What's That Boy Up To?

Hill is a traveler, as you know, and hasn’t stopped since birth; which in turn means his mommy is awful at posting on the blog!

I will start with our whole month of July. So, put on your pj’s and grap a fountain coke because this is going to be a long post.  (For those of you that want visuals, they come towards the end of the post.)

July was busy busy. We started out the first day of the month with a tooth! Hill and I were sitting in his rocking chair and he put my hand in his mouth as if to say...LADY, LOOK! I HAVE A TOOTH! He bit down on my hand and I felt that little booger. I inspected and he had one tooth on the bottom right with the bottom left tooth about to join in the fun (which it did about 2 days later.) Hill never fussed, never cried, never drooled and I am probably jinxing myself by telling you all of this because he only has like 20 something more teeth to come in. So that was a big way to start the month! The month that he turns 6 months old! So cliche, but they literally do grow up so fast!

Believe it or not we had two parties to attend in Ebenezer, MS population 5 during the long 4th of July weekend. Hill attended his first Haffey 4th of July bash on Saturday the 3rd. Tons of our friends were there and it was SUPER hot outside. We swam, ate and watched slip and slide kickball all afternoon. Fun was definitely had by all.

Then Sunday the 4th the Samples’ who are always gracious enough to host the annual Allen reunion (Chip’s moms’ side,) for family as well as family friends that might as well be related! What good, loving people we know – we are so blessed. Hill got lots of kisses and attention that day! Can’t wait until next year when he can run around on the farm and play with the animals.

Monday the 5th was a holiday and we just lounged around the house only to crank our week back up on Tuesday full force. By Thursday Hill was sent home from daycare with a rash. We think maybe he was allergic to peaches, but are still unsure. He never ran fever but his white blood cell count was a bit elevated. His daddy stayed home with him and they pretty much played all day. Just for safety sake we didn’t send him to daycare Friday so Mrs. Cornelia came and cared for him. I’m not sure who was more excited to see who! Hill loves his Nene and Nene loves her some Hill. They had a great day together. I always enjoy it when Nene comes too because my house is clean when I come home. Yay for some Nene!

Chip’s 15 year high school reunion was on Saturday the 10th. Our friends Elizabeth (Steele) Kaiser and her hubby and sweet Ava came to town. Ava is like a week younger than Hill and is just a precious doll. We went to the family thing in the park, but Chip didn’t want to go to the reunion that night. 
Here is Ella Baird feeding Hill at the Mexican restaurant for lunch.  He later spit up on her hand and she FLIPPED OUT crying because "HE THREW UP ON ME!"  Sweet girl, such a mother hen.

It was fine by me that Chip didn't want to go to the reunion, not that I would have minded going but you never want to be somewhere Chip Hawkins does not want to be. He is not fun and therefore you do not have fun. That is one of those marriage things that you pick your battles. If you see me somewhere Chip is not, it’s because I don’t make him do things he’s not up for. You can thank me when you see me for sparing you. Anyway, Chip planned his own party out at Al Bell’s cabin. Yes, that did come out right. He planned and hosted a party at someone else’s place. Al doesn’t mind because he showed up later after the reunion but it cracks me up. A few of them that didn’t go hung out and grilled out all afternoon without Al, at his cabin. Hill and I went out there later, but I had to hit the hay early because I was leaving for Jimmy Buffett at 8:00 am that next morning.

Sunday the 11th was Jimmy Buffett (See Post) and when I got home Hill was asleep on his stomach. After I flipped out, I flipped him over to his back just for him to roll back over to his stomach. Hill was officially rolling over….even in his sleep.

Monday the 12th was Hill's 6 month birthday and my first day as our local Rotary Clubs vice president. Rotary means a lot to me personally and it’s an extreme honor to be the incoming president for next year.

Wednesday the 14th Hill had his 6 month pictures with Sukie. (See Post) I still stare at them daily and want to eat up my little munchkin and his sweet smile.

Thursday the 15th Nana (Chip’s step mom), Hill and I drove to Memphis to see Dr. Shell for Hill’s 3 month post surgery check up. Can you believe it has been 3 months since his procedure? Man, I’m not sure I’ve completely shaken off the emotional toll it took on me knowing (and not knowing) what my baby had to endure. Anyway, Dr. Shell said that Hill looked great! I asked about his nostrils and their size and placement. He said he may have to have another surgery, but as we knew already the nose continues to grow so he said that wouldn’t be anything we would do until he is maybe 3 years old, if needed. Before I could ask about the pink of his lips matching up and flowing more uniform he assured me that from this point forward it will still continue to come together and smooth out. Same with the scar tissue, it will soften and become more ‘normal’ looking. He said everything is on track. He felt so good about it that we set our next appointment for 3 months away in October! You go little man! Such a trooper!

Friday the 16th after work Chip, Hill and I headed to Diamondhead to the condo. This was Hill’s fourth trip to the MS gulf coast since his birth in January. Al and Hambone (Al’s protégé Jason Johnson) met us there so they could fish with Chippy. Hill and I went to the Lazy Magnolia Micro Brewery in Kiln, MS which is literally like 8 miles from the condo. Now, now…do not gasp for fear that my son has been subjected to the likes of the devils liquid. Plus, in Mississippi it is illegal to sample the beer. We went on an educational tour of what all goes into making the products, marketing, being an entrepreneur, etc. I really enjoyed it. It was HOT, but Hill never once fussed. There was another little girl there becoming cultured and I swear the mom said she was 2 months old, but she looked bigger than that. Anyway, we had a good time.

They bottle their own beer and stamp the labels on in house too.

The beer sits in these distillers for a week before rotating in a new batch

Mom, this is so educational. 
I don't care that it's 6,000 degrees in this warehouse.

Then since the big guys were fishing Hill took me on a date to our favorite restaurant, The Jordan River Steamer. It was just me and my bugga boo. We watched The Three Stooges on the projector screen outside as we waited for our table. Once we were seated the owner came to our table to speak and couldn’t believe how much Hill had grown! They are the nicest people ever. Hill has been going there since he was 13 days old. We didn’t go to the coast in February or June but they have seen him every month. I had my same ol’ same ol’ that I order EVERY TIME. The potato crusted redfish with lumped crab meat and béarnaise sauce over grilled asparagus. Yum! Wish I was eating that right now. The waitress brought Hill some crackers and I attempted to let him try them, but then I flipped out when it broke off in his mouth and felt the need to gag him with my finger trying to scoop the piece out. Yup, don’t try new things when you are by yourself in public places. Bad idea. I ate and was ready because Hill was becoming a wiggle worm that didn’t want to hang out like a good boy in his stroller. He wanted to sit in my lap and drop his book on the floor repeatedly so I could pick it up….repeatedly. Hill was a cheap date he didn’t even eat the crackers. Ha! By the time we got home Daddy and his friends were there and the little boy was tuckered out from his big day at the brewery and taking his mommy on a date.

We left the coast Sunday and Chip came home Monday. This gave us just enough time to prepare for the Tuesday afternoon arrival of our favorite MAMA LOU! Yayayy! Mama Lou came and I was the chuffer for the week. From the time I picked her up from the airport until I dropped her off at the airport she sat in the back seat with Hill. They played, sang, clapped and laughed a whole whole lot! Hill adores his Mama Lou and I’m 100% sure the feeling is mutual. My buddy skipped school Wednesday through Friday to play with Mama Lou. That Lucky Duck!

Wednesday the 21st he got his 6 month shots where he came in weighing 17lbs 11oz and measuring 25 inches. He was in the 50th percentile in everything but his noggin which is in the 75th percentile. He and Mama Lou almost have the same size head (which is extremely funny if you know my mom.) Hill has a 44 inch round head and Mama Lou has a 47 inch round head. He got his shots from Mrs. Matthews because Mrs. Leigh Ann was on vacation. He cried and cried until I picked him up and then it was like a light switch no tears, I’m good, carry on. Dr. Carter is wonderful. I love him and his wife, Sharon. They are fabulous people. I love how he spends time with us like he doesn’t have to be anywhere else except for answering my 6,000 ridiculous first time mother questions. Hill was given Zantac for his acid reflux and a cream for the yeast infection on his bum. I hate the boy had a rash on his tiny hiney, but I was glad it wasn’t anything to do with diapers. I had been going round and round with diapers and finding something that worked! Huggies leaks, pampers Dry Max has the chemical burn stuff that gave him a rash and Luvs to me felt like wrapping him in a plastic Wal-Mart sack. Finally I’d found pampers baby dry which seems to be doing alright knock on wood….but then he came up with this rash! Dr. Carter said it’s from the moisture in his diaper coupled with this ridiculous heat outside. It’s a haven for funky hiney and not the new diapers. Yay! I thought I was going to have to potty train him at 6 months old. My buddy got a great check up and since we divide up shots we’d head back the following week for round two.

