More Prayers Needed - This time for Kayleigh

I don't think my heart can take any more! First Stellan and now this! I'm so sad for this family. Read Adam's latest post for more details, but it looks like Kayleigh may have suffered some kind of terminal brain damage. Things were looking so good for her!

For those of you that don't know, Kayleigh was due the same month as Austin, so I've "known" her parents since early pregnancy on Baby Center. She was born 3 months early and has fought valiantly to overcome all the issues that come with being one of the world's smallest micro-preemies. She was actually on the road to be going home very soon.

It sounds like there is a chance that this is just a reaction to some medication. Please pray that is the case! This is so unexpected!

On the Stellan front - he made it through surgery and is recovering well. The surgery was only a partial success and they're in the "wait and see" phase to see how well it worked. His extra pathway was too close to his AV node to remove it without permanently damaging his heart, thus requiring a pacemaker. So for now they're just seeing whether they got enough out to keep his SVT at bay. Please continue to pray for him too!

I'm going to go kiss my little boy now and be thankful we don't have anything even close to this to deal with. This sure gives you perspective, doesn't it?

Stellan's Surgery Possibly Moved Up

Stellan's surgery (ablation to remove extra conduction pathways in his heart) has possibly been moved up to tonight. (Go to her post for more details - there are a bunch!) Please be praying for this little boy and his family. I can't imagine having to go through that.

MckMama posted a list of prayer requests and I'll repost them here just for reference.

• Would you pray that Dr. A will have wisdom as to if he should move forward with the ablation after the esophageal study?
• If he does move forward, would you pray that he will have clarity of mind as far as how aggressive to be with the ablation in order to fix Stellan's problem without putting him at undue risk for complications.
• Would you pray that the tiny catheters the doctors use will not nick Stellan's coronary artery?
  
• Would you pray for peace for me and my husband?
  
• Would you pray that heart block will not occur during the surgery?
• Would you pray that the extra pathways Stellan has will be located and successfully destroyed?
  
• Will you pray that, if they need to go through his septum, that it will heal as it should?
  
• Would you pray that in the days after the surgery (In infants, coronary damage sometimes doesn't appear for up to three days, so we'll be here for the rest of the week at least it looks.) we will cling to Jesus and not to fear?

Reason #132 Why My Son Will Hate Me When He's 16

Austin's 6 Month Photo Shoot






We also took some adorable, yet not embarrassing pictures of my little man!

Why TiVo Was Invented

One of my favorite perks of having TiVo is not having to watch commercials. Especially those weird ones with really annoying songs that get stuck in your head for days.

Why, oh why, then did I choose to watch a live (gasp!) program??

I now have this stuck in my head.



Make it stop! Make it stop!

Well, at least it's funny. Yipee-i-a Mini Sirloin Burgers! Yippee-i-o Mini Sirloin Burgers! Yeah!

Big Boy Food

Yesterday, Austin got his first official big boy food. (The girl scout cookie doesn't count) We started with rice cereal, which he didn't care too much for, and apples which he seemed to like. It was a little hard to tell if he liked it cuz he kept shuddering, but he also kept looking for more. I think they were a little too sweet for him.

He did a great job though. Even stayed clean, which was good since we forgot a bib! Hey, we're new at this stuff too!

Excited to get started!


Some rice cereal




Not too sure about these apples!



Happy full boy!


And some "green bean" "sweet apple" shudders in action!

A Hoppy Easter Weekend

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. It's been a very busy weekend, but very fun too. Brian got Friday off and has today off too, so we've been enjoying the long weekend. The Easter Bunny brought Brian a video game and he has spent a good time killing enemy soldiers. (He was jealous that Austin was getting a basket, so we made sure the Easter Bunny got him a little something too. And the Bunny came early just so Brian could enjoy his game on his day off.)



Friday, Austin and I decorated Easter Eggs. Well, I did most of the decorating and he contributed thumb prints for the chicks on his. I experimented with "blowing out" eggs instead of hard boiling them, so his will hopefully last for a while.



Saturday, Austin & I attended Jack Reeves' 2nd birthday party. The theme was airplanes and his momma was waaaaayyy too creative. She has set the bar very high for all future birthday parties. In fact, I'm starting to plan Austin's now, just so I can get close to the level she set it at.



I mean, check out this cake!!


And this invite!


After Jack's party, Austin and I went to Michelle Albao's baby shower. She's so stinkin' cute! Check out this little belly!


She's 33 weeks and is due at the end of May. We are so excited for them! Their little man has been prayed for for years! If they have even 1/10th the amount of fun we're having with Austin, they're going to be in heaven! I can't wait to meet their little blessing.

We got a nice shot of Austin and me too! And a nice shot of Austin.



Okay, and a completely random thing happened at the shower. One of Micah's (Michelle's hubby) cousins was there. We took gymnastics together 20 years ago! We were the absolute best of friends when we were like 10. I mean, I knew she had the same last name as Micah, but I just assumed there were more than one family of Albaos in the world. I guess I was wrong! It was very fun reconnecting!

And then after the shower, we went over to my parents house for a yummy early Easter dinner. (There was orange jello, which pretty much makes it a great dinner!) Brian, Austin and I took the opportunity for a nice family portrait...


Then the cousins got in on the fun.


And one more of Austin, just cuz he's so stinkin' cute! (Wait until you see what I have in store for his 6month pics. Imagine this, but way worse.)


Our actual Easter Sunday was full too. Our church has a "sunrise" service at the time when the sun really should be rising. 10am. Pretty much the best sunrise service ever. We meet at a house in PV that overlooks the ocean. So what we lack in the crack-of-dawn-o-dark-thirty aspect, we fully make up for in the amazing-beauty-and-awe aspect!

