Christmas and Such

Well, Christmas is over and the fun of playing with all the new toys begins. I will have pictures to post in the next couple of days. We have been extremely busy with visiting family and friends. We have spent the last several days traveling. We are in Birmingham Alabama right now visiting a college buddy. They have a little boy Micah's age and a one-year-old little baby girl. Micah is having the time of his life playing with his friend and learning how to do new things, such as, jumping off of furniture. Two-year-old little boys are such a joy!

Well, back to the subject of Christmas. Charlie and Micah were showered with new toys. I got a few nice things as well, but that really doesn't matter to me. I just like for them to be happy. Most of what I got was things that we needed for the house and a couple of maternity tops. I need a few more maternity tops that I really enjoy wearing and I will be set. I get tired of wearing the same thing day after day, but that is the way it goes. I have a hard time finding ones that fit me really good and that I enjoy wearing. I really need XS and that size is really hard to find in Maternity.

Speaking of maternity...I visited the OB on Wednesday. So far so good. I am now a couple of days shy of 24 weeks and my blood pressure is great. I just pray that it stays this way and I continue to feel better day by day. The only thing that bothers me now is that I can't be on my feet for a long period of time, because I am carrying the baby really low and he is putting a lot of pressure on my bladder, back and pelvis. The OB has me wearing a maternity belt now to relieve some of that pressure. I just hope that it does the trick. So far I am not noticing a big difference. Charlie and I are both a little anxious at the fact that this baby may come a little early.

A quick update on Micah...he is now in speech therapy and I am learning new things to do to increase his vocabulary. The whole process is pretty complicated, but I think we will start to see some improvement soon. This morning, I think that he said please. At least it was close to that. I have not been able to get him to say it since, but we are making progress and that is the big thing. The goal is that Micah will have 20 words over the next 6 months. I am keeping up with a journal of his progress for myself and the therapist.

That is all for now...more pictures and such later.

The Virus Has Hit!!!

Well, I have spent the last 24 hours now in the bathroom. This is one of those viruses that really humble you. You are sitting on the toilet and holding a trash can at the same time. I can't keep the smallest sip of water in at this point. I was up most the night last night with stomach cramps and a back ache. I thought that maybe I was going into preterm labor and came really close to calling the hospital. I am overdue for my OB appointment. I was scheduled for this morning, but had to call and cancel. Micah also has his appointment with the ENT specialist today to look at his tongue. It was a blessing that I was able to call and get an appointment that quickly. When I called, they had just had a cancellation and I jump on that quick. I just hope that I can pull it together in time, so that I can make it. If not, it will be the beginning of February before we can get in. I just pray that I am over this before the weekend and that I don't give it to anyone else.

Christmas Plans

Well, Charlie is out of school, I am done with preschool and the break officially begins. All the presents, but one have been purchased and wrapped. The countdown to the Christmas festivities has begun! My whole family will be at my house this year. This is a first since Charlie and I have been married. I am busy getting the house clean and the last finishing touches done on the meal plans. I just hope and pray that everyone is well, so that we can all be together. Charlie has been sick with a virus the last couple of days and Micah has had an eye infection due to allergies and a blocked tear-duct. I so far am well, except for the normal pregnancy stuff. I just hope that I don't come down with anything this weekend.

We have a busy week ahead of us. Tomorrow I visit a friend, who has just had her baby. I will also put the finishing touches on the holiday shopping. Thursday I have my OB check-up in the morning and then we take Micah to the ENT that afternoon to check on the status of his tongue. The news that we could possibly hear from this appointment could make my Christmas a very merry one indeed. My parents will be here on Friday. Hopefully Charlie and I can catch a movie while they enjoy Micah. Saturday I will be busily preparing the meal for the family and cleaning the house. That night my brother and his family of five will come over to celebrate the Hooks' Christmas. Sunday we will attend church as normal, rest and put together Micah's toddler bed and wrap his other presents. Monday, we will do Christmas here for Micah and then travel to The Kelly's for Christmas lunch and more fun with the family.

This time of year is always busy, but I love it! The part that I enjoy most is spending time with family and creating special memories and traditions for Micah.

