updated plans

We just wouldn't be the Strebecks if we didn't make plans and then change them. :)

Papa's plane is in the shop, and won't be ready in time for the scheduled departure. Looks like we'll be home Friday instead of Wednesday.

I should be sleeping

I wanted to drop a few lines about our plans before I crash. The kids and I will be leaving New Mexico early Wednesday morning, and will be back in Kentucky that evening (many thanks, again, to Papa Sid). Ryan will be driving sometime late in the week, and join us in Wilmore Friday or Saturday. It will be no small miracle if we manage to get all of our stuff gathered back up and into the van to be re-wedged into our place in Kentucky. Ahhh, seminary life.

Also, we had a (very belated) family birthday party for Morgan today. It was a good time, and I hope to get some pics up soon.

Athan is not feeling too well. He had a fever last night, and some again this evening. Please pray that he will get well before we travel home.

cheeeeeese!

my turn to play with the camera (last night while waiting on him to get sleepy):

a few pics

Josh gave us a new camera for Christmas! The guys have been playing with the new toy to learn all the gadgets and gizmos, and I stole a couple of the "practice shots" to share with you. They chose great subjects, huh?!

physical therapy

Man, do we miss Laurie. Still, we've done our best to work with Athan on his physical therapy during our time here in Clovis. We'll let you know what the professional thinks when we get to start his PT appointments again back in Wilmore, but until then here's my humble opinion:

He continues to make great progress holding his head up while sitting and on his tummy. He is also working harder at balancing himself when he's sitting up, doing more and more of the work himself. He can roll from his tummy to his back with very little effort, which is a blessing and curse. It is really tough to get any "tummy time" when he just rolls immediately over to his back and is reluctant to return! I think he CAN roll from his back to his tummy (he's done it twice that I've seen), but he is unmotivated. He just likes to be on his back more.

We're also trying to work with him to get him to do more with his arms. He is reaching for toys, passing them from hand to hand, and putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. :-) We're also trying to get him to offer more resistance with his arms. Just the past couple of days, he's shown us a little more "push." See?:

We'll stay on top of our workouts, and look forward to getting back home and get a more educated progress report!

took me a while

Sorry! Ryan's here. He had to spend an unexpected night in Dallas (thank you Bryan and Natalie), and flew into Lubbock Wednesday morning early. Jordan and Brent got him to Clovis about 10 a.m. Morgan and Athan were both obviously excited to have Daddy back! (I was asleep - we'd had a long night - and arose for a groggy greeting about noon. Oh, the life of a parent. :-)

More soon...

Athan slept!! (and Ryan probably didn't)

After toying with many of the factors that may have been contributing to his sleepless nights, I decided to try and switch his once-a-day dose of Genotropin (growth hormone) from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. It worked. Apparently, the further he gets from that medicine, the better he sleeps. I think this is newly manifesting because we recently got off of his phenobarbitol. Up until two weeks ago, he was getting a sedating medication every time he got growth hormone. I think we're seeing some new side effects that were "hidden" by the extra med.

So this morning I gave the growth hormone at 6 a.m., and he didn't nap well until after noon. Still, it is better for him and for me that we both slept well last night.

Morgan got to be a radio star this morning. Her Grammy does a weekly radio appearance for the coffee shop, and Morgan got to go with her and make her very first public performance. I believe she said "Go Wildcats, go Uncle Layne!"

Ryan is back in the U.S., but he was too late to get a boarding pass for his connecting flight out of JFK. I'll post again when I hear from him about the next step.

movie, long night, and a meltdown

Athan didn't sleep much last night, but he is his usual smiley self again today. Morgan had a major meltdown (tears, sobbing, confusion, frustration) this afternoon at nap time, but she is sleeping soundly now. Apparently, Athan doesn't need any sleep and Morgan always needs more. :-)

Before all that drama, Aunt Loy and Uncle Joe came to keep the kids so Mom, Tim, Logan, and I could go to a movie. SO fun! I love going to the movies, and as you can guess, tis a rare treat these days. Thanks guys! :)

Christmas pics

Thanks Josh and Aunt Brittany for the great pics!

third

A tooth on top. I am, of course, glad he is getting his teeth. I will miss the toothless grin, though! :)

more eating, but less sleeping

He really likes cereal. He really dislikes his oxygen tube.

