Batt Family Goings-On

After four years of hearing "we don't know what's causing the problem, and there's not much we can do", we have finally been given some answers regarding Hunter's condition. In mid-December, Hunter did a gait analysis, during which a team consisting of an engineer, a physical therapist, a neurologist, and several orthopedic surgeons determined Hunter's muscle and bone function. This team determined that Hunter's muscles function appropriately, and his muscle strength is that of a normal four year old, and therefore he is a good candidate for surgery.

On Friday, January 22, Hunter will undergo an endoscopic quadricepsplasty on his left leg. This is a lengthening/reconstruction of his left quadriceps muscle. The goal of this surgery is for Hunter to achieve greater flexion at the knee joint as currently, he can only bend his left knee to about a 20 degree angle. Lengthening the quadriceps muscle should help him achieve at least a 45 degree angle, although the ultimate goal is 60 degrees. (Hunter can bend his right knee to 45 degrees, so the surgeon does not want to mess with a good thing on that side :o) Signing the consent form for the surgery today was gut-wrenching. As a parent, it is heartbreaking to hand over your sweet, four year old little boy to be operated on, even though you know that the procedure has the potential to drastically change his quality of life in the future. I am not looking forward to that moment of separation tomorrow morning, but I am praying for the strength to keep a smile on my face until Hunter cannot see me anymore (being pregnant does not help with the emotional aspects of your child's surgery!).

The surgery will be done at the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, which is the children's hospital at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The hospital is up near San Francisco, which is almost a two hour drive from Monterey, so Hunter and I are spending the night in a hotel on the edge of the Stanford campus, as we have to be at the hospital at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Justin was unable to get any time off of school (tests all week), so he will be driving up to Stanford to join us when he gets out of school tomorrow afternoon.

Hunter's surgery is scheduled for mid morning, and should take 1.5-2 hours. He will be casted with his leg at a 30 degree angle (assuming that angle is achievable), and the cast will need to stay on for three weeks. We are expected to stay in the hospital until midday on Sunday.

I will be using this blog to update you all on Hunters progress this week, and for the weeks to follow. Thank you so much for your prayers and support, they are very much appreciated :o)

Love,

Justin, Nickie, and Hunter

View From the Outside

Well, since I posted a picture of our little one on the inside, I thought I'd share a picture of what's happening on the outside, since most of you don't get to see me in person very often!

Here I am today, at 19 weeks:

Is this thing working??

I've been having a heck of a time updating this blog lately, and not because of my own procrastination this time! I have made a few changes on the computer, so hopefully that will be the end of the technical issues!

Baby Batt:
We had our second ultrasound done on Monday, January 11th. While the baby was shy and decided not to reveal his or her gender, we have another complete scan on February 8th. We have been inspired by friends of ours who just had their second baby this week - they knew the gender all along, but chose to keep their friends and family on pins and needles until the baby arrived... We were all ready to reveal the gender to the world on Monday, but now that we have a few more weeks to ponder it, we might keep you all in suspense until June, we'll just have to see ;o)

For now, here is the latest snapshot of the newest member of our family:

Batts Visit Santa

We've been holding out for a really great looking Santa for Hunter to visit, and luckily we struck gold at the mall in Monterey! Santa was very nice and had a great looking beard - Hunter was less apprehensive than last year, but still pretty shy. He did a great job taking a picture though!

Batts Add On...

Batts eat فلافل‎ (falafel)

Tonight we ventured out to a Lebanese restaurant that one of Justin's instructors had recommended - Maha's. We had a GREAT time!

While we waited for the food, we perused through the Beirut Times and sipped a Lebanese white wine (massaya white). Justin could read the paper, and I pretended to read it, when in reality, I was just happy to be recognizing letters :o)

We started off the meal with Falafel ( فلافل‎ ) and Hummus (حمّص) appetizers. This food is amazing - the falafel is super spicy, but in the most delicious way possible!:

For the main course we shared the mixed grill which came with chicken, steak, and lamb skewers - again, just YUM:

As we were digging into the main course, the belly dancing started! The entertainment really brought the whole evening together, as it suddenly felt more like an exotic vacation rather than just another weekend night out to dinner. We had so much fun, and Hunter even tasted the pita bread, falafel, and baklava! We will definitely be going back to Maha's soon!

Batts and Farmers Go Camping!

For labor day weekend, we took our second family camping trip. This time, we were joined by our good friends and neighbors, the Farmers! We headed north to Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

Our trip started on Friday around noon as we headed north towards San Francisco.

Seeing the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time was definitely a highlight for me (Justin had already seen it - that worked out nicely since I was panicking and he was able to convince me of the bridge's stability shortly before we crossed :o)

After we crossed the bridge, we stopped at the vista point to take it all in...

After a looooonngg drive due to heavy traffic (what was supposed to be a 5.5-6 hr drive became an 8 hour + drive) Because of that we ended up having to set up camp in the dark, and I didn't get any pictures of setup - bummer!
Saturday morning, we unzipped the tent to find ourselves under the shade of the magnificent redwood trees.

Later that morning, Amanda had a great snack/activity for the kids. Raisins for the stones, shredded coconut for the kindling, pretzels for firewood, and red and orange m&m's for the hot coals..... cutest campfire ever!

The kids had a great time running around the campsite for the rest of the afternoon checking out hollowed redwood trees.

On Saturday afternoon we hit the trails and went walking through the redwood forest. (ps - all weekend I had 'This Land is Your Land' in my head.....)

Hydrating:

Dads and boys:

After the hike, the kids turned their river rocks into pet rocks:

On Saturday Justin and I had dinner duty - we made kielbasa sausage, green peppers, and red onions in foil packets with some garlic and herb rice on the side.
Tip of the day: camping with an Eagle scout is incredibly handy - this man knows his way around a foil meal!

After breakfast on Sunday morning, we went in search of a drive-through tree. We found one, but due to our car top carrier, our jeep was too tall to fit. So we parked and checked things out on foot.

Hunter checking out a redwood tree house:

We made our way over to the drive through tree and found this brave (or stupid?) guy trying to fit his Chevy Silverado pickup through the tree...

He made it through without a scratch.... it took awhile, and drew a large crowd of gawkers, but it was funny to watch :o)

Justin, Hunter, and Charley in another tree:

Hunter, Kaitlyn, and Brandon inside the redwood tree house:

Another trip highlight for me - lovin' the sparkle on those dishes guys :o)

Sunday night the kids happened upon a treasure map!

They followed the map and collected gold nuggets....

Finally - 'X' marks the spot in the hallowed out redwood!

Hunter, Kaitlyn, and Brandon each got their own treasure bag full of goodies:

We broke camp before the sun came up on Monday in an attempt to beat traffic as both Justin and Ed had homework to do and school early on Tuesday. We made it home safe and sound in about 6 hours. This trip was another great camping success! Everyone had a great time, and the whole weekend was made even more special because of the wonderful friends who joined us!