(In case you are wondering...yes..I scratched my face up...I like to scratch and pinch and I will do it to anything I can get ahold of...even my own face.)
Well...I guess you must have guessed by the title that....I had a birthday!
And what a birthday it was...a HUGE milestone for our family indeed!!
My family took me to see my very first movie "at the theatre."
I was in a trance watching Arthur's Christmas and did well until the very end...then I just needed to be done.
My family bought me a cake, but of course I couldn't eat it yet...so they gave me plain "whip cream" so I could attempt to feed myself.
I didn't really like it much...but that's okay, it was the thought that counts, right?
Is today REALLY the 21st of December?
My mom wants to know WHERE the month of December went to? (She actually wants to know WHERE the days have gone since October 25th...the launch of the "In A Pikle" bag.)
She has been on the "road"...she has been on TV...she has been shipping...she has been packing...she has been unpacking...let's just say...she has been busy. She feels so blessed and excited too! Between this, ME, ZACHARY and M'KAYLA (and dad of course) the days have flown by!
As for me....
Let's see...
First and foremost...I am a very HAPPY baby....
If....I am being held OR someone is paying attention to me.
What do you expect from a baby who has had "round the clock, full time care since he was born, right?)
My parents joke that when they are "watching" me, this is their job because they have to wait to get anything else done until someone relieves them. :)
Of course...I am always keeping everyone on their toes...this is just how I roll.
I love Zachary and "Kay Kay"...I know them..I know their voices and I love them very much!
Hmmmmm...
The last time I wrote, I had my new helmet...
Well....
I now am the PROUD owner of TWO helmets...neither of which fit me.
My parents have taken me back numerous times to be fitted and refitted and refitted, but each time I find a way to wiggle it to where it cuts into my ear, nose, eye, forehead...well you get the idea (and then of course I am not happy.)
To be honest...I am not sure "what" the plan for the helmet is...
I am still not sitting by myself....but my head is getting stronger...
I am spending more and more time on my belly...I actually don't mind too much if someone hangs out with me...
I LOVE TO CHEW on anything I can get my hands on...and I drool alot too...my parents wake up everyday just waiting for my first tooth...
I weigh about 18 pounds and I am getting LONG...I've outgrown all my "jammies" and until just recently (since it just got cold here in the desert,) my resourceful mom cut the "feet" off my summer jammies so I could still wear them since my legs are so long...
I'm going to take after my dad and be tall....
I'm almost too tall for my bathtub, but my parents have found that my hands are hard to control and I WANT THIS G-TUBE OUT!!
So, if they give me a regular bath or shower (not in my tub) - it's hard for them to make sure it stays in...I'm LIGHTNING FAST!!
They have to keep it covered at all times, or I work really hard at removing it.
Speaking of G-TUBES...
I just know that I will get my wish SOONER rather than later...because....
I AM EATING BABY FOOD FROM A BOTTLE.
It can't be too runny and it can't be too thick...it has to be just right (just like baby bear's porridge.)
But I "suck"....I "swallow"...I "breathe"...AND I LIKE THE BOTTLE...
In fact...
DRUMROLL PLEASE...
I hold the bottle myself and feed myself!!
YES...I do!!
My parents almost broke into tears when they saw me do this for the first time!! It was a momentous day!!
I am still being fed my formula through my tube, but we are all working hard to get me off this...
My voice is still quiet, BUT...it is getting louder...we pray that over time my voice will be louder. They have suggested that my parents take me in to have them do some more tests on my vocal cords, but they are opting against this (of course they are. :)
If I am really mad, my parents can hear me from my crib...
I still make "growling" sounds....this is about the only sound I will make, but I make a "game" out of it...
I will "growl" and then they "growl" back and me...I love it and I just beam with smiles. My smile can light up a room...
My left eye is still leaky, but it is getting "less leaky."
They told my mom to bring me back after I was a year old so they could "stint" it open to help that leaky tear duct, but it's getting "less leaky" so my mom would rather let "good old fashioned time" do it's job.
BUT...guess what?
I "rarely" reflux anymore....like hardly ever!!
IF...my parents don't ever let my stomach get empty. So, I am on a continuous food drip all night and when I wake up, I feel great!
(They learned this by trial and error when they they stopped feeding me at night for a little while and when they fed me after my stomach was empty all night, I refluxed and refluxed and refluxed. (Well...you get the idea.)
So...noctural continuous feed is what we shall do...for now at least.
It is so awesome to keep that stomach stuff "where" it belongs...IN MY STOMACH!
I am off ALL my medicines and it feels great!!
My mom still doesn't take me out "too much"....but she has ventured out when she has someone to help her. I love to look at the lights in the stores.
At this moment, I have a slight cough, but overall....I am well.
The cold I caught from my "mom's travels" lasted a LONG time...I had to go through 2 rounds of antibiotic and it STILL stuck around (in fact, the cough is still here)...***I've got to figure out a way to get my immune system stronger....(my daddy who knows all about health stuff is working on this.)
We are headed on another trip and we are so excited to go to Moab for Christmas, (so please PRAY I STAY WELL!!)
(My mom wishes that she had words in her vocabulary that could express how thankful we are for you.)
Merry Christmas!!
Much Love....
A ONE YEAR OLD BENJAMIN
