He's hooked up!

This morning Chase started on an insulin pump!!! He will wear it for 3 days and if we have success we will start the process of getting him one of his own (this one only has saline in it to see if he'll tolerate it).

When we were leaving the house this morning I told him that we were going to see Maysil (his diabetes education coordinator). His reply was, "No thanks." He definitely knows who Maysil is!

I wasn't sure that we were going to have success getting the tubing attached. It broke my heart to hear him cry as we prepared to insert the needle. But, once it was done, he stopped crying (I think the anticipation was more painful) and he has since been very proud of his pump. Maysil took him down the hall to get a treat and she said that we was walking sideways to show the pump off to those that walked by. Also, at lunch I entered his numbers into the machine and he told me to leave his insulin pump alone. So far, so good.

Happy Birthday Chase!

It's official. We are now the parents of a three year old. Chase turned three yesterday. It was a very fun day - so much so that he was passed out in Grandma Diane's arms by 6:30 last night.

Uncle Rod always gives Chase toys that require batteries...thanks, Rod...

This birthday was especially fun because Chase was so excited for his special day. Having attended friends and cousin's birthdays in the last few months, he was ready for his own birthday. He's been telling me for a couple months that his birthday is coming and that he's going to have a tractor birthday cake. The day came and I don't think he could have been any happier. Well, there was an incident with a Chewbacca Pez, but otherwise, it was a great day.

Chase, his parents, grandparents, and great-grandpa, too!

Happy birthday, Chase. Your mom and dad love you so very much.

Ps...I was going to post this blog last night but Chase's 99 year old Great-Grandpa Art was on our computer. ;-)

November 29th, 2006

Wednesday will be our one year anniversary of life with diabetes. The article attached below brought back a lot of memories of the days leading up to Chase's diagnosis. The story is written by the father of a 3 year old diabetic. The father also happens to have type 1.

THANK YOU to everyone who has been there for Chase. We are truly blessed with such wonderful families and friends. We've come a long, long way.

November 30th, 2005...MedcenterOne

November 23rd, 2006...at home, in Spiderman PJs and eating an ice cream bar!


At present, 20 million Americans are affected with diabetes and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in three Americans born in this century will become diabetic. James Hirsch, author of “Cheating Destiny: Living with Diabetes, America's Biggest Epidemic,”shares a first-hand report on the emotional and psychological toll of living with diabetes.

Here's an excerpt:

“Cheating Destiny: Living with Diabetes, America's Biggest Epidemic,”

We're back...

Playing with the camera phone at Sea World while we wait

for Daddy to bring us a Shamu ice cream bar.

We made it back from Orlando last night. Boy was it fun. We did the Magic Kingdom on day one, Sea World on day two and then we hit some beaches the last two days.

As we headed to airport on Wednesday I asked Chase where we were going. I expected to hear that we were going to see Daddy or Mickey Mouse. Instead, he said, "Florida!" I don't recall mentioning the state of Florida to him. He really freaks me out some times.

You can check out our tip by clicking on the link below. Just click on the photo of Chase and you will be taken into the photo album (no need to log in to the sight).

Vacation Photos

Now, I need to get back to my third load of laundry. It's good to be home??

18 hours and counting

In 18 hours Chase will be embarking on his 2nd plane ride. We will be meeting up with Gary who has been in Orlando since Thursday. My folks came Thursday night to lend me a hand (a.k.a. an excuse to see Chase). He made out like a bandit and increased his Pez collection by 8 - it's never a good idea to get three collectors in a room together.

We'll be back in a week!

A Lifetime of Diabetes

From time-to-time I check in on BabyCenter.Com's chat board for moms of kids with diabetes. A mom recently posted a link to the following website:

http://www.alifetimeofdiabetes.com/diabetes0.htm

According to the photographer, Teresa Ollila, "These photographs portray the daily trials of those living with Type 1 Diabetes."

Do they ever.

Vote!

Either I need to enunciate better or Chase needs his hearing tested. I disappointed him when we went to vote instead of going to boat.

Boating would have been more fun, but we did our civic duty. Hope everyone had a chance to get out and vote.

This kid is nuts

Why do kids stick things up their noses? This kid does it to get a laugh. Gary once told me that he hopes Chase is a class clown when he's in school. My only reply was that I hope he joins me in the principal's office to discuss our son's behavior.

Gary's reasoning for this is that he was shy as a child and he hopes that Chase is more out going. I was shy, too (right now a co-worker is shooting coffee out their nose), but I'm not worried about Chase. He likes to entertain. One day during a play date, I was telling the other moms that Chase tends to take after Gary's side of the family physically, but socially, he tends to take after my side a little more. Right after I said that he put a sand bucket on his head and began to dance around. I'm not sure where I'm going with this...

Speaking of entertaining, Chase and his buddy Jacob put on a good show for me yesterday:

Halloween 2006!

We've gotten our money's worth out of this costume! Here is Chase shooting a spider web at me.

Ahhhh, remember the days when it only took a 1/2 hour to carve a pumpkin? These babies took us about 2 hours from start to finish.

Meow! Chase wanted some whiskers and a kitty nose, too.

The whole family gets into Halloween.

This is my friend Wynn and her son Jacob. Jacob is wearing Chase's Elmo costume from last year. It is nice to see a $40 costume worn twice!

Jacob turns 2 year old today - HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACOB!

Date Night

Last Friday Gary and I took advantage of a gift certificate we had to a fancy schmancy restaurant while Chase got to hang out at my friend Karla's house. Chase has had a crush on Karla for well over a year now. I'm not sure if he was more excited to see Karla or her daughter Bailey. He did pick up a Pooh Pez for Bailey, though (comparable to bringing roses or chocolates?).