Patrick

Written Dec. 9, 2010
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Oh sweet baby
Growing inside of me
You are the answer to the prayer of my heart.
You are already loved!
I have hoped for you and I am so excited to meet you in a few months!
I hope you find my body a nice place to grow and get strong.
God has created you, dear one
And he has deemed it right for me to be your mommy.
What a huge blessing for me!
This world is beautifully tragic.
I cannot wait for you to come enjoy it.
We are praying for your development.
I love you so much, little one.


Written February 24, 2011
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Patrick

Saying Goodbye was not on my mind
That sunny Christmas afternoon.
You represented excitement and future plans
I already loved you so much.

As the doctor told us you were gone
The pain swelled in my heart.
Your presence in the world came and left
Far too quickly, but not without an impact.

Dear one, you were celebrated, longed for, and loved.
Your short life will not be forgotten.
My body was connected to yours from the beginning
And I will always miss you.

Now you get the gift of eternity
With the One who created you and knows all.
A perfect body, with the Perfect Lord
Your life is much more beautiful there than it would be here.

I am happy for that reality,
The gift of hope.
But I am sad I missed out knowing you.
My dear Patrick, I love you.
--Love, Mommy

pi-o!

Hunter loves to play the piano-- which he calls the "pi-o!" This video is super long and pretty much just for the grandparents and serious Hunter-lovers! LaVonne & Paul got Josh this keyboard and Hunter loves it.

Valentine's Day

Amidst the three-and-a-half weeks of sickness our family has suffered, Hunter and I managed to make some Valentine's Day cards for our families and friends! ( Josh didn't get to help this year because he was called into the Army Reserves.) We did this last year and decided it was a good tradition.
Hunter is currently going through a phase where he does not like his hands to be messy. If there is the tiniest crumb on his finger he will hold out his hand and say, "yuck, yuck" or simply whine until someone takes a wipe and cleans off his hand. It is semi-rediculous. So with the paint, at first he wasn't too sure he wanted his hand covered in slime, but within a few minutes he decided it was really cool that he could leave marks everywhere he touched. He was still sort of hesitant, so that made it a little easier to manage.
I enjoy this tradition with Hunter, and I am happy to say that his handprints turned out slightly better this year!

20 months

(I asked Hunter to smile for me and he made this goofy face and then did a little dance. Wish I would have had the recorder on... it was really cute!)

Hunter is 20 months old today! He is busier than ever and always entertaining us with his clever personality. He loves cars and trains-- he calls them"choo choos"-- right now and those are the most common words out of his mouth. He also enjoys blocks-- he calls them "bocks," his tunnel-- he calls it his "tatoo" (yea that is so funny!), and books. Books about choo choos or cars are priorities.

He loves graham crackers, goldfish, bread, milk, peanut butter, mac n'cheese, honey, and cookies. It is hard to get him to eat anything else! We have been successful with some pasta that has cheese and he usually likes pizza. The doctor told me not to worry-- kids his age need lots of carbs. He is getting carbs, that is for sure! :)

He recovered from his ear tube surgery quite well. He still tests his ears a lot-- like when we are talking to him or he is listening to music he will cover his ears and then uncover them many times. It seems like he is testing how well he can hear. I'm sure it is like a whole new world now that the fluid is gone! As far as sickness, he has been fighting a cold the past week and a half. RSV is going around campus so it may be that. Today his lungs sound awful when he breathes. I am just praying it almost over!


Hunter loves to dance and he has learned how to turn on the CD player in our dining room. He is not supposed to do it, but often when he does he just smiles and says, "dance, dance." He loves to watch Thomas the tank engine and again, he has learned how to operate the DVD player and the TV.

We have started brushing his teeth every night and he actually loves it. He gets really excited when I tell him it is time to brush his teeth. I hope this lasts for a while! He still loves bath time. And he has been showing an interest in the potty the last week or so. One of his new favorite words is "poop." When he says it, we ask, "do you need to go to the bathroom?" Usually he says yes. Then we take him to his potty. He has never actually gone to the bathroom on his potty--yet-- but we think this is at least getting him familiar to it. He is a smart kid. I'm sure it won't be long!

Nana?

Hunter's grandparents came to visit!! Hunter seems to be calling LaVonne something like "nana." We'll see if that sticks!

