The Baby is TWO!!

I can hardly stand that my BABY is 2. Seriously, weren't we just in the hospital with our tiny fella?!? Time goes by faster and faster with each child, and it makes me want to hold on to every day with all of them because I know that I can never get any of them back. I love watching my kiddos grow and learn...I just wish it wasn't such a quick process!

Peanut's birthday was fun, although I didn't get to enjoy much of it. I apparently got smacked down with a stomach virus that hit just as we were sitting down for our birthday dinner. I missed most of Peanut's birthday celebration. :( It was emotional for me, but it was just a party. We were able to celebrate yesterday, just the seven of us, on his actual birthday - so that helped heal my heart. Thankfully someone else took pictures for me so I got to see my baby boy's sweet face. :)

The boy is crazy about Elmo!! (note: He won't watch Sesame Street, but he's still crazy about Elmo.)



He got a little shy as everyone was singing Happy Birthday to him and had to hold his Daddy's hand. Sweet boy!



We put 4 M&Ms on top of each dairy free cupcake. He ate those first, of course!!



Eating the icing came in at a quick second. ;)



Presents! He was very serious about opening his present from Mimi. He is very curious and loves to investigate things - even surprises!!



He has carried this Elmo card from Mimi around with him for two days!



This boy's love language is FOOD!! He loves "ips" - and he got 7 or 8 bags. :)



He also loves fruit snacks. Uncle Jason dumped out the box of fruit snacks into his present bag, and Peanut was tickled about pulling them out. :)



He got this airplane from Nana and Papa. He loves to take his Elmo balloon for rides with him all over the house!



This sweet boy is the laughter to our days. He is definitely already in the "two phase" with his dramatic and stubborn personality shining through - which I honestly had forgotten about. He is spoiled rotten living at Nana and Papa's, but he's the baby so what else could I expect?!? This boy loves his big sister dearly, and he loves to follow and imitate his big brother in everything. There are still some days that I am overcome with the miracle of his life, and I regularly thank God for letting him come into our family. He was our biggest surprise, but he has been the best surprise. His place in our family is perfect, and we all love him so stinkin' much it's almost unbelievable!! This year will undoubtedly have its challenges - he is two. ;) But this sweet two year old reminds me on a daily basis how precious it is to be a Mama, and I am thankful that he has made me a better one. He helps me to see how fleeting time is, and allows me to pour out more grace to all of my kiddos. And for that, I am the most thankful for this boy.

Porter Update - part 1

To say that today was an emotionally exhausting day would be an understatement. But, praise God, because the last emotion that we felt was JOY mixed with RELIEF mixed with THANKFULNESS!

We left early this morning. In the rain. When we got in the van, I said to Scott, "Does this weather indicate what's to come?" Scott said, "Only if you plan on getting wet." Love him.

We arrived early, and they were able to take us back. My stomach was in knots and I had to remind myself to breathe every so often. The ultrasound technician was Monique (or "Mo" around the office), and she was very nice. {Note: one must be very nice to work at Scottish Rite, and that makes parents very thankful. :)}

Mo instructed us on how to lay Porter on the bed and to go ahead and give him the bottle that we had to bring. He wasn't allowed to eat before the appointment so we thought he would suck that bottle dry in no time. Ha! Stinker wanted nothing to do with that bottle when Mama was right there. I forgave him for wasting liquid gold, and Scott fed him Gerber Puffs.

AND PORTER LAID ON THE BED EATING PUFFS AND NEVER ONCE EVEN WHINED.

I'm serious!!!!! That sweet boy looked from me to Scott for the first few minutes, and then - I kid you not - he turned his head and just watched the ultrasound screen! What a miracle. It took a good 30+ minutes and Porter's head was as red as a beet when it was over with because of the pressure needed to penetrate all angles from his small soft spot. Mo told us that she has NEVER had a child, let alone a baby, lay completely still and content for any kind of ultrasound.

Yep! That's our boy. :)

(Come to find out later, Scott's mom had specifically prayed for Porter to be calm and for the procedures not to be an ordeal. Now that's an answered prayer if I've ever heard of one!)

The X-rays were next. They didn't go quite as perfectly because they had to hold Porter's head and chin in a padded restraint. So he did let everyone know he didn't like that much, but no tears. And as soon as it was over, he was smiling at the nurses. :)

Unfortunately, there was no waiting around for results. We were told that the doctors would get in touch with our pediatrician within 3-4 hours and she would be the one to call us.

So the waiting began once we pulled out of the parking lot. Hours and hours of waiting. And worrying. And giving it back to God. And worrying. And giving it back to God.

And then our pediatrician gives me the news that Porter's tests were normal!

I have not gone five minutes today without thanking and praising God. Everyone who has called or texted or emailed has heard it, too. God is so good!

So now we wait for another appointment on Friday with the GI Specialist. And I know that God's got that under control, too. Praise God!

 

Failure to Thrive

I took Porter for his well-baby appointment on Monday of this week. To say that the visit didn't go well would be an understatement. At 7 1/2 months Porter weighed in at 11 lbs, 1 oz. He has fallen way off the Preemie Growth Chart, and to say that our pediatrician was concerned would also be an understatement. Thus, Porter was labeled "Failure to Thrive."And on top of that, Porter has prominent ridges on the sides of his skull that are now of concern.

As his Mama, that is simply hard to take. He is a very sweet and happy baby with quite a personality, and to me he's just perfect.

This is Porter's "thing." We call it his pencil, and he will even do it on cue because we all laugh hysterically at him when he does it. He's not shy on being the center of attention. ;)

He has learned to blow raspberries (aka, run his motor), and he crinkles his nose when he does it which I adore.

He L-O-V-E-S his toes!!! Neither one of my other kiddos ever played with their toes much, but Porter's favorite "toys" would be his sweet feet.

 

The whole "failure to thrive" is just throwing me for a loop. It's messing with my head and heart because I pour all of me into my babies. When something is going "wrong" it feels like it's my fault.

We go for ultrasounds and testing at Scottish Rite and then back to the GI specialist in a couple of weeks. I'm trying not to let my mind "go there," but I'm a mama and it's hard not to.

But then I look at these pictures, taken just two days before his appointment, and they give me hope. He's a happy baby. Rotten, too, ahem. But happy. :)

And no matter what the outcomes of our appointments may bring, I trust that God is in control.

Psalm 139:14, "I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well."