No Words Needed

Our new little man!

He's here!! Maxwell Alexander was born on May 15, 2009. He weighed 8 lbs 14.4 oz and 20 1/4 inches long. We've been spending so much time loving him that there hasn't been time for things like the computer!!

pictures!!

Me at 38 weeks; ready to have this baby!!

The kids with the new baby chicks...

The chicks taking a very gentle ride on the swing.

Alice, our birthday girl turning 5!!

Also, good news on Sol. Last week went well at the hospital and he is home now recovering. The surgeon was able to clean out his wounds and also take out the rods in his tibias. He goes back tomorrow for a follow-up and it was a little vague on what that entails, but the main thing is checking for healing from his infection. We are so thankful and appreciate the support of our friends and family.

Pray for Sol

Our family has had quite the week! It all started last Thursday with Jed coming down with Coxsacki virus (hand and mouth). It's not a huge deal but by Friday, Nathan had been diagnosed with strep throat. Saturday Sol had an obvious infection in his legs when we took off his liners to bath him. He and Nathan spent the late hours of Saturday and early hours of Sunday in the ER. On Monday, all 4 kiddos were diagnosed with strep throat and put on antibiotics. Our pediatrician had thought it would be smart to send Sol up to Portland to Shriner's to be checked with the surgeon and so that was on the agenda for today.

Sol will be going back up tomorrow morning with Nathan for surgery to attempt to clean up an infection in both legs which includes an aggresive form of MRSA. We are not at this point sure exactly what they are going to find or what will need to be done. They will for sure be removing the rods that are holding the two pieces of tibia together in each leg as they have fused. I will be staying home since the baby's due date is quickly approaching and we have no idea how long this hospital stay will be. So far the Lord has really looked after me, allowing me to somehow not get sick and I am just praying that we can have Sol on the mend before I go into labor. What crazy twists and turns we are sometimes thrown! Our main concern is for Sol and appreciate prayers for his safety and health in the days ahead.

Parties, shots and runaway ants...

I feel really bad for not keeping up on the post, but the past month has taken on a life of its own! No time for pictures tonight but I promise to get some on soon. Alice had her 5th birthday this past week which meant the dreaded trip to the doctor to prepare for kindergarten in the fall. She handled the shots better than last time when it took 4 adults to hold her down! On the way in to the doctor, she told me "I know I won't need any shots this time because I ate a piece of broccoli last year and a tomato too I think." I was also honored with a baby shower this past weekend which was really a lot of fun. I felt kind of silly since this isn't our first or second baby, but it was so nice to visit with girlfriends and sit around eating cake. We're getting really excited about welcoming another boy into the family; it's been quite a while since we had a baby boy in our home!

Thank heavens, the weather is finally turning warmer because I thought I was going to lose it when it started snowing and hailing last week again. The kids had a major case of cabin fever and little Charlotte was doing the craziest things. Last Tuesday I ended up with a colony of runaway ants she let out of Jed's ant farm onto the sofa! She was jumping around the room crying and rubbing at her pants. I pulled them off and found ants biting at her leg. About half of the ants survived the ordeal and the other half ended up smashed or vacuumed. I can't believe the things she gets into! The week before I found her sitting on the kitchen floor with 18 Babybell cheese wheels unwrapped and using them to stack a tower! I promise that I'm not a negligent mother; all of these things happen when I'm gone for maybe two minutes.

Tomorrow we are heading up to Portland for the removal of Sol's casts. We are really excited to finally see the doctor's handiwork and get Sol onto his new legs. He has been doing remarkably well, even learning how to pull himself into our car which is no easy thing with an SUV. He can walk without a walker for short distances even with full leg casts and has enjoyed getting back to school. Yesterday he had a bit of excitement when his wheelchair was accidentally let go of by a student at the preschool and he flew down a ramp and into the bushes. He's fine but has a little scab on his chin and has been retelling the story all day today. Tomorrow night we'll come home and Thursday morning Sol will get his first tub bath in 2 months; I can only imagine how good that is going to feel!!

6 months since Gotcha Day!

Sol proudly holding the Mickey Mouse material he picked for his new legs.

Yesterday was our 6 month anniversary of the day that Sol joined our family. What a busy half a year it's been and how quickly it's gone by! Sol has changed so much (definitely for the better) in that amount of time and is a very special part of our family. I'm guessing Charlotte probably doesn't even remember a time when Sol wasn't here!

