me know that Logan had a very good day! He still cries when I leave, but she said he stopped pretty soon after I left on Friday. He participated in circle time and sat nice during it (pretty good for a 2 year old!) He participated in the craft and he really enjoyed doing it (they made marble paintings) and he even ate some of his lunch which was a first! We are very excited that Logan is starting to transition to being in a preschool/daycare environment and that he is not totally miserable while there.

Logan has been doing better in all his therapies as well. He is speaking way more and using 2 word phrases more often now, unfortunately at 27 months which is next month he will be pushed a little more behind again since 3 word phases should be happening by then, but he is getting close. He is interacting with his therapists more and staying focused for longer periods of time with them (some of this is just him aging of course, he was pretty young when we started therapy to be focusing for a real long period) Logan is playing more imaginatively now and we are seeing A LOT less of him watching wheels of his cars/trains and for the most part playing with them functionally. He is also following directions a good amount of the time and beginning to take turns which is great! We are very happy with the progress he has made in the past month or so, and it is looking less and less like we will be making a return trip to the neurologist, as the neurologist said the money is in the therapies and that is what is working, since his delays are really very mild in the grand scheme. We of course will re-evaluate at the 6 month point, but he is coming along for sure. As his pediatrician says, "Sometimes boys just take a little longer getting there". He is growing and changing so much right now and he is such a joy to be around, we are very proud of our little man!

Here is the marble painting Logan made on Friday. They have this wooden box and then they put the tree cutout in the box dab paint in various spots and then put a marble in the box and the kids get to shake it around creating the picture, then add glitter and it's done! Logan had a lot of fun doing this his teacher said.

This is the ginger bread ornament Logan made last week, he watched the teachers do the cut outs and he helped put a little glitter on it. It smells yummy and looks wonderful on our tree!

Time To Trim The Tree!

This year marked the first time that Logan really helped us trim our tree, although he only did a few, and re-did his Buzz Lightyear ornament a few times, and later launched two of the glass balls across the room thinking they were in fact "balls", we think it went pretty well. We gave Logan his new ornament early this year so he could hang it on the tree, we went with the talking Buzz since he is such a big fan of Toy Story. After playing with Buzz for awhile we tried to get him to put it on the tree but he wasn't having any of it.

Checking out Buzz.

Trying very hard to get Buzz to come out.

After awhile of watching Mom and Dad hang stuff on the tree, Logan decided it was time to put Buzz up.

Finding the perfect spot

Logan let Mom and Dad finish the rest of the tree, but we made sure to come over and inspect ornament placement ever so often, and make sure Buzz was doing good.

Here is our tree all ready to go, minus the 2 casualty's that didn't survive the terrible two's.

Here are some of our special ornaments:

From our first family Christmas.

This one was given to us by Matt's parents while we were in the hospital after having Logan, so it is officially Logan's 1st ornament.

This one was given to us by Brandi's parents the Christmas after we got married.

This is the first ornament that Matt ever gave Brandi. He got it from Holiday Magic at Brookfield zoo the first time they went to Holiday Magic...hard to believe we have been together this January for 10 years!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends! We had a wonderfully relaxing Thanksgiving this year, since we only had one stop to make, and we were able to just relax and enjoy. The morning started out nice and lazy, Logan ran around half dressed all morning and watched some of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time. Logan seemed to like the big air floats the most while watching the parade. Brandi was busy finishing up making turkey leg rice krispie treats in the morning.

Logan enjoying himself sans pants.

Watching the Macy's parade...almost dressed.

Brandi's turkey leg rice krispie treats

Matt got busy making the mashed potato's for the big feast, and by noon it was time to head over to Grandma and Grandpa Blume's. We packed in the car and made the long 2 minute trip down to their house...whew what a drive. As soon as we walked in we could smell Grandma's yummy Thanksgiving food cooking away and soon it was time to carve the Turkey, a tradition Matt has taken over in the past few years.

Working on the bird!

While everyone was busy getting lunch all fixed up and on the table, Logan helped himself to as many grapes as he could, which meant he was pretty full by the time we were ready to eat. Matt did manage to get him to eat some turkey, but Logan liked the grapes the best.

Logan stealing grapes

After dinner we all hung around and talked, and once we were ready, broke out the pies! Lot's of pumpkin pie's and one apple, and of course the rice krispie treats...yum. After desert it was time for the men to retire to the back room for football and the traditional after Thanksgiving nap. Once Logan woke up he was not a happy camper so it was time to go home. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and hope you all did as well! Let the countdown to Christmas begin!

The sign of a good Thanksgiving feast.

Answers...Finally!

