The Fincher Adventure

I got a job!

2012-01-23T16:25:00.000-06:00

I wasn't really even looking for one. Gage goes to PT at this wonderful pediatrics clinic. I know several therapists that work there, and they all love it. Last week, I noticed they posted 2 open full-time OT positions on their Facebook page. I am not at all interested in going to work full-time, but I have said that when I was ready to work again, my first resume was going to this clinic, even if they weren't looking. I decided to email and see if they wanted a part-time OT, thinking the answer would be "we really need full time" and that would be that.

That's not what happened. I got a call back from the boss-lady asking when I could come in for an interview. I think I expected things NOT to work out and I could go along knowing it just wasn't the right time. So, last Wednesday I interviewed while Gage was in PT. Before the interview I was anxious and on the verge of tears. WHY was I doing this? I didn't want to WORK!! What was I thinking??? After the interview, I couldn't wait to start! It sounds like a perfect fit for me.

I told her when I wanted to work and she said that was fine. I will be working twice a week. One day Tony will be able to be here with the kids. The other day, they will be going to the home of a homeschooling family to be watched by their teenage daughter! There are 4 kids at home. One is Gage's "best friend" who is about 10, and the youngest is a little girl who is just a year and 1/2 or so older than him. I think they are going to have a ball.

I'm looking forward to this season in life. I was not unhappy staying home all week with my kids. I do not feel unfulfilled as a stay-at-home mom. I do love being an OT, though, and look forward to getting my rusty skills to work again.

Evie is TWO!

2012-01-14T22:48:00.002-06:00

I've been a terrible blogger lately, but I can't let this weekend get away from me before I acknowledge that my sweet baby girl is now TWO!!

Evie's just had a language explosion. Her Bible class teacher asked me last week when she started talking. My answer was "pretty much yesterday." She's a funny little girl with a funny personality. She still does the "Evie dance" when she is eating something she loves. She loves shoes and jewelry. She is my gatherer. She'll often walk around the house with an arm full of whatever.

She's lovable and cuddly, at least for a minute. She loves her brother and tries to emulate everything he does. She gets upset when she can't do the things that he does, i.e. go to PT. She's also very stubborn and self-willed. She tells me "no" if she doesn't want to obey. She's sneaky, unlike her brother, who couldn't be sneaky in his wildest dreams.

Watching her face light up and seeing her run after her Daddy when he comes home from work is too sweet. Going shopping with her is a challenge if the aisles are narrower than her wing span. We spend the entire trip with her grabbing and saying "Hab it." When we go to a grocery store with the plastic cars on the front, I have to check the cab for candy bars before we leave because she tends to stock up while we're in line. She's doing this new thing where she will "scare" you with her hands up in claws and her growling. We need a picture of that.

Until then, here are some birthday pics.

Birthday morning.

Simple Mac and Cheese

2011-12-23T19:32:00.001-06:00

This is a lame post for Christmas Eve Eve, but I wanted to put it here so I can pin it on Pinterest for my future reference. See? Lame.

Simple Mac and Cheese

1 1/2 cups macaroni (or other pasta)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can-full of milk (1 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup (or more) shredded cheddar cheese

1. Cook pasta in large pot boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain.

2. Mix together soup and cheese. Using empty soup can, measure 1 can of milk and add to mixture. Stir in cooked pasta. Dump into a greased casserole dish and cover

3. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes

It's not the thick, rich stuff that Grandma used to make, but it fits my need for creaminess and simplicity.

Win a Kindle Fire!

2011-11-15T10:39:00.000-06:00

Win a FREE Kindle Fire in the Win it! Read it! Sweepstakes.

Go to http://www.couponsurfers.com/sweepstakes.php, and read the instructions on how to enter. You can have multiple entries, so GO!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T21:42:00.000-05:00

October is Spina Bifida Awareness Month!!

2011-10-01T20:23:00.001-05:00

You really need to check out this blog this month. Gage will be featured there at some point.(Edit- here is his feature!) Cassie does a really great job featuring kids in her "Faces of Spina Bifida" entries every day of October.

So, in honor of Spina Bifida Awareness month, I thought I'd write a bit about spina bifida, and a bit about Gage and his journey. This is basic info. If you want to know more about Gage, you can scroll back through the blog archives. I usually kept up pretty well with the big stuff like surgeries and big milestones.

Spina bifida is a neural tube defect that occurs at about 4 weeks gestation (2 weeks after fertilization, so generally, before Mom even knows she's pregnant). It occurs when the neural tube, which becomes the brain and spinal cord, fails to close fully.

Spina bifida is the most common permanently disabling birth defect in the US. It occurs in 7 in 10,000 live births. It's unknown how many pregnancies are affected due to miscarriage and voluntary termination.

There are 3 types of spina bifida:
spina bifida occulta. I've read that up to 20% of the general population could have this, and many will never know. It's when the skin is closed over the defect. There is only a cleft in the bone, and the spinal cord and meninges (covering) are not protruding. Generally, people with SBO are minimally affected. I actually know a girl who found out she had SBO during a visit to the chiro's office. She's in her 20s.

meningocele- this is where the covering of the spinal cord, or meninges, protrude through the bone opening, creating a cyst. This can usually be corrected surgically and does not affect the person. This is a very rare type of SB.

myelomeningocele- when you hear someone say spina bifida, this is the type they are talking about. Both the meninges and nerves of the spinal cord are affected. Since nerves are involved, there is loss of function to the organs or muscles that those nerves control. There may be an opening in the skin over the defect, or it may be covered with skin. This is what Gage has.

So, Gage has myelomeningocele. He had and open defect when he was born, that I never saw, but Tony did. He said it was tear-drop shaped and 2 or 3 inches across and the widest point. He is affected at about L4. His calf muscles don't work at all, and the other muscles of his legs and feet are weaker than they should be. He does not have urinary or bowel control.

It's a little unusual that we don't have to cath Gage for him to urinate, but he doesn't have reflux into his kidneys, so we don't. At some point, to be determined by his social awareness, he will have to have surgery to allow him to stay dry, and for bowel continence. This part is by far the most difficult for us. The physical limitations are something I can deal with pretty easily, but the social aspect of bowel and bladder control is difficult for me.

Gage also has a shunt that drains fluid from his brain into the space in his abdomen. The excess fluid on his brain is actually the reason he was born when he was. I found out about Gage's diagnosis when I was about 19 weeks pregnant, and saw a perinatologist from that point on. They monitored the size of the ventricles of his brain, and therefore the fluid levels on his brain from that time on as well. He was on the high side of normal until my 37 week appointment, when the fluid levels suddenly doubled. I had him at 37 weeks, 6 days. I attempted to have him naturally, but he just wasn't ready, so after 12 hours, I had a C-section. I got to see him before they took him to Arkansas Childrens, where he had his first surgery to close his back at about 12 hours old.

Gage's shunt malfunctioned when he was 2 months old, due to an infection that had probably been present since the first shunt placement at 1 week old. That required 3 surgeries and a 2 week hospital stay, but he still has the same shunt now, and hopefully will keep it for a long time yet.

Gage has had some complications and surgeries that have set him back a bit. He had a Chiari II malformation that was decompressed, and a cluster of cysts that had to be removed twice. Every kiddo with spina bifida has a Chiari malformation, but some are never symptomatic. Looking back, Gage's probably wasn't, but at the time, we weren't sure if his sympotoms were caused by the cysts or the pressure caused by the Chiari.

Gage wears braces on both legs to compensate for the muscles that don't work. He had a little better control prior to his last cyst issue and surgery, and that function did not come back. He is more affected on the right, and he crouches more on that side. His right leg is also shorter and his foot is noticeably smaller. Still, he walks without any other assistive equipment and should continue into adulthood baring any further complications.

Gage is smart. I think most of the time, when people hear about any disability, they immediately go to mental retardation. Gage doesn't seem to have any learning disabilities thus far and his ability to recall names and facts astounds me.

Gage is also very very social. He's never met a stranger. I think this will play to his benefit as he gets older and starts to notice that he's different. I anticipate him being very matter-of-fact about his disability and just telling people about it.

Now, the best part- pictures:


in the NICU


My little fatty


Sitting with Katie


Halloween with his tank walker at age 2


on the caboose last fall


at the creek with Evie


riding the train at the zoo

playing at the park

9-11-01 Reflection

2011-09-11T14:56:00.000-05:00

With all of the TV specials and Facebook posts, I can't help but reflect on this day, too.

Ten years ago today, I was in OT school. I had an 8am class that morning, and, as usual, had the TV on as I rushed around my little apartment getting ready to walk to campus. The news of the first plane crashing into the first tower broke just before I had to walk out the door. At the time, there was still just speculation as to what had happened, and I chose to believe it was probably a small plane that had lost its way and accidentally flew into the towers. There was some mention of it being a terrorist attack, but even then, nobody was going to hurt me down here in Arkansas. Those things only happened in places like New York or maybe Los Angeles.

Then I got to class and heard about the 2nd tower. There was no way it was an accident now. I know we went on with class that day. I guess we heard about the 3rd and 4th planes after class sometime.

Through all of it, I was still quite caviler. "It can't happen to me" what kept playing in my mind, and it made me feel safe. I still didn't get the magnitude of the whole situation for several days, or maybe a week. It was really just a source for gossip more than anything. I was 22 and invincible.

Now, 10 years later, I am married and have become the steward of 2 little lives. The tragedy of that day brings tears to my eyes so easily today where none flowed 10 years ago. Ten years ago we saw the pictures of the planes crashing into those buildings, and the people running, and we saw the pictures of broken Pentagon, and that hole in the field of PA. Ten years ago we saw images of things. Today we hear stories of people. It's the people that affect me.

The widow of one of the men killed that day was interviewed for a special I saw last night. She spoke of trying to explain to her then 5 year old that Daddy wasn't going to come home. No, she couldn't call him on his cell phone and the post man couldn't give him a letter. I can't imagine trying to tell my 4 year old something like that, and know my 1 year old would never understand and never remember. It's heartbreaking to even think about.

So today, I honor those who lost loved ones that day, and the public servants that risked everything to help those who might still be alive.

Gage is 4!

2011-09-05T14:31:00.027-05:00

And has been for over a week now! My excuse is that I can't find the white tiger. He's in the attic, I know. I just don't know which tied up black bag he's in. Oh well.

He just keeps growing and I can't stop him!

Here he is at about a week old in the NICU

At 2.4 months old during the whole EVD/shunt infection thing:

Looking like Daddy at around 4 months old

Playing in the pool, 10 or 11 months

First birthday at the Bears' Game

Learning to use his walker at about 18 months

Sea World April '09, 20 months

Walking at 2

Halloween 2009


Meeting Evie Jan 2010


Fishing last summer (almost 3)


3 years old

3 years old, last fall


Surgery Day, Jan 19 2011

Easter 2011

Playing in the woods by our house yesterday

Gage has grown and matured so much in the last year! He ended 2010 concerning us with losing function again, so in January, just after Evie's 1st birthday, he had surgery again. We decided in the midst of all of this to take him to see Dr. Boop, in Memphis. Dr. Boop has a lot of experience with complicated kids with spina bifida. We have been so happy with him! Surgery went well, the cyst that was causing problems was removed, and Gage recovered quickly

He didn't regain lost function this time like he did with the last surgery, but he has slowly improved. He (usually) works so hard in therapy and now likes to "run" (read: fast-walk) wherever he's going. Yesterday during our walk in the woods and down to the creek, he really did well on some rough ground that would have been impossible for him a year ago.

Gage continues to prove how smart he is. He's picking up phonics quickly. He loves to ask about to work out family relationships. He knows that Maw Maw is my mother and Nana is Daddy's mother. When we sing at church, he wants the song book turned to the correct page number.

He is still the friendlies kid I know. He has started saying "nice to meet you" when he meets a new friend. He loves Bible class and our preschool co-op days. He is usually sweet to his sister, and hugs and kisses her as often as he takes something away from her.

I can't believe I have a 4 year old!! It has been such a blessing to be his mother!

New Kicks!

2011-08-23T10:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday at PT, Patrick the braces guy showed up with Gage's new brace and shoe for his right side.

The brace is more substantial at the top, around his leg, and gives him more support. He has been crouching more with his right side, and really stressing the back of his old brace. This one does have a hinge at the ankle, but there is a strap on the back to control how much movement he has.

His new shoes are just the Keeping Pace shoes that usually come with his braces, but the right one has a built-up sole to make up for the difference in length between his right and left legs.

Left (unbuilt) shoe

Right (built-up) shoe

I'll be honest. I hated the new set-up at first. I felt like the lift on the shoe just looked....special, for lack of a better term. The more he wears them, though, the more I get used to it, and the more I realize it's really not that obvious. Someone pointed out that they look like those Sketchers Shape-ups. It's just my own hang-up with built-up shoes shining through.

Gage is having to learn to walk in his new set-up. He's gotten used to that right leg being shorter, and walking to accommodate that. Now his foot hits the ground before he's ready for it to. I think he'll get used to it, and it will be better for him. Leaving it untreated puts him at risk for scoliosis and hip issues because he rotates his hips down to make that shorter leg "longer."

Oh clinic, how we've missed you (not!)

2011-08-13T14:26:00.001-05:00

Gage had spina bifida clinic at ACH Thursday. We always look forward to seeing Becky (the SB specialty nurse) and the possibility of running into friends, but generally don't enjoy the appointments. This time wasn't so bad.

We started in triage, which is always a nightmare. Gage is terrified of the "squeeze" (blood pressure cuff) so they either a) do it anyway and get a crazy high reading or b) do without. We went with B. They took us to a room and he proceeded to play with the manual blood pressure cuff in the room for the remainder of our time there.

First we saw an ortho resident and med student. They were really great. He asked the resident if the student was his daddy, and made sure they understood that he was not going to do the squeeze. Dr. E came in then and spent some time with us. Gage's lower right leg is definitely shorter than the left. Reesha (PT) and Patrick (brace guy) are working on compensating for that. He was pleased with Gage's progress since surgery.

Then we saw Beth. Beth appeared to be about 45 years old, was a mousy thing who talked through her nose, and is a med student. She had NO personality. Seriously, I don't think she's ever talked to a child before, much less one who talks as much as Gage does. She was asking Gage things like "Can you extend your knee?" He's 3. He doesn't have a clue what you mean, lady.

Anyway, Dr. S came in after that and she was much better. She checked Gage over, too, and said she was pleased with his progress. She wasn't thrilled with his bracing, and didn't seem to hear me when I said that we were working on that. Oh well.

Last, Michael, the PT came in. We generally feel that meeting with PT is nearly useless since we have Reesha, but we like Michael, so we don't say anything about it. He's great with kids, and Gage really liked him. We had Gage saying "goniometer" by the end of the visit. He measured the range of motion in his joints, and did his best to manual muscle test him. Both of those things are difficult with a little kid. He was happier with his bracing and said that he seemed to be doing really well.

