Talking & Shopping with Olivia

Olivia and I went to the grocery store today. We passed a display of Frosted Flakes and the following conversation was an attempted (and unsuccessful) explanation of how Tony the Tiger is not Tigger.

Olivia: (pointing to boxes) Tigger!

Me: No, that's not Tigger. Its a Tiger. Someone the Tiger.

Olivia: Its Tigger.

Me: No, he's Tony the Tiger.

Olivia: No, its Tigger.

Me: Well, of course

Olivia: Mom, he's not a horse, its Tigger.

Me: Okay!

End of Discussion.

I am easily persuaded. Or poorly persuading.

More Skating Today!

I am really liking this whole ice skating thing. We went to the Olympic Oval today and had a great time! We also saw Derek Parra - 2002 olympic gold medalist and 2010 National Long Track Head Coach (?).

We took our double stroller and pushed the girls around with us. Jolie had a great time and Olivia did some of the time. She really wanted to try skating again. Pushing the stroller really makes skating more of a workout so we took turns pushing and plenty of breaks.

Nyah got hurt and boo-hooed her way around the oval for a while. When not riding around in her parent powered stroller, Olivia was prancing around. We got to watch the Junior National short track speed skating team (I think?) practicing.


And topped it off with frosty's on the way home. Lovely afternoon.

Crafty Kids

For Christmas the kids received a couple model projects to paint and put together, so they have been hard at work.
Olivia didn't want to be left out so I set her up to paint.

Jolie decided to go outside with Kurt.

Ice Skating

For the first time ever in my life I went ice skating! We went to the Olympic Oval and had a great time.

We let Olivia try too, but she didn't make it very far before she was done. There were people pushing their strollers while they were skating so we are taking our double stroller next time.

Austin and Nyah had a blast!
Kurt and I took turns going around with them . . .

. . . and sitting with the little two. Olivia was mesmerized by the zamboni clearing the ice for a hockey game. Jolie just like hanging and pulling at the gate.

They were also running (or crawling) and growling at everyone.

We decided to get a family pass (awesome deal) so there will be plenty of ice skating in the future. One thing I love about it - when I get too pregnant to be ice skating there is a track around the outside of the racing rink I can walk on!!

Hurray Keshia!!

My youngest sister Keshia had the most fabulous Christmas present ever - her mission call finally came (after getting lost once)!! She tells about it on her blog here. She is going to serve in the Slovenia/Croatia Mission - if your eyes went wide in shock and you draw a complete blank as you try to think about the countries of Slovenia and Croatia you are pretty much reacting the same way I did!!

So I've been doing a little research:

LDS Country Profiles: Slovenia & Croatia

Location: Maps of the Balkans - Slovenia & Croatia are across the Adriatic Sea from Italy

Interesting Facts about Croatia

Intersting Facts about Slovenia

She reports to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah mid-February.

Congratulations Keshia!!

Christmas Day

We had a fabulous Christmas Day. Lots of presents and fun. Treats and delicious leftovers. I even managed to have a two hour nap snuggled with my Jolie-girl.

And there was even a little dancing and singing on the counters.

Hope you all had a wonderful, peaceful Christmas Day!

Lots of Love!

Merry Christmas!

Here is our Christmas newsletter:

Greetings Family & Friends—Just a quick update on our family:

Jolie, 19 months, is growing up faster than a speeding bullet! She is in a hurry to catch up with all her siblings, and can’t stand to be left behind. Some of her favorite things are dogs, babies, shoes, and her Dad. We love how helpful she is- from switching laundry to unloading the dishwasher, she always wants to be a part of what we are doing.

Olivia, almost 3 years, is excellent! About a month ago she fell from a shopping cart and ended up with a fractured skull and small bleed in her brain. Within an hour she was on a life flight to a children’s hospital, stayed a couple days, and caused lots of worry and stress for everyone. Thank you for all your help, kind thoughts, and prayers for our sweet girl. She is back to her happy, joking self, running and playing, laughing and screaming, and squabbling with her siblings. All efforts to keep her on ground level and doing walking-paced activities are failing miserably—we wouldn’t want it any other way.

Nyah, 7 years, is still the firecracker in our family. She is part rebellious teenager and part helpful sweetheart, and loves tricking us with her different personas. She speeds through her daily work and assignments so she can go outside and play with her friends. She enjoys her home school club and being in Girl Scouts. And despite the many complaints about little sisters, I know she secretly loves being the ringleader.

