We are here....sometimes :)

I thought as April 15 slowly arrived, I would have more time...WRONG!! Life has been hectic as normal justnow there are 2 of us to deal with it! Havent uploaded pics in awhile but I will get to them in due time :) What have the Smith's been up to?

** Who knew thats soccer could take up so much time?? One practice a week and a game every Saturday really adds up, but Kinson LOVES it and we cry to we have tears running down our faces at every game because they are so darn cute!

**Bear had his CPA ceremony, got his license, and a raise (that being the biggest in my book ;)) so it is definitely official and can not be taken back!!

**I went on a girls weekend trip for my bestest friend, Priscilla's Bachelorette Party. It has been a long time since I have ben in New Orleans on a fun weekend....good thing we have all grown up a bit :)

** Speaking of Priscilla, her big day is tomorrow and we couldn't be more excited for her and Joey. I am off today preparing and performing all of my Bridesmaid duties.

**As always we have had multiple drs visits and I will try and sum it up in as few words as possible. Cohen will have surgery May 13 to remove her adenoids, sinus wash, new tubes, and a series of sedated hearing tests. This became a last resort as we have attempted 3 hearing tests and the results have either been inconclusive or she hasnt participated. So we got a GREAT new ENT and he felt like she was holding fluid behind her ears and until we cleared that up we were always going to be questioning her hearing. We saw the endo yesterday and through all of her recent testing, it is now a definitive diagnosis that she is partially growth hormone deficient. Once the drug company and insurance work things out, she will begin daily injections. She is also undergoing a diet overhaul, as it is shown that kids who have this diagnosis have a tendency to have metabolic issues with fat and inability to break down and discard of it. Recently she has been eating to the point of vomiting and her stomach has been protruding and hard. So she will have some new restrictions and limitations on quantity until she gets older and activity can be encouraged and the meds begin to take effect. However, this little girl is so busy!!! She never stops until she literally crashes at 7:00 every night and sleeps rock solid til we wake her up at 6:30.

** Cohen learned 2 syllables recently. "buh" and "na". We were thrilled to her little voice, except when we hear the "na" sound. She only uses this when she is mad or scared. Especially when she hears the vacuum cleaner!!

Hopefully after this weekend I will get some great new pictures this weekend!!

Warning! Don't leave a cookie cake in the oven,

and then turn on the oven to cook supper.....this is what it will look like!

Last Sunday was Bear's birthday. He is pretty easy to please when it comes to his birthday. He always asks for 2 things--Outback and a cookie cake. Well, considering how hectic life has been since January his birthday got overlooked the same way Kinson's birthday, Valentines Day, passing the CPA test, and our Anniversary will. So we haven't gotten a "date night" for Outback but I thought the least I could do was get a cookie cake. I got the thing ordered and was thinking about picking it up while he was at work on Saturday and then it occurred to me. How in the world was I going to get Kinson, Cohen in her stroller, and this cake out of the mall? Luckily, my mom came to the rescue. The cake got here safe and sound however Kinson decided that we could not wait til Sunday to eat it-- he was ready as soon as Bear got home Saturday. So after devouring half the cake we had to hide it from Kinson so the oven was the only place it would fit. Too bad I didn't remember that when supper called for me to preheat the oven to 425 degrees! Don't feel too bad for me-- Bear and Kinson still managed to eat every morsel of that cake by Monday!!

My dreams have come true...sort of

As far back as I could remember, I always wanted children-- 3boys, 1 girl--and I wanted them involved in everything and I would be the mom that toted everyone to and from games, parties, and organized carnivals and dances, etc. Well, that time is arriving--I am officially a SOCCER MOM!! Kinson is playing Blastball at the YMCA and his first game was this past Saturday. Did i mention in my fantasies my child was also the Star Athlete? Hmmm, I will let you judge for yourselves....

Yes, he is laying down while the game is going on!

I don't think you are supposed to use your hands!!

This is pretty much what he looked like the entire time. We really didn't know what to expect but we knew there would be problems regarding only one ball. Not only did he not understand there was only 1 ball during the game but he did not like the game ball, he wanted to play with a different ball. He never cried or screamed, he just was not that into it. He finally warmed up to during the second half but by the time he would get to the ball, the whistle would blow and he sure didn't understand stopping!! They get this weekend off but I will be sure to update after the next game!

