Easter Egg Hunt

I took the kids to a community Easter Egg Hunt this morning, they really loved the whole experience. E at first wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but when a kid starting picking up the eggs around her she jumped in the way and claimed 'mine' and started hoarding them as quickly as she could. Luckily each kid was limited to 10 eggs, that way everyone was sure to get a few.

E dove right into her basket, we had to give the Eggs back so it was fun to open them and see what was inside. E tried several times to help everyone else open their as well. That, as you can imagine, did not go over to well. Although, she did not try to whop anyone with her Easter Basket, so I would call it all a success. 

She was very possessive of her Easter Basket, anyone that looked at it was told 'no, mine.' So, a big thank you to Grandma for the very well liked Easter baskets for the shorties. 

Landon was so quick when they told him to go (he was in a different age group than E for his Egg Hunt), that I wasn't able to get a picture of him hunting eggs. He was able to get a lot of neat ones that had dinosaurs and everything else in them. 

After the Egg Hunt, we stuck around for a craft fair they had going on as well. The kids enjoyed looking at all of the neat things the vendors had out. The Easter Bunny was also there, so the kids had their picture taken with him. I was shocked they actually were not scared of him at all, Santa at Christmas was a completely different story.

We had a fabulous morning, so thanks to everyone who put on the event, the kids and I enjoyed ourselves immensely. I was especially thankful that we were able to go, since earlier in the week Landon was in the ER for several hours for observation and fluids and some Zofran for a few vomiting episodes. That always sends a chill up our backs around here, and reminds us how lucky we are, and how much he means to us. 

Rare Disease Day

Tomorrow is Rare Disease Day, Please take a few moments to help us teach others about Mitochondrial Disease. Without Awareness there can be no forward movement towards a cure. Landon and his friends deserve to have their disease's known, researched, and to have the best care that is available to them. At this time, that is not possible due to so many unknowns that come with Mito. 

Arizona Mito Walk 2012

I've procrastinated a bit on writing this post, but alas I am sitting myself down to write it.

We participated in the "Arizona Mito Walk 2012" in December, and I must say we had a wonderful time. It was chilly and poured rain, but that was not going to stop us (though keeping the kids out of the mud....mostly, was a challenge). The most amazing group of women put the walk on in Peoria, AZ. These women have become some of my closest friends and have definitely helped me through and endless supply of love, patience, understanding, and support. Of course they are all moms of Mito kids (and the dads helped too)! They had a slide show of all our Mito kids up on the scoreboard big screen, put together and timed to music and what not. I do believe it really drove the point home about how Mito affects these kids, as well as their families.

E was helping 'carry' ice to pour over the drinks that were so nicely donated to the walk. 

We did a lap around the Spring Training facility at the Peoria Sports Complex. The kids had a blast playing with their friends and participating in all the activities that were set up. There was a silent auction to raise money, and we were able to get E a super cute bow that says 'Hope for my brother' with a Mito Green and White ribbon. It's a little big for her right now, but I'm confident she'll be able to wear it soon.

Our Team 'Landon's Mito Warriors.' We had a lot of friends and family walking in spirit even though they weren't able to make the trip. 

We decided to make a 'weekend' trip out of the walk since it was 2 hours from home. After the walk, we retired to the hotel to dry off, warm up, and then we went out to dinner with some amazing friends of ours. They have a daughter that the kids love to play with and they wore each other out.

The following morning, we made a quick stop at Rudy's in Chandler for Brisket Breakfast Tacos and then headed home. Thanks to all who put on the walk, we look forward to participating again next year! 

Landon's favorite part was getting to play with my umbrella. 

E loved having G there with us, the photographer chased these two around trying to get a picture of them. 

Me and my Mito Warrior. His shirt says, 'Landon, Mito Warrior.' He looks like the stay-puffed marshmallow man b/c he's in layers of warm clothes, a water proof coat, and his walk shirt over it. 

Innocent Heart Murmur

Landon had a Cardiologist Appointment this afternoon, because at his Geneticist check up in December they discovered that he had developed a small Systolic Heart Murmur. It raised a few flags, because he had not had one in the past but also because he has been classified as Non-Cardiac VLCADD. Geneticists decided that he needed to be seen annually by the Cardiologist for preventative measures. Landon had been in March of 2012 and nothing was detected then.

Landon did very well today, the only thing he was a bit unsure of was the scale to be weighed. He's been this way about scales recently, and the only thing I can think of is that he knows the scale is the 'gateway' per say to possible pokes and medical procedures. He's always weighed at the Pediatricians office where they give him shots and check his blood sugars when he sick. He's always weighed at the Geneticists office where they make me hold him down so they can draw blood (I hate that they make me do that, and always have), and he always gets weighed at the hospital when he's admitted where he gets poked for blood sugars several times a day, IV's, etc etc. After thinking about it, I can't blame the kid for not liking the scale.

They took his vitals, and then Dr. Blair (whom Landon just loves) came in and listened to his heart. We were in a room decked out with a Spider Man Theme, which happened to match Landon's shoes and he thought that was incredibly cool. Landon then had an EKG and and Echo Cardiogram. He sat perfectly still and watched Finding Nemo on the tv the whole time. The only thing he was concerned about was if we had passed the part in Finding Nemo with the sharks or not...as compared to last year where he was freaking out about all of the wires, the ultrasound gel, the ultrasound wand, and anything and everything that was going on. I think his favorite part was getting a lollipop after he was done with the EKG and Echo, he even remember to thank the Ultrasound tech (it is getting through!).

