Baby Brother is One!

 12 Incredible Months, 2014!

 Credits: Template is by The Coffee Shoppe Blog, I used the Delilah Kit by Shabby Princess and grumble for the font.
Twelve Facts about Baby Brother
1.  He gives us the best hugs and makes us smile every day!

2.  He has four sharp teeth, two adorable ears, a big head full of mischief, and a wicked chest to navel scar to show off later in life.

3.  He had three surgeries this past year three hernia repairs at three months old, a diaphragmatic hernia repair at six months old, and a g-tube placement at ten months old. We are so blessed that he was very brave and strong!

4.  He loves story time, taking a bath, music, being outdoors, clapping, and stroller rides.

5.  He can be very stubborn during physical therapy, but we cannot blame him!

6.  He can pull himself up to stand, but no signs of crawling or walking yet.

7.  His favorite toy is the $2.99 stacking cups from Ikea.

8.  He loves to rub his face on soft cuddly stuffed animals and blankets.

9.  He loves to bite his sister's knees and shoulders, ouch!

10.  He loves his puppy Jagger and shares his food with him.

11.  He is very curious, detailed oriented, and smart.

12.He is finally babbling and I cried when he said "mama" for the first time!

Happy Birthday, Brother!

We celebrated little brother's 1st birthday on May 22, 2014 at home with our little family since he doesn't like to be around big crowds. I was too lazy to bake a cake or cupcakes since most of our household was sick this past week. Unfortunately, I caught the nasty cold going around on his special day!  As you can see, he made a big mess with the blue frosting and didn't eat much! He got more a kick out of eating Cheerios with blue frosting! We bought him a few toys to help with gross motor skills (his first car to scoot on and an activity table to help him stand up). We also got him some First Builders Mega Blocks, bubbles, rubber duckies for bath time, books, and Mr. Potato Head. He was very happy and loved his new toys! What an incredible blessing to have him in our lives today! We love him so much!
Bath Time is the Best with Silly Daddy!

Milestones: On May 23, 2014, He went to his 12 month old check up. Little bro weighs 18.1 pounds (6%), 29 inches long (18%), and 18.9 (93%) inches for head circumference! Wow, he had a big head for sure and is very smart!  The doctors are not concerned with his large head because it has been measuring big all along. I'm happy that our boy is definitely growing and we are finally doing something right to get him on the weight gain path! Woohooo, Go baby brother! Keep up the great work! The doctor and I would like him to see him at 15%-20% on the weight chart at his 18 month old check up. As for gross motor skills, he loves pulling to stand, can get in and out of sitting position very well, and is very close to crawling. I bet he will be crawling any day now and then we will work on walking skills! He is making such an improvement since receiving the g-tube!  I bet the extra nightly feedings via g-tube are making a huge difference since he being properly nourished by Boost Essentials!  

Counting Down Until Lazy Summer Days!

Just a few more weeks left of school. The girls are looking forward to staying up and sleeping in late. We are hoping to keep them busy with swimming lessons and guitar lessons during the Summer.  Certainty they will hangout with their friends a lot.  Big sis and I want to start jogging together a couple times a week in the early hours before it gets hot. As a family, we would love to explore new fun outdoor places and take many trips to the parks.
Mechanical Baby Simulator Teen Living Assignment

Over a weekend for a teen living class, big sister brought home a mechanical baby doll. As you can see in the left bottom photo, she wasn't thrilled since she was rolling her eyes... She was graded on how well she handled her baby (burping, changing, feeding, rocking, head support, etc). No surprise she didn't get much sleep and was terrified to go in public with him because he was very fussy.  Not only did she put up with him crying a lot during the night, she also was woken up by her real baby brother too. After completing her assignment, she admitted to me that she prefers her real baby brother over the doll any day because the doll was very difficult (like the newborn stage, lol)!  I'm glad she got a reality check on what it's like to have a baby and hopefully she learned that parenthood is not easy at all!
End of the Year Concert 

Big Sister had her last choir concert on May 14, 2014, which was held at the high school on the football field.  While preforming on stage at the junior high on Tuesday May 13, 2014, Big sister fell down while doing an interactive dance and choir number on stage. She was very embarrassed and luckily didn't get hurt.
Playing at the neighborhood Park and Miller Park

We have been enjoying the warmer weather and taking trips to the parks! Baby brother loves being outdoors!  We love taking walks, playing sports (tossing a football and basketball), and checking out new parks. We live by two parks that are minutes away from our house. We look forward to finding other neat parks near the area that we haven't been before.
Miller Park (American Fork)

Yikes, He is Eleven Months Old

Milestones:  Life has not been easy adjusting to little brother's medical problems this past year, but I'm grateful we got through it. At this point, I am hopeful that he will be stable. He still has some catching up to do developmentally!  After his surgery, he finally started babbling more since he couldn't move around much.  He loves to clap and say "bababababa", "mmmmm", and "ma ma"! I was nearly in tears when I first heard him say "ma ma"! As for feeding, he can finally drink well through a straw and cup. I recently started him on some chopped bananas, mandarin oranges,  peas, and baby cookies since he is very sensitive to different textures.  He still eats a lot of stage 2 foods. He is very reluctant to try new foods and and hopefully get used to new textures without gagging and throwing up.  A few weeks ago, his GI doctor increased his calories and volume by adding Boost Essentials in his diet because he wasn't gaining enough weight. He didn't tolerate the new diet plan very well due to throwing up and feeling full all the time. We are still figuring out a great solution that will help him gain weight with no adverse effects. In the meantime, we may need to accept the fact that he will gain weight slowly instead of making him uncomfortable with excessive tube feedings and a lot of Boost Essentials. I think a gradual increase would make a difference. Thankfully he has so many people supporting him (dietitian, pediatrician, and OT feeding therapist).  As for gross motor skills, he can properly get in and out of sitting position and is starting to pull himself up to stand. He still isn't crawling or walking yet. In due time once he figures out how to crawl or walk, he will be very actively moving around thanks to his physical therapist and his childhood developmental specialist from Kids on the Move helping him achieve developmental goals! He is definitely as his shirt says my "First Place Champ"! I admire his strength!