Today is my dad's (or Papa's) birthday. I won't say a lot because he doesn't like too much attention, but my dad is awesome. I mean, my brothers and I must have won the lottery when it comes to parents. God has truly blessed us with some amazing examples. What sticks out to me the most about my dad is how he NEVER complains. He is ready and willing to help anyone out no matter the inconvenience to him. For example, when I was in college I had gone home for a weekend. Sunday night I drove back to school (about an hour away from home). When I got there I unloaded the trunk and started heading for my dorm only to realize that I had locked my keys in the trunk and did not have a spare on me. At about 9pm on a Sunday night my dad drove out to my school just to unlock my car. He had to be up early for work the next day and had already gone to bed. But he did it. And he didn't complain. In fact, he told me he enjoyed the drive. He has done so much for me and my brothers that I'm sure we can never thank him enough.
He is also an amazing teacher. God gave him a gift and he has used it for His glory for almost 30 years now. He still hears from past students today who tell him what an impact he had on them. His journey began in med school and found it's way to the classroom. And nearly 30 years after he started his quest to become a doctor, he acheived that goal earning his Ed.D!!! Way to go Doc Lamb!
I could go on forever about how amazing my dad is but I think I'll stop here.
Dad,
Jeremy, Tyler, Dakota, Reed and I are all so blessed to be your kids. What a wonderful man of God you are and encouraging example. You provide so much laughter and support to us all. We love you Padre!!!
Forever your Baby Cakes.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Baby's First Easter
This morning started pretty early as Reed wanted to be awake at 4:45 am. Then I made the mistake of turning on the tv instead of just sitting w him in the dark. This is what dad does at 6am when he feeds Reed...so he thought it was time to eat and got very mad at me for not feeding him. I finally gave in at 5:45 when I could take the screaming no longer. I guess the screaming wore him out because he fell right back to sleep at 6:30 so I got to get a couple more hours of sleep before church. During the few moments he was not screaming, I told Reed about Easter and why we celebrate it. I can't wait until he is old enough to join in this special day when we celebrate the fact that our Redeemer lives!!!
Dane and I took Reed to my home church, First Baptist Church of Ferguson. Ferguson was hit pretty bad during the storm/tornadoes on Friday night. I got a text from my dad on the way that the church's electricity was out and we needed to park in the main lot, not the rear one we usually park in. When we got off the highway Dane and I started noticing a tree uprooted here and there....and then a roof blown off....a chimney knocked down....a street with every single tree uprooted and splayed across the road...it was a bad scene. They got hit really hard. When we got to the church we saw why we needed to park in the main lot. Every building of the church (except the building with the sanctuary) had been hit with damage to the roofs, HVAC systems and windows. The back parking lot was full of debris.
When we entered the sanctuary it was so pretty. They had candles everywhere and it was neat to see that something like no electricity wasn't going to cause the service to be cancelled. But then I had a panic moment...the nursery was closed since it is located in one of the buildings that was hit. Luckily, Reed enjoyed worshiping with everyone and when he got a little fussy during the sermon, Dane didn't mind stepping out into the foyer with him. All in all it was a good morning.
Then we went to my dad and Pat's for lunch with my brothers, niece, sister-in-law and Pat's family. It was a good time and Reed was loved on by a lot of people. They were so impressed by what a good baby he is :)
Dane's family came down for an Easter lunch at our place last weekend and we had a good time then too. Aunt Devan brought Reed an Easter basket and (once again) made a delicious spread.
Here are some pics of the past few weeks...can you believe Reed is almost 5 months old? And he's getting quite the charming personality too!
Happy Easter. He has Risen.
Dane and I took Reed to my home church, First Baptist Church of Ferguson. Ferguson was hit pretty bad during the storm/tornadoes on Friday night. I got a text from my dad on the way that the church's electricity was out and we needed to park in the main lot, not the rear one we usually park in. When we got off the highway Dane and I started noticing a tree uprooted here and there....and then a roof blown off....a chimney knocked down....a street with every single tree uprooted and splayed across the road...it was a bad scene. They got hit really hard. When we got to the church we saw why we needed to park in the main lot. Every building of the church (except the building with the sanctuary) had been hit with damage to the roofs, HVAC systems and windows. The back parking lot was full of debris.
When we entered the sanctuary it was so pretty. They had candles everywhere and it was neat to see that something like no electricity wasn't going to cause the service to be cancelled. But then I had a panic moment...the nursery was closed since it is located in one of the buildings that was hit. Luckily, Reed enjoyed worshiping with everyone and when he got a little fussy during the sermon, Dane didn't mind stepping out into the foyer with him. All in all it was a good morning.
Then we went to my dad and Pat's for lunch with my brothers, niece, sister-in-law and Pat's family. It was a good time and Reed was loved on by a lot of people. They were so impressed by what a good baby he is :)
Dane's family came down for an Easter lunch at our place last weekend and we had a good time then too. Aunt Devan brought Reed an Easter basket and (once again) made a delicious spread.
Here are some pics of the past few weeks...can you believe Reed is almost 5 months old? And he's getting quite the charming personality too!
Just chillin'
Playing in the exersaucer...he loves to look outside the front door too.
Besties.
What? Just enjoying some oatmeal mom.
