Mistake

I accidentally posted a before and before picture side by side on her DOC Band results.  For those who are interested it’s the top view and I have fixed it! :)

Crawling!!!

Well yesterday goes down as the official crawl day for Lola. 

November 29th, 2009 at  7 months of Age

She’s been so close and had some moves here and there but last night she pretty much put it all together and hasn’t stopped since!  She went to bed early last night, which was nice but woke up a couple of times…ugh… then around 11 pm she woke up with lots of energy and just entertained Clay and I with her new moves! It was so cute and finally she wore herself out!

I am downloading some videos and posting pictures! Way to go Lola!  Also in the last week and especially now she can go from laying down to sitting up to even standing!  Clay and I will be baby proofing this week! :) Enjoy the videos!

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Home Videos of Lola Crawling

This video is from this morning. She has gotten really good. Clay kept her when she woke back up at midnight and said she got even better! I could tell this morning!

This one is from last night. Not a lot of crawling going on, but I thought it was a cute home video to have.

DOC Band Graduate and Catch Up Time

Well I know this post is late, but I couldn’t bring myself to write. 

Bittersweet. 

Sounds silly, but I am sure some moms out there who have gone through this may understand.  Her band was shaved down as far as it could be and started leaving a red mark across her forehead which is one of the first signs of it being too small.  It was quite a disappointment, yet not a surprise.  We knew she was outgrowing the band at a very fast rate.  Lola’s first DOC Band did not fit properly and she started the second one on 9-21-09, making start to finish with the properly fitting band one day shy of 9 weeks.  She would still benefit from a second (actually, 3rd) DOC Band.  I think that’s why I have had a hard time.  If money wasn’t an option, she would have another band, but at this time, we are not moving forward.  I am still waiting to hear from the insurance companies on the appeal.  If I see any regression I know that I will push for a 3rd band. 

Since I am writing this post late, she has been out of the band for a week now and I have to surprisingly admit that I feel like I keep seeing improvements.  Actually a lot.  And not surprisingly, she hasn’t cared a bit if it’s on or off, or over for that matter.  Every day I am getting more comfortable with the idea that we are done and aren’t pursuing another band.

On to the before and after pictures…

The profile pictures are pretty amazing!

The first column down was taken on 8-24-09.

The second column down was taken on 11-24-09.

This is 9 weeks of treatment with a DOC Band. 

From the back I think her head looks better even though this is a hard shot to compare.  She is leaning in opposite directions in both pictures and the picture is slightly off on the right.  She also has fluid that has built up right above her ears which increases the width.  CT said it would take 3-4 weeks to go back to normal, yet after a week I feel it has gone down tremendously. 

I feel like in the front shots her head looks a lot better.  Her face is more proportioned to her head and I am glad her ears are not sticking out (maybe a tad) which is typical of brachy babies.  The  fluid build up I think makes the ears stick out more than normal.  But her front view doesn’t bother me!  I think her face looks even more proportioned in person to her head. 

Okay, here are the big difference pictures.  I think the left side is her better side.  I wonder what my better side is?  More time in the band would have definitely given her a better shelf in the back, but not for sure what else it would do.

Again, a pretty big difference.  For anyone who says “she looks the same”- YOU ARE WRONG.  And I’ll shut my mouth at that simple factual point. 

 

I am including each shot because some parents who have had these CT shots may want to see each one.  At this angle it’s hard to see a difference, but look at the scan of this view.  The scan is done at the beginning and end and they can’t give us these images so I took pictures of the screen it was on.

Do you get what you are looking at?  I had to change the contrast quite a bit so you could see the shape of her head.  The red is around it to make it stand out.

I have taken some pictures on my own I will share as well. 

Her head looks good in these pictures! Yayaya!!

I could probably go on about all of this, but I have a lot of catching up to do!  But a big thanks to CT and Julie from CT.  We will miss you guys every week!  Can’t believe it is all over. 

