Prayers for Matthew

A little boy, Matthew, who was also born with hydrocephalus is in need of some prayers tonight. He has been sick for a few weeks now with severe vomiting. I have been keeping up on his families frustrating journey through their blog. His mom, Jill has a amazing letter that she has written to families that happen upon her blog because their child is diagnosed with hydrocephalus. I find her to be a truly remarkable lady and caring mother to her children. Please send them some prayers tonight as the drive from Nebraska to Minnesota with their sick boy and find some healing answers for his illness.

Matthew 21:22 "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

Why is Norah so happy?

Norah saw her neurologist on Tuesday. We were able to finally get some insight into her MRI that she had in September. I am still going to request her medical records so I can get more information, I guess it's the nurse in me that feels like doctors are not always sharing everything with you, I have seen that practiced by some doctors. So what do we know, her MRI points towards a hydrocephalus caused by aqueductal stenosis and a chiari malformation. This may lead to more surgeries in the future. If it begins to cause problems, the cerebellum getting pushed to far into the spinal cord, it will manifest similarly to shunt failure. We will have to talk to our neurosurgeon more about this at our next appointment but that isn't until the end of January.

Overall the neurologist thinks Norah is doing great, and from her side of things she doesn't see the need to see her again. She said we are welcome to see her again in a year  for followup, but not necessary and if any concerns were to arise she would see us promptly (I think for her that would be within two months, since our appointment usually gets bumped two or three times before we can get in). Hooray, finally an appointment were we weren't referred to another doctor and we have been turned loose.

While I am excited about this milestone, part of me worries that things will change tomorrow. This is when my fantastic husband steps in and reminds me not to dwell on the what-ifs and to enjoy what we have here-and-now.

As for more Norah news, she continues to crawl and pulls herself up. She is starting to get better at cruising, but would prefer to not bend and flex her hips and knees. I am working on find a good pair of shoes with arch supports, do know how hard that is to find in a size 3. I think may end up with some mini AFOs for just her foot and ankle in the near future. Norah still prefers a bottle over a sippy cup, but we are making progress in that daily. She was just over 18 pounds at the neurologist office, I think the pediasure is helping.  Our pediasure tip: banana flavor is our favorite, and make it super cold. Norah will take the Strawberry flavor, but shows favor to banana. Her language skills are growing. It is fun to hear her trying to say words, or at least trying to match syllables and sounds. Grant has been delay with his speech so I think they will learn some things together.

Now that we are updated, time for bed :)

Halloween Fun

Happy Halloween from our little lion and tulip fairy!

Halloween brought fun memories as we took turns walking Grant from house to house in our neighborhood on Friday night. We watched him roar and learn how to say "trick-or-treat." Norah hung out at the house inspecting all the candy, making sure we were passing out only good stuff. Jason and I both agree that Grant enjoyed passing out the candy much more than actually getting his own stash of candy. I'm sure that will change by next year. I had to spend the weekend working but Jason and the kids headed out to The Boo At the Zoo. Grant was able to hang out with lion friends. We enjoyed our halloween without the trick, but plenty of treats!

Crocheted Sweater

I made my 1st crocheted baby sweater. I have made quite a few hats lately and ready for something different.
How did it turn out?

I now working on a ruffle scarf for myself, it's looking good so far. 

Bread Pudding for Dinner??

I'm a fan of bread pudding, but it has always been for dessert, never the main course. After I stumble upon this recipe, I couldn't wait to try it. I was still unsure of how it would taste, would it ruin my like for bread pudding all together?

Well it was a hit including the kiddos. The original recipe called for chopped chicken, but I had some left over turket breast that I used. I love finding ways of using leftover meats, Jason is not a fan of reheated meat.  I would highly recommend trying this with your leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.

Turkey, Mushroom and Asparagus Bread Pudding
Adapted from The Sweets Life

Ingredients:


-4 cups whole grain bread cubes

-1 onion, chopped

-1 lb asparagus, chopped into 1-inch pieces
-4 cups mushrooms, chopped into quarters

-3 cups of chopped turkey (or chicken)

-1 tbsp vegetable oil

-1/8 tsp pepper

-1 1/2 cups milk

-5 eggs

-1 cup shredded Italian cheese



Directions:

1. Place bread cubes on an ungreased baking sheet and toast at 350F for 10 minutes.

2. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add chopped onion and cook until soft (approximately 8 minutes). Add the asparagus, lower heat and cover, cooking for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and pepper, cover, and cook for an additional five minutes.

3. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. Spread bread cubes in the dish and top with vegetable mixture and chicken.

4. In a blender, mix milk, and eggs. Pour blended mixture over the bread. Top with cheese.

5. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before cutting and serving warm.

Norah Update

Norah went to her develpmental checkup a couple of weeks ago (has it really been that long already, haven't been on top of blooging lately). Norah saw the neonatologist that has followup her since she was in the NICU, as well as a physical, occupational, and speech therapist.

Norah doing amazingly well in her cogniton placing her a 13 months, which is her adjusted age.Yea Norah!! She is delayed with her gross and fine motor skills, placed at 9 and 10 months. Her speech was placed at 11 to 12 months, she definately knows how to make noise with those vocal cords. As for words, she can say "momma" and "dadda" that's about it, but those are our favorite words.

Concerns and comments we were left with after her appointment
1.) Norah's still a lightweight, so we are now giving her Pedisure every night before bed.
2.) Norah's lumpy head, actually I think it has gotten worse since the appointment. Call into neurosurgery, not the best at calling back.
3.) Getting Norah to learn where she is in space and start building her muscles, swimming once a week was reccommended, we'll see if we can work something out.

After being Norah's mommy for 14 months now, this is what I know. Norah is Norah, her personality shines. She takes her time in all that she does. She needs time to warm up to someone or something new. We love Norah so much and will always be here to cheer her on, trying not to push too hard, and will always accept her with all of our heart.

Waiting For Daddy

Jason's project is taking off and with it came the hiring of an employee and renting office space. We have been spoiled for a year and half with Jason working out of our house 90% of the time. I was always impressed how on top of his work he could be, if I worked from home I don't think I would be very productive. Yet if the was a moment an extra set of hands could be useful or just wanted to share a cute moment with the kids, all he had to do was run up the stairs. 

This week we are missing are our Daddy moments, and waiting for him at the door.

We love you Jason.