Then we stopped at Grandma Judy's so Austin could open his Easter Basket there. She got him a very cute little swimming pool that he'll be splashin' around in soon.

And then Easter dinner was held at Great-Grandma Crowley's home with more yummy yummy food. I forgot to bust my camera out all Sunday, but Grandpa Kevin did, so there might be pictures later when I get some from him.

Fun, very full weekend! But more importantly, we didn't forget why we were celebrating...

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

What glorious words!

Well Baby? Check!

Austin had his 6 month Well Baby Checkup today. He didn't cry at anyone in a white coat today! And he only cried for about 1 minute when he got his shots. Maybe less. Such a trooper! He's meeting all his milestones good - she wasn't too concerned about his lack of motivation to roll much. He finally rolled from back to front on Monday. I told him he had to do it before his appt so he just snuck it in! Only did it once though, so no video. And he's at least a month or two ahead in his pincer grasping technique. So we'll take that!

Size wise, he's doing good - 25% for weight, 75% for height & 25% for head circumference. He dropped in % in weight some, from about 30-35% to 25%, so we're going to bump up nursing a bit, but she said to go ahead with solids too. Nothing to be concerned about though. I mean, do these thighs look like the thighs of a child that needs to be concerned about his weight??


I can assure you, he did not get those from his daddy!

Now his sense of humor, he did get from his daddy! (Hey, you can never have too many clothes-stuck-on-the-head photos, right?)

One Half Year

In about one minute my sweet baby boy will be six months old. It's probably too late at night to be writing this because just thinking those words makes me tear up. And if you know me at all, you know that it takes a lot to make that happen. I can't believe how quickly the time is going by. I want it to slow down, but at the same time I can't wait for tomorrow because I know that somehow it will be even more fun than today was.

I took his six month Winnie the Pooh pics a day early because I have to work Friday. But I figure it's darn close enough. What a difference a few months makes! He's huge! Well, he's still a peanut, but he's huge compared to his 4 day old picture.




Austin, This is what you're up to at 6 months old

• Your sweet little giggle has evolved into the best belly laugh. When you're not tired, you laugh when your tootsies get kissed, when Momma attacks your belly or when you get thrown up in the air. When you're tired, you laugh at absolutely everything! Your laugh is the best sound in the entire world!


• You've recently discovered Peekaboo and think it's absolutely hilarious to watch Momma and Daddy bounce around the couch.


• You are really really close to sitting up all by yourself. You can teeter there for a little bit, but you tumble over eventually. You can sit longer and longer everyday. You look horribly proud of yourself when you do sit though.


• You're not crazy about rolling over. We know you know how to do it, but we think you just choose not to. We can't tell if it's because you're generally very content about where you are or if you're just lazy like Momma.


• You have to hold whatever Momma is holding. The remote control, spoon, camera, cup, etc. You frantically flail your arms out until you get your prize and then you promptly attempt to eat it.


• You are such a good sleeper! Momma is so thankful for that! You usually wake up from naps happy and just lay in your crib talking to your mobile until Momma comes and gets you. Then you greet her with the best smile ever! Sometimes, though, it would do you good to speak up a little after your nap because sometimes Momma doesn't know you're up!


• You adore your Daddy so very much. Even when you're cranky, your face lights up when he comes home from work. You'll stare at him no matter what he's doing in the room until you catch his eye and you flash him the best grin!


• You are so good with your fingers. You love to carefully hold your toys in just a few fingers and examine them intently, slowly turning things over and spinning them. You always have a very intense look on your face while you do this. You're really good at getting your pacifier back in your mouth too.


• You don't have an official eye color still. They are sorta blue, sorta green, sorta gray. Some days "chrome" is the best way to describe them. Auntie Becca says they look like mirrors. Regardless of the color, they are gorgeous.


• You're getting a little better at scooting towards your toys if they're out of reach. You can go scoot in a circle really good now. And you're an ambi-turner. Daddy was afraid you could only go right, but you occasionally started going left.


• You yell at Momma to put you down for a nap when you're tired. Usually you don't say much, but when you're tired you get really loud and shrieky and start scolding Momma, but somehow you do so while still happy! And sure enough, the moment you get in your crib, you snuggle down with your Night Night Pooh and your snuggle blanket and go to sleep.


• You have pretty broad shoulders and long feet! Most likely you're going to be tall and strong like your Daddy.


• You haven't officially started eating solid food yet, but that hasn't stopped Daddy from giving you a bit of his lemon girl scout cookie, or Momma from giving you a taste of her lemon, which you wanted more of, instead of making the sour face she was hoping for.


• You know which toys you like and which ones you want to play with when they're offered to you. If you don't want it, you'll push a toy away but if you do want it, your arms spring up frantically and your face shows your excitement.


• You haven't quite learned that some toys hurt when you bang yourself in the head with them. You've started really shaking them around and given yourself a few good bruises. You've been demoted to softer toys for the time being.


• Your hair is awesome. It poofs up just perfectly and has such personality. It only lays flat if it's wet. Otherwise it sticks up all over the place.


• You giggle sometimes when Momma sings to you. She tries not to take it personally.


• You're very bendy and have decided that toes are just as good to suck on as fingers are. You're particularly fond of your right big toe.


• And most of all, you are so incredibly loved! You have brought more joy to your Momma & Daddy than we thought was ever possible. We have enjoyed every day with you and feel like we're having more fun with you than we should be allowed.

Thank you, Lord, for this blessing!

Wordless Wednesday