The Goof and more

I am awful. I haven't posted in 6 months. And most of that  there is absolutely no excuse for. But the last 2 months have been crazy, and we are finally feeling like our lives have some normalcy again.

Let's see, Grayson (aka The Goof) turned 3 on May 20th. On May 22nd, I had planned to be cleaning and packing to go to my friend Sarah's wedding that weekend in Salt Lake. His pediatrician called and asked if we could come in that day for his 3 year check up rather than waiting a week for when it was scheduled. I agreed, thinking it would be nice to get out of the way.

So the stats, before I get going- he weighed 25 lbs even and was 33.5 inches tall...he has since gained 1 pound, but more on that later.

During the exam, we talked about the bloody noses Grayson had been having, which we had seen the doctor for already. We also talked about how he was brusing easily. Not just easily, but in weird places (inside his ear). And the bruises wouldn't fade.

We were sent for blood work. By the end of the night, Grayson was in the hospital. His platelet count was next to nothing, and he wouldn't be allowed to travel. Because he is so active, we tried IVIG treatments to raise his platelet count. At this point, cancer was ruled out based one red and white blood cell counts.

Grayson was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease called ITP. While when you google it, you will probably find it is often brought on by a virus, etc and children bounce back, that is not the case for Grayson. He is now officially diagnosed with Chronic ITP. So far, we have not found a treatment to control it (no, we are not trying to cure it, just control it). We have done steroids (which make him a holy terror and eat a tone, hence the 1 lb gained over this last 2 months), IVIG, and a Rh type treatment. A few have seen an initial response, but then his numbers fall back down. On top of that, he has weird things come up all the time on labs, and then disappear. It has been crazy. We have done bone marrow tests, stayed in the hospital, have weekly(or twice weekly) blood draws, and more. It has been crazy. But we finally feel we are back into a new normal. This is our life. It doesn't stop us from living, but it does change how we live. We don't do a lot of super active stuff, we don't plan anything "for sure" until the day we do it, and we know that every day could mean a doctor visit, or even hospital stay.

I have learned to appreciate facebook. It has helped us keep family in the loop. I have a large family, too many to call and text them all with updates, so facebook has helped with that.

I have also learned to appreciate that Grayson's health is basically pretty good. We go to the MSTI center, and seeing all the kids battling cancer and going through chemo is heart breaking.

Anyways, that is my little update. Sorry the blog has fallen behind. Thank you to all who have given love and support.

Sledding

Grayson had his first sledding experience. We headed up to Idaho City on the last Saturday of the year and went sledding at my sister's house.

The first time Mike took Grayson down the mountain, he went fast and spun around. It freaked Grayson out and it took a lot of coaxing, reassurance, and going very slow to get him to try again. In the end, he really enjoyed it.

After we headed down from the mountain, we stopped and saw the horses.

Then we played in the front yard and got some more pictures. (That is his Aunt Carma with him there)

Then we headed inside for hot cocoa. But Grayson was more interested in playing cousin Ryder's drums then drinking hot cocoa.

It was a great day.

So, wondering about Christmas? Well, I was an awful mom and only got a few pics with my cell phone. We had a nice simple Christmas. The 15th my family had a Christmas party, then Christmas Eve we spent with my parents and two of my sisters. The morning, we went to breakfast with Cuckoo (Mike's mom) and then we just relaxed.

I am going to try and post bi-monthly, but school is starting soon, so we will see how it goes!

Halloween Part 2

The weekend before Halloween was a busy one for us.

That Saturday Morning, before the sun rose, we headed to the Color Run! It was a blast! We did it with my sisters Amanda and Carma. Grayson loved it and walked/ran/skipped/hopped about 1/2-2/3 of the 5k.

For those who don't know, the color run is a 5k. You wear white shirts. Every 1k you get what is essentially  colored corn starch dumped on you in a different color. So in the end- you end up looking like:

They gave out free Chick-fil-a sandwhich coupons after the race, so we went and got lunch. Headed home and gave Grayson about 3 baths to get him clean and down for a nap, then we showered ourselves.
That night it was our ward's Trunk or Treat party.
I was super excited about Grayson's costume this year, and about a week before our ward party, we decided to have Mike go along with his costume.

Grayson was the Old Man (Carl) from UP! And Mike went as Russel. Notice we even have a Dug (wearing the cone of shame) and a Kevin (bird).
Grayson loved the ward party. He enjoyed saying Trick or Treat. He loved the cupcake walk, and won his first time in it.

Sunday night we had our family home evening and we carved pumpkins. Grayson was more than happy to use a spoon to scoop out the pumpkin but refused to tough it with his hands.

Halloween was pretty low key. We went to a few houses in the neighborhood and then down to my parents home. I don't let Grayson have much candy, so we didn't feel the need to go around a ton. It was cute while trick or treating though, he would go up to other kids and say Trick or Treat and hold out his pumpkin. HAHA! Love that kid.

Halloween Part 1

This was the first Halloween that Grayson really "got it" and it was so much fun!

Before we went to Disneyland I took Grayson to a local firestation that had a pumpkin patch. Any donation got you pumpkins. They also had a bounce house and a tiny little maze made out of hay bails for the kids. It was cute. Grayson had a lot of fun.

(I accidentally left my watermark on when I was saving these photos.)

I read an article recently called "The Mom Stays In The Picture" which touched me to try and be in more pictures with Grayson.

It was a great experience for a great cause (to fund the fallen firefighters fund). It was the perfect size for little kids and I hope they do it again next year.

More Catching Up- Disneyland

Yep- another trip to Disneyland. Mike's mom really wanted to go, so I worked my Disney vacation magic to get us some awesome deals. I featured a post about our trip on Love Our Disney, my newish Disney blog that has really taken off....

Anyways, that is why some of the pictures may have watermarks on them that say loveourdisney.com

In line for Buzz Lightyear. Grayson was tired so wearing him in the Ergo was a life saver.

Cuckoo, Mike, Grayson and Mickey mouse. Wearing the shirts I made for the trip.

Teacups- I had never done them before since I get motion sickness. I got a tiny bit sick but not much.

 It was really cool seeing Grayson in the park this time. He was so excited and full of life. He has been asking daily to go to Disneyland and telling everyone he meets all about the rides he went on, etc.

We met up with some friends. I made her daughters shirts as well. (She gave permission for me to share the photo)

We spent a few hours at the beach.

 Grayson is a fish and loved the ocean and the feel of the waves splashing on him. He kept asking to go out farther and farther. Mike had to pick him up a few times because the waves were so big.

We had a great time. We really enjoy California. While we love Idaho, we do dream of one day living in Southern California.

Catch Up - Grayson's first "real" Yellowstone trip

I feel like a broken record (or as kids now days would understand- an ipod on repeat). I am so sorry I haven't updated. I am mostly apologizing to myself, but if anybody else has missed us- I am saying this to you as well.

So, let's start catching up.

In September I decided we needed a weekend away, so we headed over to my sister Joyce's house and took Grayson through Yellowstone park for the first time other than a quick drive through at 2 months old.

He loved it! We loved it! He saw a few animals, but the fires, among other things, had made it so less animals were out. But he did get to see a buffalo.

So excited to be in Yellowstone.

Photographer in training?

After a fun filled day- we came home to find not 1, not 2 but 3 Moose in Joyce's "backyard".

It was a fun weekend. I feel so grateful for this beautiful world Heavenly Father has created for us.