What is BIG?

Aiden's First Holy Communion

2011-05-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

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!!!

Article From Akron Beacon Journal 5/1/11

2011-05-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

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!!

2011-05-02T18:44:00.000-07:00

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!

Aiden at Pumpkin Day at school

2010-10-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

Max reading a book to his buddy Elmo

2010-10-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

2010-10-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

Playing with the Pumpkins

2010-10-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

Our Little Pumpkins!

2010-10-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

My handsome 2nd grader!!

2010-10-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

Big Brother Bear

2010-10-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

Max loves his car!

2010-10-12T14:05:00.000-07:00

Buddies:-)

2010-10-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

Beautiful!!

2010-10-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

Is there something on my face??

2010-10-04T15:52:00.000-07:00

Someone slipped me half of a Double Stuff Oreo!!

2010-10-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

Yummy!!

Our Recent (Eventful) Visit to Johns Hopkins

2010-10-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

We had our follow up visits at JHU a few weeks ago and the trip went very well, outside of a few "incidents"... My mom went with me this trip and Eric stayed home with Aiden and Emmi. It is hard for both of us to make the trip now. Aiden has so much going on with school and it is hard to have someone else come and watch the kids for 3 days. Eric had already met all the doctors that we were scheduled to see and we were anticipating that Max would not have any medical issues at this time. We left on Sunday morning and Max was a champ on the ride. It took about 8 hours total, with 2 stops. We stopped in the afternoon at a rest area outside of Breezewood and had a picnic lunch on the grass in the shade. Max was happy to be able to move around on the blanket and stretch his little legs! We made it to the hotel around 6:30. We got checked in and went to P.F. Chang's for dinner. (This is where one of the unfortunate "incidents" happened...if you are a FB friend, you have already gotten the highlights of this doozy!). We were sitting at our table next to a couple that was probably in their 50's. They were all interactive with Max in his high chair. He was smiling and talking and just being a social butterfly! The man asked "what is he, about 8 or 9 months?" and I said no, he's 14 months. I think his wife shot him a look for that (for the record, that did not bother me in the least!). So, after a while, the wife went to the rest room and we got to chatting with the man, who was super nice. He told us that they were in town from New Jersey because his 19 year old son has autism with severe rage issues and was being hospitalized at the Kennedy behavioral sciences hospital there (don't remember the name of it). We were chatting about that and I mentioned that we were actually in town to take Max to JH because he has achondroplasia. The man seemed genuinely interested and then, his wife returned... He told her that we were in town to go to JH and I explained to her about Max. I often tell people, "Like Little People Big World", Max has what the mom and Zach have." Most people are somewhat familiar with the show. Well, this women then said..."Oh, you know, those people on TV are, how shall I say, hard to look at..........." Yes, mouths a gaping at our table, as well as her husbands I think. What the heck do you follow that comment with? I was shocked! Now, I think do not think she was saying that about Max at all, but she certainly insulted an awful lot of great people I know! What a MORON! So, after a little more awkwardness, they left.... My mom and I agreed that we didn't say anything to her about her rudeness because her husband had been so lovely. Poor guy! She was truly a twit!

Anyways, we had our appointment with Dr. Hoover- Fong (genetics) on Monday and she said he is doing great!! He is about 50th percentile for height and weight for achondroplasia (the physicians assistant said if he stays on that percentile, he will be around 4 ft 4 in. That is taller than we were anticipating. I know a lot can change but, 1 inch can change a lot with how easy it is to interact in your environment.) His head circumference is still quite small for achondroplasia (although it is at the very top of the charts for average height 14 month olds). He is hitting all his developmental milestones on target for average height kids. He will hopefully be walking by Halloween! He is getting so close! They were wonderful. I think they would have sat and chatted with us all day if we wanted them to! I was very pleased with the appointment!

