Museum of the Air Force

Summer Vacation 2014

Our summer vacation didn't start off quite the way we expected.  We had to go to an OB appointment in St. Louis on the day we had planned to leave so we didn't get on the road until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Because of our late start we didn't have as much time at our first stop: The National Museum of the US Air Force in Ohio.  We had planned on going Wednesday afternoon, but ended up squeezing a few hours in Thursday morning instead.  We didn't have a lot of time, but did manage to see a few things. The kids still liked it and loved seeing all the airplanes.  Here we are by a replica of the Wright Flyer.  I think the real Wright Flyer is in the Smithsonian, but it was cool to see a copy of it.

Under a B-18 (WWII era bomber)

Anna and some trailblazing ladies who have come before.

Anna was kind of scared of the whole museum 'cause it was dark and in huge hangars, so we were trying to draw attention to things that were less scary.  We watched the Disney propaganda cartoons but went quickly through the POW area.

Blackbird.

Matthew recognized this one from one of his airplane books.  I was impressed.  I guess it is pretty memorable.

Matthew flying the space shuttle landing simulator.  He flew it over and over until he could fly it without crashing.  Good thing it wasn't crowded.

Grant flying the simulator.  It was tricky.

On board a scale replica (sort of replica) of the space shuttle.  It was bigger than I thought.

And a not to scale replica.

And I liked this huge Air Force quilt they had too.  We found a square from a lot of the bases we'd been to.  Fifth row up from the bottom and third from the right is a red torii gate and a long skinny outline of Okinawa for Kadena Air Base.  :)

There are tons of cool things to see.  My favorite part was the walkway to the Cold War era planes that talked about the Berlin air lift.  Scott liked the interwar years planes.  Matthew said he liked the shuttle simulator best and Anna liked a model of a soldier giving a European boy a chocolate bar at the end of WWII.  I think Grant liked the big space shuttle, 'cause he kept asking to go back on it and John just liked walking around in the huge hangars.  Maybe Scott will get stationed there again and we'll get lots of chances to visit.

Baby Update

Sorry, this is a wordy baby update:
(scroll to the bottom of this post for a VERY SHORT version of the Baby Update)

This picture has nothing to do with our baby update...a picture of the kids on our crazy road trip!

Things have been a little intense around here as we waited to find out more information about our baby. We are currently expecting baby number five but I have been nervous about this pregnancy for various reasons.
Three weeks ago I found out I screened positive for Down Syndrome on my quad screen (serum analyte blood screen) for this pregnancy and we've been very stressed about it ever since. The only way to find out more was to get a stage two ultrasound or some kind of further testing.  We had to wait about two weeks to be seen by a specialist that could offer up any more information.  The only day they could get us in was the day we were planning to leave for our two week road trip vacation.  And we had already booked hotels along the way so we didn't have a lot of wiggle room.  We went to the doctor that afternoon (Wednesday) and had a bunch of testing done before we left on our road trip.  It made for a strange and stressful beginning to our vacation.

First I met with a genetic counselor.  I have met with this counselor a few times already for this pregnancy and the previous one.  So she already knew my whole history.  It was a short visit and I decided just to get a genetic test done that only involves a blood draw and would not pose any risk to the pregnancy, but that would tell us if the baby had Down Syndrome.  I went ahead and had the blood drawn and they also did a more in depth ultrasound.

During the ultrasound they found that the baby is measuring quite a bit small - I'm 20 weeks along and the baby was only measuring about 17 1/2 weeks.  And the growth had been on track at 12 weeks.  

A group of doctors came in and strongly recommended that I now get the amniocentesis done, even though I wasn't planning to before, because it could help us learn what may be causing this growth problem.  So I ended up getting an amnio too.  It was unpleasant.

From what the doctors told me and information I learned on my own via the internet I found there are four main reasons for a growth problem like this.

1) a chromosomal abnormality (like Down Syndrome or something else)

2) an infection

3) a problem with the placenta or preeclampsia causing a problem with the placenta

4) the baby is fine, but just small

After a very stressful two days of waiting (while on vacation) on Friday we got the initial results of some of the testing.  The good news is I tested negative for Down Syndrome and a few other chromosomal defects that they checked for in the initial amnio screen (they are getting full up results that will be available later).  I also tested negative for an infection.  The bad news is we don't really know what is causing the growth problem.  My non-professional opinion is that something is wrong with the placenta because they also said the placenta looked large and abnormal during the ultrasound.  From what little I know, if there is a problem with the function of the placenta it could lead to losing the baby or having to deliver VERY early, like as early as possible (27 weeks or so).  If the placenta is not functioning right, the baby just doesn't get enough nutrients to continue to grow.  The doctors I saw for the testing now want me to come in to St. Louis every three weeks for the remainder of the pregnancy so they can monitor the growth of the baby and determine if drastic steps need to be taken.

