I have only just realised how long it has been since I posted, and now that I am... there aare 2 important pieces of news to report!
First and foremost, we have been told of Jasper's complementation group with Fanconi Anemia. He is what they call FANC-I. It is one of the rarer groups, and we join our friend Wesley as an "I" group member.
We are not sure what it means yet, and not sure if anyone else really does either, but at least we know now... we were going to use if for IVF/PGD... which brings me to our next news...
We are having a baby!!!
The day after we found out that Jasper was FANC-I, I discovered I was pregnant. It is very exciting and scary at the same time. We have a 25% chance of another FA baby, so there is testing etc to be done.
I will keep this site updated as details come to hand...
The funny thing is that the baby was conceived at Camp Sunshine in America this year... Gives a whole new meaning to the "Go Camp Sunshine" chant we do!!!
The baby is due at the end of April, so we are hoping for a cord blood match for Jasper that we can store for if and when we need it!
I think I will leave the news there for now.. they are the 2 most important things that we wanted to share.
Thank for reading!!
Love
Brooke, Paul and Jasper
Friday, October 9, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Camp Sunshine 2009
Here is the Camp Sunshine update for 2009..
There are so many photos to choose from, plus some photos from before camp... well, it is to be expected... I can get trigger happy with the camera from time to time!!
In case anyone has forgotten from the previous post, we got to go blueberry picking in Maine... here are some of the potential victims...
Delicious!!
Ok, so onto proper stuff!! We played some mini golf - big suprise! Jasper and Paul play, and I take the photos and keep score! Jasper won this game - with the highest score!!
We went out one day to Portland, and went to the Children's Museum. It is very interactive and hands on. Jasper loved it, and here he is dressed as a fireman with the hose. there is a replica of a truck there that the kids can go in and sound the siren!
Back at home, Jasper has been getting into rollerskating.. we were looking to get some, and realised that Wal-Mart was super cheap, so we ordered him some. here are some shots of him on the skates for the first time at Doreens house...
Here is the gorgeous Wesley, and his equally gorgeous mom, Kristin.
Jasper and his American Girl, Jordan. Jordan has FA too, and is 11 years old. She is beautiful and sweet.
Here we have the FA kids from the BBQ at Kristin and Sean's house.
Here are Wes and Jas muck-arseing around not long before we left - that is Sean, Wesley's dad in the background.
First day of Camp.. we had a top story room, and once we got our suitcases in the room (with the wonderful help of some volunteers), Jasper was out the front blowing bubbles to people underneath us.
We went in search of Doreen's room, and found Wesley on our journey!! it was a lovely reunion from the night before!
Paul suprised us with a brick on the path. You can donate money to Camp Sunshine and get a brink laid on the path to be there for always. Paul got it done for Jasper's birthday, and it was a big suprise for us!
There is always a balloon release ceremony where balloons get released to remember those that have passed, and to send up messages of hope. This is Jaspers balloon. It is a beautiful sight to see so many balloons released at the same time.
There are so many photos to choose from, plus some photos from before camp... well, it is to be expected... I can get trigger happy with the camera from time to time!!
In case anyone has forgotten from the previous post, we got to go blueberry picking in Maine... here are some of the potential victims...
Delicious!!
Ok, so onto proper stuff!! We played some mini golf - big suprise! Jasper and Paul play, and I take the photos and keep score! Jasper won this game - with the highest score!!
We went out one day to Portland, and went to the Children's Museum. It is very interactive and hands on. Jasper loved it, and here he is dressed as a fireman with the hose. there is a replica of a truck there that the kids can go in and sound the siren!
Back at home, Jasper has been getting into rollerskating.. we were looking to get some, and realised that Wal-Mart was super cheap, so we ordered him some. here are some shots of him on the skates for the first time at Doreens house...
The night before Camp started, we went to another FA family home for a BBQ. there were 5 FA families there, and TOO MANY kids to count!! no, wait there were 14 I think, plus 9 adults. It was not as crazy as it sounds - we were all on our best behaviour.
Here is Jasper with his new buddy, Wesley. Wesley and Jasper are the same age, and both have FA. I think I posted about this in the last entry... they are too cute together, and just as cheeky and funny as each other! Watch out ladies, 2 smooth talking cuties on the way!!
There is a State drink in Maine, and it is called Moxie. It tastes like Dr. Pepper - and totally gross. Jasper and Paul liked it!
Here is the gorgeous Wesley, and his equally gorgeous mom, Kristin.
