Where's my Daddy?

It's amazing how much has happened in the last month. Saying that, I'm so aware of how much more could have

happened, and I'm counting every blessing. But here's a recap just for memory sake!

- About 3 weeks ago, Ben got really sick with some sort of a virus. He only threw up once, but then he wouldn't eat for about a week. With him being so small already, that completely stressed his mother out!

- In the midst of Ben being sick, I myself started feeling bad. I was nauseous, very hormonal, and had serious stomach cramping. For a second there I panicked and thought I might be pregnant! Don't worry! It was a false alarm, but it definitely added the number of gray hairs on my head.

- Finally, to top it all off, last Tuesday night, Hector started complaining about a headache. I didn't think much about it because he gets headaches pretty regularly. The next morning at 5:20AM he woke me up complaining of an excruciating headache. He said the pain was unbearable. Then he started throwing up. We tried to give him pain medicine and nausea medicine but he couldn't keep them down, and when he finally did, they didn't do anything for the pain or nausea. Finally we decided to go to the ER. Little did we know the average wait time was 6 hours! I've never seen the ER that packed. Just our luck. Hector stayed in his wheel chair and I stood up as much as I could holding his head in my hands because it provided a little relief.

After 5 hours, an iv and a ct scan, we finally got back to a room. Why they put an IV in 3 hours before they give you any medicine beats me! Actually it made me mad. Everyone we saw along the way kept talking about migraines. And I knew, and Angela knew, this was not a migraine. At least not like anyone anyone we know has experienced before. When I would tell the nurses that, they would say, "every migraine is different". Anyway, he finally got a little relief, but he should have gotten complete relief. So they decided to do a spinal tap. The doctor said it came back clear so they were going to send us home. I about flipped! I asked Hector what his pain level still was. He said a 7. I said to the doctor, "Your going to send him home with a 7 pain level on major drugs with no idea what he has." I kid you not, his response, "OK, I'll admit him". I couldn't beleive it. It was like he knew Hector needed to stay but decided to see if we'd just leave. Unbelievable.

Finally after being in the ER for 12 hours, we arrived in a room. It took another 12 hours to get his pain under control. When they did, he was basically unconscious. He slept probably 20 hours a day for the next two days. When he would wake up, if the medicine was anywhere close to due, he would be hurting again. Over the course of Thursday and Friday, our doctor, Dr. Greco, who was awesome, called in a neurologist and an infectious disease specialist who ran about every test on him, including an MRI. All of the tests came back clear. They finally decided it was a migraine induced by viral meningitis. Can you beleive it? One is bad enough, but both! That explains the pain. Meningitis causes severe heachaches as well.

On Saturday night, the neurologist took him off all of his pain medicine, which totally freaked me out. He ordered this migrain medicine called DHE instead... with no back up pain meds just in case. I pitched a fit, the nurse called the doctor, but the doctor assured us that if it didn't work, they would change plans during the night. Well, my fit was for nothing. The medicine worked like a charm. They gave it to him about 11PM (two hours late of course) and it ran for an hour. Hector fell asleep which i saw as a very good sign b/c he had been really hurting without the pain meds (which he hadn't had for the last 9 hours!) He woke up at 2AM and I asked him about his pain level. For the first time, it was a 1 and he was awake! He actually decided to watch some TV.

The next day, doctor Greco came in and told us that the final test they ran (a specialty test that had to be sent off) came back positive for enterovirus in his spinal fluid, confirming the viral meningitis. Over the next 2 days Hector progressed incredibly. They had to put a PIC line in because of how many different medicines they were pumping into him just in case it was bacterial meningitis (it took 3 days to confirm for sure that it wasn't. ) His veins couldn't take the medicine anymore. That was a process I was glad I missed! A catheter to the heart? Hmm.. not for me. And he only had it in for one day. Why they didn't do that at the beginning, I don't know!

Even though he was feeling physically better, Hector really missed Ben, and Ben was definitely wondering where the heck his daddy was, so on Sunday we brought Ben up to see him in the waiting room. It made his day and helped him survive the rest of his hospital stay. Monday he got to come home, after 5 nights in the hospital. He went back to school on Thursday. He's doing great, but his mind is still a little groggy, probably from the massive pain meds they were giving him. Anyway, we're thankful he's home and ok. And we appreciate Aunt Angie, Sassy, Abuelita, and everyone else who stepped up to help with Ben. Did I mention Mom and Dad happened to be in NYC during this! Talk about timing. But everything worked out just fine. Thank you Lord that it was viral and not bacterial!

