This is a video from Lincoln's first birthday (October 1). We decided to follow a Korean tradition usually performed on a child's first birthday. We placed different objects in front of him on a table, each of which corresponded to a different "future". For example, a ball signifies an athlete, a ruler signifies an engineer, or a dollar bill signifies a rich man. It was a lot of fun. See the big decision for yourself below.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Minnesota Here We Come
Last week, Vance formally accepted a job offer to work for a company in Eden Prairie, Minnesota as their Product Development Engineer! We are really looking forward to this new adventure in our lives. We visited the area and we think we will love it. We are also happy to move their because it is supposed to be a great place to live. In 2010, CNN's Money Magazine named it the #1 place to live in the United States. More importantly, we will have awesome family close by. We have a sister and brother-in-law and their two darling girls who will be so close. We will be not too far from my parents in Wisconsin as well. We don't have an exact moving date yet, but hopefully soon.
Anyway, we are really sad to leave all of our friends who have become family here in Indiana. We have fallen in love with this place and it will be hard to say goodbye. I really am starting to feel an ache inside knowing we are leaving. We have so many great friendships and memories here and we love this area. We have the best of friends and are so grateful for them!
Anyway, we are really sad to leave all of our friends who have become family here in Indiana. We have fallen in love with this place and it will be hard to say goodbye. I really am starting to feel an ache inside knowing we are leaving. We have so many great friendships and memories here and we love this area. We have the best of friends and are so grateful for them!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Graduation!
Vance has received his master's degree in Mechanical Engineering (MSME) from Purdue University! He graduated this past weekend. I can safely say that this has been the most difficult semester for the both of us. It has been incredible to see how much Vance has accomplished. He defended his thesis a few weeks ago and has been finishing up the last projects, journal papers, tests, etc. since then. This semester he almost always would head to campus until 11 pm to 1 am after dinner every single weeknight and sometimes on weekends as well. I am VERY glad that we are done with school, at least for now.
Now we can say we both have our master's degree. I am so proud of Vance. He finished his master's degree in one year and four months! He is AWESOME.
After graduation we took some pictures to remember the big day.
The commencement ceremony was inside the Elliot Hall of Music.
Next to the fountains that weren't running at this time of the year:)
All of us in front of the Bell Tower.
Vance in front of the ME building.
Lincoln thought it was so fun to have his dad's cap on.
Inside the ME building, where incredible refreshments were served. There was a vegetable platter that honestly looked just like a floral bouquet. I have never seen a vegetable tray look so beautiful.
Vance and Lincoln...I love my boys!
Make sure you read the post I just created below too...
Now we can say we both have our master's degree. I am so proud of Vance. He finished his master's degree in one year and four months! He is AWESOME.
After graduation we took some pictures to remember the big day.
The commencement ceremony was inside the Elliot Hall of Music.
Next to the fountains that weren't running at this time of the year:)
All of us in front of the Bell Tower.
Vance in front of the ME building.
Lincoln thought it was so fun to have his dad's cap on.
Inside the ME building, where incredible refreshments were served. There was a vegetable platter that honestly looked just like a floral bouquet. I have never seen a vegetable tray look so beautiful.
Vance and Lincoln...I love my boys!
Make sure you read the post I just created below too...
Random Pictures from this Fall
This fall I have cleaned up a lot of messes. As Lincoln is more mobile, he is getting into much more than I ever thought possible. One of my friends actually has taken pictures of some of the messes to remember. I think these were mostly from September or October.
This was his first time (and last for a little while) trying to feed himself yogurt! He had a grand time.
Who knew refridgerators and dishwashers could be the best toys?
I didn't know he was tall enough to reach onto the counter to pull the after Halloween candy corn down. Glad he's enjoying them:)
We have a jar where we keep some extra cash on hand. It must have been somewhere he got to it. He took the lid off and boy, does he love that money!
I am pretty sure this tape was from my undergraduate days at BYU, a recording of me evaluating a student. Oh well, not sure I would ever listen to it again anyway....
Well he has been SO FUN though. Lincoln is making so many more sounds and we love him a ton. He's so sweet to us.
Here are some more pictures from the last 2 or 3 months...
Vance just got me these beautiful lillies...just because...that was the best part. He's the best.
Lincoln just enjoying some cereal....
My friend Heidi taught me how to make these "flower" headbands out of clothing, or old shirts. So I have made a ton with all different types of old shirts that I don't wear anymore. Black, grey, light pink, dark pink, white, yellow and a variety of combinations. They look awesome. I have been crafty and it feels great.
At first I just wanted to see if this certain headband would fit a child about his age (and it did) and wanted to see how it looked. Honestly, it then was just kind of funny so I left it on him for a while. The headbands don't even bother Lincoln. It was kind of cute!! I tried to imagine that if he was a girl, or just had longer blonde hair, what it would look like. It kind of makes me want to have a girl next!
