Has it Been Two Weeks Already?!!

That's right, it has!

Wow, time has really flow by this month. Ari has his.. 6th? CranioCap appointment tomorrow.

I am not really looking forward to going in this time. Ari had a fever for a couple days last week while we were celebrating Thanksgiving in Branson, MO with Drew's family. On those days, we kept his helmet off to help him stay cool and now I feel like we missed out on some good progress. Of course 2/14 days is not really that big of a deal I guess. But still, I am less excited about this visit.

I know he will need it adjusted a little, because his neck has been getting some chaffing marks on it. I guess that means his head is growing, right?!

Well, off to bed. Still feeling under the weather.

Taking a Break.. Kind Of..

I am currently on vacation in Missouri with some of Drew's side of the family. His parents rented a cabin for all of us to stay in for Thanksgiving week, which is really nice of them!

It's interesting how much "vacation" changes once you have a kid. Basically.. it's not anymore. It's not vacation... it's "getting away from your own house to go to a different house and hang out with different people". Which is still very nice! But not really the vacation I'm used to.

Vacation used to be a time where I could sit around, eat, chat, watch movies, sleep, eat, sit around, chat, watch movies and sleep, sleep, sleep. Alas, no more. Ari's schedule is still the same, even when I'm away from home. He still needs to be fed, washed, unhelmeted, rehelmeted, changed, etc and repeat. Naps are the only "vacation" time I get. At least Drew is helping out here and there with washing Ari and feeding him cereal... that is very nice. = )

Anyways, I'm not really complaining. I'm more.. emoting and reevaluating so that I can grieve, accept and move on to enjoying this new type of "vacation". And I am also slightly low on sleep...

Unfortunately I have schoolwork to do while I'm here. I have an online quiz due in a day and also a homework assignment due right when I get back. So is life. = )

Glad I missed that MN ice storm...

Ari's Fifth Checkup!!

Ari had his fifth helmet checkup today!! = )

The specialist adjusted his helmet a little bit, and then we talked a bit about when Ari might get the helmet off. She said that because he is doing so well in the helmet and doesn't mind wearing it, we could perhaps go even up to 11 1/2 months old with it on but that we'll just see how it goes. That would be two more months. She said the last month would probably be a modified wearing schedule; only during naps, at night and during long car rides.

Drew and I already talked about how we want Ari to continue the treatment for as long as we could see results happen, so this is not a problem for us. We want his head to have the best chance of becoming normal shaped.

Ari is doing sooo well. I completely forgot to mention it, but Ari took his first two steps on Sunday night at my parents house! I think I am still in shock from it, which is why I haven't been blabbing all about it. He is only 9 1/2 months old and he's not even been in the practice of standing without holding on to thing yet (though he's been cruising like a mad man for some time now). Sheesh. I can't believe how fast he's growing.

Here's some pictures of my crazy little guy waiting to get his helmet back. ; )

Helmet Appointment Tomorrow!

Wow.. I can't believe it's already been two weeks since the halfway appointment! That means that Ari only has 5 weeks left, if we're still on target. = D I've been thinking about maybe having a Un-helmeting Party at the end... not sure if it will actually happen, but it sounds like a fun idea, doesn't it?!

Time is really flying by incredibly fast. I'm sure it has something to do with be being in school. At this time of the semester things really start getting busy as teachers try to catch up and cram everything in before finals.

This week is going to be absolutely CRAZY. Drew is out of town for work until Friday, I have an exam on Friday to prepare for, have to buy a nice outfit for a dinner on Friday for Drew's work, and also have to fit in packing because we leave for Missouri for 10 days on Saturday! Phew!

I always feel rebellious when Drew is out of town for work. I imagine him having tons of fun eating out and hanging out with people while I'm home doing the same old same old. The funny thing is that Drew would much rather be hanging out at home doing the same old same old while I go out with people. But still I rebel. My rebellion normally consists of eating junk food, stay up late watching movies and not doing anything else. That just won't do this time with the busy week I have ahead of me, and the baby I have to take care of. I need to muster up the self-control to deny my rebellious urges and stick to the tasks at hand. For example, I should be sleeping right now.

So.. I guess I will cut this short, be a good girl and go to bed. Hopefully I'll find the time to post on Ari's helmet checkup sometime soon. ; ) Goodnight! Zzzzzz...

