Plagiocephaly

We’ve had a few very interesting weeks.  To begin, about two months ago Mike and I noticed that Max’s head shape was a little off.  We realized that when he was sleeping, he would suck on his right fist or thumb and that he wouldn’t turn his head to the other side very often.  Long story short, he was diagnosed with plagiocephaly, meaning that he has a flat spot on the back right side of his head.  After consulting with his pediatrician, she referred us to a place called Cranial Technologies.  They specialize in making bands (or helmets as most people call them) that help babies’ head shapes form properly.  He has now been wearing his band for a week.  All in all, it’s gone pretty well.  Unfortunately, he started teething about a week ago too, and that has definitely made his fussier than usual.  He has to wear his band 23 hours a day; they say that since we noticed it when he was so little, he should only have to wear it for six to eight weeks.

Aside from that, I’ve been having pretty severe stomach pain.  I thought it was just an ulcer, because I have had four in the past and it was a very similar feeling.  I always associate them with stress . . . between moving, Max’s band, and tying up all the loose ends with our last house, I thought for sure it was another ulcer.  I went to a GI specialist, and he said I needed to have a scope and he would also take a biopsy of my small intestines.  He said it could be a bunch of different things, and that the best way to figure it out would be a scope.  After the scope, he was able to rule out an ulcer and said I had gastritis and also possibly an intolerance to gluten.  SO, I’ve been eating a gluten-free diet for a week now, and I can say that I am really a lot better!  

We also had a whooping cough (pertussis) scare this past week.  Noah’s school has sent home several notices stating that they have had multiple cases in his school.  One of those was a girl in his class with whom he sits at his table.  He had a bad cold early last week, and it turned into a really bad cough.  We took him to his pediatrician, and he got tested as well as Amelia, since she was starting to show the same signs.  Apparently, you can still get whooping cough even if you’ve been vaccinated, although the symptoms won’t be as severe.  Max has had his first tdap vaccine (of the three given) when he was two months old, but I was really worried about him getting it from Noah.  Poor Noah missed his entire last week of school; however, we got his pertussis test back, and it was negative!  

The upside of being confined to his room was that he got to play a lot of legos!

Other than that, life has been great!  We are loving the pool, poor Amelia has been in it so much that the bottom of her toes started bleeding.  She recently got a medal from her swim coach for completing her first semester of lessons.  I have never seen a child love water as much as she does; she’s been that way since her first bath.  Mike has either smoked or grilled something on his new grill/smoker for two weeks straight, I have consumed more meat in the last two weeks than I usually do in a three-month period.

We  leave for Utah in one week, and I am so excited to see all my family out there!  It will be the first time I’ve seen my brother Jared in almost a year and a half (he  and my dad got back from Afghanistan a few months ago).

I can't believe she will be three in three weeks!

"I'm a Tiger!"

Field Day Fun

Last Friday was Noah’s field day at his school, and I’m not sure who had more fun – Noah or Amelia!  His school rented four HUGE bonces slides and houses, had a snow cone station, and served hot dogs.  I barely even saw Noah, because he and his friends were sprinting from one bounce slide to the next.  Amelia insists on dressing in one of her princess dresses at all times, including slippers, tiara and a wand and she had that same outfit on when we went to Noah’s school.  All the little girls in Noah’s class were enthralled with her and asked if they could play with her.  Amelia was a little shy at first . . . but it didn’t take long for her to warm up and, next thing I knew, they were all holding hands and running around.  They were literally fighting over who got to hold her hand or pick her up and hold her.  I think she was held by ten different little girls; after about an hour of this she was done and just wanted her “Bubba.”

Last weekend Noah and Mike went to the Boy Scout “Bridging” (he moved up from Wolf to a Bear) campout and had a blast.  Mike said Noah didn’t stop running from 3pm until 10pm.  It sounded like they had a great time.  His den performed a skit, and they had S’mores by the campfire after dinner.

I cannot believe how much Max is changing!  He loves to interact with us, and he giggled for the first time a few nights ago . . . I thought my heart was going to melt!  I wish I could freeze time and have him this little forever!

A place for the kids to display their art.

The reading corner is finished and it's a big hit!

