Friday, October 31, 2008

Sweet Kiddos and Ultrasound News!




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Some New News:)...

We got some great, wonderful news this week!!! The nurse called yesterday and told us that Timothy's ultrasound showed no fluid on his brain and no hemorrhaging. Had they found either of these things, Timothy would have required immediate treatment so we are so very thankful!

The next step is the "big" appt. at Vandy with the neurologist on Nov. 21. At that appt., we have been told that the doc will meet with us and examine Timothy (no idea what that consists of) and then decide whether or not he will want Timothy to have a CT or MRI (hopefully neither:). We will keep everyone posted. Thank you for your continued emails, calls, and prayer...they are all such a blessing and encouragement!

On other news, Emily is totally thrilled about dressing up as Elmo tonight and getting to eat candy! What a treat for her (and me:)!!! Timothy will be snuggled up in the sling so he will be sporting a glow-in-the-dark shirt that says "this is my costume." Cute huh?...his Halmi (D's mom) sent it to him. D's brother, "Untel Sean," is here and Em has been loving every second of that. She is excited that he will be with us tonight. My biggest concern for the evening is how I will trick Em into thinking that her candy isn't really disappearing as I remove and put it in another bag throughout the night! Isn't that just downright terrible of me?...oh well!:)

I added some pics to the photo album of our recent Pumpkin Farming experience. I don't think any of the pics are too fabulous as Emily was being somewhat of a little toot that day! Nevertheless, they are in the album along with some other funny ones! You might notice that there are no pics of us as a family sweetly sitting on haybails enjoying the farm.....life with 2 kids is a bit different....There's always next year!:)

Hope you all eat lots of candy tonight!!!


Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Ultrasound News!

It's a long story that I won't get into, but through a series of events Timothy had his ultrasound yesterday morning. The scan was done here in M'boro and the results will be sent to our doc and then onto Vandy to the neurologist. We will meet with him on Nov. 21.

Over the last 2 days, I was really encouraged b/c I thought the tremors had decreased a bit, but today they were in full effect. Still, I am having to choose not to worry and to trust God's will....it sounds trite, but I really do mean it!

Timothy did well and slept for half of the ultrasound and then totally lost it. Who could blame him for getting upset about some warm weird goo being pushed around on his head! I thought it was weird on my tummy when I was pregnant, but on your head and in your hair...super weird!

Emily was so sweet the whole time. She was cracking people up in the waiting room. She is such a hoot! We had to wait for almost 45 min. so I was thankful for her "happy heart!" Having Derek there was a lifesaver...thanks Babe for working late!:)

We just ask for continued prayers! On that same note, I want to beg anyone reading this that truly believes God can do amazing things to please go to our dear friend's blog and pray for them and their sweet baby girl. Our hearts are so heavy for them and I beg you to lift them up before the throne of God!! The link is under Rebekah. They just posted some specific information. I thank you in advance for your prayers for them!


Thursday, October 23, 2008

One Doc Visit Down...

...and prayerfully just one more to go! We returned home just a little bit ago from our pediatrician and both of our babies are sleeping:) Emily was so well-behaved and passed out in the car on the way home. Timothy was probably traumatized from his shots and he followed his big sister's lead into siesta-ville:)

There isn't much to update on. I sure wish I had more info. but I just don't at this point. Timothy's neurology appt. is scheduled for Nov. 21 at Vanderbilt, which feels like years from now. I asked if we should keep the appt. and his dr. said that we should. He said that the shaking/tremors are more than he would see in a newborn and for sure more than he would see in a 2 month old. That combined with what we have told him brings on the need for the ultrasound. I asked what they would be looking for specifically and he said a couple of things. He did say that the ultrasound is not the best scan but that it doesn't involve radiation and it can show some things that they would be looking for. We did find out who Timothy's neurologist is and also found out that he is the chief of Pediatric Neurology at Vandy. We are encouraged about that! So, either we are just being wonderfully cautious and proactive or something is going on and they will quickly figure out what it is.