Here is my delightful Doreen, and her man, Shawn.
Jasper and his American Girl, Jordan. Jordan has FA too, and is 11 years old. She is beautiful and sweet.
Here we have the FA kids from the BBQ at Kristin and Sean's house.
Back - Left to Right - Cameron, Wesley, Jordan, Jasper.
Front - Left to Right - Jorja, Julia (twins).
Here are Wes and Jas muck-arseing around not long before we left - that is Sean, Wesley's dad in the background.
First day of Camp.. we had a top story room, and once we got our suitcases in the room (with the wonderful help of some volunteers), Jasper was out the front blowing bubbles to people underneath us.
We went in search of Doreen's room, and found Wesley on our journey!! it was a lovely reunion from the night before!
Paul suprised us with a brick on the path. You can donate money to Camp Sunshine and get a brink laid on the path to be there for always. Paul got it done for Jasper's birthday, and it was a big suprise for us!
Now Jasper owns a part of Camp Sunshine forever!
There is always a balloon release ceremony where balloons get released to remember those that have passed, and to send up messages of hope. This is Jaspers balloon. It is a beautiful sight to see so many balloons released at the same time.
There is also a masquarade party one night where you get into a costume and dance the night away. Jasper always manages to get dressed up, but we never make it late into the night. the days are so jam-packed, that by the time 8pm comes, he is pretty much comatose! This was him at the start of the night.
Eaxh family at Camp gerts a family portrait done, and we had the photographer take our shot with our camera also..
jasper practicing roller skating at Camp. he had a rollerskate date with Emily, a 17 year old who's brother has FA. Emily has called Jas her Australian boyfriend since they met 3 years ago... The first year, Jasper spent hiding from her, last year he spent poking his tounge out, and this year it was love!!
At the adults dinner - Kristin and Doreen... Love you ladies!!
Jas and I at the wish boat ceremony. The kids make a boat, and there is a little pond.. they have a candle that get lit, a string on the boat they hold onto it while it floats in the water, they make a wish and bring the boat back in - blow out the candle and the wish comes true!!
Some fishermen came on their super cool boats to take the kids fishing.. here is Jasper with his mate Lucas coming back in. Jasper caught 2 little fish, got to drive the boat, and had an awesome time!~!
they have a celebration night, and here is a shot of the volunteers on stage - it was FULL!!
Jasper with his favourite volunteer, Matt.
One of the German fathers, Ralf and a German doctor - Eunike, come every year and Jasper gets his mouth swabbed for research - early detection of mouth cancer. We love to go, as Ralf always brings German chocolate for us as a bribe to be part of the study... no bribe needed, but Jasper loves the chocolate all the same... as do all the kids (and the parents!!!).
Eaxh family at Camp gerts a family portrait done, and we had the photographer take our shot with our camera also..
jasper practicing roller skating at Camp. he had a rollerskate date with Emily, a 17 year old who's brother has FA. Emily has called Jas her Australian boyfriend since they met 3 years ago... The first year, Jasper spent hiding from her, last year he spent poking his tounge out, and this year it was love!!
At the adults dinner - Kristin and Doreen... Love you ladies!!
Jas and I at the wish boat ceremony. The kids make a boat, and there is a little pond.. they have a candle that get lit, a string on the boat they hold onto it while it floats in the water, they make a wish and bring the boat back in - blow out the candle and the wish comes true!!
jasper wished that Jordan (Doreen's eldest girl, his American girlfriend) could be a part of our family. I nearly cried, it was so sweet!! he loves her so much!
Some fishermen came on their super cool boats to take the kids fishing.. here is Jasper with his mate Lucas coming back in. Jasper caught 2 little fish, got to drive the boat, and had an awesome time!~!
they have a celebration night, and here is a shot of the volunteers on stage - it was FULL!!
Jasper with his favourite volunteer, Matt.
...and smooching up to another volunteer, Hillary.
then I let Jasper take some photos... Here is Peter.. We met Peter our first year at Camp - 2007. he works in the kitchen. Jasper called him Peter Parker or Peter Pan.
Jasper shot of Peter, Andy and Joel, with another volunteer.
then I let Jasper take some photos... Here is Peter.. We met Peter our first year at Camp - 2007. he works in the kitchen. Jasper called him Peter Parker or Peter Pan.
He was not there last year, but we saw him this year on our first day, and he came straight up to jasper and started talking to him - it was so sweet he remembered us!!