My Little Ari

My little lion. = D (Ari means "lion")

(These are probably the only Halloween picture I will get up here. There's a couple more at the end)

Ari is just so darn cute. = D

I was looking at him today, chunky legs smooshed into his Bumbo seat, and I thought to myself.. wow, he doesn't look like a baby anymore. He looks like a little toddler! When I stood him up, the Bumbo seat stayed attached to his bum. LOL! Luckily he can still cram into it without it being uncomfortable because it is so handy for putting that antifungal cream on his scalp for his cradle cap. It doesn't have a tall back like his high chair, so I can easily get at him from all angles.

I swear to you, that little boy is sooo close to walking. Drew was telling me today that he thinks Ari will start walking over our little Thanksgiving vacation to Branson, MO coming up. I wouldn't be surprised. He is getting better and better at walking around the house holding on to us with only ONE hand now! It's adorable. He gets so proud of himself. = D

I also wouldn't be surprised if at least one of his top front teeth comes in by the end of the month. He has been teething like MAD. His new favorite thing to do?... bite my knee caps and shoulders with his two bottom front teeth. Ouch! The funny thing, is that it kindof tickles too, so my "knee-jerk" reaction (pun intended) is often laughter when I get caught unawares. Not good. Now he thinks it's a joke and tries to get away with it more often. So I'm trying to stifle my laughs to teach him right from wrong, while busting at the seams inside. Isn't that what a lot of being a parent is about?

Ari's also figured out how to crawl down backwards off my lap from the rocker to the floor. When he first started attempting this, I was like, "Man.. this boy sure is squirmy all the time now!", which was really nothing new. He's been a mover since in utero. But over the period of about a week, I started to discern his motive. I realized that the stinker could not wait to part with me after he had got his fix!! Now, almost immediately after he's done being burped (and often during) he starts squirming to back his way off my lap and onto the floor so he can go play. *sigh* The baby stage is SERIOUSLY not long enough. I need a new one. ; )

Ari is such a goofball. He has such a quirky, weird, and fun-loving personality. It blossoms more and more each day. I know he's going to be very quick-witted when he grows up. I am looking forward to the day when he starts telling jokes. You know the stage.. when their jokes aren't funny, but they're trying to figure out humor? I think he'll master it very quickly. But I can wait. This chapter is so awesome too. = )

The saddest part of it all is that he doesn't want to snuggle with me almost at all anymore. He wants to play with me, and joke with me, and be tickled by me.. and sometimes bring me a wide-open, drooly mouth for kisses... but not snuggle. I miss it a lot. Lately I have been milking the time (another pun) after his last feeding for all it's worth. He normally falls/stays asleep during it, so I'm able to just sit there rocking my not-so-baby baby, cuddling his still-baby-cheeks, for as long as I want.

*sigh* Man. It really does go by sooo quickly. I'm glad I listened to the mothers before me and haven't taken these baby months for granted. It's the only time in my life that I feel like I've succeeded in not rushing towards the horizon. It was worth the patience. = )

New Poll

I've been thinking about state of mind/perspective/state of being stuff lately, so I thought I would put up a new poll to see what you guys think.

I know all of these can be seen as being related, but that makes it all the more interesting to me.

Here's a fun link to Visuwords.com that you can check out that may help you contemplate these concepts more deeply.

Ponder away! = )

Oh, and feel free to comment with some thoughts behind what made you choose the one(s) you chose.

Thankfulness

I love my family. I am so thankful for them. = )

I am thankful for Drew. He makes me laugh with all his closet-weirdness. He works so hard at a job that is very stressful to bring home a paycheck to support our life together. He makes compromises he doesn't want to make because he values me as a partner in this relationship. He is patient with me. He is a learner and is willing to be taught when he doesn't know how to do something. He is willing to make hard changes when he knows it is for our best. = D

I am so thankful for Ari. He is such a sweet little boy. He smiles with his two-toothed mouth and my spirit glows. Even as he is sick and crabby, teething and tired, I still adore him. He experiments with new things and looks over to me for approval. When I come around the corner, he lights up with the biggest smile ever. If I walk near him, he immediately gets excited because he always wants to be playing with me. He already turns pages when I read to him and it makes me so happy. I can't get enough of him. = D

I am so thankful for my dogs. They love me even when I am crabby. All they want to do is be near me (and preferably on me) at all times. They love to curl up on my lap and be pet. This greatly reduces my stress level. Even when they pee on my floor and bark at the neighbors that they see every single day of their lives.. I can't imagine my life without them. = D

I am so thankful for life. I'm so thankful for the life that I have. I'm thankful for green grass, blue skies. I'm thankful for sunshine and music. I'm thankful for colors in general. I'm thankful for taste buds and wonderful food creations. I'm thankful for beauty. I'm thankful for friends, family and laughter. I'm thankful for learning. I'm thankful that I can afford to go to school. I'm thankful for "gluten-free" and mango sorbet. = D

I'm thankful that I have life after death awaiting me because Jesus paid the price I couldn't for my sins. Even when I am in the depths of despair and hopelessness, I know He is with me, and he pulls me back up out of it all. I am so thankful that His arm is not too short to save me from my muck. (Isaiah 59:1; John 3:16)

Ari's Halfway Done!!!