Austin, 8 years, is our ever dependable and laid-back boy. He is a great big brother and always looks out for his sisters, though he also likes being the one to tease and torment them. He can spend hours playing with his legos and action figures, but he also likes playing video games and hanging out with his friends. He likes his home school club and is thrilled with all the exciting things he gets to do in Boy Scouts.

Kelsey—I am busy with all the usual details of being a mom, homemaker, homeschooler, and scout leader (boys & girls). When I have free time I am learning to play the piano, reading books, blogging, or trying to squeeze in a nap. We are expecting a new baby—my due date is July 5, 2010.

Kurt—has been working as the VP of Corporate Development at ASEA for a little over a year. He is busy and gone a lot, so we love it when we get to spend time with him. When he has free time he enjoys being with his family, practicing guitar, playing video games, or shoveling snow! HA, just kidding.

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for the New Year!!

Lots of Love from the Richards’ Family

Sledding

I told my kids we'll have to clean up the house if they want to have a sleepover tonight, but we decided to put it off a while longer and go sledding at a nearby park. We took a couple neighbor boys with us. Despite some throwing snow in faces and whining about not getting to use the sled they wanted, everyone had a great time!

Olivia and Jolie were happy to try out the sledding, but they mostly wanted to swing.

And when they were too cold we hung out in the car, eating snacks and watching a movie.

Graham Cracker Houses

Last night we built graham cracker houses with the kids. I love how my kids had elaborate plots between the gummy bears and gummy worms-- such drama to get a house built! I enjoyed listening to all the diabolical schemes unfold.

Kurt helped Jolie make one on her high chair tray.

And its Christmas Eve - AAAAAAAH!!

We like to do our big family dinner (with just our family this year) on Christmas Eve so today is going to be a busy day!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Its Almost Christmas!!

Playing in the snow!!!Because it takes forever to get all the kids ready, find everyone's boots, gloves, & hats (putting things in the same place so you can find them later being a totally alien concept to kids), I don't take Olivia and Jolie out very much. But we made the effort today.
Building a snow fort

Eating snow is Jolie's favorite snow activity

Hanging out

Austin & Nyah were using some of our pool floats to sled today.

Saturday Highlights

Nyah went ice skating with Kurt-- she's awesome!!

Austin & Nyah singing at the ward Christmas party.

Kids ended the day sliding in the living room while we watched
A Muppets Christmas Carol (my favorite Christmas movie!!!)

Christmas Trees

I was thinking the past few days about how I won't get to visit my family this year, and I realized that means I don't get to see all the houses decked out in Christmas decorations. So I have a challenge for my mom and sisters-- take some pictures of your Christmas trees and post them for me to see, and then leave me a comment with the link. In fact, anyone who wants to share their Christmas tree is welcome! Here are some from my cousin Katie and my cousin-in-law Tia- love the trees ladies!!

I admit to chickening out when it came to decorating this year. We put up the tree and trimmed it, and I have spent everyday since picking up ornaments and putting them back on the tree, only higher, which is why the bottom part is empty.

We put a few things on the mantle, but not our stockings yet. We use some cute Santa statue hook things for our stockings that we didn't want our little girls pulling over on top of their heads-- no more head injuries!!! We'll hang them Christmas Eve.

I also bought a poinsettia this year, but I don't know why I torture myself with potted plants-- they start to wilt and loose their leaves because I forget to water them, so I water them and they perk back up only to be neglected again. Sigh.

P.S. to Karla- I changed the settings so you should be able to leave comments now.

UPDATE:
My mom has posted about her Christmas trees (yes, there has always been more than one!) and beautiful decorations. Check 'em out!

I LOVE Christmas Goodies!!

A neighbor brought me homemade caramels. YUM!!

Doctor Blather

So, on Olivia's NF1 update I did a week ago I mentioned the opthamologist used too many medial/technical terms for me to really understand or be able to relay the information on to others. Well, towards the end of the visit I was trying to get him to explain it all for me again, and he said he was going to be dictating a letter to another doctor (Olivia's neurosurgeon) explaining everything so he would just do that now. He then proceeded to dictate the letter to his handheld thing-a-ma-jig as a way of explaining it to me. Yesterday I received my copy of the letter. Here is what is says:

I saw Olivia Richards today who as you know was diagnosed with a left optic nerve glioma on recent scans that were done incidentally because of an injury that she got from falling out of a shopping cart in November. (A little fancy doctor talk but so far I'm with him)

On Olivia's exam today, she has very slightly reduced vision in the left eye compared to the right but no clear-cut afferent pupillary defect and no optic nerve atrophy or edema on the left. (I'm lost, are you?) She has no strabismus. Her ocular rotations were full. Her cycloplegic refraction did show hyperopic anisometropia with more hyperopia on the left, compared to the right. I think Olivia is not having any impact on her vision thus far because of the optic glioma (That sentence I understood). I think she does have hyperopic anisometropia and mild amblyopia in the left eye secondary to it, but I recommended glasses wear and I will see her again in two months to check her vision. (Glasses and go back- check!)

