Girls Weekend

This weekend was Sample Girls Weekend 2011. Devan and Darci came to stay with me and Reed while Dane went off to fish.
Aunt Devan and Aunt Darci really enjoyed waking up at 6am. I'm pretty sure that was their favorite part. Saturday was jam packed with fun: shopping, manicures/pedicures, dinner on the Loop, Ted Drewes, laughter, and wine. We had a really great time...so great in fact, that Reed almost refused to take a nap for fear of missing out.
I really love the relationship I'm building with these lovely ladies. Thanks for a great weekend!

After enjoying delicious fried pickles and root beer at Fitz's.

Reed loves Aunt Devan and Aunt Darci.

Looking forward to next time ladies! 

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we made the drive to Milstadt, IL to enjoy an afternoon at Eckert's Family Farm. After getting turned around (just slightly) and adding about 20 minutes to our drive, we made it. The weather could not have been any better. We strapped Reed into the papoose and set out for our afternoon of fun. Just after we entered, I was getting my bearings and trying to figure out where the tractor was for the rides out to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch. As I was looking at the map and my surroundings, Dane nudged me and started walking over to someone. It took me a second to figure out what he was doing or who he had seen, but when I figured it out I was pleasantly surprised...my Aunt Cathy was there! I mean, of all places to run into her. She lives like 5 minutes away and I've never run into her at Target or Schnucks, but 30 minutes away at a pumpkin patch in Illinois we find each other. I was told my cousin Lauren-Ashleigh will be quite upset that she was not at Eckert's either (she wanted to go when she was in town last weekend), so to her I say I'm sorry we didn't get to see you there too. Maybe next time and good luck on your 1/2 marathon next weekend.
Reed seemed to really enjoy himself. I think we'll make this a family tradition...

Pics for your pleasure:

Ready for some fun.

 See? I told you she was there.

 The boys.

I heart them.

The fam riding out to the pumpkin patch.



Reed touched a camel.

Until next time...

Facing My Food Fears

*Warning: This blog is choppy and has no flow to it. Sorry. I'm tired.

I was lucky enough to have Columbus Day off of work so I got to spend it with my favorite 20lb, 29inch guy. Yep, you guessed it, REED!!! We had a really great day. We played, we ate, we brought daddy lunch, we laughed, we cried, we he napped. It was a really happening day. I just love that little guy.

The day after Reed's surgery he woke up with the sniffles. I thought maybe it was due to the surgery in some way so I decided to wait a few days before deciding if I should take him to the doctor. After Julie (babysitter) reported a not so good day on Monday I made an appointment for Tuesday. We saw the nurse practitioner, Megan, who's really nice. When she stuck the instrument in Reed's ears he would scrunch up and giggle. Megan thought this was funny and went on and on about how cute he was. Through her laughter she reported that, yes, his ears were indeed infected. Then she said "I shouldn't be laughing as I tell you that, but he's just so darn cute. He has the best laugh." And, I couldn't fault her, because he does indeed have the best laugh...ever.

Reed has been on an antibiotic since then and I'm not sure how effective it is. His nose is just now slowing down its drip and he's still pulling on his ears now and then. Just really hoping that this doesn't mean tubes in the ears. We need a break from surgery for a while.

This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month. In memory of his Grandma Rhonda, Reed has a special shirt that says "I wear pink for my Grandma." It's pretty awesome. Don't worry, there's a pic below.

Julie (babysitter) told me today that she and Reed were outside and a neighbor came over to talk. She went on and on about how "gorgeous" Reed is and then said "Wow, his eyes look a lot straighter." She didn't even know he had had surgery! Julie was really excited to share this info with me. I was glad to hear it.

I guess since this blog is titled "Facing My Food Fears" I should probably write a little bit about food. I know I'm a bit ridiculous about this whole table food thing...but I'm really trying to loosen up a bit and give Reed a little more credit regarding his chewing ability. The past few days Reed has had for dinner a variation of what I have made for Dane and myself.  He's had chicken with peas and carrots, roast with potatoes and carrots, lasagna, and beef with peas and carrots. Oh, and to my delight, he had some broccoli and LOVED it. In your face Dane! We can bring broccoli back to the dinner table full time now. Two against one. All that being said, I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I have to walk away and let Dane take over for a while. Progress, not perfection my friends.

Now for the reason why most of you even read this blog...pictures!

Look at how awesome his eyes look!

I wanted him to smile, but he wasn't being very cooperative.

And for those that don't know, yes, that is his Grandma Rhonda. 

Hoping to go to the pumpkin patch this weekend. Stay tuned!

Double Digits

As of yesterday, Reed is now in the double digits. I cannot believe that he is 10 months old. For those of you not math inclined, that's only 2 months away from 1 year!!! This is just crazy talk. But, there's nothing I can do to stop it so I'll just report what's new in my little 10 month olds life...

Reed can now add pancakes, black bean soup, pulled pork, and my mom's roast with carrots and potatoes to his growing culinary list. That list might sound quite daring for a mom who has a choking phobia, but I assure you that these are mashed and given to him in small portions (and I may or may not still freak out a little).

