My talented brother!

Kayson entered 3 pieces of artwork in a local contest recently. He made a paper maché mask, a clay turtle and a Texas flag mosaic. Two of his entries received accolades! He received a second place honor for his mosaic piece and honorable mention for his mask. Pretty awesome, huh? Last night the Oakwood Art League (they sponsored the contest) held an awards ceremony a local coffee shop. Pama went with mommy and Kayson, while daddy stayed home with me. Kayson's prizes were pretty neato too. He got a voucher for a large pizza and a duffle bag. AND his pieces will be on display for a couple of weeks at the coffee shop, ChiroJava! Not only that, but he was given a yummy cookie and pama got him an Italian soda to boot! I am so proud of him! Hopefully he can teach me his artistic secrets when I'm bigger.

Strong Dada... more prayers.

My dada did GREAT! He is already up on his feet and walking around some. He isn't complaining at all. The surgery went well. The meniscus was torn completely through. They were not able to suture the two halves together, so they removed the portion that was causing the pain (there was no blood flow to that portion so it would not heal). The doctor said that everything else in his knee looked great. He is resting today, just like the doctor ordered. I think that this is the hardest part for him, as he LOVES to be doing something (anything!) around the house at all times.

Tomorrow is my hospital day. I'll be having an MRI on my head. The only problem is that since I'll have to be sedated I don't get to eat any breakfast. My papa is going with my mommy and me so daddy can rest. Please pray that all goes well. We're hoping that what they find is that I have made GREAT progress with my eye socket.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

My Daddy - big fish and big prayers!

Last week daddy went on a fishing trip to Port O'Connor. As you can see from the pictures his trip was a success! We missed him bunches, but he had a blast! Way to go daddy! I hope that I am a good fisherman too when I grow up.

On Saturday he grilled the best redfish on the half shell. It was so delish! Mommy forgot to take pictures... but next time she will!

He is going to need your prayers tomorrow. He is having knee surgery to repair his torn meniscus. It is out patient surgery, so he won't be away from home too long. Please pray that all goes well.

Jeremiah 30:17 "I will restore you to health and heal
your wounds," declares the Lord.

Kayson's first day of 3rd grade!

Yesterday was Kayson's first day of school. He started out at a new school with all new everything! He is going to the same elementary school that mommy went to when she was little. Kayson is even in the same classroom, but not with the same teacher. He was very excited and had a great day. He rode the bus home for the first time too. My mommy was nervous, but Kayson was just fine! I missed him during the day, but had fun with him when he got home. His homework for day 1 was to read for 20 minutes... he read for over an hour! He told me that he was so glad that he took his own lunch because the lunch line was very long. Today he took a jacket to wear in class because yesterday he was too cold! Imagine that... it was 102˚ outside. Mommy said that they didn't even have air conditioning when she was in school. Times have changed! We're so proud of you Kayson! (The photo below was this morning, day 2!)

Fun at the New Braunfels Children's Museum

Last week Kayson, Mommy and I went to the children's museum in New Bruanfels. We had such a great time. My favorite thing was the longhorn cow. I loved petting him, giving him water to drink and food to eat from the kiddo kitchen. I also had fun playing in the water outside, which was Kayson's favorite activity. We got a little wet, but we didn't mind one bit. Kayson was such a great brother (as usual) and helped me with everything. I can't wait to go back again!

Kayson can cook!

Yep that's right. My brother is pretty darn handy in the kitchen. He helps mommy with dinner a lot... but he especially likes baking sweet treats. (Oh and he makes a mean fruit smoothie!) The other evening Kayson and mommy made chocolate chip cookies for daddy to take on his fishing trip. He is a pro at cracking eggs and isn't too shabby and folding ingredients in either. From what I hear the cookies turned out delish... maybe next time I'll get to try one!

Wordless (Albeit Wet!) Wednesday...

We're back in business y'all!

Whatever do I mean, you ask? Well, our camera was delivered on Thursday! So of course mommy had to take some pics of me!

