Recent Doctor's Visits for Cody

On Monday...Cody and I headed to Syracuse to get 2 appointments out of the way.  At our Ortho visit, they moved the wire a little and that was that.  These visits have become quick like that as we are waiting for some adult teeth to come in before we can really start to do much work.  So for now we are maintaining the progress we have made.  The good thing about that is the visit is quick and not that painful for Cody and our time inbetween visits have gotten longer.  We talked about his front teeth.  There is nothing left to these teeth.  They have been worn down as far as they can without disappearing (key word).  Dr. D said we will most likely have to pull these as there is just nothing to grab onto to wiggle them loose.  We left though with a "don't need to see you till March unless something happens".  Awesome!  March...we get the winter off!  Yippee!!!

This is the "progress" we have made!

So after we left Dr. D....we headed down the road for our 6 month check up with Dr. Tatum.  He noticed that his scars were a little pink and asked about that but I told him those only get really pink when Cody has a cold.  He checked out his ears and the right ear we need to keep our eye on.  He couldn't see the tube, saw some fluid and when he did the tympanogram he wasn't liking what he saw.  So he said to watch for ear infections and if we happen to notice the volume of the TV going up.  The tubes may need to be replaced.  After all, these tubes he has had in since he was 2.  Pretty good tubes if you ask me.  So we will watch it.  Hopefully we will get by till summer when we have our team visit again. 

Fast forward to Tuesday night....Cody says to me "Mom, am I supposed to have a tooth here?".  I turn the light on...."um yah you should".  Where did it go?  That has become the million dollar question.  Where is the tooth!  I could rub my finger on the tooth and feel something.  So I took pictures like Dr. D. told me to do and sent them to him. 

This is his mouth now.  See where the wire stops by the teeth - that tooth is gone.  Look at the picture above and the tooth is there.  So I play some email tag with Dr. D.  He was thinking the tooth fell out - I said no.  So instead of driving for an hour we headed to ur local dentist.  It also gave me a piece of mind that I wasn't crazy.  This tooth just didn't fall out.  She took x-rays and sure enough, there is the tooth - IN HIS GUM!  So I emailed Dr. D back this picture:

You see two rows of teeth.  The top teeth are his adult teeth.  The bottom are the baby.  You can see the wire and above that is the tooth in question... "the missing tooth".  So today I talked with Dr. D again.  (Thank god for cameras)  He said that basically as an adult tooth is coming it, it eats away at the root of the baby tooth.  Once the root is gone the baby tooth falls out.  Because Cody's tooth was not a normal shape and did not hang below the gum like a normal tooth it didn't just fall out.  So now we wait for Mother Nature to take it's course and for that big adult tooth above it to move on down and continue to eat away at that baby tooth.  He said that we will probably never have a tooth 'fall out" so now the tooth fairy has to get creative in what we do to honor this tooth.  We will watch the area for any redness or if the wire bother's him.  If nothing we will still go back in March. 

I'm praying for March! 

Oh and if you wanna know the secret to taking that picture of the x-ray......hold it very close to the light bulb and turn off your flash and Presto.....a picture! 

It's been awhile

Wow - it has been a long time since I last wrote on this blog.  Our anniversary.  A whole summer has gone by and a start of school and so much I should of wrote about but didn't.  Over the past couple of weeks I remembered why I started this blog.  It's great to go back and read through things.  What we did, what we saw, what the kids said, doctor's appointments, the list goes on.  I have been tossing around the idea of making a new blog.  I have some how gotten my blog to post to facebook after every post.  While I really don't write anything that I don't care if other's read - what I write is for my benefit.  If other's like to read what we are up to then that is great.  So not sure how long I will keep The Luckey Family but for now it's late and I'm tired and not feeling overly creative to come up with a different name so I'm sticking to this. 

10 Years

10 years ago I became a very "Luckey" lady.....I married my best friend.  It's been a long road.  Like any marriage we have had our ups and downs and had lots thrown at us.  But in the end we have come out on top and still "have it"!  :)  I love him with all of my heart and am so happy that we have the amazing little family that we do and I love watching us grow.  It's an amazing feeling when the kids do something and all it takes is a quick glance to each other to know what the other is thinking. 

I put together a cute video of our last 10 years...really 15 if you count all the dating.  I can't wait to order it and have it to watch at home. 

In doing the video I realized one thing - or rather couldn't find one picture.  However, I am not sure if the picture even exists.  I have a little "family" picture from when Tyler was first born.  You know those shots where mom looks like death but still smiles, a tiny baby so wrapped up you can just see a face and a beaming dad who just did nothing while you pushed for a couple of hours.  lol.  Well, I don't have that little "family" picture from when Cody and Dylan were born.  My heart is really sad about that.  Obviously we didn't have the same type of birth with Cody and Dylan as we did with Tyler - and we got a lot of unexpected things that January day but I still wish we had gotten that picture.  I guess it's one of those things you "shrug" off and obvioulsy move on from.  We did / we have! 

Team Visit

Our morning started early.  Off we went to Syracuse for 2 doctor's appointments.  Nice to get them all done in one trip though.  Today was Cody's yearly team evaluation.  We get to see a slew of doctors and with any luck, walk away with good news.  We got just that!  He did awesome - as always!  He's my big kid and knows he has to go with the flow of things.  First up for the day was dental x-rays and molds.  He did the x-rays and all is well.  We got in the room to do the molds and I told her he had a palate expander in his mouth.  She continued.  I could of told her it wasn't going to work - but hey, I'm not the hygenist.  She mixes it up and in it goes on top.  As he is gagging and hating it but keeping his cool, she pulls it out and YEP, it didn't take.  All of that goop is all stuck to his expander.  We are trying to get it out, not pretty!  Come to find out after our visit with Dr. Dillingham, he had told them to do the x-rays and molds but he said he didn't think he had to tell them to put WAX on the expander so the stuff wouldn't stick to it.  I really am still ticked about that.  Then she did the bottom teeth.  I joked that maybe his loose tooth would fall out.  Sure enough - the mold came out with the tooth in it.  Glad the tooth is out...he likes to hang onto them for dear life.  Dr. Tatum was next although we didn't get to see him.  He got called into a meeting.  The guy that filled in for him was OK however, I didn't get the warm and fuzzy when he didn't even know who Dr. Dillingham was.  Thankfully I really didn't have any major concerns.  Cody has been dorment for surgery for a few years now.  I just know that will change.  It's not "if"...it's "when".  They are thinking bone graft at 8 and jaw surgery at 15-16....of course these are estimates and who knows maybe we will dodge the bullet a 100% and not need either.  Hard to say but not likely that will happen.  Hearing is perfect, met with gentics - nothing new from them, got his pictures taken.  I realized that my kids can't have a camera in front of them and NOT smile!  :)  OOps!  Met with Speech.  Eileen is very happy with him.  He's having a hard time with the /s/ sound still and the /f/ and /v/ sound.  These have a lot to do with placement of tonge and teeth and jaw and all of those go against Cody right now.  So we will practice. 

We had a few hours to kill until we met with Dr. Dillingham so we ate lunch and hit up Target.  Target is where I realized why I DO NOT shop with my husband.  OMG!  He was looking for a backup pair of swim shorts and it took forever.  And he thinks I'm bad to shop with. 

Dr. Dillingham's visit went good.  He moved the wire and bonded it to help push out the front teeth so they stop wearing on the bottom teeth.  Now that Cody has lost the bottom front 2...we can't have his upper teeth wearing on the bottom and causing damage.  He filed down a front baby tooth that is basically dead.  We are waiting on the upper 6 year molars to come in.   He's getting his bottom two now.  When the uppers come in - we will switch out expanders and he will start to wear the head gear.  Time line for that is in about 9-12 months.  Until then, we maintain what we have.  We did find that a piece of the expander wire has broke.  We both think it happened at the dental clinic with the mold disaster.  UGH!  So he repaired what he could and we'll have to watch it.  We don't see him till October! 

