Brody Riding His 4-Wheeler

Brody's Pappy got him a 4-Wheeler for his birthday. He LOVES it!

Pictures of party

Brody and Jade
Brody Dodie and Camden in water
Brody and his own cake
Brody's other cake
Success

Brody's 1st Birthday Party

Brody and Jacie getting ready for party
Only fitting to have on bday suit
Brody Dodie and Camden
Blowing a kiss
Playing in the grass

Today was a joyous day. We celebrated Brody's 1st birthday at our house. We had so many guests. Thanks for the turnout for our baby boy's party. I was truly shocked to see my grandparents from Many. It almost seemed like a family reunion. Above are plenty of pics. You always hear that you learn from experience, this one was a great one...

I just LOVE this boy!

Brody is growing up so fast! I can't believe he's almost 1 yr old. It's absolutely crazy, but also VERY fun to watch! He's so cute. He still only has his 2 bottom teeth, but the dentist said she felt them under his gums and that it is ok that they haven't erupted yet. (See 1st pic). He loves his sister, Jacie (our poodle). He plays with her rough! He gets her toys and throws them for her to fetch. I think he's going to play baseball like his daddy and Uncle Mikey did. He already has a good arm. That 2nd pic is of him chasing Jacie around the living room. His daddy and I love him so much. I can't even imagine our lives together without him!
From Mommy

Back To Our Normal Routine!

The boys are well and we're back to our normal routine. We went to Dallas yesterday and had the DOC Band adjusted for growth. Today, we had an appointment with Dr. Ghali, Craniomaxillofacial Surgeon, today. All is well with the band rounding out his head. We also saw the dentist, Dr Cook, while we were there and although he only has 2 teeth right now, she felt the other ones under the gums. Hopefully, they'll pop out soon! We went straight to The Swim School for Brody's "Baby and Me" class. He was tired and cried a lot, but overall enjoyed and is learning so much. He's getting good at hanging on the side of the pool and climbing out. He slid down the slide twice today. (His Daddy caught him, of course). He does well going under water. I'm so proud of him! He had to wear a life vest for about 10 minutes to practice water safety, and he didn't like it one bit! He cried almost that whole time. SAD, but kinda funny! I love that boy! Well, that's about it. . . we're just glad that everyone is well. We're looking forward to Brody's 1 yr bday coming up. We'll have his party May 10. It is the Saturday I am off before his actual birthday on May 13th. Hope to cya there!

Jessica

Random Thoughts

It is 12:48 am on a soon to be busy Monday excursion. I just came home from work about an hour ago or so and on Sundays I typically follow the same pattern.... clock out from a long 16 hour day.... get in my truck.... call Dad and see what is going on with him.... we both work till 11pm on Sundays, Jess is usually in a lull deep "you better not call me and wake me up" type of sleep.... and chat until i make it home around 11:40 pm. Check and see how the Chicago Cubs did... check my email.... and then check out the blogs. Recently I have seen one familiar topic of discussion.... The nasty "C" word... and no Sandy I do not mean CRAP. Cancer.... not just cancer, but it's relationship with kids. As a nurse I see this nasty stuff rear it's ugly head every week with my adult population. It is no fun.... but a kid...... my heart breaks!!!!! As a new Daddy, all I can think about is my own son and the lengths I would go through to keep him protected from any weapon that would harm him. As much as I try to imagine how much that would take, there is not enough empathy in my heart to feel what two blogger pals are going through or had faced with their boys. To those MEN I would like to say many kind words of encouragement but the only words I can express are .... I love you. There is a kind of love in my heart for you that is a pure true feeling.... these include feelings of gratitude, strength, hope,wanna give you a massive hug and shed tears with you and face the battles with you kind of love. Words are merely at a loss. In this new journey of my own life I am learning through raising my son that one of the most degrading gut wrenching nauseated feelings that I feel is when my son is "sick" and I am helpless!!! All i could do was pray. So MEN, at this juncture of this journey I extend my heart to you.... as a fellow DAD, i pray for you and with you for strength and courage that God would provide understanding for us all. Thanks for sharing your journeys with us....MEN. May God bless you and keep you....

Love,
Brody's Daddy

My Sick Baby (Healed in Jesus' Name!!)

My baby boy has been sick for over 2 weeks! He had a runny nose, fever, cough, & runny eyes for almost 2 full weeks. Then, he must have picked up a virus from the clinic in Dallas. Brody and his Daddy are my "Poopie Babies." I feel SO BAD for them both! Brody definitely has been very snuggly these past couple weeks, which is the ONLY benefit. I love my boys, and I need them to get better. HAPPY 11 MONTH BIRTHDAY, BRODY!!!

Brody had to get casted for his next DOC BAND in Dallas, TX this past week. His head is really shaping up well, but he is growing out of his current Band. The procedure only takes 10 minutes, but seemed more tortuous this time, because he's older and more mobile. We had to hold him down, and he did not like that! Jade, Julie, Mom, and Joni were there. Jade almost started crying. We'll pick up his next Band Monday, April 7th. Alison, our Occupational Therapist, said to expect it to be much bigger than his current one, since his head is bigger and it will be thicker. His current one has been adjusted so much that it is almost see thru from the inside out.
From, Mommy

Brody's 1st day at The Swim School

Brody started his first class at The Swim School today. He loves the water so much and had so much fun. He did cry a lot when the water went up his nose or down his throat. Overall, we are VERY happy with our decision to have him take swimming lessons. He is in the "Baby and Me" class on Tuesdays at 4:00pm. You can come and watch him swim either out by the indoor/heated pool, or in the lobby on a big screen tv. He is getting to be such a big boy, and we love him so much.

Mommy

Brody's new hobby is playing in the tupperware cabinet! He crawled into his Bathtub duck all by himself! He's so cute!

