Halloween 2009

Coco as "Minnie"

I couldn't believe this costume made it to Halloween! She LOVES to dress up and played & danced in it a full month before the sweet-filled holiday. While she still isn't a huge fan of trick-or-treating, she had a fun time handing out candy with Mommy & Namps. Every princess that came was greeted with a, "Look Mommy, she's so beautiful," from Coco.

"Super" Sebastian

On his first Halloween, Sebastian found his very own kryptonite in the form of pneumonia.Before getting sick, he did enjoy Fall Fest at church and pulled off tights & hair gel as well as the REAL 'Man of Steel!'

Who says Halloween is only for children? Donald & I joined in the fun and dressed up too. He was Indiana Jones & I was a witch. Really, I've just been wanting an excuse to wear one of those big fluffy skirts Mom sells at the store! And yes, it was just as much fun as I thought it would be!!

Cool as a Carrot

Original, organic or old-fashioned?

Sebastian, 6 months

Whatever you call it, we call it ingenious! A cool carrot feels good on the gums!

And the Emmy goes to...

Coco Parr! We have conjectured that our baby girl is a bit of a drama queen since birth. The doctor who checked her at the hospital called her a little 'diva' and nearly 3 years later, our pediatrician still calls her 'drama.' Her flair for the dramatic is becoming less obscure as she gets older. Like most toddlers, she gets hooked on a movie and we watch it over and over and over for what seems like months. The film fave of the moment is The Little Mermaid. I thought she practically had it memorized and tonight this suspicion was confirmed. She was throwing around some stuffed animals and Donald told her to stop and pick them up. She turned around and in her best Aerial impression said, "I'm not a child!" (If you're not a Little Mermaid buff, Aerial says that very phrase to her father when he is scolding her for going to the surface.) You should also know that I sometimes find her brushing her hair with a fork (Aerial does this in the movie too) and trying to kiss me like Prince Eric kisses Aerial. She now uses words like beautiful and wonderful too. It's hilarious really but does make me wonder...do we have the next Susan Lucci in our family? As she watches movies and "acts" out right along with the characters I can almost hear the words: And the Emmy goes to Coco Parr!

This is Coco dodging her own photographic paparazzi, me! She's already got the celebrity hand-in-the-camera pose mastered. (Yes, she's in the dryer.)

First Tooth

It must be true what they say about second children growing up faster than you want. My baby already has his first tooth!!

You can't quite see it in this picture but it's there. He's only 5 1/2 months and already sprouting his pretty pearly whites. It's a bottom tooth and the one beside is following quickly. No wonder my poor baby didn't nap well yesterday?!?!

Better late than never...

Orange Beach 2009

Better late than never but I am finally getting around to posting our vacation pics. I have been a bad blogger. It's only been a month since the serene week but somehow the mellow beach feeling is already gone! Are vacations ever really long enough?

We opted for the ultimate family friendly beach vacation this year. No cooking and lots of family time is all I need to constitute a vacation. Grammy and Namps went with us too and I'm not sure Coco would have had as much fun if they weren't there! :) She LOVED waking up to find them just down the hall. While it wasn't a new vacation destination, it was a vacation full of firsts: Sebastian's first beach trip & sink bath, mine & Donald's first parasailing adventure, our first dolphin cruise and Coco's first experience with a road-side potty break.

The aforementioned first sink bath. Grammy LOVES bathing babies!

Daddy & Coco: I'm not sure who liked playing in the sand more.

I knew Coco would have to wear a life jacket on the boat but just wasn't sure how that would go. She doesn't like coats of any kind and likes being confined even less. Thankfully, the peer pressure of another little boy her age wearing his vest was all it took to make her think it must be the thing to do.

Mommy and her cool dude.

I'm not sure what I love most about this picture: the look or the legs?

Napping on the beach: how soon should I tell them that this is as good as it gets?

