C and D

C and D

Monday, January 30, 2012

The third nipple




Looking gooooooooooood............



O.M.G.

I am huge. So huge. I go Wednesday for my 36 week appt and I'm just sooo excited to get on the scale :)

All of it is good though - baby is getting bigger by the second and he moves like a maniac! I am still able to go on walks and chase decky around the playground pretty comfortably so I feel lucky. Sleeping is horrible - really really bad but I remember this being the same last time so nothing new unfortunately. I'll be interested to see if there is any movement in the dilation dept on Wednesday. As much as I want to hold on until 40 weeks I just dont know if it will happen - I think in the last few weeks this kid has grown so much and im as big now as I was at 40 with declan so we will see. Say some prayers that he and I hang in there.......

Until then, have sweet dreams about my massive belly button. I sure will.

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I love him so so so much




Ah. His face is very very close to being my favorite on this earth. Paul you are very close too ;) I could kiss you both forever and ever.

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Location:Hunters Trail,Myrtle Beach,United States

Speech continued....continued....

...........................we start tomorrow with his speech therapy but let's backtrack for a second....

so we had his hearing test on Friday. the full blown diddy. he was so good thank the LORD because it requires lots of patience and looooots of staying still as she had to put these little probes in his ears with lots of wires attached that hooked up to a computer. and if the probes fell out she had to start all over. so luckily, decky is able to sit still and concentrate so they pumped odd noises and tones into his ears and got feedback/echos from his cochlea that were really really good. SO - hearing is not the issue. just speech :) i am really glad that we ruled that out though so we have one less thing to worry about. she also tested for fluid in his ears and it was a good time to test as he was on the tail end of a cold and he had absolutely no fluid in there. so, his ear canals properly drain. i know you were worried....

ok so the hearing is done. we went for a second opinion this morning with BabyNet which is a state run program that pee dee speech and hearing actually recommended to us because our insurance does not cover the therapy (bomb dot com, thanks for being suuuper expensive decky!!!). you have to get an eval and if your child qualifies for needing some help than the therapists actually come to your house and work with them. i was looking forward to this because A) its just another professional in the field looking at my child and B) if he qualifies than we will not be paying out our bumholes for this speech situation!

well - the lady is going to call me tomorrow to go over the test results, but she was pretty certain that he wouldn't qualify. apparently he says TOO many words and understands TOO much. as paul put it, we have a "gamer" - he stepped up his game right in time for the eval and said lots of words and performed like a champ. but that doesn't really help us out, dec......................so thanks a lot ;) i was afraid of this and had a pretty good feeling this was how it was going to go. just understanding a little bit of how the "system" works - you have to really really be bad off in order to get help. and decky isn't. he's behind. he has a bit of a delay, but not enough for them to intervene.

sooooo - like i said before, we go tomorrow and i really can't wait to start the process for him. and i think decky is excited to go play with some more bubbles :)

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

A couple new things :)

Declan didn't cry today when I took him to school - first time. He also ate lunch there for the second time in a row. They are a part of the govt program so they get fresh veggies etc in and they have sides like collard greens and cabbage. I don't even like those - so decky was noooooot into it at first but Monday and today he ate!!!! God bless him - I wouldn't like most of what they serve there and I eat allllllmost everything.

He said his first "sentence" today - "love you daddy" - sounds like "wuv oooo dada" and he has to think it thru but it's awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And then tonight, he has become super opinionated on things, and wanted to pick out his pjs and he said "bat" and pointed at his batman pjs. So we brought him out to the living room and worked on "bat - man" and he said it! This really is huge for him because he doesn't finish words....ever. So again, he has to think about it but he said batman! Big day for you buddy :)

We also got a new car yesterday!



My car was just not big enough for two babies so we had to get something bigger and this worked out great! I miss the civ but this will be much more comfortable and will allow us to travel wayyyy better than we could before.

Here is what decky did in the two hours it took us to negotiate/fill out paperwork etc. luckily the Kia guys were awesome and played with him but ugh that was something I would have loved to have a babysitter for!

