Ian Timothy

Baby News

2011-12-06T16:10:00.000-05:00

At our 20 week appointment to confirm that we're adding a BOY to the family, we also found out he will have a unilateral cleft lip. We were blown away by the news. I think the most difficult part is knowing what road lies ahead for him. Otherwise, we got a good report from the specialist at 23 weeks. We go back for a 3D ultrasound of his little lip in January.

Happy birthday, big guy!

2011-11-03T19:37:00.000-04:00

And baby makes four

2011-09-27T21:11:00.000-04:00

"Junior" is expected to make its arrival March 28, 2012.

Back to School

2011-08-15T19:48:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again that leaves me wondering where exactly my summer has gone! Both boys are back in school. The hubby is busy getting the band ready for marching season and Ian is busy making new friends at big school. His behavior has been wonderful! His favorite things have been being line leader and getting to go in the treasure box for good behavior.

First day of 3 year old pre-school

Round 3

2011-05-26T21:39:00.000-04:00

Ian's summer vacation started off with a follow-up appointment with the ENT. What fun, right? In March Ian went to the doctor after an ear infection. At that time, they found that his right tube had come out and he had minor hearing loss in that ear. The left ear, on the other hand, was perfect. Today's visit was to determine if there was any fluid theft and if a new set of tubes was necessary. Again, the left ear was perfect, but the right had gotten worse. So, Ian will have his third set of tubes put in June 20. Unfortunately, he has hemophilia and no procedure is really simple. But, this will be the least invasive of surgeries, so hopefully he'll be up and going the next day. After all, I don't want anything to slow my little fish down during the summer.

Newest member

2011-05-06T20:55:00.000-04:00

Meet Spider-man, the newest four-legged member of our family!

You might be wondering, how did she get that name? Well, the picture below explains why:

Yes, she is crawling on top of her cage!

Love at first sight!

In a nutshell

2011-05-05T20:32:00.000-04:00

Since I've been a full-time mommy, wife, cleaner, cooker, and student, I've been slacking on the blog. But, now I'm done with classes so I can keep the few of you who do keep up with the blog updated...

We've had Easter goodies:

Dyed some eggs for the first time:

Enjoyed some Easter egg hunts.
Getting to be a pro by now:

Spent some time at Aunt Jill's lake:

Had an ice cream explosion:

(Sidenote: DQ cone + sprinkles + riding in the car= BIG mess)

Went to Ian's first G-Day in Athens:

(Found Mama and Daddy's name while we were there.)

Celebrated Daddy's birthday:

Went to the zoo:

...and that's about it in a nutshell. I'm sure I missed some things, but this gets you caught up for now!

Getting ready

2010-12-23T14:58:00.002-05:00

It's almost time for Santa to be here! Ian's busy getting everything ready!

Putting the star on his tree

All dressed up and ready to see Santa

...waiting in line with Mama Clydie!

He was so excited he kept fiddling his little hands. Precious!

November

2010-12-06T21:46:00.001-05:00

We've been busy the past month:

Celebrating a birthday at school

Having a WILD party

Having turkey celebrations

Doing a little fist pumping

Tree decorating--His first tree he got to decorate all on his own.

First bowling outing...

And a first spare

And Thanksgiving fun!

What a month!

Birthday boy

2010-11-01T22:52:00.000-04:00

Ian,

Yes, you are three years old now! You've only been asking for weeks now, which is why we had to start the birthday chain. I cannot believe it! You are such an amazing and smart little man!

Cool things about you:
You like to sing about everything...brushing teeth, washing hands, getting dressed. It all becomes part of your own little song.

You are polite, most of the time, and remember to say your please and thank yous. You enjoy praying before we eat and before bedtime.

You are a wiz at your letters and numbers. You know all 26 letters and numbers up to 20. You can count to 20 and to 30 with little help. You've even been known to do a few math problems. (3 cookies minus 1 cookie leaves 2 cookies for later.)

You still LOVE to read. I have to make you go to bed. But not before you always ask for more books.

You love playing with your puppies.You like trying to catch them in the yard. Emma has finally come around and even snuggled with you the other day.

You like snuggling with Daddy on Saturday mornings to watch his "fix-it" show.

Your speech is average for a normal 3 year old. What progress we've made! You just started speech today with Ms. Carmel and see her once a week.

You, like your mama, must have your drink of choice in the morning. Mine is coffee, yours is warm chocolate milk.

I love you to the moon and back! Happy birthday!

Almost there

2010-10-29T21:23:00.000-04:00

Punkin' Patch

2010-10-19T15:32:00.000-04:00

Ian's second class field trip

Ian's little girlfriend, Chloe. "This is my friend Chloe. I love her." Ah, young love.

He picked out the perfect pumpkin!

One more month

2010-10-01T20:36:00.000-04:00

...until our little man is three!

September Saturdays

2010-09-25T16:31:00.000-04:00

Our town has something like a festival Saturdays in September. I love it because it gives the small town feel, where you get to see people from around town.

Ian loved it too, but for different reasons.

School days

2010-09-22T14:29:00.001-04:00

Little Man started school Monday.

All ready to go!

Fortunately, Mama did great! Somehow I managed no tears, although I did get sad once I dropped him off. I've almost always stayed home with him, making it especially tough. It's difficult letting go, but he loves school.

He was even excited to see me after school today and ran to me, which reminds me that he still loves his mama too.

This guy

2010-09-04T00:07:00.005-04:00

Who is officially potty trained?

This guy!

Who is busy, busy, busy?
This guy!

Who completely loves and idolizes his daddy?

This guy!

Who will be three years old next month? (Ekk!)

This guy!

Letters

2010-07-30T22:49:00.003-04:00

What kid doesn't love to get mail? Or course they get cards around the holidays or on their birthday, but what about every other day? The solution: pen pals!