Jasper shot of Peter, Andy and Joel, with another volunteer.
So, our flight leaves tonight USA time, and we land in about 27 hours in Perth.. I am not looking forward to the flight, but am looking forward to getting home.
Thanks for reading.
Love
Brooke
Monday, August 17, 2009
USA 2009 - Volume 2!
Ok, so I wont do my post on Camp Sunshine here, as it is going to be big enough with all the photos I have to add and update on.
We are still in America, and fly out tomorrow, so I thought it was a good time to update!
From the last post, we were at our friend Doreen's house, wiht her 5 kids. It was a madhouse, and a lot of fun!
We had a nice relaxing time, and did not much of anything. It was nice to just spend time together, and relax.
One of the things we did do, was go blueberry picking. It was heaps of fun!
Doreen had sprained her ankle on our first night there, and it was pretty bad, so we left her and her eldest son, James behind, and took her other 4 kids, plus Jasper, Paul and I.
It was raining and really muddy, and heaps of fun!!
Here we are treking through...
The middle photo is Jordan - Doreens eldest girl (11), and on the far right is Jasper - totally in his element - mud, rain and blueberries!!
So from Rear Left = Jordan, Jacob
from Front Left = Jasper, Jorja, Julia
(notice the pattern of the names???)
I made a most delicious pie (even if I do say so myself!!), and we ate more than we picked!!! It was awesome and we loved it!!
Then we had Camp Sunshine - I will post on that soon,,, after we went back to Doreens for 2 nights, and on the Thursday afternoon, we had another FA family come to catch up and have a play... the Ice Cream Truck went past, and as the 3 mums called out "get off the road, kids - no icecream for you", Paul walks out of the house waving money and it was a bit like the Pied Piper!!
Here are the munchkins eating away -
Kristin (another FA mum) is back left, Doreen is back right, Wesley is front left, then it looks like Jorja, Jacob, Quinn, and Julia.
jasper was floating around somewhere, and the older kids were hanging out inside!
There were some interesting colours happening on the tounges...
Jorja (FA)
Julia (twin with Jorja) (FA)
Jacob (brother to the twins, Jordan and James)
Jasper and Wesley playing ball outside.
This was a very serious conversation between Wes and Jas about some grass seeds..
That day was Kristins birthday, and she invited us all out to dinner with her family. Doreen and the kids could not come, but here is Jasper with Quinn and Collin (Wesleys siblings) playing on the iPod touch.. it kept them quiet and entertained when we wanted to chat after eating!
Here is Wesley with his parents, Kristin and Sean.
Our boys... they are so cute together!!! They are both 6, both about the same height and weight, and play nicely together - most of the time!! I think they could almost be brothers looking at this shot!!
Our first stop after leaving Doreen's house was.... SALEM, MA..
It was really pretty and not so spooky. You can do the spooky things if you want to, but we did not, and it was a really nice time.
Here I am in my "natural state" - witch brooke!!
At lunch, Jasper ordered a Root Beer - it looks like he is drinking a real beer!! We took this one for Jasper's Poppie!!
The place we had lunch was called In A Pig's Eye. The boys that Paul does bowling with call him Pig, so we HAD to eat there!!!
It was REALLY hot, so we stopped for icecream.. Jasper had Orange Sherbert (tasted just like it!) and I had Maine Black Bear flavour (raspberry with raspberry truffles in it - totally delicious!!)
It was as big as his head!!
We met a really nice lady at one of the t-shirt stands. We stopped for a chat, and she gave Paul and I 2 t-shirts for free. Mine matched one that we had bought for Jasper, and so Jas wanted to have a photo of us as matching twins!!
The next day we went to Plymouth to see Plymouth Rock. It was suprisingly small, compared to what I was thinking, but they had a man there who said it used to be 3 times this size, but with all the souveniers that people have taken, and pieces that have been donated to museums etc, well it is as big as it is now!
Here are Jasper and I at the sign that says Plymouth Rock etc
Jasper and his daddy at the same sign
We went to Plymouth on our way to Cape Cod. I was expecting more from the Cape, and was a bit disappointed... we went to the ZooQuarium, which is just as it sounds, a zoo and an aquarium! It was pretty small, but interesting all the same.
I wondered who ever looked at this bird and thought "I might try to eat that" had a wicked sense of humour - but I am sure glad they tried this - DINNER!!!