Ate raisins with his monkey friend


And ran his truck next to these fellas for a long while:





And this guy.....is a little taller than decky but they had a nice time :)


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Speech continued........

So, I don't know if I've really talked (pun intended) about it on here but Decky doesn't say much. He is loud, that is for sure, but he really doesn't have conversations with us and he has a hard time articulating what he wants. He says lots of words. Random words - they usually don't go together, and his speech is difficult for anyone to understand really other than me. I am around him all day everyday so I know what he wants 99% of the time but Paul sometimes struggles with it and definitely anyone other than the two of us its like yea right..................I have known for probably about 6 months or so that he was a little behind on the speech curve but its also so so so soooooooo hard to tell if something is REALLY wrong. Maybe he's just a little behind and he'll catch up. Kids do things at such different rates that it almost seems unfair to cite a "normal" list of what they should be doing and when but being around his friends and other kids I could tell he was definitely behind. And in the last two months or so it started to really frustrate him and it seemed to be something I wouldn't be able to fix myself.

I struggled with the decision to get a speech eval because again, kids do things at such different rates and he's been so far ahead of the curve on so many of the physical milestones etc that it was like ok, maybe this is something he will just be behind on but its no big deal and he will just do it on his own time. The last thing I want is to give my child a complex and have him thinking there's something wrong with him when there isn't so I didn't want to push him. I want to let him do things at his own pace, BUT when I saw him struggling and really getting frustrated at not being able to communicate adequately I figured it was time.............thus why we went yesterday.

We went to a local non-profit speech and hearing therapy joint that our doctor strongly recommended and I'm really glad we did. They start off every speech eval with a general hearing test and while I went in thinking there is no chance he has a hearing problem, turns out he might. Which could be a bit of the problem.....

The speech therapist took him after his hearing test and like I said, he went back willingly and I could hear them playing for about 30 minutes which was so great. I went back there when we were done and she went over her "findings" - the first thing she said was that "he did so great, he said TONS of words for me" which is awesome because i was sooooooo nervous that he would be a little mute with someone new. I'm glad he was comfortable enough to talk to her and she was able to hear how he speaks and says his words. She said there's nothing tragic going on here, all he needs is a "jump start" - she did say he doesn't finish his words which is very very true, paul and i have noticed that for awhile, so that makes her think it might be something with his hearing. That, and the audiologist recommended a full hearing test because Declan didn't respond to some of the test the way kids with "normal" hearing do. She asked about ear infections (he has had none) but he is around kids all the time so he gets colds a lot and when he does the fluid could be coming and going from his ear canal and although not getting infected, staying around for too long and causing basically an "underwater effect" for declan so he doesn't hear words properly thus not pronouncing them properly.

She also said that with kids Declan's age and his delay, they usually wait 4 or 5 months to start therapy because they don't have to attention span to concentrate on the therapy but she was super impressed with his attention span and said that he could/should start now and would benefit immediately. So that made me happy. And proud. Happy to start soon, proud that he does concentrate really well. He always has - from a super young age......it used to weird me out but in this instance it serves him well. :)

So anyhow, that's the long and long of it ;) He goes on Friday for the full hearing test and starts on Tuesday with Miss Bernie. I LOVED her, she's been a speech pathologist for over 30 years and really connected with Declan so I think it will be great for him. Its like she says, he needs a little jump start, and I'm glad we've found a good place for him to get it...............

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Speech therapy

Is something I have debated for months and months and months and finally decided to get an eval. So here we are. I'm sitting in the waiting room and Declan went back willingly. Probably because the lady asked him if he wanted to see her bubbles :) and so he ran after her.

I'll update more and explain more later but I hope Declan isn't too shy and actually says something back there so she doesn't think he is a mute............because he can speak a little. Just not as much as your normal almost 2 yr old............


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Sunday, January 22, 2012

This article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/glennon-melton/dont-carpe-diem_b_1206346.html

Pretty much sums up how I feel about parenting. Especially a very strong willed child who is apparently an over achiever and began the terrible twos about 6 months early.

Just absolutely could not have said it better myself. Thank you, Julia, for sending my way!!!!!


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The jumper


YouTube Video

It's his thing. He jumps on, off, over everything.

