a perfectly normal baby....

We weren't supposed to see the neurologist until August, but they called on Friday and asked if we wanted to come in on Monday. Of course we did! I really have not been very worried about Cannon and the concerns that the NICU doctors had at the follow-up clinic. After talking to his therapists and being repeatedly reassured by them that they didn't think he had anything to be worried about, I was feeling pretty good about the appointment. On the other hand, there is some reassurance from hearing from the specialist that your baby is perfectly fine. And that is exactly what he said. He asked us a lot of questions and he did an evaluation and then he said "My diagnosis is that you have a perfectly normal baby." Even though that diagnosis was expected, it was still great to hear. He said that he did notice the increased tone in his arms but he was sure it was not anything neurological. He said that Cannon is very strong and that, combined with his prematurity, was causing the tightness. He also noted that his slight tremor appears to only be when he is upset and therefore caused by just stress and that he will likely outgrow that at anytime. Eric and I were so thankful to receive such great news yesterday. We are so blessed that even though we have had several of these "scares" with both of our boys, every time the outcome always ends up okay. We are constantly reminded how lucky we are that our boys and so "perfectly normal" for all that they have endured.

Both of his therapists came to visit him today. I was happy to share the news with them so that they would know they were right all along. Both of them just smiled and were happy that our minds were now at ease. They are so impressed with Cannon's progress over the last few weeks. He is doing great with his rolling and has really started to do a lot of weight shifting while on his belly. They have shown me some exercises to encourage belly crawling since they think he is ready for that. In fact, his PT believes that he is just about ready for discharge from her care since he is doing so well. Go Cannon!

In other big Cannon news, he officially has his first tooth poking through on the bottom. He has been especially fussy (and that is saying A LOT!) the past few days. I had a feeling this might finally be the real deal, but of course was not sure. This morning I started to rub his gums and sure enough, I felt the little sharp tooth coming through. I gave him some tylenol but that did not seem to help at all. I also tried some orajel - the jury is still out on that. I will try again tomorrow to see if I notice a difference. I usually don't get emotional about these things, but I was feeling kinda bummed today that his little toothless grin will soon be gone forever. I guess I better get busy taking some pictures before that tooth is noticeable.

Thank-you for all the prayers for our little man. We are so very appreciative and thankful for your support.

XOXO

cookie please?

Charlie knows all about the free cookies from the bakery at the grocery store. He even has this cute way of asking. He will peek around the corner and then say in the sweetest little voice "If you aren't too busy, can I please have a cookie?" The employees of the bakery always think it is cutest thing and we can hear them talk about how cute he is as we walk away. Makes me a proud momma when he is so sweet and polite.
We were on our way to Walmart the other day and Charlie was asking if it was going to be a quick trip or a long trip. Then we had this little conversation:

Charlie: So, we are going to get cheese, milk, soda and batteries. Then we will stop by the bakery and I will get a cookie.

Me: We'll see about the cookie.

Charlie: Okay, we will have to see if the bakery is closed or if they have the swine flu.

Me: Big laugh!

A few weeks ago when we were at Fred Meyer and he asked for a cookie in his usual, cute way, the lady looked at him seriously and said "I am sorry, we are not giving cookies out right now due to the swine flu." Like a 4 year old is going to understand that one. Sounds like a pretty weak excuse to me. Eric and I were talking about how ridiculous it was as we walked by their self-serve olive bar that was completely open for anybody to use and spread their germs all over. Go figure!

just a little advice....

The other day I was at Walmart and a lady walked by and asked how old Cannon was. I told her he was 6 months. Often I will just tell people his adjusted age so I don't get comments about how small he is. Even as I told her his adjusted age, she looked at him and said "oh, he is SOOO tiny!" I just smiled at her and went on my way but I wanted to blurt out "Actually he is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. I don't think he could be any more average, do you???" But, of course I didn't because she was just a complete stranger and who cares what she thinks. Obviously I must care since I let it bother me so much.
The same thing happened all the time when Charlie was an infant, but it was true. He was tiny. Even for his adjusted age, most of his life he has been in the 3rd percentile for height and weight. With Cannon I feel like I have to justify his size. I have no idea why. Maybe I am just sick of the unsolicited comments? Maybe I have just become more sensitive? I don't know. But if you are ever at the grocery store and talking to a mother about her child, maybe just comment on how beautiful her sweet baby is and nothing else. I am sure you will make her day.

happy father's day....

