It's been a long, long time

It's been a very long time (like years) since my last little entry. Sam will be 5 years old on Monday! My how time does fly. He is a very energetic, happy, loving, stubborn, and smart little boy. He doesn't love doing his work at preschool but loves most everything else. Planes, cars, monster trucks, Legos, Ninja Turtles, and heavy equipment are a few of his favorite things to play with these days. Trampolines and inflatables are at the top of the list as well. We are still trying to get him to want to ride a bicycle, but he would rather push it than attempt to get on and pedal. We will continue working on this.
   I can't believe he will be in Kindergarten beginning in August. Where did my tiny 2 lb 12 oz grunting baby go??
   Sam (and the rest of the Hicks household) will have a big adjustment before long. We have a sweet little baby girl on the way. Sam is super excited about baby sister and has already been a BIG helper. I hope this excitement stays once she is here.
   This blog that was started for Sam 5 years ago has been so great. I have the best memories of updating all his progress while we were in the NICU and giving updates here and there over the years. I believe he will love going back through all this stuff one day to see what a little miracle he is and how God has had His hand on him since he was in the womb. Because this blog is all about Sam, I believe that I will start a family of 4 blog that Sam and baby sister will be able to enjoy one day. This is the best way I know to document our little journey as we enjoy life together.

He's Still Working on Me

   Today was the day that I have kept in the back of my mind for almost a year now. Last year we had our first Pediatric Cardiology appointment with Dr. Colvin from Birmingham. We were so impressed with the way Dr. Colvin explained in a very calm way that Sam had three holes in his heart that would eventually need fixing through surgery. We had all the questions last year such as; could the holes still close up, will this cause any additional problems, what types of restrictions will this lead to, are there any signs or symptoms that we needed to watch for in the next year to know if something serious is happening? I'm sure there were more but those are the questions I can remember asking not really wanting to hear the answers. We had been through a good bit with this little guy. Did we really have to add ASD (that's what his heart issues are called). So after the Dr. told us that the holes would not heal on thier own because of where they were located and that Sam was already past the "given age" of the holes healing with growing up some. We were reassured that this condition had absolutely nothing to do with Sam being premature. We took all this in pretty well I thought. I knew it was just one more thing for me to try not to worry about. I decided that I was not going to dwell on this and that the same poweful God that brought Sam and me through a very rough time a couple of years ago was going to carry us completely through what ever we would face with these heart conditions.
With all of that being said, I am so thankful for my family, friends, and church family that have persistently lifted Sam and these "holes" in his heart to the Lord and prayed for healing.  It is so encouraging to know that you are surrounded with prayer warriors in your life that will daily pray for your little boy. Anyway, will all of that said, back to the appointment today.
Remembering that we were there almost 4 hours last year being moved from room to room to wait for the doctor, I packed a bag full of things. Sam didn't care about much of anything that his mama had packed to keep him content. He wanted to climb up and dowh the chairs and bed. He said hey and bye to anyone that passed. He did dig a ball out of his bag and set up his own game of catch and throw with one of the ladies working in the waiting room. That was oh so entertaining!  We still had to wait a couple of hours to see the Dr. (of course they did little things here and there with Sam to get ready for the dr).
So finally the dr came in and asked how Sam had been doing.  We didn't have any complaints except for the ear infections that we are battling but that is a whole different story.  The dr did a couple of things and listened to his heart a minute or two. He said that it sounded pretty good. He explained that we would attempt to take a closer look with the ultrasound machine, and what he would be able to see would depend on Sam's reaction to the ultrasound experience. That was Sam's least favorite but he hung in there for about 10 minutes while Dr. Colvin searched over his heart. Sam could see the screen and would say.."what's dat?"  It seemed like forever before the Dr. said anything. He even changed wands to get a closer look at everything. Sam was a little scared but was trying his best to be a big boy. Finally, Dr. Colvin stopped moving the wand and pulled it away from Sam and told him that he did a good job. I was waiting for him to say something, anything about what he saw this year. 
So calmly, just as a year before he looked at us and said, "I didn't see anything, no holes, he looks great and I won't be doing any kind of heart surgery on this guy."  I wanted to scream, cry, jump up and down, give high fives, and rejoice. Instead of all of these I looked at the dr with a little bit of a laugh and told him that was great news and that was exactly what we had been praying for since this time last year. I didn't get a response from him with that but it didn't matter to me. God is still in the healing business my friends. I thought of the song He's Still Working on Me. I know that it has a deeper meaning than that of He is still closing up holes that "could not be closed because of Sam's age and placement without surgery." There was some surgery, just not by any human hands. We will have to go back when Sam is around 4 just to check again. That's ok.
The other reason I thought about that song that we've all sang a billion times is that He is still working on ME.  God continues to show His powerful, faithfulness, and love for His children.
I want to say a HUGE thank you to all you prayer warriors our there that have been praying for us over the past couple of years. I know that we have a many of years ahead of us and will have our share of scares and worries. I do know that God will hold our hand through those times too. 