I came across an idea in a blog a while back. Kids whose parents "knew" each other on blogs wrote to each other.
Ian has started writing his name, but that's about it. I think mailing a letter to a friend would be a fun weekly project. He'd get to "write" a letter, put the stamp on, and put it in the mailbox for the mailman.

Anyone interested? If you feel comfortable enough, email me. We can set up the details. One thing: I have to have had several comments from you. I want to make sure I'm not going to be giving out our address randomly.

Wordless Wednesday: First movie

2010-06-23T21:12:00.002-04:00

Cool treats

2010-05-17T08:37:00.001-04:00

Mmm...enjoying his first Oreo blizzard. And he almost ate the whole thing!

Speech visit

2010-05-13T13:25:00.002-04:00

Back in January, Ian met with the speech and language pathologist(Dr. Riski) at Scottish Rite. Dr. Riski felt Ian needed to be seen in his clinic at least twice a week to reach his speech goals. He also recommended Ian have the pharyngeal flap procedure to help produce the pressure sounds.

Today, a little over two months after surgery, we saw Dr. Riski for our post-op follow-up. He was very pleased with the results of the surgery and even more impressed at the progress Ian has shown. He recorded Ian with a machine that measured the amount of air that came out of his nose and mouth when speaking. Although it is not exactly where it needs to be, it was an improvement from January's visit. Dr. Riski said that with his current therapy through Babies Can't Wait and working with us at home, Ian would be just fine. No need for extra speech! Through repetition of using the muscles necessary to make pressure consonants, Ian's speech will improve. Dr. R felt that Ian's language skills were way above average for his age. We know Ian's a smart little guy, but it doesn't hurt when a doctor agrees.

On the flip side, Dr. R is concerned about the amount of air Ian is able to breathe in and out through his nose. His nostrils are very small. Add the fact that his nasal cavity didn't form correctly and we have breathing issues, which can lead to both feeding and speech issues. When we go back in November for a team visit, Dr. R wants to see if the plastic surgeon feels the need for changes in Ian's nose and possibly soft palate. The thought of another additional surgery does not make me happy. Of course, it is our decision whether or not to do it. We'll see what the next few months hold.

Sweetness

2010-05-04T08:20:00.002-04:00

Last night we read a book about being scared and how it's okay to be scared sometimes. I asked Ian if he got scared.

His response, "Yes. It's okay. Jesus is with me."

Cue melting heart. So sweet.

30 months?

2010-05-01T08:52:00.003-04:00

Really? Already 2 and a half? I got an email a week or so ago from Baby Center about "Your 30 month old" and thought, "Hmm, maybe I have the wrong birthday for Ian," ...you know since he's no where close to 30 months old.

Well, I guess his half birthday was closer than I thought.

Instead of a list of can-dos, how about a list of favorites:

Favorite color: yellow
Favorite tv show: Calliou
Favorite food: chicken nuggets--although he's tried lots of new things in the past week
Favorite toy: his tools--he loves to "fix it"
Favorite sleeping buddy: Teddy--who accidentally got left in Florida. I guess he wanted to stick around for a few more days with Mickey

My husband teases me, but now it's time to start party planning. (Only because I love it so much!) Hey, he'll be 3 before we know it!

Mickey or bust!

2010-04-21T08:18:00.002-04:00

We have been planning a trip to Disney for the past year. My husband, who is a band director, will be taking some of the kids from school. Luckily, Ian and I get to tag along.

Ian found out a couple weeks ago and has since been saying, "I excited see Mickey!" So, we made a countdown for him keep up with how many days...

...and today's the day!

Hippity, hoppity

2010-04-16T15:08:00.000-04:00

After seeing the "Happy Easter Bunny"

Easter Bunny came to see Ian!

Checking out the Easter goodies!

After church

Lil' slugger! Tee and bat from the "Happy Easter Bunny"

He got to see his Great Bennett!

Nightly ramblings

2010-04-15T10:32:00.000-04:00

Ian went to visit his great-grandma Bennett yesterday.

Mama: "Ian, did you have fun at Bennett's?"
Ian: "Yes, I play air hockey. I want play more. Mama Clydie [his grandmother] say, "No, it's time to eat." Bennett say, "Want Waffle House?" Ian say, "No, I want chicken." We go get chicken and Pediasure milk.

Haha! And this was all in one breath. He told me a whole story! I called my mom to confirm his story, which she said was spot on.

By the way, Ian is back up to his pre-surgery weight and is probably a bit bigger. That boy loves Pediasure! The pediatrician recommended it to fatten him up about a year ago. We did it for a while, but it can get pretty expensive. We started giving it to him again a month prior to surgery and now he's hooked! All he asks for to drink is "Pediasure milk". At least it's good for him.

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Oh yea, he's one cool dude!

Springtime

2010-03-21T13:26:00.000-04:00

The weather in Georgia has finally begun to warm up. And Ian is finally allowed to be outside. What a perfect time to enjoy the beautiful weather!

Details

2010-03-12T12:07:00.000-05:00

It's been a long week. Ian had a new set of tubes and a pharyngeal flap procedure last Friday. The flap surgery was to eliminate air escaping from the nose, or "achieve nasal competence". Everything went well on the surgeon's end. They seemed pleased with the results so far. Ian will continue speech therapy through Babies Can't Wait. He will also be starting therapy at Scottish Rite with Dr. Riski, the speech therapist who recommended the procedure. He is still having trouble with "oral pressure consonant sounds". We've already seen some progress, but we still have a long ways to go.

Waiting to be called back, showing off his neat hospital bracelet.

Resting after surgery. The hardest part was seeing him in pain; he cried for a long time after he was brought back from recovery.

Enjoying a couple bites of ice cream. He's on a soft foods diet for at least 2 more weeks, which means none of his favorites: chips, popcorn, and Cheetos...