Reed can stand by himself for a good amount of time now. It's pretty impressive. He's a smart cookie though and whenever we try to get him to "walk" with our help, he just goes limp and waits for us to pick him up. I'm still convinced that he'll be walking before he's a year old...which, if I may remind you, is now less than 2 months away.

Reed has a little bit of an attachment to me. He usually doesn't like it if I'm not in the same room as him and will come crawling/crying to find me wherever I'm at. He then stands up and holds onto my leg until I am able to pick him up. While I would love to carry him around all the time, my back starts to hurt and I can't get anything done. It's sweet and I should savor it while it lasts, but, admittedly, it can sometimes be frustrating. Please don't judge until you have a 10 month old pulling on your leg while you're trying to do your hair in the morning or cook dinner after a long day at work.

What an exciting 10 months it has been. Our little bug just keeps growing and developing in leaps and bounds. It's so amazing to think that just a few months ago Reed couldn't crawl or sit up on his own. It's crazy how fast things change.

Enjoy these pics from Aunt Devan and Grandpa Al's last visit to St. Louis:

I believe that Reed is the definition of cute.

Surgery 2

Well we made it through Reed's second surgery. He did such a great job with not being able to eat all morning. Reed goes to sleep around 7pm and has his last bottle between 6:30-7. He sleeps until 6-6:30am so he had not eaten for nearly 15 hrs by the time he came out of surgery. If you recall, Reed woke up "ballistic" (to quote the nurse) last time and we never even made it to recovery before she ran into the room with him. He did much better this time. He didn't wake up directly after the surgery and we were called back to recovery about 20 minutes after the surgeon reviewed the results of the surgery with us. Reed was crying as we walked into recovery but as soon as I held him he stopped. We gave him some apple juice and once the nurse was convinced he was going to keep it down, we were moved back to his regular room. Here, Reed promptly fell asleep. He slept for almost an hour and when he woke up we were discharged. When we got home he had a bottle and then slept for another 2.5 hrs.

His eye is scary red again and this time he has had some bloody tears as well (all normal side effects of the surgery), but other than being a little more sleepy than usual, he is no worse for the wear. Praise the Lord for another successful surgery. We'll have a follow up appointment in 3 months and hopefully the doctor will like what he sees. Reed needs to continue to wear the eye patch until a month before our follow up visit, but now only 1 hr a day instead of 2. This will just continue to strengthen the vision in his left eye.

 Hanging out before surgery.

 You like my gown?

 Silly face.

Surgery's over. Time for a nap.

Thanks for the prayers all. We are so blessed.



Montauk

As I mentioned in my last post, the fam went to Montauk State Park for Dane's birthday this weekend. Dane got to spend most of Saturday and a little bit of Sunday doing what he enjoys most...fly fishing! Reed and I spent a lot of time hanging out on Saturday in order to let Dane do his thing, but we did get to go out with him for a couple of hours. The weather could not have been better and Reed and Dane caught a fish together! Dane would like to go back next weekend but I think he'll have to settle for maybe sometime this Spring.

Enjoy the pics:

Glad we had the weekend to relax and have fun. I'll get back to you all after the surgery :(

Surgery #2 Scheduled

Reed and I went to the doctor today to see how the effective the patch has been. Apparently there wasn't significant enough change and the surgery still stands. It is scheduled for the 30th (next Friday) and we'll know what time when the nurse calls the day before. This will just be on the left eye, not both like last time. Prayers, as always, are appreciated.

I asked the doctor for some more clarification on what exactly is wrong with Reed's eyes. When we first found out about his condition (strabismus) we learned that at any given moment one of Reed's eyes was essentially turned off. I asked the doctor today if this was still the case--if the left eye was turned off most of the time--and she said yes, his eyes do not work together. As adults when our eyes cross we see double, a baby's brain says "I don't want to see double, this doesn't work" so it just shuts the eye off. I told her that it just amazes me how well Reed functions taking that into consideration. To see him move, feed himself, follow the spoon to his mouth, "cruise" down the furniture, you would never suspect that he's operating with just one functioning eye. I guess he doesn't really know any better since this is what it's been like for him since the beginning, but I'm just amazed. I mean, he's so close to walking that I wonder if this vision deficit is what's holding him back. After I voiced all of this the doctor just said that children are amazing, they are so resilient and adapt so quickly--much better than adults. She agreed how impressive Reed's development is given his vision problems and then said, "Imagine what it will be like when this is all over and he can use his eyes like he's supposed to."

That statement was just a reminder for me that Dane and I are doing the right thing. This might take a toll on us emotionally and financially, but this is what's best for Reed. And thank God that it was diagnosed so early that Reed will never even remember this and can go on to reach the rest of his milestones with eyes working together!

Crazy man after the first surgery

The other day I was at Target walking in behind a mom, dad and little boy about 3 years old. The little boy had a completely shaved head with a scar from ear to ear and he wore a backpack. As I got on the escalator behind them I noticed that coming out of his backpack were a few tubes that wrapped around and connected to something on the front of his body. Of course I was wondering what was wrong with this cute little boy--cancer? brain tumor?--and was reminded that although surgery is scary, and I hate that Reed has to go through that, things could be much worse.

We are richly blessed.