Life with The Leivas: V-Day Love

Friday, February 18, 2011

V-Day Love

Valentine's Day is one of those holidays that took on a whole new meaning once I became a mom. Before kids it was all about the romance. Now it's all about celebrating the little loves in my life. When I was little my mom always suprised us with something special on Valentines Day and now I love doing the same thing for Olivia and Peter.

I woke them up with special little treats.

Peter LOVED that he was able to eat candy the first thing in the morning!

Olivia looked adorable in her Valentines day outfit! She was blowing me a kiss but I couldn't time the picture correctly and we didn't really have enough time for a full blown photoshoot before school.

Olivia's classroom Valentines Day party

Olivia LOVES her 1:1 Ms. Tina and we love her too!

No comments:

Post a Comment

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.