Priceless

Brody @ 5 months

Brody @ 13 months
Brody @ 13 months

• Costs of gas to and from Dallas-------------$1400
• Food expenses-----------------------------$600
• 2 Doc Bands -------------------------------$6600
• Seeing my baby boy with a round head ----priceless
  
  

Brody's Visit to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX

Brody really loves lemons! HAHAHA! He doesn't even pucker!
Brody loves to tear up toilet paper!
Brody in the inner tube in the wave pool at Great Wolf Lodge Indoor Waterpark.
Brody is very tired and throwing a fit. He is good at fits.

Brody's Last Visit to Cranial Technologies!!

Brody had his last appointment at Cranial Technologies in Dallas, TX on Friday. He did his final pictures and scan (the scan is brand new instead of having to do another head mold- this is a good thing!!) He will wear his DOC Band for 3 more weeks and then it will all be over! We are SO GLAD! I know he will be glad to not have to ride in the car for such long stretches of time! We are so happy with the progress of his head getting more round. He looks so good!

Brody at The Swim School

Brody had a great day at his swim class today! He didn't cry one bit. He is the 2nd to youngest in his class now, b/c an 8 month old boy started today. Now, Brody is the big boy! Hahaha! He just loves the water. His Daddy is the best. He is in the water with him every week!

Proud Mommy

Brody's 1st Haircut!

Brody and Daddy got their hair cut today. Brody didn't really like it, but the pacifier helped. He looks so handsome! The boys both had Dum Dum suckers for a treat when they were finished. Brody ate all of his and the rest of his Daddy's. He is so sweet!
Mommy

Brody is Very Independent!

My Brody Boy fed himself spaghetti today. He is such a big boy! I love him!

Mommy

GREAT NEWS!!!

We had our appointment at Cranial Technologies in Dallas today. Trips to Dallas have gotten harder the older he gets! He's been in this second DOC Band for 8 weeks now. We got some great news today! We will wait 3 weeks instead of 2 weeks for our next visit, and that one will be our last visit! At that last visit, we will do all his pictures and measurements. He will then wear the band for 3 more weeks and then that will be it! I am so happy! Wendy, our Occupational Therapist, said that even if the dog ate the band today, she is happy with his progress! His head looks SO good! All this sacrifice has definitely been worth it! Thank You LORD! Enjoy these pics from today.

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.