Newton's Law of Motion

I can officially say that Sam has had his first "real" black eye. I snapped a couple of pics to show him later in life when we can laugh again at this funny little ordeal. It is already much better, but it is still noticeable.  The funniest thing to me is the way people look at you when you go into public with a child that looks as if I've beaten him (only in one eye of course).  Maybe it is just me, but I think not.  I forget that it is black and I will see peeps just staring at me and then looking at Sam with a "I wish I could help you" face. Really people?!? I mean, he is in the buggy sitting there giving me kisses and laughing, how could I beat such a precious little thing? SO anyway, this is how it went down...
  Last Sunday night Jeff, Mama, and I had nursery duty at church. So we were outside with the kiddos and the number of various ages of kids began to grow rapidly the closer it came to church time. I could already tell that my mom was a little nervous with the amount of kid/adult ratio happening on the playground. So Jeff was trying to keep Sam's daredevil, climbing-monkey friend off the top of the "big kids" equipment while Sam was roaming around inside the playground area. The next thing I knew was that Sam started his wind up of a cry ( the kind that just gets louder and louder ). As I saw my mom make sure the kid she was with was on the ground and then take off toward Sam, I knew it probably wasn't going to be a good outcome. Once she got to him and the crying didn't let up, I got a little nervous and then I say a big blood blister under his left eye. So Nonna rushes inside to attempt some ice/cold pack for swelling...not successful. By the time Jeff and I rounded the others up and made it inside, he was playing like nothing ever happened but there was clear evidence that said otherwise.  Well, Sam had officially been whipped by the swing! Yes, you read it correctly. He was pushing some swings that were above his head (I know this is so shocking since he is so tall), then he moved on down the swings pushing them until the reached the ones that were "eye-level".  He pushed the swing and it came right back to get him.
So while Jeff thought Sam looked tough coming off the playground with a black eye, Sam's mama was not as amused by the blackening since Sam's 2yr appt was the next morning @ 8 am.  So as we arrived at the dr's appt. the nurses and Dr. Williams asked what got a-hold of him. It was a little funny to hear Dr. Willaims' advice to Sam. He told Sam to always remember Newton's Law of Motion! :) 

So anyway, we are making it and the eye has a new rainbow of colors each morning.
I have so enjoyed having this little black-eyed stinker home with me this week while on Spring Break.
Daddy was off Monday with us and we went to the playground and worked in the yard. Nonna has been off the rest of the week and that has been fun as well. We went to Tallahassee to see CorCor and Debo on Tuesday, went shopping for some deals on Wednesday, played outside almost allll day on Thursday, and Friday everybody was home and we had a jam-packed day of work inside and out. Sam loves every minute of helping anyone with any type of manual labor. It is fun to watch his short, little legs carry him from one activity to another. These are such fun, fun days. Spring Break is over now and we are looking forward to SUMMER!!!

This is my sand/water table that CorCor and Debo gave me for my 2nd bday and I LOVE IT!!

 

Terrific Two!

Really, can it be true? My little Sam is 2 years old!!! Wow, has time passed like crazy. We have been having a lot of fun with this precious guy. I am very aware that it has been about 7 months since my last post but I will try to catch up on some things for my own sake. I like to go back and look at these posts every once in a while to remind myself of how much we have been blessed with this little stinker.

