17 Month - Nate Update

On the 20th, Nate turned 17 months. We are so blessed to be the parents of this sweet little boy. He is starting to make huge headways in his development. He is finally holding his own with his big sister, and is becoming quite the chatterbox. He will attempt to say anything you ask him to. Gentry got him to say the name of  her cat the other day (Fee-bo). He wants to do EVERYTHING himself, just like his sissy which also causes him to get a few extra bruises here and there.

 On the 20th, we also had Nate's kidney check with his pediatric nephrologist. Up until this appointment, we have always had good news to share. Unfortunately, this appointment was our first that seemed to have more not so good news. Nate's kidney functions are going down. In September, his kidneys were functioning at 59% which is pretty much average for the last year or so. With this round of bloodwork, he has dropped to 53%. This is a pretty big drop for his age. We are beginning him on a medication that will naturally decrease his kidney functions, but we had not given him this medication at that time, so there is no medication to blame for the numbers. (We have started that medication since then, so we will probably see another decrease in the next round of numbers.) We will also be needing to add some calories to his diet. We have to be careful what to give him though, since his kidenys can not take certain foods. The nutrionist came in to speak with us and said to add things like cream cheese, olive oil, sour cream and peanut butter to his diet. Also we are hoping our insurance will cover a drink similar to Pediasure or Ensure, but for people with kidney disease. The drink is called Suplina and it cost about $3.00 per can, so we are hoping and praying that they can persuade the insurance to assist us with some of the cost. He is also starting Vitamin D, which will be a lifelong vitamin for him from here on out. With all these new numbers, the doctor now predicting a need for a kidney transplant a little sooner than originally estimated. He quoted by age 8; however, this is just a guess. Since September was his last "good" blood work, he says that next September he will be able to use a formula to calculate his numbers and to accurately predict that for sure.

We know this little guys is a fighter and we have a HUGE support system that loves him and would do anything for him. (I keep bugging the doctor to allow us to start testing our family for possible matches and he keeps looking at me strange. Gotta try, right?) Thank you for your continued prayers. We know he is in the Lord's hands along with so many people's hearts. Merry Christmas to you all!

Reagan

Another Cousin!!!

Yesterday we welcomed another cousin to our family! Jensen Riley Kerger made her appearance around lunch time weighing in at 7.3lbs. I already got to hold and kiss on this little one, but Tessa and Nate have not met their new cousin yet. Congratulations Jake, Shelby and Krosby! We love her so much already. (Tessa is so excited to get another girl cousin to play dress-up with!)

Ho Ho Ho!

This past week we got to take our little ones to see Santa. We have only done this once before when Tessa was 1, so it was Nate's first time. Tessa did great, talking Santa's ear off. 

 From the second we put Nate on Santa's lap, he was mesmerized. We were not even sure we were going to get a glance up for a good picture. Luckily we got two great ones. 

We are hoping everyone's December has been as fun and joyous as ours so far. Merry Christmas everyone!

Fall 2012

I know I am a little late in posting this, but here in AZ you forget it is almost Winter. We are having an exceptionally hot Fall this season, which isn't helping get us in the festive mood. So just to recap our last few months, a lot has happened. We went to the pumpkin patch, carved a pumpkin and went Trick-O-Treating with our cousins. We gained a new cousin, Caleb, and are anxiously waiting for another in a week or two. Nate is growing and developing well. He is still a little wobbly, thus all the bruises. The physical therapist re-evaluated him and it appears that he is much more on track then when he was last evaluated. Hopefully the Occupational Therapist will be re-evaluating him soon, so we may be able to breathe a sigh of relief that he no longer needs therapy. Tessa is growing to be such a good big sissy. Nate adores her!

Pearl, our bulldog, turned one this past October. Also, you will see a picture of Tessa completely covered in bandaids.....she did that all by herself. We had to take a picture to document. She can be a little bit of a hypochondriac on many occasions, always saying she needs a bandaid. She even put them on some of her stuffed animals...Oh Tessa!

This song is one of our favorites during the workdays when me and the kids are headed over to Grammys before I head to work. Tessa loves to sing "Good Morning". We hope you enjoy it!

Reagan

Fall 2012 from rebturley on Vimeo.

Tessa's FIrst Dentist Visit!

Last week, Tessa went to the dentist for the first time. She did a great job. She was actually asking us for weeks to take her. She calls the dentist the "tooth doctor". For some strange reason, my child loves going to the doctor. She will even sit an watch the nurse give her a shot....she did not get that from my Dad's side of the family :-)

Tessa was really excited about seeing the trains go round and round. She stayed in the chair pretty good and did her best to be patient with the hygienist. She had a hard time keeping the apparatus in her mouth that captures the X-rays... maybe next time. 

When we left, Tessa was left speechless...just kidding, she was very excited to climb on the train that was outside of the office. It is hard to get her attention even for a short picture. 

