a day at Grammy's

Some great "down time:"
Some great "not-so-down time:"

feeling better

Athan's fever is gone. He's sleeping and eating much better. Big sigh of relief for him and for us.

ups and downs

Well, the first few days of the vacation were great! Lots of smiles and hugs and familiar faces and places. Athan and Morgan have had so much fun!!

As far as I know, Morgan is still great. She got to go spend the night with Aunt Loy, Avery, and Macy last night, so I'll update more on her when I see her again. She is currently with the fam at Border Town Days to hear cousin Charla sing.

Athan, poor guy, has had a rotten couple of days. He had a fever, which we now know is due to an ear infection. The NP at the Urgent Care place said his ear looked a little pink, but not awful. He is also teething (including a blood blister on his gums over his molar that popped yesterday). Ryan just got home with the amoxicillin and Tylenol, so hopefully we're on the road to relief.

Tonight we'll go to Ryan's 10 YEAR class reunion. Yikes.

cliffhanger resolved

As promised, here is the visual version of Athan's latest PT feat - STANDING (against a wall with hands ready to help, of course, but definitely standing):


We hope he will start bending his knees more and supporting his weight without locking his knees back, and then learn to squat down along the wall. He is working so hard and we are really proud of him!

follow-up

We saw a urologist in Lubbock today. He took out a couple of stitches and said that Athan is healing well.

We also got to see Aunt Brittany and Uncle Jordan, which was WAY fun. Morgan informed me that she is going back there tomorrow.

made it

We're in Clovis. And we're tired. We had lots and lots of fun being with family and visiting friends in Amarillo, Ceta Canyon, and Borger the past few days.

Now we're going to sleep alot. :)

More soon...

good times

The Strebeck Fam is here, and we are having so much fun! Morgan is just LOVING it. Athan continues to recover well. I have really fun pictures to post later of a new PT feat, but I'll leave that cliffhanger for now. We're packing to get ready to leave in the morning for a 3+ week trip to see family in Texas and New Mexico. We'll be a family reunion all weekend, then back to Clovis (and able to post again) early next week.

Thank you a thousand times, again, for prayer for our boy through all of his challenges. His smile is evidence of your faithfulness to Him and us.

home!

We're home. We were discharged so quickly, we didn't even have time to post another blog. Athan is asleep on Ryan's chest at the moment. I just got back from Sims with his prescriptions, and we're just resting and awaiting the arrival of Nana, Papa, Na-Na, and Auntie B! :-)

In Recovery

Athan has been in recovery now for about 20-30 minutes. The anesthesia is slowly wearing off and he's running a low grade fever. He is nursing now, so calm at the moment. They expect us to head home some time early this afternoon.

9:30 Surgery Time

Athan went in on schedule this morning. We counted on him being fussy since he has been fasting since dinner, but he was in a great mood all morning. He spent most of his pre-op time charming the nurses and anesthesia team. The surgery is supposed to take around an hour, so we'll let you know when he's in recovery.

request

Would you all pray for our friend Ben Venable? He is a high school senior who injured himself yesterday. He has surgery to put rods in his back this afternoon, and the next few days recovery will be pretty rough on him. Thanks for your prayers.

therapy again today

PT went well. He was in a good mood, and he worked pretty hard. Laurie reminded me that on one of her first visits, she thought Athan might walk by the time he was 3. That is what makes it so shocking that he is working really hard on standing now. We're just so proud of how hard he is working.

Morgan went to the library with Daddy tonight, which seems to have helped her mood. She's been pretty cranky the past couple of days - still recovering from the strep, I suppose.

i repent

I know. I've been awful about keeping this updated the past couple of weeks. I hope our faithful readers can forgive me, and I'll do my best to catch up:

The move: It has been rare and wonderful for Ryan and I to have some time to get several things done. The tasks that get put off when you move in, then never get done until its time to move out - we've actually gotten to do some of those. Ryan has painted, replaced outlets, helped me hang fixtures, and built some shelves for the kitchen. I've had time to clean and organize, rearrange furniture a time or two, and decorate a bit. It's fun to play house. :) You can check out the pictures when you have time.

Morgan: Like I said, she's been kinda sickly. The antibiotic is working, I think, and her fever has been gone for a couple of days. She doesn't feel this yucky anymore, but she is still not eating or sleeping well, which makes for a cranky kiddo. "Fragile" is the word Ryan used today. She's still a little fragile...

Athan: He's great. We are SO thankful he doesn't show any signs of being sick. Whew. We've really been trying some fun things in therapy. We tried to do PT in the pool last week, but it was cold water on a cloudy day - just made him mad. We'll try that again when it's warmer. The most fun lately are his new wrist weights! Laurie, the World's Best PT, took some wrist rattles, took out the rattle, and replaced it with some fishing weights. So cool! It has been a great way to work in the muscle tone in his arms.

Alright, there's a start. I'll be a better blogger this week, promise. Night!

quickly

Morgan has strep throat. Poor kiddo. I'll post more when she's well...

slower than i thought

Ok, so no pics yet. I'll get there, promise.

Until then, check out this precious new arrival - congratulations to the Caldwells!

moved...

(insert sigh of relief)

Due to much help from many faithful friends, most of the house has new paint and we are moved in.

The kids are good. Morgan loves her purple room and the tree house (pics to follow as soon as I unpack the camera stuff...).

Athan has had a tough couple of days. Immunizations with Dr. Coburn yesterday. ECHO this morning, the unexpectedly complicated visit with audiology/ENT today. He went in for a hearing test, which they could not do because of fluid in his ears. Then audiologist called in an ENT doc, who suggested putting tubes in his ears. However, he does not have an extensive history of fluid in his ears, so we are waiting. It could clear up in a matter of weeks, and be fine. We'll get a second opinion before we go through with it.

Then tired boy came home and we tried to so physical therapy. It went fine, but then he hit a wall and just got MAD. I mean MAD. So we put him down for a nap, and he woke up happy Athan again. :)

I slipped out of the house for a few minutes to get online here at the coffee shop. I guess I'll head back home and help with bedtime stuff. We should have internet at the house again tomorrow afternoon, and I'll try to get some pics up of the new place.

quicky, while i have a sec

Appointments went well. NICU Grad Clinic said nothing new, except that we are going to see some ENT folks to look at his epiglotis again, just to make sure it's ok. Endo check-up was good - no change in meds or anything.

We also saw a urologist, and as expected he got Athan on the books for a simple procedure. The surgery is just a one-day deal (outpatient), and it's scheduled for July 14th.

And we're moving. Like, right now. Ryan is at the new house painting while I pack some stuff here. This may be my last post until the dust settles in the new place a bit.

Thanks for continuing to pray for us, friends and family!

Fathers Day pool party

We've had a good day. Just resting a bit before the busy week of school, doctor appointments, and moving. We joined the Herons at the pool this evening. I'll take my camera next time, but for now you should just know that both our kids love the water. Athan thought daddy was too funny blowing bubbles in the water, and Morgan just kinda floated around the pool on a variety of floaty devices, loving every minute.

Happy Dads Day.

Morgan's new favorite game

It's called "Pile Stuff on Bubba."

the faces of Athan

This is the face he makes during physical therapy when he doesn't want to work hard:

This is the face he makes when you call his name:
This is the nose-wrinkle CHEESE smile:
This is the sleeping face: