The wonderful Holiday season

Today is December 28th. Today we took down our Christmas decorations and I feel like I am staring at an empty house. What an amazing few months it has been. November and December were both great. Not only because it was Cole's first Thanksgiving and Christmas, but because we got to spend both holidays with the people we love most, our family and friends. My mom actually came here for Thanksgiving and we had our first Thanksgiving holiday in our own house! We were joined by Bryan's parents, and my stepbrother Michael and stepdad Bob! With loads of fried turkey, dressing, sweet potato casserole and green bean casserole, it was a wonderful day! Two days after the turkey decor was put away, the tree was up, and the stockings hung! I love decorating for Christmas. We went to Baton Rouge to do our traditional Christmas eve night with my mom's side of the family. We did Christmas day morning with my dad and his new girlfriend Dawn, and Christmas night with Bryan's family. By the end of the night, we were EXHAUSTED. Santa was so good to the boys. Paker got a new Yamaha 4-wheeler, his favorite gift of all! Cole got a cell phone, new johnny jumper, and so many new toys I think he was overstimulated! Here are a few pics from the holidays!

More to come!!!

Wow, it's been almost three months since my last post...

I can't believe that I let this many weeks pass with no updating...shame on me...Cole just turned 5 months old and Parker had a 2nd birthday party! We also had Allie's (parkers girlfriend) birthday party, Cole's christening, a mommy and daddy beach trip and some really sad news about Bryans mom. We are praying for her everyday that she will beat her cancer for the second time and be with us for many years to come. Parker has gotten so big! He now feels like he can walk all the way next door to his mawmaw and pawpaws house by himself, up the stairs, and knock on the door all without me! His speech therapy is in full force now; he's had aout 5 sessions now and his progress is amazing! His favorite words are Elmo, daddy, pawpaw, Juice, outside, baby, Cole, candy, apple, and mom. He is now 2, and at his 2 year old check up,he was measuring in the 95th percentile for his weight, and the 80th for his height. He's a big boy! His party was great too. We had it next door since our new carport/patio wasn't quite finished. Parker also loves being outside. We try to take walks to the end of our street pretty often so he can see the horses. He's doing his animal sounds so well! Parker is in an Elmo phase. He falls asleep to Elmo in Grouchland every night. He is going to be Elmo for Halloween.

Cole turned 5 months old on the 17th! He has started laughing all the time, interacting with Parker, letting Parker poke him as he says "eyes, nose, teeth, etc..." He is also getting so big. At his 4 month checkup, he only weighed 13 pounds but he is gaining weight as we speak. He was in he 5th percentile for his height but he seems to be growing longer too. We are watching his growth chart, but so far everything seems A ok! We have started eating cereal out of a bowl and I can see him packing on the pounds. Cole also loves being outside, and loves to go on walks with mommy. He is going to bea spider for Halloween.

Mommy and daddy are doing good too. I had a little surgery on a lymph node in my neck that was swollen to the size of a large marble. After 10 doctor visits, including a trip to the infectious disease doctor, they determined I have a pretty big case of Cytomegalovirus, a sister disease to mononucleosis. I am still feelng the chestpain,but everything else has pretty much eased up. I had been so stressed out about being sick for so long, that we took a trip to Perdido Key, with no kids (my mom kept them in Baton Rouge) courtesy of Melanie and her gorgeous condo...that was MUCH needed and we had a wonderful time! It was mostly relaxing, although we did our fair share of having a good time too. We went to the Flora Bama one night, to Orange beach another day to watch the boat races in the ocean and to float the lazy river, and we ate lunch on the bay at this great place with the best grouper rueben on the planet! Mel's condo was amazing, and Bryan and I had out own balcony right in front of the ocean. We watched the sunrise and set every night! We finally finished most of the new addition to our house, the carport/storage room (or playroom) and the new patio. We still have a little more painting to do, the doors, columns, and to put floors in the playroom, and build a deck where our patio stones used to be, but it's looking great. What a great time to have this outdoor living space just as fall arrives. Finally, Bryan's moms breast cancer came back 2 months ago after 8 years in remission. October is breast cancer awareness month so be sure to get your mammogram if you are 40 or over, or do a breast self exam at any age to check for lumps. Awareness is the best prevention. She has completed 2 months of radiation, tomotherapy, and now we are waiting 6 weeks before the pet scan to see if the radiation worked. We all love mawmaw so much for all she has done for us and hope and pray she will be healed.