Mama Lou and Hill continued to play until Saturday afternoon she taught him many songs, dances and how to play the piano. Then Saturday we had to take her back to her house at the airport. We figure Hill will probably think that the airport is Mama Lou’s house. We pick her up there and drop her off there. We are going to show him her house in October when we fly to Texas for the first time.

While we were in Jackson we bought some child proofing foam strips. This is all I could figure out to do for our ROCK hearth to the fireplace. It's an accident waiting to happen. Jagged Rocks everywhere. Great. Any suggestions from veteran baby proofers?

Sunday the 25th was our friend Harvey’s baptism at the Presbyterian Church. We didn’t put Hill in the nursery and he was so good! Chip and I were the disruptive ones! Hill really liked the music and would sway and dance and Chip and I were crying we were trying not to laugh. He would rock when the music was fast, then he’d slow down when the music slowed down. He’s a dancer. After church Chip said “That boy had the Holy Spirit in him!” I told him that it’s a good thing that we didn’t go to the Baptist church today with Hill needing to dance….they’d have kicked us out!

Allen, JJ & Harvey Warrington
Sweet Harvey's Baptism

Monday the 26th I got a call from daycare that Hill was in his exer-saucer right next to the teacher and the other teacher looked over at him and he had blood running down out of his nose. He wasn’t crying, he wasn’t aware there was a problem….just bleeding. They cleaned him up and didn’t see any wound and of course they immediately called me. I went up there and was unable to tell if anything had separated because it was on the side of his nose that he had to have repaired. I called the plastic surgeon, Dr. Shell, who asked if I could come in. They were worried that since after his surgery he had the accident with the stroller that the scar tissue was soft and may separate. I truly didn’t think that was the situation, but what do I know about surgical procedures? I asked if I could go to our pediatrician to have him look at it before I jumped in the car and drove 3 hours for it to be a non emergency. Dr. Shell approved and that was a good thing. Dr. Carter looked at the area and said he must have scratched the raw scar tissue with his finger nail which caused it to bleed. He didn’t cry because that area under his nose probably doesn’t have much feeling due to the surgery and scar tissue. Dr. Carter understood why Dr. Shell wanted Hill to head to Memphis because he had done extensive repair work on my baby and it’s not your average surgical procedure or stitch here and your done type thing. That made me feel better knowing that Dr. Carter and Dr. Shell were on the same page and didn’t belittle the situation and the procedures my son has been through. LOVE YOU FELLAS!

So, while we were at the clinic we got the second round of Hill’s shots. He didn’t cry but for 2 seconds. Big boy!

The week of the 26th Hill pretty much perfected his sitting up. He’d been sitting up when you place him on his bum, but had been wobbly and would topple over…which scared him, and me. He still prefers to stand up on his strong legs and repeatedly pull my hair out of my head at any opportunity given. He especially loves his daddy’s chest hair and glasses.

Yummy Toys!

He is trying so hard to crawl.  He's almost there.  This is him trying to reach Foster. 

Foster's face cracks me up.  It's kind of Kermit the Frog-ish.

I love you big brown buddy.  I will touch your funny toenails.

So, since Monday the 26th was a whirl wind that lead to Tuesday through Thursday being super long and drawn out because we were so anxious to head to Oxford Friday after work. Friday the 30th was probably the longest day in America. I woke up ready for it to be 5:30 pm and to hit the road for our fun filled weekend! There were a ton of us going to the Pettit’s condo; me, Chip, Hill, Whitney, Tanner & Hart Pettit, Kayla, Jack & Jason Vance, Jason & Gena Pope, then JJ, Harvey and Allen Warrington would show up Saturday morning. We got there Friday night around 7:30, just in time for our reservations at 8:00 to eat at Snack Bar. Please do yourself a favor and order the lobster mac & cheese. There are no words. I had the roasted chicken with parmesan grits. It was awesome, but Kayla let me eat on her lobster mac & cheese. Wow. I will be ordering that and nothing else from now on. After dinner we stayed up way to late and had way too much fun only to gather ourselves Saturday for a fun day of lunch and shopping on the Square. We went to Square Books Jr. HOW FUN! I got Hill a bunch of cute books and a Square Books Jr. T-shirt. My how times have changed because I think it is officially my favorite store on the Square since Jewels By Annette closed down. BUT my new favorite store off of the Square is LuLu’s. My friends Corinne and her sister Lindsey just opened a shoe shop and it is fabulous! I got a cute pair of shoes that I think I have worn every day since I bought them, a LuLu’s tshirt and a purse pouch thing that is great for helping me organize my purse to Hill’s diaper bag. Corinne & Lindsey got them some Hill lovin’ until he zonked out while Mrs. Lindsey was holding him to take his afternoon nap.