We had steel-cut oatmeal for breakfast on Friday. As you can see from the photo, I had fun eating it. My spoon, if you'll notice, is clean... my face, however is not. That's right, I decided to do the grab and shove method instead of using my utensil. I grabbed as much as I could and shoved it in my mouth, don't knock it until you try it! It may not be pretty, but it sure works. So are you thinking man that boy needs a haircut? If so please know that we took care of that on Saturday. We'll have photos of my new 'do soon. I must admit, haircuts are not my favorite activity. Today my daddy had the pleasure of holding me for the first time, and believe me, I don't make it easy. We all survived though and the outcome is simply adorable. Thank you Kari (at Fantastic Sams) you're the only one who can cut my hair as I twist and scream...

I miss you Kayson, and I hope you're having fun visiting your daddy in Houston. Can't wait to see you Monday!

Kylar

On Tuesday Mommy and Daddy got to see Kylar. Even better than that I got to play with my buddy Chelsea! Her office is very close to Dr. McFarland's office and she was so much fun to play with! She has a baby in her tummy, just like my mommy. She is so great with kiddos and she'll be an excellent mommy soon. She had several balls for me to play with and showed me tons of love and attention. I am so thankful that she was able to play with me during that time! I hadn't seen her in quite a while, so I had a lot to show her. :) Thank you Chelsea!

Mommy and daddy said that Kylar is still looking great! His heart is beating strong and he is moving around a lot. I can't wait until we're able to play together!

Leaving surgery behind me...at least for now!

We met with Dr. Fry today (my eye surgeon). She has been conferring with a cranial-facial surgeon on my case. They have decided that I've progressed so well thus far, that surgery is not yet needed. We've been talking about putting a little silicon implant in my eye to stretch it out towards the outside of my face... but the risk of my body rejecting the implant is too great. Things have gone so wonderful for me over the past 20 months and I've made immeasurable progress, so we don't want to risk any back slides. To get a better idea of the progress I have made, the doc feels that an MRI is needed. So on Aug. 28 I'll be back at Methodist Hospital for this procedure. I will be sedated, which means I have to fast for 8 hours prior. The good thing is that it's at 9 a.m. Overall I am doing so wonderful, and have truly been blessed.

1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

BEEP BEEP BEEP...Breaking News...Breaking News...Breaking News........We interrupt your regularly scheduled program for a Special Report...

Are you ready for this?! I sure am! We thought that it happened on Monday at Grandma's house. But it was confirmed yesterday in the presence of my Occupational Therapist, Ms. Laurie. The big news is that I said my first word!! Yep that's right, I did it! What was the word you ask? Oh it's one of my favorite things to play with and carry around. You know, those bouncy round things?! BALL! Yep I saw BALL and just to seal the deal I did the hand sign at the same time. The coolest part of it all is that BALL was my brother Kayson's first word too! Pretty neat huh? Now of course I say it with a big ole southern drawl.. more like BAOW, and my face ends up in an "O" position... just for added adorableness. Mom and daddy have asked me to say it like a hundred times... I don't always oblige, but they are overjoyed none-the-less! Who knows what will be next...but YAHOO for now!

...now back to your show...

Prayers and ketchup

Yes I realize this photo has nothing to do with my title... but in case you couldn't tell my mama's camera as been out of commission for a while now... BUT we should have one back in our hands in a few days, yay! We sent ours in for repairs and they offered us an upgrade for only $3 more... so that's what we're doing!

Okay now on to the prayers and ketchup. First the prayers... I have learned to fold my hands and I usually keep them folded throughout the whole mealtime prayer. It makes my daddy, mommy and Kayson all so proud. The other day I sat down at my little Spiderman table and folded my hands all by myself. The 'rents (parents) say it was the cutest thing! Now on to the ketchup! My brother Kayson LOVES ketchup so I've seen it on the table a LOT! Well I was finally able to try it recently... and I'm pretty fond of the dipping! I am now eating egg and cheese sandwiches in the morning, but I must have ketchup. Kayson is so proud! And if you're wondering, yes it is very messy... but so much fun!

I'm still not ready to talk yet... but I'm learning lots of sign language and it just tickles my parents to death to see me do the different signs. I can "say" more, drink, please, down, all done, puppy, bath, fan, baby, ball, hurt and hat. Pretty sure that I'm brilliant! Did you know that Einstein didn't talk until he was 4 years old or older? So for now I'm content to keep on learning signs and having fun all the while.

