Happy Halloween

We celebrated Halloween at the Frierdich household in style this year.....cobwebs, several pumpkins, a scary witch, orange decorative lights and the entire family in costume! Tony and I decided at the very last minute (around 11:00 this morning) that we were going to dress up too....after all, Halloween is for the kids and we knew Tyler would get a kick out of us being dressed up. Since my only resource in town is Walmart, this is what I came up with -not too bad if I do say so myself! Tyler thought my wig was hilarious. Then this evening he told me, "Mommy you look beautiful...when that makeup comes off your eyes will you put more on...it's so pretty!" I still haven't decided if I should be flattered or insulted!?! Anyway, the boys had a great time trick-or-treating and that's what matters. Tyler was telling people "I appreciate it" when they gave him candy....what a trip! And for anyone wondering, yes Tony really did carve this pumpkin. My hubby is so talented!

What Farmers Do

First, I have to say that beautiful days like today make me especially thankful that I get to be home with my boys! So Tyler and I are outside while Cole is taking his nap...and of course Tyler is playing in the dirt in the front yard (we removed a large bush from landscaping and don't have anything else planted yet). So I decided to bring out a chair and my computer (obviously)...he started digging and I asked him to move back because dirt was blowing on me. His response is as follows:

"Well, I'm a farmer and that's just what farmers do....get dirty and get other people dirty!"

Fall 2010 Family Photos

We recently had family pictures taken, and I have to say that I couldn't be any more happy with the way they turned out! I honestly don't know how I'm going to choose.

Below is a link to the photographer's website.....once there you will see a place for an 'access code' - just type in 'Frierdich10' and the pics should come up.


http://www.five-petals.com/proofing/index.php?do=photocart&action=accessGallery

(if the link above doesn't work just try to copy and paste)

Cole Update

So we saw the GI specialist yesterday and she suspected C. Diff (clostridium difficile toxin)....we got the test results today and it was positive. This is good news and bad news at the same time. Very good news that this isn't a gluten issue....bad news is that he has C. Diff. For those of you not familiar with this, it is an overgrowth of bad bacteria in the intestines and usually occurs from taking antibiotics. Cole had to take 2 rounds of antibioitics in August/Sept to clear up an ear infection and this is when it all started. Good news is that treatment just involves 2 weeks of a strong antibiotic - flagyl. I'm not sure that Cole considers this good news based on his reaction to the first dose of medicine. I had read that it tastes really bad....he confirmed it! He gagged, spit and screamed and then refused to take anything else I offered. It's going to be a LONG 2 weeks. The only suggestion from the Dr.'s office was to try and put in a bottle or just pin him down with my legs and hold his nose so he has to swallow it. AWESOME!!!!! I am very thankful though that the GI specialist caught this....if it goes untreated it can cause permanent intestinal damage and even death (though usually in elderly patients). Thanks for the prayers everyone.

What a @#@! Week - LITERALLY!

It's been a very long week at the Frierdich house....but the time goes quickly when you are constantly driving poop samples to the lab in St. Louis!!! For those of you that don't know the history, Cole has been battling frequent stools since the end of September. We already knew he was intolerant to milk and suspected this was just a soy issue. Unfortunately, 3 weeks of a milk and soy free diet haven't improved things any.

His pediatrician ordered blood work and stool samples earlier this week. The poor thing had to be wrapped up like a mummy and then it took them 25 minutes to get 5 tubes of blood. He was tensing up so much the blood just wouldn't flow out.....eventually I think he just got exhausted. :(
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I was the lucky one in charge of the stool collection and here's my summary:

(1) The stool cannot come from a diaper - disposable or cloth.

(2) NEVER, EVER use plastic diaper covers (aka rubber pants) alone to catch a stool sample on a 15 month old. After cleaning up poop off the carpet, the counter top (where I stood him to change him), his socks and my hands...I had just enough left for one of the 6 cups I needed to fill!

(3) The rubber pants method can result in the Mother having an emotional breakdown (speaking from experience).

(4) It takes a fine art to turn Glad Press'n Seal into a diaper liner but it can be done...and is much better than saran wrap!

(5) Cole HATES rubber pants!

(6) As a good friend told me, "collecting poop goes above and beyond Motherly duties."

(7) I'm really glad I chose a profession that doesn't literally involve cleaning up shit all day long!
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I am happy to report that I turned in my last sample today. I had to collect 6 samples from 3 separate stools.

Things reached a bit of a new level on Wednesday when he started passing blood in his stool as well. Just a small amout and most likely due to the inflammation from going so often. I knew at this point it was time to see a Pediatric GI, and much to my frustration this cannot happen until Monday, Oct. 25. As it turns out, however, I think this was a blessing in disguise because some of his bloodwork came back late this evening that the GI doc will need to see.

One of his blood tests was for Celiac Disease and this result came back inconclusive. Two different immunoglobulins are involved in this....one of his was normal and one was very high. My suspicion all along has been a gluten intolerance at some level. I have not eliminated it from his diet yet though because it needs to be in his system for testing to be accurate.

I'm not sure what the next testing step will be and perhaps Dr. Brady (GI) will have some other thoughts based on all his symptoms (which I of course have typed out in a chronological format in excel). I am remaining optimistic that he doesn't have Celiac and even if he does....it could be so much worse. And while there is no cure for Celiac, there are also no shots, no medicines, no trips to the hospital constantly....just no gluten! One thing I do know for sure - God gave Cole to Tony and I for a reason and we will figure this out and make the best of it regardless.

I will keep everyone posted next week after our visit with Dr. Brady. Please say extra prayers that they figure this out quickly and painlessly for Cole.

Pumpkin Patch

Mamaw and Pappy came down this weekend, so we took a family trip to Eckert's Orchard to pick pumpkins. The weather was just beautiful and the boys had a lot of fun out in the pumpkin patch. Cole thought he was strong enough to pick up any size pumpkin and Tyler was busy "picking" all the fields instead of looking at pumpkins. He put on his work gloves as soon as we got to the patch and told me he needed to get to work! And needless to say, he was more than ecstatic to see the old Farmall tractor that he could sit on.

Farm Work

The boys look like they are really working on this tractor - I'm just happy they are working as a team and not fighting!

Magic House

The first weekend in October we got all ready for our outdoor family picture session, and just as we got all loaded up in the car....the rain started! Since we were already out and about, we decided it would be fun to take the boys to the Magic House. They had a blast! When Tony & Cole were touching the electricity ball, Tyler was literally on the floor laughing so hard.....and when you see the picture below you will understand why!!!

It's really scary to think this is my future in about 12 years!!!

Cole Playing Outside

Cole LOVES to play outside....and even goes to the door now and says, "owside"...it's very cute!

Tyler's Work Station

Tyler loves to watch the guy mow the yard, so last week he decided to just set up his own office at the front door. I walked by the front door and there he sat with his laptop (toy), iPhone (so he could listen to some tunes) and capri sun!

So Handsome

Seriously.....pure handsomeness!!!

Big Tongue

This is Tyler's big tongue that I referred to in the "Phone Conversation" post!

Fire Safety Week

Tyler's preschool class got to visit the Waterloo Fire Department during Fire Safety Week. Tyler was brave enough to actually spray the water hose this year (he wasn't afraid of the water hose last year but didn't like the loud engine on the truck). The real highlight of the trip for Tyler was Sparky - the fire dog!