Bryan Family Blessings

Improvements and Blessings

2016-03-22T13:25:00.002-05:00

A quick update on how Levi is doing.

Since our most recent visit with Dr. Stewart, Levi has been nearly seizure free.

At the first visit and after some blood work, we started Levi on supplements and medication.

This latest visit we added another medication.

Levi is still on the Onfi and Trileptal, but in addition he is taking:

Neuro Immune Stabilizer Topical Cream - 1 pump, twice a day

Leucovorin Tab 5 mg - 1 tab twice a day

Acyclovir 200 mg - 1 capsule a day (we will be discontinuing this soon)

Pregnenolone 15 mg - 1 capsule a day (blood work showed that he was very low)

Low Dose Naltrexone HCL 3 mg - 1 cap a day

The Naltrexone was the most recent medication prescribed, on Feb. 24th, and since beginning that Levi’s seizures reduced dramatically. He stopped having seizures completely for 2 weeks but did have 2 auras. On March 8th he started to come down with a cold, and this caused seizures for 4 days. Since March 12th, we have not seen any seizures again and Levi has not had any auras since.

As he continues to be seizure free, we may switch his actual seizure medicine to a less hindering (cognitively) medication.

It has been a blessing to find a doctor that is willing to help treat Levi from the inside out.

We no longer have surgery as an option on our radar!

Getting to the Root of the Issue

2016-01-02T20:41:00.002-06:00

When we left the EEG his doctor added another medication for Levi.
He was on Trileptal and they added Keppra. We really hoped that this would help control Levi's seizures but we saw no improvement.
We went to the follow up appointment for Levi's testing/extended EEG and told his doctor this. She felt confident that we would not find seizure control quickly with medications and highly recommended a tuber resection surgery. This is the surgery that Jace had back in 2011. Talk about having an old wound ripped back open. As grateful we are that Jace was able to have that surgery and how well he has done since, it was still the most difficult thing we have faced.
The doctor still wants a MEG scan done for Levi. This will pin point the focal point of the seizure activity much more than just an EEG. With the information from this test, Dr. Von Allmen can take this to a board of doctors and conference over the best plan of action. This mean they would discuss what type of surgery he would need: grid placement and resection (what Jace had), just a resection, laser ablation, or if he would not be a surgical candidate at all.
Until we get the MEG scan done, the doctors meet, and we meet with the neurosurgeon she added a 3rd medication, Onfi, to attempt. All this medication roller coaster is just a guessing game. It frustrating and no fun! The side effects are always terrible, no matter the type or dose. She is pretty confident that the added medication won't help but she said its worth a try during the time of waiting for testings and decisions on surgery.

So, we added that 3rd medication. Its taken 3 times a day and its a "sedative". At the start of the medication it did the complete opposite! WOW! Levi was a busy bee with a mean streak! It took 3 weeks to tritrate up to his full dose. Once we reached that I decided (per the doctor's suggestion at his last appointment) to wean him off the Keppra. The Keppra did nothing for him besides make him mean. Adding the 3rd medicine, Onfi, just amplified that. We couldn't handle the mood swings, screaming, fighting, and flat out defiance. Our sweet boy was gone. Don't get me wrong, he still had his moments but living with him was NOT fun anymore. And we started this medication right at Christmas break......that meant being home with him 24/7.....sounds fun huh?
We haven't seen much change in his seizures, they aren't worsening, but they aren't better. We did find out that he had a sinus and ear infection. That didn't help his seizure threshold at all. Now that we have treated that, we still have had seizures.

As scary as all this has been, having to face it all over again, we are calm. We know what to expect and we know if surgery is needed that it has worked before and should work for Levi. God has seen us through all this before, HE hasn't left us this time either.

Justin's brother told us about a doctor that could help Levi by treating the root of the issues. Knowing that Nathan is a very talented and smart man that knows about treating the body naturally, we took his advice. He helped us get Levi an appointment with Dr. Kendal Stewart at Neurosensory Center in Austin. Since this is more along the lines of alternative medication, insurance does not cover everything. It will cover some of the lab tests and the prescriptions that he suggests, but not the most important supplements/vitamins. Even though going here was not cheap, it was well worth it!
We learned so much about how we can help Levi with his seizures from the very molecular level. Learning what we did at the appointment also opened out eyes to how much this can help Jace as well. Once we get Levi squared away we plan to bring Jace as well.
Dr. Stewart explained to us about how our bodies require a process called methylation. Most everyone has a deficiency in this and it can wreak havoc on the body. Explaining this in terms easy to understand seems to be difficult after looking for a link to include that explains it.
Dr. Stewart asked us to give him 60 days to get Levi on these vitamins to help increase his seizure threshold. He explained that epilepsy is generally an inflammatory disease - there are other factors of course. Areas of the brain has inflammation and that is what triggers the neurons to misfire thus causing a seizure. Most inflammation that occurs in the body, especially in nervous system, are due to the deficiency of T-cells which stems from methylation deficiency.
To help with this process certain vitamins are used. However, most vitamins are water soluble and the nervous system is covered in fat. Water and fat don't mix so there needs to be a way to convert these vitamins to get into the areas necessary. That's where Dr. Stewart helps. Taking the vitamins orally is difficult since these vitamins are nasty smelling and tasting and most of them are broken down by digestive processes, so that method is out. They can be given by injection but it would have to be given twice a day but no one would be thrilled about that - especially Levi. Thankfully Dr. Stewart found that transdermal application was effective...... and he was able to make this lotion smell good.
I feel like I am rambling......I have learned so much at the appointment and after researching more I am starting to have a lot of A-HA moments!
For the time being we are going to see how the protocol Dr. Stewart suggested goes.
Levi will be taking: an antiviral to help balance out his immune system again, a prescription vitamin that provide high amounts of folic acid, and the vitamin lotion to provide the needed vitamins and to help his body convert the vitamins to get into the nervous system.

We were warned that the antiviral medication after about 3 days, if he does have issues with a T-Cell and B-Cell balance, would increase his seizures for a couple days since the threshold would be lowered. So far today was a rough day with seizures and it has been 3 days since we started the antiviral. I am hoping after a couple days the seizures stop and they do nothing but improve from there! Oh what a blessing it would be to be able to treat the nasty seizures from the root, with natural sources and temporary use of an antiviral, instead of cutting part of his brain out or taking anti-epileptics for life.

I am including a YouTube video of Dr. Stewart explaining the Methylation process and the neuro-immune stabilizer lotion.

I highly recommend everyone to check into Methylation deficiency issues as SO many are impacted by it and don't know. Here is an article I came across that seems to explain more than I ever could.
Methylation Deficiency - Beyond the MTHFR

If you want to find out if you have any type of methylation deficiency and you are able to travel to Austin then its worth making an appointment with Dr. Kendal Stewart.
NeuroSensory Center

Please pray for Levi and us as we attempt to get to the root of the seizures and fix this.

Thank you!

Levi's Phase 1 Testing

2015-11-08T11:44:00.001-06:00

We know from the past that the shorter your hair can be for the extended EEG the better!

JB went ahead and took care of the hair cut at home.....he did a really good job!

Levi and I checked in on Monday at 8 am to start his EEG stay. The stay was scheduled from Monday to Friday. Depending on the information the doctor gets, how quickly she gets it, and how different each seizure appears depends on how soon he is discharged.

Technically this testing is Phase 1 for tuber resection surgery. We are not considering the surgery option even remotely yet. We are praying and having faith that Levi's seizures can be controlled with medications and he will outgrow them quickly and going on to be without medication one day.

However, having this early information of finding the location of the origination of the seizure helps should medication fail. We learned with Jace that as seizures progress they can go from very focal (one spot in the brain) to generalized (all over the brain) making it hard to find the spot that is the true culprit without more invasive tests. That was one of that main reasons we had to do grid placement on Jace before they removed the suspected tuber.

