....Mama!!!
          Well, let's get the medical hoopla out of the way. We went for a visit with GI and Speech Therapy on Tuesday. We are increasing one med and going to try giving the Prevacid all in one dose in the mornings since Bricen pukes up his entire first feed everyday...everyday.  The Dr. explained that there is more acid in the stomach from the night and that's probably why he does this. We all know I have favorite Dr.'s and therapists and I have not so favorite. The verdict is still out on this Dr. I like a Dr./NP that takes the time to address everything I mention when I speak. Even if they say they aren't sure why that's happening or they can't tell me a medical reason why that's happening. I want to know they are listening when I speak. I don't feel like this Dr. does that. Regardless, our needs are being met so I will get off my high horse. lol We discussed ever so briefly the GJ tube again. While I knew it would mean slower feeds if we had to switch, if things don't get better, I thought it would mean feeding mainly at night but found out during this visit that it would mean 22-24 hour feeds. Oh my gracious...can we say last resort?? Absolutely. How would he crawl, walk, etc? Let's pray we don't get there.
          As I mentioned above, we also saw Speech Therapy. I've said it before, I love Sara. We are going to try for three days to give him less feeds by tube feeds (still enough to keep him hydrated and maintaining weight) and try to feed him by mouth in  hopes that he will be hungry enough that he will eat more by mouth. If this goes well we will eventually start doing this more often and have to start giving him less in the tube feeds depending on how much he takes by mouth. This is a huuuge step towards getting him off tube feeds. Huuuge. It's odd, but I haven't figured out how I feel about this. I was not as excited about as I knew I should be at first. I guess I'm just scared he won't do as well as I desperately want him to. Stay tuned...stay prayerful...
           Now, on to the good stuff....the realllly good stuff.....Bricen said "Mama". "My cup runneth over!!" So very precious. He started saying it Friday before Father's Day and it still hasn't gotten old. Poor Marty, he said he heard "Mama" all day Father's Day. Bricen did say "Dada" first and even "Daddy"  a few times. He has also started to love his Johnny Jumper. Marty got him bouncing his head one weekend and it did the trick! Bouncing his head while in the jumper got him jumping and he's been off to the races every since. He is so funny in it. He will jump a couple good jumps, get tickled and that makes him stop. Then he goes at it again. (Again, one of those parents that think everything their kid does is the best thing in the world.) If you hold the jumper up and swing him back and forth he kicks his legs non stop while you are swinging him. Pretty funny.

          We decided Bricen needed a walker. On the way back from Riley we stopped and borrowed Allison's. (Thanks again, Allison!) I loved getting to spend a few minutes with Miss Santana. Such a cutie pie and this kid is a hoot! Santana wanted to try the walker out before we took it and somehow, she got herself in there. It was quite comical. Coco was sleeping. :0(

I think they are having a deep discussion. I can only imagine that Akita is telling him he is in big trouble if he starts trying to run her over with this. Akita is good with Bricen, she just needs to be more aware of him. For example, she wants to sit by us but there are times that she would have ended up halfway sitting on Bricen had I not moved him right before she plopped down. And the other day I caught her licking his head and with each lick his head was bobbing backwards. It was funny. Bricen loves watching both the doggies.

Unfortunately, he can barely touch if he is on his tippy toes. Might need a little longer before he gets the full effect.

We went out and visited/sat with Grandma Delpha one evening because she wasn't feeling well. She did find the energy to hold Bricen before we left though. ;0)

Yep, that's my husband in my son's baby pool, in the pool. This was father's day. I worked but came to Bri's to meet up with everyone after I got off. Marty decided he needed to swim. (Probably around 9pm.)  

I think it just seems like the thing to do, wear or try out Bricen's stuff. :0)

I'm not sure who is more rotten between these two. 

Swimming has been a process. We've attempted it a few times and he either wasn't into it or it was too cold for him. He looks so funny in his trunks.

I found a high school graduation picture of myself the other day. This little guy is sporting Mommy's hair color from those days.

We decided to put some water in his pool and let it warm up and then let him play in his pool in the big pool. Our trick worked. We had to work him to this point slowly but he eventually started to love it.

I'll never get tired of those dimples. <3 And now to catch up on some random pictures.......

We took a little family walk down the road to see Scott. This has become Bricen's signature move when you are trying to sit him back. He wants no part of it. He is even sitting up all by himself without the boppy around him (for short periods of time). We have to work on strengthening his arms so he can start crawling.

Hello handsome...about two seconds after this picture was taken he dropped that mirror and it broke. Good thing we aren't superstitious. haha

 He doesn't look like it much here but he sure was upset about this cover being on his head at the time. He has become a wiggle worm.

hahaha This shirt just makes me laugh. I don't think I'd let him wear it in public but it sure did give me a laugh every time I looked at it that day.

Love a sleeping baby and I love sleepy baby smiles, even though I couldn't capture one.  

It was hard to capture this picture but this is Bricen on my lap and Scruff on his lap.