Grammy & Namps

Officially a 30something

the cake

So, turning 30 wasn't that bad. I had LOTS of sweet wishes from friends and family and am still a firm believer that my birthday is my own personal holiday...even if I've crossed into the threshold of "official" adulthood. Donald ALWAYS outdoes himself with trying to surprise me and this year was no exception. I got a special delivery from Kathryn's Flowers that kicked off the birthday celebration. I LOVE getting flowers and Donald never disappoints. I joke that if I were rich, I would order a fresh arrangement every week. He also got me a fabulous birthday cake, a new tea kettle (you know you're not a kid anymore when a tea kettle is on your wish list), and a gift certificate to A Fitting Place. My poor husband has been hearing me complain about ill-fitting bras since Sebastian was born and I can't wait to have a professional fitting! That is sure to be an interesting experience and one that I know will make for an interesting blog post! I ended my holiday celebration with a family dinner at Mom and Dad's; by my request, Mother made her delicious fried chicken and chocolate cake. Cake, flowers, fried chicken and family...I can't think of a better way to turn 30.

the flowers

the tea kettle

the best gift of all

P.S.
If you're ever in need, Coco is a fantastic birthday cheerleader. She must have sung Happy Birthday to me no less than 10 times. Nearly two weeks later, she is still wishing me a Happy Birthday and giving me lots of hugs - which I count as the best gift of all.

Sweet Sebastian

As of today, we THINK we finally have all of our Sweet Sebastian's little "kinks" worked out and he will hopefully be on his way to climbing up the growth chart! We went to the doc for a weigh in today and he's gained nearly 1lb in 3 weeks! Yea!

Since coming into this world post-term and a healthy 8lb. 13 oz., he has been plagued with one little problem after the next. We are incredibly thankful none have been life threatening but we certainly haven't been able to relax and enjoy our infant. It seems as though there has constantly been something we are trying to solve and fix.

• Reflux: after trying and failing with Zantac, Prevacid gave him some relief


• Viral Infection: a fever landed him in LeBohneur to be poked & prodded way too much


• Upper GI: still having reflux issues - a 1/2 day test at LeBohneur requiring him to drink 2 bottles of barium and subsequently scream in pain until he pooped a white brick! We double his dosing of Prevacid.


• Laryngomalacia: A.K.A. Soft larynx which results in loud, squeaky breathing...particularly when he's sleeping


• Milk Allergy: A horrible rash on his face & body told us it wasn't just the reflux causing him irritation. Now, the ridiculously expensive Alimentum keeps him happy and rash free!


• Ezcema: Oops! Guess the milk wasn't the only thing causing him to break out. Now, hyrdocortizone cream and Eucerin are the only products that can touch his skin. No sweet Noodle & Boo smelling baby! :(


• Inadequate weight gain: We thought the formula fix would cure all but no such luck - the doc labeled him "failing to thrive" and now it's back to the quest of finding what is wrong.


• GI consult: After two visits, Dr. Whitworth increases his calories per serving and threatens the possibility of an even more expensive and more hypoallergenic formula.


• ENT consult: Poor baby has to get scoped & officially diagnosed with severe laryngomalacia. We learn here that this condition and his slow appetite are probably related.


• Modified Swallow Test: Finally a test that gives you results instantly! We had this test yesterday (another trip to LeBohneur) and it showed he has what is called "penetration." Meaning: his airway flap doesn't close in time when he eats letting some formula go down the wrong pipe. This is probably due to the acid reflux eating away at the sensation on his esophagus. The hope is that the problem will fix itself as he starts sitting up, eating more solid food, the larynx hardens and the esophagus regains normal feeling....probably around 18 months.


• Simply Thick: Hopefully, the last bullet point to our little guy's medical history. Simply Thick is thickening gel added to his formula to help him swallow easier. The slower flow gives his airway flap more time to close. (Of course our insurance doesn't cover it.) After just 1 1/2 days, we have already seen minor improvements in his eating. Hopefully, he will consistently break the 20 oz. per day barrier soon!

After all the trips to Memphis, stress on baby, stress on us and specialty co-pays, we are so incredibly grateful God has taken care of our baby long enough for us to catch up. Thank you to everyone who has listened to me cryptically complain and ask for prayer about what we've been going through. It's all been so vague & unclear until now - it's as if a light has flipped on and we FINALLY can see what's going on.

A trip to LeBohneur is all it takes to make you count your blessings. I saw a little boy hooked up on an I.V. walking the halls with his grandmother and having to use the slants in the hospital floor as a make-believe race track. Now that's heart breaking.

P.S.

Thank you God for doctors and for the freedom of choice in choosing one!