Caden's Update

Today Caden had his follow up appointment at MSTI Pediatrics. His first appointment there I felt like a zombie mom I was so nervous, but today I was calm and I could see how truly amazing this place is. I am certain there are angels (seen and unseen) in that place.
Everyone we came in contact with was so kind and wonderful. Caden didn't even mind getting his blood drawn because he was distracted by the fun bubbles they were blowing for him. A child life specialist played with Ethan in the lobby so I wouldn't have to worry about him during the appointment.

We found out Caden's bone marrow is producing cells again (hooray!), however some of his levels are still low and a couple of tests came back positive for an unusual type of anemia...but for now we are just watching him. We will continue to test his blood and try to figure out what is going on with him.

On our way home-they let the boys pick a hat on our way out. Ethan loves his new blue and yellow beanie. HA!

So my cute little Caden is now officially 18 months! I've always loved him, but having this experience the last few weeks just makes me so grateful for every little laugh and even every little mess he makes!

Caden is such a fun age right now. I feel like this last month he's an official toddler no longer a baby. He is a happy little boy and a determined little boy. He thinks that when someone tells him "no" it really means "hurry up and go faster before they can stop me!"
He has a contagious little low pitched giggle and laughs easily.
He is still a little snuggler. He loves to be held tight, he gives great slobbery kisses, and I love when he wraps his arms tight around my neck for a real hug.

He is a climber! His agility makes him a master mess maker, nothing is off limits to him.

We love his little run, so cute!

He is getting pretty good at non-verbal communication...he points until we can figure out what he needs. He understands what we say and is listening even when we think he isn't. The words he uses the most are doggy, momma, dada, snack, juice, and Jesus when he sees His picture.
His favorites are dogs, horses, playing with Ethan, juice boxes, fruit snacks, and dancing when music comes on. He loves to get into things (literally), he thinks he can fit anywhere including his little toy barn, small boxes, etc. He is constantly trying to get in tight places.
He loves going to bed when he is tired (it is weird), he giggles and then with a huge grin he snuggles onto his big pillow and waits for me to tuck him in with his blankie.
I love Caden at 18 months!

Hoppity Hop...A Real Christmas Nightmare

Did you ever ride one of these when you were young?

We did at my Grandma Turpin's house. I remember them being so much fun, so I was so excited this year when I discovered that they make an adult sized hoppity hop! This weekend we exchanged sibling Christmas gifts since none of us will actually be together on Christmas. I got to give to my brother Weston, and Clark had my brother James. We decided to go with the political jumping balls.

These things are a blast! Weston and James were pretty good. Weston managed to hop out the front door, down the step, and clear down the sidewalk. We want James to ride his across campus to class!

It became a bit of a Christmas nightmare when I got a little overly confident in my skills. Going full force I tried to hop down the step from the kitchen to the living room...clearly a lapse in judgment considering there is a large piano at the bottom of the step. I got launched from the ball, rocked the piano, luckily catching my weight with my hand and not my head, and ricocheted into the living room. After a few mins. I could see again and thought I had broken my hand, but apparently I can fall well because it is just a little bruised.

P.S. Dear Santa, I've been very good this year and a hoppity hop would make my Christmas complete. Love, Stephanie

Christmas Tree Hunting

On Saturday we all went up to the mountains to find a Christmas tree. It was a beautiful day and the snow that had fallen was pretty much melted so we hit the trail to find the perfect tree.

Caden insisted on hiking all by himself until we hit the snow bank and it was literally to steep for him to take one more step. Then Clark carried him. Every time Clark would slip and sometimes even fall Caden would just cackle like it was the best ride ever, it was so funny.

Ethan thought every tree looked just right, including the 200 footers.

The perfect tree in the back of the truck. We just got the lights on it tonight and it is beautiful!

Giving Thanks

We had the best Thanksgiving weekend! We have so many things to be thankful for.

This weekend we gave thanks to have Clark back with us for a few days! Hooray! He had two little shadows pretty much the whole weekend.

I was thankful to have my whole family together for Thanksgiving. This was the first time since Clark and I have been married that we have been able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family, and it was wonderful.

We were all thankful for a delicious meal, Caden was so excited he was eating with his spoon and his fork at the same time.

I was thankful for fun sister-in-laws to hang out with. Erica Dee took me to get a manicure for my birthday gift.

I was thankful none of us girls got peppered sprayed going for the big bargains on Black Friday. I did get a few good finds, thank you Wal-Mart for matching ads.

Even though I didn't get any pictures I'm thankful that Kelly and Jerry hung out with us a few times so we could see them and their cute kids.

I'm thankful for the laughs we had at Prairie Dog Playhouse our last night together.

I'm thankful we could ring in Weston's 28th year with him.

This little video just kind of sums up the whole weekend. Throwing pie pans and Caden yelling gobble, gobble...

Life is good!

