The Clugston Clan

Another update

2009-04-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note tonight to let you know that everything went very smooth with the colonoscopy/endoscopy procedure. Not being able to feed our baby boy for a whole two days (he didn't get dinner until late in the evening after the procedure) was REALLY HARD!! Thank goodness for his pacifier, that's all I can say!

The doctor said that all looked normal when he was in there with the scope, and now we are just waiting on the biopsy results for more information. He said those can pinpoint allergies and things like that, which is pretty amazing. Hopefully we will hear something more later this week.

The really awesome news is that since the procedure, Cody has been doing GREAT!!! He has had a good appetite, eating really well, in a good mood, and has had NO digestive problems whatsoever. It has been WONDERFUL, and we really hope it continues. It's so nice to have a "normal" life again!

Thank you all for all the prayers and kind comments/thoughts/e-mails during this time. We appreciate you all greatly!! And I do intend to answer all of those e-mails, too!

(Thank you so much, Oscar, Mendie, Jake, Dylan, Kenzie and Brody, for welcoming us to stay with you!! The girls had a blast playing with all of you, and you took such awesome care of us! Hopefully next time we come, we won't have such high-maintenance issues going on. Love you guys!!!)

Just an update

2009-04-13T10:22:00.001-07:00

It's been quite a while since I posted, so I figured it was time to give everyone an update on the Clan!

Yesterday was Easter, and I managed to get not ONE single picture of my kids! I'm pretty sure this is the first year I've spaced things off so badly. Jordan was sick all day the Saturday before with a stomach bug - not too much fun, and she was still pretty queasy Easter morning. So while she was laying low, Maddie hunted some eggs the Bunny had hidden around the house, and checked out all her cool goodies in her "spa pedicure" Easter Basket. (Jordan got an identical one, and got more excited about it later in the day, once she felt better.) Cody first threw up all over himself and his daddy (more on his health issues in a minute), then got angry when we tried to show him his Easter goodies, and then proceeded to fall back asleep. He woke up a little happier, and a little less pukey, and then he liked his cars from his Basket. His favorite, though, were the toy guns and tools Grandma and Grandpa Clugston got him!!

Later in the day, everyone was feeling pretty good, so we went up to Christy's dad's place for a big family Easter get-together. We all had SO much fun (Thanks so much for inviting us, Christy!!) The kids played and played, hunted eggs, rode on the tractor, and did I mention played, while the adults got to visit, relax, and eat some really yummy food. Oh, and we were treated to some awesome live entertainment to boot! Even though our Easter started out a little shaky, it ended up being really enjoyable and fun. (Thanks for sharing your pictures, Christy!)

Christy's dad, Dan, gave the little ones rides on his tractor. Cody was lovin' every minute of it!! And Maddie was giving everyone the "Miss America" wave when she rode past.

I'd say Maddie fared pretty well with her egg hunt! I can't believe how many eggs they had for the kids - it was so much fun!!

Here are all the kiddos after the Easter Egg Hunt! Cody was not interested in hunting eggs, nor in having his picture taken, for that matter!

Now today we are back to the grind (sort of.) Jordan woke up with a sick stomach again, so she's home from school. Maddie is still feeling good (she had the stomach bug last Wednesday). Dad is still recovering from a nasty fall he had last Wednesday (that was not a good day for our family!) He is feeling quite a bit better now. Mom was the one who kicked off the stomach bug last weekend, and is feeling fine now.

Here is Jordan taking it easy on the couch today. Even though she wasn't feeling good, she still managed a smile for the camera.

(I just bought this shirt for Cody Saturday, and I couldn't resist putting it on him today!)

As for Mr. Cody-Man, things sometimes feel like a roller-coaster ride. We took him to his appointment at UNM Pediatric Clinic in Albuquerque last month, where he was diagnosed with acid reflux and prescribed Zantac. In addition, they sent us with orders for a whole bunch of lab tests, which we had done at the hospital here in Farmington. The Zantac seemed to work right away, eliminating his vomiting completely, and helping with his diarrhea.

