Sweet Summer Time

This Summer has been such a blast with the boys. Though Watson is at a pretty exhausting age while getting into everything :) He keeps us young! With them only being two years apart it is so sweet to see them start really playing and interacting with each other!

                                                                    Weldon is 3!
Weldon is so much fun and getting so big! He is 36 inches tall and weighs 33lbs. He LOVES swimming, playing in the dirt, legos, playing basketball, and of course cuddle time with mommy :) He is EXTREMELY stubborn and hard headed. We haven't quite figured out where he gets that from :) Weldon has a very old soul and LOVES old TV like 1940s Mickey Mouse, Tom and Jerry and sometimes Andy Griffith with Papa T. He would watch it for hours if I let him! Since daddy has been building Weldon LOVES to help him in the garage whenever he gets a chance, hammering away. He has big brown eyes, dark skin like daddy and VERY curly hair which majority of time is a hot mess because I can never do anything with it. Here is a few pictures of our little stinker the last few weeks.

                                                                           Watson is 14 months!
Watson is also getting so big! He is 30 inches tall and weighs 24 lbs. He LOVES to do anything with his bubba, playing with his ball, and he really LOVES to dance! No matter where he is if music comes on he is dancing. Its pretty cute :) Watson still has 8 teeth and can say Momma, Daddy, JJ, Papa T, Mimi, Hi, Bye, Nasty, Bubba and puppy. Yes he says Nasty, because thats what I tell him when he eats dog food. Yes folks this kid LOVES to eat dog food. Not just put it in his mouth, but actually chew it up and swallow it. Trust me most of the time its put away so that he can't get to it. But when he does, he is a happy boy. I know its NASTY! We are 4 months post op and you would never even know this kid had Surgery! We are so happy and blessed! His scar looks amazing and unless you are really trying to look at it, its barely noticeable! Here are a few pictures of Watson from the last few weeks.

                                                                               

Me and Jimmy are so blessed with these two boys! We have had a wonderful summer so far and can't wait to finish it out with a few more Vacations :) Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Summer! :)

Powerful Warrior

When we first thought of the name Watson we really liked it because it was unique and even though it was a common last name it is not a common first name. With our first being named Weldon we also wanted another "unique" W name so Weldon wouldn't be left out, since he got my Papa's awesome unique name :) Our Journey with Watson his first year has been lots of things. HAPPY, CRAZY, WONDERFUL, SAD, STRESSFUL, EMOTIONAL, AMAZING. We sometimes look at life as not what we should, we get depressed, or selfish, we get greedy and angry. But though its easier said than done and I still have my moments, Watson has taught us so much in the last year. He has opened our eyes to a whole different outlook on life. Life is a blessing that the Lord allows us to have. I recently learned the definition of Watson's name. POWERFUL WARRIOR. That touched me in so many ways. Everything is meant to be just as it is. So now that you know the meaning of Watson's name I will now share with you the Journey of our Powerful Warrior, SURGERY DAY.

The night before surgery you can only imagine that we didn't get any sleep. Watson sleeps in his crib every night but since he couldn't eat or drink anything past 10 I woke him up at 10 to feed him. He slept with me and jimmy curled up in my arms. I spent most of the night just staring at him. We got to the hospital at 5am where we checked in. Here is a picture of us right before they called us back to get him dressed.

When we went back the doctors took a little longer to get everything ready before they came and got him. Of course I was so happy to get to spend more time with him but it also made me think more about what was about to happen. I had actually done really well with the months leading up to Surgery to not think about what he was about to have to go through and really enjoyed all his milestones, but that day I couldn't hold it back. Once we were back there he was in the best mood! Clapping and smiling as always. After we got his gown on we took a few more pictures of him. This one is one of my favorites. Looks like he is saying I GOT THIS!

When the doctors came in of course they told us everything that was going to be done with getting him to sleep and that usually takes a little over an hour. They also gave him a little something so that he would feel a little silly when they took him back. And that he did. It made me feel so much better knowing he didn't really know what was going on. We gave him lots of kisses and away he went. I got this picture of the doctor rolling him away. Our hearts were very heavy at this moment.

When I got to the waiting room it of course went by slow at first but I had some pretty good people out there with us to help take our mind off of everything. The nurses called us about every hour to update us on how he was doing. Everything went very well. He was back in Surgery for about 6 hours and then he went straight to PICU to be monitored for 24 hours. We were told everything went well and that we could go see him now. When I first saw him I was crying just because I knew it was finally over and he was ok. We noticed his breathing being very heavy right away. I called a nurse in and they said after he woke up he had gotten a little too relaxed and stopped breathing. After I about had a HEART ATTACK they then explained thats why he was on oxygen and did a couple breathing treatments. His breathing got better after that and it took him several hours for anesthesia to wear off.  He had IV's in both hands and both feet, a drainage tube in his head and also a port in his neck. I think that was the worst part for me! Here is a picture of him right when we went back to see him. Sweet Angel.