So no new news from that visit. Gage is getting a new right brace and maybe some sort of shoe change to account for the leg length discrepancy when Reesha and Patrick figure things out. The brace should be in next week some time.

This guy is the only other thing going on with us.

He showed up on our back porch Thursday morning after a big storm. The kids came in the living room talking about Katie being outside. I knew she was in the bathroom. He hasn't ventured out of our yard since. Gage has named him Buster, and both of the kids (and I) just love him. He looks like he's mostly beagle, and he's still pretty puppyish. He has baby teeth. Katie is not bothered by him, which is unusual for her!

Exceptional Images of the Ordinary

2011-07-26T22:34:00.002-05:00

You may remember these pics from December. A little trip to see a train turned into an impromptu photo session. We decided to go back again with the good camera, and the real photographer behind the lens with the intention of capturing some great pics. Well, our trip didn't go exactly as planned. After several days of highs in the 80s, it was back to upper 90s. To top it off, there were workers all over the train this time, painting it. It is going to look great when it's done, but it was a little difficult to work around them and the wet paint, not to mention the searing hot metal. Despite the setbacks, Dad was still able to capture some truly awesome photos of the kids.

That last one? It's taking center stage in my living room. I LOVE that image!

Dad's real photography niche is for capturing "exceptional images of the ordinary." Here are some of the non-kid images he's captured (okay, so the shadow kid is Gage, but you wouldn't know that if I hadn't told you, right?) You can see his images at www.russellfordphoto.com or on www.fineartamerica.com by clicking on one of the images below.

Swim lessons and sushi

2011-07-05T16:18:00.001-05:00

Today, Gage started swim lessons. It has been kind of a hassle for me, but it all worked out in the end so I'm happy. I was up front with the place offering the classes and told them of Gage's limitations. I did this really just wanting to make sure someone more experienced or familiar with his limitations could be his teacher. When I told them, though, they said they first wanted him to have a private lesson to evaluate his ability to be placed in a class, then proceed with classes if he could. That hit me a little wrong, I guess. I completely understand their hesitation and need to make sure all of their students are safe in the water, but still. All of Gage's friends were able to sign up, sight-unseen, and go to class. My irrational sadness about it all wasn't helped by the fact that the girl that we were scheduling with is a busy college student and didn't call me when she said she would. We didn't know until yesterday afternoon that he would even have a lesson today. Classes started today, so if she didn't call, I was afraid Gage would just miss class altogether.

Anyway, enough with my issues. Gage went to his private lesson today, and the instructor told Tony that he'd be fine in a class before she was even done with him. He apparently had a ball, and did what he was asked to do. He'll start class tomorrow morning with a group. He'll have a class Wed-Fri this week, then Mon-Thurs next week. He'll get done just in time for us to leave for Grumpy and Addie's Friday, where I'm sure we'll spend a lot of time in the pool!

So, I missed the whole swim lesson thing today because I went to eat sushi with friends. I can't believe I wasted, what 29 years or so without sushi in my life! I'm so glad Kroger carries it now so I can at least get my fix between outings.

The first big separation

2011-06-28T17:41:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, our friends/cousin Matthew and Cati got hitched in Ft. Worth, TX. Tony and I decided to take most of the week before as a little vacation for the 2 of us, leaving the kids with his parents, Nana and Pops. So, we left here Monday after PT and headed to Saratoga. We stayed the night and then left for Arlington the next morning.

This is the first time we have left the kids for this long. Evie has stayed overnight with my parents when Gage was in the hospital, and I'm thinking Gage has stayed overnight once or twice, but this is the first biggie for both of them, and for us.

We bid on our hotel on Priceline, and got the Sharaton right next to The Ballpark at Arlington, for $55 a night!!! We were thrilled. The hotel was nice (although without free wifi-come on!) and just a short walk to the park.
Tuesday night, we went to the Rangers vs. Astros game. It was hot. Really hot. There was no air moving inside the park and we just sat there and sweat the whole time. It was a great game, though. When we walked to our seats, the Rangers were taking batting practice and we almost got hit by a ball. Then, a home run to tie the game went right to our left. Our friends found us on TV! Then, a home run won the game for the Rangers! As SOON as the bat cracked for that last hit, the wind started swirling and there was trash all over the field. A storm was rolling in. We made it back to the hotel just before the bottom fell out. We watched the storm from our 16th floor window.

Wednesday, we got up and headed to Six Flags. Tony and I are both adrenaline junkies, so we rode everything. This is the new Texas Giant. The last time we rode it, I swore I'd never get on it again. It beat me half to death! They have recently re-done it though and it is MUCH smoother, and an awesome thrill.

This is a picture of the Titan roller coaster, The Ballpark at Arlington, where the Rangers play, and Tony's Mecca, Cowboy Stadium. This was taken from the Oil Derek observation tower in Six Flags.

Here is the Titan, a much-loved and biggest roller coaster at Six Flags. I don't know if this is clickable and you can enlarge the photo or not, but that is the train stuck at the top of the first hill, and people walking down the steps to get off the train. I may really have to think about it before getting on it again.

Thursday night, we went to eat with Matthew, Cati, Matthew's parents, his uncle, and friend, Blake at Joe T. Garcia's in Ft. Worth. It was really close to the Stockyards, where the wedding would take place, so we took a walk to see it. This is Fincher's White Front Western Store in the Stockyards.

A picture of an interchange. Is it in Dallas? No, this is Texarkana, population 37,000. Insane.

The kids arrived Friday afternoon with Nana and Pops. I missed them SO much, but we all had such a good time. That evening was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner at the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame (cool place!). The food was catered by a BBQ place nearby, and it was awesome!!

Saturday was the wedding. Tony and I were both in it, so we were busy with that while the kids played with Nana and Pops. The wedding was beautiful. Cati was glowing and gorgeous. It was a very happy occasion for 2 very deserving people. They are now in my very favorite place in the world, St. Croix. I only have a few pics of the bride:

Evie at 17 months

2011-06-15T15:57:00.000-05:00

I often use my blog as a baby book, so here I go again.

Evie had a well baby appointment today, at 17 months and 1 day. She missed the 12 and 15 month appointments...Woops!

Stats:
Weight: 21 lbs 12 oz- peanut at 25th percentile
Height 31.5" 50th percentile
Head circumference 19"- 90th percentile!

So she's shaped kind of like a Tootsie Pop.

I took Evie to an eye doctor last week. We had noticed that she did weird things with her eyes, then 2 other people mentioned it too. When she looks at you sideways, the eye further away will drift up instead of keeping focused on what she's looking at. It happens with both eyes, so it's not as simple as just patching the eye that stays focused.

The eye doc said she thinks her acuity is normal, and wants to see her back in 6 months.

Evie is a funny girl. She can be sweet and cuddly, but can also throw a temper tantrum when she doesn't get her way, and will scream like a pterodactyl. She will play well for a long time with Gage, but lets him know it's not okay to take a toy from her. She's independent and wants to do things on her own. She talks, but not nearly as much as her brother. She signs a lot, though, and can let you know what she wants.

Some of her words are: Daddy, Mama, diaper, puppy, Gage (Geesh), byebye, hi, please (pees), pretty (pitty). She can often immitate whatever you say to her, though, so she says a lot more than that.

Some of her signs: Please, thank you, more, cracker, diaper, byebye, Daddy, Mama, hat, dog (puppy), eat, drink. I know she knows more than that, but these are the ones she uses consistently.

Evie is my artist. Gage STILL shows very little interest in drawing or coloring, but Evie....now Evie is destined for great things...

She also might have a future working with water, or plumbing. She gets into trouble ALL. THE. TIME. for playing in the potty. We try to remember to close the door, but Gage is seemingly obsessed with opening and closing all the doors, so it doesn't always work to keep her out. GROSS! GROSS! GROSS!!!

I don't have a recent picture, but Evie is also still riding rear-facing in the car, per the new AAP and NHTSA guidelines. She has at least another year and 1/2 to ride that way, just as Gage did. She's still in her Graco MyRide 65, which we love for its ease of use, and purple cover ;).

Well, she just woke up from her nap, so I better wrap this up!

The Man shower

2011-06-13T09:43:00.000-05:00

Our good friend/cousin Matthew is getting married to his Cati in a couple of weeks. They, like us, have a lot of family, and have had a lot of showers, so we decided to throw Matthew a man-shower.

If you've never been to a man-shower, I recommend you find one to go to! They're so much more fun than girly showers, and quite easy to throw, too. All we needed was 50 burgers and hot dogs, some chips, some lemonade, and a cake. We went to a local park, cooked out, and had fun! Matthew got showered with honey-do type gifts, along with gift cards to Lowe's and Home Depot. It's great, because by the time a couple like this gets to the wedding day, they've had 5 showers, most of which focus on the wife-to-be and her domestic duties. The poor guy is left to run to Lowe's for a new wrench or level when the need arises while the wife tries to figure out how in the world she is going to even use all of the stuff she's been given.

It's a post!

2011-06-06T17:44:00.000-05:00

Ok, the kids are fed, Evie's in bed, it's hot outside, my computer has plenty of charge, and I am out of excuses for not posting.

First, the serious stuff. In May Gage had another MRI and on the 31st, we went back to Memphis for a follow-up with the neurosurgeon. Everything looked good and Gage doesn't have to go back for a year, assuming his shunt holds out and nothing else happens. Dr. Boop said that the cysts were still gone and he was pleased with how Gage looked.

A few weeks ago, Tony was mowing and found this little friend in our yard. Gage wouldn't touch him at first, but we were coloring on his shell with sidewalk chalk before it was over :). We let him go in the flower bed.

My kids do weird things. No more explanation needed.

Evie has decided that she LOVES corn on the cob. I think it's mostly just about the novelty of scraping it off the cob.

Tony has been doing some fishin:

With Nate and Steppy

Last weekend, Tony's brother Scott, and his family (Ally, Silas, and Rosie) made the trip from Chattanooga to SW Arkansas to visit. We went down to spend the weekend. It was a tight fit with all of us and 4 little kids in the house, but we had a blast. The kids played really well together, and I think Nana and Pops were in grandparent heaven.

We went to a little water/splash park in the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murphreesboro. Even the girls could play!

Last week, we set up this little blow-up pool on the deck. Both kids love the water and it's a great way to pass these near-100 degree afternoons

Playing with the effects on my new phone:

This is Gage shooting Luca with a water gun at her buddy Peyton's 4th birthday party. What a great idea for a party in the summer!

So now you're caught up with the Finchers!
In a couple of weeks, we will be going to Dallas for Matthew and Cati's wedding. We are both in it and the kids will stay with Nana and Pops for a few days before so Tony and I can play in Dallas for a few days before the wedding. This coming weekend, we're hosting a shower for Matthew and Cati. It's hard to believe that we were doing all of this planning and having these showers 8 years ago!!

I need to get better at this

2011-06-03T19:54:00.000-05:00

I need to blog. After I've slacked a while, nothing seems blog-worthy anymore, though. I don't have all of the pictures or anything ready right now, but I thought this promise of a post to come would help break the ice a bit. :)

Win a Britax Frontier 85!

2011-04-12T20:41:00.003-05:00

Check out this giveaway here!

Mommy of 1 and Counting

And get yourself entered to win this awesome seat from Britax!!

Cancer patient with SB

2011-04-01T08:41:00.000-05:00

I met Jennifer at Lowe's, where she works, when I was in there with Gage one day. She asked about his braces, and told me that her niece (of whom she has custody) has them, too. We started talking and found out that they both have spina bifida. We became Facebook friends, and interact fairly often.

Emmalee has just been diagnosed with leukemia. Her treatment is complicated by her spina bifida, and, as cancer always is, it is difficult for her, and for her family. Jennifer is staying with Emmalee through it all, and therefore has not been able to work. The expenses are piling up, as you can imagine. Her coworkers and friends have organized a yard sale for this Saturday, March 2 in the parking lot beside IHOP in Conway. Donations will also be accepted. Come by if you can, and help Jennifer and Emmalee out, so Jennifer can continue to be with her at ACH. You can read the article in the Conway paper here:

http://thecabin.net/news/local/2011-03-31/benefit-sale-be-held-5-year-old-cancer-patient

Recaro ProSport Review

2011-03-24T21:08:00.001-05:00

I just traded another tech my Radian 80SL for a Recaro ProSport. It's not a very common seat, so I thought I'd do a little review of it.

Recaro is a name racing fans will know. They make aftermarket racing seats and accessories. They now have an almost complete line of child seats. I think they are just missing the infant carrier.

The ProSport is the replacement for the now-retired YoungSport. It's a combination seat, which means it is a forward-facing harnessed seat that converts to a booster.

Specifications
The weight range for the ProSport is 20-90lbs in harnessed mode, and up to 120lbs in booster mode. It has a minimum of 30lbs for the booster, but does not list a lower age limit. It says on page 41:

"A child is ALWAYS safest in a child restraint system that has a 5-point harness system built in. RECARO cannot recommend what age your child has to be in order to ride in this seat as a belt-positioning booster, please refer to your state's law, as each law is different. "

Now, as a tech, I know that there is no data showing that a 7 year old that will sit properly is safer in a harness than a booster. At least, though, it might help those parents of the 3 or 4 year old reconsider before they switching to booster mode early.

I will also add that this seat is not appropriate for a 1 year old, who should still be rear-facing a la my previous post.

It has 18.5" top harness slots and 20" top belt guide for booster mode. This is important since a child outgrows a forward facing seat when their shoulders go over the top harness slots, or their ears go over the seat's shell. There are 4 harness positions which can all be used in either harnessed mode or booster mode.

Observations
The ProSport has some interesting differences from other combo seats I've played with. It has an open belt path. The seat belt or LATCH strap is right behind the cover, with no hole to thread them through. This makes installing really easy, since you can see what you're doing. *note: the seat wasn't actually installed with the seatbelt in this pic. I just put it though the path for pictures purposes*

The LATCH strap has 2 adjusters on it- one on each side. Since it is 1 continuous strap, you can tighten using either or both of the adjusters.

In general a booster can either be LATCHed in in booster mode, to keep the unoccupied booster from becoming a projectile, or it can't. You can't use the lower anchors on the ProSport, but you can, and are encouraged to use the top tether.

The ProSport has a no-rethread harness, which is nice. Like the Britax Frontier, though, you can't change the harness height without uninstalling the seat. I've gotten spoiled with my True Fit in this regard.

The ProSport's harness adjuster is buttery smooth. It's so easy to get the harness as tight as it should be without much effort at all. The chest clip is the typical IMMI clip, found on Britax seats and the True Fit line. It has the Safeguard push-on LATCH connectors. Those things make installing so nice and easy. There is no right and wrong side to them, as the strap is connected at the bottom of the clip. If there was 1 feature I wish every seat had, it would be these LATCH connectors.

