February Wrap-Up

1. Doug gets a new car and takes the kids off my hands for a while! :)
2. Baylor hamming it up at DOC band adjustment appointment
3. Katie strolling Baylor (and Max)
4. Mustaches are all the rage!
5. Little Miss Sassypants at the Riverwalk
6. Birthday party fun (Check out the adults in the mirror)
7. Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping baby?
8. Mom and Dad dressed up for a big event at Epworth they both helped coordinate
9. First visit to the SC State Museum
 

High Flying Fun

For Valentine's Day, I got Doug a certificate to go zip lining together at a course in Rock Hill. What better way to say I love you than to push each other out of trees! My parents watched the kids for the afternoon so it was nice just being together! It was also a surprise...We went with Lindsay and Marshall and the guys had no idea where we were going or what we were doing until we were about five minutes away!

  

On the Road Again

The kids and I headed on another road trip together. We went to Dalton, GA to visit some of my best friends - the Callaways and the Browns and half of the Armstrongs...This is the farthest I've ever driven by myself with the kids and I was so nervous but they did great. It couldn't have been a smoother ride.

Lauren was the maid of honor in my wedding and we've traveled many roads of life together! I was beyond thrilled that we ended up pregnant at the same time and then even more excited when she gave birth on my birthday!!! Olivia and Baylor are only 9 days apart! Lauren was coming to Dalton for a visit so I headed that way to meet her little girl and visit with the rest of their families!

Jackson was our welcoming committee!

That's a whole lot of baby weight!

Lauren taught Katie how to play dominoes.

Roadside farm with my bundled up baby!

Jackson and Katie making silly faces by the creek

Baby Love!

Baylor tried sweet potatoes!

  
Kristina with Grant (2) & Jackson (4), Me with Katie (4) & Baylor (5 months), Lauren with Olivia (5 months)

Mom Swap!

  

Birthday Buddies!

DOC Band - THE END!

I don't know whether to say "Has it been 7 weeks already" or "It's only been 7 weeks!" We have worn the band for 7 weeks and headed to Charlotte for what we hoped would be our last time. They were pretty confident we wouldn't have to come back again but I wasn't getting my hopes up! Baylor and I drove to Charlotte on a rainy, foggy morning but left with the best news that made in sunshiney in our world!

They were really pleased with his measurements and growth and gave us the green light to discontinue wearing it! Yay! It's technically his first little graduation. While the technician was filling out paperwork, I silently hummed Pomp and Circumstance in my head.

Here's some of his before and after pictures. The before pictures remind me just how slouchy and tilted he was! His torso and neck have gotten so much stronger in just seven weeks! The diminishing fullness of his face amazes me too...Since there is no longer distortion in the skull, the rest of the face can kind of go back to normal and isn't being pushed forward! He's still got great cheeks though!

And here's the real money shot! The aerial view of his head...What a difference 7 weeks makes!

Aside from the first few days of adjustments, the entire process really was not that bad. Baylor was a trooper and it never seemed to bother him one bit. People didn't really stare at him...In fact, we had more people come up and tell us stories of their child wearing the band than we did get funny looks from people. I'm glad that we did it but also glad that it's over! Now maybe he can start sleeping a little better without it!

Happy Valentine's Day

Who doesn't love love, right? We had fun making cards for all the kids in Katie's class at school. We printed some God is Love cards and stuck them on gummy bear packs and were good to go! She got lots of goodies from friends at school too!

My loves! (He has an "I heart Daddy" shirt too, but I got him dressed so that's what he wore)

I had a meeting at work on Valentine's Day and they gave these balloons away as a prize for answering a question right...Glad I was paying attention! Katie was thrilled. But then she decided we could give them to my mom to take to her friend at a Children's Home to decorate for their dance party! 

Doug had been out of town for several days arriving back home after midnight the night before Valentine's Day. Katie and I still scored big with flowers and chocolate!

 

Super Bowl (Again)

Another year and another Super Bowl party at our house! It's the time of year when we clean the house and find some major project to undertake to have it completed just in time for all the guests. This year there was no project, but I did clean the house...

The Kids' Room! Blanket on the floor = crumb catcher

The fare...Excellent as always! Dips, meats, desserts...

My Pinterest project...Individual veggie cups with ranch and hummus

Bacon wrapped chocolate covered strawberries. Top that!

Who won? Who cares...I don't even know who played. I was too busy popping bacon wrapped entities (strawberries, jalapenos) and eating spoonfuls of cheese dip!

January Wrap-Up

1 - baylor's new accessory
2 - fun trip to the grocery store weighing everything we could find
3 - a teenager snuck in to katie's room and had a jam session
4 - fun "just because" gift from my dad
5 - play date at the park (shorts in january)
6 - baylorsaurus
7 - katie's selfie
8 - baylor doing a great george costanza impersonation
9 - fun with food with sue-sue
 

5 Months Old

I thought the holiday months went by quickly, but January just flew by! We've been really busy with doctor's appointments for Baylor between therapy, DOC band, and his ear infection. Plus, I'm back at work so it seems to make time pass more quickly.

We started rice cereal this month and he seems to really like it. He also just seems to like sitting at the table with us during dinner...It's nice to have a new activity to do with him too.

He's not sleeping great anymore. He doesn't need anything when he wakes up, but he's just waking up several times each night. I'm not sure if it's because of the band or the ear infection or something else. I'm sure I'm messing him up by going in there and holding him or snuggling with him for a few minutes, but I kind of don't care right now...Ask me next month when I've set us back light years with the sleep schedule and I may have changed my tune.

