Fenn Family News: 2008

Saturday, December 27, 2008

tryin out my new camera

Mike got me a Kodak Easyshare camera today and I'm tryin' it out.

Just chillin'

We're staying at Bobby and Sue's house. Austin, AJ, and Nate are having a great time! We took them out on the lake yesterday to ride the boat around and both Oz and AJ got to drive.

(That extra kid is their cousin Justin... today Austin was calling to him and said, "JUSTIN WILLIAM FENN!!")

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Real Christmas!

We don't really wish we were somewhere cold, but we DO wish we could all be together today. Merry Christmas everyone! We miss you!!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

And ya..

Those pix were of TODAY. It was 80 degrees and sunny. We had to turn the a/c on at 8 pm to cool the house down for the night!

Merry Christmas Eve!

We did our gifts today because we'll be going to Miami tomorrow.. my camera's batteries died early on, but I still managed a couple of shots.

Those 'ugly' pointy looking plants up in the front are pineapples. I hate how they look, but Dave insists we keep them bc we got 5 really delicious pineapples off of them this past summer.

Dave got a mountain bike for Christmas. Austin suggested it bc he wanted to go riding with Daddy! It was a great idea!

Nathan stood on his scooter confused. He doesn't have the coordination (or realize that he has to) to propel it himself.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

I shipped the movies today. Mom & Dad's and Mike's are being shipped to Mom's house and should get there by next Tuesday. Leslie and Dale's are being shipped to Leslie's and should be there by next Friday.

RAST, at last.

We received Austin's RAST (blood test) results today from his November 10th visit. It's not a huge improvement. For reference, anything 2 or more is considered a "allergic". The smaller the number, the better.

Sept 2006, Austin's score was 79.
January 2008, Austin's score was 27.6
June 2008, Austin's score was 12
November 10, 2008, Austin's score was 11.3

It's not what we really wanted to hear, but it's ok. There's talk about a food challenge in February or March 2009. I believe they want to take him from his current dose (2000mg) to 8000mg (equivalent to 52 peanut m&m's) . After I talk to Nurse Karen, I'll post the specifics as I understand them for Austin's future in this study.

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Here's the follow-up. The docs in AR think Austin's numbers are VERY good. There was a possibility that his score increased from this past June to November- and if the RAST went to 15 or more, it would've been an unbelievable pain. It could have meant going back every 2 weeks to 'updose' Austin. Also, the RAST is only one of the tests they run on his blood. Those 'other' numbers look promising, too.

Right now it looks like Austin will have to return in March for a food challenge & more blood work. This will mean that it'll be at least a one night stay. Again, this new protocol has not yet been approved and I refuse to try to fully understand what it could mean for the future. It just gives me a headache. So much changes every time we go there that I just gave up on understanding and started saying, "just tell me what you want us to do next".

So, all in all the news is good. He's still technically allergic, but he's got a huge tolerance level now. What we wanted when we started this thing was to give the kid a chance... IF he made a mistake and ate the wrong thing that it just not be fatal. We've gotten that, and we're not done fighting yet!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Austin's Letter to Santa

AJ's Letter to Santa

Once foes, now friends

Here's Austin with the beast he's conquered (ok, the beast nestled inside delicious chocolate and a cruncy shell that melts in your mouth, not in your hands)

The 2008 Movie

The movie is running a little late, but I plan to ship it out tomorrow. It's a long process to get it from my computer to a DVD, and every time I watch it on DVD, I find something else I need to fix. I believe I have all the bugs out now.

AJ Limbo

There are TWO videos here.. Sometimes the top one doesn't show up right.

Oh what fun!

Went to the Nick Jr. Hotel. They boys had such fun! We saw Santa Claus, had a party with SpongeBob and Patrick, played Lego Indiana Jones, swam, watched people get slimed and get a pie in the face, went to the arcade, and more. AJ even participated in a limbo contest!

The boys loved the hotel. They had a room with bunkbeds, a kid table, their own tv, and a PS2. I think their favorite part is when they were allowed to have Pizza Hut and candy in their room.

The pic of Oz and AJ in the red chair is special bc the chair is from Blues Clues.

This pic is when we first got in the room and AJ pointed and started screaming "THERE'S A PLAYSTATION 2!!!!"

And this is a pic of Patrick & SpongeBob, of course! Blow up the one with Nathan in it. What is his face saying to you?

And here you have Austin braving the 80 degree weather to swim anyways! Nathan and AJ met the old man, Austin opted out. Still he had a letter for AJ to deliver for him.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Nick Jr Hotel

Since Dave, Austin and AJ are all on vacation, we decided it might be a good opportunity to go to the Nick Jr. Hotel in Orlando. We're leaving tomorrow (Sunday) and spending only one night.

Do you think Oz and AJ will get slimed? Check out the website if you're interested. I'm sure we'll post MANY pix when we get back.

http://www.nickhotel.com/

Nathan at Jitz

So when Oz and AJ are off doing Jitz, Nathan has to just hang out. Today, the owner/instructor's daughter was in and here is Nathan trying a few moves of his own on her. (He's trying to feed her goldfish).

It's a love that can never and will never be... her dad is a 5th degree black belt and we're all scared of him.