Ready to check in for the week!

Waiting for the EEG techs to come hook him up he asked to watch TV.....and it was Golf he chose to watch. SO much like his daddy!

Levi was so brave getting the "stickers" on his head. I was worried we would have to papoose him like we had to Jace. He wasn't scared of the air they have to blow for the glue to dry and he laid there nicely for Mr. Luis.

Such a little trooper!

I can not say enough good things about the pedi EMU! Everyone we encountered was so refreshing. I think these people actually like their jobs - talk about making a difference in the care received!

Mr. Luis was great at getting the EEG hooked up for Levi. Those two became buddies over the stay!

Our day nurse was Ms. Claire. She had the cutest English accent and was so good with Levi. He listened to her and she was able to convince him to do everything necessary - even get his IV.

She is a one of a kind nurse for sure!

All hooked up and holding his "Topper"

I was dreading having to occupy Levi in a little hospital room for more than 1 day but come to find out they have the ability to allow EMU patients to play in the huge playroom now!

They have a wireless box for the EEG and a camera in the playroom. We spent a lot of time in there.

That is how Levi and Mr. Luis became such buddies. Ms. Claire would have Levi call Mr. Luis to come hook him up the playroom set up. Levi would kindly ask "Please play in the playroom please?" and Mr. Luis always came right away.

We were able to pass some time visiting with my BFF Diana! She works in the hospital too and stopped by during her breaks. I love seeing her!

She made the stay much more bearable for the both of us. She gave Levi a Spider Man stuffed ball - talk about genius! He loves to play catch and this was big enough to catch with his IV in and soft enough to not hurt anything or anyone. Plus she totally spoiled me with a Starbucks coffee :)

We had a lot of playroom time, visiting with Diana, and snuggling!

The iPad and TV were great for waiting for his food to get to the room or falling asleep at night lol

He is such a mover!

We did FaceTime a few people........Jace and Levi really missed each other and loved being able to see each other and talk.

The first night the dr asked for Levi to be sleep deprived. He had been up early that morning and then didn't nap at all........then they wanted me to try to keep him awake as late as possible (I think they said midnight was their "goal") Despite getting a huge car track mat to play on, Levi could only make it to 10 pm. They said that was pretty good since he was only 3 years old and used to going to sleep around 8.

Toys and Food = Happy Boy

The next day we were given a huge basket from a ministry called "Baskets of Hope"

There were so many toys and goodies in there for Levi and me. What an amazing ministry!

That basket helped keep Levi happy at the hospital and will give him fun for long after the stay.

He wanted to color and he started to write "L's"! I was so excited! He is going to pick up on the writing quickly I am sure!

Back to the play room to work on his basketball and puzzle skills :)

Today again I was told to sleep deprive Levi.

It was pretty difficult to do! He was getting SO sleepy!!

To get Levi's mind off sleeping I got him up and practicing his letters.

I am impressed with is tracing!

Tuesday night we were allowed to go to sleep normally. It still took him a bit to fall asleep but when he did, he was out!

Wednesday we were given the news that we get to be discharged!!! YAY!

First they wanted to give him his new medication via IV. After trying they noticed his IV was kinked. While trying to fix the IV it came out. They managed to start another on his other hand but he was so upset that before they could fully tape the IV down he pulled his hand back and it came out too! UGH! Poor guy was so upset!

Thankfully the doctor said he could take the loading dose orally! No more pokes!

He was so ready to go home! He laid still to get the leads removed by Mr. Luis and we were out of there!

So far, the increase in his Trileptal and the addition of Keppra has control his seizures.

Praying this continues to be the answer!

Fall Fun

2015-10-20T13:38:00.000-05:00

We are so excited about the new addition the to house, a pool and spa!

We have enjoyed it so much already!

There are a few minor details the pool builder is working on but we are able to use it.

Jace isn't as much of an adventurous swimmer as Levi is.

Jace has always been cautious and does things when he chooses to.

Levi on the other hand is very fearless....and he is a fish!

Cooper loves the pool too.

He's such a great dog and only gets in the pool when we tell him he can.

Having Cooper as part of the family has been awesome!

This past weekend I snuck away to finally meet my BFF's little boy, Eli!!

He's so adorable and Diana looks great as a mommy!

I love watching friends of many years become parents.

That smirk!!! :) Isn't he adorable!?!?!

Sunday was the 3rd Annual Pediatric Epilepsy Reunion at the Houston Zoo.

I don't like that both boys are now patients but I am thankful for the care they can receive here in Houston!

Levi with Topper

One of my favorite animals are giraffes!!

We got the chance to feed them!

What a fun experience!

Check out these monkeys we came across at the zoo!

After the zoo we came home and played outside for a bit.

I asked Jace if he wanted to practice riding his bike.

He begged me to not let go of the bike but I KNEW he could ride with my help.

After a few feet I let him go and he kept going!

You could see the pride in his face when he realized he was doing this by himself!

Within the hour he learned how to brake and start up by himself.

Yesterday we celebrated JB's birthday.

This man is such an incredible husband, daddy, leader, and provider.

I look forward to celebrating many many more birthdays with my sweets!

The beginning of fall has been fun so far!

Bow Season and Selfies

2015-10-06T21:32:00.004-05:00

This past weekend was opening day of bow season so we took a trip to Lexington for JB to hunt.

First thing needed was to check the feeder and make sure its not only full but also throwing corn.

Levi was quick to help daddy with this job.

Lexington trips always require a stop at the auction barn for breakfast and walking the catwalk to see all the cows!

Plus, Papa's house is one of the few places you can get away with eating ice cream way past your bedtime :)

Levi has found how to take selfies with our phones.

We never know what to expect when we get our phones back from Levi's possession.

I had 3 sets of bursts and all were filled with some pretty funny pictures!

And I will end this post with a Daddy/Levi selfie LOL

Entering New Seasons

2015-10-04T21:19:00.000-05:00

With the change in seasons from summer to fall comes less sweltering weather!

With the nicer weather comes the ability to really enjoy the outdoors.

Levi has been my little buddy/helper lately. He has been my jogging buddy......

we run to the parks around the neighborhood. It gives me breaks between runs but it doesn't help me increase my endurance for distance in my runs.

And best of all, Levi has been my laundry "helper"

As athletic and fearless Levi has been from the very start, we thought he would pick up the Strider bike quickly. As soon as he was able to walk well I have given him chances to learn to ride it. He always freaked out and didn't want to try to walk more than 2 steps.

Fast forward to earlier this month.....Levi went into the garage and started to test the bike out by himself. He was so proud that he was able to ride it!

We tweaked the seat height and handlebars and he was off! It took a day or two for him to really get confident on it but he was determined. Riding his bike was all he wanted to do!

Fall also brings football season!
We love to go to see Texas play so when we get the chance we jump on it!
We went to the Texas vs. Cal game....
What an exciting yet disappointing game we chose to go to.

We watched the LHN pregame broadcast live. Wish we were able to get to talk to Vince Young but he was quickly carted away to the game right after the show.

After the one point loss thanks to the kicker, Nick Rose......we started to teach the boys how to kick a football! LOL They didn't too bad! They could probably walk on to Texas and the team not be off any worse..... I kid! LOL

As Levi has been a "helper", he has also been a handful!
Popsicles, chewing gum, sitting on the table, and milk are some of his favorite things right now..... along with doing things "by myself"

Levi finds more independence and Jace finds his silly side!

He was lifting his 4 wheeler like a strong man......

then dancing silly while driving the 4 wheeler! LOL
This kid is so fun!

