Fun Outings

2012-02-05T17:56:00.000-08:00

We have spent the past couple freezing cold Saturday afternoons (when we didn't have birthday parties to go to!) going on little indoor adventures around town. The first was a Train Exhibit Show where we got to see lots of fun stuff related to model trains. And the second was a Wild, Wild Rumpus at the Downtown Library where we got to celebrate everything related to one of our favorite books, "Where the Wild Things Are". The boys enjoyed themselves a lot at both!!

WOW! Watching model trains whizzing by!

It's Thomas!!!

Waving hi while riding a train that you power by pedaling your hands!

Look at him go!

Bennett wishing he were old enough to ride.

Playing at a train table.

At the Wild, Wild Rumpus!

My little Wild Thing!!!

Making his own crown just like Max's!

Proof Bennett was actually along for the ride!

Jack hugging the Wild Thing

... and pulling his tail!!!

We got to hear a dramatic reading of "Where the Wild Things Are" by some actors with Actor's Theater! They did an awesome job and the boys loved it!

All 3 of them!

Results of Bennett's Tests

2012-02-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

Bennett walking at the mall! YAY! Gooooooo Bennett!!!

Well, it turns out that all his tests have come back negative... still! We are so relieved about all of the results! However it still remains a mystery. There is obviously something going on with him because not only is his head small, but now he is super small all over. He has been hit with the diagnosis of "Failure to Thrive" which is a scary term to me. But more on that in a little bit.

I realized I didn't ever give the full scoop on the MRI results once I talked with Dr. Hinkebein, our pediatrician. He was obviously happy that there were no visible signs of brain injury from birth, but he wasn't so quick to dismiss any issues as the cause. He still seemed very concerned that his head hasn't grown since his 12 month appointment and was anxious about what the geneticists would say.

So we went to see the genetics doctor last week and got the results back yesterday from all his bloodwork and x-rays. All normal again, praise God! They are still concerned though, like everyone else, because of his head size, his hypotonia and they brought up his tiny size over all. The pediatricians put him in the 30th% I think at his 15 week appointment so it wasn't ever an issue to me, but his nutritionist put him in the 10th% and now the geneticists put him in the 5th-10th% and also said he has failure to thrive. They seemed very concerned about this. They had taken his x-rays to discover his bone age which was normal and took all sorts of bloodwork for different hormone levels, etc, including the growth hormone. Everything checked out. But he was in the 75th% at his 9 month appointment and is now very low so that sends up big red flags that they can't get to the bottom of.

So I guess we'll get the nutritionist back out here to see what else we can do! It is very scary to think he has stopped growing, or at least is growing very little. The geneticists also said we need to get into the neurologist and, thankfully, we have an appointment in March. One step at a time we are hopefully helping our son and getting to the bottom of all this. Thanks for all your prayers, they mean so very much!

Bennett Is Sixteen Months

2012-02-01T11:29:00.001-08:00

Bennett is getting to be such a big boy! He is walking some now (although he still walks like Frankenstein) and he prefers to crawl much of the time. We are thrilled he's finally gotten up the confidence to walk, even unbiddingly! He is getting more and more sure of himself every day! Just this week, his Pops has been working with him and getting some great results! Thanks Pops!

Bennett had an appointment with a Geneticist doctor last week and we found out that the first round of bloodwork they ordered for genetic testing all came back negative, which is great news. At the appointment, they ordered a lot more bloodwork (which was torture to watch my son go through and he's had nightmares every night since... poor little guy) as well as some x-rays. All of this is to determine (and hopefully rule out) some other genetic causes to his microcephaly. The doctor seemed encouraging saying he didn't think the chromosomal tests would come back showing anything, but he remained stumped and concerned with the fact that his head has not grown since his 12 month appointment. Please join us in praying that not only the genetic results come back negative, but that his head will grow. It is a huge answer to prayer that Bennett is finally walking consistently! This will open many doors to both his physical and mental development, so this is a huge weight off our shoulders.

He has also started talking more. He repeats lots of words and says a few words. He says "this" as he points to anything he wants. It's his version of saying, "I want this and I want it now!" It is also apparent that he understands so much of what we say now! I can give him lots of commands and he definitely knows what I'm saying, although whether or not he obeys is an entirely different matter! Have I mentioned he has a serious rebellious streak? It's hilarious, I have to turn my head away so he doesn't know I'm laughing when he shoots me a mischevious look and throws his milk off the highchair... for the hundredth time! That boy is going to be trouble!

Bennett has started to really play with his brother now and he just spends half the day laughing so hard at all the silly things Jack does to and with him! It's the cutest thing in the world to watch!!! I just love to see their relationship developing, it's so precious! Bennett is a true thrill-seeker. He loves to ride on toys, be thrown in the air by Daddy, climb on anything and everything. Other than his extreme caution shown in walking, he is all rough and tumble boy! Here's our cutie!

Nothing's more fun than playing in a box!

A few photos taken by Jack

Yes, more matching outfits... blame Nana Peg for this one! My cute boys playing together!

The first snow of 2012! We haven't had much snow this year, but Jack is hoping we'll be able to build a Frosty the Snowman again this winter!

Bennett LOVES to point to these pictures of his family! He will crawl up on the couch to get closer!

Playing with the toolbench...

Spaghetti for dinner!!! Oh MY!

We still usually have a dramatic moment or two every day! Love this little boy!!!

Bennett's MRI

2012-01-13T11:49:00.000-08:00

I just have to start out by saying THANK YOU to everyone who has been praying for our little Bennett. We have felt it and know God has been so good to us. Thank you also to everyone who has called us, emailed us and texted us. We feel so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family who truly care about Bennett's health and well-being.

His MRI went pretty well yesterday, although it was a taxing day on everyone. The day before, the hospital called me and asked if we'd like to move the procedure up from 2:30pm to 7:30am and I was THRILLED! I didn't know how it would go with Bennett not getting to eat all day, so I was grateful. We had to get there at 6:30 and they gave him some medicine that made him act drunk. He was so funny, giggling at absolutely everything! He started to get worried when they were holding him down to give him the IV. It was really hard for this Mommy to watch my baby cry as they poked him and held him down. Eventually they got it in and whisked him away. I was a ball of nerves all morning.

He was back there for about an hour. When he came out, he was crying and screaming a lot. I think he was scared and confused as he was trying to come out of the anesthesia. There was nothing I could do to comfort him, he acted very upset. Eventually he drank and ate some and that made him a little better, although he was still pretty fussy. Once we got him home and eventually in bed, he went on to sleep, which is what he needed. When he woke up, he was pretty much his precious, happy old self again. I was so relieved.

So today, I got a phone call from a nurse from the Pediatrician's office that just said his MRI results were normal. WHAT?!! I tried to clarify, but all I could get from her uncaring lips was that they were "normal". I asked for clarity by saying "So the scan didn't show any abnormalities at ALL?!!!" And she said "no". I went on about how this was such great news and she said nothing. So that's all I had to go on, but that was enough to REJOICE!

Just a little while ago, I finally got to talk to one of the pediatricians at the office, although ours is not in today. I will look forward to talking with Dr. Nick on Monday and hopefully understanding things a little better. For now I know that his MRI did not show any signs of brain injury at birth. WOW!!! That is HUGE! Everything looked like it was in the right place and there was no scar tissue indicating there could have been brain damage. The doctor seemed to push towards us seeing the Geneticist asap, somewhat suggesting that there could be chromosomal problems leading to his microcephaly, hypotonia and developmental delays, but many of them show up in the MRI and obviously he had a "normal" MRI.

Dr. McCormick said it's a real possibility that he could be completely normal and that his issues could be easily explained away. His microcephaly could be that he just has a small head and maybe it runs in the family. And his developmental delays, although they are real, aren't drastic at all. They could be just because he's "lazy" (the doctor's words, not mine!). And the hypotonia could just be how he is, no issue attached to it. This is all music to my ears, although I understand there might still be a genetic component to all this.

We have an appointment with a Geneticist later this month and we'll know more once the bloodwork comes back, but I wanted to post this so you could know asap and rejoice with us! We were told that the pediatric neurologist in Louisville was no longer taking new patients so we were going to head to Cincinnati if the MRI showed us concerns. But my parents' friend is a neurologist and is getting us in to see him anyway! So amazing how God works! Thanks again for all your prayers and support. They were certainly felt through this unforgettable experience! And although we aren't 100% in the clear, I am choosing to focus on the good today, and what a good day it is!!!

Bennett Is Fifteen Months

2012-01-06T07:49:00.001-08:00

Our precious Bennett Henry continues to daily fill our lives with love and joy. He is the sweetest little snugglebug ever, has the most angelic laugh and absolutely adores his brother! He just loves... music, bread, books and having Mommy or Daddy hold him (especially Mommy!). Our lives would not be anywhere near complete without our Bennett. He is repeating tons of words, almost a new one every day, and saying a few on his own: Mama, Dada, Uh-oh, Mia and fish and he also does several signs.

So Bennett turned 15 months 3 days after Christmas and had his appointment that day. It wasn't the best appointment. His stats were 30th% for weight and 50th% for height which were both fine, but his head has actually not grown at all since his 1 year appointment so that sent up some red flags. Therefore, our Pediatrician has decided to go forward with the MRI. It is scheduled for this Thursday at 2:30, at which time they will also draw blood for some genetic testing. I am asking my friends and family to of course pray. What they are looking for are any abnormalities in the brain that would confirm their assumptions that it is indeed a brain injury caused at birth.

