Hello all!
Yesterday we were in KC at Children's Mercy for a cardio check-up for Maizy. The appointment was at 10:30, but they were running behind so it was roughly 11 before we were taken back to the room, where we then had to wait even longer for the echocardiogram. Admittedly I was waiting for some kind of meltdown to take place, especially since we had waited for roughly 1.5 hours from arrival to the time we got in for the echo...I was mistaken. The girls were fantastic...me well I was getting hungry/thirsty/and I had to potty!
Piper brought along her Doc McStuffin's doctor bag (that's probably not the technical term...don't judge me). She gave Maizy and I full check-ups. I got a clean bill of health from Dr. Piper, but I think she suspects some psychological damage but she wants to see me back in a week to truly determine that.
Before Maizy even had her echo Piper had informed us everything was just fine, Maizy's heart was good! And she was correct! The nothing has changed with Maizy's heart everything is functioning as it should! It was a huge relief, no matter how many times we have to do these check-ups it will always be nerve-racking. The Dr. told us that if in 6 months everything is good then we will be able to go to annual check-ups! Good job Maizy!
After the check-up we had lunch at one of Piper's old hangouts from when we were living in KC, Lulu's Noodle Shop! She of course had to check out the Koi pond, then we sat down for some lunch. Maizy was in a great mood and kept looking around, smiling and waving at everyone, she had a lot to be happy about! For those of you who are not aware, Lulu's has a nice gluten-free menu also!
So all in all everything is going great! The girls are keeping us busy/entertained of course. LIFE IS GOOD!
I will be getting pictures posted soon!
Piper and Dad
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Friday, July 12, 2013
Birthday party, swimming lessons, visitors
Hello all! I trust everyone is well out there. Things have been crazy/fun/exhausting...you know the usual.
We did have the girls birthday party recently, Piper's birthday isn't until July 15th, but we had a joint birthday party for them...and holy crap did they clean up...and now Traci and I are trying to find places to put all of the toys...I even suggested hiding some of them.
The party was a huge success, we had lots of family and friends come and visit, and a good time was had by all...especially Maizy and Piper. My brother and sister were able to come into to town to see the girls and stay for a bit. I am sure Piper wore out Uncle Derek and Aunt Heather! Many thanks to everyone that came to our party, it was a great time, and it reminded us just how lucky we are to have such amazing family and friends. It also reminded us just how lucky we are that Maizy gets to have a birthday. With the heart condition she had at birth she statistically should have been a miscarriage, in fact she had a 1% chance of making it, so needless to say dad had to try really hard not to lose it when everyone sang her happy birthday. Good job little girl, you've overcome a lot and we are so proud of you.
On a lighter note now...Piper has started swimming lessons, and she loves it! Piper loves the pool and water period, we are in our pool usually everyday and Piper thinks she's a mermaid...she says I'm King Triton...so I am cool with that...I have the huge muscles, I just need a big white beard and a golden trident and I will be good to go....alright...back to swimming lessons. Swimming lessons are about 30 minutes long and resembles what I can only imagine what herding cats looks like...if those cats were little kids and were in a pool. Piper is of course the smallest kid in the class so when they go into the training pool, which is deeper than the baby pool but not as deep as the regular pool, she has to hold on to the side of the pool or to her teacher. But she is having a great time learning to swim!
The garden is doing great as well, Piper loves the garden, I have to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't pick and eat everything. Very rarely do peas and tomatoes make it to the house. Shortly before the 4th of July our first tomato was ready to pick, she picked it and told me "this tomato is beautiful...I will eat it!" and with that she devoured then entire tomato. She didn't even offer me a bite, just a big toothy smile with tomato juice all over her face...that's pretty adorable kid...but next time I want a bite. I guess having a kid that loves veggies as much as Piper is a good problem to have! I think soon I will start a new type of blog post on the site. It will be recipes that Chef Piper and Chef Daddy make, see Piper loves to help cook and it's really a fantastic thing to do with your kids! You can instill in them healthy eating habits and they can spend some time learning about healthy food and how to prepare them. It also allows them time to have fun and pretend, Piper has her own little apron she puts on and she helps me make dinner in the evenings. It's a lot of fun and it allows us to help mommy a little when I am home...at least I think helps...hell we probably just make a huge mess, but the foods good. So keep a look out for some recipes!