Jace can be silly but he is always sweet!
I love that he thinks I am his superpower! :)

On May 23rd my Mimi passed away. She donated her body to medical research so a celebration of life was scheduled for a time when most people would be able to attend.

The memorial was September 26th and what a celebration it was.

Doves were released, stories were shared, and family was reunited.

I miss my Mimi so very much! Being the mother of 7 children she was the portrait of patience, love, and grace.

Fall pictures came up really quick at school! It was far too warm for Jace to wear true fall clothes so we made due with what we could. Jace is one handsome little boy!

We went to Levi's doctor appointment with the epileptologist on the 29th.

They started him on trileptal and want to schedule a longer EEG. Since the routine EEG didn't catch a seizure they want to be sure to see where and how it begins in his brain.

We do not have that scheduled yet but we have started his medicine. We are increasing the dose over 3 weeks to slowly reach his dose for his body weight.

So far he has not had a seizure since Friday, Oct 2nd. and we pray he continues to be seizure free.

Please continue to pray along with us that we do not have to get on the medication roller coaster and this one medicine remains to be the answer for him.

So Many Firsts...Some Fun, Some Not

2015-09-17T13:52:00.003-05:00

Jace got his first pair of big boy glasses!!

He wore Miraflex glasses from the start. They were great for learning how to properly care for glasses and they stayed on when he did toddler and preschool things.

We let Jace out his new glasses. He chose the yellow and black glasses.

He is so handsome with his new glasses!

The weather has been so off and on with rain lately....not the best with having a pool built in the backyard. We have had to walk to dogs since the back has been so muddy.

The upside is it did bring this gorgeous rainbow out to enjoy one morning!

Levi had a playdate with a friend at Monkey Joe's, his new favorite place to play!

These two always have so much fun together and its so fun to watch :)

The days that aren't rainy, the temperature has been delightful! Perfect for running and enjoying the outdoors. The days I don't have the boys with me I can take Cooper out for a run. He gets just as worn out as I do but we both enjoy it!

As a reward for the boys doing well with their swim lessons, we promised to take them to see Minions at the movie theater. Levi has been to the movies one time before this, but this time he was nonstop. I think this was the last we will take him to the movies for a while. He just doesn't have the attention span for a full movie just yet.

Levi's first day of preschool this year was last week. He is in the younger 3's class with different teachers. He seems to really love the class and the teachers!

Looking handsome for the first day of school!

Our church does a Bible Presentation for 1st Graders.

Jace was so excited to get his first bible! This bible is really neat.

It has scripture along with hands-on things he can do to learn about some bible stories.

We had Jace's annual MRI scheduled.

He was not thrilled about having to go but he did very well. I am going to see about what the dr says but I think we can go from yearly MRIs to every 2-3 years instead.

We had to check in at 5:15am. WHEW that was an early morning!! I had to wake up at 4 to get everything ready and situated to get to the hospital on time!

Jace woke up from the sedation silly and dizzy, but not too upset.

After eating his Popsicle, he decided he wanted Whataburger for lunch.

So we met up with Daddy and enjoyed some lunch together.

Levi had to have his first EEG. We have never seen any type of seizures or odd behaviors...

until this month :(

The first time I thought he was just joking with me because when he was having a seizure he was smiling. When it happened again, JB saw it and we both agreed that it was not normal!

I called Jace's epileptologist and asked to get an EEG and an appointment. The appointment isn't until Sept. 29th but the EEG was yesterday.

A special breakfast for the patient - his choice.....a sprinkle donut!

Levi is a rock star too! After the nurses proved to him that the EEG would not hurt at all, he allowed them to apply the leads. Of course, getting to play with the nurse's phone didn't hurt to distract him either! He was such a trooper!

The nurse and Levi got to have special hats...apparently only the cool kids get one.

Mommy wasn't part of the "in" crowd this time

The EEG tech said what he saw the EEG looked normal......however, I know they can't diagnose.

We were told to keep Levi up late and wake him early before the test so he would be a little sleep deprived. He was for sure sleep deprived!

On the way to the hospital Levi had an episode and lately he only seems to have one a day, but not always daily, that we know of.

I figured that Levi wouldn't have another during the EEG since it was only a 20 minute test.

He didn't.......until the tech had just turned off the machine! He turned the machine back on to catch the end of it. Most of all he saw what the seizure looked like so he could explain to the doctor was it looked like. I hope to have more answers about this after the appointment!

Please say some prayers for sweet Levi!

One Week Down

2015-08-29T20:59:00.003-05:00

The first week of school for Jace went pretty smooth and quick! He jumped right back into routine.

I pray that this year he learns so much and catches on to everything, right along with his peers.

We waited until after school started to get the boys' haircuts done - avoiding the crowds!

I had the chance to take each boy separately. They both did well - not one whine or whimper.

Handsome boy

The best part is the lollipop after 😊

Little brother is just as handsome!

We took a quick trip to Lexington, Friday night, to see Papa.

The boys were so excited that Lincoln and Conley were there too.

The boys got to swing one last time before we took down the swing in front of Papa's apartment. The branch it hung from was starting to get old and worn out. I just knew it'd be a matter of time before it broke. All the boys took a turn swinging and JB took it down.

There are so many memories made by the boys on that swing. We've used it to get Jace to nap when he was a baby, pacify grumpy tots, and hear those sweet squealing giggles.

While the boys were playing outside, I notice Levi disappeared into Papa's house. I go in and find him at the table with the milk, a small spill, a cup, and a guilty face, complete with a milk mustache. He's getting too big for his britches!

Levi has two loveys but his absolute favorite is the Cars lovey. He can tell the difference between the two, even in the pitch black dark. About 2 weeks ago I noticed a little hole in it - no big deal.....right? Well that was until he was playing with it Friday night and it tore even more! I'm praying I can mend it with my sewing machine. I'm going to let Levi pick out the color thread in hopes to make it "fun".

Saturday morning Jace stayed with Papa and Levi rode with us to the deer feeder.

Out on the land Levi got to drive and help daddy fill the feeder.

Cooper had a blast too! He loves the country but gets worn out quickly. He was in heaven swimming in the creek, rolling in the dirt, and running free all over the land!

Before going home the boys loved up on Papa some more.

Levi asked to stay at Papas house and us to "pick him up"

When we got home they were asking to go back to Papas house!

Levi was even throwing a fit about it! :)

Levi is such a character! He will stop what he is doing and just start to dance. Sometimes I wonder what is going on in that mind when he does it. His personality is so much like his daddy's

I love it! So random but so funny!

Once we made it home, I successfully saved Levi's cars lovey!

I really surprised myself with how well I was able to sew it back together.

Levi chose lime green thread.......and it doesn't look bad actually.

Heres to hoping it stays intact for a while!

Flying Full Force into First Grade

2015-08-24T15:10:00.001-05:00

Jace started 1st grade today and was so excited!

He jumped right back into his school morning routine and was eager to get to school.

He even remembered that making his bed was an added part to his routine.

Getting so big!

Levi may be excited to get rid of his brother again but I know he will miss Jace.

We gave Jace the option to let us drive him to school or catch the bus.

He wanted to ride the bus! :(

I thought I would get more time before I was rejected LOL

I can't wait for Jace to get home from school to hear about his first day!

Last Weekend of Summer 2015

2015-08-23T20:30:00.000-05:00

Now that I have finally figured out the uploading videos from a MAC I can get back to blogging :)

I will be going back to fill in the huge gap from my last blog post to this one

Jace is headed to 1st grade tomorrow!

Being the last weekend we had to squeeze in some fun before summer was officially over.

Our first stop was the Children's Museum of Houston

Both boys are finally big enough to navigate all it.

They had SO much fun!

Intrigued

Jace is practicing his power skills

Super Jace

Then Sunday my parents made a date to come get the boys and take them to Monkey Joes!

