Blasted Desk

Today we had a wee bit of a scare this morning. My son, bless his heart, is a super wobbly man. The past few days have been very wobbly. This morning our little man decided to test the sharp edges of our desk. See below

Notice the sharp corners? Well, he fell backwards and hit his head. Then as he was trying to make it to Mommy, he fall back again against the chair this time. That really ticked him off. At first I was like, okay just a bump. He's just screamin' because he's mad. Then he got to Mommy. There was blood on his head. I know head wounds tend to bleed a lot. So, I grab a towel and do the mommy thing. It dawns on my which side the ouchie is on. Shunt side. That always throws a curve ball into the mix. The cut was less than 2 cms from his shunt line. Instantly panic mode kicks in. I call work and say I may be late telling them why. We take him to Insta Care. Nope. Doctor won't even look at it. Sends us up to Primary Children's. Josh dropped me off at work. He's more than capable of takin' care of the boy :) They get there and the boy instantly has all the nurses wrapped around his little finger. :) He's such a flirt. I'm in so much trouble when he gets older. LOL Josh said they got the best ER doctor EVER. He made a real connection with Bugga. He actually let him check him out :) He said that everything looked fine. They did an xray to check placement. All is well. 

Now, the desk is another story. I may have a new project this weekend. :)

And he's been upgraded :)

Our little Nevets has been upgraded. He's now going to be a big brother! :) he's so excited. He loves to lift up my shirt and "hug the baby." We're due 01/01/2014. We started genetic testing today for Downs Syndrome, T18 and T13. We did an AFP test to test for Spina Bifida also. We are going to keep track via ultrasound for any Neural Tube Defects (NFD) We have taken all precautions to insure that S's condition doesn't happen again. We'll take this one no matter what tho!

:)

Inspired 5am emails

Recently, I got to wake up to a wonderful email from Steven's favorite Aunt and my favorite sister-in-law. Bless her heart! She has a hard time sleeping and she spends a lot of time reading and what not online. I'm not sure where she found this, but I'm so glad she did. I woke up feeling a little blue and this hit me right in the heart.

The Brave Little Soul

By: John Alessi

Not too long ago in Heaven there was a little soul who took wonder in observing the world. She especially enjoyed the love she saw there and often expressed this joy with God. One day however the little soul was sad, for on this day she saw suffering in the world. She approached God and sadly asked, "Why do bad things happen; why is there suffering in the world?" God paused for a moment and replied, "Little soul, do not be sad, for the suffering you see, unlocks the love in people's hearts." The little soul was confused. "What do you mean," she asked. God replied, "Have you not noticed the goodness and love that is the offspring of that suffering? Look at how people come together, drop their differences and show their love and compassion for those who suffer. All their other motivations disappear and they become motivated by love alone." The little soul began to understand and listened attentively as God continued, "The suffering soul unlocks the love in people's hearts much like the sun and the rain unlock the flower within the seed. I created everyone with endless love in their heart, but unfortunately most people keep it locked up and hardly share it with anyone. They are afraid to let their love shine freely, because they are afraid of being hurt. But a suffering soul unlocks that love. I tell you this - it is the greatest miracle of all. Many souls have bravely chosen to go into the world and suffer - to unlock this love - to create this miracle for the good of all humanity."Just then the little soul got a wonderful idea and could hardly contain herself. With her wings fluttering, bouncing up and down, the little soul excitedly replied. "I am brave; let me go! I would like to go into the world and suffer so that I can unlock the goodness and love in people's hearts! I want to create that miracle!" God smiled and said, "You are a brave soul I know, and thus I will grant your request. But even though you are very brave you will not be able to do this alone. I have known since the beginning of time that you would ask for this and so I have carefully selected many souls to care for you on your journey. Those souls will help you create your miracle; however they will also share in your suffering. Two of these souls are most special and will care for you, help you and suffer along with you, far beyond the others. They have already chosen a name for you". God and the brave soul shared a smile, and then embraced.In parting, God said, "Do not forget little soul that I will be with you always. Although you have agreed to bear the pain, you will do so through my strength. And if the time should come when you feel that you have suffered enough, just say the word, think the thought, and you will be healed." Thus at that moment the brave little soul was born into the world, and through her suffering and God's strength, she unlocked the goodness and love in people's hearts. For so many people dropped their differences and came together to show their love.Priorities became properly aligned. People gave from their hearts. Those that were always too busy found time. Many began new spiritual journeys, some regained lost faith - many came back to God. Parents hugged their children tighter. Friends and family grew closer.Old friends got together and new friendships were made. Distant family reunited, and every family spent more time together. Everyone prayed. Peace and love reigned. Lives changed forever.It was good. The world was a better place. The miracle had happened. God was pleased.