Jasper at Pirate Mini-Golf
We are going to miss our FAmily, and are so appreciative to Doreen and her kids (my 5 J-babies) for putting up with us, we love you guys, and are so lucky to have met you 3 years ago, and to be good friends.
We are still in America, and fly out tomorrow, so I thought it was a good time to update!
From the last post, we were at our friend Doreen's house, wiht her 5 kids. It was a madhouse, and a lot of fun!
We had a nice relaxing time, and did not much of anything. It was nice to just spend time together, and relax.
One of the things we did do, was go blueberry picking. It was heaps of fun!
Doreen had sprained her ankle on our first night there, and it was pretty bad, so we left her and her eldest son, James behind, and took her other 4 kids, plus Jasper, Paul and I.
It was raining and really muddy, and heaps of fun!!
Here we are treking through...
The middle photo is Jordan - Doreens eldest girl (11), and on the far right is Jasper - totally in his element - mud, rain and blueberries!!
So from Rear Left = Jordan, Jacob
from Front Left = Jasper, Jorja, Julia
(notice the pattern of the names???)
I made a most delicious pie (even if I do say so myself!!), and we ate more than we picked!!! It was awesome and we loved it!!
Then we had Camp Sunshine - I will post on that soon,,, after we went back to Doreens for 2 nights, and on the Thursday afternoon, we had another FA family come to catch up and have a play... the Ice Cream Truck went past, and as the 3 mums called out "get off the road, kids - no icecream for you", Paul walks out of the house waving money and it was a bit like the Pied Piper!!
Here are the munchkins eating away -
Kristin (another FA mum) is back left, Doreen is back right, Wesley is front left, then it looks like Jorja, Jacob, Quinn, and Julia.
jasper was floating around somewhere, and the older kids were hanging out inside!
There were some interesting colours happening on the tounges...
Jorja (FA)
Julia (twin with Jorja) (FA)
Jacob (brother to the twins, Jordan and James)
Quinn (sister to Wesley)
Wesley (FA)
Jasper (FA)
Japser had a fall at Camp, and had a big scratch above his eye - here is a close up of the black eye that started to develop nearly 1 week after the accident...
When nature calls....
Doreen did say this was ok - and what sort of mother would I be to let the opportunity go when I am standing right there with the camera?!?!
Jasper and Wesley playing ball outside.
This was a very serious conversation between Wes and Jas about some grass seeds..
you are not mistaken.. Jasper is wearing his undies.. he did not want to go swimming, but did not want to get his icypole on his clothes...
That day was Kristins birthday, and she invited us all out to dinner with her family. Doreen and the kids could not come, but here is Jasper with Quinn and Collin (Wesleys siblings) playing on the iPod touch.. it kept them quiet and entertained when we wanted to chat after eating!
Here is Wesley with his parents, Kristin and Sean.
Our boys... they are so cute together!!! They are both 6, both about the same height and weight, and play nicely together - most of the time!! I think they could almost be brothers looking at this shot!!
Our first stop after leaving Doreen's house was.... SALEM, MA..
It was really pretty and not so spooky. You can do the spooky things if you want to, but we did not, and it was a really nice time.
Here I am in my "natural state" - witch brooke!!
At lunch, Jasper ordered a Root Beer - it looks like he is drinking a real beer!! We took this one for Jasper's Poppie!!
The place we had lunch was called In A Pig's Eye. The boys that Paul does bowling with call him Pig, so we HAD to eat there!!!
Here I am with my witchey friend on a street somewhere in Salem!!
It was REALLY hot, so we stopped for icecream.. Jasper had Orange Sherbert (tasted just like it!) and I had Maine Black Bear flavour (raspberry with raspberry truffles in it - totally delicious!!)
It was as big as his head!!
We met a really nice lady at one of the t-shirt stands. We stopped for a chat, and she gave Paul and I 2 t-shirts for free. Mine matched one that we had bought for Jasper, and so Jas wanted to have a photo of us as matching twins!!
The next day we went to Plymouth to see Plymouth Rock. It was suprisingly small, compared to what I was thinking, but they had a man there who said it used to be 3 times this size, but with all the souveniers that people have taken, and pieces that have been donated to museums etc, well it is as big as it is now!
It was a good history lesson for all of us!
Here are Jasper and I at the sign that says Plymouth Rock etc
Jasper and his daddy at the same sign
We went to Plymouth on our way to Cape Cod. I was expecting more from the Cape, and was a bit disappointed... we went to the ZooQuarium, which is just as it sounds, a zoo and an aquarium! It was pretty small, but interesting all the same.