What a great day!

As I mentioned in my last entry, Ben's favorite show is Fresh Beat Band. They end every show with the same song, and they bridge that song with the same tag line, "What a great day!" Then they break into their song and dance.

Well all I have to say about today is, "What a great day!" God is good, and today he allowed us to create family memories that will last a lifetime, especially with the 174 pictures we took!

Hector and I started off the day at about 6am when i got up to make his lunch and coffee, and he got up to get ready for school...until he looked outside and saw all the snow. So we turned on the TV to see if Crowley was closing school for today, and of course they didn't. But my husband being the awesome father that he is, made the executive decision to close school today for Mr. Santiago. Thus began our great day.

Hector got out our old ski stuff, and make sure we were both totally bundled up. He and I sat on the front porch for a while and enjoyed the beautiful snow. We walked around a little bit to see just how much snow there was, but we were careful to take as few steps as possible to not disrupt the perfect snow covered ground.

When Ben woke up about 9AM, we bundled him up with major layers. Noah and Ellie came over and we played in the snow for about 45 minutes. He and Noah neither one were quite sure about what to think about this cold stuff falling from the sky. The after Ben took his nap and ate lunch, we went back outside. This time, he was sure he liked it! He actually loved it. We were out there for at least two hours building our snow man, making snow angels, and catching snowflakes on our tongues. The cold didn't phase him.

We finally decided about 5 to come in to warm him up a little bit, seeing as we don't have water proof clothes for him and his pants were soaked! So we stripped his wet clothes off of him, I bundled him up in a blanked and we watched an episode of Fresh Beat Band (the only show my child will watch). Within about 15 minutes, Nana, Aunt Angie, Sassy, and Caleb were at the door. And you know what that meants. Back outside! They couldn't miss the opportunity to see Ben in action. I think the third time was a little much, he didn't last long. But the rest of us had fun with a serious snow ball fight. I told Caleb, it's a snow ball fight, not a snow bolder fight! But we had a blast. I was so glad they came by.

Then we capped of the day with some Little Caesars and after Ben went to sleep, a stroll in the snow with my husband. That you God for such a great day!

He's growing up too fast!

I can't believe how fast Ben is growing up. The first 16 months have flown by! He's starting to talk more. He calls Hector "Da Da" and Sugar "Gur". He definitely has his own way of communicating. Whenever he wants anything, he points at it and makes this funny noise, like he's clearing his throat. Where he got that, I have no idea! He is not only walking everywhere now, but running. The funny part is that his top half moves faster than his feet, so he's always a step away from falling over!

He now has his first official favorite show, The Fresh Beat Band. He would rather watch that show than do anthing. When it's on, he'll either sit in your lap perfectly still or get down and start dancing. The show is about 4 teenagers who sing and dance together all the time. I can't wait to see where Ben's love for music is going to take him. He still loves falling asleep to Alan Jackson's Old Hyms CD, and every morning we listen to our Malt Show Favorites (50's music is still his favorite). In the car he loves the Southern Gospel group, Gold City. What can I say? My son has a wide range of likings. He is at such a fun age. He was sitting in my lap this morning watching his show, and I just closed my eyes and thanked God for the moment and asked that it not pass to quickly! I am so thankful for my little boy.

These are just some of his latest pictures.

The Irony

OK so what are the chances that two people who need to lose about 40 lbs a piece have a child that refuses to eat and now falls in the bottom 10 percentile of weight for kids his age. The doctor says we have to get more fat and calories into his diet. Easy for them to say. The child won't eat! So, up until now, his main source of calories has been apple juice and goldfish crackers. But that obviously is not helping. The doctor says that he's refusing to eat everything else and just stubbornly holding out for the few things he really likes.

So, now it's a battle of the wills and my child doesn't know who he's messin with! He hasn't had any goldfish for two days and now he's drinking V8 fusion juice instead of apple juice because it has a serving of fruit and veggies in every glass. That's about the only veggies he'll take. He's not really getting any snacks between meals so that we can retrain him to actually eat meals. If I do think he's getting hungry and it's not meal time, I'll offer him fruit or a breakfast bar or something healthy.

Once we get him eating normal, then my poor child can have his precious goldfish. Hopefully it won't take too long, because as strong willed as I am, I think he might beat me down! He's doing ok so far, but still not eating near as much for lunch and dinner as he should. But boy he sure loves his nutrigrain waffles for breakfast. He'll always eat that. As for any other food, totally depends on the day as to if he likes it or not. He liked corn bread today. Ask me tomorrow, I'll probably tell you that he hates it. He likes to keep mom guessing. But gone are the days of giving him 5 different options at meal time to find the one he wants. That was about to drive me insane. The doctor now says, he'll eat when he's hungry... I hope so, or else, 5 percentile here we come!!!