Take care everyone! LIFE IS GOOD!
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Happy Birthday Maizy!
Today marks Maizy aka Maize Dawg's 1st birthday! One year ago today Team Ferrell was blessed with a strong little girl with a broken little heart. What year it has been for our family. As many if all of you know, we found out about Maizy's heart problem just shortly before she was born, and we also found out that we would need to deliver in KC at Children's Mercy. So last summer was spent living at The Ronald McDonald house while Maizy wowed everyone with her strength and courage. Shortly after she was born she had her open heart surgery and the rest is history. Since the surgery she's had an angioplasty to open up the area where they stitched in the donor tissue due to a little scar tissue build up. But other than that Maizy has continued to get stronger and healthier everyday!
The teeny tiny little girl with a feeding tube in her nose, now spends her days eating, jabbering and rolling all over the house. She also spends a lot of time trying to grab hold of Piper's hair, Maizy loves Piper very much, she also loves pulling Piper's hair. She sure does light up when she grabs a hand full of curls and yanks. Every once in awhile we get a little squeal from her as she yanks with all her might! Piper is a good sport, but she also gets her revenge in the form of wanting to play with whatever object Maizy has in her hand at any given time. It could be a live grenade and by God Piper is playing with that damn thing!
To all of you who have prayed, called, written, commented on the blog or facebook, or simply sent good vibes, mojo, karma, etc, I thank from the bottom of my heart, our whole family does. So many people have helped us in so many ways over this last year, especially when we were in KC. So to all of you to numerous to mention I say we love you all!
Also I want to thank Piper and Traci those two have been my rock. When times were tough in KC and I was worried about Maizy I always had Piper doing something crazy, or wanting to walk to the coffee shop, and never batting an eye at the unfamiliar place and circumstances she was apart of (I wish I could be so accepting and laid back) and I always had Traci to lean on. While I may not tell Traci this I couldn't have done it without her...well...literally I couldn't have done it without her...she gave birth to Maizy...I can't do that.
But in all seriousness the three girls I have been blessed with have made me the man I am today, I am ten-fold the person I was 10 years ago. Traci's patience, Piper's lunacy, and Maizy's constant infectious smile make my day better every single day of my life. I love them with all my heart, I am truly a lucky man. And to Maizy who overcame a 1% odd of making it out of the first trimester, I thank you for being a fighter, I thank your mom for being a fighter and an amazing mother, and I thank God for allowing me to be apart of all of your lives. And Maizy just like I told you right after you were born, and also whispered in your ear this morning, it still rings true today and everyday after "You fight like hell."
Happy Birthday Amazing Maizy we all love you!
The teeny tiny little girl with a feeding tube in her nose, now spends her days eating, jabbering and rolling all over the house. She also spends a lot of time trying to grab hold of Piper's hair, Maizy loves Piper very much, she also loves pulling Piper's hair. She sure does light up when she grabs a hand full of curls and yanks. Every once in awhile we get a little squeal from her as she yanks with all her might! Piper is a good sport, but she also gets her revenge in the form of wanting to play with whatever object Maizy has in her hand at any given time. It could be a live grenade and by God Piper is playing with that damn thing!
To all of you who have prayed, called, written, commented on the blog or facebook, or simply sent good vibes, mojo, karma, etc, I thank from the bottom of my heart, our whole family does. So many people have helped us in so many ways over this last year, especially when we were in KC. So to all of you to numerous to mention I say we love you all!
Also I want to thank Piper and Traci those two have been my rock. When times were tough in KC and I was worried about Maizy I always had Piper doing something crazy, or wanting to walk to the coffee shop, and never batting an eye at the unfamiliar place and circumstances she was apart of (I wish I could be so accepting and laid back) and I always had Traci to lean on. While I may not tell Traci this I couldn't have done it without her...well...literally I couldn't have done it without her...she gave birth to Maizy...I can't do that.
