Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Another trip to Minneapolis

Gavin's latest appointment with the nephrology team was yesterday in Minneapolis. Overall he's looking fantastic!

Gavin always seems to entertain the transplant team whenever we go for a visit. He’s such a good boy on the car ride—6 hours round trip is a long time for a little boy, and he handles it pretty well.

We got to the U about an hour before our appointment so we had plenty of time to park, walk over, and visit some familiar faces before we went to clinic. Gavin says hi to everyone we cross paths with, and it never fails to bring a smile to people’s faces.

Dr. Nevins was very happy with Gavin’s progress. His kidney function is excellent and we’re keeping the EBV in check. The only thing we’re going to continue to watch is Gavin’s growth—he hasn’t grown as much as the team would have hoped, so we’re going to “watch and see” for the next few months. He’s currently 30 pounds and 33 1/3 inches tall. His weight is great, but his height isn’t even on the growth chart. I asked about nutritional concerns or if there’s something we should be doing at home, and Dr. Nevins doesn’t seem to think nutrition is an issue because Gavin IS growing, just not as much as they’d like to see…plus all of his blood work looks fantastic and there is NO shortage of energy in this little boy.

The good news—we’re going to be able to space out Gavin’s lab draws to just one time per month. WOO HOO!!!! He’s been going every 2 weeks FOREVER. Once a month is like a dream!

We made it back to Marshall without incident, making a pit stop at McDonald’s to get Gavin his Chicky Nuggets.

Gavin seemed to be excited to see his sister when he got home...he was sure to explain all about the toy bar for her bouncy seat!

Monday, February 25, 2008

Tony's birthday!

Gavin and Mommy did the honors of making Daddy's birthday cake. Marble with Chocolate Frosting, and SPRINKLES courtesy of the Gav-Man:





The finished product:


And of course daddy needed help blowing out the candles!


Meanwhile, the little princess was much too busy getting her beauty sleep to be bothered with the festivities:

a little comparison

Olivia is officially 1 month old (and officially over 10 pounds!)

I couldn't believe it when we put this outfit on her today. It was Gavin's first Easter outfit (minus the hair bow, of course).




And here's Gavin in it--Taken March 27th, 2005--he was almost 3 months old:





What a difference healthy kidneys and a healthy appetite make. :(

Makes me sad to think about it.