Surviving Winter

We stay inside quite a bit with the cold weather up here, but life continues around us, so we do have to venture out every now and again. = )

We found this very pretty, but kind of tricky, shiny Hello Kitty puzzle for Grace.  Almost everyone helped piece it together.

Every time I read this sign at the pump I read it "Pretty much meets Mich. Quality Standards."  So, I have to go back and re-read it, because "we tried" is not usually the best option when it comes to car maintenance.

When you lose your ball behind the cabinet and asked daddy to "help."

The day the big kids started back to school, we had a bunch of fresh snow on the ground!  Juliet managed to walk herself into a position that she called out "me stuck!"

That afternoon I made a "face angel" like Mary Jacqueline suggested.  It is really super creepy looking.

The combination of fog and snow that we had later in the week makes me feel really isolated sometimes.

On some of our "warmer" (above freezing) days, we knocked out as many errands as we could.  High on the list was a car wash.  It was nice for a few minutes, until I had to get back on the road and get it all gross again.  = /

We also did some recycling, and bought daddy his birthday pie.  One of the only things I've enjoyed about a Michigan winter is that I do not have to put grocery shopping as the final stop on my list.  = )

We found a nifty miniature accordion at the thrift shop.  I know we didn't need it, but I bought it for our next Crocker German Fest. = )

And, it only took a few months with snow on the ground, but I finally have pictures of my children building a snowman!

Thursday it was 58*F!  I was excited to see everything thawing out.

Sadly, it didn't last, and the next day we had a system come through, which dropped the temperatures back below freezing, and dumped a new layer of snow on the ground.

I certainly rejoiced that we were given another snow day!  We made some banana nut bread, which was a welcomed, tasty distraction!

We're doing what we can to survive the cold.  I am very sad about Sam's closing, as much of my routine was built around buying things in bulk, just up the road.  Figuring out a new routine in the middle of winter is less than ideal, but I know it'll work out.

later days

Billy's Birthday!

On Thursday we got to celebrate Billy's birthday!

Emily and the twins helped me make him a banner.

He didn't care to have cake, but requested a peanut butter and chocolate pie from the Grand Traverse Pie Company.  Luckily, I didn't have to drive all the way to their original location, they have a branch in Okemos. = )

Everyone was excited to sing to daddy, and the twins even know the words this year!

Juliet and Grace were not ready to let go of their party vibes, and wore their party hats right up until lights out.

Happy Birthday Daddy!  We love you!

later days

An Abundance of Appointments for William

This is the latest post in the series of William, Grace, and Juliet's journey with hypophosphatasia.

At the end of last semester, William was complaining of ankle pain.   Over the New Year's holiday weekend, he began to complain of intense tooth pain too.  

He had an appointment for a cleaning on the first Tuesday of the year, so we kept that appointment, and he was able to show the dentist the tooth that was causing him pain.  She did not see any decay, but surmised that the enamel had just worn so thin it was sensitive.  So, she recommended a cap, and of course this tooth was not one of the ones on his treatment plan (from the previous week.)

They didn't have an opening that day, or the next, but they had him at the top of the list, so we ended up scheduling him for Thursday.  They did have some cleaning appointments available for the twins that afternoon, so the 6 of us, plus Avia spent the day in Okemos.  We were all pretty cranky and tired by the time the twins finished up. But it is nice to have 3 dental appointments marked off in one day!
   
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On Thursday, his first appointment was with the orthopedic center.  Avia came over to watch the girls so that I could take William alone.

The tech ultimately decided to fit him for some inserts that can be put into his boots. Hopefully they will help alleviate some of his ankle pain.

His dental appointment was back to back with his orthopedic one, so we headed straight there.  He did well for the dentist, but he did not like that his face was numb where they had worked.*  We ran a few errands, and when his mouth was awake enough to eat, I had him show me his new "robot tooth." = )

He'll have 3-4 of his baby teeth capped by the time all is said and done.  Sadly, in the x-rays they took, his adult teeth are already showing signs of weak enamel.  She is recommending that we cap the adult teeth as soon as soon as they rupture.  She showed me where his jaw bone is underdeveloped in the areas where he already lost teeth.  This of course is also affecting his adult teeth as they grow in.

This makes me incredibly sad.  The Strensiq has done so much for our children, and it has helped them lead such normal lives.  I know that they have this horrible condition, but it is so easy to forget.  It isn't fair that William has done nothing wrong and has to have all kinds of dental work before he's even in kindergarten.  I was so hopeful that his adult teeth would be spared, but it seems like that will not be the case.

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His next  appointment with the dentist is not until this end of February, but he is on the waitlist for cancelled appointments to try to get him in sooner.

The next big appointment day for us is at the end of this month.  We're driving back up to Grand Rapids to see the ENT and get hearing tests done on all 3 little ones.  We'll also be heading to the hospital for them to get the DEXA scans that we did not have time for in October.

The following week William will go into the orthopedic doctor, who will assess him to make sure that the inserts are ample, and will ultimately determine whether or not he'll have to have surgery on his ankles.

The final "initial" appointment we have on the calendar has been pushed back to march and is with the craniofacial doctor.  He comes to Lansing once a month, and we were able to swing 3 appointments on one of his trips to town.

Hopefully all of these upcoming visits yield happier news than the dentist.

later days

*we were fortunate that he was able to use only laughing gas for this appointment.  If he'd had problems, they would not be able to sedate him in office thanks to his HPP, so we would have had to schedule a dental appointment at the hospital.  In that case, they would knock out all the areas at once, which is nice for our schedule, but much harder on me emotionally.  = )

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A Twin Story and Three pictures to start the New Year

We watched one of the Netflix ball drops before 8pm, and celebrated with sparkling grape juice and streamer poppers. = )

All the kids were playing hide-and-go-seek, and it was the twins' turn to count.  They were counting to 20, so I paused to see how far they would get alone.  They began counting simultaneously "1," "2" and I hear Juliet say "3" and grace say "20." Juliet turned to look at her, almost like she was about to tell her off, but instead said "okay." Then they went off to find the big kids.

This morning Grace wanted a new hairstyle for the new year:

I had some helpers to decorate daddy's birthday box!  Grace is anxious for Billy's birthday because she wants some cake. = )

Today was a lovely, if lazy, start to the new year, but tomorrow we will be back to normal with billy back at work, and the rest of us attending appointments and doing some shopping!

later days