We made gingerbread houses this weekend for fun after we delivered some Christmas goodies to neighbors. I wish I had bought more candy to add more to the house, but, oh well. It was a great night though.
SPEECH-LANG PATHOLOGIST/PRESCHOOL TEACHER:
That's my new role at one of the school's I worked at last year. At the beginning of this fall, I was working 4 or 5 hours a month at a middle school in the area. Whenever someone asked if I was working, it was hard to say yes or no, because I was working so little! In November, I took over a language-based preschool class for a fellow speech-language pathologist. I work Mondays and Tuesdays right now and will most likely pick up even more hours in January. I am the preschool teacher/SLP for the whole class and it has been great! The first week was a little hard, but it has been so much better. I have ten 4 and 5 year old kids in my class. There are also two aids helping me in the classroom. We have been making some awesome Christmas crafts lately and I feel like I am getting the hang of being a preschool teacher better and really helping them learn language concepts. I still work on day a month at the middle school as well, so its nice to have the variety of ages too. Because Lincoln has been with a babysitter those days (with mothers who have kids his ages) he has become great friends with them, and his stranger-anxiety has decreased, so that's a plus.
This was his first time (and last for a little while) trying to feed himself yogurt! He had a grand time.
Who knew refridgerators and dishwashers could be the best toys?
I didn't know he was tall enough to reach onto the counter to pull the after Halloween candy corn down. Glad he's enjoying them:)
We have a jar where we keep some extra cash on hand. It must have been somewhere he got to it. He took the lid off and boy, does he love that money!
I am pretty sure this tape was from my undergraduate days at BYU, a recording of me evaluating a student. Oh well, not sure I would ever listen to it again anyway....
Well he has been SO FUN though. Lincoln is making so many more sounds and we love him a ton. He's so sweet to us.
Here are some more pictures from the last 2 or 3 months...
Vance just got me these beautiful lillies...just because...that was the best part. He's the best.
Lincoln just enjoying some cereal....
My friend Heidi taught me how to make these "flower" headbands out of clothing, or old shirts. So I have made a ton with all different types of old shirts that I don't wear anymore. Black, grey, light pink, dark pink, white, yellow and a variety of combinations. They look awesome. I have been crafty and it feels great.
At first I just wanted to see if this certain headband would fit a child about his age (and it did) and wanted to see how it looked. Honestly, it then was just kind of funny so I left it on him for a while. The headbands don't even bother Lincoln. It was kind of cute!! I tried to imagine that if he was a girl, or just had longer blonde hair, what it would look like. It kind of makes me want to have a girl next!
We made gingerbread houses this weekend for fun after we delivered some Christmas goodies to neighbors. I wish I had bought more candy to add more to the house, but, oh well. It was a great night though.
SPEECH-LANG PATHOLOGIST/PRESCHOOL TEACHER:
That's my new role at one of the school's I worked at last year. At the beginning of this fall, I was working 4 or 5 hours a month at a middle school in the area. Whenever someone asked if I was working, it was hard to say yes or no, because I was working so little! In November, I took over a language-based preschool class for a fellow speech-language pathologist. I work Mondays and Tuesdays right now and will most likely pick up even more hours in January. I am the preschool teacher/SLP for the whole class and it has been great! The first week was a little hard, but it has been so much better. I have ten 4 and 5 year old kids in my class. There are also two aids helping me in the classroom. We have been making some awesome Christmas crafts lately and I feel like I am getting the hang of being a preschool teacher better and really helping them learn language concepts. I still work on day a month at the middle school as well, so its nice to have the variety of ages too. Because Lincoln has been with a babysitter those days (with mothers who have kids his ages) he has become great friends with them, and his stranger-anxiety has decreased, so that's a plus.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Infantile Deep Nasal-Tip Hemangioma
We're done! Today was our last appointment in Indianapolis at the Riley Children's Outpatient Center. We have been weening Lincoln off propranolol slowly for 2 1/2 months now. No more medicine, syringes, watching the clock, or trips to Indianapolis just for doctor's appointments.
For those of you that may not know....it started a little over a year ago at the end of November of 2010, when Lincoln was almost 2 months old. I had noticed Lincoln's nose become bluish-grey. I remember thinking it might be a bruise, but after a few days the term "hemangioma" popped in my head. I swear it was the "mother's intuition." I remember calling Vance and telling him what I thought it was. We saw our pediatrician about this a couple days later but she initially said to wait another 2 months to see what might happen until his 4 month appointment. But after I did some google images searches (which really scared me!) I knew we needed help right away. I called the peds office again and they said I could bring him in that day. It had gotten worse since the week earlier, so she made a referral to a pediatric dermatologist in Indianapolis. I am really glad I was a little pushy to get him in earlier and not wait longer. Often children have to wait up to 6 months to get in, but with the rapid-growth nature of this condition, we had to wait 5 weeks. In those five weeks Lincoln's nose got a lot darker and just about tripled in size, or at least it seemed.
