I've not completely forgotten about the blog...

...I promise. I have lots of "material," but NO PICTURES! I'll get to that later. Since I'm so far behind, I'm going to do this in bullet points...

• Davis had his annual bladder/kidney tests. They all still showed completely normal bladder and kidney function. Dr. Pinto's word was "perfect!" YAY! But, they also still showed that the sphincter that would give him the ability to "hold it" does not work. So...they still believe he will never be truly potty trained, but there are ways around that. They are permanent, and require surgery, and they won't even consider doing anything until he is at LEAST 5. So, mark that one off the list, at lease we still don't have to cath him! :)
• He also had another appointment with Dr. Roberts (neurosurgeon). He is beyond pleased with Davis' progress, development, and recent growth. He doesn't want him wearing the little braces that the PT ordered. He said he's doing so well without them, using them would actually hinder proper development because they are a crutch. He is still wanting to keep a VERY close eye on his head. It's HUGE! He said it could very likely be that he just has a big noggin, but he still wants MRI's every 3 months just to make sure we're not headed toward a shunt.
• He had his annual appointment with Dr. Messer (orthopedics). He was beyond pleased as well. He watched D walk, and said the same thing Dr. Roberts said about the braces. He said he hasn't seen a child with spina bifida have such normal function all the way down to his toes. He wants to see him again in 6 months to make sure he's "walking well and trying to run." :)
• We went to California for a mini vaca memorial day weekend. D loved taking off and landing...in fact he said "Weeee!" going up and down each time. He LOVED the beach, Disneyland, the San Diego Zoo, and Sea World too! I, however, am not so fond of Disneyland anymore. We handed the camera to one of the employees to take a picture of all of us with Mickey Mouse, and afterwards, he didn't even wait for anyone to reach out to take it...he just DROPPED it on the ground! RUINED. I was/am furious! They felt $100 should cover a new one (because that's about what you can buy a used one just like it for). A new one was $300...we HATE it. So, we also paid $200 to have the old one repaired, but they said it could take 6-8 weeks. *sigh* So, we have no cute pictures of soooooo much stuff! We're missing so much! Again, *sigh.*
• While I speak about missing stuff...I have no photographic proof of his newest skill. WALKING!!! Now, I don't mean all the time. I mean, consistently he takes 2-3 steps at a time, and several times he has taken FOUR STEPS ALL BY HIMSELF!!!!! We have been doing some serious celebrating around here!!! :)
• One last thing...he is finally at an appropriate weight! YAY! He now weighs what they wanted him to weigh by his birthday, but...only 2 months late is good enough for me. He's still now eating/drinking very good, but the special milk stuff they put him on is really working. It has 560 calories for every 8 ounces. Talk about condensed! And, he seems to like it...sort-of.

Hopefully, I'll have my camera back soon! I do have some pictures I want to post. My sweet boy is amazing! and doing amazingly well! Please continue to pray...for everything! His head, his eating/drinking, his ability to "hold it" and some day be potty trained, and that he would continue to develop physical skills "normally."

The Walk-N-Roll is only a month away! We are so far from our goal this year! PLEASE pop over to my facebook page, click the link, and donate! It's a wonderful organization and does so much to help spina bifida families! No amount is too small...PLEASE help support my sweet little miracle and others just like him!!

He is ONE!

I know I'm quite late gettting this post up, but it was hard! It's incredibly long...get ready. He is doing great! He is cruising the furniture, talking, and VERY SLOWLY eating a LITTLE better. He had his one year check-up at the doctor and she is pleased with everything. He was 30 inches tall, and weighed 18.11. His weight was not exactly accurate, considering he had the flu! He has since been back for a weight check and has gained almost a whole pound...yay! He also had his one year evaluation with ECI. I am beyond proud of my boy and his "skills." I'm about to do some serious bragging right now. It's my blog...I'm allowed! :) All but motor were WAY above where they should be. His Adaptive Skills (ability to do things himself) are at 18 months; Cognitive skills (smarts/use of brain) are at 17 months; his receptive/expressive language skills (receptive=understanding, expressive=using) are at 17 months; social skills are at 16 months; and his motor skills are at 11 months. I AM SO PROUD OF MY BOY! The only delay is motor, which we knew. But, to be one year old, with spina bifida, and ONLY 1 month behind is AMAZING!! :) His little "foot" braces should be here Monday. I'm so excited! (I know, that sounds strange. I just know they're going to help him have a little more stability on his feet.)

His vocabulary is growing fast. He has 11 words that he says on his own, without prompting, consistently. He imitates MANY, MANY more. Makes this speech therapist sooooo happy! His words are: mama, daddy, duck, stuck, wee!, yay, bye-bye, bath, poop, ball, vroom-vroom (you know, with a car). He has started to say "pa" for Grandpa, blue (yes, for the color), milk (sounds alot like his "more"), baseball, uh-oh, and no, but none of those are consistent yet, so they don't count.

He gives "high five;" claps when he's happy, all done, and when we say yay or good job; blows kisses; leans in and gives kisses; hugs; blows raspberries when something is nasty (he does this on his own...and doesn't yet realize that he often tells on himself!); waves hi AND bye; throws balls; "clicks" his tongue; pants (always for a dog, and usually for any other animal too); he's a master crawler and "puller upper;" and a beginner cruiser. :) He is so loving and snuggly! He randomly comes over and gives us hugs, then goes right back to what he was doing. He also randomly goes over to hug certain toys that he loves. It's the funniest thing. He doesn't do it to all of his toys...only the ones he really loves to play with. I wish I could catch it on video so I could keep it forever!

Now, for the Pictures!! Get ready. I told you it was long. There are FORTY-FIVE pictures! I just couldn't decide! They span his actual birthday, the day after, and the day of his party. The captions are under the pictures.

