Merry Christmas 2025!

Monday, December 22nd:

Josh worked in Iowa on Monday and Tuesday, so Theo and I hung out at home. We watched The Sound of Music and anytime Julie Andrews was singing Theo kept making oooooo-ing sounds. I don't know if he was impressed or trying to sing or both! It was adorable!

Monday afternoon Ms. Laura and Ms. Becca came over for PT/OT. They had Theo open his present from Ms. Laura. Theo loved smashing the paper into balls and throwing them to me! 

He got a giant Baby Yoda from Ms. Laura! He loves it!

Right side laying on Baby Yoda!

[Chargers are heading back to the post season!]

Tuesday, December 23rd:

I sent a message and the video of Theo's new seizure to Theo's Epilepsy Specialist. She is out of the office until after the holidays, but the on call doctor increased one of Theo's meds to help combat the new seizure. Theo is now maxed out on all of his seizure meds. Hopefully his team at Lurie's can come up with a new plan after his overnight EEG in January.

Theo had his 2025 final ride with Sherman today! We are excited to continue lessons next year!

Wednesday, December 24th:

We stayed at home for the rest of the week in order to keep Theo safe. The flu is running rampant and we can't let him get sick.

On Christmas Eve we made nachos and watched The Muppet Christmas Carrol!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We had a nice quiet Christmas at home. We opened presents, ate pigs in blankets, and FaceTimed with my family! It looks like everyone had a great day!

[Light from Grammy Suzi]

Pictures by the tree (a family tradition):

[Josh got a decanter and a couple of video games]

[I got a new laptop!]

[Most of the family]

After Christmas:

We spent the rest of the week watching football!

[BYU and Chargers games]

BYU won their Pop Tart Bowl game! YAY!

[Poor Grandpa Phillip! We still love you!]

[Theo cuddling with Baby Yoda!]

Josh headed back to Iowa for work on Sunday night. After he left a nice line of storms pushed through the area. There were two tornados south of us and we had a pretty nasty thunderstorm!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Solstice, Josh in Iowa, New Seizure

*Trigger Warning: Seizure Activity. I will be posting two videos of Theo's seizures towards the end of this post. They are intense, so please use discretion. 

Monday, December 15th:

Theo and Nurse Stephanie headed off to school for our last week before Christmas Break!

I went to donate blood and I wasn't able to do the "Power Red" double donation like I wanted to since my hemoglobin was too low. Ugh! But I was still able to do a regular pint donation.

If you can and are willing, please donate!

After school Ms. Laura and Ms. Becca came over for PT/OT.

Tuesday, December 16th:

Theo and Nurse Stephanie had a great day at school and after school I took Theo to see Sherman! Theo was sitting up super strong and did a great job!

Wednesday, December 17th:

Nurse Jess and Theo went to school while I headed to Laser Away to get my Clear and Brilliant facial. The nurse went up to a level 2 with the laser, but due to the numbing cream it didn't hurt too bad. It looks and feels like I have a sunburn, but I was only red for a few hours!

After school Theo took a nap and then Ms. Jen came over for feeding/speech therapy. Theo played with cool whip and chocolate syrup and did a really good job getting some of it in his mouth. We talked about Theo's clinching and his hatred for teeth brushing. She recommended a few resources for me, which I will be looking into!

Thursday, December 18th:

After a few warmer days, we were bracing for another deep freeze. But first we were going to get some rain! 

[Here it comes!]

After the rain the temperatures dove and everything became icy! Luckily, we had no plans to leave the house!

The storm hit Josh in Iowa first and he sent me a video of the pouring rain while he was IN the trench! Don't worry! He got out!

Friday, December 19th:

It was a very cold day, but a warm up is coming and we are NOT going to have a White Christmas! After everything we've dealt with we aren't even going to have a White Christmas. Bummer.

Theo and Nurse Jess went to school for a half day. They played BINGO and watched Christmas movies. It sounds like a great day!

Josh came home Friday night, but they need him back in Iowa for a couple of days next week so he'll head back out Sunday afternoon.

[Goats?!]

Weekend:

This is an example of Theo's typical seizures. His body, arms, and eyes all get pushed left and then he jerks in that position for 60-90 seconds.

About 10 days ago Theo had a different kind of seizure. His body, arms, and eyes all get pushed left and then he jerks in that position for 10 seconds. THEN he turns right (or arches back), smiles (or gasps), and then goes back left and continues the seizure for another minute.