Side-impact protection is not something that's regulated in the US. Really, a manufacturer can claim that theirs is the best, but we really have no way of comparing. If any seat has it, though, it's the ProSport. Not only does it have head wings, but torso wings as well. Even if SIP is all marketing, it's still a great place to take a nap.

The ProSport has a recline block that can be flipped forward for a bit of recline, or back for a more upright install.. I can see that in some cars, the recline will help with installation, and in some it would be better without it reclined. Mine is currently reclined, because it gives just a tiny bit of a gap at the base of the seat for the LATCH connectors to sit. It installs well without, but the base of the seat itself is wide in the back and pretty much sits right on the LATCH connectors.

Impressions
I love this seat. It seems comfortable for Gage. It looks like a racing seat, and not at all "baby." He fits with his shoulders just at, or maybe just a tiny bit over the 2nd harness slots, so we use the 3rd. He has a LOOOOONGGG way to grow before getting to the 18.5" top slots. I would bet he'd fit in harnessed mode in this seat until at least age 6, maybe longer.

Right now, we have the Hanna (pink and brown) cover. I would like to get Gage either Envy or Opal Blue to replace the Hanna (anybody want to trade??). They all have the same kind of fabric that's kind of slick, not plush, and seems very resistant to getting dirty. I would imagine it'd be easy to just wipe off if it does get dirty. The other colors available are Midnight (black) and Misty (gray) and they are plush.

It's very padded and cushy, with an optional pad that can be used in the bottom of the seat if desired. Gage hasn't been using it, but still thinks it's very comfy. It has harness covers and a buckle pad, as well.

FINALLY, a step in the right direction

2011-03-21T16:39:00.000-05:00

Gage RF at 2 1/2 years old

Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released their new guidelines for kids in car seats. They are finally in line with the research that has been out there for AGES (seriously, the Swedes have known this stuff since the '60s!). Here are the new guidelines found here:

Birth – 12 months
Your child under age 1 should always ride in a rear-facing car seat.
There are different types of rear-facing car seats: Infant-only seats can only be used rear-facing. Convertible and 3-in-1 car seats typically have higher height and weight limits for the rear-facing position, allowing you to keep your child rear-facing for a longer period of time.

1 – 3 years
Keep your child rear-facing as long as possible. It’s the best way to keep him or her safe. Your child should remain in a rear-facing car seat until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. Once your child outgrows the rear-facing car seat, your child is ready to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness.

4 – 7 years
Keep your child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. Once your child outgrows the forward-facing car seat with a harness, it’s time to travel in a booster seat, but still in the back seat.

8 – 12 years
Keep your child in a booster seat until he or she is big enough to fit in a seat belt properly. For a seat belt to fit properly the lap belt must lie snugly across the upper thighs, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should lie snug across the shoulder and chest and not cross the neck or face. Remember: your child should still ride in the back seat because it’s safer there.

Did you catch that?? 1-3 year olds should be REAR-FACING if at all possible. Now, I know there are those 46lb 2.5 year olds that can't because we don't have car seats to accommodate that in the US, but the vast majority of kids CAN rear-face comfortably until at least their 2nd birthday, if not their 3rd.

The other biggie I see here is the rec for older kids in boosters. Seat belts were made for adults, not kids. A booster's job is to boost the kid up, allowing the seat belt to fit properly. They also provide "false hips" for kids whose hip bones haven't yet matured, and therefore aren't big enough or strong enough to take the force of the seatbelt across them and protect those soft organs from injury. I see lots of 5, 6, and 7 year olds around here without boosters, and in the front seat. That's a very dangerous way to ride.

I've posted many of these before, but just so you don't have to go looking, here are some videos and other links for this information.

Links:
Car Seat Blog
This blog post really fleshes out the new recs, and answers some of the common questions parents have about keeping kids RF longer, or harnessed longer, or in a booster longer.

Joels Journey
Joel's Grandpa was the man on The Early Show this morning, talking about this. I've had some email contact with him, myself. He has put together a stellar page with links to the full-text studies that brought these new recs about.

Awesome short video showing exactly WHY RF is preferable. This is a foreign video, so no chest clip on the car seat shown.

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And The Early Show segment with Joel's grandpa, including some crash test footage

:

Lastly, if you have ANY questions, any at all, you can leave a comment here, email me at jesscpst@gmail.com, or visit www.car-seat.org. You can post a question there without even registering.

Bedtime Victory!

2011-03-18T14:21:00.000-05:00

I won! I won! And victory is bliss.

A few weeks ago, I decided that I had had it with our bedtime routine (or lack thereof). We would keep Evie up until 10:00 or later just to put off having to deal with her and hoping she would get so tired that she'd just pass out. She HATED going to bed. HATED it. She would scream forever if I let her. I couldn't handle true "cry-it-out" and neither could she. She would just get herself so worked up that if she did end up passing out, she would wake up not long after. If she woke in the night, the only solution was to bring her to bed with me. Otherwise, I'd be up forever trying to get her back in her bed. It was awful. I was exhausted.

Then, I decided to try something. I told her it was time to go night-night, kissed her, loved her, then put her down. She, of course, stood up crying, as she always did. Without speaking to her or engaging her in any way, I put her back down, and backed up to the door. She got up again, I put her down again. This went on for quite a while the first night. She finally gave up trying to get up, and just laid on her pillow and cried a bit, then went to sleep.

The next night, it didn't take as long. By the 1 week mark, I was putting her down, and she might fuss a little, but she wouldn't get up and she would be asleep in a few minutes. I had to work naps and middle of the night in a little more slowly, but eventually I did.

I just put Evie down for a nap. She didn't even flinch. She just put her little head down and went to sleep. If she wakes in the night, I don't engage her. I just put her back down and back up to her door until I'm sure she's staying down. I am so much more rested and so is she. It's awesome. Bedtime now takes 10 seconds with her.

I know many parents struggle with bed times and nap times. It's a tough teaching time. I didn't want Evie to think I had abandoned her, or to think that her cries would be ignored if she really needed me. She just needed to learn that it was time to sleep, and she was not going to get me to get her up when she cried. We're all a lot happier for it!

Win a $400 Britax B-Scene Stroller!!

2011-03-16T14:49:00.000-05:00

I entered. Will you?
http://babyhalfoff.com/blog/?p=3022

2011-02-28T09:01:00.000-06:00

It was 11pm and Tony and I were watching tv on the couch. All of a sudden there was a big boom/crashing sound (It was like a freight train, I tell ya!) and everything started shaking. We both shot up off the couch, heading for the kids. It was like a bad movie. My feet got tangled in a blanket and I fell on the dog. Tony almost fell on me. It just kept going! They are saying it lasted around 10 seconds. We finally got to the kids, who were fine and not even awake. I just stood in the hall sobbing and shaking. I have never been more scared in my life. Tony and I stayed up until about 2am, watching the "coverage" of it. People called in from all over reporting their experience with the quake. My 2 favorite call ins of the night:
Lady caller: "the ones last week felt like an explosion...this one felt like something blew up" and another who said that her husband "literately" fell out of his bed. I guess maybe he was reading a book at the time? Not sure how one literately falls.

This was the biggest quake in Arkansas since 1976. It was a4.7 magnitude only 2.5 miles deep and centered 675 YARDS from my front door. There were 2 3.8s that followed pretty soon after, and we heard rubles all night long, including a couple of 3.2s and a 3.6. We just got earthquake insurance last week! We had a couple of downed pictures and a candle in a jar that fell and broke, but otherwise, no damage that we can see.

Ford Family Beach Christmas

2011-02-17T18:53:00.000-06:00

We weren't able to get together with my dad, stepmom, and brother at Christmastime, so we decided to get a beach house, and do it in Feb. We left home last Wednesday, in the driving snow, and headed to Jackson, MS, then to Navarre Beach, FL. We had a blast!! It was pretty cold while we were there. The highs were in the mid 50s, with a pretty cold wind at the beginning of the stay, low 60s on our last day.

Tony and Dusty got Dollar Store kites from Santa. Dusty's became The Flaming Kite of Destiny and stay flying for hours on end (he tied it to a for sale sign). Tony's broke almost immediately.

Friday we went to the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola. Wow! If you have even a slight interest in planes or the military or history, then make it a point to go. It was awesome. Better yet, it was FREE! The museum was amazing and interactive. You can also get free tickets for a trolley ride/tour of the back lot, with a lot of other planes. We got to go into the repair hangar and see some works in progress, too. The guide was a former Navy pilot and instructor. He really knew his stuff and made the tour interesting.

Girls can fly too!!

The beach was gorgeous!! There were very few people there (obviously) and we all but had it to ourselves. There were shells literally in piles where the tide came in. I've never seen so many shells on a beach before.

Evie liked playing in the sand and watching the waves wash in

Dad took some AMAZING pics of our trip on his new to him awesome camera. I NEED those images!

These are my favorite. Enough said.

Some of my pics of Gage didn't upload, but I'll try again. This is him sporting Addie's sweatshirt after inching too close to the water and getting hit in the chest by a wave. He loved every second of that icy experience. He was totally covered in sand, and thought throwing sand and shells into the surf was the greatest.

We also went to the little zoo in Navarre. I was pleasantly surprised! When we walked in, I thought it was going to be pretty lame. That turned out not to be the case. You were closer to the animals than most zoos. There were Macaws not in cages, and monkeys on islands. You could feed the giraffes, goats, sheeps, pics, etc. There were several peacocks and turkeys strutting around. Then, we got on the train, which I thought would just take us around the animals we had already seen. Nope- it took us to a part of the park that you can't see without a ticket to the train. Our engineer had to get out of her seat to run an emu off the tracks. We got up close with some zebras and deer-like animals. It was really neat. Of course, Gage was just obsessed with the fact that he was on a train.

We headed for Memphis Monday, and had a follow-up appt with Gage's neuro Tuesday. It went really well! We just have to have another MRI and appt in May to check the progress of things!

A week and 1/2 after surgery

2011-01-31T10:48:00.001-06:00

And Gage is doing awesome. Really, way more awesome than I could have expected. He is acting like he never had surgery. He never complains of being sore, and he is doing all the things he did before surgery. We even went to Jump Zone Saturday. I didn't let him go down the big slide, but he did fine otherwise. The only complaint is that his incision is a little itchy. No biggy.

Last week, we thought he was having some referred pain in his tummy. He would suddenly clutch his stomach and complain that it hurt. It sounded like cramps. We eventually figured out that it was the Motrin. Since we quit the Motrin, he hasn't complained at all.

I have yet to decide if he has regained anything. Sometimes he'll do something and I'll think "ooh, I don't think he could do that before." Then, he'll be clumsy and I think he's holding on while he walks as much or more than before. I am reserving judgment until his PT tells me what to think ;).

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts for him. He's an amazing kid!

We're home!!

2011-01-22T16:06:00.000-06:00

We got released from the hospital yesterday afternoon. We spent the night at my mom's and then headed home this afternoon. We are so glad to be out!! Gage is doing great. We are keeping his pain under control with Motrin and Tylanol- no narcotics! Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers!! We are so glad this is all over!

Day after surgery

2011-01-20T13:39:00.000-06:00

I wasn't able to update yesterday, but have my computer in the room now. Gage had surgery yesterday. It was such a long day!

We arrived at 6am, and got all checked in and called back fairly quickly. They did vitals and drew blood. Gage flipped as he usually does. He doesn't trust anybody when it comes to stuff like that. After all of that, he played in the play room. And he played, and he played. 7 hours later, we were still waiting. Finally, at around 2:00pm, they finally came to get him. He picked out his toy from the "bunny room" and then went to the OR.

We were hoping the shunt wasn't working and he would just replace it. That didn't happen. The shunt wasn't under excess pressure, and was working well enough that the surgeon doesn't think that's causing the cyst. So, they had to do the laminectomy. They removed the back part of the vertebra covering the area where the cyst was, then took out as much of the cyst wall as possible. He thinks he got enough of it out that it won't reform. Then he put the bone back on and closed him up. It all lasted about 3 hours, I think.

Gage was really loopy and confused after surgery. He was talking but I couldn't understand or hear him. Then we got him a Popsicle. That lubricated his dry mouth enough to talk, and I don't think he's quit talking since.

I went to my Mom's and spent the night with Evie, and Tony stayed here with Gage. When I got back here this morning, Gage was moving around well and talking. He ate a little breakfast, and quite a bit of lunch. Right now he's sitting up in bed watching The Princess and the Frog.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. They really have carried us through this stressful time.

Evie's First Steps!!

2011-01-17T22:17:00.001-06:00

Evie is ONE!!

2011-01-13T21:02:00.001-06:00

Evie is one today!! I know everybody always says this but I CAN NOT BELIEVE SHE'S ONE!!! As Tony posted on Facebook: "1 year ago today we forced Evie to come into this world....I think she is still mad about that. Happy Birthday puddin pop!"

These pictures show her attitude. I am not going to try to re-take them. They are HER. "You WILL NOT make me sit here with this stupid big tiger. I have better things to do than sit pretty and pose." Yeah, I think she's going to be my challenge.

She has been such a fun baby.

She started her life sleeping all night (once I let her) and being very laid back. When she got beyond that sleepy baby stage, she still slept all night, but only took one 4-hour nap in the afternoon. Then she started teething and she quit sleeping much at all. Then she realized that somebody must be having fun if she's in bed, so she quit wanting to GO to sleep, but once there, she'd stay there most of the night. Now she goes to bed by about 10pm and wakes up around 7:30, and takes a hour or 2 nap around 1:00pm.

She has been working on standing alone for a week or so now. Today, she really seemed to be "practicing" and stood up in the middle of the floor by herself several times. She still won't take any steps alone, but will if I give her my pinky.

Today she said "baby" loud and clear, which is the first "real" word I've heard. She's said "dada" and "mama" for a while. She signs "milk" like it's going out of style. She also signs "daddy", "all done", "mama" (palm to her mouth) and "more" (looks like clapping almost).

She definitely has a more willful personality than Gage did. She gets mad if he takes a toy or if I take something she isn't supposed to play with. She yells at me if I'm not quick enough bringing her food, or if I walk into another room as she follows me. I can see her being more challenging than my easy-going Gage is.

Evie has been such a joy to our family. We look forward to watching her and Gage grow and develop as the years go by. I really do appreciate all of you sharing in that through this blog!

Snow Day!

2011-01-10T15:33:00.004-06:00

It started snowing yesterday afternoon. We woke up this morning to around 4 inches. That would all be wonderful if the love of my life could stay home in the warm house and enjoy it with us!! But...sick people don't take snow days, so he had to go. He left in my 4WD with a change of clothes in case he decides to stay the night. And it looks as if he will :(.

Gage has been enthralled with the snow. He's been walking from window to window saying "OOOH, SNOW!!! LOOK MOM! IT'S SNOWING! So, we bundled up Christmas Story style

And headed out the door. In these conditions, one really needs a vehicle that can handle the treacherous roadways.