   Where shall I begin? October was a fun little month. We didn't do anything way out of the ordinary but we did make a little visit to the pumpkin patch and that was a lot of fun. Sam loved the all of the orange balls, I mean pumpkins. He thought he was in a world of unlimited balls made just for him to pick. He would run from one row to the next yelling "ball, ball" and then add a little laugh behind it like he just didn't even know what to do with himself. It was really funny. We didn't get to do much dressing up for Halloween. Sam was going to be a cowboy but he wasn't feeling to great that weekend. We did dress him up for costume day at the daycare but didn't get a good picture before he took a nose-dive into the concrete because he had a wardrobe malfunction. His cowboy boots didn't allow him to bend his ankles very good, so he kinda got off balance trying to play in the flower bed and to a crash. It scraped his nose pretty good and of course caused a big crying scene. This was our first "real fall" where he walked away with some blood and battle wounds. He made it through that just fine though.
    November, the month of fun Thanksgiving  activities. We had a pretty normal November and Thanksgiving. It sure beat his first Thanksgiving when he had fever and some type of rash!  In the month of November we found out that the Miracle Playground is a lot of fun and Sam thinks that he is real big when he's there. He wanted to play on the big boy side, of course.
   December was a busy month as always. Birthday parties, Christmas parties, and Christmas are all a lot of fun for everyone! I enjoyed having a couple of weeks off with Sam.  Christmas was a blast. Sam was always excited when he saw a Christmas tree or any type of fun decorations. He did pretty good with not destroying the Christmas tree. The fact that I scared him to death when I first put it up might have helped him keep his little fingers off the lights and balls ornaments. This is how it went down. I had just finished the long process of putting up the tree and all its wonderful decorations, when Sam walked up and started pointing at everything. I stood back for a minute and did my usual "no, no Sam, don't touch, just look". Well I knew that he was paying me absolutely no attention. So I stayed really quiet until he got almost to the light he was about to touch and then I yelled pretty loud. I didn't yell any words but I yelled. It scared Sam enough that he took off with his hands behind his back like he was saying, "I wasn't going to touch it". He went in circles mumbling some jibberish for a minute. It was very funny!! Anyway, he was broken from messing with the trees. Sam had a good time opening presents at Christmas. Santa brought him a John Deere riding tractor.  We had to rig it a little so that he could ride it because the lil' fellas legs are short like his mama. It works for now.
    January's highlight was the National Championship. Sam was all over the house saying "touchdown Auburn" and cheering when we cheered and saying "oh no" when he could tell that something bad happened. It was entertaining. He was in bed by the time Auburn had been named champs, so it was a challenege to keep quiet enough to not wake him, but we were successful.
   In February we took a trip to ATL for a long weekend. It was a blast. Sam, Daddy, Pawpaw, and Mama went to the aquarium and it was awesome. Sam said "what's dat" a billion times but we answered him every time even when we were not completely sure of what it might have been (this would've been rare since Sam's daddy is Jeff Corwin) . The next day Sam, Daddy, Pawpaw, and Dave went to the zoo. They said that Sam was ecstatic to see the animals playing and making noises. His favorite part must have been the gorillas. He came back to Honey's house saying "goriya" and beating his chest and laughing hysterically at himself. He played a little football with everyone in the front yard and helped Honey trim some blooms off of her flowers. It was an absolute wonderful weekend.
  Then came March. The month that Sam came into this world.(barely since his bday is the 31st, but anyway) We were busy with planning the party. This year we decided to do a joint party for Sam and his cousin, Elizabeth. We chose a farm/barnyard  theme. It was so much fun to plan and decorate for a fun theme like this. We had it at my house and we prepared fun little treats to go along with the theme and had an amazing cake. (shout out to Slice of Heaven Bakery)  Sam and Elizabeth were great and seemed to have a load of fun. We had a little hayride ( Sam might have thought that since he rides the tractor with Pawpaw alot, that's were he belonged instead of the actual trailor with hay bales) They each got gobs of presents that were too cute and fun. They had some matching shirts (thx Stitches and Britches) that were adorable.  We really enjoyed this little barnyard bash. Thanks to Nonna and Honey that helped to make everything so perfect and special for the kiddos. We couldn't have done it without your help.
   So now on to some of the things that Sam is loving and amazing us with these days. Now that he is 2, he is weighing around 27 lbs. Our 2yr appt isn't until Monday so I'm not sure about how short he is but I will try to come back and add that once I know. He is a pretty good eater. Some of his favorite foods are: mac & cheese, bananas, grapes, carrots, squash, cheese puffs, cereal, french toast, cinnimon toast, egg white and cheese sandwhich. His all time fav that he never turns down, drum roll please....Reeses. Yes so very healthy. He absolutely loves these things. We only get the minis and let him have a couple at a time but he would eat the entire bag I'm sure. He even knows where we hide them and we have to change that hiding place often. I usually don't get them but his Nonna always has some for a little prize when needed. :)
  He has a Duckie Potty. We aren't quite ready to use the potty yet. I have put him on there a couple of times but he really doesn't understand yet. We might try again this summer. Sam has a step stool at his sink and loves trying to brush his teeth. It's very funny because he just sucks all the toothpaste off and then says "more". I wish he was actually brushing those teefies.
  Sam is in his toddler bed now. Bedtime is between 7:30-8 and I usually have to wake him up around 6:15. Lateley he has been saying "no, no, nite, nite, nite, nite" when I have to get him up to get dressed. He is sleeping through the night for the most part. Every once in a while (when he has an ear infection mostly) he will wake up in the night but will usually go back to sleep without having to be rocked or taken out of his bed. He has enjoyed having more area for toys in his room now that he is in the toddler bed. When we set the new bed up we put new bathroom decorations up also. We used the monsters collection from Kohl's. It is super cute, not scary. Sam likes it too.
   As far as developmentally, I feel like Sam is really starting to catch up to his real age. He is talking a little more each day. He will try to sing his ABC's and loves puzzles. He loves reading/looking at books. Sam has finally started following simple directions. (take this to your room, give this to daddy, go find your shoes) That is very exciting knowing that he is beginning to make some connections. I know I probably worry too much but it is hard not to compare and continually try to push him.  He has started putting words together for short 2-3 phrases. He says around 50 words (not actually counting but estimating). I'm not sure how that lines up with his age but I think he's getting there. I am amazed at how it seems that he is saying a little more each day.
   I know that this is long and I don't blame anyone that doesn't read all of this but I needed to do some documentation for my own sake.  I am still reminded frequently of how blessed we are and what God brought us through with Sam. I went to a conference this past weekend and the speaker was talking about how our life interruptions are on the heels of divine interventions. God is bigger than our circumstances and we are often put in these situations to see God's power. I know that our life interruption was definately a divine intervention and we did see God's mighty power and that He was bigger than us and our circumstances. God held us in His hand as we walked through some very difficult situations. I know that He is worthy of all the credit we give Him and even more. I am in awe of His love for us and our little family. We continue to pray for God's will in our family and lives. We know that He has great things planned for His children. We will return to the pediatric cardiologist for the heart check up in May. We pray that the 3 holes that were found last year have closed or gotten smaller. If not, we know that God will still be in control and will carry us through what ever might be in store for Sam's future with these issues as well. God is faithful!

