What's Not Going On?

WOW... we have been super busy lately.  Lots going on and lots to write about. First I left off last time about Elijah's teeth... the bottom two are completely through now and our great sleeper is back!  So thankful for this blessing (you should be too, because I'm a little cranky when I don't get sleep)

Elijah has had acid reflux since birth.  He started on Zantac at 2 weeks old and has been on it ever since.  The past two weeks, he started excessively spitting/throwing up.  We are talking sometimes up to 50 times/day.  He doesn't seem to be bothered by this- he is still his normal happy go lucky self-- but it is driving Matt and I crazy.  We do multiple loads of his laundry per week just to have enough burp clothes, the carpet looks horrible, and not to mention the constant need to change our clothes because we have it all over us too. 

Last Friday, we took him to our pediatrician- she was actually out, so we saw the nurse practitioner.  Elijah spit up about 6-8 times in the 30 min we were there (keep in mind he hadn't eaten in 2- 2.5 hours), which was actually a good thing, because the nurse was able to see that something wasn't right.  She called a gastroenterologist to get her opinion and the specialist referred us to go get an Upper GI done on Elijah.  Being a first time mom, this was a little unnerving. Matt and I headed to Plano to the Pediatric Imaging Center to get the test done.  They were waiting on him and we were in and out in no time!  The test was fairly simple, we stripped Elijah down to a diaper, placed him on this board, where the tech strapped him in with his arms up by his head.  The Dr. then came in to perform the test.  The tech gave him a bottle of Barium and then the Dr looked at an x-ray to see the fluid going down his esophogus and into his stomach and then as it released from his stomach.  He said that everything looked perfect!  Elijah did great until the tech quit feeding him the bottle-- he is a hungry growing boy that hadn't eaten in 4 hours-- he wanted to EAT!!!

We then got him dressed and gave him a bottle and left.  The nurse at our pediatrician office called to tell us everything was good but to go to an appointment with the specialist on Monday. 

That night Matt and I were able to go on a date to Studio Movie Grill to see Mirror Mirror.  It was so nice to be able to have a few hours to ourself-- couples/ new parents need this time!  It's crucial to marriages!  Huge thanks to Virgil and Janet for allowing us to have that time together!

Saturday was Elijah's first Easter Egg Hunt at the church-- he was in the stroller, so he didn't do much- but he sure loved chewing on the eggs.

Elijah playing with his eggs

He also got his first balloon animal hat!

So we went to the specialist on Monday and were presented with our options... she basically was a little confused by what was going on too.  She started him on Prevacid and we are to use that for a week and see if it helps.  If it does-- YAY! Although I hate for Elijah to be on medicine, it would at least give us the answer.  If it doesn't-- we will take the allergy approach.  He will come off of ALL solids (did I say we have a hungry growing boy!?!)  and he will go to a hypoallergenic amino acid based formula ($$$$$$$$)  and it will hopefully be covered by insurance.  Then we would slowly start adding things back to his diet to see what he might be allergic to.  So just be in prayer for us during this time as we figure out what's going on. 

Other than all that-- all is well!  Elijah is SO fun... he such a ham, flirts with everyone, smiles all the time.  He trying REALLY REALLY hard to crawl-- last night he was starting to do a little scooting action, I tried to get a pic but that just didn't work.  He had his little booty straight in the air and his head in the floor and then he would scoot- HILARIOUS!

We set up his pony he got from his Aunt Gi for Christmas.  It says for 9 month+, but he seems to really enjoy it! 

A little Sunday afternoon play time. He was rolling around everywhere

We have been trying really hard to get Elijah used to a sippy cup... well he would make faces like he didn't like anything that was in the cup (water, juice, whatever) Well one night I was drinking a frappucino from starbucks and just put the straw up to his mouth and he took a big suck-  I quickly took that away and decided we would try straw sippy cups-- SUCCESS... he gulped down water last night!