I haven't seen Jace smile this big in a long time!

Grandma, Pawpaw, and the boys were thoroughly exhausted!

They should all sleep well!

Bright Horizons

2014-02-01T23:25:00.001-06:00

Jace is such a great big brother!

Don't get me wrong....he is a bigger brother, but he is sweet as can be at times with Levi.

The other night he wanted to read a book to Levi before bed.

I am not ready for potty training with Levi yet...mainly because I am still trying to get our new puppy, Cooper. BUT....Levi may have other plans. He has been showing interest in the potty.

Levi came up to me and told me "poo poo" then ran to the bathroom. He wanted to use the toilet.

I went with it. Removed his diaper and put him on the potty.

He never actually went but when I told him to go poo poo he did grunt and push LOL

It is a start and the fact that he started it is great!

Along with an interest in potty training, this little guy is teething pretty bad!!

He has been whiny and clingy.

I know this is a phase and it will pass but goodness it makes the days long.

Jace has been doing great since he has weaned off his medication.

He has been focusing better and I can tell thinks are clicking more for him.

We had Jace's ARD meeting this past week.

His goals were updated to things that most kids his age need assistance learning.

There are a few things that he is behind in but I think he will improve with the continuous support he has been getting. I have said it before and I will say it again, his teachers and speech therapist are phenomenal! Jace has come so far in just a year! It way more than I thought could happen and I am so grateful for what PPCD has done for him.

Along with the new goals, his teachers say that he is ready for kindergarten!!

Jace will be in kindergarten this fall! As scary as this is, its just as exciting.

I imagine for any parent the feeling is the same. We are a little worried about the chance of Jace being bullied but that again is probably a normal fear.

What I do know is that Jace will make friends!

He is so loving and nurturing. He is friendly, kind, and accepting to everyone.

There is a bright horizon ahead and Jace is going to SHINE in kindergarten!

Besides prayers for Jace's new journey into kindergarten, we do need some prayers for his health.

We went to the nephrologist since Dr. Von Allmen mentioned seeing the cysts on his kidneys in the ultrasound. The nephrologist said that we don't need to worry about the two cysts we found. They are 3 mm in size at the moment. That is tiny! But we do need to monitor them yearly. Typically, the cysts grow with time and it is not until someone is much older before they cause issues.

God has had his hand on Jace with seizures so I know HE will handle this.

My specific prayers are that the cysts never grow in size and never cause any issues for him.

God is our healer and HE is in control!

Thank you so much for the prayers. We love our prayer posse!

Bye Bye Banzel

2014-01-16T21:31:00.001-06:00

Prayers are answered all the time....and we have so much proof!

Tonight was the last dose of Jace's medication.

The only thing we have to give to Jace on a regular basis now is a multivitamin!

I am beyond excited for him....for his future.....for everything!

I am even welcoming that feeling of forgetting something I am sure to face for a while.

Our God is an awesome God!!

Thank you for the prayers.....God has been listening to us.

Please persist with the prayers that Jace continues to grow and develop the way that he is and that Levi never has to encounter any of what Jace has had to face.

We love all of Jace's Prayer Posse!

Thank y'all!

The Best Christmas Gift

2013-12-20T15:49:00.001-06:00

Its been a LONG time since I have updated the blog.

Its been pretty quiet and uneventful lately but today is a worthy day for an update!

We went to Jace's epileptologist appointment today. We follow up with her every 6 months.

Last time we saw her, she decreased Jace's Banzel just a tad. She was not too interested in weaning him soon. She even mentioned that Jace may have to be on an anti-epileptic forever just to be safe.

I pray all the time that Jace would be taken off medication completely, one day. I knew that as he grew, he would eventually outgrow his dose and that alone would be proof that he doesn't need anymore.

Today we left his appointment with a titration schedule to get him off Banzel completely!!

Thank you God for answering our prayers! He is so very faithful!!

She said she was only ok with this if we had Diastat on hand for any emergencies. I will gladly accept this "stipulation" to be able to see Jace be medication free! I can't wait to see what else he will pick up when he has the fog lifted that medication can cause.

This is the best Christmas present I could have been given this year!

Along with this great news, we also received some worrisome news.

We did an MRI and renal ultrasound back in August. The MRI came back with no changes from before.

However, they did find cysts on his kidneys. She said it was nothing to be alarmed by but that we should see the pediatric nephrologist to follow up and keep an eye on this.

I will not allow this to scare me and I will cling to Jesus.

I am always being placed back to knowing I must depend on Him!

I will adding to my prayers that these cysts are taken away! God is our healer!

I love that I can put faith in Him.......Jace is not mine. He is God's child!

God has His arms wrapped tightly around Jace!

Christmas is almost here and I we are so excited here at the Bryan household!

Here are some family pictures we took this year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!!!

It's Back to School Time...

2013-08-29T22:02:00.000-05:00

Jace's doctor asked him to be the poster kid for their 1st annual epilepsy reunion.

This year it was held at the zoo right before Halloween.

This was one of the pictures we took for that poster and inviation.

Levi is growing like crazy and learning new things all the time.
He has been working on his fine motor skills but gets frustrated pretty easily.
Its actually pretty funny :)

Along with fine motor skills, he has learned how to go down the stairs!

We took Jace to the movies for the first time. We went to see Planes!
He LOVED it and did so well in the theater.

Asking Daddy for some candy

"WOW!!!"

Levi's hair is starting to get so long and is due for a haircut!

Look at that hair!!

So, we went to the kid haircut place and got his hair cut!

Our 1st haircut keepsake

Jace went back to school. This year he will be attending the afternoon PPCD class.

I hope he loves it this year!

We are so happy that he will have the same teachers as last year.

Frio Family Vacation - Not Here for a Long Time, but Here for a Good Time

2013-07-29T14:16:00.000-05:00

We have had a trip to the Frio river planned for quite a while.

We were SO excited when the time came to go!

We rented a condo with Justin's oldest brother and his family.

It was the perfect set up for all of us and we all had a blast!

Headed to Concan, TX

The condo were not right on the river but there was a pool!

Jace playing in the pool with his cousins.

It was so gorgeous on the hill that the condos were on.

Jace's favorite part was playing with Brooks! He loves his cousins.

Kisses for baby brother!

Hey, hey! You have about 20 more years until you can have some of those!

(the box was empty for anyone worried we let our children play with beer)

Naptime for Levi and Daddy

All 4 of us floated the Frio River. The river did require more walking than one would like but it was not too bad with the two boys with us. We would not have been able to be that leisurely about floating so it worked out well. We got each boy a tube of their own. Even when we got to the areas where you had to walk the boys were light enough to float across the few inches of water. The float lasted about 2 hours total. Both boys did AMAZING too! I can't wait to go back next year!

The next day we went to the swimming hole at Neal's Lodge.

Snack in the car before going to the swimming hole

The boys built a rock castle together.

We went for a walk later on that evening......after a mess snack of course!

And we also went to the dance they had one evening.

The boys were tired but they enjoyed dancing!

It was so sad to leave this gorgeous place but we will be back!

Great memories made and we will be back next year!

Cousins - built in friends for life!

Happy 4th Birthday to our Sweet Jace

2013-07-22T13:50:00.000-05:00

It was 4 years ago today that we were given a little boy that would turn our lives upside down!

He has taught us so much and strengthened our faith more than we could have EVER anticipated.

One of my wishes for Jace is that he keep his sweet compassionate personality! Sweetness like that is rare.

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY JACE WAYNE!

Summertime Catch Up

2013-07-21T14:43:00.000-05:00

Summer Time has been fun.....on top of that montrous birthday party,

we have been to the pool quite a bit!

Jace showing off his cuteness in his Puddle Jumper

Lunch is MUCH better pool side!