The dead of winter is the best time to play on your fort/swing set.

We are hoping all of this is drivable tomorrow night (so Tony can come home) and completely gone by Thursday so our drive to Memphis is uneventful.

A new year, a new tooth

2011-01-01T19:40:00.003-06:00

So one has very little to do with the other, but this chica is adding teeth quicker than I can keep up with them.

As of today, January 1, 2011, Evie has, in the order of appearance:
Upper central incisors
Lower central incisors
Upper lateral incisors
Right upper and lower first molars
lower left later incisor

Left upper and lower molars are still trying to come through.

So, she has a total of 9 teeth through right now.

-

Sleep mystery solved.

2010-12-29T09:25:00.002-06:00

Evie slept all night practically since the day she was born. I woke her up for those first couple of weeks but then decided that I was insane, and she would sleep for 8-12 hours at a time. She started waking up in the middle of the night a few months ago, but then went back to sleeping. Now she's getting up at least once, sometimes 2 or 3 times a night again.

Yesterday we went to the movies and I let her chew on my finger to keep her quiet. She is getting SIX new teeth right now. SIX!! Four of those are molars, so they are big and I'm sure hurt. The lateral bottom incisors are the other 2. Even with Tylenol last night, she woke up twice. Mystery solved, but it doesn't really help anything!

Gage's surgery scheduled

2010-12-27T10:29:00.002-06:00

It will be Jan 14th (the day after Evie's brithday) at LeBonheur in Memphis. We have to be there at 6am, but I'm not yet sure when the actual procedure will start. The surgeon will tap the shunt first and see if it is working. If it's not, he will replace or reposition the shunt. If it is, and he sees no reason it would be causing the cyst, then he will do the laminectomy and cut the cyst out. We have asked if he will aspirate the cyst to get the pressure off of his cord earlier, but we don't know yet if that is possible.

We appreciate everyone's prayers for Gage and our family!! I will update here and Facebook as I can from the hospital.

Headed for surgery #7

2010-12-21T22:02:00.001-06:00

A month or so ago, Gage's therapist let us know that she was concerned about subtle changes she was noticing in his gait and function of his legs. As time has progressed, so have her concerns, and the problems have become obvious to us, too. The surgeon that operated on Gage last June has left AR Children's and we felt we needed to go to someone who could figure out Gage's non-textbook issues. Our PT, as well as others involved with Gage's care, highly suggested we see Dr. Boop, a neurosurgeon in Memphis. Dr. Boop used to practice at ACH and knows spina bifida kids really well. Gage had an MRI a couple of weeks ago, and we picked up his past films from ACH and brought them with us to Memphis.

Today was Gage's appointment. We love Dr. Boop and we think we will continue with him, even after this issue is resolved. After looking at the films, Dr. Boop confirmed that there is a fluid-filled cyst putting pressure on Gage's spinal cord and causing his symptoms. This is the same thing he had surgery for last summer. Dr. Boop wants to be sure we get to the source of it this time, and thinks his shunt not working the way it should is contributing to the formation of these cysts.

The good news is that shunt surgery is a fairly simple, very common procedure. If the shunt is indeed malfunctioning, they will fix or replace it and we can come home the next day. If it's not the shunt, he will go ahead and do the surgery on the cyst itself, which will be more involved, and require 4-5 days in the hospital. If it is the shunt, and the cyst doesn't go away after it is fixed, then he will have a second surgery to deal with the cyst later.

Surgery isn't scheduled yet, but it should be January 11 or 17th at LeBonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis. My mom and step-dad still live in the Memphis area, so we will have a comfy place to stay and child care for Evie while we're there. We would appreciate your prayers for Gage and for us as we go forward. We are really hoping a simple shunt revision will take care of it and he won't have to have a more invasive surgery.

Evie is 11 months old

2010-12-19T22:38:00.003-06:00

As usual, I am late on my update. Evie was 11 months old 12/13. I am in denial. My baby will not be a year old in less than a month!

She was not very patient with me when we did these pics. She did not want to be still!!

Evie is signing more and more. She signs "milk" all the time, and has signed "daddy". She knows what "eat" means and is liking food more and more. She still nurses more than anything, though.

Evie can and does stand on her own from time to time, but just for a few seconds. She'll stand at the ottoman or couch and let go to play with a toy in her hand. Today, she balanced on a small box I was wrapping, and let go to stand all the way up by herself. She cruises along furniture all the time, but crawling is still her preferred mode of transport. Like her brother, she finds crawling fast and easy, so sees no need to walk. As early as she did other things (sit alone crawl), I thought she'd be walking by now.

She's a funny girl. She screeches happily from her car seat, all to herself. Today at lunch, she would "throw a fit" and then screech at whoever would look at her, then giggle.

She still loves her brother. Anything he does is hilarious to her. He thinks she's pretty great, too, although "sharing" is lost on him. He thinks Evie should "share" with him, but not the other way around.

We are in the middle of our Christmas festivities. Hopefully I'll have some pics up soon, but no promises!

chugga chugga CHOO CHOO!

2010-12-06T21:23:00.006-06:00

I didn't take many pictures of our Thanksgiving Day get-together, but I did get some great ones while we were at Dad and Alice's that week. We took a ride up to Lynnville, TN one day, to see the train. Gage LOVES trains right now. He's totally obsessed. When we first got there, he wanted nothing to do with the big REAL train up close. That lasted about 5 minutes, then he was all over it and cried when we left. What a neat place. I wish we had something like this close so we could take Calvin Hill with us for some pro pics.

Saving Shea

2010-12-04T20:14:00.002-06:00

I don't know who reads this blog anymore. Maybe just my mom. I couldn't keep from posting this, though. There are probably many stories like this around the world, but this one touched my heart because I KNOW what a blessing it is to watch a child with spina bifida achieve the things that are taken for granted by most of us.

Shea is a 4 year old orphan in the Ukraine. He is facing institutionalization and being bed-bound due to his age. He is just recently available for adoption, and some loving folks here have started a fund to help facilitate that since it can be so expensive. You can read about Shea here and donate by using this
.

Evie's 10 Months old!

2010-11-16T18:10:00.003-06:00

She was actually 10 months Saturday.

She is such a funny baby. She is much more serious than her bother ever was. When people talk to her she studies them. She always knows where Mama is. She doesn't necessarily cry with other people, but she keeps up with my location.

She thinks Gage is hilarious. He is one person that can make her laugh every time. Her favorite game is for him to fake-sneeze in her face. They enjoy playing in her crib together, jumping and singing or yelling. It's nice for me to be able to get some stuff done without them both under foot.

Evie is signing "milk" on her own now, and has signed "daddy" to me and grinned when I said "Daddy". Just today she was saying "bye bye bye bye bye" while waving bye-bye.

She crawls with lightening speed, pulls up on the furniture, and is into EVERYTHING. I can't list the stuff I have pull out of her mouth.

She has quite a temper. You can tell when crying goes from sad to a temper tantrum. She balls her fist up and turns red in the face as she screams.

She'll pretty much eat anything now. I decided to give baby food a try, and she loves it. She'll eat small soft food like cooked veggies or fruits, or will eat jarred food. She likes puffs and Cheerios to keep her busy.

She is awesome in the car. She will sleep for a lot of a long trip and will laugh and play with her brother while she's awake.

She still has the same 6 teeth and I don't see any more coming.

Happy Veterans Day!

2010-11-11T15:54:00.001-06:00

Have you thanked a vet today? Here is something I posted when we found an article about my grandfather. I thought I'd share it again.

http://fincheradventure.blogspot.com/2008/02/greatest-generation.html

For my info

2010-11-07T15:43:00.001-06:00

Well visit for both kids Friday:

Evie was 18lbs, 3oz, I think 26" long

Gage was 37.5lbs and I can't remember how tall.

Juggarknot Paracord

2010-10-29T18:42:00.005-05:00

I have a business to plug. My brother, Dusty, has been making this stuff for a while and is now selling it. It's AWESOME. He does bracelets, dog collars (can be adjustable or fitted), leashes, and anything else you can think of out of parachute cord. Katie wears a purple and gray (GO BEARS) collar

Gage wears a green/tan bracelet.

Now he is making breast cancer awareness bracelets:
Visit his Facebook business page for all of the things he has done so far, and shoot him a message if you want to place a custom order!

Evie is 9 months old!

2010-10-14T13:54:00.003-05:00

[I wrote this last week and I'm just now getting around to taking and editing the pics for it!]

Yesterday was Evie's 9 month birthday. She is such a fun, happy baby!

Evie is into everything. She can crawl quickly now and get anywhere she want to go. She loves electrical cords, and they have become our first "no" item. She puts everything in her mouth. EVERYTHING! Gage never really went through this phase, and it's really frustrating!

Evie can pull up now. She pulled up on her Daddy while we were visiting Aunt Allie and Uncle Scott in Chattanooga, and in her bed after we got home. Last night, I put her to bed and heard her crying not long after. Tony went to check on her and she was standing in her bed, holding on with one hand and unsure of what to do. She went right to sleep when he put her down.

I think she has signed "milk" after my modeling it to her. She definitely knows what the sign means.

Evie still thinks her brother is hilarious. He keeps her entertained just by being. He'll put a blanket over her head and she just giggles. Several times I have caught him putting the laundry basket that his toys stay in over her head and beating it like a drum. She just laughs.

Her sleep took a nose-dive while we were away, but now that we're back home, she's sleeping well again. It beats all I've ever seen, but the child sleeps like a 3 year old! She goes to bed at about 9. It might take a time or 2 to get her settled, but then she sleeps all night. She occasionally gets up in around 6:30am like she did this morning, but then goes right back to sleep until 8:30 or later. She just now, at 1:30, went down for a nap, and I expect her to sleep a good 2-3 hours. Then she'll be up til bed time again.

Shake it up

2010-10-11T16:38:00.005-05:00

Gage and I felt the earth move this morning at 8:33am! We've been mostly hearing little quakes over the last week or so, but this one scared me to death! It measured 3.8 and was centered about 1.3 miles from our house, according to Google Maps.

It sounded like thunder from a storm directly over the house. It rattled the windows and stuff on the shelves, and slowly rumbled away. It seemed to last forever, although I know it was just a few seconds. Gage was sitting on the ottoman, watching Signing Time when it happened, and he immediately put his head down and covered it with his hands. Poor thing was scared and said "Is it loud?" several times. I really hope this isn't indicative of things to come! I can handle these little earth shakers, but that one today is about my limit.

In unrelated news:
I'll have a full monthly update to do in a few days, but just for my info, Evie is officially pulling to stand. She did so in her bed for the first time yesterday, and stood up on Tony, who was laying in the floor, Monday.

Babywearing under assault

2010-10-04T18:53:00.004-05:00

You guys know that there are a few issues near and dear to my heart. Car seats are without a doubt #1, but followed closely by my passion for wearing my babies. Soft carriers, including rings slings like I make, have been shown to provide developmental benefits for baby, not to mention all of the convenience benefits for parents. If you want to know more, you can read what Dr. Sears has to say on the subject here.

Babywearing has been regaining popularity in recent years, although many people still see it as a newfangled fad and don't really understand it. The whole industry suffered a setback a few months ago when a particular kind of carrier, a bag sling, was recalled due to infant deaths. This sling positioned the baby far too low on the parent, allowed baby's chin to be forced to his chest, and covered the mouth and nose with thick, padded fabric. This was ONE TYPE of carrier, but it seems that the message taken away from the recall was slings=death trap.

Now, the Baby Carrier Industry Alliance is alleging that a popular maker of safe slings was told by the Consumer Products Safety Commission to cease all operations and issue a recall of all of their products. This supposedly has happened without any proof of unsafe products, and with a threat to the entire industry, according to BCIA. You can see more info here as well as the BCIA.

There is a campaign to write or call these members of Congress to express your concern about this. I will copy a form letter below the contact info. You are encourage to email and add your own experience with slings or other carriers. If you are in Arkansas, it is especially important that you do this, since Mark Pryor is the chairman of The Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance.

SENATE:
Mark Pryor – Chairman, AR (202) 224-2353
Byron L. Dorgan, ND (202) 224-2551
Barbara Boxer, CA (202) 224-3553
Bill Nelson, FL (202) 224-5274
Claire McCaskill, MO (202) 224-6154
Amy Klobuchar, MN (202) 224-3244
Tom Udall, NM (202) 224-5941
Roger Wicker – Ranking Member, MS (202) 224-6253
Olympia J. Snowe, ME (202) 224-5344
Jim DeMint, SC (202) 224-6121
John Thune, SD (202) 224-2321
Johnny Isakson, GA (202) 224-3643
David Vitter, LA (202) 224-4623

HOUSE:
Bobby L. Rush, IL, Chairman 202-225-4372; 773-224-6500
Jan Schakowsky, IL, Vice Chair 202-225-2111; 773-506-7100
Ed Whitfield, KY, Ranking Member 202-225-3115; 270-885-8079
John P. Sarbanes, MD 202-225-4016; 410-832-8890
George Radanovich, CA 202-225-4540; 559-449-2490
Betty Sutton, OH 202-225-2266; 330-865-8450
Cliff Stearns, FL 202-225-5744; 352-351-8777
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ 202-225-4671; 732-571-1140
Joseph R. Pitts, PA 202-225-2411; 717-303-0667
Bart Gordon, TN 202-225-4231; 615-896-1986
Mary Bono Mack, CA 202-225-5330; 760-320-1076
Bart Stupak, MI 202-225-4735; 231-348-0657
Lee Terry, NE 202-225-4155; 402-397-9944
Gene Green, TX 202-225-1688; 281-999-5879
Sue Wilkins Myrick, NC 202-225-1976; 704-362-1060
Charles A. Gonzalez, TX 202-225-3236; 210-472-6195
Tim Murphy, PA 202-225-2301; 412-344-5583
Anthony D. Weiner, NY 202-225-6616; 718-520-9001
Phil Gingrey, GA 202-225-2931; 770-429-1776
Jim Matheson, UT 202-225-3011; 801-486-1236
Steve Scalise, LA 202-225-3015; 504-837-1259
G. K. Butterfield, NC 202-225-3101; 252-237-9816
Robert E. Latta, OH 202-225-6405; 419-668-0206
John Barrow, GA 202-225-2823; 912-354-7282
Joe Barton, TX 202-225-2002; 817-543-1000

Dear _______,

I am writing as a concerned parent about the broad and overzealous scope of many of the recent CPSC recalls. In particular, I’ve learned that the CPSC is threatening a unilateral recall action against a reputable brand of baby sling.

I am appealing to you, as a member of the The Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance.
Today, I am asking that:
1) all baby sling recall actions be stopped immediately;
2) the ASTM sling carrier standard should be voted on so that sling carriers may be tested for this safety standard;
3) the CPSC be forced to follow their own internal procedures of due course, rather than using scare tactics and bullying to intimidate reputable, responsible companies.

