a sigh of relief

i just got a call from graham's dr. (well, the nurse NOT the doctor) with the radiology report and it is confirmed. Graham has retractile testes. Which is a lot better than having undescended testes from what I have read. Retractile (hypermobile) testes are descended testes that easily move back and forth between the scrotum and the abdomen. Retractile testes do not lead to cancer or other complications. The testes usually stop retracting by puberty and do not require surgery or other treatment. Undescended testes do require surgery because they don't come down at all and need to be manually pulled down through surgery.

Okay, all of this testes talk is just way too much for me. ha!

but WHEW. I feel so much better.

Thank you again for all of your prayers!

Ultrasound Update

Monday Graham had his 930am ultrasound at AR Children's Hospital. Both of his "boys" are definitely there and getting great blood flow. YAY!!! that was his pedi's main concern (she could only find one). They won't stay dropped though. And that can be a problem.

The ultrasound tech told us to call his pediatrician's office on Wednesday and they will have the report and can tell us what to do from there. So, I called his pedi's office on Wednesday. twice. never heard from them. called Thursday. twice. never heard from them. called Friday and left another message. waited two hours. got frustrated. so I finally called the appointment line and pretty much was in tears because I was so DANG frustrated that no one would call me back. and there was nothing that she could do. so she told me to call the nurses line AGAIN and leave another message. Every single time that I called, I was so nice. Well, the last time I wasn't. well. I was. I was just VERY STERN about them calling me back. So FINALLYYYYYYY. two hours later I got a call back from the nurse. only to be told that they didn't have the report and that the system at ACH was down and she would call me back later in the afternoon. 4:30pm rolls around and she finally called me back. to tell me that they still didn't have the report (even though I called ACH on Wed and they told me that the pedi office had it) and that she will have to call me on Tuesday but if it was something urgent, then they would call me before then. Don't you just love doctor's offices???? So that's what we know. I have a feeling that she is going to tell me what she always tells me though.

"Let's just wait to see if they drop by the time he is a year old and if they haven't, we will get Graham to a urologist."

Keep on praying for Graham!! We really appreciate all of the care and concern from all of our friends and family. It means the world!!

G did so well at his appointment so he got some watermelon when we got home! He was definitely a fan...not so much a fan of Kiwi though. It was quite tart for his liking.

Happy Father's Day

I love how much my husband loves our son. more than anything in this world. They complete me. Happy Father's Day, Chad. I always knew you would be the best daddy in the world. i am so proud that you are mine. and I know Graham is proud too. It's in the way his eyes brighten as soon as he sees you. melts my heart and just makes me want to cry for joy. i love you baby. forever and always. thank you.

My Birthday

Thursday we celebrated 28 years of my life. and it sure has flown by.

Let me back track and tell you that on Wednesday, I thought I was going to die. seriously. I woke up a little drowsy but thought I was going to be okay. i figured it was just from my ambian and a hot shower would wake up me. Took a shower like I normally do and felt fine. After the shower, I went to make Graham a morning bottle and that is when it hit me. Nausea. Bad. my mouth started watering and I felt the same way I felt when I had food poisoning. So I ran to the toilet. nothing. so i laid down on the cool tile. and that was that. I could barely lift my head. I went and laid in bed and would get so chilled and then hot. but I had to get up and go to work. i had wayyy too much to do to stay at home. and my cleaning ladies were coming. and i really wanted a clean house for my birthday. so i barely put any makeup on and dried my hair as much as I could without passing out and threw it in a ponytail. thank God for my husband because he fed Graham (as he does every weekday morning) and got him dressed for me so all I had to do was load him up and put him in the truck. I got G to school and got myself to work but pretty much laid on my boss' couch til around 12:30pm. I was so weak, I could barely lift my head, I had a terrible headache, I was chilled to the bone and I couldn't eat anything. So I came home and stayed in bed til around 7pm. Then I took me some flu meds, took a hot bath and went back to bed. I guess whatever I had, I sweated out in my sleep because by the time I woke up for my birthday, I felt A LOT better. not GREAT but much much MUCH better.

So my wonderful husband cooked me breakfast and then he worked outside to get the yard and house looking good.

Then we put G in the pool. He had so much fun!! He is definitely a water baby!

We also went to Graham's new daycare so G could meet his new teachers before he begins on Tuesday.

Afterwards, we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse where Mimi & Poppi (my mom and stepdad) surprised me!! They came from Texarkana just to be with me on my birthday. They are so awesome!!! Shana and Shauntel and Jared also joined me for my birthday dinner as well! Shana and Shauntel haven't been able to be with me on my birthday for YEARS so they really wanted to celebrate with us and I am so glad that they did. I wish I would have gotten pictures at dinner but I didn't. I was too busy visiting with everyone and plus, my child was being a handful. We used to be able to go to dinner and Graham would just sit there and be so good. Well, since he has started crawling, that is no longer the case. This child does NOT want to be confined or held what.so.ever. he wants to be into EVERYTHING. and that he is. I miss my cuddle bug.

Graham got mommy a monogrammed (because what woman from the south doesn't just absolutely LOVE monogramming??) apron that I have wanted for a while but I just wouldn't buy for myself. Chad painted the shutters on the house black and the doors red for me. Yes, this is what I asked for for my birthday. I'm a practical person. :) I would have taken a picture of the front of the house but for privacy purposes, I won't.