9:42am, April 14, 2010

Our little family...April 14, 2010

9:42am, April 14, 2011 (on the way to the zoo with mommy and daddy!)

There was NO WAY I was taking that cup away just for a picture!

Practicing! :)

Yay! Books from Mommy and Daddy! (We had given him the slide early. You know...the one he climbed!)

Lovin' on my boy. I didn't get to hold him last year on the day he was born.

Talking about how happy we both were that  I could hold him this year on his birthday. :)

He did NOT want to sit still for a picture.

Aunt Vasha was putting on quite a show here. Haha.

CLIMBING!!

Back to the zoo the following day with Nana, Grandpa, and Aunt Vasha. And mommy.

April 15, 2010...Surgery Day. We couldn't hold him right after surgery, but he needed comfort. Daddy's thumb worked for a LONG time. This is still one of my favorite pictures!

"Pleased to meet you Mr. Kangaroo."

Practicing. He LOVES red velvet cake. Yep...he's mine. :)

 

Mom and Aunt Leona helping set up for the party! (Aunt Vasha and Aunt Val helped too.) Thank you for helping!



I have the greatest neighbor/friend!! She make the cake and cupcakes. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU Veronica!

Me and my boy! I had to wake him up when it was party time.

Cannon threw the balls, Cash hit them. It was the sweetest thing to watch...EVER!

Presents! He was so excited for every one. He wanted to play with them right then. But...

We had to keep taking them away to open another present. He wasn't pleased. :)

Really excited about the Cozy Coupe from Papa and Gammi. Both the car, and the box are still in the living room. He seriously LOVES them both!

Sweet Cash. He's so good with babies.

Not so sure about all the singing.

Digging in!

At first, he wasn't impressed. He just tried to throw it on the floor.

Then he tasted it...

And LOVED it. :)

Cannon and D had their first fight. They both have a VERY unhealthy love for all balls. I imagine there will be many more "disagreements" in this regard. :)

Our little family...April 16, 2011

He loves his Aunt Sha!

And, I'm certain the feeling is mutual. :)

After the party, we took him to the hotel Papa, Gammi, and Logan were staying at for D to go swimming for the first time. Despite the somber look in most all of the pictures, he had so much fun!

3 sort-of smiles...1 of them is looking at me.

He was soooo tired, but see that little hand? He was still splashing! Haha.

1st swim...success!

Back home, finally getting to play on the zebra from Nana and Grandpa. He also loves this thing. It makes the "clopping" noise of the hooves, and he clicks his tongue. It's really cute.

Phew. That was so long! If you made it this far, I'm more than impressed! I must confess...I havn't written one single word in his baby book. (I know, I know! But, it's ALL on the blog. All I have to do, is look back to fill it in. It WILL get done. Eventually.) Thus the need for ridiculously long posts sometimes. I can't believe my baby is ONE! It has been the LONGEST year, but at the same time, there is NO WAY it's already been a year!

Please continue to pray for our boy! He's doing so well, but his eating/drinking is still HORRIBLE! We also need to continue to pray for his head. He's still shunt-less, but we all know how that last visit to the neurosurgeon went. Thank you all for the prayers!

One last thing...the annual Walk-N-Roll fundraiser benefiting the Spina Bifida Association of North Texas is coming again! Our page is already set up...the Little Warriors will be there again! We hope to be the team that raises the most money again this year! PLEASE HELP US MEET THAT GOAL! It's such a great organization! Please help my sweet baby Davis and his big cousin Cannon! I havn't yet figured out how to get the link to work properly on here, but I've already posted it on my facebook page. :) Thank you!



In the meantime...

I know...my baby has been a year old for almost 2 weeks now. I'm getting to that...but not today. I promise...you'll get that one by the weekend. :) In the meantime, here's some of what we've been up to for the last 2 weeks:

Loving Spaghetti-O's!

Having the mother of all "fits" because I dared to wipe his gross nose.

Looking way too big...

...and loving it!

Playing on the slide B and I gave him for his b-day. I never dreamed he'd use it correctly so early! Look...

Yep...he sure is about to do what it looks like!!

Going up!

ALL THE WAY UP!!! ALL BY HIMSELF!!! There may have been tears. :) Take that Spina Bifida!!

Clearly, he was just as proud as we were.

He spent the last week down with the FLU! Yuck. He had a sinus infection and ear infection requiring antibiotics, AND the flu...requiring Tamiflu. He was one sick baby. He did NOTHING for 3 days (he started the fever/not feeling well on Tuesday, by Thursday, the above is ALL he did until Sunday). Didn't even try. Just laid there looking pitiful. His sleep was restless; he didn't want to eat; didn't want to drink; you get the idea. IT.WAS.AWEFUL! His fever was so high, even with alternating "fever meds," that all 3 of us spent 3 days on a pallet on the floor. :(

By Sunday, he was feeling a little better. He thought he wanted to play, but wasn't completely committed. Then...

HE DID THIS!!! He pulled right up on this push toy, and PUSHED IT ABOUT 3 FEET!!! WALKED BEHIND IT...ALL BY HIMSELF!!! To steal a "line" from my friend, and fellow spina bifida mom...Spina bifida, shmina bifida. :)

And, this next thing is just something I LOVE! This has ALWAYS been my favorite song. Of all time. It's long, but well worth the 5 minutes it takes to listen! It's also just one more reason why I love country music.

See? I told you...absolutely worth it!

Please keep praying for out sweet baby! He's doing so well in almost every area. Specifically, pray for his head (we don't go back until June), and his eating/drinking! I'll be back Friday for the first of a few birthday posts!! I canNOT believe he is ONE! *sigh*