They made Hunter some wooden blocks that have Thomas all over them. They are a big hit in this house.



Thanks for coming to visit us!

Icephoon 2011

This storm has been much anticipated and it is finally upon us. We are currently under a blizzard warning until noon tomorrow. So far we have seen a lot of ice and it is just starting to transition to snow. Our school closed down yesterday afternoon and everything is cancelled for today.

We slept in until 9--- yes, 9!! Hunter was the first to wake up! Now we are preparing for the worst case scenario-- to be without power. We are cooking a lot this morning, finishing laundry, and we are heating our house a few extra degrees. We don't know if we'll be without power for sure, but we want to be prepared! This afternoon we plan to get together with some friends on campus and play games while we wait out the storm.

Here are some pictures from our apartment this morning. Check out the ice on the tree limbs. It is so beautiful.

This pine tree is right outside our window. The ice hangs on it so gracefully.


We are thankful for Covenant's Snow Plow. He faithfully comes by every half hour or so.

Surgery: Conquered!

Thanks for the prayers, well-wishes, and thoughts for Hunter. His surgery went really well.

We arrived at Children's Hospital just a few minutes after 6 a.m. and found our way to the 6th floor, Same Day Surgery. There were a few people there before us, but it was relatively quiet at this hour. We got Hunter checked in. The front desk had small windows surrounding it that were lit and held a bunch of blocks. Hunter absolutely loved looking at the blocks and was in great spirits.

After we got him checked in, we waited a few minutes in the lobby where there was a large aquarium and several toys that Hunter enjoyed. He kept saying "fishes, fishes, fishes!" It was really cute. At least Hunter wasn't nervous. I was nervous enough for both of us! The hospital gave us a DVD to watch called, "Amanda's surgery adventure" a few days before, and I had talked with Hunter about his procedure and shown him the DVD. I am not sure how much he comprehended, but I am glad I showed it to him. At least he had seen the rooms and the tools that were to be used on him before. It helped me to know what to expect!

Very soon we were called back into room 36 where Hunter's temperature, blood pressure, height and weight were all recorded. We went over his history briefly with the nurse and she was very helpful in answering any questions we had. Then an anesthesiologist nurse came in and went over Hunter's history more in depth. She showed Hunter the mask and then took him for a walk down the hall to see how he would do being separated from us. He was his normal, social, happy-self as he met all the nurses down the hall. Our nurse was pleased to see how well he did and said she wasn't worried about him. After that, Hunter's surgical nurse came in and brought Hunter several stickers and started to get to know him a little. We put a sticker of "Mr. Incredible" from The Incredibles on Hunter's pjs. He really loves stickers.

His surgical nurse and one other nurse then carried Hunter down the hall and into his surgery room. Hunter very happily went with them as Josh & I watched with fear. We were left alone in the room and both of us did not like thinking about Hunter going under the anesthesia. We prayed together and talked and tried to not let our fears get the best of us. In about 15 or 20 minutes, the doctor came in saying everything went really well. He said Hunter had fluid behind both ears that quickly came out after the procedure. He told us to wait for the phone in our room to ring and at that point they would tell us where Hunter's recovery room was. Very quickly after that we were called and we went to room 14 where Hunter was just waking up.

He was limp and angry when I picked him up. I was so happy to see him and hold him! Very shortly he started asking for apple juice again. He drank a full cup and asked for more, then the nurse gave him graham crackers. He was in sugar heaven! :) We only had to wait here for about 30 minutes to make sure Hunter recovered well and then we were able to go home! He was still fussy but loved being cuddled. When we got home, we borrowed the movie The Incredibles from our neighbors and we all cuddled on the couch for a little while. Before the movie was even over Hunter was feeling back to himself.

The process really was amazing. Children's Hospital is so well organized and intentional in how the treated us and Hunter. We are really hopeful that these ear tubes will help him to feel better and not get sick as often!!

The next day, we took Hunter to Bass Pro Shops to look at their giant aquarium. He loved that. When we got home, we were greeted with a beautiful cookie bouquet from Hunter's Great Aunt Pam & Uncle Don and their kids' families. What a fun treat! He LOVES cookies (thanks to his PaPaw Glen!).