A Busy February

It has been a busy February for our family.  Bryan is very busy with tax season as a Senior Tax Manager and I stay very busy at home taking care of Taylor, Ian and Noah.  I am so blessed to be home with them and truly enjoy having in-home childcare in my home.  My kids enjoy playing with the children I take care of during the week.  They always have built-in playdates. 

Taylor has been busy this month with school, Girl Scouts, gymnastics, and a theater class at the Des Moines Children's Playhouse.  She loves school, acting classes, selling Girl Scout cookies and doing cartwheels and back bends in our home and at the gymnastics studio.  She celebrated her 8th birthday on January 28 and was very lucky to get an electric guitar for her birthday.  She will begin guitar lessons soon.  She is very excited about playing an instrument and loves to sing.  She definitely has a love for music just like her parents.

Ian has been busy with preschool, playdates, playing with his baby brother, and having sleepovers at his Grandma Jean's house.  He loves to play with legos, build structures, and assemble Hero Factory guys.  He is all boy!  He is excited to play soccer this spring and t-ball this summer.  

Baby Noah continues to make progress each day.  He is now on a 1/4 liter of oxygen, but only requires it during naps and at night when he is sleeping.  He is completely off oxygen when he is awake....Praise God!  His lungs are getting stronger each day.  He continues to struggle with reflux on a daily basis.  We've been on several different medications for his reflux and have found one medication that works better for him than the rest, but he still has some reflux with this medication.  The only problem is that he can't be on this medication long-term.  He'll have to go off of it eventually, so please pray that his reflux continues to improve to the point that he doesn't require medication.  His endoscopy in January showed that there are no abnormalities in his esophagus; however, he does have irritation in his stomach.  We had an OT consult in our home this past week and her evaluation confirmed that Noah has an oral aversion.  Noah doesn't like to eat baby food or rice cereal off of a spoon, so we are working with an occupational therapist from AEA to help Noah with his oral aversion so that he begins to eat better.  She said that oral aversions are very common for children who have reflux.  Please pray that he overcomes his oral aversion and that his reflux continues to improve or stops altogether, so that his feedings get better. That is our hope and prayer.  Noah weighs 14 lbs. as of this past Wednesday, Feb. 22.  He had a 5 oz. weight gain this past week, which is a great gain for Noah.  Please pray that he continues to gain weight and pack on the pounds.

Noah is developmentally "on track" according to the 6-month developmental evaluation and is getting more secure at sitting up on his own.  He loves to play in his jumper and shake and bat at his toys.  He also smiles and laughs all of the time, which melts our hearts.  He is a cutie! We are truly blessed to have such wonderful children.  Taylor and Ian are WONDERFUL with their little brother and we are thankful to God for giving us such amazing children.

Thank you for your continued prayers for our family.  We appreciate all of your love, prayers and support.