But in all seriousness the three girls I have been blessed with have made me the man I am today, I am ten-fold the person I was 10 years ago. Traci's patience, Piper's lunacy, and Maizy's constant infectious smile make my day better every single day of my life. I love them with all my heart, I am truly a lucky man. And to Maizy who overcame a 1% odd of making it out of the first trimester, I thank you for being a fighter, I thank your mom for being a fighter and an amazing mother, and I thank God for allowing me to be apart of all of your lives. And Maizy just like I told you right after you were born, and also whispered in your ear this morning, it still rings true today and everyday after "You fight like hell."
Happy Birthday Amazing Maizy we all love you!
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Being a dad
Once again its been a long time since I last posted a blog, all is well here with Team Ferrell, Piper and Maizy are both growing and gaining just like they should be (thanks to Piper getting rid of gluten in her diet!)
Todays post will be a bit different, as I will be updating again soon with updates about the girls and of course Maizy's upcoming 1st birthday! Yesterday June 15, marked the one year anniversary of our move to KC to await the arrival and subsequent heart surgery of our miracle Maizy.
But this post will be a bit different, this post in honor of Father's day will be a little different, it will be a little about and just a little about being a dad.
Too many times I turn on the computer now and hop on Facebook to see all sorts of ridiculous things people choose to share, and recently the ones that hit home are the ones about being a dad, or really a lack thereof. I don't know if it's an absence of fathers in many of our lives, but it seems that what should just be something a dad is supposed to do, or even just a parent should do, is now supposed to be some amazing accomplishment. You don't get a damn trophy because you make a half-assed attempt at caring for your children, and also children are children they are not interferences in your social life. Grow up, and by the way no one feels sorry for you because you had to have your kids this weekend thus you cannot kick it at the clubs. All you are doing is embarrassing yourself, man up and be a father.
But I digress...well for now at least. Really what this post is supposed to be is on how I am dad, what it means to me. Many of you know, and if you don't you sure do now, but my father in general was absent my entire life, he was an alcoholic that left when I was roughly 5 years old and with the exception of some Christmas holidays and birthdays, I nor my siblings ever saw him. I am now 33 years old, I have not seen my father since I was 16. Does he call...well he used to when he was drunk enough, but that's even stopped now. My father not only was absent but he never paid, albeit the rare occasion, any child support either, so my mother was forced to do it all on her own. Thus Father's day really didn't mean much to me for a very long time. Of course we would spend it with my grandfather on my moms side but other than that, Fathers Day was a non-issue, just another day.
As sad as that may sound to some it really was the best, had my father been present in my life I am almost certain I would not be where I am, nor the person I am today. Yet the absence of a father figure was tough, many missed opportunities but most important no example for me on how to be a father, or really for that matter a man. Most of the small amount I learned I got from my maternal grandfather. I thank him to this day for all he did for our family as we struggled through many trying times.
So how do you become a good father if yours was non-existent, how do you know how to be a man when the man who should be your main influence has made it very clear that you are not important. The answer is simply instinct, you just do it. You take care of your children because they are your children. Is it difficult to figure it out all on your own...you bet it is, and I have been lucky to have some good examples namely my grandfather and also my father-in-law. In essence my parenting is doing exactly the opposite of what my father did.
Everything changed when my children where born, life becomes about taking care of them, keeping them happy and making sure they are raised correctly. I have never felt love like the love I have for my children and the love they return to me. I feel bad on the rare occasion I think about my father because he missed out on so much not being around to raise his children. But that was his choice and his loss.
Being a father is single-handedly the most amazing/difficult/exhilarating/frustrating job, but it's worth every second when you come home from work and your little one comes running at you full speed to give you a hug, and tell you that they love you, and that they are so glad you are home. All I know is that I am single handedly the luckiest guy in the world, I am truly blessed. I have an amazing wife with two of the greatest kids in the world that teach me everyday what love truly is. If you asked the Justin at 23 if this is where he would be at 33...he certainly wouldn't think so, but the Justin now knows this is exactly where he should be, and I am so very thankful for all I have been through that got me to where I am today.
