Not Much of an Update on our Update

I had to grab my camera when I was making dinner last night.  I almost burned my sloppy joes, I was having so much fun.  I’ll spare you the other 20 pictures I have of him in his high chair.  You would think he was the first baby around here.

He’s showing off his new tooth.

 

I don’t think it’s showing up well on these little pictures.

Wait…time for an “O” break…

That’s better.

 

We did hear from the neurologist today.  Well, from his appointment desk.  They called to tell us we have an appointment on January 5th.  I asked if they saw anything and she just said the doctor would go over all of his tests at our appointment.

Our pediatrician’s nurse said they probably just want to get a base line to start monitoring it.  We’ll see.  So far, he does not have any symptoms of having any problems.  Please pray that the fluid continues going down and does not affect his brain.

Thank you all for your prayers!!! 

Update

Thank you for all of the prayers.  We heard from the doctor and Gideon does have some fluid on his brain and that is what is causing the odd shape.  The doctor thinks it will clear up on it’s own, but is sending everything to a neurologist for a second opinion.  We will take him in regularly to have his head measured to monitor growth.

Please pray his body will do whatever it needs to do to get rid of the extra fluid and he will not have to have any procedures done.

Thanks!

 

Happy Birthday!

happy birthday, sweet ellie!

How does this happen so fast???  We went to a mother daughter retreat last weekend and the speaker made it a point to remind us why our kids grow up so fast.  In the day to day, it seems like it’s going to take forever for our kids to grow up – learn to dress themselves, not to chew with their mouths open, to turn off the lights and shut the doors – but when we do the math, we realize just how little time we have with them.

Now that Ellie is 10 years old, I only have 416 weekends with her until she turns 18. 

Or, 2920 days.

Yes, that’s a lot, but I would have guessed the number was much higher if I didn’t use a calculator.

I remember hearing a story a while back about a dad that calculated how many weekends he had left before his son would turn 18 and he put that many marbles in a jar on his dresser.  Each week he would take a marble out as a reminder that the time he has with his son is limited.

What a great reminder for me to be purposeful in how I spend my days with my children.  Even if our purpose is just to hang out and have fun. 

Now we are going to practice some sewing with her new sewing machine.

Prayer Request

We had a CT Scan done this morning to see why Gideon’s head is growing so quickly.  It’s also a bit asymmetrical.  Of course, it all looks perfect to me, but the doctor said we really should check it out.  He was great about emphasizing that it could just be genetics so I wouldn’t worry too much.

We already have our first praise…he stayed still and didn’t cry, so they did not need to sedate him.

Hooray!

We should hear something in the next few days, so we are asking our friends and family to pray for God’s peace…and good results.

I know there have been several babies needing the helmets to re-shape their heads, but does anyone else have kids whose head circumference is off the charts (by quite a bit)?

Just wondering.

Make Up Pictures

I made a big mistake and apparently broke a huge blog rule.  I didn’t post a picture of our little guy on my last post.

Sorry.

Let me make up for it.

Oh, and he just started crawling.  The kids were shocked and said “this morning he was just sitting around, and this afternoon we have to put everything up!” I just saw my productivity drop significantly.  But…way to go, little guy!

We had our Christmas party at Grandparent’s Club.  The kids entertained them with songs, dances, and reading from the Bible.

Ellie sang a song and played a duet with her friend.

And, Gideon entertained all the grandma’s by looking cute.

Sorry the picture is blurry.  I’m still trying to figure out the new camera.  But, his cuteness still shines through all the blur.   

I hope everyone is having a peaceful and enjoyable time as you prepare for Christmas. 

Recycled Formula Cans

Gideon has been home with us a little over 3 months now.  In that short time, he’s gained almost 7 pounds…

and I have the empty formula cans to prove it. 

I just couldn’t bring myself to throw them away and they were beginning to stack up.

Until today when I needed to come up with some goody bags for Ellie’s 10th birthday party tomorrow.

I combined the need to get some of those cans out of my house with the need to get rid of some guilt about not even plugging in the Cricut Tony bought me for my birthday over a month ago that I just had to have. Well, my birthday was not a month ago.  It was only a couple of weeks ago.  But, I always talk him into giving me my gifts early.  Kinda like the camera I wanted for Christmas.  How do you like the pictures it takes?

I’m still figuring it out. 

See…I needed to get it early so I could “practice” so I can get some good shots on Christmas morning.  Are you convinced?

So, if you’re looking for a way to recycle all of those formula cans, just cover them with scrapbook paper and fill them with tissue and goodies.  I snapped the lid on the bottom of the can so the girls can use the can to store stuff in later.

Now I don’t have a bit of guilt about throwing away a perfectly sturdy can, and it’s out of my house.

Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

Thanksgiving Camping Trip

It’s been crazy around here, as usual, but it sure has been FUN!  We went searching for some fall color with 5 other families and had a blast camping – in an RV, of course, because I’m not insane enough to tent camp with an 8 month old.  (I actually admire those of you who are willing to do that!)  Tony makes sure I remember my “camping” experience included a microwave and refrigerator, so he’s hesitant to say we went camping.

Either way, it was tons of fun and the kids had a blast.  Little man was great and just hung out in my Ergo most of the trip…even the 5 mile hike.  We never heard a peep out of him.  He just enjoyed the scenery and took a few cat naps.

Bear was another story…we heard plenty from her by the end.  Five miles was pretty adventurous for her little legs.  The next day, she had no interest in going on any hikes until we were going on one that ended at Crystal Caverns and she knew she could look at crystals in the rocks.

Rocks are her love language.

That’s a pretty sweet deal for me since that means she’s happy with her rock “hamster'” that lives in a real hamster cage.  Rock hamsters are not smelly at all.  And, we didn’t need to find anyone to feed it when we went camping…(nice segue back to the camping trip, huh?)

Go, Bear, Go..up that Texas mountain!

Here’s our laidback little guy, ready to go wherever we drag him.

 

Bear’s ready to explore the cave.

Bear didn’t care that is was hard work getting there…she was motivated.

We came home in time to spend Thanksgiving Day with our family.  I hope everyone had a relaxing day.