Summer Fun!

In about 3 weeks Jackson will start 1st grade! He has spent the summer at summer day camp at the YMCA, but is SO ready to head back to school. He went on his first field trip with camp on Wednesday to the Fort Worth Zoo and was a little disappointed because he didn't see a lion.

Last week Jacob and I took off a few days for a Stay-cation. Jackson experienced several "firsts". He went to Six Flags and had a blast! His favorite ride was the Runaway Mine Train, but also enjoyed another ride that you get totally soaked on as well. The next day we went to Hurricane Harbor (water park) and Jackson had a good time there. On Saturday we took him to a baseball game, Grand Prairie Air Hogs. This was a great choice for his first real sports event. Before the first pitch had been thrown, he was already asking how much longer we were going to stay. I think he sampled everything they were selling at the snack bar. He just not really into anything sports related. Things got better when their mascot "Scout" appeared and Jackson watched him entertain the crowd for the rest of the game. I'm really glad we chose this over taking him to the Texas Rangers at $60/ticket.

While we were out having fun with Jackson, poor little Austin spent the days with Nana recovering from the hand, foot and mouth virus.

Here are a few photos of our fun!

Kindergarten is coming to an end...

It is so hard to believe that Jackson's kindergarten year is almost over! He has grown tremendously since the beginning of the year in so many ways. Academically he has grown 8 levels in reading and has gone from not being able to read to reading at about a 2nd grade level. Gone are the days of being able to spell things to Jacob, Jackson can decode our messages now.

Several times throughout the year he has taken standardized tests in reading and math. I almost could not believe the scores! In reading his goal for the year was 165. The first time he took the test he received a 151 (78th percentile), in December/January he met the goal at 165 (90th percentile) and on the final test taken last week he scored a 181 (will update percentile). In math his goal was 160. The first time he took the test he received a 144 (51st percentile), in December/January he met the goal at 165 (87th percentile) and on the final test taken last week he scored a 182 (will update percentile). We are extremely proud of him!

Behavior this year has been a challenge, but in the last month we have seen a change in him and he has started maturing. First grade, here he comes!

Austin at 18 months

Weight: 18lbs 12oz
Height: 30 inches

 Austin doing wonderful! He is now totally on table food with one pediasure a day to help with extra calories. He LOVES "cooks" (cookies) and anything sweet.

Developmentally he is still catching up, but was released from physical therapy about 2 weeks ago. He is walking more consistently. His next challenge is learning to standup in the middle of the floor rather than pulling up on something. The OT thinks he may have a little depth perception issue so we ordered him wooden puzzles to help him with that. His next follow up with the opthamologist isn't until august although the retina foundation (they do more in depth vision testing) has said his vision is age appropriate.

Austin has come such a long way and I can't wait to see what the future holds!

STAR SCHOLAR!

We are SO proud to announce that Jackson was Star Scholar today! This is HUGE for him. He not only had to go all day without getting into trouble but exceeding all expectations. 

We made a point to call grandma and papa as well as nana and big pa to deliver this awesome news. Jackson thought it would be funny to play a joke on his grandparents and told them he was on pause, which is the worst possible place to be, because he punched someone. He's a joker and wouldn't actually do that though. Silly boy! 

Catching up with Jackson!

My BIG boy is now 6 1/2 and it's hard to believe! 

He's doing great in school! He's reading between a 1st and 2nd grade level. He is WAY above average in the testing areas and met his goal for the year right after the first of the year. Jackson's biggest challenge at the moment is behavior...it's SO hard not to talk or act up when you are completing assignments quickly and have free time. He is a talker!

Jackson loves video games at the moment and playing on the computer. Superheroes are his biggest interest, especially Batman. He is a sweetheart and still loves cuddling with mommy. He's a great big brother to Austin and tries to play as much as Austin will let him. He's very protective of his brother and when he gets the occasional comment about his little "sister" (he looks nothing like a girl), Jackson is quick to let them know politely that he has a BROTHER!

I just looked back and realized its been a year since my last post!

Here's a few pics of big brother:

Catching up with Austin!

