Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Aiden's First Holy Communion

Aiden made his First Communion this past Saturday.  It was a beautiful and sunny day and he looked SOOO handsome!  The mass at St. Gabe's was so nice and all the children looked so grown up!  The girls had on the most beautiful dresses.  Some of them were like mini wedding gowns, trains and all!  Aiden carried his great, great grandfather's pocket watch in  his pocket as well as my grandmother's rosary.  We had our family and friends back at our house after mass for some lunch.  It was a perfect day.  Here are some pictures.
My big handsome boy and me:-)
Daddy and Aiden
Aiden and Uncle Ray (his Godfather).  My good friend Lisa, Aiden's Godmother, couldn't make it to his Communion.  He son was also making his Communion this weekend and they had lots of people in from out of town.
Aiden and Father Fred.  
Aiden, Daddy and Papa Platz
The most handsome little boy ever...with blue eyes!!
(Max has brown eyes so I always say he is the most handsome little boy ever... 
with brown eyes!!)
Aiden is holding his great, great grandpa Platz's pocket watch.  He looks so proud!  Papa Platz also has his grandfather's first communion certificate.  It is dated1875 from Germany and it is still in remarkable shape!  It is such a neat peace of family history to have!
The Platz side of the family. 
Us with Grammy and Papa Platz.
Waiting to enter the church.
Before leaving for the church.
Love this picture!

I can't believe my little boy is old enough to have made his First Communion already!  I am so proud of him!!  He has always had a very special bond with Jesus that I know will just continue to grow as he grows up:-)
We love you Aiden!!!


Monday, May 2, 2011

Article From Akron Beacon Journal 5/1/11


Little People of America gather in Akron area
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 05:56 p.m. EDT, Apr 30, 2011
In her years in medical school and residency training to be a family-practice doctor, Dr. Michelle Platz never learned about dwarfism.
When her son, Max, was born 21 months ago, he was diagnosed with a common form of dwarfism.
''It came as a shock,'' Platz said, but she quickly studied everything she could find to learn about the issues faced by her son.
On Saturday, the family practice physician from Lake County and her family were at the Sheraton Suites hotel in Cuyahoga Falls, meeting other families and individuals with the same issue at the spring regional meeting of the Little People of America.
About 200 little people, including 50 to 60 children, and their families spent the weekend at the hotel, socializing and getting medical attention at an all-day Saturday medical symposium at Akron Children's Hospital, where physicians volunteered their time and services, and came from around the country.
For Platz, 38, who has two average-sized children, the weekend was a great opportunity to meet other families with children who are short in stature.
''The only thing that makes Max any different is that he's going to be short-statured,'' she said. ''He will have the same opportunities,'' as her other children.
Through the Little People of America group, he will meet others with his condition who will become role models, she said.
Dr. Dennis Weiner, chairman of orthopedic surgery and the director of the Skeletal Dysplasia Center at Akron Children's Hospital, said little people — the preferred term to use to describe individuals who are short-statured — can have myriad medical issues, ranging from deformities of the extremities and trunk to ear nose, throat and breathing problems to cardiac problems.
Genetic testing is important, he said, and advances in genetics help with diagnosing particular types of dwarfism.
''They need a diagnosis established,'' he said in order to get the best medical care.
Eight doctors volunteered their time to provide free 20-minute medical appointments, as did Annie Yahner, a dietitian and nutritionist with the Skeletal Dysplasia Center.
''We're the same as you. We're just in a little body,'' said Yahner, 44, of Cuyahoga Falls, who is a little person.
Yahner said she believes little people are the last group in America that is is socially acceptable to make fun of. She said that happens through misunderstanding, not being malicious.
She said what she likes to say to people about her being 4 feet, 2 inches tall is ''I am little because that's how God made me.''
One of the issues she educates families about is overeating.
''We have to understand that we cannot eat as much'' as average adults, she said.
Tami Herring, chairman of the hospitality room committee for the gathering, said people came from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia.
The regional meetings, she said, can be important social events for little people, said Herring, who is herself a little person and who works for Summa Health System.
''There are so few of us, it is nice to be around people your own size with your own difficulties,'' said Herring, 48, of Munroe Falls.
''It is nice to dance with someone your own height,'' she said. ''A lot of people meet their future spouses here.''
Medically, there are many issues faced by little people, she said, ''but we learn to adapt.''
She has an average-sized daughter and an average-sized mother.
Her father, Jay Herring, 70, also of Munroe Falls and also a little person, said the way people treat little people has improved in his lifetime.
''You will still have stares,'' said Herring, a retired head of quality control for a machine shop.
Meanwhile, Platz said she remembers getting on an elevator at University Hospitals in Cleveland, where she works, as she and her husband, Eric were waiting for a blood test on their son, when a little person got on the elevator with her.
Until then, she had never encountered a little person before. ''I think God was trying to tell me something,'' she said.
That was that her son's condition ''is going to become a normal part of your life,'' she said. ''It is different than what you have experienced but it as normal as anything else.''
To find out more about the local chapter of the Little People of America, email Herring at ther260@yahoo.com. You can also get information at http://www.lpaonline.org.

Back to Blogging!!

Well, it has been a LONG time since I have updated this blog!!  I rarely have a moment to get onto my computer and do anything these days.  I am going to TRY to keep this more up to date, starting today!
We have been very busy over the past 6 months.  And things don't look to be slowing down anytime soon either!

Aiden is finishing up 2nd grade (CAN'T believe that!!).  He has done a SUPER job all year and has gotten great grades!  He has played several sessions of basketball and is currently playing baseball.

Emmi is finishing up Pre-K and will be starting  in the Kindergarten class this fall (but not official kindergarten, she will start that at Notre Dame in fall of 2012).  She just finished 3 months of karate and is a red belt and is now starting soccer.

Max is fantastic!!  He is running all over the place and is starting to talk more.  He makes friends where ever we go with his big smiles and waves:-)  He is such a happy guy!
We just had our Regional LPA conference this past weekend and it was a great success.  We were very involved in the planning and it all paid off.  I will write more about that next time and will add pictures too!
Stay tuned!