I got an awesome shot of the inside of Cody's mouth today...but have to wait to post the picture as I just packed my camera cord. 

And our teacher is....

We are anxiously awaiting to see who the boys teachers will be for next year.  Of course we haven't gotten Cody and Dylan's yet....but Tyler's came the other day.  I am soooo happy he got Mrs. Cluck.  Same teacher that Cody had.  I loved both of the boys but I think Tyler will mesh well with her.  So we will wait to see who the other two have and then it's the daunting task of back to school shopping!  Oh who am I kidding...I love to shop!  :)

Cody's Endo visit

Today was Cody's endo visit...our last one was in September.  He had been doing really good and for a while I just thought this would be a routine visit.  For the most part, it was but I had a couple issues to discuss with the doctor. Cody gets to the point and it's 8 o'clock and the kid needs to sleep.  Which is fine but he seriously lately has been loosing his mind if he can't get to sleep.  So I thought it was odd and night time has become a real chore with him.  Crying, upset, can't sleep - I had no idea what to think or what was going on.  A friend told me that his thyroid could be off.  So today I told Dr. Wu about all the recent over tiredness and explained that not much has changed. If anything, his daily activity has gotten lighter with school being out. You can be more relaxed at home. Dr. Wu said that would explain his blood work. His TSH level is high. Last September it was 2.54 and today it was 5.5. He said that we need to increase his daily dose of medicine but because the range is high at 5.0 and Cody is just over that he is only increasing us a ½ a pill every other day. So every other day he will take 1 and ½ pills and 1 pill on the other day. Probably going to get confusing. He said that before the dose increase he was looking to take us off the med to see if his body had re-adjusted but because of the dose increase we are looking at another 1 to 2 years and then who knows. If we have to increase again then we are probably looking at something more long term. He wants to re-test the blood in 4 weeks and then he’ll let me know. He said he doesn’t need to see me unless those numbers come back really high or higher than we are at today. Right now we go back in Feb.

He said he is growing fine though. He weighed 60lbs and is in the 50th percentile for weight and height. So thankfully this thyroid issue is not affecting his growth. Which is good.

I explained it to Cody – I forget how big of a kid he really is when he has to be. I told him he has to have his blood taken again and he was OK with it. He had a good experience the other day when Brett took him. Matter of fact he just keeps reminding me that I promised him silly bands and haven’t gotten them yet. Although, he said he would take any “toy”, like a Bakugan! :)   I just told him he was so tired and the pills help him not be as tired. And his body needs more of the pills so he won't be so tired. He said “I understand mom, I still love being me”. Yah, I could of cried! 
So I knew something was up with my Cody. He has never had such a hard time falling asleep before. He’s been pretty attached at my hip lately too. And I have no idea why I let others make me feel like I don't know what I'm talking about or doing with him.  I DO know him, I know him like the back of my hand.  I've got this!  We are a great team and even though Brett is there and has been very involved and great with Cody - Brett has always said he trust me 100% when it comes to things with Cody.  So darn it, no more of that.  If I feel like something is wrong - it is going to take a Doctor or more to prove to me that I am wrong! 

Catching Up.

Wow - so much to write about...shame on me for not doing it.  So now I get to search my memory bank and write.  I some how think that only the "important" stuff will still be up there.  :)

Kindergarten Celebration - June 18th.
Such a cute event.  We were quickly told by the principal though that it was a "celebration" and not a "graduation" as Binghamton only has one of those.  Whatever! Really, the school can't recognize the completion of Kindergarten.  They sang lots of songs....Cody and Dylan both had a part in one song.  They held up flash cards through the song.  It was very nice that they stood next to each other for this event.  Because after that - they went to opposite sides and trying to watch 2 kids at one time while they aren't standing next to each - yah, next to impossible.  Cody sang his songs proudly....Dylan sang them as if he was annoyed he had to be doing it.  After the songs and little video/picture presentation we headed to the cafe for cake.  Still can't believe the school year is over and they are now 1st Graders. 

Relay for Life - June 18th
Starting last year my company has organized a team to walk. Last year we did much better with raising money but for our small group we still manager to raise almost $2000.  So that was awesome.  This year we had fantastic weather - no rain - and lots of sun and HOT.  It gives you goosebumps as you stand there and clap as the survivors walk by.  It's a lot of fun to walk, great exercise and raising money for a great cause.  Not to mention it's something you can do with the whole family.  My kids love to walk the track. 

Pre-school Graduation - June 21st
Tyler had his moving up day.  Ty is my shy kid.  Not sure where he gets that from although Brett seems to think he was shy when he was younger.  I'll have to see if I can find any truth to this.  Cause lord knows he's not shy now.  They sang a couple of songs and Tyler finally started singing the second song.  They wore cute little blue graduation hats.  I thought I had a hard time with C&D moving up - I really can't believe my baby is going off to school in September.  That doesn't seem possible at all! 

Tyler's Birthday - the big #5!
After a quick trip to Cuba for a graduation party, we came home on Sunday to celebrate Tyler's birthday.  He choose to have a batman birthday party.  Although if you asked him what he wanted it was Toy Story everything. :)  We had a small gathering, had invited the preschool class and was expected 4 kids to show up plus or normals.  Well here is a big pet peeve of mine - if you RSVP you are coming and then don't come - you need to call.  It's so rude!  That happened with 3 kids.  UGH.  So then as we are about a 1/2  hour into the party doesn't a kid show up - that we had no idea was coming.  OK, whatever - glad he came as Tyler and him really did get a long great this year.  However, he shows up with no gift.  Not even a card.  Now it's not about the presents but really not even a little something.  $5, whatever!  So I thought maybe the mom would bring a card back with her when she came to pick him up....nope!  Then she had the nerve to tell me that she'll be inviting Tyler to his party in August. Yah, we aren't going!  But we had fun, fun, fun and the weather was awesome.  The kids played and jumped on the trampoline and we had cake and ice cream and it was great.  He had a smile all day and that's what counts. 

So now we are onto a busy next couple of weeks and I'm thinking the month of July will fly.  I am silently hoping anyways....as we head for our family vacation the first part of August!  :)

Get out the Video Camera!!!!

Back a while ago, like not long after the boys were born...we invested in a video camera.  We got a nice one because the one we had (a wedding gift) was old and outdated and we wanted to have a great camera to capture all the moments with twins.  Like any new toy we used it and loved it and vowed we would have it forever and always have the great moments on tape.  Then reality kicked in - we had twins and a single baby not long after - we were out numbered 3 to 2 and who the heck had time to grab a video camera.  :)  We were lucky to get out of the house with everything we needed and forget it if we were coming to your house - we were definitely not leaving with everything. 

Well my sister had been telling me (as her kids love to watch themselves on TV) that we needed to get out our camera.  Tomorrow is the big Kindergarten graduation and there is no way I won't have that on tape.  So last night, after the boys were in bed - Brett and I got it out.  It is a nice camera.  Some cords still had the twist-ties on them like how it came packaged.  We have 2 new tapes, some other tapes that until we watch them will we know what is on it.  It might not be top of the line today but it's still a nice camera.  So we plugged it in to charge and realized there was a tape in it.  We turned it on.  It was Cody and Dylan's 3rd birthday.  It was AMAZING to hear their little voices and to see them walking around.  I had tears in my eyes just thinking at how much they have grown.  There Brett and I sat in the kitchen with the camera on the counter and each of us in a kitchen chair watching a tiny camera screen.  Just watching and laughing at how little they were. 

So from that moment on I have made a pledge that the camera will be out and we will get all of these life events on camera.  I can't wait to watch some of the other tapes.  And the next time the two batteries die - we will recharge them instead of putting the camera away for a couple of years.  So if you have a camera and it works and is put away - get it out and capture those memories!  :)

Sportsmanship

If T-ball had a sportsmanship of the year award - Cody would so win it.  LOL.  He had us all laughing at the game last night.  He played 3rd base.  Now in t-ball there isn't much action.  Most the kids can only hit the ball to about the pitchers mound and with every ball being thrown to first base - if you want the ball you must compete for it.  But Cody went to 3rd and was the resident greeter.  As the kids were running from 2nd he would hold out his hand for a high five slap as they came to 3rd.  Once they reached his base, he engaged in a little general conversation.  No idea what was being said but he talked with em all.  Then he figured out that you can wear your glove on your hand like a bracelet.  It was freaking hysterical to watch him. 

