Las Vegas II

On Saturday, we all went over to an ice rink where Willow figure skates. Willow was very gracious and gave Hunter some private skating instruction - he seemed to get the hang of things very quickly, and he had the time of his life experiencing it:

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Uncle Josh and Hunter, all laced up!

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Taking in some pre-ice basics from Aunt Willow

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Ready to hit the ice with Uncle Josh and Aunt Willow!

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This was after Hunter had been at it for awhile - by this time he was taking turns pulling Josh and Willow!

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Comin' in for a high five

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Of course we couldn't leave without begging Willow to show off some of her stuff that she's preparing for her upcoming Christmas show!

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This would have been a cool picture of a jump, but the large crowd that gathered got in the way!

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All done skating for the day - he had an amazing time!!

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After open skate was over, there was a youth hockey practice going on, so we let Hunter check that out for a bit

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Here are a few videos of the action:

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Las Vegas I

We are having a great time at our first pit-stop - Las Vegas. We have wonderful hosts, Justin's brother Josh, and his wife, Willow, who always make us feel right at home

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We haven't been out for too much adventure - I think we are trying to re-energize after the craziness surrounding orders/packing/moving... We've done a little shopping, and a lot of hanging out at the house. Last night involved cookie baking, and a little body manipulation by Josh, the doctor in the house.
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Morgan got in on the health and wellness with a personal baby-yoga session from Willow, an accomplished yoga instructor :o)

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Farewell, West Coast

Our time in Monterey, and California for that matter, has come to an end. We've lived here for nearly 7 years, and have had 8 different homes.

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Monterey has been a very memorable chapter in the Batt family adventures. When we came, Justin didn't even know the Arabic alphabet, he is leaving as a fluent speaker. When we came, we were a family of three, we leave as a family of four. When we came, Hunter was learning letter sounds, he leaves as a kindergartner reading at a second grade level.

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This house will always have a special place in our hearts, but at the same time, we are ready for the next adventure.

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So for us, it's on to Goodfellow AFB in TX, but only until the end of May. After that, you ask? Only the Marine Corps can say...

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Five Months!

Where does the time go?

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Our baby girl is five months old today - she is happy, talkative, an observer like her brother, eating veggies, grabbing whatever she can get her hands on, and rolling around on the floor.

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Hunter is her favorite person in the world right now, she watches him like a hawk, and loves to watch him dance around, play peek-a-boo, or play football. Hunter is an awesome big brother, and we can tell there is quite a bond there already.

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Happy five months Morgan!

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Graduation Day

It's all over!
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He's been through 15 months of 7 hour days in class followed by two hour evening classes, periods of overnight immersion, seemingly constant testing, and 30 days in Egypt -

(this picture was taken in honor of Justin's brother Josh, who took a similar picture while studying this summer - he is currently in medical school. DANG them boys are smart!)

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On Thursday, Justin graduated from the Defense Language Institute Middle Eastern School. He is officially an Arabic linguist. It was a very happy day for our family - it has been a very tough experience, and we are so glad to be done!

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To put things in perspective - less than half of Justin's original class made it to the DLTP (the final exam), and a few people did not pass that. Justin not only made it to the end, he made it through while maintaining a 3.6-3.8 gpa.

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Justin, with the only other Marines in his class

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BZ Sgt.Batt, we are so proud of you!

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So it's time to close this chapter and begin a new one - on to Texas we go...

A Hunter update

As most of you reading this already know, Hunter has been diagnosed with arthrogryposis since he was about four months old. Arthrogryposis simply refers to contractures of the joints, and up until a week ago, we had no idea what was causing this in Hunter.

In June of this year, we met with a geneticist who reviewed Hunter's case, and thought something didn't quite add up. He said the fact that Hunter had lost flexion since infancy made him think there is actually an underlying neuromuscular disease, and that it could be progressive. On September 24th, Hunter underwent his third surgery this year - this time it was a biopsy. We got the results last week, and I thought this blog would be the easiest way to share with everyone.

First and foremost, as far as the medical world knows, Hunter's condition is not progressive.

Sigh of relief.

We do however, after five years, finally have an underlying diagnosis.

It is called congenital fiber type disproportion.

Congenital meaning existing at birth, and fiber type meaning the two different types of fibers our muscled consist of. We have type I and type II fibers, under normal circumstances, our muscle fiber types are congruent in size and number. In Hunter's case, as it turns out, his type I muscle fibers are smaller, and greater in number, than his type II fibers - thus the disproportion aspect.

This disproportion results in muscle weakness. The doctors are now saying that this weakness caused a lack of fetal movement, which in turn caused the contractures of the joints. (and yes, I did report lack of movement to my ob, and I was told there was nothing wrong and I was just worrying because I had nothing to compare it to - I'm not sure I'll ever be over that one)

Anyway, the prognosis is good. This condition is extremely rare, so there isn't much info on it at all. We were told that the best thing to do for Hunter is to keep him moving - this is great news as Hunter is such a sports nut! As far as medicine knows right now, the condition should either remain static or improve slightly.

This link provides a good overview:
http://www.muscular-dystrophy.org/about_muscular_dystrophy/conditions/115_fibre-type_disproportion

So that is the update on Hunter. It is a good feeling to finally have a legitimate cause for Hunter's mobility issues. We will continue to keep Hunter moving, mostly through sports, and especially with swimming.

Thank you so much for all of your thoughtful words and prayers, they mean the world to us. To see that so many people care so deeply for our son is a huge blessing, and we are grateful every day for that.

Thanks for reading this post :o)

Four Months!

Well, by now she's about 4 and a half months, but the 4 month mark came amidst the fifth birthday extravaganza :o)

Morgan is wonderful. She's 14 lbs and 24 inches (75th percentile for both). She's growing beautifully, and meeting all of her important milestones. I had sworn we wouldn't start solid food until she was six months, but I was wrong. For a few weeks, Morgan wasn't lasting very long in between bottles, but her stomach capacity is only about 5-6oz of formula. So we thought we'd try oatmeal for a little more substance, but I wasn't sure how she would do with that. From the very first bite, Morgan was bringing the food to the back of her mouth and swallowing, as if she'd been eating for years.

So, we're on to solid foods now :o) So far, she's had oatmeal, squash, and green beans - now, I can't stand pictures of kids with food on their faces so I'm just going to post this one because it's cute that Hunter is feeding her, he was so excited :o)

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Cousins from Seattle sent Morgan this adorable raspberry hat awhile back. The other day, I thought Morgan's noggin might be ready for it:

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Another fun thing that has been happening is the interaction and bonding going on between Hunter and Morgan. She loves to sit in her jumperoo and watch Hunter run back and forth. Hunter is so sweet and thoughtful towards her, it's really wonderful to see :o)

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Love this picture. Morgan is resting on my mom's shoulder - love the expression on her face!

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