Father's Day

For Father's Day, Brad and his dad went rafting down the Kern River.  They had a fun time on their excursion.  I've been meaning to put a few photos up, here they are...

Asher's Heart

Today I took Asher in for an echo of his heart.  At our last two pediatrician appointments his doctor has heard a murmur and said it was time to get it checked out.  There is a pediatric heart clinic in Bakersfield, so it was nice not to have to drive to LA for this!

Ends up that Asher has a small ASD (Atrial Septal Defect), it is a very tiny hole between the top two chambers of his heart, 3mm to be precise.  It is a very common occurrence and 20% of the population has or had this (at least that's what the doctor quoted).  It still has a chance to go away on its own, but since it is there they will continue to follow him.  He will be seen in another 6 months and then at 2 years, 4 years and 7 years.  At any of those visits, if it is no longer there, then he won't need to be seen again.

I asked if they ever fix them, he said only if there is a problem with clotting or uncontrolled migraines.  And it sounds like that wouldn't happen unless he was older.  And he said it was a very minor surgery to fix, they go in through a vein or artery (I forget which) and apply a tiny patch to the hole.  It's considered an outpatient procedure.

So, all in all, it sounds very minor.  Something that could easily still close on its own.  Praising God for great news and a healthy baby boy!

Summer

We've been enjoying our summer around here.  Mia's therapies are scaled back and this week was our last MARE session until the fall.  Next week Mia will be going to VBS at our church and I'm super excited for her.  I am sure she will have a blast.  It will give Calvin, Asher and I some Mommy and sons time at home.  I will have to think of some different than usual things for us to do.

This past week the stomach flu went through our house again.  I for sure thought that getting it so much last year would completely have made us immune to it, but no...not completely.  Thankfully only I seemed to be the hardest hit one and the kids have recovered quickly. 

I was appreciating my 6 hour stretches with Asher up until about 3 weeks ago...now we are back to frequent night wakings, but I know that this will soon pass.  So I keep trying to have a positive attitude because really in the whole scheme of things, this is very minor.  

LA

It's been awhile since I've had to drive to LA because Daddy has been taking Mia to her appointments for me.  So I ventured to LA today with all three kids and Grandma Cheri.  Thank you Grandma Cheri for coming with!  All three kids did great, Asher slept almost the entire way down and the entire way back, I'm so happy he likes to sleep in the car.  Mia and Calvin watched videos on the way down and napped on the way back.  It was a very enjoyable trip, aside from waiting at the doctor's office.  We saw the opthamologist today for a check up.  Mia's left eye turns out occasionally because of the surgery on her skull.  It is especially pronounced when she looks upward.  We've talked about a potential surgery to correct this, but haven't really seen a need to do so and we've been trying vision therapy to correct the outward turn.  After consulting with the doctor today, he really feels like surgery isn't necessary unless it were to socially impact her down the road.  He feels like her focus is good enough as she looks forward and downward, the most important and most often used directions.  So, with that, we might just cross off opthamology from our list of doctors...(they would still like to follow up with us, but really, if they aren't doing surgery, then we don't see a need to really see them...)  :)

We are just happy to be back home.  I forgot how long and tiring that drive can get. 

4 Month Check-Up

Asher had his four month check-up today and he's doing great.  He's stretching out like a long string bean, he's now 27 inches and 15 pounds.  I'm always amazed at how quickly they grow those first few months, we've already gained about 6 inches since birth!  Anyway, he's right on track and doing great.  He does have a little heart murmur that we need to get checked out by an echo.  We will pray that it is minor and something that can heal on it's own or just be something that he has to live with.  I will be making an appointment to get that done soon.  At this point we aren't overly concerned because he is not showing and symptoms of distress and he is growing and healthy.  We'll let you know what we find out. 

Happy 4 Months Asher!

In the past month, Asher has changed so much!  He now rolls from front to back and from back to front.  He also just got his first bottom tooth.  Asher loves to suck on his two fingers and will sometimes sooth himself to sleep, that's really nice for this mama.  He is pretty consistent about his first morning nap and after that it's whatever goes for the rest of his naps.  Here are a few photos of the little man.

Sucking his two favorite fingers.

Grumpy Face

On his tummy...

What's this sign say?

Happy Boy!