 

One last pic... Happy 8 months to Elijah on March 23. 

He is now 20 lb 12.5 ounces and 28 inches long

And a little bundle of joy!



Is That a Tooth I See!?!

This weekend was my long weekend... I LOVE LOVE that I am off every other Friday and we usually try to make the most of it! 

First Elijah slept til 9 am both Friday and Saturday morning... I LOVE THIS KID... a child after my own heart!

Elijah has really been a great sleeper, the past couple of weeks he has been waking up quite a bit more and we really didn't know why.  He didn't have a fever, he didn't seem sick...

Well Saturday, St. Patrick's Day, we went to get some Chinese (Matt's choice).  As Matt was getting him out of the carseat and he said, "HE HAS A TOOTH!!!"  I said, "WHAT?" So of course, being the mother that I am, I shove my finger in his mouth and sure enough-- there was a tooth! 

Unfortunately, I do not currenly have any pics, it has just broken through and very hard to get a pic of!

After eating, involved a trip to Big Lots, which included buying some easter eggs--

He LOVED the package because it made lots of noise!

Pre-eggs... showing off his St. Patty's Day Green!

The weekend started off by us meeting up with from friends Todd and Meagan Their sweet boy, Beckett was in Arkansas with the grandparents and they just really needed to love on a little boy because they missed theirs... they didn't really want to have dinner with us- it was all about Elijah (ha, there really is sarcasm in that comment) We had a great time at dinner with them, even though Meagan and Elijah had sweet tea spilt on them.  Elijah also had chips dropped on him.  But he got to ride his first horse...

He looks a little concerned because he had just woken up

What you can't really see in this pic is his adorable onesie courtesy of Meagan's parents...

It turned cooler again this weekend because we got lots of rain, so we pulled out Elijah's sunglasses...

We will be at the beach on month from Friday!!!

So, I know not too much exciting, but we love our little family of three and the time we get together on the weekends! 

Tomorrow is Easter picture day the sitter!  We are so very excited. If you are needing some pics at affordable prices, check her out... Marsha Cox Photography

I will leave you with a good laugh... here is our little bundle of joy!



I LOVE DADDY!

So not much has been going on lately... we are all staying well (knock on wood). 

We enjoyed a nice long beautiful weekend this weekend.  I was able to work from home on Thursday and then we went to Frisco to Rhea Lana, a children's consignment sale! We were able to find a few good deals and start working on Elijah's summer wardrobe.  We were also able to find a few swim outfits for our beach trip in April.

Elijah's Crocs he will be sporting at the beach

Then we spent Friday going to Canton-  we didn't buy much- but just wanted to go walk around to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Elijah having a good ole time in Canton

Elijah sporting his cute outfit from his G-Daddy and Nona (Matt's Parents)

So on to the title of this post... I know I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again... Elijah has an AMAZING father!!!  Matt will get up in the middle of the night if Elijah wakes up to give him a paci so that I can get sleep because I wake up so early to go to work.  He gets Elijah ready in the mornings, takes him to the sitter, and picks him up from the sitter. He cares and loves on him! He plays with him, he sings songs to him, and he gets in the floor and lets him roll around and attempt to crawl.  I am so thankful for such an amazing dad for our son! I am blessed beyond measure to have an amazing husband!

 Here is the sweetest picture from the other night... just had to share:

And one last picture of the day: 



A cool pic that our sitter took of Elijah the other day!

A Little Vacation

Well since we moved to Texas, our vacations include going home to see family.  We have not had a "real" vacation since we lived here!!!  (But that will change come April when we are going to the beach!!!!)

So we left last Wednesday afternoon and headed to Arkansas... spent Wed evening and Thursday morning with the Crowson Clan and then packed up and headed to Tennessee to see the Jones Clan through Monday morning where we packed back up and headed back to Arkansas and then back to Texas on Tuesday afternoon.  We usually take this weekend every year to go because it is my Friday off at work (I'm off every other Friday) and then Monday is a Federal Holiday (President's Day).  So I can use about two days of PTO and get a full week off! 