Since it was Hilly poos nap time we headed back to the condo and made a grocery list for dinner. For dinner it would be the 14 people I mentioned above plus Amanda, Bishop & Leon friends of JJ’s from Fulton, MS and my friends Susan and Daniel with their precious boy Sullivan and then Kent and Corinne with their two kids Charles and Elise (LuLu). If Hill has half the manners that Charles & Elise do then I will be in good shape. Those kiddos are the best, and pretty dang adorable. So, in a house with 21 people and I forgot to mention….the air was broken. The guy came Saturday afternoon, but there was not enough time to cool down the house while 21 people were in and out, ovens cooking pineapple casserole and marinated asparagus with the hot grill outside cooking pork chops. I think it was registering 90 degrees on the first floor in the house? Oddly enough it never once bothered me. It was hot, but I was having such a good time it was not even the subject of conversation.

left to right: Harvey, Hill, Bishop & Jack
Yes, that is Hill pushing Harvey.
He hasn't really learned the art of 'sharing'.

Harvey being a sweet boy, as always.

Jack showing Hill how to play with the book.
(Or maybe that is Hill taking the book away from Jack?)
left to right: Hill, Harvey, Jack

Harvey eating the book and Hill wanting in on the action.
Handsome Jack (below)

The Vance Family
Jason, Jack & Kayla

Wonderful Mrs. Whitney, Hill & Tan Man

Precious Sullivan and Hill playing book and being adorable

Sweet innocent blue eyed boy.

Tanner sporting his Eli Manning jersey.

I loved that my awesome Oxford friends got to co-mingle with my awesome Kosciusko friends. Corinne said that she loved my friends so much they make her want to live in Kosciusko. She is also concerned for Kosciusko in 15 years with all of these boys! YAY for all of my friends and double yay for all of us having boys that are around the same age. Crazy and cheesy, I know.

I think Hill learned a lot from the bigger boys. Tanner is walking around and Jack is slithering around and Harvey took his first crawling adventure that Saturday. Hill strengthened his sitting up ability. He’s pretty much good to go with sitting up. If he falls over it’s usually forward onto his stomach instead of backwards to bop his head. Go buddy! He's able to say Mama and DaDa clearly when queued, but he has not made the association of what it means. He is good at clasping his hand as to say bye bye and when I say bye bye he knows to do his hand...just sometimes towards himself.

Thanks, Pettit’s and friends for the best weekend ever!

What a way to wrap up our eventful month!

Katie Lou & Chippy cuddling after a BUSY month

Doctors, Checkups & Shots (Part 1)

Since I’ve been really bad about posting milestones in Hill’s life on here I figured I better start with the basics – his checkups, visiting doctors and finding the perfect surgeons. This is going to be an obscenely long post and will only cover up to before his cleft surgery.  Since he has been to many doctors over the last 6 months we have had many experiences, humbling, stressful, appreciative, uncertain, roller coaster of experiences. I want to make sure I document them all the best I can - not only to reflect back, but maybe to help someone that is going through the same experience the whole dark hole of unknowing to feel a little better.

13 DAYS OLD

At 13 days old we drove to New Orleans, LA to visit the Cleft & Craniofacial Team of New Orleans (Monday, January 25, 2010). I had set this up back in December before he was even born. The nurse and team coordinator of the visit was Mary Ellen Alexander. She is precious and very very helpful. She had sent DVD’s in advance and all kinds of pamphlets and education materials. She literally is the person that talked me out of a depression when we first found out of Hill’s condition and unsure of the severity. She made me feel like this happens to everyone and it’s totally not a big deal, which is not 100% true, but it made me feel that way and I love her because of that.