My Cindy-loo

Before I start, do you see that ponytail?! This girl's hair grows like weeds and poor Bear-- he is trying to learn ponytail holders and barrettes. Thankfully the ladies at school LOVE to play with her hair and according to the director they fix and refix it all day long!
Anyway, back to the point, I don't know who watches Grey's Anatomy, but I have been a diligent follower from day 1! Usually it is just an hour that I get to myself each week, sometimes I watch it in the bathtub, or in my bed, or like tonight while on my spin bike. It is my time, my hour each week to just escape and stop thinking. This week has been especially hard, we got tests back that weren't the most ideal outcome, work has been hectic, and do I have to mention that we are the home stretch of tax season. So I was ready to burn a few calories and indulge in 1 whole hour of mindlessness. Well it didn't quite work out that way. Yes I did ride for an hour and I did watch it, but one scene has stuck in my head and I can't get it out of my mind.
Meredith is upset at Derrick for stealing her surgery and another Dr tells her to remember Whoville. Remember when the Grinch stole all the presents in Whoville and on Christmas morning the Who's all came out of their houses singing-- they didn't dwell on it or let it get them down.
That little 30sec scene is in my head and all I can picture is my little "Cindy-Loo"-- she always comes out "singing", she hasn't let it get her down. She always has the biggest smile and we know she is just taking everything in and it will all come on its own time.

Rare moment....

for many reasons. 1. They never sit still long enough for a picture 2. Kinson usually never wants to have anything to do with Cohen 3. They would never dream of touching one another without pushing, shoving, hitting.....You get the idea.

This was such a sweet moment because Cohen decided this past Saturday morning that she would mimic Kinson as we were blowing kisses to each other. I have been practicing waving, kissing, pointing at body parts, etc. with no success. But as soon as Kinson started blowing her kisses she would blow them back. It brought tears to my eyes. It is just the small things right now that make my day. It was just that small little glimmer that let me know that Cohen has the capabilities, it is just how we go about it!

One test down..

It only took 3 hours and 14 sticks, but overall it went way better than expected. Little girl was a fighter and her little veins never cooperate but we had a great staff that took great care of her---they even gave her her own room on the ped unit so she could do as she wanted in between blood draws. Not sure when we will know the results because we have to another test in 4 weeks-- different med, same procedure. Our endo appt isn't scheduled until after that test, so it might be difficult to get the overall results without both sets of results.
Thanks for all those who were thinking about Cohen today, it meant so much and like I said it went waaaay better than anticipated!

Is it really that difficult to wear pants?!

Kinson immediately takes off his pants, shoes, and socks when he gets home!

This day we just HAD to have on our fireman boots.....

and don't miss his homemade tatoo on his right thigh! That took about 3 days before he agrees to let us wash it off!

My counter keeps going up and up and up.....

I never started this blog with the intention of having many (if any) readers, it was really to help keep my family up to date. It also saves me a lot of time so I am not sending multiple emails of pictures of my children that may or may not be opened! But as time has passed, I have really began to like it. I know I tend to talk about my kids and various illnesses (probably not the most interesting topics), but guess what, that is my life at this time!
With all this rambling, I really am just trying to figure out who actually reads this. My little counter keeps going up and up, and who knows it might just be the grandparents hitting refresh over and over again anticipating the new post ;) So I added a little "gadget" that you can become a follower, heck I really don't know what it means or what happens when you become a follower, so if you are as computer illiterate as me--just leave a comment instead!

I am married to a.........