Thursday morning, Elijah got to meet his Great- Grandmother (Mamaw) for the first time!

Mamaw walking in and said, "Oh my it's a little Mike."  Apparently Elijah favors my dad A LOT when he was a child. What do you think?

One thing I know is those rolls are the same!

We really didn't "do" a whole lot on our trip... relaxed, shopped, gave the grandparents time with Elijah.  Overall it was a relaxing and fun trip "home"

Saturday consisted of going to a 6 year old birthday party-- that's always exciting... the theme was Cars 2 and we bought the birthday boy a Cars Digital Camera-- that's right, we are the cool family!  This camera takes pics and then you upload them to your computer where you have a program that you can make stamps and "Cars" pictures- Perfect for that Cars lover! 

Elijah taking his Sunday afternoon nap with his G-Daddy

Elijah in his jumper as soon as we got home-- he missed his jumper!

Happy Bathtime-- he is starting to get SO much fun during bathtime.  He splashes and plays with his toys!  He did NOT want to get out!

One final pic... Happy 7 months! 

I can't believe how fast these 7 months have gone by... it's just crazy!  He is almost 20 lbs, sits up on his own (most of the time), and ROLLS everywhere!!!  He is trying SO hard to crawl, but just rolls! It's super cute!  He is eating up a storm-- love his fruits and veggies!

Well there is my random post for this week (or the last two weeks)... oh I think I forgot to mention... Elijah ended up getting thrush after his antibiotic-- we started him on medicine and it seems MUCH better... thankfully we have all stayed pretty much sick free the last two weeks (KNOCK ON WOOD)!!!

On the Mend?

So I suppose things have to get worse before they can get better- For those who don't know the story here it goes... Thursday was my scheduled day to work from home- this means waking up late, staying in my pajamas and enjoying my work day from my living room on the couch!  Well Elijah was sleeping great but at 7am we had to wake him up because I had to start working at 730.  When we went to wake him up, we found that he had thrown up sometime in the middle of the night and it was all over his bed- poor thing!  I quickly got him up and gave him a quick bath, checked his temp (it was fine), fed him, and put him in his jumper to play before daddy took him to the sitter.  While in the jumper he had a nasty terrible runny diaper.  Well we still sent him to the sitter and he was fine the rest of the day- didn't eat normal but was fine.  So Thursday night was like any other night, but we decided to go out to eat.  Neither Matt or I felt like Elijah was really sick and neither of us felt sick. 

Friday morning rolls around Elijah starting fussing around 545, so Matt gets up and puts a paci back in and he quickly goes back to sleep... Matt doesn't come right back to bed though- he stops by the bathroom and the gets back in bed and says he doesn't feel good and feels like he is going to throw up.  I was like OH NO, we are supposed to leave to go to Arkansas for the Steven Curtis Chapman Concert after Elijah's Wellness visit.  Well within a couple hours, Matt was throwing up :(   Right as I was walking out the door to take Elijah to his appointment, I quickly have to run back inside and go to the restroom.  I kept telling myself I just had to make it through his appointment and I can come back home and take care of the boys.  Elijah's appointment went well.  19lbs 1oz.  and 27 inches long (75th percentile on weight, 50th on length, and 25th on head).



He loves to look at the mirror and rip the paper

(Side note-- look how he is growing, he is sitting up all on his own!!!)

Anyway, I safely make it through his appointment and stop by for a Sprite at Sonic on the way home.  I was sitting in the recliner feeding Elijah (Matt in the bathroom throwing up) and all of a sudden it hits me... I stand up, holding Elijah and just start throwing up in the middle of the living room floor.  This was officially the lowest point, standing in the living room holding a 6 month and feeling absolutely HELPLESS!