We left the appointment and hopped in the car to visit our friends Sarah, Brian and Tessa who live in Annapolis. (Tessa is 3 1/2 months older than Max and also and achon). Well, this is the second EVENT of the trip! We were driving down the freeway just about to leave the City of Baltimore when my mom said (about people who were standing up on the overpass) "those kids are throwing (and the second she said the word ) rocks!", we were covered in shards of glass! They had hit my windshield with 2 rocks and left 2 major areas of cracks and splintered glass. It was amazing how much glass was on the dash and all over us and into the back seats. Max was rear facing in his car seat and had glass on his head, his clothes and his feet!! Luckily, he was asleep so he didn't try to pick any of it up. Well, we had to pull over and 2 other cars pulled over too. All in all, they had gotten 6 vehicles. We ended up on the side of the freeway for a little over an hour waiting for the police (the County Police showed up and turfed it to the State Trooper who then turfed it to the City Police who just didn't bother to show up at all!). The real kicker though was that the last few cars that got hit, were hit about 20-25 minutes after us!!!! I don't think the police ever went up to that overpass to check things out! Thank goodness there were not tragic outcomes that day, but there could have been.

On Tuesday morning, we saw Dr. Ain (ortho). (Tessa also had an appointment that morning, so we go to visit again :-) Max had x-rays done and he stood up like a big boy for them! Dr. Ain said everything looks great at this point. His kyphosis is mild, very flexible and goes away with standing and bearing weight. His lower legs are as bowed as he would expect in a 14 month old achon. He still doesn't recommend Max sitting for too long if his back is hunching over but, Max is so active, he rarely sits in one spot for long at all. He will see us back in 6 months. After that, we saw Dr. Ahn (neurosurgery) and he had no concerns about Max. His head circumference is fine and he has no concerning neurologic signs. :-)

So, we headed back to the hotel to gather up our stuff and to GET A NEW WINDSHIELD (!!) and we were on our way back home. I made it home by about 9:30pm and was so excited to see Aiden, Emmi and Eric. We will head back up there in 6 months. By then, Max will be running!

Just kicking back and lounging!

2010-09-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

First time sitting up in shopping cart!!

2010-08-25T06:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day that Max sat up in the shopping cart. He is still in his infant carrier and I usually just put that in the basket, but I figured I would try this out now that he is a pro at sitting up. He loved it, but he was a little rascal! He was eating banana skins, licking the cantaloupe and throwing things out of the cart... Then, he figured out that he could STAND UP with the belt still on. Because his legs are short and don't hang down, it is easy for him to just pull them up and stand up! But, he was adorable as usual :-)

I like pickles!!!!

2010-08-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

2010-08-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

Big Boy Sitting!!!

2010-08-03T14:21:00.001-07:00

What a Beauty!

2010-07-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

It's hard to get pictures of Emmi because she always wants to be silly! I was able to catch a few today though:-)

2010-07-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

2010-07-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

Summer Nights

2010-07-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

Aiden and Max chillin' on a hot summer night!

Look At What I Caught!!!!

2010-07-26T08:56:00.001-07:00

WELCOME TO HOLLAND

2010-07-22T06:50:00.000-07:00

WELCOME TO HOLLAND

by
Emily Perl Kingsley.
c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

I LOVE THIS POEM. IT IS SO TRUE. 'HOLLAND' IS A WONDERFUL PLACE TO BE AND I AM SO BLESSED TO BE HERE!

Pictures from Max's Birthday

2010-07-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

PRESENTS!!!

Look at me! It's my Birthday!!

Mmmmmmmmm! CAKE!!

Celebrating with Max

Max's First Birthday

2010-07-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

Well, today is the day that, one year ago, my life was changed forever. Max came into our lives and, for the first 10 hours of his life, things were wonderful and I think our lives would have gone on as it had before, with the addition of one more bundle of joy to love. But things abruptly changed at 2pm on his birthday when the doctor said she suspected Max to have a form of dwarfism. I look back today on all the emotions I had at that moment and for the weeks that followed.

My first emotion was disbelief. Dwarfism??? Dwarfism??? What does this mean? I couldn't even wrap my mind around the word Dwarf... I had given birth to a "dwarf baby." In my whole life, I had never even met a dwarf/little person and I had just given birth to one? Then I felt fear. The doctor told me that he would have a higher risk of SIDS because of the risk of spinal cord compression. He had an MRI and a sleep study before he was even 6 weeks old. There were appointments with genetics and neurologists and lost of scary "what if's" before we had the final diagnosis of achondroplasia. I even felt sad. How would the world react to my dwarf son? Would he be made fun of and ridiculed? I even thought out as far as high school dances and dating. I cried for things that could happen and things that had never happened and that wouldn't happen for years to come. It was a very difficult time for me, the most difficult time in my life. I prayed for the strength to make it through those difficult days and I truly believe I was not alone. I often think of the poem "Footprints" and I am certain that, after Max was born, there was only one set of footprints in the sand. There were complete strangers that, looking back, had undoubtedly crossed my path by the grace of God. Like the poem, "Welcome to Holland," I truly grieved the loss of what I had expected life to be like when Max was born.

