Santa Day!

As part of our Christmas tradition (since Morgan was born) we go up to Phoenix a week or two early and celebrate with my side of the family. At the same time that we go up to celebrate Christmas my Dad and stepmom, JoAnne, host their Santa Day. Santa Day is a day that they have been putting on since my two nieces, Caity and Lindsey, were very little. They invite all their friends and family, especially the kids, to come over for crafts, an ornament exchange, and most importantly a visit with Santa! It is such a fun tradition, one that Morgan really looks forward to each year.

This year David had a basketball game the evening before we were supposed to celebrate, so we were up bright and early Saturday morning (4:45) to drive to Phoenix. We always start our morning together with a breakfast with the family. Thankfully we were only a few minutes late and breakfast was still warm and waiting. We enjoyed some time visiting with my sister Jen, her husband Mark, their girls Caity and Lindsey and with my step-brothers Derek, Nolan, and his son Tyler. After eating Morgan and the girls reminded us all that it was present time (Morgan definitely understands presents this Christmas, of course once she opens 1 she is done because she just wants to play with it).

Here is our niece Caity opening her present from us. I love that while she is going to be an official teenager in just 3 short months she still loves the kid stuff. She wanted duct tape and sculpting clay. She loves to do crafts and made us all ornaments for the tree. Morgan also picked out presents by herself for her cousins. She got Caity a puppy calendar.

Here is Lindsey Lu trying on the hat Morgan picked out for her. It didn't fit perfect, but the concept was perfect for Lindsey, sparkles and pink. Lindsey is a total girlie girl!

To match her sparkly new hat we bought Lindsey some new boots she had been wanting. They are all black sequence. Can't get much more girlie than that. I love it!

Then it was Morgan's turn. What else would my little girl have wanted than horses! She was spoiled as always and walked away that morning with 3 new horses! She named each one herself. This first horse she opened from her Auntie Jen, Uncle Mark, and the girls she named Sugar. Morgan LOVES to play with Sugar because she has all the tack, including reins and can walk, whinnie, and neigh. Morgan also got a Moxie girl doll to ride her new horse Sugar. The doll comes with a complete riding gear outfit including the helmet, which Morgan is all about safety and must always have a helmet so it was perfect.

Opening one of her other two horses. My dad and JoAnne found two great horses for Morgan. One is called a Morgan foal which Morgan thought was hilarious. She named him "Big Red" after the horse in Secretariat. She loves that movie. The second horse is a plush one which is perfect for sleeping with. He is a brownish, red tone and is short and stout. He reminded Morgan of the pony at TROT she rode once called "Sparky" so that is what she named him.

Morgan was happy to share her new horses with her cousin Tyler. She loves to try to get everyone involved with her horses. Of course I don't think Tyler has the same passion for horses that Morgan has.

After gifts and lots of playtime we prepared for Santa Day to begin. One of the things that the kids always do before Santa can arrive is a Christmas related craft. This year they made little snowmen.

Morgan's little snowman.

After the crafts were made it was time to head to the back yard to welcome Santa. Thankfully it was a beautiful day out. Morgan was very excited to help her Nanny sing Jingle Bells to get Santa to come. It is hilarious to hear her sing it. She adds some of her own words to the song, which makes it so great. It goes something like this:
"Jingle bells, Jingle bells, Jingle all the way. It all the fun is to ride in a deep blue sleigh, hey!"

Santa making his arrival!

Morgan waited patiently, but very anxiously, for Santa to call her name. Once he did she took off straight for him in her walker.

Morgan being bashful on Santa's lap. She was so happy to see him.

Morgan wasn't quite sure what to ask for, so she told Santa she wanted a reindeer.

Enjoying her treat from Santa.

All the kiddos who visited Santa that day.

After Santa's visit we wrapped up the day with our ornament exchange. David, Morgan, and I then took off for a few hours to meet up for dinner with David's family. His two cousins from out of state were flying in to visit his aunt and uncle who live in Prescott for an early Christmas. We thought it would be a great time to get the whole family together for a quick dinner since we hadn't seen them in two years. We had a great time visiting with them all, Morgan especially enjoyed getting to see Aunt Carol and Uncle Dave's new puppy Murphy again. After dinner we headed back to my Dad and JoAnne's for a sleep over. Morgan had been up since 6 when we pulled her out of bed and had had a very busy day, so David and I thought for sure that we would pass out during our 45 minute car ride home. NOPE. She was so funny on the way home. She thought of anything to talk about, most was just nonsense, to keep her eyes open. Once we finally got back to their house Morgan was so excited to see her Nanny, Pa, and cousin Caity who was sleeping over too that she caught a second wind. Finally around 9:30 we had to be the mean parents and tell Morgan that she absolutely had to go to bed. She was not happy with us at all, but she was a mess by that time and we knew she would be up bright and early the next morning.

