Busy

Wow! So life has been a little hectic lately. I went to a conference in California for a week and just got home this week. Talk about difficult. My heart was aching before I even boarded the plane. Sleeping at night seemed impossible- my mind was with Matthew and Greyson. However, we all made it through.

Matthew made an offer on a home while I was away. We are scheduled to close at the end of this month if all goes well... yay! Some parts of the home are unfinished, like upstairs flooring, so we have some work to do. Add it to our busy schedules.

Greyson continues to amaze us! He is so special to us. So special that it allows my mind to start thinking about having another Mr. Cute Cute. I don't intend on doing this anytime soon but I've allowed my mind to ponder the idea. Once you experience the love of baby it's hard to decrease the desire to have it again. However, I met up with an old friend the other day... I don't mean old literally... she was my friend in elementary school. She has 2 beautiful children. Her little girl is Greyson's age. She developed HELLP with both pregnancies. She personally has experienced lasting effects from the condition. She has seizures, lost feeling in one of her legs due to nerve damage and her vision was damaged. Through her journey she has met a mother who's now blind due to HELLP syndrome. I was shocked to hear this report. I knew there could be lasting effects but I hadn't met a mother to share her story.

Maybe I'll wait around for a few more years and hope the research for HELLP continues! I heard 40 was the new 30!

For now Greyson completely fills our hearts. There isn't a day that goes by that I am not grateful. His success is amazing to say the least. He has come far. July 11th was his corrected first birthday. We were told he wouldn't be walking by then... hopefully crawling. Well, he ran through the day.

GMS

Fun in the Kitchen!

Grey is walking

Grey is officially walking! He is even shaking his little booty! I couldn't resist posting this clip because it really makes me smile.

It seems the only way I can efficiently get my videos onto my blog is through youtube. Be sure to turn of the volume so you can hear that he is dancing to Beyonce!

">

Seaside

Last week we took a family vacation to Seaside, Fl. For those of you not familiar with Seaside… google it! It is a peaceful little beach town that is beautiful and oh so cute! Destin, Fl is another popular vacation spot and Seaside is within a drive so if visiting Destin anytime soon I suggest you make the 30 minute trip to Seaside.

This was a much needed vacation for our family. I loved getting to spend every hour with Matthew and Greyson. The ocean was gorgeous (no tar balls or oil sightings). Grey seemed to enjoy his dips in the ocean and pools. I personally enjoyed the fresh shrimp, key lime pie, ice cream and shopping!

I was reading a magazine that described beach life in Seaside…

Life is different at the beach
Time doesn’t move hour to hour
But mood to moment
We live by the currents
Plan by the tides and follow the sun

This is true! For one week our lives were not controlled by time or work. I daydreamed often of owning one of the adorable cottages and being able to retreat to the beach when life gets hectic. I hope we can return again soon. I’m thankful that this almost fairy tale like town exist for those of us often too busy to truly enjoy family time.











Our Cottage



The Town

Photos for Flood

Matthew and I recently had Greyson's picture taken for a charity event called "photos for flood" Some amazing Nashville photographers donated their time and skills to this event. Grey got 20 minutes with a photographer and we made a donation to the flood victims of Nashville.

Our photographer was Margo Keene : she did a great job and was fun to work with for our session!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from that day!

ENT

Just an update: Grey has an appointment with the audiologist again in August and then we will meet with an ENT following this appt. Apparently it is difficult to get in with an ENT specialist this time of year. Or maybe it has something to do with the abundance of ear infections and surgeries needed to drain fluid in the ears of todays children. It seems like every time I talk to a parent they mention "oh yes, my child has tubes in their ears... no biggie" How come I didn't have multiple ear infections has a child? My siblings didn't have ear issues, my husband didn't have ear infections. I've researched recently that this new ear infection craze my have something to due with undiagnosed food allergies. Hmm... maybe it has something to do with all the chemicals that now taint our fruits and veggies. Heck, I don't know. Grey does not attend daycare, we don't put him to bed with a bottle, no second hand smoke. And, I worked very hard and exclusively pumped for 8 months to provide Grey with breast milk.

There is the chance that the fluid will resolve and hearing will return to normal. In the meantime, I need to determine if tubes is the correct path to take. I don't want to sign up for this surgery without doing my research. I'm just the typical worrisome mother wanting the best for her baby who has already struggled enough during his first year.

Fail...

Okay so I’m a little frustrated, well to be completely honest I’m flat out troubled. Greyson and I met his audiologist this morning. He failed both hearing test. He has fluid in both ears. Really? I’m shocked since he just had a sick appointment last Monday and his ears were checked. And the week before our appointment I stopped by the walk-in clinic just to have his ears checked. Both appointments I received “clear” results. “Ears look good.” Now Grey fails both hearing screens b/c he has a fluid wall blocking sound in both ears. This is a big deal b/c it is possible that he has had fluid in his ears since the first ear infections which were over 4 weeks ago. Furthermore, the audiologist explained that it is impossible to continue with normal speech/language development when sound is completely muffled in both ears.

Now here is where the recent frustration comes from. I called Grey’s pediatrician’s office and spoke with a nurse who explained that fluid in the ear is not treated. Really? I asked if I should just skip an appointment with their office and make an appointment with the ENT (ears, nose & throat). She then explained that the earliest appointment is 3 weeks out. So we have an appt with the pediatrician on Thursday but I have no idea what we will resolve… if anything. Obviously she will look in his ears but right now there isn’t a sign of infection… just the fluid. Infection is treated- fluid is not. I mean having fluid in your ear can not be comfortable. I’ve had swimmer’s ear and it was awful and so painful. It is safe to assume that this hidden fluid problem is important!

By the way- I just read this “Middle ear fluid is a hidden problem that can powerfully affect our children's experiences of the world. When we are aware of its presence, we can take appropriate steps to insure that our kids have the richest opportunities to explore the fascinating world around us”