But the biggest emotion I felt was LOVE! I LOVED this little baby of mine SO MUCH, no matter how long his arms and legs were. He was PERFECT in my eyes and he was truly just exactly the way God intended him to be and HE WAS MINE!!!

My life has changed so much since the birth of my little Max. I have met so many wonderful people and have become part of a wonderful community of people through the LPA. I have made friendships that I know will last a lifetime and have been introduced to some amazing people who just happen to be short statured. I have watched Max grow month after month and do things that just amaze me! He is so determined and nothing holds him down. If he wants to get to something, he just figures out how to get it. He does some things very differently from the way Aiden and Emmi did it and it makes me so proud! He is angelic and delightful and he makes me smile every day. Aiden and Emmi love Max so much!! Aiden is so proud that his brother is so unique and tells everyone his brother is a little person. I think of Max and my heart swells with love and pride! I embrace his uniqueness and look forward to watching him grow up and do all the things that he wants to do. I have had such a great support group of other parents who have assured me that, for the most part, everything will be great!

So, here is the update on what Max is doing now. He is pulling up on EVERYTHING and wants to check everything out. His favorite spots are standing at the sliding glass doors and looking outside and standing holding on to the bottom step. He crawls all over the house and he is FAST! He is saying "hi," "mama," "dada," and "Aiden" (we are pretty sure!! It sounds just like it!). He is sitting up while holding onto his toys. He smiles ALL DAY LONG!! He has never been much of a giggler, but has been giggling a lot yesterday and today! He loves grilled cheese, cheerios, toast, pancakes and, as of tonight. CAKE! He still does not sleep through the night and gets up 1-3x every night to nurse... I love the snuggle time and will miss it when he starts sleeping all night (but I am EXHAUSTED!!). He still has no teeth!!! I think the top 2 are getting close to popping through though! He is growing and changing each and every day and I am loving watching him.

It has been a very busy year and my baby is growing up to quickly (as they all do!). I look back on all the emotions that I had after he was born and feel almost silly that I worried so much about things. I know that it was normal to feel all those things, but I had no idea that life would be as great as it is now. I take the opportunity often to educate people, even complete strangers, about dwarfism. (TLC and Discovery Health have really helped a lot too!! :-) ).

Today, as on the day Max was born, I shed some tears. But today they were only tears of pure happiness and joy. I love this little boy more than words can say!!

Max- July 21, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAX!!!

All smiles!

"What you talkin' about?"

Looking very mischievous

My Birthday Boy!!

Max's favorite pastime-Standing and looking outside.

I see you Max!!

Love those brown eyes!

Yummy!!

2010-07-21T12:29:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY AMAZING LITTLE BOY!!!!

2010-07-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

We love you soooooo much Max!!!

Aiden "shaving" in the shower!!

2010-07-19T15:35:00.001-07:00

What a big, handsome boy!!!

Max found the Tupperware drawer!!!

2010-07-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

2010-07-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

Emmi LOVES her Tibby!!!

2010-07-19T15:32:00.000-07:00

Emmi's new coat

2010-07-18T20:32:00.001-07:00

Here is a cute picture of Emmi modeling her new winter coat. Hopefully, we will be able to take Emmi skiing this year. Aiden started a few years ago and absolutely loves snowboarding. I need lots more warm summer days though before I can even think about snow!!

Sitting up!

2010-07-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

Max is just starting to sit up now. He sits while holding on to things and playing. He is so mobile now and just crawls from room to room stopping to play with things along the way. He loves to stand up at the sliding glass door and watch outside. I will try to catch a picture of him tomorrow doing it. He is so cute!!

Great Times in Nashville!!