Making pancakes with Nanny.

The next morning we woke up for a little more playtime with everyone before we had to drive back home to Tucson. It was so great getting to spend time with everyone. Morgan always enjoys herself when she is at her Nanny and Pa's house.

Mothers know best

A few weeks ago on Thursday, December 1st, Morgan and I followed by Donna in the car behind us drove to Phoenix (Mesa to be exact) for a doctor's appointment. We were going up to see a neurosurgeon at the urging of our urologist to have Morgan looked at yet again for a possible tethered cord. This is something that I have been questioning since Morgan was about 14 months old and it was only at my request that her first MRI was done to check for the possibility of a tethered cord. At that time it was ruled inconclusive and we were told to get another MRI done later. About nine months later we did get a repeat MRI and again it was inconclusive, however, the doctors that did look at it said it did not appear to be tethered, but that the cord just ended low.

We stupidly took their word for it (even though my mothers instinct told me it was tethered) and continued with everything else we were doing, PT, OT, speech, etc.... Then in August after almost 2 full years of potty training we had gone to see a urologist. One of the first things he mentioned was the possibility of a tethered cord. Often when a child's cord is tethered they experience difficulty controlling their bladder and problems with constipation. He immediately suggested that we get a second opinion on the MRI and that we actually be seen by a neurosurgeon and not just a neurologist, so we began the long process of getting in with this doctor.

After months of waiting I finally took it upon myself to track this doctor down and get in rather than waiting for all the stupid referral stuff to go through and them to finally call us. So.. on the 1st we drove up. Donna, Morgan and I were all very impressed with the doctor. He spent almost a full hour with us discussing all the different things he saw in Morgan, looking at her scans, and discussing treatment options. After pulling up her MRI and finding the right image he took one look and said, "yep...it appears tethered." I almost burst into tears right then and there, but did everything I could to control myself (I saved my melt down for poor David who had to hear it all over the phone from a hysterical wife). I was so angry at every doctor we have seen in Tucson, every one of them who ignored or brushed off my concerns, every one of them who didn't before refer us to a neurosurgeon, everyone of them who just took Morgan's lack of movement as part of her AMC instead of investigating further. I am DONE with Tucson doctor's. From now on it will be Philly or Phoenix.

For now the game plan is to do another MRI (this time completely without sedation and without any fighting with the nurses at stupid T.m..C). We are waiting for prior auth in order to schedule the MRI which will be done in PHX. After the MRI we will immediately have an appointment with the doctor so we don't have to drive-up there twice. From there we will discuss our options, but will most likely be discussing surgery to un-tether the cord. From what we were told in about 50-60% of cases by untethering the cord you do see improvement in movement. In the other 40% the movement doesn't change much but you usually at least see bladder and bowel control improve.

Tis the season....

Basketball season that is. Yes, basketball season has officially gotten underway so my evenings are now spent being a single mom while David is at either practice or games. I don't know how my sister and Georgia do it sometimes being the wives of the head coach. I feel like I never see my husband at this time of year and I know for both of them it is like 10 times worse. Anyway, needless to say due to my limited time in the evenings (that and I miss placed my camera cord, so sorry there will be no pictures in this update) I am VERY far behind in blogging.

Much has happened over the past month and as Morgan would say, "Mommy, your tummy is getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger." Yes, my tummy is growing at what seems like hyperspeed this pregnancy. Since I last blogged we have been in for two more ultrasounds, one at 14 weeks and another at 16 weeks. At both things looked wonderful! At our latest ultrasound we saw the little one moving the arms everywhere and after a few moments of sitting with bent knees and legs crossed the little one pushed both legs straight as can be twice and then began bicycling the legs all over. A few times I have felt what I think might be the baby, but haven't been sure yet. I am hoping that in the next week or two I will really start feeling this baby move. We don't go in for another ultrasound until 20 weeks! I can hardly stand that we will have to wait 4 weeks before seeing the baby again, but I am very excited for the 20 week scan. At that time the doctor will officially announce what we are having (she has made a guess, but for now we will keep it quiet in case it is incorrect) and we will get to see some 3D images of the baby.

