Today is the day

Today is the day we found out what we have suspected for over a year. Jonah received an autism diagnosis. While it comes with mixed feelings, we are glad we can now move in a forward direction. Jonah was evaluated last November and received a misdiagnosis. We were told at that time that he was "going at his own pace". We accepted the news and went along, knowing that something was still being missed. The new doctor was able to correctly diagnosis. Today was reassuring to know we are doing a lot of what needs to be done at home. We will work on beefing up his IEP at school in the next couple of weeks and start private occupational and speech therapies next week.

Beautiful You

Ian,

As I drove you to the bus stop today, a song came on the radio that made me think of you.

"You were made to fill a purpose that only you can do,
So there could never be a more beautiful you. "

We are one week away from your sixth surgery and it has me reflecting on how far we've come in your cleft journey.

You were such a sweet and easy baby. Your eyes had such love and that wide smile was just perfect. Your first surgery wasn't easy in many ways, but it was more difficult because we knew we'd never get back that smile we'd loved for your first six months.

 

As a toddler, you loved being around people. You were our little social butterfly. Your sweet smile warmed our hearts.

As you've grown older, your outgoing personality has really started to show. Like your daddy, you love to entertain others and make people laugh. We love seeing you smile and laugh and come up with your silly jokes.

Some people were inquisitive about your cleft and it began to make you self conscious. Although we've always loved your beautiful smile, you sometimes felt out of place. I want you to always remember that our Father made you perfectly in His image. I can see Him in you every day in your laugh, your love for your little brother, and your beautiful spirit. You will continue to do wonderful things, my son, and I cannot wait to see you grow into a young man. I know He has big plans for you and that beautiful smile.


I love you, beautiful you. 

Happy birthday, little J!

Our sweet baby is two! It's hard to believe how fast this little guy is growing.

He is such a sweetheart, like his big brother, but his interests could not be more different. Jonah is all about cars and trains and trucks. Anything with wheels really.

Jonah is also a big fan of fruit, puzzles, his pets, and books. He loves snuggling with Mama in the mornings with his chocolate milk warm and watching Curious George and Mickey. He would play outside everyday if the weather allowed. Luckily, his Mama loves the outdoors too, so we enjoy walks in the mornings and play time on the play set.

Thank you, Jonah, for making our family feel complete. We love you, birthday boy!

Defying the odds

Ian has been in speech therapy since turning two years old. He has flourished with the right therapists and worked very hard to make great strides. As some of you who follow the blog may know, Ian has had 5 total surgeries, one of which was specifically to improve the hyper nasality in his speech. The procedure, a pharyngeal flap, was probably the most difficult for Ian. He refused to eat while in the hospital, which kept us there a bit longer than we would have liked. However, once home and recovered, he continued to work hard on producing the correct sounds. Once in pre-k, his therapist, who is provided by the school system, constantly told us how impressed she was with his ability to compensate. With his cleft, his upper gum line is not very straight. He is missing two teeth, which have an impact on speech. Ian taught himself different ways to produce the proper sounds. His therapist felt he no longer needed therapy each week, but would do just fine with one session a month. Once in kindergarten, he continued to do well in speech with one session a month. At his evaluation in October, his speech therapist felt Ian no longer needed speech. We were so surprised and excited to hear this good news!

Before he was born, we were told Ian would need speech throughout his childhood. How exciting it was to hear that his hard work had paid off!

Happy birthday, Ian

Our sweet Ian turned 6 in October.

He is such a smart, independent, and sweet little boy who always wants to do what is right. He loves playing sports like soccer and baseball, and can be very competitive when it comes to a good game of Yahtzee or checkers. He takes after his daddy and enjoys playing video games. He enjoys reading all kinds of books and has taken up chapter books this year. His favorite series are Stink and Captain Underpants. He loves to make us laugh with his silly jokes.

We love you to the moon and back, sweet boy! Thank you for being a shining star in our lives.

The K Word

No more evening walks down the street to get blackberries, no more hunting frogs after dinner, no more lazy days at the pool. It's time for school to start for Ian. And not just school, but the K word: kindergarten!

I must say this mama has been dreading this moment. I know he is more than ready, but I cannot say the same for me. Although I am sad to see him start this new chapter in his life, I am so blessed that he is super excited! He doesn't even want me to walk him in. Tear!

Ian, I want you to know that Mama loves you to the moon and back. I will be thinking about you all day tomorrow and cannot wait to hear about how much you love kindergarten!

Drumroll...

I know I left everyone hanging to see Jonah's sweet, new smile. Here's our little guy about 13 months after surgery:

Big day

Tomorrow is the big day! 

Jonah has his lip procedure in the morning. Although we have been through this one other time with Ian, we are still a bit anxious. I keep trying to reassure myself, but have been finding ways to worry. I know we have an amazing plastics team, that the nurse and staff at Children's is awesome, and that we have the best support system anyone could ask for. (Jonah's great grandmother will even be with us at the hospital tomorrow to see him off.)

For you cleft mommies and daddies who have also been through this, you understand the anxiety. For those of you who have not yet been through or do not have to go through this, just know that it's very emotional. The little smile we have loved for the past three months is going to be forever changed. I will not say that it's "for the better", as some strangers have told me, because we see nothing wrong with beautiful smiles God gave our boys. I do not say that they are "able to fix it", because again, there was nothing in my eyes that needed fixing. I am, however, excited about seeing the new little smile that we will also love. I am excited about not having to use the tape on his precious face or NAM device anymore.

Please keep little Jonah in your prayers at 5am when we're driving to the hospital and at 8am when they start his procedure. Please pray that his empty little belly feels full and that his nurses can manage his pain after surgery. Please pray that Mama and Daddy stay strong for our brave little baby.

Proud big brother

Welcome to the world

Jonah made his appearance March 21, weighing 7 lbs. 5oz. and 20 and 1/4 inches long. Ian is a wonderful big brother.

Wordless Wednesday

Baby News

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!

And baby makes four

  

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

Back to School

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

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

 

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

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

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

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!