It has become a "thing". If Marty or I sit in this chair with Bricen, Scruffy thinks he needs to be a part of it. Scruffy is not allowed on the living room furniture but is allowed on the furniture in the Man Den so he loves it. Bricen loves it because Scruffy lets him pet him (aka pull on his skin).

         

          I'm really looking forward to the time that we can either go down to six feeds a day or in essence get permission to skip two feeds during the noc. I think it's on the horizon. I think it will just help sleeping situations get back to normal around here. For example, his last feed was at 1am tonight. It took until 2pm to finish and I just now feel comfortable that I can go to sleep and he won't puke. It is a few minutes after 3am. Marty works tomorrow, so that leaves me n Bricen in the living room so that he can get some rest. I'm also hopeful that as he learns to walk and crawl and spends more time upright, and especially if he does well taking foods by mouth on our trial run, his reflux will get better. Hopefull and prayerful.

          Marty's cousin lost their baby tonight. I met him and his wife up at Riley while we were there and saw them a few times in passing before we/they left. Their little guy put in quite the fight. I know their hearts are broken. I've said it before on facebook regarding Bricen. If I could love him healthy, he'd be the healthiest kid around. I think this was true for Dakota as well. He was obviously loved by not only his parents but his whole family and if love could have kept him here and healthy, he'd still be here. Prayers for them.

          We are still praying for Miss Lucy. Her infection is getting better and she is getting some good days in with her family. There is also a slight chance her cancer is not back...slight. Time and future testing will tell. She is a endless source of hope and inspiration.

Woooowhoo!!!
          NO MORE SLEEP STUDIES!!!!!! We received this news last Thursday. I secretly wanted to shout it from roof tops. hahaha Such an answered prayer!!!!! So very thankful. Pulmonary says his last sleep study was so good that there isn't a need to repeat one unless I start to hear a difference in his breathing, etc. She's going to call and let us know for sure but it looks like we are going to be stuck with the monitor for a bit longer. Friday of last week we went to see Cardiology and he said he did not feel Bricen was going to need any surgery for the two holes in his heart, we would just follow up with an echo in a few months. Praise Jesus. Halleluleur (said in my best Madea voice).
          Now, with that being said, we are still asking for more prayers. Bricen's reflux is back with a vengeance. Booooo This is a big deal to my 8mo old, almost 13 lbs baby because he loses calories. There is always the risk of aspiration pneumonia as well. When the reflux is terribly bad he also loses his interest in oral feeds which makes me feel like we will be on tube feeds for forever. More than anything he is just miserable with each throw up. He gasp for air and gets pretty scared. Please pray this gets better. I'm afraid they will push to change the G tube out to a GJ if it doesn't. I'm starting to come around to this idea I just don't want us to be hasty in jumping to that decision.
          In other news Marty got Bricen to giggle. But that was a few days ago and despite Marty's best efforts the stinker has been holding out on us every since. No other words have been spoken besides Dada and Daddy and other coos. He is rolling over and getting his arm out afterwards. This is about as far as it goes. Haha He gets pretty frustrated once he is on his belly. I've seen him roll back to his back once. He is sitting up by himself with the boppy around him. (Ignore the spit up on the shirt.)

There are countless reasons I love my Grandma. This picture is one of them! This is a blue fuzzy hat my husband was trying to sell in the garage sale. (That, in itself, makes me crack up.) Grandma wanted to try it on. I think it suites her very well. :0) The garage sale and last week in general was exhausting but went well.

Lucy...
          If it seems strange that a little girl and a family that I've never met would make such an impact on my life, I would agree. I'm not sure how I started following Lucy's blog. I'm sure Ali mentioned it and from the first post I read I was hooked. Lucy would be going into first grade. She was diagnosed with Cancer about a yr and a half ago. I've followed the blog for that long. Lucy and her family are spending their last days here on Earth together. I'm praying for her family, especially her older sister and her parents. I could go into detail about the loses in my life, and the fact that it's probably why this story has touched me so much but I'm convinced I was suppose to follow this blog for the trials in my current life.
          Kate, Lucy's mom has been so utterly honest and forthcoming in her raw emotions and even the roller coaster her faith has been on at times during Lucy's fight. She let us in on the tough questions she was struggling with, the questions almost everyone that's dealt with a chronic illness in their family has asked of God. I have been moved to tears on more than one occasion by this blog. This woman's faith has been amazing. She was very honest with her anger and then, much like myself, feeling guilty and in almost the same sentence very thankful for the blessings that are there. If I remember correctly (and I say that because I would never want to be wrong about it) at one point one of her followers asked why she prays if everythings is in Gods plan? Why pray if it's going to be how God wants it in the end? I literally felt like I was in a Sunday school lesson when she answered this.
          Kate has often wondered in her blog about the purpose of Lucy's battle. I am profoundly certain that Kate and her blog has touched soo many and stired so many beliefs and had to bring lots of people through some rough times. Either dealing with illness or questioning faith, Lucy's battle has already had it's purpose. So, why did it have to be Lucy? Why was it Lucy's battle to fight? These are the questuins Kate is facing now. There is no answer suitable to these questions being asked by a parent losing a child. I pray in time she comes to accept this and her periods of acceptance get longer.
          I can't help but compare, but let me say the I am profoundly aware and thankful that God willing, Bricen will get better and Lucy's battle has been so much more intense than Bricen's. But Kate's blog has helped me when I was soo frustrated and on the brink of losing my sanity or simply scared of losing Bricen in the beginning. Those first couple nights when I was at St. Francis and Bricen at Riley, all I could do was pray and simply tell God that Bricen was in his hands. There was a post (and again, I don't want to quote because I'd never want to be wrong) by Kate that mentioned that she realized Lucy was God's child he had in a way loaned her out to Kate. Before Lucy or Bricen were Kate's daughter or Brandi's son, they were children of God. That post (and my faith in the Lord) helped me get to that mind frame that I could place Bricen in God's hands.
          My heart breaks for Kate and her family. Cancer SUCKS. I am forever grateful for this blog and what it's done for me in my life. Lucy's battle has not been for nothing. Lucy has fought a good fight. She has displayed strength and courage in ways that grown men the size of ogres would not have had. There is a song that I hold dear to my heart that in essence says, It'll be worth it after all child, after all of your trials you'll hear Jesus call. That is one promise no one can break. For Lucy, it will be worth it after all. <3

