Three.

It's been over a year since I last posted. An update is needed! Three years ago, our littlest boy was born. He was a little seven pound newborn who gave us a lot of scares those first few months. The last few years have gone by so fast. Bennett is now a rambunctious three year old, and there is no stopping him! His third year has been amazing! He runs, jumps, climbs, and keeps up with his five year old brother. He loves playing ball of any kind. The only toys he ever picks out at the store are sports related. Bennett is a real character, and loves to be funny. He makes jokes, and loves being playing around with his brother! He loves watching Mickey Mouse and Dog With a Blog on the Disney Channel. He loves food, and his favorite thing is chocolate milk! He graduated from physical therapy when he turned three! He has had great check-ups in myelomeningocele (spina bifida) clinic, and he is right on track! He will visit clinic again in September, and we will be looking for some potty training solutions. He has neurogenic bladder and bowels, so he is not able to control on his own. We hope to get him in underwear before he starts preschool in August 2015. Big brother, Matthew, starts Kindergarten this August! He is excited, and I am nervously excited! We just took a family road trip to South Carolina to have a nice vacation before school starts! Here are some recent pictures:

Bennett's 3 year photos

 Matthew's preschool graduation:

 First carnival ride!

 Beach vacation!:

Our Baby is Two Years Old!

It's been a long time since my last post. Life has been busy! This year, I trained for and completed my first(and probably only!) half marathon! It was the Geist Half, and it was in May. I've also been studying and practicing photography. I'm hoping to do a free session each month this year, and maybe I'll be ready to go professional in 2014. Andrew has been extremely busy at work. It's a great year for people purchasing houses! Matthew finished pre-school(he still has one more year of preschool left) and will attend two camps this summer: Vacation Bible School, and Ocean camp with some of his friends from school. He's been having a lot of fun splashing in his pool, making art projects, and having play dates with his friends so far this summer! Bennett just turned two last week. It's hard to believe that he's already two years old, although it's hard to remember life before he was here! Bennett has been spending his time running errands with me, playing sports with any ball he finds in the house, taking walks, and he's finally starting to say some words. He says about 30 words just in the last few weeks. We signed him up for speech therapy twice a month that starts in July just to make sure he stays on track. He is still in physical therapy weekly, but he's doing so well that we will slow that down soon. He's just building strength and balance, and he loves to show off how awesome he is by running around and directing the therapist to do what he wants. He is such a funny guy!

Both kids had so much fun at Bennett's "camping" birthday party!

 

Bennett's 2 year photos

Boys Will Be Boys

Matthew turned 4 this month! We can't believe what a big boy he has become- he amazes us everyday! We had a fun family party at Chuck E. Cheese. Matthew had a few friends over after school to celebrate on the big day. He specifically wanted a blue birthday cake and yellow cupcakes. Toy Story and Jake and the Neverland Pirates are his favorites this year, or should I say this month? Everyone had a great time!

4 Years Old!

Bennett, oh Bennett. What shall we do with you? Bennett loves to run and play, and fall. Well, Mr. Adventurous had a journey too big for a little boy...down the stairs. This was a few months ago. It was terrifying, it included a hospital stay, he had a concussion and small amount of blood in his head and had to take it easy for a few days. He recovered and was back to being a wild child (with a couple more safety gates installed...three was not previously sufficient). This is relevant because just this week, we had another hospital stay for the little mischief-maker. This time, there was no specific accident that sent us to the ER. Bennett was just acting like he didn't feel well, nothing major, just mild fever and a little fussy. Out of nowhere, his body went limp and his eyes rolled, and I called an ambulance. He was much better by the time the paramedics arrived, alert and waving to everyone. We took him ourselves to Riley to get checked out. The poor guy had so many tests to see what was going on(I originally thought he had a seizure, but after testing it is more likely he passed out). So CT scan, x-rays, EEG, blood test, urine test, MRI...and the sweet boy has a small subdural hematoma(blood) in the same place in his head as the bleed from the stairs. The neurosurgeon told us that the extra fluid in his head causes the blood vessels to stretch and can break more easily than children without the fluid. He's getting more steady on his feet, but he still has some toddler falls. We have to try to keep him calm for a couple weeks and we're trying to keep him off hard surfaces. So the good news is that Bennett is doing just great now! He wants to run and play, and does not enjoy me following him so closely around the house all day!

18 Month Photo

The countdown to Disney World and the beach has begun! We are all looking forward to a fun and relaxing vacation!