We got to the Children’s Hospital at like 2:30 pm even though our appointment wasn’t until like 3:00. We wanted to make sure we had all our paper work filled out and were there early. We got there and at that very moment my life changed. The tears well up in my eyes just simply thinking about it. It was the most inexplicable environment I’d ever been in. The place its self was cutesy with bright rainbow colors on the wall and color coded hallways. I had to make a pit stop so while Chip and Hill waited for me I had my first breakdown. I walked into the bathroom and there was a lady and a personal nurse changing a little 5 month old girls’ diaper. The little girl had a tracheal tube, an oxygen tank, a feeding bag and a misshaped head. I briskly walked by them and out of the bathroom after washing my hands and fell into Chips arms only to burst into tears. Who am I to feel sorry for myself and my son when there are so many other horrible, inexplicable, life threatening problems Hill could have been born with? I may have been crying because I was so fortunate. I’m not sure, I’ll ever know – it was numbing. From there we found the waiting room to where we needed to go. We walked into the crowded room, checked in, filled out paperwork and felt the germs and lack of cleanliness that surrounded us. The people there were different. The facility was undoubtedly state of the art, but the germ-ex cleanser immediately was applied and didn’t seem like a place for my 13 day old baby. I looked around the room at all the other children trying to find one that compared to Hill and his right incomplete cleft lip, isn’t that what mothers unconsciously do? Compare their kids to others. I didn’t see any, I saw children that had deformed skulls. Chip said he saw 2 kids that had repaired clefts that looked fantastic, but I didn’t see them. I mostly kept my head down staring at my sweet pea as I cried, praying and thanking God for such a sweet miracle. I prayed for the kids in that room, that they know no suffering and a sense of normalcy. We waited for an hour before they called us back around 4:00pm. They measured and weighed Hill and took us back to a room where we waited, again. Even though we were exhausted it didn’t matter. We were there and ready to meet the doctors and hear what they had to say. The process was another 3 hours. A specialist would come in ask us questions but most didn’t even touch Hill. There was an ear nose & throat doctor that came in, the plastic surgeon, a social worker that came in to evaluate all three of us; were we fit parents, was Hill in a positive environment type questions. The speech pathologist came in and then the genetic doctor to conclude the visit. The plastic surgeon seemed perfectly capable, very educated, young and seemed to think “a few” surgeries would take place and all would be corrected no problem. There wasn’t any explanation on how the procedure would work. The genetic doctor was a trip. That is a story in itself. He asked us a plethora of questions like our family medical history to if Chip and I were related. He was the only one that thoroughly evaluated and inspected Hill. Inspected is an understatement. He literally pulled out a magnify glass and looked at his toes and fingers and pinched him and felt his back and tapped on his tummy and gave the curvature of his ears a good looking at. It was so weird. As he looked at Hill’s feet with lights and magnify glasses I had to ask, “What is it exactly you are doing?” He said I’m looking at the swirl patterns in his feet and hands and fingerprints. Oh, yeah…of course. Silly me. He took a picture of Hill with a camera he conveniently had around his neck in a big bulky man purse the whole time that kept getting in his way and then asked for us to all stand together and take a family picture. I asked him if we could use it as our Christmas card…he didn’t get it.

Nurse Alexander came in to let us view the portfolio we requested. We wanted to see the plastic surgeons work. First of all, the book had the doctor we saw and another plastic surgeons photos of their work in it. How do I know who did what? The positive news was that as you know they are only going to display their ‘best’ work and it seemed as though their best work was incomplete cleft lips like Hill’s. Nurse Alexander let us know that that concluded our visit and they would send us a report after the doctors met together and gave their evaluations. It was 7:00 pm and we had a 5 hour drive home. What a day, a life changing, numbing, eye opening, long tiresome day. Would we use these doctors? They are extremely capable. They confirmed it was merely a cosmetic issue. Do we need a team? Am I supposed to get a warm fuzzy feeling about this whole situation? It was a rollercoaster and Chip and I both were exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally.


TWO WEEK CHECKUP

On Wednesday, January 27th (15 days old), Hill had his routine two week check up with Dr. Erwyn Freeman at Children’s Medical Group in Flowood, MS. He was back up to his birth weight by then (around 9 lbs 1 oz) and his umbilical cord that goobed me out the whole time it was attached finally fell off that exact day in the doctors’ office. The nurse asked me if I wanted to keep it. Umm, what? No! Yuck! Really? I mean, what would I do with it? Do people keep it? What? Yuck, No!