September 6, 2010

This picture was taken one year ago. Sam wasn't quite sitting up yet.

This is a picture a year later with the same football as last year.

I simply cannot believe how big our little Sam is getting. He is 17 months old and weighing in around 23 lbs. It has been a joy watching him grow and show his own unique personality. He is a funny little guy. He makes a lot of adorable faces and makes some noises that I can't  duplicate.  He is saying some words. Right now some of his favorite words are: gone-gone, Daaaady, Papaw, dog, Nonna, and Mama.  He says other things like ball, bye, hey, bite, no-no.  He is trying really hard to walk. He can take 5-6 steps without falling but he will not just take off and go. He still enjoys eating. He loves his egg and cheese sandwich he has most mornings for breakfast. Ice cream cones are at the top of the list. Of course the usual hot dogs, hamburgers, and french fries are always a hit. Here lately Sam figured out that he can just suck the ketchup off of the fries. That is always funny to watch.
I just love watching him grow a little everyday. It is easy to forget how far he has come when watching him busily playing in his own little world. But I am quick to remind my self of what a miracle and blessing he is.  Each day is a new day to give God praise for all He has done and still continues to do in our lives.

This is Sam now. He is really good at balancing forever so that he doesn't have to take a step.

May 29, 2010

These pics are from Mother's Day and Baby Dedication.

I can't believe how fast this little man of mine is growing up! Sam is all over the place now and gets there very quickly! He wants to be walking really bad. He will push his toys everywhere and walk taking really high steps. I don't think it will be very long before he is walking.

Sam is eating very well now. The little guy has 4 teeth on the top and 4 teeth on the bottom. Table food has made him pretty happy. His mama is very thankful that he is NOTHING like her when it comes to what he will eat (maybe more like her in the quantity). He will try just about anything you put in front of him. Okra and squash are some favs and last night at the Red Elephant he ate broccoli and loved it. YAY!! He likes green stuff! He's not too big on pieces of fruit, I think they are still a little funny in texture to him. He did eat some peach slices the other night and I was very entertained as they slid all over the place as he tried to tackle them with those sweet little hands.

Sam weighed close to 21 pounds at our last drs visit. We have had a little run at the drs office lately. Sam had viral bronchitis about 3 weeks ago and some type of eye infection going on a couple of weeks ago, so we are looking forward to being all better again soon hopefully. Right now we are being visited by Mr. Snot and Cough. They seem to be regular guests around Folkes Lane even though we have tried everything to ban them.

Sam loves water!! I'm sure you remember all of the bath videos and pics from even NICU days. He still loves a good bath, but now.....he has seen brighter days when it comes to water. Mammaw bought Sam and his cousin Elizabeth a small pool about a month ago. We pulled Sam's out last weekend. He wasn't so sure about it at first but warmed up quickly. Although I will say that he was more intrigued by the blades of grass he was trying to eat while playing in his pool. Yesterday afternoon his Aunt Cori sat him on the steps of the big pool and he splashed his little heart away! I do believe that the pool will be a hit with this little guy.

I am so happy to say that school is out for the summer and I am looking forward to playing with my sweet little boy. I'm sure there will be a lot of pics taken in the next couple of months. I will try my best to update a little more often. A couple of other things that have taken place since Sam's birthday post would be the Baby Dedication that we were thrilled in being able to participate in this year on Mother's Day and he had his 1 year pics done at the studio and oh how sweet he was during that process.

I am so thankful for this precious little guy!

Happy Birthday Sam!

