christmas fun

Christmas means lots of activities, and tired kids. Sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming.

 But only to some.

 Once we figured out what opening gifts meant, we came around. And then we enjoyed celebrating the holidays with Grandpa Shatto and Jan.

 

 Then the big day came around, and Cameron was VERY excited to see what Santa left behind.

 I had to quickly get a shot of the tree, before Cameron handed out gifts.

By their expressions, I believe Santa did an okay job again.

Two of the favorite gifts of the day were a Blues Oshie jersey for Cam, and a broom for Caiden. (I seriously cannot sweep without “help” in this house.)

Caiden also liked his big brother’s toys.

 It must have been a good day, judging by the aftermath.

 We got a little bit of playtime in before journeying over to Gram and Poppy’s house. There we opened up more gifts that Santa dropped off. Gift opening was a blur, but we were all very lucky and thankful for the gifts and the time we shared together.

Aunt Becca enjoyed some puppy time with Lisi, but everyone was so worn out that Cam suggested that they “sleep.”

It was fun visiting with family and enjoying what the holidays mean when you have kiddos. Hope everyone else enjoyed the season too!

first official school photo!

Cam got his first official school photo, along with his second season hockey card.
And I just had to share this kid’s smile.

It will be a sad day when the toddler smile goes away.

santa must love toddlers

We took the kiddos to visit Santa yesterday, and we got what we expected.

I have no idea how Santa can be so tolerant of screaming kids, but it’s such a classic photo. We have one of Cam (with a much creepier Santa) at the same age. Even Cam was done sitting next to his screaming brother by the third shot.

Once a distressed Caiden was removed from Santa’s lap, Cam and Santa discussed Christmas presents. Cam notified Santa that he (Santa) could pick out the gifts this year – an answer that dumfounded Santa. I guess Cam thinks Santa has done a good job in the past, and why mess that up with suggestions? Go Santa!

one year later…

It’s been a year since Caiden’s surgery, and we were due for our first yearly team visit. But first up, a CT scan. Unfortunately he had to be placed under anesthesia due to his age and inability to stay still during the scan. Once again, I had to hand my baby off to a medical team and leave the room. Not an easy thing to do.

The scan did not take long, and we were reunited in recovery. I kissed his forehead and he immediately woke up. He needed to eat and drink before being released, and he was ready for it. But he was awfully giggly and trying to share his “wawa” (water) with everyone. I commented that he seemed drunk, but Chris was just convinced he was just in a good mood. Or he was until I put Caid down to walk, and he immediately staggered around and fell on his tush. Drunk baby confirmed.

Today we got the results of the scan. Amazing to see the difference.

 This shows the ratio differences. He was at a 63% difference between front to back and left to right. Now he’s at 74.4%. Dr. Patel measured both Chris and I for comparison, and we were both just under 75%, so he is right in line with the two of us. We also got comparisons of all the different sides.

Front

Back

Left

The side views show a big difference in his forehead area. Doctors used to adjust the bone surgically in that area, but later discovered that wearing the helmet will move the forehead back without needing other correction. That keeps the bone smooth in such a visible area of the head.

Right

Top

You can see how the bone is starting to fill in on the top. His skull has already filled in a lot in the back, as shown in this scan. Since they had to remove so much, and they asked his head shape to change drastically, it may not completely fill in until age 5. It will also smooth out over time (right now it's pretty bumpy). If it does not fill in, a surgery will be required to correct it. The doctors are optimistic that will not be necessary – it’s only happened in one of their cases.

We met with several other specialties, all of whom were happy with his development. Hearing, vision, language, social and motor skills are all on track. And we kept Caiden happy between specialist visits with the old standby – Cheerios.

Overall the appointment went very smoothly. Every staff member we talk to at Children’s is amazing. We could not be happier with the results and care Caiden has received throughout this process. But I’m also thankful we don’t have to go back for a year. :)

healthy boy updates

It’s been three months since Cameron’s diagnosis of PFAPA. The doctor started him on a regiment of antacids, with the thought that we had to try it out before going to surgery. No one was optimistic of it working, due to his larger-than-normal tonsils and it having a success rate of only 30%. 

So I have held my breath for three months. During that time, he only had one fever and the episode was shorter and temperature was lower than his other episodes. I had a hard time believing we could be so lucky after so many fevers. 

Cam had a checkup with his specialist Thursday morning, and we left with good news. She was as shocked as we were that the medication was working, and the tonsils have reduced down to a normal size. He will maintain his medication regiment and be monitored periodically to see when he will grown out of PFAPA. Yay for good news!

Our family is not done with Children’s Hospital this month though. It has been a year since Caiden’s surgery, so it is time for his checkup. He is scheduled for a CT scan on Tuesday, and a six-hour appointment with a team of doctors who will asses his development. The team includes specialists from plastic surgery, audiology, speech, child psychology, nursing and dentistry. Hopefully I can update you with positive Caiden news next week. Until then, we will celebrate Cam’s good news!

it’s a girl!

We’re ready to make it five in the Shatto household. But this fifth member is another of the four-legged kind.

We have really missed Pip in our home. Halloween was difficult, since Pip always took part in several activities centered around the holiday. And I never realized how much of his diet must have come from underneath the boys’ chairs. (Wow.)

But something has been missing from our home since Pip passed. While I know a new dog will not fill the same gap Pip left in our home, but I do think a new pup will fill a different gap. I am also of the mindset that having a pet can teach children a lot – such as empathy, responsibility, and caring for things smaller than themselves.

So meet Lisi. She’s ours as of November 17. Cam is very excited, and knows that he will need to keep his toys picked up so little puppy teeth cannot get to them. Caid just loves puppy kisses. Chris is excited to have a “big” dog. My coworkers are excited to have a new puppy in the office. And me? I am thrilled to start a new journey with our newest member of the family.

our déjà vu halloween

It was the year of repeat costumes in our home. Caiden wore Cam’s old robot costume. Amazingly, he wore the hat. At least for the dog parade…

 Elmo had to trick-or-treat with him. It’s nice to have friends.

 We had a lot of fun decorating pumpkins – and gourds.

 The rain tried to ruin Halloween, as did teething. Caiden fell asleep at 6 on the couch, so we decided he could skip the candy hunt. Cam debated wearing a monkey costume, but in the end he wore his “worker” costume again. He worked the block before deciding he wanted to hand out candy at home.

 Hope everyone had a great (and drier) Halloween!