Life with The Leivas: Gingerbread Architecture

Monday, December 21, 2009

Gingerbread Architecture

We decorated a gingerbread house. I LOVE those premade kits! Olivia was much more precise with her decorating this year. This year more of the decorations actually made it onto the house since she wasn't really interested in snacking on any of the decorations. Her appetite is improving but she is still not very interested in sweet stuff. Peter, on the other hand, loves the sweet stuff. I gave him a gingerbread man to play with and a tiny bit of icing. In a few seconds Peter managed to eat the entire gingerbread man and get the icing everywhere!

And if you want to compare this year's fabulous structure to last year here's the link:

http://mikelaurieandolivialeiva.blogspot.com/2008/12/gingerbread-house.html

1 comment:

Brandy said...: Cute Cute cute. Making wonderful memories. That is what we say every time we decorate the tree or make the biggest mess ever doing gingerbread houses. I sure hope that next year Jonas will be more into decorating than eating.; Monday, December 21, 2009 4:00:00 PM

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MPS/Sanfilippo Syndrome

In October, 2008 Olivia was disgnosed with MPS III or Sanfilippo Syndrome, type B. MPS stands for: Mucopolysaccharidoses. It is a genetic lysosomal storage disease (LSD) caused by the body's inability to produce specific enzymes. Normally, the body uses enzymes to break down and recycle materials in cells. In individuals with MPS and related diseases, the missing or insufficient enzyme prevents the proper recycling process, resulting in the storage of materials in virtually every cell of the body. As a result, cells do not perform properly and may cause progressive damage throughout the body, including the heart, bones, joints, respiratory system and central nervous system. While the disease may not be apparent at birth, signs and symptoms develop with age as more cells become damaged by the accumulation of cell materials.

Babies and young children with Sanfilippo Syndrome appear normal, but symptoms begin to appear with age as more and GAGs build up in the cells of the body. There are 3 stages to the disease. Stage 1 the child begins to lag behind peers and begins to display difficult behaviors. Stage 2 the child losing his/her language, becomes hyperactive, chews on everything, and has sleeping difficulties. Stage 3 the child slows down, becomes dependant for all mobility and loses the ability to chew/swallow. There is no treatment or cure for Sanfilippo. Life expectancy varies.