The things we do for our kids

So, as I write this blog, Hector is next to me on the treadmill walking with Ben in his arms. Mind you, this is not how it started. Hector has been trying to run at night to drop some weight. He's in a Biggest Loser contest at school, so he's on a mission. My job was to keep Ben from the treadmill. Obviously, I failed at my job. He went straight to the treadmill and reached up with both arms and a pitiful face for Hector. I was just going to take him back to his room to play a little bit before I put him to bed. Hector said he wanted to try holding him while he walked. Now Ben is about 2 seconds away from being sound asleep. How sweet is that? I tried to take a picture that I'll post later, but my battery is dead so I had to use my phone, and it doesn't come close to capturing the precious moment. Sweet father son memnts start early!

Sweet Day

Every day with Ben is sweet, but some days, like today, are especially sweet. I stood in awe of him all day. Hector was off today, so we had great family time. There were several times that I was brought to tears just looking at Hector and Ben interact and love on each other. They were those moments that you just want to freeze. Precious moments that fill your heart with an indescribable joy.

I spent the day praising God for the amazing indescribable gift He's given me in my son. I'm sure all mothers can relate, but I kept starring at him today, thinking to myself, "He couldn't be any more beautiful"! Words cannot express how thankful I am for Benjamin. He is a reflection of my God, and I get to look at that reflection all day everyday. How awesome is that!

It's impossible to capture in words the love I have for him, but for some reason, I wanted to do my best to write it down so someday, years from now, Ben can see how much his mother loved him from the very beginning. Cheesy, I know. He's a boy. He probably won't even care! :) I love you Benjamin Ray more than you will ever ever know.

My First Surgery

So, we finally did it! We had the dreaded surgery. Yesterday, we took Ben to Cooks to get tubes in his ears and to have his adnoids removed. I was dreading the surgery but I was so ready to do something to help my poor child breath better, sleep better, and avoid having his 8th ear infection! I prayed fervently that God would have his hand on things and He didn't let me down! He was with us every step of the way. Ben slept all the way to the hospital, even until we got up to the waiting room, after registration. Then, we were quickly taking into a couple of different rooms where they asked us all the questions they're supposed to ask, took Ben's vitals, etc. Then they had a play room where he hung out with other kids until the surgery. He had a ball. Every once in a while he would reach for his backpack because that's where we keep his sippy (he couldn't have anything to eat or drink), but that was it! They had a singing Christmas tree in the play area and we all know how much my son likes anything that sings. So he kept pressing that over and over again. I think we drove everyone else nuts, but it kept him happy!

Then at about 9:30, they took me back into another room with Ben and sent Hector to the waiting room where Mom, Dad and Mere waited with him. They gave Ben a sedative up his nose. He did not like that at all, but all it took was about 2 minutes and then he really liked it! He was playing with some Dora the Explorer stickers like they were the coolest invention ever! Then after about 15 minutes, I layed my baby on a little baby hospital bed and they rolled him back. I went to the waiting room with everyone else. They gave him gas before they put an IV in, so he didn't feel a thing. Then, about 15 minutes later, Dr. Palmer came out and said that everything went great. He said that Ben's adnoids were very enlarged so he should notice an immediate breathing difference. It took a little longer before we could go back there because Ben had so much congestion they had to give him a breathing treatment and CPT, which kind of concerned me. But they acted like it was normal. Of course the day before his surgery, in addition to trying to get over a double ear infection, he develops a nasty cough.

Anyway, when they took me back to see him, he was still asleep. That anesthesia knocked him out! We had to wake him up to give him fluids and he did not like that at all. But even then, he just fussed a little. We all took turns going back there to see him. Kristen, my cousin, works at Cooks and came by to make sure everything was ok. Then when we got home, he was a little fussy, but he inhaled his waffles and wanted to play. Then I just knew last night would be a rough one. Instead, he slept through the whole night AND woke up in a great mood. We only had to give him tylenol once today! Isn't that nuts! God is good, and we are thankful! His adnoids are still swollen so it will be another couple of days before we can tell a difference in his breathing, but we're confident we will and we're hopeful that the tubes will help with his speech development.

Merry Christmas

So this Christmas was a white Christmas! What are the odds? It was great and made for some great Kodak moments! There's nothing cuter than a one year old bundled up and playing in the snow.