Playing tic-tac-toe with Daddy. He got to make the board with the Lowe's workshop people. Great way to distract from the pain.

After 2 nights in the hospital, finally getting to go home.

"Bye fish!"

Big day ahead

2010-03-04T20:43:00.000-05:00

As I sit here on the eve of Ian's surgeries, my mind and heart are in a bind. It's very difficult to think about everything for tomorrow, so all I do for now is ask for prayer:

Prayer that Ian will be calm,

Prayer that the doctors will do a great job,

Prayer that Ian will be in little pain,

Prayer that Ian will be able to eat after surgery,

Prayer that Ian will be willing to eat after sugery,

Prayer that Ian will heal quickly.

Thank you in advance. I'll write tomorrow when I don't feel like I'm going to cry thinking about the big day ahead.

24+4 months

2010-03-02T09:43:00.000-05:00

Ian,

You are talking up a storm! You have a pretty good vocabulary, considering you got off to a late start. I like to call you the "little parrot". You repeat everything! I love that he uses "I" instead of "Ian". It makes him sound older though, which is the downside.

You still love to help Mama in the kitchen. You help cook at least one meal every day. (Even though you don't eat most of them. I'm still hopeful that will turn around one day soon.)

We are working on manners, which you do pretty well with most days. You use your "please" and "thank you" the most, but also say "yes sir" every now and then. And Mama eats it up! I hope you keep such good manners....Although your table manners could use some work.

Love you, little man!

Wacky weather

2010-02-25T19:13:00.000-05:00

We got a little more snow one week...

...followed by t-shirt weather the next!

Perfect weather for fishing with Daddy...

...and Pepaw!

Gotta catch the crickets!

Treats for our sweetie

2010-02-04T15:36:00.000-05:00

DJ and I went to Savannah for a few nights last week. He was there for the GMEA conference and I was there for...well, some R&R. We brought back Ian a few treats:

A lollipop, from River Street Sweets of course,

and an umbrella and rain boots.

27 months

2010-01-29T15:43:00.001-05:00

Here are 27 fun things about Ian:
I have to admit that I borrowed this idea from Avie and Amelia's mom.

1. He doing a great job potty training. Although he is in Pull-Ups(because I am not brave enough to let him wear big boy underwear alone), he has done great going on the potty several times a day.

2. He still loves brushing his teeth. We brush at least 3 times a day. He usually finds a way to sneak in an extra brushing. Can't hate that though.

3. He is speaking in 6-7 word sentences.

4. He can sit through two Dr. Suess books. His favorites? Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat.

5. He is counting to 20.

6. He can identify his numbers to 10.

7. He can identify about half of the alphabet.

8. He wants to be completely independent. How come nobody warned me about this "terrible twos"? No, he's not terrible, he's just very opinionated. For example, when I try to help him do something he will say "No, no, Mama. This way."

9. He likes to ~~take off his clothes~~ feel the breeze. He thinks it's funny to strip down and run around the house.

10. He can spell his name. Now if only we can get him writing it too :)

11. He still is a very picky eater. I guess we'll manage. We are actually giving him Pediasure twice a day to "fatten" him up in prep for surgery.

12. He still loves helping Mama cook and has gotten very good at mixing ~~without spilling everything on the floor~~. He's still not quite a pro at breaking eggs, but he's getting better.

13. He loves to conduct "his band", i.e. Mama and the baby Mama watches. Luckily she is a good sport about him switching around instruments and barking directions.

14. He loves his puppies. Jake(the newest addition) has already outgrown our beagles, which unfortunately means his size and puppy excitement means he knocks Ian down a lot. Not-so-unfortunately, Ian could care less. He loves getting Jake's puppy kisses once he's down.

15. He is a pro sweeper. "Mama sweep?", he'll say, which means he wants to sweep too.

Okay, so maybe 27 things is a bit much, but cute concept, right?

The good, the bad, and the ugly

2010-01-24T15:12:00.000-05:00

The good:
Ian has NO cavities! As many if you know, kids with clefts are 70% more likely to get cavities. This was amazing news. He went to the dentist a couple weeks ago and did such a great job; he sat in the cleaning chair without shedding any tears. The dentist said we were doing a great job and to continue to brush 3 times a day. He also said as long as we brush shortly after, there is no harm in Ian having sweets. And I was worried the whole time!

The bad:
Ian will be having either a pharyngeal flap or sphincter pharyngoplasty to "establish velopharyngeal competence". The procedure will be done on March 5 along with a second set of tubes. After a visit to the speech pathologist at Scottish Rite, the doctor decided it best for Ian's speech. We're, of course, hesitant because he's already been through two surgeries, but we hope it's the right choice in the long run.

The ugly:

Okay, maybe not too ugly.

For MLK day we all went to the zoo. This was Ian's first trip. Of course he loved it! And we loved seeing his little face light up when he saw the animals.

Pretty flamingos.

The cutest lion there!

The cousins!

Morning conversation

2010-01-04T15:35:00.000-05:00

Mama: Are you ready for breakfast?
Ian: [excitedly] Yea!
M: What would you like: Pop Tarts or cereal?
I: Cookies?
M: No, you can have Pop Tarts or cereal.
I: [swinging arm] Ahh, man!

Such a goober!

Big boy bed

2009-12-24T07:58:00.001-05:00

Santa came early...

Musician at heart

2009-12-18T16:01:00.000-05:00

Ian loves music! That kid could play his little instruments all day. He does get it honest, since Daddy is a band director. I can't wait to see what he gets into as he gets older. Whatever it is, it's going to be a noisy house.

Rockin' out on his birthday gift.

Conducting at his party.

Playing the violin, which is actually his guitar and a drum stick...which he came up with on his own.

Teaching Reese how to play the drums. He also likes to teach us when we're doing in wrong, "No, Mama. Like this."