YouTube Video

Excuse him - he, like his mother right now, is a bit of an animal :)

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A weird week....

Sunday started and ended great with high hopes of a nice Monday off with my boys.

3am rolls around and we are woken up by decky screaming (never ever happens) so I go in and the poor thing is just sitting in his crib, crying, and vomitting on his teddy bear. It just kept coming. And when I picked him up, he chucked on me. So we bathed him and put him back down thinking he was ok until thirty mins later, more crying/vomit fest. So that continued until about 7am when Declan was finally able to relax and lay down with Paul. Until 830 when he decided it was time to be up for the day. Like he hadn't just puked for 4 hrs straight. And like Paul and I weren't super exhausted. So whatevs. Monday was a wash and I was a zombie until............well I still feel like one.

Here's the poor little munchkin wrapped up in his comforter that had just come out of the dryer after being washed.........think we did 6 loads of laundry after those 4 hours.......yummy.


Tuesday night he was up every other hour with a nasty little cold. It seems that as he has gotten older the colds bug him more and more. I think the nights are bad because he can't breathe thru his nose and it really scares him so he needs lots and lots of late night/early morning hugs. he has since given me his cold so now I can't breathe either but for some reason he is not cuddling me at 4am when I'm up........ What a little punk! ;)

Wednesday he was supposed to start school but because of the night before I decided to hold him out. He started Thursday and I will reserve my judgement on it until he is healthy and a little more used to it. Neither day was very good this week and I'm currently trying not to freak out and jump to the "this is not the right place for him" conclusion. We shall see............

Friday morning I woke up having not peed all night long (big mistake but I was too tired to get out of bed) so when I stood up lets just say I thought my water broke. So I sufficiently freaked myself out but after speaking with the dr it was determined that I probably just peed my pants. Awesome. Chalk it up in The "pregnancy rules" column. I rule too.

Sunday we had some friends over for lunch and did a little fondue which was great fun! I ate enough for 8 people so I am really looking forward to my next weigh in :)

Now Paul and I are watching the g-men and I hope with all of my heart they win because it is not fun when his teams lose..........let's go new york football giants!!!! Need a w!!!

Hoping for a fresh, healthy start to the week tomorrow. And Friday was a good reminder for me that as uncomfortable as I may be, I really really hope and pray that this baby keeps cooking for another 4 or 5 weeks. I would much prefer to be late again. Stay in there little love muffin........we can't wait to meet you. But then again - we can :)


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iPhone Christmas

Emmy and decky cuddling before we had to leave :(


Hogan Christmas!!


Paul getting in a good nap with Matty


We went to this cool jump house and nancy bravely took on introducing my shy child to the goods. He warmed up after 45 minutes..... But it def took that long. Not the adventurous type!!

YouTube Video


But when he goes all in - he goes all in. Serious red face from all the jumping!!!


Feeding cool dude Matthew his bottle


Dancing to sesame!

YouTube Video

Wiped the djeijdbeenheiwnbdkwirbsns out. Ready to go home!


Ps he is wearing my socks. Odd fact but he likes
To help me pick out socks in the morning and he always always always picks these for himself of they are available. Like today (jan 21) for example.

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Brookgreen Gardens

Down in Murrells Inlet is this breathtakingly beautiful botanical gardens place that puts on an equally breathtakingly beautiful Christmas display of lights. Its called the "Nights of a Thousand Candles" and literally every weekend night in December, volunteers come and light thousands and thousands of candles around the gardens. Its spectacular. So beautiful. I wish pictures would do it justice but then won't. But I tried anyhow :)







We had an awesome night. Can't wait to go back next year - and maybe take some family if anyone wants to visit. Hint hint :)

THE BEACH

A couple weekends ago we went with our friends to the beach for the morning and it was so nice. I can't say enough how much I love that we live near the water and can go for a nice family morning out...........IN JANUARY. So fun.

My main man Carl digs the close-ups


Sons and daddies!



Family pic :)

This is what I see at every meal




I know there will be times in my life where I will long for a hug and cry to Paul that decky doesn't love me anymore so for now I will treasure the fact that at every single meal and snack time, decky wants to come sit with me, give me hugs, and then finish his food on my lap.