Depending on the extent of it, and/or the lasting effects, he might be diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is basically just brain damage that occurred usually at birth that has lasting effects, typically on muscle tone and motor skills but it can also affect other things, including learning disabilities. If he does indeed have CP, it is a mild form. The images that flooded my mind in the doctors office that day (as I bawled my eyes out) were of children in wheelchairs, etc. By God's grace, Bennett will not be that child. He has been identified as having hypotonality, or low muscle tone, which is probably the main reason he still isn't really walking (the most he's taken at a time was 6 steps and that was a couple weeks ago). He will also be having genetic testing done to (hopefully) rule out some chromosomal causes to his microcephaly.

His theraphy through First Steps continues to be one of the biggest blessings in my life, although it is quite time consuming. His PT, Teresa, is absolutely amazing, kind, educational and very smart. I trust her with his life. She has been more than a PT to him and almost a therapist to me as I cry and process through all of this with her, asking millions of questions. She, as well as his other therapist, Kate, are very reassuring that they think he will be a typical kid or very nearly one. I cling to that and pray they are right! He is continuing to be pushed every week by them and every day by me to walk, communicate and learn and he is making progress. Every step he takes (both literal and figurative) is super encouraging to us.

Take a minute to look at our sweet 15 month old, and we ask you to please pray for the MRI to go smoothly. He has to go completely under for it so that requires an IV and my prayer is that before he is put under, he would at no time be scared or in pain. Also, please pray for them to find nothing but a typical 15 month old's brain. It is possible because his delays could be completely normal and he could just have a smaller head genetically. If there are problems, I'll try to update the blog as soon as I can. We are hoping to receive the results Friday afternoon. He will later have an appointment with a geneticist and probably a pediatric neurologist. Thank you for praying for my angel! We are trusting God, whatever the results.

He is cruising everywhere these days!

What are you looking at?

This is a terrible picture but the only one I have of him standing alone, which he does really well and all the time now, for a long time!

There are a lot more "fights" around our house over toys these days. Bennett always wants whatever Jack has and Jack always wants what Bennett has!!

But they also get along really well most of the time!

Bennett's new favorite game is having Daddy fly him through the air by holding onto his clothes!

Weeeee!

Until Kevin took the tree down last week, I was struggling with this problem, Bennett constantly grabbing every ornament within reach! Surprisingly, Jack left it along most of the time.

Kisses!

A couple weeks before Christmas, Bennett started having more fits where he would just throw himself down on his back and scream and cry! I called them Scarlett O'Hara moments. They have gotten a little better lately, although from time to time, Scarlett will still rear her ugly head!

Jack is the sweetest brother. He loves Bennett so much. He likes to go to the top of the stairs to cheer Bennett on when he's crawling up them and then he gives him a huge hug once he reaches the top!!

When I'm cooking, if Bennett is not clinging to my leg whining for me to pick him up, he is getting into all the kitchen cabinets.

And he is super naughty and stands up in his high chair (we try to remember to buckle him in) so he can smile at himself in the mirror!

What a little stinker!!!

Christmas Day and the Day After

2012-01-05T12:41:00.002-08:00

Now that it's well into the New Year, I guess it's time for me to catch up on Christmas posts! Christmas day we woke up and opened presents and quickly headed to our new church, Springdale Community Church. Then we joined Aunt Ginny and Uncle Randy at my parents' for a small lazagna dinner before heading home for naps. After naps we had Jesus' Birthday Party at our house and invited Nana Peg and Pops. The day after Christmas was our big annual family gathering with all my Mom's side of the family at my parents' house. Lots of fun and busy, busy, busy! The boys were exhausted but had a great time!

Our tree after Santa's arrival, along with lots of presents under the tree from Meme and Gigi!

WOW!!!

The Sesame Street Toolbench from Santa was a big hit!

Jack showing off his toolbelt

Jack blew out the candles for Jesus's cake. It was really cute, he helped me bake the cake and was super excited about the birthday party for him and when Nana Peg and Pops rang the doorbell, he ran to the door saying "It's Jesus! Jesus is here for his birthday!!!" It was beyond adorable!!! But how do you explain that one?

Piggie back rides!

On the day after Christmas, before we dug into the feast, my Mom quoted Luke 2 from memory to help us keep our focus on the real meaning of Christmas! She memorized it as a girl and has quoted it for our family for several years on Christmas, very special.

The "kid" table, I remember when each one of these kids were born and now two of them are college students!!! I feel so old.

Jack thought he was so funny putting Nana's apron on!

Aunt Holly brought a HUGE gingerbread man to decorate with icing and candy. Jack was absolutely beside himself with excitement, he couldn't even bring himself to look at the camera for a quick shot!!!

All the cousins...

Bennett loved riding Nana Peg and Pops' rocket!

Wee!!!

Susan, Davis, Spencer and Rachel (Rachel was in our wedding when she was 6!)

Janet, Blake, Natalie and Steve

The whole gang

My Mom and her siblings: Uncle Cary, Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harold

Christmas Eve

2012-01-02T11:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve was our "Round Two"... we went to my parents' house for a wonderful breakfast and then opened our presents from Nana Peg and Pops! Then after the boys' naps, we went to the Christmas Eve service at my parents' church (a tradition since we moved to Louisville in 1988?) and then out to dinner. It was a great day spent with family.

The boys wore their Christmas PJs that morning.

The Moores Christmas 2011

The new 12 foot Christmas tree!

Holly and Bryan, sister and brother-in-law extraordinaire!!!

Jack, of course, opened the first present of the morning!

My new red coat!

One of Jack's absolute favorite gifts was from Aunt Holly and Uncle Bryan, a grocery store cash register! Too cute! Thanks guys!

And Bennett loved his guitar from them as well.

We played "Musical Opening Presents" because my parents had 3 trees with presents under each one so we would open some in one room, then move on to another room. Here's tree #2 in the front living room.

And the basement tree!

Hadley joined us from her nap for this round (also in her Christmas pajamas)!

We tried in vain to get a good picture of the cousins. Maybe next year!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas, Round One

2011-12-23T13:21:00.001-08:00

The weekend before Christmas we headed down to Hendersonville, TN, to see Kevin's family again! Justin and Kayla graciously hosted all of us and we had a good time hanging out, eating and even opening gifts from Nanny and Paw Paw! It was a great way to kick off Christmas!!!

Getting ready to dig in!

Cousins eating candy from Nanny!

All the guys: Justin, Jack, Larry, Trenton, Bennett and Kevin

Nanny and Bennett!!

Michael, Uncle Ray, Aunt Karen, Kendall, Melissa and Bennett

Opening presents! Jack and Bennett got some really fun toys and books and some cute clothes, thank you!!!

Trip to Tennessee

2011-12-21T11:13:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago we headed down to Tennessee making several stops along the way. We first stayed the night in Ashland City to see Kevin's Dad and Step-Mom. Then we headed to Murfreesboro to spend the weekend with our dear friends. On Sunday, we stopped in Hendersonville on our way back home for the afternoon and evening to see Kevin's brother and his family. It was a great trip!

Sweet Jean playing with our little B-man! We really enjoyed hanging out with you Nanny and Paw-Paw!

Jack absolutely adores his cousins Kendall and Addy!

On our way into the 'Boro, we stopped by our old house and we were happy to see it's being well-cared for. We have a lot of great memories in our first house.

The boys were out!

Our first night in Murfreesboro, after dinner with the Kramers and getting to meet precious Ivan (now Samuel), the guys went rock climbing while us girls stayed home with dessert and a couple bottles of wine! I can't imagine a better way to spend time with some of the best friends a girl could wish for.

Kevin

Jonathan

Benji

Derek, Benji, Kevin, Jonathan and Austin. I know Kevin misses his friends as much as I do.

The second night, our wonderful hosts, the Bakers, generously invited lots of our nearest and dearest friends to come over for dinner and a big bonfire afterwards with all the kids! Here Jack is eating with his friend Annelise.

Two of the greatest friends on the planet: Rebekah and Nicole.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

2011-12-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe Christmas is just a week away! We've been celebrating for the whole month, here are a few things we've been up to...

Decorating Christmas sugar cookies!

Unpacking the Christmas decorations and watching "Elf"!

Bennett loves the Dancing Santa from Meme as much as Jack did at his age!!!

Daddy bought a gingerbread house kit and tackled making it with Jack, it was a mess!

But lots of fun!

The lovely creation!!!

Sweet angel face

Stockings...

Jack's own Christmas tree for his room, along with his nativity set.

Our tree!!!

The boys dancing to Jingle Bell Rock

Bennett Is Walking

2011-12-14T11:25:00.000-08:00

Well, sort of anyway! He has taken 3 steps in a row!!!!! WOW, way to go B!!! We are so beyond thrilled because this marks a new stage of life for him. I've learned so much from his therapists and it really seems like once he starts walking, a lot more doors will be opened to him. I think Jack's progress seemed really advanced because he was such an early walker- 9 months- so he started doing other things early as well (except talking, because he's still a boy after all!).

