Fancy Ali & Fancy Aunty Em

Hanabel Lector Reads a Book

Wandering Bear Pays the Price...

Always something different at work. Today our office got a call about a black bear hit on the OH turnpike just NW of Youngstown OH. Turns out it had an ear tag courtesy of the PA Game Commission (PGC). Apparently it was fond of honey bee hives and was ear tagged this summer while it was caught by the PGC in Mercer Co. PA and relocated to Venango Co. PA. This was the last know location until today. It was a 235lb male.

Gingerbread House: "I won't get a bellyache I promise."

Nanny sent Ali a gingerbread house kit with her birthday gift. She had a blast decorating it. She ate a ton of sugary candy and tried to convince me it was not a problem cause she wasn't going to get a bellyache. What a crack up!

Makin'

Allison loves cooking although she calls it "makin". Almost everyday she helps me in the kitchen doing something. This is a special activity for her and I. Here we are getting ready to make some Christmas cookies. She always like to wear the apron that Grandma & Grandpa got for her.

3 Years Old!!!

Our little sweetie turned 3 on Dec 7th. Wow time flies yet it seems so long ago that she was a little bean. She had a fun bday. Her boa is because she is totally into "Fancy Nancy" right now and wearing a boa at a party is a very Fancy Nancy thing to do.

Per her request we had McDonalds cheeseburgers for dinner. Cake and Ice Cream of course.
Fancy Daddy: "Daddy you are so dapper!"

She received lots of fun gifts. All in all it was a great day! We paid for it that night with the chocolate later in the evening. She was up twice. Oh well.

O' Christmas Tree

This is the first year that we have had a fake tree. Sawyer would take a full size one down, I am convinced, so we got a little one and put it on a little table. It is cute, but nothing beats a real tree.

Obama Con

Didn't vote for Obama, but this website was funny!

The Kids First Parade

This one is for you Grandpa!

A Scary Team

Scruba Dub Dub

Now you see me...
Now you don't!

Can Someone Post Bail The Sequel

This is a post from when Ali was little: This is Sawyer:

Daddy/Daughter Hike

Curt and Ali have been enjoying Saturday afternoon hikes together lately. They bundle up, pack a lunch and head out to the "forest". Silly little forest girl.

Cupcake Face

Ali and I made cupcakes last week. There was a library book that we got that talked about them so we did that as a fun activity. Lately when she is told to smile you get this scrunched nose, all teeth thing. Still cute as a button! This is what Sawyer did when we told him he could have cupcakes someday.

Hiding Spot

He Stands!

Sawyer stood up on his own for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I saw it and was able to take a picture before he fell over. He was sooooo proud of himself!

Praise! and prayer requests

Curt here. An Allison update. We came home from the hospital last Monday. We are set up with a behavioral psychologist (BP) that is in the same office as the team of pediatric neurologists that we're working with. Seems like a nice balance on the two fronts we are dealing with. After having a horrendous day the rest of Monday and Tuesday, Allison had FANTASTIC days (in terms of mood & behavior) Wednesday - Saturday! Our old Ali was back for the most part! Today (Sunday) has been a bit rougher, but we are starting to really see how missing the littlest bit of sleep really throws her off while she's on these meds. Sleeping at night has gone better (still up once or twice each night; but starting to be better able to self-calm herself and get back to sleep. We have been working with the BP on this and it has helped substantially). Seems that if she can get a good night sleep and a good nap, that the detrimental effects of the seizure meds are reduced during the waking hours. So, the current plan is a very slow (2-3 month) step-down of the one seizure med. causing the behavioral side effects and hopefully getting down to just one seizure med. to control the seizures. Some sleeping meds. are still helping her fall to sleep and the plan is to keep using them, at least until we're off of the one seizure med. Thanks to Kim, Sue, and Kelly for coming to our aid these past two weeks! All drove in from PA. Much appreciated! Chapel ABF folks: we hope to get back into the swing of things in a week or two. Still a bit nervous about leaving Ali in the nursery until we go a bit more time seizure-free. But can't wait to be back!

Specific prayer requests: (1) meds keep her seizure free, (2) she keeps up the good progress (and improves) with the night sleeping thing, and (3) rest and strength for Sara as she rides the ups and downs of Ali while I'm away at work.

Thanks!

