One last thought..

With Bricen doing so well with his reflux I've been considering the idea of moving him to his room. But tonight as I turned off all the lights for the first time and then couldn't handle not being able to see him so I turned some back on, I realized I might not be ready for that after all. Hmm

So, This is Where the Title Goes?!?!

          Yes, I find that disturbing too. My husband hates when I lose something. I guess he thinks that I lose things often and I suck at finding them. I like to sum it up to one of "our things." I lose things and he is finds them for me. Aww. Isn't that sweet. hahaha Anyways I suppose the fact that I've never figured out how to put a title and it's up at the top of the page plain as day is similar to my ability to find lost things, just didn't really look very hard. (Don't tell the hubbs.)

This little guy has been giving me some looks as of lately and I happen to capture a few of them when he got stuck in the bucket and was getting a little worked up over it. All I could do is laugh and take a picture. And this is the look I got!

You can't tell it but he's giving me what for in this picture.

And I think he finally decided that he might as well read a book while he was there and thought he'd give me one more "are you enjoying this" look. And yes, yes I was. Still laughing. Oh, if looks could talk.

Then he ignored me. Shortly after the door bell rang and I left him there to go see who it was and guess who was able to get unstuck and come see who was at the door. :0)

Oh this toy. It was the cause of Bricen's first public meltdown. I had already decided we would get the toy. He pushed it all through Baby's R Us. I'm sure I was the absolute favorite customer that day. And before we left I had to use the restroom and the toy had to stay outside in the cart. And there's your meltdown. In the handicap stall, I'm trying to use the restroom and keep him from making a dash under the stall and he's still screaming crying. We get that accomplished and I decide I'm not going to give it back because that's just asking for trouble when it has to be scanned and he has to get in the car. Continue meltdown. Marty called during all this and with concern in his voice he asked what was wrong with Bricen. Oh, that's just your son, having his first public meltdown. Daddy thought this was hilarious. I did too. I mean what can you do but laugh sometimes. Meltdown continued until we got in the car and the toy was across his lap. Don't judge me. I did not want the crying to continue and a throw up happen while I was driving. Hind sight and rookie mom move # 4,172 would it have been soo bad for the toy to go in the bathroom? No. What was I going to do? stick it down my shirt and steal it? Right. And I'll say this. There are parents out there that would give anything for their kid to have the mindset and ability to throw a fit. So yes, even this I am thankful for.

He also got a lawnmower to push like daddy while he mowed our yard and then we took dinner out to Grandma Delpha's so Marty could mow her yard. I do love my hard working husband. There are not to many men that would work all day and then mow two yards that evening.

Guess who wanted nothing to do with the lawnmower. This guy, Mr. Big Stuff. Coolest kid I know. :0)

Now, at home I will say he is not spoiled but loved a lot by two rookie parents. At Aunt Bri's, as he pushes the drawer that he pulled out from the fridge around the living room like a car, I'd say he just might be spoiled.

Finally big enough to sit on this thing.

Look how big he looks in this picture! I forgot to add at the previous dev peds visit he was almost 18 lbs!  I feel the need to preface my hideous vent in the background. I got a hair up my butt. That pretty much sums it up. We needed to change the vent. Pretty much was going to need to order the right size. I wanted to rearrange my living room so the hole was going to be visible and so I went to Wal Mart and got the wrong size and insisted we put it up. Now to change it out we would need to spakle (I think that's what it's called) and paint. So, now I have this hideous vent. The end. :0)

My little Mister is needing a hair cut so I tried a comb over before we went to meet daddy at the eye Dr to help pick out glasses for him. I think it's pretty adorable.

Brilynn and Brett got a hold of my phone. Brett has been our little sidekick lately. He is such a good little helper. Brilynn started dating Heeeenry (and I say this in my best grade school teasing voice). But now Brett has a girlfriend too. Too fast. They grow up too fast!

And my oldest niece.

Getting married in July, a sophomore at U Indy  in the nursing program and more drive and determination than anyone else I can think of. She had a grand mal seizure last Saturday in the middle of Mc Donalds while on the way to some country concert with her sister, Heeeenry and another couple. She has medical problems but has never had a grand mal seizure before. She is getting a full body work up and I pray we can get to the bottom of this and I ask that you all do the same. Love her more than I could ever express to her and I'm already so proud of the young lady she has become. It was tough for Brilynn to witness. I can remember my sister with cerebral palsy having seizures and even as a nurse it's never something that is easy to watch. I also ask for prayers for my sister. I'm really not sure how she holds herself together at times. And I often wonder who she gets to lean on but then I remember she has our Lord. I know it's hard not to wonder where God is at when things are rough but I have to believe that he's there carrying us through those times and how much harder would it be without his grace?

