Eye Update

All went well yesterday, but it was an all day affair. The Doctor said he had the strongest little eyelids she had seen- for whatever that is worth! There were tears, (Ben & mine I must admit) but the Doctor is optimistic that we are all finished with this eye business. I have to keep putting the drops in his eyes for a couple of weeks and we should know by then if this worked or not. Ben was a trooper as usual, but he was definately tired out by all of this. He slept until 7:45 this morning. I have to say, that was pretty awesome.

The Goopy Eye

Baby Benjamin has been fighting a goopy eye since he was about 6-weeks-old. We have treated it with eye drops, eye ointment, eye everything. His pediatrician quickly diagnosed him as having a blocked tear duct, but said that is was common and in most cases opens without treatment by 6 months. Well, just before he was 6 months we still did not see much improvement so it was off to the eye specialist we went. She confirmed that he did have a blocked duct and we discussed our options. That brings us to today. Ben has an appointment at 1:25 with the specialist for a simple procedure to open the duct. It doesn't sound pleasant, but thankfully (I think) it will not require any medication or anesthesia and the doctor said that 70% of the time if all goes well nothing further needs to be done. So we will be praying that everything goes well, Ben experiences little discomfort or fear, and he is part of the 70% success rate. Please say a prayer for Ben & his Doctor today.

Jump!

This is Ben's new favorite pastime. He loves to jump! Enjoy the video :)

Funny Girl

I have a funny story about Ava to share. She is cracking us up more and more these days, funny little thing. Ava loves to take notes. She currently has in her procession piles and piles of notebooks. She walks around the house making lists, copying down words, and writing letters or notes to anyone and everyone. Last weekend she saw a ProActive commercial on tv and dutifully copied down the name of the product and the corresponding 800 number to call to order it. (ProActive is an acne product for those that may not know) She then ran into the kitchen and showed me the number and said in the sweetest most angelic voice "Sher Sher, I wrote this down for you to buy if you want to, it is for pimples and wrinkles and stuff". I knew I was looking a little older these days- but geez- before I could begin to take it personally and get my feelings hurt, Ava walked around the kitchen and gave the same spill to all of the adults in the room. She was quite proud of herself. We all got a little chuckle out of it at the time- but this gets way better. Cut to Friday morning... (Matt told me this portion of the story) He was dropping her off at school and as he was getting out of the car she asked him "Daddy, why haven't you bought that stuff from the tv that I told you about?" to that he replied, "What? Are you talking about the stuff for your face?" and she said "yea, the stuff for your wrinkles- you still have a bunch of them". I am not sure why she thought that the acne medication was for wrinkles, but I think the whole story is rather amusing. She is such a little sweetie pie, helping her Daddy out with his wrinkles!

6 Month Check-up

Ben & I just returned home from his 6-month check-up with Dr. Kavin. (Technically he turned 6 months last Fri. the 17th, but I was busy getting ready for our Crawfish Boil so we went today instead) According to Dr. Kavin, Ben is (and has been every visit so far) "a magnificent baby"- I am not making this stuff up, he really said that! Praise the Lord for such a healthy and happy little child. Other than a minor eye issue (more on that next week) everything is awesome. He is ranked in the 75th percentile for height (27 inches) and 60th for weight (18 pounds). I was actually really surprised that he was only 60% for weight, not that I think that is shabby! He has just always been in the 80's or above and I have been told more than once (by friends, relatives, people at the Wally World checkout line) that he is a little chunkers. But, apparently not so much- 40% of the other babies his age are bigger than him. Hugh??? I wonder if they can do this?


Hmmm...anyway... I am really happy with how everything went. He is such a little tough guy, he barely even reacted to his shots. Needless to say, my cup runneth over. I am one proud little mama!

Jealous

Confession: I have been bitten by the green eyed monster this week. Many months ago when my baby was a newborn and my life was consumed with round the clock nursing and everything that comes along with a brand spankin' new Benjamin, my best friend Karen invited me to go on a girls trip to Mexico. At the time that seemed about as realistic to me as a trip to the moon or 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. This is a picture of my very smart/pretty friend Karen and myself on our last fabulous trip to Mexico:
So today as I write, she is probably on the beach sipping a fruity drink and soaking up the sun. I gotta tell you- I am so jealous of her right now I could spit. I'm not kidding. Have one for me Karen- wish I could be there! It really doesn't sounds like such a bad idea now...girls trip to Mexico.....why didn't I at least entertain the idea??? Why? Oh why??? I'll tell you why. As much as I would LOVE to re-live this moment:

(Oh- that was a fun night and I will explain all that glitter later- maybe not) As much fun as a tropical escape sounds in theory... I am in the midst of a very serious and inescapable love affair...there is a new man in my life... I cannot tear myself away from this:

I am just not ready to be away from him for any extended period of time. And I am OK with that! Really I am. Live it up Karen! You definitely deserve it lady.

Feeling Inspired

Ever since the day Ben was born time seems to have taken on a whole new concept for me. How in the world has it been six months since he was born? It seems like yesterday. I used to think that was such a cliche thing to say...pre-Ben. The whole reason behind starting this blog is really just about me being able to keep track of my memories better. I think it will be great for other people to come here and see pictures of our family and keep track of what we are up to, but mostly I am just feeling inspired to not forget. I am already having trouble recalling Ben's first days. I can barely remember the night I met Ava and instantly decided to give my "no dating men with children" rule the boot. I really don't want to look back and regret not keeping better track of all the special moments of our little family. This sounds really cheesey to me even as I am writing it- but I really don't care. I am not very funny, or creative, or good at taking pictures- so there goes Matt's hope that I will become a multi-millionaire blogger that gets a guest spot on Oprah. I am just my husband's wife and kid's mom who wants to do everything I can document these days of ours- because- shockingly- they are more exciting to me than any job I have ever had, any trip I have ever been on, or frankly anything else I have ever done.