I am aware that this particular product was in use at the time of death of an infant in one case in 2005. This incident was fully investigated by the CPSC and the company was told, in 2007, that the product was not at fault. In early 2010, this case was reopened despite no new evidence. The company was bullied into closure by the CPSC. No testing or report showing evidence of a defect has been made available to the company. The CPSC is now using the fact that the company is closed to issue the unilateral recall, despite lacking the science and statistics that would be the norm for this agency. At this time, there are indications of many more baby carrier recalls to come, including CPSC language that indicates that they are considering action against this "entire class of product".

Recalling this particular product, and potentially this "entire class of product", will have a decidedly negative impact on parents all over the United States. Babywearing is a practice that has proven health benefits for both babies and their caregivers, and is an essential part of parenting for millions of people across the country and worldwide. The CPSC is attempting to drastically limit a personal parenting choice through this unnecessary recall. Please consider the Baby Carrier Industry Alliance’s Position Paper (http://babycarrierindustryalliance.m...hite_paper.pdf) as scientific evidence of both the necessity and the safety of baby carriers.

There is a strong network of babywearing safety advocates and volunteer groups throughout the nation whose mission is to teach caregivers how to use their baby carriers safely and effectively. Baby carriers are absolutely safe; perhaps even safer than many other baby care devices such as swings and car seats. Additionally, ASTM International is set to vote on a voluntary standard for sling carriers this very week. This standard is the result of 3 years of hard work by consumer advocates, manufacturers, and members of the CPSC's own staff.

The recent light shown on the tactics taken by the CPSC is shocking. Bullying small family-owned business to get the outcome they desire should not be how the US Government does business. I ask you to stop this recall, look into the actions of the CPSC, and consider allowing the voluntary standards process to be completed. I hope we can count on you.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best, __________________

Evie 8 Months Old!

2010-09-24T17:20:00.005-05:00

(and a half)

So I'm a little late on her 8 month update. It still counts. I picked a bad time to take her pictures this month. She wasn't in the best mood to start with, so I'm lucky I even got the tiger picture without tears.

Evie is crawling. She is all over the place. She follows me around the house. She can also get to any cord she wants. This is not good. She loves cords and it is truly impossible to get all of them out of her reach. This has become our first "no-no" and she does not find it very amusing.

She has decided that she is mildly interested in eating solid food. She will tolerate sweet potato fries and Cheerios. She'll eat a little baby food, but still usually turns her head if she sees a spoon. She much prefers to feed herself, although most of it ends up in the chair. Katie is a fat, happy puppy dog these days. She likes to play with sippy cups, but doesn't really drink from one. She just usually takes Gage's out of the cup holder in the car so he can't reach it. I still need to get her some soft spout ones. I put some water in a bottle and she liked that okay. I've been really laid back with feeding her. I know it is just for practice at this point and I figure she'll eat when she's ready.

Evie has 6 teeth now- 4 on top and 2 on the bottom. She got them all in quick succession. Her amber teething necklace seems to have worked for her because it really wasn't all that bad. Even it if wasn't the necklace, I think it's cute. It came from Inspired By Finn and she is always running sales and coupon codes anybody wants one.

For the last couple of weeks, Evie has been waking up between 4:30 and 6am to nurse, but goes right back to sleep. I'm guessing it's a growth spurt. Otherwise, she sleeps for 3 or more hours in the afternoon, and 10-11 hours at night.

Overall, she is a very happy, smiley baby girl. She loves being out and about and smiles at anyone that will talk to her. We have been to 2 UCA football games with her, and she was awesome at both.

Today we went to the Little Rock Zoo. Gage loved seeing the animals. Evie just loved riding in the stroller. It was overcast, although still muggy, but we had a good time.

Next up: the weddings- Erin and Steve (9-11-10) and Reid and Erin (10-2-11).

Gage is 3!

2010-09-15T13:45:00.005-05:00

Gage turned 3 years old on Saturday, August 28. I am trying really hard to avoid the cliches that you often read that go along with milestones like this, but I can't, so I'm going to use them all. WOW! Where have the last 3 years gone? I couldn't have imagined we'd be here. He's getting so big! There, how's that? It's all true!

Three years ago Tony and I were living in various hotel rooms in Little Rock and visiting our big boy in the NICU at Children's. He had just undergone his 2nd surgery to place a shunt, and I had just gotten to hold him for the first time. We were days away from going home. It seems like ages ago now.

Gage is now walking really really well. He still falls sometimes, but is getting better every day. He "runs" too, but really nothing changes from walking to running but the pitch of his voice when he does it. He is in PT 2 hours a week and still doing well and making progress with his "Weesha".

The kid never shuts up. He talks ALL. THE. TIME! I often hear him in his room singing one thing or another. He seems to always mimic certain commercials on TV- The Activia commercial and the birth control one that they sing the days of the week are the 2 that I notice the most.

Gage still loves people and is one of the friendliest kids I've ever met. He greets just about everybody we come in contact with and will say "Are you doin' alwhite?" When we go somewhere, he goes through his list of people we see often and asks if we are going to see them. At therapy, he is friends with everybody. He will often go back to Derek's office and visit, and now he calls the front desk and talks to Rebecca while he's there. We're going to have to start showing up early so he can get his social time in without shortening his PT time.

One of my favorite things right now is how Gage prays. It is the sweetest thing in the world. Last night he said "Dear God, Thank you so much day. Thank you for Evie and Mama, and Daddy. Thank you Jesus Loves Me. Jesus name, Amen." At the dinner table he usually asks that "Daddy get home" and thanks God specifically for the food on his plate. Last night, it was "thank you for these pork chops."

Gage still loves Evie to death. He sometimes gets too rough and she'll cry, but for the most part, she thinks he's a riot. He is great at locating lost binkies.

Thank you to everyone that still follows this blog. It's been a wonderful 3 years for the Fincher family!

Beware of Seriel Posts

2010-09-15T13:40:00.001-05:00

My computer has been out of commission and I just got it back. I've missed a lot while it was gone! Gage turned 3, Evie turned 8 months, and Erin and Steve got married and Gage was their ring bearer! I have a lot to catch up on, but be patient. I'll upload pictures and get started. Stay tuned!

Evie 7 Months Old

2010-08-23T14:39:00.007-05:00

Gage at 7 months:

So I'm late by 10 days, but Evie is now 7 months old! We had a well-baby visit last week, and here is where she is:

Weight- 16lbs 4oz (35th %ile)
Height- 26" (75th %ile)
Head- 17" (50th %ile)

She's still kind of a peanut, and REALLY tiny compared to her huge brother.

She still isn't crazy about most foods. She will gnaw on a pizza crust and eat a sweet potato fry if we give it to her. I think she likes her banana puff things okay. She HATES peaches and will blow them out of her mouth if she can. She always turns her head if I come at her with a spoon.

If you care to compare (and I always do) This is Gage's 7 month update. He weighed 6lbs more than Evie at this age, but otherwise, was right around the same developmentally as she is. He wasn't eating much either, and was sitting alone by now, too, although she is a much stronger sitter than he was then. He was scooting backwards, and she is REALLY trying to crawl right now. She gets on all 4s withing seconds of me sitting her down, and has the arm motion figured out, but has yet to coordinate that with the leg motion. Evie loves the bath, just like he did, and splashes from the time I put her in, until I take her out.

Evie still loves Gage and loves to watch him. He is still usually really sweet to her, but lately I have caught him pushing it with how rough he can be with her. He does not like her playing with his Geotrax train or plane and cries if she comes close to it.

Evie now has 2 top teeth and a 3rd is not far behind. The 2nd top one cut through sometime yesterday. I thought I posted when the 1st came in on Facebook, but I guess I didn't. It was sometime after the 10th, though, so we'll call it right at 7 months.

2010-08-23T14:39:00.000-05:00

Amber necklace giveaway!!!

2010-08-14T18:42:00.004-05:00

I need to do Evie's 7 month update, but first I am going to do my best to win a necklace :).

New Age Mama is running a giveaway of necklaces from Inspired By Finn. Evie's Inspired by Finn amber teething necklace JUST got here today, and it's really pretty. I'll let you know how it does with teething pain. Anyway, to enter, just click on the link for New Age Mama and follow the directions there. I am going to enter to try to win her one with different colored beads...we have to coordinate, after all.

Fishing

2010-07-21T15:23:00.003-05:00

Dad wanted to take Gage to catch a fish this morning, so we headed down the road to the Gerbholz pond. His hook was barely got wet before he caught one. He ended up catching 4 I think. Didn't want to touch them, but thought getting them in was SUPER fun.

Evie and I sat on a blanket and watched the boys.

Evie's 6 months old!

2010-07-13T17:59:00.005-05:00

Gage at 6 Months

First we had this "love pat"

That turned into this and finally this

Evie's a pretty awesome baby. She sleeps all night, and always has. She's sitting alone and has been for a couple of weeks. She is a generally happy baby, except when her brother hits her in the head. She loves watching Gage. She grabs whatever is in reach, including faces and hair. She can put her binky back in her own mouth a lot of the time. She's an awesome traveler. Right now, she's in 6-9 month clothes. I have no idea on diapers because she is wearing cloth pretty much full-time now.

I'll start this week offering her some solid food and see what she thinks. Gage didn't want anything to do with it until about 7 1/2 months, and I'm fine with it if she decides to do the same. I generally think baby food is kinda silly, since eating at this age is just about learning new tastes and practicing anyway. It really shouldn't be relied on for nutrition until after a year old. She'll probably get some banana pieces, avocado bits, or sweet potato bits to start with.

Here is Gage's 6 Month post: http://fincheradventure.blogspot.com/2008/02/6-months-old.html

Mother of the Year

2010-07-09T10:16:00.000-05:00

This is what my son was able to accomplish while I was distracted. He climbed up onto the table (remember, he isn't exactly quick) and unrolled the paper towel before I decided the noises he was making were worthy of my attention.

Look at what I can do!

2010-06-29T14:57:00.000-05:00

5 months, 2 weeks old

5 Months Old

2010-06-15T21:02:00.004-05:00

With Great-Granddad

Tony and Evie at Matt's wedding

Evie was 5 months old Monday.
weight: 14lbs
Height 25.5 inches

She can roll tummy to back. She can push up to her hands. She scoots around in her crib a lot now. She is very close to sitting alone. She is still in our room at night but naps in her room. I think I'm about to move her to her room for night time, too. She's always slept all night and I think she'll do fine in her crib vs. her pack-n-play.

She is super social and it's easy to get her to smile. She loves watching her brother. I feel like I tell him "easy" or "be careful" 100 times a day. 99 of those times, she's smiling at whatever he's doing. She has started imitating a little bit, too. Tony was shaking his head at her and she started doing it back. Now she shakes her head all the time!

We have been traveling fools lately! We are going to stay put for a few weeks now, anyway. I'm ready for a break!

4 month WBV

2010-06-03T18:24:00.004-05:00

Evie was 4 months on May 13th, but we just went to her well child visit today.

She is:
14lbs (50th %ile)
25.5" tall (75th%ile)
16 3/4" head (75th%il)

So she's tall and thin with a big head!
She's wearing 3-6 or 6-9 month clothes.
She doesn't ever wear shoes, but she has tiny feet. I think she is still in a size 1.

She's doing well overall. She's super social. Getting a smile or even a giggle out of her is easy. She's very interested in what's going on around her. She loves to watch Gage.

She has rolled over several times, tummy to back. She really enjoys playing on her tummy for a few minutes at a time, especially when Gage will play with her.

She has excellent head control and sits well with a little support. She pushes up to her hands when she's on her tummy.

She STILL sleeps all night. Usually 10-12 hours. She generally takes a few short naps in the morning and one long one in the afternoon. Gage didn't nap for more than 30 minutes at a time for a LONG time.

She still uses her binky, especially to go to sleep.

We're using cloth diapers all the time now, even when we go out. She was having blowouts too often in disposibles and it just doesn't happen much in cloth. Plus, they're cute :). The ones we are using are from Cloth Diaper Wholesale and we love them. Here she is in their first print, breezy.
We also have 4 BumGenius and 2 Kawaii that get cycled through.

Just Gage

2010-05-28T14:50:00.003-05:00

I haven't had a simply Gage post in a while, and I think it's high time. He's still awesome as ever. He's very much 2- he has HIS way of doing things. He is getting better at obeying the first time I ask him to do something, though, and that makes a mama happy. He is affectionate and sweet. He still loves people- all people. If he wants to speak to someone but doesn't know their name, he just picks the person's name that looks the most like his new friend and calls them that. We see lots of Grandmas, MaeMaes, Magens, Allys, Rachels, and Dustys. He knows all of his letters now and can count to 20 most of the time. Sometimes he leaves out a number or 2.

He is walking better every day. He got a new set of braces a few weeks ago. It has taken a little getting used to (bigger shoes, etc) but he can walk as far as he wants to. He's getting better on uneven surfaces and in the grass. He can walk across a room now without his braces on, even.

Loud noises still scare him. At Nathan's graduation, there were some kids behind us with an air horn. Gage kept his hands over his ears the whole time. He also "hides" when one of his friends gets in trouble. I guess he anticipates the crying or something.

He loves being outside. We've been going to the park occasionally, and he loves to slide. It takes him a while to get to the slide, but he does well.

Gage has had a hair cut since these pics. I need to take some new ones of him!

Whitney and Paul, May 8, 2010

2010-05-14T17:29:00.005-05:00

I am SO happy for my cousin and best friend Whitney, and her new hubby Paul. The first time "the family" met Paul was at Thanksgiving at my Aunt Cherry's house. Paul came in with Whitney and I just assumed he had already met everyone else- he was so at ease. Then I heard him introduce himself to Whitney's brother! We all love Paul. He fits into the family and we are so glad to have him!

Their wedding was scheduled for the previous weekend, May 1 and they traded with a couple at some point because the husband was to be deployed the week after the 1st. It so happens that the weekend of the 1st, Nashville flooded. Devistatingly so. The weather on the 8th was a little unseasonably cool, but absolutely gorgeous! The venue was amazing and it all went off without a hitch.

There was no rehearsal dinner. Instead, family and friends gathered for a few frames of bowling. I can't tell you how appropriate that is for Whitney and Paul! It was so much fun! Even my kids enjoyed it!

The ceremony was short and sweet (cousin Brock timed it at a hair over 7 minutes) and the reception was awesome. The food rocked, and visiting with everyone was awesome. Gage stayed in someone's lap eating M&Ms or cake, or on the dance floor the entire time.

Notice the drool stain on my brother's leather jacket :(. Unfortunately I didn't take pics of the actual ceremony and most of my reception pics are dark and blurry.

Evie's 4 Months!

