Dang it!

Despite my best efforts, it seems Drew has caught Ava's cold.

And unfortunately, we are planning to leave tomorrow for a camping trip. This always happens! He never gets sick when we're just hanging out with no plans. Only when we're about to go somewhere or do something fun. We're just hoping it doesn't bother him too much or turn into anything more than a cold. We're still planning to leave tomorrow for our annual HBC Trip with our college friends.

What is HBC? It stands for House Boat Crew. In the spring of 1998 we rented a houseboat with our college friends on Lake Shasta. It was cold! But that summer we tried it again and our yearly tradition was born. Every summer since then we've gotten together at a lake. The lake has changed (now we go to Trinity Lake) and we've stopped getting a houseboat, now we just camp. We've gotten married and started families and still get together every year, like a mini-reunion. Our current trip is much different from our original but we still have a lot of fun! And I really don't want to miss HB10!

HB 7 in 2004

A Cold

Nothing too exciting going on around here. We've been spending a lot of time playing outside in the new backyard. Adults and dogs are still not supposed to walk on the grass, but kids can. They've mostly been playing in the water table. Which is fun to watch because they just get soaked. I think I will start putting them in their bathing suits everytime we go outside. Otherwise they just go through 2 or 3 outfits a day.

Part of the reason we're spending a lot of time playing at home is because Ava's got a cold and we're keeping her home, hoping to avoid spreading it around. So far Drew hasn't shown any symptoms, and I am so encouraged by this! I've been trying to be careful about keeping their hands clean, not letting them share food or drinks, etc, but I think it's impossible to really keep the germs away when they are playing with the same toys and touching the same things. I'm hoping it is an indication that Drew's immune system is picking up a little bit. In any case, here is a cute video of Ava practicing good hygiene.



Since I've had trouble with YouTube here is the same video using google video. I hope at least one works.

Caught being cute

I haven't posted since the Triathlon. We've had a busy week.

Monday-I went for a bike ride in the morning then volunteered at the Greenhouse. Stopped by the grocery store on the way home. Then hosted a Creative Memories workshop in the evening.
Tuesday-Took Drew to see Flushed Away (gotta love free kids movies) during Ava's nap. Then had lunch and went to play with Jacob and Keilani. Swam some laps at the gym during the kids naps. Went on a date with my husband. Fell asleep during the movie.
Wednesday-Took the kids with me to the gym. Ran four miles, then sat in the spa. Drew had two accidents while we were there. :( Swam with the kids then had Eben and Shae and Devin come play at our house. Tried to convince the kids to pick up peaches, but they resisted. Grandma Honey arrived and entertained the kids while I went to Costco.
Today-Think I'll try to sneak off to the gym while Ava is napping and Grandma plays with Drew. Then I've got cleaning & laundry to do before Life Group tonight. Oh and Grandma and I might make an apple pie.

Here's some cute pictures of the kids from this month...

I have a picture of Drew playing in the dishwasher when he was a baby too

My little comedian

Drinking their morning bottles

Wrapped up after swimming (Ava wasn't ready to get out)

Snuggling with the big bear

Ava eating a peach she found on the ground

This is how we found Drew outside

Ava and her friend Keilani (Ava is a month older)

Grandma Honey giving Ava a ride on her walker

Tri for Fun

Yesterday I participated in my first triathlon! Here are some pics:

All the athletes in the transition area

Me and my friend Kristen, pre-triathlon

Getting ready for the .5 mile swim

Returning from the 16 mile bike ride

Finishing up the 3 mile run (I look tired!)

Crossing the finish line!

My official time was 2:04:26 since our heat started 20 minutes after the first one

Me and Kristen, post-triathlon

Our entire Sanctuary Church Tri-Team

Quick Update

No fever since yesterday around 3pm. It's officially been 24 hours fever-free. Still wondering if other symptoms will show up, but so far so good. I promised if he woke up from his nap with no fever I'd take him swimming, so I really hope he does.

In other news, Ava finally has a top tooth. It cut through a couple of days ago, but you still can't really see it. Once it comes in a little bit I'll post a picture.