The first night was terrible just because he kept pulling out his IV's in his feet and since he is so chubby they were having a lot of trouble getting them back in! He was such a trooper though. We stayed a total of 3 nights in the Hospital and got to go home on Thursday. All and all it was the most stressful time of our lives but we are so happy he has bounced back like a little champ. His scar is from ear to ear and it is healing up amazing. We are so fortunate for all the wonderful people that all helped out and visited, brought gifts for us and for Watson. You have no idea how wonderful and helpful you all were! Thanks again from the bottom of our hearts. As of now we have put all of this behind us and are so happy and thankful its all over. Watson is 100 percent recovered from this and we know he will be just fine! God is good and we are so blessed for all his GLORY!

 Once he had gotten all his IV's out I FINALLY got to hold him. He was so happy to be in my arms, and I'm sure to be able to move around. He was very restless so I slept in his bed with him all 3 nights :)

He had to keep the bandage on his head the longest, two days or so and it was very heavy so this is how he slept most of the time. His eyes were swollen where he could barely see the first two nights. Once he was able to open them he was like a new baby! So happy to see us!

Another special thanks to all of the support from our family and friends. From helping us with Weldon to the snacks, drinks, meals, gift cards, stuffed animals, outfits, bags, blankets, and EVERYTHING we would have never thought of, you guys are AMAZING! So blessed to have you all in our lives!

Love for Watson

It's amazing how time flies when you have kiddos. May 6th 2013 was one of the BEST and most STRESSFUL days of my life. The first month I was supposed to be in all and enjoying every second of this sweet baby but all I could think of was this Surgery he was going to have to undergo at 9 months old. Well it took me about 7 weeks to really realize that God was in control and stressing and worrying would never change the outcome. Everything happens for a reason and I had to snap out of it and realize if I didn't I wouldn't enjoy the first year of his life. The most amazing time of any babies life when they change and grow the most. I must say the last 8 months has had its ups and downs but we have done an amazing job at enjoying every second of him and trying our hardest to not think about this Surgery until we absolutely had too. Well Watson will be 9 months old on February 6th and it is getting very close to Surgery time. We are of course as any parent would be stressed, scared, nervous, and quite honest ready to get this over with. Watson is the happiest baby EVER and I have no doubt he will be just fine with all the prayers and support we have gotten from everyone around us. I know the Lord does things for a reason and he has given us the most beautiful gift. The gift to see things in a different light. Watson may need a major skull surgery and he may even need another one down the road, but he is here with us, jabbering, breathing, smiling, laughing and that is all I care about. We are so fortunate for that.

Today we went in for our Pre Op Appt and everything looks good. I feel very educated on what is going to happen and so thankful we are so close to such a wonderful hospital like ACH. It is the hardest thing in the world to know your child's life is in the hands of two doctors but I know the lord will have his hand on Watson and those Doctors every step of the way. His Surgery is officially scheduled for February 24th. We need all the prayers we can get. I just want to say I know that the lord works in Mysterious ways. He got us to Arkansas where we are surrounded by the BEST most SUPPORTIVE family and we really wouldn't be able to handle all of this on our own. We are so lucky to have such a close bond to our family here. We will never be able to say how grateful we are for all of you who have really shown us the true meaning of family. I Love you all so much! Here is a few pictures I will share of our Pre OP Appt today.

Mommy and Watson :)

Daddy and Watson :)

                        A few of Watson's Warriors :)

Nothing can hold US down!

Happy New Year everyone! 2013 was definitely full of some ups and downs but are ready to start out this year strong, well somewhat strong. Our boys had a wonderful Christmas and Santa was very good to them. And of course all of our Family sent and got them all kinds of goodies :) I am now trying to put everything together for Weldon's bday party coming up the first week of February. CANNOT believe our baby will be 3 years old. My how time flies when your having fun! He is getting so big, with lots of attitude and sweetness. More attitude then sweetness but boy does he love his momma :) Mainly until momma is getting onto him and then he loves daddy :) We are very fortunate to get all the time with both of them that we do being self employed. We have had a pretty eventful last few weeks. Weldon made his first trip to the ER. He was running at Mimi and Papa T's house, tripped and slit the bottom of his chin right open. Scared me to death but once we got there luckily it wasn't bad enough for stitches and they were able to glue it shut! We probably should invest in that stuff, I think it may come in handy in the years to come :/  He was definitely a trooper, this kid is all boy and nothing can stop him :)

                                                                     
                                                                                                   Sweet Boy :(

                                                           
                   He stayed so still when the doctor started

                                               
                               Waiting for the doctor..........