Our July!

Why is July going by so quickly??? Only 2 more weeks left off of my 12 week maternity leave. That's really hard to believe...which means that my newest addition, baby Cole is 10 weeks old this week...it has truly been such an incredible few weeks! At his 2 month old check up, he was only measuring in the 8th percentile, so although we truly believe he will be just fine, the doctors are still watching the little man! I am just overly cautious and I know they are too! A few things happening in July...well first we decided to add onto the house, so we have a gigantic mudpit in our backyard! We are building a beautiful carpport/storage room and covered patio and its so exciting. Problem is, it rains nearly everyday so they haven't been able to pour the concrete, which means hugh moshpit of mud right out the back door...but I know it will all be worth it in the end. Parker man is taking after his daddy more and more each day and fights me tooth and nail to be outside...he wants to be doing something outside whether its playing in the mud in his John Deere, mowing like daddy with his plastic push mower or whatever he can find. I guess he also managed to find the fireants...he had to get a shot, antibiotic and some 40$ cream to cure these bites, don't they look horrible, poor little man...I also turned 28 on the 16th and after a few tries of getting everyone together, we finally managed to make it to Painting with a Twist! This was my first time to do it and it was such a blast, I think we are all planning/hoping to go back soon! I guess that's it for now! Don't forget to buy your ticket to the Baron's Ball for the American Cancer Society on August 21st at Fox Creek Farms! check it out at baronsballshreveport.org!

Almost 2 months old!

Wow, it's hard to believe that Cole man will be 8 weeks old on Monday! It's been quite an adventure. I don't get much sleep at night so I try to sleep during the day...I decided to take 12 weeks off from work so now I won't be going back until mid-August. Since our last post, we have had such a great time-we went to Baton Rouge to show baby Cole off to my family, then left the kids with my mom and went to New Orleans to have a mommy and daddy night in the French Quarter. We got to stay at the beautiful Hotel Monteleone and we had a blast! We ate lunch at Cafe Maspero, dinner at Deanie's, and went to at least every bar on Bourbon Street starting at 9am Saturday morning. We saw somethings I won't share here, and drank a little more than we probably should have but it was just what the doctor ordered! Here are a few pics of us from NOLA!

We also had some family pictures taken a few weeks ago by Nicole Spikes to document baby Cole's first few weeks of life! If you want to see a preview, they are available on her blog at nicolespikesphotography.com....she did an incredible job with a cranky baby...they turned our so good and I just placed my order today so I am eagerly anticipating their arrival!

We finally got Cole's stomach issues in check...after formula change number 3 from Similac, to Soy to Enfamil Gentlease, which Parker was also on, its like we have a new baby. He still gets uncomfortable everynow and then but for 6 weeks, he would go for an entire week without pooping! Can you imagine the pain in that! I sure can't :)

And last but not least, the fourth of July! We didn't do much over the weekend last weekend but we did go next door to the in laws and BBQ and pop fireworks! Here are a few pics from that!

1 MONTH OLD on Monday...and the infamous ROMPER

Meredith's birthday

Emilys birthday

The latest shot of Cole!

Baby Cole will be one month old on Monday! I can't believe that an entire month has already passed with our little man. Things are going really well. Cole sleeps most of the day and he wants to eat every 4 hours, so we actually DO sleep! I quit breastfeeding and its been almost 2 weeks on formula. I am still trying to decide if this formula is too tough on his stomach. Aside from analyzing every sound he makes and the color of his poop, things are pretty normal around here! I did manage to spend over 170$ today at Wal Mart on groceries, and a few cute outfits...yes there are so really cute clothes there right now! You should check it out!

Life with my 3 guys is just FANTASTIC! Couldn't get any better...The past few weeks of my maternity leave have been full of laying out at the pool, shopping since I can finally fit in cute clothes again, and going out to dinner for all of my friends summer birthdays! A few pictures to follow! I decided today that instead of 8 weeks of maternity leave, I am going to take full advantage and take all TWELVE weeks! 12 weeks home with my little man!!!

I did want to mention one more thing in closing-I was totally opposed to the ROMPER,-the one peice wonder (coined by Meredith Davis)-I just couldn't see how these could ever be cute, flattering, or something I would ever wear but I would like to say on the record, that I LOVE them! I have purchased 3 rompers to date and they are just great! The only downfall that I have found is that when you have to go to the bathroom, you have to get practically naked just to tinkle because you have to start at the top and work your way down!!! So that's my take on the adult ROMPER!