Bennett is taking one step at a time like a pro now-although he took his first step only a week or so ago. He will take one step and then either fall or purposefully go down to his knees and start crawling, still a little hesitant! But yesterday he took 2 steps in a row twice, did 2 a few times today and then took 3 in a row! YAY! His PT suggested that since he's strong and developed, he should take off once he gets the confidence to make those first few steps... I sure hope she's right! We were praying that he would walk by 16 months because that's the latest that's really within the range of "normal" and it looks like he'll be walking before he's 15 months if he keeps it up! Thank you God!

Fall Festivities

2011-12-02T11:13:00.001-08:00

We had a busy fall this year with the boys! Although I'm a little behind in posting, get ready because there are lots of pictures!

My dear friend from Tennessee, Rebekah, came to visit me for a few days back in September. We had a wonderful time with her and her two beautiful girls. She took a few pictures one day when we went to the park.

And here is her oldest daughter, Caroline, holding Bennett. We didn't get a picture of sweet Anna Laura.

Caroline and Jack in the petting zoo.

As you can see, Jack is very affectionate... to everyone (thing)! I am sad that Rebekah and I didn't get a picture of the two of us. That's what happens when you have kids I guess!

Back in October, Kevin and I took the boys to a park one afternoon to feed the ducks and play on their awesome playground! Jack didn't know what to think at first of the ducks, who were more than a little scary at times!

Mia was our watchdog and would bark at and chase the ducks when they got a little too close to her family!!!

Jack is too brave for his own good sometimes!

We went to Gallrein Farms for the afternoon where we bought our pumpkins back before Halloween. Jack was prepared for anything with those shades!

They had tons of fallish decorations and it took me a long time to figure out if this sleeping cat was real or not.

Jack asked if this was "Old McDonald"!! I said it was.

There were tons of way cooler animals at their petting zoo but my camera died so I only got this chicken.

On a hayride to the pumpkin patch where we each found our own pumpkin!

Another day in October we went to the zoo when it was all decorated for Halloween!

Giving his buddy Elmo a big hug.

My tough guys!

Pointing at the sleeping lions!

Picking the gorilla statue's nose, what else?

In the bamboo jungle

(There is a gorilla in the background for those of you who care!)

Pushing this monster up the huge hills at the zoo always gives me a big workout, luckily Kevin was there this day to help out!

Trying to have a fall photo shoot in front of the house

Jack didn't want to cooperate so it became all about Bennett, what a little cutie!!!

Our front door was decorated too, along with the pumpkins from Gallrein Farms!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T11:07:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We celebrated at my parents' home Thursday and traveled to Tennessee to see my Dad's family over the weekend.

Bennett wearing his "Thankful for Mommy" shirt

While we were cooking, Dad was entertaining Jack as always. How precious is their bond.

Let me see those glasses Pops!

Yummy!!!

Bennett is the bottomless pit lately. He's eating long after everyone else is done!

Down in Tennessee Grandmother got to meet Bennett and Hadley, her 2nd and 3rd great-grandchildren.

Hadley reaching for Uncle Larry's mustache.

Jack giving Grandmother a hug. She hadn't seen him since he was less than a year old.

Bennett eating as usual

Thankful for Jack

2011-11-23T17:19:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for my whole family on this Thanksgiving, but it's time for a Jack update: his "quarterly report"! He is amazing in every way. So smart, so funny, so loving, so full of life and energy, so BOY! He climbs on anything he can find, runs laps around the house when he has too much energy (upon my suggestion), loves to be outside, and loves to hug and kiss everyone. He is truly a ray of sunshine in our lives and makes our days so much FUN! Jack recognizes all his letters and can even tell you what lots of words start with. He recently started to understand rhyming and he gives me a rhyming word if I give him one (sometimes they're made up: "burkey" for turkey!). A couple days ago he threw out that icicle rhymed with tricycle which I couldn't believe! He can count to 20 and he has very full conversations with us, even recalling things from a long time ago. He is also getting more of an imagination and has his toys "talk" to each other which is very cute.

A few of the cuter things Jack's been saying these days are... "Mud is so yucky" (it's the qualifying standard of yuckiness), "I like monkeys they are cool and awesome, they are not yucky like mud!", "I love you Mommy" (followed by a big hug and kiss, I cherish these days because I know they won't last forever), "I played with that earlier" (really starting to grasp time references, he says yesterday too), "When I get older I'll play golf with Pops", "I don't feel well" (his correct grammar cracks me up!), "Hop in Nana Peg" (into the car), "No pwobwem Mama" (when I apologize for losing my temper with him, precious boy), "There's the ity bitty teeny tiny moon following me", "Can I have some pwivsawy pwease?" (translation: privacy... when he's in the bathroom)!!! One not-so-cute-thing he's saying is "Why?" incessantly! It drives his parents crazy!

Here are some cute pictures of Jack over the last couple months:
A couple months ago his friend Lily turned 3 and her party was at a horse farm... fun!

They were searching in the hay for candy!!!

Here are Jack and the birthday girl Lily (excuse Jack's drool, he was eating a sucker he'd found in the haystack!)

One of the super fun activities they did was to paint their hand prints on a horse!

Here are all the cute kiddos in front of the very docile horse they painted!

And here he is eating a cupcake!

The party favor was this fun hat Jack just loved!

My handsome boy

Jack found a new lipstick of mine and went to town in his room one day. He wrote all over the walls, his bedding, stuffed animals and clothes before we discovered him. Kevin miraculously got it all out, but we were not happy parents that morning.

But how could you stay mad at this face for long?

Jack loves to dress up as Superman and put a kitchen towel around his neck as a cape! Here, Daddy put a cape around his Kitty Cat's neck too!

He leaps from tall buildings in a single bound!!!

These were some pictures we took a couple months back when the weather was still nice.

Wearing Daddy's shoes... 2 going on 12!

Jack loves to make tunnels that Bennett is strongly encouraged to go through!!!

Jack is a delight, but there are many moments of frustration and fussiness!

Here he is running laps from the front door to the back door, round and round the house to get energy out! He's got LOTS of it!!!

Wearing Mommy's boots! (here he's "taking a picture" too)

At the mall with Nana Peg and Bennett while Mommy shopped with Aunt Holly!

'Sup Mom!

Family Photos

2011-11-14T17:13:00.000-08:00

We had our family photos taken mid October by Shannon Leigh Photography, Bryan's aunt! She did an amazing job and we're so grateful for the pictures!!! This is only scratching the surface, there were over 100 photos!

Taking pictures of multiple kids never goes smoothly!

The Boys' Rooms

2011-11-06T18:06:00.001-08:00

This post is SOO long overdue. When we moved last October, we still had Jack in a crib so the pictures I posted of my house way back when had their rooms set up very differently than they are now. A couple weeks after Jack turned 2, we changed it out (yes, I know he will be 3 in 3 short months, I told you this is long overdue!). Then this spring I spent some of my birthday money (thanks Meme and Gigi!) redecorating Bennett's room. Moving to a new house with a 3 week old doesn't leave much time for coming up with an adorable nursery!!! So, here are their rooms... better late than never!

Jack's room!!!

He has a great closet that has room for clothes and lots of toys!!!

And Bennett's room!!! He has a car theme (thus why one of his first words is probably car)!

Bennett is Thirteen Months

2011-11-06T11:50:00.001-08:00

We've had a busy fall and Bennett is really enjoying being a big one year old! He said his first word a couple days after he turned one: "fish", probably because, after his birthday party, we still have 8 goldfish which Bennett LOVES! He is also saying Mama, car and ball. He has added the signs "more" and "drink" to his repertoire, also! He imitates many sounds, some fun examples are animal sounds: moo, baa and fish bubbles!

Physically, Bennett is doing great. He LOVES to walk behind his push-toy! He is also standing alone a bunch, for probably 10-20 seconds at a time. At his one year check up, his head circumference had grown, which is good, but it remains in the 3rd%. We are still praying for more growth, but the fact that he reached most of the milestones they asked about made us feel a lot better. His height was actually the same, 29", he didn't grow since his last check up and he is now in the 50% for height. Our doctor is going to watch and see before he gets too nervous about that one. His weight was 40%.

He is doing really well in his therapy. We love his PT, Teresa. We have actually discontinued his speech therapy, for now at least. He mainly saw a speech therapist because of his eating issues, which have now been resolved. Since he seems basically on target for speech so far, they will just re-evaluate his needs at 18 months when speech therapists typically start working with kids. So for now we have a Developmental Interventionalist (DI) who has a broader spectrum on all the areas of development and she will keep a close eye on each area as she works with us to help Bennett. We love First Steps... and our little angel, Bennett, for that matter!!!

With his buddy Hank

Reading bedtime stories together... Bennett has never been as big a fan of books as his brother, but he's getting there!

When Meme left, they were both sad!

Taking a walk one fall afternoon

Sweet kisses!

I don't know what it is, but something in me can't resist little boys in sweater vests!

Hmm, what-cha got over there?

Bennett LOVES feeding himself and brushing his own teeth, I might have another independent child in the making!

Dress rehearsal!

Bennett is the happiest baby on the planet! He is always laughing and smiling... at everyone!

Happy Halloween

2011-11-01T13:42:00.001-07:00

This year, we went to a Trunk- or-Treat at my parent's church, Hurstbourne Baptist (where I grew up going to church), on Sunday night and on the next night, Halloween, we went trick-or-treating around Lake Forest! So the boys got a double dose of Halloween fun! Jack absolutely loved it and Bennett enjoyed watching everyone.

