DOC band Mission: COMPLETE!

After 3 months of treatment London finally graduated from Cranial Tech. He was in his DOC band for 23 hours a day from April 7-July 20th...that is a long time. The band left red dents on his head, made him sweat (and stink!) like crazy, and I'm sure it was not comfortable to sleep in. But London handled it like a little champ and never really seemed bothered.
When we went to his initial evaluation way back in February they took pictures and did a 360 scan. Today, at graduation, they redid both procedures and allowed me to see the difference. We knew his head shape has improved but when you look at them side by side it is crazy and even though he could benefit even more with another band, it's just not a possibility. So, we'll take the head he has now~ good enough for me!
He was very upset during his 360 scan. He did not appreciate the stocking over his face and my poor baby was screaming and reaching for me as tears streamed down the netting. I hate when people don't allow me to comfort my baby but I understand they had a job to do. It took him a few minutes to get over that experience but after a few toys and a bottle he was ok.
London received a diploma and gets to keep his headcicle and helmet. We will most likely store them with all his other baby memorabilia.
I am thrilled to be able to cuddle him and play with his hair. I am also terrified that now he is completely unprotected. I am going to have to keep a very close eye on him to make sure he isn't too reckless and gets hurt.
Well another chapter closes and London moves on to the next phase of his development. Things are changing daily and we're happy to have the cranial shaping treatment behind us. Yay for Cranial Tech for giving us a beautiful baby head for our son.

London's last time in the car wearing his DOC band

enjoying some snacks while waiting for the photo shoot

mugshots before and after

Here is London during his last DSI...he was not happy!

Here are the digital images before and after

headcicle

diploma

First We Had Eachother, Then We Had You, Now We Have Everything....

Kary and I met in January 2005. We actually "met" online but we did not have a creepy online relationship. Basically I was hanging out with a complete scumbag and one day I searched Charlotte people on myspace (yeah embarrasing..haha) After scrolling through a ton of generic dudes, I came across Kary. At first I thought his name was quite awful..haha (Now I love it!) but I right away noticed that we had lots in common. He had "Strangers with Candy" listed as a favorite show and we had tons of other tv shows, music, and interests in common. I saw that he was only 20 and I was 24 so I sent a friend request anyway and that was the end of it. A few days later he wrote a comment that just said, "ello". I thought he was cute. Somehow we met up on AIM and talked a few times. Unfortunately I was still hanging with scum and even blew off Kary a few times to hang out with this tweaker.
On January 20-something I had Kary call me and he made me laugh a bunch on the phone. I remember being cold and rude, but I was a scorned woman and had to keep my guards up.
I ended up driving to his house and getting him. We ate rice krispie treats and watched an awful movie that I fell asleep during. We talked a lot and I was convinced at the time that he just wasn't for me...I have always screwed up first impressions.
We really bonded a few days after meeting when my sweet Grandma Jan passed away. I flew to PA for the funeral and had to cancel our next hangout. I am surprised that he didn't think I was blowing him off with the "my grandma died" excuse. Even though Kary never met her, he was so sweet and supportive during this time. I called him drunk late the night of the funeral and he cheered me up and made me laugh. We clicked right away and that's when I knew he was something special.
Time went on and within about 6 months of dating we got an apartment together and brought Brooklyn into our lives. I was working at the same school I am now and Kary was working at Hot Topic and Olive Garden...haha. We moved to a townhouse a year later, got Brixton, and Kary went to hair school. We stayed there 3 years.
In July 2007 after a sweaty run and slicing his finger open, Kary proposed. I said yes right away and we started planning. We got married on July 19, 2008. I'll never forget the look on Kary's face when I walked down the aisle. He looked like someone punched him in the gut but his eyes were filled with so much love it was overwhelming The ceremony was beautiful, awkward, disappointing, and amazing all at the same time. But that pretty much sums up our entire life together so far.
We were married about 2 years when we decided to start a family. I remember taking ovulation tests on our 2 year anniversary and getting so excited talking about having a baby in our life. We got that gift (positive test!) in January 2009, 4 years after we first met. I found out I was pregnant actually almost the same day 4 years after I fell in love with Kary.
Having London has definitely challenged our relationship. It has been hard juggling work, the baby, and still managing to spend time together and not want to rip eachother's heads off in an exhausted, overworked, need free time kind of tantrum. But we have finally figured out how to balance it all and London has brought us more joy than we could have ever imagined. Often while arguing about something petty and dumb we'll look over at London and he'll be smiling or doing something so smart and adorable that we'll remember what really matters and throw the bullshit to the curb.
First we had each other...then we had you...now we have everything
Happy Anniversary to the best husband, daddy, and man I could have ever hand-picked off myspace (HAHA)