Until nexttime...

Cole Edward Dean

CAN YOU BELIEVE ITS TAKEN ME TWO WEEKS TO MAKE A POST?

I am so excited to finally have the time to share our newest addition to our family, Cole Edward Dean. He was born May 17th, 1:03pm weighing in at 6 pounds 12 ounces and 19.5 inches long. After the most emotionally exhausting last 3 months of our lives, we are so thankful for the miracle of Cole. He seems to have no signs of skeletal dysplasia or chromosomal disorders like predicted at 7 months pregnant. Our pediatrician doesn't even think there is any reason to do a skeletal survey as planned to make a diagnosis, he's just PERFECT! I stayed in the hospital for 4 days because I had so much pain from the c section, but we got to go home on thursday the 20th! It's now been two weeks at home with Cole and things are beautiful, interesting, crazy, hectic, and wonderfully great. He sleeps for 4-5 hours at night so I wake up to breastfeed every 4 hours or so. It's not so bad, I think I am finally getting used to it. Parker-now that's another story. I don't know if this is normal, but I am sure it is. He is MEGA JEALOUS!!! More so of daddy holding baby Cole than me. He will throw the remote at him, swat at him, pull his hair, etc. but there are also sweet moments like today when he woke up from his nap and the first thing he did was give baby Cole a kiss on his forehead. We are just adjusting day by day. We even had Hayden this weekend, so I think Bryan was a little overwhelmed with all 3 of his boys in the same house!

On Saturday, the sister in law and brother and law and their kids came over and we swam, fried fish, and had a great memorial day celebration...Cole slept in his bouncer in the window while mommy and daddy played in the pool with our new water baby Parker! Yes, he lovesssss the water, and is a lot more brave than I anticipated! So here are a few pics of the newest miracle to our family. I just want to say thank you to all of the supportive friends I have met through the Parents of Little People support group and I want all of you to know that you made these last few months so much more manageable than if I would have had to go through this alone. I will forever be changed for the better by all of your kind words and encouragement and never will I forget what we have gone through. Cole is a miracle to our family and each time I look at him I remember the rollercoaster of emotions we experienced and the joy I feel to have him here with us happy and healthy!

God is Good!

Allie, Parker, me (huge me) and Caroline! Enjoying the swing at Bryan's 30th bday this weekend!

We are just returning from the last appointment with the perinatologist! Still no results. They said for sure by the end of this week but we do have some great news to share! Baby Cole's femurs which have measured as low as the 4th percentile have now grown into the 13-15th percentile! This is such an incredible miracle! I started crying my eyes out and could not believe what I was hearing...he said "I told you I love to be wrong!" He also said, "just try your best to block out the last 6 weeks and focus on the impending birth next week!" I am just still in shock even as I type this! God is so good. We are so fortunate that if this is all true, we will have a happy healthy baby boy. I don't want to get overly excited just yet, but I feel so much joy and hope right now to that I want to focus on those positive feelings and enjoy these last 6 days of my pregnancy. I can't say thank you enough for all of the love and support everyone has offered me in these last 6 weeks and I truly do believe that this growth spurt has been a result of the power of prayers. I will post again soon!

This is the final product! The
flowers haven't bloomed yet,
but it's anyday now!

Way to go Bryan! It looks
soooooo good!

This was the before...

Window in front of our room...

Another before pic...

FLOWERBEDS & MORE WAITING...

Well, STILL NO AMNIO RESULTS! As of Monday, we were told that it took a full three weeks for my cells to grow here at LSU Medical Center, then finally last week they were sent off to an out of state genetic testing facility. So we wait, could be another 9 days.

Parker went to the dr today and wsa measured and ranks in the 95th percentile against other kids his age. His height was in the 70th, his weight in the 100th and his head in the 95th percentile! He's such a perfect combination of my and Bryan, but definitely gets his height from my dad and brothers! He got his 18 month shots today too-even though he is 20 months old...a little late...way to go mom!

Bryan will be turning the big 3-0 this weekend! I have really tried to keep the crawfish boil a surprise but he's so durn nosy! Says he overheard me and his friend Steve talking about what time he needed to come over to start cooking them.