Bear PASSED his test!!! We found out Wednesday afternoon ,the same day that we were trying to absorb all the news about Cohen and process our thoughts. God knows how much we can handle and just as we felt like we couldn't take anymore added to us, He takes a HUGE weight off of us.
In August 2004, Bear decided to take a big risk and quit his job and go back to school to pursue an Accounting degree. He never knew that over the next 6 years he would get married, sell his bachelor pad, buy a new house, have 2 kids, change jobs, and have to study for a test that through all this seemed impossible. I can not begin to say how proud I am of Bear. There were many times that it was difficult and balancing life at home and work was not easy. There were many oppurtunities for him to quit and accept jobs that did not require a CPA license. But he persevered and all of his hard work has paid off. Too bad it is tax season and we don't get to thoroughly enjoy and celebrate this accomplishment. Come the first weekend following April 15 we will not know what to with ourselves and all of our extra time!!

What a long week and another long week ahead........

This week we had a few important appointments that we had been anticipating. On Wednesday, Cohen went and saw the ped endocrinologist to review some labwork we had done 2 weeks ago. At Kinson's 3 year check up, Dr Flowers had gone over her results with me so I would be prepared when we got there. We had her IGF-1 retested (her first test was at 12months old and we wereunable to get an exact number-we just knew it was low) and this time we were able to get the exact number read which was 29. Normal is 99-599. So this just confirmed what we were already preparing ourselves for, that Cohen is growth hormone deficient. The endo went into a little more details about the exact meaning and the further tests required to get more exact deficits and what the future might hold. These specialists do not beat around the bush--they tell you the good, bad, and the ugly upfront. Which at times can lead me to a lot of wasted time worrying, but it also gives me time to prepare for what is ahead. We do know that we are about to fight with insurance companies regarding the high cost of growth hormone treatment and also we have found out recently how screwed up the state and federal assistance programs are. As we speak we are in the 60 day waiting period just to be denied (which we knew from the beginning we would be denied but you HAVE to be denied to move to the next step) only to then file for children at home with disability and wait 5-7 MONTHS before we can have our interview to see if she would qualify. Hmmmm, wonder how many other children could be helped if we didn't have to pay people to do all these unneccessary steps when it is clearly outlined what will qualify?!

Next day, Thursday, we met with the great team at Magnolia Speech School. Yes, I am an OT and yes they taught us about all these great techniques and theories about teaching and environments for children but then I graduated and stepped into the real therapy world where patients aren't as textbook and the necessary equipment is not always available. But this place did not dissappoint. It was like walking into the Therapy Oz!! Everyone was so nice and all the mothers knew each other and the classrooms were decorated wonderfully and there was every imaginable device and learning tool ever needed in those rooms. If it is determined that Cohen will have to attend scholl here in the future, I will NOT be upset one bit!
But Cohen had different agenda that day, she was not there to impress anybody! We were there to meet with the audiologist and ST. They put us in this little soundproof room, where Cohen would have to look in the direction she would hear sound coming from. She cooperated for about 2-3 minutes and then she had enough. Then they decided to test each individual ear using earbuds---not going to happen! Cohen's ear canals are micro size so the ear buds didnt fit and she wasnt going to leave them in anyway. They suggested that we have a more definitive test at UMC where she can be sedated. Then we met with the ST who just performed a few standardized tests to be put in her file and Cohen's current speech therapist will do these periodically to see if she continues to fall further from her age group, maintains, or improves. This will help them as she ages to determine if she will be a candidate for enrollment as a student at Magnolia. They dont accept children until close to their 3rd birthday unless you are deaf and they take children as soon as they are walking. We know Cohen is not deaf, but they still are not sure exactly what and how clearly she hears.

But if you have a small moment Wednesday morning say a little prayer for Cohen. We are going to the hospital to have another test performed that requires her to fast 12 hours prior, have a medicine administered through an IV, and then have her blood drawn every 30 minutes for the next 2-4 hours depending the results---all in this time period she can not eat. This test will help to determine the function of her pituitary gland and what the next step will be in achieving the eact diagnosis and regimine needed. I will update as soon as we get results.

What do all of these have in common?

This is what I gave up for Lent! All fast FOODS!! I emphasize food because I still have to stop frequently and get my unsweet tea from Sonic! I really was a big fast food eater in college when me and my roomates were poor and lived off the Wendy's $0.99 menu or the late night run to Krystal's on our way home from the Dock. Things changed after my accident and I really got back into working out and living a more healthy lifestyle. Then kids came into my life---fast food really does make life a little more easier when I pick them up from school at 5:30 and I would like them in bed by 7:00! And it even got worse over the last few months as I drive between a few jobs and some days on the road at lunchtime and then again at dinnertime (I could never have a job that required me to drive everyday--I would be big as a house!!)
So over the next 40 days I will attempt to refrain from this now too frequent habit. I mean, how hard can this really be?.......... What have I gotten myself into?!!