My second round of testing came back even worse than the first round, my progesterone was down to 7.7 which takes me out of the normal range (I was low-normal last cycle at 11). So what does this mean? I have a progesterone problem, a hormone imbalance, and I will have to be medicated for all future pregnancies. The progesterone is low enough that I will actually start taking my progesterone before we conceive (so no surprise babies for us ever hehe). It will be tough, since the progesterone makes me feel really bad, and if I do get pregnant, I will obviously have to keep taking it at least throughout the first trimester and possibly some of the second. I believe my mother had to take it into the fifth month, and since I seem to be following her footsteps on this one, I wouldn't doubt that I might be on it that long as well. So we have our answer and we can move on now.
It will still be a tough road ahead but, hey it's worth it! Hopefully my body will adjust to being on the progesterone for a long period of time and the side effects will lessen. I will continue to have blood draws, both before we conceive and after we do, in order to keep an eye on the level and adjust the medicine if needed (If hospital's had freaquent flyer miles, I would be in the gold club by now at LGH). Matt will also have to have a *ahem* test done just to rule out any male factor problems as is protocol with my new hopefully not permanent doctor (still waiting for Dr W to come back). So that is it, we close this chapter of our life hopefully forever and move on to some healthy future pregnancies!

Logan's 1st Day of Mother's Day Out Program

Logan had his first day of Mother's Day Out (MDO) last Friday. It was a tough day for both of us. He was excited when we first got there and he ran off and played with the train table they have there, and I stayed and got all the paperwork and payments worked out. When I was done I let Logan know I was leaving and that I would be back for him after lunch, as I left the director of the program kept Logan busy. When I came back to pick him up he had just had his diaper changed and he was upset. He ran over to me and just put his head down on me. His teacher said he did play some, but he mostly wandered around the room and went to the door looking for me. He sat for a little bit for circle time, came over when they were doing their art project but he didn't really want to participate, so one of the teachers helped him finish, and then he didn't eat lunch. The director said it was typical behavior of a first day and that he will probably cry next week when I drop him off so it will be hard. We know that there will be a transition period for all of us since he has been home with Mom for two years, but in the long run it will be great for him and we hope that he enjoys it soon. Hopefully this week won't be as traumatic for him...and Mom.

Logan's art project he made for Mama

More testing for Brandi

I am going in for more blood work today and then we are starting the whole process over again this month. My body is kind of all over the place right now and the doctor wants to monitor another cycle so we know for sure what is going on and what might need to be done to have a healthy pregnancy next time. So I will update once we get to the end of this monitored cycle and hopefully have an answer. For now I get to be a pin cushion again...

Logan's Neurology Evaluation

Logan's neurology evaluation was done today. The number one reason for large head is usually because it runs in the family, which is what the doctor thought was happening. Because of Logan's speech and developmental delays however, he wants us to watch him for the next 3-6 months and if there isn't enough of an improvement as we see fit, then we will go ahead with testing. Logan has risk factors the land him in the broad spectrum of Autistic disorders, however his behavioral risk factors a very very mild. If we were talking politics and having Autism is right wing conservatives Logan's is as far left and you can go on the liberal side. He does not have Autism, don't worry.

The doctor recommended keep going with his therapies and putting him into a daycare/preschool setting a couple days a week. Luckily, I had already been looking into putting him in a Mother's Day Out program at one of the church's here so we will start there. If the daycare and therapies over the next 3 months show us improvement in speech and social interaction and more appropriate play then we will keep doing what we are doing, if not, Logan will go through the several neurological tests, including an MRI to make sure there is nothing more going on.

The doctor said everything he is delayed on is mild, and that him being an only child and not in a daycare situation probably has a lot to do with his speech delay. His obsession with cars/trains and their wheels along with his sensory issues is what puts him at risk for Autism spectrum disorders. All of this however, has nothing to do with his large head, his head is large because Matt's is large.

So that is all we have for now. We are going to call around and see about getting him into a daycare/preschool/Mother's Day Out program a couple days a week, keep doing therapy as we are, and Gymboree and re-evaluate in 3 months or so.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers, the support means the world to us.

Happy Halloween!!

We all had a fun Halloween yesterday. Logan had a rough morning and did not like his costume, but thankfully after his nap he actually let me put on his costume and he was able to enjoy some trick or treating around. Logan started his trick or treating at Great Grandma and Grandma Blume's and got lot's of fun and yummy treats there. Of course Logan ran around with Daisy for awhile and when it was time to ride out to the Dundee area he was all sweaty from his costume (who knew it would be so warm??) Poor Logan had to ride out to Dundee half naked..oh well. Logan trick or treated at Matt's Parents house next where there were more fun and yummy goodies to be had and finally ended up at Grandma and Grandpa Kois's house for Grandma's annual Halloween dinner. Logan played and watched his new Halloween Thomas the Train DVD and the adults played some fun games and ate lot's of yummy stuff. It was a fun Halloween, but I am sure next year Logan will have even more fun and I foresee us doing a lot more trick or treating!

Our little Rooster!

The Farmer's are their Rooster

We arrived how after 10pm and of course Logan was still kickin, but off to bed he went with lot's of treats in his tummy and Mommy and Daddy stayed up to watch a scary movie...a perfect Halloween!

Test Results for Brandi

My blood test results came back and my progesterone level was indeed low at 11. The nurse said they like to see it higher, and that the doctor wants me to come in for another blood test later in my cycle to see if that number either drops or goes up any. I also received the pathology results from the loss and those results came back showing nothing abnormal. Our sweet Peanut was perfect. So given these two sets of results together it is looking more and more like my progesterone was the cause of the loss. I will most likely be on a form of progesterone for all future pregnancies and be on it at least through the first trimester. The doctor will figure out the specifics of when and how much once I have the second blood draw. We are glad to finally have some answers, but of course it is hard knowing that it could have been prevented and that it was my body that failed. So for now we do a little more waiting and see what the next test says.