One in Five Million

I always knew my Caden was one in a million...but now we know he is really one in five million. We just got back the bone marrow test results and found out he does NOT have leukemia. He actually has a condition called Transient Erythroblastopenia of Childhood (TEC). It is rare (one website said 1 in 5 million). The doctor basically described it to me as his immune system attacked his bone marrow, so temporarily his bone marrow is not producing new cells. We don't know the exact cause or when it will resolve...but eventually it should resolve itself. We will just keep watching his blood levels and possibly treat him with future blood transfusions depending on when his bone marrow decides to start working again.
What a relief! That phone call literally took a weight off my shoulders. I've been trying to be so tough and not let myself run away with worry, but after that phone call all the built up emotion came out. I can't really put it in words but I am so thankful to Heavenly Father who answered our prayers, and so thankful He sent us Caden. I am so grateful for medicine and hospitals. I would have lost both of my boys to crazy little illnesses if it wasn't for modern medicine.

And Caden is just being his normal rambunctiously sweet self. We don't know what was in that blood transfusion...but he's been running faster, climber higher and making bigger messes than ever before! I LOVE IT!

He found Grammy's bread pans and thought they made perfect slippers!

He also thought this decorative chair should be his special seat.

Woo-hoo! I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week!

Caden's Hospital Stay

Last night Caden and I got to see what Clark is experiencing this month by staying the night at the hospital.
A week ago I took Caden to the pediatrician because he looked extremely pale. She took my "mommy intuition" seriously and ordered full blood work. We discovered Caden was severely anemic and that it wasn't caused from an iron deficiency, but that his bone marrow wasn't producing cells.
Yesterday we met with the pediatric hematologist to figure what is going on. It took about 15 seconds in the Pediatric Oncology unit for me to be completely humbled. In the waiting room we met a sweet and courageous little four year old girl going through chemotherapy.
The doctor, nurses and child life specialists that we worked with yesterday were wonderful! They made me feel at ease during an appointment that was rather nerve racking. They also kept Caden smiling through all of the pokes and testing. After reviewing his blood work yesterday the doctor decided he definitely needed a transfusion, his numbers were just too low so we stayed last night at the hospital so he could get that.
This morning the doctor did a bone marrow aspiration. They did it in the PICU so my Dad and I were able to stay in there with him. They gave him the sedation while I was holding him, and it was hard for me to see and feel my baby go so limp, but I managed not to pass out. The procedure went well and in a few days we will have a better picture about what is going on with him. Right now the doctor thinks it is a relatively benign condition that will reverse itself, so we are hoping and praying for the best.
Caden has been the best little patient. He has now had his blood drawn four times and hasn't cried once! The guy that did the first two tests said he was the bravest little patient he has ever had. He was able to sleep at the hospital and hasn't acted like the bone marrow aspiration is causing him much pain. The hardest part of the whole ordeal was holding him still for 4 hours so he could have his transfusion. Luckily Ethan stopped by for a visit during that time and entertained him for awhile. Ethan started to cry last night when he had to leave the hospital because he "wanted to stay with my bwother." He told me this afternoon he said a special prayer last night so Caden would feel better.
The staff was so great with us, they all loved Caden and his little mohawk. He was given books, a snowman pillowcase, and a quilt for being a brave little boy.
I feel like we have already seen many miracles in this health event. Since we have been moving so much this year I am so thankful that this happened while we were here with my parents. Not having to worry about Ethan yesterday while we were at the hospital was a huge blessing. We feel like the pediatrician was inspired to act quickly in the right direction and that we have the right specialist. I have appreciated all of the encouraging texts and phone calls and Clark and I both have felt the power of many prayers being said for Caden.
It was great to bring Caden home this afternoon he kept hugging Grammy and Ethan over and over again. He is so sweet. Tonight I'm feeling a little numb, full of love for my little Caden, and filled with gratitude for hospitals and prayer.

Miss You Monday: Postcards From The Boys

Our Travels to Destination F: Boise

Last Sunday we hit the road again!

This month is a little different because we left Clark in Seattle! He will be spending the month actually living in the hospital while the boys and I stay in Boise with my parents. It was hard to say good-bye! Our car was so loaded the boys couldn't see each other in the back seat.

I was grateful to have my mom with me to make the 8 hour drive back to Idaho. The trip went great except for about 25 miles. As we drove through Pendleton, OR my mom suggested I stop and get gas. I looked at the little digital gauge and it said we had 55 miles to empty and we only had 46 miles to LaGrande, OR where we were planning to meet my Dad (he was on a business trip traveling from Boise to Washington). I figured there would be somewhere to stop along the way in case we got into trouble...I thought wrong.

There was nothing in between the 2 towns except a horrible storm, a mountain pass, winding canyon roads, and a dark night. The Jeep was hydro-planing and I was just trying to keep the car on the road. About 25 miles out of town the gas light came on, about 13 miles out of town the digital gauge said we were 0 miles to empty! Of course at this same time Ethan started crying because he desperately needed to go potty. Caden decided he was ready for a pit stop and was screaming. My mom informed me we had no cell service. Talk about a stressful moment or two!