...And here he is in action!

Bennett, our little walker!

First Steps!

Bennett took his first steps Thursday, September 27th, 2012! He had his weekly physical therapy earlier that day, but was no where near taking steps. He saved the big moment for the whole family to witness. Andrew, Matthew, and I were in Bennett's room with him getting ready for bed that evening. He decided that it was time to walk, and just took four steps from Andrew to me! We were all so excited for him, and he was so proud of himself that he just kept trying for more! Three steps here, four steps there, and he successfully did this about five times! He walked to all of us. Matthew kept saying "Walk to me, Bennett!" and holding his hands out for him. Bennett was thrilled with himself! He's still learning balance, but he's getting so close to walking full-time! He is communicating better, saying a few words "dad", "ball", "mama"(when he cries), and he imitates a lot of words when we say them. He is very curious and points to everything wanting you to tell him more about it. Bennett loves food, cuddles, blanket and paci, trains, coloring on the art easel, and the dogs!

Matthew started preschool two days per week, and he loves it! He has been such a big helper lately, and he's getting so smart! He makes me laugh every day. He likes to pick his outfit and get dressed on his own now. He has just learned how to control his drawing, and has been crafting elephants, people, rocket ships, etc. He tends to doodle something, decide what it resembles, and then add details. He has also started tracing his name really well, and draws "M"s everywhere! He loves the Disney Junior channel on tv, his favorite show is Octonauts. He rides his tricycle around the house for hours each day. He is a tricycle pro, he is so fast and agile on that trike! Most of all, he loves his little brother! He takes great care of him, always making sure that he is happy. He shares toys and food, and always gives him hugs and kisses.

The boys have a cousin, Harrison! Harrison was born August 21st. He is a sweet, cute baby! We recently went with Aunt Tine for Harrison's first zoo trip!

One!

I cannot believe it's already here. Sweet Bennett is turning one today! Exactly one year ago, I was getting ready to meet this amazing boy. It was a scary time before he arrived not knowing what to expect. If only I could have seen a glimpse of our future, I could have relaxed completely. But as soon as I saw his face, I knew everything was going to be okay. And I was right, Bennett is more than okay. He is perfect. This boy has taught me a lot about life in his twelve months. I am so thankful to have him in my life. Our family is so much better with him in it. Andrew and I constantly reflect on how lucky we are to have these two perfect sons. Matthew just adores Bennett, and Bennett is obsessed with his big brother as well! He is the sweetest, funniest, cuddliest, most mischievous, little one year old. I can't get enough of him.

Time to Babyproof the House!

Bennett is crawling! Yesterday, I was printing a document and Bennett just took off crawling to check out the printer! He loves electronics, whether it's the remote, iPad, or the blu-ray player, he will drop everything to check it out! Electronics -and food- are his passions. Our little guy is now on the go! I guess it's time to get the cords off the floor and make sure all the outlets are plugged up! We are all so happy for him, and he's so proud of himself!

Easter and Milestones

Today is Easter. The boys had a great day seeing family and searching for eggs during three Easter egg hunts. Matthew was great at recognizing his name, and his brother's name, on all of the labeled eggs and baskets today! Both boys made it through the day without any major meltdowns. We are all worn out tonight and it was an early bedtime for the kids! I take that back, Matthew is still laughing in his bed (and playing his new recorder from Nana) trying to settle down.

Bennett turned 10 months old yesterday. During the last two weeks, he has changed so much! He has become very interested in learning to crawl. He is pivoting his body and scooting to get to toys! He has also started babbling so much and sometimes says "mama", "dada", and we think he is saying "duck". He has this new-found energy and excitement about everything, especially table foods! He's growing up fast!

Is it spring yet?

We are so happy to experience warmer weather this past week or so! Spring weather and fresh air is exactly what we need right now. We have had a rough time with winter illness in this family! Matthew had a cold and then double ear infection. Bennett had "hand, foot, and mouth", then caught Matthew's cold which turned into bronchiolitis. Bennett is still dealing with that cold and possibly acid reflux. Andrew and I have also caught Matthew's cold. And this has all occurred in the last three weeks!

On a happier note, the kids are still having fun! Bennett is rolling much more and his arms are getting stronger. He is babbling all the time now and loves to take his brothers toys now! Matthew is still enjoying school and his latest craze is "Blue's Clues". I took both boys to the circus with my brother and sister last weekend, and Matthew really had fun! We also recently went to a puppet show and both kids' eyes were glued to the stage! It was fun to see how they enjoyed it!