So fathers out there no matter the situation do the best by your children, and if the situation with mom is not good, don't let them see that. My parents made no secret of their disdain for one another, and it damages children when you do that. Dad's man up it's high time many of us started acting like dads. It's not easy, but you just do it.
Thank you Traci, Piper and Maizy for making me the dad/man I am today.
I love you more than you could ever know!
Todays post will be a bit different, as I will be updating again soon with updates about the girls and of course Maizy's upcoming 1st birthday! Yesterday June 15, marked the one year anniversary of our move to KC to await the arrival and subsequent heart surgery of our miracle Maizy.
But this post will be a bit different, this post in honor of Father's day will be a little different, it will be a little about and just a little about being a dad.
Too many times I turn on the computer now and hop on Facebook to see all sorts of ridiculous things people choose to share, and recently the ones that hit home are the ones about being a dad, or really a lack thereof. I don't know if it's an absence of fathers in many of our lives, but it seems that what should just be something a dad is supposed to do, or even just a parent should do, is now supposed to be some amazing accomplishment. You don't get a damn trophy because you make a half-assed attempt at caring for your children, and also children are children they are not interferences in your social life. Grow up, and by the way no one feels sorry for you because you had to have your kids this weekend thus you cannot kick it at the clubs. All you are doing is embarrassing yourself, man up and be a father.
But I digress...well for now at least. Really what this post is supposed to be is on how I am dad, what it means to me. Many of you know, and if you don't you sure do now, but my father in general was absent my entire life, he was an alcoholic that left when I was roughly 5 years old and with the exception of some Christmas holidays and birthdays, I nor my siblings ever saw him. I am now 33 years old, I have not seen my father since I was 16. Does he call...well he used to when he was drunk enough, but that's even stopped now. My father not only was absent but he never paid, albeit the rare occasion, any child support either, so my mother was forced to do it all on her own. Thus Father's day really didn't mean much to me for a very long time. Of course we would spend it with my grandfather on my moms side but other than that, Fathers Day was a non-issue, just another day.
As sad as that may sound to some it really was the best, had my father been present in my life I am almost certain I would not be where I am, nor the person I am today. Yet the absence of a father figure was tough, many missed opportunities but most important no example for me on how to be a father, or really for that matter a man. Most of the small amount I learned I got from my maternal grandfather. I thank him to this day for all he did for our family as we struggled through many trying times.
So how do you become a good father if yours was non-existent, how do you know how to be a man when the man who should be your main influence has made it very clear that you are not important. The answer is simply instinct, you just do it. You take care of your children because they are your children. Is it difficult to figure it out all on your own...you bet it is, and I have been lucky to have some good examples namely my grandfather and also my father-in-law. In essence my parenting is doing exactly the opposite of what my father did.
Everything changed when my children where born, life becomes about taking care of them, keeping them happy and making sure they are raised correctly. I have never felt love like the love I have for my children and the love they return to me. I feel bad on the rare occasion I think about my father because he missed out on so much not being around to raise his children. But that was his choice and his loss.
Being a father is single-handedly the most amazing/difficult/exhilarating/frustrating job, but it's worth every second when you come home from work and your little one comes running at you full speed to give you a hug, and tell you that they love you, and that they are so glad you are home. All I know is that I am single handedly the luckiest guy in the world, I am truly blessed. I have an amazing wife with two of the greatest kids in the world that teach me everyday what love truly is. If you asked the Justin at 23 if this is where he would be at 33...he certainly wouldn't think so, but the Justin now knows this is exactly where he should be, and I am so very thankful for all I have been through that got me to where I am today.
So fathers out there no matter the situation do the best by your children, and if the situation with mom is not good, don't let them see that. My parents made no secret of their disdain for one another, and it damages children when you do that. Dad's man up it's high time many of us started acting like dads. It's not easy, but you just do it.
Thank you Traci, Piper and Maizy for making me the dad/man I am today.
I love you more than you could ever know!
Friday, April 26, 2013
Much overdue pictures!