Cheese!

When I took the boy's to have their birthday pictures taken I was so excited that Justin wasn't coming along!

I was able to get a few pictures to use for his Father's Day gift.

The boys gave Justin this frame and a card that said it was from his little monsters :)

On June 20th Levi had tubes placed in his ears. Poor guy was miserable with his constant ear infections.

The procedure was quick and easy - just as it was with Jace.

The only down side was the week after his tubes were placed he came down with a nasty sinus infection.....at least it didn't lead to an ear infection too!

We spent the 4th of July in Lexington this year.

We went and watched the fireworks show they put on at the park.

Jace and Levi loved the fireworks!

The boys waiting for the firework show to start

That weekend Jace got his first TBall stand and fishing pole.

Naturally we had to test out both!

Jace caught his first fish with Daddy's help! He LOVED fishing!

Since moving to our new house we have met some incredible neighbors!

God really had his hand in our move and the people he has placed in our lives.

Some of the neighbors took a field trip to the Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham, TX.

We all enjoyed the tour and of course the ice cream....the best part was having my niece be our tour guide!

Not only did we get to have a fun field trip with the neighbors this summer.....we had a block party too!

Tons of pizza, live music, and great friends!

Love these girls!!

Jace's hair was starting to get long and shaggy around his ears so it was time for a haircut.

These are NOT fun since he freaks out about it.

This time I went with him alone while my mom sat with Levi.

He freaks out more about the hair falling on him more than the haircut itself.

He sat in my lap this time instead of in the fun seats (taxi, plane, or firetruck)

It was easier to help hold him still this way and there was less butchering of his sideburns! LOL

Since he allowed the lady yo cut his hair we went for a special treat afterwards - ICE CREAM!

It has taken a while to get Jace to like ice cream again. He loved it when he was little but more recently he would not even try it. Even after we got him to taste it he would still refuse to eat any.

One of our neighbors referred us to this little local ice cream shop (http://www.sweetthingsnmore.com/) and its AMAZING! It was here where Jace finally warmed up to ice cream and actually wants his own cup - the ice cream must have candy on top though! ;)

Now, if we can get him to like birthday cake.......and cupcakes LOL

Justin's company has an anniversary party every summer. We haven't been to one since Jace was born because his birthday party was always planned for the same weekend as the anniversary party.

Since we celebrated the boys' birthday earlier this year, we planned to attend the company party.

Thanks to Justin's sister and brother in law, we were kid free for the whole night. It was my first time to be away from Levi. It was really weird feeling but SO refreshing! We both needed this break and the boys really did have a great time!

They both got to play with the show cattle!

Watch out PBR.....Levi is one tough guy!

A Monstrous Celebration!

2013-06-29T14:25:00.000-05:00

We combined the boys birthdays and had one monstrous party!

As much as I was so ready to be done with the party, I admit I really enjoyed all the crafting I got to do.

The cake toppers, shirts, banner, sugar cookies, party favors, and high chair banner......so fun!

Cake toppers to match the monsters on the boys' shirts!

We had a bounce house and water slide to play and cool off in!

The kids LOVED it!

Pizza time!

Jace blowing out his birthday candles!

Since Jace doesn't like cake I made him a special monster cookie!

Levi got his cake......

and he LOVED it!

Now that was a smash!!

What a mess!! :)

Mommy and Levi

Jace and his BFF, Mykah! They were so excited to see each other!

Happy 1st Birthday to our Bull Dozer

2013-06-10T13:18:00.000-05:00

Happy 1st birthday to our little bulldozer, Levi Wright!

You came dozing into this world a year ago today and with your personality you'll be dozing through life as well!

We love you and we are so blessed to have you in our family!

Levi's birthday cupcake was a hit!

Thats for me?

Gimme that!

YUM!!

What? Did I make a mess?

"I'm ONE!!"

Quick birthday picture with Daddy and Mommy before bed!

There's nothing else better than to celebrate a 1st birthday with a nursing session to nap!

And yes.....as someone once said to me - I AM "one of those" ....I will nurse past a year.

He is still baby and benefits from breast milk and breastfeeding!

Happy Birthday my sweet baby boy! We love you so much!

I miss him being this small but....

It is so much fun watching him learn and grow as he dozes into toddlerhood.

Jace and Levi's Birthday Shoot

2013-06-09T13:08:00.000-05:00

We were so blessed to have family willing to take some pictures of the boys for their birthdays!

Levi was almost too big for his Monster shirt I made for him...

but I squeezed him in it and we captured the pictures!

One eye on Levi's because he will be 1 and four eyes on Jace's because he will be 4!

PEEK A BOO!!

School's Out For Summer

2013-06-06T23:25:00.000-05:00

The last day of school was June 5th. It was a "half day" so Jace got out an hour early.

I am not sure how much he understands that its summer break and he isn't going to school for a few months.

He is all smiles though and that's all that matters!

The last day of PPCD

Daddy took Jace to his 23 hour EEG on April 19th.

The past 2 times he has taken him since Levi is still pretty young and I am still breastfeeding.

Both times he as done great! He happily stays on his bed (though he doesnt HAVE to), plays, watches TV, eats and sleeps. According to JB, Jace only gets off the bed to go potty.

Eating lunch and cheesing for the camera!

Happy boy getting his "stickers" removed to come home!

While they were at the EEG, I was home with Levi. We dogsat my friend's lab, Koda.

I forgot how big labs were! He was so sweet and Levi was very curious about him.

Oh.....whats that thing that moves all the time? Let me have it!

Levi discovered a new skill that weekend as well - opening drawers AND taking stuff out of them!

I remember this stage with Jace all too well. Wonder if it'll last as long as it did with Jace.

Now, almost 2 months later, he has found the cabinet doors and is constantly digging in the cabinets when we let him. I desperately need to baby proof the cabinet!

On April 21st, JB and I went in front of our church and dedicated Levi. We made the commitment to raise him in a Christian home and instill the values that come along with that.

My 3 boys!

After church that day we had some family and friends over.

We had pizza and enjoyed everyone's company.

Levi checking out his cousin Ady

Being outside on our porch and letting the boys play is one of our favorite things to do.

Levi likes to climb, naturally, the slide...

...and Jace likes to lounge in his chair when he isn't jumping on his trampoline.

His feet are propped up and all

Levi also found the world of ride on toys!

Riding the loud annoying lion at Papa's house

We go to Lexington fairly often and I love when Jace gets to see his little friends his age!

This particular weekend he got to see Keely! And I got to see Misty!

Jace loves him some Keely!

Levi has started to cruise....and he does it well!

He likes to go from window to window to mess with the blinds.

Once again, as it was with Jace, all of our blinds are drawn up out of Levi's reach.

It looks silly but I prefer to not have to replace blinds because of his curious hands!

I love to watch this boy experience new things and enjoy the little things.

Who knew lights could produce such joy!

May started off BUSY!!

On the 3rd, Jace had his first field day at school!

PPCD had their own little field day separate from the other grade levels but it was just as fun for them!

There were tricycles, shaving cream, bubbles, a small trampoline, and soft building blocks.

Jace riding the tricycle

They finished the field day off with some Italian ice! YUM!

Cherry Italian Ice deliciousness!

Jace and his amazing teachers!

The next day was the Step Forward to Cure TSC Walk!

Jace's Prayer Posse raised $1050 - $50 over our team goal!

Thank you thank you thank!!

Brayden and Jace enjoying juice after the walk

Wearing Jace's old shirt from our first walk

Our team that walked this year!

JB, Brayden, Jace, Levi, Me and Sheri

Every year the Houston Fire Dept brings a truck to the walk.

This year Jace went into the truck and checked out all the tools in storage as well.

After the walk we had a our first block party on our street.

