Last Day of School...Finally!!!

A much anticipated day after a VERY looooonnnnngggg year!

Moving on to K!

Moving on to 2nd!

Moving on to 4th!

Dance Recital 2014

We ended our school year with an overload of dance!

 

First up was the final Parents' Week of the year...and we caught a few smiles from the sassy one!

 

And then we had the big recital! 

My girls!

The ballerina

"Let It Go"

 

 

The gymnyst

Theme from "Cats"

Tater also received her 5-Year Trophy this year!  So proud!

A little jazz!

"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"

And the tap dancer

"Sweet Pea"

 

And that was the end of a busy year!  Next year we are on to 2 ballett classes, 2 tap classes, one jazz class, and one acro class...and I'm tired before we start!

Neutro...what?

 

So, in my Mother's Day post, I shared about Bubba and his newest challenge.  We were looking at a diagnosis of neutropenia...a rare blood disorder affecting the white blood cells that fight bacterial infections.  We knew very little and hoped for more answers as we met with the hematologist.  It was a very nerve-wracking wait, not knowing more than what we researched on the internet...and we all know how reassuring Google can be...ha!

So we met with the hematologist and had blood work done.  It was a very draining day.  Pediatric hematology is group with oncology...and it was a very humbling and heartbreaking experience to sit in that waiting room.  I hugged my children just a bit longer and a bit tighter that night.

The first words out of the hematologists mouth was "He doesn't have cancer."  That was our first sigh of relief.  Then he went on to explain that neutropenia has many types and variations, as well as many known and unknown causes...so clear cut, right?He basically told us that we were looking at a series of blood work and counts over 4-6 weeks to determine what exactly was going on with Bubba.  It wasn't going to be a quick answer or a quick fix.  And any time he got a fever, we were to call and be sent to the ER for blood cultures and IV antibiotics, typically followed by more antibiotic injections or hospital admissions.  It was going to be a long stressful month as we waited for results and answers. 

So for the record, here are his numbers as we traveled this unknown adventure:
week 1- 200
week 2- 100
week 3- 960 (in ER with double ear infection)
              0 (2 days later at re-check at hematology)
*Yes, folks, 0...my friend asked if he was even human :)*
week 4- 600
week 5- 200
week 6- 600 (in ER with Hand, Foot, and Mouth virus)
week 7- 700

At this point we were given a one month break until our next appointment since he seemed to be on a upward pattern.  Now we still had to call with a fever but no need to rush to the ER.  And we had finally gotten a big test result back that had been a challenge to get.  Seems there are these antibodies that certain people make that attach themselves to the neutrophils and kill them off.  The doctor was quick to reassure me that it's not as bad as it seems...yeah, right!  So Bubba tested positive for the antibodies, meaning that 96% of his neutrophils (at the time of the test) had antibodies attached to them that would kill them off...96%!!!!  The good news is that this ruled out some scarier types of the neutropenia...the bad news is that he is now "almost certainly" diagnosed with auto-immune neutropenia.  The good news is he will most likely out-grow it by age 5...the bad news is that he has the potential to get very sick very quickly at any given time. 

At this point, he has been doing well.  He had one cold and one fever since the last hematology visit and we just checked in with the doctor.  He seemed to recover just fine.  He is working hard at being an almost-toddler...climbing, biting, laughing when we tell him "no"...yeah, good times at the House of Sprout!  We go for his next appointment on Monday and I'm curious to see what his numbers are but completely nervous to have him stuck again - they blew one of his veins at his last blood draw and made Mommy almost cry (and with all our kids have gone through, that's hard to do!).  So please keep us in your prayers and we'll promise to update...really, I promise!!!

Mother's Day (2 months late...I know, I know...)

Mother's Day was a tough one this year.  We are struggling accept my own mother's health issues and limited time with us while living such a distance from family.  No matter how old you are...it is just rotten to know your mom won't always be there for you :(

 

And two days before Mother's Day we had taken Bubba for allergy testing to diagnosis what we were sure was a milk allergy.  But then the skin testing was negative.  And we decided to do the blood work to get a more accurate answer.  And on  a whim the doctor threw in a few additional tests on his blood to check his immunity...and that's when our world was turned upside down.

 

Within hours, I was getting frantic calls from the allergist.  Bubba's white blood cell count was off.  (Here's your brief introduction to hematology...we have three types of white blood cells - one type fights viral infections, one I can't remember :), and one fights bacterial infections.)  The last one - neutrophils - is what was off in Bubba.  Normal neutrophil count is 1500 and above.  His was 200.  Yes, 200.  He was in a state of acute neutropenia.  He was at an extreme risk for severe, life-threatening infections.  We were scheduled to repeat his blood work and meet with a pediatric hematologist in a week...as in they "fit us in".  It was a scary thing...any sign of a fever and we were immediately to be heading to the ER. 

 

So...yeah.  That was the mood of my Mother's Day.

 

My solution?  Let's go to the beach!  It wasn't warm enough to go in the water so we didn't wear suits...but it was a perfect therapy session for our minds and our souls!  It didn't hurt that we ended it with ice cream (no pictures - but Bruiser did ask if I wanted to take a picture before they started eating...guess they are trained!)

 

(I tried!)

What?  I'm sick?  Really?