Jessica

Brody's busy 2 days!

OUR VERY BUSY 2 DAYS, BY MOMMY.

We had a busy 2 days. Yesterday, we drove to Dallas and back for his DOC Band adjustment. It is rounding out great! We are very happy with the progress. He will wear this band for the next 6 weeks, and then we will reassess the chance of having a 2nd one fitted (since his was such a severe case). Today, we went to Gymboree, and Brody had fun. There was only 1 other child there today, guess it's better than him being the only one (like 2 weeks ago)! He loves popping bubbles and playing with the parachute! After eating a quick meal at Jason's Deli, we went for his check-up with Dr Ghali (Craniomaxilofacial Surgeon). He likes Brody's progress and will see him again in 3 months.

We are VERY tired this evening!

Here are a couple pics to compare his progress:

The first one, he was 4 1/2 months old. The second one, he is 9 months old.

Movin and teeth producin.....

Well i meant to post this sooner but I will post this now. On last Wednesday, Brody's 9 month birthday, Brody figured out how to coordinate movement of his arms and legs and started crawling. At first he would hold himself up on his arms, bring both legs together then hop. Now he is actually moving better.

Also Brody cut his first tooth. I would post a picture but it takes more than two hands to capture the beautiful little gem. We tried to take a picture of it but Brody would stick his tongue out or blow spit bubbles at us.

As far as his helmet is concerned... it is doing an awesome job. Brody's head is rounding out well.

Happy 1st Valentine's Day Brody

Today Brody celebrated his first Valentine's Day. The boy and I had a good day but the day became more exciting after he woke up from his nap. Brody's Pappy and Gandy got Brody an enourmous bear for Valentine's Day.

About Brody's Helmet at 7 months

At Brody's 6 month check up Dr. Haynie noticed that Brody's head was flat in the back. See the following above pictures....

So we were referred to a maxillofacial surgeon because Dr. Haynie said that he was concerned that Brody had craniosynostosis. In other words, Brody might have prematurely fused sutures causing his flat head. After being examined by Dr. Ghali, our fear of having surgery was relieved and we were sent to Dallas, Texas for Brody to be fitted for a DOC band. This was a huge relief for both of us. The only downside to this is that we will be travelling to Dallas for the next 3 months every two weeks.

There are no places in Shreveport that provides this service. We were informed of one possible location but Dr. Ghali recommended that we need to go to Dallas. So since the first of the new year we have travelled to a place in Dallas,Texas called Cranial Technologies.

I will post more pictures of the actual procedure on the next post.

Happy 9 Months Brody

How can you ignore a face like that?

Paper never looked or tasted soo good!!!

Brody playing with his new toy shelf

Well Brody had his 9 month check up yesterday. Everything went well. He is following the 75th percentile in weight and 80th percentile in length. He weighs 23 pounds and is 28 inches in length.. It is amazing how fast Brody has grown. He is learning to crawl each day. We almost have the house Brody proof. I am so amazed at how much he pays attention to his toys. He tries to figure everything out about them. He leaves no stone unturned.

Brody and the State Fair

Brody telling Granny how tall the giraffe was!!!

Action shot of Brody lauching the pacifier

Brody and Jess feeding the giraffe

Brody looking at a big pig Sooie!!!

Brody had fun at the fair. Jess wanted him to see all the animals and we tried our fair share of food. I was so amazed at Brody and how attentive he was at the fair. It was quite an experience

Brody's First Revel

Brody had his first trip to the Revel this year. I was amazed at how fascinated he was about art and all the booths. Jess and I enjoyed the food but Brody really enjoyed the people and the exhibits. What can I say!!! You Brody make life worth living. Love you son!!!

Love,

Daddy

The boy and his grin

Here is the infamous Brody smile. I have no idea where it came from but it is his signature camera smile.

Brody's 4 month Checkup

Monday, September 10, 2007 was Brody's 4 month checkup. This was also the day he recieved his 4 month immunizations. He cried and spoke a little jibberish prior to being stuck with those three long needles. It was kinda cute but then again you could not help but feel for the little guy.

Here are some stats of his:
height: 25 inches
weight: 15 lbs 9 ounces
head circ: 15 3/4 inches

He measured in the 50th percentile in all 3 categories

The funny thing was that there was another 4 month old in the waiting area with us and Brody looked so much bigger than the other 4 month old.

Well Brody,
You are doing well. Keep it up kiddo, I am so proud of you and I love you so much.

Love,
DaDDY

Updates with pics on the way

Well as I sit and read updates on all the blogs, there is one common theme......"Dont you hate it when someone doesn't update their blog" Well I apologize for not updating as much as I should.

Here are a few things that are occuring at the moment or for lack of better terms "excuses for no updates"

1. Jess started back to work on Aug 6th. When she's at work, either I am at work or being full-time Daddy to Brody. Forgive me as I am new at this "Daddy" stuff and I am trying to make sense of it all.

2. I am going back to school in January and I am preparing for that

3. When you work 16 hours on Sunday, Monday feels like recovering from a wild party night.

4. Life is full of surprizes.... you never know what will happen next...

Well I hope that helps explain it. I am trying to get back on course with updates about Brody.

There will be some new pics and videos upcoming.

Brody has his 4 month checkup on Monday. He is doing great and growing fast.

Brody is sleeping 12 hours at night.

Well I will provide more updates more frequently.

I feel like a politician.... if you vote for me.....

Thanks for your patience and understanding

Jeremy

P.S. Mauri if you read this.... add me to view your blog.... i have been denied access...

Brody's Mommy

Brody and his parents. AWE!
Jade and Brody

Ok. . . I'm trying to upload pics again. I actually did it correctlylast time , but was having trouble with my internet connection. Love you guys! Jess