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was a great day!  Packed full of fun, food, and love.  Clay ran the 8 miles that morning and did a great job!  Me and Lola stayed home.  :(  We just talked about it and since I was left with no running buddy, we thought it might be best to try and not battle the cold and crowd since it would just be me, Lola, and the stroller.  She was and still is battling a cold she can’t seem to kick all the way, so I think we made a good decision.  We got ready for the day and she was in a fabulous mood all day long.  We had lunch at Gram and Popper’s and dinner and Baw and Nonna’s.  Of course everyone loved on her all day.  We all slept like a baby that night!

He looked so cute!  I was so excited and proud of him for running Thanksgiving morning 8 miles!

  I have tons of pictures, but I am in a time crunch!

Nutcracker Ballet:

Sibling Date Night

So Friday night was declared sibling night by Nick and we all went on a sibling date.  Nick, Kebby, Clay, and myself.  We met at Nick’s place and ate at Avanti then headed over to the new Winspear Opera House to see the Nutcracker.  It was beautiful- the building and ballet.  I think some of the “siblings” thought it was a little boring, but I really loved it.  It was a great night and we all had fun hanging out!  Thanks Nick for the suggestion, tickets, and fun night out.

Clay and I got a cute picture together, but I better save that so no one prints it out.  Never know what Santa is up to!

Lola Updates

That girl has so many teeth now!  Here is an updated picture:

Here 6th tooth is about to break through if it hasn’t a little already.

And Happy 7 Months Lola!

• I love that you are any second away from crawling!  A few scoots here and there, but you are soon about to realize what awaits you once you enter the crawling world. 
• I love they way you love your dad and when you bonk your head you reach for him.  He adores you just the same. 
  
• I love that you shock everyone’s socks off when they find out you are only 7 months.  You have a lot of 12 month olds beat.  :) 
• I love that your head is pretty and round.
• I love your curiosity in people, things, and faces.  You always seem interested in your daddy’s face.
  

• I love that you still sleep with me, but I love that you are going to start sleeping in your crib… I HOPE.
• I love that you don’t have to wear a bib 24/7 now.  Yayaya for you, me, and my washing machine!
• I love that you can reach for people, starting to eat new foods, and have preferences on television shows.
• I love that you love Target and you like to spread out in their oversized buggies.  Sometimes you get kind of stuck though and I am terrible mom because I stop and take a picture before I help you!
  
• I love that you can make circles walking in your crib and you always stop to celebrate each lap you made.
  

• I love your pretty blue eyes and long curled eyelashes.
   
• And as always I could go on and on, but lastly I love that you and I can pick out wrapping paper and ornaments together at Hobby Lobby.  I think you have pretty good taste!

  So excited to celebrate the holidays with you here this year!

This may have been a really long post, but I had the DOC Band Exit, Thanksgiving, 7 months, and catch up journaling… hope it was enjoyable despite the length!

It happened to us!

So have you ever been somewhere and someone mysteriously picked up your tab?  Dinner, gas, coffee- Boom! Paid for?  Ha!  It happened to Clay, Lola, and I on our date tonight at Tino’s!  But it wasn’t so mysterious who the gracious friends were that gave us a free-date night!  The Blackley’s!  Joi is a silent reader and I just love when I get the pleasure of running into her.  I saw her last week as well! We all walked up at the same time and chatted for awhile and then after they ate, they came and talked to us some more.  Shortly after they left, we asked for the check and she said it had already been taken care of!  WOWOWOWOWOWOW!  That was so cool and it made me feel special!  Too kind!! And Joi and I need to have a girls day soon!!!  You in Joi?

Thanks Joi and Trent!!!

Well tomorrow is the big day and I have already made before and after pictures today, but I will probably end up using the pictures they take tomorrow, so I am excited to report back in to everyone with pictures and numbers for those who know what they mean.

Night, Night!!!

Almost 7 Months

Clay makes fun of me, but I always look back at pictures because I just can’t believe how fast our baby girl is growing.  7 Months is less than a week away, so I looked back at her 6 month pictures- and here are some of my favorites…

She fell asleep in her daddy’s arms on a family date night.  I couldn’t believe she fell asleep with all the distractions and of course I wanted a picture.

What is this face all about??

Showing off her big girl sparkling shoes!!