And I will end with all the things that make my husband totally awesome...
dancing in the car, creating new ugly/funny faces daily, being incredibly inappropriate but somehow making it hilarious, making ME dinner after YOU have worked a 12 hour shift, taking care of me when I'm sick, catering to my every need when I was pregnant, being in the delivery room every step of the way when I delivered London, calming me down when I go crazy with rage (which is often), having random dance parties, is awesome at organizing, decorating, shopping, doing my hair, and still maintaining heterosexuality, can fix most things in the house, can change a tire and oil, loving me for me and all the crazy parts that come along with it... and most of all for giving me the best gift~ London James ♥

Staying Cool!

It has been ridiculously hot here. It has not gone under 90 in about a month. It also has been storming a lot. The sun looks so pretty when I look out the window but doing anything other than swimming outside is not an option. So, London and I have been staying cool inside with the AC. Our living room has turned into a giant toy box but I love it! I love the drums, cars, blocks, and sound and light machines that have exploded all over our house. It sure lets London make his mark and it's very apparent that we have a little one living here. I have been trying to keep London busy and it hasn't been easy because he LOVES going outside. I walk him out a few times a day but it is even too hot for stroller rides. When we have to come back in he gets super upset and cries every time. I feel bad that he doesn't have a yard to play in but hopefully by next year we'll be in a house.
We had an appointment at Cranial Tech last week and London is finally clear to end treatment! They do want him to wear another band but that is not happening. He gets it off a week from today (July 20th), which is awesome because it's the day before we leave for PA. We did not want to have to deal with it while he swims in my parent's pool, the lake, and dealing with him having to be in a hot car for hours. We went to Children's Place and bought him the adorable striped hat in the picture right after we left the appointment. He does not like wearing hats at all and rips it off immediately but he looks so cute! We'll see if he gets used to it. His next appointment will be his last and he "graduates" (haha) They will take the same mug shots they took during his evaluation and do another 360 head scan. I wonder if he'll get a diploma...haha. He loved the little play house toy they had in the patient room. Look at that little round head camouflaging in there :-)

I love all the extra time I get with London. We are pretty much together all of the time. Cuddle time is rare since he gained mobility so I take it when I can. He usually only cuddles before naptime and before bed. I have been able to get him on a pretty consistent schedule and he has been taking amazing naps. He still wakes up and has a bottle once a night and I am not sure how to break that. For now, I'm gonna give him the comfort and milk he wants. He hasn't been crazy about formula so I have to make sure he gets at least 24oz a day, night feedings help with that. Kary still works like crazy but manages to get some good quality time in when he is home. He bathes London, reads bedtime stories, and wrestles (of course) whenever he can. For some odd reason, Kary puts London on the back of the couch and he thinks it's hilarious and jumps into Kary's arms. He is already a wild boy!
We also like to keep him busy and when it's this hot we mostly end up going shopping. London loves IKEA and the mall. He wants to do so much at IKEA and tries to sit in the chairs, he lunges for everything. We'll be in trouble when he starts walking..haha.