2010-05-14T16:40:00.005-05:00

And Gage at the same age:

Gage was just so huge already! He was 20.4lbs at 5 months. Evie is much smaller. I just weighed her and she is around 13.5lbs.

Evie is still sleeping all night, often for 11-12 hours. I don't know what I did to deserve a good sleeper, but I'm definitely not complaining! It's awesome! I was looking back at the blog from when Gage was this age. He would sleep a night, then be up several times the next. I can remember him still getting up at a year and later. Evie girl needs her beauty sleep!

Evie is a drooler. Not constantly, but she enjoys chewing on her hands, or her dress, and she drools. Gage never did. She's not a really bad spitter, but I can count on one hand the number of times Gage spit up (one notable time all over Tony during the closing prayer at church, complete with man-sized belch!).

She is really a good baby. She is easy to coax a smile and a giggle out of. She loves watching her brother. She is all hands these days- grabbing whatever she can. She has rolled over, tummy to back, a couple of times, but not on purpose. She has gotten over her car hatred for the most part. Gage still loves her. Sometimes they both need a diaper at the same time, so I change her then put her in her bed while I change him. He always wants to get in the bed with her.

Next post- Whitney and Paul's wedding!

I gonna eat you

2010-04-26T11:24:00.002-05:00

2010-04-23T16:21:00.000-05:00

Branson

2010-04-21T15:29:00.004-05:00

This is the 2nds post today, so if you missed my Evie picture dump, go back a post.

So Thursday afternoon, we left with the Lipp family to go to Branson for a few days. We rented pretty big house near Silver Dollar City and really looked forward to getting away for a few days, even if it was "just" Branson. We got to the house, dumped our stuff, and headed for Wal-Mart and to find somewhere to eat. We had 2 cars with a GPS each, and neither one could find the Supercenter that was supposed to be within 5 miles of the house, so we ended up at the "regular" Wal-Mart in Branson. I felt terrible. One of the joys of vacation is eating at cool places, and I had to leave the food section of Wal-Mart because it was making me sick. We went to eat and well, I didn't. That night, Gage had a diaper blow-out so the next day we did laundry.

Friday, I still didn't feel well, but it was vacation and I was going to have fun if it killed me. So we went to SDC. It was a horrible SDC day. We thought we'd eat before we went in because it'd be cheaper, so we stopped at Pizza Hut. We were the first ones there. It took the girl 20 minutes to get us drinks and 20 minutes after that we still didn't have food. The Lipps finally got a pizza, but ours still wasn't out and we didn't want to wait on it, so we canceled our order and drove through McDonald's next door. We missed the show we wanted to see. The rides we wanted to ride were closed when we got to them. Gage screamed and clawed Tony on the entire 20 minute train ride because the whistle scared him. Evie didn't really like it either, so she cried. Gage cried on the kiddie rides (and I thought he'd love them). Ally got lost due to an incompetent ride worker who told her to get off the ride and go get her mommy. It was just a disaster day.

Throwing mulch in the water:

Fun on the kiddie rides:

Saturday, we were determined to make it better. We made our show....well, some of us did. Chad got to take Ally out because she threw up during the first act. I took Evie out to nurse her because she wouldn't quit crying in the show long enough to eat. Gage played a little on a slide and had a little more fun. On the ride home Ally threw up again...and then RIGHT as we pulled in to the garage at the house, Nathan did the same. I couldn't look at them for fear I would be next. Chad and Tonya were starting to feel bad as well, and I still hadn't eaten a real meal. We pouted on the couch for the rest of the night. Ally threw up in her bed that night. I don't think anybody slept well at all. Everybody kind of laid low the next day, hoping we would recoop enough to salvage the trip.

Monday was better. We went to Bass Pro and Lamberts and everyone's tummies cooperated. Tuesday we went down to Branson Landing and then headed home.

If this were a video you would hear all 4 parents yelling "Gage, look at Mama. Ally, look at Miss Jessica." Over and over and over....to no avail:

I want a do-over. I don't think it's fair to look forward to a trip like that and then it be terrible. I only have a few pictures, because really, there were very few picture-worthy moments. Nobody wants pictures of sour adults snapping at their sour kids.

Picture dump

2010-04-21T14:21:00.004-05:00

I'm such a bad blogger. I'm going to dump some pics here now, then work on the Branson vacation post...maybe...

2 Months Old

Three Months Old

Where have I been?

2010-03-31T14:55:00.002-05:00

Three weeks ago or so my computer decided that it didn't want to charge anymore. The power jack was going out, just like it did on my Dell 2 year ago. A friend said he thought he could fix it, so I bought the $10 part and gave him the computer.

Two weeks ago today I had my gall bladder removed. I had my first attack when Gage was 2 months old and in the hospital for the shunt revision/CSF infection. I chalked it up to stress. Had a couple more and then no more until Evie was a few weeks old. I swear the pain is worse than labor. Ultrasound showed it was full of stones.

Surgery went fine. The day after surgery, I felt fine and went out to eat with friends. That weekend I hit a wall and felt awful. I had a low-grade fever for a day.

The following weekend I felt a lot better and we hung out with friends Friday night. BEFORE dinner at a seafood place, I noticed my bottom eyelid itching a little and it was a tiny bit swollen. By the time we got back to our friends' house after dinner, they were more swollen. The next morning, I looked terrible! REALLY swollen eyes but my eyeballs were not red or itchy- just the skin below them. Today is Wednesday and they are STILL swollen! My dr. told me to take Benedryl, which didn't work. So he told me to take Benedryl and Zyrtec, and so far, it's better than it was, but still swolen. I have NO idea what's up. I have patches of rash on my torso, too. I have never done this for seasonal allergies, and it seems like I would have a runny nose and itchy, watery eyes to go with it if it was. I can't pinpoint any new foods. I haven't taken any meds since about 3 days after surgery. I just have no clue what's up. Despite the gorgeous day that we're having today, and the yard work that I need to get to, I am staying inside today to see if that helps.

The computer ended up being harder to fix than it should be, so it is in pieces at my friend's house. We bought a new one last night. I figure it it does get fixed then we just have 2 functional computers. I'm just glad to be back online! I feel like I missed so much!

The kids are good. Evie is still sleeping through the night...really always has. She hates being in the car. I feel sorry for Gage sitting back there with her screaming her head off. Oh well. It will pass.

Gage is a walking fool! If he has shoes and braces on, he now chooses to walk more than crawl. I am so proud of him! As soon as I transfer everything to this new laptop, I will post some pics of the kids.

Info Mish-mash

2010-03-02T17:10:00.003-06:00

First, Tater is doing better. It was really touch and go for a while, but it has gotten slowly and steadily better since. He now has a trach and they started backing off his sedation today. Rachel reports that he has been opening his eyes and smiling some today. He still has a very long recovery ahead of him, but he has some great friends in Dusty, Rachel, and others to help him.

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but Gage has a new car seat and Evie got his old one. He was hovering dangerously close to 35lbs, and with his neck issues, I was just not comfortable turning him around yet, so I bought him a Radian 80SL (review some day, I promise) that rear-faces to 45lbs. Evie was screaming in the car 100% of the time, so it was worth a shot to try her in the True Fit and see if it made any difference. I think it did a little, but not all the time. I have the infant seat in the cargo area of my car now so I can use it when I absolutely have to, but I prefer having her in a convertible anyway. The True Fit is actually a better fit than her infant seat was.

I have been having "episodes" again. It's excruciating pain in my upper abdomen. I had it a few times after Gage was born- once when he was in the hospital at 2 1/2 months, and then a couple more after that, and not again until just recently, after Evie got here. I'm 99% sure it's my gall bladder. It's totally miserable. I have an appointment for an ultrasound Thursday, so hopefully I'll know something about it then. I can't keep this up. It's awful!

Evie is doing good. She's 7 weeks tomorrow. She is nowhere near as laid back as Gage was. She's a moody little thing. She still sleeps awesome, though, so I can take her mood swings. She *might* get up once between 4-5am, but she usually sleeps 11pm-7am or so. I'm definitely not complaining. It's awesome. She's definitely filling out. She smiles a lot when she's awake which will melt your heart!

Gage is a walking fool. If he has his braces on, he will choose to walk instead of crawl a lot of the time. He doesn't always make it to his destination without falling, but I am loving that he is motivated to try!

Pics

Gage sitting in the rocker thingy

An afternoon at the park. Gage loves to slide!

Evie snug in her sling while Gage played

Smiling at Dad:

Pray for Tater

2010-02-17T10:41:00.002-06:00

Please pray for Dusty's roommate John, aka Tater. Saturday, he went to the ER with a high fever and vomiting. They admitted him with double severe pneumonia. It turned into acute respiratory distress syndrome so they sedated him and put him on a ventilator because his O2 was dipping down to 84% or so. Yesterday things were looking better. They turned the vent down to 80%. His parents arrived from North Dakota and his mom is a surgeon, so knows the doctor speak. Today he's back on the vent at 100% and they have started dialysis. They want to move him to Vanderbilt but his vent is not compatible with the vent on the helicoptor. He NEEDS to be at Vandy. He is not doing well today.

One Month Old

2010-02-14T14:45:00.003-06:00

I didn't realize when I posted last that Evie would be a month old the next day! I took her pics today- a few with the tiger, and a few with this baby doll. I'm not sure which will be her official monthly pics. On the one hand, I like being able to compare her to Gage at each age. On the other, I feel like the tiger is Gage's thing and Evie needs her own thing. Who knows. Maybe I'll just do both every month, in addition to her monthly pro pics!

And for comparison, here is Gage at 1 month:

4 weeks

2010-02-12T15:05:00.004-06:00

Both kids are asleep for the moment, so I thought I'd post.

Today is my first day at home alone with both kids! Tony went back to work today after 36 days off. He sent me a message today saying "we were together 36 days in a row....and we didn't kill each other!!" It was really nice to have him home for so long!

This past week, we got 8-9" of snow!! It was beautiful and we had fun with it. Tony was supposed to go back to work Tuesday, but couldn't get out of our driveway, so didn't go. We enjoyed it, but I'm ready for it to be gone now. I am done with freezing temps. I so could not live anywhere north of where I am now!

Evie is doing good. She's got a little cold, but I think she's getting better now. She generally sleeps for much of the morning and then has some pretty good awake time. In the evening she tends to scream and scream. I think she has tummy issues. She eventually settles down sometime between 10:30 and midnight and then sleeps til around 6. I'm still loving the night's sleep. We have put Gage's old sleep positioner in our bed so she sleeps there now. I'll work on moving her back to the pack-n-play....later. This is working for now. This week, she started smiling socially, and it makes me happy.

Gage seems to be acting out a little. Nothing too severe, and it could be that he's just 2, but I feel like I am getting on to him constantly. He also wants to be touching/pulling/poking Evie all the time. He can be rough with her. She is going to be one tough little girl with a big brother like that.

Gage has decided that walking is for cool kids. He started making trips between the couch and ottoman without being prompted, even without his braces on. We moved the ottoman further away and he does that just fine now. Today I watched him let go of the chair and head for our bedroom with nothing in front of him to walk to. He just took off. He didn't make it but about 5 steps, but he was willing to try! I am so proud of him! He is supposed to be getting forearm crutches soon. I'm not convinced that they will be used for anything but billy clubs, but we'll see :).

The past week and 1/2

2010-02-07T15:25:00.004-06:00

Ok, so really longer than that. We've had a bunch of stuff going on that we didn't really broadcast, so bear with me.

First, baby girl is 3 1/2 weeks old now. She has decided that she likes sleeping in our bed so much better than her own. She did well for a few nights last week, but she's been back in our bed for 2 nights again. At first it meant me actually kind of holding her so I knew where she was and so she didn't roll into me since our mattress is so soft. That's not conducive to good, deep sleep, by the way. Last night, we put Gage's old bumper thing from the NICU in bed and that was so much better. It's the u-shaped thing with hearts on it in this picture. It's bendy so we can shape it the way we need it.

Gage is SOOOO 2 years old. He is into everything. I feel like I tell him "no" all. day. long. The other day I looked over at him and he was pulling a run in the carpet. We caught him painting on the table with his corn dog and ketchup while we finished getting the rest of supper ready the other night. Nice. He is sweet, though, and still loves his baby sister. This afternoon on the way home from lunch, Evie screamed the whole way. I looked back and Gage was very gently reaching over into her car seat for her hand. He did that most of the way home. I also heard him reciting parts of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" to her.

So now for the not-so-fun stuff. Not long after we got Evie home, we got a call from Baptist and were informed that her newborn labs had come back abnormal. Her thyroid levels were low, I think. We were sent to the lab at the local hospital to have blood drawn to recheck.w Thankfully, we just got the call last week that everything was fine! Yay! Because of the issues with Gage I'm about to write about, and because she had been doing SO well, we kind of pushed that to the side for a while.

So Gage had to have an MRI Thursday, 1-28 just as a followup to his surgery this past June. We weren't worried about the results because functionally he has really done so well. We knew going into it that the MRI might look the same as it did before surgery. So we had the MRI and then clinic to meet with the neurosurgeon. No surprise, the MRI looks about the same, but because Gage is doing so well, that's not an issue. He told us all of this and then says "...and as for the cardiac..." and he was interrupted by the nurse in the room who said "woh, they don't know about that yet." The neuro kind of stumbled over words then, and of course our eyes got big. Gage has never had cardiac issues, so we were NOT expecting that. The neurosurgeon said that there was some "shadowing" around his heart, but that's all he'd say. He didn't know what it meant or whatever. They sent us down right then for a chest X-ray and the "thing" showed up on that, too. So he was scheduled for a CT with contrast for the following Monday. While we were in the prep area, the doc that was there was talking to us and said something about the "tumor." Tony said "tumor, huh?" Yeah, shadowing does not = tumor to me. So they went on the apologize and said that they thought we knew more about what they were looking at. So anyway, they did the CT and we didn't hear anything that day. It was so nerve wracking!! The SB nurse finally called us the next day and said she hadn't gotten any info but would call as soon as she did. She called back a little while later and said that the cardiologist looked at it and said he thought it was probably a fatty mass that would resolve on its own. He was not concerned about it at all, and we could recheck it in a year, when he has another MRI for his neuro stuff anyway. So big sigh of relief there, too!

I told Tony that I might finally agree that we don't need any more kids. The 2 I have are about to kill me with worry!

So after all of that, we had fun in the snow. Gage was not impressed with how cold the snow was, but kept wanting to get out of his stroller and down in it anyway.

Watching it snow with Daddy:

Throwing some snow:

Tony building Frank:

DONE with the cold snow:

Gage with Frank later in the day:

Lastly, we got Evie's newborn pics! We haven't decided what to buy yet, but he got some good ones!

2 weeks old

2010-01-27T14:58:00.005-06:00

Evie has been with us for 2 weeks today!

This past weekend she got to meet her Grumpy, Addie, Uncle Dusty, Aunt Rachel, and Uncle Nate! It was good to have them here!

