Okay Time to Update..Seriously

So since the last post I did.. um we have been crazy busy and there have been a ton of changes. First off, we moved! We were presented with the opportunity to move back to Utah and have Dave return to the summer program rather than the year round program. After several long talks weighing the pros and cons and a night or two of pondering, we decided that it was in the best interest of our family to make the move. So we packed up the house in a week, found a house in Logan to rent and moved in before Halloween. Crazy, yes, but so far so good. I'll post some pics of our house when I get it cleaned up : )


Here are some pictures of the kiddos dressed up for trick or treating. This year we went crazy and went to the mall, the grocery store (didn't even know they did this- was sooo fun), our neighborhood and then our friends Doug & Brandy's neighborhood. The kids were up until 10 trick or treating and scored a ton of candy.


November-

A few things happened in November, Cailtyn turned 8 months old which is completely crazy in my book. I can hardly believe that she is so big. She can say dada and baba. She has become semi mobile with her ability to roll across the room in a few seconds flat. She is now eating baby food more consistently and can sit up. Here is a newer pic of our little cutie.





Jocelyn started her new kindergarten in Logan. She went from an all day class to afternoon kindergarten which has been a bummer for her but she is adjusting fine. She has made a ton of new friends and loves that we live behind the school and we can walk to and from school when the weather allows.


I met with a doctor in Sandy who did a bunch of blood test on me to see why I have had so many pregnancy losses. We discovered that I have PAI-1 5G/5G, MTHFR and elevated anti-thrombin activity.. in general its all a form of blood clotting disorder. Which means baby aspirin for life and a few other things. But I am so glad to have answers and so amazed and extremely blessed to have 3 beautiful healthy children without knowing I was risking their lives and mine in the process.


For Thanksgiving we drove to Washington to spend time with My Dad's side of the family. We had a great time and even brought the beast dog with us on the trip. We attempted to go the Zoo one day but they had switched to there winter hours and we went on a day they were closed. So instead we took a nice drive around Fort Nissqually and then headed back to my dad's house. Thanksgiving day was great tons of yummy food and dessert for "Linner" (Lunch & Dinner). Here are some pics from our trip : )

This Peacock followed us all the way back to our car and I think if we would have tried, it would have got in the car with us. It was a little odd.

This is what we saw on our lovely drive around Fort Nissqually.

The kids having a great time at Great Grandma Battson's house... Caitlyn adored Great Grandma.
We also got some great family pictures while we were out there.

Okay give me a few more days and I will get this darn thing current...

Funny Video of Caitlyn

So not sure how we stumbled upon this but we have discovered that Caitlyn thinks Jocelyn's Barbies are very very funny... Here is our cutie baby laughing...

When it rains.. it pours

This has not been my favorite week that is for sure. I had a meeting with my Endocrinologist yesterday to go over my thyroid panel. the last time I had my blood drawn it had hinted to the fact that I maybe Hyperthyroid. Well yesterday's results confirmed that I was not Hyperthyroid but infact I have what they call Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Which means this....

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
What is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis?

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (also called autoimmune or chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis) is the most common thyroid disease in the United States. It is an inherited condition that affects approximately 14 million Americans and is about seven times more common in women than in men. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is characterized by the production of immune cells and autoantibodies by the body’s immune system, which can damage thyroid cells and compromise their ability to make thyroid hormone. Hypothyroidism occurs if the amount of thyroid hormone, which can be produced, is not enough for the body’s needs. The thyroid gland may also enlarge, forming a goiter.

What are the features of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis?

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis may not cause symptoms for many years and remain undiagnosed until an enlarged thyroid gland or abnormal blood tests are discovered as part of a routine examination. When symptoms do develop, they are either related to local pressure effects in the neck caused by the goiter itself, or to the low levels of thyroid hormone. The first sign of this disease may be painless swelling in the lower front of the neck. This enlargement may eventually become easily visible. It may be associated with an uncomfortable pressure sensation in the lower neck. This pressure on surrounding structures may cause additional symptoms, including difficulty swallowing.