Meatballs!

Again, he did not eat much or really any of the meatballs but he played in them. He voluntarily touched them and took it to his mouth to try and that is progress. And that makes this mama proud. <3

He has been doing so well at trying whatever I give him. He will take it to his mouth, stick that little tongue out and taste it. That's about it. Haha If he does get a piece in his mouth he works it with his tongue until he has it spit back out. If it happens to get in the back he gags. Poor fella just hasn't figured it out yet. I worry because even though he is doing well sticking that tongue out and trying things he seems to want to do the same with the spoonfuls of yogurt. Instead of taking a bite of yogurt he just wants to lick the spoon. And yobaby or yotoddler yogurt is what is going to get us to be able to cut out more tube feeds. It's whole milk and good solid calories. I also feel like he's getting set back with the sippy cup too. So I guess we will take a step back and go back to our original cup from Speech Therapy at Riley. I'm not sure what to do about the yogurt. I text Riley but haven't heard back yet. Is this just going to work itself out? Should I be going about things differently? She's not quite the superstar at getting back to me as she used to be. I tell myself there are other reasons but have to wonder if it's just because this is where we are with Bricen right now and she don't have much more to add. Stay the course, right? That's what I tell myself a lot of the time.

On another note Bricen is doing...I hate to even say it. It's like on a nursing unit, especially true for my ICU if someone says the quiet word things get unquiet real quick. Anyways, he is doing so well with spit ups!!! I'm just gonna say it. I've noticed even when he gets hurt and I'm prepared and ready, convinced he will have a huge throw up, I am seeing him swallow over and over, working on keeping his feeds down. We see GI next week and I'm excited to get to report that he is doing fantastic with his reflux. I'm thankful that (and I'll knock on wood) we didn't have to have the Nissen surgery and we did not have to go to continuous feeds at night! That was the talk last time we saw GI. And pretty much every provider we saw. Haha They would allll ask, "Did he have the surgery so that he couldn't throw up?" and I would say, "The Nissen surgery, no he hasn't." And they would go on about how it's something we might want to consider. Then I would have to state my case such as he hasn't had a ton of hospitalizations for pneumonia, in fact not even one. Weight gain is not fantastic but not horrible (their words, not mine). And throwing up is the bodies natural way to give some relief. Why oh why would I want to do that to Bricen? So I could watch him sit and wretch and dry heave. He does that enough as it is. For some, such as my sister with CP, it was a beneficial surgery but not one that I was willing to entertain the thoughts of for Bricen. Anyways, Gods still working on this little guy and I'm thankful. P.S. For anyone wondering, there are days that I'm not as thankful and I'm bitter. Uh..I'd say hours. I just don't like being that person. But on those days, those hours my "thankfulness" gets on my own nerves. :0) :0)

Bruiser...

          This is Bricen's new nickname. As most little guys and gals his age, he is very into climbing on anything and everything! I've noticed a bruise on each leg and as of today he has a scratch on his right cheek. From the looks of things when I arrived on the scene I can only assume he was standing on his motorcycle again so he could see out the window. I tried to capture a picture of his cheek but could not get a good one. 

Bricen loves this dog. Sometimes he loves her so much I feel sorry for her. Haha

You see that stuff around his face? It's a glorious site if I do say so myself! I would not go as far to say he was "eating" it but he was playing in it and tasting it.

Last weekend I came home to this little guy waiting in the yard to welcome me home. Am I one lucky girl, or what?  

When Bricen was in NICU and I'd take a ton of pictures during the day I would go back to the Ronald McDonald house and lay in bed looking at those pictures over and over. My confession is that I still do this. With a face like this, can you blame me?

This is a random Lyla picture. Dereck (her dad, my cousin) styled her hair for her. Don't worry Lyla we won't let this happen when you get older.

Monkey see, monkey do? Bricen thinks his daddy hung the moon. Everything daddy does Bricen wants to do. It warms my heart to see them together but I especially love it when they are playing and Bricen looks back to see if I'm watching him.

So...Bricen now has a new plastic shovel and rake so next time he can really help Daddy.