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| Fell asleep with one of her best friends Allison! |
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| Hanging out! |
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| Passed out |
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| Go Kya...come on...get up! |
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| Giddy up! |
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| Singing with her slinky |
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| Grandma RaRa, Addy, and Piper watching them unload cattle |
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| Big Mother Trucker |
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| Helping count steers! |
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| move it cow! |
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| I think I counted 800 cows |
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| What are you doing Daddy? |
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| Still trying to get Kya to let her ride |
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| Walking the dogs! |
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| Frogs F*ckin Rule!! |
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| Helping Mom and Dad in the garden |
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| What...what do you want? |
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| Just smiling! |
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| Love hurts |
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| Piper and Deeter BFF's |
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| Easter! |
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| I love this cat! |
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| This is how she holds Deeter...and the cat lets her do it! Piper is preparing to respond to the PETA outcry |
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| Where are the princesses??? Let's do this! (at Disney Rockin EverAfter) |
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| Because this is my blog and I can post what I want! |
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| Rocking her cardio check up! Beautiful ladies! |
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| Hipster kid riding with Scout in Daddy's old school truck |
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| Continuing to terrorize Kya |
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| I found a kitty! (not our house, our nasty cats stay outside) |
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| You have a problem with me pig? Bring it... |
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| So sleepy |
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| Yeah my kid reads Kafka...suck it! |
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| Hey Scout what's up? |
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| This is a great book guys! |
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| Out like a light |
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Yeah...it's been awhile I know!
Well that New Years resolution to update the blog regularly worked out about as well as a fat girl making it to the gym after January 12th.
So needless to say there is a lot to update on!
I will start with what I remember and needless to say will be reminded by Traci later on that I forgot to mention 35 other things...it's just the way it goes.
Overall everyone is doing great, Piper's Celiac appears to be under control, and in the short months we have gone gluten free, she has grown almost 2 inches, gained weight, has more energy, her little beer belly (which was bloat from the gluten) is nearly gone, and her hair is even thicker. I know that I have been a naysayer about this gluten free stuff for a long time, and I stand by the fact that mostly it's just a tortuous health choice...I mean come on muffins and donuts are awesome! But there are some where gluten does in fact affect their health (damn is it effect, or affect?) and we happen to be one of those families where gluten is a legitimate no-no. I will continue to poke fun at gluten intolerant people simply because they seem to be the ones who want to piss and moan about their intolerance to everything. And also I just like poking fun at people...it lets me know I am still alive! I am kidding of course. In all actuality it seems to appear that we as a society eat way too much grain, especially refined grains, and a boatload too much of sugar. I stand by the fact that a diet high in veggies and lean meat is going to be your best bet, oh and get some exercise too.
Traci has done an amazing job of getting us gluten free, she makes sure none of our stuff has any hidden gluten in it, which I am realizing that alot of generic food items either are processed in facilties that process gluten and use gluten as some type of filler...so out of the house that stuff went! By the way I have been raving about Traci's garbanzo bean cookies she made the other day and I will continue to do so...does it sound strange...yes it does....does it taste like what I would imagine a unicorn sprinkling magic awesome dust into my mouth tastes like...absolutely. Ok...that was wierd. Moving on.
Maizy recently had a cardio check up and there were no changes, which is awesome...no news is good news! So needless to say she rocked her appointment, all smiles as usual. I must say I have never seen a baby as happy as Maizy, yes Piper was a happy kid, but you can just tell Maizy loves life...she's been through a lot so I guess she is just loving that she is here and treating everyday as a blessing...just like we all are!
Her appointment was in KC as Children's Mercy, and before we went Traci discovered that "Disney on Ice, Rockin' Ever After" was at the Sprint Center. Well of course we had to take Piper because she loves all the Disney Princesses...she also loves all their secondary characters as well...Mother Gothel, Bears, Flynn Ryder, Grand Duke...the list goes on. So after Maizy's appointment, Traci and I were able to eat at Korma Sutra in KC which is an awesome Indian restaurant that we frequented while we were living KC this last summer. We then headed back to Topeka to pick up Piper, who had spent the day wearing out Aunt Tanzey and Uncle Allen, we arrived at their house happy to see that it wasn't on fire, and everyone was in good health...minus the gash on Piper's head...which resulted in some kind of rendevous with the edge of the staircase. With Piper if everyone is still alive...it's a success. I see lots of pictures on Facebook about "living with boys" that picture should actually say "Living with boys..and Piper." I often tell Traci I don't need a boy...I have a Piper!