2010-07-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

Well, we attended our first LPA National Conference and we had a SUPER time!! We arrived in Nashville on Saturday afternoon. It seemed to take WAY longer than we expected to get there from Cincinnati, even with the hour we gained! We met up with Sarah (from Annapolis) and her adorable little Tessa, and got to meet our new friends Jodi, Jeff and there adorable son, Alex. After getting settled at the hotel, we grabbed some dinner at Demo's and went down to the Riverfront. Aiden got an official cowboy hat and he looks like a country western star in it! Emmi almost literally got run over by Julianne Hough (from DWTS), who was the guest performer that night. (Eric just informed me that she is dating Ryan Seacrest now!! FYI!). It was a beautiful night and we watched some of the show before heading back to the hotel.

The hotel was PACKED and there were people milling around all over catching up and making new friends. We saw the whole Roloff family all over the whole week and Aiden was really looking forward to meeting Zach. One night I was in the elevator with Max and Zach and his buddy got on. Aiden was bummed to have missed that! We finally did secure a quick photo op on Tuesday with Aiden and Zach and Aiden is looking forward to showing it to all his friends. I also got the opportunity to chat a little bit with Katie, one of The Little Chocolatiers. She was very sweet (but unfortunately wasn't carrying any large chocolate bowling pins in her pockets:-) hehe!).

On the 4th of July, we met up with a large group of other POLPs (Parents of Little People) at The Old Spaghetti Factory. It was so nice to finally meet the people I interact with on Facebook and in the Yahoo group. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and Aiden and I snuck out down by the Riverfront and watched the spectacular fireworks show! The Nashville fireworks on the 4th are rated #2 in the country (after Boston). They were great!!

We attended a parents meeting and some medical sessions that were informative. We also had an appointment with Dr. William McKenzie from the A.I. Dupont skeletal dysplasia center in Delaware. He thought Max looks great! He has a minimal kyphosis and he encouraged us to allow Max to pull to a stand and start to sit. The general rule is, if he does it by himself, it is ok. Max has been pulling to a stand for the past several weeks and has started sitting while holding on when he tires from standing. He is soooo proud of himself when he does it!! It won't be long now before he starts cruising! We really liked Dr. McKenzie and would definitely use him as a second opinion as needed. We are very happy with Dr. Ain at Hopkins (who is also an achon and has a child with achondroplasia), but appreciated the opportunity to see other doctors at the conference.

Aiden and Emmi spent a lot of time in the children's room while we were at meetings and they both had a great time. Emmi played and bounced in a bouncy house and Aiden met some buddies and played soccer. Aiden really enjoyed himself the whole time and made lots of new friends, both average height and little. Emmi commented a few times that some of the people were "little" but overall, it didn't even phase her. I think everyone should have someone in their lives that is different. I think we would live in a much more compassionate and accepting world.

We had planned to start home on Tuesday and stay half way on Tuesday night, but we were having such a good time that we stayed over Tuesday night. We went on one of the Duck boat tours that drive around town and then drive into the water. It is a DUKW amphibious vehicle from WWII. The kids really loved it! Aiden got to drive the boat too!! Then on Tuesday night, Aiden and I went down to the dance and he met up with some of his buddies and danced up a storm. I wish I had gotten some video!

Well, it took about 10 hours (with stops) to get home, but we made it without any major meltdowns:-). We will miss all our new friends and look forward to meeting up again soon!

Max and his best buddies!

2010-07-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

Max, Tessa (and Sarah) and Alex (and Jodi)

Emmi Ioves her new friend Tessa!

2010-07-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

Pulling up to sit all by myself!

2010-07-06T07:32:00.000-07:00

We have been told that if he does it on it's own, it is ok. (but I still won't let him sit like that very long). He is sooo proud of himself!!

I'm cute!!!

2010-07-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

Standing up in my stroller

2010-07-05T17:17:00.000-07:00

Best buddies!!!

2010-07-05T17:16:00.000-07:00

Maxy and his girlfriend Tessa!!!

2010-07-05T17:15:00.000-07:00

Still having a ball

2010-07-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

Riverfront with my little Cowboy

2010-07-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

Aiden too!

2010-07-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

Emmi enjoying herself!