This was a few days before Halloween, but Jack was already getting geared up! He would also just go grab his costume out of his closet and ask us to put it on him... for a couple weeks before Halloween even got here!

At the Trunk-or-Treat... sadly I didn't take any on Halloween night, but you get the gist.

Jack talking to Pops, probably about all the candy he was getting!!!

Trick-or-treat!!!

Nana Peg!!!

Jack playing a tossing game...

Waiting in line for a bounce house...

Playing another game

That's one serious giraffe on a mission... get candy!!!

Playing a "fishing" game for a prize

They were tuckered when we got home from trick-or-treating, but I had to try one last time to get a picture of them smiling together... maybe next year. (Notice all the chocolate on Jack's face!)

Videos

2011-10-31T18:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some cute videos over the past couple months (they were all taken in August, actually) of my adorable kiddos! Enjoy!

A Conversation about Wolves and Alligators:

This video is a little long, but worth it (I think)! It's an example of a typical conversation Jack and I share many times a day! A couple parts are pretty funny! It was taken back in August.

Cuteness Personified:

This was also taken back in early August so Bennett has changed a lot since then, but he was still so stinkin cute, way back then!

Jack's Beloved Kitty Cat:

This is Jack putting Kitty Cat to bed. He first tucks him in and then tells him a bedtime story. He used to "project" a lot of his own emotions onto Kitty Cat. We hope he doesn't end up in therapy one day over it. :)

A Tiny Life

2011-10-30T12:05:00.001-07:00

I had mentioned on my blog last month that I had taken several pregnancy tests that month, but that I wasn't pregnant. Well, it turns out that I was. I am not now, however. My baby was due May 15th and there was a tiny life growing and struggling inside me. Here are a few of my thoughts I recorded the day I found out I was pregnant:
I first started to wonder if I was pregnant when I was making the invitations for Bennett's upcoming first birthday party. When I found out I was pregnant with Bennett, I was making the invitations for Jack's first birthday party. So these babies are going to be the same distance apart that my first two are! Crazy, because neither of these babies were in my plan at all. Kevin, on the other hand, would be happy if I were always pregnant!!

I took several pregnancy tests this time around and some were negative (obviously too early) and some were just really light lines that I attributed to being evaporation lines. So on Friday I decided to buy some digital pregnancy tests so there was no question. In a matter of a couple minutes I was staring at the word "pregnant" and was in complete shock. I hadn't been feeling nauseated and I usually do at that time in my pregnancies so I really didn't think I was.