Lots of Fun

So far this has been a pretty uneventful Summer! Mommy and Daddy have both been working and with Mommy's newly found medical condition (lol) things are a little limited. BUT! We have started to decorate our sidewalk LOL We colored MANY beautiful pictures! He's blown LOTS of bubbles and been working on his bike riding :)

Scattering Sunshine

Our little man has always been a super happy fellow. Once that nasty encephalocele was removed, he hardly ever cried. The nurses in the NICU knew that if Steven was crying, there was something up. He started smiling when he was roughly 3 months old and hasn't stopped. He started laughing when he was about 5-6 months old. His laughter is so contagious. No matter where we go, if he starts giggling, soon, everyone within ear shot is too!

Today was family errand day. We needed a few groceries and whatnot. So, off to Smiths we went. S has been getting a big independent streak and feels that he has to PUSH the cart rather than ride in it. He needs to help Mommy. We get our cart and head over to the produce section. He sees donuts and I lose him. :) Several people saw him teeterin' his way to the tasty pastries and smiled. One person in particular caught my attention. A landscaper came around the corner with a not so happy look on his face, but the minute he saw S his whole countenance changed. S smiled his super huge smile and pointed at the donuts. The gentleman beamed at my little boy. He walked back to get something for lunch I assume and S waved as he walked away. This worker may or may not have English as a second language, but it didn't matter. Smiles are universal. We head over to the "wallamelon" to see if we can find a good one. A Smith's employee came by us, pulling one of those pallets moving thingys. She looked tired and not too happy to be at work. The minute S saw her, he ran and say HI! She stopped. He started walking towards the beer, of all things, that was on sale. She smiled and said, "My kind of man." He smiled again and blew her kisses. She got a huge smile on her face and you could tell, her burden was lightened. We saw her again in a different section of the store and instantly, smiles were on everyone's faces. 

My favorite part of our trip was checkout. We were being helped by a lovely lady. She saw S and smiled at him. He instantly blew her kisses and did his best Tatum Channing pose (lifted up his shirt with one hand). He pointed at his belly and giggled. The employee smiled so brightly and said that he had just made her whole day. She asked if he wanted a sticker. YES! She gave him, gosh, 5 or 6 stickers. He signed "thank you." And when she signed back "you're welcome," S light up like a Christmas tree! He was so excited to be communicating :) 

It amazes me how much impact he has a strangers. This little jaunt to the store was definitely proof of that. No matter where we go, he always makes new friends. He's brightened many a day. My freakin' genius of a husband remarked that this must be one of his gifts. Steven may have a lot of "setbacks" or "trials," but he has so many gifts that sometimes I forget. His kind heart and warm smile are definitely gifts from a loving Heavenly Father. 

My little hero scatters sunshine every where he goes.

not quite swimming

We haven't made it to the actual pool yet, but we did have some fun in the water. We recently acquired a "cosy coupe" via an online yard sale. I plan on turning it into a bat mobile. In order to do that, we had to scrub it down :) So, we set out to do just that. But we had to have a little fun too! Stevey hasn't had a lot of interaction with water outside of bath time. At first, he was not so sure about the cold water outside. But he "warmed" up to it quickly.

Getting got by Daddy! "So cold" he says.

all smiles! He loved it and now has a clean "red car."