Deacon's Latest EEG

Deacon after his recent EEG

Deacon had an EEG back in February to see how he was responding to the change in prescription to Valproic Acid and B6. His neurologist and I have been playing phone tag for the past couple of weeks, so when I was in the area today picking up Deacon's B6 prescription (we have to special order it from a compounding pharmacy near his office, about 30 minutes away), I decided to stop by and at least get a copy of the report to hold us over until we can talk.

With a year of neurological research under my belt, I am definitely no professional, but have come to understand a lot of what is written in the reports. Before I share the results, here are parts of his previous EEG's. They are pretty wordy, so I tried to summarize, paraphrase, and define as much as possible.

January 17, 2011
Patient with abnormal EEG. No evidence of occipital rhythm, indicating disturbance in cerebral function (reason for his vision problems). In addition, there is 3-4 hz high-voltage slow wave activity (high voltage & slow wave is the worst to have) mixed with spike and sharp wave activity in occipital (vision) and temporal (speech/memory) regions. Epilepsy diagnosed.

October 5, 2011
This EEG is very abnormal because of multifocal spike wave discharge (seizure activity in multiple parts of the brain), but mostly in the left-mid temporal lobe (speech/memory). Poorly organized, not well-sustained, medium-voltage (5-6 hz) activity (which means some improvement b/c medium voltage is better than high voltage) seen symetrically. No clear focal slowing seen (also better).

February 18, 2012
Well organized, well sustained 7-8 hz (see how the number is getting bigger each time, that is good) activity seen symetrically. Sleep stages normal. This is a NORMAL awake and asleep EEG!!

Again, I haven't talked to the neurologist about his impression, but the report looks optimistic. Praise God!

Will update again when I get more information.

Spring Break

Carson's Spring Break started off with some bad weather, but he wasn't going to let a little rain get him down! He put on his raincoat and would run to a friend's house to play, or bring them back with him.

When the rain finally stopped, we took Deacon out to play in the puddles.
At one point, Brian yelled to me from the kitchen window to go outside and see what our oldest and his friends were up to. This is what I found:
Last time Carson was in Grapeland, my dad bought him a rope to lasso with (lasso what, I'm not sure...). He and his friends tied the rope to an ice chest and took turns pulling each other up and down the street!!

The next day I "snuck out" of the house and we met some friends at Discovery Green, a huge park in the middle of downtown. They were hosting a free foam party, so we packed lunches for a picnic, and bathing suits to play in the water and foam. The weather wasn't quite warm enough, and the water was a little too cold for Deacon. He lasted about two minutes before he was shivering. Carson, Lucas, and Evan were a little tougher!

While the foam party sounded great in theory, we soon found out otherwise. A local radio station advertised the free event and the place was packed! I had assumed they would have huge foam machines blowing out into the open field, but they contained it in an inflatable corral and then didn't monitor the amount of people going in. It was full of teenagers and adults and the foam was so high that if a little one went in, the foam was above their heads. Deacon stayed in the stroller with us, and we let the big kids go in together.
They were out about a minute later, covered in bubbles and missing a shoe! I don't think they were too thrilled, but we got our photo! :)
That night Carson woke up at 1am complaining that his ears were hurting. After taking him to the doctor, we found out he had a double ear infection and strep throat! The doctor gave him antibiotics and ear drops and said he would be contagious for 24 hours, so he spent all day Wednesday in bed.

Like clockwork, 24 hours later he felt a million times better. Brian's parents took a couple of days off for the break and picked him up Thursday evening. They went ice skating and to his cousin, Jakob's karate.
On Saturday, they went to the rodeo!
(And sometime during his stay, Carson talked Grandma into getting him a new pair of Nike's...notice them below!)

In addition to the petting zoo, they hit up the carnival.
We met over at Brian's parents after church on Sunday and enjoyed the beautiful weather by grilling burgers outside. Carson was not thrilled to learn that his vacation was coming to an end and it would be back to school on Monday...only about 10 weeks left until Summer!!

Spring Sprouts

This may not be the most riveting blog, but we are thrilled about it! Mother nature amazes me every year as seasons change, but our little garden has been even more incredible to watch! I can tell the difference between morning and evening and can't help but photograph the progress.

After only a week of being planted, all of the seeds began to sprout!!
The next day, Brian told me to go outside and check out the garden, and I could already tell a difference!
...and again today! With as fast as things are growing, Brian added some lattice for our climbing plants to grab on to.
As a reward for our little project, we decided to add a fruit tree to our backyard too. Brian took our Cheeto boy shopping at a local nursery for a navel orange tree (and jalapeno plant).
We planted a magnolia tree a few years back that didn't make it, but we are hoping our little orange tree will! The blooms on it smell amazing.
I promise not to blog about our garden again until we have an actual piece of produce to show!

Farmer Brian

We have talked about building a vegetable garden in our backyard every year since we moved in five years ago. I love the idea of saving money, eating healthy, and feeling a little self-sufficient. I, unfortunately have the opposite of a green thumb. Black thumb, maybe? In college, my roommate and I even killed a cactus that was growing in our dorm room...I didn't know it was even possible to kill a cactus, they grow in the dessert for crying out loud!