It's very strange. Of course, I sent a video of it to his Epilepsy Specialist to see if she had any thoughts. These seizures also make Theo super tired. He usually has to take an hour long nap after they happen. It's heartbreaking. Theo has a 24 hour EEG scheduled in January, so maybe we will get more answers then.

Theo took a four hour nap on Sunday. I hope he's not getting sick.

The Packers lost to the Bears in a nail biter, but the Chargers won!

December 21st is the Winter Solstice! YAY! It's going to start getting lighter again!

[This happens WAY too often]

[I can't tell you how many times I've given directions to a lost family]

Here's my list of movies I need to watch during the Christmas Break:

Elf

The Santa Clause

Spirited

Muppet Christmas Carol (Christmas Eve tradition)

Christmas Vacation

Home Alone

and, of course, Lord of the Rings

Did I miss any?!

Josh headed back to Iowa for work on Sunday night. He'll be back Tuesday night!

Chargers Knock Out the Chefs and Josh Heads to Iowa

Monday, December 8th:

Happy 67th birthday, dad! What a great year to turn 6-7!

We had another snowy and chilly week here in Chicagoland! We had to bundle up more for the bus stop, but that's okay! Josh was off work this week too, which was great!

[Theo playing with "snow"]

[I saw these at Target... yes, we need all of them!] 

After school Ms. Becca came over for PT. Theo has been having fewer seizures, but they are more intense and he usually needs a nap after he has one. Unfortunately, Theo has been having seizures right after he gets home from school. This makes him very sleepy/crabby for PT.

Tuesday, December 9th:

Theo and Nurse Stephanie headed to school while I went to get my allergy shots and Josh worked on his Jeep. Josh heard that there is a Coating Inspector out in Iowa that wants to go home. So, Josh volunteered to take his spot next week. Ugh. It appears the crew out there is only working five days a week, so Josh will leave for Iowa on Sunday night and then he'll come back on Friday after work. It's only a three hour drive, so that's not too bad. Hopefully work will be done next Friday and he won't have to go back out there the week of Christmas.

After school we took Theo to The Legacy Ranch to see Sherman and his friends. Theo has been doing really well with his lessons and he is so super strong!

Wednesday, December 10th:

Josh, Theo, and I drove to Peoria today to see Dr Yuan with Pulmonology. Theo has been doing great and hasn't been sick *knock on wood* yet this season. Dr Yuan listened to Theo and he said to keep doing what we are doing and we'll see him in six months.

After we got home I went to see Zootopia 2! It was sooooo good! I loved it just as much as the first one! And just for fun here are some pictures of Luke and I at Zootopia in Shanghai Disney:

Thursday, December 11th:

Theo and Nurse Stephanie went back to school today after having yesterday off. Nurse Stephanie said that Theo has been doing really well with his eye gaze and says some pretty funny things!

Josh got new tires on his Jeep today. It's looking like we are in for a rough winter and his other tires have about 80,000 miles on them, so they are over due. Tires are expensive, but they are worth it if it's going to help keep Josh safe!

Friday, December 12th:

While Theo was at school I went to Jewel, the Sourdough You Know cart, and The Hive to stock up on some food. It's soup season and you gotta have sourdough to go with your soup!

We also had a Zoom with Ms. Jeannine, Theo's Dietitian. I filled her in on how Theo's appointment with his GI went a few weeks ago and we talked about Theo's poop... like usual! We are going to start giving Theo pear juice and see if that will help with his constipation. I also told her that I think Theo is clenching too. Apparently that is not an uncommon stage for kids to go through. It's a control thing - like Theo's oral aversion. 

And right on cue, Theo had a big seizure right before Ms. Becca arrived for PT. He did pretty well for most of the session, but then he literally fell asleep in her arms. Poor guy. His seizures are so intense. I'm sure they are exhausting for his mind and his body.

Weekend:

It was FREEZING cold this weekend, so we stayed inside for most of it! Ms. Jess came to watch Theo on Saturday and Josh and I went to brunch.

[Theo has decided he doesn't know how to army crawl anymore - so I'm trying to motivate him]

On Sunday, we watched the Chargers beat the Chefs and Grandpa Philip scored a touchdown! It was a great day!

Josh made it safely to Iowa. We'll miss him this week, but he'll be home on Friday!