Tyler is busy on the field fighting for the ball.  He loves playing and is doing really good.  He hits great off the tee.  Batting left handed like big brother Dylan.  I have to say he can connect pretty good. 

Then there is Dylan.  Dylan is my competitive one.  He is in the game to play.  He doesn't like to screw around and he's serious about it.  He plays first base most often as he will pay attention.  With that base being the only one getting a ball thrown to it - the kids need to pay attention.  He is great though at sharing the base and taking his turn.  He is hitting really good and the teams have figured him out that when he's up to bat that the kids need to "move back".  He connects really good and has this leg thing he does as he hits.  However, he is very good at telling the kids what to do out in the outfield.  Last night as Brett was standing out and Dylan was next to him - a kid hit the ball and somebody from our team got it.  And at the same time, didn't both Brett and Dylan both point with the same stance telling the team mate to throw it to first.  My sister got a picture and it speaks volumes for the "apple that didn't fall far from the tree". 

Tball has been lots of fun.  Our season ends in a couple of weeks and then it's onto summer.  I think Cody is going to sign up for a soccer camp.  Dylan wants lacrosse and Tyler well he'll do anything to compete with his brother's.  :)

A Twin Thing....maybe!!!!

Over the weekend Cody complained that his bottom tooth hurts.  It's loose but not super loose.  It's going to take a lot more wiggling to come out (and he is in no hurry for his teeth to fall out, just ask him!) He did complain enough though that my sister noticed it too.  So last night as I was sitting on the floor painting my nails....Dylan comes in the house and gets down to my level and says "look Mom" as he has his mouth wide open.  There is his tooth just laying there.  It took Brett one quick tug and it was out. 

I find it very weird that Cody did all of the complaining that his tooth hurt and Dylan is the one that lost his tooth (and never complained it hurt). 

I love these little twin moments!  :)

Kindergarten Screening

Well I have attended my last Kindergarten screening today.  It will be so weird to have all 3 of our boys in school next year.  Today was Tyler's day to shine and as I drove to the school to meet Brett and him, I couldn't help but think of the surprise that he gave us when we found out we were expecting him.  We weren't trying (like we had with the boys), we were very reserved when we found out but we were very excited.  It seems like the last almost 5 years have flown by with him.  At times I look at him and think he is much older than he is.  That is probably because he does or tries to do everything his brother's can.  There are times I don't see the age difference between them. 

We got to the school and he was ready.  He's excited about going to the same school as his brother's.  I was super happy to see Mrs. Cluck standing waiting for him.  (She's Cody's teacher and I love her) She was very anxious to meet him.  Off they went to do their little "testing".  Brett and I sat and watched him through the windows.  We could tell he was nervous...he fidgets when he is nervous.  He's a shy kid.  But he did great and I was so proud of him.  Mrs. Cluck ate him up and said how she could see traits of Cody and Dylan in him.  I think he's a great mix of the two of them.  I've got my fingers crossed that he ends up on her class list for September. 

School starts September 8th but before that.....we have lots of fun stuff to do!  :)  For one, he turns 5 in exactly a month!  Yeah!!!

Toy Boxes

All of the kids in the toy box! Over the weekend my Dad came for a visit. He has been a very busy beaver in his garage building. They were supposed to be done for Christmas but I think my Dad bit off more than he could chew. He wanted to build all 6 of his grandkids the same thing...he decided on toy boxes! It took him forever but all of his hard work paid off cause they turned out FANTASTIC! It was so wonderful to have him build my kids something. For many years every Christmas he would build me something new. I've gotten mirrors, tv stand, corner shelves, sconces, garbage bin holder, magazine rack, shelf, book case and for my wedding he built candle centerpieces..... Unfortunately, the day came and my parents divorced and I never thought I would get another wood thing from him. So when he said he wanted to build the kids something I was so excited. I knew I was getting 3 of them but trust me, we filled them with no problem! I am thankful that my boys will have something of his that they can have forever. Just like I still have the cowboy boot bank that my Grandpa built for me. The toy boxes are huge and are beautiful and are a wonderful addition to the wood working family in my house. He put a shelf on the inside that slides back and forth from side to side. As you open the lid is a plastic piece with pictures behind it that we change out over time.

I am hoping I can convince him to build me end tables next....we shall see!

Extremely Proud

Today was one of those days where you wake up feeling good and some how the day just got better. I got to work and today is/was Admin. Professional Day. Every year my office treats us girls super nice. I found pretty yellow tulips on my desk and a nice card. Then my group got me another wonderful card. Plus there was breakfast and a dunkin donuts gift card. A few of the guys that aren't in my office called and/or sent emails. I'm very thankful for the group I work for. And what better way to end a great morning is to take a 1/2 day! :)

After I left work for the day I headed to the school for our parent/teacher conferences. Brett and I met with Cody's teacher first. Mrs. Cluck had lots of wonderful things to say about him. He is doing fantastic and she said she adores him. She would like to keep him behind a year just so she could have him in her class again. :) She said he is a great role model to the students and is a very detailed worker. He's having a little bit of trouble with the 'h', and 'q' sounds...not sure if it's because of the expander or not but she'll just work on them with him. He is right where he is supposed to be and will be ready for 1st grade. Yes, Brett and I left there smiling... We headed down the hall to Dylan's class. Mrs. Matyas had wonderful things to say about Dylan. He too is doing fantastic. He's improved upon lots of different skills since our last meeting. She says she just loves him to pieces and he is a role model in his class. She feels that he has gotten more confident since the start of school and it's showing in his work. He needs to work a little bit harder on some of his sight words but other than that, he too is ready for 1st grade. We are extremely proud of both of them! Both teachers are anxious to meet Tyler and I am hoping that one of them gets him next year. When I register him I am going to ask if he can be with one of them and then just let the school decide as I do love both of those teachers the same.

To end our day, the boys had dental check ups. All 3 go in and line up in the 3 chairs and I am back and forth discussing teeth. That's when I thank god that Cody is the only in-depth kid. Cody went first. He's got one bottom 6 year molar, the other bottom one is trying to come in. He has a loose front top tooth (which we knew and are trying to wiggle it). It was very neat to see her take on the expander and how well it's working. She noticed the expansion right away. Dylan has 4 loose teeth...yep, the tooth fairy is taking donations.....His 2 tooth and his lateral incisors are loose. He has 3 of his 6 year molars. At the next visit she would like to take a panoramic xray and put sealants on the molars. Tyler has no loose teeth. He got some xrays and just got his teeth cleaned. The dentist was very happy with their oral hygiene and the best news of all NO CAVITIES!!!!

I am one very proud mommy tonight!

I am also a very proud Auntie. Karly was chosen to have an art project put on display at the high school. This isn't the first time she has been selected to have an art project on display. A few others have been on display at the districts main office. This one was special, a clay project and there was a little award presentation. Her clay project was a blueberry muffin. I didn't get to go to see it but I can't wait for pictures. Her art teacher said that she is very artistic and a great role model in class. Her old art teacher was also there and when he saw Karly he said "well, I'm not surprised to see you here". So it looks like Ms. Karly Jane got her Uncle Kevin's artistic ability.....she certainly didn't get it from her mother or Auntie. I can't draw a stick figure.

So proud of all of them! I think an Ice cream celebration is in their future!

