Christmas Reflections & Photos

It's been a tradition since Alexis was born that we get a family photo at Christmas time. At least then I know it happens once a year! From the left is Douglas with his cheesy smile full of his favorite bubble gum and his "cooler than ice" t-shirt, Drake who loves football (Dallas Cowboys like his dad) and football cards and is sporting his Iowa Hawkeye jersey, Alayna who can't get enough of her hands because of cutting her 2 year molars, me and Dana, and Alexis, the best big sis ever who is growing up fast, becoming very interested in fashion, and outgrowing "toys." :(

Finally, all of them in a good mood at the same time and their willingness to cooperate for a group photo. Even Alayna had a smile on her face.

Alayna and her new Raggedy Ann doll made by her Great Aunt "Bella". Thank you Bella!

Alayna is playing and "talking" back to her Auntie (Annette).

Alayna smiling at her Auntie who keeps tickling her feet!

Alayna takes a nap before we head to Grandma & Grandpa's house for presents and dinner.

The kids got a special visit from Santa and Alayna wasn't in any mood to sit on his lap. She was too tired by this time and when that happens she just shuts down.

This is the DeKeyrel side of our family - Dana, his parents, sister and brother, and all the kids.

The 8 DeKeyrel cousins! Alayna is in the bean bag, Drake is to her left and Lexi and Douglas are on the couch.

This is a photo of more cousins on Angie's side of the family.

The DeKeyrel and Epperly cousins!

Well, Christmas is over and it was a busy one at that! The few weekends prior were committed to family get-togethers that were bigger than the usual holiday celebrations we do with immediate family. It doesn't happen every year that we get the entire family together on both sides, but this year it happened. It makes our grandma's very happy! And then of course, we celebrated with the DeKeyrel side on Christmas Eve and my side on Christmas day. Both were very nice and we value the time we can spend with our family talking, playing games, eating, and laughing.

I have a few Alayna updates. Teething has been a real issue for us this past week. I truly feel sorry for her because it is obvious that they hurt. Hands in the mouth, crying, waking up early, chewing on her bottle nipples, and messy diapers are a few drawbacks to say the least! We try to comfort her as much as we can along with giving her tylenol and orajel for pain. I can't wait until they are all in because I think she'll be a much happier Alayna.

We continue working on sitting. It just isn't clicking yet. She does good for awhile and then she falls over. It is frustrating because I want her to be able to do this so badly. I get sad that it is taking so long. It is disheartening and I only wish as a mother that I could do more. My new year's wish is to have a year of accomplishments by Alayna. 2008 was good to us by keeping her healthy, now I wish for her to be able to move around in other ways besides rolling. I want her to sit and stand on her feet more than any of you can imagine. I want her to be able to eat other foods and drink from a sippy cup.

This is a link to a short video clip on youtube. It was posted on our 1p36 support group message board and I thought I'd share it with all of you. It is about chromosome disorders and it kind of sheds a little light on to how many different ones there are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14jsoiEvIhg&eurl=&feature=player_embedded

Alayna continues to be as sweet as ever, but I'm going to be honest when I say that I'm tired. I'm so tired sometimes that I wonder how I get to the next day. As a mother, I admit that I like the feeling of being needed by my children, but in moderation. Alayna requires a different level of need that sometimes squeezes every ounce of steam and sanity out of me. It's hard to relate to unless you maybe try to envision taking care of a 4 month old baby for two years straight. And the 4 month old baby doesn't get older, they stay 4 months old for 2 years straight. TOUGH AND EXHAUSTING. It is hard to imagine that Alayna is going to be 2 years old in a month. In a way, time has flown by, but in a way it hasn't. I'm still taking care of a baby and do the baby things like make bottles, bath her in a baby bath tub, feed her, diaper her, and carry her.

I am praying harder than ever before that God will give Alayna the strength to sit and do these other things soon. I know that I have to put my faith in God, but sometimes I wonder if he considers my feelings about all of this. I'm the one living this every single day and I'm asking for help here!!! Do you hear me God?

"Oh, brother! A broken leg!"

Alayna and her sweet smile. As you can see, she is still enjoying her infant swing. Who would've guessed she'd still be using it at almost 23 months of age. She loves to swing and it is very soothing to her.

