all the better to see you with

Today was Mason's follow up eye appointment. And today, the big bucks I pay for this appointment paid off! It was full of good news and it was fun to have such an obvious example of how much Mason's speech has improved (this appt was basically to make up for not being able to get much info out of the last one). He answered her questions - including telling her he saw two red lights!! The good news is his vision is 20/20, he can see 3D and the slight astigmatism he had in his right eye is gone!

3D vision check.

We do what we can to make it so Andrew doesn't have to sit through Mason's doctor appointments, but today it didn't work out. Luckily, his Leap Pad kept him occupied for the whole 2 hours we were there - not one ounce of complaint. It's a beautiful thing.

dermatology

Welcome to the raddest picture on the face of the earth: (his huge eyes crack me up!)

Today was Andrew's appointment with the dermatologist. The good news is the doctor had no concern with any of the (four!!) rashes and they will all clear up on their own. The bummer is there is nothing we can do to prevent them from coming back, and if they do come back, there is nothing we can do to help clear them up any faster. So that's awesome.

I took advantage of the fact that we had to go to Seattle for this appointment and made sure we had fun. (Just like I do for Mason's appointments - I think it's more for me than it is for them, but it takes some of the stress off). Andrew loved being in "Seattle downtown" and was pointing out different things during the whole drive. He even chose to leave his Legos in the car because he wanted to be able to look around. It shocked me - it made him feel very grown up.

Once we found the doctor's office, we parked and walked to a fun bagel place for lunch.

This is the expression he makes when he's really having fun and being goofy. I'm so glad this was his mood after his 4th or 5th appointment regarding these stupid rashes!!

ready for kindergarten!

** WARNING ** I'm kinda proud of Andrew. It shows in this post. You've been warned.

Andrew had his 5 year well-child visit today. Poor guy had to get 4 shots, but he took it like a champ! They asked me to hold his hands and whispered that age 5 is the age they dread because they tend to flail and scream and try to escape. Andrew just sat there, flinched a little and then they (there were 2 - one for each arm) were done. No tears. They were very impressed. Of course. : ) He now has all the shots needed to start kindergarten!

He's 3' 9" and weighs 49lbs, both in about the 90th percentile.

I was so proud of him during his eye exam because he knew so many letters!! The nurse asked him to tell her if there was one he didn't know, rather than guessing, or if it was too small to read. He did both. She was impressed because a lot of kids try to just guess. She said that's a sign he's ready for kindergarten. (I know - Andrew is perfect, it's crazy right?) : )

The little gowns get me every time! So stinkin' cute!

Another good thing (I hope) that came out of this appt is that his doctor finally found a bump that he could scrape and get to the lab. I'm hoping that will be a clue to the never ending rashes. That, plus the derm appt we have on Thursday has to lead to getting this figured out!!

this is what a bad day looks like

Andrew has not had one day without a rash in over two months. It has been beyond frustrating. It hasn't been just one rash - it has been one after another, on top of another, in a new spot, with a new look... I have seen a couple doctors and talked to a few nurses, but never our pediatrician because he hasn't been available on the short notice that come with rashes. Today I finally had a nervous breakdown. Not only did Andrew not sleep well last night because they were itching (for the first time) but it was also on his face (for the first time). I talked to a nurse again and decided I'd wait for his 5 year checkup to get it looked at, but then he woke up from his nap and it was worse. I called the doctor back and told them I needed to have him looked at and started to cry. For the record, that gets you listened to - I had no idea. : ) I got an appointment with our pediatrician after the office was closed! It was just what I needed. Every time I get worked up, all it takes is a meeting with him and I'm back to being a normal person again. I love our pediatrician for that. Anyway, to make a really long story a tiny bit shorter, I'll stick to the key points. Below is what sent me over the edge. Don't look at it if you don't like gross things.