I should squash this I know - its not good manners. But I love his hugs. And I love that he wants to give them to me.

So bring em on baby!!

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Declan and daddy


YouTube Video


Declan does everything. Everything. Everything. That Paul does and if you listen closely at the end of this video you will hear Paul spit and then decky lean over and try to spit himself. Hilarious.
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Elmo pjs take 2

Paul and decky doing some work in the guest bathroom. In their elmos


The other night when Paul and I were watching tv. They are insanely comfortable.... Thank you nana!!!!!


These were some hand me downs from deckys buddy and they are TIGHT with a capital T but still hilarious and cute


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The casa!

Lights were for some reason extra challenging and only worked on certain nights but here was one where it was all lit up!





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A family holiday!

SHOOWEE!!!!

We had an awesome Christmas/New Year this year but man it was tiring! Paul drove Declan and I up to Charlotte (well my brother, Graham, met us halfway) on Dec 20th and we were driven back to the beach by Paul's dad on 1/1/12! So we were gone for 12 days from home which is a lot with an almost 2 year old - but it was really a great time and we got to see both sides of our families this year which we haven't been able to do since before I was prego so it was a long time coming! Not sure if we will ever do that again BUT I'm glad we did it this year - next year, everyone can come to the beach! HA! ;)

So to recap and then pics -
Decky and I went up to Charlotte on the 20th while Paul stayed in MB to work until the night of the 23rd. Kenan lives in Clt, Grammy was home from college and Davis flew in from NYC so we got to see all of my brothers for what might have been in the first time in i don't know how long - but it was SO nice. we got to see grandparents, cousins from Germany, cousins kids we had never met (who by the way are all girls and are absolutely GORGEOUS - and total spitfires - i love it), aunts and uncle we hadn't seen in again, years, so it was all in all a really good couple of days at home. christmas eve was the big hunt family get together and my mom pulled off one helluva celebration - good work, GiGi!!!!! it was truly an unforgettable day with our entire family and we were so so glad to be there.

Christmas Eve around 7pm we took off for the ATL in hopes that decky would soon pass out and paul and i could have a peaceful drive - which phew, he did. we pulled in around 11pm and went right to bed because santa still had to come and no one wants to prolong that!!!! so we woke up the next morning, nana had made a delicious breakfast and nancy, scott and the boys came over to have the big Hogan family Christmas! which was hilarious with 3 under 2 yrs of age. lots of playing with wrapping paper - not so much the presents. Christmas night was topped off by my naked son dropping a big deuce on Nana and Pop's hardwood floors (thank God it was the hardwoods and not the carpet!!!!!). Poor buddy had a HORRENDOUS (probably the worst he's had) diaper rash so i was letting him run free for a bit when he decided to squat and let it go.................Merry Christmas to us!

Paul left for Florida to go recruiting on the 27th but Decky and I stayed with Nana and Pop so we got lots of time to hang with them, the twins, and aunt "nanny" and uncle "dot" - it was a fun filled few days and again, we were so glad to have been able to spend the time with them that we were. i always love seeing decky with the babies - this time he wasn't as sweet but that was kind of the theme for christmas this year - he was in a funky mood for about two weeks which was suuuuuuper fun let me tell you! but all of our family handled him well, thank heavens :) and didn't kick him/us out even though i'm sure they wanted to at times......

Here are some pics from our adventure!!! I'll post the phone pics/videos next! (sidenote, i did an extraordinarly horrible job of taking pics this go round ugh....)

Present from Uncle Kenan - John Deere toolbelt - pretty sweet!!!

Paul and his new girlfriend, Emmy

I cannot seem to get away from the little kids table......

Ornery Declan was not into the hugs.....

Cousins - too friggin cute! Emmy and Merrill

the WHOLE fam! We missed you, papaw...


boys. paul - my cousin, jay - my uncle, dave

brosefs minus kenan :(

BATHTIMEEEEE

The baby whisperer..........................

super de duper proud of his new elmo pjs!

as we all are :)

now paul gets a turn with teej...