Fun week-end pictures...

Yes, my Mommy let me where a white shirt to eat Italian!!!! And, I was determined to cook my marshmallows, and get closer to that bonfire!!!

Family reading with Matthew's FAVORITE book to learn signs!

A happy Mommy with her precious child.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY...THANKS FOR LETTING ME HELP OPEN YOUR PRESENTS!!!!

Our favorite family picture yet...........jumping on the beds taken with a self timer :)

Highlights from the day...the farm, the pool, the playground....

Illegally feeding the ducks....

Cupcake....before and after!

Daddy teaches me such fun things :)

OK, is he cute or what??

I know it's been a little bit since I have updated the blog again(I always have very good intentions to do it every night, but I can't quite keep up with it the way I would like....). So, I have decided to highlight what has happened since we found out our preliminary surgery date for Matthew's implant:

• Matthew is getting adjusted to his new medication, and has been starting to sleep better which is a blessing. It's a fine line between being too drowsy though, and keeping the episodes in line....
• I did an online search about movement disorders, and found a neurologist at CHOP that was listed on the website. His email was listed so I sent him an email about Matthew. The next day he called me at work! And, he WAS ON VACATION!!!! AND, his daughter is adopted from CHINA....AND, his wife is a neuroophthalmologist!!! Can you see how God was all over that one???? So, I dropped off Matthew's records and a jump drive of Matthew's episodes when I was at CHOP last Wednesday for him to review...still waiting to hear from him this week....
• Our appointment with the cochlear implant surgeon went well, and he is a definite GO for surgery on October 13th!!! It can't come soon enough!!! Before that surgery, we have a 2 hour educational session in September and an anesthesia appt. in October - so a couple more trips to Philly before the big day!
• Chris's nephew was found to have a hernia, and he will be having surgery August 28th - poor little guy is so scared, but it sounds like the doctor has done a great job explaining things to him to help calm him.
• Chris's Dad wasn't feeling well and headed to the doctor for evaluation of some groin pain. He had been helping clear a lot of trees, and thought his hernia was acting up. They did a CT scan and found he has a very large mass in his kidney. He is scheduled for major surgery on September 14th for removal of his kidney and mass. We won't know a diagnosis until after the pathology report comes back. CT scan called it a possible renal carcinoma. Please pray for Chris, and his Dad....this is such a shock to the entire family....and what a brutal few weeks it's going to be waiting for this surgery.
• We had our SIX month post placement visit since being home with Matthew - that will be a whole different post soon..............
• As all of you know, Camp Can Do has always been an important part of our lives, and this was the first year in 11 years we would not be able to attend. Chris and I missed it terribly, but we were able to take Matthew out on Thursday night and "show him off"! It was a wonderful experience, and Chris was GLOWING in the fact he had HIS SON at camp with him............can't even describe how amazing that was.
• We celebrated Chris's birthday this past week-end by surprising him and heading to a great little family resort in Lancaster. We hadn't been away just the 3 of us since China, and it was an AMAZING week-end. On Friday after work, we went out for dinner, went for a walk, fed the ducks, played on the playground, and all went to bed before 10pm! Saturday, we got up early and had breakfast at the bakery on site, then went for a long walk and let Matthew play on the playground again. We then swam in the pools for 2 1/2 hours, got showered, went out for lunch - then Matthew fell asleep and Chris and I walked the outlets and shopped a little. We then went back to the hotel, relaxed and laughed so much while Matthew jumped on the beds with us!!! We then showered, and went for an amazing italian dinner after getting some family pictures by the little lake. After a later dinner, we came back to the hotel and Matthew enjoyed his first bonfire. He even got to roast marshmallows and he was in heaven! We then went back to the room and gave Daddy his birthday gifts and feasted on Sesame Street birthday cupcakes! Matthew fell asleep late, but Chris and I stayed up and talked and watching TV until after 130am....we hadn't done that in ages!!!It was wonderful. On Sunday "Daddy's BIRTHDAY", we had a huge breakfast because that was Daddy's request, then we swam in the pool before heading home!!! It was a wonderful getaway, and invaluable family time! Matthew was so happy, and so were we!!!!
• We were feeling so peaceful about starting the week - I got a call from the daycare yesterday afternoon that they were worried about Matthew's breathing, as he'd been having some bad coughing spells. I called his doctor, and she wanted me to go check him out which I did. He was clearly wheezing when I got there, and his cough sounded like a barking seal!!! We headed to the doctor for our 38th appt (:), and they thing Matthew has croup!!! We certainly didn't need that!!! He couldn't even walk up 4 steps last night without being completely winded, poor little guy! And, for all of you parents out there that need to give your child medication.....Matthew needed to take a big dose of steroids again last night - and we stuck the pills inside fruit snacks and he ate like a champ!!!! Chris and I decided we needed to patent that idea :) Last night was a tough night with his horrid cough, and standing in the shower was the only thing we could do to help him breathe better.
• Today I stayed home with Matthew, and I have to tell you that I pretty much had Matthew in my arms the entire day. He felt so lousy, and all he wanted was to be right with his Mommy - that just warmed my heart!! I wish I could have made him feel better though - and then he got diarrhea on top of it.....the worst part, though, was that his poor body had hours worth of his neurological "episodes" which was heartbreaking to me, and to Chris when he got home and witnessed it! We had been doing so well, and aren't sure if the sickness has triggered them, or if the steroid made them worse..............I am just praying that they were because he didn't feel well, and that we are not heading down the path we were at a few weeks ago :(

So, I think that's the update from us.............enjoy the pictures!!!