This is the worst spot but it's everywhere on his body, including his face, which you can kind of see in the first picture. We're starting with Benidryl (which of course has to be on recall the first time we ever need it!) and if that works we'll move to Clariton until we're able to get in with a dermatologist. Long story why we're starting with a dermatologist instead of an allergist, but we are. If the Benidryl doesn't work, we'll move to a high dose steroid ointment. By then, we should have an appointment with the dermatologist and we can at least let them know what we've tried. He did reassure me that it's not one of the 5 or 6 rashes that are bad news and then whispered "he's not going to die from this" ... I'm telling you, he knows exactly what I need to hear. : )

Also included in our bad day...

Mason refused to sit down in his stroller. : ) Not really bad, more funny than bad.

And this part wasn't bad at all. It was actually very, very cute.

he loves the dentist

Andrew got really excited when he found out he had a dentist appointment last week. He started talking about the toy box and his favorite part about getting his teeth cleaned (the sprayer because it tickles). Then he remembered the suction thing they use and started to laugh. He loves the dentist - it's fantastic!

For the next checkup I also scheduled Mason's first appointment. The place we go is over-the-top kid friendly, it's great. They let Mason get close so he could watch and then asked if I wanted to let him have a ride in the chair so he could see how it is. He wasn't real sure about it but he ended up giving me a smile. Hopefully Andrew's love of the dentist will rub off on him. I'll hold out hope!

I'd like my 60 bucks back, please

Mason had his regular eye appt today - the one he has every 6 months to confirm he's fine... I'd much rather go to these appointments and get news that all is fine, of course, but come on! Today Mason was tired and didn't really participate in the games they use to check his eyes. The doctor ended by saying we should come back in 3 -4 months. That freaked me out a little so I asked if it was because of a concern or just because he wasn't really cooperating. "No concern, it's just nice to have a firm report to look back on and we didn't get that this visit". Does she know it costs me $60? If he looks fine, I don't really care about your report. Grrr. But, I have a hard time going against a doctor's suggestion, so we'll be back in January to give her another $60 to (hopefully!) get a report confirming all is fine.

rashes are dumb

A week or so ago, I took Andrew to the doctor for a rash (that ended up not actually being a rash, but irritated eczema). Then, a couple days later he got what looked like a bug bite on the other leg. The bite then morphed into a crazy infection/rash while we were in E'burg. I called the nurse hot line and was told some stuff, but what I heard was MRSA. That, my friends, is a creepy thing to hear. The good news was he didn't have a fever and the area wasn't bothering him, so they said it mostly likely wasn't MRSA but that what I was describing is what it looks like. Then when Matt took him to the doctor (I had to take Mason to his thyroid checkup at the same time as Andrew's appt) the nurse told him it looked like MRSA. I'm so glad I wasn't at that appointment because I would've lost it at that point! Anyway, the doctor's best guess is that it was an infected bug bite. It's almost gone now.

Because of the eczema, I have decided it'd be a good idea to not give him a bath so often. That means Mason will get some time to enjoy the tub to himself. And that leads to cute picutres.

he's well

On Thursday, Mason had his 2 year old well child appointment. I'm happy to report that he's well!

I left Mason's pants off so we could go get his shot and I asked Andrew to take a picture because I thought he looked cute. They called our number right away so Andrew tried to hurry. This is what we got. : ) The nurse actually let him take another one, but I like this one best.

After his appointment we had lunch on our favorite lawn. It was a good day.

best waiting room ever

Andrew loves going to the dentist because he knows he'll get a cool new toothbrush and a chance to dig in their treasure chest. This time he also got a 2-minute timer so he'll know how long to brush and a nice massage while he waited. :) All is good with his teeth.

It feels like we were just at the dentist. It freaks me out a little because at his next appointment, he'll be turning 5 just a couple weeks later. Five!

another doctor visit

On Friday I took Andrew to the doctor for another asthma checkup. He has a cough, and with it came the asthma symptoms again. The problem this time is that his inhaler didn't seem to be helping much, if at all. His doctor did a nebulizer treatment for him then checked him for pneumonia. He had to listen to him for quite a while because he though he heard it, but luckily when he coughed it went away and if it was pneumonia it wouldn't have gone away. Thankfully! He did however, have to take one dose of a steroid. This is because his airways were constricted/swollen already and then when the asthma hit, the airways got even smaller. His inhaler only cleared up the asthma attach so it really wasn't helping as much as he needed it to. The steroid made a huge difference - he slept through the night and hasn't even needed his inhaler!

