Waiting on the Rain...

I thought this was too cute!!!

Christmas with the Stokes'

The green boots were the first thing Kohen opened and just had to put them on. He wore them the entire time he was opening presents at Moms. He still wants to wear them all the time. We had a great Christmas. Hope everyone did too!!

Christmas Morning

Needless to say, Kohen did NOT like the tractor Santa brought him. He was scared to death of it. Still is!! He liked everything else though.

After opening his gifts Christmas morning we went to have Christmas with the Halks. I didn't get any pictures because there were too many people there. We had a great meal and got lots of good stuff.

Christmas Eve Night

Kohen is eating the cookies we set out for Santa!!!

Christmas Eve with the Stephens

This is a basketball chair that Kohen's uncle Brett got him. It is so cute. It feels just like a real basketball!!

OT....NO MORE!!!

Today Jill (Kohen's OT) reevaluated him and he tested out. When she told me that I said, "What does that mean?" She said he no longer needs occupational therapy!!!! Not that we don't love Jill, it is just another thing we can put behind us!! YEA!!! She compared his scores today from the first time he was evaluated and he had tripled his scores. Now we just have to go for PT and Speech. What good news at christmas time.

Christmas Sunday

As long as I can remember, I have always loved the Sunday before Christmas. Everyone at church has on their Christmas outfits and is in the best mood. Lots of families are home and everyone is anticipating the coming holiday. This year was no different. It seems this year it has been brought to my attention more than ever that we are very blessed. I have overheard conversations at WalMart of people less fortunate than we are and it just broke my heart. We take so much for granted especially around the holidays. It has taught me to remember the reason why we celebrate this wonderful season. I am so thankful for my family and many friends. We don't say that enough. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

Christy Hollingshead.....The Best

I just love Christy Hollingshead. She captures the moment in an unbelievable way. These are just a few but they are all great. Our Christmas cards turned out so good. The first picture is Kohen's "mean face!"

Doctor Again....

Last Sunday Kohen was extremely cranky. So bad that we had to leave church. He would not take a nap and nothing would please him. He was still cranky on Monday morning so I called the Childrens Clinic and got an appt. He wasn't running any fever but still had a runny nose from being sick before. We went on Monday afternoon.....double ear infection!! I had no idea!!!!! 19months old and the first ear infection. He is feeling much better now. We also saw Dr. Schrantz on Monday. He said Kohen's feet have significantly improved since last time and that we didn't have to come back to him unless there was a problem. He was so impressed with all the therapy Kohen has had. It has helped SOOOO much. Thanks Brooke, you're the best!!!

Christmas picture

I may use this for my christmas picture!

Medical Update

Over the last month it seems we have been to the doctor and therapy at least a million times. Three weekends ago, Kohen got the stomach virus. It started on a Thursday morning. I awoke to the sound of Kohen throwing up in his bed. I assumed it would be a 24 hour thing but it wasn't. The following Friday night, he was still throwing up and the other end as well. At 11:00pm we decided to call the Children's Clinic. They told us to go to the ER. To make a long story short, he was dehydrated and had developed a cough. The ER doctor thought he may have pneumonia also since he aspirated throw up. I know, GROSS!! I can control what goes down but not what comes back up. They did chest xrays and decided to give him some antibiotic through his IV which was a nightmare. I had to leave the room. We came home on Saturday but had to go back the Childrens Clinic on Sunday. They gave him more antibiotic and cough surup along with using his inhaler. He was finally better after a week. For those of you wil kids the doctor said there is a new strand of stomach virus going around that lasts anywhere from 3 to 5 days!!

Last weekend we went to a baby shower for one of our college friends in Cabot. It was great getting to see everyone but Kohen was not his usual self. He did not sleep the entire way to Cabot. Needless to say he was a pistol at the shower. I was so embarrassed. Sorry Brooke. He is usually really good. I'm sure Kelly and Sam were thinking, "We will never do this again." Why is it when you need them to take a good nap, they never do? Anyway, Robin, your home is beautiful.

Now on to therapy....We had a speech eval last week. I absolutely love his theapist. She is great! I felt so much better after seeing her. I know she will do wonderful things for Kohen. She will also work on his swallowing problems.

Finally, we saw an ENT specialist at ACH last Monday. His appt was not originally until April but due to the aspiration during the stomach virus fiasco, our pediatrician got us in quick. This doctor specializes in swallowing disorders. He was fabulous. He did a scope down Kohens nose and gave us two options. Wait 6 months and treat him for reflux (which the dr. is postitive he has) or do exploratory surgery to see if anything is structurely wrong. We chose the wait and treat the reflux. We will have another swallow study done in 6 months.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I will try to do better on blogging.

Just some pics

Loves playing with a stick!

Been a Long Month!!