We were very hopeful that this was a quick and easy fix for all his problems, and felt extremely relieved that he would be able to start eating and gaining weight again. We were pretty disappointed when we got the call from the doctor's office with lab results showing that Cody has an extremely inflamed bowel (a result of 120 or less is normal, and his was 1300.) As a result, he needs a colonoscopy and endoscopy, which has been scheduled for this Wednesday afternoon at the UNM Children's Hospital. It is an outpatient procedure, so he will get to go home that evening (or to Aunt Mendie's house, I should say, where we'll be staying.) He will have to be under general anesthesia for the whole thing, which is good in that he won't know/remember what happened, but is a little scary at the same time. Also, he started his "bowel prep" process this morning, which means he's given laxative in the a.m. and p.m. (odd to have to do that to a little guy suffering from chronic diarrhea!) He will do the same laxative schedule tomorrow, as well as being on clear liquids only all day, and then Wednesday he has to do a complete fast from 10:00 a.m. until after the procedure is over. The poor guy is going to be miserable! Hopefully, though, this will give us some insight into what is going on. The doctor will be able to tell us what he SAW with the scope immediately, but we'll have to wait for the biopsy results, which take a week or so to come in. Basically, they're trying to determine what is inflaming his bowel so badly, and if it is an acute issue that can be treated and resolved, or if it is something chronic, such as Crohn's Disease.

As if that weren't enough, he went on an eating strike this past Thursday, and literally only ate a few nibbles of food all day Thursday and Friday. We were concerned, especially with his bowel prep procedure so close, so Saturday morning I took him to Urgent Care where he was diagnosed with a double ear infection. He finished his Z-pack today, and although he still wouldn't eat at all over the weekend, he did show signs of an appetite this morning, so that is a big relief! The poor little guy is only 20 pounds, so he can't afford to lose any more.

I think that's all for now. I will post again after we learn more!

Cody Man

2009-03-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I've fallen a little behind on my blogging of late, and I do have some new pictures to post. Jordan has started her first soccer season, as well as learned to ride her bike without training wheels! Maddie is now going to swimming lessons twice a week, as well as her Wednesday dance class. Hopefully soon I will find some time to post those new pictures.

Today, though, I just wanted to give a brief update on Cody. As some of you may already know, he has struggled since last fall with chronic digestive problems. We thought we had figured out the problem to be a combination of some food allergies and a lactose intolerance. However, after eliminating these items from his diet, he is still struggling with recurring issues. Yesterday I took him back to the doctor to have him evaluated, only to find out that he has not gained any weight in several months, and has fallen from the 95th percentile (at birth) to the 3rd as of now. They diagnosed him as "failure to thrive" (which did not make me happy at all, because his problems are physical ONLY) and referred him to a pediatric gastric specialist in Albuquerque. We managed to get the appointment moved up, and will be taking him down there for the initial visit tomorrow (March 20.)

I just wanted to keep everyone posted, and also to ask that you keep our little Cody Man in your thoughts and prayers. We are hoping for something simple and easily remedied, such as a different food allergy or sensitivity, but it could be something much more severe or involved. I will keep posting updates as I get them!

"6"

2009-03-16T22:06:00.000-07:00

6 Picture tag.

Here are the directions:Open up the 6Th picture folder on your computer. Post the 6Th picture in the folder and tell the story of it. Then tag 6 of your friends.

I cannot believe that with ALL the pictures of my kids that I have on my computer, THIS is what ended up here! Oh, well, such is life. Anyway, this is just a picture of my gigantic, big, fat, and pregnant belly in the fall of '07. Cody was born shortly thereafter!

So the people I will tag are Nicole Tyson, Michelle Robbins, Crystal Robbins and Kelly Decious. (I didn't put 6 because I don't follow that many blogs yet.)

SKI DAY!!!

2009-02-21T17:47:00.000-08:00

With the forecast of a beautiful, sunny and warm (well, 35 degrees warm!) Saturday at Wolf Creek Ski Area, we decided to get the girls bundled in their ski clothes and make the drive!