Amy, Cap, and Ella visited today. Morgan and Cap had lots of fun!

Morgan and I also got to run up to the gym and catch part of Uncle Layne's basketball game. Morgan got her picture taken with Wiley the Wildcat, played with Tom and Lori, and got to see Nana and Papa, too! What a night.

oh - a LAST among the many firsts

I almost forgot - we gave his LAST dose of phenobarbitol last week. Yep, we're done! :) He seems to be doing just fine off the medicine. It was a precautionary anti-seizure medication, and he still has shown now signs of any kind of seizure activity. Woo-hoo! :) The weaning process took a whole month, and I think he was fussy sometimes because of the withdrawal. Also, because he was used to getting a does of sedating medicine before bed, it may be contributing to him not sleeping as well. Still, being off the med is good news, no matter what else is going on! :)

another first

Cereal. We put Athan in his high chair and fed him his first round of baby cereal. It was a big hit! He seemed really excited about it. He also didn't seem to have any trouble with the swallowing, which was a concern because of his low muscle tone and bifed epiglottis. No tongue thrusting and no grimace - just a little cereal on the cheeks and the usual Athan smile.

He is doing really well. Night time is a little rough right now. He isn't sleeping as well - I think the dry air of the desert in the winter, plus the extra drying factor of the oxygen, just bug him. He'll go to sleep alright, but wakes up often, usually rubbing his nose and eyes. He's having a tough time getting back to sleep, which I'm not used to, so we're both pretty sleepy. I'm ready to get back to see cardiology so we can hopefully stop this oxygen and get some sleep!

Morgan is being a very helpful big sister, and seems to enjoy talking to her "bubba" more and more. "Look, he's smiling at me!" she'll say with typical Morgan glee. She is also having so much fun with all the grandmas and great-grandmas and aunts and uncles and friends who want to play with her. Last night she got to go to the basketball game to watch Uncle Layne, and I hear she enjoyed making Uncle Brent and Aunt Jenn chase her around!

Ryan is in India, still. He took a class through the seminary that includes a trip to a ministry in India that has a seminary and an orphanage on site. I hope he'll write a blog when he gets back to explain the trip more. I've talked to him three times, and it seems to be going well. The team has been passing around a tummy bug, that has knocked them out one at a time for about 24 or 48 hours. Ryan had it last we talked, but I think he's feeling better. They teach classes at the seminary in the morning, and help with the kids in the afternoon, I think.

other tooth

Finally, it made it through. Yesterday afternoon.

He's still fighting the oxygen off and on. Not sleeping real well.

Morgan is great. She had lunch with Uncle Jordan and Papa Sid today. Doesn't get much better than that!

My mom did the tough part of the night shift last night - thanks, Grammy!

teething

Yep. Teething. We officially have 1 tooth, and another right beside it that won't be far behind. I think they're hurting him pretty badly, and we've had a couple of long nights because of it.

Both kids are asleep - I'm going to nap! :)

able to write again, I think...

I know it has been a while, and I have several blanks to fill in. I'll at least get started:

Christmas, scaled-down though it was, still came with a little craziness. We had to work at the logistics of getting Ryan and Morgan to family things on time while Athan and I kept his eating/sleeping/meds schedule on track. I think we did fairly well - he only had one really fussy night. And Morgan... well, I just wish you could have seen her this year! She is old enough to open her own gifts and get excited about all of them. She got to spend time with so many of her favorite people, and play, play, play. I think it has been so good for her.

Athan is tolerating his oxygen fairly well. We use some medical tape to keep it from shifting around too much, and to keep him from pulling it out every few minutes. I think the tape bugs him a little, but it also seems to keep his oxygen tube still enough that he forgets about it. I'll write more detail later about the whys and whatnots of his cardio stuff.

I have really enjoyed seeing so many faces - some I haven't seen in a year! It's good to be here.

Ryan is off to India. He left here last night, stayed with friends in Amarillo, and flew out this morning. He'll be gone until the 15th. Man, are we gonna miss him around here! Still, we are excited for him to get to go.

Ok, Athan needs me! :) More when I get a sec...