So we dropped off Maizy with Tanzey and Allen and we took Piper to Disney on Ice, she had no idea what was going on, and kept trying to guess what we were doing. Of course her ideas were amazing..."Are we going shopping with Ariel from the Little Mermaid?....Dad are we going to buy beer and lollipops?" We arrived at the Sprint Center and Piper realized that whatever she was doing it had to do with Disney Princesses and she was in awe. The cool thing was we had front row seats...the not cool part was we had front row seats. Those characters get really close...Piper liked the princesses, she did not appreciate Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, and Sebastian the crab from The Little Mermaid getting so close...at one point Sebastion stopped and waved at Piper...she tried to bail out like she stole something! "Daddy, he's too close!!" Piper yelled and she tried to crawl over me, and honestly I agree...he was creepy, stay away from my kid you underwater creepy uncle!
Another great thing about the Sprint Center was they had Gluten Free snacks, priced at a premium of course, and they had booze. So Piper had gluten free cookies, and mommy and daddy had margaritas.
Piper loved it though, she couldn't stop talking about it, as we left and walked back to the parking garage Piper looked at me and said "Sweet Baby Jesus that was fun!" Well first I need to explain that I said "Sweet Baby Jesus" once, and since then Piper loves saying it because she knows it gets daddy a glare from mommy. So I told Piper that we don't say that word anymore, she looked at me and said "Okay daddy I will only say it when Mommy isn't around..is that ok?" More glares from mommy...
Easter was a great time as well, the girls had their Easter egg hunt at Great Grandma Dodo's, and of course all the kids were spoiled! I need to get some pictures posted soon, I promise I will do it within the next 8 months.
Maizy has really taken off as well, she is waving at us, saying Mama and Dada..notably Mama...pretty much all the time. She loves mommy alot..so much that when mommy is 5 feet away from here...she completely loses her mind. She is holding herself up on things, and is really taking to eating real food, she is loving greek yogurt right now! She is growing up so fast it seems like so long ago she was that tiny little baby in the hospital waiting for heart surgery. She is a trooper and after all she has been through she is an inspiration. There have been days I have been at my wits end..ok most days I end up at my wits end...my wits end is pretty short, and all she does is smile at me and start furiously kicking her legs and arms, and I stop and remember that life really isn't that bad...in fact Life Is Good!
As I close this post, all of you are aware of the happenings in Boston at the Marathon on Monday. As a runner myself, (our whole family are runners actually) it hit me hard, because I know that very easily could have been my family there. It could happen anywhere, this world many times seems to be a horrible, angry place. And I pray with all I have that somehow my children...all of our children, can live in a world that is less hateful, angry, bigoted and violent. But I do know this, evildoers will not outshine the rest of us. If these cowards thought they would destroy the resolve of runners...they picked the wrong damn people.
Piper told me she was going to win the Boston Marathon some day...damn right she will.
Pray for Boston.
So needless to say there is a lot to update on!
I will start with what I remember and needless to say will be reminded by Traci later on that I forgot to mention 35 other things...it's just the way it goes.
Overall everyone is doing great, Piper's Celiac appears to be under control, and in the short months we have gone gluten free, she has grown almost 2 inches, gained weight, has more energy, her little beer belly (which was bloat from the gluten) is nearly gone, and her hair is even thicker. I know that I have been a naysayer about this gluten free stuff for a long time, and I stand by the fact that mostly it's just a tortuous health choice...I mean come on muffins and donuts are awesome! But there are some where gluten does in fact affect their health (damn is it effect, or affect?) and we happen to be one of those families where gluten is a legitimate no-no. I will continue to poke fun at gluten intolerant people simply because they seem to be the ones who want to piss and moan about their intolerance to everything. And also I just like poking fun at people...it lets me know I am still alive! I am kidding of course. In all actuality it seems to appear that we as a society eat way too much grain, especially refined grains, and a boatload too much of sugar. I stand by the fact that a diet high in veggies and lean meat is going to be your best bet, oh and get some exercise too.
