9 Months

Beau Elias is 9 months old today! It's funny to think we started this adventure 18 months ago! Beau is getting to be SUCH a big boy (although I don't see that changing any time soon, ha!), so as always, here are some things to remind me of what he's doing at this point:

• Went to his well baby check yesterday. Weighs 16 lbs 13 ozs, 27 1/4" long, and 45 cm head; he's the 5th percentile in weight, 10th in height, but 50th in head - it must be because his brain is so big! ;) But the doctor didn't seem worried at all about his weight, he said he could easily see that Beau is well proportioned
• Still has the heart murmur. We were truly praying that would be gone, but alas, the doctor heard it still. So, we're giving it another 3 months and at his year check, if its still there, the doctor's sending the boy for his echo test
• Beau loves to GROWL! It is THE funniest thing! He'll look at you and go "rawr!!" It cracks me up every time.
• Crawls sooo fast! Seriously, this kid is lightning.
• Cruises up and down the couch and is walking with his push car. We can see we're very close to standing on our own.
• Loves eating! He loves trying all kinds of food and thinks feeding himself is great.
• Can jump up and down by himself. He does this a lot when holding onto the railing of his crib.
• Unfortunately, he has started to throw temper tantrums. This consists of him throwing himself back, be it if he's on the floor, or if you're holding him. This is a hard thing to adjust to!

He wanted to peek in on Daddy

"Let me in!"

Fascinated with the vacuum (look at those muscles!)

Just visiting Daddy

Seeing Huck...

"Hello friend!"

Playing with Annie

Trying to stand up with Annie's help (although I think he forgot to ask her first, ha!)

This is a short clip I got of Beau playing with Huck and Annie. These three are starting to get along so much better, and I just thought this was too precious to not post (Brandon seconded that!). We love you, our precious Beau Elias!

"Gimme That Camera"

This little boy is becoming so interested in the camera! These are some of the funny shots after Beau noticed I was taking pictures of him...

Had to get this. This is how the boy ALWAYS sits. I think it looks so uncomfortable, but he likes it because he'ss able to change directions quickly!

Up close and personal.

Day 5

And we're still sick. Poor baby is still battling congestion (especially at night), some vomiting, diarrhea, and just feeling achy. We have a call into the doctor because today was his last day we were to give him his antibiotic and he hasn't shown any major improvement since we started. I must say, he handles being sick like a champ and keeps smiling so sweetly, but it is just so sad to see him battle breathing at night or when he eats. This is what the past five days have looked like for us:

Hopefully tomorrow will bring news that can get our guy fast on the mend! (And to boot, I've gotten sick again; I am so ready for spring!!)

Day 2

Sweet boy is still on the mend. I have no idea how he manages to smile when he does, but I am getting as much loving in as I can. Please pray the boy gets better soon! (I've been up all night the past two nights; whew! He's worth every second though!)

Daddy played with the camera

:(

Oh, I just eat him up!

Sick Baby

My poor baby! It all started last week. The day I got out of the hospital Brandon was concerned Beau might be getting sick, so he took him to the doctor. There they said he might be getting an ear infection, but that they were going to have us give him amoxicillin (not totally sure on the spelling now) twice a day for the next week or so to prevent that from happening. So from Wednesday evening to the following Wednesday evening I faithfully gave him his dosage. In his bath afterwards, he started breaking out in a horrible rash! Brandon was somewhat concerned and thought maybe it was his whiskers (I sometimes get a skin irritation when his are longer), so he immediately started shaving. We gave him a shower at that point and the rash seemed to go away. He woke up at 3 am screaming and crying, burning up with fever and coughing. I gave him some Tylenol, stripped him down to his diaper, and cuddled with him. He got up about every hour for the rest of the night, just moaning and having the hardest time breathing. In the morning, I gave him his medicine and he seemed to be doing much better, but after waking up from his nap was COVERED in the rash again. At this point he was burning up again, having diarrhea, vomiting, and just in absolute tears. We were able to get Beau right in this afternoon and after an exam, our doctor determined that Beau was allergic to penicillin, which is a form of what we had been giving him. He said it had just apparently been a late drug reaction, and since he was allergic, his ear infection was now much worse. So now we had to battle the ear infection and the allergy, which brought on the rash and fever. The poor baby has been such an amazing little guy about it, he's still managing to smile. We're still battling some diarrhea, really irregular sleeping, coughing, and fever. Hopefully this turns around quickly, I think I've had the hardest time dealing with him being sick! It just breaks my heart to have him just sob and ache and not be able to do much. I'm just doing what I can by hugging, holding, and cuddling all over him. So many prayers that our little boy gets back to his bouncy self; this is a whole new aspect of parenting and is so hard!

