I Have to Brag

Clayton was SUCH a big boy today.  Today, for the FIRST TIME EVER, they took blood from him at the hosptial and he DID NOT CRY!!  He is usually hyperventilating and in meltdown mode during any stick, but today he handled it beautifully!!  Of course it helped that the nurse was extremely experienced and took plenty of time to find a vein (nearly impossible after all the damage his veins have endured).  When she finally did stick him, he tried to tune up, but we talked him out of it--instead he sat and made conversation with her and worried about Jackson misbehaving (and yes, he was misbehaving during the whole appointment!).  I am so, so PROUD of him for making it through a procedure without completely losing it!!  Now if we could just overcome x-rays, we'll be home free!!

This Week

We had a wonderful Easter--the weather was great and the time with family was special.  I tried my best to get a group shot of us, but as group shots normally go, not one turned out to be great of everyone--oh well, at least we're all there together!!  Clayton was laughing at me running back and forth from the camera in my heels!

Jackson spent most of the day clinging to me, but he did find time to climb all over my brother.  And Clayton enjoyed hunting for eggs since he only watched at the church egg hunt. 

This next pic pretty much sums up how the rest of the week has been going.  Jackson is all. over. the. place.  I'm pretty much following behind him putting out fires.  Clayton also has doctor's appointments on three days of this week.  Can't really get anything done when your whole day is scheduled around sitting in a waiting room.

 

He thinks nothing of climbing in and over things.  Scary what he'll do in the future!!

Easter: HE'S ALIVE!

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain.

Then bursting forth in glorious Day,

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,

Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me!

For I am His and He is mine,

Bought with the precious blood of Christ!

Ten Months

17 pounds, 2 1/2 ounces (10th percentile)

28 3/4 inches long (75th percentile)

(tall, but tiny!)

I really can't believe that Jackson is ten months old today!  He has opened our eyes in so many refreshing ways, he is truly a blessing and miracle to our family.  His little personality is emerging more and more each day, I love learning all the little details that are special to only him.  Thank you, Lord, for the beautiful gift that is our baby son!

Jackson is . . .

**now smiling with eight teeth

**standing for brief moments without any support

**a future climber--his leg hikes up, just can't quite get on top of most things

**waving constantly, yelling "HEY!" to everyone

**saying Da-da, a couple of times with true meaning

**constantly babbling about something, telling me many stories even as we ride in the car

**determined that "NO" means "YES!"

**still loving the taste of dog food (see previous)

**loving the dog, although she runs and hides whenever he gets near

**determined to feed himself--shuns baby food

**finally acclimated to the church nursery (big YAY on that one!)

**finally enjoying the attention of strangers--loves flashing his grin at them

**still attached to his comfort item, the ever-present bottle

**still waking at night, but drifts back off with just a few comforting touches

**still the cutest little stinker around.  :)

Just a Day in the Life . . .

Just a quick play by play of my Thursday, April 1:

**still not used to waking up AND getting up at 6:30 or 7:00, but Jackson's determined to break me in.

**I did get to cheat a bit this morning though--Jackson stayed in the bathroom while Brian took a shower, and I snuggled with Clayton in his bed for old times sake.  :)

**reality hit when Brian delivered Jackson to me with a dirty diaper--still wondering why he didn't attempt to change it.  He ended up having to help me anyway since after I laid Jackson down and had his diaper off, I realized the poop was all the way up his back.  So at 7:30, I was giving Jackson a bath. 

**Jackson was his normal on-the-go self, so I spent the next couple of hours chasing him around, generally putting out fires and avoiding all sorts of crises.  (The main crisis being when Jackson gets run over by Clayton's crazy circle driving!).

**Decided I would get myself a shower . . . Jackson usually just pines after me through the doors like we haven't seen each other in ages, but today he figured out how to open the door.  So I bathed while holding the door closed with my knee.  But when I turned around to shave me legs, it took me a few minutes to realize that he had actually climbed into the shower with me, fully clothed.  When I turned around he was completely soaked, and not bothered by it one bit.  I got him out, and quickly wrapped up the leg shaving before he was back in again!

**While I got dressed, he climbed in the shower again.  Guess it's his new favorite place.

**After I distracted him from the shower, he decided climbing completely underneath the bathroom lavatory was even better (once he had cleared the entire cabinet out that is!).

**I finally got us all loaded up for the therapy run, and before I could get the wheelchair in the van, the phone started ringing.  Left the chair in the garage next to the van without the brakes on . . . (you know what's coming next, right?)  Answered the phone, it's a doctor's office reminding me of our appointment.  As soon as she identifies herself, I see the wheelchair rolling down the driveway, on its way into the road!  I started screaming into the phone, "OUR WHEELCHAIR IS GOING INTO THE ROAD!!!  OUR WHEELCHAIR!"  I dropped the phone and luckily by the time I got out there it had veered off into the grass and stopped.  Clayton couldn't breathe he was laughing so hard, and even though I explained to the lady on the phone, I'm sure she was thinking I was a complete nut!