Well, baby Moore #3 is due May 15th, 2012. We will have a barely 3 year old and a 19 1/2 month old. God help us! I am really excited about this baby, even though life will be stressful and challenging at times. I'm looking forward to the fun that these three siblings will share and that they will always have each other. That they are so close in age will be hard in their early years on this Mama, but will be really awesome for them as children and (hopefully) as teenagers!! We can't wait to meet you little one and we're already praying for your health and perfect development!

~~~~~

So, as I explained above, I took several tests over the course of a week. I had a premonition even a week before that that I was pregnant. Sometimes you just know. I was nauseated super early on and started taking tests too early to tell. Then the faint lines started appearing. I now know why they were so faint... things were not going well in there. However, you always hear that no matter how faint the line is, if there's a line that means your pregnant! I started to feel less and less nauseated, but attributed it to every pregnancy being different... and maybe this was my baby girl I'd prayed for! Well, a few days later I took the digital test and was completely confirmed that I was, indeed, pregnant.

When I found out I was pregnant with Bennett, I was devastated and really spent the first few days of my knowing he existed in a state of anxiety that I've never experienced before or since. And now look at that precious child! It grieves me that I was living with such little faith and excitement about the gift of my angel- Bennett! So even though I was a little overwhelmed upon finding out about this baby, I was thrilled and had so much more faith in our God who gives and takes away life. So I was truly, sincerely happy and excited! To think... it would be another little baby I loved just as much as my other two!!!

I went to a Community Group Leader's Training that night and, with Kevin's advice, didn't tell anyone I was pregnant, even though I was really excited to tell people! I am so glad I waited because the next morning I woke up and was miscarrying. I only had less than 24 hours of positively knowing I was pregnant. I was only 5 weeks along so it was super early, and I obviously have 2 precious children so I am not as devastated as some people who miscarry. However, my heart has greatly grieved the loss of this beautiful child that I will not hold until I get to Heaven.

(You might think it's strange that I would post something so personal on my blog. But after lots of contemplation, I decided that this little person was as much a part of our lives as anything else, so it was only fair to represent him or her on my blog. I also don't want to ever forget this baby. I can't wait to meet him or her one sweet day.)

Bennett's First Birthday

2011-10-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

We had a big celebration for Bennett's big day! His actual birthday fell on a Wednesday so we just had Nana Peg, Pops, Aunt Holly and baby Hadley over. It was a wonderful birthday for him. Then his big party was on the following Saturday, October 1st where we had about 40 people over. Happy first birthday little B! (just a forewarning, this is a massive post!)

Daddy and the birthday boy!

Bennett's birthday cake on his actual birthday, made by my best friend Emily!!! It was so cute, we loved it!!!

Cutest little one year old on the planet!

The first time he ever had sugar... and not a huge fan as you can see!

Jack, on the other hand, gobbled his up fast!

Presents!!!

He enjoyed unwrapping them the best!

A cute outfit from Meme and Big Daddy!

Jack has gotten so gentle hugging Bennett and other younger kids. Here he's giving his cousin some lovin'.

~
The big party on Saturday!!! It was goldfish themed and the colors were orange and turquoise. It was lots of fun as many friends from church and elsewhere came out to celebrate our little birthday boy!

And Meme came in the night before all the way from North Carolina! Thanks for coming, Meme, it meant a lot to all of us! It was great having you here!!!

Bennett with both his grandmothers

The adorable cake made by my friend from high school, Ashley! She's awesome!!!

On the menu was: tuna sandwiches, fish-bowl jello, assorted swedish fish, seaweed and seashell pasta, whole wheat AND chocolate graham goldfish crackers, fish-shaped cookies, fruit salad and peanut butter and jellyfish sandwiches!

The invitation is in this picture, sitting on the counter. It said "Swim on by for Bennett's first birthday"

One of Bennett's gifts!

The party favors were a goldfish for each kid!

Ashley, Holly, Hadley, Caitin, Greer

We had coloring book pages of fish and fish stickers to entertain the kids

Charlotte and Lesli

Greer playing the fishing game in the kiddie pool!

Greta's turn!

Lily, Vallen, Jack, Emmy and Greta

Ems, Ava and Pu

Meme held Bennett almost the whole party!

The adorable gift bag my sister made!

"Happy birthday to you..."

Sweet boy!

He decided he'd rather play with it like play-doh than eat it!

His hand was completely caked in... cake!

The cake-cutter!

Present time!

Bennett had lots of help opening his gifts!

Hugging his new toy from cousin Hadley

Jack quickly realized he was gaining lots of gifts also!

Lily, Rachel and Hank

Leigh and Greta

Eleanor and Lezlie

Pops and Hadley

This is how Jack touches babies now... on the cheek like he is doing here to Kinley!!!

Emmy, Aven and Jack

Ava!

Meme playing with the boys

Bennett is ONE!

2011-10-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

My little angel-baby turned 1 on Wednesday, September 28th! We had a small family celebration and then we had a big party for him on Saturday (pictures to come)! Bennett is doing really well, he is making strides every day. He is still in his physical and speech therapy and they are making a difference I think. On his birthday, he did his first sign which was "please". We had been working hard with him to do "more" but he just wasn't getting it so the PT suggested we try a sign that uses only one hand. He had it in a couple of days! So that was a huge relief! Now we're continuing to try teach "more" and "all done". He's also doing a good job of imitating sounds we make and has lots of consonants down!

The reason the PT suggested trying a one-handed sign is because she said his whole right side is slower. So she thinks a brain injury during birth would help explain that. We have noticed from early on that he showed very strong tendencies toward his left hand, almost forgetting about his right hand until being reminded to use it sometimes. But while walking behind a push-toy 2 weeks ago, she observed that his right leg drags a little bit. She seems encouraging, still, that he always seems to be catching up quickly when taught new things and she still insists that wrongs done so early can be corrected, and usually are, with early intervention. So we are hopeful! If you didn't know about his condition, you would never think anything was "off" about him, he appears normal to everyone... until you look really closely as our pediatrician and therapists have.

Bennett is such a joy to everyone he meets. He is the smiliest baby ever. I get comments constantly in public that he has the most beautiful, heartwarming smile, and I have to agree!!! He smiles at EVERYONE, all the time! He melts my heart every day and he has the most infectious laugh! He adores his brother and I just love watching their relationship unfold. He's a bit of a Mama's boy at this point and follows me around like a puppy pulling up on me until I pick him up! He's so stinkin' cute!

He's getting MUCH better at eating so that makes my life a little easier! I truly believe it was his constipation that was making him such a bad eater. I wouldn't want to eat if my stomach was bloated and hurting all the time either, poor little guy! We praise God for healing his constipation issues literally overnight! He is getting closer to walking. He's let go and stood on his own (for a second or two!) a few times and he is getting braver with his cruising, stretching to reach a far away piece of furniture! We are so excited with every little stride! I am anxious about his 1 year appointment on Tuesday, we are praying his head circumference has grown a lot and that his percentile has increased to 20th%!!!!!! I'll update asap after his appointment, as well as birthday pictures.

Knocking down blocks is one of B's favorite pastimes!

Crash!!!

Relishing in the victory!

He's talking up a storm these days, no words yet but lots of babbles!

This boy gives THE BEST kisses on the planet.

Elmo Live was freaking him out a bit...

Bennett loves to get kisses from Mia, he always tries to get her attention for some smooches (it grosses Mommy out!)

This little boy loves his Daddy!

I was trying to get a photoshoot with the boys before church one Sunday because they were dressed color-coordinated, but Bennett was not cooperating!!!

He was not a happy camper

Bath time!!

I love this shot. Happy birthday Buddy! We love you more than life itself!!!

More Summer Fun

2011-09-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

A couple more things we've done lately are going to the Kentucky State Fair and the Louisville Zoo. I go to the zoo often, but usually don't remember my camera. We also went to a local church, Southeast Christian's Family Palooza Day, on Labor Day, which was awesome and basically free! I had my new camera for the last event so hopefully you can notice the difference between the pictures! I LOVE my new camera!!!

Petting the pigs at the KY State Fair!

We took our friends the Todds. Jack's posing with his friend Isabel.

Looking at the sheep

Jack and Daddy standing in front of a huge bull!

Lezlie and I with our oldest children at the entrance!

Riding the carousel

Playing in the bounce house

Riding the train! Jack was just a tiny bit too short to ride a lot of the rides (Isabel was just tall enough), so I rode this one with him.

Afterwards we went to get ice cream! As you can see, Jack was a very happy boy!

At the zoo with Greta!

My sister turned 31 and we celebrated at Captain's Quarters! Happy birthday Holly 'Nae!

And... the new camera! Here are they boys snuggled together in the double stroller (it's been pretty cold this week!)

Jack riding the train!

This was Jack's first drink of a soft drink (at least when I've been around!) and he definitely liked it!

They had a fabulous petting zoo with goats, sheep, a donkey, bunnies, chickens, etc!

But the highlight for Jack for the day (and possibly for his life thus far!!!) was riding a pony! He LOVED it... look at the pictures for proof!

I actually had two strangers comment that he was the happiest little boy they'd ever seen on that pony!

Sheer delight!

My New Baby

2011-09-06T18:05:00.001-07:00

No, I'm not pregnant again (although I did take 4 pregnancy tests this month!). I got an SLR camera and I'm so excited to better be able to document our children's lives! This is something I've wanted for a couple years now and I'm thrilled to have had a chance to get a really good one! It's a Canon EOS Rebel T1i. Don't ask me what that means or how to use it (it was recommended by several friends)... because I'm totally still learning... slowly! But I'm REALLY excited!

So hopefully the pictures I start posting on my blog will be much improved!

Bennett Is Eleven Months

2011-09-04T11:56:00.001-07:00

So, Bennett is doing a lot better these days and we just couldn't be happier or more grateful to God! He has now had his first Physical Therapy appointment and his first Speech Therapy appointment. The PT appt went really well and our wonderful PT even said she didn't think he would have qualified for treatment if he were evaluated now! Those words were music to my ears!!! He is doing much better these days with his gross and fine motor skills. He is cruising furniture and even walking behind a push-toy!!! He has been crawling up stairs for about a month now, also.

The Speech Therapist was also encouraging, but she is much less direct so I think it's going to take a few weeks to discern where she thinks he is developmentally in the eating/communication areas (and even for her to evaluate). He is improving GREATLY with eating though. He has even just started eating some table food: beans, soft little bites of veggies and cut up fruit! This is HUGE! He is babbling more also, and using more consonants, so that's great! He still says Mama and imitates kissing "muah" sound, but that's about it for actual words. Still a lot of work to do there, but we're in the right place!

