2013 - A Year in Pictures

 As with each year, 2013 was a year of many FIRST'S for Austin but also much change for our little family.  Enjoy.

Silly Faces

Mommy Love

OMG!  FAST!

Reached the Top!

Gentle Ladybug

Fascination with Fire Trucks commences.

Church Bells!

Monster Truck!

Move to Toddler Bed.  Bliss.

Climbed 1 Mile High!

Austin's Ball Players

Climbing a Tree!

Gentle Butterfly

New House 2013!

Always the Useful Engine

Fascination #2 - Trains and Tracks

Future Georgia Player

Yes! School!

GOTR Mascot - Running with the Girls

We Will Have a Baby Sister!

Picked an Apple for You, Mommy!

Handomeness

Wheelbarrow Action

Appreciating One Self.

Austin Helped With this Lawn

Fort

Itchy Costume

Fascination #3

Snow!

Tree Decorating

The Three of Us - Dec 2013

Road Test

Reflecting on 2014!

Turning Three!

Birthday's have always been a big deal growing up.  My Mom loved celebrating them and I was certainly a willing participant in being "queen for the day".  For this reason, it makes it really fun that Austin can comprehend the day a little better.  Leading up to the big day, I have been prepping him with the knowledge of how old he will be on his birthday, pointing out when other's were celebrating birthdays so he could observe their delight and just plain getting him psyched for TURNING THREE!

His birthday celebration pretty much lasted a week. It started with his class singing "Happy Birthday" the last day before Christmas break and adorning him with his "king hat".  Followed by waking up to balloons in his bedroom, the morning of his birthday, two days later.

WOW!

Present #1

He enjoyed the "bawoons!" very much. This may become a tradition!  Saturday was about being extra special so we made holiday treats, including "Austin taste it" experiences, lots of "Monster's Inc" viewings and all around playing with his new gifts.  

Building an excavator with Daddy.

Mater - cake.

A couple days later, his Nonny and Doc came into town for Christmas, so we continued the celebration on Christmas Eve with a little cake.  It was a lot of fun!

The THREE of us.

Happy Birthday sweet Austin!  You are an amazing delight in our little world and we enjoy celebrating each and every day with you.  

Love you, Mommy and Daddy.

Maggie Mae

Tomorrow Austin and I will be taking a trip east to take Maggie to a new home.  Somewhere that she can be loved by the entire family and live out her days in bliss and less stress. The only way I would consider this is either my folks or someone that I KNOW is an ultimate dog lover because he has had many labs and I have SEEN how he is with her.   

I have had Maggie since she was 8 weeks old. At now 11.5 years she has been to hell and back with me.  I haven't always been the best caretaker for her with my work commitments and lack of yard but as expected, she has been a loyal companion for all these years.  Adding Jazzy to the mix has given her a constant companion when I have been absent for an hour, day or even a weekend and that has been a real blessing.  

As I always knew she would, Maggie has been wonderfully tolerant of the rougher love of a toddler but she has also shown Austin how to love an animal.  One of his first dogs.  

Maggie is a great friend and I know she will add joy to her new family.  God only knows if she will miss me but I have been told I can visit her as much as I would like.

Good girl Maggie.  I will miss you more than you know.

Uncle Mitch

Very few people knew that a I have a beloved Uncle in prison.  He has been in there for over 25 years.  Of the hundreds of thousands of prisoners in the California system, he is a top 100 prisoner, with zero write-ups, service to veterans, never turning down an opportunity to work and continuing his education by obtaining a college degree.  His wife, Tammy, has stayed with him this entire time.  As an RN, she has rented "home", found new jobs and had resisted creating friendships to be within driving distance of each of his prisons.  He moved 5 times in 25 years.  Unbelievable loyalty to the love of her life.

His scheduled parole hearing was this past January wherein he received a unanimous recommendation by the parole board to be released which started the 150 day period for the Governor to approve or disapprove.  True to fashion, the Governor waited the entire time but finally granted him parole!  He will be 60 this November.

I am sad to say that since his sentence, many of our family members have never visited, written him or accepted his calls.  I hope he has found a place in his heart to forgive them.  He has more than made up for any disappointment/shame he has caused in them.  I am thankful my Mother's belief in him was strong enough to allow us to continue to love and grow up with him. 

He has forever had my support and I can't wait to see him OUT of the confines of the prison walls.  And for him to meet Austin whom he has seen via pictures and has been writing to since the day Austin was born. 

My beloved Uncle Mitch.  I hope the world is kind to you and your adjustment is as easy as possible.  Give yourself and those around you a break as everyone becomes acclimated to the new you, the free you.

Xoxo.  Your Niece Jen.

Operation Potty Training

Potty training......I am wondering who's milestone this really is as I am sitting in the bathroom with door closed, while Austin and I are "hanging out" and playing with toys and waiting for the next opportunity to go potty.

