The Night Owl

I have talked quite a bit about Asher, but I wanted to share some about my middle son, Aiden. He is quite the character. His name means "firey spirit" and he lives up to it. One of the things that is sometimes fun and most of the time tiring is that he stays up so late. We have done everything possible to get this child to bed such as missing naps, but he just doesn't seem to need as much sleep at this point in his life. We love him anyway.

My precious one

Some of you may or may not have known about our little ones kidney issues before he was born. At my 20 week sonogram they informed me that Asher' s right kidney was bigger than his left which meant that there was some form of blockage. The couldn't do anything about it then, but they would monitor it. So at 30 weeks I went back in. At that point they said it was still larger, but of not a great concern. Again they would see what would happen at the birth. Well, his birth was quite eventful due to meconium (poo as he comes out) and then the respiratory distress which meant he was in NICU for 3 days. The doctor in the NICU was not ready to do the ultrasound of the kidneys at that time because he was peeing and pooing fine. He did want one about the time he was 6 weeks. Today we had that follow up ultrasound. I should have known that when they sent me to the doctor right after that there was trouble, but I just assumed he was telling me good results. Unfortunately, the right kidney is bigger and now it is more blocked up. They call it hydronephrosis. Basically, it means that there is a kink in the tubing from the kidney to the bladder which is causing urine to back up into the kidney. This is not good. Left alone it would mean kidney failure. So we are being sent to a specialist that deals with this and kids all day long day after day. What it most likely will mean is surgery to correct what is wrong. It has been really hard to imagine someone so little and so precious to have to go through surgery. As a mom it has been very hard to accept. I want the best though for him and I know that God is going to take care of him. From the time of birth we have given our children over to Him knowing that we are just borrowing them for a bit until they become fully His. Please pray that God will give us courage as we deal with this. Please pray for his brothers as they have to deal with preoccupied parents. Please pray that it will some how be miraculously fixed.

Here is he is. 11 lbs and 14 oz. 23.25 in long This biggest of all the Atchison children.

Isn't he cute?

Rock Band

This weekend was very eventful for us. We had an exciting 4th of July, but the next day was a very good friend of ours 30th birthday. They have been our friends for 7 years. Anyway, they had gotten the game rock band. We had a blast. There was a boys band (pictured) and a girls band. I think we played about an hour. I loved the drums, but it was tricky. It made me want to get some kind of game system. I know though as soon as we do it will be a battle with the kids so for now we will go and play with our friends.



Adam as lead singer








Adam as lead, Ted on bass, Chris on Drums and Matt on guitar (our two wanted to do it so badly, they were real patient while their parents played)

Fourth of July

I love the fourth of July. I would almost say I love it more than Christmas. It is mostly due to my memories growing up. My cousins and I would pile in the car and go watch fireworks while the adults managed the fireworks stand. On the fifth we would celebrate our fourth as a family in Wagoner. I loved those times. So now as a parent I want my children to have those fond memories too. We spent our day in the OC with some long time friends. We swam, ate BBQ, ate watermelon, and chilled out. It was a great day. I hope yours was just as fun.

Family fun

If any of you are on my facebook page you know that I have been trying to attempt at least one involved art project every week. We have been doing these with other families, but this week we did it on our own. We did two in one. First was bubble paint. This is a simple project. 2 tablespoons of paint with a pint of bubble solution. Well, I had poster paint, but same difference right. I mixed it with one small container of bubbles. Then we attempted to paint. It didn't work so well. As a teacher I should know to try things first before you do them with kids. Otherwise you spend all your time trying to get it to work or whatever. The second thing we did was make t-shirts. (I think I did this with my cousins one 4th as well) I was really excited because Aiden was very into this project. I bought fabric markers so it would be easier. We all sat down and got to work. Aiden was so proud he wanted to put his shirt on right away. He got it wet while playing in the pool water. He was upset. He said, "now I can't wear it for the 4th" It was so cute. The plan is to wear them today. They will look too cute.

AC drama

So the AC drama continues. This is our third day without the AC while the weather here is in the high 90s. Now in CA it does cool down at night, praise the Lord, but still it is hot. We had someone out today who came and fixed what was wrong. While the repair man was here the boys and I went out back and filled out baby pool up to cool down. Within an hour of his leaving it all went sour again. So what is the deal? I wish I knew. I wish I knew why the power goes out when the AC goes off. I wish I knew why my children choose this week to be crazy and not listen to their parents. I wish I knew why being hot makes every one cranky. I wish I knew why well, you get the picture. I hope to write tomorrow that God has worked a miracle and our house now runs normal again. I am praying.

Growing

I am always amazed at how quickly babies grow. Asher is not even 7 weeks yet I feel that he has been here for such a long time. He has already made his way into our hearts and captured them completely. He rarely fusses and goes with the flow that his brothers set the pace to. He has had many a nap in the car seat due to our get up and go life style. The best part about him is his happy spirit. He smiles and talks to us now. I love it.