As of now his chin is all heeled up and may just leave a little scar. He is fearless and I'm gonna be in trouble with him one day. Hoping he grows out of that and starts to be a little more cautious, ha not gonna hold my breath. :)

As for Mr.Watson he is getting too big! He still has two teeth, crawling (everywhere), pulling up, and saying Momma, YAY! He is such a great baby and always happy! We started noticing some twitching in his face and some Muscle movements that seemed to be getting more consistent lately, so I called his Neuro Surgeon's nurse to ask about it. You can believe I was panicking to here the word Seizures. I know some people deal with these their whole life but I personally know nothing about them. I was thinking muscle spasms or even maybe just developmental movements, so at first I didn't really pay attention to it, until the last few weeks when it progressed and got more regular. She didn't know for sure of course but with his Cranio and us worried about pressure to the brain occurring we took him in to get checked out. The first thing they needed to do is rule out Seizures and the only way to do that was to hook him up to do a video EEG. I said lots of prayers that night and by morning the Radiology Doctor came in and told us from what she had observed he is not having Seizures (thank u LORD!) but she did let us know he has some Involuntary Movements, also could be known as Stereotypy, which for anyone that has never heard of this its pretty much when you have uncontrolled movements "tics". Which are happening more in Watson's face and upper body, and usually happen when he gets excited or frustrated. Until yesterday I had never heard the term Stereotypy. They asked lots of questions about his Development and I was proud to tell them he is right on track with where he should be. In some cases they can grow out of  this, in others not.  It is scary looking up terms and not knowing what you will find, good stories and sad stories. I didn't expect to leave the hospital feeling relieved, but knowing these episodes are not damaging his Brain, that they aren't seizures, and I didn't leave the hospital with a prescription for medication is such a relief. We have done very well with being at peace that this is all part of a plan that god has for Watson. Life isn't perfect. Life isn't typical. We all have our unique challenges, experiences, and blessings. We have faith in letting Watson thrive in the life God has planned for him. Thank you everyone so close to us that have been there every step of the way, all the suppport and prayers. Please keep them coming in the next month as we get ready in preparing for Watson's surgery. Here are a few pics from the Hospital. All those wires can't hide this cuteness! :)

  

Strength & Love

Hello everyone and welcome back to our blog, the blog I have time once every few months to update! :) We have had a busy last couple of months but we found out some news that I would like to share just so not only me and my family, but everyone else can join us on some much needed prayers for our sweet Watson. Craniosynostosis comes with other things that are not only involving surgery. When we orginally found out all this information on the Craniosynostosis (fusion of the skull) with Watson we were also told that when more then one Suture is fused that it could possibly be something involving a syndrome. Watson's front two sutures are fused which is a rare form of Craniosynostosis, because most of the time there is only one suture fused. Of course my first thought with my 2 week old is not only am I in shock my baby has to undergo a major skull and reconstruction of the skull Surgery but I know he is completely healthy and will be fixed right up after his surgery. We were told we could wait until his Surgery to undergo Genetic testing but the last few months we just decided to do it to get it out of the way, in case we needed to recognize something other then the Surgery. When the Geneticist had looked at Watson at 2 weeks old she said not to worry,  the one thing we need to deal with is his Cranio problems at this point. While meeting with the Cranio Facial Surgeon and Neuro Surgeon they of course educated us with what was wrong and how it can be fixed, and also how when more then one suture is closed it could possibly be a syndrome, but they let us know by looking at Watson there guess was it was less then a 20% chance of being a syndrome. Well as of a few weeks ago we did get the Genetic testing back and Watson has what is called Muenke Syndrome. I immediately started researching everything on this and found it hard to believe there wasn't a lot I could find. After lots of searching and speaking with the Geneticist we found that this was not discovered until 1996. Apparently when Craniosynostosis occured in children years ago they didn't ever get the gentics testing done, unless it was clear to the doctor there was something else wrong.  But what I have found is that there are very few things with this that could affect Watson. This occurs in 1 and 30,000 births, there is a 20% chance it could cause hearing lose, only 20% of children with this have mild delays, and the bones could have abnormal growths, which is why the bones fused and could cause them to fuse again once surgery is done. I never thought about anything like this happening to us when we decided to have children but now that it has I have learned so much on letting things be and knowing everything happens for a reason. This has made my relationship with god and my husband and children that much stronger and I know my sweet boy with be just fine, and no matter what struggles life brings you there is always hope. Watson will never be treated any differently then Weldon is, but deep down I know God made him special for a reason. Watson is right on track with all his milestones including sitting up, eating solids, reaching for his puffs to eat, and getting on all fours and rocking back and forth. Yes I think within a month or so we will have a crawler. At Watson's 6 month check up his hearing looked great and he was 19 pounds and 28" tall. He is in the 87% percentile and still growing like a weed! We are so blessed with our beautiful family and so very blessed to have the wonderful people in our lives that help us get through these tough times. Please keep us in your prayers with the months leading up to Watson's Surgery. Here are some pictures from the last few months..............