Big News!

We have now joined the ranks of homeowners!  After renting for what feels like forever, we finally found a house we love.  Having never before been through the whole process of buying a home, I had no idea how much there was to it.  We have now lived in our new home for exactly one week, and it’s been amazing.  Not to say we haven’t had issues, but that’s to be expected; overall, it’s everything we dreamed of.  

One of the biggest selling points was the pool . . . I didn’t think the kids and I could make it through another summer in the Texas heat without one.  I am happy to say that we have either gotten in the spa or pool every single day!  Another thing we really love about the layout is that it has an upstairs family room that is just for the kids.  They have all their books, toys, art supplies, video games, and movies in one location.  One of my first projects will be to create a reading corner with a tent that hangs from the ceiling with mats and pillows underneath.

Upstairs family room

Mike and I are really expanding our ability to be “handy”.  We knew the kitchen faucet and sink had a leak and would need to be replaced right away, so we bought a new sink and faucet this weekend and removed the old one and installed the new one ourselves (well, we had a little help from our friends Dean and Melinda, thankfully).  It’s such a great feeling to own something and be able to change things without getting permission from a landlord or having to hide the fact that we have a cat.

The best part is that the house is literally a two-minute walk from Noah’s school, and he has six of his friends that live on our cul-de-sac!  He’s been walking to and from school every day with his friends, which has been great for me (I used to have to wake Max or Amelia if they were napping to go pick him up).  This weekend we’re having a block party so we can get to know all our neighbors better.

Two Months

I cannot believe my little man is already two months old!  Maxwell is seriously a dream baby; he never cries except to let me know he’s hungry.  I feel so lucky that he’s so easy!  Since he’s the third child, if I had a fussy baby, I’m not sure what I would do.

 

He had his two-month check-up this morning, and he weighs 12 lbs. 9 oz. and is in the 66^th percentile.  He is 23.5 inches long and is in the 60^th percentile.  He has an umbilical hernia that his pediatrician said should go away in the first year (if not, he’ll have to have surgery to correct it).  He also has a case of thrush as well as his first runny nose, but none of these things seem to be bothering him.

He’s still sleeping A LOT but when he is awake, it’s all smiles!  He loves to stand on his legs, and he pumps his arms with excitement.  He is starting to coo and squeal a lot more.  He gets really worked up pumping his arms and then this little noise will come out, and you can tell he’s proud of himself.  He’s started sleeping through the night, which has been so wonderful for me! 

Both Noah and Amelia are very wonderful with him.  I was worried how Amelia would react with him receiving so much attention, but she really doesn’t get upset over it.   She mostly wants to help and loves to give him “tickies.”  She calls him “Sweetie Pie, Sweetie Pie, Sweetie Pie.”  Yesterday when I let her hold him, she said to me, “Mommy, I need to feed him . . . hand me the boppy.”

Amelia was reading Noah a bedtime story.

Badges & Bunnies

Noah recently earned his Wolf badge in Boy Scouts, and we are very proud of him for his hard work!  I am hoping he and Mike will be able to go on the upcoming Bridging campout where he’ll get to walk over a bridge signifying his transition from a Bear to a Wolf.

 

 

We had a very enjoyable Easter weekend!  Mike had that Friday off and it was nice to just relax around the house.  On Easter day, Mike took Noah and Amelia to the town of Grapevine and rode the vintage railroad there to meet the Easter Bunny. We did a similar train ride at Christmas when the kids met Santa and they loved it both times! Amelia was far more excited about meeting the bunny than Noah, but I think he enjoyed the train ride more.  

Mike's Grandma Sandy made these adorable place mats and napkins for Christmas and we decided to make them our Easter breakfast tradition.

After being completely overloaded on sugar, Amelia was ready for an early bedtime.  We didn’t hear her making any noise upstairs, so Mike was shocked when he went upstairs to find her with both fists full of Noah’s candy! He had left his full ziplock bag in his room, and Amelia had gotten into it and eaten at least three fourths of it. When Mike asked her what she was doing, she put her hands up and out to the side, put on her cutest face and said she just wanted a couple.

I had to get pretty creative with hiding Noah's eggs this year!