You Give Me Fever

After a fun-filled weekend including two toddler birthday parties and an adult birthday party, Drew felt warm Sunday night. We gave him some motrin and he slept fine til morning. He was acting normal until he fell asleep on the couch at 8:30 in the morning. Most unusual. We let him sleep and he woke up at ten and had a fever of 101. Normally I would call the doctor immediately, but he didn't have any other symptoms and acted fine once the fever was down. So I gave him some more motrin and waited. He ate a good lunch and seemed happy until about 2 when his fever was back at 101.4. So I called the doctor, mainly to see if I could alternate tylenol and motrin since the fever was breaking through and we still had at least two hours before I could give more motrin. The nurse said, "Don't we normally see him for fevers?" and I said, "yeah..." Sometimes I wonder if they want to see us just because I call, or if they really do want to see him. I think maybe its both. I guess because of their immune systems kids with DiGeorge need to be seen for fever because it could indicate a more serious infection that they might have trouble fighting.

Anyway, we went to the doctor, and he thinks it was the "birthday party exposure" from Friday where I heard there was a child who had roseola recently. Drew's already had that so I thought he was immune, but the doctor said there are many summer viruses that include a fever and a rash and sometimes they call it roseola when it is not actually the specific roseola virus. He wanted to do a blood culture "just to be safe" but I objected to that idea. He had what most would consider a low fever and I didn't want to make him undergo a painful stick. We agreed that if he was still feverish today I would call and we might go back in. He was feverish all day yesterday and kept telling me he wanted to go swimming. (I ended up giving him three baths instead.) The nurse on the phone heard him say it and then the doctor was laughing because he said it through our entire visit. He also kept saying "I'm hot" and "I have shark jammies." He slept well last night with motrin and so far this morning seems ok. We will watch and wait and hope it goes away all by itself.

This was our first doctor visit since Dr. P left. We saw Dr. Bullen who is our next favorite at that practice so that was good. We also got a chance to meet Dr. Jain who is replacing Dr. P. We just barely met her, but she seems nice and I'm glad I've at least got a face to put with her name.

See, he doesn't look sick!

Ava helping with the puzzle

All Done!

In just over two weeks our backyard is done! We definitely have a more kid-friendly space now. The landscapers said to wait 6 weeks to put up the structure, but I don't think I can wait that long...I'm thinking maybe two or three. Anyway, there it is!

Immunology Update

Drew visited the immunologist at UCSF last week. The appointments don't seem to be very worthwhile, except for the blood test at the end. We usually talk to a fellow first who asks us a bunch of questions about Drew that they would know the answers to if they read his chart. OK, it is a big chart, but still...Then the "real" doctor comes in with her cohorts and asks the questions again. You'd think she'd get the answers from the first guy. My favorite question is "why are you here today?" Um, because you tell us to come back every 6 months. And we just like to visit the city. Anyway, this time it wasn't even our normal immunologist and we didn't even talk to a fellow, we talked to a medical student! Also, they didn't seem to be able to answer my questions, which is frustrating.

So on to the blood test. Drew screams from the time they tie on the tourniquet until they remove the needle from his arm. I don't know if the phlebotomist is getting better, or he is getting easier, but she got it in one try again this time! Yes! Then he got a sticker and he was fine.

I called and got the results today and his CD3s are 38% and CD4s are 24%. Last time they were 34% and 22% so we are seeing some small increases, which is good. His calcium level is normal and his absolute count for his CD3s was much better than last time. Unfortunately he can't get the live virus vaccines (chickenpox and MMR) until his CD3s are at a minimum of 40% and usually they don't give them until 50%. We'll keep praying for an increase in T-cells!

19 Miles

That's how far I rode my bike today. Why on earth would I do such a thing? Because I'm training for a triathlon. I started training two weeks ago and we've got two weeks left til the big day. I am training with a group of people from church and it's actually been fun! We are going to be doing the Tri for Fun, which is a sprint triathlon so the distances are shorter. It's a .5 mile swim, followed by a 16 mile bike and then a 3 mile run. On Saturdays we do all three in a row and this past weekend we did almost the whole thing! It's definitely hard, but after each workout I am so impressed with what I am able to accomplish. I am not trying to be fast, I just want to finish it. Up until now I was hesitant to post about it, because I thought if I write about it then I am locked into actually doing it. But I registered online yesterday and paid my fees, so it's official!