Playing the flute.

Playing the drums.

Same

2009-12-17T13:54:00.002-05:00

Same cute face. Same cute ears. Same cute sweater....12 months later.

Frustration

2009-12-16T15:56:00.000-05:00

Ian was set up to have his second set of tubes put in Monday. We went to the pre-op yesterday and everything seemed great. We were even told Ian would not have to be poked to get factor (for his mild hemophilia). That is not the case.

Instead of going ahead with the tubes for Monday, we will have to wait until a date in January because the factor has to be administered at the main OR and the ENT is at the main OR on Fridays only. Of course he is.

Now for a little back story: Ian went to the pediatrician for his 2 year check up. Everything looked good except his tubes had come out. No biggie. So, I scheduled an appointment with the ENT and plastic surgeon, in case Ian needed anything else done at the same time. (Ian has mild hemophilia, as mentioned before, which means prior to surgery blood has to be drawn to determine his level. Then, he has to have an IV with factor to hopefully get his levels where they should be. We then have to wait a bit, draw more blood, and only then is it surgery time. I wanted to spare him of going through that twice, if possible.) The ENT said he definitely needed tubes, which we knew. He also said Ian's hearing in his right ear was not where it needed to be because of the drainage, which the tubes would fix. The plastic surgeon saw no issues with his palate, but did want Ian to be seen by the speech pathologist because of his nasal-y speech. Okay, fine. We call to make an appointment with the SP and the earliest they have is January 19. Not early enough for me. I called other times to see if there were cancellations, but nope. We decided that since Ian could not hear well, which could impact his speech, to go ahead with the tubes and just hope the SP saw nothing that needed correcting.

I'm just frustrated. I tried to do what I thought would be best for Ian, but it didn't work out. There are no other ENTs in the office that could do the procedure any earlier. Maybe it's a sign from God, but I am still frustrated.

Brave

2009-12-11T22:34:00.000-05:00

Ian got his second round of the H1N1 vaccine yesterday...

...without shedding any tears.

That's right, he just laid there like such a big boy.

How brave!

(Prior to Ian getting his shot he and I talked about what was going to happen.

Mama: You are going to the doctor. You will get a shot and it's going to hurt...but just a little bit.
Ian: Little bit? [makes hand gesture to show little]
Mama: Yes, just a little bit.

Hmm, guess the pep talk worked.)

Conversations

2009-12-09T15:47:00.000-05:00

Lunchtime dessert at the table.
Me: Here is your cookie, Ian.
Ian: Thanks.
(about 2 minutes later and only a bite gone)
Ian: No, thank you. Cookie done. Put trash.

We are working on potty training, which goes well as long as I put him on the potty frequently. He's not quite to the point of telling us he needs to go. Hey, I'll take what I can get.
Sitting on the sofa, watching Sport Center, and eating afternoon snack.
Ian poots.
Me: Ian, do you need to go potty?
Ian: No, thank you. Watch tv.

At least he's focused on something, right?

24 + 1

2009-12-07T13:16:00.001-05:00

Ian, at 25 months you can:

count objects successfully to 6,

sit still for an entire Dr. Suess book (Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham being your favorites.),

happily help Mama around the house with laundry and sweeping,

say up to 7 word sentences ("No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"),

use your manners ("No, thank you.") and it makes Mama smile.

You are growing up so fast! Love you, little man!

A boy and his pup

2009-12-03T13:50:00.000-05:00

Mealtime blues

2009-12-02T21:26:00.001-05:00

Well, Ian is still having trouble eating...or more like he is very picky about what he does want to eat. We had another appointment with the speech therapist at Scottish Rite, who also does feeding therapy. As reported in another post, Ian does not have a taste aversion to textures and such, but he is hesitant about what goes in. She said it was most likely due to all the poking and prodding that he's had done to his mouth.

His current food selection includes:

Breakfast: waffles or cereal and applesauce or yogurt mixed with fruit puree--Yes, I've learned to be sneaky!
Lunch: fish sticks or chicken nuggets, chips and applesauce or yogurt
Dinner: same as lunch

With that said, we're trying new techniques as directed by the dr. to get Ian eating a healthier diet. I've come to terms with the fact that he's just going to be a small kid (He weighs only 24 pounds at 25 months.) and won't gain much weight quickly, but I do want him to eat a more rounded variety of foods.

So, I am turning to you for food suggestions. I do have Deceptively Delicious and have attempted some things out of there, but with little success (besides the muffins). I am willing to try new things as well as things tried before. Any help would be appreciated. And maybe a prayer or two as well as we try to get him eating new things.

Thankful

2009-11-27T19:54:00.001-05:00

We have a lot to be thankful for...

...like eating birthday cake...

...fishing with Daddy...

...football with cousins...

...playtime with animals...

...and family!

New addition

2009-11-24T14:56:00.001-05:00

No, we are not expecting another baby. But we do have a new addition to the family!

Meet Jake.

And here is Jake who is ~~loving~~ being carried by his human brother, Batman and shown how to drink out of his water bowl.

Ahh, a break in his favorite spot. Too bad our little golden won't fit their long.

At least you're loved!

Welcome to the family!

Blue skies

2009-11-16T19:59:00.000-05:00

We are taking full advantage of this wonderful fall weather.

And pretty blue skies.

Getting some Jaime lovin'.

And enjoying the blue skies.

Party! Party!

2009-11-14T15:31:00.003-05:00

I had a party last weekend! Winnie the Pooh and Tigger were there, and even Piglet too! I love Winnie the Pooh!

Lots of people came too, like my great Grandma and great Bennett....

...and my Memaw and Mama Clydie...

...and Pepaw and Aunt Erica and Aunt Suzie and Papa...

...and all my cousins and great aunts and uncles and friends. I am one special boy!

We played all afternoon in the inflatable!

