Jacob and "Four"

After having his blood drawn on Monday, a very nice nurse gave Jacob this stuffed animal dog. He loved it and it has become his new BFF. The other night I asked Jacob what his name was and this was the conversation:

Mommy: "Jacob, what's your new doggie's name?"

Jacob: "Umm... I think his name is "Four"."

Mommy: "Four, huh? How come Four?"

Jacob: "Because I'm four!"

Good enough for me!

His ouchies!

He has been such a tropper through all of this. We are SO proud of our little guy!

Jacob

Where do I start? The last 2 weeks have been such a roller coaster for us. It all started on Sunday July 19th. It was a typical morning. We were getting showered and dressed in our room while Jacob watched cartoons. All of a sudden, we heard Jacob fall to the floor without any apparent reason. There wasn't anything around him, he just fell. We chalked it up to normal kid clumsiness and continued on with the morning. I took the kids swimming at my parents house that afternoon and Jacob "fell" two more times there. Again, there was nothing around him to trip him up, he just collapsed to the ground. It was hard to figure out what was going on because I never actual saw the fall, just heard the crash and crying that followed it. That night when Jon got home I told him what had happened and we both agreed we needed to keep an eye on him to see if this kept happening. The following day was our trip to Gilroy Gardens. He fell twice at the park - once was on the water play ground and another time waiting for the train. It was hard to know what was going on because again, the play ground was slippery and he was kind of playing around on the railing at the train station... so was he falling because he was goofing around or was something else going on? We all started watching him like a hawk from that moment on. We went to Denny's on our way home and he collapsed while we were walking to the table. I was holding his hand and his legs just gave out. He wasn't loosing conciseness or blacking out, he was just loosing his balance and falling to the ground. The next morning he fell at home at least 3 more times and by 1:15 Jacob and I were at the Pediatrician's office. He did a neurological exam which was normal and said that it might be related to the flu we all had over July 4th. He wanted us to go home and observe Jacob for the next few days and call with any changes or if things got worse. I told the doctor I felt really uncomfortable leaving with no explanation as to why my 4-year-old was dropping to the ground 4-5 times a day. He reassured me that observation was the only thing right now, so we headed home. The next day was Wednesday July 22nd. Jacob had a full-blown seizure at 7:45 am. As usual, the 3 of us were in our bed watching cartoons and waking up for the day. Jacob was in between the two of us and I didn't even know anything was going on. Jon yelled Jacob's name and I immediately jumped up, saw what was happening and dialed 911. The 911 operator walked us through what to do and within minutes the ambulance was here. Jacob's seizure lasted about 45 seconds, but felt like a lifetime to Jon and I. Jacob and I rode to the hospital via the ambulance while Jon stayed home with the triplets until my mom and dad got here. In the ER, he was examined by the doctor and had an IV put in. The ER doctor had consulted with the children's neurologist and they suspected that all the falls that he had over the last 3 days were small seizures. It took everything in me to not break down and loose it. We were moved from the ER to the Pediatrics floor after about 4 hours. Jon and I both stayed with Jacob overnight, while mom and dad where taking care of the triplets. We saw the neurologist that night and his initial diagnosis was genetic Epilepsy. That night I took a break to get a bottle of water and it was the first time that day I'd been by myself. I remember thinking - is this really happening? Are we really here right now? Jacob was perfectly fine 4 days ago and now he has Epilepsy. It was all to much. There was too much information to wrap my brain around. Jacob had an EEG Thursday morning and an MRI in the afternoon. The EEG showed definite seizure activity in his brain and the MRI showed 2 spots on his brain. This was not the news we were hoping for. The doctor didn't know why, how or when these spots showed up. They could or could not be related to the seizures. There was no explanation. All he knew was that it was not a tumor or anything like that. The neurologist requested an opthamologist look at Jacob's eyes and that he have a spinal tap. Again, way too overwhelming. We spent another night at the hospital and Friday morning he had a few more falling incidents in the kid's play area. At 10am they dilated Jacob's eyes for the eye exam and at about 10:45 Jacob had another full seizure. Jon's parents, his nurse and Jon and I were all there with him. This one was similar to the first one, lasting about 50 seconds. They gave him some sedative-type medication to relax him for the eye exam. The opthamologist said Jacob's eyes were perfect and did not show any abnormalities - great news. At 11:00 he had his spinal tap, which he was under anesthesia for. The doctor was hoping to not see any protein in his fluid, which he did not. Again, great news. The neurologist said at this point, everything we could rule out was good news. He was hoping to not find anything. We stayed over one more night and were discharged on Saturday July 25th. Jacob started seizure medication called Depakote, which appears to be working. He has been seizure free since July 24th - praise God! Jon was able to stay home almost that entire week we were home. Of course, we were on edge and watching Jacob closely. But, day by day, he's been doing great. I think it took me a full 7 days after his first seizure to make it the whole day without shedding a tear. I can't even begin to go into the emotional side of this whole thing. It would take too many words to explain. At this point, we are just extremely thankful that the medication appears to be working and that it's almost been 2 weeks with no seizure activity. He had a blood draw this week which will monitor the medication in his blood stream and we have another follow-up appointment with his neurologist at the end of the month. My son has a neurologist. I never thought I'd have to say that. I know there are so many other worse things that could have happened and still could, so we are trying to stay positive and value every second we have as a family.