Weight: 18lbs 8oz

Height: 29.5 inches

I know it's been a LONG time since I last posted, but Austin is doing wonderful!!! We've been busy with doctor appointments, birthday parties, etc. Austin turned one on September 21st and he celebrated with close family. Here are a few pictures from his party...

K

Austin had his 15 month check-up not long ago and is healthy, healthy! I'm sure many remember all we went through with Austin having a milk protein allergy. I'm excited to say that it is complete resolved and he is now on whole milk. We are also giving/mixing with Pediasure to increase the calories since he is still on the small side. He is eating table food by the fist full and will eat anything you give him. He has 16 teeth (that is not a typo) so eating is no issue other than shoving too much in at a time. 

Developmentally he is catching up everyday and is really close to walking. He takes a few steps and can really walk just lacks confidence. You can't look away for a second because he is on the move and into everything! He knows how to comb his hair and is starting to use a spoon. He loves music and will dance or bob his head. His vocabulary is increasing everyday and his favorite word is "cook" for cookie. 

Here are some more up to date photos since I start a post but haven't finished one in a while. Hoping to do better!

Milestones!

It's been a while since I updated, so this one is a big one!

AUSTIN
Weight: 11lbs

Austin went in for his 6 month check up today and is doing GREAT!

Growth
He is staying on his curve for height and weight, slowly making up ground. His pediatrician estimates that he will finally intersect the growth chart curves around his first birthday. As for his head, he is shooting straight up almost for head circumference. He's making room for his big brain!

Feeding
Austin is currently eating Elecare because we suspect he has some kind of milk protein allergy. We are mixing it at 22cal/oz to help his growth and he seems to be tolerating it pretty well. The plan is to keep him on it until he's around 9 months and then transition him to the next step up in hopes of him being on regular milk by the time he is 1 year corrected (December). We are also going to try and start him on baby food in the next 2 months based on how well he shows readiness for that.

After dealing with him fighting at feedings for several weeks to a month, we think he may be dealing with reflux. To help this, he was prescribed Zantac and we hope this helps him to be able to eat more at each feeding. He currently only takes about 4oz every 3 hours and sometimes will only take 2-3oz.

Eyes
We have scheduled a follow-up with his opthamologist, because his left eye is starting to track outward and not follow the right. If you remember, his left eye is the one with the Coloboma and is noticeably smaller than the right. I'm not sure what the treatment will be, but I'm hoping it will only involve patching and not surgery!

Developmental
The pediatrician has recommended we consult with a developmental pediatrician to be sure that Austin is meeting his milestones as close to on track as he can. Thankfully, he is doing well and is making progress. We just want to make sure something doesn't fall through the cracks. As with Jackson, the goal is that preemies catch up to their peers by the time they turn 2.

Because Austin was premature and spent quite a bit of time laying on the back of his head and still spends time laying on the back of his head, we have notice some flattening. At the recommendation of his pediatrician, we are going to try and help it by trying to keep him off it as much as possible during the day since he has to sleep on his back all night. The alternative would be to have him evaluated to see if his case is bad enough to need a helmet to reshape his head.

A few other tidbits:
Last Thursday Austin received his last Synagis injection.
Last Monday he was release from the surgeon! (Better be the last surgery too!)

JACKSON
We are excited to announce that Jackson was accepted into Infinity Prep, a charter school that opened about 2 years ago, to start Kindergarten this fall. Although Jackson would like to stay at Kindercare, he is warming up to the idea of going to Kindergarten. On the ride home almost everyday, we talk about what fun he is going to have and all the new things he is going to get to do. Yesterday's topic was going through the lunch line and "buying" his own lunch! He was exciting at being able carry his tray and do things like grown-ups!

I am SO glad he was select to attend! This could be the mama talking, but he seems advanced for his age and the things he knows and the questions he asks. A few days ago we had a discussion on gravity of all things. Every couple of days, he will surprise me with some subject he wants to discuss...I just hope I can keep up with him! I may have to start doing research to answer some of his questions! :)

One last thing, Jackson lost his second tooth and the third is starting to get loose! I remember they all came in pretty close together, but at the rate he is going he's not going to have any teeth!