Edited to add:
I forgot to say that my progesterone is low, but normal, the low side of normal hence the next blood draw to see it if goes any lower and any higher. The main issue is me maintaining and having the progesterone go up as the pregnancy goes on.

Pumpkin Painting and Carving!

We painted and carved our Halloween pumpkins the other night. This year we had Logan paint his pumpkin, we figured that would be more fun for him and that way it was truly something he did. Logan has never done the whole carving of the pumpkin, his first Halloween he was only 2 weeks old so I did his pumpkin for him and stuck on of his binky's in it. Last year only Matt and I carved, it was all very last minute since we had just moved and the house was a disaster zone. So Logan got to experience his part of Halloween for the first time. Logan took to painting his pumpkin right away. He was very serious about the whole thing and his pumpkin turned out really cute.

Matt and I carved our pumpkins later that night after Logan went to bed. A tradition we have been taking part in for the last 10 years! I went with a cute face and Matt having just gotten an archery set for his birthday, decided on a pumpkin who crossed Matt while he was practicing...

Happy Halloween!!

Update on Brandi

Several people have asked me if I have had my post D&C blood work up yet, and the answer to that is: this Thursday. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it this cycle, things were a little goofy timing wise, but it all worked out and I am able to get into the doctor at the right time in my cycle for the work up.
They will be checking my post ovulation progesterone level. The doctor wants to take a look at my progesterone level while not pregnant to see if I have a problem that is not pregnancy related. I have a family history of progesterone problems, so if I have it too, the doctor can then decided ahead of time when he wants me to start the progesterone in relation to getting pregnant. I may have to take the shots or the pill before I conceive, as it is most helpful at that point, which I learned when I went on it with my last pregnancy, usually by the time you start bleeding it is to late for the progesterone pill.
So we all want to be prepared next time, and while the side effects of the progesterone are no fun, it pails in comparison to having a healthy full term pregnancy. I should hopefully be able to get the results the next day, and I hope to get the results of the pathology from my loss. I am sure they didn't find anything important since I never was called with the results, but I know they ran tests since we got a bill for it. If nothing it will just confirm it was a random chromosomal occurrence or a progesterone issue.
That's all for now!

Happy 26th Birthday Matt!

Sunday was Matt's golden birthday (he turned 26 on the 26th) and he celebrated with a laid back day at home with the family. I made breakfast for Matt and in the process set off the smoke alarm which set of Logan which woke Matt up, so he didn't get to sleep in as late as he wanted, but he did get to sleep in a little which is what he wanted. For the record I didn't burn anything, the smoke from the sausage set off the alarm because I forgot to put the range hood on. Matt hung around with Logan while I did some cooking and cleaning for when our families came over in the afternoon. Matt got some great gifts and we thank all our family for coming out and celebrating with us. After the party, we fed Logan some dinner and got him off to bed early since he didn't take a nap earlier and Matt and I ordered some sushi and watched a movie. Matt enjoyed his day, and I am happy did, he works so hard for Logan and I and has given me the wonderful gift of being able to stay at home with Logan for the past two years, so I always like to make his birthday special, since he does so much for our family. Logan and I got Matt an archery set, which he has expressed interest in a few months back, I think he really likes it since he would not put the bow down all night, I think he was really itching to give it a try. Anyway, happy birthday to the best husband and father in the world!

Pumpkin Farm Time!

This past Friday we took Logan out to Gobberts Pumpkin Farm to pick out some pumpkins for Halloween. We took Logan to the same pumpkin farm last year so I guess we are starting a tradition. I went there when I was younger both with my family and school so it's fun to take Logan to the same place.

Of course the first thing Logan found was the bug train so we spent a good amount of time playing with the train.

Next we went into the Animal Land they set up during the Fall Festival at Gobberts. They had all kinds of animals to look at. Logan liked the ducks of course and the cow and pigs. He was a little afraid of being really close to some of the animals, but I think he stilled enjoyed it.

Logan and Matt had some fun in the hay maze, and we took some fun pictures of Logan.

Then it was off to play on the train again, and then pick out some pumpkins. Logan wasn't too into picking out pumpkins, but he showed some interest in the small pumpkins and when he picked one out he tried to eat it, it was funny. I picked out some neat gourds and corn to make a center piece for Fall/ Thanksgiving. We took some pictures of Logan by the big charters, he saw his favorite Toy Story friends and Elmo, and waited for the Great Pumpkin again.

We had a fun time at the Pumpkin Patch before we left we took a picture of Logan waiting for the Great Pumpkin, a picture we took last years as well, so here are the two pictures of Logan waiting for that darn Great Pumpkin!

2008

2007

Of course before we left we got some more apple cider and Matt found some dill pickle popcorn seasonings and being the big popcorn lovers we are, we had to try it. Verdict: I loved it, Matt not so much.