We celebrated last night since Eric had to work today. We had Eric's dad over to my parent's house and my dad cooked us all a delicious steak dinner. Luckily my dad likes to cook and didn't mind having to prepare his own Father's Day meal. He probably knew that I shouldn't even attempt to cook a steak dinner...it would probably not be pretty. We played some bocce ball in the backyard and just enjoyed the beautiful evening. Cannon missed most of the celebration since he was in bed by 6:30pm. He was a super crab all day so into bed early for him!

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful dad, my amazing husband and my caring father-in-law. My boys are so lucky to have three men in their lives that they can really look up to.

cannon at 8 months.....

A few things about Cannon at 8 months.....

- He goes to bed around 6:30-7pm and wakes up at 5AM. He obviously doesn't know that his momma is NOT a morning person. I am desperately trying to figure out how to get him to sleep in later. I have tried putting him to bed later and so far nothing has worked.

- He is a little roly-poly now. He likes to roll all over the living room and then gets ticked when he stuck by the couch or fireplace. He definitely has quite the temper when things don't go his way. Even though he can roll from his belly to his back, every once in a while he still gets stuck on his belly and, you guessed it, gets really ticked.

- He likes to reach and grab for anything within reach. He has already figured out that his toys are boring and random objects such as keys and soda cup lids are much more entertaining.

- He is a curious dude. Feeding time has become a struggle now that he is distracted by anything and everything that is going on around him. From the noise the fridge makes when it is making ice to every little thing that Charlie is up to, he has to know what is going on.

- He likes to grab little pieces of skin on my arms and face and then squeeze as hard as he can while he squeals with delight. He is strong and he knows how to break the skin. Owwww!

- He has finally discovered his feet and toes. This is big progress for him to gain more flexion - something he has been really fighting, he loves to always be in extension mode.

- We have tried some rice cereal and so far he is not a fan. I don't think it is the taste as much as just needing to get used to the texture and swallowing.

- Our days have gotten a tiny bit easier. We are still strugling to find a routine as Cannon is not too into naps, but I keep trying! He seems happier now that he can entertain himself with his new skills. I think the prevacid is helping his reflux as well. He loves to play peek-a-boo and little games that make him laugh. He is also getting better around strangers and will sometimes even break out a smile at them. He definitely prefers women.

It has been a crazy 8 months and we are even more in love than ever. Our cute little man has definitely stolen our hearts.

randomness....

Things have been pretty boring around here lately, so nothing really big to blog about. So, I thought I would just note a few random things happening in our lives right now. Nothing real exciting, just where we are at right now.

- Cannon is officially rolling from his back to his belly. The first official roll was on May 31st.) Of course, once he gets on his belly he is absolutely ticked about it. This is making night time lots of fun! He used to love sleeping on his belly all curled up in the NICU. Hopefully soon he will remember how much he loves it instead of screaming bloody murder.

- Charlie is very lucky to have two incredible grandparents who have decided to take him to Las Vegas next weekend to see....what else? The Lion King! He now tells anybody and everybody all about his trip and how he cannot wait to see Rafiki. Thank-you Gigi and GPa for doing this for him - it is going to be incredible!

- Eric has been working like mad to paint the exterior of our friend/neighbors house. All this in addition to the 50 hours per week he works at Enterprise. He is tired and sore but he has a great attitude about it. He is about 90% done. Yeah!

- I took Cannon to a new pediatrician this week. I had finally had enough with our old doctor. I really like this new doctor. He asked a lot of questions (that our previous doctor never bothered to ask!) and he had a lot of great advice for Cannon's reflux. He gave us a prescription for Prevacid and suggested thickening his formula with rice cereal. The rice cereal is giving him a lot of gas, so that is not working out too well. It is still too early to tell if the Prevacid is helping. He weighed 16lbs 8 ozs at the appointment.

- I completely forgot to take the monthly picture of Cannon with Clancy the bear for April and May. The perfectionist in me is so bummed, but I am trying to just roll with it. What can I do? It will still be cool to have a progression of photos over time, even if they aren't every.single.month.

- Charlie has his first mosquito bite on his arm. He reminds me several times a day how much it itches. We have been putting some anti-itch cream on it, which he thinks is so cool for whatever reason, I am not sure.

- I have been trying to get ready for the yard sale this weekend. I have not gotten as much done as I would like since Eric has been gone so much. Hoping to make some major progress tomorrow. Hopefully Cannon will take a nice, long nap (yeah right, who am I kidding?!)

- We went to the pool for the first time this past week. It was a ton of work to take 2 kids by myself! Charlie is still pretty scared of the water and Cannon was not a big fan. Hopefully we can make some major progress this summer! I just can't wait to spend the next few months in my swimsuit for all to see!