Always & Forever

Dearest Coco,

This post is for you. You woke up from your nap today and let me hold you in my chair for another 45 minutes while you slept. I love this ritual you've adopted and hope you will always & forever let me hold you! You are my precious angel. Sometimes your halo is a bit crooked but I know it's there.

Happy Birthday Grammy

Grammy & all her babies!

Jillian 8, Jasper 5, Jansen 3, Coco 3, Sebastian 10 mo.

As tradition holds, we had a Sunday evening birthday dinner to celebrate Grammy's 56th birthday. The menu was delicious: BBQ, baked beans, potato salad, fries and banana split brownies for dessert. It was a fun night and a chance for us to celebrate a wonderful mother and grandmother. I don't know what I would do without her. She is my mother and my best friend. I can tell her anything and know I'm going to get honesty and love in return.

Coco just HAD to put on the nightgown we gave Grammy. She danced and sang and pretended she was Snow White!

This is my BEST try at getting Coco to pose for a picture with her beloved Grammy.

Sebastian's First Haircut!

Grammy gave Sebastian his first haircut on March 7, 2010 (10 months old). It wasn't too long but I joked that he was beginning to look "unloved." He stayed quite still for the 2 minutes it took to snip the ends. It looks even more adorable now that it's trimmed. I even had someone ask me if I curled the back under. People never cease to amaze me...

Snow 2010

We have gotten so much snow this year. I think we have a new benchmark - the Snow of 2010. Just as last year, Coco isn't a fan of the white stuff. Cold & wet are two of her least favorite things so what should we have expected? She & Daddy did manage to build a snowman (at warp speed) and we made snowcream (that she likes!). Sebastian can't stay well long enough to enjoy the outdoors but we did manage to get a photo op. It's too soon to say if he'll like it or not. Hopefully, we'll get some next year and find out!

Daddy, Coco & our snowman

This is our driveway; it looks like a postcard!

Grammy teaching Coco how to make snowcream.

Sweet baby boy (9 mo.) posing in the snow!

Uh oh...fun's over.

Us and the snowcream! The kids love it just like Mommy. I won't repeat what Daddy says it tastes like.

And the winner is..."Jack"

It's official. We have identified Sebastian's first real word*: Jack! He loves our furry family pet and the feelings are mutual (Jack prefers to be in Sebastian's room when I'm rocking him. I think he would sleep in there if we allowed it!). Every time Sebastian sees him, he points at Jack and says "Ack." It's adorable. The honor of first has been given to the dog; I wonder who will be next?!?!

*A previous post indicated that his first word was Momma. As sad as I am to admit, I think that was a premature announcement. He hasn't really said it again so I'm losing the trophy and giving it to Jack.

Update on Sebastian

I wanted to post an update on Sebastian since so many of our blogging friends have been faithful to pray for our little guy. He had a second MBS (swallow) test Tuesday and we got good news. Well, not great but MUCH better than the alternatives (CF, feeding tubes, scary stuff)! When he swallows, his "flapper" is still delayed even with the nectar consistency thickener we've been using. The first few swallows are fine but as he continues to drink, he aspirates. This is what has been causing the recurring pneumonias. He was switched to a thicker thickener, honey consistency, and we are crossing our fingers this will solve his problems. Thank you to everyone for your calls, e-mails, posts and texts of concern. We appreciate your prayers and feel more blessed than ever to have a happy, healthy baby!

Firsts

Sebastian said his first word today...Momma! I put him down to fix some juice for Coco and he started crying & crawling toward me saying over and over...mamamamama!!!!! It's nice to know all the practicing has paid off.

This is a picture of another "first." His first piece of real food: an apple slice. He loved it! He chewed on it for quite some time making applesauce with his bottom teeth.