So, this is all a lot to take in, but I am feeling hopeful that we will still be able to have a healthy baby at the end of all this.  And I'm glad that at least some of the most common genetic defects are now ruled out.  We're just hoping and praying the baby can continue to grow and the pregnancy can continue. Part of me wonders if the stress of all this uncertainty has played a part in any of this.  The baby is measuring 17 1/2 weeks and that's how far along I was when I found out about the positive Down Syndrome screen.  And I have had no appetite, had trouble sleeping and been generally beside myself with worry since then.  I know that's probably crazy - like I really don't think the baby would just stop growing because of stress - but I am now going to make a concerted effort to take better care of myself and make sure I am eating and drinking enough.

On one last positive note, we were able to find out the gender of the baby and we are super excited to know that we are expecting a baby girl!  We're hoping and praying she makes it here safely!!

***VERY SHORT Baby Update***
We are expecting a baby in November and have been worried that the baby would be ok.
Three weeks ago we found out I screened positive for Down Syndrome.
Last week I had an ultrasound and amnio and found out the baby doesn't have Down Syndrome but is measuring very small.  The doctors want me to come in every three weeks to check and make sure the baby is continuing to grow.  We also found out we are expecting a girl and are excited about that!

4th of July

On 4th of July we just relaxed at home.  Matthew and I ended up playing a lot of catch.

 John wanted to participate and luckily didn't get hit with the ball

Scott barbecued burgers and hot dogs for us and also played catch with Matthew

Anna, Matthew and I made a 4th of July cake.  And they also made their usual red, white and blue skewers (strawberries, blueberries and marshmallows).  Matthew, Grant and Anna decorated the cake on their own.  I frosted it.

It was a surprise red, white and blue cake! 

We watched The Music Man then went to see fireworks at a nearby town.  We lit a few sparklers while we waited for fireworks.

 And ate gummy bears and gummy worms while watching the fireworks.  Happy 4th of July!!

Six Flags

The kids did a school reading program during the year where they recorded their reading hours for a couple months and earned a free ticket to Six Flags St. Louis at the end of it.  I wasn't sure when we could use them - they are only good during the summer and its so HOT and humid all the time. Plus I thought we would have to go on a Saturday when Scott could come with us.  So I was anticipating a hot, humid and crowded trip.  Luckily we've been having a temperate week so we decided to go for it.  Scott got July 3rd off work and Six Flags was offering free tickets to military members around the 4th of July, so he got his ticket free too. John is free 'cause he is under three, but we had to buy tickets for Grant and I.  Just buying for the two of us was still so expensive, but better to buy only two of five tickets.  The weather was in the 70s, which amazingly fantastic for St. Louis in July.  And even though it was July 3rd, the park was not crowded at all.  Hooray!!  Here we are at the entrance.  Six Flags here we come!

A lot of the rides in the park were too scary for our crew, and I couldn't go on the because of being pregnant.  But we still found plenty to do.  The kids rode everything in Bugs Bunny land.

 

Matthew was tall enough for a lot of the rollercoasters.  Anna was tall enough for many of them too, but opted out.  Anna and Grant went on this ride a lot while Matthew and Scott rode one of the big coasters.

 Anna took Matthew on it after he got back from his rollercoaster ride

 We found a carousel

 And we rode the Log Ride a bunch of times.  Everyone loved that one.

 In line for the log ride

 Riding the train around the park

Scott and Matthew rode a bunch of rollercoasters and the rest of us went on some little rides while they did that.  We also went on the Scooby Doo Spooky Swamp ride, which seemed like a good idea at the time.  It was a slow and gentle boat ride where you can shoot ghosts and spooky things with a laser gun (like the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disney).  Anna and Grant were really scared and Anna kept telling me she was too scared to be alone 'cause I let her go on the ride.  So that was a mistake.  I thought it was fun though.

 Here we are leaving the park in the late afternoon

Anna liked her cool hand stamp.  So it was a successful trip to the park.  Not too hot, not crowded, some free tickets, lots of fun.

The Pictures Tell a Story

We took some pictures of our flowers in the front yard.  They finally bloomed and are very pretty.  Here is Anna with one of our flowers.  I was snapping a few pictures while the kids posed.  I noticed after that the pictures showed a little scuffle between Matthew and Anna.

 See Anna's left hand and Matthew's left hand.

 Anna's right hand and Matthew's shoulders and jaw.

Grant slightly recoiling.