London has been able to try some new foods since his 9 month appointment. His first experience with chunky baby food was a whole lot of gagging but now he is chewing and loving it. It is so cute to see him mash his food up and when we cheer he gets so excited and proud. It's adorable! He also tried yo baby yogurt and loves it. He also loves to snack on gerber puffs, crunchies, and yogurt melts. Putting snacks on his tray has really helped with his behavior during meals. He doesn't get as mad now when I put him in his highchair and put on his bib. His eating was really bad last week but now he has the hang of it and is back to eating like a rockstar. His breakfast usually consists of oatmeal, banana and granola baby food (stage 2) since he's not into chunky fruit yet, and he usually snacks on some yogurt melts. Some mornings I substitute the baby food with yogurt. For lunch he eats vegetable and pasta medley (earth's best:stage 3) and has some crunchies and puffs. Dinner is usually the rest of lunch, some snacks, a little oatmeal, and some fruit (whatever he didn't eat from the meal before)The faces he makes while trying new foods are adorable! Check out the puff snack face below and the teething biscuit face.
London has started biting. I know every kid does it but it hurts! He got me really good in the stomach and a day later I still have a red mark. He nuzzles into me all adorable and then attacks. It's crazy. He is so much fun now and it's like having a new little best friend. I am going to suck up all I can for the rest of the summer. We have 2 fun family trips planned over the next few weeks :-)

Doggie Guilt :-(

I have been meaning to dedicate a blog to Brooklyn and Brixton, and I once again neglected them. But finally here it goes.
Since London came into our family, our relationship with our dogs drastically and sadly changed. Before I got pregnant they were so spoiled. They were always allowed on the couch, they slept in our bed, they were taken to the dog park 3-4 times a week, they got trips to petsmart, car rides, treats, and lots and lots of cuddles. There was never a time when one of them was not nuzzled in my lap (regardless of their gigantic-ness)
Brooklyn came into our lives in August 2005. Kary and I had just moved into an apartment together and we found it very necessary to add a puppy to our new life immediately. We drove to Chester, SC and Brooklyn picked me out. I fell instantly in love. The first few minutes home he pooped watery poo all over the carpet in the apartment and I even saw some worms in it (because he was just de-wormed) I kinda freaked out that he was going to be too much to handle (haha! nothing compared to a baby!) I remember him yelping in the middle of the night and us having to climb down a flight of stairs to take him out. We gave him filtered water and even dressed him in clothes. His first birthday we decorated the house and bought him a dog cake. One year we made him special dog biscuits and gave them to the neighbor's dog too in a treat bag. This year Brooklyn spent his birthday locked out of the living room and napping all day. He did get a few tugs and pulls from London and a raw hide, but nothing like the old days. Here are some pictures of Brooklyn in his younger days....

Brixton joined our family in April 2007. We were starting to feel guilty because Brooklyn was alone while we were at work and there is something about a boxer's eyes that always make you think they are sad about something. We searched a while online trying to find thr perfect sibling for Brooklyn. We contemplated getting a different breed but knew we just had to get another boxer. Then we found her, a tiny little squish-faced runt. Her online photo was her sitting on a creepy flowered couch. We laughed at her because her eyes were bugged out and really far apart. We read her description and it said she was the runt and much tinier than her litter mates. We knew we really couldn't fit 2 big dogs in our townhouse (we had moved in '06) so we called the woman and drove 3 hours to Orrum, NC to get her. We found her in a very back woods house and the owners sounded like they were playing the banjo. We seriously could not understand a word. We brought Brooklyn along and at first he didn't even notice her. A few hours together and they were in love.....

They used to have friends over too.

Obviously, we have way bigger priorities now and it's impossible to spoil them like we used to. London and I do take them out to run and free play almost every day. London gives them lots of tugs and kisses. I am just going to make a point to give each one a little cuddle time after London goes to bed. They are such good dogs and have adapted to London well. They deserve a little love now and then too. :-)