Oh my goodness, I can't believe that my precious little boy is 1 year old! When I went to get him out of his bed this morning, I began to think about everything that was going on one year ago. Actually throughout the day I thought about how our lives were changing ever so quickly last March 31st. This could get long....I'm sorry.
I thought about how scary the ambulance ride was and not knowing what was going to happen with me not going back to work..because at that time I just thought they would put me on bedrest in the hospital for a while. Boy was I in shock when they rolled me into the E.R. at Baptist East and I met my consulting dr there and he said "we will probably have a baby in the next several days"! I can't explain all of the feelings and thoughts I had at that precise moment. Then that dr stopped and prayed with Jeff and me. I knew right then that I was where God intended me to be at that exact time in my life and pregnancy. As things became more serious with each passing day and I watched my family and friends try to keep themselves composed around me, I tried to stay strong and positive even though I was terrified of what the outcome could be but had an unmeasurable peace that God was still in control. March 30th the drs said that my 2oo something over 100 something ( I can't remember the exact numbers..I know my mama can tell you within secs) was getting very dangerous for Sam and me and that they wanted me to try to have the baby. The process began and around noon on the 31st they said a c-section needed to be done immediately. At 12:28pm my precious son was born into this world. I remember just praying that I could hear him make a sound, just one sound even though I had my doubts - but he did have a little cry when he came out. I saw him for about 5 secs before they rushed out with him.
I can't explain the happiness that came over me, just to know that I was a mom! The love I had for him just seeing him those short seconds was overwhelming. I waited for 3 days before I could see him again. You know you see all of these movies with these crazy people in the hospital who are really sick and they are mad about being there, so they rip all of the machines and ivs out and get up barely able to walk and push all the people down and escape the hospital. Deep down inside, I think I was secretly planning an escape route to the NICU. Since I was so drugged that I couldn't lift my legs and I had been laying in the bed for 5 days straight....I settled for some pics and videos of my sweet boy.
I could probably take you day by day through our 42 days in the NICU and minute by minute of our trip home, but I'll spare you the pain...just reread the older posts if you want to re-live those days with me. (: What I will tell you is the joy that it has been being the Mama of this wonderful little fella. He is so incredible sweet. He can be very serious at times but overall he is happy as can be and getting big! From 2 lbs 12 oz to 20 lbs! That's quite a bit of work! He is kinda crawling - maybe more of a scoot at this point. He tries to sing when music is playing (or his mama is trying to practice the Easter music in the car - he might be screaming at me to hush but we will call it trying to sing with me for now). We are trying some 3rd stage foods but the texture isn't the best thing to him right now. We are practicing on our sippy cup! Sam is wearing 12m, 12-18m clothes but his foot is still a little small and legs short...maybe a little like his mama on that part. Overall.....I think he has done just fine.
I cherish each moment of everyday that the Lord as given me with him. I love his laugh, smile, dipples, big blue eyes, the way he screams at things when he gets excited (mainly dogs), his tongue that he turns sideways, his little hands that he reaches with, and the way he jumps with excitement when I walk in to pick him up from daycare. I know that it sounds like this little boy has my heart wrapped....this is true. I can't wait to see what he will do next that amazes me.
Heavenly Father, thank you for such a precious gift that you have trusted us with. I know that Sam is yours and I am grateful that I was chosen to be his mom and see him grow from such a tiny little baby. I pray that Sam will grow up to love and seek You daily knowing that your hand has been on his life since the day he was conceived. I pray that he knows that you have a specific purpose for his life here on earth.
Thank you to all of you that have prayed, cried, encouraged, and rejoiced with us throughout this past year.

February 28, 2010

Waiting calmly for the ekg to be done.

The long awaited cardiologist appoint for Sam was this past Friday. As most of you recall, Sam was born with a heart murmur that we were told would correct on its own when he was a little bigger. Well, we are going to be 1 yr old March 31st! Can you believe it? One whole entire year. It seems like just yesterday I was fussing with the dr about my blood pressure and I was fine just let me go home and give me some meds...I didn't need to go to Montgomery. Anyway, Sam's heart murmur has been 'unchanged', which is why the pediatrician wanted to just "get a look at it". This past Monday we went for the "look". The drs come from B'ham so we have been waiting for months. Of course as always, I was very nervous about the whole thing. Sam was a champ. It was funny how comfortable he seemed in the hospital room with all the equipment. They did an EKG and an Echo cardiogram. The echo showed that Sam has 2 possibly 3 holes in his atrium wall. (the wall that separates the right and left side of his heart, I believe) The dr said it is called ASD, atrial septal defect. This kinda caught me off guard because so many people have heart murmurs, I just wasn't expecting it I guess. They said taht he doesn't need any special meds or any restrictions at this time. The dr will see him again when he is 2yrs old. Then before Sam starts school (4 or 5) we will go to B'ham and they will do a little procedure to fix the holes that will allow the tissue to grow and form the wall completely.

It was a big blow at first for this mama but God quickly started reminding me how far He has brought us and this to is in His hands. Sunday, before the appointment, I was cleaning out some stuff at home and found a chart that I made when we brought our 4lb baby home from Montgomery. As I reviewed the information like, how much Sam was drinking and using the bathroom, a huge smile came over me. I guess you just forget things that you go through when new phases begin. We were working to get 30 ccs in at a feeding when we came home. Boy and girls - that is only 1 oz. I found some of his first diapers that had his footprints on them and this first bottle with the date on it. Which was Apr. 21st. He was almost a month old before he had his first bottle! We have seen our little man come so far. He is so fun and loving. His smile just melts my heart. I know that the asd is a scary thing for me, but I have been continuously reminded the entire past week of how strong Sam is and the strength that our Lord has provided for Jeff and me over the past year. I know that He will continue to watch over us and carry us throughout Sam's life whatever it might bring our way. The dr said there was a very minimal chance that the holes would close on their own, but hey, Sam could be that minimal chance. Nothing is impossible. It certainly wouldn't be the first time God fixed a human heart. (; We are praying that He will allow those holes to close, but if He chooses not to, then we are still trusting in Him to guide the drs for the best treatment for Sam. We are so thankful and praise our Lord for everything He has done for us and the blessings that He pours out on us.