We certainly could do a visually evoked potential in the future if we suspect that the glioma is a problem with her vision but I am not sure that we would do any treatment anyway. I hope this letter is of help to you and I will keep you updated.

Warmest regards,

blah, blah, blah.

Obviously there was a lack of communication/understanding on both sides for him to think this would clear things up for me.

I have been looking up all these terms on MedicineNet, if you want to try it I suggest using full terms such as "afferent pupillary defect" instead of single words. Or you can go to this Eye Glossary. Or you can wait until I have it explained to me by someone else and I'll try to explain it again here.

Kids do weird things

Like putting a fork in the fridge. Who knows!?!

Announcing . . .

Baby Richards due July 7, 2010

Ultrasound pictures at this stage always remind me of those orange, candy, circus peanuts. Baby's head is the circle-y blob inside black oval on the right and baby's toosh is the other end. Baby was kicking legs and waving arms during the ultrasound- so adorable. Totally made the 2 hour wait worth it (my doctor had to go deliver a couple babies- some excuse).

Christmas Concert

Austin and Nyah sang in a church Christmas concert tonight. All the primary kids (ages 3-11) in our stake (area) sang 3 songs: Christmas Bells, Could I Hold the Baby, and Angels We Have Heard on High. There was also an adult choir and symphony. It was magical!!!

Snow!!

Happy Snow Days!!

Penny MIA

Searching through poop for a missing penny is just as disgusting as you would think, in case you were wondering. :)

What next?!?

Olivia NF1 Update ~ Dec 09

So this update is a little early - normally Olivia sees her specialists once a year and we saw them in March 09, but the CT scans that were done at the time of her accident also showed that she had an optic glioma (tumor on optic nerve) behind her left eye, which is a new sign of her NF1 (Neurofibromatosis Type 1). A blessing in disguise?

So, November 30th Olivia had an MRI to check on her head injury, but primarily to get a clearer picture of the optic glioma. We've suspected she's had NF1 from when she was 3 months old and she was officially diagnosed around 9 months old. Because she doesn't have any major outward signs and she has been developing normally, its the type of thing that just doesn't come up in conversation, so I know it has been a surprise for some of you to find out about it.

In March 09 I did a post about Olivia's yearly check up. Basically there are 7 major signs for NF1--A listing of these can be found here.

Olivia has:

(1) cafe au lait spots- basically birthmarks. She has several that are bigger than two quarters placed together and lots of smaller ones of different sizes. These started appearing when she was 1 month old and will likely continue to appear. I asked her pediatrician about the first of these when she was 2 months old and he recommended we see a genetics specialist.

(2) surface neurofibromas- if you look at pictures of these online they are freaking scary and Olivia's don't even remotely look like them. The doctor pointed out 2 possible ones, they are small, slightly raised bumps, maybe about the size of a grain of rice. I'm never sure I'm even looking in the right place. These were found at her March '09 visit.

(3) freckling- in her armpits and groin, pretty much where the sun doesn't shine. Also started appearing from a very young age. This was the 2nd sign that confirmed the diagnoses when she was about 9 months old.

(4) Optic glioma- this is what was found in the CT scans we did for her head injury, on the optic nerve of her left eye, Nov 09. This picture is similar looking to Olivia's.

(5) Lisch nodules- small, raised bumps on the iris of the eye which don't interfere with sight or cause problems. Picture here - These were also found at the March '09 visit, and aren't visible to the naked eye.

There were also a few other things that the doctor talked about in March '09 that he attributed to NF1, such as low muscle tone. The doctor felt her belly was sticking out more than a toddler's would naturally, a result of the muscles not being as strong. I will also say that she isn't as physically coordinated as my other kids. She's a really awkward runner. But I've never felt that this is completely due to the NF1, because not every kid is going to be an athletic super star. There can also be learning disabilities, but she has been meeting milestones for her age so we aren't worried about this.

Soooo, the MRI results- we did the MRI on Monday, I talked with Olivia's neurologist on Tuesday, and we saw her pediatric opthamologist on Thursday.

The neurologist said her optic nerve looked slightly enlarged or thickened, and as long as its not affecting her sight or pushing her eyeball out she wouldn't need any form of treatment (treatment options would be surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy- but these would only be necessary if its affecting her in an extreme way). Also, because we know she has NF1 she wouldn't need a biopsy.