Dr. Blair came back and said that everything looked good. He had an innocent murmur, that was not there last year, but it was not effecting the strength of his heart or him. Most kids should outgrow the murmur by their 20's, but we do want to keep an eye on it with his disease. He is to come back in a year an be re-checked, and it will continue annually until he and the Geneticist decide otherwise. Very relieved for the clean bill on his heart.

Landon getting his EKG and Echo Cardiogram. He requested a picture to 'show his friends how brave I am mommy.'

4 years old!

Landon turned 4 years old yesterday, I swear time is flying quicker the older he gets. Due to how visitation schedules fell this year, I had Landon for a few hours on his birthday, and did we have a lot of fun! He was able to pick everything that he wanted to do in the time that we had. This is a tradition in my family, that the person whose birthday it is, gets to pick the activities for the day. To me, it makes it extra special because it's everything the birthday person wants to do, which normally in every day life just isn't plausible. Landon chose to have dinner a 'Guys Five' (Five Guys), then he wanted to go bowling, and end our time with 'Cold' (Frost, it's a Gelato shop and within his diet restrictions!).

Landon loves, loves, loves 'Guys Five.' He's always asking me to go there, and we do frequent the place on a regular basis. I love that they have Kosher Hot Dogs and make their fries from scratch after you order them. He basically inhaled that, and then we headed to bowl. At first, I got him one of those little ramps and when he went up to bowl he goes, 'mommy I do NOT need this, I can roll the ball down with just a little help.' He was very insistent so after appeasing me and using the ramp about twice, he pushed it out of the way saying it was for Emeline when she came with us.

I managed to get a picture in the 2 seconds the ramp lasted with him. It was pushed aside just after this in lieu of 'big boy' bowling. 

We bowled 2 games, and Landon beat me and G in the last game, and G beat Landon and I in the first game. Landon bowled his first strike! He was so excited, jumping up and down saying 'woohoo I got my first strike mommy' and hugging and high fiving me and G over and over again. He loved bowling, he would give you a big huh, high five you, and jump up and down all excited no matter how many pins he did or did not knock down. It was great having so much fun with him and I know he reveled in the one on one time.

Landon and G with his strike ball! He was so excited as you can see!

The 'Little Help' that he needed rolling the ball!

To end our evening we went to 'Cold,' which is actually Frost gelato shop. Landon is constantly asking to go here, so it was only fitting he chose it for his birthday 'dessert.' He always gets the bubble gum gelato with 2 blue bubble gum balls, what can I say he's definitely a creature of habit...and male! This gelato only has around 100 calories, as well as being virtually fat free so it works with his diet and is a big treat for him as well. It's nice to have found something he can have and he really enjoys that won't blow his diet or effect him in any way.


I think my favorite part of the night was when I told him, "Happy Birthday Bub, I Love You.' To which he responded, 'thanks mom, I had the best birthday ever. Love you.' Melted my heart, and I was so glad he enjoyed himself and his birthday.

Landon and I being goofy while waiting for our turns to bowl

Landon's Favorite Things at Age 4:
Cheese Sandwhiches
Cheese Quesadillas
Yogurt
Hot Dogs
Those cutie clementines
Fruit Snacks
'Cold' Bubble Gum Gelato
Avengers
Super Hero's, more specifically Batman, Iron Man, and Super Man
Texas Rangers Baseball
Monster Trucks
Texas, his bear
Bunny

Landon told me when he grows up, he wants to be a Super Hero (said in an excited little boy voice while jumping).

My sweet, brave, amazing, silly, incredibly smart 4 year old! I love you Landon, you've been such an amazing addition to our lives and brought so much love and strength with you. Happy Birthday sweet boy!

E turned Two!

My E bug turned 2 in early December. She had a great low key birthday with some of our closest friends, who so graciously helped her build her book library in lieu of actual toys. I found a cute poem for her invites and now we have lots of new books for bed time stories! She and Landon love picking out books to read, and as always I highly encourage them to read whenever they want too.

E's two year old stats are:

Height: 34.5 inches
Weight: 25.5 lbs
Head Circumference: 49.0

She's still a peanut with the big 'ol Goodman noggin! She may be fun sized, but she's a pistol. She's also the sweetest and most fun little girl ever. Her favorite things are: Dora, Babies (dolls and actual babies), Horsies, Princess, and Monkeys. She wants to be a Princess when she grows up, and her favorite food is cheese and french fries.

Looking forward to seeing what age 2 brings for Miss E. Love You Bug!

Blogger New Year

My goal this year, is to be a better blogger. Life has exploded lately and we have been so incredibly busy, that unfortunately the blog is what has been pushed to the way side. No longer though, I can find a few hours a week to blog and keep up with things. I have some catching up to do, such as talking about the AZ Mito Walk we had in December, E turned 2, and Landon will be 4 in a few shorts weeks...FOUR when the heck did that sneak up on me? Anyways, look for new posts and lots of pics. I will leave you with a few pictures from when the shorties and I were in Dallas back in mid October. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. We were blessed this year with amazing friends and family.

Landon and I goofing off at White Rock Lake, this little boy is the bravest kid I know and my motivation to get through all the tough times. If he can have gone through all that he has and still be positive, then anyone can. 

My E bug, we went to feed the ducks at White Rock Lake and I caught her eating the bread instead of throwing it to the birds.