A Snow Day in Dothan

Wow, after doubting Conner Vernon and DCS for closing down for snowy weather, I can honestly say that I enjoyed being off work for a snow day. We had so much fun playing in the snow. We would be the 4 adults at the house today, not the 10 month old that just stared at it falling. Sam might not ever see snow in his front yard again like it was today. I took tons of pictures to tell him about it one day soon. Hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful blanket of snow like we did on Folkes Lane.

Christmas 2009

Celebrating Daddy's "30th" !

Wow!! What a year. I can't believe that Sam is 9 months old already. Which also means in 3 months he will be a year old! This has been quite a year. As I thought about everything that we have experienced in 2009 I am overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness of the Great and Mighty God we serve and worship. He has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams with the most precious little man that we fall more in love with each day. I never imagined that I could love something so much. He brings smiles and tears of happiness to my face so very often. I was thinking about our time in the NICU this past week. Some of the memories are so vividly etched in my mind but what I remember the most is the first time I saw Sam in his little bed (box). I remember his birth being such a special, yet scary time. Then he was here and I automatically felt so close to him even though I couldn't even touch my very own son. I had naturally weighed all of the outcomes of his birth and thought about how hard it would be if the Lord decided to take him to heaven. As hard as that would've been I knew that God would have still been in control and provided the peace needed for a situation like that. As I rethought all of those thoughts this Christmas, the birth of Christ was so much more special to me. I thought about Mary and how scared but obedient she and Joseph were. (having your child in a manger!!) I thought about God and how hard it must have been sending his only son to us sinners knowing the outcome was death on the cross. How thankful I am this Christmas season to have celebrated the greatest birth in the world and the grace that was shown for me and my sins when God sent Jesus to us. Having your own son seems to put so many more things into perspective for me. I am so very blessed to have Sam and family and friends that have prayed for us and been there for us to help us through a year like we've never experienced before. Merry Christmas 2009! We are looking forward to a fun-filled 2010!

November 15, 2009

This is me and my cousin Elizabeth.

Cutest little monkey ever!!!!!!!!!

I think my cousin Elizabeth is really fun and I smile at her a lot.

I'm getting big! I was 15 lbs 8 oz a couple of weeks ago. I like eating my food and playing in my monkey jumper and riding in my car outside. The dr said I have allergies and that is why I've had a snotty nose since the beginning of September. My favorite thing is chewing on anything I can get in my mouth because I have two teeth coming in. My mommy thinks they are really sweet until I bite her finger as hard as I can. Tomorrow I am moving up to the next class at daycare. I'm growing and learning fast. My family can't believe how sweet I am.

October 12, 2009

We had two doctors appointments this past week. We had our 6 month check-up with our pediatrician in Dothan. It went well. Sam is now eating cereal in his fruits in the morning and at night with veggies at lunch. :) He is getting big!! He weighed 14 lbs 6 oz and was 23" long. He did have to get some shots and he DID NOT like that a bit. We will not go back again until our 9 month appointment.

On Friday we went to Montgomery for the developmental appointment. After waiting for 3 hours to be seen, Sam was asleep and not real interested in "playing" with the toys they had to assess him with. The examiner explained to us that they expected him to be the developmental level of a 4 month old (this was determined by my due date). We were told that Sam tested on a 5 month old level! We were thrilled that they dismissed us and we do not have to return to Montgomery for anymore appointments at this time. Praise the Lord!!

Our next big appointment is in December when he goes to the pediatric opthamologist. We are continuing to be amazed at how wonderful and powerful our God is and we are still praying that the Lord will continue to protect Sam from sickness and allow him to develop properly.

Sam has rolled over and is very strong. He likes to stand up and try to sit up on his own. He will sit up for several seconds alone. He is smiling and laughing and talking a lot and we are loving every second of it!

September 20, 2009

Look at those eyes!!! I love them. We loved taking pics of Sam's eyes even when he

was in the NICU.

As I get on Ethan's blog several times a day to check his progress and look for specific prayer requests, I realized how connected you are to the situation through these blogs. I remember people emailing me wanting more pics of Sam and more information. So...I apologize for not updating near enough. I have videos and pics galore but haven't found a time to consistantly add new posts. I'm going to really try to be better about that. (for me too, I like to go back and see God's powerful hand throughout this journey)