Morgan in the meantime has been a wonderful big sister. She continues to hug and kiss my belly each morning and evening. If I leave for work before she can say goodbye to the baby she gets upset with me. Hopefully I will locate my camera cord soon so I can put up pictures of the holidays.

13 weeks!

On Saturday we hit 13 weeks!!! Yeah! I am so excited to be in my final week of the 1st trimester and am looking forward to be starting the 2nd trimester (the honeymood phase of pregnancy) in just 1 week. The baby is now 3 1/2 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs about an ounce. Fingerprints have formed and all the vital organs are clearly visible.

Today we went in for another ultrasound to check on the baby's movement. This time on the way to the doctor's office I chugged an orange juice that my mother-in-law gave me. As wives tales go the coldness and sugariness of the orange juice is supposed to "wake-up" the baby and get it moving. Well, I would say it worked. This little one was moving all over the place today!!!!!!! We were SO excited to see the baby and all the movement. We saw the arms moving all over the place and way up high above the head. The legs were kicking back and forth almost like the baby was trying to ride a bicycle. So AMAZING! I asked our doctor to take a close look at the feet as this was one of the obvious signs we saw with Morgan with her 'rocker-bottom' feet. She was able to capture some great pictures of the feet as you will see below and they look perfect so far. Our doctor felt very good about what we saw today and asked us how we wanted to proceed from here in regards to appointments. She was feeling like we were good to go, but wants us to feel comfortable too. I told her that if I want to sleep at night I would prefer to keep checking for a little longer. Our doctor is so wonderful and understanding. She said, "no problem, come in next Tuesday." We are so grateful to have found such an amazing doctor who really listens and is truly there for her patients. She really is amazing.

Here are the pictures of our little peanut from today:

Such a great picture of the profile.

A back/side view.

Here is one of the great pictures of the peanut's foot. You can also tell that here the little leg is stretched out.

The bottom of the left foot. It is amazing how much detail you can see, you can even count every little toe.

Big sister Morgan was very excited to see the pictures and check out her baby's little feet. She continues to say hi to my belly constantly and keeps talking about all the wonderful big sister things she plans to do to help her mommy out. Tonight at dinner she informed me that she plans to feed the baby for me. She is just too sweet! No words can explain how much I love this little girl! :)

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for our family and little peanut. Please keep the prayers coming! We love you all!

September 19th

I know many of you are probably wondering why I came blogging about a date so long past. Well it is because the date September 19th will forever be a memorable date in our family. That is because on September 19, 2006 is when we first discovered that we were going to be parents. That day forever changed our lives for the better. Well.... again September 19th is a very important date because exactly 5 years later on September 19, 2011 we discovered.....

Yes folks, that's right. We are going to be parents again. Notice how bright that first line is and how faint the second line is. I was completely confused. So much so that I went out and bought three more tests. They all ended up with that VERY bright first line and faint second. Positive that we were going to be parents again!!!

We were VERY excited for this news as it has been a very long time coming. David and I always knew we wanted to have another child (our intention was always to have 2), but we just weren't sure due to Morgan's arthrogryposis and the fact that not a single doctor could tell us for sure what the cause was. As many of you know we have spoken with countless doctors, including the leading geneticist in Seattle, and everyone has been stumped. Many people, including the doctor in Seattle, have told us they feel it is genetic but could not identify the gene. We put Morgan through all kinds of tests to no avail. So a little over a year ago David and I met with my new OB (yes, I switched doctors immediately after Morgan was born). Our new OB is AMAZING and she took a good 30 minutes to sit down with us and discuss our options and concerns about having another child. She arranged for us to meet with a genetic counselor which we did about a year ago. Again, this doctor didn't have any new ideas. We were still told we were looking at a 0-25% chance of recurrence. There was one possible test they could run looking for a condition (that according to the doctor we saw in Seattle Morgan does not have), however, the test was not covered by insurance and there was only going to be a chance that they would find something. Even if Morgan did have this genetic condition there would be a very good chance that the test would be negative. We decided that it wasn't worth doing the test...and we kind of put things on hold for a while. We became busy with work and life in general with basketball season and the holidays. We would discuss the idea every once in a while, but we still hadn't reached a decision. That was until.....