Thank you to those of you who have prayed for my precious son. We have felt them and he is improving daily! We are praying that his Microcephaly will not influence him developmentally in the end, either mentally or physically. He seems like he's on a good path and we thank God!

Other than all this drama, Bennett is a precious, super-happy, usually laid back, smiley, giggly, observant baby boy. He adores his Mommy, Daddy, and especially his big brother Jack! We are so happy God placed him in our lives almost one year ago, even though we didn't "plan" on him. He has brought this family so much JOY and we can't imagine our lives without him.

Playing "peek-a-boo"... it's hard to catch him at just the right moment!

How cute is this kid?!

The many (adorable) faces of Bennett.....

Thanks "Aunt" Karen and "Aunt" Nicole for my precious outfit!

Bennett's crawling like a champ now!

Walking behind the push-toy!!!

Go Bennett, Go!

Getting into trouble as always!

This little boy loves to crawl under the table.

This was taken early in his 10th month and he would get frustrated because he could pull up but couldn't always get down without falling!

And this was taken about a day after he started pulling up... he was already making BIG messes! He's pulling all of the bibs out from the back of his high-chair!!! Oh my, I've got my work cut out for me with 2 boys!

Jack is Two and a Half

2011-08-31T19:39:00.001-07:00

Precious Jack has been up to all sorts of things. He acquires new words, thoughts and phrases daily! He started speaking in 10-15 word sentences and then I just stopped counting. We think he is brilliant, he constantly amazes us with what he remembers, understands and says!!! He knows lots of his shapes, colors and letters.

He also makes us laugh all day long! Some of the really cute and funny things he is saying right now are... He "translates" for Bennett all the time so an examples is "Bennett say, 'No Mommy, I don't wike dat cawots. I am pick-y!"' When he has done something he knows he wasn't supposed to do he says, "It's okay Mommy, it was a accident." When he's been upset and gets something he likes he says, "Dat make me feew so much beddew now, dank you." If he says "thank you" and I say your welcome, he says "Uh WEL come too Mommy!" He'll say, "Want to pway da name game song?" If he is bringing up something from a few weeks/ months ago (or even yesterday) he'll say, "Mommy, you nembew (remember)... mokey (Smokey, Meme's cat, for example)! If Bennett starts crying for any reason, to soothe him he starts loudly singing "Rock a bye baby..." for him, it's like a Pavlovian response!!! Well that's just a drop in the bucket, but isn't he adorable?

Don't get me wrong, he is also challenging at times. He has a headstrong attitude that he got from both Mom and Dad and he wants so much to be self-reliant. "No, I do it!" is his anthem! Another issue we are dealing with is the physical aggression he constantly inflicts on his baby brother. We think that most of the time it isn't intentional, he is just a boy and is aggressive and physical, but it's giving me gray hair. Here are some adorable shots of my sweet oldest son over the last couple months.

Jack LOVES to play with all the games I've downloaded onto my phone. I just had to take a few pictures of him one day because he was concentrating SO hard, it was adorable!!

I cherish this time in Jack's life where I am truly his best friend. I know it won't be for long...

A couple months ago Daddy bought Jack a little snake that you keep in water for a few days and it grows into a big snake! We kept it in the cooler in the garage!

Little snake...

BIG snake!!! (Sorry my son does not have his pajama bottoms on in a lot of these pictures, this is a common occurrence in our house since he's been potty trained. We're doing good when he puts his underwear back on!)

Trying on his Halloween costume from last year and lovin it!

How he treats his brother on a daily basis. Poor Bennett!!!

My precious sweetie! Going to tuck him in before I go to bed is still one of my favorite times... it's the only time Jack is still and quiet!!!

Jack has become quite the little photographer! He always plays with my phone, but now he knows how to go to the camera app and take pictures... so he's always saying, "Mommy, say 'cheese'"!!! I seem to be his favorite subject!

Playing with my phone in the car produced several new pics!

"Mommy, wave 'hi'"!

Nothing is more fun that a big box! Notice the kitty cat in Jack's hand, this is his favorite toy/stuffed animal and she has to come most everywhere with him lately!

Evidently Jack has joined the recent trend in "planking"! Haha!

Playing Mr. Potato Head!

Look at that precious face!

Daddy made a fort with the dining room table and a lot of blankets!

Cincinnati

2011-08-19T11:56:00.000-07:00

Last Monday we took a day trip up to Cincinnati and had a great time. Kevin surprised me and was going to book a hotel room so we could stay and do more, but I have a huge fear of bugs/infestations, etc, and I had heard that Cincinnati has one of the highest bed bug rates in the US. So... we made it a day trip!!! (I know, I need psychiatric help.)

The biggest thing we did in Cincy was visit the Newport Aquarium. We knew Jack was going to love it, but what we didn't foresee is how much Bennett would love it as well! We had just gotten his evaluation results and I was feeling down so this trip was a fun distraction, and it was so cute to see our sweet little Bennett mesmerized by all the fish! I actually remembered to bring my camera, but I hadn't used it in so long, as soon as I got it out to snap the first picture, I realized the battery was dead. So you'll have to excuse the quality of the pictures. Our new phones are awesome, but still aren't as good as a normal camera!

Bennett was ready to take on the aquarium!

Posing with the huge shark tank behind us!!!

SHARKS!

Duun-nuh, duun-nuh!

Sorry for the picture quality.

Jack trying to pet the stingrays and sharks!

Daddy was so patient and explained what everything was for the ever-inquisitive Jack!

This was in one of the underwater tunnels and Bennett was looking up at all the fish swimming above him! We tried to get him to go to sleep because we were there right through his nap, but he would have none of it! He wanted to see everything!!!

Sea turtles!

Jack liked the alligators!

And the fish!

These jellyfish were my favorite, they were beautiful!

Evidently they were pretty high on Bennett's list as well!

Stingrays!

How cute is this picture?!

A scale for measuring huge fish (and my boys)!

The penguins were so much fun to watch!

Especially the ones swimming in the water

Not the best "cheese" face, but still adorable!

And despite our best efforts at getting Bennett to sleep for his nap, he only went to sleep as we were walking out. He finally knew there were no more fish for him to see!

And once we got in the car, Jack soon joined his brother in la-la land (we had skipped his nap too)!

For dinner, we drove to Kevin's favorite restaurant, Toots. They have 2 in the Nashville area, one in Bowling Green, KY, and this one in Cincy. So Kevin completed his goal in eating "the world's best wings" at all 4 locations!!!

Cincinnati, it's safe to say... we'll be back!

Summer Fun

2011-08-17T13:32:00.001-07:00

We have had a busy summer full of play dates and outings... however, I've only managed to whip out my camera or phone on occasion. A lot of these pictures are even ones other people have sent me, so thank you friends and Mom! Sorry I've been such a slacker! Here are a few fun things we've done recently...

This is actually long overdue, but it's a shot of our church small group from this past year. We will be changing it all up next month... our wonderful leaders have moved to Cleveland and we miss them lots.

Our friends had their baby, sweet little Charlotte, and I got to meet her in the hospital!

At my cousin, Davis' graduation... Jack was swinging with Natalie and Steve.

Jack was amazed watching the big kids playing corn hole... so he tried to get in on the action!

Holly and precious Hadley over one day!

We went to Chuck E. Cheese's again and both kiddos had a blast this time!

Both boys "rode" a little simulated roller coaster together!

The best ride of all, on Daddy's shoulders!

One morning at church when I was working in the nursery, there were only babies around the age of Bennett which was really fun! The one looking at the camera is Bennett's cutie pie little friend, Gwen!

Hanging out with little Miss Hadley at Mom and Dad's before a big extended family cookout.

The boys love their swing set!

We spend many hours out here, but usually not in the super-hot weather we've had a lot of this summer.

Hadley chewing on her hands!

Another trip to the pool

Jack kept "swimming" up to Bennett and making him laugh, it was so cute!

Neena and the boys!

We had Mark and Emily over one night and did I take any pictures of cutie Ava with my boys? Or of me and Ems who have been best friends more than half our lives? No, but I got one of Kevin and Mark doing a prom pose in their matching green. It's the really important things I seem to document!

A playdate with Lily!

At our small group get-together this summer Jack got to play with his buddy Greer and meet little baby Charlotte!

Lesli with sleepy baby Charlotte!

Oh, Deer

2011-08-16T08:58:00.001-07:00

This spring and summer we've had some pretty fun pets! "Our" deer Mommy and her two babies who come visit us usually every day! We even buy food for them (shelled corn and a salt lick). They are now pretty used to us and often don't even run away when we come outside. Jack loves them and calls them his deer. The babies have grown so much and we will be sad when they move on, but it's been fun!

In May when they first started coming around... first Mommy....

Jumping our neighbor's fence!

And then the babies started coming to see us! This is in June.

This was early August, the babies have grown so much!

Bennett's Evaluation

2011-08-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

Pictures from a recent trip to the pool!

We had Bennett's First Steps Evaluation on Wednesday and I received the results by mail on Saturday. It was yet another rough weekend.

During and after the evaluation, I felt pretty encouraged! Our evaluator, Susan, was super nice and she walked Bennett through an hour and a half of exercises and activities (that seemed to him like he was just playing). She also asked us tons of questions about what he's doing and how he handles certain situations, etc. Susan seemed encouraging with his accomplishments and I felt like Bennett did great in most things. She did talk about how she noticed some sensory perception issues, which just means that sometimes he has a hard time making sense of all the stimuli that is constantly coming at him. She also said his communication isn't where she'd like it to be. So after her evaluation, she said she was going to recommend a Speech therapist (to help with his eating issues as well as vocalizing more) and a Physical therapist (to just encourage him to continue to reach his milestones). Nothing else came up during the evaluation.

So when I received the very detailed write up in the mail yesterday of Susan's results of her time with Bennett, I was shocked. She said his cognitive skills are between a 5 month old to age appropriate range. And his communication skills are between a 5.5 month to age appropriate range. Everything else seemed pretty close to target (give or take a couple months, but nothing alarming).

So during the weekend, these were my thoughts: "These results of him being really far behind on cognitive and communication skills are very upsetting. It makes me think the Microcephaly is really impacting him and that there is either brain injury/damage or he has some sort of chromosomal defect that is causing him to have a lower-functioning brain. I am really upset and worried and I have SO many questions. Why do I always get this kind of news on the weekend? Maybe God's trying to teach me to trust him and to have patience."

Now that it's Wednesday not much has changed. Kevin took us on a quick trip to Cincinnati Monday to just get away which was really good for us. We went to the Newport Aquarium and got our minds off the news. On Tuesday I talked with our First Steps Coordinator who just said at least his low scores means he gets therapy! Well, I guess that's one way to look at it. She also emphasized that it's a range between 5 months and age appropriate. So the next step is we are having a meeting with the Coordinator- Shauna, the Evaluator- Susan, and the two therapists that will be treating Bennett- the Speech Therapist and the Physical Therapist. That is scheduled for Monday the 22nd.

My main question at this point is how are they going to help him develop cognitively since that seems to be the main issue for him. Please keep us in your prayers, especially sweet Bennett, that he will develop wonderfully and his brain and head will grow perfectly. Thank you.

