October 2019

I feel like we are finally settled into our home and have a good schedule going. Theo lost some amazing therapist when we moved, but we gained some really great ones!

Theo is continuing to move in the right direction, but on "Theo's Time." It's a little slower, but as long as we are moving forward (and not backwards) then we are happy!

[Theo sitting and holding up his head. He can't do it for very long, but he is getting stronger and more confident!]

On October 4th it was Ryan's birthday, National Taco Day, and TRIPLE FORCE FRIDAY! I ordered these amazing Minnie ears from Her Universe! I love them!

Theo had a little incident at Toddler School. One of the other kids hit him in the face with a toy bus. It wasn't malicious AT ALL. Those kids all love Theo, but I guess he got a little carried away. Theo had a little mark on his face, but he was fine.

On October 8th, we had Theo's 18th month Early Interventions meeting. All the therapist sent in reports with our goals. Everyone had such nice things to say about Theo and I loved hearing what they have to say about him and his potential.

[Theo looking at his speaker to see what song would be next. This kid LOVES his music!]

[Art from Toddler School]

[Theo has mastered the pouty lip! It's so funny and sad at the same time.]

On October 10th, Theo and I went to the Children's Hospital in Peoria for his annual cranial angiogram with Interventional Radiology. 





Before they took Theo back for the exam, Dr. Fraser told me that this was a "fact finding mission" and that hopefully they can be in and out relatively quickly.

After about an hour I got a call from a nurse. She said that they had a hard time "gaining access" and that every time they tried to go into the vein it would spasm and they would have to pull the catheter out. 

[This hospital has the best food!]


It took a few more tries, but they were able to get into Theo's brain to see what was going on.  

Good news is the Vein of Galen is closed off and there's no blood output. But they found what Dr Fraser thinks is a low flow, low pressure fistula to the falx cerebri. He told me that he is going to send all of this to the guys in San Francisco to see what they think. If it does turn out to be low pressure and low flow than they may leave it alone, but if it's high pressure or high flow then they'll have to embolize. They don't know how it's affecting him. Dr. Fraser then told me he was going to a vascular conference the next week. A lot of the best Interventional Radiologist and Neurosurgeons will be attending and he is going to send Theo's charts to everyone to see what they think.

After talking to Dr. Fraser I went to see Theo in recovery. He was doing great and was in good spirits.

[After an angiogram you have to lay completely flat for SIX HOURS! Try telling that to a two year old that LOVES to kick his legs.]

[They gave Theo some anti anxiety meds to keep him calm.]

They then moved us to General Peds Recovery so we could finish out Theo's recovery in comfort. We watch Moana twice and Tangled once. At exactly 5:30 I unstrapped Theo's legs and let him kick like crazy! Since Theo was able to hold down food with no issues we were discharged that night. Yay!

Theo has been hitting himself in the head with either his hand or his toys. He doesn't hit his head very hard, but I still don't like it. I was told it could be a sensory or comfort thing, which it seems like it is. BUT he also does it for attention. I caught him looking over at me to see if I was watching before he started hitting himself! Stinker!

[Checking to see if I'm watching!]

Theo's PT came up with some cool exercises that we can do with Theo using our couch:

-Taking the cushion off and kneeling

-Sitting in the corner

-Standing

Theo isn't a big fan, but he is warming up to it.

She also told us to put Theo on the couch and play with him. 

He liked it for a little while...

... Until he didn't.

I love Fall! I love that the leaves change and that everything dies so my allergies aren't so bad! I hate pumpkin *cue the gasp*, but I love love LOVE anything apple! 

I asked my "Moms of Minooka" Facebook group where the best Apple Cider Doughnuts are and they recommended Kellers Farmstand, Dollinger Family Farm, and County Line Orchard in Indiana. I've actually had apple cider doughnuts from County Line Orchard when we lived just a few minutes away, but it's been a while.

Josh stopped by Kellers after work one day and brought me home some of their doughnuts. They were good, but not as good as I was hoping.

That weekend we went to Dollinger Family Farm to get some of their doughnuts.

They were fresh, but they were not apple cider doughnuts. They were fresh doughnuts covered in cinnamon and sugar, delicious, but no what I was looking for.

After visiting Dollinger Family Farm we decided to make the 90 minute trip to Indiana to visit the County Line Orchard. It was super busy, but it was worth it!

Now that's what I'm talking about! I think these are the second best apple cider doughnuts I've ever had. The top spot goes to Iron Fruit Farms in Ohio (we visited there back in 2016 and I still think about their doughnuts!).

After we left the CLO, we headed to our favorite little bakery: Marilyn's Bakery. We got a small chocolate silk pie and then headed home. 

[Chocolate fudge, cookies 'n cream fudge, apple cider doughnuts, apple cider, and chocolate silk pie]

Theo has started using toys to play with other toys! 

[Headpod action!]

[The many faces of Theo]

[Playing with his feeding therapist at Toddler School]

We have been doing a lot of "food play" at home. We've realized that Theo is very independent and stubborn (where does he get that?!) and if he can do it himself he is more likely to do it. He also likes to complain. So, if we are trying to get Theo to do something, he is more likely to do it if he is alone and can do it himself. Make sense?

So, we give Theo some whipped cream on his tray and then we leave the room. Theo will play with the food and even put some in his mouth. He'll sometimes whine a little, but once he notices no one is in the room, he settles down and gets back to playing. Hopefully once his dexterity gets better and he's able to hold a spoon, he'll be more willing to try eating again. We will see.

