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!

pumpkin boys

It’s that time of year, where we head out to Rombach’s to find the perfect pumpkin.

 

Of course, we get to do a couple rides first. Caiden loved the bug train.

 Then we ran through the fields and rows of pumpkins. The boys were all smiles.

 Finding the perfect pumpkin means trying out several first.

 Love these boys and their smiles.

contract negotiations

Chris and I have joked for years about our marriage being a contract. How we signed a five-year contract upon marriage, with a two-year (Chris’s) club option and a one-year (my) player option. Obviously, you can tell whose original idea this was. But it’s all in good fun.

I realized recently that our “contract” was expiring, so I made my move. I notified him that I would not be resigning, because I was more interested in joining the management team. I thought I had him – until he quickly responded that me joining management would be great! Only because I could help pick out future talent.

Fell right into that one.

Happy 8th Anniversary, babe. I love you.

fun with bubbles

I have two kiddos who love tubby time!

this is what teething looks like

And those little buggers will not pop through.