2010-07-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

Chillin' at the bar at my first Nationals

2010-07-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

Emmi on the Dodgems!

2010-07-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Nashville here we come!!!

2010-07-03T10:32:00.001-07:00

We are headed to Nashville for our first LPA National Conference!!! We left on Thursday at about 7p and drove to Cincinnati. We didn't get in until almost 1am and it was a LONG ride with 3 kids!!! They each picked a different time to melt down, so we ended up stopping even more than anticipated. They all slept well and we went to Kings Island for the day yesterday. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a great time! We met up with a colleague of Eric's and his family who live in the area. They have 3 boys and his wife is also a family doc so we had tons in common. Aiden and I rode The Beast, (ugh!! Wooden roller coaster-4+ minutes of torture being jostled around like a rag doll. I need major realignment now!!) The Vortex and The Racer (both in the front row!).
Emmi had a ball on all the Planet Snoopy rides. She smiled all day and no meltdowns!!!! She was awesome! It was a very long day and the kids were exhausted. We left the park around 8p and had pizza at Eric's friends home. Amazingly, the kids still had enough energy to jump around on their trampoline! We finally got back to our room at midnight and the kids fell into bed! Zzzzzzzzzzzz!

My plan was to be up and on our way this morning at 9am to be in Nashville around 1:30.... We didn't actually leave until 10:15 BUT we gain an hour on the drive so we are still right on schedule :-). I am looking so forward to seeing Sarah and Tessa! Tessa is about 15 months old now and she and Max will be able to play. Last time they were together Max wasn't crawling yet but now he is crawling and pulling up to stand on everything so I am excited to see them together! There are so many other families that I have met on Facebook that I am looking forward to meeting as well. I have over 60 POLP (parents of little people) friends on FB. It is such a great community! I will update with photos soon!!
1hr 47 minutes left by GPS..... Hope it goes quick. The natives are getting restless!!!

Yum yum yum!!! FEET!!! I'm gonna get 'em!!!

2010-04-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

Uh Oh!!! I've been CAUGHT!!!

2010-04-06T09:31:00.001-07:00

Hahaha!! Fits of Giggles!!

2010-04-06T09:31:00.000-07:00

2010-04-01T14:42:00.001-07:00

Love this. It pertains to each and every one of us, but I especially love it in regards to Max

2010-04-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my Shepherd.
I have everything I need...

'nuff said:-)

Pictures from Max's Christening 2.14.10

2010-03-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

What a Blessed day!!

2010-03-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

Today was Max's Christening. What a great day!! We had a private ceremony at St. Gabe's and Fr. Fred made it so very special! He baptised all the kids and he married us (10 years ago this year!!!). Max was ADORABLE and didn't fuss at all during the ceremony. He wore the same gown his big brother and big sister wore. I had Aiden and Emmi's names and the dates of their Christenings embroidered on the back of the gown and will do the same for Max, then we can pass it down for their kids to wear. It was so nice to be surrounded by our family and friends. Max's Christening was bigger than the other 2 because we wanted to include all the people who were there for us in the beginning while we waited for all the tests and went to all the doctors appointments. That was a very difficult time for us. We were so very worried but we were surrounded by such wonderful and supportive family and friends. When we found out Max had achondroplasia, these were our support system. We now embrace and celebrate Max and his uniqueness!!!

Aiden was very attentive during the ceremony. Fr. Fred asked him a bunch of questions and Aiden was so proud to be involved. He looked so handsome!! He did his own hair today and it reminded me of how he wore it when he was little. He's such a big boy now! Fr. Fred let him turn of off the baptimsal fountain and put the holy oil away. He was beaming!! He is excited to go into school tomorrow and tell his teacher all about it. He will take in pictures this week for them to talk about Baptism during religion class.

And Emmi was such a cutie today!! She was so poised during the whole ceremony. She was mesmerized by it and stood so quietly with her spotty dog and watched. She looked so beautiful and I was so proud of her!

My sister is Max's Godmother and Eric's brother in law is Max's Godfather. Max is in good hands with both of them! I know my sister is so proud of this title and is already a big advocate for Max!