Love the double chin! Alayna doesn't have a very long neck. I think that is a common characteristic of 1p36. I'll have to check it out. Or maybe it's because I haven't had to tell her to stand up straight yet, lol!

And her hair keeps growing and is still curly. It really reminds me of Lexi's when she was about 3 years old. The only time it doesn't look crazy is right after a bath when her curls are all so nice. I remember with Lexi that on special picture days I'd give her a bath and wash her hair and go immediately to the portrait studio so it wouldn't get messed up. Oh, what we do for good photos!

Douglas is 4 1/2 years old and he loves to be outside. It doesn't matter if it's 95 degrees or 9 degrees! He was so excited to see snow and he jumped at the chance to shovel our sidewalk and driveway. All I had to say was "Awesome, thanks Douglas!"

Smiling proud to show off his good work.

Then the snow got the best of Douglas last Sunday. In this picture his is showing off his splint from Unity Hospital in Muscatine.

Here Douglas is showing off his new blue cast that literally goes up to his butt cheek. Oh, brother!

As if the hustle and bustle of preparing things for the holidays isn't enough, Douglas decided to throw a broken leg into the picture. He was sledding on Sunday in our yard with Alexis and Drake like they had been doing all week long. Alexis explained to us that his foot must have went into a big hole in a snow pile and came to a halting stop. He fell off of the sled and his ankle twisted. I wasn't around to witness all of the excitement because I went shopping. It happened about 5 minutes after I left. According to Alexis he was in a lot of pain. He must have got up and walked inside though.

When I got home later that evening, Dana informed me that he was taking Douglas to the ER to get an x-ray because he thought he might have a broken leg. OMG! Before I left earlier that day, I asked all of the kids and Dana to please not call me or text me because I needed some alone time. You see they do that all of the time and I'm usually not even 15 minutes down the road. But for heaven's sake, this is not at all what I meant not to text me about! So, off to the ER they went.

Douglas has a spiral fracture of his tibia (bigger of the two bones in the lower leg). It's the kind of fracture that kind of winds around the bone like a spiral. On Monday morning, we headed to Moline to get it casted. He was excited to pick a blue cast and it literally goes up to his rear-end. The first day he was very cautious and wouldn't move unless I carried him everywhere. That really stunk! I don't know how many times I made the trip downstairs to change the Wii game disc. However, since then he is adapting to his bum leg quite well and is getting around pretty good. Dana and I are both impressed with his ability to adapt and do things differently to move from one place to another. And that little guy is strong and uses his upper body strength to do a lot of the movement. He will have this cast on until December 29th and hopefully then he will get one that goes below the knee. For safety and mobility reasons, he is missing pre-school for 9 days, but it is the best choice. He is going to his babysitter, Ms. Amy, during the day and enjoying it. I don't think he is missing the very early bus ride to school at all.

Alayna continues to be as sweet as ever. Even though there are times that her whine and cry nearly sends her dad and I over the edge! Her ears are both completely cleared at this time. I hope they stay that way. She has also been sleeping really good. I can't remember the last night I had to get up in the middle of the night. Now, watch me jinx myself and have to do it tonight. I have turned the monitor on a very low setting and if she isn't loud enough, I don't hear her. And neither does Alexis. So as far as I know, if she does wake up, she is falling back to sleep somehow. Eating has been a bit of a change lately. I'm not sure if it is due to timing and her being tired, teeth, sore throat, or just sick of drinking a bottle. At times she eats good and at other times her mood is so bad it isn't worth forcing the issue. She refuses pretty forcefully. On Monday, after being very tired all day long and fighting her sleep, I witnessed her having one of her seizure episodes while she was in the swing. I stopped the swing and comforted her and waited until it passed. I will make note of this and if it happens again, I will call neurology in Iowa City to see what we should do. Again, these episodes have all occurred around sleep, either right before or right after a nap. That is a common time for seizure activity for our 1p36 kids.

I am looking forward to next Friday, December 19th because of getting out of school for our Christmas break. I enjoy spending the time at home with the kids and not having to set the alarm clock. I love the fact that we have no schedule. And I'm the first one to admit that if I can stay in my p.j.'s all day long I do. And I also don't care who comes to the front door! This year has flown by just as fast as the previous one's and I have lots to reflect upon. It's hard to believe that Christmas is only 14 days away!