Wordless Wednesday

Baby K update!

Mommy and Daddy had an appointment with the perinatalogist (high-risk pregnancy doctor) on July 13 to see my little bro! He is looking great! The doctor got a really good look at his heart and it appears to be strong and have no anomalies. WOO HOO!!! All of his long bones (femur/tibia) are measuring right on target, as is his skull. His spine appears to have no curvatures, however it's extremely hard to see in utero. There are still TWO kidneys and they are pretty sure two eyes. We are thinking positive and just know that he is going to be a healthy baby. We are so excited to get to see the little guy every few weeks. In this ultrasound photo he is practicing his breathing, as you can see his mouth is open! They estimate that he weighs about 2 1/2 lbs. Grow baby grow! Mommy and daddy will go back on August 11 to see him again.

Psalm 33:21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.

Oh and we think we've decided on his first name. What do you guys think of Kylar? We all love it and are pretty sure that is the moniker he will have!

Yes, we're still here!

Back in May we went to the coast for a fun-filled weekend with my Papa and Pama. This was my first trip to the beach, but my brother has been there a few times. We went to celebrate Pama's birthday and Mother's Day and stayed at Port Royal in Port Aransas, TX. We didn't spend much time at the beach because of the high winds... but I loved every minute of it! I was not afraid of anything there... not the plethora of sand nor the huge ocean before me! We spent a lot time at the enormous pool and it was super fun. Kayson didn't want to ever leave. While we were down there I tried fish for the first time, and loved it! We ate at a place called Snoopy's and then for dessert we ate next door at an ice cream place called Scoopy's! Silly, huh? The following evening we had lasagna in our condo in celebration of Pama's birthday and then had delicious lemon cake for dessert. Kayson and Phillip went out and hunted crabs at night and caught a few, hopefully when I'm bigger I'll get to go hunting too! The only downfall (according to my parents) was that I didn't sleep very well! I decided to wake up at about 3:30 or 4 both nights. Gees mom and dad I was just excited! But it was a super fun weekend anyway!

Prayers

I have copied this post from our youth director Jessica... another Jessica (the designer of my blog, is in need of prayers for her father, Scott)...


Dear Heavenly Father -

Please watch over Scott and give him the strength that he needs to fight off this infection. Please allow his body to rest and rebuild. Please watch over his Doctors and Nurses and give them the wisdom to figure out exactly what is causing him to be ill. Please continue to give Jessica the strength that she needs to be the light for her family. She is such an amazing young woman and I know she is getting her strength from you. Give her peace and let her feel your warm embrace.

Amen.

My friends, please pray for my sweet friend Jessica and her family. Pray this prayer or your own, but just lift them up in your prayers. Right now her father is stable, but in a medically induced coma so that his body and rest and gain strength. We are praying for his white blood cell count to increase because his count is so low. We are praising God that his blood pressure and oxygen levels have stabilized.

Thank you.

Speech Therapy

Laurie, my occupational therapist, from ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) came to see me on Monday. She had some beads for me to practicing stringing and I amazed her and did it on my first try! She said that usually kiddos are two years old before they can do it! I love when she comes to see me, she brings me new toys to play with while she is here. She said that I am doing great.

Yesterday I started my speech therapy. Natalie from ECI came to my house to play. She was very nice and we had fun. I showed her the couple of signs (sign language) that I do know and she showed mommy some new ones to teach me. I may not be saying any words yet, but I definitely understand what's going on. I will get to have my speech therapist come play with me twice a month. She left some flash cards for us and a sign language DVD so I can learn lots of new signs. Mommy and daddy watched it last night and next they'll teach me.

A couple of months ago I started using a fork and/or spoon at mealtime. I still use my fingers too and love making a mess, but I am learning! I also get to experiment with a little bowl at mealtime, which is extra fun (not to mention messy). I can point to my hair, feet, nose, ears, teeth and my favorite TUMMY! When I point to my tummy I lift up my shirt and daddy tickles me. It makes me giggle a lot. I can also put my cup in the sink, my dirty clothes in the hamper and a lot of other things that help out mommy and daddy. I love riding my horse and little car and love pushing my stroller around the house. Being a toddler is so much fun!