This was one moment, where I just wished mom lived around the corner and could come take Elijah and care for him because and I were SICK SICK! 

Elijah was the BEST baby EVER on Friday, allowing Matt and I to rest and not have to worry too much about him.  He then slept 12 hours on Friday night which of course was amazing because we NEEDED good rest! 

We woke up Saturday feeling better, weak, but MUCH better!  We began drinking water, sprite, or gatorade Saturday morning, moved to some saltines around lunch and had some Chicken and Stars around 3-- oh I forgot to mention Jaime White being an AMAZING friend and running to Target and getting us sprite, gatorade, saltines, and soup.  We owe her BIG time! Then after almost 48 hours at the house, we decided to venture out for a quick trip to Target to get some bread and we got an ICEE!

By Sunday we were feeling MUCH better, even enjoyed a lunch out with friends at BoomerJacks and a great "Big Game" Party at the Hoods! 

As of now, we seem to all be on the mend (knock on wood). We are praying that we all stay healthy now.  We have had our good share of being VERY VERY sick lately and we are all ready to be well!  Thanks for all of your prayers!

This Tuesday, we got to meet up with some friends, The McGuires,  their son Beckett is almost one (wow how time flies)  Meagan and Beckett (and her mom) were the first people other than my family to meet Elijah after he was born! We had a great time catching up and enjoyed a good burger at Twisted Root.

Beckett and Elijah at Twisted Root

So that's about it... that's our exciting life this past week... and I'll leave you with one last sweet picture of Benton and Elijah-- Benton wants to make sure that he is NOT left out! (sorry it's kinda dark)

Sick Baby...

Yes it's true... I've fallen off the blogging wagon the past couple of weeks... well here's what's been going on...

Saturday, the 20th, started as any normal day-- sleeping in (Elijah slept 12 hours!!!!)  and just hanging out around the house.  We ran some errands and such.  Elijah started coughing...  a lot... now please keep in mind that Elijah always coughs (please go back to the previous blog about allergies for more in on that) but Saturday was BAD!  He has just finished having some solids and I went to get him out of the high chair and realized his head was on FIRE!  Sure enough, I took his temp and it was 102.5! AAAHHHHH!!!!!  Matt said give him some tylenol and he will be fine.  But I said NO, I immediately thought back to the email we received from our dear sitter the day before informing us that one of the boys there had been diagnosed with RSV-- which means Elijah had been exposed to it.  I had that mother's intuition and knew this was more than just a teething fever and tTylenol just wasn't going to trick. 

We packed up and went to the new Pediatric After Hours (at Baylor on George Bush and Shiloh).  They were WONDERFUL!!!  Although they didn't have the official RSV test, they confirmed that he did indeed have RSV and we were to begin breathing treatments immediately!  They gave us the machine and the mask and all we had to do was go pick up the albuterol.  Elijah did awesome with the treatments, except for the one right before bed-- when he wants to go to bed, he wants to go to bed... right then, right there- NO MESSING AROUND!  Apparently I was the same way as a child. I didn't want to be rocked, held or loved on, I just wanted my bed!

Elijah slept well for a few nights.  He was such a trooper through the RSV.  His fever got as high as 103.5.   He didn't really want to eat much, and he didn't smile-  for those of you that know him, you know that's terrible.  He is such a smiling baby!  Here are a couple of pics from this week....

Those sweet but red cheeks

Saw a lot of those eyelids over the week

Look at those bags under his eyes :(

We went to our pediatrician on Monday. We LOVE LOVE LOVE Dr. Lanman at Pediatric Associates of Wylie!  They did the RSV test and confirmed that it was indeed RSV.   We continued the breathing treatments, which helped tremendously.  By Wednesday night-- the sleep started getting bad because Elijah was hardly eating.  Matt was SO amazing at getting up at night helping Elijah go back to sleep. Thursday morning we headed back to the doctor to have his ears checked out.  We were told that RSV almost always ends in an ear infection and sure enough-- Elijah had his very first ear infection and had lost a pound since Saturday!  He was finally no longer running fever though!!! We started 10 days of antibiotics for him.  By the time we left the doctor- I felt I was getting a fever.  When we got home- it was confirmed... I was now running 101 fever.  I went to the nurse practioner and started an antibiotic... by Saturday- it wasn't working and I was put on another antibiotic-- it finally seems to be helping!