Anyways, in the meantime, I have been begging Bryan for flowerbeds in front of our house. He started Monday of this week by digging out the grass, then tilling, and framing the beds. Yesterday he started to plant, and after a night without water as a result of hitting a pipe, and having plumbers out today to fix everything, we are finally done with the beds! The pictures don't do them justice-they are so beautiful! I am so proud of him for doing all of this in ONE WEEK! Happy Mother's Day to me! More to come soon!

My Sundays...a little different here lately...

Me, Courtney Webb, and Lauren Webb


I don't know what Randal was doing but here we all are!

My awesome husband-the cutest guy ever!

My precious baby boy Cole Edward Dean! Already screaming at Mommy!

My Sundays are full of church, family, outdoors, and a stomach full of nerves...

I know it's been way to long. I just have been living such a strange life over these past 3 weeks. We were given the "it will take 2-3 weeks for your results to come back" 3 weeks ago and so each day is more than a ball of nerves. I wish I had someone I could talk to that lived right here in Shreveport that know what it was like to be carring a child inside of you that you know was somthing wrong with him, but not what it will be. To not know what the rest of your life will be like. Here's what my days look like...wake up and get Parker up, fed, and ready for school. I take him to school and head to work and each and every time my cell phone rings, I get a sick pit in the bottom of my stomach just knowing its going to be my perinatologist. Here's what he said, "if it's me calling, its' not good news, but if its a nurse, it's probably ok..." OK so I don't know how I feel about that...

But anyways, that's what I have been doing for 3 weeks-waiting. Waiting to hear if they will be able to tell from my amniocentisis whether my son has Achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism, or TD, thanataphoric dysplasia, a lethal form of dwarfism where most babies don't make it past the first few minutes, hours or days of life. I was told our form did not look lethal, so I am clinging to that-and clinging to what I feel-plenty of healthy little kicks, pokes, etc.

So those are the 2 things they tested for and if it's neither, well there are another 250+ things that it could be, from another skeletal dysplasia, to a chromosomal syndrome which could be ANYTHING! So last Monday, I was told I may just have to deliver and wait and see. Do these doctors have any idea how difficult it is to tell someone that?

Well in the meantime, Relay For Life of Shreveport and Bossier have both come and gone. Caddo Parish is still about $30,000 short of making their goal of $120,000 but Bossier Parish surpassed their goal with flying colors and raised over $80,000 for the American Cancer Society. I am so lucky that I love my job. It's also been such a blessing in these past few weeks. I get to see the difference my events are tryuly making in the lives of local cancer patients and their families and it constantly reminds me that no matter what is wrong with Cole, that I am bringing life into this world as so many others are losing it.

Now it's time to start preparing for my husbands 30th birthday surprise party next weekend! We will be having a big outdoor crawfish boil at our house. I have to start thinking about what I am making, getting a cake made, tables/chairs/etc! (I think he already knows :() I will post again tomorrow night after I hope we hear SOMETHING! Here are our latest US pics as well as some fun pics of us and the Webb's at the ranch party down the street! Keep us and baby Cole in your prayers tonight as wel await these long overdue results.

Well, it's not Downs Syndrome

The doctor's office called today at 2:56pm. I was hesitant to even pick up my cell phone when I saw the number. Melanie, Dr. Briery's nurse said just this "I got your results back for the Trisomy 13, 18 and 21 and its none of the above." My first instinct, sigh of relief. The skeletal dysplasia tests are now being sent off to the genetics lab and those take another 2-3 weeks. I now feel as if I can truly begin to prepare for Dwarfism, or skeletal dysplasia's. I am comforted to know that Cole's cognitive abilities should be normal, pending that the dwarfism tests are the good kinds, such as achondroplaisia, etc like the people we see on Little People Big World, etc. who have only physical impairments, not mental ones.

Good is good and I feel as if I have 2 weeks or so now to breathe again. Thank you for the kind words of encouragement and support.

Todays amnio...

Well today at 2 we had our amniosentisis. My mom and dad both came with us to meet our specialist and ask all of their many questions. The amnio was soooo painful, as they extracted three large viles of amniotic fluid. We did get to see baby Cole's face on the 4d and he looked beautiful to me. The doctor did not tell us much more than we knew last week, only that we would have the Downs Syndrome test results back in 2 days and if it was negative for Downs Syndrome, that we would have the dwarfism test results back in 2-3 weeks. So, what to do for 48 hours while we wait-I can't do anything but lay on the couch...