Busy, Growing Boys

It's been a while since my last update, but no news is good news! We've had a busy holiday season. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's have flown by. Lots of celebrations, so many gifts, and plenty of sickness to go around! We planned to visit the Neal's in St. Louis mid-December, but had to delay the trip when Bennett and I got sick. We both had strep throat, and Bennett had a double ear infection. Luckily, we were under control by Christmas. We spent Christmas eve with my extended family, had a perfect Christmas morning at home, Christmas day with my immediate family, and then the day after Christmas travelled to St. Louis to spend time with Andrew's family. We were glad to see all the family for Christmas, but we were worn out after all of that!

The fun is not over because Matthew's third birthday party is tomorrow! We are just having a small family pizza party, and Matthew is most excited about his Cars 2 ice cream cake! He's also taking a treat to school Monday, which is his actual birthday. Matthew is growing up so quickly, learning new things every day. He is always coming up with new clever ways to get into trouble, but he is getting better about cleaning up after himself! He's also doing very well with potty training and wearing underwear full-time during the day now. We just use an overnight while he sleeps. Matthew still loves to take care of his baby brother! Whenever Bennett cries, Matthew calls for me and says "Mama, Bennett's crying. He needs you to take care for him". He also hugs him and holds him to try to make him feel better any time he cries. Bennett turned 7 months old today! He is sitting independently, smiles and coos all the time, imitates the words "hi" and "boo", eats solids once or twice a day, and he got his first tooth Christmas day! Both boys are happy and doing great!

Bennett turns 5 months old

We had a big month: Halloween, Bennett's Baptism, and lots of fall fun! We also had an appointment with the neurosurgeon.

Halloween was fun with our little bear and baby bear! Bennett wore Matthew's first Halloween costume, a polar bear outfit. Matthew wanted to be a bear like his brother, so we ended up with two bears! Bennett enjoyed watching all the kids. He was so alert and happy the whole evening! Matthew loved going house-to-house and handing out candy at home. He did have trouble understanding that some houses give things other than candy. He received a pencil at one house and did not know what to do, so he threw it on the ground and started running to the next house looking for candy. It's hard to be a two-year-old! We all had a fun time!

Bennett was Baptized Sunday, November 6th. It went really well, especially compared to our experience with Matthew's screamfest Baptism. Bennett slept right through the whole ceremony! We had a good time celebrating at our house afterward and seeing the whole family.

We had a check-up with the neurosurgeon November 9th. She said that Bennett has healed up nicely, and looks good! She didn't even recognize him because he has grown so much in the past couple of months! She thought his movement looked good, the only trouble being his ankles pulling upward more than down. She still thinks he will be fine walking. His head has grown a little bit above his curve, so she ordered a CT scan to check the fluid and shunt. It came back fine, just a little extra fluid around the outside of his brain. She just wants to keep an eye on it and see him again in February. Overall, he's doing great!

4 Month Pictures

Bennett is now four months old! He continues to amaze us every day!
Just wanted to add some pictures:










We had a lot of fun at the pumpkin patch today!

First Clinic

We attended Bennett's first Myelomenigocele (his form of spina bifida) clinic at Riley on September 27th. It was a long day, but we were happy with how the appointments and testing went. We arrived at 11:00am for a renal ultrasound and pelvic x-ray. Clinic started at 1:00pm, but we were not called in until about 1:45pm. Bennett weighed in at 16 pounds and measured 25.5 inches, our big boy! (He will be 4 months old on October 7th.) We were seen by someone from the neuro team, not our actual neurosurgeon. She checked Bennett's head and thought his soft spot felt okay, and his shunt seems to be functioning well! We will see our neurosurgeon for a checkup again next month. Next, we met the Developmental Pediatrician, Dr. Brei, who happens to have spina bifida himself. He thought Bennett's leg movement was amazing! He even said that we did not need to meet with Orthopedics because there was nothing he would need at this point for his legs! We will meet them at his six month appointment, and hopefully we won't really need them then either. Dr. Brei spent a lot of time with us answering all of our questions and making sure we felt comfortable. It was great to meet him, and very informative! We left with a prescription for a new diaper rash antibiotic cream. Hopefully we will finally be able to get this under control! He's been battling a diaper rash since birth. After our meeting, we were sent to the Urologist for Bennett's bladder/kidney test called VCUG. Bennett started getting worn out at this point and cried for a few minutes. This was his only breakdown of the day. He was such a trooper! The testing went well, and the urologist said that there is still no reflux into the kidneys and we do not need to do anything at this point! We will repeat the VCUG in a couple months, but this is great news for now! We are so thankful that our little Bennett is getting good news and we pray it continues!