Here is Jasper at the Aquaruim part of the park, there were some big fish behind him.
I wondered who ever looked at this bird and thought "I might try to eat that" had a wicked sense of humour - but I am sure glad they tried this - DINNER!!!
Jasper at Pirate Mini-Golf
We went to a water park today on our way to Connecticut called Water Wizz. We could not take cameras in at all as they were shooting a new Adam Sandler film there. Before you ask, we did not see anyone famous!!
Our holiday officially ends tomorrow, we fly out at 7.10pm. We are planning on going to the beach tomorrow, and so should be sufficiently tanned (not Jasper - he will be coated in sun block!!) to come home brown and warm.
We are going to miss our FAmily, and are so appreciative to Doreen and her kids (my 5 J-babies) for putting up with us, we love you guys, and are so lucky to have met you 3 years ago, and to be good friends.
To Kristin and Sean, we love you and your family, and look forward to spending more time with you next year, deciphering the strange english language we all speak but struggle to understand!
To our other FAmily, we love you all, and had a great time meeting you all again at Camp Sunshine - Until 2010!!
I am looking forward to getting home - I miss my mum and dad - as does Jasper.
He is ready to get home, so it is good timing!!
Love to all, and to all a good night!
Thanks for reading.
Brooke
xxx
Thursday, July 30, 2009
USA 2009
Ok, so we are here in America for Camp Sunshine 2009.
We arrived on Monday 27th, and journeyed our way to Maine yesterday - 29th July.
On our journey, we have had some adventure - not the least being Paul becoming aclimatised to driving on the wrong side of the car, and the wrong side of the road!!! There have been no dramas though, and he has just slotted right back into his "normal" driving habits.
On our first day (the day after we arrived), we went to a place called Yorks Wild Kingdom. It is in York, and offer elephant rides.
It was something we had talked about for a while with Jasper, and he was pretty excited, although did not want to go on alone.
I got to go on with him, and Lydia the elephant took us for a lap of her enclosure. It was not the most comfortable animal to ride on, but an experience we could not overlook!!
Here is one of the many photos that Paul took... you need to look real close, but we are there!!!
Feeding the baby goats...
and the baby deer...
with his daddy at a waterfall - we were looking at some animals in this part too, there was a chipmunk stealing birdseed behind the boys when I snapped this one!!
Not only are there animals, but rides and games too..
Jasper went on this big slide, and got some air over one of the bumps... he was totally pertified, and did not want to go on it again, but he had a go, and it was awesome!!!
Jasper and I went on the ferris wheel, and you get a really nice view of York Beach. The issue with this ferris wheel was that it went SO fast and the wind really blows you around up the top. It was so fast, it was like being on a rollercoaster ride. Jasper was hanging onto me calling "mummy, mummy". I was holding onto him pretty tight, and the rail in front... I was laughing throughout the ride, but it was NOT funny!!!
We come all the way to America, and what do we see??
Australian wildlife. pft.
there was about 5 baby emu in this enclosure, and they all followed Paul around it!!
The thing I was looking forward to most of all this trip was the Maine Lobster Festival (in Maine of course). We drove up to Rockland, Maine to attend, and it was worth the trip!!
They have a cooking area with BIG cages of live lobsters that you see get locked in the boiling water, then tipped into crates to take to the food tent... smells and sights that were delicious.
Here is the menu that was over the Food Tent... mmmmm one of everything please!!!
Here are the boys moving the cooked lobsters from the cooking cages to the transport bits...
Mmmmmm. Fresh produce. WHERE'S MY DINNER?????
Getting ready to eat....
We arrived on Monday 27th, and journeyed our way to Maine yesterday - 29th July.
On our journey, we have had some adventure - not the least being Paul becoming aclimatised to driving on the wrong side of the car, and the wrong side of the road!!! There have been no dramas though, and he has just slotted right back into his "normal" driving habits.
On our first day (the day after we arrived), we went to a place called Yorks Wild Kingdom. It is in York, and offer elephant rides.
It was something we had talked about for a while with Jasper, and he was pretty excited, although did not want to go on alone.
I got to go on with him, and Lydia the elephant took us for a lap of her enclosure. It was not the most comfortable animal to ride on, but an experience we could not overlook!!
Here is one of the many photos that Paul took... you need to look real close, but we are there!!!
Jasper is never one to let a pony ride go begging, and they were on offer too...
