Other March Happenings

How Jace hangs up his suit pants...

Jace and Sydney love to get in Missy's kennel with her at Mimi's:

We've been getting some warm sunny days so the kids have been playing outside a lot, getting out bikes and Tylers car, playing basketball, wearing shorts:

and Tyler has been loving being able to be run free on the back deck:

And then March 22nd hit:

I asked my kids to quick pose for a picture to send to Daddy's sisters and with pretty much NO premeditation, this is what I got:

Jace worked SO hard on his Southwest Native American tribe diorama for school:

Tyler is loving the old slide the kids unearthed:

Lunch with my sisters!  Kristi was in town so we all got together for Panera:

First MRI

Officially one year old and time for his first MRI!  I've continued nursing him pretty much solely for this day, because he can have my milk up to 3 hours before, whereas if he wasn't nursing, he wouldn't be able to have anything after midnight...  I woke him up at 5am to nurse and then again at 7:15 to be at the hospital by 8... but of course they didn't get us back right away and by the time we did, he wasn't very thrilled to be deprived of his breakfast!

He was distractible for brief moments, but mostly, he just wanted to eat!  Poor guy, he just didn't understand.  

After his MRI, he was so happy to be able to nurse and then have some goldfish and a baby food pouch- a full belly and his lovey and paci and he was my happy boy again, albeit a little uncoordinated and sleepy!

Dr. Eastman wanted to review the MRI with us that day, so we hung out around the hospital until our appointment a few hours later... I think this was the first time he's really ridden in his stroller!

We had fun watching the ducks and the waterfall, and when he started to get a little bored we watched the cars driving around.

His neurologist is deaf, so I had to wear this special mask so she could still read my lips.  By the time our appointment rolled around, Tyler was ready for a nap and fell asleep in my arms:

In the end, his MRI looked great- completely normal, which is what they expected.  If he were to develop the cerebral form of XALD, it generally doesn't happen until age 3 at the earliest.  So we'll have another MRI at age 2 and again at 3 and then every six months after that until he's 10.

A Big One Year Old

We're all confused about how this sweet little boy is a year old already!

He is tripping and falling walking all over the place and into e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g!  He hasn't met a cupboard that doesn't need exploring and reorganizing:

He loves to help unload the dishwasher, whether the dishes are clean or dirty!

The last of his first-year monthly pictures:

We celebrated his AND Sydney's birthdays at Dan and Sarah's.  The kids thought I should make his cake a Tie-Fighter from Star Wars, since 'Ty-Ty' is one of the many nicknames his siblings have for him:

He was slow to start, but it didn't take long for him to dig in!

Tyler is as sweet as can be, and so much fun.  He is generally happy, a great sleeper and eater (he especially likes birthday cake now).  He climbs up and down off of anything less than about18 inches high- if he can get his knee up on it and find something to hang on to, you can be sure he's climbing up!  He's gotten better at being in his car seat, but only if the car is moving.  He's not really talking a lot, just babbling.  I'm trying to teach him signs, but he'd rather just say, "uh" and point and make me figure it out.  And speaking of pointing, he points at everything now- the kids think that with his pointing and grunting he must be part caveman.

Guys & Wives (and Guy)

Nathan is always telling people, "We should get together!", especially with the Crestwood guys he grew up with.  2 years ago it was the cruise *sigh*, but this time, with Covid and all, he invited everyone to our house to go skiing.  We ended up hosting Rich and Jill, Ryan and Caroline, and Jeff for a long weekend.  My kids stayed at Mimi and Papa's so we were free to play (thanks Mom and Dad!!).  We spent 2 of the days skiing up at Silver, the weather was perfect!

Funny enough, when we were up there without our kids, we got to ride in the "5 Star VIP" gondola car.  Whenever we're going up as a family, my kids are always spotting the special car, just dying to be able to ride in it.  Well, the one time we were there without any kids, Nathan and I got it:

It was actually super disgusting.  People had broken the stereo and just generally vandalized it, shoving trash into any available space- and it stunk as a result.  Really gross.  I was kinda nauseated by the time we got off.  Never again.

We ate at Wolf Lodge Inn on our way home the second day- so yummy!  Everyone was impressed by the cougar lounging above our table:

SO much fun hanging out with everyone!  While I much prefer warmer vacations, we had a great time- I laughed so much, what with the guys reverting back to their 16 year old selves and all.  Even though my kids were only 15 minutes away, I missed them just as much as if they were 1/2 a world away.  'Get aways' are nice, but home with my family is where I love to be.

More results

So a little update on my extended family's XALD status- both of my sisters have the faulty gene, but none of my brothers- so my mom passed it on to all of her daughters, but none of her sons... interesting! As a refresher, if you don't have the faulty gene, you can't pass it down- so my brothers (who don't have the gene) don't need to have their kids tested, just my sisters kids (because their mom has the gene).

Kim's kids were all tested, Karlie and Chad both have it.

Kristi's kids haven't been tested yet.

My Aunt Bonnie (my mom's full biological sister) has it, her kids haven't been tested yet.

My Aunt Billie (my mom's 1/2 sister- same mother, different father) hasn't been tested yet. If Billie has it, it means that it was passed down through my Grandma D- if Billie doesn't have it, it clarifies nothing and still means it could have come through either parent.

My Great-Aunt Grace (my Grandma D's last living sibling) does not have the faulty gene- so that clarifies nothing either.

My mom's biological father remarried and had several daughters- if the faulty gene came through him (which could be, since both my mom and Aunt Bonnie have XALD), I just feel a great responsibility to at least let them know as their grandkids could be affected- especially if they don't live in a state that tests for XALD!