I want to thank everyone for their prayers and thoughts for Jacob and our entire family over the past 2 weeks. Your love and support kept us going when we were at the lowest of lows. We are overwhelmed with the wonderful family and friends we have and their willingness to help, pray, bring food, do laundry, etc. We are truly blessed!

Jon and Lisa

Gilroy Gardens

Yesterday we went to Gilroy Gardens (formerly Bonfante Gardens) with Grandma Lynnie and Papa Tom. It was so much fun! This theme park is perfect for our aged kids. They could ride almost every ride, some even by themselves. It took Jacob a few rides to warm up, but once we rode the train, he was ready for more. I think Jacob would have rode the train all day, he loved it! Ryan loved all the rides and did great all day! He was so cute raising his arms up on one of the kiddie roller coasters! It was a super hot day, but we kept lots of drinks and ice cream going! A huge thank you to Grandma and Papa for going with us and having lots of fun!!

Let's roll!

"Look, it's just like the merry-go-round on Mary Poppins!" (according to Jacob)

Where is that darn train?


Papa and Megan



Lunch time!
(Please don't judge me for putting their food directly on the table - it was SO hot and they were cranky and ready for lunch!)



Daddy and Megan cooling off in the water park!

Daddy and Jacob

Go Dylan!

Grandma and Jakey on the "roller coaster"

Look mom, no hands! (Daddy and Ryan)

Start your engines!

I want the pink car!

This car was too hot for Dylan - it was burning his arms - ouch!

Future Firemen!

Tahoe beach day!

Instead of a summer vacation this year, we've decided to just do a few fun family days together instead of a week long trip somewhere. So this past Tuesday, we met up with my sister and her family for a beach day in Lake Tahoe! We met up at D.L. Bliss campground (our family favorite Tahoe spot) and hit the beach! We normally would be camping at Bliss, but we figured the little kids were still a bit too young for camping, but definitely next year. After a quiet ride up the mountain, we made it to the lake. At first, Megan and Ryan were not digging the sand on their feet, but after a little while, they got more comfortable with it. Dylan and Jacob loved it from the get go! The weather was absolutely perfect! It was in the low 80's and not a cloud in the sky. A fabulous Tahoe summer day. We packed our lunch, snacks and plenty of drinks. Oh, and of course a hundred sand toys! The kids did awesome all day... minimal cyring and whining, which always makes for a better day! The kids loved playing in the sand with their cousins Olivia, Matty, Nathan and Derek. Overall, it was one of the best days we've had in a really long time! Lots of fun, sun and relaxation! We stayed until about 4:00 and then headed home. Ryan was asleep in the car before we even got out of the campground and the other 3 were not far behind! When we got home that night, Jacob said "mommy, can we go camping? I want to go back to the lake." It was so cute! All the kids had fun, but Jacob really had a great day. He loved playing in the sand and water with his cousins. It's such an awesome thing to watch your kids having the time of their life, just being a kid. It's great that our kids are getting older and we're able to do more things like this as a family. It really makes us excited for the years to come... lots of camping trips, hiking, biking and just having fun! Here are a few photos from the day ...

Thanks to the Nelson clan for sharing the beach day with us! As always, it was a fun and great day! We love you guys and can't wait until next summer! Look out Bliss ... here we come!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Megan, Ryan and Dylan!

Wow! It's been 2 years since my tiny little babies were born! How is that possible!? As 9:40, 9:41 and 9:42am passed this morning, Jon and I were remembering that day as if it was yesterday. The nervousness that we felt, but the excitement to see our babies. I remember lying on the table in the OR as my doctor starting singing "Happy Birthday" to each one as they came out. I remember the instant relief I felt once Dylan (the last one born) came out. I could finally breathe again! I remember thanking God that each one of them was healthy and didn't require any breathing help or medication! My memories of that day could go on and on! What a wonderful and life-changing day!