My loves...all of them!

 

And then after ice cream, came outside playing, relaxing, and just being.

Summer Movies - "How to Train Your Dragon 2"

In a house with four children, we are always looking for a movie that appeals to both boys and girls :).  The original How to Train Your Dragon did not disappoint and we are looking forward to starting our summer out with the sequel!

 

Looking for an action-packed weekend of fun for the whole family? Head to your local IMAX® Theater for the premiere of How to Train Your Dragon 2!

 

 

 

 

Starting this Friday, June 13th, the second chapter of DreamWorks Animation's beloved How to Train Your Dragon franchise is soaring to all IMAX theatres domestically in select engagements. The IMAX 3D release will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience®, creating a unique environment that will make audiences feel as though they are flying alongside heroic Viking Hiccup and his faithful dragon, Toothless.

 

Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, T.J. Miller, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Kristen Wiig reprise their respective voice roles, joined this time by Academy Award® winner Cate Blanchett, Djimon Honsou and Kit Harington.

 

For more information about How to Train Your Dragon 2, please visit DreamWorks Animation's official website.

 

For IMAX Theater locations and local showtimes click here! 

 

Please note that all information for this post was provided by IMAX. 

All opinions are my own!

 

 

The Low-Down on Bubba!

Bubba turned the BIG 1 this month...and Mommy's heart broke just a little bit :(

 

He is the joy of our life...gives the best snuggles, smiles, and almost kisses.  We hate to leave him the morning and hurry home to him the afternoon...all of us, including his siblings...really, they love him just so much!  He is easy to tote along and makes the world smile when he flirts with whoever he sees.  We are loving watching his personality appear :)

 

Proof he cries once in a while :)

And again :)

 

Bubba's One-Year-Old Stats:

Weight - 17lb 13 oz (4.5%ile)

Height - 29in (14.42%ile)

 

He's tiny but determined!  We started with EI when he was about 10 months, expressing concerns with his slow/low weight gain and lack of interest in moving.  He gets PT twice a month and Nutrition twice a month...and they come to the house, which means one less place for Mommy to run!  We are loving that his EI coordinator and PT are the same that Sassy had and know our family so well :).  Right before his first birthday, he decided he would give crawling a try...and now he can't be stopped!  He is always on the move and loving his freedom and chance to follow the big ones!

 

His weight is increasing, slowly but surely!  We switched him to formula at about 10 months due to his possible milk allergy and have adjusted the "recipe" so he gets more calories than a normal bottle.  He LOVES his bottle and LOVES to eat.  We do some purees just to make life easy when we are out and about but he mostly eats what we eat!  He loves Five Guys burgers, chicken from the grill, pulled pork sandwiches, and lots of fruit and veggies!  It's hard to believe he's not gaining with the amount of food he eats!

Morning snuggles!

Who needs toys???

 

Bubba was a good sleeper :( 

He naps twice a day and usually goes down for the night about 8:30, after a bottle.  He sleeps soundly till about 7:30 in the morning.  We've learned he cannot "play toys" after that last bottle...or he won't sleep!  He has slept in our bedroom since he was born and just made the move to the guest room...a slow transition to his own bed in his own room with big brother, Bruiser!  I'm missing his "toning" that he uses to put himself back to sleep through the night :)

Sassy decided to dress him up as a princess...poor younger brother!

 

And that's our little guy who's trying to be big!

When We Became "That Family"

You know...that family...the one with epipens and the need to announce allergies as you sit down to dinner or arrive at a birthday party?  Yes, that is us...sadly...

Let's back up a bit...

In September, Daddy was driving with Tater and told her that she had an allergist appointment later that week for an asthma check-up.  She then proceeded to tell him how she ate a "nut" at Mimi and Papa's this past summer and it made her throat feel funny.  She said Mimi told her to drink some water and it went away.  Well, a funny throat and a nut isn't something you can ignore so Daddy shared this with the allergist.  Sure enough...she is extremely allergic to cashews and we now avoid all tree nuts to be on the safe side.  We earned our epipens and emergency procedure directions.  Tater now has a special bag to carry with her, just in case, and sits at the nut-free table at school for lunch.  We know which ice cream places are safe and try to avoid bakeries in general. 

It's a total life-change but we thought it was something we could handle...until...

 

...this is how Bubba's cheeks began to look.  At first it was a mystery.  Teething?  Sensitive skin?  Then we remembered that we had just started feeding him yogurt and introduced a milk-based formula to boost his weight.  Oh, yeah...milk allergy here we come!  And we're talking milk protein not just lactose...the big stuff...that's in absolutely everything!!!  I thought about cutting dairy from my diet to keep nursing him but he was more into the bottles and it was going to be quite a change for me with him not so into the nursing anymore.  So, we weaned him...and my heart broke a bit.  We found a formula that works (hypoallergenic) and cut all dairy from his diet.  And guess what?  His cheeks cleared up...immediately!  We have had a few relapses, like when I feed him Mum-Mums that were produced in a factory with milk...and when the kids fed him crackers after they had touched cheese.  Yeah...we think it's that severe...sigh...

 

We head to the allergist in May and hope to have a few more answers.  But thank god for coconut milk ice cream...because this boy does not like to watch him siblings eat and not get any!!!