Here the girls are being fitted for their boots and skis. They are so excited!!

Jordan's first trip up the "Magic Carpet." She has skiied once before, but that was 2 years ago, so they wanted to give her a little refresher course.

And here Maddie is off the Carpet, and listening to her teacher's instructions.

Jordan's first run of the day. She was just like a little pro!

And here is Maddie's first attempt - a little shaky, and with a few falls. But overall, not too bad for her first try!

And she's ready to go back up!

Aw, what a sweet, happy little face!

Jordan quickly progressed off the Carpet, and onto the ski lift. Here she is riding with one of the instructors.

Maddie got more confident and comfortable as the morning went on, but then she came in early, saying she was too hot (35 degrees can get ya when you're all bundled up and working hard!!) We figured she would be tired and ready to stop by lunchtime.

Jordan, however, was still going strong! She was riding the lift by herself and skiing down so quickly, we had a hard time keeping up with where she was!

Then, to our surprise, Maddie decided she wanted to go back out after lunch! By the end of the afternoon, she had mastered the lift, too. Yah, Maddie!!

So you might be wondering what Cody was doing while the girls were getting in all this skiing action. . . Well, he was keeping Mom and Dad on their toes inside the ski school building. He got bored of the toys and snacks pretty quickly, and decided he wanted to hit the slopes with his sissies!

So Dad took him outside for a while, and tried to keep him entertained. Back inside the building, he continually climbed on top of the chairs, daring Mom and Dad to try to stop him. He fell down several times, hid Mom's water bottle from her, and FINALLY took a short nap! Mom had a very short little break before he was back up and running. . .

And when all other attempts to entertain yourself fail. . . there's always this option!!!

The end of the ski day arrived (FINALLY, for Mom), but all too soon for the girls!! They both did an awesome job, and had a TON of fun! Whoo-hoo!!! (Can't wait til we can all be out there on the slopes together.)

SNOW DAY!!!!

2009-02-17T08:04:00.001-08:00

Last Monday night, the snow was really coming down, and Cody was very interested in watching it from his door in his room! He stood there at the window for the LONGEST time, just staring out!!

Every once in a while, he turned back to us to say "Oooh!" as if to ask "Do you see that?!" (A few minutes later, he managed to pull the cord for the blinds, sending them crashing down onto his face and creating chaos for a few minutes - and Mom was there to catch it all on video! Hee-hee)

Not surprisingly, Jordan didn't have school the next day "SNOW DAY!!!" So Mom had to come up with ways to keep the kids entertained inside all day. Here they are building a pillow fort in Mom's bedroom!

Aaaaahhhh - The fort is complete! (Too bad they only played with it for a few minutes, bickered the whole time, then got bored and wanted to do something else! Oh, well, I tried!!)

One thing that can definitely be said for our girls is that they LOVE to help out. So we try to take advantage of it while it lasts - here we have put them to work doing dishes!

The weekend BEFORE the snow hit was actually really sunny and warm, so we took advantage of it by going out on the 4-wheelers with Grandpa Dan. Cody was VERY happy to be getting some actual 4-wheelin' in (he makes us take him out in the garage to sit on the 4-wheelers everyday, and then screams and cries when we take him off without giving him a ride. The kid is seriously addicted!)

"So what's the hold-up? Why are we not ridin' yet?"

Daddy also took the opportunity while we out in the boonies to let the kids (big ones included!) try out the new rifle he bought for the little ones. It's a tiny little .22 rifle that is made especially for kids, and it is SO cute! He's training up his little hunters early.

Here Jordan is taking aim at her target. She did really well for her first time, and even though Maddie was reluctant at first, she finally gave it a shot as well. She made Mommy and Grandpa Dan go for a walk with Jordan and Cody, though, because she ONLY wanted Daddy to see. She definitely does things her OWN WAY!

The girls get their ears pierced!!