He started sitting up completely unsupported today! I think his torso strength is completely from all the therapy he's doing. They also added a wrist brace to his regimen for now...It's more to open up his fingers and keep his thumb from tucking under all the time than it really is about his wrist. 

He is still our happy, chunky baby!

Swinging!

Another week of work in the books and it's time for the weekend to hang out with the family! It's not terribly cold right now and Baylor doesn't have to bundle up too much anyway, so we spent Saturday afternoon introducing him to the swing! Katie is usually racing to her swing and begging to be pushed for hours on end, but she was so excited to push Baylor! He seemed relaxed at first and just enjoyed the breeze and the fresh air but then he really got into it and gave Katie some great smiles and laughs! I wish these photos had sound effects! Enjoy!

 

 

 

Tea for Two

Grandma Jones gave Katie a ladybug tea set for Christmas that they've both been dying to try out! She also got lots of books on how to have a Tea Party. On Saturday, Grandma Jones came over for their first official Tea Time. Tiny desserts, chocolate milk, and flowers!

Katie was very careful trying to pour her milk from the pitcher to her cup...We actually had a few overflowing spills but I was ready with the napkins!

After the drinks were poured, it was time to place their dainty little napkins in their dainty little laps! Katie and Grandma Jones take this tea business very seriously!

Finally, the reward! Sipping sweet chocolate milk! We tried to teach her to lift her pinkies in the air but I think she was in information overload at the time and her index fingers were all she could manage to raise! 

A few other things to note about the sheer fanciness of the occasion. Katie's fanciest kitty, Ariel was allowed to come the party because she has a pretty bow on her. Katie also wore a bracelet to the occasion. And the final piece to the party was a lovely tablecloth thrown over her craft table! 

Time to Eat

Now that we've hit the four month mark with Baylor, it's time to start EATING! It's been a busy few weeks with therapy, the DOC band, and starting back at work so we're are just now getting around to trying some rice cereal. Katie was never really a fan of the stuff, so I'm anxious to see how Baylor does.

This is only his second spoonful and most of the first one ended up on his hands and face.

Finally some of it reached his mouth...

Taste buds are sending messages to his brain...

He likes it!

He doesn't quite have the whole spoon aspect down yet and honestly neither do I. I don't remember how to feed a baby! It'll take some practice for both of us but for now I'm just glad he seemed to like it!  

The DOC Band

After about a month of therapy, Baylor's therapist approached me about his head shape and neck stiffening. She gave us a referral to Cranial Technologies and after running it by our pediatrician, we decided to at least go for a consultation. Looking at him everyday, I was blind to the distortion that the therapist saw. But after going for our consultation and getting some symmetry images done, I was so thankful for her keen eyes!

Baylor's asymmetry scores fell in the "severe" range on two of the three markers and "moderate to severe" on the third. Because of this, our insurance covered 90% of the cost! 

You can see the flattening on the back left of the skull. This flattening would ultimately cause the whole left side of his face to protrude farther than the right. You can't see it in this picture, but his EARS were not in line with each other at all!

Here's a front view of the (stocking cap courtesy of Cranial Technologies) tilt in his neck (torticollis).

So we took the plunge and went forward with the DOC band. Baylor got his "helmet" (band) on January 2nd and the several days that followed were a frustrating mess. This is his first picture in his band at home a few hours after the fitting.

We were supposed to watch for red marks which could indicate skin irritation or just that the band was too tight. Other types of red simply meant Baylor was too hot. This is winter and I feel like I have to dress him warmly but they have stressed to us to keep him lightly dressed. No socks, no fleece, no flannel!

Here's a few pictures of the red marks from the first few hours and days. Each time I would see one, I would take a picture of it and then call and then have to drive to Charlotte for an adjustment since the Lexington location was only open a few days a week. We were initially fitted on a Wednesday (in Charlotte) and went back to Charlotte on Thursday and Friday for adjustments! Sheesh! And did I mention I had just started back at work full time and then had to take 3 half days to drive to Charlotte and back!

But now we're back to Monday and it seems to be fitting fine and I'm working on dressing him in less clothes! We have to wash Baylor and the helmet daily...He will wear the band for 23 hours a day for the next two months (approximately). We're being told that since we're starting at a young age, he won't have to wear it as long! We go for weekly adjustments in Lexington which they have so graciously aligned with his therapy appointments (also in Lexington) so I can just take Tuesday mornings off work for now! We've toyed with decorating the band, but for now - I'm liking it plain! (Well, as much as I can actually like anything like this.)

So...here we go on this adventure!

The Doc Is In

Katie's big present from Santa this year was a Vet Clinic station. She's still in love with animals and was a vet for Halloween so this seemed like a no brainer for Santa to add to her collection. The station has a sink, IV drip, EKG monitor and phone to call Dr. Barbie for consults.  Santa also added some fun animal x-rays and medical charts to document each patient's visit. Then we bought a wooden bench unit for her to use in her clinic for the animals who have to stay overnight for additional monitoring and love!

Here's Dr. Katie dressed in her white coat with her very first patient, SQUISHY! He's in good hands, for sure!

 

Goodbye 2012!

It's time to send off 2012 and ring in 2013.

We did our usual 7pm fireworks with friends.

I caught this super happy face from one excited girl!

Watching daddy get the fireworks ready

Baylor watching the aerial display

Baylor and me on his first NYE

Katie and Caleb getting rosy cheeked from the cold but not quite ready to head in!

Happy New Year everyone!