Obviously our prayer is that Timothy will just simply outgrow whatever is causing the shaking and that it will just stop...soon! But, again we trust in our Father who sees our every need and desires for us to come before him and cast every fear and worry and care upon Him. I am thankful that what is going on with Timothy is not a burden that me or Derek has to carry. I told a dear friend today that I don't even know how to process what is going on. I left the dr. today and was totally fine and then when I was 3 minutes from home I began sobbing. I began thinking about how God must have felt to see His son in such pain and how he knows how I feel and all of my fears even if I can't put words to them! The same friend gave me this word from Lamentations, "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail." I am choosing to believe this and walk in this truth. God knows me and my heart and knows EXACTLY how I feel and every thought that I have. He knows it and He is compassionate towards me! That does give me hope!

So I ask you to pray. I just typed a whole paragraph of what to pray for and erased it all, because honestly I don't even know what to pray for. This could all be absolutely nothing, so what do I pray? Or there could be a reason for the tremors, in which case I will pray for absolute healing. The problem is that until we have an idea of what is going on, I don't really know what to pray. And maybe that is just it, maybe I just need to talk to God and ask for our minds and hearts to be ready to receive whatever is to come and to walk in peace over the next month.

We will continue to keep everyone updated through the blog. Thank you all so much for praying for Timothy and for checking on us. It means so much to know that SO many people are praying for our son! We love you all!

***And on a funny side note, I started this entry about 2 hours ago...my sleeping little girl....well let's just say that her 2o minute siesta in the car rejuvenated her just enough to not be able to go back to sleep! Lovely! As D just told me on the phone, she should be really fun to be around this evening!:) haha! I made her "rest" in her room anyway, but she has come out with important needs such as her gingerbread sticker from the doc's office is now crooked on her shirt and she has an invisible cut on her finger that is requiring Neosporin and a Band-Aid. And my personal favorite was when she came out and was wearing a monkey hat and wanted to show me that she got it on all by herself. Like I said, all crucial needs. Oh well, at least Timothy slept!:)***

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Timothy Meets His Grandpa!

Emily got to see her Grandpa this weekend (Derek's Dad) and Timothy met him for the first time. Timothy has already met his Halmee, but because of D's Dad's travel schedule, he had been gone a lot of the past 2 months, but we were so excited that he took the time to come see his first grandson. Timothy is the 4th generation of Kramer men alive right now...I think that is pretty awesome. I am hoping that he gets to meet his Great-Grandpa Kramer in Cali very soon! Timothy seemed to enjoy his Grandpa's company, but there is no doubt that Emily had the best time with her "Drampa." It definitely helped that he showed up first thing with a new race car track:) Just Kidding...actually we are always shocked at how much Emily CANNOT be swayed with gifts!

We had a really fantastic time with D's dad and can't wait to all get together again. It makes me even more anxious for all of my family to meet our sweet son and to see Em. My mom is the only person on my side to have met Timothy and I am dying for him to meet all of his uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandpa!

As you can see below, we got some cute pics of our time together! Dad K...we love you so very much and had such a wonderful visit with you! We cannot wait to see you again soon!

Now...we are anxiously awaiting Uncle Sean's arrival in about a week and a half..can't wait!!



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Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Prayers for Timothy!

Today was a great day!...we had lunch with Derek and my OB check-up. This week has been a great week!...we have had time with friends, fun with our sweet kiddos, laughter between me and Derek, and blessings every day that no doubt come straight from God's hands. This weekend will be a great weekend!...we prepare for Derek's dad to meet his first grandson and spend some amazing time with him. Still, I have a heaviness on my heart and in my head that is hard to shake. I know that Derek is feeling it as well. I don't think I have ever really asked people to pray in such a way for us and for our children through our blog, but I am desperate for God to hear our prayers!