We all came back to our house after the ceremony for some food and socializing. One of Eric's friends catered the whole thing and that was GREAT!! Not only was the food wonderful, but he took care of all the details and I didn't have to worry about a thing the whole time!! (If you need a great caterer in the Cleveland/Akron area, let me know. I highly recommend him!!)

Now the kids are all snoozing (Except for Max. He is watching Big Bird and chewing on every toy he can get in his mouth!! He is a night owl!) I need to get some sleep too!! Losing that hour today is no fun! But it will be worth it to get more hours of daylight in!

2010-03-02T13:55:00.000-08:00

2010-03-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

2010-03-02T13:52:00.000-08:00

I ADORE my beautiful baby boy!!!

2010-03-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

2010-03-02T13:50:00.001-08:00

Still waiting!!

2010-03-02T13:50:00.000-08:00

Max and daddy passing the time in the 2+ hour wait for the doctor!!

2010-03-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

I can reach my toes!! (and even eat them too sometimes!)

2010-03-02T13:46:00.000-08:00

I'm teething!!!! No teeth yet though!!

2010-03-02T13:45:00.002-08:00

2010-03-02T13:45:00.001-08:00

They said I look GREAT!!!

2010-03-02T13:39:00.001-08:00

Well, we are on our way home from our trip to Johns Hopkins in
Baltimore for Max's check ups. It was a whirlwind visit, but we got
all our questions answered by the doctors and got to spend some time
with friends, new and old!
We left Sunday morning around 8am and drove to Bethesda to meet some
other Parents of Little People (POLPs) and their children. This was
the first time Max has gotten to interact with other babies and he
LOVED it!! He got to see his little girlfriend Tessa again (almost 11
mos) and met Colin, Ivy, Jack and Nathan. It was so nice to spend
time with the other parents and we look forward to meeting up with
some of them in Nashville at the national LPA (Little People of
America) conference this July. We have found that the LPA community
is so warm and welcoming and we so appreciate that!
Monday, we had our follow up with Dr. Hoover-Fong, the geneticist.
Our appointment was at 2:30 but we did not actually get seen until
around 4:45!!! It was a LONG wait!!! But Max was a champ and
remained very smiley and happy! She was very pleased with how Max has
been doing. He is hitting all his milestones very appropriately for
an achon. His head circumference is still around the -2 standard
deviation (small for achon, although his head looks large because his
body is so small). He weighs 14# 11oz and is around 24" long. She
has no concerns at this time and felt he had minimal to no kyphosis
(this is what I was most concerned about!!). So overall, very
reassuring visit:-). We will see her back in about 6 months. We
would like to move it up a bit and take Aiden and Emmi with us and
visit DC before Aiden goes back to school, but Dr. Hoover Fong is
pregnant and it depends when her maternity leave is.

We FINALLY got out of that appointment around 5:30pm and headed to
Annapolis to visit with The Frey's. We had a great time hanging out
eating pizza and catching up while Max and Tessa rolled around on the
floor and played. Max was a little shy but Tessa is an adorable
social butterfly! We took a bunch of pictures that I will post soon:-).

Today, we had our first appointment at 9:00 with Dr. Tunkel, the ENT.
He thought Max looked great, no ear infection or fluid and his tonsils
are not enlarged. He knows Dr. Arnold, our ENT in Cleveland, and
thinks he is great and will be able to take care of most, if not all
of Max's ENT issues in the future. Although he is more than willing
to see Max any time in the future if we need him. Everything we have
heard and read states that achons have smaller than average airways,
but Dr. Tunkel feels that, in his experience, this is not truly an
issue most of the time. He also is not a fan of the T-tubes when they
get tubes in their ears. Achons tend to get a lot of ear infections
and/or fluid in their ears because of the way their midface can be
shaped and the often need tubes many times. The T-tubes tend to stay
in longer but can leave holes in the eardrum that don't heal. This
happens 2-3% of the time with regular tubes but 18% of the time with T-
tubes and needs to be surgically repaired if it happens. He only uses
these if the tubes have fallen out and been replaced several times.
We really liked Dr. Tunkel, he was very informative and friendly.

We then saw Dr. Ahn, the neurosurgeon. He agreed that Max looked
great and had no signs or symptoms of spinal cord compression. He
felt his muscle tone was good (as did Dr Hoover Fong). I don't think
we need to see him again unless we have a problem. He is a very
friendly, personable guy, but I hope we never have to see him again!!