The opthamologist. Hmmm, I will start by saying that by the end of this doctor's visit I was thoroughly tired of doctor-talk. He was so technical that all his explanations just didn't stick in my brain. So, I still can't remember all he was trying to tell me, and I plan on requesting a review of this appointmet, and I think he usually sends out follow-up letters for each visit anyways.

Here are some of the main points I do remember:

(1) The optic glioma is not affecting her vision or pushing her eye out. He said we would just continue to monitor it, see how fast it grows, if it begins to affect her vision, etc. So we will go back to see him in 2 months. He made it seem like it is really small, and it even could have been there on her previous MRI (at 9 months old), but just undetected. I really wanted to see the MRI for myself, and the other doctors involved had given me the impression that this doctor would show it to me, so I was really disappointed that he wouldn't let me look at it, and this seemed to be more of a "not enough time" issue for him more than anything else. I was shown CT scans while Olivia was in the hospital and the optic glioma looked HUGE to me, and I was able to see left eye vs. right eye, so I really wanted to look at the MRI with someone who could say "this part is the glioma, this is the nerve, this is how it might affect her vision, etc." Very disappointing, but I'm thinking when we go see her genetics specialist we'll be able to do this.

(2) Treatments (surgery, radiation, chemo) are avoided, unless the risks of the treatment would outweigh leaving the optic glioma alone. He was really the first doctor to make this clear. Everyone else (neurologist, oncologist, and all the others we saw when she was in the hospital for the skull fracture) acted like this was something that needed to be treated ASAP!!

(3) Her left eye isn't focusing correctly so he gave us a perscription for glasses. He said this is unrelated to the optic glioma/NF1, but I don't think that makes sense. ???

Anywho, that's the gist of it all for now. I'll post more when I get more info.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers for our sweet girl.

Decorating for Christmas

Yesterday we put up our Christmas tree -- this is the only picture I have of everyone helping. I don't really know why Olivia only had her diaper on, except that she is almost 3 and likes to take off her clothes. Right now she is running around without her shirt on.

Jolie, of course, immediately starting un-decorating the tree. Now she has figured out how to put the ornaments back on and she does her "I did it" dance when she is successful.

Kids are sooo entertaining!!!

Thanksgiving Week

Happy Happy Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

We are having a wonderfully quiet week.

Jolie helping me make pancakes for dinner earlier this week-- I'm getting too many cooks in the kitchen!!Austin reading
Nyah and Olivia painting- I leave the room for one minute right?
Nyah was actually mad at Jolie for stealing ponies, even though she's smiling in this picture.

Jolie and her favorite person in the whole world.

Video of Olivia getting back to normal-- playing "cooking show" with Nyah. One of those rare moments this week when they were playing nicely together. All three girls are driving each other nuts-- wanting whatever some else is playing with, taking it away, hitting each other, yelling and fake crying-- I'm going crazy too.

Olivia is much better. She is up and playing most of the time. She gets tired quicker and is hit with headaches throughout the day, but that is to be expected and overall she is doing good. As long as her mom isn't trying to cram her head into a bike helmet-- in my defense she asked me to help her put it on so she could ride her bike around the house, but I really did fail to think about possible consequences before popping it on. Total mental lapse.

Olivia Update

Though Olivia has spent most of her time resting, she's had a few times when she decided to get up and about. Here she is investigating the tool box -- Since getting home from the hospital we've had 3 door knobs fall off and several of the poles of our banister fell out. I'm glad Kurt was home to take care of it all. Hiding under her blanket when she saw the camera out -- She also does this when she is tired of being asked if she wants something to eat (she's living off green beans and apples) or if she's okay or when people stop by to visit her.

And after starting today at 5 a.m. with a headache, she really perked up by 8 a.m. She walked to the kitchen when she saw what was for breakfast-- Captain Crunch. How did we end up with Captain Crunch? A neighbor came by while I was at the hospital to see if she could grab anything at the store for my mom, and the kids told her they wanted Captain Crunch cereal. I about died laughing when I heard -- "when Mom's away."

After breakfast she sat up and colored for a while.

And when she was ready ro rest and watch a movie, I caught her singing at the beginning of Bolt.

She's peacefully napping now- she decided to walk to her bedroom and ended up falling over some toys and being picked on by Jolie while she was down. Jolie has turned into a little destructo-bully this week, for attention I guess, but I'm getting tired of cleaning up all the books she pulls off the bookshelves, and its completely baffling how she can try to hit Olivia with one hand and places her other hand on her own head and says "owie."