His plastic bell on his tt privates in the front from his circumcision was still on there and goobed me out even more than the umbilical cord. At one point I called JJ to ask her the inappropriate question of “Can I come look at Harvey’s penis?” I wanted to make sure Hill’s was alright because I know NOTHING about boy parts and for some reason Chip didn’t know either. Boys are to know about boy parts. It’s the rules. So anyway, back to the doctor visit. Hill’s privates were ok but his plastic bell thing had not come off even remotely so Dr. Freeman sent us back to Women’s Hospital so the pediatric nurse could cut it off - - the plastic bell not his tt. Dr. Freeman said that they put it on there and he prefers them to take it off. Touche. We discussed with Dr. Freeman his thoughts about a cleft repair doctor and he said since it’s cosmetic that he’d recommend anyone we were comfortable with. He would do a little research in the mean time and ask around. No shots were given, just a ‘hey how ya doin’ do you have any questions?’ visit. Hill was beefing up properly since he was on formula and able to actually eat instead of me depriving him of food. Boo, me and my boobies! He was up to 2 oz. of formula and every time we’d go for a weight check up at the hospital (every other day after he was released from the hospital) they’d load us up on some Similac Advanced 2 oz bottles. I never ever wanted them to stop. I had enough sterile packaged bottle nipples to help feed all the hungry children of the world. All in all he had a good check up and was umbilical cord and circumcision bell free. Yay for funky things falling off!


22 DAYS OLD

On Thursday, February 4th we had an appointment with Dr. Dan Shell in Memphis, TN. By this point my son has been to 3 states before he was even a month old (MS, LA, TN.) That’s more traveling than some do in a lifetime. We came by Dr. Shell via a friend of a friend type deal. Chip’s Aunt Dale knows a doctor that knew this doctor. After extensive research, which you know we did, we thought we’d go to him for an evaluation. Dr. Shell has done thousands of repairs. He wrote a book called pediatric plastic surgery. He was over the cleft team at University of TN for years and he also does Operation Smile where he goes overseas to third world countries to repair clefts. Not to mention all the repairs he's done personally through the mission trips he goes on through his church. There is no telling how many repairs he has done in his lifetime. Undoubtedly the experience was going to be there. The question was; would we get the warm fuzzy feeling we were searching for? Were we asking too much and being unrealistic by wanting that feeling?

We walked into Dr. Shell’s office. It was not anything remotely like our New Orleans trip. He was on the second floor of a commercial building in a suite. He had a pitcher of water with fresh lemon and cucumber slices in it sitting out to enjoy. The Food Network was on the flat screen TV and seemed to possibly be a haven for soccer moms and skin care gurus. We filled out the paperwork and lounged on the big poofy couch until they called us back. Dr. Shell came in and he was a big teddy bear looking fella. He took time to get to know us personally, he too was an Ole Miss alum, we talked and he evaluated Hill; by the end of our discussion not only did I want him to come over for dinner, I learned step for step how he would go in and repair the lip. The procedure they would be doing is the Millard operative technique it's more or less a recess of one lip and an advancement of the other lip to where they symmetrically fall into place. I’m a visual learner and so his demonstration and pointing to Hill’s lip was comforting. He pretty much told us what our day would be like from start to finish from 5:30am the day of the surgery until we left the hospital. It’s almost as if he jumped in my head and knew all the things to say without being prompted or asked. We did have one prerequisite in our search for a surgeon. The procedure had to be done in children’s hospital. We wanted a pediatric anesthesiologist, not someone that puts 180 lb men under, and we wanted people accessible that knew how to work on tiny people hearts and lungs in case of emergency. Dr. Shell assured me that he did all his repairs at Memphis LeBonheur. So to conclude our visit he took a picture of Hill and we told him we’d be in touch.

Dr. Shell walked out of the room and immediately Chip and I looked at each other and simultaneously said, “He’s the one.” We both knew. We both felt that warm fuzzy feeling that we were unsure would come. Our search was over. What a weight that had been lifted. Talking about it now makes me relive that feeling of relief. Wow, what a heavy burden that was weighing on our hearts and minds since the day we found out of Hill’s deformation in utero. I’m pretty sure eons went by; December 14, 2009 until February 4, 2010 (7 ½ weeks) is a lifetime when you are worried about your tiny miracles well being and what exactly is wrong, who is going to fix it….then after we found the perfect doctor came the apprehensiveness between February 4, 2010 and April 21, 2010. That would equal 10 ½ weeks of freaking out knowing the day of his surgery is approaching. We had to learn to live life and absorb every second of it in the interim.


TWO MONTH CHECK UP

On Wednesday, February 24th Hill went for his two month check up and the first 1/2 of his shots in Flowood again with Dr. Freeman. He was such a trooper and didn’t even cry but for literally 2.5 seconds.

His head was 39 inches around

His weight was 10 lbs 6 oz

He was 21 ½ inches long

Was able to eat a 4 oz bottle now

We were able to discuss with Dr. Freeman that we had chosen Dr. Dan Shell as Hill’s plastic surgeon for his cleft and we felt good about it.  All in all, little man had a great check up and we scheduled his second half of two month shots for Monday, March 8th.  We divide them up, just a personal preference.  He doesn't see the doctor when we come in for the second half of shots - A nurse administers them.