The Easter Bunny brought me 2 books and some carrots!
The fam.
Happy Easter. He has Risen.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Strabismus
Reed's eye appointment was this morning. We found out that he has Strabismus, more specifically Congenital Esotropia (the most common type of strabismus in infants). This means that his eyes are misaligned and at any given moment on or the other is turned off. This impairs visual attention, depth perception and motor skills.
The solution? Surgery.
It is better to perform the surgery at as young of an age as possible because the brain circuits for vision are more adaptable early in life. It is an outpatient procedure with minimal risks and a quick recovery, but Reed will have to undergo anesthesia. During the surgery they will reposition several eye muscles. Stitches will then be applied to help reposition these muscles. The stitches will not need to be removed as they will just eventually dissolve. In many cases a 2nd surgery is needed again at some point within the next year or two.
Reeds surgery is scheduled for May 13th. Yes, this is a Friday so it's a good thing I'm not superstitious :) We won't be given a time until the day before (this is common with children's surgeries). He will have it done at St. Louis Children's Hospital. It's so nice to have a nationally ranked hospital right here in town. Provides at least a little piece of mind.
I know it's common and the doctor performs this surgery so much he could probably do it with his eyes closed...but I can't help but worry for my little sweet pea. I'm trusting that the Lord will take care of him and reminding myself that our God is an AWESOME God.
I'm also so glad that my Aunt Cindy was able to move her schedule around to be with me at the appointment this morning. Tuesdays and Thursdays are crazy work days for Dane and there just wasn't enough of a heads up for him to request off, so she stepped in. She asked the doctor some really good questions and encouraged me that this is certainly what is best for Reed in the long run.
The solution? Surgery.
It is better to perform the surgery at as young of an age as possible because the brain circuits for vision are more adaptable early in life. It is an outpatient procedure with minimal risks and a quick recovery, but Reed will have to undergo anesthesia. During the surgery they will reposition several eye muscles. Stitches will then be applied to help reposition these muscles. The stitches will not need to be removed as they will just eventually dissolve. In many cases a 2nd surgery is needed again at some point within the next year or two.
Reeds surgery is scheduled for May 13th. Yes, this is a Friday so it's a good thing I'm not superstitious :) We won't be given a time until the day before (this is common with children's surgeries). He will have it done at St. Louis Children's Hospital. It's so nice to have a nationally ranked hospital right here in town. Provides at least a little piece of mind.
I know it's common and the doctor performs this surgery so much he could probably do it with his eyes closed...but I can't help but worry for my little sweet pea. I'm trusting that the Lord will take care of him and reminding myself that our God is an AWESOME God.
I'm also so glad that my Aunt Cindy was able to move her schedule around to be with me at the appointment this morning. Tuesdays and Thursdays are crazy work days for Dane and there just wasn't enough of a heads up for him to request off, so she stepped in. She asked the doctor some really good questions and encouraged me that this is certainly what is best for Reed in the long run.
As a part of the appointment, Reed had his eyes dilated.
As always, prayers are appreciated.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
4 Month Check-Up
We had Reed's 4 month check-up today.
Here's the good news:
14lbs putting him in the 25-50% for his age
26 inches putting him in the 75-90% for his age (long and lean!!!)
Got 5 more rounds of vaccines and took it like a champ
Ears looked good (hopefully no more ear infections this season)
We can start solid foods
Here's the potentially bad news:
The doc noticed that his left eye seemed to turn in a little bit. He asked if Dane and I had noticed that happening at all and I told him we had but weren't too worried because he told us at his last check-up (2mo) that this was still normal for infants to cross their eyes a bit. He said that was true, but by 4mo this is usually not a problem any longer. It doesn't happen often and he couldn't get him to do it again. So following the "better safe than sorry" line of thinking he has referred us to an infant eye specialist. I will be calling them tomorrow to set up an appointment and will let you all know how it turns out. The doctor said it could indicate some muscle weakness in his eye and we would want that caught as early as possible to help minimize the risk of future vision problems.
As always, prayers are appreciated.
Oh! I almost forgot....for the last 2 nights Reed has gone to bed around 7:30pm and slept until 6am! What a great baby we have :)
Here's the good news:
14lbs putting him in the 25-50% for his age
26 inches putting him in the 75-90% for his age (long and lean!!!)
Got 5 more rounds of vaccines and took it like a champ
Ears looked good (hopefully no more ear infections this season)
We can start solid foods
Here's the potentially bad news:
The doc noticed that his left eye seemed to turn in a little bit. He asked if Dane and I had noticed that happening at all and I told him we had but weren't too worried because he told us at his last check-up (2mo) that this was still normal for infants to cross their eyes a bit. He said that was true, but by 4mo this is usually not a problem any longer. It doesn't happen often and he couldn't get him to do it again. So following the "better safe than sorry" line of thinking he has referred us to an infant eye specialist. I will be calling them tomorrow to set up an appointment and will let you all know how it turns out. The doctor said it could indicate some muscle weakness in his eye and we would want that caught as early as possible to help minimize the risk of future vision problems.
As always, prayers are appreciated.
Oh! I almost forgot....for the last 2 nights Reed has gone to bed around 7:30pm and slept until 6am! What a great baby we have :)
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