A twinkle in the sky.

Last night the Browns went out on the town. First we ate some dinner and went to look at Christmas lights. We saw some that were pretty basic and then there were come that were b-e-a-u-tiful! Chesapeake is an energy company here and they always have a fantastic display and this year is the best I've seen. After checking out lights We went to the Barons game downtown. Max seemed to enjoy himself but unfortunately he wouldn't take a nap and he got a little fussy and we left. He managed a 20 minute nap in between periods though. Jeff and I figure that we will try it again on a night when Max actually takes a nap.

Lights in downtown and at Chesapeake.

The Oklahoma City Barons!!! Yeah the stands aren't very full, oh well.

 This is the only picture I could manage to get of my family. Jeff wouldn't let me ask the people behind us to take the picture cause he is a dork.

peace and quite for now...

Apparently I have been falling down on my job of devout blogging mommy. Now that Max is officially on the mend he has had a busy week. We had speech therapy on Wednesday, school Wednesday and Thursday and a play date after school today. For being cooped up in the house for so many days we made up for a lot these past two days. And tomorrow is no different. Tomorrow we have both speech and physical therapy, laundry, search for something to get Jeff from Max for Christmas and a trip to the grocery store. Plus Jeff is working a hockey game tomorrow night so it's just me and the little guy. Not much else to report and I kind of like that with the past couple of weeks our family has had. Here are some pictures from our play date today. Also for Christmas Max got "elf on a shelf" from the Jaggi's. It's really cute!

Home at last.

The Browns have been through some major stuff the past few days. Sunday I could tell Max was becoming a little under the weather. After Jeff and I put him to bed he woke up at around 2:30am. He wasn't running a fever but wasn't feeling well so I gave him some Tylenol. I gave him a cuddle and then is was back to bed for everyone. Then when I woke to get ready for work around 5am and Max was stirring and woke up again. I brought him in to lay with Jeff and maybe get some more sleep. I checked his temp and he was running 102.1. Since he had already had Tylenol and it wasn't time for more I gave him some Motrin. After I left for work aapparently Max still wouldn't calm down so Jeff got him some Sprite and they sat down to watch some Sesame Street. I got scared cause while I had just sat down at work a call came across the caller ID from home. I figured Max was giving Jeff fits. Jeff sounded stressed and told me that he thought Max was having a seizure. I started a fire truck and an ambulance and then ran home. Max ending up seizing for over 20 minutes and was taken by ambulance. I wasn't able to ride with him in the ambulance because he wasn't breathing well. 27 hours later we came home with a very sick little boy. During the never ending seizure Max aspirated into his lungs which has now caused Max to have a dangerous form of pneumonia. I am thankfully able to take off work this week to watch him like the doctor wanted. We will be stuck in the house for several days and will keep you all updated. Thanks everyone for the support as always.

In the ER.

These are of Max after he was admitted to the hospital. Turns out hospital gowns are a little cuter on a toddler than an adult. Even though there was a playroom Max HATED being in the hospital. He kept trying to leave with anyone that would take him.

One of our many trips through the halls. We weren't allowed to leave the floor with him so we made several trips around the floor to pass the time.

What's up Santa!

Jeff and I took Max to visit Santa today at Quail Springs Mall. As usual my sweet little guy did great. I was a little worried that he was going to get upset. Who am I kidding Max doesn't know a stranger! We also took him to see the parade of lights in Downtown Edmond. He really seemed to enjoy it. It was nothing huge but that  was kind of nice about it. Any way now we are back at home watching TV and my little guy is sound asleep where I will be soon too. Until next time...

So much to be thankful for.

I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Eating yummy things and not only did I spend it with family and friends, but also something that I have been wishing and praying for happened. Maxwell finally stood up and took several steps!!! It has been a looong time coming and we aren't great at it, but the point is it happened and that is all that matters to me. I was so excited that first of all it happened with most of my family there. So many of you have backed us up and supported us for this little taste of what is to come. As soon as it happened I yelled out "I have to tell my sister and Maxwell's therapists!" Even though it was a holiday I texted them the news. Jamie informed me she wasn't surprised that he was waiting for an audience to show off for and I couldn't agree more! My sister in law wasn't able to get the first steps where he wasn't holding anything because we were all in shock! But you can get the idea from this one. Also in this video you will see I'm bribing him with keys (a new favorite.) He is signing please. So Jamie, Amy as you can see he was working hard for his dinner!

Push Here for Video of Max Walking

I found this adorable hat at Target. In case you cant tell it's a turkey. And I thought this was going to be the best thing to post and I'm pleasantly surprised to share more.

Wowee Wow Wow Wow!

I am ecstatic to announce that Jeff and I had some really great pictures taken by my best friend Christie. And those of you who have been following, yes, she brought Gertie with her (of course). I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. We went to Hafer Park and the fall foliage was great. This was Christie first shoot and if this is amateur I want to know what it's going to be like when she gets some more shoots under her belt. If you want to use her services message me and I'll give you her info. Here are some of my favorites. You can click on them if you want to see a larger image too.

