Riley's Very Successful Year

OK, Riley is not in school yet, but he is doing so great! We've just had genetic testing ran on him due to his PKU...his Phe levels have been extremely LOW for over 3 months. Abnormally low...as in, so low it can do as much damage as his Phe levels being too high. So, he is now on a diet that a 5 month old with severe PKU (which is what they originally diagnosed Riley as) could never be on...he has over 345 mg of Phe per day. Dr. Singh now believes Riley might be a moderate or mild case. Adam believes Riley might suffer from something called HyperPhe, which is where a child is born with Phe levels elevated (between 7 and 10%) but doesn't have true PKU and therefore does not need to be on a severe vegan diet. The reason he believes this is because at birth, Riley's levels were only 7.3%. We are hoping and praying he might possibly have the last option and can have hamburger and hotdogs soon:)

Other than extremely low Phe levels, Riley is flourishing...he is beyond Draik and Regan with everything they did at 5 1/2 months. He loves to stand (yes, stand) and is already scoot-crawling (pulls up, slides forward, pulls up, slides forward- like an inch-worm). He is a very happy baby (so far)...and I'm hoping the teeth start coming in soon- it seems like we've been teething for 2 months with no results. His favorite toy is his horsie...a contraption you sit him in and he bounches...kind of like the door-frame swings, only this is on it's own frame and it's in the shape of a horse and plays "she'll be coming around the mountain". He bounces so hard Adam's afraid he's going to shoot out of it!

6th Grade CMS Awards Day

Yesterday Adam, Mom and I went to Draik's Awards Day. She has had an amazing year and plans to do even more next year. Draik had all Nerd Classes (or honors classes...I prefer Nerd) this year - even in her dreaded Science - and still made the A Honor Roll for the year. She also got a certificate for having 20+ hours in Community Service.

Regan's Magical 3rd Grade Year

Sometimes in life, when one has multiple kids, it is hard not to have one that especially captures your heart. I guess because Regan was my baby...and my little man...for so long ~ plus the fact that Draik has always been so grown-up and independent ~ that Regan is this child for me. From the time he was born, I knew he'd be extremely special and he and I have always been extremely close. Also, he has always been quite the sickly child, spending time in the ICU at 6 months with fluid around his heart and having severe allergies and asthma since basically birth. So, I have always sheltered him and tried to be encouraging to him. While he has always had good years in school, and made good grades, he has never quite been able to capture the successes that Draik has had due to her outgoing personality and in-your-face attitude (I really have no idea where she gets it from...hehehe). Little Regan has always been just that- little. He is 9 years old, barely over 4 feet tall and barely over 50 pounds. As a matter of fact, 5 1/2 month old Riley is officially half Regan's height. With that being said, Regan has always been extremely introverted and emotional and extremely shy and unsure of himself. I remember the first time my mother-in-law, the psychologist, met the kids, and I was bragging on Draik and how smart she was, my mother-in-law stopped me and said "Her intellegence doesn't begin to encompass Regan's...". And my dear husband, Adoo, has always been a little peeved that Regan somehow always gets overlooked in the accolades, because, understanding the mind himself (my gosh, only half his family are doctors in psychology), he always felt Regan was our retirement plan (that's what we've always called Draik). I have no idea what magical powers 3rd grade holds, but somehow, it has really brought Regan out of his shell this year. He ended up scoring higher than Draik did in 3rd grade on his CRCTs and he also bested her in his average- his is a 99 compared to Draik's 95 6th grade and her 3rd grade average of 96. So it's not too hard to say we are so proud of Regan and all he accomplished this year. Here he is receiving his awards packet, which includes: End of the Year Class Superlatives- voted Most Likely to be President; Math Award for Multiplication; Fitnessgram Certificate of Achievement (like the Presidential Fitness Award that they did not participate in this year- for someone so tiny, he sure is athletic); the Top Jacket Award; "A" Honor Roll; and AR Award for Reading (along with a Six Flags ticket).

Draik's End of Year Debate Banquet

On Thursday, Adam and I attended Draik's EoY Debate Banquet, where she received her Junior National Forensic League Membership Certificate and the t-shirt she won at state that she didn't get because of the infamous sickness episode (see older post). We did find out at the banquet that Draik was the #1 speaker in state going into round 3, where she infamously fought through her stomach virus, just as Judge Bearden encouraged her to. During his introduction of Draik at the banquet, Judge Bearden said "...and after much encouragement, this young lady tried desperately to push on, where, in round 3, both the judges and I regretted encouraging her, I'll save the details due to this being a dinner...". Draik did wonderful in debate this year and her dad and I couldn't be more proud.

Draik receiving her certificate from Judge Bearden (the CMS and CHS debate coach)

Draik and her friend Katie, with their certificates.

Concerts in the Park....

Since dad had to work until late last night, the kids and I went to BB&T Park with Nana and Ba to see the first concert of the season. The boys had a lot of fun, Draik just wanted to get home to see her friends, and I had a huge headache by the time it was all over. Also, Draik and I really don't like country music, so what was the first concert of the season? A country band...but it was beautiful outside and it was nice hanging out for a little while!

The Fat Boy Speaks...Sort Of...

Ahhh...little Riles. He's now 5 1/2 months old. 18.5 pounds and 27.5 inches long. His favorite foods are sweet potatoes and green beans. The most wonderful news is his Phe levels have been extremely low for 3 months now. They continually increase the amount of Phe (protein enzyme) and his levels are still too low. There is now a great possibility that he is not a severe case of PKU, more likely a moderate case, but dare we wish, a mild case! It's a good thing his Phe was increased, because fat boy likes to eat...especially his sweet potatoes!


We constantly laugh at him because he "talks" all the time...he sounds like a pirate! But he's so serious when he talks and gets upset when we laugh at him!

We've had a lot of "upheaval" at the Owczarz household lately. Two weeks ago, when Adam was getting something out of our "look, someone dropped a bomb in here" garage, he found 4 kittens, approximately 6 weeks old. Because Stonewall Jackson (that's always so funny to type) sleeps in the garage, we always leave a door cracked, and a moma cat must have come in and had kittens!

Very cute...so imagine our surprise when last weekend, we're cleaning the garage (now, it's more like "hey, has a tornado come through here?") and we hear the funniest little noises...and find 5 new kittens, probably not a week old. As soon as Adam discovers them, here comes the kids...we actually got a picture of Riley "holding" one. Unfortunately, moma cat abandoned this set and we ended up having to take them to the shelter because they would not take milk from us (or Adam- the pet whisperer).