Let me preface this by saying that we know so little right now and I could be asking you to pray and everything could be perfectly normal with our little guy. We pray that this is the case! Lots of you know that Timothy has had some fussy/colic issues. At 6 weeks, that peaked and has gotten progressively better, even over the past few days. He has had some trouble eating and our doc thinks it might be reflux so we are trying Axid to see if it helps. Although you would never know by his weight gain...topping the scales at 11 lbs. 5 oz. at 7 weeks old...wow! The one thing that has caused a bit of concern is something that Timothy has been doing for over a month now. I don't know whether to say it is shaking in his legs or tremors. Either way, his legs shake really frequently throughout the day. At first, we thought it was just newborn type reflexes that would eventually subside. Over the past few weeks, it seems they have gotten progressively more frequent and much more pronounced. I even had a lady ask me the other day in the store if he was cold b/c she saw his legs shake. We finally went in to see the Dr. yesterday. He was able to see the tremors as well as the nurses. He ordered blood work and we heard back this morning. He said that there were some slight abnormalities, but nothing that confirmed any suspicions that he had about what might be the cause of the shaking. So the next action is this, our Dr. has already set up an appt. at Vanderbilt w/ a neurologist for an ultrasound. Thankfully at this point, his open fontanel (soft spot) in his head allows an ultrasound to pass through. Our Dr. wants to avoid radiation unless necessary. If the neurologist can't find what he needs to with the ultrasound, Timothy will have to have a CT Scan or MRI or both. We go back to our doc here in the 'Boro next Thurs. (a week from tomorrow) for his 2 month check. Unless the tremors have lessened significantly or dissappeared, he will have to have the ultrasound.

While I am trying desperately not to worry, I'm lying if I say I'm not. I do trust the Lord! I trust His will and His sovereignty! I am clinging to the knowledge that He can heal if healing is needed for Timothy and that He will give us every ounce of strength and peace that we need while walking through this time of uncertainty. Derek and I ask that you would specifically pray that the tremors would miraculously dissappear by next Thurs. and be gone for good, requiring no further action. I don't even want to ask you to prayer for the "if they are still there" scenario. I want to ask God for healing and if that is not His will for Timothy and us, then we will go from there.

We cannot thank all of you enough! In the past 7 weeks, we have already experienced such an amazing outpouring of love and kindness from so many of you. You have called us, taken care of Emily, visited us at the hospital, offered breaks for me, brought us food and gifts, sent us cards, and you have prayed!! Thank you all...we know we have been lavishly blessed by having all of you in our lives. Please pray for our sweet son! We will keep you updated! (New pics in the photo album of both of our cutie pies!)

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More Smiles...

...well, some smiles, except for the pic with Mommy! He got unhappy fast in that one! He is smiling tons more these days and is starting to coo...again, not really for me, but he "talks" up a storm for Derek. He was smiling so big the other night, he looked like he was going to laugh...too cute!




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Emily and Her Light-Up Shirt!




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Random Fun Pics


Evidence of the "Turtle"...you just have to ask!

I love the background of this pic.

I tricked her into taking this picture b/c when we tell her to smile these days, we get that really weird cheesy smile. Finally, I got a good one!

I love how thrilled Emily looks to be taking a picture with me...haha!

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Monday, October 06, 2008

What Do You Think?...

...do they look alike?


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1st Smiles!!!

About a week ago, Timothy flashed us his first gummy-grins. But, within the last few days they have become more frequent and much bigger. This is what I got from him at his last feeding! Too cute!! Check out more of these and others in the photo album.

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Choo-choo Hat

Just posting these b/c I think she is so cute in this hat. They day Timothy was born, Nicole took Em and Caleb to a friend's house and they got these hats and a train whistle. Emily loves this hat! She thought it was super cool when I pulled her hair through the back in a ponytail and told her that Mommy wore her hair like this in college...well the Radford days anyway...those early classes when it was freezing cold there required some cover-up:)


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Friday, October 03, 2008

Can't Believe it!!!

HAPPY 6 WEEKS OLD TIMOTHY!!!!!

We love you!



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