Alright.. so I'm finally ready to write this blog post.

It's probably because I've been under the weather, but it has felt very daunting to write about this visit, and especially to get photos ready for it, until today. I am feeling much better today. = )

So, Ari just had his fourth helmet checkup on Tuesday. It went very well!

The specialist began by ooo-ing and ah-ing about how great Ari's scalp looks. I am serious (and anyone of you who has seen it recently will agree) it looks almost 100% better! That anti-fungal cream really did the job!

I'm not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post, but Ari's doctor said that cradle cap is actually a fungus and that the awful red, raw mess under his helmet was actually a horrible case of cradle cap! I was fascinated and dumb struck. I had no idea cradle cap was fungal. She said she was not surprised that his cradle cap got worse under the helmet since it is warm, dark and moist.. the perfect fungus growing environment.

I digress.. so after ooo-ing and ah-ing, the specialist adjusted his helmet since his head has grown more and it was again getting too tight in some areas. The adjustment took about 15-20 minutes, so while she was in the back room, Ari played with the zipper on my sweater and in his stroller for a bit.







































When the specialist got back, she showed me that she also applied a felt-like medical bandage circle over that silver button that has been chaffing Ari's skin and creating blisters (I don't know the actual name of it). Up until now, we have had to try and get gauze under that area each time we put the helmet on. But with that circular piece of material bandage over it, it's no problem now! Huzzah!

Next she showed me the original mold of Ari's head which she had also brought back with her! If you recall from my post "Hooded and Scanned", they made this mold (which I had never got to see before now) by scanning an electronic picture of his skull onto a computer with a scanner. They then fitted the CranioCap to the mold of his skull before Ari got to wear it the first time. Here are some pictures of the mold. The one on the left is a front/anterior view (the writing would be the left side of Ari's head) and the one on the right is a top/superior view (the flat part on top of the picture being the back of his head).



















She measured the original mold of Ari's head to see what the dimensions were, and then measured Ari's head to see what his head was measuring now. He kept on trying to get her name tag. She thought that was hilarious. = D




















After she finished measuring, she told me that Ari's head has grown about a half a centimeter on the sides and a little over a centimeter in the back since we started the treatment! She said this is great, because it means that most of the growth has been in the back where his head is flat!

She informed me that Ari is about halfway done with his treatment now, which means that we only have about 7 more weeks to go unless they decide to extend the treatment at the end. She said it is unlikely that they will extend it since Ari is getting so mobile now and spending much less time on his back. She even said that towards the end of the treatment she may have us do a modified schedule again, which would involve him only wearing the helmet when he is in reclined positions, such as for naps, changing, nursing or in the car seat. Something like that.

So, yeah! It went really well. However, a couple centimeters growth still didn't sound like that big of a deal to me, so later that day I took some pictures of Ari's head, so that I could get a better picture of how much the treatment has been helping. I've included both the before and halfway pictures here so you can see them for yourself! Do you think it's working?... = D


P.S. I will try to do a post with cute pictures from Halloween soon. No guarantees. = )

Helmet Checkup Tomorrow!

Hey guys. Sorry I've been an absentee blogger for the past few days.. more than that I guess. I haven't been feeling very well. Cold-like symptoms, but I'm not quite sure if it's a cold. Ari and Drew haven't caught it, so it might be wheat related...

Anyways. Lots to blog about, but I still don't feel well so I'm going to make this one short. I should be able to do a longer one tomorrow.

Had my A&P II Lab presentation on Asthma tonight. It went really well. I think we'll get a really good grade. Unfortunately I ate a big dinner right before going into that stressful situation, so now I feel even worse. I was hungry and didn't think, but I completely knew better. As I JUST learned in A&P (it was on my most recent exam) when you're stressed out, digestion pretty much stops. It's "Fight or Flight" versus "Rest and Digest". So.. don't eat a big meal before a stressful (physically or emotionally) event, or you will get indigestion. Ugh...

What I really wanted to fit in was that Ari has his 4th Checkup tomorrow! I am SUPER excited about it, because somehow they are going to compare his skull now against the original mold they made. I can't wait to see how much it has improved.

So yeah, off to bed for now to hopefully rest, repair... and digest. = D