Friday, April 29, 2011

Rule #106: Nothing good comes from spiders

We just got back from Graham's head ultrasound. He did really well, flirted with all the ladies and found the screen fascinating.

They discovered that Graham has an arachnoid (spider, get it?) cyst on the right side, that's quite large apparently. He needs to have an MRI done to better see the size and to get a plan for how to remove it. Which means he will need surgery.

Sad.

Since Graham isn't adversely affected by the cyst at this point, it's not an emergency. But it is something that needs to be taken care of. His brain looks fine, albeit pushed over to the left side. But since he's a baby, his brain is pretty mailable, and can handle being pushed over for the time being.

I'm grateful that it's not emergent. But the thought of my baby being intubated and sedated makes me sad. I'm grateful for a pediatrician who is proactive.

We're not sure when the MRI will be or surgery for that matter. But when we know more, you'll know more. :)

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Rule #105: Some babies are off the charts cute!

Six months ago, this was what filled me with joy in the middle of the night.

Now it's this face that fills me with joy in the middle of the night. Yes, he still isn't sleeping through the night.

Graham had his 6 month check up today. He is doing very well. Here are his stats.
Weight : 16 lbs 14 oz (40%)
Length: 26.5 in (55%)
Ofc: 18.5 in (>95%....off the charts)

That off the charts business is going to cause a bit of an issue in a few days. Because his head is growing so big so fast, Graham will have a head ultrasound on Friday to make sure everything is a-okay.

Calm down mom, he's fine. :)

Most likely it's nothing but some extra CSF around his brain, but that things are still draining properly. It could be a cyst. But he acts so normal that I'm not concerned in the slightest. But I do appreciate having a pediatrician willing to check things out anyway.
Here's proof that my son is a rock star! Look at him lift up his huge noggin without any trouble :)
He can roll over from front to back. And his head doesn't even make him come crashing to the ground either. It's usually a nice gentle roll. He is so close to sitting up. And he loves the view. He is getting better hand control everyday. It's so fun to see what new things he has discovered this way.
While Graham is REALLY interested in what Alex or I eat, he could take or leave baby food. Leave it mostly. I'm able to get him to eat a little more than Alex, but that's not really saying much. He just doesn't enjoy it. And having to trick him into every bite, just for him to spit most of it out is exhausting. But, he is 6 months old now, and really should be eating more than he does. Which means, even though I don't like it, I need to make more of an effort to offer him baby food every day. (it's been usually every other day because he doesn't like it at all)
We've also recently discovered who Graham looks like. He has many facial expression that are Dougs, but then I came across this photo of my father as a child. Umm, hello? They look so similar. Big head and all!

Graham has been described by my sister as a big ball of happiness. And it's true. He really is. Evan was content with his world. Graham, well he thinks everything is the best. thing. ever! He laughs and giggles and anything and everything, and is always quick to give a smile.


Here he is his trying to hold Jane's hand


I love this face. It looks like he's shouting "I did it!! I touched a girl!"

My kids are the greatest blessing I've ever been given. I can't imagine my life without them. In most ways it feels like Graham has been a part of our family for much longer than 6 months. I can't wait to see who this little munchkin turns out to be!



Love you Teddy Graham

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Rule #104: Organization is subjective


Alex and I have one way of organizing the toys in Evan's room.

Evan has another way entirely.
Most mornings I find his green storage bin filled will ALL of his toys. Every morning. It's gotten to the point where I'm not even willing to put them back in the bins on his shelf. Sometimes I still do, but it's always a short lived motivation.

The other way Evan organizes I can relate to a little more.

He started lining up his toys in the living room. Starting with Graham. (who he often thinks is a toy) He placed the bath sponge on his head, and kept going from there. I tried to "adjust" one of his toys, he got mad, and put it back in it's place. At least he comes by his OCD honestly. I just hope it doesn't get any more pronounced as he gets older.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Rule #103: Easter is not a person

I am loving Evan's personality as he gets older. I can tell that holidays are just going to keep getting better and better.

This year we were planning on taking Evan to an Easter Egg Hunt (for fun and for therapy). We stayed out later than usual with friends, he didn't go to sleep as well at their house as usual, and then was talking to himself at 2 am after we had gotten home. Plus we have a 6 month old who still gets up in the middle of the night. So when our alarm went off that morning I looked at Alex, and asked him how much he cared if we went to the egg hunt or not. Being the Parents of the Year, we opted not to wake ourselves, or our children up so that Evan could have a anxiety attack in the cold weather.

Evan slept in till 11, so I feel that we made a good decision. A few hours later he talked about going to Easter's house. (We had mentioned the easter egg hunt the night before) Feeling a slight twinge of guilt (but not enough to have done it differently) we decided to have our own mini hunt in our yard. We quickly filled some eggs with candy we already had in the house, and set them in rather obvious places in the yard :) Evan had a great time. He was a little disappointed when there were no more eggs to find, but got over it quickly when he realized the eggs were filled with candy. He kept calling them Easter's eggs.

He found his small presents in our room a few days ago too.

"Open this? Open this!!"
"We need to wait for Easter to open them"
"Go to Easter's house and open this?!"

I've tried several times to explain to Evan that Easter is not a person, it's a holiday. He clearly isn't grasping that concept yet. :)

Feeling the need/desire to be festive, we tried dying eggs with Evan for the first time too. I think he's a bit young still. He had a hard time waiting for the color to set, or waiting for them to dry, wanting to put them back in the colors....regular two year old behavior I think. Other funny things Evan has been saying that have nothing to do with Easter....

~He tells me almost daily that Jesus is at the door, or that Jesus will ring the doorbell and it's not Lisa (his therapist). Oh, and Jesus says "boo" (I'm really not sure where that one is coming from)
~When it's morning he tells me "windows are on, it's daytime" and how the "windows are off, it's nighttime"
~He would live outside if we would let him, and doesn't enjoy the restrictions his baby brother puts on his playtime. But it has just been too darn cold to take Graham out for any length of time. So throughout the day, he will tell me that "Graham needs to take a nap and Evan will go outside."
~If he wants me to say yes to something he knows I'll say no to (probably because he's already asked half a dozen times, and I've said no!) he pulls up his eyebrows, eyes big and wide, nods his head vigorously and asks his question again, ending in "yeah?" Usually I just end up laughing, but still say no. :)

Like I said, I'm loving his personality. He's such a riot!