3 Months Old!

Baby Bennett is 3 months old! He's doing great! He's reaching for toys and starting to grab them. He loves his paci and little blanket. And he loves his big brother! Matthew loves to take care of Bennett. The pictures below are from yesterday. Bennett's hat would slide over his eyes and Matthew would make sure that he fixed it each time so Bennett could see. He makes sure that Bennett is included when we talk about going anywhere. He always wants Bennett around! He also makes sure to hug and kiss him every night before bed!

Bennett has his first clinic coming up later in September where he will see the Riley specialists. We have not had many appointments in the past month, and it has been great! The only things that we have had are his 2 month vaccines at the pediatrician and First Steps physical therapy once per week. It's really been helping him strengthen and also loosen up where his muscles have been tight. He's getting better at lifting his head for tummy time and control while in a sitting position. He's hitting his milestones and growing like he should! So it's all good news this month!

Two Months Old and Good News!

Bennett turned two months old this weekend! We can't believe he's already two months, but we also feel like he's been in our lives for a long time. He's smiling now, cooing, and is sleeping well at night. He goes to sleep around 8pm and wakes up at about 2am to eat, and gets up at around 6am. Matthew is still taking great care of his baby brother, and now loves to give baby a paci and always says "I'm going to check on Bennett....Bennett's doing okay!".

Last week was our big week for doctor appointments, and we had all good news! The sleep study went well. Bennett easily slept for the three hours because he was all swaddled up and was able to sleep the whole time in a crib (the first time was half crib, half car seat). The pulmonologist gave us good news that this sleep study went better than his first! He still had some obstructive breathing, but he improved from last month. We will see the pulmonologist again in six weeks to follow up.

The other appointment we were worried about was with the neurosurgeon. We worried because Bennett's soft spot had changed and was more sunken in than it had been. She was very happy with Bennett's shunt. She said the shunt was draining as it should, and his soft spot is very soft which is good because it is not full of fluid. She also said his healing on his head, back, and stomach were looking great! We do not have to use bandages on his back anymore, and he is now able to have a real bath! The neurosurgeon said that Bennett was her best news of the day, and she doesn't need to see him back for six weeks! We were seeing her every two weeks, so this means he must be doing well! All in all, the week went well and we happily celebrated Bennett's two month birthday!

First Family Vacation

Call us crazy, but we decided to drive to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last week with the kids for our first family vacation as a family of four. It was a long 13 hour drive with a 2.5 year old and a 7 week old, but it wasn't as bad as we expected. It was a little difficult to figure out new schedules in a new environment for the week, but we accomplished everything we wanted to do, and had a much needed break from the day to day. And it was fun! We enjoyed the beach, kiddie pool, and lazy river at the resort. We also went to Ripley's Aquarium, the outlet mall, and a carnival down the street from our hotel. Matthew and Bennett did so well during the whole trip, and it was great to have so much time together as a family of four. We just got back last night, and we all feel refreshed and happy to be home!

This week is full of doctor appointments for Bennett. Monday, he has a three hour sleep study. Tuesday, we meet with the pulmonologist about Bennett's sleep apnea. (We haven't had many alarms on the monitor lately, so we are hoping this study gets better results.) Friday, he has another head ultrasound to make sure his shunt is functioning properly, and then we meet with the neurosurgeon. We pray that we get good news this week!

One Month Old!

Bennett turns one month old today!

Yesterday, we had his one month pediatrician well visit. He is about 21.5 inches, and now weighs 10 pounds! He's growing well and checked out just fine at his appointment! No shots until next month, so it wasn't too painful! The only bad news that we had is that his sleep study results showed that he has mild to moderate sleep apnea. We have another sleep study and pulmonologist appointment in the beginning of August. Until then, we do not know much about what will this means for him. We will just keep him on the sleep monitor and find out more information at our next appointment.

Since we have been home, Bennett has done so well! He is a very content baby and usually cries only if he is uncomfortable or needs something. He is sleeping 3-4 hour stretches at night. He is really alert when he is awake and loves to watch mobiles! He also loves to be held and cuddled. Matthew is doing a great job being a big brother! He loves to kiss, hug, and take pictures with his little brother. He is acting out in other ways, but we are so happy that he is in love with his baby brother!