Family Update - Isaac

Isaac has become quite the big brother to Elliot. He helps to keep him safe while also being a bit rough at times. I can't believe it but he just started first grade! He's doing really good at reading and is starting to get into math. Right now he's really into legos, especially Star Wars legos. And he's gotten very good at building things on his own. Now that Andrew is working on this side of the lake, closer to Isaac's school, he has been able to start an after school activity - KARATE! He's so excited. It seems like a really good program and is helping with focus and discipline.He's also recently lost two of his teeth, which he was really excited about. Isaac makes us laugh daily. It's funny how observant he is.

On Fourth of July weekend, Isaac had yet another hypoglycemic episode while we were visiting with Tat and Omi. He went to sleep that Saturday night without taking his cornstarch and the next morning, he was seizing. Once again, we found ourselves in an ambulance. This time, spending the night for observation. He followed up with an endocrinologist and nothing was found. Not sure if I shared this but last fall he was diagnosed with a genetic disorder of PTEN sequencing. It's called Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome. Say that 5 times fast :). In a nutshell, it puts him at risk for noncancerous tumors called hamartomas. He has to have a skin check by a dermatologist and a thyroid ultrasound each year. We're planning on the skin check in October and the ultrasound checked out ok. According to the geneticist, the hypoglycemia should NOT be linked to this disorder. He did find ONE research article that may support a connection. We enrolled Isaac into a study for another cause of the hypoglycemia.

Right now, he still has a diagnosis of exclusion - ketotic hypoglycemia.

Here are some pics from Isaac over time since  my last post. We're gearing up for his 6th birthday party in a few weeks!

 Playing in the "snow" during the big freeze

 

 

 Mother's Day (He insisted on wearing a tie for the "fancy" day)

 

First day of First Grade:

Elliot's First Halloween!

This year Isaac was Wolverine for Halloween. Although I wanted the kids to match, it didn't happen. Instead, Elliot was a skeleton. But, they were too cute anyway :). We went over to my cousin's house, where Halloween is a big deal in their subdivision. It was a really wet, yucky night...but daddy braved the weather to trick or treat with Isaac anyway. Hope everyone else had a fun time!

Isaac is 5!

Where does the time go? At the end of September we had Isaac's fifth birthday party. It was really special too because it was the first party we've had at our new house. It's so nice to actually have the space. We did a Transformers theme and of course we had a lot of family come by for some fun. Thank you so much to all who helped make Isaac's day so special. He's turning into such a big boy.

Elliot's First Fourth of July

This year is going by so quickly! For the Fourth of July, we decided to stay on the northshore, and we went to the Mandeville Seafood Festival for good food, music, and fireworks! Goddie and Nanny came too. The food was so yummy...of course Isaac only wanted a snowball. Isaac had fun playing on the beach with Nanny. And the fireworks were beautiful too!

Isaac's Chattanooga Trip

While Elliot and I were in Nashville last month, Isaac went on a vacation with Tat and Omi. They took a road trip to Chattanooga to visit Omi's sister. They spent time downtown playing at the riverfront, as well as time riding bikes. Omi even got a really cool little seat for Isaac so that he can ride on Tat's bike. They also went to the aquarium and to Lake Winnie Amusement Park.

He had a blast! Thank you so much to Tat and Omi for creating these memories for Isaac. We love all the pictures!!

Trip to Nashville

A few weeks ago, I went to a work conference in Nashville. I am so excited that I got to bring Elliot with me, since my mom was able to come and help out. We decided to drive so it was Elliot's real long roadtrip. He did so well on the road!! Well, on the way there. On the way back, he had a tough time.

It was actually my first time in Nashville so it was really nice to get to see a few things. We got to enjoy some good food, as well as go to a park, go shopping at the Opry Mills Mall, and shop at the Grand Ole Opry. On the way back we saw a sign for the "Ave Maria Grotto" in Alabama. We had no idea what that was, so we had to stop. I'm glad we did!

Thank you so much for coming and helping out, mom. Hope you had fun!