There have finally been enough people to move in to have a party.

It was a great turn out!

Some stayed well into the night enjoying the company of great neighbors

Teacher Appreciation day is May 7th. It is celebrated all week but "the day" is the 7th.

I decided to do a gift for the 7th rather than something all week.

I put together these little kits for the teachers.

They have measuring spoons, a spatula, and a package of cookie mix all put into a measuring cup.

Add cute ribbon and a card that reads "You've measured up to make me a smart cookie" and its a cute gift!

I have started to plan the boys' birthday party!

I designed the monsters for their shirts and finally finished them!

I decided to not put their age in numbers on the shirts.

Instead, I put the corresponding number of eyes and party hats on the monster.

I have to say I think they turned out adorable!

Levi's Monster

Jace helping me sew his shirt

Jace's Monster

Since Jace is not a cake fan I wanted to make sure he had some goodies of his own.

Custom cookies are EXPENSIVE! Thankfully Sheri was able to teach me how to decorate sugar cookies.

Here is my very first test run - and thanks to her incredible teaching skills I succeeded!

Delicious sugar cookies waiting to be decked out

Flooding fun

Quick monster faces
The white icing was too runny but I will know better for the party!

Custom cakes are also pretty crazy priced so I am doing the cake topper option.

This gives me the ability to just get a plain cake with a bright border - nothing fancy, no writing for them to "cake wreck", and no intricate details on a cake that will be consumed in 30 minutes!

These cake toppers can be kept as keepsakes and were fun to put together!

Its hard to tell in this picture but the numbers are glittery and the eyes are googly eyes.

I had to use actual fabric for the party hats and feet since I could not find matching paper anywhere.

I love the dimension these have with the different textures.

While I was practicing making cookies I whipped up a batch for Jace's teachers.

It was early but I sent them for an End of the Year treat!

I am improving my royal icing writing skills!

Levi is almost one! My last baby is almost no longer a BABY! *tear*

It goes so much faster with the 2nd child. I can only imagine that it probably goes faster with each child.

Levi - 11 months old - May 10th

Loves to take pictures with bubba!

I am trying to savor this baby stage! I am going to miss the simplicity of it!

I do enjoy watching him explore, learn, create relationships with Jace and Daddy - he needs to slow it down.

I was very close to thinking about trying to wean him from breastfeeding soon. To be honest, it was a selfish reason, to lose weight faster once he is done nursing. But after our decision to make him our last baby, I just knew I couldn't force it yet. Yes I want my body back, yes I am annoyed at times with nursing, but I KNOW I will regret weaning him before I am 100% sure we are both done with it.

So, bring on the extended breastfeeding! I nursed Jace until he was 14 months. Levi may or may not go past that. We will be making the decision on the go :)

We have been gearing up for the summer. Getting sprinklers for the backyard, buying floaties for the pool, and pulling out the sunscreen. We will hopefully be at the pool quite a bit this summer!

One of the many perks to the new neighborhood and gym we go to.

Jace playing in the sprinklers

Levi loving on his teddy bear! :)

Jace made me a card at school for Mother's Day.

These are so sweet and I LOVE to see his artwork on them!

Mother's Day we went to church then came home and relaxed most of the day.

JB bbq'd some ribs, baked potates and made boiled squash.

It was a delicious meal and we didn't have to fight any crowds!

My sweet boys on Mother's Day

Levi found the volume dial in the car. He would jump everytime he turned the music up loud!

It was pretty funny!

Crank it up!!

How sweet is this little cloth diapered tushy?

Remember earlier when I mentioned Levi climbing up the slide?

Well he has finally figured out how to get down. This was his first attempt and he has fallen from there a few times. As of now, he has learned to turn around and slide backwards on his belly down the slide.

We never taught him to do that either - he just did it! Smart little guy!

What goes up, must come down

JB and Jace were playing with the football in the backyard. JB taught Jace to spike the football then do a touchdown dance! It was too cute!

And a video of his football skills

Levi had his first taste of the famous Snow's BBQ in Lexington.

While he was there he tested out a raw onion as well.

I think he liked it....he ate 2 pieces.

Jumping in the rain puddles at Papa's

Nap on Mama during the crawfish boil.
Sweet sweet moments!

Jace's class had a "Celebration of Learning"

They sang 2 songs, introduced each child and then we watched a sweet slide show the teachers made.

They get a little distracted during the songs but it was so fun to watch.

The boy on the left side of Jace is his best friend at school!

They ride the bus together and he ALWAYS talks about him.

If you watch you can see Jace signed the color Red when the teacher said his favorite color was red.

Then he got shy after that :)

Ms. Liz, Mrs. Bravo, and Ms. Amy
These 3, along with his speech therapist, have done SO much for him since February!

Jace's Favorite's card

We bought Jace's yearbook from school.

His teachers signed the inside and all!

Jace's first yearbook picture

Jace and Levi have become closer and closer. I love to watch their relationship develop and strengthen!

Levi always wants to do what Jace is doing and Jace is always worried about Levi or trying to help him (or hold him recently). Levi has even begun to pester Jace like any good little brother should do.

I just see it as the start of returning the favor since Jace likes to just take over what Levi is doing, even if it is a baby toy or activity.

Golf lessons for Levi

Always hugging and kissing his baby brother!

Here are the boys being brothers at its best!

Levi knocks down his towers and Jace eventually pushes him over.

All I can do is sit back and laugh at this.

Thankfully there have not been many times I have had to step in...YET!

And this is an example of monkey see, monkey do!

Levi's crawl has evolved from the classic crawl to this bear crawl.

I can only assume its preparing him to walk? I get why he does it outside.....the concrete hurts his knees.

He does it inside sometimes too. Hes quick like this so maybe that's his reason.

Who needs knees to crawl?

The small horse made for his size is just not good enough. He has seen every child that has come in this house get on the bull and by golly HE wants on it too!!

If I don't help him up on the bull he will stand on the side step like this, holding the reigns and rock like hes riding it.

We did a little shoot for the boys' birthdays.

I haven't gotten the pictures yet but I snapped this while we were out there!

That Levi is something else!

Sitting on the couch like a big boy!

I LOVE that they love each other!

Jace has been asking lately to hold Levi! LOL

This day he just went over to him and picked him up into his lap himself. Levi wasn't really amused by this! Especially after the 2nd time!

This past weekend Jace started with a fever, sore throat, cough, congestion......the CRUD.

He wasn't completely miserable but then again he is a little trooper.

He shared his germs and the crud hit me! YUCK!

Fevers are no fun and seem to affect you worse when you are older.

The worst part of this lasted about 2 days for Jace and me. Unfortunately it decided to hit us right before a weekend. We had already planned a slow weekend but with this we didn't get out much at all. Fast forward to 2 days ago and Levi started with fever. The difference with Jace and Levi at this age and being sick.....Jace was pretty easy to comfort and get to sleep - even if it was on me.

Levi was up nearly all night long tossing and turning, moaning and whining....whether he was on my chest, in my arms, or in his bed. I hadn't had that bad of sleep in a LONG time!! I got about 2 hours of sleep total all night - but those 2 hours were broken. I tried my hardest to sleep holding him in the rocking chair but he would not rest for longer than 20-45 minutes. Poor baby was miserable!!

We had an appointment for the ENT, who is difficult to get into, the next day.

I picked Jace up from his last day of school and we went to the ENT appointment.

The ENT suggested we get Levi tube and said he would even do them the next day but since he is so sick and running a fever that we need to wait. His ears were not infected but he was places on an antibiotic to prevent an infection until we get his tubes places. The procedure is scheduled for June 20th and at this time he will be the first patient since he is the youngest.

We got home and laid low. Levi was so miserable!

This picture sums up how he was about 90% of the day and night before.

