Eye appointment

Yesterday was Gabriel's fourth eye exam. About a year ago we found out that Gabriel has Brown's syndrome (two eye exams with different doctors). Brown's syndrome basically means that a ligament in Gabe's eye isn't long enough so that eye has limited movement when he looks up or away from his nose with that eye. His eye moves as far as it can and then it stops and shakes, it is weird to watch. Gabe's eye still works pretty well for him and when he needs to look farther he just moves his head, he doesn't even realize anything is wrong. And, the only way we can see the problem is if you hold his head still and have him look up at something. Once Gabe was diagnosed we were told that we would need to bring him in every 6 months so that they keep measuring how far his eye moves to see if it got worse or not. If it gets worse he counld need surgery.

So yesterday Gabe did excellent on his eye exam again. His vision is great and the best nesws is that all of the measurements of the movement of his eye have stayed exactly the same all year long. So, even though we were planning/expecting to take Gabe every 6 months for the next few years and once a year after that Gabe has done so well that we get to start yearly appointments already.

Grandma's birthday

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday, so a few days ago I told Carissa and Gabe that we needed to get something for Grandma's birthday. Carissa got really excited and told me that we should buy her flowers. Then she thought for a minute and said, "and a Halloween costume, because I want her to have candy too." I asked her if she wanted to get Grandma a costume so that she could go trick or treating and she said yes. Carissa wanted Grandma to go trick or treating to get candy for Grandma, Uncle Josh, and Aunt Alyssa. Then I asked Carissa, "What about Grandpa?" She said that Grandpa could go trick or treating for his own candy.

So yesterday, Carissa picked out flowers for Grandma and we all picked out a card. Then we drove to my parent's house and gave them to my mom.

Surgery scheduled

We went to Gabriel's appointment with the surgeon today, and he basically said that our doctor's were right. He said that it shouldn't be cancerous, but you can't check it until is removed. The surgeon today also called it a cyst where as our doctor called it a tumor. They mean pretty much the same thing, but I thought it just sounded less scary being called a cyst. Gabe will be put to sleep, and the cyst will be removed. The surgery will be on November 24th, and it should take about 45 minutes. It is our choice as to when Gabe has surgery, but the cyst will just keep growing the longer it stays there. And the other thing the surgeon told us is that those kinds of cysts usually end up burrowing into the bone as they get bigger, so if we wait until after that happens his bone would have an indent in it after the cyst gets removed. So, we decided that it really is better to do it sooner than later. And while I know this is best, I am still hating the idea of Gabe having surgery. I hated it when Carissa had her tubes put in, because I had to hand her over to a stranger and they took her down the hallway screaming. And then when little kids wake up from anesthesia, they wake up crying and usually cry for a while. So, between that and the usual risks of having surgery I'm not looking forward to it. But, I still know that we are making the right decision.

Ancient Love Building

Today, Gabriel was playing with blocks and he told us that he was building ancient towers. Pretty soon, Carissa joined him playing with the blocks. When Carissa was done building she told us that she made an ancient love building. She went on to tell us that people go there to give kisses to their true loves to wake them up. She told us how to get in the building and where to park as well. The picture of the ancient love building is first and then the ancient towers are second.

All four together

So, I realized that I haven't really taken pictures of Josh and Alyssa much the last few years. Which I figured probably has something to do with the fact that I have my own kids to keep me busy and take pictures of and the fact that Josh and Alyssa aren't little anymore. So, I've decided to start taking more pictures of them at least when the opportunity arrises. The other day after Carissa and Gabe had a nap at my parent's house Josh and Alyssa were playing with them on my parent's bed, and I took a picture.

One down, one to go

Ben had an MRI on Tuesday, and the doctor's office called on Friday to say that everything was normal. So, Ben's brain looks okay. That is very good news. And we have Gabriel's appointment scheduled for September 17th. So, I will give updates on that after the appointment.

3 year old check up

This morning was Gabe's 3 year old well child check up at the doctor's office, and I've decided that his new thing is deciding not to cooperate with appointments. We did his pictures a few days ago and he out right just said no and wouldn't cooperate up until I was about ready to say forget it and leave. Then today at the doctor's he did the same thing and this time he cried a lot. But, on the bright side of it we have made it through 3 years of him being mostly cooperative, so I guess I'm due for this and hopefully it will be a short phase. Most of his check up went well, he is still growing well and the doctors are still concerned about his weight. But, they aren't concerned enough to have me bring him in any sooner than a year unless I notice something. Gabe's weight has stayed pretty low, but has also had some ups and downs. He eats really well most of the time and he is very active, so as long as he seems healthy we should be good.

So that was all of the normal good stuff. Now for the not good stuff. Gabe has had a vein on the side of his right eyebrow that puffs out when he cries and gets upset and then you can see the blue/purple color. Well, more recently we have noticed that that side of his eyebrow is always kind of puffy looking and when you feel that spot it is hard. So I asked about that at his appointment and after two doctors looked at him they told me that most likely it is a small tumor. Then they told me that those kinds of tumors are almost always non-cancerous, but it will just get bigger and most likely he will need it removed soon. And, because it is on his face he probably needs to see a plastic surgeon. So I now have the name of a pediatric plastic surgeon, but I don't know if he will take our insurance. If he doesn't then I am supposed to call Primary Chrildren's and they will get me to someone. So, the next step is second opinion with a surgeon and from there probably surgery. I want Ben to come to this next appointment with me and he starts a new work schedule on Monday, but we don't know what the schedule will be yet so I'm going to wait until we know Ben's schedule before I call to make the next appointment.