Where the magic happens

Just then he exclaims, "Uh oh! Poo!" and I tell him, "well, get on the potty".  Success!  Yet, pooing was an easy one for him.  It's number one that we are struggling with.  I.WILL.NOT.FAIL. is my mantra as we are in the third day of this....

Wondering What My Mom Used

Day 1:  Just underwear or naked running around the house.  I committed to just to "be" with Austin for this whole week.  No distractions for me to keep me from forgetting to remind Austin to go potty.  Drinking lots of Kombucha/water mix to keep him hydrated enough to practice the art of recognizing "when to go".  We go to the potty together, the tandem potty'rs we have become.  Once I realized his currency (motivation) for going potty was to "drive", I implemented the incentive to go potty IN the potty.  We "drove" my car five times (backing out of the drive and then pulling into the drive with Austin steering and shifting) on day one.  We also had much dribbling and much just flat out peeing anywhere he felt obliged to.

Tighty whitey's!

Day 2: Okay, lots of peeing wherever we wanted to even after we JUST went potty.  So off to Dollar Tree to buy some cheap toys and motivators to go potty.  Sticker chart with load of stickers.  Again, we have 6 stickers on the "I WENT POTTY THIS MANY TIMES" chart.  Perhaps I should of clarified on the chart WHAT the potty was.  Oy.  By the end of the day, he was in his pull ups and I resigned for the rest of the day.  

Piece of Art

BUT, I had a plan for Day 3:  Searched "potty training" in Pinterest and found a site on how to potty train in one day by relegating ourselves to a small space, the bathroom, and then building on that space as you feel comfortable with his ability to run to the bathroom when he needs to go.  

Maggie Cheering Austin On.

He did pretty good!  Even upped the anty and wanted to go on the regular toilet! YES, my son has GOT IT!

But then there was naptime. While I was shuffling the dogs into their area before I took Austin to the potty before naptime, Austin decided that he was going to pee in said area instead of the the potty.  

Sigh.  

I.WILL.NOT.FAIL.

GAPS OR NOT TO GAPS - Our Very Own "GAPS Update"

So, I (well we, the hubby confirmed) made a decision today.  We are done with GAPS.  We have been on it for a little over five weeks now and have been struggling with the food and limitations since the beginning against lack of "ah!" moments.  But before you get all "wah!" on me, hear me out.  

When we went onto this program, we were convinced that not only Austin, but I, NEEDED it to ultimately feel better and rid each of us with our chronic issues, for good and that our current dietary changes were not enough.  As you may remember, Austin had frequent bouts of eczema, reflux, throwing up and as we found out while on GAPS, yeast overgrowth.  I was dealing with a host of digestive issues that led to a couple endoscopes, a colonoscopy, proton pump inhibitors and frequent occurrences of heart burn/reflux.  Fun.

I must preface and say this program is crucial for so many people.  Like I mentioned before, there are kids that are failing to thrive because of so many intolerances, even to the basic molecular protein and this program SAVES THEIR LIVES and gives them a chance to lead a normal life again.  Here are a few (many, many more) stories worth noting:

About Ellie - FPIES and GAPS  -Ellie Belly

About Filbert - Autism and GAPS - Takes A Town

About Kennedy - Dravet Syndrome and GAPS - Home Food Heals

Many of these blogs show how GAPS diet has brought normalcy to their lives and/or has rid them of their original diagnosis!  Amazing journeys.

For us, not so crucial.  I came a across a couple blogs over the last couple days that hit home for me.  The one that made the largest impression on me is one by Cara @ Health, Home, Happiness.  This post was generally about how the program is not for everyone.  After being on the GAPS diet and visiting the FB page for GAPS Kids for questions, I come to realize that we were in no way as severe as these kids or their parents.  While we had a yeast breakout around Austins mouth, some kids were experiencing it all over their bodies.  Itchy, very uncomfortable bumps.  While Austin would have eczema breakouts on his cheeks when stressed, some of these folks couldn't eat certain foods without causing seizures or full blown attacks of their systems, like a FPIES reaction would.  This was not us and our little issues are in no way compared to what some these people are experiencing, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. 

I am not downplaying Austin's eczema, bloating or the other things we have experienced, at all.  They are definite symptoms of gut dysbiosis.  We are just finding that the GAPS program is not the route for us to go at this point.  We are going to try things like uping our probiotic intake through fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, kombucha and sauerkraut and pickles.  We are going to take daily probiotic.  We are still staying away from processed sugars.  Basically going back to our normal diet with an extra oomph and gusto!

OH!  The other blog!

Heather @ Mommypotomus had her family on GAPS for awhile and seem to be helpful for them.  She also came across an issue with her daughter Katie, not a typical GAPS kid as she describes, and the appearance of yeast overgrowth on her face!

