Rollin' rollin' rollin'!

Hello all,I thought I'd send you all a short update on us down here. As you can see, Gabriel has improved his co-ordination skills to the point that he likes to imitate us. He saw Dan drinking from his cup and wanted to try it too, so we got him a cup to practice on. We decided not to put anything in it yet. He's also gotten to the point where he can easily roll onto his belly, sometimes roll onto his back, and scoot along on his belly. The problem remains that he scoots backwards, which frustrates him as his toys get further away. He enjoys making new noises with his mouth. His latest is inhaling. It made us think he was having trouble breathing at first.

Dan hasn't had any problems with his heart/chest since the hospitalization. We had a follow-up with our PCP and he was unable to find any problems. Work has gotten brutal, however, as he's had to go in early and stay late almost every day this past week. We're hoping things settle down sometime soon. As for me, I'm still the same. Tired more often than not, but doing well over all. Thank you for the birthday wishes. Lots of love,- Karen

Cute Baby Alert

It's been a while since I last typed, but we were waiting to get some recent pictures and then I just kept putting it off.

I, Karen, am doing well. Gabriel is sleeping longer hours at night allowing me to get more rest. He also sleeps quite a bit during the day letting me get some of the housework done. When he's not asleep he sometimes allows me to set him in his car seat while I work and he watches me. Other than that there is nothing really to report.

Gabriel just had his 4 month check up on Monday. He wasn't a very happy baby. He was tired and hungry and then he got three needles stuck into him. He weighs in at 15 lbs 5 ozs and is a rather tall 26 1/4 inches in length. We've started him on a feeding schedule the pediatrician gave us so on Monday he had his first rice cereal. We have it all on video tape for future embarrasment.

Dan is getting everything ready for his 3 week business trip to India. He leaves on the 8th and gets back on the 30th (just in time for Gabriel's first Halloween). His migraines have subsided to a slight degree, but the aspirin he was taking for his heart started causing his stomach to protest. Now he gets to take a generic Zantak pill twice daily.

That's all from this end. We're still hoping to get some of the photos from the reunion (wink, wink, nudge nudge, Jennifer).

Love to you all,

- Karen

Sunday Ideas

In the month of July we had our "Sensational Sundaes" as our Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment theme. One of the mini-classes we had was on Sabbath Day Activities. The teacher of this class took such a unique approach to this topic that I thought I'd share with you the handout she gave to us. I will admit that I have changed the wording slightly, but for the most part this is exactly what I received. Bev, some of these ideas don't apply to you, but it the basics apply to everyone and the rest is easily adapted. :)

Make a Good Sunday!

Container (Cup or Cone?)

Start with the basics - what's going to hold your Sunday together? Your personal spiritual well being. Take some time with the Lord and your scriptures, assess where you are, and prayerfully decide how you are doing. If there's any necessary improvements, repent as needed and set some realistic goals.

Ice Cream

After self comes family. Much like ice cream, families come in many different flavors. This is a great day to assess the spiritual needs of your family. Talk about lessons heard in Church. Spend a little more time on a topic during family scripture study. Simply spending uninterrupted time together will strengthen the family unit. Here are some ideas. -Have family gospel instruction -Go on a walk with family members -Get better acquainted with family -Hold family council meetings -Visit relatives -Read with your children -Build husband-wife relationships -Develop appreciation for the cultural arts

Toppings

If you were to stop here you would still have a great Sunday. Everything else is just a topping! Some of the best Sunday toppings tend to be those things that you know you should be doing, but never seem to have the time for. But just like that hot fudge, forget the guilt and jump on in! -Write in your journal -Spend extra time in the scriptures -Do family history work -Prepare for your calling -Visit, write, or call a friend -Do missionary work among neighbors and friends -Serve others -Plan family home evening and other family activities -Compile a personal or family history -Visit the sick or lonely

For more ideas see Elder Tingey's article: "Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy", Ensign, February 2000 (Bev, you can find this on the lds.org website if you want to reference it.)

Enjoy,

- Karen

2 Months and Counting

It's been a while since I've written. As I mentioned before, we had Gabriel's blessing on July 3rd. We were privileged to have Sandy, Sheri, Karma, Dad, Lucynthia, Rachel, Taliya, and Aleric come into town to spend time with us that weekend. Rachel and her children drove back up to Phoenix Sunday morning, Sheri, Sandy, and Karma flew home Sunday afternoon, and Dad and Lucynthia stayed through Monday afternoon. Since then we've had Gabriel's two month check up. He's 24 inches in length and weighs in at 13 pounds (no wonder my arms feel like jelly by the end of the day). We also had his second round of vaccinations (which he didn't like in the least). Overall he is a very happy baby. He often smiles when he catches sight of Dan or I. He'll even laugh (at least we think he's laughing). With our support he'll also stand up pretty well, though we still have to watch his neck. He's said his first word (of sorts) which turned out to be "Hi." I'm not sure he knows what it means though. Today he actually stayed awake through my entire walk. He is usually asleep before the end of the first lap. In short, he's growing fast (Doc says he's bigger than approximately 90% of other 2 month olds).