We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs tonight with my mom and Bob and Bryan's parents-so that was nice to try and take my mind off of everything. Mom will be leaving tomorrow night once Bryan's home from work and I will finally return to work Wednesday after almost a week and a half at home. Just as soon as we know something, I will make a post. A few precious blog sites of people we have met through the Parents of Little People group...

tayandtracersbigday.blogspot.com
greeneadventures.blogspot.com

Trying to live day to day...

With everything that has been on our minds, its sort of difficult to maintain a normal everyday lfe right now but we are doing our best to live day to day...we had a really great Easter and I wanted to share some of the pics...Parker and Hayden were so cute in their Easter clothes. Parker got a new Elmo bedtime movie, and Hayden got two new Nintendo DS games, Madagascar and SpongeBob Squarepants. They both got some cute new Polo's from mawmaw too! More to come soon!

Baby Cole

What a week it has been. As most of our dear friends and family know, we received some majorly devastating news last Monday at the perinatologist. Our baby Cole's femur and humerus bones were measuring in the 4th percentile. This worried our regular obstetrician, who sent us to Dr. Christian Briery, our perinatolist. We also found out that aside from his long bones measuring so short, his right femur (thigh bone) was curved, and my amniotic fluid level was higher than normal. All 3 of these things put together meant only one thing to him-our baby had some form of skeletal dysplasia. What, you ask, is skeletal dysplasia? I have been on the internet for a solid week researching it, which is the one thing that he (the doc) told me not to do but i'm a mother-you can't tell me something is going to be really wrong with my son but nothing else. There are over 200 forms of skeletal dysplasia's-the most common forms of dwarfism are achondroplasia and diastrophic dysplasia-which accounts for 80% of the cases of dwarfism. Also a quick did you know-85% of dwarfs are born to average height parents. So, we were sucker punched after 7 months of being pregnant, thinking I was carrying around a "normal" healthy child, and now this. It has been a hell of a week. We visited with our preacher Dr. Day which really helped alot. He explaind that all of the emotions I was feeling are completely normal, and he would be more worried about me, us, if we weren't experiencing the anger, uncertainty, etc. He also focused on the miracle of our child, and how we had each other, Parker, our friends, families, each other, and most of all, a baby which is so much more than so many people. The most poignant thing he said to me was that it was up to us to make the choice. We could chose to take this news and make the best of our situation and the rest of our lives, or we could chose to let it ruin us...well of course you know what we are going to do. So with Cole's due date only 6 weeks away, we are left not knowing ANYTHING other than the fact that our child has a severe disability. We go in tomorrow for an amniosentisis. This is a procedure to withdraw cells from the fetus (Cole) and send them off to test for Downs Syndrome-which they have not ruled out-and to test for certain types of dwarfism. Our hopes and dreams are that Cole will be a healthy baby boy, just a little person. But until his is born, we won't know if he will have so many of the common problems associated with dwarfism-brittle bones, etc.

This has been the hardest week of my life, and I couldn't have done it with out my husband, my son, my family, my church, my co-workers, my friends, and my new found support group and the friends I have already made there. I joined a support group called Parent's of Little People and have already me 3 girls in Louisiana with little people-they have done nothing but show me the joys of their children, the blessings that have come from a life shared with these children, and the strength and support that I need knowing I am not alone in this. Bryan and I are sure that we will love and support Cole to the best of our abilities, and raise him to have the most normal life he can. Please pray for the best-a healthy happy little man!

Happy 30th Birthday David!

This weekend was David's 30th surprise party! Amanda pulled it off, he had no clue! It was a great time a Melanie's with some delicious catfish catered by Cypress Inn! I found out last Monday that I have gestational diabetes so I can't eat any sugars or carbs! It's fruits, whole grains, meat, veggies, etc! I've lost 2 pounds in two weeks! The doctor said it was fine, but it feels strange losing weight instead of gaining right now. Last night I COULD NOT resist eating some of that catfish, french fries, cole slaw, and corn fritters so I cheated! It was so good, but I felt so bad about it I went to the grocery store today and spend 150$ on all healthy food! My poor husband...

He was in Arcadia last night during the party, which explains his absence in all of the pictures! He had a bachelorette party and 4-wheeler ride with some friends so he couldn't make it! I sure missed him! It's funny, Jon Harmon, David Hooper and Bryan Dean all turn or have turned 30 in the last few weeks! Just wanted to share some pictures that Emily took last night! Enjoy!!!