Candida going "Billy The Kid" on Austin's face.

It is exactly what Austin is dealing with and I was encouraged to hear that GAPS (and other homeopathic remedies) worked to clear it up for her.  As mentioned above, we will go with less laborious approaches at this point in time.

I have learned a lot in this program however. One, there are some very strong momma's out there.  I am inspired by the ladies that I have come to know through this GAPS journey.  The common theme you will find is strong evidence for a mom's intuition and the perseverance against some serious odds to bring real health to their children in need.  I can come up with one word, HERO.  Enough said.

Two, from Mom of a kid with corn allergies, corn is used in EVERYTHING! And with corn as one of the highest % to be a GMO in America, you might not want to know.  

A Little Tummy TLC - The GAPS Diet

I tried to breastfeed Austin from the very start.  We were having a tough time at it but it was something I tried for about six weeks, including pumping because he was unable to latch properly, would fell asleep at the breast and not take in enough milk.  It was tough and in my desperation to get some sleep, we switched to formula, once my milk had been used up. When we stopped, that is when the problems began.

Within a few days of switching to formula, we experienced the first episode of him arching his back, stiffening like a board and not breathing for a few seconds, followed by a scream.  It was a little scary.  Doctor said it was reflux and it was time to change his formula and even put him on a medicine to reduce the acid in his stomach (first Zantac and then Prevacid) and so began our journey of figuring out the correct combination to keep him from having reflux and being happy.  We changed formulas, with rice, without rice. Some screwed up his bowel movements and gave him rashes, others he just refused.  After about three months, we finally found a combination that worked; Nutramigen with rice added and a daily dose of Prevacid.  At over $2.00/ounce, Nutramagen was pretty expensive and Prevacid was not made for babies, so I had to dissolve a solutab in his cheek and make sure he didn't choke on it.  We called it "strawberry delight".  If he missed a dose, he felt it.  There were times he would take up to 20 oz at one feeding (OMG!) because he was trying to calm the burning sensation in his chest.  For awhile, Matt and I would take shifts of staying up all night because he was up so often.  He slept in a swing for a good two months because it was inclined.  Sleep was an issue, definitely.  For all parties.  But right about six months, when he began to sit up on his own, the reflux stopped.  It was a miracle! But then the eczema started......

Fast forward a year or so later, we started noticing that he was having reflux again.  This time it showed up as throwing up at random times.  In the car, at a restaurant, on the floor at home.  The only commonality was that it was about 2 hours or so after he had eaten.  Hardly anything had been digested either.  And his tummy was always so bloated.  The only fix we had at the time was to reduce his meals to very, very small and frequent.  He was begging for food.  It was tough to keep it up.  

Around this time, we had heard about the GAPS Diet.  G.A.P.S stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome.  It is based on the theory that when your gut is in a state of dysbiosis it can create havoc on all sorts of processes in your body, from the inability to digest foods properly, skin disorders, food intolerance and learning delays, all the way to neurological disorders, like ADHD, depression, autism and even schizophrenia.  At this time, Austin was suspected to also have a speech delay.  After reading the book, it also confirmed that all my issues with reflux, IBS, etc may be indicative of gut dysbiosis and I (in addition to formula) may very well could have contributed to Austin's state (mother's and father's gut health are passed on) as well!  We were intrigued and since we already followed a processed-free diet, we thought his may be the ticket for Austin and I.  We started the third weekend of January 2013.

Fast forward to two weeks later and we are doing okay.  Stage 1 of the INTRO portion of the diet is tough and boring.  Boiled meat, boiled veggies, sauerkraut juice and broth for Every. Single. Meal.  It was excruciating for me and so dang bland!  Austin was refusing the broth and I was withdrawing from caffeine, so I had headaches for two days and then I started experiencing "die-off" symptoms (where the bad bacteria dies and enters your blood stream, ready to be filtered out), which is similar to a bad cold with lots of congestion and drainage, but no fever. We progressed to Stage 2 within a couple days (so what, we add raw eggs to our soups, blah) and then to Stage 3 by the end of the week.  Right before we started Stage 3, I had experienced an energy burst and something disappeared that I had been suffering from for over a year.  Vertigo!  I could not be a passenger in a car and not get sick nor watch Austin swing back and forth without getting dizzy for as long as I could remember and it had been increasingly getting worse.  The Wednesday after we started, I took Austin out to the park and for the first time, I did not get dizzy and my head had been the clearest it had ever been!  It was amazing!

Right before we started to move to Stage 4, Austin started showing signs of yeast (Candida) overgrowth or "die-off".  He started getting pimples/bumps on his face as soon as we introduced fresh juice and nuts.  I broke out as well.  So we decided to pull the the nuts and fruit to see if it goes away.  We are going to move forward with Stage 4, but keep the nuts and fruit out of our diets while upping our probiotics.  Stage 4 would normally include nut breads (YES!) and grilled/roasted meats.  We will hold off on the nut breads (yep, DARN) for now.