Finally, we saw the orthopaedist. We waited about an hour to see him
and Max was rolling around the exam table crinckling up the paper and
trying to eat it up!! Many of you know of Dr. Ain, but for those of
you who don't, Dr. Ain has achondroplasia. I think he will be a great
role model for Max as he grows up. He answered all of our questions
about what we can and cannot do with Max. He feels as though sitting
Max up in the stroller sometimes, no more than 45 degrees, is ok.
This was good news since we have a trip to Disney planned and it would
have been a lot more challenging if we had to keep Max lying flat in
the stroller the whole time! He felt as though Max's back looks great
with very little to no kyphosis. The xrays of his back showed very
minimal wedging of the vertebrae, which is to be expected and not a
concern at this point. His legs are not bowing clinically or on the
xrays. Yeah!!! He wants to see Max again in 6-9 months.

So, overall, great news about our little Max!!! He was such a great
little patient and we were sooo proud of him!!! He is an absolute joy
every day!

We will be home in about 5 hours and we are looking forward to giving
Aiden and Emmi BIG hugs and kisses!!! We have missed them sooo
much!!! Max will be excited to see his big brother and sister too!
He misses Emmi when she isn't sitting next to him in the car and Aiden
when he isn't around to sit with him and make funny faces at him:-).

Here's a picture of our great little patient looking uber adorable!!

anyone have any ideas why my smilebox slideshow came up without pics?

2010-02-09T12:12:00.001-08:00

Emmi photoslider

2010-02-09T12:08:00.001-08:00




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2010-02-09T11:40:00.001-08:00

Emmi

2010-02-09T10:43:00.001-08:00

Emmi

2010-02-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

Well, Emmi is napping (!!!). This is somewhat monumental! It is like pulling teeth these days to get her to nap. She will go up in her room and play for 3 hours but not nap...and she still really needs a nap. She has a cold now with a cough and a runny nose and she just looks exhausted, but despite that, she is still like the energizer bunny! So, I have a little time to update my blog (Max is currently laying on the floor next to me in his little play tent, happy as can be. But that can change very quickly...
So, Emmi has just moved up at school from the 3 year old class to the Pre-Kindergarten class (!!??). My baby girl is now in Pre-K! Well, she is only almost 3 1/2 and they separate it into 3 year old Pre-K and 4 year old Pre-K and then Jr. Kindergarten. It is really a great program at The Goddard School. We were very impressed with how well prepared Aiden was for kindergarten. Emmi will miss the cut off to start kindergarten because she has a September birthday, so she will turn 6 right after she starts. I don't mind though because it gives me one more full year with her at home with me :-) Plus, then she will be one of the older students in the class and I think that will be a bonus. Especially in high school. She is really doing great in her new classroom. She really likes her new teachers (there are 2 of them) and she loves being with her buddy Matthew. He had been in her class but moved up to the new class about 4 months ago and she has missed him a lot!! Then new classroom is actually in a whole new building so it was a big change for her. It is right next to the gymnasium though and that is a plus. In the other classroom, they didn't make it over to the gym very often because they would have to bundle all the kids up to walk across the parking lot and into the gym and do it all over again on the way back. They also have a much more structured curriculum. They start with circle time and break off into 2 groups for some learning about colors, shapes, numbers, letters etc. They get to use the computer for some learning too and she loves that! She seems to be adjusting well and is very social. I am so proud of her!

She is very excited about our upcoming trip to Disney in April. She is already talking all about it and we are going to start planning our "Girl's Club" activities. We are definatley going to do the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique again. She has decided she wants to wear her Cinderella dress for that. In the mornings after we drop Aiden off at school, we pretend to hop on a plane and fly to Disney for a bit before she gets to school. She has a very colorful imagination and loves to get caught up in it!

I am posting some pictures of her that I took the other night. She actually smiled and posed for me!! She looks so beautiful!

Priceless Picture!!

2010-01-29T18:38:00.001-08:00

My Handsome Big Boy!

2010-01-29T18:37:00.001-08:00

So blessed...

