Happy 4th Birthday Riley!!

Four years ago today, I was VERY swollen and ready to meet my little man.  At 11:59, Riley Thomas arrived in this world and we have been so blessed to have such a sweet angel.   He is so full of life and such a sweet and loving little guy.  He is very smart and does great at school.  His imagination is beyond words.  He is always playing in a "soccer league" or riding a Tony Hawk skateboard.  He loves his friends and he loves his sister.  He has a hard time showing it sometimes, but when it comes down to it, he takes good care of her.  He is also a phenominal entertainer...he knows every word to every song, commercial, and his favorite movies.  He wants to marry his lifelong girlfriend Anna and grow up to be a rockstar at night and a yardman by day :)  He lights up my life and I am so blessed to have such a good boy.  Riley Thomas, I love you with all of my heart and I wish you a Happy 4th Birthday!!!!!!

Bentley

As many of you know, there has been concern about Bentley and her blood sugar spiking up.  We saw the pediatric endocrinologist today.  Please read below - I know it is kinda scientific, but you know medicine these days!

We saw 2 dr's....a resident first, and she talked with us and got the details of what has been happening. She was not too concerned at all about what is going on. She gave us the guidelines for truly diagnosing type 1 diabetes - Fasting blood sugar of <129 and a 2 hour post meal blood sugar of <200. Bentley had 2 readings on her journal that met the second category and she said that my blood sugar meter has a margin of error of 15% either way (higher or lower) and that based on the fact, that she is healthy and has continued to gain weight, that she is not concerned right now at all. She did say that does not mean she would not develop it, it just basically meant if things continue the way they are right now, then we don't have any concern for diabetes. There is also a test for the antibodies that a type 1 diabetic has (this would be what I passed to her). A child's chance of getting diabetes type 1 is 1 in 500. A child that test positive for these antibodies chances increase to 1 in 50. So with that said, just because she has the antibodies does NOT mean that she will have type 1 diabetes. There is also "Maturity Onset of Diabetes of the Young" aka MODY - this is like a mild version of diabetes type 1 (that is the short version and best describes the condition. They asked me if I was a MODY bc I would not have that antibody if so (and therefore, I would not pass it to her). I told them I do not know if I was or not. They asked me if I was checked for the antibody and once again, I didn't know. I will get it done next time at the dr. Anyway, she suggested that we DON'T do the antibody test on BB because if she does have the antibody, it doesn't mean she will have diabetes, so that would only make me worry. She then went to talk to her superior and we met with him. He on the other hand was more concerned than she was. He wants to probe into why Bentley drinks so much - so we are checking her urine for sugar. If there is no sugar, he is also going to check and see if she is making the hormone to make her urine concentrate. That is a seperate disease and we will go down that road if we have to. He is running the test for the antibody (which I am glad he is). If there is no antibody and no sugar in her urine, then we can dismiss this and just assume my meter was off. She still could develop into a MODY especially if I am a MODY, but she is not there at this time and we can just spot check her sugar over time and see. So first thing is first and that is to run the antibody test and the urine test.


I am just going to believe that she will show no signs of the antibody or sugar in her urine.  I will keep everyone posted.

Robbed.....

Well, yesterday was officially one of the crappiest days I have had in very long time.  We went to our Little Gym class yesterday at 10:00.  Since this is a mommy and me class for Bentley, I do not bring my purse in.  I put it between the two captains seats in the back.  As we were leaving (around 10:50), I noticed there was tons of glass on the ground.  Then I looked up to find that Bentley's window (driver side) was shattered and my purse was gone.  They also tried to jimmy the front door handle as well.  We went back inside and I immediately started to call Casey and finally reached him.  I was so shaken up, I didn't know what to do next.  He called BofA and USAA to put a hold on our accounts.  I hung up and called the police.  They came out and got a report and surveyed the damage.  One of the employees there said she saw a suspicious man lurking around, but I am sure he is long gone by now.  He got a beautiful new Vera Bradley purse (my mothers day gift), a Coach wallet (full of pictures of the kids, gift cards, reward cards, my checkbook, etc), a BRAND NEW iphone (a month old), and some make up.  By the time Casey had called, the jackass had filled up his car at the Shell station and tried to use the debit portion of the card at Walmart, but was rejected for not knowing the pin (really smart theif).  He finally figured out how to use the credit portion and got away with a $15.34 purchase.  The damages to the car alone have come in at roughly $1200.  The iphone will cost $500 to replace.  But part of the hardest part is feeling so violated and angry over the whole thing.  I am sure it will get better, but I am still pretty pissed off.  I am thankful that we were not hurt and that he didn't steal the whole car or something, but he has left me with some pretty hefty bills to pay and lots to do.  Please be careful out there and watch your belongings very closely!!!

Riley's First Trip to the Dentist

Today was Riley's first dentist visit.  He went to see Dr. Joe here in Cypress and he LOVED it.  He was sooooo good.  They took X-rays of him, cleaned his teeth and then got checked out by the Dr.  His office is really nice and his staff is excellent with kiddos.  Riley got a great report and was super pumped about his new toothbrush and floss that he got.  I am so glad that he is so good for other people and cooperates so well. 

Waiting in the lobby

Xrays

Teeth Cleaning

All Done!!!