Sometime in the spring when I was having lunch with Morgan and she stopped eating, put her food down, and said "Mommy, when am I going to have a brother or a sister?" Around this time one of my girlfriends was expecting and we were planning a baby shower for her so there was a lot of talk about how her son was going to become a big brother. Also, many of her friends at school were having babies or already had siblings. Well, that is all it took. David and I decided that night that it might be time to take a giant leap of faith, pray a lot, and to go for it. Within the month we began trying to make Morgan's dream of becoming a big sister come true.

So after a few months of trying September rolled around and I started to feel a little different. After waiting an extra week to test we decided we couldn't wait any longer. After getting several positive tests I immediately called my doctor as it was in our plans to start monitoring things from the get go. She had me go in the next day for a blood draw to check my hormone levels. That day they were over 2,200. Then I went back two days later for another draw and they had more than doubled to over 5,400. Things were looking good. At that point we scheduled our first ultrasound.

In the meantime we told Morgan our exciting news and she shouted with joy. She is so excited and is already being an amazing big sister. Every morning when I go in to get her up she tells me "Mommy, come closer, I can't reach the baby." She reaches out her little hand and places it on my belly and says "Hello, baby." She loves to spend time every day rubbing my belly and saying hi to her brother or sister.

On September 26th, at 5 weeks 2 days we went in to get our first glance at our little peanut. That day we were able to clearly see the yolk sac and even saw the heart beat. It was AMAZING! The doctor set our due date for May 26, 2011. That is just two days before Morgan's due date which was May 28th.

After that we set up appointments with the doctor to continue monitoring things, mostly just looking to make sure the baby is moving. We went in at 9 weeks 2 days.
At that time (it is hard to see in this pic) we were able to clearly see little arm and leg numbs. All four numbs appeared to be moving and the baby gave a couple of really good hops. All was looking well and we breathed a small sigh of relief (after of course balling our eyes out).

I realize now that you can barely see the sign that says 10 weeks, but here is a pic of me at 10 weeks. It is amazing how fast the baby bump comes on with baby #2. I guess when you never lose all the baby weight from #1 it makes it easier to pop.

On November 7th at 11 weeks 2 days we went back again for another ultrasound. It was amazing after just two weeks to see how much the baby had grown and changed. When the ultrasound began we right away saw good signs. The baby lifted its arms, we saw fingers stretched out wide, and the baby gave another couple of good jumps. We also noticed that the baby's legs were bent, something we never saw from Morgan. As we watched the baby though we began to hold our breath because while the legs were bent they weren't moving much. The doctor commented how the baby could be in sleep mode and we continued to watch nervously. Within a couple of minutes, a few prayers to God, and a couple of deep breaths the baby all of a sudden gave a huge jump and kicked it's legs straight. David and I instantly burst into tears of joy! We breathed another big sigh of relief for now.

11 wks 2 days. You can see the legs bent.

After this ultrasound we decided it was about time to start sharing the news with friends and co-workers. Especially, since as you will see below my bump was becoming harder to hide. Since Morgan was scheduled to be Star of the Day at preschool on Wednesday we decided to let her spread the news. Morgan wore a t-shirt to school that day that says "Big Sister in charge" I wish I had taken a picture of her in it, but I totally forgot. She was so excited to tell all her teachers and friends.

Here is a picture of me at 12 weeks.

Today at 12 weeks 2 days we went in for another ultrasound. This time we were having it done at St. Joe.s as they were doing a more detailed NT ultrasound. I barely slept last night feeling so anxious about what we would see today and praying that this baby would be moving up a storm. When we met with the ultrasound technician and discussed the ultrasound, what they would be looking for, etc... we also told her about Morgan's arthrogryposis and that we were hoping to see lots of movement. She said that she had seen arthrogryposis before, but never this early. It put as at ease to know that she, as well as David and I, knew what to be looking for. She also said that while she hoped we would see lots of movement she did need to baby to hold very still for a bit so she could get some good shots of the neck. Well, the baby did both. At first the baby was pretty still, moved his/her arms a few times, waved hi, and then seemed to fall asleep. Again, the legs were bent which the tech said is very common for 12 weeks, in fact she said you won't see many 12 week babies stretch out their legs all the way. Well, she was very patient with our little one and knew how desperately we wanted to see movement so she spent lots of time looking at more than just the neck. We were able to see the little one stretch it's legs completely (both) and then bend them back up!!!!!!! We also saw the little arms reaching way up high above it's head. And lots of big jumps and rolls with the back extending. Another huge sigh of relief and of course many more tears of joy were shed today!!!!!! We are just so excited!!!!!!!!