Here is their first group photo - about 30 minutes old:

1 day old

Megan

Ryan

Dylan

Now, here is a photo of them just the other day:

Lots of memories in the last 3 years (including my pregnancy!). Some good, some bad, some scary, some hilarious! I am so thankful that God has trusted Jon and I with these children. It is such a great blessing to us! Even when they all decide to strip off their shorts and diapers and pee all over their beds during naptime - which is what they did today! Gotta love toddlers!!

Happy 4th Birthday Jacob!

Jacob celebrated his 4th birthday last week. It is so hard to believe that our little guy is already 4! We had a really fun day. Jacob woke up to a Mickey Mouse happy birthday banner in the kitchen. Then Jacob and daddy went to get donuts for everyone - our family birthday tradition. Jacob savored every bite of this donut. It took him almost an hour to eat one sprinkled donut! The triplets loved the donut holes! Who wouldn't, right?!

Next we headed to the park down the street from our house and meet up with some new friends. One of the little boys was nice enough to bring Jacob a "Happy Birthday" balloon, but stubborn Jacob wouldn't let us tie it to his wrist and the balloon was soon on it's way to balloon heaven. It took quite awhile to recover from this tragic event! :o)

It was heating up pretty good at the park, so we decided to head home for lunch. I got all our swim stuff together and we all headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a few hours of swimming. We put the little kids down for a nap and Jacob got to swim with just Jon and I for a few hours. Jacob is such a good swimmer! He loves to jump off the side of the pool, go under water, come up by himself and then swim to the side. To say he loves swimming is an understatement!

After the babies (I know they are almost 2, but I can't help calling them babies!) woke up from their nap, we went home for snack and let the kids watch a movie. I made tacos for dinner and then we took all the kids to Cold Stone for dessert. We signed up for Cold Stone's birthday club, so you get a free ice cream on your birthday! The kids, of course, loved getting ice cream and then we headed home for a few presents.

This year, Jacob got a Light Saber, some Buzz swim trunks, Legos and a tool box. He really liked everything! By the end of the night, Jacob was worn out and fell asleep quick! We all had a great day. It was awesome that Jon was on vacation that entire week. It really gave us a great chance to spend some time with the kids and really enjoy some free time! Saturday we hosted a birthday party for all the kids. We did a Dora bounce house and had a hamburger and hotdog bbq. It was a lot of fun! I'll post some of those pictures too.

We hope you had a fun birthday, Jacob! We love you so very much buddy! Love, mom and dad

Ready for summer!

With the weather being so great lately, we've been spending a lot of time outside. The kids love being outside and it's great to have a new yard for them to explore. The only hazard in our new backyard is a waterfall/fountain feature that Jacob calls the "pool". It's a great feature in the yard, but not when you have 4 kids, ages 4 and under! Not only is it a safety concern, it has become home to every ball, bat, frisbee, toy, etc that we own! The kids love to throw everything in there and it drives Jon and I crazy. Last weekend Jon went ahead and filled the pond with large rocks, but we were able to keep a little water in it to run the waterfall.

Last night I took the kids down to see cousin Olivia's t-ball game. It was a ton of fun! The kids did great. Jacob enjoyed playing with his cousin's Matty and Nathan, while the little kids got to run around free - something they never get to do! It was a bit terrifying for me, but once they understood the boundaries, they did good. Here's a photo of Megan before we left the house for the game:

After the game, we (me, my 4 kids, Heather, David and their 4 kids and mom and dad!) all went out to pizza. Again, a rare treat for us... to actually take the kids out to eat. Unfortunately, Jon was working, but Jacob told him all about it this morning. It's fun to take the kids out for new experiences. I'm always worried about how they'll do, but they continue to surprise me all the time! They actually behave pretty good! :o)

This afternoon, I filled up the kiddie pool. Here are a few cute photos from the day:

Jacob filling up the pool

Ryan

Dylan - "Cheese"

Cutie Megan

Everyone in the pool!

Tonight after dinner, the kids and I had a Madagascar 2 movie night. We got our jammies on and ate white cheddar Cheetos (a huge favorite in our house!). This was the first movie night with the little kids and they did pretty good. Dylan is a fabulous movie watcher, but Megan and Ryan only last about 15 minutes before they start goofing around. Overall, it was a fun day!