Bennett's Weight.

I'll just get right to it- He weighed 18.7 at 9 months old and he is now 11 months and weighs the same. Is this normal? I mean, for a baby with Down syndrome? He was really packing it on for a while and I thought surely he'd be over 20 pounds by his birthday but don't think that's going to happen.

Bennett takes 3, 8 ounce bottles and solids with each meal. No table foods yet~sigh~ but honestly I haven't pushed it because he just has no interest in feeding himself so I give up rather quickly. Plus, with 2 other kids, we're always on the go-there's not a lot of time to mess around with food and not eating it! I did that with Ainsley and I just can't fight that battle again. I do need to offer it more though and just see if he'll eventually try it. He now has 4 teeth almost all the way in so maybe he hasn't been eating as much do to that, I don't know though, seems like he finishes his bottles. And we all know he's not walking or crawling for that matter, so I really don't think he's burning more calories.

What do you think? We go in next week for a check up (he has bronchitis and is on antibiotics and neb treatments) so I'll ask the ped what she thinks. I'm not overly concerned just kinda bummed because I thought he was doing well with his weight. Maybe he's just going to be smaller than I thought.

So Big and Kisses!

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Alright this is mainly for the grandparents, aunts and uncles to see, they've been asking for it. Bennett has been doing a few new cute things so I wanted to share. It's a combination of different videos- Bennett doing "so big", kiss face and putting his arms up when asked to be picked up. The kiss face is new and of course we love it but I'm sure we're wearing him out on that one. Please ignore my annoying "How big is Bennett?" voice- you may need to turn your volume down-it takes a goofy voice sometimes to get Mr. Bennett motivated:)

Also, I believe Colin does the kiss face too and we're supposed to meet him and his family this month so Kelli if you're reading this, we must try to get a picture of Bennett and Colin doing their kiss face!

Have I Mentioned...

that this little boy has some curls?? I think I shared some early pics when he was just a few weeks old after giving him a bath. So the other night instead of brushing his hair like I normally do, I just dried it with a towel and sure enough, he's still got that curl...

Yes, he may need a hair cut but I'm terrified of getting him one and having someone mess it up! I've never had a boy and had to worry about cutting hair this early. I must say, Bennett has some good "bow hair". In other words, if he was a girl, I'd have a bow it that hair every day!:)

But he's not a girl, he's my sweet boy with the curly hair and I just think it's hilarious to see him look so different when it's not brushed.

I threw this one in because I thought it was cute of him looking up at his train on the wall (with the curls on top of his head):)

Oh, and this is what it's looks like the next day if you don't brush it right after his bath the night before- a nice, big ringlet on the top of this head. As his Grandma would say "God bless him":)

Now, how on earth can I cut that cute little curl off???

A Rather "Large" Look Back...

This was exactly one year ago...

I had just 4 weeks to go until we would finally meet Bennett and I looked like I could burst with that huge belly (remember, black is slimming-it really was huge in person)! Oh.My.Goodness-I cannot believe he is going to be one in less than a month!!! What a fun year it's been!

I wanted to add that my thoughts and prayers go out to Carly's family. Carly passed away quite suddenly yesterday. All I know is that she was healthy and going to school and then got sick very quickly on Friday-this was a total shock to Carly's family. Her mom was part of the wonderful Down syndrome community of bloggers and reading about Carly and seeing her beautiful smile was always a joy. Please keep this family in your prayers.

An Answered Prayer!!!!

We just found out that my dad's melanoma DID NOT spread and they were able to remove all of it!! We are so thankful and relieved. My dad is recovering well and I know he'll be having a great weekend now that he doesn't have to wait and wonder "what if"! Thanks again for all your sweet comments and prayers!

An Update On My Dad...

My sister just called and said the surgery went well and my dad is in recovery. Before they removed the melanoma they injected the site to see if it has spread to his lymph nodes. We should have those results next week.

The surgeon came to talk to my mom after he was finished and told her that he did not see anything suspicious but we would need to wait and see. He also told her that he knew a lot of people were praying for my dad and that he was too! He told her God is sovereign and he has His hands on all of this. When my sister told me that I was just amazed. Not that doctors can't be Christians or believe in God but to come out and say that, it really comforted my mom and the rest of us to say the least. I've been in situations when doctors come to talk to you about a loved one (Ainsley and Bennett in particular) and I've never had a doctor say something like that so to me, that really means a lot.

My sister and I were worried that my mom would be at the hospital alone (we live no where near my parents) but we should have known they would have a whole crowd of people there supporting her and my dad. Thanks to all those that came today, my parents are so blessed to have such wonderful people in their lives.

Thank you so much for your prayers. It means a lot to us as we don't take melanoma lightly in our family and no cancer should be taken lightly. I will keep you posted in the next week what the outcome is.

Love you sooooo much dad!!!

My Dad.

Today is my dad's surgery to remove the Melanoma from his head and we should find out soon if it has spread. We're praying that they are able to remove the mole with no problems and that of course it has not spread anywhere. Just asking for your prayers today for him and in the coming days. His name is Bob for those that were wondering. Thank you so much!

Ready For Swim Season...

Bennett has worked hard on his physique this winter to share some swim suits with you that his mommy purchased last summer...

Oh, I just couldn't resist this cute little crab suit! I bought the same type for Harper (girly bottoms of course) when she was this age. I'm telling you there is nothing cuter than to see a baby toddling around in one of these and even though Bennett won't be toddling around, he'll still look cute:)

Here's the shirt that goes with it to protect his delicate baby skin:). This is clearly Bennett's new pose when I bring the camera out- you'll see it again in just a few...