And we had cake and ice cream too! We all know how much I love sweets!

Yummy!

Everyone seemed to have a great time. Thanks to everyone, for making my second birthday such a good one.

Halloweeen: Short and Simple

2009-11-14T14:44:00.001-05:00

Our little puppy dog!

Getting some goodies with Daddy.

"Hug?" Ian wanted to hug the ghost.

Birthday festivities

2009-11-01T09:55:00.002-05:00

First, we made some cupcakes.

Then, we painted a pumpkin.

Next, we opened some gifts.

After that, we went to the Chili Cook-Off (dressed in costume, of course),

during which, we ate come cake

and we opened more gifts (Ian is ~~not~~ spoiled!)

and we did a little dancing to the steel drum band.

Overall, not a bad day.

It's official

2009-10-30T14:21:00.003-04:00

I have avoided this post all day, knowing I would get emotional. I've put it off as long as I could and so with tissues nearby, I say that our little man is two years old!

Two short years ago Ian came into our lives and shared a love that we had never known.

Isn't it crazy how you can love something so much? He makes my heart smile.

Oh, how I love

2009-10-29T13:37:00.003-04:00

...my bucket wearing, baby carrying, big brown-eyed boy.

ABCs and 123s

2009-10-08T09:05:00.002-04:00

23 months

2009-09-30T21:13:00.001-04:00

Only one more month until our little man turns two! Yes, I said 2! Goodness, where has the time gone? I've noticed myself paying more attention to new milestones becuase I want to make sure I remember. I want to remember so five, ten, or even fifteen years from now I can tell him exactly what he was like:

someone who loves to give hugs and kisses,

a young boy who loves to be outside...in the dirt...in the swing...or chasing the dogs,

Mama's shadow in the kitchen who loves to bake cookies and eat them, of course,

our performer who loves to entertain with songs and dance,

our litttle man who we love so very much.

Happy Birthday

2009-09-29T21:22:00.001-04:00

Saturday we celebrated my grandmother's 80th birthday. What kid doesn't love to party?

And eat a bite off of everyone's cupcakes?

My grandmother, Ian's great grandma B.

Our Friday nights...

2009-09-29T20:38:00.005-04:00

....now consists of watching ~~wonderfully played~~ high school football and the truly wonderful band!

Ian watching Daddy's band.

22 months

2009-08-30T09:40:00.005-04:00

Ian,

You are such the big boy now! You want to try to do everything yourself: brush your teeth, get dressed, buckle your car seat, and put on your shoes, just to name a few.

You having starting potty training. Of course, you must bring your joy of books to the potty. (I know this picture will get me in trouble when you're older.)

Your vocabulary has grown so much; you know 55 words easily and it grows each day. You can identify the colors red, blue, orange, and green. You picked out a shirt yesterday, telling me it was "bew". You can count to four out loud and to three using your fingers.

You still love your books. We read at least 3 every nap time and 3 more at bed time. You love, love, love, to climb. We go to Monkey Joe's, an inflatable play area, at least once a week. Last week we went twice! You are Mama's helper in the kitchen. You especially like to make cookies and muffins, you know, to test to make sure the "candy" is good enough.

You like doing crafts with Mama.

You love the water, whether it's bath time or swimming.

You are a very sweet boy, especially with the baby Mama watches during the week. You will be a good big brother...one day. The only time we have trouble is when you want to be independent, which mostly happens in public.

We love you, little man! And we love the little person you are becoming!

Morning walk

2009-08-25T09:26:00.003-04:00

"Plane!"

A fall leaf. I can't wait for cooler weather. It's going to be around 85 today, which is a bit hot for me.

"Squirrel!"

Helping Mama push the baby.

Potty time

2009-08-21T19:57:00.002-04:00

Ian, you have become such the big boy! You have been potty on the big-boy potty every day after nap time this week! And you, of course, remind me that you get candy after you go potty. I am so proud of you!

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-19T20:53:00.004-04:00

Yummy treats

2009-08-12T07:56:00.004-04:00

As you know, Ian has been working on learning to chew. He has made great strides, but still seems to be hesitant. He and I have been cooking new things for him to try. I cannot take credit for the recipes, but will recommend them. I have been using recipes from Deceptively Delicious and this website, http://weelicious.com/. The website has recipes for all ages.

Ian has tried the:

kiwi smoothie http://weelicious.com/2009/08/06/kiwi-smoothie/

cheese crisps http://weelicious.com/2009/07/06/cheese-crisps/ (This one is super easy & Ian can help!)

chicken nuggets from DD

Next on our list to try:

potato chips http://weelicious.com/2009/07/11/potato-chips-program/

He's also a big fan of fruit and grain bars from Trader Joe's, as well as their dried peas. I know, sounds not so yummy, but they're pretty tasty. He has also been trying carrots with ranch dressing and celery with peanut butter. He's more into the dip than the veggie, but I'm hoping he'll get brave and give them a try too.

Here is a smoothie recipe that we both like, again this one I cannot take credit for:

The measurements are only an estimation. I kind of add as needed to get a good consistency.

1 cup V8 Splash Berry Blend

1/4 cup frozen mixed fruit, like mango and pineapple

a few frozen blueberries

2 tablespoons plain yogurt

1/4 cup ice

Trader Joe's fruit and grain bar for breakfast

Kiwi smoothie, chicken nuggets and cheese crisps for lunch...

...and some dried peas.

Of course there has to be dessert: a vanilla Chick-fil-a milkshake!

So silly

2009-08-06T20:45:00.004-04:00

Our baby/big boy

2009-08-04T21:50:00.006-04:00

I am watching kids, or babies rather, this school year so I have gotten out all of Ian's old toys. He seems to really be into playing withing with them...literally. And no, I did not help him or encourage this behavior, even though I think it's cute.

"It's cool if I play in here, right?"