Sol's recovery is going well. We had a very hard week last week and I am so thankful for the kindness of friends from church bringing meals every night. We had one visit to the ER and one splint pulled off during the week. Sol had uncontrollable bloody noses the middle of the week and that required 3 different visits to the doctor but we now know he can't have ibuprofen. There was not a lot of sleep going on in the Keepers' house last week!! Sol is now able to scoot on the floor and since then, has been a much happier little boy. In two days, we go back up to Portland to have his sutures removed and redress everything. I am not looking forward to spending another night on that pull-out bed with my tummy two weeks larger!

Oh, that brings up another bit of news... Nathan told the kids on Saturday the sex of our newest one... it's a BOY. Everyone is very excited and only about 8 weeks to go; for that I am very thankful!

We're Home!!

We were released from the hospital yesterday afternoon and are so happy to be home with family now!! Thursday was a really rough day for Solomon and therefore, us too! He was weaned off the epidural and had a day filled with emotion but was in a wheelchair rolling the halls by that evening. What a difference it makes getting up out of bed! Nathan and I were thrilled to get home and Sol is doing really well; not nearly as much complaints. The meds are working well and we're just figuring out logistical stuff now. Today we were able to see Jed's academic competition at school while my Mom stayed home with the other kids. It's so good to be home!! Thanks to everyone for your prayers this week and into the coming ones too!

Visitors

Solomon with his siblings.

With Granny, Grandma and Grandpa.

Snuggling with his new puppy from Auntie Rachel.

Yesterday we had a visit from family. It did Solomon a lot of good to spend time with his mind off of the surgery. He is still doing really well but the emotional side of the amputation is getting harder for him. We can't wait to get home and have everyone together! It's hard being away from the kids.

Today the nurses have been working on weaning Sol from the epidural and will be removing that and his catheter. He is very fearful of any pain, so today has been a hard day for all of us. The nurses have been so sweet to him and I am thankful for that. We were hoping to come home tomorrow but may have to stay longer since he is still running a moderate fever and hasn't been out of bed at all yet. One piece of really good news: when the surgeon talked to Nathan earlier he told him he plans to take out the sutures in 2 weeks and that Sol can weight bear in 4 weeks. Which might mean he can be fitted for his new legs in a month! Praise the Lord!

Surgery Day

This is a picture of Nathan and Sol last night before surgery. Sol's surgery went really well today and he was in recovery by early afternoon. His first concern was when he could eat and was very emotional. Since then he has moved on to a solid diet and is in better spirits. He has an epidural which is really helping with pain management. What a brave boy!! The splints look really good with nice straight legs. We feel very thankful and very blessed. Tomorrow he will have a visit from his siblings and Granny, Grandma and Grandpa.

Big Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow morning we leave bright and early for Portland Shriner's Hospital for Sol's surgery. He will be having a double amputation just above the ankles and an osteotomy of his tibias. Today was a hectic day of last minute arrangements and getting ready for the trip. My mom will be driving up and staying with the other kids while we are away. Surgery is actually on Tuesday with the pre-op done tomorrow. Sol was in really good spirits today, running around after his sisters at home. We will see how things go once we are at the hospital. Hopefully I'll be able to keep an update of the progress while we are at Shriner's.

Update

I realize it's been a long time since our last update... I planned on posting on Sol's 4 month anniversary of being home and that didn't end up happening. I've been bitten by the nesting bug that hits me around this time with each pregnancy! So between cleaning the entire house top to bottom (or at least attempting it!) and keeping up with four crazy kids, there's not a lot of time left for playing on the computer. We do have some big things coming up though...

In two weeks, we'll be taking the kids for one last vacation before Sol's surgery and the baby's arrival. We are planning on visiting Disneyland, Knott's and some museums and the beach in Southern California. Nathan decided to tell them ahead of time but I'm wondering if a last minute surprise would have been better. Talk around our house has been focused on Mickey Mouse for about a week now and Solomon's queries into whether or not he will get bitten by the large rodent!!

On March 3 Solomon will have his surgery. It will be a bilateral amputation with an osteotomy of his tibias. We are very confident in the surgeon's abilities and are anxious to see the results. Solomon seems to be accepting of this and we will be in Portland at Shriner's Hospital for about 5 days altogether. I'm just praying for the pain to not be unbearable for Solomon during recovery. He is not the toughest little guy ever and I would imagine it's not going to be easy being in casts for 6 weeks. We have our pre-op appointment the day before surgery.

Otherwise life around here is going pretty well. Some days I feel like I live at the zoo with four crazy kids who act a little more like monkeys than humans. The weather is so cold we aren't able to play outside a lot and that can give anyone a bad case of cabin fever! Bring on the Southern California sun; only two more weeks!!