[The laundry is ALWAYS full]

On October 18th we went to trunk or treat at the FFA Fair Grounds in Ottawa. It was a benefit for the Starved Rock Regional Center where Theo goes to Toddler School.

[Theo was Raphael the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. As you can tell, he's not a fan.]

[He was also not a fan when a Jedi and a witch tried to lay next to him so we could take a picture]

[That'll work]

[Josh is so handsome, even when he accidentally wears his shirt inside out]

[Theo sometimes joins me in the basement so I can work out. He's a trooper.]

They had picture day at Theo's Toddler School! I got him this cute button up dinosaur shirt! Doesn't he look so grown up?!

[Reaching up for toys]

Theo has been having a lot of tummy issues. I've save you most of the details, but he throws up every morning. Every. Single. Morning. It's become part of our morning routine. We are working with Theo's GI Specialist and Dietitian, but no one can figure it out. The GI Specialist thinks Theo is backed up, so she sent us to the local hospital to get an x-ray. The x-ray showed that Theo is indeed backed up, but there is no blockage, which is good. She had him to a three day cleanse, but he's still struggling.

[More art from Toddler School]

[Leak in the basement. Don't worry, dad, we called a guy.]

[I keep finding rocks in Theo's stroller. Apparently when the kids go outside during Toddler School they bring Theo rocks. Isn't that so sweet?!]

A few days after Theo's cranial angiogram I got a call from my favorite APN, Jessica, with Interventional Radiology. She said that they've talked to some other doctors and everyone wants Theo to have an MRA/MRV, so they can get a better look at the fistula. 

On October 30th, Josh, Theo, and I got up early and headed to the Children's Hospital in Peoria. Theo was getting a Bilateral Myringotomy with Tympanostomy Tube Insertion (aka Tubes), an ABR (hearing test), and an MRA/MRV. Jessica was able to coordinate everything so that they could put him under anesthesia once and do all of these things back to back. 

After Theo got his tubes in Dr. Greinwald came and spoke with Josh and I. He told us that everything went great and some clear liquid did come out of Theo's right ear when they put the tubes in. He also said that Theo's right ear canal was smaller than his left. In most people the left is smaller than the right. Hopefully this will relieve some of the pressure in Theo's ear and he will be able to roll to the right.

Next, he had his ABR. After the test was done the Audiologist came and spoke with us. She said that he only had minor hearing loss to begin with (documented during his first ABR a few months ago), but his hearing did improve.

Next they took Theo for the MRA/MRV. The vascular surgeons, neurosurgeons, and IR will meet next Wednesday to go over the results and come up with a plan.

Theo was then taken to recovery. He did such a great job and had no problem waking up. The anesthesiologist told me that since he's been under so much they have a good "cocktail" of medications for him. They know exactly how much to give him to make his recovery easy. I appreciate the anesthesiology team so much! They are the best!

After about an hour in recovery we were able to go home. We only spent nine hours at the hospital (I honestly thought we would be there much longer), but it was a four hour round trip drive, so it was still a long day!

On Halloween it SNOWED! It has only snowed six times on Halloween in 148 years (data back to 1871 for Chicago). And only 1 other time was there measurable snow (0.1" in 2014). Oh boy!

[We decided to just stay home and pass out candy. I put Theo in his moose PJ, so I guess he was a moose for Halloween.]

[I love his fluffy hair!]

[Looking at his toys!]

I bought a bunch of candy because I was warned that there were a lot of kids in our neighborhood. A lady told me that one year she bought 500 pieces of candy and she gave them ALL out! But the next year she only gave away about 300. UGH. About an hour into our trick-or-treating hours (4-7) we were running low, so Josh ran to the store to get some more. 

[Our Ring let us know when the kids were close]

Overall it was a great night! There were a ton of trick-or-treaters and they were all super cute and polite. We even met some of our neighbors too.

Here's a few pictures of Brodee and Sara trick-or-treating in Texas:

Josh and I have also been pretty busy this month. I got a Nordictrack incline treadmill, which so far has been worth every penny! The treadmill has a huge screen and you can do running, jogging, trekking, HIT, and a bunch of other workouts with professional trainers. 

I started with the "Celebrate India Jogging Series" with Swetha Devaraj. We jogged through and around some of the most iconic sites in India. 

The series was a little easy so I decided to do the "Iberian Beginner Running Series" with Tommy Rivs. I was a little nervous because Tommy Rivs is a professional Ultra Marathoner, but I decided to do it anyways. He is seriously the best trainer. He talks a lot about running, the science behind it, the local cultures, and even the geology of the area. It's really a great distraction and he really helps you get through the workout! I'm in the middle of this series right now and I'm already becoming a better runner. It also helps that we are running through a lot of places in Portugal that I have actually been to. 

I also just finished the "Mount Kilimanjaro Trekking Series" with Jake Norton. He is a legendary mountain climber, guide, professional speaker, and photographer. He has summited the tallest peaks on all seven continents and has summited Everest three times! I loved climbing "Killy" with him! I learned a little Key Swahili (Key Swahili is the language the Swahili people speak... I did not know that.) and I loved to hear all of his stories. He talks a lot about the local peoples, their cultures, and their jobs on the mountain. He has such a great respect for the mountains and I hope I can hike again with him in the near future. The treadmill can go up to a 40% incline, so it helps to get some motivation from Jake Norton to get through those insane inclines!

[We made it to the top!]

Having such great trainers definitely helps keep me motivated and I am excited for all the future workouts I have!

Josh has been working a lot, but things are slowing down and it's nice to have him home every night for dinner!