Weekend at the Lake

This past weekend, we were invited to go to the lake by the Sorensen's.  Melissa's best friend, Deidra, has a house on Lake Livingston and they invited us up for the weekend.  Deidra and Brian were very gracious hosts.  Their lake house is really nice and it is right on the water.  We went up Friday night and that is when the good food started coming and didn't stop until we left.  Both Deidra and Melissa outdid themselves with the food.  The kiddos had a great time as well.  Riley and Anna are still in love and getting married.  They were even playing Dr in the room alone :o  Cole also admitted that Bentley was his girlfriend.  Needless to say, they all had fun playing together and going out in the boat.  I didn't even get my camera out, but Melissa took some pictures thankfully.   Thanks for such a fun filled weekend!!!

All the kiddos enjoying popsicles

Anna is striking a pose - I don't have all of them, but she struck 7 more poses!!

I totally love this picture of them!  They do make a handsome couple!

Bentley's new wrinkle nose face she makes

Poor Cole is trying to get in the photos and Anna was having a hard time not striking a pose

Swimming in the lake

It took her forever, but Bentley finally passed out on the boat

The sweethearts watching a movie

All the kiddos watching a movie

Bentley's 2 Year Appt

We went to Bentley's 2 year checkup today and to say the least, it was interesting.  First, they wanted to weigh her and she REFUSED to stand on the scale.  This means she also REFUSED to let them get her height.  She had to be weighed in the baby scale and this was against her will.  I had to take her in the room, calm her down and then just be and Bentley went and I attempted to get her height.  After several trys and a couple of fits, I finally got it.  We then go into the room and try our hardest to talk to the nurse over Bentley and Riley bickering over who gets what stool.  Then, once Dr. P came in, the fun really began.  Let me just say that my blood sugar was low trying to wrestle her and hold her down so she could be examined.  Needless to say, when the needles came, I made Daddy hold her down.  Both he and the nurse agreed she is very strong and very strong willed.  She is not a good patient at all.  Which brings me to my next point.....

We have had some concern over the amount of fluid Bentley consumes and how much she urinates.  These concerns prompted me to test her blood sugar with my monitor.  I got a normal reading the first time, but on the high side of normal.  I waited the next morning and checked it fasting and I got 140 - that is high for fasting.  We made an appointment with the pedi and got in right away.  He did a fasting blood test and a hemoglobin A1C (average blood sugar reading over the past 90 days).  I checked her sugar before we went to the Dr. and it was 85, which is great.  We didn't get the blood work done until around 10:45 and it came back at 77 which makes sense.  It took a few days to get her A1C, but it came back at a 5.4 and the high end of "normal" is a 5.6, so it was within the normal range, but on the high end of normal.  I have also been periodically checking her sugar and recording it along with what she eats etc, and unfortunately, she has consisitentley had high spikes.  Dr. P referred us to a pedi endocrinologist and we have an appointment 7/27 at 8:30.  After meeting with him today and sitting down and talking face to face about the blood work and the readings that I have been getting, I am a little discouraged.  He agrees that things do not seem right with all of that. 

Please pray for Bentley and for us as we go down a road that I really am not wanting to go down.  I know God can do miracles, but I am having a hard time with faith right now since I have this disease and it has been engrained in my head that these readings can only mean one thing.  I am going to believe that she will be delivered from this and I would appreciate it if you all would join me.

By the way, other than that, she is in great shape.  She is 27 lbs 8 oz, 60th percentile, 34 inches. 60th percentile, and her head is 48.5 cm. 

Bentley & Her Baby

Bentley got a baby doll and a stroller to push the baby in for her birthday from Uncle Ryan & T.  She loves it!!  Today, it was so cute....she was pushing the baby around the house and at the end of each lap, she would stop for me to make over her and her baby.  I would just go on and on and give the baby kisses.  We did this for about 15 or 20 minutes.  Just as I got the camera ready, she came back around, but didn't have the stroller this time, only the baby.  She wanted me to put her and the baby night night together.  I got some footage of that conversation.

Speaking of conversation, it took her a while, but over the last couple of months, she has really been talking good.  Over the last few weeks, it seems as though she literally adds a new word to her vocabulary.  Just today, she said Daddy was at work and then she asked for dessert after lunch!!!  I am so very thankful I get to see these moments with her.  I worked for Riley's first 2 years and missed those first time things and I am so glad I don't miss them anymore!  Bentley also knows about half of her colors as you will hear her mention "mink" and "puple" (pink and purple) on here.  I am just glad that I have the opportunity to capture and savor these moments :)

Camper of the Week!!!

Last week, Riley went to Kidventures camp over at Coles Crossing with his cousins.  Needless to say, he came home every day super excited to tell me what he had been doing each day.  He had so much fun.  They had a safari theme and did all kinds of cool things, like go on nature hikes, make crafts associated with safari stuff, swam, and had some cool visitors come in.  On Friday, they had a talent/awards show and Riley sang his little heart out.  He also got the best listener award.  Then, out of all of the campers there, they were divided into two groups, blue (younger ones 3-5) and then red (older ones 6-10).  Of those 2 groups, there was one Camper of the Week award and Riley won it for his group!!!!!!!!!!  I was so proud of him I wanted to cry.  The camp counselor just bragged and bragged on how well he listened and minded them.  She said he was just a pleasure to have.  It made my heart smile!  WAY TO GO RILEY!!!!