Well you know me, I couldn't stop at the crabs! Had to get the alligator as well- again this was purchased last summer from Land's End in case you're wondering, and I've been waiting to try these on him!

Yep, it takes lots of squats to look this good :)

And here's the pose again!

Now we just wait for the pool to open and I know Bennett will love the pool because he LOVES the bath! Can't wait!

Blood Work Nightmare!!

So today we went to get Bennett's blood tested for the third time now. If you remember, I had it tested way back in December for his 6 month routine check (routine for kids with DS), it came back a tad abnormal so his pediatrician wanted it checked again in few months because he was just getting over bronchiolitis and perhaps that was making it slightly off. We had no problems the first time- needle went in his arm, they got the blood and we were out of there.

The second time was in February and it was bad. They could not find a good vein and they had to call in Pat, the lady that is good with babies. Well Pat got it and we were good to go. Again, the blood work came back better than the first time but still a little off. So his ped wanted me to take him in at 10 months.

So he's almost 11 months but I've been busy to say the least. Anyways, we go in and I ask for Pat right off because I don't want a repeat of last time. They say they will get Pat but does Pat come back right off? Of course not, so they literally had the needle in his arm for 10 minutes wiggling it around to find his vein. Supposedly it was rolling all over. Bennett was actually okay with all of this. Well without success they call Pat in. I'm thinking finally, we can get this over and done with! So Pat tries...no luck. Then she tries the other arm...no luck and by this time Bennett is ticked off. So then the only option was to get a finger prick and slowly drip each drop of blood to fill up a vile. Seriously, this was awful. Bennett screamed his head off because he had already been tortured with both arms but now someone pricks his finger and then proceeds to push the blood out of his little, stubby, fat finger, blood is everywhere, it was a mess. Bennett NEVER cries so I was almost in tears to see him go through this.

Well, it doesn't end there. Oh no. The nurse calls the lab and tells them she is sending this vile down right away because she doesn't want it to clot. 5 minutes later as we're packing up, after an hour mind you (of course Harper is on her second lollipop and quickly becoming impatient) the lab calls and said IT'S CLOTTED! It won't work!!! Are you kidding me?????!!!!! So I ask, "now what?". The nurse asks if Bennett is walking- umm, no lady. She says we can prick his heel and again take the blood drip by drip into the vile. So as I'm pulling Bennett out of his car seat, his sharp bottom tooth stabs his tongue and he starts bleeding-OH.MY.GOODNESS! This poor baby!!!! So after I cleaned that up the nurse pricked his little heel and my Bennett screamed his little head off again.

So after all of this I'm really hoping and praying things are normal with his blood work. I had to call the ped during all of this just to fax in a script to get his thyroid checked because the script was only for a CBC- I can't take coming back in another month so if we can get it all done in one awful experience, then that's what we're doing. Really hope we don't have to do that for a while. Anyone else have this issue with your child's veins?? I have great veins, in fact she took my blood to check my thyroid and got it in 2 seconds. What's going to happen when he's bigger and stronger?

Well, I'll end on a happy note- here's some pics of my brave little guy- you wouldn't know he was tortured earlier this morning...

Bandages on both arms where NO blood was taken! And blood on his shirt from the messy finger prick!

His poor little heel.

Let's just say he's happy to be out of that hospital!!! And of course he's always mommy's little hero:)

Bennett "Dancing" with Elmo...

Bennett recently got this toy from our friend Suzy and he finds it pretty entertaining...until his sisters bombard him but he likes that too:) I've been putting the boppy behind him lately because he's got this bad habit of every once in a while throwing himself back with a huge smile on his face because someone has always been behind him to catch him (he thinks it's a fun game) but it won't be when he bangs his head on the floor! His OT said that it's really good for him to work on his balance and core muscles and the boppy helps him because instead of him falling he catches himself and pulls himself back to a straight sitting position. Anyways, enjoy! I think it's funny how he focuses on Elmo's eyeball and you can tell he really wants to get a hold of it!

A "Crabby" Wordless Wednesday...

I just don't think...

...we could have asked for a prettier Easter weekend!

First thing was the Easter egg hunt! The girls had a blast this year and I think the weather had a lot to do with it. We weren't blown away by March winds or drenched by April showers or shivering in our winter coats, nope, we were loving the warm sun in our spring outfits-for once!

Umm, yeah, we thought just maybe this would make a cute pic, you know, shoving our almost 20 pound baby into an Easter basket. Not the smartest thing we've tried-lol-poor thing.

Next up was for my dad and Mike to finish the "lower level" to the tree house. They did an awesome job! The girls LOVED this, can't imagine why?:)

As if that wasn't enough, my dad needed to get the zip line up for the season-have I mentioned how cool my dad is?!

Ainsley became quite the pro going all the way up the tree house and then down the zip line.

Now, I will say I protested on this one (letting my 2 year old go down the zip line) but before I knew it she was up at the top of the tree house, ready to go down. So I prayed she wouldn't let go and took some pics:)

This little girl became a pro as well. I couldn't believe how well she climbed on up and went down like it was nothing! Such determination in that face!

Even our good friend Suzy went down!

And then it was time for church (and finding Easter baskets that the Easter bunny hid)

Bennett's first Easter!

With Grammy and Granddaddy!

With my dad.

Mike and Bennett.

After church we enjoyed the awesome weather and played corn hole...

and we even made it to the beach! (More of these pics to come). All in all it was a wonderful weekend-thanks so much Grammy and Granddaddy!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!!