2010-01-22T18:28:00.000-08:00

So, Max and I are sitting here watching the Haiti Charity Concert and
it is absolutely heartbreaking. Seeing footage of the Haitian
children who were orphaned and the parents who lost their children and
hearing all the stories of loss... I am overcome with sadness for the
Haitian people. And yet, through every tragedy, a lesson can be
learned.

I look down at my darling sleeping baby Max, who I have been so
blessed to have been given and think about how wonderful it is to have
this beautiful baby boy to have and hold and love. I am not sad that
he is little, I celebrate his uniqueness and have such genuine
excitement to watch him grow and learn and teach us all about what is
truly important in life.

I look back on my initial sadness and, although it was mostly because
of my lack of information and experience with the diagnosis, wonder
WHY I spent even a minute of my life sad about it. It is such a minor
bump in the road of life! We have been so blessed with all of our
children and, although I thank God daily, this tragedy really makes me
so appreciate even more all the wonderful things we have been given.

Max is up now, cooing, grabbing his toys and rolling over and filling
me with such joy and love.

God bless all those mothers who lost their little bundles of joy last
week, and the children who are left orphaned by this.

Surrounded by toys!!

2010-01-21T12:03:00.000-08:00

Emmi spent a lot of time this morning setting up toys all around Max
so he could play!! It was so cute. Every once in a while she would
stop and pet him on the head:-). Everytime I put him down on his back
this morning, he would immediatly roll over onto his tummy. I took
some video and I will try to figure out the best way to post it (any
tips from my much more experienced blogger friends?). It is so cute:-)

Playtime!

2010-01-21T11:58:00.000-08:00

Sleeping like a baby....

2010-01-11T19:39:00.000-08:00

Max is laying in my arms, sound asleep. Looks so angelic! He is
perfection in a perfect little package!!

2010-01-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

WOW!! That was tooo easy!

2010-01-09T20:45:00.001-08:00

Well, I somehow just figured out how to put my Facebook information on this page... I clicked on something and it linked me to something else and WAALLAH!! A link to my Facebook page!! AMAZING when thing turn out to be so easy!! (don't ask me how it happened....I don't know!)...

We Won!!! Go Suns!!

2010-01-09T12:33:00.001-08:00

FINALLY!! Smiles and silly faces:-)

2010-01-09T12:32:00.001-08:00

2010-01-09T12:31:00.001-08:00

When asked to smile this is what I get.... Haha 3 year old girls are so funny!!!

2010-01-09T10:33:00.001-08:00

Aiden's first game-Lake YMCA-Suns

2010-01-09T10:31:00.001-08:00

Today is Aiden's first basketball game of the season at the Lake
County YMCA league. He is on the purple team this time-the Suns.
Eric is helping coach and Max, Emmi and I are sitting in the front row
ready to be cheerleaders:-). Just posted a picture of Max but Emmi is
not letting me get any smiley pictures of her (she can be very
particular about getting her picture taken!).
GO SUNS!!!

Hanging out at Aiden's basketball game

2010-01-09T10:21:00.000-08:00

How do I respond to a post on my blog?? I am failing Blogging 101!

2010-01-06T19:03:00.001-08:00

OK, so I clearly have not mastered this blogging thing. I so appreciate everyones comments to my blogs and pictures but I have NO IDEA how to respond to each of you. So many other achon/LP moms have posted and I would love to respond back, but I am clueless as to how to do that...I hope no one thinks I am ignoring them and I don't want to lose any followers for my blogging ignorance...(haha!) Can anyone enlighten me so I can keep in touch with you all...? Thanks a bunch!!!

Who turned out the lights?

2010-01-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

LOVE his little hands!!!

Decorating a sleeping baby:-)

2010-01-02T20:47:00.000-08:00

2010-01-02T20:46:00.001-08:00

My cutie!

2010-01-02T20:45:00.000-08:00

Max's second sleep study

2010-01-02T20:44:00.000-08:00

2010-01-02T20:43:00.000-08:00

2010-01-02T20:42:00.003-08:00

2010-01-02T20:42:00.001-08:00

My boys after bathtime

2010-01-02T20:34:00.000-08:00

Disgruntled!!??

2010-01-02T20:32:00.001-08:00