Thursday, May 27, 2010

Hope

My Dear Child, 
Do you know what hope is?
It's magic and it's free.
It's not a prescription.
It's not in an IV.
It punctuates our laughter.
It sparkles in our tears.
It simmers under sorrows.
It dissipates our fears.
Do you know what hope is?
It's reaching past today.
It's dreaming of tomorrow.
It's trying a new way.
It's pushing past impossible.
It's pounding down the door.
It's questioning the answer.
It's always seeking more.
It' rumours of a break.
It's whispers of a cure. 
A roller coaster ride.
Of remedies, unsure.
Do you know what hope is?
It's candy dor the soul. 
It's perfume for the spirit.
To share it makes you whole.
Take my hand, little one, 
Let's share this hope together!
Love, 
GiGi Jean

A letter came in the mail from my Grandma with this note to Connor...Just what I needed to read to remind myself that there is HOPE, and it can help me get through each day. Everyday is hard right now...Connor's vision is on my mind 24/7. I have so many unanswered questions, doctor's not agreeing...it is frustrating. I do know Connor is SO happy and when I look into his glasses I am reminded of how lucky I am to be his mom, I just hope and continuously pray we will soon find answers of why his eyes are the way they are.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Jule's Stein Visit #2

Dad building Connor a house
Knocking down the house
A nap in between doctor's appointments
Grandma and Connor making wishes on the big day
Yes tattoo's on his forehead for examination
Waiting to be called in for his exam
Connor was awesome & Mommy was a wreck to say the least. This past week we were at UCLA for three days of appointments. These are not your typical doctor's visit. Each appointment is a long visit of waiting, seeing the doctor's assistant, waiting, seeing the doctor, waiting, seeing another doctor, and then of course paying! Man. Oh. Man. Our first appointment on Tuesday morning had me in tears within 5 minutes. After six hours of seeing doctor's we finally made it back to our hotel room so we could get some rest...but oh no, what two year old rests ;D! Connor would say, "Play room, Mommy?" How could I resist when he was such a good boy all day at appointments. Super tired wanting to sleep, I went anyways...Dad was there for the first day and built really cool houses in the play room so Connor could knock them down - He loved it and had us building them all week.
Wednesday was the big day...Connor had his exam under anesthesia with Dr. Demmer and Dr. Lee. Poor Connor was not allowed to eat after he went to bed on Tuesday night. I did not think it would be such a big deal, since Grandma spoiled him with new toys for the waiting room that kept him very busy. But when they ran behind 2 hours, Connor started running around crying & asking the nurses for grapes and peanut butter sandwiches. It was quite funny, but really sad he was so hungry. He was put under at 11am and the exam lasted 45 minutes - much longer than the 15 minutes I was told. Another reason for me to panic. I was called back by the doctor and as soon as I made it through the exam room doors, the nurse grabbed my hand and ran me to Connor (okay, more panicking!). When I got to Connor he was biting and hitting the nurse, he was not a happy camper waking up. I grabbed him from the nurse and took on all the hitting and biting as I kissed him as much as I possibly could. He was given a pain medicine to make him fall back asleep and wake up a bit slower. He was much happier then and was excited to have apple juice. Dr. Demmer came back to chat with me once Connor was awake and calm, so I could listen. He inforned me that Connor's eyes are completely healthy!!! Praise GOD! Dr. Demmer did find that Connor's eyes were slightly different from the first prescription he had given us, so we are ordering his new glasses with a new prescription of -22.5 in the left eye and -19.5 in the right eye. He also saw that Connor's eye is shaped like an egg rather than a ping pong ball, he is not sure why...so he is doing some research on this. Dr. Demmer is concerned that there could be other problems Connor has that is creating such a severe deteriation in his vision. He has asked us to see a genetic specialist to rule out any other diseases he could have causing his eye problems. This is our next step along with getting contacts.
Thursday morning Connor got to put his contacts in for the first time. It was a screaming battle and lots of bribing with lollipops. This will be hard transition for Connor because of his age, but it is highly recommended as it will give Connor clarity of objects and peripheral vision. The funniest part of our visit was when the doc sat me down to discuss the price of Connor's contacts (just incase I fainted!), each pair will cost $500.
This was a hard trip for us to make as a family, but we are so grateful to all of you as we knew we had continuous support the whole time we were there. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the love, prayers and support. We will keep you posted on everything we find out and the dates of his next appointments.

Catch Up

Sesame Street Live
Connor is a little scared of The Count Dracula
Got to hang out in a Ambulance and meet the Paramedic
 Body Slam
Miss Taylor was only 1 week old
 Taylor & Uncle Scotty talking to each other :)
One lucky Uncle and two VERY lucky kids!
I try never to use the word hate, but sometimes you just have to ;D! I HATE (all caps) my point and shoot camera and I always forget to upload the photos from it, reason why I am posting these so late. Grandma and Mike took Connor to Sesame Street Live the day after we got home from the hospital with Taylor. He could not stop talking about it and we still have the $10 Elmo balloon (how come I am not in the Elmo balloon business?) in his room! He LOVED it! We also took the kiddos to Kidfest when Taylor was a week old and played at some of the booths. It was not as great as the internet makes it sound, but it made Connor's day climbing on an ambulance and meeting a paramedic! And the best of all...Uncle Scotty came to meet Taylor and play!!!!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

His...Smile. Laugh. Giggle. & Kisses...Have Changed My Life.

My sweet boy...I wish I could bottle up his little laugh and sweet side to save forever!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

I LOVE Being Their Mom!

Connor and Taylor starring at each other and giving kisses of course!
Look at those sweet hands!
 I could stare at these pictures all day! I love the way these two love each other...

Being a mother is the greatest gift of life!
Each day is different, each day is new, some days are hard, some days are easy, each day is filled with fun, comedy, kisses, a messy house, but most importantly love. No matter what each day brings, I go to bed at night SO VERY thankful of my job as a mommy and incredibly GRATEFUL for my husband's support, so I can be a stay at home mom. I am so happy I get to celebrate Mother's Day with a beautiful family! THANK YOU Connor and Taylor for filling my heart with joy! I love you!!!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Taylor's 1st Bath

Two weeks have gone by and I decided it was finally time for Taylor to get her first bath. She smells so good as a newborn, I did not want that to go away and for her to begin her journey with Johnson and Johnson ;D! She was not very happy with her bath time, but such a big girl taking a bath in the big bathtub like her brother :D!