Kohen and Dane. Love the green pacy, Dane!


Kohen and Sam. He was the cutest frog ever!!


I know it has been a month since I last updated but boy has it been a long month. I have lots of pictures to show starting with halloween!! Yes I am behind!! Halloween was fun! Kohen did good keeping his costume on. He was the cutest dinosaur! Here are a few pictures....
(I cant figure out how to get this above the pictures!)

18 Months!!!

Whoever came up with the phrase, "Terrible Twos" had never met Kohen. He is into everything!!!! It has started way before his second birthday! Really he is a happy, good boy, just BUSY!! For those of you who know his daddy, can understand where he gets it from. He is at a fun age. He still goes to PT, OT and now Speech therapy. His progression is amazing. At his 18 month check up today, he was 27 lbs (65%) and 34 inches long (95%). Ninety-fifth percentile on highth!! While we were in the exam room with Dr. Sneed, Kohen put his blanket over his head and ran straight into the wall!! Dr. Sneed burst out laughing. Kohen didn't cry just got back up and was on to something else. She assured me he was a typical boy and that there would be many bumps and bruises. He definitely keeps me on my toes!!!

Texas Trip

This is a picture of my mamac and her great-grandkids.

First Airplane Ride

Our whole family went to Texas this past weekend. I mean the entire family...Brandon, Kohen and myself, Mom and Dad, Shannon, Michael, Hayden and Will. We flew out early Saturday morning. It was a great trip. It was my grandmothers (Mamac) 80th surprise birthday party. She was definitely surprised. Kohen did great on the plane. Much better than I expected. He was so good the entire trip. Shannon's kids were very well behaved also. All in all it was a success.

The Cookie Monster

First experience with an Oreo!

Not So Great Reports..

I'm trying to play catch up on Kohen's doctors visits, so here goes.... We went for an orthopedic consult regarding Kohens tibial torsion, which means his feet turn inward, BAD! This doesn't seem to slow him down because he is walking everywhere. Almost running!! Anyway, he punched holes in the back of Kohen's shoes and told us to tie his heels together when he sleeps. This worked for 2 nights. No matter how tight we tied his shoes he could still get them off!!! What can I say...He is strong! Brandon suggested we gray tape his feet together!! That did not happen!!!

Next..we went for another swallow study. Failed miserably again!!!! Oh well, back to the simply thick. In a nutshell...Kohen cannot swallow thin liquids so we have to thicken them to honey consistency. When he does swallow thin liquids they go to his lungs instead of his stomach. It is called silent aspiration. He never coughs or chokes. This puts him at high risk of pneumonia. He doesn't seem to mind the Simply Thick too much. We will go back in 6 months!!

All Boy!!

While I was washing my car, I had some "HELP." It took me twice as long because I would get one side washed and would go back and see muddy hand prints on the clean side!!

Future Friday Nights

In the Field with Daddy

The Pumpkin Patch

Last Saturday Kelly and I took the boys to the pumpkin patch just outside of McCrory. We all had a good time just spending time together. Sam wanted to eat the hay and Kohen wanted the gords that were painted like ghosts hanging from the trees. Needless to say we didn't get a picture of then together but it was still fun.

Guess Who is FINALLY Walking????

You got it!!!! Tuesday night it was like something just clicked. Kohen is everywhere. It is still hard to believe. He very rarely falls and is so proud of himself. As soon as I figure out how to post a video I will. We still just sit and watch him. After all we have waited 17 months!!!! I give all the credit to Brooke Craine, Kohens physical therapist. She is absolutely wonderful. I cannot wait until tomorrow so she can see him.

Happy 1st Birthday Kale!

Today we went to Kale Searcy's birthday party. He will be one on Wednesday. It was at the Vanndale Fun Park. I didn't even know Vanndale had a park but it was really nice. I was very impressed. The first birthday is always so fun. We had a great time.

Mindy made the cake. It was a caterpillar. She has always been very creative. The cake looked great Mindy. Yummy too!!!

A Future Monet????

Kohen and I painted (with washable paint) last weekend. It was a blast. I gave him some paper and let him get after it. The funniest part was that we were outside and our cat would not get out of the way. By the way our cat is white and fluffy. The cat had more paint on him than the paper!!!

Kohen has Discovered Ketchup

With all of Kohen's sensory problems, I have a hard time getting him to eat. He usually loves chicken but for some reason he would not eat it Thursday night. I put about a half teaspoon of ketchup on his tray and dipped a piece of chicken in it. He loved it!!! He ate every piece of chicken on his tray. Of course he smeared the ketchup all over his face and his tray. I didn't care, at least he ate!!!

Just some pictures...

Future TBirds!!