After previweing this post, I feel like I need to give a disclaimer--don't think that I feed my kids bad--Kinson still has a limited diet and as far as fast food goes only contains Wendy's chicken nuggets. And on a really grumpy day, he only wants the round shaped nuggets--not that odd looking one!

So 5 days down, only 35 to go!!

Future occupation???

The Maurers gave this present to Kinson for his birthday and he loves it! His Papaw will be so proud to see him being a handyman! Maybe one day, Kinson can help his momma out and do my list of chores so I can quit calling Papaw to do them!

Everyone else did it, so I guess I should too....

Only I am about a week late!!

I can't believe that my 3 year old has seen as much snow already as I did in 22 years! I don't think I knew snow existed until I went to work at a Young Life ski camp my Freshman year in college! Too bad that I had to work that day, I heard that he had tons of fun. These are a few pictures I took at 7:00 before I left....yes Kinson was up at 6:00 ready to go outside!!

No so respectable snowman is complete without his Cowboy hat!

I think that Bear had more fun that Kinson did!

Poor Addy, the snow buried his legs but he had the best time too! He ran circles in the snow over and over!

Where has the time gone?

My baby boy is 3 years old! Friday, February 5, Kinson turned 3!!! Isn't he just the most mischievous looking thing?! These last few weeks have been the most fun times, EVER!

I really think this has been my favorite age so far. We can have "real" conversations, he can reason, we can negotiate (he usually wins), and we just laugh at each other!

After last year's terrible 2nd birthday I learned 2 things: 1. Don't schedule 3 year old check-up on his birthday 2. Don't have another party at the house

So we had a great birthday party at Pump It Up Saturday. He loved every part of it, except when they sang Happy Birthday to him. But he acted great and had the best time! (more pictures of that to come...)

As far as the check up goes, we went on Wednesday and unlike last year everything checked out great. But parents beware of the 3 year old check-up! It entails peeing in a cup, weight, height, blood pressure, and a finger stick. I was prepared for peeing in a cup, he did good with the peeing part but was screaming at me to "pour it out!" He did not want me to give it to Ms Sandra in the lab! He has never done well getting weighed or height, but we got close to assuming he weighs 34# and 38" tall. That is a HUGE growth spurt this year. He is now in the 50% weight and 75% height. next came blood pressure check, by this point Kinson had had enough! We never got a reading. Then to top it off they come in and prick his finger--- Kinson gets real queasy at the sight of blood and starts screaming! By the time Dr Flowers comes in I am worn out!

What can Kinson do at 3?:

• he is 90% potty trained-- we still wear a pull up to sleep, but (knock on wood) has done great throughout the day
• sleeps in a big boy bed all night
• talks NON-STOP about anything
• can say all his ABC's and recognizes and identifies all the letters
• can count to 20
• LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Lightening McQueen and anything related to Cars
• Toy Story is coming in as a close second
• can recite every line to the movies Cars, Toy Story1, Toy Story 2, Kung Fu Panda, and the Jungle Book (not sure what that says about us as parents!)
• has his own personal sound track of songs from those movies above that Bear has to play every morning on their way to school
• has a very limited diet-- Wendy's chicken nuggets, yogurt, any fruit, and pancakes
• still hates to change clothes but at least he doesn't have to sleep in the next day's school clothes
• HATES to brush his hair or get a haircut-- his lovely haircut is compliments of his one handed momma attempting to cut his hair and not disturb him as he SLEEPS!!!

With all this said, it has been the most wonderful and best 3 years ever and I couldn't imagine loving him anymore!!!

15 months

Yeah, yeah, I know it is the end of January and I am posting a Christmas picture. Well if you read my previous post then you will understand!