Dan is still having problems with his headaches. The doctor we saw merely suggested trying a higher dose of muscle relaxers each night. I also give him frequent neck rubs (though they don't always seem to work).

I've included a couple of recent pictures so you can see his happy face.

Lots of love, - Karen

Update from Tucson

Just wanted to email you a quick note to let you know we're doing okay here. We've managed to take Gabriel to the doctor 4 times in as many weeks (first visit, follow up for jaundice, eye infection, diahrria) but so far nothing serious to worry about. His last visit put him at 10 lbs meaning he's gained 2 1/2 lbs in since birth. Needless to say he's eating well.

Dan's health has gone down somewhat. The medications he's been taking to help alleviate the migraines seem to have stopped working. He's back to a constant low-level headache with frequent intermitent migraines. He's also started having nose bleeds again which becomes a concern since he's taking the daily aspirin which thins his blood somewhat. We have an appointment set up with his neurologist, but it's not until July 7th.

I seem to have recovered pretty well in the last 4 weeks. The only real complaints I have are being tired (I sleep when I can) and a sore toe (it feels like it's jammed, but it isn't). I can't say much for my housekeeping skills since Gabriel doesn't seem to like to sleep unless he's in someone's arms, but I manage to get dishes and laundry done. I guess it will have to do until I grow an extra arm or find a reasonably priced carrier.

I wanted to also include some pictures of the nursery. It's not much, but it's cute. Enjoy.

Lots of love,

- Karen

Gabriel update

Just thought I'd email you so you know the latest about Gabriel. Sunday, the 22nd, two days after we were discharged, we took Gabriel in for a well-baby visit and to check his jaundice level. The biliruben test came back at 13.4 (not great but not bad either). That next Wednesday we took Gabriel to his first pediatrician visit where they gave him his first imunization and ordered another billiruben test. This one came back 13.5. The doctor said that we should try exposing him to indirect sunlight and make sure he continues to eat regularly. We were also to bring him back in a week. That appointment was this morning. The doctor says his color is normal now so it appears we are out of the woods. I just wanted you all to know so you wouldn't worry about it. I thought I'd also include a couple photos.

Lots of love,

- Karen

Gabriel

I have attached the pics we have of Gabriel. (Many more to follow in the coming weeks and months.) His birth stats were as follows:

Full name: Gabriel Ryan Gmyr

Time of birth: 18:55

Weight: 7lbs 8 ounces

Length: 19 inches

Love ya all,

Dan & Karen (and Gabriel too)

Expecting

I have to admit that we haven't been entirely honest with all of you. Last Tuesday at my OB appointment the doctor said I was about 70% effaced, and between 2 and 3 cm dilated. Then she asked if we'd like to induce. After Dan and I discussed it, we agreed and set up an appointment for Wednesday (18th) morning at 5:30. Yes, that means tomorrow morning we edge the process along if nothing happens tonight. The reason we haven't mentioned this to anyone until now is that we honestly didn't think we would get this far and didn't think that there would be a need to tell you. I, however, would like you to know so that your level of anticipation can be about as high as ours. We will let you all know the details when we know them, but for now expect that you'll be getting another family member sometime within the next 24-36 hours.

Lots of love,

- Karen

Pictures

Okay. I've gotten a couple requests for pictures of me pregnant so here you go. I'll warn you I'm probably not as big as you may expect. In fact, I've had a few people tell me that now that I'm almost 9 months along I finally look like I'm pregnant. There are other people in the ward who are due later and are bigger. I need to clarify that I am not arching my back or trying to stick out my tummy in any way. This is actually how I look. To get a reference, during the baby shower it was determined that I am approximately 10 1/2 toilet paper sheets around (no I don't know which brand of toilet paper). I also included a picture of the crib and dresser so you can see a little of the decorating we've done. We will be putting up some Pooh images and curtains to go with the Pooh light switch you can't see in any of the pictures. We also have a Pooh crib set (bumper, quilt, etc) that we'll put in when he gets a little older. There you are. Enjoy,- Karen

Health Updates

Just a quick message to update you on the Gmyr family now that we've both been to the doctors.