**After therapy, we went Krogering.  I've only ventured to Target with the wheelchair and Jackson, so Kroger was going to be something new.  With the old chair, it seemed to do well with me putting it directly behind the buggy, and letting Clayton essentially push the buggy with Jackson in it.  Not so with the new wheelchair . . . but it took me until the bread aisle to figure out it wasn't going to work like that!  I limped along making a complete fool of myself while we waited to find the groove that would work--we got some stares that's for sure!  I finally ended up pushing Clayton's chair and pulling the buggy.  Which gave the caboose to Jackson--which he didn't like since I was more than two inches away from him.  So to show his displeasure, he constantly needed another snack, and constantly needed his bottle since he was constantly throwing it down on the ground.  Yeah, he knows he's got me . . .

**We lost my list on aisle two, so we had to back track until I found it on the floor.  Backtracking with our train is not fun!

**Jackson threw about half of his cheez-its in the floor in the Easter aisle.  Loved cleaning up that mess!

**The only consolation was that since Clayton was looking so awesome in his chair, several people were commenting on how cute he was (it's been a long time since strangers have fawned over him like they did today).  I think he just looks more comfortable and so "little boy."  It's just so much better!

**And even though Jackson was a stinker, people were fawning over him too--he is definitely a cutie, and he knows it full well!! 

**Thankfully, Jackson fell asleep on the way home and Clayton and I were able to enjoy some quite time unloading the groceries and other chores before he woke back up with renewed energy.  And thankfully, there were no other major happenings for the rest of the evening--I think we all needed the break!

New Wheels!

Clayton has many lessons to come in learning to drive a new power chair.  But in the meantime, he is now the proud owner and DRIVER of a new manual chair!  We've been wanting/needing this chair for quite sometime now and it is such a relief to finally see him in it!  He was two when he got his first chair, and both his body and condition have changed so much since then!  He was definitely too long for his old chair and he wanted and needed some control of his movement about his environment, even if it can't involve a power chair just yet.  As soon as he got in it, he was wanting to go "in the back."  Quite different, since he usually wants to go out front to watch for cars.  With this chair, he was ready to get in the grass!  He's mostly spent the afternoon and night going in circles (he rarely uses his left hand).  We're just letting him explore and figure out just how he'll compensate with that hand--we'll see if he gets motivated to use it more!  I'm loving how he looks in it and wouldn't trade it back for the old, but I've got a lot of adjustments to make in order to get into a new routine with this chair.  Loading and unloading it will be different for a while and we're going to try our best to use it at the house (we usually use his Special Tomato chair at home).  The more we use it, the more independence Clayton gains--and he is sooo craving independence!  And today, he definitely started that journey!

Dedication Video: Jackson

Here is the video that was shown at Jackson's dedication.  I've shared most of the pictures on this blog, but it's still sweet to see how much he's changed

Many, many thanks to Todd for putting this together for me!

Dedicated

Jackson's baby dedication was held this month at our church.  And I have to say that I love how our pastor does baby dedications.  He treats each family individually and each baby gets his own personal dedication service.  As with Shawn and Clayton's dedication, Brian and I both were presented with roses as symbols of our love as parents.  Brian received a red rose, symbolizing the sacrifice a father makes in providing for his family, as well as the sacrifice that Jesus made with His blood on the cross.  I received a white rose, symbolizing the pure love a mother has for her child, as well as the pure and unconditonal love that Jesus has for us.  Our pastor then prayed over us, and then said a special prayer over Jackson for the life he will lead.  It really is a beautiful ceremony, no matter how many times you've witnessed it! 

Thanks to Rhonda for the pics!

Play Clothes

I'm in new territory . . . I've got a child who gets his socks filthy, his shoes scuffed up, and has almost worn the knees out of a couple of his pants.  And Spray-n-Wash is now a regular part of my laundry routine.

It's a good thing.  :)

On Again/Off Again

I've been a bad blogger these last few days!  One minute Clayton is feeling good (as in picture above) and the next he is lethargic and doing his best to speak and/or stay awake.  He woke up a few nights ago burning with fever, but that's the only time he has done that--I don't know what's up actually.  He is very congested from all the spring blooms popping up, so I think the effort to breathe is just getting to his body.  He's even taken a nap these last three days--unheard of anymore for him!  I so hope his system adjusts soon because I just plain don't like it when he is not feeling well!

This is What Happens

when you miss your morning nap . . .

you end up falling asleep during lunch!

