Learning, learning, learning....

There is an explosion of learning going on at our house.  The boys are busy learning things like colors, shapes, counting, letters and other important information like their name.   If you ask Aiden what his name is he will tell you, "Aiden James, Aiden Brouwer, Aiden James Brouwer".  It's never just Aiden.  They are learning their birthdate, town, street and address, age, mom and dad's name and all that other important information for if when we lose one of them.  They got an early birthday gift a few weeks ago that they are trying to figure out.  A bike.  They were so excited to go pick out a bike as a gift from Mimi and Papa (my mom and dad).  I asked for bikes for their birthday, but we picked them up already so they could use them all summer.  They are still trying really hard to learn how to pedal.  Nate and I agreed the other night that we are loving this age.  It most definitely comes with it's challenges and sassy attitudes, but the learning part of it is so much fun.

They are also always learning new vocabulary.  It is so hard to keep a straight face sometimes when they are learning new words or phrases.  Last week while eating somthing with BBQ sauce Noah looked at me and said, "Yum.  I love Q-Bar sauce.".  This morning Reese told me something was, "terrbible".   They talk a lot about going to "buy money".  I try to explain to them why Nate has to go to work and why I have to pay bills.  They just aren't quite old enough to get it yet.

Devyn is also learning like crazy!  In one week she went from barely able to get up on all fours to crawling.  She is suddenly completely mobile.  She crawls right to the dump trucks, play tools and any other toy that belongs to her brothers.  Figures.  She is so happy now that she can move around and get to whatever she wants.  That girl will never let anyone push her around.  She does things when she is ready.  My mom claims that sounds just like me.  Nate agrees.  She is also doing quite a bit of talking.  She says,  "Dada, Mama, go, uh-oh, no and possibly dog (that's up for debate)". 

We have had quite a lot of craziness going on here the last few weeks.  2 weeks ago Devyn woke up from a nap with a 103.7 fever.  About an hour later Aiden bit all the way through his bottom lip.  I glued it shut and the Dr said it was fine to not come in for stitches.  Phew.  Then Noah was struggling with his asthma and I had to take him in for that. That is a story in itself.  He threw up all over the room.  Gross.  Then he came down with a rash that apparently is some rare rash that they don't see very often.  Naturally.  Yet I am totally thrilled because it is warm!  After a painfully long winter we are back outdoors.  This year is by far the easiest.  We put shoes on them and out they go.  They will play as long as we will let them.  They crashed a little while ago for a nap and as soon as they are up we will go right back out.  So thankful that the cold seems to be past us!!! 

A great update!

I apoligize for my absence lately, but our schedule has been really unusual and a bit difficult.  Plus, yesterday was the big day.  It was Devyn's nephrology appoinment.

It was a quick appointment that went really well.  He was quite surprised that she had grown.  He said that when he got her blood work he was concerned mostly about the CO2 level in her blood.  It should be at least 23 and hers was 18.  That told him she had a problem with her kidneys, most likely renal tubular acidosis.  That's why he had them recommend formula for her.  He said she could has the acidosis or she could just have an immature kidney.  Either way her body isn't producing enough growth hormone and that's why she has had so much difficulty growing.  She needs the higher calorie count of formula in order to grow.  He said that he could treat her with a bicarbonate, but that it tastes horrible and has to be given 3 times a day.  He said we could also give her growth hormones, but that seemed too extreme.  So the plan is to just wait.  When she turns 1 we have to do more blood work to check her levels.  We also have to keep an eye on her growth.  At this point we don't have to make a return appointment.  We just have to have the results of the blood work sent to him for him to review.

That's it!  Such a relief.  This was a breeze compared to so many other situations we've been in.  I told the nurse that the nutritionist said she just wasn't eating enough.  She said that the CO2 level alone tells them that it is a kidney issue and not a nutrition issue.  Thank you very much!  I felt vindicated.  She had gained another 3 oz in the last 3 weeks, but it was a different scale.  So, again, I take that with a grain of salt.  All in all we're thrilled with the result of the appointment.