Thank you to my wonderful friends, family, wonderful husband and son. I am so very blessed that I have such awesome people in my life. This has been the best birthday ever!!! God is good.

My parents got me this cutter. I have no idea how to use it but I guess I will learn pretty soon! :) I've never scrapbooked in my entire life. Any tips would be awesome!!

Shana got me this necklace and I just LOVEEEEEE it!!!

Shauntel and Jared got me this beautiful Lantana plant. She said it was impossible to kill unless the dog eats it. I should do pretty well with this one if that's the case. If you know me, you know I am no green thumb and flowers don't last long in my care. ha!

Splish Splash

Thursday we all stayed home for my birthday so we decided to get Graham's turtle pool out to let him "swim". He had so much fun...until he figured out that he could crawl out of there if he wanted.

trying to catch water in his mouth...such a character

Daddy was squirting water from his hands and Graham was trying to catch it in his mouth.

Are those bruises all over Graham's forehead?? You betcha. This little boy is tenacious and has NO fear, that is for sure. he is ALLLLLLL BOY. 100%. and he has momma worn out.

Johnny Jumper...

...will wear you smooth out.

Poor Poor Pitiful Baby

Doesn't he just look terrible??? It absolutely kills me to see him look so bad and I know he feels just as bad as he looks too. But he still keeps a smile on his face (for the most part...certainly NOT while we were at the dr).

This morning, I had my thyroid checkup and my levels are still four points higher than they should be which explains why I've been feeling ick lately. So she upped my dosage of the Synthroid. I'm a little frustrated about that though because I JUST got my refill so I have over a hundred 75 mg pills that will go to waste but hopefully upping my dosage will make me feel a lot better. Think I can return the pills for a refund?!?! :) I hate wasting money as much as I hate wasting paper. well, money is paper. you know what i mean.

This afternoon, I took Graham to the dr. to figure out what in the world is going on with him. He has Sinusitis (sinus infection). So I guess he is going to take after his daddy and nana after all. :( He was NOT happy while we were in the room waiting for the dr. He doesn't like to be held for very long at all anymore. All he wants to do is get on the floor and crawl around and play. And well, I should have just let him get on the floor to crawl around but I just couldn't make myself do it. So I held him. And he fought me. and gave me a good whack in the eye and lip. and then kicked me really hard. he was an absolutely JOY today. ha! I'm just glad that we finally know what is wrong. He is on a 10 day antibiotic and she told me to also give him Zyrtec in the morning and Benedryl at night like I have been doing. I really hope the amoxicillian knocks the sinus infection out FAST!

he also has eczema on his face. his former pediatrician told me that it was nothing and it's normal and common. Our new one that we saw today said that it WAS eczema and for us to treat it with either vaseline or 1% hydrocortizone cream.

I finally got a picture of Graham's two bottom teeth too!! I can't believe that he held still long enough for a picture!!

alrighty. i'm out of here to check on mr. cranky pants. he's passed out in his doorway jumper. picture coming soon.

Harvard Here We COME!!!

Disclaimer: the voice that you hear in this video is not mine. I don't know whose voice is speaking.

Note to self: never speak while recording. I always talk so exaggerated with Graham and my gosh, it sounds horrible. To agree certainly will not hurt my feelings. ha. chad won't stop making fun of me.

A Party for Finley Katherine

Shauntel and the Grandmommies-to-be

The Guest of Honor and her HostessesOne of my closest and longest friends, Shauntel, is having a sweet baby girl and we threw her a shower Saturday afternoon. She got so many precious things for Finley and now all we need is a baby (but not until the end of July)!!! We are all so excited and can't wait!! Finley is already spoiled rotten and Shauntel is going to be such a wonderful mother!! Let's just hope she and Jared can handle the poopie diapers. :)

Best of Friends

My future Beethoven

Saturday afternoon, Amy kept Graham for a few hours while I helped host a baby shower for Shauntel. I felt absolutely TERRIBLE having to ask Amy to watch Graham especially since she is almost nine months pregnant and she also has Caroline Mae who is 11 months old AND David was out of town. But she was my last resort. Thank God for awesome friends. she is just the absolute sweetest person i know and would do anything for anyone. She is truly one of a kind and I am certainly blessed to have her as one of my closest friends. graham and caroline just absolutely love playing together and it's been a couple of months since they have seen each other.

Both of our lil ones have allergies and it's no fun for them or for us. Saturday night, Graham's left eye got so swollen and red and then it was purple under his eye. He also had a 104 temperature. I was hoping that he would follow after me and not have allergy/sinus problems like his daddy but I'm afraid that isn't going to be the case. I've been alternating between giving him a little bit of Benedryl and Zyrtec. It seems to be helping him a little bit. His eye looks A LOT better but his nose is just terrible. This morning it started bleeding from being so raw because of wiping it so much. I feel so terrible for him but I don't know what else to do. I keep Vaseline on it and keep his humidifier on all night. By the time I wake him up in the morning, his snot is completely dried up and pretty much covering his nostril openings. Thank Goodness for boogie wipes. i need to send the inventor a candy basket because they are awesome and it's pure genius.