Allisoin update 11-8-09

Curt here. Allison has been having insomnia-like issues in the evening and mood/behavioral issues in the day for the past month, likely due to one of the seizure meds (Keppra) she is on. As such, the docs stepped her off the likely culprit fairly fast last weekend and week and then on Wed., she had three seizures at home, the last requiring ambulance service. later that evening in the ER, she had two more seizures, and then was admitted to Akron Children's. That night (wed. into Thu.) she had 5 more seizures while in the hospital. They were able to control them by thu AM and she's been in the hospital since: with Sara and I trading off hospital shifts and home sleeping. The docs put her back on the one med (Keppra) and on Fri., stopped giving her one of the others she was on. She hasn't had any seizures since and if she goes seizure-free today/tonight, they hope to release her tomorrow. Again at home it will be a multiple-month process to continue to tweak the med types/amts in order to find the dose that controls seizures and eliminates/reduces behavioral side-effects. She is on a couple sleeping aids to try to help at night, which hopefully may reduce the exacerbation of behavioral issues during the day. More to come later. Please pray for (1) protection if/during seizures, (2) docs to figure out right med combo, (3) parental peace of mind. Thanks. Curt.

Rough times...

Curt here. We haven't' forsaken the blog! Just having some very difficult times with Ali and dealing with medication side-effects, etc...we've taken some more pics of the kids, etc. and will post as time permits. Pray for Ali that she can start sleeping at night and subsequently for us that we can get some rest as well. Too much of an update to post the whole side-effect story here, but it's not too much fun. Pray that they get her on a combo that (a) keeps seizures at bay and (b) brings the personality & sleep of our little Ali back. 11-3-09

Harvest Happiness

We went to May's farm yesterday. It was a blast! She loved the pigs.
She enjoyed a caramel apple lollipop for about 2 hours.

She loved pretending to drive the tractor. She said that and the hayride were her favorite parts of the day.

Sawyer missed a nap. He was like a tired teenager, didn't make a fuss but wasn't going to smile or participate.

Had to Take a Break from the Roller Derby

Loves Being Dirty

I don't need no stinkin' bath!
Hug me, I dare ya.

Allison the Artist

I am having trouble with blogger flipping this pic, but if you tilt your head to the left you can see it. Ali drew this this morning and was so proud of herself. She started yelling, Mommy I drew a smile face. What an artist! The artist with her medium: a mechanical pencil.

After the Leads Came Off

You can't tell from the picture, but she was so excited that the leads were off. Not so excited that her chocolate ice cream was gone.

Fall Outside Fun

We hung out for a couple hours outside this afternoon. It was pretty chilly so we bundled up. This is Ali's "snake". She loves to pretend. He name was sssssssnake. Ali loves her helmet and wears it pretty much all the time if we are outside.
Sawyer's hand-me-down hat is too big...I guess we will spring for one that fits.

Watchin' Football

Where Do Babies Come From?

This is the picture we will use to explain where babies come from. God send you via UPS of course. Why are people so freaked out to talk to there kids about this subject anyway?

Heartbrakingly Adorable

This is Ali in her full EEG gear. She did so great. She is doing well now. A little "high" at times well really I should say "low" from the drugs, but considering she is good. Epilepsy was the diagnosis and we can work with the docs to get the meds perfect for her. She was such a trooper! Dr. Wagner here to check your heart!

Home from Akron Children's

Curt here: We just got home a bit ago from the hospital! The good news is that they were able to document and analyze the one seizure she had while on the EEG system. Consequently, a diagonsis was made and now we have a new cocktail of medicines to try and control the sizures from here on out. We'll post updates on how they are working. Additionally, the neurologist feels as though it is likely that these are the type of seizures that may be grown out of as she gets older! So, all in all, good news. Now the waiting game and see if these meds control the seizures. Thanks!

Update on in-progress EEG

Praise! Allison had one seizure this AM as she was waking up for the morning. It was able to be caught on the video EEG system as far as I'm aware. It wasn't her longest, but hopefully it was enough for the docs to start to figure out what is going on. No word yet on how long they want her to stay on the EEG today or beyond. Come on more seizures! More to come later. curt.

Pray For Seizures - Allison Update

Curt here. Too much details to update completely, but in the past 24 hrs Allison has had 4 seizures of varying severity and they (docs/neurologists) have admitted her today (around noon) to have a 24-48 hr video EEG. Whereas before as we were requesting prayers for no seizures, now bring it on baby! We hope she has one or more so that they can capture her EEG chart and other vitals and video all at the same time to help diagnose what is going on here. More updates to come as info and time permit.

Mayor of Funky Town

This little guy is always gross. I change his clothes at least 3 times a day if not more because of food, barf, snot, leaks, drool or a frothy combination. He is such a little boy. Ali was like a porcelain doll. Rarely was she gross and I didn't have to change her outfits nearly as much. We were cracking up at dinner tonight cause he was just sooo sticky and lovin it. His hair is sticking up due to the combo of food and snot in it.