Operation "VOLE"

What a nice morning! I can't believe by tomorrow morning we are supposed to have a foot of snow. I decided to let the sunshine spill into Alex's room. Shortly after doing so, I heard the dogs carrying on . I peered out the window and saw our neighbor shoveling a patch of snow in the yard next to us. There is no one living in that house currently. I thought it was a little strange that he would be doing that and then all of the sudden I saw creatures running and him raising his shovel and whacking them!!! I was horrified. Paul happened to be outside and it turns out he was on a mission to destroy voles. They ripped up much of his lawn so he was on a mission. I guess he told Paul that he had killed 40 in the last few days. While they were scurrying away from him, one go in to our yard. I guess Gracie and Maggie chased it, but Gus had a different plan. The voles are quite a pain, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't whack anything with a shovel. Happy hunting Jake! :)

Bubbles and Bubbles and Bubbles

We have been trying to get Alex to switch from his bottle to a cup. He absolutely hates sippy cups but doesn't mind drinking out of a cup like an adult. Mostly he just likes to feel the liquid run in and then out of his mouth. This method proved to be a huge mess with not much actually being swallowed. Alex's buddy, Katelynn, never used a sippy cup but went straight to a straw. I thought I'd give that a whirl. We tried playing nice by starting with the straw and then giving him his bottle. Of course, that didn't work, so I decided we'd cut him off cold turkey...except for his night bottle.

Let's just say that last two days have been trying. He loves to blow into the straw creating bubbles...lots of bubbles. In fact he has found that if he blows out and babbles at the same time, it makes really neat sounds. It reminds me of talking into a cardboard paper towel roll. He also finds closing his eyes, puffing out his cheeks and blowing full force is great.

Yesterday, I was on the verge of just giving in and letting him have his bottle. I decided I try one more time and to my suprise it worked. He still enjoys blowing bubbles but when he is thirsty he will drink properly.

Speaking of drinking....Alex thinks the dogs' water bowl is great. He started out splashing with his hand. After many "No's" and hand squeezes, he decided that he would crawl up and not put his hand in...but he would take a little sip! I was shocked as I marveled at how well he was responding to "No" until I heard, SLURP! I think we are in trouble. :)

Small cuts, lots of blood!

Well, now that Alex is army crawling he has become the next Magellan. He loves door stops and vents, and I guess he also likes the air exchange vents. However, I didn't realized that those are sharp. Yesterday he was strumming the air exchange vent like a guitar and a few minutes later I noticed blood all over his hands. I first checked his mouth...no blood. Then I figured out it was coming from his hand. I tried holding his arm up and putting a cold cloth on his hand to stop the bleeding so I could get a better idea of what happend. Of course, he wasn't in to cooperating. I finally put him in his high chair and managed to get two little bandaids on his fingers. I then when on a mission to figure out what happend. He never cried, so I wasn't sure when the injury occurred and there wasn't a trail of blood. I finally thought to to check the vent and, man oh man, is it sharp! He will be disappointed as this will now have to be added to the "Can't Touch" list which seems to grow each day.

Oh so snowy!

Just when we were finally able to see all of the grass, a long came a snow storm. I have to admit that it has been a very pretty day even though I am longing for spring to stay. It looked just like a snow globe. We decided to take Alex out and attempt a snowman! Well, he ended up falling forward off a snow bank and face planting in the snow. He looked just like a cartoon. His head was buried and you could just see legs sticking straigh up kicking. Needless to say, he wasn't pleased and the snowman never was built. Here is some video of Paul and Alex.

Latest Stats

Alex had his 9 month appt. yesterday. His thyroid level is finally in the normal range. He weighed 19lb 6oz (24th percentile), 29 1/2" (80th percentile)! I knew he was getting long but didn't realize how long. The doctor was very surprised about his length because it meant he grew 3 1/4 inches in three months. It was such major increase that he kept saying maybe the nurse measured incorrectly. I haven't tried measuring him yet, but I don't think she screwed up.

We've tried to give Alex different table foods. The Ham likes ham! He also likes brownies. For any of the Frank family that might have wondered if he would have a sweet tooth, you need not worry. Bring on the family reunions...he's ready! :)

The Art of the Umbrella Stroller

Since Alex has gotten bigger it has been much harder carrying him in his car seat. We have nice stroller, but it is a little too much for quick trips in and out. We decided an umbrella stroller would be much easier for this. So today I gave it whirl when I went to have my blood drawn. Opening it wasn't too hard although the instructions lied about how to go about this and the ride was fine. However, after getting back to the car and loading Alex my hands were a bit frozen. After wrestling with the stupid thing and thinking how can I not be smarter than the Chinese kid who built it.... I just shoved it fully extended into the car and away we went. I guess Paul can fix it when he gets home. Better luck next time! :)

Yesterday

Things went well yesterday. I didn't bleed much, and I didn't get sick from the anesthesia. I'm sore but feeling good.

The doctor thinks I have cyclic neutropenia. Treatment for this is injections...probably daily to start with. The medicine is extremely expensive. There is a research foundation that pays for the medicine for the rest of your life if you qualify. In order to qualify I have to prove I have this disorder through the bone marrow biopsy and for the next six weeks I have to have to have my blood drawn every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to track the neutrophil count. Also they check for chromosomal abnormalities in the bone marrow which are indicative of pre-leukemia. If I qualify, I will have to have a bone marrow biopsy yearly. This isn't a common disorder. I guess the chances are .5-1 persons per million! This why this foundation is willing to give the medication for free in exchange for the bone marrow and tracking of patients through their lives. Hopefully, the doctor has it right. It would be nice to finally have an answer. I go back in the 19th to discuss the biopsy results.

Thank you to all that have been keeping me in their thoughts the last few days.