                        Our little Tiger :)

                                                                                                      Cool dude

                         Weldon LOVES his baby brother!

Time flies when your having fun!

The last month has gone by so fast. We have had some great family vacation's this summer! Weldon is getting so big and now repeating anything that comes out of our mouths. :) He is learning to count and sing his ABC's. He is also peeing in the potty (when he wants too). His favorite word of all is NO, no momma, no daddy, or whoever is correcting him at the time :) Parenting is such a tough thing when everything that he says bad or good is so cute. HAHA. But all in all he is a good boy and we are definitely learning what the 2's are all about! As for Watson he is cutting teeth, rolling over, and even tries to sit up! He is such a little rolly polly he is already wearing 6-9 months! He absolutely HATES tummy time and LOVES to look in the mirror. Here are some pics of our little guys from the last month!

                                                         

We also took a few Beach trips this Summer and the boys LOVE the Beach! Weldon could play in the sand forever! Watson is still a little small for the beach but he loves the water too! Braydon and Brinkley came too and Weldon loved them being there to play with! Jimmy and I were able to have a few date nights that we really enjoyed, while Mimi and Papa T keep the boys. The one thing I really wanted was to get a good picture of the boys on the beach. I have realized with their ages I will probably not be able to get good pictures until they are older but I had really hoped I might could get a good one! Unfortunately I have to take what I get, and this is the best one I got..............

                    Hilarious I know.........

I actually did get a couple cute ones though of the kids together. We made lots of great memories that we will cherish forever! Can't wait to go back next year!

                              Sweet cousins!


Bath time is a very fun time around our house! Both of the boys LOVE the water and bath time so much! Sometimes thats all I can do to calm Watson down. They are such water babies! Weldon can already kind of swim without his floaties! And Weldon loves Bubble Baths!

Since last month we have had a few check ups at Children's for Watson and as far as we know he is doing great! He will go in for his MRI in a week or so, and after that they shouldn't need to see him for anything until more about the Surgery details which will happen early March. Of course as always please keep Baby Watson in your prayers. In our eyes he is just like any other baby we know! God has a special plan for us and Watson and we will take everything day by day. We appreciate the love and support from all of our close family and friends. Here are a few pictures of the little Rolly Polly :)

                          Big Boy in his Bumbo!

You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have.

I sit here tonight thinking about how lucky I am. Sometimes its hard to remember all the blessings in life when you are going through things you never thought you would have to go through. I have really been strong the last couple of months on dealing with everything that is changing and happening in me and Jimmy's lives. I try to keep my head up. But sometimes it's so hard, some days I really struggle, today being one of them. When I look at Watson I see nothing but pure joy and cuteness in his sweet little smile. But then there are times I can't stop thinking about one thing, and that is that in 6 short months I will be faced with the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with. Its very hard facing that something is wrong with your little baby who is so defensive less and innocent and has no idea the road he is about to go down. Here I am trying my hardest to take in the first 9 months of his life not thinking about whats to come when really that's all that goes through my head. I think my biggest struggle is treating him and Weldon both the same because I look at Weldon and know he is this perfectly healthy little boy. And Watson has to undergo things I would have never dreamed of. But deep down they are both so perfect in my eyes. They are both these beautiful things me and Jimmy created and I am trying everyday to not let this effect the way I treat Watson. I want him to know he is perfectly normal and sometimes god has a way of picking you out to be extra special.  I may have issues with the way things happen and I may have trouble understanding why all this is happening to us. But deep down me and Jimmy both know God has a plan for us and a plan for Watson. I know everything will be ok. I just have a hard time remembering that some day's. Watson will be having an MRI in a few weeks for some irregular breathing problems and will also have a sleep study done for sleep apnea. Please keep us in your prayers. We need lots of them. Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks of my sweet babies :)

                                                                 Little Jimmy in this pic :)

                                                          My little Thinker :)

                                                                Watson's growing like a weed :)