Dylan's Sprain

Last night as I was trying to get Dylan and Tyler to come in from outside and they were fighting me to just stay out a 1/2 hour longer. I caved and let them. So instead, I went and did some Wii fit and thought I would call back out to them in a half hour. I wasn't 10 minutes into it when I heard all sorts of crying from outside. Before I could get out there - Tyler was barging in the house with Dylan behind - Dylan was crying hysterically. Got it figured out that Dylan fell and "twisted" his ankle. Took off the shoe and the sock and I could see it was red but that's it. He immediately wasn't putting pressure on it and to the couch he went. He mentioned that he probably wouldn't be able to go to school tomorrow but I told him we would have to see what morning brang.

This morning I got him up and yah..he wasn't going to school. His whole foot was nice and puffy and he couldn't walk on it. He hobbled down the stairs on his butt and to the couch he went. I believed him but also gave the firm warnings that there was no running and playing/no going outside/only to be on the couch or in the chair playing the Wii. He asked for Tylenol and I sort of believed he was hurting. I called and got him a doctor's appointment.

Dylan cracks me up. Couldn't put his shoe on that foot so he has developed this hobble and drag move with his foot. It's cute to watch. As we were waiting a good 20 minutes at the doctor's office, Dylan was becoming annoyed we had to wait so long. He really is his father's son! :) The doctor examined him and sure enough it's a sprain. He said the tendon that runs from the ankle bone along the side of the foot is probably what tore away. He suggested an ace bandage and for him to stay off from it. No gym for 2 weeks and keep with the Ibuprofen for the pain. We got home, got him settled on the couch and Brett wrapped his foot up. Keeping him down is going to be a challenge........ He is a cute patient isn't he?

Tyler's ENT update

Tyler had his 6 month follow up from his last surgery. Ear tubes are looking great. Still in place and nice and open - working just the way they are supposed to. I was anxious for this visit as he was going to have a hearing test. He hadn't had one since 2007 so it's been a while. Even though he told me he wasn't going to do it....he did and he did fantastic. He passed with flying colors. No gray area of concern. She totally made it fun and he loved it. The ENT is very happy and we go back in another 6 months. :) I love these easy appointments!

Falling in love with a new smile, a new face

But I just can not forget the face that we welcomed into the world. This sweet face. Ok, who am I kidding.....there were days that didn't want to look past his eyes. I didn't want to see his lip that way. And yes...I'm ashamed to even type that but it's how I felt at times...not all the time, just sometimes. That first surgery (6 years ago today) is a memory like the day they were born. A memory that I will never forget. So far there has only been two of those moments. The lip and palate surgery....I remember the other 2 but not as vividly. I remember it took 5 hours. I remember the doctor coming to talk with us and telling us that surgery went well and that one of us could go see him. I hated that both Brett and I couldn't go. But we both knew I was the one going. I followed the nurse and rounded the corner and heard him crying. I had NO IDEA what he was going to look like....this was not what I was prepared for!So much bruising and blood. That sweet little face. I wanted the cleft back....He just looked like he was in so much pain. We got up to his room and he was hungry. So Brett prepared the formula and I held him. He would fill a syringe up and I would slowly push it into his mouth. He ate like a champ. Night time was rough. He wanted no part of his crib. So I held him in my arms and we slept. The nurse didn't like it but I really didn't care. We left the next morning to come home. With this surgery also brought us the first time we were away from Dylan. I hated leaving him behind.
We got home and everybody was so anxious to see him. Recovery got better every day. A few days later the steri strip came off and you could really see that new little face. I loved it. I couldn't help but kiss it. He now had 1 whole lip......

Over the years his face has changed and his scars have evened out. Most people look at him and don't even see the scars. I look past them now but at times I still see that wide smile of his. I will never forget where we started on this journey......

Ortho Update - Gum highlight

Cody had another orthodontic visit today and I am so happy that there weren't a lot of tears. A few tears this morning when he woke up but once we got in the car and he was settled in with his DVD and breakfast - he was good to go. We had a morning appointment so Brett could come with us and I am thinking that made a world of difference. I know it did to me...I felt like I had my rock with me and we could share that quick glance during the appointment and know exactly what the other one was thinking.

We did our normal first - put the cheek guards in and took our pictures....

To most of you it looks about the same....his front two teeth are loose. Not really wiggly loose but he told him to wiggle 'em and loosen them up. While looking at the picture above, on the left hand side you can see a bulge in his upper gum...that was where (as a baby) his gum was split in two. Well the dentist said that in that spot is now an adult tooth. Which is really a good thing...where there is a tooth there is bone and that's what we need.

Dr. Dillingham came over and took a look inside and noticed that the wire needed repaired. The spot where it was sottered together had worn down and he needed to fix it. So it had to come out. He popped it out and I could tell Cody was moving his tongue all around in his mouth. It must of felt weird. Then he looks at me and said "Mom, my appliance is out....(pause).....(eyes got really big).....CAN I HAVE GUM"........................OMG...yes, of course! So I called the assistant over and asked and she said sure. Thankfully I had gum in my purse. I gave him a piece and he chewed away. He loved it. The dentist thought it was wonderful. I explained to them how he has been so good and understand at what he can and can't have. How at times he has a meltdown and just wants to eat sticky food. So chewing gum is a big deal. I got out my camera to capture him chewing and the dentist wanted a picture too. He suggested holding up the gum pack. Here is my SUPER HAPPY boy chewing his G.U.M......

Those 10 minutes went by quick. He spit the gum out and back in the appliance went. He did great getting it back in, no tears! He was so proud of himself too as he reminded his Dad later that he didn't cry. Dr. D is very happy with his brushing habits (yep, patting myself on the back), and the great thing is we don't have to go back for 8 weeks...which just so happens to be my birthday! :) Thinking that trip if it's nice will be a Zoo day!!!

Happy Easter

My Dad, the boys and I at Easter Breakfast....

Tyler's cool new sunglasses

Dylan got some awesome Monster Jam swim shorts....he LOVED them!!!

Cody was in Bakugan heaven!!! New battle gear, new volume 6 DVD, and new jammies....

All the kids lined up for the egg hunt...(well except Dylan as he took a spill in the yard and had a bummed knee...and maybe a little embarrassment going on too...but grandma got him some eggs....) Finally...we had a Easter that was nice weather. I remember last year having an egg hunt outside and the kids did it so fast cause it was freezing out. Mother nature was good to us and we had warm weather!

This Easter we were in Cuba. The Bunny didn't forget where we were and 3 little boys were so happy for that. It was fun for them to search for their baskets in a different house. Although I think the Bunny could of hid them harder. ;) Saturday morning the boys had us up and out of the house. I had a baby shower to go to and Brett and the boys stayed behind. Baby Shower was for a little girl....I loved all the pink....but only enough to want "pink" for a minute and then I quickly reminded myself how much "blue" I have at home and that's all I can handle. :) After the shower, we went to Aunt Joyce's for an egg hunt, good food, and lots of laughs. It was our first egg hunt with all of them and the boys had a lot of fun and I think the girls did a great job!

Sunday morning the boys were up and ready to find those baskets. Once they find them...which took about 2 seconds....they tore into them. That bunny is so smart and got them lots of stuff they can use this summer in Virginia. After baskets, we met my Dad at Sprague's for breakfast. I love breakfast! It was nice to visit with him. Darn hormones...they certainly got the best of me. But I'll blog about emotions some other time. We had a wonderful Easter dinner at Grandma Holden's. The boys had so much fun playing with the kids and of course more laughs.

Such a fun, fun weekend with family!

Catching up from the weekend....

This past weekend seem to be a busy one. However, I am finding that most all of our weekends are busy. Friday night we got to celebrate with my sister as she turned another year older. We had a great fish dinner/yummy cake and presents. 41 doesn't look bad on her at all! :) (She'll be so happy I shared that)

Saturday we woke up to a decent day and promised the kids an egg hunt. We've gone to this hunt just about every year and it's a lot of fun. Although, this year Karly was too old to participate she still managed to "help" her cousins and get a couple eggs for herself. They separated the kids by age group and even though Connor and Tyler weren't supposed to be together - Connor came over and hunted with his buddy! Heck, looking at the two of them you would have no idea who is older and who is younger. My kids were cursed with the short stick!

