Happy 1st Birthday Matt!

     Despite the ice storm and earthquake all in one week... We had A LOT to celebrate this year on February 13th...  My sweet little boy turned a year old, and you could never tell by looking at him just how sick he really was merely 4 weeks ago.  I don't want to think about what may have happened had I not gone to the ER that night, and I truly believe God has big plans for this little boy!  Needless to say, while it is easy to forget how sick he was when you look at him, I am definitely not over it yet.  He had his one year check up today and... he was 23lb 4oz (50%) and 29in (25%).   Not QUITE back to his previous weight but still full of baby rolls!  We are going to keep him on formula and bottles for another 3 months due to his dysphagia (swallowing disorder), and then I will try and switch him to milk, etc.  He wants to try and eat everything his sister eats, but he is about as picky as her when it comes to food.  He has a BIG sweet tooth, and of course, I indulge him.  How could I not???  One good thing though is that ever since his hospitalization, he refuses to take his pacifier... so I guess we have weaned him off of that!  Emily had hers until she was 2 1/2 years old and we had to do the "cold turkey" method with her.  He is not walking yet, but he cruises all around the furniture still.  I'm thinking he will take off in a couple of months, but for now, I'm kind of glad he is still my "baby".  He has 3 words right now-- Mama, Dada, and Uh Oh (which he just added to his vocabulary a few days ago).  He fits right into the mold of "all boy"-- into everything, stubborn and strong willed, runs cars all over the floor while making "engine" noises, puts everything into his mouth (and I mean EVERYTHING), and.... he bites.  That is going to be a new one for us!  He has 8 teeth with 4 more on the way, and thankfully does not bite out of anger yet so hopefully we can break him of that very fast!  Ever since he had RSV, we have kept him out of daycare to prevent re-infection while he got onto a maintenance routine of medications (Prevacid continued, increased dose of Flovent, prophylactic Amoxicillin, and Abuterol as needed).  But I found out this past week that he now will qualify for synagis!!!  If you are in the pediatric medical field, you know that it is a BIG deal for Matt to get this shot and have it covered by insurance.  Synagis is a (very expensive) vaccine for RSV, and is only given to premature infants or infants with chronic diseases, such as heart disease, etc.   You have to get it once a month because it is only good for 28 days, and he will be able to get 3 shots to get him through the rest of this RSV season.  He is also getting ear tubes on March 6th!  So sometime at the end of March, Matt will be going to back to school!  I think he misses his friends there! ;)  This will be the last monthly Matt posting!  I still cannot believe that he is ONE!

Cupcake at Grandma's house

Emily "helped" Matt open up all his gifts

Daddy and Matt

Birthday Boy on the actual day!

Smash Cake

"Shiver" face from the sweetness of the frosting

Classic Matt face...

Excited about opening up his present!

11 Months

     Matt is doing SOOOOO good, you would think he just "skipped" over that week in his life where he was so sick!  All I can say is- PRAYER works.  He has bounced right back.  Now if I only I can do the same... :)  At 11 months, we are still cruising furniture and trying to walk unsuccessfully.  In my personal opinion, I think he will be 14 or 15 months before he actually walks on his own.  Right now his little pot belly makes it hard for him to balance!  He still hasn't fully gained back the weight he lost, but I'm still thankful that my chunky monkey had weight to lose.  At his ENT appointment, he was 22lb.  He has a pulmonolgist appointment on Feb. 13th and then his 1 year on Feb. 24th, so we will see how big he gets before then!  He wants to do everything his big sister does and that keeps me very busy.  I'm surprised he hasn't gained back all of his weight yet because every time any of us eats anything, he thinks he needs to eat to!  And of course, I let him.  He has 8 teeth total, with 4 more coming in that you can see.  He needs ear tubes as soon as pulmology clears him to have anesthesia (I am not in a hurry!).  And ever since mommy slept with him in the hospital crib (which I would still have done), he no longer sleeps through the night in his crib and wants to sleep right next to me.  His sister already ends up in our bed on almost a nightly basis, so why not just add to the party?  I figure my children aren't going to be sleeping in the bed with me when they go to college, and before I know it, they will be grown and not want anything to do with me- so I actually don't mind USUALLY that they want to sleep next to me.  I can't believe he is going to turn one next week.  He is going to be very spoiled for his birthday!

His favorite food is chocolate chip cookies-- probably because I craved anything and everything chocolate chip cookie dough while pregnant with him!

Caught in the act-- found some leftover pancake on the floor!  "Yum, Mommy!"

Getting his hair done- the joy of having a sister ;)

The beginning of Allergy testing! (this was before he was sick)  Nothing turned positive on this visit.  More labs and testing to come in the future!