2009-02-09T14:03:00.001-08:00

As a surprise to the girls this weekend, I suggested we get their ears pierced. Jordan agreed immediately, but Maddie decided she wasn't ready yet. I told her to just let me know when she decided she is ready, and we would get it done then.
Here we start out with our "before" picture.

Here is Jordan sitting at Patina, eagerly awaiting her ear piercing!

And here she is immediately afterwards!! She did not cry a single tear, flinch, or anything! She just kept a smile on her face the whole time and didn't say a peep. She is SO excited to have her ears pierced!!

We asked Maddie if she was sure she didn't want to get hers done, since it went so well for Jordan, and she said "No."

We left and Jordan was just SO proud of her new earrings, she had to go see Daddy at work and call her aunts and grandmas to tell them!

Then, to my surprise, the very next morning Maddie announced she wanted to get hers pierced that day! So back to Patina we went. . .

Miss Maddie did so great, too!! She was very brave, and didn't make a peep either. One little tear sneaked its way down her cheek right afterwards, but she didn't let on that she felt a thing.

And here are the girls with their brand-spanking new earrings! Jordan picked sapphire stones (even though they're not her birthstone, she loves deep blue colors) and Maddie went with her birthstone tourmaline (pink is her favorite color, so that worked perfectly!)

Fun in the Snow!!

2009-02-09T13:11:00.001-08:00

Weekend before last, we decided to load up our 4-wheelers and sleds, and headed up to Mancos (our favorite camping spot in the summer.) We could only drive up part of the way before the road was blocked because of snow, but we parked there and took the kids sledding for a while. They liked it, but the hill was not very steep, so they got bored after a bit. Then we jumped on the 4-wheelers and went riding up the snow-packed road. We had SO much fun - especially Cody, whose absolute FAVORITE thing in the world is the 4-wheelers!

Just wanted to throw in a couple other pictures as well. These are from last month, when the girls went to their cousin Taylor's princess tea-party birthday celebration. It was so cute to see all the little glamorous "princesses" dressed up enjoying tea and finger foods!

And of course I couldn't leave out our handsome little guy! He has finally gotten to where he likes wearing ball caps, and requests them by pointing at his hat rack and saying "Hat!!"

Cody's First Haircut

2009-02-08T20:09:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Day this year, we went to Grandma Clugston's house to get Cody his first haircut. Grandma has given both of the girls their first haircuts as well, but not nearly this young. (It figures - the girls' hair took forever to grow out, and Cody's grew really fast!)

Here are the "Before" pictures!

He's still happy, with no clue what is coming!

WOW!! That sucker is SOUR!

Here Grandma is just getting started.

Almost done now - and Cody is not enjoying the haircut thing one bit!

And now it is finally all over. "Just give me an Oreo and nobody gets hurt!" He looks so handsome with his big-boy haircut!!

Getting started.

2009-01-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

Well, after much persuading by my sister-in-law Mendie (and a lot of snow days this winter!!) I have finally decided to set up a blog for our family. I figure this way I can share some of our hundreds of pictures of our oh-so-cute kids on a (semi) regular basis anyway!

So to start I think I will just post a few pictures of some of our family's highlights of 2008. This is a work-in-process, so please be patient with me!!

Here is a typical day spent at home in early '08, trying to keep warm, and keep the kiddos entertained. It's hard to believe how LITTLE Cody was then!

Here is our Jordan at her very first Piano Recital in February. She did such a great job, and wasn't a bit nervous to be up on stage in front of so many people! She is a natural performer, and is also a very talented little piano player.

These are pictures from a chilly day spent playing at the park in early Spring. The girls were SO excited to get out of the house after being so cooped up (not to mention sick) all winter.

I can't believe how big my "baby" Jordan is getting to be! And Miss Maddie just has the prettiest big brown eyes!

Here is our Cody Man, hangin' out on the Boppy with Eyore. He is finally (thankfully) out of the awful colick stage at this point. THANK GOODNESS!!!

This is Cody's first taste of rice cereal, on March 15th. He was not even 4 months old yet! WAY earlier than we fed our girls, but he was just always so hungry. He took to the cereal like a fish to water.