After the hunt, we headed to the mall for our yearly photo with the bunny. If I hadn't have started this tradition with them when they were babies we wouldn't have done it. $9.00 is the going rate for a picture with the bunny and it's crazy! He's more than Santa. AND that's just for 1 picture. But I guess my boys will soon enough grow out of this so we do it and I love to line the pictures up on my shelf to see them grow every year.

We are heading to Cuba for the Easter holiday. Looking forward to a baby shower I get to go to and a yummy dinner and just good/fun company. The weather is looking wonderful so that will certainly help and allow the boys to get outside and be boys, get dirty, go to the barn...oh who am I kidding.......I won't like the "getting dirty" part....that requires more work for me!

....bully...update!

Thanks to all of those that read and commented on my previous blog post. (I don't mean for all of my blog writings to come over to facebook but somehow I turned that feature on and can't figure out how to turn it off). However, since it does it also has allowed me to get great feed back from other's that have walked these shoes. And if you don't know me....that means a lot to me.

Anyway, I talked to Cody's teacher this morning when I dropped them off at school. She agreed with me and my request but said that her hands were some what tied as the student who did it was not in her class. Last night as I was going through Cody's bag I found that he had a nurses note so I felt that if the teachers knew, the nurse knew...the principal should know. Punching is a pretty big deal. He (the principal) agreed with me! He was not happy. He was concerned as to where the 4 aids were that are outside with the Kindergartners. He asked for the story and who the child was. I shared what I knew and he promised me he would get to the bottom of it. He felt that a good punishment would be to take away recess time. I agreed. It happened on the playground - so take the playground away. That is what happened. I am hoping the parents were notified and I really hope that the little boy understands that you can't punch somebody else.

Cody seems fine today. He didn't give me a fuss about going to school this morning. I honestly think that Dylan is more ticked off about it. As I was putting Dylan to bed tonight, he told me that he asked "boy J" why he punched his brother and the kid didn't answer. :) Dylan is a very big protector of his brothers. He might want to smack them around but don't let anybody else. :) That my friends, it just what it means to be brother's!

Kindergarten Bullying......."really?!?!"

I probably shouldn't write/act/talk about it as it all happened today and I'm pretty upset by it all. Who knows...maybe over reacting a little. However, it's my child and if I didn't, what type of parent would that make me. Honestly, I think my little boys are lucky that I have their back! :)

The morning started out good. Although I am still trying to catch up on that hour of sleep that seems to be kicking my butt every morning but whatever.... We were running 10 minutes behind. The boys were eating quickly and as they started to get dressed, Cody tells my mom and I that his head hurts. OK. So I gave him some tylenol and out the door we went. Got to school, dropped them off and he just looked a little out of it when he got out of the car. So, I got to work and decided to email his teacher to let her know. The day went on and I didn't hear from her or the school so I assumed the headache was gone and he had a fine day. It wasn't long before I was due to leave and go for my daily drive to pick them all up from school that the teacher wrote me back. Said he was fine all day .... but..... there was an incident on the playground today. As I read what was next my blood started to boil. Cody was on the playground and a boy "showed him his fist and then punched him in the stomach". Wow! Are you kidding me!

I left work to go pick them up and called my sister. I was angry but of course did not know the story. She suggested that maybe I don't speak of it first and see if they tell me. Good idea. I did just that. They got about 2 steps out of the school and Dylan spills it. So I talked to them a bit. Cody was on the playground playing with 2 friends "G" and "A". Girl "A" is not in his class. Then next comes over two boys. (one of them a few weeks ago pushed Cody).....the other boy "J" showed Cody his fist and then punched him in the stomach. All because Cody was playing with Girl "A". The teacher told me "J" apologized but Cody says not. Maybe the kid just apologized to the teacher/Cody - who knows and honestly I don't care!

I haven't spoken with his teacher but wrote her back. I will see her tomorrow at school. I am requesting the principal be notified and I am hoping something goes home to the parents. This boy isn't in either of Cody or Dylan's class. Is this a form of bullying....to me it is! You don't punch a kid because he is playing with somebody you don't want him too. And yes, I am very sensitive when it comes to Cody. I am only guessing I will be this way if it's the other 2 as well. I do know that Cody has enough fears and anxiety that I have to deal with - that are medically related. I am NOT adding school to the list....IN KINDERGARTEN! I have no tolerance for a bully. Yah, kids can be kids...I get that...but darn it - you don't let kids punch another kid. I don't let his brother's do it. And they are brother's - they fight! I've also asked what is the schools policy on bullies and what does the school do to prevent them. Yah, this kid just punched him, but in 3 more years when he's 9-10 years old...but is he doing. Perfecting the punch. So yah, for now...this child has hit the wrong kid. I'm not going to be quiet. I only hope that if my child did it to somebody else - the school and other parent would be just as upset.

A Busy Weekend

We had such a busy yet wonderful weekend. Woke up to the sun shinning and temps that reached into the 50's. It was still cool outside but that sun felt so great. So we all put on our "green" and headed out to the St. Patrick's Day parade. The streets were packed. By the time the parade finally reached us there was no longer standing room. Heck, people were standing in the road. The motorcycle cops kept driving up and down the street pushing people back. At times you wondered how the firetrucks made their way down. AND seriously...why on earth do people bring their dogs to a parade? Do dogs enjoy parades? Cause the dogs I saw acted as if they could just break away from their owners (who were doing everything in their power to control them) they would have a great snack eating another dog. So many people and you have to worry and look everytime a dog barks. It wasn't just a little "bark"...it was a mean "bark"....UGH! Anyway, we saw lots and lots of bagpipers. I absolutely love the sound of them. The boys got lots of candy! We saw lots of police departments (and everytime they saw a K9 until, they would mention that it looked like Tacko), lots and lots of firetrucks and so much more. We stayed for 2 1/2 hours and then left and it wasn't over but my parade go-ers were done! :)On Sunday, I left behind the boys for the day. They were busy playing their new Wii game. Mario & Sonic at the Olympics. If you have Wii, I recommend it. The boys love it! Karly had her first cheerleading competition. It was so fun to see her cheer through out the year. She picked it up quick and had such great enthusiasm about it. The girls had practiced a lot on their dance I couldn't wait. Not to mention it brought back a lot of memories from my cheering days. Actually, as I was sitting in the stands looking across the court at all the cheerleaders I realized that this was my first competition that I wasn't cheering. Only cheering that day were girls in Pee-Wee and in Grammar (which is 6-8th grade).....and I must say, these "grammar" squads did awesome and you would have never known they weren't in high school. The level of cheering out here is so much different than what I grew up doing/or around. The pee-wee girls didn't place..but rather it was for experience. The grammar girls competed and St. Anthony's grammar girls won first. So the pee-wee girls LOVED that! Karly did fantastic and made me so proud. She has done this stuff before being in dance but I think she enjoyed taking all the "cheer stuff" in too. She had attitude, she had her steps down, her pretty little smile.....she's not my daughter but she made this Auntie super proud! I can't wait to follow her through her cheering days. And I think my sister learned a lesson...never trust a man to do a women's job! :)

Ortho Visit - 8 months

It all started a couple of nights ago. I noticed that Cody's top wire had moved and that all the bonding was gone. The wire was in front of his top tooth. I asked if it bothered him and he said no so I decided to watch it as we were due for our checkup in a couple of weeks. Well yesterday after school he complained all day that it hurt. I looked at it last night and didn't think we could make it to our next appointment. I tried to push it back behind his tooth but could not get it to stay. He said it hurt and I noticed that is was poking his lip. I called our ortho office this morning and they got us right in.

