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Okay, I'm no longer making promises about keeping up my blog. I clearly can't keep them. I blame it on the fact that my husband got me an iPad and an iPhone and once you have Mac, you never go back. But I've been busting out the ol' laptop lately and it's time to update with pictures.

For those of you friends with me on FB, you've seen them but since my mom refuses to get a Facebook account, I'm going to have to post them here :)

Here is our Halloween pictures that we took when we went to Saddleback Church for their Blocktober Festival. We had a blast!

Ben could have spent hours in the fire engine and police car. I told him this had better be the only time I see him in the back of a police car!

We also visited the pumpkin patch with my cousin and my mom when she came to visit.

We are slowly getting used to life in Southern California. The weather has been beautiful and we've already been to the LA zoo, Legoland, and multiple malls.

Blogger has also updated their program so I can upload photos faster and with the holidays coming up, I'll add more. I know people appreciate our updates and the pictures. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

We have arrived!

We have arrived in Orange County! I know its been forever since Ive posted but I'm back! I finally downloaded an app so I can blog from my iPad.

The move was fairly easy but tough emotionally. It was hard to leave our friends behind. They threw us an awesome going away party with a bounce house, pizza, and cupcakes. As I told our playgroup, we are so blessed to have supportive friends in our life. When we received Ben's diagnosis one of my biggest fears was how we'd be treated amoung other kids, but our playgroup put my fears to rest. Ben was treated no different, and they went above and beyond in keeping sick kids away. We are so thankful for them.

My Cousin lives only a mile from us and she has a 4 1/2 who Ben adores. They've been excellent playmates and we've been swimming in my aunts pool a couple times.

Here is a picture of both. As you can tell, dressing up is one of their activities.

I promise to update more frequently and to share more photos. Thanks foe hanging in there with us!

Announcement

Well, my first announcement is that I’m still alive and I’ve been seriously neglecting my blog. I apologize to all who follow my blog and I know many family members miss my posts.
My other announcement is that we are moving! If you know us, you shouldn’t be surprised. This is our 6th move since we got married four years ago and my ELEVENTH move since I went away to college in 2000. Needless to say, I can pack boxes in my sleep.
Ryan has been promoted to management at his work so we are packing up and moving to Orange County, 8 hours from where we live now.
I have to be honest, I am having an extremely hard time with this move. I am leaving my friends, our playgroup, our clinic, and our home behind and I often find myself questioning our decision but I am trying to focus on the positive. I believe in my husband and support his dreams and his quest to make a better life for our family. I have no doubt the first couple months are going to be hard but I am hoping we all adjust quickly.
This bodes well for my readers because I’m going to have A LOT more free time and family won’t get to see Ben as much, so blog posts will be more frequent. Please be patient with me the next couple weeks and I swear, it’ll pay off in the end. Lots and lots of photos will be coming up soon <3

The Silver lining

There has been something positive out of the last couple crazy weeks.

Ben has officially declared PSEUDOMONAS FREE!! Yes, his culture did NOT grow pseudomonas only some funky bacteria I cannot pronounce. He does have a cough but we’re going to watch it and give him some time to get over it himself. In a week we’ll reevaluate if he needs oral antibiotics. Hooray!!

This is a HUGE weight off my shoulders and I am writing Cayston a thank you letter. I had high hopes for that drug and it did not disappoint. Thank you for everyone’s prayers, I am off to celebrate!

Clinic & Photos

I had to start this post off with some pictures of my energetic boy!

This guy has been keeping us on our toes lately. He’s full of energy, attitude and a zest for life. I think Ryan said it best the other day- we can’t wait for him to get up in the morning and we can’t wait for him to go to bed at night. He’s such a joy but exhausting!

Our full 12-week clinic visit was yesterday, down in the Bay Area. It went pretty well, Ben’s lungs are clear but he has not gained any weight in over 2 months so that concerns his doctors. He did grow over 2 inches in height so I’m not as worried as they are, however, we have decided to switch his enzymes from Creon 12 to Zenpep 15. His diapers have been a bit loose lately so we’re hoping the enzyme switch will improve his stools and weight gain.

But I wouldn’t be surprised if this kid is burning off all the calories he intakes. He just loves to run and wrestle with his Dad. Our nutritionist talked about adding some more high-calorie foods into his diet and I cringed when the words “McDonalds” came up. She encouraged us to let Ben eat there more often but I have some issues with that. He gets Mickey D’s, as a treat, about once a week if not less and while I understand the need for high-calorie foods, I have an issue with feeding him junk food. In my opinion there is a difference between food that is high-calorie and junk food. I understand in extreme cases, CFer’s need to eat fast food a lot but we just aren’t there. Ben is still in the top 70th percentile (a big drop from his 90th status for over a year) and is in the top 90th percentile for height. I just can’t validate Ben eating fast food anymore then he does. He needs to develop healthy eating habits and those don’t include microwaveable meals or fast food. I just believe there are other “healthier” ways to add calories to his diet.

We will be adding Carnation Instant Breakfast into his milk, eating more peanut butter, and adding a bit more butter to his waffles in the morning. This, combined with his new enzymes, will hopefully help him put back on some weight. If anybody has anymore suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

They cultured Ben before we left and the results will be in next Tuesday to Wednesday. This is the big if culture for him. If the this culture comes back clear, we will officially be declared Pseudomonas free. Fingers, toes, and other appendages crossed, this happens. I’ll let everybody know when the results come in ASAP.

Lucky number… 8?

Haircut number 8 that is! Yes, Ben got his 8th haircut this last weekend! Ryan finally decided to attempt the haircut himself so we could save some moolah on haircuts. Ben did great and it only took 2 popsicles to get through it.

Now, I know some people will be disappointed but a buzz cut is so much easier in the summer. During Gymboree, Ben gets really sweaty and this will hopefully help keep him cool during out hot summer months.

We have lots of fun stuff coming up. Full clinic visit next week where we’ll see our whole team and Ben will get cultured again. Fingers crossed that he cultures no pseudomonas this time so we can officially say, we are pseudo free! The 9th is Ryan’s 30th birthday, the 11th is our 4 year wedding anniversary and the last weekend in August we are flying down to San Diego to celebrate both Ryan’s birthday and our anniversary. This summer sure has been busy for us!

Zooom!

Does anybody else realize that summer is almost 2/3rds over?! I cannot believe how fast this summer has gone. Before we know it, it’ll be fall.

My little man has kept us on our toes lately. He’s developed quite the persistent personality, convinced that anything he wants will be given if he only says “Peas” first. Trips to Target are getting harder and harder especially down the 1$ isle. Target trips may have to go on my list of things to do when I am alone.

Ben has become more and more of a night owl, often not going to sleep til after 10pm. He’ll lay in his bed, often times for hours, singing and playing until he falls asleep. There are times in which I am out before he is! He insists on sleeping in his truck socks even when it’s cooled down to just 85. Ryan claims he gets his stubbornness from me but I won’t hear anything of it. All bad traits are deferred to Ryan, ha!

He jumps off everything even the highest platform at Gymboree. My bets are next summer, we’ll have a broken arm.

Ben taking a flying leap from his toy slide.

This week in playgroup we painted plates and tiles which was really fun. Within the last couple months our playgroup has almost doubled with new babies being born. It’s fun because I get my baby fix then go home to have a glass of wine and sleep through the night.

Do you see the cars next to Ben on the table? We don’t go ANYWHERE without them and I even have an “emergency car stash” in my purse. Ben is a little boy, through and through!