The 1st Mother’s day

Ahhh – Mother’s day.  The day when all of the mom’s in the world get to take center stage and garnish all of the praise accolades that everyone knows they deserve but seldom get recognized for.

And this year, it was a special Mother’s day at our house.  The first year of being a mom to a baby rather in addition to being a mom to the pooches (not that being a “dog mom” is any less demanding than being a baby mom!).

Mike decided to make his mom a waffle breakfast (with a little help from his dad) just to get the day started off right.  And it continued on with additional rest and relaxation.  It was such a nice day, that it was decided (at least in our home) to extend the day to “Mother’s Week”!

While “Mother’s Week 2010” has officially slipped in to the past, we hope that all of the moms had an absolutely wonderful day.  And know that we were thinking about you – each and every one!  We love you all, for all of the things you did for us as kids, or for all of the things you are doing for our nieces and nephews, and even the children of your friends – you’ve loved us, inspired us, comforted us, supported us, and so so so much more! 

So we hope that all of the moms had a wonderful day – and perhaps next year, you will join the “Mother’s Week” movement!

Visits to doctors…

Recently, Mike has been visiting all of his favorite doctors – Dr Herron the pediatrician and Dr Crawford the orthopedic surgeon. 

First, he visited Dr. Herron for his four month checkup at the end of April.  Despite the fact that he was 5 months old at the time!  That’s our son – already taking the non-traditional route and trying to buck the system!  Actually, the real reason he was a month behind goes back to his 2 month checkup when he couldn’t get his shots because he was still in casts… 

So they poked and prodded and weighed and measured.  He’s was over 13 pounds – but that’s nearly irrelevant because he’s packed on quite a bit more since then!  Everything came out wonderfully well and Dr. Heron was pleased with his progress!  And that made us feel good (of course) – but the “big” visit was coming up a few days later.

And that was the visit to Dr. Crawford.  It’s funny how everything with Mike’s clubbed feet has gone exceptionally well with the exception of the two week period where we tried the DBB brace before the tenotomy.  Yet still, an upcoming visit to Dr. Crawford starts bringing those doubts back to the front of your mind.  “I’m sorry mom and dad – you haven’t been using the brace properly and Mike’s feet will forever be clubbed”.  Of course, that’s absolutely silly.  But still, maybe it’s possible…

So we visited Dr. Crawford on May 6th.  He asked about the schedule we were on with the brace.  It was supposed to be “naps and nighttime” – which is impossible with an infant.  Putting the brace on for a nap simply wakes him up and he’s ready to play some more!  So we decided to take it of when he went to “school” on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Then we would leave it on all day Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday – and at nighttime.  We explained the schedule to Dr. Crawford who said that it was probably more than he needed, but was glad we found a schedule that worked.  He tells us many stories of folks (as hard as it is to believe) that simply stop putting the brace on their children only to have the feet revert back.  And that truly is sad…

Then Dr. Crawford took Mike’s brace off to take a look at his feet.  He squeezed them and twisted them and turned them and wiggled them.  And in the end he said…

Mike’s feet are doing EXTRAORDINARILY well!  And he even gave us another bit of good news – Mike now only needs to wear the brace at night!  And let me tell you – he absolutely LOVES the extra time out of the brace!  He’s learned so many new tricks – like pulling his socks of and nibbling on his toes…

But or doctor visiting wasn’t done yet.  We can never seem to time our illnesses with our regularly scheduled visits.  Once again, Mike was getting snotty and coughing.  And this time, he was breathing was wheezy and his lungs were rattling.  So it was back to visit Dr. Herron.  A short examination later, she gave us a prescription for Xopenex.  Mike really isn’t sure what to think about the breathing treatments.  He’s pretty cool with it for the first few minutes.  But after 5 minutes of “smoke” blowing in his face, he’s over it!  But after it’s all over, he’s MUCH happier at how much better he can breath!

So we will leave you with a picture of our growing little boy – asleep in his swing – surrounded by his toys.  Because that’s the way he likes it…

More catching up…

Well – like the old saying goes - “it’s been a while”…

But things have been more than a little hectic around here (including a loss of internet connectivity – that’ll slow the ol’ blogging down…).  Some of you already know the details – and others will soon read all about it right here!

Before we get into all of that – We need to tell you about Mike’s second big trip.  This one was a trip to Evansville to see more family!  And it was his longest trip so far.  A whopping 300 miles!  And he was a very good boy during the travels…

Not much happened Friday night because we arrived so late.  But Saturday was a fun filled (but relaxing!) day.  The weather was nice and cool.  It was a perfect day to sit out on the patio and bar-b-que.  So that’s just what we did!  Aunt Jennifer, Derrick, cousin Lucas, and cousin Kiersten came over to join us.  We lounged around, threw some baseballs, played with the dogs, and ate some ribs.  A very nice day indeed!  And wouldn’t you know it – Mike got a surprise visit from Aunt Mary, Uncle Jim, and cousin Kim!  Now THAT is a perfect day delivered with whip cream and a cherry on top…

 

Aunt Jennifer, Derrick, and cousin Kiersten!

 

Even Izzy got to relax…

 

Mike was hanging out with the fam…

 

Aunt Jen loving on Mike

 

Izzy and Foxy got to play with the dogs next door!

 

Not all grandkids are as small as Mike…

 

 

      

Mike gets to meet Aunt Mary, Uncle Jim, and cousin Kim!

 

Sunday was another great day.  We woke up and drove to Aunt Tracey’s house to visit with Kylie (oh yeah – we visited with Aunt Tracey and Uncle Chuck too!).  We weren’t there too long before there was a knock on the front door.  The fact that there was a knock on the front door at Aunt Tracey’s house a story all by itself.  Much to Mike’s surprise, Grandpa Lee came to join in the fun!

Of course, there was a purpose to this gathering.  Cousin Ashten was having a birthday party down the street from Aunt Tracey’s house.  So Mike got to meet Aunt Andrea, Uncle Larry, and all the cousins (Kaitlynn, Treylan, Corbin, Xzavien, and Ashten).  Not to mention that it was Mike’s first birthday party! 

 

Hanging out with Aunt Tracey and cousin Kylie!

 

Mike and Grandpa Lee telling tall tales…

 

Cousin Corbin checks out his birthday cake!

 

Cousin Kaitlynn and little Kylie Jo at the park.

 

Mike really liked playing with cousin Treylan!

 

      “You see Grandpa – this is my first birthday party and I’m trying to play it cool…”

 

What a nice weekend indeed.  We can’t wait to see everybody again!!!!!

Wondering what’s coming up next?  We have updates on Mikes 4 month pediatric checkup, Mike’s checkup visit to the orthopedic surgeon, and Mother’s day!  And I’m sure more things will pop up too – so be on the lookout.  I promise not to wait so long before the next post!!!!!