I talked to Cody about it last night. After he finally settled down and let me explain things he said he understood why he had to go. He knows that when the wire gets moved it hurts and honestly who wants to have pain. So once I picked him up from school today *early* he was so upset he had to go. We came home to pick up our goodies and he just sat on Brett's lap and cried. All the way to Syracuse he would pipe up and say "mommy, if I let you move the wire, will you turn the car around". Finally we made it and he cried like I've never seen before when we reached the parking lot. The "mushy" mommy wanted to sit in the back of the car with him and cry too. Just cry to get it out..cry to say damn it this isn't fair...cry because I hate to see him cry or in pain ...cry because at times I HATE this road we are on. However, the "mommy in the armor suit" showed up and I let him cry for a few minutes but then I told him that I wasn't turning the car around and we weren't leaving the parking lot without going to see Dr. D. So he got on his coat and we went inside.

He really wanted to play but after we visited the bathroom and brushed his teeth, they were ready for us. This time he picked a stuffed animal from the arch and in the room he went to watch Nick. By the time Dr. D came in he was calm and he did FANTASTIC! I was so proud of him. Dr. D cleared away some old bonding and re-positioned the wire. He said that his upper tooth is sloped on the back and that I wasn't going to be able to just pop the wire behind the tooth. (That made me feel good that we didn't do the drive for something I could of done at home) He said his top two teeth are loose but no idea when they will be ready for the tooth fairy. As he was working he had Cody bite down and he said to the tech "appliance is doing it's job but isn't going to finish it".........OK.......I let that go and let him continue to work. When he was done - I pounced! :) I asked him what he meant and he said that the appliance we have in now is moving teeth and widening the front but won't complete the job. When Cody's top 6 year molars come in he will change the appliance to the type where we will turn a key every night and he will hook the head gear to it to bring his jaw forward. Right now though Cody is just getting his first bottom molar so not sure on when the change will happen.

I was really really hoping we wouldn't have to do the jaw part of this...or have to wear the head gear. I have no idea about that and will be doing my part to hook up with parents who have "been there/done that" as that is the best way to learn. (So if you are one of them reading this - we need to talk! :) ) I think about Cody's anxiety issues and can't imagine what the next step will be like for him. Just hoping that with time and age he will be able to understand more. Of course I won't talk to him about the next step until it's time and we have dates in mind but that doesn't mean I won't be thinking about it. I need to prepare myself first. It just hit me hard tonight. Maybe it's because we have "family" that I think truly believes that once Cody turned 1 and had his palate fixed that all of his issues went "bye,bye".....they truly suck at giving support. Thankfully it's a small part and can be over looked. So yah, I had a pity party tonight. All I can say is that yes, what we have happening in our life might not be the "worst case out there" and there is always somebody "worst"...but darn it - this is the worst for "our" family. This is what we know. This is what I know and I know I have to keep it together and keep it strong to get Cody through it all. So I will blog, I will cry to those that lend me an ear, I will hug my mom as she cries too, I will talk to my sister and get my strength back, I will sit with Brett's arms around me and know that we will get through this and Cody is going to do just fine!

Here is his bite 8 months into the palate expander.....

I am "way" behind....

Wow - it's been just over a month that I last blogged. You would think that nothing has happened in that time. Yet.....so much has happened. I think I got caught up in facebook and didn't post as much as I would of liked to on the blog. So I am searching my memory bank of what we did and the first thing that comes to mind is our birthday present to Dylan. We had gotten him tickets to see a real live Monster Jam show! We saw Grave Digger, El Toro Loco and a few other drivers. This time the show was on dirt and that made it even better. The smiles on the boys faces were priceless and something I'll always remember. Cody didn't come with us, he stayed with grandma. The noise is to much for him.

We've had some snow days finally. Last week we got about 2 feet of snow and it was fun. Brett was home from work, we had family fun out in the white stuff even if it was to shovel out our cars. However, I did reach a breaking point. I went out to shovel and had to start the minute I opened the door. The snow was heavy! I got to the steps finally and realized it was going to take me all day to do this. So I did what any logical person would do - found the nearest kid with a snowblower and paid him to come do the driveway and sidewalk. Yep, that was so much better! :) Sometimes it's just worth it to spend the money.

I am promising to myself to do a better job starting in March. I enjoy writing down what we are doing...it's fun to look back on. Life can be so crazy and weeks run into weeks. So to write it down and read it back later is so nice. Cody has another ortho visit in a couple weeks but I'm not thinking we are making that. His appliance appears to have moved, the wire is in front of his teeth and it's hurting him. So I need to make the call tomorrow and we will need to be seen next week if they can't do it this week. I've tried to bend it back but his teeth are so small, I can't get it to stay. Not to mention he is freaking out when I move it! Karly has her cheering competition this weekend. I can not wait to see their routine complete. Dylan and Tyler are doing great. We've had no more issues with Tyler's hand. Thank goodness! We are going to the St. Patty's day parade this weekend. I love the sound of the bagpipers! Even though we aren't Irish - with the last name of Luckey - how can you not get excited about this holiday! :)

It's been 7 months....

Even with cheek guards in - you can see the smile in his eyes! I love this little boy!!!! And this is our progress. Teeth are touching but sides still aren't in alignment with each other. As the doctor said "we are making progress but still have progress to make". We had a nice ride to Syracuse today. As we got off the exit I hear from the back seat "mommy, I don't feel good, I want to go home". He had me nervous but he didn't get sick. His nerves had kicked in. We got to the office and he wanted to play but we got called right back. He got the big TV all to himself. These offices do amaze me at what is available to the kid in the chair. Spongebob came on and we took our pictures. First them and then it's my turn. It doesn't look like much progress but those top teeth couldn't even touch his bottom - they do now. His palate tooth is moving. It's still in his palate but we have a wire hooked to it and we are moving it. His upper right tooth is still hanging on. Not causing issues for Cody so we leave it. There is no wire hooked to it. Dr. D said that it's really a "tooth fairy tooth" but right now he is gaining confidence in Cody so he is leaving it alone. He feels that when it does become loose there isn't really anything for him to grab onto and wiggle so he will most likely pull it...but for now...we leave it alone and address one thing at a time. The expander and Cody's anxiety. The other thing I love is right after Cody got in the chair and Dr. D started moving the wire and said something about tooth glue and Cody started to loose it. Dr. D reeled him in real quick. He got a little stern and told him he needed him to be his helper and that's all it took. So proud of Mr. Cody today. It is hard on me to sit in the chair and just hold his hand. After we were done we visited our normal - McDonald's.....We go back in 6 weeks.

Staying a mystery....

Some things are just meant to stay a mystery. I guess as a mom of 3 boys - I should get used to that. Brett took Tyler to the orthopedist yesterday for his follow up on his hand. Apparently the brace has been working. Tyler has had no more complaints of pain in the hand. They had told me that they would re-xray the hand at the follow up but Brett said they didn't. So we won't know if he actually might have had a hair line fracture...or if in fact he tore some cartilage.....but whatever he did - it appears to be all better! He is to wear the brace for another week and we are to notify them if he has any more complaints.

So - the hand hurting/injury is going to stay a mystery.......

And if anybody knows me........ I HATE THAT!!!! :) I can't help it! I like to know all the "W's"..what/when/where/why.....it's a fault of mine! :)

6yr. checkups

Tonight, Cody and Dylan had their check ups. It was very nice that Brett could go. He kept one in the waiting room while I only had to deal with one kid at a time. They feed off each other - so when in the room together - it can get crazy!

Dylan went first. He sat up and answered all her questions and she was very happy with him. He wasn't thrilled when he had to take off his clothes down to his underwear but he did it. He is very bashful. He got weighed....62 3/4 pounds. Yah, he's healthy! And he stands at 46 1/4" tall. I thought she would have more to say about his weight but she just said to watch the sugars in his drink. He is a very active boy - I think he's just been blessed with a slow metabolism like his parents. Everything else , BP, ears, heart, lungs, eye exam - all checked out great.