CoCo turned 15 months on the 19th and she is doing so good! We can see how much she is really understanding now. She still isn't verbalizing anything other that vowels and "duh" but she has started pointing at things (not on command but if she wants something) and she will walk over to us and raise her hands at us when she wants to be picked up. These are HUGE steps for her! She had an appt last week and she was 28" and 19lbs. She has started picking up in the weight category but still lagging in the height. Our dr knows that we understand her deficits but he always shows us exactly where she is even if it is hard to hear. It is hard for us to remember that although she is progressing in our eyes, time is still passing and she is still getting older. She is not progressing as fast as she ages, therefore she is further behind in all areas. She was referred to Magnolia Speech School for a hearing evaluation and another speech evaluation just for us to look at our options. This will take place Feb 25. I do not believe that anything is wrong with her hearing and the ENT doesnt either but we want to cover every base.

Now back to her size, we are starting her growth hormone testing on Wednesday, Feb3. She still isnt on the growth chart but catching up a little in the weight category. We are having all the bloodwork done at our Peds office and then sent to the Endocrinologist for interpretation and planning. We have found out the hard way to make sure that we have at least 1 dr knowing what every other dr is doing. This is so hard because all of our drs are associated with their own private practice and then 2 drs are at UMC. There is no system that they can just type in her name and all of her info come up, so I now have all bloodtests at one place where they will fax me all results and I get them to the right dr.

I know I always say this, but she is really such a fighter. She is just so happy and sweet, we can't help but be so thankful at how far she has come!

January's Over....

and it has been CRAZY here! I have wanted to sit and post so many things but I have barely had time to sit down! The good thing about January being over is that there are only 75 days left in tax season :)
January is always so stressful for me and this year we decided to make it a little more tense. We started out the year the same way we ended-- Bear doing lots of studying, which means lots of time home alone with the kids. He took his test Jan 12 (we wont know the results until sometime around the 20th of Feb), this was also right after I had spent a whole week at work with NO WATER! Can you imagine what it is like when 150 men cant flush the toilet for a week?! TERRIBLE is an understatement....
Tax season is up and running, dont expect to see me without at least one of my kids until after April 16th!
We never go a month without sickness in this house, but Kinson has been doing so good lately so I was not surprised when he woke up from a nap on MLK Day with 103 fever. Motrin and 2 hours later it was gone. Went to bed that night, 102 degrees, motrin, woke up, it was gone. This was the same cycle for the next 5 days. This was our first time to experience a fever virus-- it was so frustrating because I kept expecting something more to happen and just when I thought we were done with it , it came back!
Cohen had her 15month check up-- lots to say about that in another post....
Then to end the month, I thought it would be great timing to have surgery that would help fix a breathing problem that I have had since I was pregnant 3 years ago! I had turbinate reduction surgery Thursday and so far so good. A few things that I wasnt expecting but overall pretty smooth recovery.
During all of this, I always seem to forget that my little boy has a birthday approaching. So then I am scrambling to put something together. This year I decided that we were having a party away from home (where my son will not hoard himself in his room to "protect" his toys like last year) and where it required me to do minimal! Pump It Up it is! So far I only had to order a cake and party favors. I also brought handwritten invites back in style (I was late in trying to order printed ones :))
This is just a few excuses for me to give my diligent readers as to why I have been so tardy (aka LAZY) in keeping up with my blog!!! I cant promise that over the next few months I will have a lot of spare time on my hands (well of course if Congress can't get their act together and pass a bill addressing Therapy caps then I might have too much time on my hands...again that is for another post/rant!)

New Years Resolutions....

I always have about a gazillion resolutions each year and they last about....oh, maybe til the end of January and if I am real good maybe even til March! This year one of my resolutions needs to be to at least try and keep them the first half of the year! I am hoping this year that if I post them publicly (and by that I mean to the 6 people who follow this blog ;) ) I might be geared to keep them. So here it goes:

1. I am going to diligently try to stop buying things because I get a great deal on them. This is going to be so hard for me because I literally get a high from getting a great bargain anywhere!
2. Which leads me into my next resolution....I am going to start making a grocery list. This to is difficult for me. If you have ever been to Walmart with me then you know how I am. I have a certain way I walk through the store to ensure meat is the last thing I get and produce and bread is safely on top saving it from damage. I walk up and down every aisle, every time I go. And don't even get me started on how I unload groceries when it is time to checkout....boxes first, then can goods, frozen items, etc. I know there are a few checkout people who have stared at Bear and wonders why he cant help his one-handed wife unload groceries out of the buggy, but he has learned to just stand at the end and put the bags in the buggy.
3. Start and enjoy working out with my husband again. Those who didn't know us before we were married, don't know that this was the center of our relationship before we started dating up until we had kids. We met at the gym, rode to the gym together, and worked out together. With our crazy schedule lately, it has been tough to find time for anything. But Bear is sooo disciplined when it comes to this. I will be joining him now bright and early in the am as I try and catch up with him!
4. Try and keep a clean car. If you have ever been in my car, most people have not because I always say I cant drive because there is no room (I drive a freaking Yukon!!!), or if you have parked in the vicinity of my car and just looked at my dash board then there is no explanation need to this resolution. My car is getting a fresh new start (cleaning and detail) this Wednesday, so I should have no excuses.

I know these sound a little easy to some of you, but baby steps, baby steps, PEOPLE!!

Answered Prayers....

Cohen's therapy started!!! I have kept saying how frustrated we have been with the First STeps process, but after 4 months and LOTS of phone calls, Cohen started 1 hour a week Special Instruction, which is kind of a "play skills" therapy and they reinforce her socialization skills, and 1 hour a week Speech Therapy. Over the Christmas vacation, Cohen exploded with sounds. She is still just making vowel sounds but they are definitely more frequent and louder. Although we would like her to get to a more age appropriate verbal skill level, one of the main focuses of ST will be to strengthen her oral motor skills and tongue control. We have been diligently working on our "homework" of beeping/locating her nose and clapping our hands. We are getting closer everyday to reaching our goals!!
So what else is Miss Coco doing? She is now 14 months old and LOVES to get into everything!

• she is finally fitting into 9 month clothes pretty well, except for dresses she is still in 3-6 month
• she LOVES her sleep, she sleeps 7-7 and takes a great nap, sometimes 2!
• she stated walking right after Thanksgiving, still a little wobbly but manages to go everywhere
• she loves to eat and eats anything
• her favorite activity is pulling things out and putting things back
• she is starting to stand her ground against Kinson and the kids in her class-- she likes to push them down
• we have 100 single mismatched socks because Cohen takes her socks off and hides them everywhere-- she took a pair off in my office and we still have yet to find them
• she HATES socks or footed PJ's-- she acts paralyzed!

Who killed Jolly Jo-Jo?

The Crawfords hosted our annual Christmas Bunko this year and as always they are the most creative host/hostesses. This year instead of the traditional Christmas party, we had a Murder Mystery party with all the props including our "tacky" attire! Sorry to disappoint, but this is not our usual attire! If you are stumped for an idea to add some fun to a usual get together, I highly recommend it. We had the BEST time!


Anna, Brandy, Priscilla, and Helen

All the ladies with our most favorite Christmas sweaters!

All of the guys, we had a few good sports that joined in on the tackiness, including the winner--Stanton (farthest to the right)!!

This is me and one of my bestest friends Lyndi! I can't wait to show my Mamaw this picture because we are both in sweaters that she let me borrow. i can already hear her asking me, "Did everyone like your outfits, darling?" She gladly let me borrow them, I don't think she quite understood why!!

I know these arent from Christmas!

But I know I havent put any pictures up in awhile so these will have to do for the moment!


Kinson walks in the door and he automatically takes off his shoes and pants....not sure why but he feels this need!

Ok, the remark has been made that Cohen needs a haircut, but I REFUSE! I want her hair to grow out so right now we are at this "in between stage"! She has enough hair for pigtails but that little girl won't have any part of it. Well I guess we just start wearing hats!

An email from our Neurologist

I could type it all out but I decided to just copy and paste part of my exact email :

From Dr Bruce

"I have good news....Cohen's EEG was normal. I am happy for 2 reasons....#1there was no sharp or spike waves that would indicate seizure activity. Secndly, her brain activity is not slow--which can be seen with children who have any degree of mental retardation."