Anyways, Brian knew he would be going into this endeavour alone (well with my moral support). I don't know if it is the fact that we have kids, or just that we are somewhat night owls, but most projects that go on in our house happen at night. After work on Friday, Brian stopped by Home Depot (between our garage renovation and now this, I'm thinking we should have purchased stock...) to get his supplies. He bought 2 raised garden frame, 16 bags of top soil, 4 bags of garden soil, 3 tomato cages, seeds, 3 tomato plants, 3 cucumber plants, and 2 squash plants for about $160.

In addition to the plants, Brian also planted a variety of seeds: purple whole peas, green beans, corn, watermelon, green onions, okra, and carrots. He is so proud of his little garden, and with this rain spell we have had the past few days, hopefully we will have some fresh veggies in the next couple of months.
Carson and James also helped him plant the remaining corn today. I think Carson is just as excited as Brian!

Friday Night Fun

Bennett's new car seat arrived today! After doing some research, we decided on the Chicco Keyfit 30, which got great safety ratings along with excellent reviews from parents. I wasn't completely sure on the color, but it is so gorgeous in person and more plush than either of the infant seats we had for Bennett's older brothers.

Carson decided to test it out and let us know what he thought, while posing for pictures.

Like any other kid product, the real fun comes with the packaging itself! We poked holes in the top and ran Christmas lights through, creating a nicely lit tunnel for the boys.



We know how to kick off Spring Break partying! ;)

Deacon's 2 Year Update

Deacon- You are TWO years old!!!

You weigh 27 lbs. and are 34.5 inches tall.

You wear size 4 diapers, 2T-3T shirts, 18-24 month pants, and size 7 shoes.

You take 5 ml of Valproic Acid (switched from 7.5 recently) and 1 ml of vitamin B6, both twice a day. You are the pickiest eater! Your favorite foods are ice cream, french toast, quesadillas, and cheetos, and you will eat some other foods that are sweet or have breading. You don't really like any fruits or juice, hate noodles and most meats. Dinner time is always an adventure with you, because one night you might eat something we give you, and then the next time we serve it you spit it out and want nothing to do with it... You still prefer to eat with your fingers, but will use a spoon if we put the food on it first.

You have become increasingly vocal each day and are starting to mimic sounds. You can say "mama," "dada," "bubba," and can make the sounds "h," "s," "la," and "ga." Now that you have learned to make kissing sounds, wave "Hiiiii," and blow raspberries, we are laughing with you all the time!
I think you may be our future musician! You love music, so any shows that have lots of songs are your favorites (Fresh Beat Band, Backyardigans, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse), but you get so mad at the tv when the song ends, that we will sometimes rewind for you to listen again.

You love playing in the bathtub, swinging, jumping on the trampoline with your brother, and any other activity that allows you to be outside. You are such a happy guy, we have nicknamed you "Smiley Face" because that is what you are always doing! The only time you get upset is when someone enters or leaves the house and you don't get to go outside (which is more frequent now that Carson and all his friends play together every day)!Sleeping is still one thing you do great! You are usually in bed by 8pm and will sleep until 9am, and then will take a 2-3 hour nap during the day. We are surprised that with how much you love climbing that you haven't tried to escape from your crib. You actually love playing in there and are perfectly content until we get you out. Some mornings/evenings we will lay in bed cracking up at the sounds we hear coming out of the monitor as you "talk" to your toys.

Physically, you are a superstar! You love to jump, throw (well, more like drop) toys, slide, wrestle with the boys, clap, and just figured out how to make yourself dizzy by spinning in circles. Climbing is your favorite activity, with your favorite spots being the tv stand, bathtub, toilet, and dishwasher door. We can only run the dishwasher while you are sleeping because you also like to turn the knobs on it while it is running.You are becoming more social, will follow us around the house, and come sit down next to us when you get tired of playing with toys. You will raise your arms to be picked up and have no problem stealing the spoon away from Dada when he is eating ice cream. You love girls who wear hairbows or anything sparkly, and last week you even played chase with a girl at Little Gym. We are working on having you look at us every time we say your name and clap twice when you want more of something.

I know they say two's are terrible, but so far we beg to differ! Your second year has started off with a bang, making us pray that this year will be renamed the "Terrific Two's"!!

7 Month Pregnancy Update

How far along? 30 weeks

Mood: Rested! :)

Maternity clothes? Yes, along with my bellyband because even maternity clothes are having trouble covering my growing tummy and I refuse to buy more just to wear for two months!

Sleep: Still having trouble getting comfortable, and now also waking multiple times at night for visits to the bathroom, but other than that sleep is good...lol

Energy Level: Short spurts throughout the day.

Best moments in the last month: Getting to relax and enjoy my last few months of being pregnant and having a family of four.

Movement? You can see movements from the outside of my tummy when Bennett gets dancing!

Cravings: Milk, Big Red, and Bluebell ice cream

Baby purchases this month: All this free time has given me a chance to shop online! Baby bedding, a couple of ties for newborn pictures, a baby sling, mattress, and picked out a new double stroller today that my fabulous aunt is getting us!

What I miss: My coworkers and students

What I am looking forward to: Being able to resume normal activity!

Look how much my belly has grown, even from just last month!!!