This concludes our doctor visits for today.  The next post on Doctors, Checkups & Shots (Part 2) will talk about his cleft repair, follow up appointments and both his 4 & 6 month shots.  Wow, where has all the time gone?

Bucket List

On Sunday, July 11th I was able to mark an item off my bucket list.  My friend JJ and I went to go see Jimmy Buffett live on the Gulf Shores beach of Alabama!  Jimmy, we are on first name basis now, was doing a concert to benefit the Coast and get more tourism down there because of the BP oil spill.  The concert was amazing, definately in the Top 10 experiences of a lifetime.  Getting there was an adventrue and quite possibly the longest day in America...but totally worth it.
We woke up early and hit the road at 8:30am.  We had the Jimmy Buffett channel on the Serius radio (even though they rarely play Buffett) our coolers packed, our sun shades on and we were ready!  We talked and laughed and talked and once we got to Meridian we hit Hwy 45 and drove and drove....and then things seemed different.  Where were we?  I pulled over to ask a nice man at a car wash "Where is Gulf Shores?"  He said, "Umm, that's far."  "Well, where are we - on this map?"  He said, "Sweetheart you are in Laurel."  WHAT?  Good Lawd we went south instead of southeast for a long ways.  Great!  I think my pride was a little wounded because I consider myself to be a good map / navigation person, as is JJ.  So we got back on track - had set ourselves back like an hour,  but no biggie we left in ample time since the gates didn't open until 3:00 anyway.  So, we are driving and talking and laughing with our sun shades on and we are finally getting close!  YAY!  Then I realize we should exit because again, something isn't right.  I exit, pull into a gas station and ask a nice young man, "Did I pass the exit for Gulf Shores?"  He said, "Gulf Shores, Alabama?"  I looked at JJ then looked at him and said, "Yes, Gulf Shores Alabama - - where are we?"  He said, "Oh, you are in Florida."  My hands dropped the map in disgust and confusion and my pride was crushed, again.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  "I'm just a few exits away, right?" I asked.  He said, "Well, I guess -- it's about 30 miles."  Again!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME? 
JJ and I got back on the road, cracking up!  Twice, really?  We got off track twice?  Killin' me. We passed the Florida / Alabama state line.  How did we miss that the first time? Geez.  Finally we found the appropriate exit because we made a special point to pay special attention.  We were up for a road trip right?  Well we sure got one!  I told JJ that we came to Gulf Shores via Iowa.  But we got there!

We ended up in Gulf Shores at around 2:00 or so and had zero problem finding a place to park since my friend Allison, the one that got us the tickets, had a hotel room right on the beach. 

No Oil Here...

We were able to park in the parking lot at the hotel and literally walk 3 blocks to the concert.  This was fabulous because like Allison said, I think all 35,000 people brought their own individual cars.  Even though it was close to Buffett time we decided to grab something to eat at Ribs & Reds and then be on our way to the gates.  The timing of everything was perfect.  Even getting lost played a part in our timing.  We got there, ate, went to the gates, heard some guys opening act, people watched, then we got settled and on came Buffett! 

Here is me settled...

We dug a recliner into the sand. 

See how I'm able to sit up and lean back?

People watching was part of the fun too.  I never knew so many people bought size small clothes when they really need a medium or a large. (I can hear my mom in my head, now Rachel, stop talking about people, it's not polite.)  I'm sure you've heard the saying, if you don't have anything nice to say...come sit next to me.  Well I fell into that category that day.  It was a sight. Bikinis and rolled down unbottoned daisy dukes.  I guess that never goes out of style?  What do I know, I claim not to be a fashionista.  I have pictures, but I won't post them for fear they are your relatives.

Anyway, Buffett started and we knocked down our recliner in the sand and made it a dance floor. 

Me & JJ at the festivities

It was hot.  I don't even think the word hot describes how hot the hot was.  And all we had that wasn't sandy to wipe our faces with was this one lone paper towel that JJ randomly had in her pocket from the restaurant.

At a Buffett concert you always have to be careful of those crazy Land Sharks!!

Even this cutie patootie little girl that I wanted to keep in my pocket had it going on.

 

Man it was a fabulous day.  JJ and I both hope we are half as cool as these moms in 17 years. 