EMG Testing

Yesterday was officially one of the worst days of my adult life! Yesterday was Maxwell's EMG test that we have been waiting for. The test was to check and see how his muscles are playing with his nerves. The first part Max was a little trooper. The doctor placed sticky tabs on his skin and and then clipped what looked like alligator clips to them. He then shocked him topically. Then came the horrible part. My mom went with us to help me with Max. At this point she was trying to let him watch Sesame Street on her phone and that worked for the first part. The second that was no help at all. Even "Steve" couldn't console him. I had to lay across his body while the doctor inserted needle after needle sending electric shock directly into his muscles. Several times the Doctor kept pulling out the needle and putting it back in over and over. It took me laying across his body and my mom holding his head and arms. I tried to console him but nothing worked. I felt helpless thinking that I only wanted to go through this once but was so tempted to yell at the Doctor to stop that it wasn't worth it. It was a physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting day for everyone. At the end I decided we all needed milkshakes to feel better. These pictures are from when we got home and he was trying to relax. I also gave Max some Tylenol when we got home to help with the soreness and the bruises that were starting to show up. Everything seemed okay when we got home other than that we were both beat! Jeff and I put him to bed at 8 and he fell right to sleep. I went to bed a few hours later and Jeff came in with Max. Apparently my poor little man was hurting. He didn't want me to touch the side that he was prodded on. Jeff gave him more medicine and a cuddle. That made me feel so bad for putting him through so much. What is the worst part of the entire day was that the doctor found nothing abnormal, NOTHING. I wanted the freak out! I put my son through this painful experience to come back with no answers.

I wonder when will all the testing stop. When will someone finally have some answers. And when will Max stop being a human pin cushion. At what point do Jeff and I decide enough is enough. I want so badly for people to understand. Know that Max is the best thing that has every happened to me. He truly is a smart child, and anyone that spends any time with him would see that. This week has been hard. This week someone referred to Max as "special needs." I know that it is just a word, but it means something to me. It makes me feel like they think my sweet precious child is somehow inferior. When I hung up the phone I began to cry because in this situation it was a place saying my son couldn't attend there. That they were not able to meet his needs. What needs, love, friendship and fun? It kills me to know that Max is reaching a point that he isn't welcome somewhere because we don't know what is going on with him. I hate that he is excluded because of something he cant help. I would give up everything I have for this child and will if that is what it comes down to. The next test is a biopsy of Maxwell's leg. They will make a small incision and cut out a piece of muscle to study the actual muscle and see if that is possibly where the problems lies. After that his neurologist here will send him to a specialized neurologist hopefully in Texas so we will not have to travel to far. There have also been talks about going to the east coast and going to a hospital there that is studying these kinds of muscle weakness in children. But that starts being experimental medicine and that does start to scare me. Thank you for the kind thoughts and prayers and please continue to think of us during this journey. I can not tell you how loved I felt yesterday. After a bad day to receive calls, texts and emails saying how much you care warmed my heart. I know someday that Max will be able to tell me how much he loves me. I want so badly to speak to my son and to walk with him and go to the park where he can run and play. And the day that happens I guarantee there will be tears of joy, thousands of pictures and all of you to thank for the support.

Busy Busy

This has been an active little weekend. First I had to work on my day off on Saturday, so I had to get all the house work done in one day. I was a laundry machine! It was load after load nonstop. Well... maybe I should have paid a little more attention. During Maxwell's load of laundry this is what I found when transferring it to the dryer. Note to self, check for what Max has put in the laundry basket before just tossing it all in.

The Suspect...

The Victim...

Not only was Max feeling destructive so was one of the dogs. My personal guess was Maddie. While I was making dinner I saw something strange out the window. I went outside and to my surprise Maddie stole one of my good knives and there it was staked in the yard half chewed. How Herman or Maddie didn't cut themselves up is beyond me.

Then with a full weekend of work and another overtime shift I brought home pizza on Sunday. Many of you may know but I am a true blue Okie and ranch makes everything taste better. Max wanted some from my plate and to Jeff and my surprise he was getting red whelps allover his face. I took a picture but unfortunately I cant get it onto the computer. Poor kid is allergic to ranch dressing. So sad, I hope it's just this brand and not all ranch.

Play Time

On Thursday Max had a play date with his usual group. Plus we welcomed a newcomer, Welcome Silas!!! During the play date my friend Christie decided it was time to breakout her new best friend her new camera I like to call Gertie! This camera has all the bells and whistles! She has been taking plenty of pictures if you want to check out her blog. She got some really great pictures of the kids and at the end of the day they were all pooped. Cant lie I'm almost as excited as she is about Gertie. Here is one of the pictures she took of Max.It's so clear that you can see where he got a marker and drew on his eye.

Weekend Festivities

This was a busy craft weekend for me. I finished a blanket that I made for Max for Christmas. In case you cant tell it is a dinosaur. I hope he loves it. He crept in while I was taking a picture and cuddled with it and it made me feel like my hard work paid off. Plus this was my first try at a quilt.

I haven't scrapbooked in what felt like forever! Literally I think it may have been years. I'm starting on Maxwell's scrapbook. I decided to scrapbook his first bath.

Last but not least I made a blanket for Nicholas that I have been meaning to finish FOREVER! This is actually what kicked of the creative bug for me this weekend.

Other than crafting the Brown's spent a nice relaxing weekend at home. Jeff and I did some deep cleaning on Saturday and then Sunday Jeff worked hockey for the first time since June. After the past few weekends being so busy it was a nice change of pace.