Family Photos - Why is it so hard to sit still and smile...

We had our family picture taken while we were in Oregon over the holidays. The first few pictures were fun and everyone was smiling... but it very quickly went down hill. Poor Chase was just tired and he didn't want to take any more. He was crying and kept running out of the picture.

I thought how hard could this be... we all just need to sit still for 2 seconds and smile and then it would be all over. Instead it was almost a one hour ordeal and you would think we were torturing them. Over all I am glad we had them taken and I am sure they will make for good conversation when the boys are older.

The Boys Getting Ready For School

Here is a quick picture of the boys getting ready for school yesterday. I feel like it is always a mad house from 7:15 through 7:45 trying to get them all ready to walk to school. But I am sure I will feel like that a lot with a house full of boys as they grow older.

It has been a little chilly in the mornings so we have had to bundle up. Check out Knox's hat... it is so cute!

Just when you thought it would be an ordinary day... another seizure

It started as any regular Monday morning with conference calls, catching up with emails from the weekend, laundry, and the children playing with Milly. The boys are always excited to see Milly after the weekend. Chase has a pretty regular routine. He usually walks with Milly and the boys to school in the morning. Then he has breakfast, takes his medication, and watches Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse.

Since we have returned from Oregon, he loves to play with a deck of playing cards. He passes them back and forth to Milly. Then usually it is time to play with his Woody and Buzz characters from Disney World.

Knox usually takes a nap around 10 am and then it is snack time for Chase. For lunch on Monday we had left overs from the roast the night before. I put the left overs in a casserole dish with a crust topping similar to a chicken pot pie. It was very good... Chase however only wanted to eat the carrots.

Just after lunch, Chase laid down for a nap and Knox woke up from his. Wills came home from school and started on his homework. Milly played with Knox on the floor with his new toys from Christmas.

So just when I thought the day would be just like any ordinary Monday, Chase had a seizure at 2:22 pm in the playroom. The seizure lasted four minutes. He has fully recovered and is back to his regular self. The seizures take a lot out of him and he slept for several hours afterwards. When he came out of this seizure he cried... it was so sad. He wasn't hurt but I think he is now starting to understand what is happening and it is a scary experience. The seizure wasn't as violent as ones in the past but his whole body still jerked around and he had rapid eye movement which turned into him staring to the left. I held him the rest of the day and by 7pm he was back to playing and running around.

So it has been over three months since his last seizure. This is the first one since starting depakote and I thought we had everything under control. We will have a follow up appointment in Los Angeles in February at the Children's Hospital. They may need to adjust his medication. We will keep you updated.

Let It Snow...

After Christmas this year, Cory and I, the boys (minus Knox, he stayed home with Cindy), Roger, Gwenn, Casey, and Taylor went up to the Santiam Pass in Sisters, Oregon to play in the snow. The boys loved it. When we got there the weather was perfect. We decided to use our own sleds first and while it was fun, the snow wasnt packed down and we really couldn't sled, but the boys had fun making the trek to the top of the hill with snow past our knees.

After lunch we went over to the innertubing. I was expecting a light dusting but instead it was like ice pellets and the visibility was horrible, but Riley and Wills had so much fun! They didn't want to leave despite how much snow was falling and the wind blowing it in their faces.

Chase on the other hand had enough and was ready to go. Earlier in the day, Cory fell holding him and Chase hurt his leg. He limped for almost two days. So Chase kept Gwenn company in the snow hut the rest of the day.

So here is our family picture... we probably should have taken it when we first got there.

Chase played on this little slope for like 10 minutes. He just wanted Roger to keep putting him at the top so he could slide down.

Here is Gwenn and Taylor in the lodge. I love Taylor's snow suit... She was so cute!!!

Wills had so much fun making snow angels. The boys cannot wait to go back. We are thinking about making a trip up to Big Bear Mountain just outside of LA next month.

Chase and Knox Love Playing Together

Chase and Knox are really loving spending time together every day. It is adorable... Chase is starting to really show affection for Knox and he wants to sit with him and show him his toys. Tonight he sat next to him and just looked over his shoulder and gave him a hug and kiss before bedtime.

It is hard to believe how fast time goes by... Knox will be eight months on January 17th and he just started sitting up right before Christmas. I took this picture in Oregon over the holiday. It is one of the first pictures I have of Knox sitting by himself.