Happy Mother's Day

We have more good news, just in time for Mother's Day.  The pediatrician's assessment of Luke's EEG was correct in that there was no longer a sign of the hypsarrhythmia, as well as no further signs of seizure activity.  The neurologist believes the "mildly abnormal" reading is due to the ACTH treatment which can slow brain wave activity.  He does not feel the eye movements are seizures at this point, but Luke will have repeat EEGs until he's at least 1 year old just to make sure the seizures don't return once he's finished with the treatment.  His appointment with the cardiologist went well, and he will see him again in a month to make sure there has been no thickening of the heart.  Some of Luke's weekly labs have been slightly elevated (potassium and white blood cell count), so they are watching that closely to make sure he does not get sick.  Overall, though, we continue to see daily improvements in his attentiveness and demeanor.  He's looking around more, seems to recognize our faces again, and is filled with smiles and giggles!  He had physical therapy yesterday, the most intense of all of his different therapies, and had his most productive session in months, even smiling throughout and showing signs of physical improvement as well.  I'd say the $50,000 medication is worth every penny.

And here's an update on little Miss Olivia and our energetic Jackson...

Olivia has become quite the social butterfly.  She is very curious about everything new, but is especially enthralled with her big brother.  She watches every move he makes and smiles instantly when he's entertaining her.  His new favorite thing to do is to try and scare her with a loud "BOO!" and she doesn't quite like that as much!  We are in full teething mode as she has her first 2 teeth popping through on the bottom.  Since she loves to put everything in her mouth, I spend much of my day watching Jackson like a hawk to make sure he's not trying to share his toys with her.  Makes me feel a bit like a hypocrite since we're constantly trying to teach him about sharing with others.  Olivia went back to Easter Seals for her neo-natal follow-up evaluations and she will likely be starting physical therapy and speech therapy soon because of low tone (as a result of being premature, a multiple, etc.).  We're going to have to squeeze some more time out of our days in order to fit those appointments in.  Hopefully her physical therapy will be just short-term, just enough to give her a little boost and build her core strength since she's not fully sitting on her own yet.  Overall, she's just a little piece of sunshine whose smile can turn a bad day around instantly...and she smiles a lot!

Jackson is turning 3 in just two weeks, and he is every bit the independent, determined, feisty 3-year-old!  He will walk down the aisle as a ring bearer for his Uncle Tony and Aunt Kristi's wedding the day before his actual birthday, so we are having his party next weekend:  a football party, of course.  Since he wears one of his many football jerseys pretty much every day, with the exception of his occasional request for the Cubbies jersey, I won't even have to think twice about what he'll wear for his party.  He is very busy and very energetic, but in a good way...well, most of the time.  Whenever his grandpas come to play with him (or anyone, for that matter), we joke that they have to rest up beforehand because the kid does not stop.  It's tackle, tackle, throw the ball, tackle, bat the ball, catch, tackle, throw, bat again, and on and on.  Even on my worst days, he can manage to make me laugh until I cry.  I'm constantly calling or texting Pete at work to tell him of another funny thing that Jackson has said.  I really need to start that journal of Jackson quotes that I've been talking about for so long.  The other day I let him have a piece of cheese before dinner and he said, "You the man, Mommy!" 

While these 3 sure do keep me on my toes, I count my blessings each and every day for them.  What a wonderful Mother's Day this will be!

Here are a few more of my recent favorites...