They brought their daughters to the concert and had a blast!  The mom's were hilarious and our new BFFs. Being that we partied with the moms and not the daugthers was a first for us and maybe a visual turning point in our lives.  I don't think the daughters would have been interested in seeing pictures of Hill and Harvey like the moms were.  They gave us all kinds of tips and pointers and motherly advice.  The main one was to pick your battles.  You see...Buffett was not only a blast but a lifetime of education too.

After the concert we went back to the hotel and showered, realized I had lost my phone. Back tracked to the concert and in the sand, no luck.  Got in the car at like 9:30 pm and drove back to Kosciusko.  This time it was via Kentucky because we only got turned around once.  At 3:30 am we pulled into the driveway and I then had to come to the realization....  I'm not in college any more and can't pull all nighters.

It took me two days to recoop and get my cell phone back (it had fallen out of my bag at the hotel room and Allison FedExed it to me).

THANK YOU JIMMY BUFFETT & JJ FOR A WONDERFUL FUN FILLED DAY! 

I really needed everything about that day.

6 month pictures

Wednesday Hill had his 6 month pictures taken. 

I know all of you think your kid is the cutest in the world - I'm sorry...I'm pretty sure my sweet Hill trumps all cuteness in the entire world.  I'll let you decide...

I love you, Hill.  You are my sunshine.

Happy Birthday, Hill ~ 6 months ~

Six months ago today my sweet bugga boo was born.  I've never been so smitten in my life.  I don't know if I knew what smitten meant until I had my Hilly-poo.

I would post no less than 6,000 pictures here for you today, but my phone (where all the action is recorded) was lost, then found, now is in transit back to me.

Here is an update of what the sweetest cutest boy in the world can do.
* He can roll over from his back to his stomach as of yesterday. 
* Because he rolls over...when he sleeps he rolls to his stomach (scares me, but if you flip him over, he just goes right back to his stomach)
* He has always been a big dancer, but he LOVES music and likes to shake his booty and twist.
* He prefers to stand up.  He's been doing this a little over a month.  He wants to stand up (with you holding his hands.)  I think he likes not being confined to the floor.
* He can sit up for a good 10 - 15 seconds before he gets top heavy and slowly falls to the side.
*Since birth the boy has had a grip.  As you know I don't have any athletic aspirations for my son due to his parents lack in that department. Yet, Hill is so strong...and he knows it.  He can pull hair, shake toys, pull on bouncy seats and you can't get him to let go. 
* He LOVES to pet the dogs.  Foxy Mama loves him so much.  She kisses his feet and is very protective of him.  Ever since he was born, if you came over to hold him she would be at your feet making sure you did it right and didn't drop him.  She's still tha way and keeps a watchful eye over her little boy.  Hill is Foxy Mamas person.
* He's gotten into this thing for about a week now where he rocks back and forth if he's sitting in your lap. Keep the motion in the ocean I guess?
* He eats frutis in the morning and veggies at night with 6 oz bottles every 3-4 hours.  He usually doesn't let you get to far past 3 hours though. 
* He says Mama and Dada, but only when prompted.  I think he says 'Hey' a lot.  I know I always walk in the room and say "Hey, Buddy" and he makes a noise as if to say Hey back...maybe it's a grunt.
* The child smiles.  The child has smiled since he was too young to even think about smiling.  His smile and his big laugh just melt my heart.  He's always happy unless he's hungry or sleepy - and his dad will attest that he gets that from me.  I will take responsibility for that.  I mean heck, the kid had to have gotten something from me right?  Looks, nope.  Feet, nope.  I've got nothing!  I'll claim the mean streak.
* I have deemed him the Wal-Mart greeter at daycare.  He sits up front with the ladies early in the morning and then late afternoon before time to go home.  He smiles and laughs at everyone.  AND FLIRTS!  Oh, the boy has moves.  Look out laides!  Hill drops that chin, tilts that head, cuts those eyes and gives you the biggest grin ever.  Flirt!
* His lip is healing well.  It's come together a lot more over the past 2 months.  He goes for a check up on Thursday, July 15th.  I assume we will have to have another surgery eventually.  Yet, I may be mistaken because he changes daily and his lip and nose may heal 100% over the next 6 months or so?

I hate the ol' cliche (insert nasaly voice here) - 'They grow up so fast.' 
Yet, it's so stinkin' true!  I can tell you most every thing that has gone on over the last 6 months, but I cannot belive it's been 6 months.  Oh how I love this little boy and want to just kiss on him and eat him up every day. 
Thank you God for blessing us with the sweetest most precious angel from heaven.  You couldn't have picked a better one for us!  We'll keep him!