-------------------------------------------------------

Ian sporting his new big-boy bag. The lady at the store asked me of he was getting ready for school. To which I replied, "NO! He's still my baby!" ...in my head, of course. Goodness, let's not make him grow up too fast. They do that all on their own without our help.

Looking like such a big guy with his new haircut and bag.

Little music man

2009-08-04T21:39:00.003-04:00

Daddy is a band director, so Ian naturally loves music. I snapped a couple of pictures of him at band camp and one of the lovely band moms took some too (I'll add hers later).

He'll be out there one day...

"Yay!" Showing his support.

Round two

2009-08-01T21:15:00.002-04:00

Today seemed as successful as yesterday. Ian ate a kid's meal from McDonald's for lunch: chicken nuggets and fries...Okay, maybe just part of a nugget and a few fries, but we'll take what we can. He also tried some pizza sauce from dinner. Seeing him eat real food makes my heart smile.

We have success

2009-07-31T20:43:00.002-04:00

Today, at 21 months of age, Ian enjoyed his first and second and third french fry. He also tried some oatmeal and other dried fruit goodies from Trader Joe's. Yay! It makes me so happy to see him finally eat the things he's been so interested in.

21 months

2009-07-30T21:14:00.003-04:00

Singing with Mama in the car.

I think he's saying, "Okay, Mama. I think I've had enough."

Ian,

You are still a little monkey around the house...climbing on everything. You still love to help Mama cook and even push a chair over to the stove to get in on the action. You mimic everything we do, including what we say. You are getting so vocal. Your sign language has picked up as well. I taught you 2 new signs in one day...and you remembered. You are very independent, which is to be expected, but you listen to your Mama. You are a good boy. You are starting to show interest in potty training, although I'm not sure I am ready for that. We'll make it. You just have to be patient with me.

Feeding evaluation

2009-07-30T20:54:00.004-04:00

Ian's appointment went very well. The therapist was great!

She first had Ian try some of her food: dried mango, strawberries, blueberries, and peas. He put each one in his mouth! This was a big deal! He did not eat them, but he did try them. Next, she had him try some of the foods I brought: peas, rice and spiral noodles. Again, he tried them all! And not just one pea, but 5 or 6! Of course, he did spit those out too, but at least he attempted. One new food he did enjoy was peanut butter. He had never tried it alone, but he ate at least a good tablespoon for her with some graham crackers. He tried it again once we got home with animal crackers. He ate something new...for me!

The therapist concluded that Ian does not have an issue with textures. His interest in food and desire to try things today supports that idea. However, she thinks he does not understand what to do with the food once it's in his mouth, hence the hesitation. In other words, he does not know how to chew his food. The time when most kids start chewing is around 10 months of age...right when Ian had his palate repair. She does not think this is the only reason, but could be a big factor.

For now, we have 4 things to work on:
1. Encourage Ian to eat foods, both new and old tastes
2. Teach Ian to chew --Show him, with mouth open, how we chew.
3. Praise any progress, no matter how small
4. Use a NUK chewing "device"--It is something about the size of a toothbrush that Ian can chomp on to teach up and down chewing.

I hope to be able to see some more progress soon, but just the fact that he did try new things made my eyes tear up. It's been so hard getting him to try anything. Now that I know the source of the problem, I hope I can help him learn to love food.

To Scottish Rite we go

2009-07-30T11:56:00.003-04:00

Wish us luck, as Ian goes to see the occupational therapist today. I am supposed to take a hungry little guy up there in hopes that he will try something new. I am excited and hesitant at the same time; I hope they can teach me something new, as I don't know how much longer he can function on Goldfish, apple sauce, Kix and milk.

Please pray for Ian to have an open mind and an eagerness for new foods. Please pray for Mama to have patience and understanding.

Good, cheap fun

2009-07-24T20:30:00.004-04:00

Mealtime

2009-07-24T20:21:00.003-04:00

It is always a struggle to get Ian to eat...anything. He loves his milk and would live solely off of it if we let him.

Tonight I made breakfast for dinner, which is one of my personal favorites. Ian was given a chocolate chip pancake, blueberries, and yogurt to eat topped off with a fruit smoothie to drink. He licked the pancake, ate most of the yogurt, and drank about half of the smoothie. I know it doesn't seem like much, but this is more than usual.

Because of the food issues, our picky little eater has an appointment at Scottish Rite with a occupational therapist Thursday. We are hoping to learn some new techniques to get him to eat anything besides cookies and candy, which just happened to be some of his newest words. Go figure.

A look in the past

2009-07-14T13:56:00.003-04:00

I have been going through old pictures and came across this one, taken exactly one year ago. Ian was starting to cruise around. He loved holding onto the tub while I got ready in the mornings.

Ingredients for vacation

2009-07-14T13:17:00.009-04:00

A few Sour Patch Straws

Several dashes of snuggle time with Teddy

Lots of walks on the beach

Some of your favorite people

A bit of time on the harbour

A nice walk on the peir

A sprinkle of sand (Add more if desired.)

Mix some new swimmies with....

...as much pool time as one can take.

One good nap one the beach

A dash of phone time

Mix all together and let bake in Fort Walton Beach, Florida for approximately 7 days. When finished, it will be slightly sandy and a bit browned all over.

A lost ring, run-away dogs, and an ear infection

2009-07-10T22:12:00.002-04:00

That pretty much sums up our vacation this past week. That's not to say there weren't some good moments, but these are some of the not-so-goods that stand out:

1. In the intense sport that is body surfing in waves, my lovely husband lost his wedding band. No, I wasn't mad, just maybe a little upset. To his defense, the waves were a bit brutal. My mom lost her shades in the same wave. Somehow I feel the ring was a bigger loss. The crazy thing is that not so long ago we got married on the same beach where the ring was lost.