Sam is almost 25 weeks and he is coming alive. He will laugh out loud and smile at you like crazy. (only when he wants to, he doesn't work well on demand, I hear this is normal for kids) He is eating oatmeal cereal twice a day (morning and night) and drinking about 4 oz of milk at a feeding. He is eating every 2-3 hours. He has had a bad stuffy nose over the past couple of weeks so he seems to really get tired during his bottle. He still takes little naps during his bottles. He is grabbing things and he automatically pulls them to his mouth. This was a big thing for us. The dr asked at this last visit if he was grabbing things yet and we had to say no, but it wasn't long until the began grabbing the toys on the carseat. He loves riding now. He talks to himself in the mirror every morning on the way to school. He has also realized how to stick out his tongue, but we're not sure that he knows how to control getting it back in this mouth as well. He will stick it out and even smile with it sticking out...it's quite funny. I thankfully report that he officially slept through the night!!!! A couple of nights ago we put him to bed around 9:30 and didn't get up unitl 5:30!!!!! Yay. We repeated this little routine for 3 nights and then last night.. not so much. We got up at 3 then at 6 then at 7:30. It's ok though, he sure was sweet everytime. His fussing for a bottle is more like talking instead of crying so I laugh at him a lot. I think he's yelling at me and since I can't really tell what he might be yelling at me, he won't get a spanking for it until they are words. =)

As I read Ethan's blog everyday I am reminded again about how far we have come. Seeing the pictures of tubes and reports of feedings and residuals floods my mind with memories from the 42 days in the NICU. Oh how great is our God!! I fail to give Him enough praise for all He has done for us. I know that each breath that Sam takes is a miracle and blessing from Him . With each new day Sam does things that I prayed he would be able to do. When you know the risk of being on a vent and sedated for a while without feedings, you pray for things some people might never think of with a newborn. Our God is faithful and gracious. He heard our very first cry to Him and He has overwhelmed us with His love for us. We know that Sam is a special little guy and I believe that He has great plans for him. Even though we still have many more developmental and eye appointments to go, we are overjoyed and thankful for the things that Sam can do. Please remember to lift Ethan and his family up in your prayers. They got to see Ethan's eyes last night and I remember how exciting that was. Those babies seem to talk to you through those eyes. :) Ethan has a blog you can follow to get his specific prayer needs and rejoice with them as the Lord continues to give them strength for each new challenge. (a link to his blog is on the right side of Sam's page)

Please Pray!!!

We got news last night that some of our dear friends (that had a baby yesterday around 1:45pm , 8 lbs 11 oz) were having their baby boy to B'ham for low oxygen levels. This morning I got a text saying that the baby is in critical condition. I've been told that he has fluid on his lungs. They have ruled out any heart problems. Please pray for Baby Ethan, Bonnie, and Kerry Williamson. I know what it feels like to know that there are people all over the world praying for your child and the power that there is in God's children crying out for healing, peace, and comfort no matter what the outcome may be. When I look at Sam even now I know that he is a living testimony of God's Power. Please lift the Williamson family up in your prayers.

September 7, 2009

His orange and blue monogramed outfit he wore Friday before game day.

The outfit his Honey (aunt Linda) gave him. It was the last day to wear his white pants. :)

Sam has been growing so fast. We are around 12 1/2 pounds now. He has really come alive. He stays awake for longer periods of time and will just laugh and smile so big at us. I'm sure we look funny to him when we get down in his face and talk that "baby talk" to him. He really likes his juice and cereal. This weekend he has had a stuffy nose and even though I know he isn't feeling well, he has been so precious. His daddy had the flu a couple of weeks ago and we spent the week at Nonna's house. God protected him from catching that and I'm very thankful. I have been looking forward to my first "school holiday" so I can stay home with him. It was nice to get up this morning and not have to rush to daycare. He played and laughed and we sucked snot out of his nose. This was a big weekend for him. It was his first official "college football" weekend. He hung out in his Auburn attire wishing he could have some boiled peanuts. I assured him it wouldn't be long. :) We have some appointments coming up. October 9th we will be traveling to Montgomery to go to his developmental appointment. They say it will take about 2 hours and they will assess him from head to toe. I'm not sure what all will happen but I imagine that they will compare the things he does to what would be expected of a child his corrected age. We'll see what happens. I pray that everything is right on track. I'll try to keep you updated!

August 3, 2009

Ok, so it's been a while since the last update and I can't wait for you to see how much our little guy has grown. We went to Destin for a week and Sam loved his first vacation with his Nonna, Pawpaw, Aunt Cori, Uncle Debo, and Mommy and Daddy. We took him to the beach one day and he stayed asleep the whole time. It was really overcast and a good breeze was blowing off of the ocean - so I'm sure it was the beginning of a love for the beach. It was my last full week with him before I start back to work. :(







On the way home from the beach I sat in the back with Sam and just stared at his sweet little face and thought of how far we've come. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways. It brings tears to my eyes to think about all of the things we have to be thankful for. A baby born 2 months early and weighing 2 lbs 12 oz now weighs over 10 lbs and has started smiling and even laughing a little bit. It seems so unfair to see parents struggling through the death of their child or an incurable sickness, but reminds me that I have a miracle living in my house. I've been with Sam 18 weeks and enjoyed every second of the fears and laughs that came along with each day. From the 42 days in the NICU to the 2 1/2 months we've been at home, Sam has filled my heart with joy and a love that I've never imagined possible. Last night was a long night as I thought about the chore ahead of me-DAYCARE. I prayed for strength and a peace that only God could give as I knew that I had to take him today to meet his teachers and begin a new chapter in our lives. Sam of course just looked around with those beautiful eyes of his, while his mama was fighting to hold it together. I've always known that my children would be in daycare but I never thought about the emotions that come along with having to leave them that first time. I made it through it! School starts Wednesday. Sam and I are going to enjoy the day together tomorrow. I love him soooo much. Thank you Lord for your creation and for allowing us to be Sam's parents.