Now for the pictures!



Brothers on St. Patrick's Day



You can see how his head is flattening out on the back some.

And one for Tax Day!

First visit from the Tooth Fairy

On February 12, 2013 at 3:40pm, Jackson lost his first tooth while eating granola.

I see the daycare phone number pop up on my phone and my mind automatically thinks "what has he done". The director was calling to let me know that Jackson had just come running in her office and told her that she needed to call me "immediately" to let me know that he lost his tooth. I did go down and took photos to document this milestone and here they are...

His new tooth was already erupting and has made progress coming in. This new tooth is so big and I'm hoping that the orthodontist is not in our future!

Lots of Stuff

Weight: 9lbs 10oz

Surgery
Austin has made it past another surgery with flying colors. It amazes me how resilient he is with all that he has been through. We go for a follow up in a few weeks and hopefully this will be the last surgery he has to have!

Because he is still so young, we are required to stay for a 23 hour observation and we were initally place in a room which was located on the "sick" side of the unit. Jacob and I about lost it! The nurse assured us that there were no sick or contagious kids around us, but we requested a room change. The next day Austin started sounding congested and has been since then. I don't know if it is because he picked up something or just being intubated for the procedure or if he picked up something from Jackson. As a precaution I took him to the pediatrician on Monday and other than sounding gross he is fine. He just a a cough and sounds a little congested.

Big Austin turned 5 Months Old last Thursday!

Feeding/Weight Gain Issue

For several weeks it has been a struggle to get Austin to finish a bottle and the whole process was a wrestling match that left whoever was feeding exhausted. I had been adding Elecare to slowly get him used to it in hopes of using it to fortify his milk and add calories. Well, he wasn't having any part of that! Two nights ago, while Jacob was taking his turn in the ring, I decided to try him on a few ounces of straight Elecare just to see if I could figure out what was going on. As soon as the bottle touch his mouth, he started slurping it down like crazy. Jacob pulled that bottle out and started trying to feed him the breastmilk/elecare mix and he went ballistic again. Apparently Austin does not care for my breastmilk anymore and prefers the Elecare totally. He is inhaling those bottles in 10-15 mins while it was taking him 30-45 mins to take the other. Since he hasn't be taking as much, he really hasn't gained any weight in about a week. I'm hoping now that he is eating like a champ he will plump up!

How I Made It...179 days

I've been asked many times how I made it through 179 days in the NICU between both boys... This is how.

Let the Storm Subside

I have faced so many storms in my life, some like the quick afternoon storms that are common in the summertime and some that seemed like category four hurricanes!

If I have learned anything about weathering those storms, it has been that they don't last forever, and I don't need to make major decisions in the midst of them.

Thoughts and feelings run wild in the midst of crises, but those are exactly the times we need to be careful about making decisions. I often say to myself, "Let emotions subside before you decide."

We must remain calm and discipline ourselves to focus on doing what we can do and trust God to do what we can't do.
Instead of drowning in worry and fear, get in touch with God, who sees past the storm and orchestrates the big picture.

He makes sure everything that needs to happen in our lives happens at the right time, moves at the appropriate speed, and causes us to arrive safely at the destinations He has planned for us.

Prayer Starter: God, I know that I can't control everything, so I will do what I can and trust You to do what I can't do. The storms of life do not control me. I trust Your plans for me.

Psalm 46:1-3

~Joyce Meyer devotional

At no point in time between Jackson coding and Austin's three surgeries did I ever think that I wouldn't bring them home, I knew I would and through everything He was there. Don't get me wrong, there were days that we super hard, but I was always calm because I knew we had Him healing two fragile little boys.

Fast forward to today...Jackson with his scarred little lungs was released from the pulmonologist free from the Chronic Lung Disease that has plagued him for 5 years and Austin who is growing like a weed and no longer needs the care of the GI doctor because he is gaining weight at such a rapid pace.

We are so Thankful!