He's thinking... He's about to start feeling a little better

To make the Jones side of the family happy... we tried out his TN orange.  I personally think Red is a MUCH better color!

Having fun in his jumper!

On Thursday night, we decided to get out and have dinner- I felt terrible but wanted to get out! We went to Mimi's before my mom came in town! Here Elijah is trying out the high chair for the first time!

Feelin' good- ready to go to church!  He was smiling at his KK--

saying a HUGE thanks for coming to help us out while mommy was sick

Guess he was hiding his face from all the sleepy pics I had been taking!

This was Sunday afternoon naptime!

So all in all, we are VERY glad this past week is OVER!!!!

It is SO hard to see your baby sick and hurting.

The Lord was so gracious to us though.  We have heard of so many RSV babies having to be in the hospital and we did not have to go there.  We are so thankful for a happy healthy baby!

Thank you to all who prayed for our baby.  He is feeling MUCH better now!

It's a New Year!

WoW!  I can't believe it's 2012.  I'm a little behind on blogging so far this year... hopefully I will do better!  A new year has so many meanings... big things will happen this year.  2011 brought the birth of our first child and 2012 means he will turn one!  I can't believe almost half of a year has passed since he was born.  What happened to my little 5lb 4oz baby?  Everyone said it goes by so fast, but I feel like I've blinked and he's almost 6 months old.  I try to cherish every moment.  The past few weeks have been super busy!  My dad came to town last weekend to take me to the Cotton Bowl  We had SO much fun!  It was probably the best daddy daughter date ever!

This was Thursday (wearing his Hog gear to get prepared for the game)

Elijah's Friday Cotton Bowl attire!  He was ready to cheer on the Hogs from home!

Dad (Papa) and Elijah before we left for the game!

So dad and I did it up right... we had a parking pass for the game that allowed us to park across the street from Cowboy's Stadium.  We got there early and got to be there for the pregame pep rally which included a pregame speech by Jerry Jones himself!

Dad and I pregame

(some really nice lady volunteered to take a pic for us-

Hog fans are just SO nice!)

Oh and please notice- I'm wearing a T-shirt!!!!  It was in the 70's on January 6th!  It was amazing!  Sure wish they had opened the roof of the stadium for the game- it was kinda warm in there!  Apparently we went to the cotton bowl in 1989 when Arkansas played UCLA when Troy Aikman was quarterback. I barely remember that considering I was 5 1/2 at the time.  Dad said it was freezing cold and sleeting and of course that was when it was actually played at Cotton Bowl Stadium so it was outside and COLD!

A view from our seats... we got to watch all the news casters pregame

Pregame Show- The Band Perry singing the National Anthem and a HUGE flag!

So a HUGE thanks goes out to my dad for taking me to the Cotton Bowl... it was an awesome time! 

We are still dealing with congestion and coughing issues with Elijah-  I really think he allergic to the protein in dairy and soy, but he won't eat the high dollar hypo-allergenic stuff (nutragmigen)  He screams and throws a fit, probably because the stuff smells TERRIBLE!  So for now, we will stay on the soy formula and see what the Dr. says when he goes for his wellness visit on Feb. 3.

Elijah started rolling over from his back to his belly-  however-  he hates being on his belly.  So you put him back on his back and he rolls right back over-- it's a pretty fun game!  Here a video of his first night rolling over...

He also sits up on his own for quite a while before getting excited and stretching out or top heavy and falling over!  He is just growing so fast!