The Kobys

Conner’s physical therapist told April that he needed an ExerSaucer to practice the whole standing thing, so we ensured he got one.

Today he played in it for a few minutes before getting tired but daddy managed to capture a few pictures before he wanted out.

mkoby Conner

Here’s a nice video of Cloe making Conner laugh.

mkoby Cloe, Conner, Video

As you can tell, there are new photos up.  This is a collection of photos taken over the past few months.  Yes, I know we’ve been slacking on updating this website and hopefully, we can be better at it in the next coming year.

We had our first (and probably only) snowfall of the Houston winter earlier this month.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed it.  Also, we took a family trip to Dewberry Farms with Cloe’s girl scout troop.  And of course Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The big swing set took two days to build but in the end was totally worth it.  Below are some choice photos from the last few months.

Four Generations

Cloe at Dewberry Farms

Conner & April in the Snow

mkoby Uncategorized

This morning at 8am, Michael was officially laid off from my job with Sogeti USA (Houston office). To say it was a shock would be a lie, things just weren’t going well where I was involved (lack of billing, hard to place, etc) and I saw the writing on the wall long before this proverbial axe came down. I hold no ill will towards them, and this lay off had nothing to do with me personally.

So tomorrow Michael begin the hunt for the ever elusive animal known as “employment” and in these troubled times the animal might prove truely elusive. Time will tell though. The good news is, that after the layoff I sent my resume out to some people internally and out to some social networks via a link (Michael Koby’s Resume in PDF), and this has already beared some fruit. Hopefully that “fruit” will grow into interviews and eventually (and hopefully sooner rather than later) offers for employment.

Again, you cam find Michael’s resume at the link below. Please feel free to download it, review it, and pass it around. Especially if you live in the Houston area.

Michael Koby’s Resume (PDF file)

mkoby Michael job hunting, resume, unemployment

For those that don’t already know, Conner came home 2 weeks ago today. We have since had 2 follow up appointments at Texas Children’s Hospital for

1. Hematology and
2. Audiology

Conner also starts physical therapy today due to his lack of head movement and not liking “tummy time.”

The results of the follow up appointments were that the doctors are pretty sure he doesn’t have Aplastic Anemia (they couldn’t say for absolute certain because the piece of bone they pulled during his bone marrow biopsy wasn’t a good enough sample).  Conner will also have to have routine blood draws so that they can watch and chart his blood cell counts to see what they are like when he is well.  The answers from these blood draws will help the hematologists determine what (if anything) he might have and help them better diagnose for treatments.

With regards to audiology, Conner is hard of hearing.  He has what is known as “Minor Sensorineural Hearing Loss” which means he’s not deaf but he doesn’t hear things quite as loud.  End result, he’ll need to wear hearing aids in both ears and it will make it difficult for him to learn how to talk (not impossible, just difficult).

We would like to thank everyone that prayed for Conner and us while Conner was in the hospital.  It was comforting to know that we were being prayed for and thought about by some of our closest friends and family.  I (Michael) would like personally thank everyone I know via social networks like Twitter (and might have never physically met), you people are awesome and deserve only the best in life.

mkoby Conner

So first the news everyone has been waiting to hear, Conner is home from the hospital.  There are still some unanswered questions, like what is going on with his blood counts (that caused them to do a bone marrow biopsy) but we should find out more on that this coming Tuesday.  Also, while in the hospital it was discovered (re-discovered actually) that Conner has some hearing loss.  He has an appointment today to find out to what extent that hearing loss is.  But overall he’s doing fine, and catching up on some sleep now that he is home.  You can see photos of Conner in the hospital on my Flickr page.

Also, I have uploaded new pictures to my Flickr page, including photos for Cloe’s birthday party earlier this month.

mkoby Cloe, Conner birthday, hospital, photos

Conner @ Hospital

This update is for anyone that isn’t already aware…

What Happened?

What Else is Going On?

Keep Praying

So right now, the best anyone can do is to keep praying for Conner.  He is already bathed in prayer, but more is always welcome.  He is surrounded by family and when he’s not being poked and prodded, he is quite happy and playful given his circumstances.  I’ll try to update more frequently.  I didn’t update sooner because there was a severe lack of substantial answers.  But now we’re starting to see more answers than questions so I will be able to update with more regularity.

mkoby Conner Conner, infection, texas children's hospital

As of Friday morning, Conner has been home from the hospital. For a child who is only 3 months old, he certainly looks like he knows what’s it like to be home from the hospital. He’s smiling and quite active (well active for him anyway).

I would like to thank everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and best wishes while Conner was in the hospital, it means a lot to us. We are surrounded by lots of love, and you can’t ask for more than that.

mkoby Uncategorized

So I’ve got some updates & recent happenings to report.  The first is that Cloe went fishing with your “Grandpa Koby” on Saturday and caught her first fish.  See pictures below (click on images will take you to Flickr where you can see the full sized images).

Then on Sunday evening, Conner was running a high fever (102.5), so April & I ran him to the emergency room (at Katy Memorial Hermann) to see what was up.  Turns out that he has an urinary tract infection, due to his urinary tract reflux that he was diagnosed with at birth.  Apparently it was a bad one and his doctor advised that he be transferred to Memorial City Memorial Hermann because that’s where his doctors are located.

So, as it stands right now, Conner will be at the hospital for most of the week, to 1) Rid his body of the infection & 2) to possibly determine the cause.  April will be staying with him at the hospital and I’ll be in and out as well.

Hopefully, Conner will be home in time to enjoy his first 4th of July.  Please keep him in your prayers and thoughts.  And check back here for any updates, I’ll post them as I have them.

mkoby Cloe, Conner

This is a little late (sorry Jacque & David), but still worth mentioning…

On Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 my brother David, married his fiancé, Jacquelyn (aka Jacque) at Simonton Community Church in Simonton, TX.  They were married by Steve Littlefield (the same pastor that married April and I, as well as my sister Laura and her husband Landon).

Lets make sure there are enough congrats to go around since you can never have too many of those.  Congratulations you too and may you live a long and happy life together.

mkoby Aunts & Uncles