Although many of the features associated with thyroid hormone deficiency occur commonly in patients without thyroid disease, patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis who develop hypothyroidism are more likely to experience the following:

Fatigue

Drowsiness

Forgetfulness

Difficulty with learning

Dry, brittle hair and nails

Dry, itchy skin

Puffy face

Constipation

Sore muscles

Weight gain

Heavy menstrual flow

Increased frequency of miscarriages

Increased sensitivity to many medications

The thyroid enlargement and/or hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto’s thyroiditis progresses in many patients, causing a slow worsening of symptoms. Therefore, patients with either of these findings should be recognized and adequately treated with thyroid hormone. Optimal treatment with thyroid hormone will eliminate any symptoms due to thyroid hormone deficiency, usually prevent further thyroid enlargement, and may sometimes cause shrinkage of an enlarged thyroid gland.

What is the cause of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis?

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis results from a malfunction in the immune system. When working properly, the immune system is designed to protect the body against invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, and other foreign substances. The immune system of someone with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis mistakenly recognizes normal thyroid cells as foreign tissue, and it produces antibodies that may destroy these cells. Although various environmental factors have been studied, none have been positively proven to be the cause of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

How is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis diagnosed?

A physician experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease can detect a goiter due to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis by performing a physical examination and can recognize hypothyroidism by identifying characteristic symptoms, finding typical physical signs, and doing appropriate laboratory tests.

Antithyroid AntibodiesIncreased antithyroid antibodies provide the most specific laboratory evidence of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, but they are not present in all cases.

TSH (Thyroid — Stimulating Hormone or Thyrotropin) TestIncreased TSH level in the blood is the most accurate indicator of hypothyroidism. TSH is produced by another gland, the pituitary, which is located behind the nose at the base of the brain. The level of TSH rises dramatically when the thyroid gland even slightly underproduces thyroid hormone, so in patients with normal pituitary function, a normal level of TSH reliably excludes hypothyroidism.

Other Tests

An estimate of free thyroxine - the active thyroid hormone in the blood. A low level of free thyroxine is consistent with thyroid hormone deficiency. However, free thyroxine values in the “normal range” may actually represent thyroid hormone deficiency in a particular patient, since a high level of TSH stimulation may keep the free thyroxine levels “within normal limits” for many years.

Fine-needle aspiration of the thyroid- usually not necessary for most patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, but a good way to diagnose difficult cases and a necessary procedure if a thyroid nodule is also present.

How is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis treated?

For patients with thyroid enlargement (goiter) or hypothyroidism, thyroid hormone therapy is clearly needed, since proper dosage corrects any symptoms due to thyroid hormone deficiency and may decrease the goiter’s size. Treatment generally consists of taking a single daily tablet of levothyroxine. Older patients who may have underlying heart disease are usually started on a low dose and gradually increased, while younger, healthy patients can be started on full replacement doses at once. Thyroid hormone acts very slowly in the body, so it may take several months after treatment is started to notice improvement in symptoms or goiter shrinkage. Because of the generally permanent and often progressive nature of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, it is usually necessary to treat it throughout one’s lifetime and to realize that medicine dose requirements may have to be adjusted from time to time.

Optimal adjustment of thyroid hormone dosage, based on laboratory tests rather than symptoms, is critical, since the body is very sensitive to even small changes in thyroid hormone levels. Levothyroxine tablets come in 12 different strengths, and it is essential to take them in a consistent manner every day. If the dose is not adequate, the thyroid gland may continue to enlarge and symptoms of hypothyroidism will persist. This may be associated with increased serum cholesterol levels, possibly increasing the risk for atherosclerosis and heart disease. If the dose is too strong, it can cause symptoms of hyperthyroidism, creating excessive strain on the heart and an increased risk of developing osteoporosis.