Bennett Is Ten Months

2011-07-27T17:04:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe in two short months my baby boy will be ONE! I want to take this time to update you on Bennett and what's going on with him. Just a forewarning, this is a really long post!

I have done a lot of internet research, despite the discouragement of basically everyone I know, since I last posted. But I felt I had no where else to go for information on my precious child. I was originally only googling stuff like "small head circumference", etc, but the word Microcephaly kept coming up everywhere. I had never heard the term, but started reading all about Microcephaly. It just means "small (micro) head (cephaly)", but it is most often caused by a number of chromosomal defects. The fact that the head is growing so slowly is usually because the brain is not growing properly. The effects of Microcephaly can vary from minimal to severe physical and mental disabilities. One night during my research I was bawling my eyes out when Kevin came home, looking at pictures of sweet children plagued with this condition, and thinking of my precious baby.

I say all this because my doctor never mentioned the word Microcephaly to me during his 9 month appointment last month. However, during the process of trying to get approved for First Steps, the physical/ocupational therapy for Bennett, the coordinator told me that since my doctor had diagnosed him with such a serious condition as Microcephaly, he was being expedited through the process and was automatically approved! I was completely taken aback with the news of his official diagnosis. This was on Friday, July 15th. I had a VERY, VERY difficult weekend, emotionally.

I called Dr. Nick first thing Monday. He called back that afternoon and we had a chat. I found out he is, indeed, diagnosed with Microcephaly. However, he told me Bennett's head circumference is in the 3rd% (the nurse who did the measurements said he was off the charts small) so that was good news! He also said he didn't want to go ahead with the MRI just yet. I have mixed emotions about this. I am mostly THRILLED not to subject him (and us) to that, and I am afraid of what they might find, but part of me just wants to KNOW what's wrong. The reason he is not pushing to go forward with the MRI at this time is because the treatment (if they were to discover a brain abnormality) would basically be the exact same as what we are going ahead with now: the physical therapy. So there's really no reason to know if anything/what is wrong just yet.

Dr. Nick seemed somewhat reassuring that he wasn't super-concerned with Bennett at this point. However, when I mentioned his traumatic birth (he was born blue and not breathing and had a 1st Apgar score of a 2 I think), he wanted to keep that on the forefront as we continue to monitor him. In my research I saw that Microcephaly is most often caused by chromosomal defects but can also be caused by loss of oxygen in utero or at birth (and drugs and alcohol during pregnancy, thankfully not an issue here). So the doctor seemed to think he could potentially have a brain injury caused from his loss of oxygen during his difficult birth.

Bennett has made even more progress since I posted about 2 weeks ago on him. He is crawling FOR REAL and gets faster every day!! He is pulling up on furniture excellently (and all the time!). This past Friday morning I went in to get him from his crib and he was standing up looking at me! He also is getting really fast at walking holding onto someone's fingers... so we are THRILLED about the progress he is making. It's such an encouragement. He is also the most cuddly, snuggly thing. I ADORE him and he just loves and loves. He gives passionate hugs and even kisses!

This past Friday, July 22nd, we had our First Steps Service Coordinator come out to the house for our first official meeting where she observed Bennett and asked us lots of questions about him. She was really sweet and very encouraging! She said he was a different baby than what she was expecting to see, knowing his diagnosis. Another thing she said that really stuck out to me, is that if he does have a brain injury, it happened so early in life (before he took his first breath!), and we are going to start working with him so early, that we can literally change the direction of his brain's growth. Since new neuropathways and neurons are being constantly created in him, with the therapy, we can make a HUGE difference, seemingly causing him to live potentially like a typical kid! He might not even have a brain injury, but this was very encouraging to me if he does!

We have our First Steps Evaluation scheduled for this coming Wednesday morning, August 3rd. They will evaluate him in 4 different areas of physical and mental development. He is approved for First Steps because of his medical diagnosis no matter what they discover, so we are really hoping they tell us Bennett is perfect and typical! We would appreciate your prayers for his head and brain and health as he grows. I'll try to make a post after the evaluation, as she tells us all the results then and there.

This is when he was flirting with the idea of pulling up...

This is what Bennett looks like when he's introduced to a new food (here, whole peas)!

CRAWLING!!!

Rocking Bennett for night-night! You can get a little glimpse of his newly decorated room!

Bennett's never been one for books. He'd rather chew on them than read them which is COMPLETELY opposite of his brother.

We have breakfast at Mom and Dads on Saturday mornings and this time, all the men wore green so we had to get a picture!!! You can also see a little of their home. It was completely professionally redecorated and looks AMAZING!!!

Their relationship is so precious.

Theirs isn't too shabby either!

This was the first time Bennett ever pulled up. It was a weeks ago today!

And now he pulls up a million times a day... on everything!

A rare occasion, Kevin actually allowed me to dress my sweet boys in smocked outfits for church. Hey, what do you expect, I don't have girls... and aren't they CUTE?!!

Video of Bennett crawling!!!

Just a little glimpse of Bennett's giggly side and how much he adores his brother. So precious! (Please ignore my early-morning-stay-at-home-mom appearance!)

Fourth of July

2011-07-18T17:24:00.001-07:00

Better late than never! Well, this year we had a fabulous Fourth! My parents had a party at their house with extended family so we really got to celebrate! My parents' neighborhood has a really awesome fireworks show every fourth, so after an awesome dinner, we headed down the street to the clubhouse.

My cutie boys in their matching Patriotic outfits!

Before the fireworks show Jack watched jealously as all these other kids were playing with sparklers. We unfortunately left ours at home.

For the big Lake Forest fireworks show, we walked down the street to see an awesome show! Jack got a little scared a couple of times, but he really astonished us! He would laugh wildly and say "This is FUN!" almost seeming to be giving himself a pep talk... so funny!!!

Everyone watching the show! Aunt Ginny, Uncle Randy, Bryan, Cassie, Mom, Kevin and Jack (everyone else stayed home with the sleeping babies).

Sorry it is so dark, but you get the idea of how much Jack loved the fireworks! SO CUTE!!!

Trip to North Carolina

2011-07-16T19:38:00.001-07:00

We packed up the minivan (complete with the DVD player which was a lifesaver!!) and headed to North Carolina a couple weeks ago! Both boys did great during both 7 hour trips (considering). We put a diaper on our newly potty-trained toddler to save us from making a million stops!

It had been over a year and the addition of a child since we'd last been to see Kevin's family there. Bennett got to meet his Gigi and Big Daddy for the first time and everyone got great quality time with Jack too! We had a wonderful time and ate like kings, as always! We really enjoyed our quality time with you guys and miss you like crazy!

Meme and Bennett getting in some good bonding time!

Jack got stung by a mosquito 3 or 4 times on the ear and it made it stick out like Dumbo!!! Kevin, Jackie and Jack went on a big adventure at the creek in their neighborhood and even rescued a trapped dog and brought her home to clean her up and feed her. We found her owners by the next day and returned her. Poor little thing!

Jack definitely got spoiled with lots of yummy foods while we were there!!! He LOVED it! (So did we!)

Jack pumping some iron! :)

During our traditional trip to the mall, Jack held Gigi's hand the whole time, it was precious!

Bennett and Big Daddy!

Bennett LOVES playing with his feet, especially in the car (when he has nothing else to do)!

Peek-a-boo!

Bennett Is Nine Months

2011-07-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

Bennett had his 9 month appointment a couple weeks ago and I'm just now posting about it. A couple of things contributed to my procrastination of posting: I've been super busy with calligraphy work AND the somewhat bad news we received at his appointment. Each time I've tried to start posting, I get discouraged and can't do it.

Bennett is mostly healthy and he weighed 19.4 lbs (25th %) and was 29 inches (75th %). However, as always, his head circumference is very small. It was at first in the 10th percentile, then the 5th and now he is off the charts (less than 1%). That, coupled with the fact that he wasn't meeting all his milestones, they had me really worried. At this appointment 2 1/2 weeks ago, I answered "no" to almost every question they asked me in relation to milestones. Dr. Nick said that if he isn't cruising furniture in 4 weeks (just a little over 1 week from now, at 10 months) that we were going to have to order an Xray of his head and possibly an MRI. I was, of course, in tears in the Dr. Office over my sweet, precious little Bennett.

However, the doctor gave me a couple of exercises to do with him and he has made vast progress in the past weeks! Here are some things he is now doing that he wasn't just a couple weeks ago: 1. Using his pincer grasp to pick small things up, even eating finger foods now!, 2. going from laying on his back to sitting up, 3. saying his first word, "Mama"!!! (and he's just started saying Dada a couple times too!), 4. standing while holding onto furniture. And his crawling is vastly improving! He's not fast yet, or graceful, but he makes progress every day! He is also getting real close to pulling himself up on furniture. He already pulls himself up on us somewhat (but we help a little more than furniture does!).

So, I am hopeful and we are praying hard for our little guy. It's difficult to know if he wasn't meeting the milestones because of the small head, or because he's the 2nd child (whom I wasn't pushing at ALL!) born with a very laid-back personality. The doctor said he might just have a small head and it's nothing but they want to be cautious of course, to make sure the small head and slower milestones aren't causal. Please join us in praying for our little Bennett. 2 1/2 weeks ago, the idea of him cruising furniture in a month was completely incomprehensible, but now I can see that it's a possiblity, albeit a very slim one. I will be anxious to hear what the Doctor says in a week and a half when I call back.

He is going to be receiving an evaluation by a program called First Steps to see if he needs intervention which includes physical therapy, speech therapy, etc, done in our home. I can tell the work we've already started doing with him has VASTLY improved his skills so we are hopeful that with more attention, he will thrive! Other than all this drama, Bennett is a delight, he is truly the smiliest, happiest, sweetest, most laid-back baby on the planet and he is a tremendous joy to us every single day. He isn't a great eater, but that's really our ONLY complaint!

Getting tackled by big brother Jack

My red-neck baby! He was really hot at a friends' cookout so we took his shirt off!

One of Bennett's favorite things is grabbing Daddy's glasses (and Mommy's earrings)!

This little guy is capable of making a big mess these days (of course he gets help from his brother!)

Who's ever heard of a baby that doesn't like fruit?! Bennett prefers veggies to fruits, although you have to catch him in the right mood to eat anything!

This is what his crawling looked like for a long time. He just couldn't quite figure it out! He's getting better!

Bennett loves his exersaucer!

His swing on our swing set

We went to Kolby's one night when both our hubbies were working and hung out with precious Kinley!

Mom's birthday at P.F. Changs

Cousin Davis's graduation party

