Update on Linc

Well, as many of you know Linc has started having seizures again. They would probably be considered tonic-clonic or complex partial seizures...if the description I have read on the internet are anything to go by. They start off with a staring/rigid phase, typically about 5-15 seconds long, and then his head, eyebrows, and right arm (and sometimes right leg) starts twitching. This also lasts anywhere from 5-15 seconds. So the typical seizure lasts about 10-30 seconds I would estimate.

Fortunately, these are not a return of the Infantile Spasms. Unfortunately, they seem to bother Linc moreso, at least emotionally. After a seizure is over he seems to be confused, and often will become fussy and cry, and then take a nap. He wakes totally normal though. He has been having these seizures for the past 3-4 weeks, but they have only recently (past 2 weeks) become frequent (3-12 times per day) and clearly definable.

One reassuring thing is that Linc is still learning new tricks. Just this week he has figured out how to roll from back to belly on the bed, and he has gotten pretty dang good at scooting himself backwards when on his tummy in a modified inchworm fashion. I am hoping that as he gets stronger he will get the whole crawling thing down within the next couple of months.

We went to the neurologist yesterday and he suggested upping his dosage of Keppra again, and then if no change, to up it again on Monday. If he is still having visible seizures by Friday, then we are going to be switching meds.

We will keep you all updated!


A couple videos of our handsome boy:

Countertops

Conrete Countertop #1 is complete!
This is the first and smallest of 5 total pours. We poured 3 while my family was here over X-mas break. This is the first one we have completed. The other 2 are in various states of grinding/polishing currently. We should have those 2 finished up by the end of the month, and then we will be able to pour the last 2.

Andy and I think that it turned out pretty good. Definitely better than the pink/purple marbled formica that we had before.


Picture w/o flash.

Pictures w/ flash.

2009

Happy New Years! 2008 was a big year for us, lots of good stuff happened. I hope that 2009 is a good one as well.

Andy and I have been busy this fall/winter remodeling our kitchen. We are currently in the midst of pouring our concrete countertops, but I thought that I would post some pictures of some of the other work that we have completed.

The wall is actually in a more completed state than this even, but I don't have a pic of it yet. Stay tuned for the completion photos of the wall, cabinets, and countertops!

Now I will leave you with a couple of Linc's "Blue Steel" modeling poses. ;)

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone has a great 2009!

Merry Christmas!

It was a good Christmas. My parents and sisters were able to escape the snow in the Pacific NW and make the drive down to Tucson. They arrived on the 23rd. My Grandmother was supposed to fly into Phoenix on the 23rd, but due to the snow she rescheduled for the 29th. She missed X-mas proper, but we saved her presents for her. We hope that she can make it down here still, but the weather in the NW is unpredictable right now.

Lincoln had a good first X-mas. He thought that the wrapping paper and the stacks of presents looked pretty interesting. He didn't have too much interest in the opening of presents or what the boxes contained...but some of the wrapping paper, boxes, and bows were good enough to play with. Pretty typical baby stuff. Lol.

He got lots of cute clothes. Onesies, play sleepers, and shorts/t-shirt sets. Everyone did pretty well buying ahead of him with 9-month to 1-year sizes. He is a very large boy and is almost completely in 9-month clothes, although we still pour him into some 6-month stuff. ;) He got some good toys and other fun baby goodies (bibs, teethers, pacifiers, books, etc...). All in all a pretty good haul for a 5 month old!

Here he is opening up his 1 obligatory X-mas eve present. A cute "I'd rather be camping" onesie. He liked the box, and once we got the onesie out of the plastic, he promptly started exploring it by putting it to his mouth (see pic). Please forgive the baby-boobies, as he was pretty warm that evening so we opened his sleeper to help cool him off.

Here are Andy and I on X-mas eve.

Here is my mother helping Linc open his stocking on X-mas morning.

Here is some fun playtime with daddy Andy in the evening.

5 months old already!

Well Linc is now 5 months old. Can you believe it? He weighs in at a whopping 23.5lbs and 28.5" long! A very big boy for his age! Linc has rolled over from tummy to back probably about 10-15 times in the past 2 weeks. They seem to be on accident, but I guess if it happens more than once it counts. He has learned to like tummy time more and more, so he seems to enjoy the time spent on his belly, and doesn't try hard to learn to roll. He appears to be attempting to crawl. He wiggles a ton, and ends up pivoting on his belly, and he can creep about 1 foot in any direction it seems. It is a start!

We had his neurology appointment on the 18th to follow-up on his last EEG. The EEG showed no seizures. So the Keppra seems to be working in controlling the focal seizures. Yay!

The neurologist was also very pleased with how Linc is progressing developmentally. He said that Lincoln is on target, and even advanced in his sitting skills, which is very good, and seems to correlate with what the PT therapist said during his evaluation. We can only hope that this good news continues.

Pictures from the last couple of weeks:

New family member!

Announcing our new neice!

Jocelyn Kathleen Follett was born on Jason's birthday, December 7th, at 6:10 PM. She weighed 7lbs 1 oz and she was 19" long. A tiny little squirt for being 10 days over due. But she is adorable. See for yourselves...

We think that she kinda looks like Linc did in that first picture. Maybe its the Blatchford nose? ;)

Congrats again to the Folletts on their beautiful new daughter!

A quicky

A few corrections to the quilt post. I guess that I am a terrible guesser. I think that I only got 1 or 2 right. Bah!

The cactus = Cassie Pollock

The horse = Crista Rokita

The sun = Rosi Thorne-Bushey

Linc update:

He had his PT evaluation on Tuesday and he is doing pretty well. He is ahead of the game on his sitting and leg skills. He is a bit behind on his reaching/grasping skills. The PT thinks that during the 2-3 month period while he was having his seizures is the time when those skills are developing. She thinks that he just skipped his hands and went on to his legs. She will be seeing us weekly for the next 2 months to work with him, and prescribed more tummy time to strengthen his shoulders, because she thinks that this is the main issue. He is not crazy about tummy time, so it is a battle to try to keep him entertained and happy while he is on his belly.

Family update:

Sarah is still pregnant, so we were all wrong in out bets that Jocelyn was coming last week/weekend. Sarah is thinking that it will more likely be this weekend. As of today she is 40w, 6d pregnant. The midwives want to induce her at 41w, 6d if she hasn't gone into labor yet. The prospect of another whole week of pregnancy seems to be very frustrating for poor Sarah. But we wish her all the best, and are hoping that labor begins very soon!

Andy's family left here last Sunday. They seemed to have a good time. They went 4-wheeling, and golfing, helped us work on our patio, bought 8 fish for our fountain (all of whom have gone missing...but curiously the fountain pump does not seem to be working any longer...) and spent a lot of time hanging out, chatting, playing with the baby, drinking and eating.

My family will be arriving in town on the 22nd and my grandma will be flying in on the 23rd. They will be staying through the 2nd. We are hoping to recruit some help in working on installing our new counter-tops!

Pictures!: