It’s been a while since I’ve done an update here, and I apologize for that. Things have been busy, but that’s no surprise with Kayla and Alysa.

Kayla is continuing to do extremely well with her weight and growth. She is now up in the 50% for both weight and height and is right around 30 pounds or just over that. All her doctors are thrilled with her progress. She continues to eat phenomenally and although she may be somewhat picky with what she’ll eat, she will usually try new foods. In my last update, I left it that Kayla was off Prevacid. Well, that was a total bust. She lasted 4 days on a half dose before she started waking up at night from pain. This lasted 3 nights b4 I fully realized it was her reflux. The 3rd night, when she would only sleep in her chair in a quasi-upright position, I knew 100%. Her GI doctor wanted to trial her off Prevacid again this fall, but I said not yet. I know she’s not ready and I don’t want to try this again during cold and flu season, not to mention while she’s in school. So we will try again next June. Again, scary. But, the important thing is she is thriving while on the Prevacid, so as long as that is the case, I am comfortable with her staying on it.

Alysa on the other hand has had some set-backs with her health (i.e. her weight). She also had to go back on Prevacid, although she made it about 5 weeks or so without it before her eating came to a screeching halt. When she saw their GI doctor in October, she had dropped below the 3% mark, so it became time for more testing. She had an Upper Endoscopy which showed positive for GERD (reflux) and a narrow opening to her stomach. She then had an Upper GI done which confirmed the narrowed opening was due to muscle spasms. We tried her on a drug to stop the spasms, which did not work for her, plus it has the potential for some pretty severe side effects so I took her off of it after 5 days since it wasn’t working. Alysa started feeding therapy in late December, so we’re hoping for the same amazing results that Kayla had. Alysa is seeing the same therapist Kayla did so I am confident that she will be able to help Alysa overcome her spasms, possibly chew better so she will eat more solid foods. Her Ped had us switch her to soy milk with a soy pediatric supplement to give her some extra calories. And her therapist has also given us some great ways to sneak protein into her diet. We are glad to see the formula bill leave our budget. Aside from her weight (she is now back up into the 5% mark and 50% for height), her Pediatrician is thrilled with how well Alysa is doing. She speaks amazingly well for a 2 year old and comes up with things that crack us all up. She sings the alphabet and can count to about 15 and to 8 in Spanish. She has really surprised Jerome, Kayla and I by starting to potty train. She has been going on the potty (not consistently) both pee and poop and loves getting chocolate as a reward (Kayla loves this too). We are running with this and seeing where it takes us. It will be nice to be able to get rid of the diaper bill as well, but right now we’re letting her take the lead.

Kayla still loves Montessori. We have both seen her blossom in the wonderful educational environment that Montessori offers. We were very lucky to find a school close to home that follows the true philosophy and curriculum of Maria Montessori. I was very sure that Montessori was the right place for our girls and J has really come around seeing her progress and how much she loves being there (she asks to go every day and never wants to leave when I pick her up). We have also been SO lucky to find a school with a teacher and assistant who are so caring and diligent in caring for Kayla’s special needs surrounding her food allergy. We could not have asked for a more careful and conscientious team. Since I was very sick the day of Kayla’s parent-teacher conference, J was able to go for us. As much as I wanted to be there, I’m glad J got to go and hear directly about how Kayla is doing. She is doing wonderfully. Her biggest thing we are working on is her thumb-sucking. Well, at least trying to discourage her from doing it while she’s engaged in activities. That is no easy task. But she is well liked by her teachers and classmates. I was able to see this at their Halloween party. I was excited to witness this and also provide a snack that was safe for Kayla’s allergy as well as the 2 other children in the class with food allergies (egg and peanut). I’m also happy to report that J and I have both agreed that Kayla will not be attending Kindergarten in the public school, but will have a 3rd year at Montessori and attend Kindergarten there. My hope is for her to do full day Kindergarten there, but that may not be obtainable, especially since that will be Alysa’s first year there. Speaking of Alysa, she’s raring to go to school already. Every day she tells me over and over “I have to go to Kayla’s school.” Or “I have to go to school.” I don’t think she likes the idea of waiting a year and a half.