Dentist said everything looks good! Keep brushing baby girl!

Shopping for Brock!

   Many months ago I gained a friend. A friend who is choosing to save a little boy from an orphanage across the sea. This friend has become very dear to me, along with the little boy that she is adopting, Brock. Brock stole my heart around this time last year. Once this family committed to Brock, I committed to them that I would do whatever I could to help bring this little boy home. Here is one way I am trying to help.
   As the days get closer and closer to Christmas, you may be needing a thing or two from one of my favorite online shopping sights, Amazon. On the right side of my blog, you will notice a link. By clicking on the link prior to purchasing things on Amazon, some of the money will go to assist with Brock's adoption. This is just a small way we can help "Bring Brock Home." Thanks for your help.

Reagan

Happy Birthday Chimi!

My doggie, Chimi, had a birthday yesterday. She is six years old. My mommy tells me that she is 42 in dog years. That's older then my mom! She is one of my two favorite doggies. She is so  patient with me. She lets me crawl under the table to find her. I like to lay next to her and just ponder being one. 

She sometimes lets me sit beside her...

 ...and lay on her.

She even lets me give her a kisses.

I even catch my sissy riding her too!

Sometimes I like to pester the other animals in the house. Here I am following Beau the cat around. He was trying to get a drink of water and was not very happy I was bothering him. 

 I tried to follow him...

 Peek-a-boo...I found you silly kitty!

 Come let me give you a big hug!

I am so glad to have these special friends that are so patient with me.  I hope I get to celebrate Chimi for many more years. 

Love, 

Nate

Reece's Rainbow-Angel Tree

I know I am overdue for a post...and I am preparing one showcasing the craziness of Fall at the Turley's. Until then, I thought I would highlight something else very worthy. Most of my followers know how much my heart aches for special need orpahans overseas. Lord willing, someday we will be able to claim one of these orphans as our own, and make that special little one a Turley. Until then I am supporting the website that has made it possible for so many people to adopt a special little one of their own. Through this website I have found many sweet faces to love and pray for, as well as building special relationships with some of the families that go before.

Every year, Reece's Rainbow has an Angel Tree Program to help raise funds for children who do not have a forever family yet. These funds will eventually help with the financial strain of these costly adoptions. Various supporters choose a child and advocate for them raising money in whatever way they can. I am adding a link on the side of the blog to assist anyone who feels led in helping these sweet faces. If you can't decide which one to help, I would be more then happy to share the faces that have been tugging at my soul.

Thank you for taking a moment to view these little ones. Please take a moment and pray that there forever family is just around the corner. Merry Christmas (a little early) to everyone. I am praying that we all have a blessed holiday season.

Reagan

Welcome Baby Caleb!

On Tuesday, October 9th - at 5:19am - our newest nephew/cousin Caleb William Morgan was born to my sister Meredith and her husband Jeff! This is baby number 5 and we are so happy he is here safe and sound. We wish we could love on him, but we will just have to send him hugs and kisses from afar. 

Tessa and Nate can't wait to meet their newest cousin! We love you sweet boy! (Luke, Ben, Gracie and Jakey too!)

Our Trip to the Pumpkin Patch...Arizona Style!

If you are from AZ, you know that we do Fall a little differently then most. Our pumpkin patches aren't very "farm" like, but more of a western feel. Today we took the kids to MacDonald's Ranch to celebrate Fall. Uncle Jake, Aunt Shelby, Krosby and even Kerger baby #2 came with us. They joined us last year too, looks like we are starting a tradition! 

Tessa made her aunties Gentry and Raleigh proud. She seemed to fall in love with horses! She ran right over to them and started petting them. 

Tessa and Krosby got to experience their first pony rides! Neither of them seemed scared. Tessa was pretty disappointed that it didn't last longer.  Krosby did have some issues with her helmet that kept falling over her eyes. 

Then we took a hayride to the pumpkin patch. The man that lead our wagon asked Aunt Shelby if she was smuggling a pumpkin....nope, just a baby! As you can see, it took a few pics before we got everyone looking up for the cousin shot! 

Funny faces!

They got lost in the hay maze!

Tessa and Krosby did a great job rustling up some cattle!

Thanks for joining us Kerger Klan....We had so much fun. Can't wait for Baby #2 to join us next year!

Look out world, Nate is Walking!

We finally were able to record some footage of our little guy walking. He is such a busy little boy. In the video you will notice him not only walking, but chasing a cat too. At the very end of the video, I had to stop recording to avoid a new bruise from falling. Enjoy!

Nate Walking from rebturley on Vimeo.