Here we see Miss Jordan and Miss Maddie all dressed up in their beautiful Easter dresses, just waiting to head out in search of Easter Eggs!

Miss Jordan is boogyin' down to surfer music with her SKIP preschool class at their big graduation day - it was such a cute program!!

Like my hair-do? Only the "cool kids" in this house get to take a bath in the kitchen sink!! (We just love those beautiful blue eyes.)

Here is the Proud Daddy with his "tiny dancers" following their Recital in June. The show was Anastasia, and as you can tell by the flowers, the girls had quite a few fans!

These are just a few highlights from our annual Father's Day Campout! We always have the BEST time camping with all of Matt's family, and usually with Amanda's dad, too. He was sick this year, and couldn't make it, but Matt's sister Mendie, her husband Oscar, and their four children, Dylan, Jake, Brody, and Kenzie were able to make it from Albuquerque. And also his brother Danny, his wife Christy, and their two kiddos, Taylor and Luke were there, as well as his Mom and Dad. What a blast!!!

Matt's "Big" Birthday Bash in July. He turned - oh, what was it again? - about 26, 27 I believe it was!

A few of the many scenes of summer around the Clugston household! As you can see, the girls love dress-up, and Cody thinks playing outside is a "hair-raising" experience!

More camping trips we made over the summer!

Jordan's first day of Kindergarten!! She was SO excited to start school, and luckily, we met our next-door neighbors over the summer. They have two boys, Tyler and Jacob, who are the same ages as our girls. This is Tyler going to his first day of Kinder with Jordan! They aren't in the same class this year, but they ride to and from school together almost every day.

Pictures of the Birthday Shin-digs! Jordan's 6th birthday party was Wizard of Oz, complete with Dorothy and the Scarecrow. Maddie opted for a Pink Pirate Party to celebrate her 4th. And Mr. Cody had his Lil' Slugger's First Birthday party, with his own baseball cake (notice the pre- and post-cake pictures!)

In 2008, the kids went with a SuperHero theme, with Cody dressing up as Spiderman (minus the mask, which DID NOT fly at all!), Maddie a very cute Pink Wonder Woman, and Jordan as Bat Girl. They went trick-or-treating with Tyler and Jacob, and had SO much fun! The girls also enjoyed paiting faces on the pumpkins, and are both turning into really good artists.

In November, we decided it was time to FINALLY take some good family pictures, so we had Danny and Christy over, and we took bunches of their family, and they took bunches of our family, right in our backyard. It worked great because the kids had lots of toys to keep them occupied and semi-happy - MUCH better than going to an actual photo studio at their ages!!

This year, we kicked off the Christmas celebrations with Matt's Company Christmas Party, which Ziems holds at the dealership each year, complete with Santa Clause, presents for all the kids, and lots of dancing!! Needless to say, the kids had a blast, even Cody, who held up much better than we had expected.

Next up on the list of Christmas activities was the Polar Express in Durango, Colorado. This year, we reserved an entire car of the train, and filled it with all family! It was SO nice to know everyone on the train, and for the kids to be able to move around, change seats, and be noisier than we would have ever let them be in a car filled with strangers! It was SO MUCH FUN!! We are so glad that so many family members were able to make it (Mendie and her family came up from Albuquerque, Danny and Christy and her extended family were there, Amanda's dad, mom and stepdad made it, as well as lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins.)

And then, FINALLY (for the kids anyway) after all the anticipation and excitement, it was Christmas morning, complete with gifts from Santa and presents to unwrap from Mom and Dad, Grandmas and Grandpas. We enjoyed a nice Christmas morning with the kids, opening up our family gifts, followed by visits from Grandma and Grandpa Clugston, and Grandpa Dan (Amanda's mom and Billy had celebrated with us on Christmas Eve evening.) Later in the day, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Clugston's house along with Danny, Christy, Luke and Taylor to open gifts with them. It was a very enjoyable Christmas, with the focus on family as it should be.

WHAT A GREAT YEAR 2008 WAS FOR OUR FAMILY!!