Thank God for Ibuprofen and Tylenol......alternating them was the only way I could get his fever to break.

After all of us being sick and stuck inthe house, Levi started to get cabin fever.

So, I took them for a run and we stopped at the park.

It doesn't look like it but Levi was happy to be out!

We are still on the mend, yes...all of us still have congestion crud, but its improving.

Levi is up crying now.....so I better end this here!

Next update will be Levi's 1st birthday!!! YIKES!!! :(

Spring has Sprung

2013-04-15T21:40:00.001-05:00

Since my last update Spring has Sprung!

And the weather......is confused!!!

Thanks to all that confusion we have two little boys at the moment that have nasty ear infections.

It is SO nice that Jace can localized and verbalize pain. The past 2 weeks we were battling yet ANOTHER cold (thank you confusing weather) which he shared with Levi. You know siblings share their cesspools!

Last Thursday, after a busy morning of playing after school, I put Jace down for a nap and he was not falling asleep easily. I went to check on him and he told me "My ear hurts" I asked if he wanted medicine and he told me yes. Then I asked if he wanted to go to the doctor so she can make his ear better and he told me yes again!

Hmmmm....he has only told me his ear hurts once before and it was a sinus infection turning into an ear infections. So I believed him. And the fact that he wanted medicine AND go to the doctor was huge!

So, I cancelled the play date we had scheduled for that afternoon and we went to the doctor.

Since Levi has been screaming, fighting naps and bedtime, AND waking up a lot at night I figured we would get his ears looked at as well. I thought it was more teeth since he was still sleeping somewhat ok at night.

Jace had an ear infection in one ear and Levi had a double ear infection! BOO!

That makes ear infection #4 for Levi and the doctor mentioned considering the ENT next time. I was really hoping that we would avoid tubes for Levi but genetics will be genetics!

The boys are on antibiotics and I think its time to Lysol down this house!

Levi has started to climb ANYTHING and everything he can!

His first feat was Jace's chair.......and he LOVED it! Thought he was so big!

He actually climb up the steps on this little slide outside.

I have found his sneaky butt climbing our stairs too!

When I ask "what are you doing?" he smiles at me and goes faster! LOL

Little toot!

Jace and Daddy are Levi's favorite people lately.

He gets so excited to go get Jace from the bus stop when school is out.

And when JB gets home from work he high tails it over to see him!

It is so fun to see how much his little personality and preferences are appearing.

He is learning to make noises also. With anything he can hold and bang together or shake.
He appreciates music and dances to it or at times tries to sing along (in his own language and tune)

Ok, I hit them together like this?

Easter was a lot of fun this year. Jace was really excited about going on an "Egg Shoot"!

That is what Jace calls egg hunts.....everyone knows you shoot when you hunt!

All lined up ready to hunt eggs!!

Ok - Lets go get them!!

Time to check out the loot!

Levi enjoyed playing with a friend his age......

and tried to give him kisses! LOL

Our little dozer isn't the gentlest with kisses.

We went to church service on Saturday so we could take it easy on Easter morning.

Jace's Easter basket and Levi's 1st Easter basket

Trying to open his puffs

Lets see what you got Bubba!

Time to hunt some eggs that the Easter bunny left!

Oh!! This one had money in it!!!!

Before Easter we had a little photo shoot of the boys done.

We have not been as avid about getting Levi's pictures done as we did for Jace.

Our handsome little gentleman

The boys got to hold/touch the little ducklings.

Not quite sure how they survived after Levi's death grips but they did.

With this picture of Levi I can complete this handprint/footprint frame.

We did the same kind for Jace when he was 9 months old!

The day before Easter, JB and I ran our first 5k.

It was the Color Me Rad 5k that benefits the Special Olympics of America.

We have been training for the 5k for a while since neither one of us were runners in the past.

I have to say that the run was much easier to do than it was on a treadmill or out with a stroller that had 50+lbs extra to push.

Our team Dyed Trying before the run - nice and clean!

And after - colorful!

He looks good in pink! :)

Jace loved the sunglasses from Color Me Rad

The boys have taken their first bath together. Levi was too interested in crawling and climbing in the bathtub that I was too worried about putting both boys together. Now that the climbing has become less glamorous to Levi, we let them bathe together.

I see a future full of many baths together for these two!

We took a mini vacation to San Antonio. It was a FULL weekend but fun.

We went to the Hemisfair Park, Zoo, and the Alamo.

Checking out the waterfall by the Riverwalk

Jumping into Daddy's arms

Levi VERY tired at the zoo but was a trooper!

Headed to dinner after the zoo!

Riding with Papa.

Levi fell asleep at the hotel and slept the whole walk to dinner and through some of dinner.

Our family at the Alamo.

The boys' first Alamo visit

Cheesing on the Riverwalk!

Today we had the playdate planned last Thursday.

I bought a sprinkler and the weather was perfect!

This Friday, Jace has another 23 hour EEG. We are praying after this one comes back clear that we can start weaning him from his medication. Oh how glorious would it be for Jace to be fully medication free! I have faith and know he will be!

He's made such great progress and strides since starting school. At the rate he is gaining on his language I have to give all the credit to his school! Its exciting to hear him even just SAY full sentences when tell him to say something. But we are even more pleased to hear him say sentences that he thinks about.

His cognitive functions have improved. The other day at the doctor's office we were looking at the fish tank and we had the following exchange:

Jace: I want Jace to get in fish tank

Me: You want to get into to the fish tank?

Jace: Yeah.

Me: You can't get in there silly

Jace: No, I'm not a fish!!!! I'm a big boy!

Me: Thats right you are!

Doesn't sound like a lot but its huge that he was the one that figured out that logic on his own.

And his imagination - its blooming more everyday.

We have Buzz, Super Jace, and monsters visit often!

On the Levi front, he is starting to stand without holding on to anything. Even sits down from standing smoothly and doesn't seem to "fall" down. I can see it on his face at time that he wants to walk - he just hasn't tried it yet. Oh but I know its almost here. I am not ready for that yet! :(

Slow down Levi, you are my baby......stop growing so fast!

I leave you with Levi's most recent monthly picture:

Happy boy!!

Keeping up with Levi

2013-03-12T21:42:00.001-05:00

I really mean catching up with Levi but I do literally have to keep up with him.

This boy is into anything and everything!

I love to watch the curiosity in his eyes and see him figure things out.

He is now 9 months old.....crawling.....pulling up....cruising.....and almost climbing.

He sees Jace do something and he thinks he can as well.

It's just as fun watching him as it is exhausting.

He babbles Mama, Bubba, and Dada (in that order)....along with other babbling. I can't say 100% for sure that he has said any other the words with meaning yet....but I he is getting there. I really have a feeling Bubba will be the first really meaningful word for him.

I decided to do more of the "baby led weaning' (baby led solids) with Levi. He prefers it and looks at me crazy when I do spoon feed him. Chewing and knowing what to spit out (because he can handle it) is a skill he has mastered very well! It amazes me what this boy can eat and handle on his own.

I can give him an apple or a plum with the peel on......he will chew it and spit out the peel!

He loves steak and chicken - spices and all!

It also appears that we may have cleared the dairy sensitivity. I slowly added back in dairy products and he seems to not be affected the way he was in the past (mucous and blood in his incredibly stinky stools).

We had his 3rd tooth cut through last week and the 4th is RIGHT at the edge and will be in soon!

His amber necklace is working.....it seems like he only needs Tylenol or ibuprofen when the tooth is actually cutting through. It hasn't seemed to affect his sleeping other than the process of falling asleep which takes longer.