Nate Update-14 Months

First off, some current stats for our 14 months old. He is now weighing 18.7lbs (Yippee!) which is still small for his age, but he has gained over two pounds in three months, which is big for him. He is climbing on EVERYTHING! His favorite past times are getting into the dog water, throwing things in the trash and playing in the toilet. If we find ourselves missing a utensil or remote, we know he has thrown it into the trash. We are pretty certain that we have already lost a whisk to this past time. He not only sucks his thumb but plays with his hair behind his ears. (As seen in the photo below.) We are seeing a very stubborn side to him recently. If he doesn't like something, he will let you know! And the best news of all, he is walking!!! 

Now on to the kidney info. We got blood work last week. (While we were at the doctors, they noticed a start of an ear infection, which is his first.) The first thing the doctor looked at today was his ultrasound results. When he was a newborn, his kidneys were measuring 2.4 and 2.9 cm., normal size being 5 cm. His scan in July showed his kidneys had grown to 4.2 and 4.4, average being 6.3. When you look at his growth in comparison, this is a good number. The doctor charted the numbers and it appeared that Nate's kidneys were on the very, very low side of normal.....NORMAL!!! My heart lept thinking that maybe this was the start of "the end" with his kidney concerns.  Well, then we moved on to the blood work.

His blood work was pretty consistent with the numbers we were seeing in the past. Creatinine remains at a .67, normal being .5. He has given a new blood test this time which measured his Vitamin D levels, turned out to be normal. The one number that continues to worry his doctor is his acid level. Nate is currently on medication to assist this level in regulating itself. Each appointment the doctor chooses to up his dosage, because it doesn't appear to be hitting where he needs to be. Today that number was again extremely low. So we are upping the dose again. The side effect associated with this low function is low weight gain, which we are obviously seeing in Nate.  

Last but not least, Nate's urine was tested for the first time today. In the urine there is already evidence that Nate is losing protein. This number is what seemed to concern the doctor the most. The way he described it was Nate's little kidneys are compensating for their size. The little nephrons have grown in size to help with the demand for the filtering. There is a lot of pressure on these little cells to do a lot of work. Because of that pressure, they have a tendency to leak protein. He is going to have to start Nate on a medicine he wasn't planning on giving him until later in his life. This medicine will take some of the pressure off of his kidneys and not make them work so hard. So instead of maintaining a creatinine level of .6, the kidneys will only have to work to maintain a .7 or .8. In the end, this will help Nate elongate the life of his kidneys. Once scar tissue starts building up (because they are working so hard) it will be the beginning of the end for his little kidneys. So if we make them not work as hard, we might get a few more years out of them.  His functionality of his kidneys is currently estimated at around 59%.  This means he is right on the edge of being considered Stage III of kidney disease. (60% would mean he is in Stage II.)

We are still uncertain what this means for his future. The doctor is still hopeful that Nate will make it to his teenage years before needing a transplant, so we are not out of the woods, unfortunately. So we will "just keep swimming" as Dory the fish says. Nate has come so far in the last 5 months. All we can do is keep doing what we are doing. We are trusting God for where he takes us with this. Please continue to pray for our little guy. He is such a trooper! 

Awesome Date Night!

This past Friday, Adam and I were able to go out on a date. We do not get these too often, but this one was super special. Ever since I was a young girl, I have loved the Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman. Last Friday, he finally came to town. 

The singer Bebo Norman also came to open the concert. Both were incredibly moving, not to mention wonderful! It was such a great night!

Towards the end of the evening, Steven Curtis Chapman shared with the audience about their calling to assist with adoption along with their ministry, Show Hope. Adam and I are hoping that God opens a door for us one day to adopt, so it was so moving to see and hear such an advocate for this special cause, not to mention the stories from his own experiences. 

Thanks hubby for such a great night. I would encourage everyone who can to see this man in concert. He is amazing!

Little Miss August Turns Three!

On Tuesday our Tessa turned three. On one hand it seems like such a short time in our lives, but on the other hand, we have a hard time remembering our life without our silly girl. She is growing to be a very good big sister, helping Nate often. She is speaking very clearly and often says the darn-dest things. We went for her three year checkup on Wednesday where she is now weighing 33lbs.  We call her our little hypochondriac because she asks to go to the doctor all the time. When we left the office this time, she said her pediatrician was her "best friend". We will be going to the dentist for the first time soon, and she is already excited about it. She asks every day "can I go to the doctor tooth, please!"  

 She has also become quite the little fish this summer. She used her floaties for about two weeks at the beginning of the summer, and now she will have nothing to do with them. Even when she has been playing for a while, she still is determined to swim "all by myself!"

 Her favorite things are still turtles. She also loves to play the game "I'll dress myself with as many items as I can find in my drawers." She will come out with socks, flip flops, mittens hats, multiple shirts, sunglasses and pants...all at once. Usually she isn't willing to have the paparazzi take pictures of these moments. Maybe she wants to keep this fashion craze all to herself. 

We are so blessed to have Tessa in our lives. She has been such a joy. Happy birthday sweet girl! We look forward to many more years of your silliness!