Feeding the baby goats...
and the baby deer...
with his daddy at a waterfall - we were looking at some animals in this part too, there was a chipmunk stealing birdseed behind the boys when I snapped this one!!
Not only are there animals, but rides and games too..
Jasper went on this big slide, and got some air over one of the bumps... he was totally pertified, and did not want to go on it again, but he had a go, and it was awesome!!!
Jasper and I went on the ferris wheel, and you get a really nice view of York Beach. The issue with this ferris wheel was that it went SO fast and the wind really blows you around up the top. It was so fast, it was like being on a rollercoaster ride. Jasper was hanging onto me calling "mummy, mummy". I was holding onto him pretty tight, and the rail in front... I was laughing throughout the ride, but it was NOT funny!!!
We come all the way to America, and what do we see??
Australian wildlife. pft.
there was about 5 baby emu in this enclosure, and they all followed Paul around it!!
The thing I was looking forward to most of all this trip was the Maine Lobster Festival (in Maine of course). We drove up to Rockland, Maine to attend, and it was worth the trip!!
They have a cooking area with BIG cages of live lobsters that you see get locked in the boiling water, then tipped into crates to take to the food tent... smells and sights that were delicious.
Here is the menu that was over the Food Tent... mmmmm one of everything please!!!
Here are the boys moving the cooked lobsters from the cooking cages to the transport bits...
Mmmmmm. Fresh produce. WHERE'S MY DINNER?????
Getting ready to eat....
Ahhh, now the remains... D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!
While we were waiting for the food tent line (we waited about 25 minutes), Black Beard and King Neptune wandered past. Could not resist the photos! Jasper was a bit scared of them, so refused to photograph with them, Paul was not so scared!!!
We are now at the Flynn's house in Lewiston Maine, getting ready for Camp.
We are now at the Flynn's house in Lewiston Maine, getting ready for Camp.
Doreen and her 5 kids have been kind enough to put us up... I think it was all part of a cunning plan... Doreen fell over yesterday after we got here and ended up with an aircast on her ankle... unfortunate accident, or part if the master plan???
I will update with some more photos soon...
thanks for reading, Love you mum and dad. Miss you,.
Brooke
xxx
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Jasper's 6th Birthday
Well, now my baby is officially 6 years old!!! I still remember when I was pregnant, like it was yesterday! Where is my little baby!!!
It was a great day, and we all had lots of fun. I have put some photos here so you can share in our day!
This is Jasper at 6.15am, eating scrambled eggs for breakfast in my bed! It is what he wanted to do!
Then it was present time! He loved all his presents... especially the electric blanket for his bed! (he gets so cold at night, he shivers and shakes when he is rugged up, so now it is really cold (we are in winter), the blanket makes getting to sleep easier for him).
In this photo, he is "pumping"" the 1kg weights his brother, Brent gave him!
Next up was swimming lessons. That is a normal Sunday morning for us. This is Megan. She used to be Jaasper's teacher, and is really lovely. She is now supervisor on Sunday, so we have a new teacher, but she is still there to watch him!
Megan made him a birthday certificate with 6 stickers on it! He loves it... and loved going to swimming on his birthday, because he knew he would be the centre of attention!!
Here is a photo of his cake, It was my first attempt, and it does not look so good in this photo. It was a number 6 in the colours of Hot Wheels (Orange and Blue). There was a real hot wheels car on it, with some red icing flames coming out the back! It did not taste too good... last time I use a brand new recipe!!!
This is Jasper's best buddy, Liam. He lives around the corner from us, and is older than Jasper by just one day. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum... Liam is really tall for 6, and Jasper is a teeny poppet!
We just had a "family"day here, with my mum and dad, Liam and his mum Carly, and my other friend Hayley here. My sister and her kids could not make it.
It was a nice time, and Jasper loved being silly and mucking around.
This is Jasper at the end of the day... He was pretty tired and ready for bed. He does this smile when he really wants something that he know I am going to say no to... It is the face I cant say no to!!! Very cute, and really sweet!!!
It was a great day, and we all had lots of fun. I have put some photos here so you can share in our day!
This is Jasper at 6.15am, eating scrambled eggs for breakfast in my bed! It is what he wanted to do!
Then it was present time! He loved all his presents... especially the electric blanket for his bed! (he gets so cold at night, he shivers and shakes when he is rugged up, so now it is really cold (we are in winter), the blanket makes getting to sleep easier for him).
