update

I've been away a while. We have had a lot going on and I have not made time to update on the blog.

Here's the short update. Todd got a new job in Singapore. We moved to Singapore last November and had a baby in May. I think I covered all the high points here.

As for other news, my mother died of breast cancer. It has been over a year, but it still feels like it happened yesterday. I miss her terribly. There is just not too much more I can say about it right now.

Caroline is now 6.5 years old and attends a local school in Singapore. It's an all girls' Catholic school where she is immersed in Chinese every day.

Isaac is now 4.5 years old and he is in a Chinese kindergarten. It's a full immersion program and he is definitely learning both how to write and speak Mandarin.

Anna, now 3, attends the same kindergarten (different class) where she is also learning Mandarin. I haven't heard too much Mandarin from her, but I trust that she is learning some.

Patrick is 19 months and doing all the normal toddler things. He is very athletic and is also very musical. He does not talk very much yet, but he can sing and has been singing since before his first birthday. It's really something to hear his rendition of "Singing in the Rain" and his favorite "Make 'Em Laugh".

Julia Maxine Lewis joined our family on May 24th, 2011. She shares her birthday with me, which is quite special, I think. I will post her birth story soon, as well as some photos.

Patrick is 5 months! We just had our doctor's appointment and he is now 15 lbs, 5oz and 26.8 inches long. (30% for weight and 83% for height). He had tubes put in his ears last month and later this week we will find out if they are helping his hearing. UPDATE (03/11/2010): Patrick went to the ENT today and we discovered that his tubes were blocked. The ENT was able to unblock one of the tubes (I'll spare you the details) and the other one is still completely blocked. I have to give him ear drops 2x a day to help clear up the blockage. I hope it works!

Don't cross me

 

Fun at the playground

 

 
 
 
 

Patrick, 4 months

 

 

 

Sisters

 

Christmas photos!

 

Here is another photo from this morning.

I wonder what face daddy is making...

 

We attempted a photography session with our bunch this morning. There were a few okay shots, though none were quite in focus. We will try a little later today, outside, where I think the light will be better.

6 weeks!

 

Patrick is 6 weeks old and getting so big. I haven't weighed him recently, but I suspect he's around 11 pounds already. He sleeps well and is a very happy, peaceful baby. We are so blessed to have him in ou family!

Playtime!

 

 

Patrick has reddish hair. I'm not sure where he got that from, but it will probably become brown/dark brown eventually.

 

Poor little guy! He's had a double ear infection for a long time and we've just found out about it. :-(

Patrick's visit with the otolaryngologist

Today Patrick met with an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor for further evaluation. First the staff audiologist tested Patrick's hearing and asked some questions. He failed all the hearing tests. The ENT looked in his hears and couldn't see anything so he cleaned them out a bit. He found very thick fluid and an ear infection. We now a script for antibiotics in the hopes that this will help clear up the fluid in his ears before his hearing test on Dec. 4th.

Patrick's hearing

Patrick did not pass his followup hearing test this morning. He even managed to fail it in the other ear, which we thought was okay. I'm not quite sure what all this means, but it is possible that there is something blocking his ear drum (both of them) or that he has has some type of hearing loss. Say a prayer that we get some answers soon!

UPDATE: I scheduled him for a Tonal ABR (auditory brainstem response) which is a more thorough test on his inner ear. The test will give us a better idea what is going on with his hearing.

UPDATE 2: He is going to see a Pediatric ENT tomorrow, so I hope to have more answers then. The other appointment is not until the beginning of December.

Funny hat, happy baby

 

I haven't been able to coax Patrick to smile for the camera. I can get smiley pictures when he is looking in the mirror or at his daddy but as soon as he sees the camera, Mr. Grumpy shows up and there is no smile. However, I put this funny winter hat on his head and he immediately smiled.