Traci has done an amazing job of getting us gluten free, she makes sure none of our stuff has any hidden gluten in it, which I am realizing that alot of generic food items either are processed in facilties that process gluten and use gluten as some type of filler...so out of the house that stuff went! By the way I have been raving about Traci's garbanzo bean cookies she made the other day and I will continue to do so...does it sound strange...yes it does....does it taste like what I would imagine a unicorn sprinkling magic awesome dust into my mouth tastes like...absolutely. Ok...that was wierd. Moving on.
Maizy recently had a cardio check up and there were no changes, which is awesome...no news is good news! So needless to say she rocked her appointment, all smiles as usual. I must say I have never seen a baby as happy as Maizy, yes Piper was a happy kid, but you can just tell Maizy loves life...she's been through a lot so I guess she is just loving that she is here and treating everyday as a blessing...just like we all are!
Her appointment was in KC as Children's Mercy, and before we went Traci discovered that "Disney on Ice, Rockin' Ever After" was at the Sprint Center. Well of course we had to take Piper because she loves all the Disney Princesses...she also loves all their secondary characters as well...Mother Gothel, Bears, Flynn Ryder, Grand Duke...the list goes on. So after Maizy's appointment, Traci and I were able to eat at Korma Sutra in KC which is an awesome Indian restaurant that we frequented while we were living KC this last summer. We then headed back to Topeka to pick up Piper, who had spent the day wearing out Aunt Tanzey and Uncle Allen, we arrived at their house happy to see that it wasn't on fire, and everyone was in good health...minus the gash on Piper's head...which resulted in some kind of rendevous with the edge of the staircase. With Piper if everyone is still alive...it's a success. I see lots of pictures on Facebook about "living with boys" that picture should actually say "Living with boys..and Piper." I often tell Traci I don't need a boy...I have a Piper!
So we dropped off Maizy with Tanzey and Allen and we took Piper to Disney on Ice, she had no idea what was going on, and kept trying to guess what we were doing. Of course her ideas were amazing..."Are we going shopping with Ariel from the Little Mermaid?....Dad are we going to buy beer and lollipops?" We arrived at the Sprint Center and Piper realized that whatever she was doing it had to do with Disney Princesses and she was in awe. The cool thing was we had front row seats...the not cool part was we had front row seats. Those characters get really close...Piper liked the princesses, she did not appreciate Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, and Sebastian the crab from The Little Mermaid getting so close...at one point Sebastion stopped and waved at Piper...she tried to bail out like she stole something! "Daddy, he's too close!!" Piper yelled and she tried to crawl over me, and honestly I agree...he was creepy, stay away from my kid you underwater creepy uncle!
Another great thing about the Sprint Center was they had Gluten Free snacks, priced at a premium of course, and they had booze. So Piper had gluten free cookies, and mommy and daddy had margaritas.
Piper loved it though, she couldn't stop talking about it, as we left and walked back to the parking garage Piper looked at me and said "Sweet Baby Jesus that was fun!" Well first I need to explain that I said "Sweet Baby Jesus" once, and since then Piper loves saying it because she knows it gets daddy a glare from mommy. So I told Piper that we don't say that word anymore, she looked at me and said "Okay daddy I will only say it when Mommy isn't around..is that ok?" More glares from mommy...
Easter was a great time as well, the girls had their Easter egg hunt at Great Grandma Dodo's, and of course all the kids were spoiled! I need to get some pictures posted soon, I promise I will do it within the next 8 months.
Maizy has really taken off as well, she is waving at us, saying Mama and Dada..notably Mama...pretty much all the time. She loves mommy alot..so much that when mommy is 5 feet away from here...she completely loses her mind. She is holding herself up on things, and is really taking to eating real food, she is loving greek yogurt right now! She is growing up so fast it seems like so long ago she was that tiny little baby in the hospital waiting for heart surgery. She is a trooper and after all she has been through she is an inspiration. There have been days I have been at my wits end..ok most days I end up at my wits end...my wits end is pretty short, and all she does is smile at me and start furiously kicking her legs and arms, and I stop and remember that life really isn't that bad...in fact Life Is Good!