In this photo, he is "pumping"" the 1kg weights his brother, Brent gave him!
Next up was swimming lessons. That is a normal Sunday morning for us. This is Megan. She used to be Jaasper's teacher, and is really lovely. She is now supervisor on Sunday, so we have a new teacher, but she is still there to watch him!
Megan made him a birthday certificate with 6 stickers on it! He loves it... and loved going to swimming on his birthday, because he knew he would be the centre of attention!!
Here is a photo of his cake, It was my first attempt, and it does not look so good in this photo. It was a number 6 in the colours of Hot Wheels (Orange and Blue). There was a real hot wheels car on it, with some red icing flames coming out the back! It did not taste too good... last time I use a brand new recipe!!!
This is Jasper's best buddy, Liam. He lives around the corner from us, and is older than Jasper by just one day. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum... Liam is really tall for 6, and Jasper is a teeny poppet!
We just had a "family"day here, with my mum and dad, Liam and his mum Carly, and my other friend Hayley here. My sister and her kids could not make it.
It was a nice time, and Jasper loved being silly and mucking around.
This is Jasper at the end of the day... He was pretty tired and ready for bed. He does this smile when he really wants something that he know I am going to say no to... It is the face I cant say no to!!! Very cute, and really sweet!!!
Jasper starts school holidays tomorrow... Friday - for 2 weeks. He will go to Vacation Care, as I am working.
He does have a blood test due next week, so I will post when we have some results!!
Thanks for reading.
Brooke
xxx
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Pirate Tooth Jasper
I must start by telling you what a brave boy we have. He is such a trooper. He had dental surgery earlier this month.
One of his molars had been causing him trouble for the longest time, so we went (ages ago) to the dental department at our Children's Hopsital.
For those that are not aware, we have dental for our kids as part of primary school care... we had been to see the dentist there, but they are all too keen to take thousands of x-rays and are not really after what is best for the patient, but what they can do to earn their federal funding (well, that is my opinion..). As Jasper has everything done through PMH (the childrens hospital), we got a referral from the oncology dept to the dental dept.
FINALLY we got the appointment, and were told that they would rather administer a general anaesthetic and have a look at everything... that took months, and finally it was time...
It was a very long day, getting to the hospital at 10am, into surgery at 1:15pm, not out of surgery til 4:10pm, then leaving the hospital at 7:30pm, and home at 8:30pm.
I was a bit stressed at how long it took, but apparently nearly 3 hours is normal for dental!
The end result is that one of his molars now has a crown on it. He is pretty excited about it, as it is his pirate tooth!
There was some pain in the gum for a few days, but all is good now.
We had to go back to the hospital the next day for an endocronology appointment. We are now in the system with Endo, so they will track his growth as we go along and make sure he tracks on course!
So far, he is just on the lower 3rd percentile, as he always has been, and as long as he keeps tracking on the chart the right way, we have no need to worry.
Sad news is that if he did not have FA, he would have been about 187cm tall... no chance of that with FA, he is a shorty, and always will be!!
We are getting full winter weather here at the moment.. cold days and freezing nights with rain, rain and more rain.
Only 4 more weeks of it, and we will be back on our way to America and Camp Sunshine.. more of that in another post!
Thanks for reading.
Brooke
One of his molars had been causing him trouble for the longest time, so we went (ages ago) to the dental department at our Children's Hopsital.
For those that are not aware, we have dental for our kids as part of primary school care... we had been to see the dentist there, but they are all too keen to take thousands of x-rays and are not really after what is best for the patient, but what they can do to earn their federal funding (well, that is my opinion..). As Jasper has everything done through PMH (the childrens hospital), we got a referral from the oncology dept to the dental dept.
FINALLY we got the appointment, and were told that they would rather administer a general anaesthetic and have a look at everything... that took months, and finally it was time...
It was a very long day, getting to the hospital at 10am, into surgery at 1:15pm, not out of surgery til 4:10pm, then leaving the hospital at 7:30pm, and home at 8:30pm.
I was a bit stressed at how long it took, but apparently nearly 3 hours is normal for dental!
The end result is that one of his molars now has a crown on it. He is pretty excited about it, as it is his pirate tooth!
There was some pain in the gum for a few days, but all is good now.
We had to go back to the hospital the next day for an endocronology appointment. We are now in the system with Endo, so they will track his growth as we go along and make sure he tracks on course!
So far, he is just on the lower 3rd percentile, as he always has been, and as long as he keeps tracking on the chart the right way, we have no need to worry.