2. My father-in-law agreed to watch our dogs while we were on vacation. The dogs decided they wanted a little vacation of their own. We got a call from a neighbor saying he found one of the dogs and that he had seen one of the others roaming the streets. We frantically call my father-in-law. He finds one of them at a near-by school and the other one relaxing on the front porch.

3. Ian woke up screaming last night. He is normally a very good sleeper, but considering that he was sleeping in a strange, new place I thought maybe he needed to sleep with us. He attempted to snuggle/kick/sleep on top of his Daddy all night. This morning we noticed some drainage and decided to call our home doctor who recommended we find a local clinic. After a trip to the walk-in clinic we learned Ian had his first ear infection. Lovely. He's been a trooper all day, taking his meds like a champ. Luckily it's our last day at the beach, because I have a feeling our Ian/new little fish would be a bit upset about not being able to swim.

Happier stories and pictures to come once we're home.

If you take a tot outside...

2009-07-02T20:34:00.005-04:00

He will want to swing on his new swingset.

Then he will want to help water the flowers. When he finishes watering, chances are he'll want to cool off a bit in the hose.

Then he will want to dig in the dirt.

When he is done digging in the dirt, he will probably ask to swing again.

Realizing how dirty he has become, he will ask for a bath. He will need to do his speech excerizes while in the tub.

When blowing bubbles, he will remember he needs to wash his hair.

20 months

2009-06-30T21:03:00.004-04:00

Only 4 four months until he's 2! Wow, where has the time gone?

Ian, your biggest accomplishment in the last month is your climbing ability. You can climb anything! You climb onto the chairs--all of them, onto the kitchen table, up your new rockwall, and into bed--especially to snuggle with Daddy if he's still sleeping. You can also climb down the stairs, using your scoot-on-your-bottom-and-plop-on-the-stair-below method. It made me nervous at first, but at least you were trying to be safe.

First speech therapy session

2009-06-30T20:43:00.005-04:00

Ian's therapist came to our home today for the first official session. She gave us different exercise assignments to work on over the next couple of weeks; a few include:

*wiggle tongue and stick out as far as possible (That's good to teach, right?)
*blow bubbles
*drink thick drinks through a straw (Ian had a Chickfila milkshake today. Hey, doctor's orders.)
*use a whistle
*use a big-boy cup each day
*bite small pieces from a bigger piece of food

The exercises, most of which we were already doing, are intended to strengthen Ian's mouth muscles to better produce sounds. The pressure sounds Scottish Rite wants him to produce are not supposed to be mastered until 2, and some, even 3 years old. They need to know if he is capable to determine if he will need a surgery to help correct his speech. We are hoping speech therapy will help. No one wants another surgery.

As far as his word production goes, he is doing great! At least I am impressed. He has started talking much more and attempts to say pretty much everything we do. Scary, right? New words include, but are not limited to:
shoe
more
top
side (for outside)
up

New toy

2009-06-29T20:29:00.009-04:00

"Ooooo!"

Trying out his swing for the first time.

"More..."

"...please." (Even though it looks more like bath.)

Digging...

He looks so old when he's serious.

Our little climber. Have I mentioned he can now go up and down the stairs inside?

Not without my sippy cup.

...more digging.

Sweet boy. Thanks, Daddy, Grandpa, Grandpapa, and Uncle Tim for my new swingset! I love it!

Father's Day

2009-06-29T19:34:00.002-04:00

Summer buzz

2009-06-29T19:11:00.006-04:00

Ian's hair was getting a bit long. Instead of taking him to get it cut, I half-jokingly said, "Let's just buzz it."

Before: Ian unsuspecting of what we were up to.

It was at this point when I changed my mind. Too late...

After: Finished product. Not too bad, it's just taking some getting used to. This cute kid can pull it off though.

Dinner for three?

2009-06-25T20:04:00.002-04:00

We had meal success today! Twice! For lunch, Ian had apple sauce, PB crackers, and Spagetti O's. He has never shown interest in Spagetti O's until today. He ate only one bite, but that's one bite closer to real spagetti. For dinner, DJ made tacos for us and nachos for Ian. Ian gobbled up the meat off the nachos and then asked for more! He ate a good helping of the meat and then finished off the tortilla chips with cheese. Does this mean I get to start cooking one meal instead of two? We are so excited to see what Ian will start eating in the next few days! Let's just hope it's not a fluke...

Park playtime

2009-06-24T20:37:00.003-04:00

Mr. Independent

Checking out the lake

Throwing bread to the geese

Excited! Pointing to say, "Look, Mama!"

First sentence

2009-06-24T20:21:00.002-04:00

"I wub wou" , more commonly known as "I love you". How sweet is that?

What's even better is the fact that now is when he is supposed to be speaking sentences. Between 19-24 months is when toddlers should begin stringing words together. Ian is 19 months! This is very exciting considering he was told to have a moderate speech delay. That's not to say he doesn't have a lot to work on, but at least we're making it in the right direction. He will also say, "Bye-bye, [insert name]." Yay for progress! I am interested to see what the speech therapist says next week for our first session. Wish us luck!

One cool dude

2009-06-15T21:23:00.003-04:00

Helping Mama

2009-06-15T14:58:00.004-04:00

Ian can be very helpful. He helps put away dishes and puts things he finds around the house in the trash.

He especially likes to help Mama cook, and maybe grab a sample

...or two.

"Smile Pinki"

2009-06-07T15:36:00.002-04:00

For those of you interested, we watched this documentary by Smile Train yesterday. Smile Train is an organization that raises money for children across the world with clefts for surgery.

http://www.smiletrainindia.org/smile_story_pinki.php

Just to warn you, it's pretty long (about 45 minutes) and if you're like me, you may need some tissues nearby.

Fishing with the boys

2009-06-06T12:38:00.003-04:00

Ian was the worm-fetcher. He was much better at this than his mama would have been.