Our poor boy's rash

Hospital No-Fun

So February has been quite the month of sickness for our family! It started out on the 2nd, when I started feeling tired and a little sick. By the night of the 4th, I was barely able to breathe and was in the hospital the 5th through the 10th. I was told I had a severe asthma attack with pneumonia. It was awful! I got to see Beau for a total of maybe an hour or two a day, had to pump like crazy, lost most of my milk, then had to spend the next week working on getting it back (harder than it may sound!). Brandon was so amazing to bounce back and forth between everyone and everything while I was in the hospital! I was sent home with a BUNCH of medicines (that I will officially be done with on Saturday - yes!) and we stayed with my in-laws until Friday. At that point, THEY got really sick and are still battling it, poor guys! Brandon started getting sick the day after we got back to our house and as of today Beau is sick. Thankfully Brandon seems to be on the mend, but boy, this has just been the month of illness. It can be trying sometimes to remain so upbeat and know everything will work out, when we know hospital bills are coming in, pharmacy bills, co-pays, and still not sure when we'll get to take a paycheck. But God provides. He's been faithful to that for the last 5 months; 5 months we've gone without any income! I can only attribute it to the amazing means God provides and our loving family who takes care of us in so many unmentionable ways. We are daily humbled at the outpouring of love we are continually shown. So now we just continue to take our medicine and hope that this whole spell of sickness is moving on. My chest x-ray showed no remnants of anything from the hospital; my doctor was so pleased! I go back in a couple of weeks for a test on my lungs to determine what their baseline function is so we can know what course of management medicine will best suit me as I restart my journey on living with moderate asthma. I think a part of me has always hoped it would go away. Part of me thought maybe if I just "ignored" it, it wouldn't be such a big deal. But I'm seeing as I get older that this is something I just need to come to grips with and deal with accordingly. There was absolutely no sense in my breathing getting as bad as it did, I was honestly just too prideful to take the right precautions, and it got out of hand. Now I know better. Now I know I NEED to know better. I have more than just myself counting on me. So for now, we're working on getting Beau and Brandon better here, and hopefully my in-laws will be well before them. I guess all this could be summed up by saying that I'm really ready for spring though, hmm? :)

My Little Valentine

Actual Valentine's Day was spent pretty low-key at our house. Brandon seems to now be getting what everyone else has and had to teach Sunday night, so he stayed most of the day either resting or going over his lesson. I went to a shower for one of the newly marrieds at our church, and then spent the rest of the day hanging with my sweet little Valentine. We just played and played - a pretty good way to celebrate! He's been a VERY kissy boy recently, so I'm eating that up! Blog is coming soon about our hospital stay, I go Wednesday for a final check on my lungs. Brandon did however get me a beautiful stone rose holder for my earrings/rings - what a sweet thoughtful guy! My in-laws also gave us a couple chocolate bars and a gift card to go eat together once we're all better - I'm really excited to get to do that! So enjoy some low-key shots of the day with my little Valentine - hope yours was wonderful and loving as well!

Loves standing

One handed!

Our Cowboy Baby (he LOVES his Dad's boots!)

Real men don't wear shirts

This is fastly becoming my current favorite picture of him!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Party Time

We just celebrated precious Haley's birthday and what a terrific party she had! Here's her mama's site for any future party pictures and a sweet note to their girl on her first birthday. Haley is such a fun joy to all around her and we can't wait to see her grow into the bright and beautiful girl God is watching over her to become!

Mom and Beau arriving at the party

All the sweet kiddos with the birthday girl!

Winter Wonderland

These are some pictures Brandon took around his office. I wish I could've gotten some, especially with a little boy at home, but since I've spent most of the last week in the hospital (a coming post), I'm just trying to rest and recoup. I'll explain more about what our time has been, which hasn't been the most enjoyable, but I'm grateful to finally be home. But isn't that snow something!

Baby Dedication

I may not have been able to be there for this very special occasion, but I'm so grateful that there were so many that were able to show their support and love for these precious little ones. For those of you that went and for those of you who pray over our boy, I thank you. God has been so good to us in the blessing of Beau. Brandon and I are learning what new wonders and challenges lie ahead with every passing day and we trust in His promises. So enjoy some of the fam and what a lovely service our Westhill gave the new additions of the past year!

Hiding Spot?

Or maybe just new seeing spot? Either way, he's coming up with all new sorts of places to pull himself up to!

"Eating Up" the Word

I heard a sound coming from our living room while making dinner and come to find the boy had been rifling through our hymnal. Ha! He apparently was so in love with the words that he decided that he would take them, rip them out, and chew them up! So yes, I'm a tad embarrassed at how I let that happen, but happy that maybe this means he really enjoys delving into God's praises!