This is a goofy picture but it's a milestone for us. We had our first Riley day on our own! We've went to places around town and to the general pediatrician on our own but had yet to go to Riley. Well we did and we survived. I told the FB world and I'll say it again, I'm thankful for all the times we did have a partner in crime to accompany us for those days. I'm also thankful that Bricen's health is at a point that we feel comfortable going on our own. I knew there wouldn't be much discussed. It's harder if you are trying to keep the kid occupied (and as you can see in this pic he gets reallly worked up just going in a doctor office setting) and yet at the same time trying to listen to what the doc has to say and ask questions. I know, shocker that I would have questions. :0)

Developmental Peds thought we should add speech therapy to Bricen's "dream team." Dream Team. It's a phrase that I could think is cute and fun and also one that I could scoff at. She suggested we get his hearing checked. He's not saying quite as many words as they would like. But they also said to stop thinking of him as an 18mo old. They consider him a 16mo 24 days old baby. And of course they always say he's a boy and boys catch on slower than girls. (I always knew women could outsmart men.) I think his talking is getting ready to take off. He's vocal, squealing and babbling and a lot more in the last week.

I have pretty much been putting everything in front of this little guy. This time it was a cucumber and he actually bit a piece off and chewed it a little before spitting it out! I know, I get excited over the small stuff but small stuff leads to big improvements!

If you could zoom in on this pic you would see the red rash forming around his mouth. Long story short I think he has an egg allergy. He has broke out twice, common denominator was ranch dressing, ranch has egg yolk. Also, he had gotten the flu shot the day he started throwing up and diarrhea so horrible in February.  Coincidence? I think not. Doc says wait and see and try other things with eggs. I'm not sure I can elaborate on that without saying nasty things about the doc so I won't right now. :0)

Do you see how wide he is opening his mouth??!! I've never seen him open his mouth that wide for anything. Guess all we needed was a fudgecicle.

Do not pay attention to the lawn. This is a picture illustrating why the back door stays locked now. It was seconds and he must have been quite efficient at stepping out of the house because one second he's at the door and the next I look and he's standing on the patio. Yes, I do believe I've survived a heart attack.

He on the other hand was really proud of himself and just wanted to play some football.

Aunt Karen and I were filling out shower invites for Chelsi so Bricen and Daddy decided to play some rock band.

We finally did it!!! We have moved to the big boy bath (without the baby bathtub in it)! Daddy on the other hand still gives Bricen a bath with the baby bath and the headrest in the baby bath on top of the counter. I sure hope he cuts this out before the kid turns five.

This is my new favorite picture!!!! Random thought...when you tell Bricen to give you a kiss every once in a while he will give you wet sloppy kisses but for the most part he leans his forehead down for a kiss. Love it.

And with that face we will say goodnight!



Just as I sit here marveling at my kids willingness to eat anything cardboard like a stinking beaver yet wants nothing to do with opening his mouth for a bite of yogurt today he comes over and gets a chip out of the bag and takes a bite. This was followed with a lesson on not crumbling chips and throwing the pieces but hey, I'll take it!

Spring has Sprung and a Late Easter!!
          This was how we showed up to Bricen's last Dr. appointment. They asked if we could be there in a half hr so out we went. Once we got there and I sat him down and looked at him I had to laugh.
         

He is getting a chair to come help me wash bottles. He is kind of adorable with his little bird legs. :0)

Finally!! Easter was celebrated.

Just playing the piano.

Lyla was there and dressed up for Easter too. I mean, I just can't get enough of this picture!  

What would Easter be without an Easter egg hunt? p.s. the hat was Daddy's doing.

I caught this just in time. It struck me as funny.  

It took a minute but he eventually got the hang of it.

Lyla joined in on the Easter egg hunt too. And when Bricen ran out of eggs Tiff was throwing eggs from Lyla's basket out for him to pick up!

We thought it was funny when we looked up and saw the guys with their Easter baskets. :0)

Time out to play some cornhole.

But not before he checked the eggs out.

Can you feel the love?

Make her stop touching me!!

So stinkin' handsome

A little side walk chalk fun.

I also love this picture! He had so much fun!

His fun did not stop there, he went in and helped Aunt Bri make brownies.

I sat down and I promise you it was less than a minute and he was fast asleep!

We enjoyed some Frozen Yogurt on a fun Spring Day. And by we I mean everyone but Bricen. But still enjoyed himself.

With the nice weather he has been loving playing outside.

We went for a walk and I could not get him to move past this rock. Haha Love him so so much.

And last but not least, Marty's mom came to spend some time with Bricen while she was on her spring break. You know how they saw Grandmas let kids get away with more? Well I'm pretty sure my husband being what I like to call Captain Safety would not like Bricen being in the toy box but I think Grandma might have helped him in. haha She also helped us with some wedding planning for Chelsi that night. Wedding planning, shower planning, it's all in full swing here for our family. June and July will be here before we know it and we are getting excited!!

We are late on Bricen's feed and that will mean me staying up later tonight to get the last one in but as my aunt reminded me last weekend, I needed to catch the blog up. :0)