Bennett loves to suck/chew on his pointer finger

Such a happy boy!!!!!

Neena and Pops were watching the boys one night for us to go out and Neena took a bunch of pictures of Bennett on the move.

Trying to pull up!

Standing on furniture!

Jack Is a BIG Boy

2011-06-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

Jack is almost 2 and 1/3rd! He is growing up so fast! He is at such a fun stage (aside from a strong-willed personality he got from both his Mommy and Daddy, which occasionally crops it's ugly head!). He is talking nonstop, carrying on full, real conversations, and best of all, he is potty trained!!! For a boy I've heard that's pretty early, but we decided to jump right into it anyway and he seemed really ready! It took all of three days!!! Not to say there won't be some accidents down the road, but besides naps and nighttime, he is now diaper free! YAY!!! There are about a million pictures in this post, but it's been awhile since I did a Jack update!

Starting on Friday, we took a couple days before the real potty training started, where we trained Jack's favorite bear, Charlie Bear, how to go potty (notice his diaper)! Here we are reading "Once Upon a Potty" to him.

As you can see, Charlie Bear really picked up on going potty quickly!

When Charlie Bear was successful, he would get juice and M&Ms as his reward!

So on Monday, we took Jack's diaper off for good and pumped him full of juice. We spent most of the day Monday and Tuesday outside... we had great weather!

Here I was trying to get Jack to show off his Big Boy underwear! He had a few accidents that first morning, but by noon, he had basically gotten it. He had a few accidents after that, but few and far between!

The first night, he got Steak-and-Shake as his reward for doing so great!

After each pee-pee, he got M&Ms just like Charlie Bear had!

YAY! He gets it! By today (Thursday) we were training him to hold it longer. We went to Rafferty's with Neena and he went potty there and then held it for over an hour!!!

Pre-potty training shots from here on out...

Licking the batter!

On his big boy swing... he likes to go really high and it makes Mommy nervous!

Jack's "cheese" face continues to be a problem in many a picture!

Playing outside in the pool

Loungin'

Jack's first popsickle at our friends' Memorial Day cookout

Jack with his friend Lily at the park

We went with my friend Cheryl (holding Jack in the bounce house) to a little fair in her neighborhood last weekend. Jack had the time of his life!

Jack was very brave and got pretty high for such a little guy!

Jack followed his buddy Nathan EVERYWHERE (he is about 1 and 1/2 years older!!!)

Jack waiting anxiously to go on the slide!

Such a big boy!!!

Jack and Nathan loved the firetruck!

We went to the pool with Isabel, Jack's friend.

Another big development in the life of Jack is that he moved into a real big boy bed about a month ago!!! Around the same time, he figured out how to open his bedroom door, so my mornings have been starting a lot early now (around 6:45, ugh). But how cute is he sleeping in it!

Our friends, the Smiths, moved away a couple weeks ago and we had their going-away party at Cherokee park where Jack LOVED the water park area. We will miss you Brandon, Ashley and Aven!

Jack's new bed! Kevin set it up for him one morning while he was downstairs watching Sesame Street! We surprised him with his new room afterward and he really loved it.

Playing peek-a-boo with me!

For my Aunt Ginny's birthday, my Mom, Holly, Hadley and me and the boys joined Uncle Randy and their three daughters for lunch out. I love my wonderful family!

A few weeks ago, Kevin took Jack fishing in Neena and Pops' lake! He actually caught a big fish and talked about it for weeks!!!

Bennett Is Eight Months

2011-06-07T19:18:00.001-07:00

It is so fun watching Bennett turn into a little boy! He is the most delightful child I've ever known, what a privilege to call him mine. Everywhere we go, people tell us he is the sweetest, happiest, smiliest baby they have ever seen. He is so PRECIOUS!!! He is a content little guy, just sitting on the floor watching his brother or playing with a toy.

He still sleeps about 12 hours a night straight through, but now he's down to 2 naps that last around 2 hours each. He is breastfed 4 times a day and eats 3 meals of solid food. He's eating a lot better now, but still will turn up his nose at certain foods or as soon as he's full! We have to feed him prunes every day because the poor little guy struggles with constipation (hope that's not too much info!).

He has discovered cause and effect and loves to drop things from his high chair to watch them fall to the ground! He can roll from his back to his front now and then pulls up on all fours. He has crawled like one pace a couple times then falls and he always crawls backwards, still. I'm sure he'd be full-blown crawling by now, but I do not encourage it! I know that's terrible, but I am busy enough and don't mind if Bennett waits a couple more weeks to start crawling!!! He absolutely belly laughs now and it is so adorable. He cracks me up every day, he's so stinkin cute!!!

Jack's friends (twins) Grant and Quinn turned 2 last month and they had a Disney themed birthday party! Too cute!

Neena and Pops with their 3 grandkids!

He is constantly jibber-jabbering!

Bennett has learned how to give sloppy kisses so we all get them! Jack will often say, "No Beyyett, I aww wet!"

Jack still constantly attacks (oops, I mean hugs) Bennett!

Bennett's first big boy bath! We put away the baby tub!!!

Jack loves sharing his bath experience with his brother! He even helps to wash him!

Playing with Elmo Live doll

Bennett's doing better eating these days!

Serious face, concentrating on crawling!

Jack is encouraging his brother to crawl, he always demonstrates for him

Baby food making time again! Not my favorite thing to do, but I feel good about what I give my kids.

Homemade Porridge

Sweet potato face!

Sad crying face...

Bennett hanging out with his new friend Hank!

Our Yard

2011-06-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

Since we closed on our house in October, our home and especially our YARD have come a LONG, LONG WAY!!! Take a look!

When we moved in, this is what our house looked like.

This was the back yard, we only had about 25 feet from the back door to the forest line to play in.

In December, before we did anything to the back yard.

After our new roof, siding and shutters in December (notice the hideous huge bushes in front of the door)

After Kevin cleared out ALL that brush!

Next, Kevin bought a chainsaw and cut down several trees! He had a LOT of fun doing that!

Randomly, this was back in March when all the trees were blooming, so pretty! This is toward the entrance of our neighborhood from our front yard. Sorry it's dark, I went out after the boys were in bed at twilight.

Mia chasing the groundhog that lives in our yard, but it showcases how many sitcks and roots were still on the ground this March.

The stumps remaining in April.

Kevin rented a stump-grinder from our friend Lee a couple weeks ago and got rid of those ugly and dangerous stumps.

Then this week he rented a tiller to tear up all the roots. It was SUCH hard work, he looked like he was wrestling an alligator! We have both put hours and hours into this back yard, but it is worth it to give the boys a nice place to play!

We have seen 5 deer, 1 fox, 1 racoon and 2 groundhogs in our yard so far!!! We LOVE backing up to the woods! In this picture you can notice all the weeds and tree sprouts coming up, another project Kevin did was spray the whole yard with weed killer.

The result:

Kevin pulled up those hideous huge bushes in the front yard. And with the money my parents gave Kevin and I for our birthdays, we bought lots of beautiful new bushes, plants and flowers!

It looks SO much better!!! You can't really tell from the pictures but I love it! We have a gorgeous blue hydrangea, tons of hostas and purple and white petunias everywhere!!!

And best of all... an aquaintence of mine was moving out of state and GAVE us her AWESOME swing set!!! Kevin went over there one day and took it down (a labor of love!) and then a few days later put it up in our back yard! The boys have already had SO much fun on it! We were so blessed with this gift!

And here is the current state of our yard. It still has lots of work ahead of it, but it's come SUCH a long way in only seven months!!! In our garage sits bags of grass seed, straw and fertilizer! We have tripled the size of our back yard's usable space!

Jack's request every day is "Outside? Swing park?" or "Slide park?" So cute, he LOVES his yard and so do we!!!

Swagger Wagon

2011-05-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

In February, Kevin's motorcycle was stolen, which actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We got a decent check from State Farm and put it towards a new Mini-van! We love our Infiniti, but let's face it, we were quickly growing out of it as a family of four. So Kevin took my car and he found a good deal on a used Honda Odyssey for me, we were so thrilled! Then soon after, the transmission went out on it. So I was without a car at all for a few long winter weeks. But, now it is a huge blessing and we just love our Odyssey! My wish list included leather seats and a rear entertainment system, so I'm one happy (future) Soccer Mom!

Videos

2011-05-14T21:35:00.001-07:00

Giggles

Sweet Brothers! My favorite thing about having two kids is watching them interact. They are a HUGE source of entertainment and love for each other. It warms my heart to hear my precious boys laughing together every day!!!

Guitar Face

Jack's mean rock and roll face!

This Is Crazy!

Okay, my 26 month old found my camera, took the lense off, turned it on, and pushed play. How does he know how to do all this? Is he brilliant or what?!!!

Bennett Is Seven Months

2011-05-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

Bennett is such a big boy! He has 6 teeth, is getting really big (long) and is getting close to crawling! He sits up by himself, talks non-stop, eats lots of different foods now, and continues to be a tremendous joy to everyone who knows him! He is full of constant smiles and giggles and could warm the coldest person's heart in an instant!!!

He is one tough kid. With a brother like Jack, I guess he has to be. He rarely cries from pain although Jack hurts him often. The other day he pushed him off the coffee table while he was sitting in his Bumbo seat. He fell flat on his back/head in the seat and only cried for like 20 seconds. Poor thing. He is reaching when I am coming to pick him up, which is really fun! He also says "Mama" sometimes, although I doubt he is making the connection. He is pulling up on all fours and rocking so I think he will be crawling in just a few short days. My life will get even more challenging then!!!

In the Johnny Jumper

Aunt Holly and the boys before Hadley came!

Those long skinny feet!!

Daddy is the tickle monster!

Jack liked to walk over top of Bennett back before he was sitting up a lot!

My sweet naked babies!

Jack's "Cheese" face is getting worse and worse (although I still think it's adorable)!!!

Big boy SITTING UP!!! He sat up at 6 1/2 months.

Hanging out with his new cousin Hadley!

At Target picking out decor for Bennett's room!

Hadley Is Here

2011-05-13T10:51:00.001-07:00

My sweet little niece, Hadley Renee, was born April 23rd at 1:03am. She was 7lbs, 6oz, 20.5 in. She is so precious and already has my sister and Bryan wrapped around her finger! She is adorable with red hair, blue eyes and a cutie little ski slope nose! I am in love with her and Jack and Bennett love their new cousin! I'm sure my blog will have many pictures of Hadley over the next several years, here are the very first!

Jack meeting his cousin!

Holly is doing great as a new Mom (albeit a little sleep deprived!!!)

Proud Aunt Ginny!

So stinkin cute!!!

More from the Moores

Fun Outings

Results of Bennett's Tests

Bennett Is Sixteen Months

Bennett's MRI

Bennett Is Fifteen Months

Christmas Day and the Day After

Christmas Eve

Christmas, Round One

Trip to Tennessee

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Bennett Is Walking

Fall Festivities

Thanksgiving

Thankful for Jack

Family Photos

The Boys' Rooms

Bennett is Thirteen Months

Happy Halloween

Videos

A Tiny Life

Bennett's First Birthday

Bennett is ONE!

More Summer Fun

My New Baby

Bennett Is Eleven Months

Jack is Two and a Half

Cincinnati

Summer Fun

Oh, Deer

Bennett's Evaluation

Bennett Is Ten Months

Fourth of July

Trip to North Carolina

Bennett Is Nine Months

Jack Is a BIG Boy

Bennett Is Eight Months

Our Yard

Swagger Wagon

Videos

Bennett Is Seven Months

Hadley Is Here