As everyone knows we have 2 girls with allergies of some kind. Alysa’s are the less worrisome. Her only known allergies are environmental. She’s allergic to evergreen trees/pine cones. Unfortunately though her allergic reaction includes vomiting if she comes in physical contact, which meant the switch to a fake Christmas tree. Believe me, this is one I’m still adjusting to. Neither J nor I are happy with this, but just as we gave up dairy for Kayla, we’ll give up live trees for Alysa. :) She also has allergies to other environmental triggers which is evident by her congestion and watery/itchy eyes when she plays outside. We don’t know exactly what she’s allergic to b/c she tested negative to everything, but so far allergy medication has been enough to keep her playing outside w/o torturing her too much. Kayla’s allergy is more severe. Unfortunately she has not yet outgrown her dairy allergy. Her blood test showed up negative for the allergy back in August when she turned 3. She has had 2 skin tests since then, in August and in November – both came back strongly positive. Her allergist is not too concerned, as he says the blood test does turn negative first when a child is outgrowing an allergy. So he is still very positive that she is on the right track. She will be tested again in 6 months during the spring. I will admit though that I am getting a bit discouraged about her outgrowing her allergy, but I am trying to keep positive about her having a dairy-filled future.

Both girls still love gymnastics. I am switching them over to a new place in the next couple of weeks. One that I feel will give them a better environment to either meet their gymnastics potential or show us that they’d rather do something else. Kayla tends to get bored in her current class and with 15+ kids in it, it’s no wonder. The new place caps Kayla’s age group at 6 and Alysa’s at 8. They are more diligent in taking time with each child individually and it’s a true gymnast environment. I am happy with the teachers and the programs. Alysa loved it too. I just have to convince Kayla that she loves it. She had a rough time her trial class. It’s a huge place with so much going on (other real gym classes going on) and a new teacher. Kayla is my shy child, so she’ll need some more adjustment period than Alysa. But I know she’ll do ok – she couldn’t help but enjoy herself – as long as I was nearby. But it’s a start.

I am happy to report that we have found not only a restaurant where we are comfortable taking Kayla to, but one where there is food on the menu that both girls will eat or more accurately – devour! PF Chang’s is an upscale Chinese restaurant. They are extremely allergy-aware and very accommodating. It is the only place J and I are both not only comfortable taking Kayla to, but comfortable with her eating their food. On their menu, they have an item called Northern Style Spareribs. They are delicious and BOTH Kayla and Alysa love them. It’s not unusual for Kayla to eat 2-3 and we’ve seen Alysa devour more than 5. And when I say devour, I mean they both lick the bone clean. They love them so much that we’ve now taken to buying them as take-out when we have holiday dinners or special occasions b/c they love them so much!

Most of you already know that J started a new job in November. He’s still at an Agway store, but with a different owner. He’s the Store Manager, although the owner is very much involved, which means a bit less pressure day-to-day. Although he won’t say that b/c his new store is MUCH busier, so he comes home VERY tired. But he’s happy with his new job and his new boss was great with working with our scheduling needs. J’s also happy to report that he feels appreciated in his new job. You can’t ask for much more than that. Well, a doubling in salary would be nice, but I’m trying to stay realistic. ;)

I am still muddling through balancing my part time job and my house. Never easy, but I’m enjoying the girls so much. I’m also still enjoying blogging (www.jabberwalkiejoke.blogpost.com) although I took a mini break through most of December due to lack of time. But I’m back at it and hope to keep up the momentum!

As has become tradition, I will leave you with a few ‘isms’…

In October, my Mom picked Kayla up from school. She asked her what she had for a snack. Here is the conversation that followed:
Nanny - "What did you eat for a snack today?"
Kayla – (looking puzzled) “Um…acorns”.
Nanny – “Acorns?”
Kayla – (looking more puzzled) “Um…I think, acorns.”
Nanny – “Do you mean popcorn?”
Kayla – “Yes, I think so - popcorn.”

In December, we were in the car and I used the rear windshield wipers. The wipers scraped against the glass and Kayla said, “Mommy, the car tooted.”

The girls watched an Elmo Christmas special in December. Alysa has never seen a commercial before, so when the first commercial came on and I muted the TV, she looked at me and said, “Oh no. What happened to Elmo?”

Most recently, Alysa will put her shoes on and sometimes she puts them on the wrong feet. Usually, when we tell her they are on wrong, she takes them off and switches them. But now, she will look down and simply crossed her legs and her feet so her shoes looked “correct”. She then laughs like she’s the funniest person on earth!

Love,
Jerome, Sue, KaylaKu & Alyscious