Evie has "woken up" in the last couple of days. She spends more time awake and looking around, but is still sleeping as much as I will let her at night! I hate to complain, but I don't know what to do about that. Last night, I woke up and woke her up at 1:30am. She refused to eat then. I guess she just wasn't ready yet. So, I went back to sleep...until 5:30am!! Again, I had to wake HER up, but she was happy to eat this time. I'm either going to have to start setting an alarm (I can't trust myself to wake up on my own) or just let her sleep (don't know if that's "allowed" this early). She seems to be growing well. She was back up to 8lbs 10oz yesterday, from a low of 8lbs 3oz (birthweight 8lbs 12oz).

One Week Old

2010-01-20T12:57:00.003-06:00

Evie was born a week ago today!!

We're all doing really well. We got out yesterday for more than just a few minutes. Gage had therapy, and while he was there, Tony, Evie, and I went to Kroger. I had her in a sling. It's amazing how much attention a newborn gets! After Kroger, we introduced Evie to Gage's PT, Reesha, then went out to eat at Chili's. After that Evie had her first pediatrician appointment. We saw the only man in the practice and I really liked him. I don't think he will be her doctor, but I would be okay to see him again. She was 8lbs 3oz, which is still normal range for her birth weight (8lbs 12oz). We go back Tuesday for a weight check to make sure she's gaining now and not losing. It's kind of a challenge at night since she doesn't wake us up to eat. I have to wake her up. She's such a good baby. I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying that!!

She lost her umbilical cord stump day before yesterday. The clip was pretty tight against her skin and I think it got bumped a couple of times- it bled a little the night before. Then it fell off by itself. We've never had to deal with umbilical stumps before. Gage's was gone before he left the NICU and I don't remember if I knew when it fell off or not.

Gage still loves her and asks to hold her (c'mere baby) all the time. He pretty much kisses her the whole time he has her...usually right on the mouth. He's not happy unless she is right in his lap. No rubbing her head and kissing while she's in my lap. That's not good enough.

I'm feeling pretty good. My incision itches really bad, but I'm trying not to claw it. I'm still picking tape boogers off of my skin from the dressings they had on me. I'm not supposed to lift more than 10lbs, and I'm finding that to be a challenge with Gage. Tony is good to do it all, but sometimes I think it's stupid to have to call him...oh well. I guess I'll mind.

The ladies from church have started bringing meals. We get a meal every other day for 2 weeks! It's nice not to have to worry about cooking while we settle in.

So far, Evie is not a huge fan of the car seat. I remember that Gage screamed bloody murder for about 3 months straight EVERY time we got in the car, which was often. Evie's not that bad (yet) but she's definitely not a fan.

More pics

2010-01-16T18:33:00.004-06:00

Getting some sun with PawPaw:

Proud big brother:

Ready to go!

Coming home:

At home in her swing:
Holding Daddy's finger:
Snoozing with Nana:
Meeting Pops:

The first meeting

2010-01-14T18:53:00.004-06:00

Gage got to come up and meet his baby sister today. I had NO idea he would react the way he did. I thought he's be interested, and want to see her, but I thought he'd get bored with her or not like it when she cried. Boy was I wrong! He is IN LOVE with her. He kept saying "Mine! My baby" and wanting to hold her- not just touch her, but hold her. He rubbed her head and gave her kisses and said "Was wong?" when she would cry. He never got bored with her. When we put her down in the little crib beside my bed so he could sit with me, he ignored me and stood on the side of my bed to lean over in her crib and touch her.

Here are some pics of the meeting as well as a few more we've taken today. It's amazing how quickly babies change early on.

Introducing Evelyn Ruth!

2010-01-14T09:49:00.002-06:00

Evie arrived Wed. Jan 13 at 6:25pm via C-section. I was on pit all day and she really didn't handle it too well, and I didn't really progress much all day. I was surprisingly okay with the repeat C-section and I'm doing well now.

Evie was 8lbs 12oz and 21 1/4" long. She's awesome! She has crazy long monkey fingers and toes. We are so in love! Gage will be coming up to meet her in a little bit. I can't wait to see that!

Eviction notice

2010-01-12T18:11:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow is eviction day! We have to be there at 6am to get things going....I'm still hoping to go into labor on my own tonight, but I'm not holding my breath for that.

Urology appt

2010-01-10T16:26:00.004-06:00

Yes, I'm still pregnant. That ticker at the top of the page is taunting me!

Gage's urology appointment went really well. We were in there with some friends so waiting wasn't as bad as usual. Basically, everything is the same! He has no kidney reflux, pressures are nowhere near causing reflux. We talked about bowel management a little and got some tips on controlling that. Those who see us regularly might have to bear with us a little with Gage and stinkiness....we've got several months of "rehab" to do in that area and it might be a stinky process. We got to see Dr. R, the doc that has flown in on the weekends to see kids at ACH since before Gage was born. It will be the last clinic visit with him. We were unable to meet the new guy because he had an emergency on the floor to tend to, but we are told that we will like him. Dr. R said several times that if we EVER needed a 2nd opinion or anything, to please call him. He will be coming to ACH for surgeries and such, so he's not really gone for good, but we'll still miss him.

On a similar note, Gage asked to go to the potty twice today. I'm not sure if it's because he knows he has to go or he just thought of it and decided to ask, but either way, I'm going to take him when he asks. The first time was at breakfast. The second time was during Bible class this morning. He has moved up to the "big boy class" and hasn't been real happy about it, but the teacher said he was happy and participating when he asked. Tony took him and he went, so maybe....

1 more week, max

2010-01-06T14:56:00.002-06:00

Had a doc's appointment this morning and we scheduled an induction for next Wednesday, Jan 13 at 6am. I hope she decides to come on her own before then (but not before Friday due to Gage's urology appt) but I'm glad to have a latest possible date in mind now.

Still no baby- quit asking

2010-01-05T18:06:00.002-06:00

Just kidding. It hasn't been that bad. I just don't want 1000 phone calls in the next 2 or week or whatever asking if she's here yet. When she is, you'll know. My 40 week appointment is tomorrow, so I'm sure I'll have a "latest possible" date by then (induction date).

Yesterday I got a message from someone I know through the therapy waiting room. Her hubby is a photographer and she asked me if I would be interested in a maternity session, free of charge, so her hubby could build his portfolio. She sent me a link to a pose he wanted to try, which included a bare pregnant belly....I said no way. She asked if I would be willing if we covered my belly and I said sure. So Gage and I went this morning and had the photo session. It was actually pretty fun and I can't wait to see the pics. We have to go back when Evie is a week or 2 old, and then he wants to take her pic once a month for a year, again, for free. We will just pay for any pics we buy. Gage got in on some of the pics today. Those were his first pro pics ever...I'm such a bad mom!! While there, I got to see some of this guy's work, and he's really good. I have added him to my blog roll if you want to take a peek at some of his work(Reflections by the Hill). I would highly recommend him to anyone in the area!

Our Christmas was good. Everyone came to us, which was fabulous! I should have planned for Gage to be a Christmas-time baby! Oh wait, it doesn't work that way, does it?

Anyway, we had a great time with everyone and Gage is just trying to come down off the grandparent-induced high he's been on. He was back at therapy today and did great. I was a little afraid that after being off for 2 weeks that he's be a pill, but he was excited to see "Seesa" and "Derk" again. Reesha said he was Mr. Social today and had to greet everybody before they could get down to business. I need to get Gage some supper, so I'll just post one pic from Christmas morning, when he got his train.

Urology and other stuff

2009-12-24T10:34:00.003-06:00

Tuesday we made the trip to Children's for the most dreaded tests Gage has to deal with- the urology workup. Basically we have 3 things to do- VCUG, urodynamics, and a kidney ultrasound. This is all to check on how Gage's urinary system is working- the pressures in his bladder, the volume it will hold, and most importantly, how it all is affecting his kidneys. These tests usually involve lots of screaming on Gage's part, and lots of shushing and attempts at soothing for me and Tony. We start out in urodynamics where he has to lay on a table and have liquid pumped into his bladder until it starts leaking out. They measure the pressure and volume. It probably takes 15 minutes start to finish. The ladies that work the urodynamics clinic are amazing, but it's still usually quite a chore to keep Gage calm for the test. He fussed a little, but we were surprised at how he played and talked for the whole test! Ok, so that was a fluke, right? The VCUG is the really bad one. So we head to radiology. They do the kidney ultrasound first, which we do more often than the others. It's quick and easy. Then the VCUG. I wasn't allowed in for the actual test due to Miss Evie, but got to stay in with him until they started the test. He has to lay on a table and they pump a contrast dye into his bladder. They x-ray intermittently to see how full it is and what it's doing, and check to see if any of the dye is going the wrong way up into his kidneys. Every other time they've done this test, they've strapped him to the table, which was absolutely awful. This time, they didn't! He played and talked to his Daddy for the whole test. At the end of the test, they want him to pee the stuff out and see if he empties his bladder. For some reason THIS is when he decided to cry! He never will go while laying down, but ends up going everywhere when they remove the catheter and let him sit up. They tried and tried to get him to go. They finally listened to Tony and let him sit up, and sit on the potty that was about 6 feet away. He went EVERYWHERE. I'm sure they had to scrub the whole room down after we left.

So the good news is that there was NO reflux into Gage's kidneys. That's all we know right now. He's scheduled to see the urologist Jan 8 (the day after my due date!!) so we'll know more then. The kidney thing is the biggest deal, though, so we were very happy to hear that part.

Nothing really happening on the pregnancy front. I'm going to my doc weekly and there's no progress yet, although she is head down. Today I am officially more pregnant than I ever have been before- 38 weeks. I was induced with Gage at 37 weeks 6 days and he got here at 11:22pm. I'm feeling okay- reflux is about to kill me, but otherwise I feel good.

We had Christmas with the Finchers last Friday. I will have to post pics later. Gage and his cousin Silas had a blast together! My mom and John are coming tomorrow, and Dad and Alice will be here for New Years Day if Evie doesn't mess up their plans.

More pics

2009-12-09T10:25:00.005-06:00

Our gracious host and hostess:

LOVING to swing!

Grumpy and Gage are big buds:

Nate playing Gage's recorder

The necessary Gage on Uncle Dusty's shoulder pic:
Playing with Addie:

Zoo Lights
MawMaw and Gage having a discussion
Nate, Sam, Dusty, Rachel, Tony, Jess, and Gage
Wasn't so sure about the Husky...
Riding with PawPaw

Procrastination update

2009-12-07T14:17:00.004-06:00

I've been using a lack of pics as an excuse not to update lately. Guess I'll quit that and get to writing!

So LOTS of traveling has happened since my last post. We have been to Tony's parents' house 3 times in 3 weeks, and to the Memphis area for Thanksgiving. Tony left after work on Friday night and Gage and I shopped with Sarah and Parker Saturday, then joined him and planned to return home Monday. Sometime Sunday night I got up out of bed for the 3rd or 4th bathroom trip and I somehow hurt myself. I'm still not sure exactly what I did, but it hurt so bad I could barely move. That delayed my coming home by a day, and I did a lot of laying around for a few days. Tony came home Friday night and worked all weekend. Gage and I picked him up from work Monday and then we went BACK down until Wednesday for him to hunt again.

Dan McJunkins, our friends John and Matthew's grandpa, and a very well-respected man from Saratoga passed away Sunday night and the funeral was Wednesday, so we stayed and went to that. On the way out the door Wednesday morning, to go to the funeral, Pops took Gage outside to speak to Katie and a skunk came running around the house and jumped on Katie, who was tied up in the back yard!!! It was crazy! We have since found out that the skunk was indeed rabid and Katie was about 8 months overdue for her shot (even though she technically got a 3-year shot, there's no such thing in Arkansas). All of that has lead to a 6 month quarantine for her :( even though the law changes Jan 1, the state health department insists that the shot is licensed for 1 year and she was exposed BEFORE the law change, so we're stuck.

Anyway, we came back home Wednesday afternoon without Katie, repacked, and Gage and I left for Memphis Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. Gage woke up feeling bad, so we were late leaving and were a little late to Steve and Kathy's for dinner.

I LOVE Ford Thanksgivings. I really do. Nathan came with us again this year. He claims to really like the Fords, but there are suspicions that he comes to observe for some social experiment or something :). We always have such a good time just visiting and of course, eating. Gage loved all of the attention from the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. My sweet family gave me a surprise shower for Evie. Oh WOW at the clothes!!! She is going to be the best-dressed baby EVER! Here are just a few pics. Aunt Rachel is the photographer and she hasn't had an internet connection at home, so I'll post more when I get her pics.

Gage walking to Aunt Judy with a hat over his face.

Dusty, Rachel, Nate, Gage and I went back to Mom's Thursday evening to find that Tony had just arrived after work. Friday we lounged for a while, then Rachel and I met Alice and Janie to sop for a while. Then we headed back to get ready for Zoo Lights at the Memphis Zoo. That was so cool!! Gage saw Santa there, but Rachel and Pawpaw have those pics.

The front Gage. The white spots are "snow" being blown from roofs on either side. It was really neat.
Not really loving the merry-go-round for some reason...

Saturday, we headed to Aberdeen for the Armstrong Thanksgiving. It was so good to see everyone and visit and eat. No pics from there, either.

Sunday we were all feeling pretty crummy so we packed up and came on home early. Since then, we've all continued to cough and feel bad off and on. I hope we're on the mend, though.

I think that's about it for now!! Long enough for you?

2009-11-10T21:11:00.003-06:00

Today was a busy day. We went to therapy this morning and Gage did really well. Last week, he was not allowed to sit and play with Derek, at the front desk, and type on his computer because he acted SO bad for his therapist. Today was a totally different story. He was good for the whole session and was sitting in Derek's lap when I came to pick him up. His PT said he was good the whole time and even had something to show me. She put him against the wall, and he walked to Derek, taking 15 steps by himself in between!! That's a new record for him! I am so encouraged by his progress!!

We came home for a nap, then had to go for a well-child visit at his pediatrician's office...What I wouldn't have given for a bubble to sit in! It's nice and clean and all, but just knowing the germs flying around that place made my nose itch and my throat tickle. He weighed in at 32lbs 12oz (90th %ile) fully dressed) and 34" long (25th %ile), which I think was off because he was screaming for that part and she did it really quick. We got to see a NP student and then the NP (who I love!). They agreed that he was doing really well. Then he got 2 shots- Hib and the regular flu shot. We were checking out and I asked about H1N1. I had been told that they probably wouldn't get it, which the girl at the desk said, but that if they did, it would go to high-risk kids first, which Gage is. I told her that, and she went to check on something. A shipment had JUST come in, so we went back to the room to get that, too. Now I'm the only unvacinnated member of my family.