Dan's diagnosis came back with two problems. Mitral Valve Prolapse, and Patent Foramen Ovale. Neither of these are life threatening. PFO, is where the foramen ovale, a shunt in the heart of an unborn baby that allows blood to pass between the left and right sides of the heart (since blood doesn't flow through the baby's lungs), doesn't close completely within a year of birth. The mitral valve is what prevents blood from flowing the wrong direction in the heart. In Dan's case the valve doesn't completely shut allowing a small amount of backflow. MVP, while named for the mitral valve in the heart, isn't actually caused by it. Doctors have concluded that the defect is more a physical sign that the problem exists. It is also very possible that the MVP may be the cause of the migraines. At the present the only thing the cardiologist can recommend is a daily aspirin regimen and certain antibiotic should he ever have dental work done.

Karen has checked out fine at the OB/GYN. No complications have been reported. In fact everything seems to be going slightly ahead of schedule. While we were originally given a due date of May 22nd and that has migrated all the way to the 27th, the doctorhas informed us that she doesn't think we will even get that far. Karen is already slightly dilated, Gabriel is head down and pretty low in the abdomen. In other words we may be looking at mid-May rather than late-May. Don't worry, we're still planning on having the baby blessing on the 3rd of July. Let us know how many would like to come so that we can help plan for guests. For more amusing news, Karen narrowly avoided having two baby showers. One surprise shower was planned for the 7th, but when the person holding it received an invitation for the one on the 30th and discovered several individuals were invited to both a decision was made to combine them. We say this is amusing because we hadn't anticipated having even one.

Lots of love to all,

- Dan & Karen

Recent Developments

Just thought I'd take a quick moment to fill everyone in on recent developments. We still haven't heard anything from Dan's cardiologist and his appointment was pushed back a week for some reason. Again, when we hear something we'll let you know. In the meantime, please, don't worry. He's doing well.

I've given some more thought to when we'll have the baby blessing. More than likely we'll have it the weekend of July 3rd. I wanted to give you enough time to make vacation/travel arrangements, but didn't want to have it too close to the due date in case Gabriel's late in arriving. I also didn't want to conflict with the Reunion in August. I'm also planning on inviting Dan's family. Please, let me know if you'd like to try and come so we can determine how many we can try to accommodate.

For those of you interested, one of the sisters in the ward has mentioned throwing Gabriel a baby shower. It will most likely be the weekend of April 30th. I don't know if any of you want to try and attend, but I thought I'd give you the option. Please, let me know so I can arrange for you to receive an invitation.

Lots of love,

- Karen

Alive and kicking in Arizona (some kicking more than others)

Yes, it's true. We still exist. I just wanted to send out an email to let you all know the latest news in our small family. I'm not sure where I left off or how long it's been since I've written (sorry) so I'll cover a few basics I think I've mentioned and then fill you in on the details.

As you all know we're expecting a boy, Gabriel Ryan, around the end of May. The pregnancy is going well. There have been no complications (other than heartburn) to report. Daniel and I attended a one-day birthing class this past Saturday and we learned a lot of things to help us prepare for the labor and delivery. We will be attending a Newborn Care class next Thursday so that we will be able to guess correctly what to do after Gabriel's born. We have also signed up to tour the birthing center this weekend.

The most recent news concerns Dan's health. In January we both went for follow-up check-ups with our PCP. Everything looked fine, but Dan's heart sounded odd. The doctor described it as a click. He referred Dan to a cardiologist. When we called to make the appointment the earliest we were able to schedule was March 14th. So on the 14th we saw the cardiologist who confirmed the odd "click" and, based on Dan's family history, suggested Dan have an echo-cardiogram. That was scheduled originally for this past Monday, but got moved to Wednesday. The echo confirmed that Dan has a faulty valve which is good news and bad news. The good news is that this may actually be the leading cause of Dan's migraines and correcting it may solve that problem as well. The bad news we don't know yet. We have yet to find out how serious the problem is. We are supposed to hear from someone (probably the cardiologist) within the next few days to give us more information and Dan has another appointment with the cardiologist in a couple of weeks.

I just wanted to let you all in on what's happening here and we'll try and keep you up to date on new news. We'll also let you know when we'll be having Gabriel's blessing so that those who wish to attend can make appropriate arrangements. I will need to inform you that, unfortunately, we do not have a lot of room at our home so hotel accomidations may be something you'll need to consider. We are working to make more room, but a lot will depend on how many wish to, and can, attend.

Lots of love,

- Karen