Lincoln started on propranolol for his deep nasal tip hemangioma on January 25th of this year. We have been giving him doses (that keep up with his weight) three times daily since then, once every eight hours. Doing the math, that means that we have given this medicine at least 945 times!! Vance and I have been thrilled with Lincoln's progress and seeing the hemangioma virtually disappear. We are so thankful for the doctors and nurses that have worked with him! We also are huge fans of this type of approach/medicine for children with a deep hemangioma in its rapid growth stage. It has seriously worked a miracle for us.
Vance was a little worried a year ago, but I was even more worried, with a few tears over this and not knowing how large this hemangioma could grow, and what that could mean for Lincoln emotionally and socially. For me, I remember last December and January, having several nights laying in bed not being able to fall asleep because I was so worried about this. But honestly, all those fears are gone for the both of us and we have been so pleased with the results.
Dr. Anita Haggstrom has been a great pediatric dermatologist. Today we saw her for the last time. We didn't get a picture with her, but we did get a picture with the nurse, Melissa Bebe. She has been the sweetest to work with. I really am going to miss them. Its funny how they can mean so much to you, mostly because of what they have done for your child.
This is Lincoln with his nurse, Melissa. She gave him a couple little gifts (a kaleidescope and a coloring book) that he was loving at the moment.
This is the front of the Riley Outpatient Center. We won't have to go there every month anymore, thankfully.
We can throw away the 100 or so syringes we have and his medicine too!
Lincoln's hemangioma might be visible if you look really closely. Most of our noses are made of a firm cartilage on the tip, but Lincoln's is very very soft. The best way to describe it is like the feeling of bread dough that has risen. The hemangioma turned into fatty tissue that may or may not go away, and is on top of his cartilage. So Dr. Haggstrom advised us to watch his nose as it grows with the rest of his body. If it ever looks abnormal, we can see a plastic surgeon for a possible rhinoplasty, maybe before he enters kindergarten. At this point, we think it looks so normal that hopefully that's not an issue.
I can definitely say this was a GREAT day!
For those of you that may not know....it started a little over a year ago at the end of November of 2010, when Lincoln was almost 2 months old. I had noticed Lincoln's nose become bluish-grey. I remember thinking it might be a bruise, but after a few days the term "hemangioma" popped in my head. I swear it was the "mother's intuition." I remember calling Vance and telling him what I thought it was. We saw our pediatrician about this a couple days later but she initially said to wait another 2 months to see what might happen until his 4 month appointment. But after I did some google images searches (which really scared me!) I knew we needed help right away. I called the peds office again and they said I could bring him in that day. It had gotten worse since the week earlier, so she made a referral to a pediatric dermatologist in Indianapolis. I am really glad I was a little pushy to get him in earlier and not wait longer. Often children have to wait up to 6 months to get in, but with the rapid-growth nature of this condition, we had to wait 5 weeks. In those five weeks Lincoln's nose got a lot darker and just about tripled in size, or at least it seemed.
Lincoln started on propranolol for his deep nasal tip hemangioma on January 25th of this year. We have been giving him doses (that keep up with his weight) three times daily since then, once every eight hours. Doing the math, that means that we have given this medicine at least 945 times!! Vance and I have been thrilled with Lincoln's progress and seeing the hemangioma virtually disappear. We are so thankful for the doctors and nurses that have worked with him! We also are huge fans of this type of approach/medicine for children with a deep hemangioma in its rapid growth stage. It has seriously worked a miracle for us.
Vance was a little worried a year ago, but I was even more worried, with a few tears over this and not knowing how large this hemangioma could grow, and what that could mean for Lincoln emotionally and socially. For me, I remember last December and January, having several nights laying in bed not being able to fall asleep because I was so worried about this. But honestly, all those fears are gone for the both of us and we have been so pleased with the results.
Dr. Anita Haggstrom has been a great pediatric dermatologist. Today we saw her for the last time. We didn't get a picture with her, but we did get a picture with the nurse, Melissa Bebe. She has been the sweetest to work with. I really am going to miss them. Its funny how they can mean so much to you, mostly because of what they have done for your child.
This is Lincoln with his nurse, Melissa. She gave him a couple little gifts (a kaleidescope and a coloring book) that he was loving at the moment.
This is the front of the Riley Outpatient Center. We won't have to go there every month anymore, thankfully.
We can throw away the 100 or so syringes we have and his medicine too!
Lincoln's hemangioma might be visible if you look really closely. Most of our noses are made of a firm cartilage on the tip, but Lincoln's is very very soft. The best way to describe it is like the feeling of bread dough that has risen. The hemangioma turned into fatty tissue that may or may not go away, and is on top of his cartilage. So Dr. Haggstrom advised us to watch his nose as it grows with the rest of his body. If it ever looks abnormal, we can see a plastic surgeon for a possible rhinoplasty, maybe before he enters kindergarten. At this point, we think it looks so normal that hopefully that's not an issue.
I can definitely say this was a GREAT day!
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