I have no idea why this one is sideways. It wasn't taken sideways and was not that way on my computer. Sorry.

It is amazing the profile you can already see at just 12 wk 2 d. Of course I do have to say though that they may be off on my due date. The baby has measured 5 days bigger each week so at 11 wk 2d the baby was measuring at 12 weeks and today at 12 wk 2d the baby measured at 13 wk 1d.

Giving a high 5 to big sister Morgan!

Another wave hello, this time with fingers closed.

We are just so excited to finally share our news! We could not be more excited to be welcoming a new little one into our family. Morgan is going to be the most AMAZING big sister EVER!!!! She is already practicing with her baby dolls how to rock her baby to sleep, feed, and burp the baby. The only thing she says she won't help with are the poopy diapers.

Next week we go in again on Monday for another ultrasound. In the meantime please help us with some prayers that this baby continues to move and be healthy!

Halloween 2011!

Again this year the week before Halloween Morgan went with her preschool on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. This year's trip fell on a Tuesday, so Grandma and Grandpa offered to take Morgan (a parent must attend in order for the child to go). She picked out a nice Morgan-sized pumpkin for us to carve and keeping with tradition we waited until the Saturday before to carve it with the Johnson Family.

Matt, Georgia, and Lucas all came down for a little dinner and pumpkin carving. This year both of the kids were more into it and enjoyed telling their dads what shapes to draw.

Morgan telling her daddy what kind of face she wanted.

Then it was time to dig out the "guts." Morgan did a great job with it this year.

While Morgan added more seeds to the bowl Lucas was busy "cook" ing.

Then Morgan decided she would help Lucas cook. She kept saying "let's make pumpkin pie!"

Once they were all complete we had to light them up.

On the actual day of Halloween we went down to the Johnson's house for a little dinner and then some trick or treating. Morgan was SO excited. This year she could finally very clearly say Trick or Treat and she practiced the whole way down to Aunt Georgia and Uncle Matt's house. In fact, by about half-way down the block Georgia could hear her coming because she was shouting so loud "Aunt Georgia, I'm coming! I go Trick or Treating!"

This year Morgan choose to be Ladybug Gir.l from one of her new favorite book series Ladybug Gir.l. She really loves the sequel to the original called Ladybug Gir.l and Bumble.bee Boy in which she meets a little boy at the park who becomes a member of the bug squad. She likes it so much that she convinced her daddy to dress-up that night as Bumble.bee Boy (he wore a collared yellow shirt with stripes). I meant to get a picture.

Morgan was very popular in our neighborhood that night. We ran into a few friends from preschool and two of the paraprofessionals who work at her preschool. We also made a special stop at Miss Mikelle's house (one of my co-workers).

Miss Mikelle of course had a very special treat for both Morgan and Lucas. Inside was a glow necklace which Morgan instantly decided had to be her magic wand.

One of Luke's new favorite games when he is hanging with his buddy Morgan is to grab on the back of her wheelchair and try to keep up when she is driving full speed. We keep telling him in another year or so we will teach him how to catch a ride on the back. When we (the parents) were all tuckered out from Trick or Treating we made one last stop at our house so Morgan could give Luke a treat.
They are the best of buds and we are so lucky to have such close friends nearby.
Morgan always calls Lucas her "best buddy."

Take a hike!

A couple of weeks ago I had to rearrange my work schedule because I was taking my students on a field trip. Since the trip was on a Friday I had arranged for Morgan to spend the day with her grandparents.

Morgan was of coursed thrilled to have yet another day hanging out with her grandparents, and as usual they had something fun planned for her. Donna and Charley love to be outdoors and have passed that passion for outdoors onto Morgan. When she is at their house she plays outside all day long. She takes walks, rides her bike, swings, helps water the plants, etc... With the weather being beautiful that day Donna and Charley had the idea of taking Morgan on a hike. They love to go down to Madera Canyon and found that there was a wheelchair accessible hike. Morgan was so excited to go on her first "official" hike in which she would get to "hike" and not just be carried.

Morgan and Grandma ready to hit the trail.

Leaving Grandpa in their dust.

I am not sure what they are talking about in these photos, but I am guessing Grandpa is educating Morgan about all the different plants and animals they are seeing along the trail. Thanks to her grandparents Morgan already knows more about botany than most adults.

Of course a hike wouldn't be complete without a picnic at the end of the trail.