Benscoter Family: October 2014

We started the month off with a check up at CHOP. Tyler saw his cardiologist, had his stitches removed, and had his antibiotics discontinued on October 1st. He did fabulous and we were all incredibly thankful. On October 4th I went on a spouse flight at Joe's squadron. We got intel and weather briefings before getting on the plane. I even got the opportunity to sit up in the cockpit while they practiced air refueling from a KC-10. Lastly, we got to watch as they practiced 2 combat off loads-- it's when they drop pallets off of the back of the plane. It was a great experience and I didn't even get nauseous!

Tyler started back with speech therapy on October 6th. He warmed up to Miss Heather in no time. We have a lot of ground to make up with his eating habits. Tyler is having difficulty eating the volume of food he was eating prior to surgery. He is also having difficulty swallowing any food that isn't completely smooth. It will take a bit of time but I'm sure we will get him eating more in the future.

Tyler had a check up with his primary physician on October 10th. His oxygen saturations remained stable at 87% and clinically, he had never looked better. That evening we celebrated at the base's Rocktober fest. There were rides, face-painting stations, and bouncy houses. The kids had a blast especially while dancing to the music played by the band. We were also lucky enough to spend the evening with Amanda, Hunter, and Eden :)

Joe and I went on a date on October 12th. We had fun shopping for the kids, having dinner at a local pizza place, and then heading to a bar for drinks. I love spending quality time with my main squeeze! On October 15th we went with Sophia and her preschool class to a pumpkin patch! We went for a hayride, picked out our pumpkins, and fed the farm animals. We had a fabulous time!

Tyler had another chest xray on October 20th and his lungs looked fabulous! We were back at CHOP on October 24th and since Tyler was looking so good he was taken off one of his diuretics, his sodium chloride, and his zantac. That means we went from 8 medications to 5. We anticipate he will be on 3 medications his entire life-- two blood thinners and one blood pressure medication-- so we only have 2 more to get off before we are back to his normal regimen!

On October 29th there was much rejoicing in the Benscoter household-- Grandma and Grandpa came to visit! The kids and I kept them busy while they were here. We went to Joe's squadron Halloween party on October 30th, went trick-or-treating in the neighborhood on October 31st, and went trick-or-treating at church on November 1st. Sophia was a beautiful Rapunzel and Tyler was an adorable superman.

Sophia Update:
Our big girl's personality is bursting at the seams! Her imagination is developing and she has been saying things like, "I wish I could have that dress" or "I wish I could wear those shoes". She also loves spending time with Tyler and often says to him, "Come on my boy!". She LOVES everything and anything pink. She is also showing a big interest in princesses, ballerinas, jewelry, and make-up. Lord, help me!

Tyler Update:
Tyler is also saying lots of new phrases such as "I sleep good", "No, thank you", and "I do it myself!". It looks like he is turning into a polite Mr. Independent! He also climbed up the stairs all by himself without taking a break. Once he made it to the top of the stair case he started yelling, "I did it! Mommy, I did it! I did it!" Then he started giving high-fives all around :) Such a happy moment for us all! One night he spontaneously began chewing and SWALLOWING several goldfish crackers. I knew he could do it! Now, all we need is to get him to eat and swallow food all the time...we will see how that goes!