July 20, 2009

Getting ready for bed.

Look how much I've grown!!

Sam is really growing. He is about 9 1/2 lbs. We have enjoyed watching him grow a little each day. His eye contact has improven and he is smiling at us every once and a while. He is sleeping about 31/2-4 hours between feedings at night but sometimes it seems like he eats every hour during the day. :) I've been loving the time I can spend with him all day long because it is nearing an end. I begin school the first week of August. Sam will be going to daycare. I'm really nervous about it but I know that he will be fine ( I'm going to be the one that's having a hard time). So be thinking and praying for us August 5th. (my first day of school) We go to the dr again Aug. 12th for more shots!

July 5, 2009

Talking to my Nonna

Happy 4th of July!

We had a good visit at the dr. this past Thursday. Sam had gained 42 ounces in one month and weighed 7 lbs 15.5 oz. So I'm sure he has easily broken the 8 lbs mark by now. The dr. said he was doing good. Sam got his newborn shots at this appointment. He was not very happy about those 3 three shots. He is still eating about every 3 hours sometimes 4 (usually at night if it happens). He drinks anywhere from 3 - 4 oz at each feeding. Last night was good because he only got up once in the night to eat. I really like that schedule! I hope he will try it again tonight. =)

June 25, 2009

Father's Day

My wild eyes =)

We are overwhelmed once again at the wonderful love and the mighty healing hand of our Savior. We just let the eye doctor and were told that Sam's blood vessels from the optic nerve had grown correctly to the retina and crossed the plain properly!! No more blood vessel check ups. Dr. Thompson really took his time and explained R.O.P. to us once again. Sam had ROP because of his prematurity. When he was delivered at 31 weeks, his development that was taking place in my womb came to a hault. In this hault, Sam's eyes stopped where they were. Usually the vessels properly grow and attach to the retina around 38-40 weeks. With Sam it has taken much longer but they are there now! God has continued to shower us with His blessings each day. It is so exciting to see Sam grow a little more each day. I can't believe that it has been 12 weeks since he so quickly came into our world and he is 4 weeks old from his due date. He is around 7lbs 8oz now. We've been able to take him more places which has been a little easier for me during the day. It was so exciting to be in church with him on Father's Day. Jeff and I never could have imagined the joy that having a child brings you. I continue to thank God for the simple things that we experience with Sam each day. I may be sleep deprived but that's much better than visiting the NICU all day, everyday. I'm thankful for things that some first time parents might not think about like being able to get him up out of his bed when he's crying or giving him a bath or even changing his clothes whenever I want. ( Sam might not be so thankful about the clothes changing) At 3am when he is wide-awake and sometimes crying and I'm trying to figure out what to try next, sometimes I sing to him, usually Jesus Loves Me and he calms right down. Singing that song to him sometimes brings tears to my eyes. Especially when Sam looks up at me with those beautiful blue eyes and looks so happy. When I sing the words -little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong - it melts my heart because I know just how true those words are in Sam's life. When Sam (and Sam's family) was the weakest, our Lord provided strength and healing in his little body. At the eye doctor today, the nurse and dr continued saying how strong Sam was (as all 3 of us were trying to hold him down for the eye exam). I'm amazed at the strength of this little guy. He holds his head up and turns it without any problem. The other day when he was on his tummy he began grunting, I'm thinking this grunting was in relation to messing up a diaper, he began pushing up with one of his hands and his legs and if he could've moved the other arm out from under him, he would have rolled over. :) I know that we still have a long journey with Sam full of excitement, worry, and even fear at some times. I also know that our God is still holding Sam in His hand and protecting him which provides me with a peace about all of the things we might face in the years to come. Thank you for all of your prayers during the past 3 months. We wouldn't have been nearly as strong without the persistent encouragement and support from our family, church family, and friends. Please continue to check Sam's blog for updates and prayer requests. I'm trying to get better about posting updates. I want everyone to know how God continues to work in his little life and our family. Also, continue to pray for Sam to develop properly. We have another pediatric drs. appt July 1st and an eye appt with the opthamologist in 3 months. I'll let you know how it goes. We love you guys!

Sam's newborn pics are online for viewing. go to http://www.studioenvogue.com/main.html
click on proofing - the password is 033109 they are only up until July 4th Check them out, enjoy!

June 23, 2009

I love sleeping when my aunt Cori is holding me.

Naptime on Nonna's Couch!!

Sam is still growing. We weighed him the other night at home and he weighed 7 pounds! He is getting big fast. He likes to keep us on our toes by changing things all the time. He likes to drink different amounts each time and only sleep during the day (bc he's on his tummy). Even though he keeps us wondering what's next, we are very proud of him. We go to the eye dr. Thursday. We are just praying that we will get good news. :)