As I close this post, all of you are aware of the happenings in Boston at the Marathon on Monday. As a runner myself, (our whole family are runners actually) it hit me hard, because I know that very easily could have been my family there. It could happen anywhere, this world many times seems to be a horrible, angry place. And I pray with all I have that somehow my children...all of our children, can live in a world that is less hateful, angry, bigoted and violent. But I do know this, evildoers will not outshine the rest of us. If these cowards thought they would destroy the resolve of runners...they picked the wrong damn people.
Piper told me she was going to win the Boston Marathon some day...damn right she will.
Pray for Boston.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Wheat Gluten, Solid Food, and a 5K
Well I figured it was time to update again, pretty interesting stuff going on for Team Ferrell!
Maizy has started eating solid food, she is doing pretty well with it, alot of time babies who have been intubated have a texture aversion, but Maizy is doing great with it. She is also sitting up and doing awesome at that as well, she isn't a giant fan of sitting, as she would rather try to stand! She is also dominating her jump-a-roo. She goes nuts in that thing, jumping and flailing her arms in the air. I can't help but sing the House of Pain hit "Jump Around" when I see her doing it.
Piper had some big news recently, we had noticed that she really was a very small kid, full of energy and very smart...but very small as well! Her doctor charted out her growth since she was born and noticed that since she stopped breastfeeding she had fallen off the growth chart. After consulting with Piper's doctor, who may I add is awsome by the way, we started to think that perhaps Piper was not getting enough animal protein which is the most "complete" protein you can eat. Piper eats alot of fruit, vegetables and beans so we thought that could be it. While we thought we had pinpointed it, we still decided to do some blood tests to make sure that there was no thyroid, kidney problem, or anything of that nature.
Well we got the results back and everything is fine with her kidneys, thryoid, etc. However the tests did overwhelmingly find something, something that explained the stunted growth, lack of weight gain, and her giant albeit cute belly....Piper has Celiac Disease. Celiac is an allergy to wheat gluten that causes in children all the issues she had been having with growth, her belly and "her digestion."
I must admit though I had some pre-concieved notions of Celiac....or the whole wheat gluten fad is probably the better way of putting it. I thought it was a load of bullshit. Everyone today has some "intolerance" to something, wheat gluten, peanuts, lactose, exercise, guns, common courtesy, clowns...the list goes on. Most of it is a load of steaming horse turds. If your tum-tum hurts after you eat something, it doesn't mean you are intolerant to it...everyone needs a cause/disabilty/allergy/etc now days.
Well guess what Celiac is real and good old Piper has it, I still wasn't 100% convinced until I saw the test results that were incredibly high in indicating Celiac...and even more convincing are the changes already being noticed in short period of time Piper has been gluten free. She has gained two pounds and grown an inch in a month. Traci actually saw a study that indicated that some children after going gluten free will grow 5 inches in a year!
So yes Piper has Celiac and Maizy has a heart condition...so if you believe in past life stuff, and Karma...I apparently punched Moses in the mouth, or sold my family for whiskey, or something in a past life. Of course I am kidding, it could be much worse and Piper is as smart, energetic and wonderful as always, Maizy is rocking and rolling, and we can handle this just like we have everything else. There is no need to feel sorry for ourselves, post sad bastard messages of Facebook, or anything like that because when it comes down to it...nothing is a disability unless you make it one. You just buck up and do what needs to be done! Plus now she can be that hip kid that doesn't eat gluten. It's a health fad right now to you know!!
One last thing before I wrap this up, at the end of February we are doing the Red Dress Run in Minneapolis KS. February is Congenital Heart Defect Month, and we think you should be running the race too!! Here is a link, we will be the people wearing the shirts that say "Team Maizy!" Here is the link if you are interested.
http://www.ottawacountyhealthcenter.com/Red-Dress-Run.html
I hope all of you are well, and remember LIFE IS GOOD!!!
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