Really concentrated on those diamonds…

The shoes eventually came off during the family date night, because she couldn’t do anything else but adore her shoes! LOL

Is this not just a face of bliss?

I love this picture for some reason… I can’t believe Tuesday means no more DOC Band pictures- I’ll sord of miss that helmet. :)

 

Maw-Maw finally holding Lola for a minute despite her shoulder… it just kills her she can’t hold her.

Papa getting to love on Lola and Lola getting to love on Papa!

Lola shaking her crib--- she thinks this is hilarious.

Lola: What Mom?

Lola has learned to wave, but doesn’t associated it with meaning… she just thinks it is really cool to do.  It’s adorable.

Lola got to meet Aunt Rosie and Uncle Rudy

Getting to hang with friends, Carole and MG.  We miss you all!

There’s a ponytail in this picture- can you see it?

Lola can walk all the way around her crib and she loves to bang on the wall decor… And she gets really excited when she has made it all the way around to her starting point and just smiles and yells!

Okay- hope you enjoyed some of the pics!

Around Tuesday will be Lola’s final before and after pictures of her beautiful head!  And I am sure I’ll post more as she continues to grow to compare and see if progress is still being made naturally now. :)  We are excited!

Too many teeth to handle-

These bottom teeth came in so quickly!!  And early!  Only a couple days of fussing and boom!! There they were.

But these suckers are much different.  ALL week has been terrible for Lola and two cut through earlier this week and the front middle ones are right there about to break through.  Poor girl- she’s being a trooper, but with teething and bad congestion- there’s just so much a baby can handle.  She’s sleeping with a humidifier tonight (thanks Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw for bringing yours over for her!) and I have been using Baby Vicks (which is AWESOME).  Baby Vicks uses Lavender and Eucalyptus oils.  So I ditched my “Adult” Vicks and now Lola and I share!

 

I kept Lola in most of the day today, but we had to go see Cassi for a minute because she (UT Tyler) was playing at UTD (she’s a coach!!) and she had the cutest gift for us!  She got us the Marc Jacobs perfume, Lola.  HAHAHA!   Not only is the name great, but the bottle is fabulous.  Thanks Cassi!  And you looked great girl!!    

After driving out to UTD (thanks Clay for taking us!), we went and looked at records and then went to get the best tacos in the nation… at the most Ghetto place ever!  Fuel City!  It’s a gas station, plus drive-thru for beer and cigarettes, plus a car wash and then on top of it all there’s a shack to get Tacos and a random pool.  Oh did I mention the live music?  Yes, gas station- and it was so ghetto.  Clay did agree with the critics- they are the best.  It was just terrible and I am sure you all guessed right- I didn’t try a bite, not even a tiny little bitty bite.

Is anyone watching SNL anymore?  I just feel like they have been terrible lately.  Bummer.  I always hope they are really good, so Clay doesn’t feel too old that we are in on a Saturday night.  LOL- Hey I did go to the ghetto with him tonight and it just made me that much more glad I had a baby and home… and he was really glad to try some tacos.  Everyone was happy, even Lola after teething tablets and numbing meds.

:) Night

I’m Back!

It’s been 9 days since my last post!  Sorry- I can’t believe it’s been so long.  So here are some major updates in our lives:

1. The DOC Band is still on Lola’s pretty little head.  She was suppose to graduate this past Tuesday, but on Tuesday morning it was still very roomy, so CT said we could reschedule in one week.  She has never been able to get more than 7 days out of an adjustment, so this is good, yet slightly bad, because it means growth has slowed down, which means not a big difference as far as results!  But the past couple of days the band seems to fit tighter, so we go in tomorrow to see if there is any chance of adjusting it one last little time.  She may take her out of it tomorrow, but I just don’t know what tomorrow has in store.  As of right now, the EXIT appointment is scheduled for Tuesday of next week.  If there was one more adjustment left then it’s possible she could still be in it for Thanksgiving!  Which I was hoping for, but may just be unrealistic. 

2. I am sick.  I woke up at 4 am and was really sick.  Clay ended up having to take the first half of his work day off to help with Lola.  I feel better now (no more throwing up) but I am congested with a sore throat and earaches.  It pretty much stinks, but Lola seems to have a little bit of the same thing going on.  So we are chilling at home with Vicks under our noses and Kleenexes in our pockets!  She’s napping now, which she really needed. 