I came home to a box on the front porch. It turned out to be flowers from my awesome hubby! They're currently in a vase, drinking some water and trying to spruce back up, per the directions, so maybe I'll take a pic tomorrow. I needed that, though.

And here is Gage's new sleeping style. EVERY night, no matter what I do.

Actually, he usually just gets under his pillows, which you can see that I moved to the end of the bed to try to keep him from getting under them. No problem, he just got under the covers instead. Last night I set them up against the headboard after he was asleep. Sometime in the night he pulled one down and this morning he was sideways in the bed and the pillow covered him so all you could see is legs poking out the bottom.

I took some pics of him in the leaves the other day. I need to play with them some...and I'm not the best at picture editing, but here's one.

Halloween

2009-11-02T08:50:00.003-06:00

We had a great time trick-or-treating! Gage did great, but was so confused. He couldn't figure out why we kept going up to the front door of all of these houses and then having to turn around and leave. He wanted to go in! We went with some good friends, but I don't have permission to post their kids' pics to my oh-so-public blog, so....sorry! We had a flying monkey, Optimus Prime, and Snow White with us, though.

Halloween Sneak Peak

2009-10-31T12:52:00.003-05:00

Just can't keep up

2009-10-22T16:46:00.003-05:00

We've been a busy family. The visit with Dusty, Rachel and Nate was a lot of fun but too short. Dad and Alice came last week and we enjoyed them too, but again, too short. They helped me get Evie's room all put together and I love it! We didn't stick to "the plan" but wow, I'm happy with how it turned out. I will upload 1 of the pics to blogger for you people who are reading from a place that blocks Photobucket, but it's just too easy to copy and paste the code, and takes too long to upload it all, so if you want to see the rest, you'll have to check from another computer or something ;).

And here is her already-full closet!! VERY little of this is brand new stuff. The grandparents have bought a few things, but most of it is hand-me-downs or consignment finds!

And the dresser drawers are full, too!!
Anyway, while Dad and Alice were here, they kept Gage while I went to my OB to have the 1 hour glucose tolerance test, which I failed. I had to go back Tuesday to do the 3 hour (got stuck FOUR times!!) and I passed it, so that's good. I'll be watching my sugar intake a little more closely, I guess. I'm on 2 week appointments now, so I'll go back again next week. The drive to Little Rock for such short appointments gets old, but I love my doctor and my hospital, so I don't mind.

Friday and Saturday was the yearly ladies trip. We stayed at a lodge in Branson (that I found :) ) and shopped and ate and laughed. It was a great trip. I let Tony take the camera with him to his parents (he didn't even use it!) so I have no pics to post.

Wednesday, Gage and I went to UCA again to the PT lab. He didn't make any big milestones while we were there, but he did well and the students seemed to enjoy him. He was good most of the time, except when his PT wanted him to do something that looked like work...stinker. He's still doing well. We didn't take the walker in to church last night, and just held his hand to walk. He would rather have his walker, but it's gotten too easy. We'll probably keep using it for longer walks, but he's gotten good enough at the hand holding thing to ditch it most of the time. He just decided while at his Nana and Pops' house that he knew how to stand up in the middle of the floor by himself! His PT tries to get him to do it in therapy with her help and, in her words, "you would think I was twisting his leg off at the hip". Well, he can do it. He just chooses not to. I have yet to see him get all the way up himself, but Tony claims he did it several times last weekend.

Finally, I took some 2 year pics of Gage with the tiger last week. I didn't think to keep taking one a year after his 1st birthday, DUH!

2009-10-02T09:04:00.003-05:00

I don't have anything very specific to blog about- I just haven't updated in a while. I wanted to leave that ACH voting thing up for a while (you can still vote! ACH is currently in 1st!).

Tony got to go to the Cowboy's game Monday night and had a good time. He said their seats were really high up, but they could see everything thanks to the 60 yard long big screen. I was glad he got to go and got to be there for the 1st Cowboys win in the new stadium.

My mom came over while he was gone and we moved the queen sized bed into Gage's room. He looks so tiny in that big thing! He's done well in it, though. He did meet me in the living room at 1:30am the other night, but I've put pool noodles under his sheets, so maybe that will discourage him from getting out of bed anymore.

Dusty, Rachel, and Nate are headed this way today. Dusty is going to meet some folks in the Natural Resources office in Conway, and Rachel is going to visit UCA's OT department. We would LOVE it if they could move over here, but we're not holding our breath yet. Nate's just coming along for the ride.

Gage is doing great in PT. He is taking up to 7 steps in a row now! He's been singing a lot lately- usually Signing Time songs, and occasionally his version of the ABCs, which goes about A-F now. He still thinks counting to 10 is fun...guess we ought to introduce him to 11-20 soon.

He has started doing one thing that I do not like. He is definitely a mama's boy. He is fine being with people he knows well by himself, but if he is with someone new or someone he doesn't know well, he is okay for a while and then realizes that I'm not there and starts crying. I thought we had dodged this phase, but apparently not. He did this in Bible class Wednesday night- which is really weird, because he loves Bible class. I think it's just because his regular teacher wasn't there and that I handed him over to her before we were actually in the classroom.

Since blogs without pictures are boring, here are a few recent ones.

Vote For ACH!!

2009-09-18T14:00:00.002-05:00

Go to this link: http://xbox.childrensmiraclenetwork.org
Register (for free)
Go to Arkansas, and vote for Arkansas Children's Hospital in the Game Room Giveaway from the Children's Miracle Network!

This is from the info page on ACH:

Arkansas Children’s Hospital is the only pediatric hospital in Arkansas and one of the largest in the United States. The non-profit health care facility boasts an internationally renowned reputation for medical breakthroughs and intensive treatments, unique surgical procedures and forward thinking medical research—all dedicated to fulfilling their mission of enhancing, sustaining and restoring children’s health and development.

This is the hospital where Gage was taken when he was only a few hours old, and where he has now spent a total of 5 weeks and had 6 surgeries. They are FABULOUS. They serve many teens as well, and a hospital gets boring after a while. They could really use this game room!!! Vote up to 10 times a day!

A Wicked Fun Weekend

2009-09-10T17:46:00.008-05:00

Thursday morning, Gage and I got in the car and headed East to Nashville, TN. I dropped him off with his great Uncle Mitch and Uncle Steve, and the Ford girls + some headed to eat and then to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. We got there just in time. It was AWESOME!!! I am a big Wizard of Oz fan and didn't know very much about Wicked, but it's about the witches of Oz- their back story. I will never watch The Wizard of Oz the same way again.

Gage and I spent the night with the Mitchells and then headed down to Pulaski, to Dad and Alice's house. He had a birthday present when we got there- a purple and gray wagon (GO BEARS!) that will soon be rigged to be pulled by Dad and Alice's new family member, Chance, a husky. For the weekend it was pulled by one of us or the lawn mower :).

Dusty, Rachel, and Tater got there Saturday and we all went shopping in Decatur/Huntsville, although not together. The girls and Gage were on a mission to decorate Evie's room. We were wildly successful. The guys...well, they did guy stuff- guns and Gander Mountain...stuff like that. We met up to eat ribs at Dreamland.

Here's my haul from Saturday:

The stock photo of the bedding set. I got the 4 piece set- comforter, sheet, bed skirt, and bumper. I have found it listed for $130 all over the internet. I bought it for $25!!!

The butterflies- there are 2 big ones and 10 small ones:
The flowers. 5 big flowers, 1 hanger, 2 ceramic tiles.

All of the Ford family, minus Richard, Kathy, Tony, and Parker came over Monday for food, games, and just enjoying being together. As always, it was fun, but too short. We played a game called Corn Hole- so fun, but not as easy as it looks. I understand Reid is making these boards to sell if anyone wants a set.
Some pics from Monday. Thanks to Erin for posting some of these on FB so I could save them! I didn't take nearly enough!

Gage and Grumpy:

Aunt Cherry and Uncle Gary

Cousin Whitney and Paul- to be married next May

Cousin Erin and Steve 3- to be married Sept 2010

Cousin Reid and Erin

Whitney and Reid playing Corn Hole

My form

MMmmm Cup cakes!

Chance "protecting" Gage

Gage, Paul, and Boudain

Me, Gage, and Lola

Dusty getting ready for potato cannon carnage- I think the styrofoam airplane was shot down

Alice and Chance

Gage and Cousin Brock reading a book

He WALKS!

2009-09-01T16:22:00.002-05:00

Gage took 3 steps by himself today in PT!!! I am so proud! I did miss it, though, and he wouldn't do it again. Reesha was walking with him in the hallway- he was holding the wall and walking. I was looking through the door and he saw me. He started waving and yelling "hi" so I decided to get back so he would work. Then I hear Reesha yell "AHH! MOM WASN'T EVEN LOOKING!!!" and I ran to see what was up. Apparently he let go of the wall and she thought he would just stand for a second, then he took 3 steps toward her!

Happy Birthday Gage!!!

2009-08-28T15:49:00.003-05:00

Two years ago today, Tony and I were blessed with the best gift we've ever gotten! Gage is 2 today and has surpassed my expectations in so many ways. I love being his mom. He makes me proud to call him my son. He's easy going and happy and outgoing and lovable just a joy to be around.

In his 2 years, he has seen more doctors than most people see in a lifetime, and had 6 surgeries that he has come through with flying colors. In fact, he had to go see a doctor this morning...on his BIRTHDAY! It was a good report, though, and the doc and nurses sang Happy Birthday to him and gave him presents, so it wasn't so bad.

These are from this morning at ACH.

Checking out all the pretty things in the lobby of ACH:

Playing in the waiting room in Radiology:

It's a GIRL!!!

2009-08-20T09:37:00.005-05:00

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We found out yesterday that we will be welcoming Evelyn (Evie) Ruth in January! We are very excited! Everything on the ultrasound looked good and she is measuring right on track! We tried to get Gage to say Evie, but he wouldn't say anything but Baby. I think he's going to be a good big brother.

On Gage- he just got a new set of braces. His old ones were 3 sizes too small and not doing much for him anymore. These are taller and give him more support. We skipped a whole shoe size and only have 2 brown pair of shoes that fit now, so he needs some new tennis shoes. The goal is to get him walking without the walker ASAP. He's still doing great with therapy and is using his walker well now. We swiveled the front wheels this week and he is able to keep the walker pretty much going where he wants it to instead of walking in circles like he did before. He has turned his walker over 3 times in the last 3 days- once backwards on the road in front of our house. He was headed up hill and leaned back too far. He ended up with road rash and a goose egg on the back of his head.After that I raised the back of it a notch to try to keep him from doing that.

Last night after church, he was walking in the grass outside. The first fall happened when he tried to get back on the sidewalk and his front wheels caught and he went over forward. Then he was walking in the thick grass and just pushed too hard and went over forward again. Thankfully, he was fine both times and he got right back up to try again after a little cuddling. I'm really so happy with how he has been progressing since surgery.

Edited to add pics of the new braces:

Compared to the old ones that were shorter, and 3 sizes too small!!

Baby names

2009-08-14T18:21:00.003-05:00

I guess I'm jumping the gun a little. I *hope* baby Fincher cooperates and we can find out if we have a boy or a girl Wed. Aug 19- that's just 5 days from now. Anyway, if this is a girl, we don't need name help. She will be Evelyn Ruth, Evie or Eve for short. If this is a boy, though, we're in trouble. We can't agree on ANYTHING. We like names that aren't too common, but aren't made up. A Fincher boy's name needs to be masculine (i.e. not a unisex name). I would love to incorporate a family name in there somewhere, but the men in our family tend to have either terrible or boring names, or they've already been used. Just FYI- Durley, Clyde, and Pearl are all male names in my family. So, anyway, here is a fun blog I found. http://nameberry.com/blog/. I'm going to put it on the right for future reference.

Therapy woes

2009-08-10T16:07:00.002-05:00

I have one of the most easy-going kid around. Really, he never went through that stranger anxiety phase and he yells "HEY" at everyone we pass in the grocery store. I really do love it. He's a fun, friendly kid. He doesn't get left with someone often, but when he does, he's so eager to say "BYE" and go play that it almost hurts my feelings :).

The one notable exception came about when he had his surgery, about a month and 1/2 ago. Medical people now scare him and he cries and says "done". It was so bad in the hospital that Tony had to start taking his vitals because he would scream if the techs or nurses tried to, which in turn made his heart rate and blood pressure crazy high. When we all went to my OB appointment last month, Tony and Gage went into the exam room while the nurse took my blood pressure in her little area. As soon as they walked in I heard Gage lose it. He saw the table with the paper on it and knew it was time to cry. My sweet doctor tried to make friends with him, but he wasn't having it.

Then, last week his PT let us know that she would be out for 2 weeks unexpectedly. We're flexible and while I would prefer that she see Gage, I'm totally cool with him seeing another therapist. We went in the first day and he cried. The next day we went again, and he started crying before we even got inside. I even had to walk to the back with him- I have NEVER had to do that. He was acting like he couldn't walk and kept saying/signing "done". Today he threw an all-out fit. Screaming, refusing to walk...I think if he hadn't been strapped into his walker he would have thrown himself on the floor to kick and scream. I decided to let the therapist handle it and I left. When he was done his eyes still looked funny. She said he could make him smile and he was fine as long as he was doing what he wanted to do, but fussed every time she tried to get him to do something he wasn't particularly crazy about.

Now, it's not that he doesn't know these "replacement" therapists. He sees them every time he is with his regular therapist and he is usually very sweet to them. They don't do anything painful to him. He's just mad that his regular buddy isn't there to play with him. I guess in the grand scheme of things, this isn't so bad, but it really makes me mad that he acts so terrible for them!! It's so unlike him in general. Terribles 2s, here we come, I guess.

Gageisms

2009-08-01T19:25:00.003-05:00

I don't have anything exciting to write, so I'll just record these Gageisms:

"One...Two...Fwee...Four...Fie...Sebin...Eight...........six...nie....tiiii....YAY!!!!" Usually he skips 6 altogether, but since he's been watching me count on my fingers, he knows it goes in there somewhere.

"oh, oh"(uh oh)
Under your mouth is your "chim".
When you go to bed, you need a "naket" and a "piwwow."
Nothing is a single syllable- "no-ah"(no), "mow-er"(more), Tow-eez (toys)

C...c... d...e....f..ggggg. (the abc's)

"See me"= pick me up
"I hab it" (I have it- usually meaning something he shouldn't have like the phone or remote
"sic okay"(It's okay- usually when he gets hurt)
Bew-wie- (belly). He is obsessed with bellies.
"Ewww, gwoss"- heard whenever he gets something on his hands. He did it yesterday as he let Katie lick him.
"sign time"- Baby Signing Time. He LOVES Signing Time and sings along with the host now.

This morning I hear "I get up" from his bed.
He says "cheese" when he gets a camera or something that he thinks looks like one.
He now calls Katie "Cowie". I don't know why. He used to say Katie very clearly.