Miraculously the car ran on no gas until we arrived at the Shell station, I have never been so happy to see a glowing yellow sea shell. I jumped out of the car, grabbed Ethan and almost plowed into the nice lady coming to pump our gas (in Oregon you can't pump your own gas), but we made it to the bathroom. When I saw myself in the mirror I was shaking and my neck was an unbelievable shade of bright red.

But we made it!!! We are grateful for our safe travels this year of crazy moving, and so grateful to spend time with my parents in November.

30 in Seattle

1 week ago I left my roaring 20's and turned 30!!! The boys and my mom spoiled me with a yummy dinner, ice cream cake and presents.

Caden enjoyed the cake...

A LOT!!!

The night after my official birthday Clark took me on a birthday date. We went to the top of the Space Needle to watch the sunset.

It was a beautiful clear day and we loved watching the colors in the sky change and the lights come on in the city.

After the Space Needle our friends Tom and Debbie picked us up and took us to Serious Pie for some creative pizza, and some serious costume watching- it was Halloween weekend.
After dinner our real adventure started, I had a Groupon for 4 pints of ice cream from Full Tilt Ice Cream in the White Center neighborhood of Seattle. Not knowing anything about the layout of the city I thought it was a great deal. As we got closer Debbie said, "I don't think I've ever been in this part of town." Tom replied, "Nope, and if you knew where we are you would never have thought you would be here at night." As the GPS announced that we had found our location I was a little shocked by the bars, bars on windows, and other shady shops that won't be named. The sidewalks were crowded with scary people (and not because they were wearing Halloween costumes). After making sure we locked the car door tight we quickly maneuvered down the sidewalk and entered the lime green walled, dirty floored establishment.
We noticed the crazy flavors like ube (made from a yam), and Chocolate Peanut Butter (may contain meat)...but a sign on the wall told us that if we had the Groupon we could only get Salted Carmel, Mint Chocolate, or Absinthe. I asked the worker (who looked a lot like a character from Lord of the Rings) what Absinthe is. I may be 30 but I am still naive to drug talk, so after some very interesting charades filled with drug innuendo I finally figured out I definitely did not want to order Absinthe.
We ordered 3 mints, and 1 carmel...the guy came back after checking the freezer and said, we only have 1 mint. So we ordered 1 mint and 3 carmels...the guy leaves again and comes back to say there are only 2 carmels. He didn't notice that the first time?! About this point I noticed the Vegan/Gluten Free cookies sitting in a jar on the counter that looked an awful lot like dog droppings and decided it was time to go! We laughed the rest of the night about our ice cream adventure.
The worst part is that I already have a reputation with my friends and family for planning up these big activities that never quite turn out like I plan, (i.e. Old Country Buffet in Omaha, the Halloween Cruise in Provo, the Ostrich Races in Altoona) I will never live this one down!

We enjoyed a few bites of our ice cream on Alki Beach enjoying the beautiful view of the Seattle skyline. It was such a perfect date to celebrate 30 years!

During my 20's I fell in love, got married, had two babies, lived in Romania 18 months as a missionary, graduated from college, taught 5th grade, finally got a sister (5 sister-in-laws), drove two different Buicks, made wonderful friends, won a bag of Tootsie Pops in a dance contest, never got pulled over by a policeman, para sailed, walked across campus with my skirt tucked into my nylons all while carrying a boom box, bag pack and parachute!
It was quite a decade, can't wait to see what my 30's have in store for me!

Bet You've Never Done This With Your Grandma!!!

How many of you have ever ridden a monster truck with your grandma? Ethan and Caden can now officially say that they have. For the last few Sundays every Sunday on our way to church we drove past a pumpkin patch, but all Ethan could see was the monster truck. He kept asking for a ride and I kept telling him that he could go when Grammy came to visit.

Grammy was all for it until she saw the amount of mud on the truck!!! But it is hard to say no to Ethan so we all went for a wild ride!

Seeing Seattle

Visiting Seattle with my mom was so fun! We started out having fish n' chips and shrimp at The Spud. Then we visited the Fremont Troll. They are doing a little construction on the bridge so we couldn't hike up to him, but he was still fun to see.

Then we headed over to the Waterfront and Pikes Market, it was a perfect day...no rain and small crowds. After that we headed over to the Seattle Center so the boys could play at the Children's Museum for an hour (the last hour of the day is free so it was awesome).

We walked around the Space Needle.

Yes, Ethan and I followed every inch of this crazy maze, after about 10 mins. we ended in the middle.

We finished the day with a quick trip to Metropolitan Market for some snacks for the ride home. It was a great Seattle day!

Fall Fun - Maris Farms

We visited Maris Farms when my mom came to town and had such a fun fall day!

This picture makes us laugh, Ethan looks like a little worm in the pumpkin.

Grammy and Ethan raced through the corn maze.