Speech

2009-06-06T12:25:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we met with the people from Babies Can't Wait. Since Ian was born with a cleft, he automatically qualifies for the services. It was determined that a speech therapist would come to our home twice a month, starting on June 30. How awesome is that? They, the therapist and case worker, reassured us that the pressure consonants we were told to work on(p,d,t,b) should not be mastered by now. Most children do not have them completely mastered until about two and half. [Sigh of relief.]

We set up goals we would like to accomplish in Ian's speech. After 6 months of therapy, we would like to see better production of the pressure consonants. After 12 months, we would like to see more understandable communication by Ian.

He has started using more words on a regular basis. For example:
cold
hot (pulls hand away quickly)
up
eye
nose

He has started signing:
juice
eat

We are excited to see what else he will be learning in the next months!

Sum-sum-summer time

2009-05-31T11:20:00.001-04:00

19 Months

2009-05-31T10:42:00.008-04:00

Ian, you are growing more independent each day.

At 19 months, you can:
build with Legos
sing the ABCs
run around like a mad-man

put together puzzles

brush your teeth
help with simple chores, like putting away trash and the dishes
kick a ball
give the sweetest hugs
say both Mama and Dada

Your favorite activities include:
reading
cooking with Mama (You are the ultimate cheese sprinkler.)

trying on shoes, no matter how big they may be

making lots of noise

Mother's Day weekend

2009-05-24T13:19:00.006-04:00

With cousin Christian at Grandma's the night before Mother's Day

Giving Mama a hug

Mama Clydie's turn

Taking Ruthie for a walk

Riding Mama's old tractor

Speech

2009-05-24T12:55:00.005-04:00

In April, Ian went for a speech evaluation at CHOA. At 17 months, he was at the 22-24 month age for language perception and the 12-14 month age for language production. He needs to be working on pressure sounds: b, t, d, and p. Pressure sounds are made by closing off your throat. Children with clefts are sometimes unable to make these sounds properly because of the inproper formation of the soft palate and uvula. This is normally corrected during the palate repair, but sometimes that is not enough either because the child's muscles to control the uvula are too weak or the uvula itself is too short. We are hoping that with speech therapy we can remedy the problem without another surgery.

We have since been referred to Babies Can't Wait, a program that offers in-home speech therapy, to see what can be done about the language delay. They will come by June 5 to do an evaluation to determine if Ian qualifies for their program.

I have already seen progress in his pressure sounds just by working with him at home. We have been making the "p" sound at bathtime in the bubbles. (It helps him to see that those types of sounds require air and makes something, like the bubbles, to move.)

He can say:
Mama
Daddy
Clydie
Grandma
Jaime (our dog)
top
uh-oh
ball
up
puppy
cookie
Papa
juice
yummy
yea
bye-bye
Emma (our other dog)
hey

He can sign:
please
more
book
bath
milk
change diaper

The list has grown a lot since our visit to CHOA in April. (It was maybe 7 words consistently.) I hope we continue to see this kind of progress!

Busy, busy, busy

2009-05-24T10:05:00.007-04:00

We have been busy! Since the last time I blogged, we have had:

Ian's first snow(March 1),

Ian's first beach trip (April 6-8),

Ian's first Easter egg hunt, and

Ian's first power wheels experience (May 12)! (Notice the "cool dude" spiky hair--He had just gotten hair cut number five.)

Any suggestions?

2009-02-28T12:51:00.002-05:00

We've got a picky eater on our hands. He has gotten tired of baby food, which is fine, but he doesn't want much when it comes to big boy food. He loves things that dissolve easily (cookies, Gerber Puffs, Nutri-Grain bars, and muffins), but these things have practically no nutritional value. We've tried giving him things we're eating without much luck. He looks interested, but turns away when we attempt to give him anything. Any ideas? I don't mind trying anything. I really want him to get more into fruits and veggies instead of all those carbs.

No more b-o-t-t-l-e

2009-02-28T12:47:00.002-05:00

Ian is offically off of his bottle as of last week. We were very worried how he would do, but it didn't phase him when I handed him a sippy cup instead of a bottle. He has been using a sippy cup off and on since he was about 5 months old, so he's had plenty of time to get used to it. But now he's a full-time sippy cup user :) We were happy to ditch the bottles without a big fuss.

15 months

2009-02-03T21:31:00.002-05:00

Ian went for his well-visit today. He weighed in at 20.6 pounds, putting him in the 5th percentile, and was 30 3/4 inches long, putting him in the 45th percentile. Everything else looked great too! Yay for a healthy boy!

Ian's been running around the house lately, repeating everything we say and eveything we do. Although the words he says don't sound exactly like what we say, he does have several down: bye-bye, hey, uh-oh, mama, dada, and Elmo. Today he was knocking on the doctor's office door to get out...knocking, with his little fingers in a fist like a grown-up knocks on a door. I thought it was so cute.

A day outdoors

2009-01-18T16:50:00.003-05:00

Since it's been so cold down here the last few days, we decided to take advantage of the 50+ degree weather.

He's got his frog, Dilbert, and his sippy cup full of juice in his wagon. What more does a boy need?

Oh yes! His dump truck! (Thanks, Aunt Cindy!)

What he's been up to...

2009-01-17T14:58:00.004-05:00

Walking all over the place

Playing peek-a-boo, his favorite game

Eating real food (This is a toddler fruit bar, but he's also added Oreos, yogurt, Goldfish, and cheese to his favorites list.)

Drinking from a juice box (This was his first one and he's been hooked since. Yay for good suction!)

Christmas morning

2009-01-17T11:36:00.006-05:00

Santa came! Ian must have been a good boy.

His new wagon!

Christmas parties

2009-01-17T08:52:00.008-05:00

Thanksgiving

2008-12-13T16:16:00.002-05:00