Other associated disorders

As noted above, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is a common disorder of the immune system, which affects the thyroid gland. However, much less often, the immune system can also mistakenly target virtually any other part of the body, causing it to malfunction, and this tendency runs in families. Although the majority of patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and their genetic family members will never experience any other autoimmune condition, they do have a statistically increased risk of developing the following disorders:

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (insulin-requiring)

Graves’ disease (goiter and hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid)

Rheumatoid arthritis

Pernicious anemia (inability to absorb vitamin B12, potentially causing anemia and neurologic problems)

Addison’s disease (adrenal failure; the adrenal gland provides cortisol to handle stress and illness)

Premature ovarian failure (early menopause)

Vitiligo (patchy loss of skin pigmentation)

Thrombocytopenic purpura (bleeding disorder due to inadequate platelets in the blood)

Lupus erythematosus (autoimmune disease that involves skin, heart, lungs, kidneys and joints)

Appropriate management of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis requires continued care by a physician who is experienced in the treatment of this disease.

Then today the flood gates opened, we had our second ultrasound at my perinatologists office. What should have been a happy thing turned to a very sad thing when we saw a very small empty sac where a baby should have been. My dr. said it most likely is a blighted ovum and will not be a viable pregnancy. Dave and I are completely heartbroken but have been through this before unfortunately. I am waiting on some more bloodwork but don't expect that to change the outcome. We should hear back from my dr tomorrow on where we go from here. I know the Lord has a plan for our family and we go through hard things to experience greater joy in the good things in this life. But it still hurts and I still wish it wasn't me having to go through it.

On a much happier note... Our little Caitlyn is 6 months old and she had here 6 month check-up today:

Weight: 15lbs 4oz and in the 25-50%

Height: 26 1/2 inches and in the 75%

Dr. said she looks great and seems to be a very happy baby. I'll update pics soon.

Updated Pics of Caitlyn

I have been really bad about taking pictures this month, sorry. Anyways here are some pictures of our darling dear Caitlyn at 5 months and 2 weeks, Enjoy!!!

Look at my girls, what a pair of cuties!!

Caitlyn really doesn't have any new tricks, she rolls over anytime I try to lay her on her belly. She is also gaining a lot better control of her hands and being able to grab toys. We are still working on getting her to sit up by herself, but she is still wobbly. Also as you can tell from the pictures she is a major drooler, but no teeth yet.

Ultrasound today..

Well needless to say, it was a bit disappointing today as we were really hoping to see more than just the gestational sac and possibly the yolk sac. They did an abdominal ultrasound which is notorious for seeing very little detail in early pregnancy and since I am only about 6 weeks along, I got to stare at a very pretty circle. However, even though there isn't much to look at my blood work numbers came back great and everything seems to be looking great for right now so, wahoo! They have set my EDD for April 24th, 2010. I guess now we just sit and wait for my ultrasound on the 23rd at my perinatologist office to actually see the baby since they will definitely do a much higher quality ultrasound. Please keep those prayers and positive thoughts coming that this little one is growing great even though we didn't see it yet.

Jocelyn's First Day of Kindergarten

Last night Jocelyn received her first "Father's Blessing for School". It was a wonderful blessing that she will have the ability to stand strong for what she knows is right and that she will be a great influence to others. After that we packed her lunch and got all of her stuff ready for her first day at kindergarten.

Not sure if you can tell in this picture or not but I have never seen a child more excited for school than my Jo this morning. She got up at 6am and was all dressed and ready to go. After I calmed her down a bit I sat her down in front of a movie to relax while I got ready and made her breakfast. She had requested to night before to have scrambled eggs with ketchup so that's what she had this morning. After breakfast we read scriptures said prayers and got in the car to go to school.

I tried really really hard to be excited even though I was pretty teary at the fact my baby is so big. However, we got to her school found her class sitting in the Gym where they do Morning Announcements and the Pledges. Yes, that's right I said Pledges, If we ever doubted we lived in Texas we were crazy because at Texas schools they not only do the pledge of allegiance to the US flag but they have a pledge of allegiance to the Texas Flag...

"Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible."

After all the announcements the kids line up and walk down to there classrooms for the day. I saw Jo off , gave her a kiss and told her I would see her after school.. she was busy coloring so she wasn't too worried :) I can hardly wait to hear how her day was when I pick her up this afternoon.