Busy, Busy...
          We have been busy with play dates and spending time with family, we have three appointments this week and I have some mandatory education that has to be completed at work as well. Oh, and we are trying to put together a garage sale. Busy is also a good way to describe Bricen right now. He is busy checking out the world around him. :)
          My high school friends came over last week. I loved seeing all of them and especially loved seeing their little ones! It is crazy to think we are all Mommas. (Except Katie,who makes an awesome Aunt. :0)  I secretly told Bricen to be reallly nice to Dr. Skillman because she doesn't have her own kids to spend money on yet...just kidding! hahaha. Ambrosia visited via speaker phone from New York. In usual fashion, I got in trouble for us playing phone tag. ;0) ) My blog pictures are going to look verry similar to Ali's because she had the better camera, but we want them in our blog too. ;)

 Jen was a big help because she was kidless that night. Chase had his big 1yr old birthday party later in the week. Crazy to think it's been a year since he was born.

Ainsley was decked out in frills and bows from head to toe...and we would expect nothing less. :0) Benson and Evelyn were such good tempered babies the whole night.

 Getting everyone in the picture and "picture perfect" was not a easy task. Evelyn added some entertainment to the evening by trying to get Landrey's bow.

So, we had to rearrange the seating. I can only imagine what each of these kids are thinking and it makes me laugh. Brooks, who was not a fan pausing from playing cars to get his picture taken, ended up doing the best job. I love Brooks's expressions and enthusiasm.

 This was the first time us Indiana people got to meet Miss Landrey. She is a doll just like her sister.

Miss Evelyn is a doll as well. Lydia and I's due dates were very close together. Originally, before Bricen decided he wanted to greet us early. It's crazy to compare Evelyn and Bricen now. She is definitely going to be a heart breaker. We can tell she already has the spunk to go with it. :0)

I wish I would have done a better job at making sure I got everyone's pictures. Next time...

And then we have this guy and a random picture....This was our first time using the cart cover because he's a big boy now and can sit in the cart (with a little help and propping of blankets,etc). Love this little red head.

PRETZELS!!!

          The next morning the kids, as I still refer to them even though they are teenagers, came over to hang out while Bri did some errands. I really enjoyed this morning. We made pretzels and simply spent time together. Chelsi came over to kill a wasp and ended up staying for pretzels too. I use to do random fun stuff like this with the kids all the time but as they've gotten older and have their own social time and I've gained what I like to call "grown up bills" we haven't got to do as much.

 Please note the bread stick Brett is working on. He was struggling to make a pretzel and decided to make something else instead. After several different variations he stuck with the bread stick. Sometimes, it's good to be different. :0)

These pretzels were a lot of work and I was glad Chelsi was there to help with Bricen.

 Brett said we should start our own business. lol Love him. And if you are wondering yes, we had wayy too much salt on them.

 Afterwards, the kids got out the Lincoln logs. you are never too old for Lincoln logs. As  you can see in the picture below, Akita wanted to be part of the family as well.

Bricen was especially happy this Monday morning so I had to capture it.

          This is such a precious picture to me. Every since Bricen was born Mamaw has been hesitant to hold him because she always had a sniffle of some sort and didn't want to make him sick. Bri has picked up Marty and Bricen for church the last two Sundays and this past Sunday they went to Salem where Mamaw got to hold Bricen. <3 Salem is also precious to me as well. My grandpa did the mission work to get Salem started and pastored there for many years. My mom's, sister's, uncle's and grandpa's funeral services were held there. Marty and I got married on Salem's property and last but not least, I got saved at Salem.