It is definitely an interesting journey.  I have wanted to quit three times now.  I kept telling myself that we are not as bad as everyone else is (there are a lot of kids with some serious failure to thrive issues and autism on this diet) and don't need to put ourselves through this. I am thankful for the ladies on the Facebook page for "GAPS Kids", however.  They are a bunch of strong mama's, fighting for their kids and their family's health.  Matt is also keeping me grounded so I keep on cooking meals that are starting to become more savory, but a stretch from my normal yumminess! 

Till then.....

46 Words and Counting.....

Although we did our best to make sure that Austin transitioned to a therapist in North Carolina without much delay, the holidays and McDowell County's lack of resources caused a two month delay.  His first official meet with Ms. Debra at Play Again Therapy, was January 7th and we fell in love with her immediately.   She is very outgoing and Austin cracks up with her a lot.

She asked one simple question of me that day though.  She said, "How many words is he doing now?".  I had been saying 15-20 for the last couple months because, that was basically what he was repeating on a daily basis.  However, while at our first appointment, he started popping out words and so I began writing them down on a back of scrap piece of paper in my purse.  It wasn't the first time he would say them, it was just that he didn't say a lot of them very often, so in this setting, he had an opportunity to start going through them as Ms. Debra was prompting him.  I quickly got to 20 words by the end of the session and knew there was more.  I continued to write those that I could think of when I got home and after he would just belt one out.  Consulted Matt and........ we got to 46 words!  They were:

Pets, help, please, Matt, Jae (for Jazzy), Sha (Scout), nah (milk), sit, juice, butter, water, shoes, hair, nose, mouth, ears, hands, toes, hush, push, pop, bubble, open, yes, no, more, eat, puppy, mama, daddy, bye-bye, truck, ball, nuts, hop, ju (jump), uh-oh, oh-no, oh man, sho (shoulders), knee, sa (salt), char (kombucha), eye, and two.

We were completely thrilled!  Once we entered the following week, we were easily over 50 words.  And at that appointment, I just cried my eyes out listening to my son jabber on like he had never before under the guise of Ms. Debra.  What a thrill to hear him use his words!

Update:  As of February 11th, Austin is working on 3 word combinations.  In the last two weeks we have seen him explode with his requests and comprehension of multitask direction.  Perhaps, just as I have experienced a clearer head after starting the GAPS diet, he is also experiencing a lift of fog.  Either way, we are just enthralled to hear what is on his mind! 

Moving/Holidays/Turning Two and Much Change

It has been a long while since I have posted and for good reason.  Since the last post regarding Austin's speech therapy, we had six months full of whirlwind, starting with a new job for Matt!

Yep, Matt left the beginning of September for two and half months to start a new job with a company called Baldor Electric Company in Marion, NC, while Austin and I stayed back to keep things as normal as possible and until some things were set up in North Carolina to make the transition as smooth as possible.  Matt would come back to home every couple weeks for the weekend to visit and we even made a trip up to attend a company picnic and see our new temporary home.  In the middle of all this, I was training for my FIRST marathon, so, needless to say it was hectic!

October 28, 2012

 

Austin and I followed, officially, the weekend before Thanksgiving and we are really enjoying it here.  It is a slower pace, which is welcomed, and the area is really beautiful as you get into the foothills and farm land.  We are not to far from some snow fun, only 4 hours away from Atlanta and Matt's family, and about 7.5 hours from Jacksonville and my family (yes, they moved from Colorado to the East Coast!).

View from Mt. Mitchell

Marion, NC is about 40 miles east of Asheville.  It is a small town, about 6500 people, with McDowell Hospital and Baxter Pharmaceuticals as the largest employers.  It used to be host to many textile plants however they have all closed down as the jobs were moved over seas.  

For the holidays, we went back to Atlanta for Thanksgiving and went to Jacksonville for Christmas.  While Matt and his family made an unexpected trip to California the week later for his Grandfather Black's funeral, Austin I zipped down to Jacksonville in between to spend even more time with my folks and THE BEACH!

"Have no idea what he is yammering about mama, no idea"

Meredith was thrilled to visit from Paris to see Austin's tummy just after Christmas

Shell picking

And of course, Austin turned TWO at the end of December.  Such a big boy.  We celebrated at my folks house the week of Christmas.  With my brother visiting from Colorado, he was able to officially meet Austin as well.

Appreciating the tree this year

We don't look alike do we?

With all that traveling, we hunkered down for the month of January and tried to develop a routine that is smooth as easy as possible, with a short business/family visit trip to Atlanta in between.