3. Christmas stuff has been pulled down from the attic and is slowly but surely being put up.  Lola’s tree in her room is so cute.  I’ll post pictures soon, but as of right now, I can’t find my stinking camera charger!  So no pictures for a little while. 

4. Stacy is now 22 so Happy Birthday Stacy!  Lola and I wish we could have been with you to celebrate! We love you!  Sign up for the Turkey Trot girl!!

5. Also, I heard Lola’s new buddy MG turned 21 this week as well!  Did we behave on the big 2-1??  lol- Happy Birthday MG!  We all love ya… don’t forget- come to pastry school here and live with Nonna.  :)

6. Also, last Sunday Lola got to hang out with her great grandparents, Papa and Gran.  We drove and met them near Mineola for lunch.  Once again, no pictures, because my camera is dead and I can’t upload them! :(  Where is that freaking charger??  It’s not like me to not be able to find something! Ugh!  But anyways we had lots of fun and look forward to Thanksgiving with friends and family.

That’s it for now- I’ll write more later… got to go blow my nose.

:(    Nat

To Lola

Lola,

You are 6 1/2 months old. And you are amazing. I always knew I wanted to be a mom. It was the only thing I knew for certain and I knew I would love it. Yet I didn’t know how much I could love a baby, how much I would love you. I thought you were a boy at first, and now I can’t even imagine having a boy. You are so much fun and such a lover…

• You really are a trooper for wearing that darn DOC Band for 8 weeks and your head looks beautiful. You did great growing- probably because you are such a great eater!
• Your kisses make my soul smile and I imagine that is what Heaven will feel like- Lola kisses for eternity. You grab my face and push your face on my cheek as tight as you can and slobber all over me… and I love it. You seem to be so in love with me too.
• I love the anticipation of you learning and doing new things, but I also know that means you are getting bigger and bigger.
• I love that you have already taken a knob off the kitchen cabinet door.
• I love snuggling with you, which shows because you sleep with us almost every night. I keep making excuses. But waking up at 4 a.m. and seeing you snoozing next to me is peaceful to me… and it’s the best when you wake up, hear your daddy snoring in the middle of the night, push up real tall on your hands and look over me at him…and do the “stare.” I wish he could see it, because you do give such an aggravated look. It cracks me up, we giggle, then you go back to sleep.
• In case you ever wonder- you are a big girl… If there were 99 other girl babies your age in a room- you would weigh more than 94 of them and you would be taller than 92 of them. Maybe you will be like me and grow real tall and big and in 5th grade you will never grow again! lol
• I think you are a morning baby, but you really do well at all times of the day. There is nothing better than the morning with you. How do you wake up so happy? It may go with my theory that you dream of Jesus while you sleep because I believe babies know Jesus.
• You can blame me if you are a picky eater, but you don’t seem to be so far. You do seem a lot like me in that you love sweet foods. Anything sweet. I will try my hardest to teach you to like all foods, but I feel like it may be the one area I really won’t be great at.
• You really have started talking nonsense words, and I love it once again. It seems you think you are saying something real definite. I can’t wait till you do one day.
• I feel like you have learned everything so fast, so I am really enjoying watching you learn how to crawl. It’s been the first thing that seems to be a bit more of a process and it’s fun encouraging you and letting you figure it all out.
• Your newest thing is rocking. You stand on your crib and rock, you sit on the floor and rock, you rock in a buggy at Target… it’s pretty funny.
• And thank goodness Christmas is coming up because your new favorite song is Jingle Bells… I have even made non-Christmas versions to sing to you. We may just all hate that song by the time Christmas gets here. :)

Well my list is getting so long, but really I could go on all night about all the things your daddy and I love about you. He really has fallen in love with you and can’t get over what a pretty little girl you are and how smart you are already. We are so proud of you even at 6 months old and look forward to seeing you grow and grow.

Love, Mom and Dad

• P.S.- The ponytail is one of my favorite first so far!

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