PRAISE GOD!!!! I can handle all these test as long as we get results like this!! I am sorry I didnt post on Thursday when we found out but I have been on the phone fighting with First Steps and it has been soooooo frustrating. Thank goodness January is coming soon and we will be able to start Cohen in whatever therapy services we choose and let our insurance pay for it (at least for the first 25 visits).

Drs, specialist, therapists, O My!!

Cohen has had a battery of tests run and continues to see one dr after another. We did get the official MRI report that showed that the development of the structure of the brain was completely normal!!! It was an answered prayer!
She was evaluated officially by First Steps at the end of Oct-- she is on a verbal level of a 3month old and on the physical level of an 8-10month old. She qualified for 1x/wk Special Instruction and 2x/month Speech Therapy for oral motor to assist with controling her tongue. Like I said that was October and here it is Dec on Tuesday and we haven't begun her therapy yet---this has been very FRUSTRATING to say the least.
We saw a Neurologist at Batson on Wednesday and she was TERRIFIC!!! We can not express how truly blessed we are to have found such great drs so close! She spent a ton of time with us and sat down on the floor in the room and played and loved on Cohen, we could really tell that she cared about her and ensuring she gets proper care. The other thing that I really liked about her, is that she did not "hide" her concern. She was very upfront with me on the reality of Cohen's prognosis-- which is still undetermined at this time. She scheduled us an EEG on Wednesday at Batson to study the brain activity and rule out seizure activity. We have never seen anything resembling a seizure go on in Cohen, but she said some can be so mild that they are not detected. Also, the MRI can not show the actual connections of fibers and firing going on so this will continue to help with the diagnosis. She did say that if everything turns out normal, then she says any damage done so far is very likely reversible. Babies brains are so plyable and still forming that through therapy and time, hopefully things will catch up. She was a HUGE advocate for therapy and was very disappointed to hear that it has taken us so long to start First Steps and gave us a few alternate routes to think about to get more services.
Cohen is just stealing our hearts daily as she smiles and grins at us! She is taking a few steps everyday-- she is dying to start running after her brother-- she eats us out of house and home, she is wearing 6 months clothes, we moved up to a size 3 diaper but they are HUGE on her, we think we are going to have to go back to a size 2 for daytime when she is moving and use the 3s at night, she loves her sleep 12+hrs a night!! She loves every man that comes near her (not sure what this will mean as she gets older)!!! She is truly a little fighter!!

Has it really been a month?!

I have never gone this long without updating the blog, but work and life have gotten the best of me!
Here are a few latest updates:

• We celebrated Cohen's first birthday (pics to follow)! She never got to have her party because she ended up with strep throat the weekend it was planned....the story of her life :(
• They celebrated Halloween. Kinson still didnt quite get it--he kept telling people "thats enough" when they were giving him candy! This was the weekend Cohen had strep so she didnt get to partake :(
• Our favorite family from Virginia came to visit us! We miss them so much and usually only get to see them for a week during the summer, so we were so excited that they got to come down. We are planning for us to head up there in June for Stefani's graduation-- can't decide if we should drive or fly with the 2 kids???
• Cohen has had multiple dr visits and I will do a separate post to update and get my prayer warriors ready!
• Bear has been diligently studying, we couldnt be more proud of him! He has past the 2 hardest sections of the CPA test and took another part Nov 24. We will be anxiously awaiting his scores as he studies for the last part on Jan 12. He has continued to persevere through his fatigue and stress at work-- he has worked soooo hard for this!

I hope that the Holidays have brought many blessing and good times! I am hoping to get my pictures uploaded and added soon!

Sibling Rivalry.....

Don't be fooled.....this doesn't happen very often!

Deja Vu

I don't have Kinson's baby pictures on the computer anymore but you can look at my old post from Oct/Nov 2007 and see this same act taking place! The only difference is that Kinson discovered the doggy door at 8 months old and at least Cohen held off til she was almost a year!

Here she is putting blocks outside! By time I figured it out she had already gotten 9 blocks and 2 hotwheels outside!