Do you notice anything weird about this picture? Look at this toddlers tongue...it is "tied." After speaking on the phone with Micah's doctor yesterday, I decided to investigate tongue-tied. I told her what the therapist said about the retrictive moments of his tongue and she suspected that he could be tongue-tied. When Charlie got home, we held him down and both examined his tongue. We both agreed that his tongue looked stranged (some what like the toddler in the picture) and strongly feel that he might be tongue-tied. Neither one of us are an expert in this area, so we are just going on his tongue compared to ours. We will have to take him to the doctor to know for sure. Well, come to find out it runs in families and my dad is also tongue-tied and required speech when he was younger. So what does all this mean??? If we are right, then it is great news!!! It means that Micah's speech problem is not anything serious like we thought before, but it is just because he can't move his tongue. This would also explain why he cannot eat meat. If this is the case, then they do a simple surgical procedure and we will probably see the effects of it immediatly. He will be freed!!!! I can't help but get excited about the possibility that we may not have a long road of speech therapy, just a quick trip to the operating room and DONE! I will try and contain myself for now though, because we could be completely wrong, but for now we will be hopeful.

Speech Therapy

It has been a little while since I have posted an update on Micah. He is doing well with his gross motor skills now. He has almost caught-up. The therapist still comes, to keep an eye on him and make sure that he doesn't regress. She is now working with him on his fine motor skills (Occupational Therapy) more then anything else. For so long, we focused so much on the gross motor skills that he has fallen a bit behind on the fine motor skills. I am sure that he will catch-up with this soon as well. Both areas of his development are just something that I am going to have to remember to stay on top of. I just thank the Lord for therapist that are trained in these areas and that Micah is able to benefit from their services.

Micah's Physical Therapist has been keeping a close watch on his language development for several months now. His development in this area has been some what of a concern to her, so we have been in the process of getting a speech evaluation. We have been trying to get the evaluation now for a couple of months and finally yesterday the Speech Therapist met with us. The therapist shared tons of information with me and I should say that we have our work cut out for us. It was all a little overwhelming. The therapist said that he is pretty sure that Micah has some sort of speech problem (which may be related to his other delays) but he just could not diagnose it until he has worked with him more. He is pretty certain that he is not a "late talker," but that there is some other issue. He noticed something different about the way Micah uses his tongue. He showed me some exercises to do with Micah to try and get him to have full use of his tongue. This, he said is also the reason why Micah will not eat meat. It is going to be a lot of work and I am a bit discouraged. He could not tell me for sure that Micah would have full language development. Yesterday, I had a bit of a pity party. I just kept thinking about how hard things might be for him as he goes through school. But I am also thankful, because I know that it could be a lot worse. The Lord has chosen for us to travel down this road with our precious son. It would not have been the one that I would have chosen for Micah, but I realize that the Lord knows what is best for us and Charlie and I both want to be in His Will. Besides, nothing will change the way that we love and care for him. Just keep him in your prayers and pray that the Lord give me patience.

The house is all decorated for Christmas now and Micah is excited about the new look our living room has. He has been very good not to bother the decorations. Friday morning, I dressed him up in his Santa outfit and we took pictures in front of the tree. Several of them are posted below. Just so you know...I got the outfit at Walmart after Christmas last year for $1.50!!

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Merry Christmas!

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Thursday night we decorated the Christmas tree. Micah helped by hanging his rocking horse ornament. He is going to have so much fun at Christmas this year!

Ebay Pays Off Again!

Every once in a while I will get on an Ebay kick and sell things to make a little extra cash. It has proven itself successful many times. Right now I am interested in making a little extra cash for Christmas. The item I am saving for is a surprise, so I can't spill the beans quite yet.

Well, the day after Thanksgiving my mom and I hit the "early bird specials." As I mentioned in my prior post, we usually make out very well by doing this. We got some really great deals at Target. One of the things that I picked up was the complete four seasons of the hit show "24." They were all four priced at $54.99, but the early bird caught the worm and I got them for $16 each. Now Charlie or I neither one are interested in that show. We love "Lost!" But my wheels started spinning and I just knew that I could not pass up a good deal...I would sale them on Ebay!! Well, the auction ended last night and overall I made a $50 profit. I should say that is pretty good for just picking them up at the store, listing them on Ebay and shipping them.

This gets me in the Ebay selling mood, so I think I will look for some more things to sale while Micah naps!