On Christmas eve, we always go to Mama Joys in the afternoon about 3 and then head to Hector's moms at around 6. We went to MJs as planned. Ben had fun with everyone but wasn't very interested in his gifts or the wrapping paper for that matter. Then when we left to go to Iris's, we almost slid through the first intersection we came to. So, we quickly decided a trip to Lewisville in this weather was probably not wise. So we headed to Mom and Dad's instead. We didn't want to get snowed in at our house and not be able to spend Christmas with the family, so we spent Christmas Eve at their house. On C.E. growing up, we always were given one gift which were always pajamas and we would drink hot chocolate and watch a christmas movie. Well, since I've been married, I haven't gotten to be part of that tradition b/c we spend C.E. with his family. So, as disappointed as we were to miss spending it with his fam, it was kind of neat to get to be a part of the tradition once again! My husband bought me the movie "this christmas" as an early gift, and that's what we watched! It was great!

Then when we woke up Christmas morning, I took Ben into each room to wake everyone up. What better way to wake up on Xmas?! Then we all went into the den together as always. Ben wasn't feeling all that great... probably had to do with his double ear infection and the antibiotic that hurts his stomach! So he wasn't the happiest baby on Christmas morning, but as always he still behaved perfectly. But once again, he wasn't very interested in his presents. All he cared about was a chair that mom and dad bought him. It's the cutest thing. He'll just lean back in it like it's his own little recliner! Anyway, next year I'm sure he'll appreciate our efforts more, but we still had an awesome Christmas and got some great pictures. We also had Christmas on Saturday with the Tappe side of the family, and then with Hector's family on Sunday night. Ben had a ball at both! See pictures. :)

Update on Ben

The last month, nothing extremely new or interesting has happened, but Ben has been so much fun. He is now not only walking, but pretty much running everywhere. Poor thing is still a little wobbly and we think it's because of the fluid that tends to stay on his ears.

On that note, Ben is set to have tubes put in his ears and his adnoids removed on the 28th. We're not looking forward to it, but we feel a real peace about it. We are really hoping that it will help him breathe better and stear clear of ear infections. It's supposed to be a very simple process. The tubes supposedly have no recovery time and the adnoid removal is supposed to have a 1-2 day recovery period. Hector will still be out of school, so he'll be there to help me. I'm just ready for my little boy to be able to breathe through his nose and not snore like a freight train!

We've had fun with Ben this Christmas season. We've taken him to see lights, Dad's bought him little Christmas singing doll things, he's heard just about every Christmas carol a dozen times and owns 4 or 5 sets of Christmas pajamas, thanks to Nana! Can't wait to see how much fun he has Christmas morning! A couple other cute things he's been doing. Now when he reaches for you, he opens and shuts his hands like, come here please. It is precious! That combined with that pitiful face he makes where he sticks out his lips is priceless! He's also started guiding your hand to what he wants you to do. The other day we were watching tv together and he started dropping something between the couch and the table and then would move my hand to the crack to go get it. He did that about a dozen times. He's also getting even more dramatic when he doesn't get his way. But he's so flippin cute, his new tactics tend to work! Anyway, I'm sure I'll have some neat pictures of Christmas to post in a couple of days.

The Tappe Christmas Tree

So this past weekend, my sister was in town. She stopped by for a couple of days during her move from the west coast to the east coast. Now instead of our Malibu barbie, she's our NYC barbie! Anyway, she won't be visiting for Thanksgiving because of her new job, and that's when we normally put up the Tappe family Christmas tree. So this year, we decided to start celebrating Christmas a little early. It was a really fun time. We put on Kenny and Dolly (our christmas music tradition), drank egg nog, put up the tree, and took lots of pictures. Ben had a ball, especially since mom and dad found more singing animals in their Christmas stuff! He is just mesmerized by those things. Now instead of wanting to lug three around the house, he wants five... all singing at once mind you. We get to hear, "what a wonderful world", "don't worry be happy", "love machine", "sleigh ride" and "grandma got runover by a reindeer" simultaneously. It drives us nuts, but Ben absolutely loves it. Even with all five going, when one stops, he knows which one, and he points at it so that we'll restart it.

So here are some pictures from the Tappe Family Tree night. The first of many Christmas memories for 2009! Can't wait for more. I love this time of year!

One Year Pictures

So we couldn't let Ben's 1st birthday pass without taking him to get his picture made. He did so well... as alway! The pictures turned out great! Take a look.