Trunk or Treat!!

Last night we went to Trunk or Treat at our Church. The weather was gorgeous! There were three rows of cars, vans and SUV's lined up all decorated handing out candy to the kids. There were some really creative costumes and trunks and cute, cute kids!

First Concert....

Elli sang in church this past Sunday for the first time and it was SO cute!! Yes I cried... she is just growing up way too fast. I wasn't sure if she'd actually follow through BUT she fooled me... she was in the very front row, smack dab in the middle and she was singing away and doing all the actions. Both grandpas and grandmas were there and we all went out to eat afterwards. I took this picture at our house before we left.

Spider Cookies!

Elli decided to also make a hand in addition to her spider.

A co-worker of mine brought in spider cookies last week and they were so cute and EASY so I had to make them with Elli. She had a great time and took them to daycare the next day for snack.

What is Connexin 26?

On August 4th we found out the cause of Briggs hearing loss was due to Connexin 26. Below is a little information of what Connexin 26 is and how common it is. The GREAT news with Cx 26 is that there is no "syndrome" linked which means Briggs is a very healthy little boy who only has hearing loss!

Cause of Hearing Loss - Connexin 26

Advances in genetics have enabled scientists to identify genes that cause hearing loss. A substantial portion of people with nonsyndromic hearing loss have Connexin 26 disorder. This is a complex genetic disorder that leads to flawed copies of the gap junction beta 2 (GJB2) gene, which normally instructs a protein, Connexin 26 (CX26).
Everyone has two copies of this gene, but if each birth parent has a flawed copy of the GJB2/Connexin 26 gene, the baby may be born with a hearing loss. The hearing loss occurs because the mutation is suspected of disrupting potassium flow in the inner ear.

Who Has Connexin 26 Mutations?

Connexin 26 mutations occur primarily in Caucasians, Ashkenazi Jews, and some Asian people.

HEARING LOSS is extremely common and can present at any time from infancy to old age. About one in 1000 infants has profound hearing impairment, with half thought to be of genetic origin. Many deafness genes exist, but the most common cause of hearing loss in American and European populations is a mutation in the connexin 26 (Cx26) gene. Cx26 has a carrier rate of 3%, similar to that for cystic fibrosis, and it causes about 20% of childhood deafness. Mutations in Cx26 cause congenital syndromic and nonsyndromic deafness - that is, the deafness is not accompanied by other symptoms, such as blindness.

Halloween Cookies!

We're a little ahead of the game this year with Halloween festivities... I guess you can say we're a little on the excited side... This past weekend we went to the pumpkin patch and last night we baked and decorated sugar cookies.

Pumpkin Patch

This past weekend we went to the Pumpkin Patch and had a great time! Nick and Elli walked through a scary house. It wasn't the haunted house but it was a little scary for her. We walked through a maze. Elli rode a pony and played in the jump houses. We also went on a hay rack ride and of course picked out pumpkins. On Sunday we went to the apple orchards in Nebraska City - but I forgot the camera... I love this time of year! The trees are so pretty and the weather is nice. Although, I don't like all the spiders in and around my house!