Friday, October 28, 2011

Update on Bryce

Yesterday was the day. We had an appointment with Dr. Fusek who is a pyschcologist in Corvallis that specialises in behavioral therapy. When they called me a few weeks back to set up the appointment, I was told that we would be there for about 4 hours. At first the doctor would meet with Ryan and I and discuss some concerns, then she would meet with Bryce and talk with him for up to 3 hours!!!! So paperwork was sent in the mail, one form for us to fill out and one form for his teacher. These forms were questions about how Bryce deals with certain situations, anxiety issues, ADHD questions, and much more. When we first went to the pediatrician we were also given forms, again one for us and one for his teacher. When we sat down with Dr. Zollinger we noticed that alot of our answers were different from Bryce's teacher. I was concerned and still am, mostly because his teacher said that Bryce sometimes feels sad and unhappy at school. That was so hard for me to read, it makes me want to pull him straight out of school and never let him feel that way again. So when we first arrived at the clinic, we went into Dr. Fusek's office while Bryce played in the play room. We talked with her for about 30 minutes, she asked mostly the same questions that were on the form. I explained my concerns. I said my major concern is how emotional he is. He will cry about anything and everything. Another big concern, is that Bryce does not get happy or excited about what most 6 year olds so be excited about. Like going to the pumpkin patch, he didn't want to go, but while we were there he had a great time, when we left he said it wasn't fun and he just wanted to go home. His famous words "I want to go home!" Also when he has playdates he will play by himself instead of playing with the other kids. Like I told Dr. Zollinger and Dr. Fusek, Bryce is our first child, so I have no one else to compare to. How do you know that another 6 year old that is walking down the street is "normal" and your son is not? As I was explaining these things to her, she did point out that it wasn't normal for kids at his age to not get excited about things, that from what she gathered there is something going on. She said that it is not a clean cut case, there is not one diagnosis that sticks out from what she is hearing and reading. It sounds more like a potential of a few different things. So after about 3 1/2 hours at her office, Bryce came out and she said that everything went well and we will come back in a few weeks for a follow up appointment. At that time she will go over everything that she put together and what her recommendation. I am praying daily that whatever the outcome is, Bryce will get better. You have no idea how much it pains me to see Bryce this way. I just want my baby to be ok. As a mom you want your kids to have the best life possible. I want him to enjoy life, not be afraid of it.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Pumpkin Patch

We were so excited to take Greyson to his first pumpkin patch this year! We decided to go to Fir Point Farms, which is located up in Aurora. They had pony rides, a petting zoo, hay rides, slides, corn cannons, and much more. Greyson was in love with all the animals, he is obsessed with any animal of any kind. At one point we were looking at a mama pig who had 5 piglets with her, Greyson was walking back and forth along the cage, when all of the sudden he turns around to this complete stranger and lifts his arms up, as if the guy needed to hold him (so much for stranger anxiety!) We all laughed and the guy (who I am assuming does not have children) picked him up and held him out in front of him as if he had the worst smelling diaper in the world. It was hilarious! We went through a small sunflower maze, and Bryce found our way out, he was so proud of himself. Then it was on to the 5 acre corn maze. The first 20 minutes of this was fun and exciting as we all went through the muddy path, then after about 30 minutes it was getting a little much. Greyson was tired and kept falling down in the mud, then I would stay behind with him so he could pick up dirt and look at the corn, and of course I would be lost and not able to find Ryan and Bryce so I would call out to them, and Bryce would start to get worried, thinking I was lost! Right towards the end Bryce finally yells out, "this is enough, someone give me a MAP!" Finally I used my compass and just kept heading West, and we were out of there!!! It was a great family day, after buying some pumpkin and apple cider donuts, pumpkin bread, a half gallon of apple cider and 3 pumpkins we were on the home stretch. Here are some photos from our adventure.


 This was Bryce's victory after getting us out of the sunflower maze!
 Ryan and Bryce shooting the corn cannon
For more photos of our adventure, please see us on Facebook!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Our Youngest

Where to start with this little monkey. Little Greyson is such a tiny little person, it seems like he never grows, although his growth charts do continue to go up. We think he is going to be really smart like his older brother, he seems to just catch on so quickly. He was a bigger mover from the start. Within the first few weeks of having him home he was already doing 360 degree turns in his crib, or scooting himself from one side to the next. So of course he started crawling by 6 months and was up on his own walking at 9 months!!! He was never my baby, he quickly refused to let us hold him or cuddle with him, it's so not fair!!!!!!!! On the other hand I am happy about this because I want that for my children, I want this to learn to do things on their own, to explore and have fun. He is constantly talking (as long as the binkie is out of his mouth), saying new words on a daily basis. He loves story time, mickey mouse, seasame street, he says lalalala for elmos world, blues clues, chuck and friends, cheese, bananas, yogurt, he will always try something once, but won't eat it again if you try, he is too smart for that. He will be 2 in May 2012 and I just can't believe it, I miss my baby.

About our Oldest

Bryce is now in 1st grade. He is an amazing reader, already in 3rd/4th grade level since last year. We are going through a little bit of a struggle with him as far as paying attention to detail, listening, staying on focus. I had some concerns over the past few years about a possible ADHD diagnosis. As many of you know I have worked in the medical field in Pediatrics and I have seen a ton of kids with this disease. Bryce is not so out of control that he is in some major need of help, but he is having some problems at home and at school. It is hard when you are dealing with this issue, because I do not want to just shove medication down my son's throat. I do believe that parents and doctors are giving this diagnosis out too frequently and too often, but I also believe that Bryce does have a chemical inbalance somewhere in that head of his. His doctor and I have also discussed the possibility of Aspergers, which if he did have it, it would only be a small section of this disease. The reason for this is because of Bryce's speaking and the way his mind has a very detailed memory. He is also extremely smart for his age (not bragging!) So I have decided to try doing the Organic way to see if this helps with his focus, outbursts, and anxiety. Wish us luck!!!!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Family Photos



Today we had our first family photos since  Bryce was about 9 months old. Really people I need to be more on top of this!!!! It's hard when you have a camera and you just take pictures as life goes on, and never really worry about getting your entire family in a picture. But I decided it was time, although Ryan wasn't too happy about the idea, since he hates having his picture taken, we did it anyway! Of course I was so worried that our oldest would be the one that we would have to deal with not smiling, or pouting, or what he does best (fold his arms together and put out his bottom lip!) Well I was wrong, Greyson was HORRIBLE!!!! He was a crab cake from the time we pulled in to the time we made it home and he went to bed!!! Thankfully the lady who did our pictures has 6 kids and she understood. And people wonder why I wait so long to get this stuff done!!!!!