Levi moved into his own room shortly after turning 6 months. He seemed to wake a lot with us in the room. It seemed like every time one of use moved or turned he woke up. I was getting no sleep even with nursing him back to sleep. He got to the point where he would nurse but then wanted his own space to roll around and get comfortable. So we moved him upstairs to his room! :)

I thought the sleepless nights might go on forever since I was not doing any type of sleep training but I was proven wrong. Don't get me wrong - we went through a few months of him waking up sometimes 5 times at night. Then one night he slept....for 5 hours straight. That continued. Then he went 7 hours straight. That was off and on but still had 5 hours straight. He has even done 10 hours straight a couples times. Now he typically only wakes *knock on wood* twice a night - IF that!! He likes his sleep!

Not having to wake him for daycare at 5 am like I did Jace is nice. No having to set his internal alarm clock to crazy hours is GREAT.....no, its a BLESSING!

We have given Levi the nickname "Bull Dozer"

He will doze anyone and everyone over. If you are on the ground with him, he will doze you!

It started with his little cousin who is a few weeks older than him. It seemed like every time she was around he wanted to just plow right over her. She is a sweet, docile, content to just sit and watch the action kind of girl....and Levi, well he is the opposite! From there we noticed he does it to Jace and anyone that is laying on the ground. I have a feeling our dozer may becomes a biter too. He's very quick to coming at you open mouthed - especially when he is frustrated.

I will be keeping that in check before he gets himself into that habit.

Watch this boy GROW!!

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

Time to baby-proof!!

First swing experience! He loved it!

See the "dozer" in action!

Levi hated the grass until this day!

He still will only really just sit there but he doesn't' cry about it anymore!

Gosh he is so stinkin' cute!!!

Need. More. Coffee.

I feel ya buddy!!

Jace and Levi driving to the Auction Barn to eat breakfast.

Jace was 5 days shy of 9 months and Levi was 2 days shy of 9 months.

School is TOO Cool!!

2013-02-20T21:14:00.003-06:00

Jace's first day as an Explorer was successful!

He is so used to sleeping until about 7:30 every morning that I felt so bad having to wake him up.

I went into his room to wake him up and found him like this.

I think he was cold and his PJ's weren't quite warm enough because at breakfast he was saying he was cold and needed a jacket. This constant weather change makes it difficult to figure out if we will need the A/C or the heater. So I switched on the heater...poor guy was chilly!

About to eat some Frosted Flakes before school!

I was stressing about leaving on time....not too early but not too late. I didn't want to get there too early since we were going to have to wait for the class to walk by on their way to the classroom to join them. And I didn't want to get there too late since Justin and I had to sign in so we can go with him to his class.

This morning Jace decided to take his time with everything! Getting down the stairs, eating, taking his medicine, putting on his shoes, getting in his car seat.........EVERYTHING!

I kept my cool.......I got Levi and Jace buckled up and we were off.

Justin calls me and tells me to not take the usual way because then I would be in line FOREVER behind all the parents dropping off students. So I took the other route. Come to find out I was not allowed to make a left turn into the parking lot where I needed to go. I had to make a u-turn and still ended up in line. It just wasn't as far back as I would have been. Lesson learned - get there early or just wait in line (it moves quickly)!

Jace in front of the school

(he was mesmerized by all the cars and kids getting out of them)

We checked in and wait for his class to come walking down the hallway.

Once they class was coming down the teacher asked Jace to grab a ring in the line. He jumped right in! No hesitation, no whining, no shyness!

We went to the classroom with him and all the kids knew what to do to unpack and get ready for the day.

Once in the classroom, Jace paid no attention to us. He was following his teacher and listening to what she asked him to do. Justin and I seemed to be a bit of a distraction for the other kids so we slipped out and left.

I still needed a few more items for Jace like ice packs and cups to take for his snacks at school.

Levi and I headed off to Target to shop!

Once we got home I had some laundry to catch up on.....and I had the CUTEST helper!

"Mom, are you sure this isn't supposed to be hung dry?"

Shortly after that it was time to get Jace. He came out the school with a huge smile on his face.

HE LOVES IT!

This makes my heart so happy!

Today I got a note from the teacher about yesterday. Mrs. Bravo really is a sweet lady!

After meeting her in the ARD I knew Jace would enjoy her!

Even after day 2, he is SO excited about going to school tomorrow!

And....for some cuteness.....look at my 3 loves!!

My heart.....mush!

Jace the Explorer

2013-02-17T21:10:00.000-06:00

Jace LOVES when his daddy plays upstairs in the play room.

A few weeks ago he started to get upset when he leaves the room to go downstairs.

Its still amazes me how much Jace changes every week. His language seems to expand and mature a little each week. Little at a time but enough to see a difference!

Despite the quick learning, he is still behind enough for strangers to notice the delay after being around him for a little while.

I started the process of having him evaluated for speech through the school district before we made the big move. Since we never had formal testing and assessments done with Waller ISD, we just started over with Katy ISD. I am SO thankful for the resources available for children that are not school age yet.

Private therapy is VERY expensive and we went that route when he was in daycare and I was working. It made sense. They came to the daycare to work with him and contacted me as needed about his progress. Now that I am at home with both boys, going to private therapy is just expensive and burdening with a baby. Also, I wanted to be sure he was evaluated for other possible issues that may not be speech related. At this point I was clueless on what is normal 3 year old behavior and what is due to his speech delay.

As soon as we settled in the house, I called the PPCD (Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities) offices to figure out how to get started. Since it was over Christmas break it took a bit to get him in for testing. We finally got in for testing in late January! They evaluated him through play and a few formal testing procedures. After the assessment the "team" came back in and told us what they found. They said that his language is delayed in receptive and expressive, his articulation needs some work, and his cognitive function is delayed. I felt very worried and concerned that but after researching and speaking with another diagnostician I learned that cognitive function is difficult to really evaluate at his age. Also, the test administered uses a lot of language skills.

Jace's first ARD (Admissions, Review, and Dismissal) meeting was this past Friday. We met with the school diagnostician, principal, speech therapist (Ms. Monson), and the PPCD teacher (Ms. Bravo).

The ARD is basically for all of us to get together and agree to what Jace will need for services. The suggestion was that he attend the PPCD program Monday - Friday. Since he still naps in the afternoon he will attend the morning session, 8:20-11:20 am. He will ride the bus to and from school. At the moment he is VERY excited about this! He LOVES school buses. I hope the excitement continues once he realizes mom won't be on the bus with him. After the meeting we enrolled Jace into the school and he starts school on TUESDAY February 19th!

I have a full list of supplies he needs but I did get his backpack already since I knew he needed that!

Jace is now officially a Wolman Explorer

All ready for school!!

Oh yes....and those glasses! :) They are new!

At the end of the year he started to cross his eyes. I thought MAYBE it was on purpose (see below video) but after a few weeks it progressively worsened. He had his final post 6 month check up with the ophthalmology required for his old medicine. I mentioned the eye crossing and he said to keep and eye on it (no pun intended). It got worse quick so we went back to him. He is farsighted and the best way to fix this is with glasses first.

We ordered his glasses and he's given us hardly any issues with wearing them.

His ophthalmologist suggested Miraflex glasses. They are very flexible and near indestructible!

These are perfect starter glasses - so he can learn how to properly care and handle them.

They sure do look cute on him!

Jace's imagination has been blooming! I LOVE IT!!

He has started digging for treasure chests that are locked. But he has the key....and in the chest there is gold, necklaces, rings, and pirate goodies!! :)

Then sudedenly last week he came up to me with the kitchen towel asking to put it on to be Super Jace! This came out of nowhere! We never play super heroes or watch any on TV. So, I got something better for a cape (a blanket), put it on him, and he yelled "I'm SUPER JACE!!!"

And just for fun, some random recent pictures

Wrestling already!

Jace being "Santa" in the bath

and a video of JB and Jace boxing!