One Last Hoorah

 This past weekend we did one last hoorah before school started today. We went to the Westin and had a staycation with some friends. The kids swam a lot and did the various contests which included a cannonball and the smallest splash. Max was upset that he did not win one contest this year, so we worked with him on being a good loser. 

We had one very tired boy on Sunday.

Monday night was meet the teacher. There was a lot of drama to get Max's assigned teacher, but everything worked out in the end. His teacher seems great and we all really liked her. Plus, he has a few friends in his class. I am pretty sure it's going to be a great year. 

Today was the first day of school. Max has grown three inches since the start of school last year. So far, he has grown three inches each year for the last three years. How is this possible? Oh yeah, it's all of Andy's genes. Ha Ha!

We went to the park prior to school starting and met up with some of Max's friends and the parents. This is a good group of friends that Max has and it's a huge plus that I like all of the parents too. 

July 4th Weekend

 As I mentioned in an earlier post, the state of Arizona was on fire and all of the forests were shut down so we couldn't do the camping trip that we planned. We figured out a plan B and that was to rent a house in Big Bear, CA with the Campbell family and take all three dogs with us. It was a 5.5 hour long car ride each way and normally that wouldn't be bad, but we just got back to town from our San Diego road trip so it was kind of hard to get back in the car two days later and drive to Big Bear. I was also wondering how Sammy was going to do but she was fine. She was excited at first, but once she calmed down she either just chewed her bones or slept.

Sammy and Hazel became best friends instantly. They played hard in the backyard together.

On Friday morning we got up and rented a pontoon boat on the lake for a few hours. Amber was our boat driver since she had the most experience driving a boat. We attempted to fish, but we caught nothing. It was fun just to be out on the lake.

We checked out downtown Big Bear for dinner and the kids got their fortunes read by Zoltar. You know the machine from the movie Big. We told Max the machine would make him 30 years old in the morning just like in the movie. Ha Ha!

The house we stayed at had lots of games and activities for the kids including a hot tub. There were also plenty of birds and squirrels the kids were feeding. The bluebirds in the area were very pretty.

On Saturday we went to an amusement park where there were a couple roller coasters, water slides and go-carts. The kids had fun burning their energy.

On Sunday the kids did plenty of holiday activities. They decorated cookies, made fruit kabobs, played with glow sticks, made s'mores and even tye-dyed shirts that turned purple in the wash. The shirts were actually really cool red, white and blue before they were washed. Oh well, we will do something different the next time.

Big Bear had fireworks down at the lake that the Campbell's went to, but Max HATES fireworks. He thinks it's way too loud, so we told him we would stay back with him and the dogs. The dogs were fine for the most part and Max really didn't care about the fireworks. We could see them a little bit from the deck, but not much.

It wasn't plan A for the holiday weekend, but it sure was a fantastic time. I would go back to Big Bear and rent another cabin anytime. 

Max Update

 I recently posted about Max's epilepsy and how we were waiting for the appointment with his new neurologist. Well, that happened on his birthday. Only one parent could attend and so I drove us to downtown Phoenix to meet his new neurologist and get a new plan for Max.

Our new doctor only works with epileptic children and he has many, many years of experience. I felt really good about him very early on in the appointment. He read all of Max's files ahead of time so he was prepared for the meeting. It was nice not to have to repeat everything.

He's pretty confident the epilepsy is not due to Max being a premie since his MRI is normal. He's pretty confident this is due to genetics. That our genetics combined produced an epileptic kid. Since we don't have another child to compare this theory he is not for sure. So, the doctor ordered a genetics test on all three of us to determine if it truly is genetics. He really wants to get to the bottom of what is causing the seizures. There's a 50% chance the genetics testing will help us determine a plan of action. It will help the doctor make decisions on how to treat Max. He did warn me though that there's a 50% chance the genetics testing will not help at all. Also, genetics testing is so controversial though that we had to sign paperwork giving our consent. The hospital does not keep the genetics testing in a database nor do they sell the information. It's strictly used for diagnosing Max. Anything to help Max overcome this we are on board with and I signed the paperwork. 

In the meantime, while we wait for the genetics testing to come back the doctor changed up Max's medicine slightly. He increased the dosage and changed the format of how he gets his medicine. It used to be in liquid format, but the doctor changed it to a pill format. He said the liquid format has a high peak and a low valley which the low valley could be a cause in his increase in seizures. This and the fact that he's grown so much since he was four years old and originally prescribed his medicine. He definitely outgrew the dosage. The pill format provides more of an even keel all day long. The problem is that he can't swallow pills yet. Until he learns to swallow the pills we have to open each pill and pour it into applesauce or pudding in a spoon each time. 

He also discussed possibly seeing an epileptic therapist as well to help Max with his anxiety. He said that could be an option too, but first, he wants to see what the genetics test will tell him. 

I asked him about Max growing out of this since his brain is normal and he said that many children do grow out of it and if they do grow out of it kids tend to grow out of it between the ages of 11 and 13. Since he is a new doctor to Max he couldn't say his professional opinion on if he thinks Max will grow out of it. Only time will tell though.

I will keep everyone updated on Max's epileptic journey. 

San Diego

 We did our annual beach trip to San Diego just the way Max likes it. He never wants to go to a theme park or any other adventure, he just wants to park it on the beach and that is exactly what we did. 

We got Max a skimboard and a bodyboard for his birthday. In our past trips to the ocean, Max has seen other kids use these and has wanted to try it. The ocean is pretty cold but he still gave it a try. It's going to take much more practice for him to be able to do it. I also think it will be easier to do with us getting in the water with him. I am not interested in getting in 65-degree water, but if we ever make it to Rocky Point where the water is much warmer these boards will make the trip with us. 

We played in the sand a lot and made sandcastles and a sand turtle.

We even buried Max.

We flew our first kite on this trip.

Went to Max's favorite restaurants while we were there. Our little foodie couldn't wait to get back to San Diego and eat at his favorite taco shop. It's the best tacos I have ever had and Max just loves this place. I too couldn't wait for the tacos.

Max played in the ocean plenty. It was pretty cold but this AZ boy didn't care. He just wanted to play in the waves. It was fun to watch him and hear his innocence in his giggles.

We stopped and got Max a new sweatshirt and made our way back to the swealtering heat in Arizona.