It's Coming Together

While the room isn't completely "finished," Clayton has officially moved into his own bedroom and space.  Brian painted this weekend, and the new adjustable bed came on Monday.  He is in heaven on that bed, but we are having to limit his time with the remote since he wold probably burn the motor up if we let him!  He still doesn't realize the remote is a tool, not a toy!  We're waiting on the rest of his furniture to get here and I have to organize the closet for him, but as soon as those are complete, he'll be the resident of a brand new room!

Just Ignore Him . . . And Maybe He'll Go Away

Jackson spends a lot of time hanging off of Clayton's tray.  And Clayton spends a lot of time doing his best to ignore him!

Clayton is really pretty much used to Jackson, but he is still not used to someone being in his personal space ALL. THE. TIME.  He gets really worried and bothered with Jackson climbing all over him and his stuff--but he's doing the best he can to get acclimated to having a little brother hanging around.  :)

The Hope of Heaven

I've been listening to this song for a few years now and it still give me chills and brings the tears . . .

Thank you, Lord, for the Hope of Heaven!

Another Test Drive!

Clayton got to test drive another power chair today and it was so much better than the last one!  That first chair he drove was so big since it was a sit-to-stand, but this one today was a Permobil Koala and it's so perfect size-wize for him!  He can't stand in it, but it just seems so much more appropriate for him . . . he gets to drive it again in a couple of weeks (needs lots of lessons so we can figure out if he needs a joystick or some other kind of switch).  Also, Brian didn't get to come today, so he'll want to see him in it before we make a final decision.  Here are a few videos from today.  Hope you don't get sick watching them, as I was filming, dealing with Jackson and during the second one even got a phone call I had to answer!  But you'll get the general idea of how his driving went even if it does make you nauseous!!!

I must say that we're feeling a lot better after seeing this one.  The sit-to-stand was so big, it was just too OVERWHELMING!  It made us sick thinking of having that giant in the house, but seeing this one today got me excited once again about the possibilities a power chair will bring Clayton!

Lovin' the Weather!

These past few days have been so liberating!  We've been out and about, visiting parks and walking trails, cruising through town with our windows down, sunroof open, and radio blasting (in the minivan no less!).  It seems this winter has been longer than most and I'm going to do my best to NOT complain about the HOT Arkansas weather when it rolls into town, because I think I've decided I'm definitely not a full-time cold weather girl!

He's Loose!

We've had beautiful weather these past few days, so I took Jackson's walker outside for the first time. As soon as we got on the street (can't just hang out on the driveway like normal folks since it's steep), he took off down the road! This is literally like the third pic I took and he was trucking it--didn't even look back to see if we were following! He did finally stop when some rocks got his attention. Just like a boy to stop and inspect the rocks.

He was all over the place for a solid thirty minutes--you can see he's flying so fast here, his hair can't even keep up!

It pooped him out big time. He came inside and took the longest nap he's taken in a while--maybe I should try this more often now that the weather's cooperating!!

Flashback Friday

Today would have been Brian's mom's 54th birthday (I think I got the number right?) . . . So it's only appropriate to flash way back to Brian's high school graduation and this picture of him with his parents. Brian graduated in 1995 and this is also the year that Wanette began her battle with cancer. I was blessed to have the time to get to know her well before she became seriously ill. I will consider it a privilege to tell my boys all about their other Granny someday . . . and I take comfort knowing she spends each day in Heaven with my Shawn.

We love and miss you, Wanette!

Nine Months

Jackson is nine months old today! Can you believe it?! I sure can't! He is changing and growing so quickly. It's simply amazing watching him explore the world around him. He has six teeth and is drooling like crazy--I'm sure another will be popping out anytime. He is crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything. The coffee table, window sills, and dishwasher are his favorite places to scope everything out. In fact, we're seeing a lot more of his little booty these days since he's teeter tottering around the coffee table:
He is so tiny, it's crazy to think he's close to walking! He's also trying his best to say something to us. His sounds are getting more like words and he waves his hands, practicing saying bye-bye we're thinking! He is doing better on the sleeping, but he has to sleep with his bottle to make it through the night. I'm willing to let him since it means a better night for the rest of the family!

Thank You, Momma

Clayton is so sweet. (You knew that already, right??) In the past, he has randomly thanked me for this and that, but these days he seems to be thanking me for the things that he knows he can't do on his own. It just melts my Momma heart.

I hook up his feeding tube. Thank you, Momma.

I change his diaper. Thank you, Momma.

I'm washing his hair. Thank you, Momma.

I push him to another room upon his request. Thank you, Momma.

I put on his night splints. Thank you, Momma.

I put on his glasses or his hand splint. Thank you, Momma.

All I can do in these moments (to keep from crying, that is) is immediately shower him with kisses and tell him how much I love him! There just aren't enough words!!