Sad news is that if he did not have FA, he would have been about 187cm tall... no chance of that with FA, he is a shorty, and always will be!!
We are getting full winter weather here at the moment.. cold days and freezing nights with rain, rain and more rain.
Only 4 more weeks of it, and we will be back on our way to America and Camp Sunshine.. more of that in another post!
Thanks for reading.
Brooke
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Jasper's Surgery
Well, yesterday was the date for Jasper's annual bone marrow biopsy. It was a bit easier this year for him to understand why he could not eat after dinner the night before, and why he had to be hungry and thirsty all morning.
We got to the hospital about 8am, had bloods done at 8.30 and were in theatre by 10.30.
This year was a bit different, as they had to have a skin sample for some testing they are going to do for us in the USA. It is all part of the complementation testing thing we have been trying to get sorted for the last 2 1/2 years. Keep your fingers crossed that we get some answers this time, or we are out of options!!
So the surgery normally takes 20 minutes.. Jasper's bone marrow was really stubborn this year, and it took 1 hour. Not nice.
Anaesthetic also makes him really aggressive and scary when he wakes up, to they gave him something to sleep a lot longer, and he was good when he woke up. It was strange though, he woke up, needed the toilet, was too dizzy to walk (understandable), and then said he had a sore tummy, and proceeded to dry reach over my shoulder (thank goodness for the empty stomach!). He sipped water, went a really pale shade of white and back to sleep on me.
When he woke up again (SpongeBob was on!) he was a strange shade of grey and then went green. I have never seen it before, and freaked out a bit.
They put some fluids in his cannula and he was drinking a bit too, and slowly his colour returned!!
Then it was time to have some food, and all he wanted was an icy pole (popsicle). The ward always has icecream etc on hand, so that was no worries!!
Take out the cannula, have a flu shot, and 20 minutes later we were on our way.
Jasper still felt pretty sick, and slept all the way home.
He is very tender this morning, but eating well, and just taking it easy.
I think the flu shot site is the sorest bit!!! one little needle, rather than the big one they used in his back, or the site where they took out the chunk of skin on his wrist!!! He was awake for the flu shot, not the operation, so it is funny what has the trauma associated with it!
He has bandaids every where, and bandages, and REFUSES to take his name bracelet of his ankle! He was on best behaviour, and had most of the nurses eating out of his hand!!
His bloods are all really good - as I have come to expect, and we should have some results from the biopsy in the next few weeks. I will update again when I have more to report!
Thanks for reading.
Brooke
We got to the hospital about 8am, had bloods done at 8.30 and were in theatre by 10.30.
This year was a bit different, as they had to have a skin sample for some testing they are going to do for us in the USA. It is all part of the complementation testing thing we have been trying to get sorted for the last 2 1/2 years. Keep your fingers crossed that we get some answers this time, or we are out of options!!
So the surgery normally takes 20 minutes.. Jasper's bone marrow was really stubborn this year, and it took 1 hour. Not nice.
Anaesthetic also makes him really aggressive and scary when he wakes up, to they gave him something to sleep a lot longer, and he was good when he woke up. It was strange though, he woke up, needed the toilet, was too dizzy to walk (understandable), and then said he had a sore tummy, and proceeded to dry reach over my shoulder (thank goodness for the empty stomach!). He sipped water, went a really pale shade of white and back to sleep on me.
When he woke up again (SpongeBob was on!) he was a strange shade of grey and then went green. I have never seen it before, and freaked out a bit.
They put some fluids in his cannula and he was drinking a bit too, and slowly his colour returned!!
Then it was time to have some food, and all he wanted was an icy pole (popsicle). The ward always has icecream etc on hand, so that was no worries!!
Take out the cannula, have a flu shot, and 20 minutes later we were on our way.
Jasper still felt pretty sick, and slept all the way home.
He is very tender this morning, but eating well, and just taking it easy.
I think the flu shot site is the sorest bit!!! one little needle, rather than the big one they used in his back, or the site where they took out the chunk of skin on his wrist!!! He was awake for the flu shot, not the operation, so it is funny what has the trauma associated with it!
He has bandaids every where, and bandages, and REFUSES to take his name bracelet of his ankle! He was on best behaviour, and had most of the nurses eating out of his hand!!
His bloods are all really good - as I have come to expect, and we should have some results from the biopsy in the next few weeks. I will update again when I have more to report!
Thanks for reading.
Brooke
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