 Matthew's fists and shoulders

And this was after I told them to stop fighting and look at the camera.  Some people were feeling territorial about posing with the flower.  If you know our Anna, you know that she is strong willed (she feels strongly about many MANY things).  And Matthew is mostly kind and even tempered but hates being pushed around by Anna.  And I can certainly understand his frustration.  Sadly this is kind of normal for us.  We're trying to work on sharing and being kind to one another.  Some days are better than others.  The flowers were pretty though.

Crown Candy

On our list of "To Do in St. Louis" is Crown Candy, the oldest soda fountain in St. Louis.  Yes, there probably aren't many "soda fountains" in St. Louis anymore, but this one opened in 1913, so that's something!  It's very popular and usually has lines out the door and around the corner.  Or that's what we've heard anyway.   And on this day the line was out the door, but not quite around the corner. So we decided to wait and give it a try.  Here we are outside...this was actually after we had lunch. The line is still out the door and into the street.

We were in St. Louis because Grant had an appointment with a cardiologist there.  His pediatrician referred him to check out a suspicious heart murmur, but it turns out Grant is fine and his heart murmur is nothing to worry about.  Scott took the day off work to help me take Grant and crew to the cardiologist (he is the best husband ever).  Here we are after the appointment.  Since we were in St. Louis anyway and hungry for lunch we decided to check out Crown Candy.

 Here is Grant waiting in line.  He had been poked and prodded a lot that morning at the doctor and it was nap time anyway.  But he made it.

 The small dining room

 Candy counter

 Waiting...waiting...waiting

The soda fountain.  The line for seating is long, but when we were there you could walk in to get a malt or something to go without waiting too long.

 Finally seated.  A picture is worth a thousand words.

Anna was unhappy with our group malt/milkshake choice.

In the end the waitress brought us little cups for kids to try some of the different kinds we ordered, and all was well.

I really like BLTs so Scott insisted I order the "Heart Stopping BLT," one of Crown Candy's signature items.  Scott helped me by eating some of it.  Scott prefers it to be a BL...no T.

 Here is my half.  That's a lot of bacon.

There's something ironic/irresponsible about going straight from a specialty cardiologist to lunch and ordering a "heart stopping BLT."  Plus I did let Grant eat some of the bacon I had to scoop out of sandwich.  So much bacon!  But we don't eat like this everyday.  It's a "sometimes" treat.

And then we washed it down with some milkshakes.

All things in moderation, right?

Fireflies

The kids have been looking forward to seeing fireflies since we first saw them in our temporary lodging when we moved here last year.  We always saw the fireflies by the trees there, and since we have pretty much no mature trees in our newish neighborhood here, I thought we were going to have to drive somewhere to see fireflies.  And that's a pain, 'cause they come out after bedtime.  So Scott and I were excited when we noticed that fireflies also like to live in the corn.  And there are cornfields everywhere, including a field adjacent to our housing complex and just across the street from our house.

So long story short, we've been able to see lots of fireflies right here in our neighborhood.  The kids just open their blinds at night and we wait until we can see some and go out on our catch and release mission.  Here is Anna holding one she caught.

Here is a video of Matthew catching one.
Behind that fence is the cornfield where many fireflies seem to be.


And a terribly blurry video (my little camera had trouble figuring out what to focus on) of fireflies.  It's blurry like I said, but you can still see lots of fireflies lighting up.

Matthew jumping to catch one

I think one just got away from Anna.  One night while we were catching, Anna brought her cupped hands over to show me a firefly she had caught.  When she opened her hands there was a small beetle in there instead.  She screamed and threw it in the grass.  She has no trouble catching fireflies or picking up worms and frogs, but apparently doesn't want to catch any beetles.  

We put some of the fireflies gently in jars and then let them go again after a minute or so.

I am always amazed if I get an actual picture of a firefly lighting up.  There were a lot that day...so got one on the center right.  Can you see it?  There are also some firefly catchers on the center left.

Looks like they got one.

Grant can't catch them very well, but the older kids let him see theirs and catch some for him too. We're seeing fewer and fewer these days so I think our firefly season may be coming to an end.  Oh well.  Until next year...

John Walking

This video is about a month old now, but I still wanted to post it.  John has been walking for a while (maybe two months) pretty well.  He's doing great!  His physical therapist reevaluated his gross motor delays recently and he is still delayed but now has moved into the "normal range" of gross motor abilities for his age.   He's still going to physical therapy to help his coordination but just less frequently now.  So we're glad he's making progress.  Now we just need to work on building strength and coordination and start doing things like jumping.  He's quite a fast little walker now.  Good job, John!