As I was trying to get a picture of us, he snuck a piece of gum. Can you tell he loves it?

He's starting to get freckles! They're so cute!

Starting to get bored...

To finish up, we had lunch at McDonalds. Andrew asked for an ice cream cone (which he's never done before) and asked to sit up at the high table since Mason wasn't with us.

more good news

For some reason, eye appointments always run late. We know it though, so we pack snacks, take walks and watch all the other crazy families and we do just fine. The key to these being successful trips is leaving Andrew with Matt! He would not have nearly as much fun as Mason seems to have. He always enjoys this waiting area for some reason. My camera died so I didn't get any pictures of him enjoying the view, but we spent a lot of time looking at the cars and people below.

The good news - his eye is still working as it should. The slight droop he has is not getting in his way at all. They also checked his 3-D vision and that's still good too!

A friend of mine mentioned that she had her daughter's eye checked out and then got to pay a bunch of money to hear everything was normal. It made me think -- we have spent A LOT of money on Mason to hear that all is fine. Of course I prefer that to getting bad news. In fact, if I ever get bad news I think I'll ask for my money back! :)

As soon as Mason turns 2, I believe his hypothyroid appointments will go down to 2 times a year instead of 4. The same with his eye appointments - once he can answer questions, those will slow down to once a year (and at age 4 or 5 will become part of his normal checkup unless there is a concern).

I am so thankful he's a healthy boy!

another good checkup

Andrew had his 4 year old checkup today. It was another successful visit. Mason is no longer crying just because we're in a doctor's office and Andrew did a great job of answering the doctor's questions. We also got off to a great start because there were no other people in the waiting area so they got to run around and play while we waited!

Andrew is still tall and he's still charming the nurses. :)

Height: 3' 6.5" (90%)

Weight: 45 lbs (95%)

The only bummer of our checkup were the shots. He shouldn't have needed any but we decided to get his flu shot as well as the upgraded PCV. I don't think he expected them to hurt and got pretty upset when they did.

he's well

Mason had a good checkup today. Our doctor is not concerned with his growth rate at all, and for the most part he's back on track with his growth curve anyway. Yay!

Height: 2' 10" (95%)
Weight: 26 lbs (67%)

He had four shots (3 are follow ups of ones he's already had and 1 was his flu shot). Hopefully he'll wake up from his nap a happy kid!

Successful doctor visit, tip #1 - bring a DVD player! These trips are always so painful on Andrew (and therefore, on me). Matt had this great idea and it made all the difference.

Successful doctor visit, tip #2 - have snacks. I always bring snacks, but this time I actually packed a lunch! Of course, for the first time in a long time, we were only there for an hour so we didn't need it. It's Murphy's Law (or the opposite of Murphy's Law??), but I don't mind it as much when I'm over prepared.

Mason was so tired he couldn't even finish his string cheese, poor guy.

Andrew goes in for his 4 year old checkup on Tuesday.

good eye!

Mason was referred to an eye doctor to make sure he didn't have the start of a lazy eye. We got great news that his eyes look normal!

A doctor we saw at the hypothyroidism clinic thought she maybe saw something, but suggested we check with our doctor since Mason was so tired at that point. Our pediatrician said he saw why she would think that, but said it was so mild that it could be within normal range, but suggested we see a specialist just to confirm. The eye doc said she could see why they were concerned but that it's actually an optical illusion caused from his little droop and the shape of his eyes (yay!). She could tell this because when he focused on an object, both eyes focused at the same point. It's amazing what they can figure out without even being able to ask Mason any questions!

However, because of Mason's mild droop, she would like to watch him over the next few years. Apparently the droop can cause that eye to work harder and then when the brain realizes it's working so hard it could decide to not use that eye at all. We'll be seeing the doc every 6 months until he's about three (or is able to read the picture chart and answer some questions).

I'm sure glad Mason is easy going because we seem to spend a lot of time with doctors. And I'm so glad that even though we see doctors all the time, he keeps coming up with a clean bill of health. We are so thankful and continue to be reminded how blessed we really are!