Friday night before the football game we were tailgating. This is Kohen and Kale. He is Josh and Mindy Searcy's little boy. They weigh exactly the same and are almost the same height. By Kohens adjusted age, they are only 2 months apart.

My Climber!!

This boy can get on anything!!! I am just waiting on him to climb out of his bed!!

Finally

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I just got my camera back. It is repaired and ready to go. First things first...Kohen's tooth is fine. We went to the pedodontist to see what she thought about it. She gave me three options: 1. Do nothing, 2. shave off the broken sharp point, or 3. put a white crown on it. She said she could not sedate him because he was to small so he would have to be held down while she did the crown. Thus, she shaved off the sharp point!!! I was very impressed with Dr. Cartillar. She and her staff were great with him. Most people have not even noticed it. I tried to get a picture but to no avail. He wouldn't be still long enough for me to hold his lip and snap the picture.

Other than that we are all fine just busy. Kohen goes to physical therapy twice a week and occupational therapy once a week. He is ALMOST walking. He will stand with no assistance for a long time. Sometimes he will take a step or two but I don't think he realizes he actually walked. His favorite mode of transportation is holding onto one of my fingers. He can run!!!

Our First Major Accident

Except for the whole premature experience, we have not had any major bumps or bruises. Until now. Thursday night marks the date. Kohen was in the bathtub waiting on me to get him out. He was standing up holding onto the side, I reached to get the towel and his feet slid out from under him. His chin hit the side of the bathtub, then his TEETH. He fell over and his eye hit the faucet. Blood went everywhere!!!! I saw his front teeth hit the side of the tub so I knew the blood was coming from his mouth. Much to my amazement I did not panic. I grabbed him and the washcloth. When I finally go him to stop crying I could see his front tooth was about 1/3 gone. I still am not sure where the blood was coming from. He would not let me look. His eye was already starting to swell. (Remember that I am home by myself!!!!!) I called Dr. Stewart. He told me to look to see if the nerve of the tooth was exposed. Thankfully it wasn't. Kohen was acting like his normal self. He even drank some cold milk. I gave him some Tylenol to help him sleep and he did great. Yesterday his eye was purple but nothing else seemed to bother him. We will see a pedodontist next week to look at his tooth. It is really sharp. It chipped diagonally, not straight across. I called mom to come over. She assured me this is the first of many falls and accidents!! Hopefully no more teeth accidents!!!

The flash on my camera quit working so I had to send it back to the manufacturer. Shannon is going to bring hers over today to get a picture of Kohen's tooth.

First Haircut

Today Kohen got his first haircut. It was a total disaster. He would not sit still, tried to pull the cape off, tried to grad the scissors, you name it he did it. We did manage to get his hair cut though. Somehow it is even curlier than before. The picture is a little blurry because he would not be still!!!

Who Needs Toys...

...when you have a dishwasher. I swear he can hear the door of the dishwasher open from anywhere in the house.

15 months old!!!

WOW!! It is amazing how much joy a 15 month old baby can bring. He discovers new things everyday. He makes me smile every time I look at him. I never knew I could love something so much.

Feedings: He eats any kind of meat except bologna. Not that I blame him, GROSS!! Doesn't like the texture of most vegetables. (we are working on that) Still eats vegetable and fruits via baby food. LOVES CHEETOS!!! Not a real fan of milk but loves milkshakes.

Teeth: 14 and 2 more on the way

Sleep: goes to bed at 9:00, flips over on his belly and goes to sleep. Sleeps until about 7:00. Has a 2 hour nap in the morning and 2 hour nap at 3:00. Very scheduled!!

Talking: Momma and Dada constantly!!! Something that sounds like Kitty!!

Play: Loves books and the remote control. He plays so good by himself. Like the dryer and the dishwasher. Has discovered the toliet and likes to put things in the toliet.

Mobile: Crawls everywhere fast and cruises the furniture. Crawls bearcrawl sometimes. It is hilarious. Can walk holding one hand!!!!

Therapy: PT once a week, Dr. Sneed told us today to wait 2 months to see if speech is any better then we will reevaluate. He can communicate what he wants or needs. She advised us today to have an OT eval. He has sensory issues with things such as foods i.e. anything with texture-peas, beans, carrots, etc. We have eval next week. She said this is common in premature boys.

Kohen is an overall great baby. He is happy all the time. Even when he shows his "mean" face he is in a good mood.

Weekend at the River

We had family weekend this past weekend at the River. It was a lot of fun. Mom and Dad, Shannon, Michael, Hayden and Will, along with Brandon, Kohen and myself stayed in a cabin on the White River. We had a blast. Kohen was sooo good. He was up at 6:00 each morning but that got us all up and going.

I just tried to plug my camera into the cord to hook it up to the computer and the end was bent!!! Like it had been chewed on!!!! Wonder who did that ????