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.