Next it was Cody's turn. He was over tired and therefor not cooperating as much as I know he could have. I'm watching the "tiredness", trying to figure out if he is in fact just tired or if his thyroid is having issues. I'll watch a little bit longer and then make the call. So I answered her questions about Cody. Honestly, she's a great pediatrician but for Cody's issues we have specialist and if I'm having a problem - I'll call them and we'll just update the ped. Cody weighed in at 53 1/4 pounds and stands at 45 1/4" tall. Everything for Cody checked out fine too!

Then we had to drop the bomb - they had to get shots! A booster to the Hepatitis shot and we decided to give the H1N1 shot. Dylan was fine with the news but Cody went into hysterics! Horrible! He has such a fear of needles that I feel so bad for him. So Dylan went first to show that it wasn't going to hurt. He did great. Cody freaked even more taking his shirt off and it took Brett and I to hold him so the doctor could give the shot. After the first arm we moved to the other arm and he says "no, not my favorite arm".....that's when Brett and I lost it. So not right to laugh at him but OMG that was too funny! Then poor Tyler who thought he was just coming along to play with the cool kitchen found out that he too needed a shot. I haven't told them yet that they all need to go back in a month for the second round! :(

This is one doctor visit out of the way. Tyler goes back to the orthopedist tomorrow for a re-check of his hand. Since the brace was put on and after the first 2 nights with the brace, he has slept fine and not complained of his hand hurting. I'll be curious to see if the x-rays will show anything tomorrow. On Monday, Cody heads back to Syracuse for an adjustment of his appliance.

Birthday Celebration Re-cap

Wow - what a truly wonderful fun 6th Birthday the boys had! It all started Friday at school. Brett and I headed to their classes for some parties. Cody's class was first. We walked in and everybody was waiting. Cody in his birthday hat. The teacher had a new idea to try out. All the kids got in a circle and Cody in the middle. Cody was to choose 6 friends to be his "candles". After he picked them - the "candle" kids all knelt with their hands stretched above their head. All the kids sang Happy Birthday and at the end Cody blew each "candle" out. Then they sat down and it was time for some chocolate chip cookie cake. Brett passed out supplies with the help of Cody and I cut. The kids were "starving" (or so they said). Cody had a smile pasted ear to ear! We left and all the kids thanked "Mr & Mrs Luckey"...to cute! Cody and Mrs. Cluck!

Then we headed down the hall to Dylan's room. The kids were waiting for us too and Dylan had his birthday hat on. Mrs. Matyas pulled him upfront with her and all the kids sang. After they were done, it's her tradition to give the bday kid "high 5's", one for each year and then pinches (on the shoulder) to grown an inch. We took the same role as in Cody's class. Dylan's class was a little more wilder but the kids had so much fun. Dylan was so embarrassed when the kids sang but it was so cute. He tries to play Mr. Macho to much. Dylan giving High 5's to Mrs. Matyas

Friday night Kevin, Kristie and Jack arrived. They stayed with us (something that they haven't done since having Jack) and it was fun to have some time with them. Brett cooked us a good dinner and then the boys played some Wii. Cody and Dylan were getting excited that when they woke up it would be their birthday!

Saturday morning came and the fun began. We headed to Karly's basketball game early. Only got to see 2 cheers but the girls looked great. It's still so neat to see her on the court. After that we headed back home. Coming with us were my Dad and Uncle Ken to hang out with for the day. Brett cooked us a yummy breakfast and the boys were getting excited for their friends to come. To bad this was about 11am and the friends weren't coming till 4. Shortly after my mom arrived and then my sister and crew. Grandpa Jim (Brett's dad) got there about 2:30 and we had a house full. It was so much fun though to have everybody together (only wish Brett's mom could of joined us to celebrate) and the boys took it all in. Next came presents to pass the time. They got new bikes, Wii game and accessories, some cash/gift cards and then their presents from us.

Dylan first opened his present from Tyler. Tyler wanted to get Dyl a new monster truck. Then Dylan opened 2 more monster trucks from us. First was Grave Digger (his favorite) and Iron Warrior. The picture above shows him holding a cool card and a ticket (blurry camera, I know). The ticket is for him and us to go to PA to see a real Monster Jam show. He freaked! Just as Brett said he would. The show is 2/20 and we can't wait. He will get to see his favorite driver and truck in person. You guess it...pictures to come! Another blurry picture (love my camera)............Cody wanted a DS. Thankfully I got a great deal and couldn't pass it up. He loves it!!!! He's busy growing his new zoo. Karly and him were sitting for the afternoon raising their animals.

Finally 4pm came and their friends showed up. We all ate and then had cake. In our tradition with twins...we sing to them separately. I made their cakes...ok, let me rephrase that...Brett made their cakes and I decorated them. Happy Bakuday Cody.......get it Bakugan - Bakuday! :)Happy Diggerday Dylan...........Grave Digger......Digger......you see where I am going with this! :)

Then it was finally time to head to the hockey game! What a fun night. It was also Star Wars night so the kids got to see clone troopers and get a group picture with Darth Vader. Then we found our seats. Now not sure if these were the best seats in the house but for a birthday party with 7 kids - it was perfect. We were 3 rows off the ice. We sat right as the Senators came in/out of their dressing room onto the ice. The kids got "high 5's" all night long. At the end of the first period....Karly was getting her hand slapped and one of the players gave her the game puck. Totally made her day! Then the end of the second period - Cody also got a game puck given by #5. Max the mascot came to hand out the treat bags and we got another photo. There were lots of fights. I mean drop sticks, take off gloves, punch until the refs pulled em apart. Plus the Senators won! 5-2. yeah! So much fun! I think we all enjoyed them turning 6.

Continued.....

I got out of recovery and headed to my room. By this time the family had seen the babies and were watching them through the nursery windows as they cried out about having to be weighed and such. It wasn't long and they brought them into me. My first moment "really" seeing my boys. I didn't know what to think. I was numb - I was excited but this is NOT what I thought I would be feeling like. I looked at Cody and his lip that was pushed up into his nose and honestly had no idea what our future held. Would he even live? Nurses were coming in, my family there and Brett and I just looking at each other. Everybody was telling us the same thing..... "he's going to be OK...they can fix that". 6 years ago I felt like everybody was lying to me. I am almost ashamed to write it but I took to Dylan first. I held him, fed him and just looked at his little round face. Brett took Cody...he held him, feed him and learned first how to feed him. I really really remember the whole hospital stay and I felt very numb.

The next couple of days I went through the motions. We changed the first dirty diaper, we fed them lots, took them for their first picture....by the time of dis-charge I had gotten angry with my nurses for not showing me how to work Cody's bottles. That's when I started to take the bull by the horn. My sister had printed me out information about cleft lip and palate and I read that a little. I knew that we were going to make it.


So..... fast forward and my babies are now 6. Cody and Brett and I have gone through such a growing stage. We've gone through stuff that some parents never will. We've met some parents walking the same shoes. We've dealt with the people that think once his lip/palate surgery was over - that he is all fixed. Only wish it was that simple. He's had to grow up a little quicker. He is the best little patient and we don't sugar coat it much for him. He's taught me that no matter what you look like...you are still a person and need to be treated that way. He really will never know what he has taught me. He has a smile that will brighten a room. And the biggest eye lashes that will make any girl jealous. He's caring and understanding. Dylan is the best big brother ever. Or maybe is it little brother seeing as though Cody is a minute older and trust me that does come up! :) Dylan is our teddy bear. He is rough and tumble one minute and sittin on my lap, cuddling the next. He is his daddy through and through. I love his little dimple when he smiles. He has a love for the out-doors that I'm thinking he didn't get from his parents. Both of them are amazing! Their likes, dis-likes, at times they are so much alike and at time they are completely different from each other.

Happy 6th Birthday to our boys!

Getting ready......

This time 6 years ago, I was settling in on the couch for my last night of rest being pregnant with twins. I had watched them grow on the screen, I had felt them twist, turn, hiccup, flop inside my belly. A feeling I LOVED with all my heart. A feeling I longed for after they were born. That closeness is amazing. I had planned what they were going to wear home, we planned what we would do if Brett was off reffing a basketball game, the due date game was complete and I honestly don't know who won it now but it was fun then. We knew our life was about to change - we were getting 2 babies and not just 1 (like normal people). Bottles were washed, clothes hung, crib made, the list goes on.