Well she had a great day!!! She said her favorite part was Recess and Coloring. She then preceded to bust open her lunch box and finished up her lunch on the car ride home because she said she got full at lunch time. She was very tired when we got home but is excited to go back again tomorrow!! Wahoo!!!

We've decided...

To let the cat out of the bag early and tell you about our fun little surprise,

because of my previous track record we need all the prayers we can get that this little miracle will stick around and complete our family..

We found out yesterday at my Annual Dr. appointment that we are expecting again... we have no idea how far along I am but Dr. seems to think I am pregnant with an April baby again.. We have an ultrasound scheduled for the 31st of this month to find out my Due Date. Please send us you positive thoughts and prayers. We are still very much in shock but excited nevertheless!!

Jocelyn's Summer Dance Performance

Okay so it wasn't this big extravagant recital because they have only been in class for 4 weeks, it was more of her normal class expect we got to go in and watch... I took a ton of videos but have decided that for Christmas this year I would love a camcorder because my camera just can't hack it. Anyways she did really well and loves dance even though it took a week for her to get use to her teacher. The only thing I can really say is bless her teacher for putting up with my little diva. Jocelyn is quite a chatty girl and has an issue or a question about every 10 minutes.. School should be interesting.

So the first half of her class was Ballet.. They did some warm up dancing and then several across the floor activities... Relavae, Skip-hops, Toe points, etc. Their teacher then had them do a few of the things they learned by themselves. Then they did a cute little performance to a song about different dreams.

The last half of the class is Tap.. this is when Jocelyn gets extra chatty because she is tired... pretty cute and sad at the same time to see her yawn in class..but she sticks with it. They did more songs during tap I think mainly because the school knows the kids start to get restless by then. The last "big" performance they did was, I guess you could call it a tap number to "Going on a Bear Hunt" All the kids seemed to really enjoy this one!

So this last Video will be some serious Blackmail someday...Oh how I love my little "BIG" girl.

Caitlyn is 4 months old

Man oh man is time flying by.. my littlest girl is already 4 months old. She is smiling, laughing and almost rolling over. She rolls onto her side but won't commit to the full roll over. We have an appointment next week to find out how much she has grown but my guess is she is at least 13 lbs. She is now officially wearing 3-6 month clothes wahoo!! She is such a great baby. We bought her a sleep sack last week and since she has been using it at night I am getting a solid 8hr + of sleep!! Here are a few of her latest pictures...

Jocelyn's 5th Birthday!!

So the original plan for Jocelyn's Birthday was to go to our neighborhood pool and spend the morning testing out her new goggles she got the other day. However, when we woke up that morning it started pouring rain. we then thought we would go see a movie instead but all the movies were either 3D (which my kids won't wear the glasses to watch) or started way too late in the afternoon (Jo had dance class). So after driving around for a bit we finally decided we would take the kiddos to Bass Pro Shop and they could see the fish and all the "stuffed" animals. Surprisingly they had a good time checking out all the fish. Sorry for the bad pics, camera phones only do so much. We came back home and put the kids down for a short nap before Jocelyn and I headed off to her dance class. She had such a fun time at dance and loved giving all her little classmates the goody bags we made. After that the whole fam headed off to get Chinese as that was what the birthday girl wanted for her birthday dinner. Now this is one thing about Texas, you can pretty much find Mexican food anywhere but a good Chinese place is pretty tough. We finally found a place that wasn't buffet style but I don't think they get dine in customers very often because we got all our food in take out boxes...LOL. Oh well it was yummy and Jocelyn got her "noodles" (aka- chicken lo mein).

Once we were done with dinner we headed home for some cake and ice cream with friends. The kids had a blast and didn't eat hardly any cake but spent most of the evening playing. When everyone left Jocelyn and Dave went out in the front and took her new bike and safety gear for a spin. I still can't believe how big she is getting! Happy Birthday Jocelyn, we love you!!