One small move for baby....one GIANT leap for Mommy

Last night was Joseph's first night in his own room. From July 9th 2008 until last night Joseph has slept by my side in his bassinet or occasionally in my arms all night. It was a big move for me. Because Joseph was away from me for so long I have separation anxiety. I don't want him to be away from me ever again. I realized yesterday I was taking that to a whole new level being that he is almost 10 months and just now sleeping in a crib! Now, for those of you who might be shaking your head...keep in mind Joseph was VERY tiny at birth and has just now reached the bassinet limits for weight. He did very well sleeping on his own. He didn't wake up until 6:30 which is normal considering that is when I get up to get Hailey ready for school. Tonight is night 2. He is in there now snoring away. For Christmas 2007 Joe bought me one of those neat video monitors. This has helped with my separation issues. If I want to know what he looks like sleeping in his bed..I can. If I hear a noise and wonder what he is doing...I can see it. Joe thought it would be a cool gift because he knows how I am with my kids and the watchful eye I have over them. How could we ever have known the appreciation and NEED we have for this cool device. Anyway, its super late...and even though I stay up late...it doesn't stop the kids from getting up early. Until next time....

Busy Family

It has been a while since I posted last. We have been a busy little group. First, Hailey got a hair cut. It looks adorable. She really likes it now that its finally cut. She is also involved in soccer now. Yesterday she had her first practice. She is by far the tallest on the team lol. She looks so cute out there with her cleats and shin guards. She also had her first field trip today. They went to the Magik Theatre. Yes, I spelled it correctly. lol. Its a neat place for families with young kids. They take well known stories or books and turn them into live plays. Hailey's class went to see "If you give a mouse a cookie." She loved it. She kept talking about it for about an hour after she came home from school.

Megan has been a busy bee too. She had her 4th birthday on the 16th and we celebrated on the 21st. We did a barbie themed party with family. She got lots of neat presents and loved her cake. We got her a Barbie cake with a decorative toy on it and a smaller barbie shaped cake. It was alot of fun. She loves telling everyone she is FOUR. She also has become VERY mouthy with her daddy. She likes to tell him "You are not the boss...Mommy is the boss!" How can I fault her for telling the truth???? Only kidding. We make sure she knows she cant talk to her daddy like that. She has had a few time outs for her outbursts.

Joseph is still doing great. He had 2 ear infections about a week ago but is doing so much better. You could just tell he didn't feel good. Once we got him checked out and on some medicine he started to become his happy little self again. I love seeing him happy. It breaks my heart to see yet another hurdle he has to get over. He is getting so big! To most he is still so small for a 9 month old...but to me he has quadrupled in size! He is still so very sweet. He loves to talk at night now. He will lay on the floor or couch and just babble for a couple of hours until he finally talks himself to sleep. He is due for another botox treatment on March 2nd. Yes ladies...my son gets BOTOX! lol. It helps him relax his left arm in hopes of him using it more than he does. We saw a big improvement with the last treatment...I am hoping for the same result this time around.

Other than that, nothing else has been going on. We are just doing our day to day lives. I hope to continue on a good streak. Finally everyone in our house is happy, healthy and loving life!

Here are some pictures of the kids.

Not great...but okay news

So at Joseph's eye appointment, the news was not great but it could have been better. They ended up diagnosing him with cortical visual impairment. There is not a cure because it is all a neurological disorder. Basically his eyes work but he may have limited or little vision. Its very difficult for the doctor to see to what extent he has this disorder because he is so young. He said though, that it could improve over time because babies and kids are so resilient. We are hoping that in time his sight will improve. There is not any treatment that can be offered right now but he told me to "Keep our chins up". If my little one is forced to live with such a thing, my only hope is that is vision is clear enough to see my face. I want him to know his mommy's face. I want him to see how happy he makes me. I want him to see my smile and know that he put it there. I know he FEELS my love for him...but it would be comforting to me to know he can SEE it too. So, like my title states...its not great news..but I feel that it could have been alot worse.

Another Big Day....Need Prayers

Its been a while since I have written anything about Joseph, but the time has come for another big appointment. Joseph is meeting with a pediatric opthamologist on Monday. Doctors have said due to his complications at birth that his sight may not be good. They believe he may have a disorder called Cortical Visual Impairment or CVI. This is a neurological visual disorder. If diagnosed with this it will mean that Joseph could be concidered legally blind. They have described it to me in this way. "His eyes work. They function as they should. But due to the damage to his brain the picture that gets processed from his eyes and brain may not be seen clearly or at all. It can be like a light switch being turned on and off, he can see...then he cant...he can see...then he cant. "If diagnosed 100% with this disorder, the condition is concidered permanent but has been known to improve some over time. I will tell you that I do believe Joseph has this disorder. My asking for prayers is in hope that it is a mild form of CVI with the possibility to improve over time. Joseph is such a trooper. He smiles ear to ear that reacts through his whole body. If diagnosed, it will be sad, but will not bring him down. He is truely a sweet spirit and I am SOOOOO grateful that Heavenly Father has trusted me to be his Mommy. Now that I have had months to get to know him, I know that he and I were meant to be. He is supposed to be here with our family and is truely a blessed addition to our home. I pray each of you eventually gets the opportunity to meet him. Thank you again in advance for your countless prayers. Once I have more information I will post an update from the appointment.