What I didn't know when I went to bed that night is that when I woke up on that Friday morning, I would have my water break. Only I didn't know it. It wasn't like the lifetime movies that I had grown to watch in my board em where the water broke and there was instant pain and labor. So I went back to sleep, got up and ate some cereal and then called my sister. When I told her what was up she nicely told me that she was hanging up with me and to call the doctor. So I did! They told me to "get to the hospital". I called Brett at work, the receptionist had been awaiting my call. They were all excited. I hung up from telling Brett to come home, that "it is time" and I went and took a shower, did my makeup and my hair. I was standing in the closet looking for something to wear when he rushed through the door. He ushered me along!

We got checked in and I got all hooked up to monitors. A little more equipment because of 2 babies and the fact I was only 35 weeks along. We called my parents and they quickly got in the car and made it out here in time. They were lucky though - because of that cereal I ate and having a c-section (because baby A was breach) I had to wait.... With that waiting I got to feel labor pains. They weren't fun! I have more vivid labor pain memories from when Tyler was born. Brett got suited up and off I went to the OR. The family went to waiting room. (Here is where I should insert what they were thinking...maybe my sister will write that) Things started to move along quickly. I got on the table, my spinal done and all of a sudden I couldn't feel my legs. Blue drapes everywhere. Lots of people in and out. Brett at my head - neither of us talking as we were both so nervous and excited. The doctor tells me he has made his cut. I wait......I wait for that first cry....it didn't come.....baby A was out and out of the room he went. We had agreed that Baby A was to be named Cody James. We did know that the babies would be taken out of the room to go to their own little team of NICU staff to check them over and make sure they were doing OK. So I got past the "no cry" and waited to hear of Baby B out - he cried! Out of the room he went. Baby B was to be named Dylan Thomas. A few seconds/minutes went by and they came to get Brett. He left. I was a little jealous he was seeing them first. What I didn't know was that he got "the news" before me and all by himself. The babies were both doing great. Breathing on their own and they looked good.......except......Baby A was born with a cleft lip and palate. WHAT?!?! He went to see them and shed a tear or two for his sons. Then he wheeled them into me.....Cody in front/Dylan behind him........."what is wrong with his lip". Gosh, I'll never forget those words. Brett told me what was wrong.....I cried....I looked away and I threw up. I went to recovery to be by myself...wish I didn't have to be....I had no idea what was happening with them......Brett walked with them down the hall to our family waiting.......

Here they come....

Dylan.....Cody

To be continued......

Isn't he cute!?!?

Here he is sporting his brace. He smiles for everything. When the girl was taking x-rays a couple days ago she said told him to say "cheese" when she took the picture - so he did! Yah, my kids are used to cameras in their faces!
He got this on Friday. Friday night he had a rough night. On and off during the day on Saturday he complained of it hurting and then again Saturday night he had a really rough night. It's so hard to see your kids cry about something that you have no idea what it feels like for them and then to not be able to take the pain away. Sunday was a good day though. I stuck to the motrin every 6 hours and Sunday night he slept all night - like a baby! So.....we just watch it and pray for a good night every night.

Tyler's mystery....Updates!!!!

As if Brett's surgery hasn't given me enough to think about - Tyler decided I needed more. Monday night, Brett took Tyler to his bed. He woke up and started to cry and told Brett his hand hurt and that he wanted tylenol. The rest of the night he was very restless. Tuesday as we were up very early to get to the hospital, Tyler woke as well. He was crying and said his hand hurt. He got more tylenol and I told my mom I would check in after we got to the hospital. Throughout the day he seemed fine. Using it some, sometimes favoring it, nothing was consistent. I called back later in the day and he had another rough wake up from his nap so I called the doctor. Since I was at the hospital with Brett, we made a late appointment. I dropped Brett off and picked up Tyler. Dr. M checked him all over and didn't really see anything. Tyler at that point wasn't saying it was hurting. Weird! So he said to watch it and let him know how the night went. Well......the night didn't go as well as I hoped. Started about 12:30 and he woke up crying. We did tylenol and I slept with him. He tossed, turned, moaned, cried, grabbed his hand, I held him for 2 hours and that seemed to help. So this morning, I called the office and they said we should have x-rays. We went to the hospital and he did awesome! Totally turned the charm on for the tech. Sat perfectly still and she got her pictures and then he got lots of cool toys - including a tattoo! The scans were ordered stat so we sat and waited to talk with the doctor. Good news - no break! Bad news is that we have no idea why his hand hurts. Doctor said it could be a hair line fracture that the x-ray didn't pick up. It would in about 2 weeks with the growth of new bone but I'm just hoping that's not it. He said to see how tonight goes and if we have a repeat of a bad night that tomorrow we can do blood work to test for an inflammation somewhere.

So....time will tell!

I just want my boys healthy again. We have 10 days till 2 little boys turn 6~~~~ and we need to P.A.R.T.Y!!!!!

UPDATE
I called the doctor's office this morning and wouldn't you know our doctor wasn't working today. I explained to the nice lady at the desk our "issue" and she said...Dr. M will be in on Tuesday. UM yah, you must not of heard me - I am NOT waiting till Tuesday. So she said she would pull the chart and I stressed to her to call Dr. M. or have another doctor review it.

I called back about 1:30 and got the same "nice girl" (are you sensing my sarcasm just yet) and she says "oh darn it, Dr. M never did come in. Yah I was pretty sure he wasn't coming in this morning. I politely informed her that I was not waiting. The doctor and I had talked our next step was blood work and that's what I was doing. I gave her 20 minutes and told her I needed a call back as I was leaving work.

They called and as I thought - the other doctor followed Dr. M's order for blood work. So back to the hospital Tyler and I went this afternoon. I am slightly ticked we just didn't do this yesterday. He should of ordered x-rays and blood work - hoping that one of them will let us know what is going on. Tyler has never had blood work so this was a first. He did fantastic. He cried for a quick second but the girls taking the blood were excellent with him. They gave him his own glove to wear and then he got to hold the vial of blood as they changed them. (he had to have 5 vials taken). Then he got stickers and we were done. We should hear something back tomorrow. Just hoping for a peaceful night of sleep. It's the worst feeling not being able to help them.

UPDATE:
The doctor called us back this morning and went over the blood work. All blood work came back OK. They tested his white blood cells, tested for inflammation, thyroid (his TSH level did come back a little high at 4.54 - but normal range is .4-4 so it's just over), one other test not due back till Monday - but all in all - the blood work didn't give us the clue we were looking for. Now we are all kind of stumped. He had another long night of discomfort (this has been going on since Monday night). Her next thought would be sending him for a bone scan or an MRI. But instead they decided it was time for us to go see an orthopedist. Thankfully we got an appointment today.

Met with a great orthopedist. He was super nice towards Tyler and really helped take the edge off. He examined his thumb area and just said that the x-rays looked fine. He didn't see any break. He too said that there still could be a hair line fracture that we aren't seeing. He mentioned that there is a lot of cartilage in the hand and that it's possible that he tore some of it. So he recommended a brace to help stabilize the wrist/hand. Wants him in that for 2 weeks and then wants us back for x-rays. We see him on 1/28.

So after we left that office we headed back across town to the health supply store. I walked up to the counter and gave my script and the lady asks "do you have an appointment".....um no, didn't know I needed one. She asked "do you want one"....yah - right now! Duh!!! Well you might have to wait - whatever - I am not leaving here without a brace. So we sat and waited - no big deal. They had crayons and a cool water cooler that helped to fill Tyler's bladder. :) They fitted him for a brace and home we came. I have pictures that I will post. He looks so cute in it - but then again he looks so cute in anything.

All of this good work at the doctor's got him a new toy - he picked a matchbox car!