Fall Blessings

Its been awhile since my last blog. I have had an emotional couple of weeks. My baby turned 1, I turned 27, and my bigger baby is quickly approaching 6.

Our sweet Corbin had his 1 year check up. He weighed in at 21 lbs 6 oz and 30 1/4 inches. He is definitely growing! :) I am not sure how we are going to feed this kid when he becomes a teenager. He is still progressing on his own terms. Such a strong willed child, he will do it when he wants to and is ready and not a minute before then. He honestly has the most even tempered personality of any kid I know. He really doesn't get angry and goes with the flow. To say we are lucky is an understatement.

It is no secret I have struggled with our circumstances on an almost daily basis. Believing life isn't fair, and I was dealt the wrong cards in life. Many nights I cry. I cry for Corbin's lack of normalcy so far in his life. I cry for the unfair treatment of our family by God. And then I have those clear days where I realize I am an idiot. God has given us so much, and I should truly be thankful. Who cares if Corbin isn't at the same place his peers are. It means I get to spend more time with him in that precious short lived baby stage. I realize I am selfish and unfair to those around me. Those with less than I or those with greater heartache.

Therapy continues to focus on developing Corbin's motor skills as those will help others areas such as communication and showing cognitive ability since many of the assessments are motor based.We are very thankful for the resources and team we have built around Corbin to ensure the best possible outcome for our little man.

Hallie continues to do well in school. We had parent teacher conferences and got an excellent report. Her bossy and loud voice has calmed down since the start of the year (but I am afraid she just uses it more at home now!). We are so proud of her. She has an amazing personality and reminds us daily why we can't sneak anything past her!

Have I mentioned that I seriously have the best husband?  I know he doesn't get commended enough, and I know I take him for granted, but honestly he is the best. He is there for us every day. He took on a big responsibility when we got married, and welcomed it with open arms. So much that he was ready for another blessing, and we were thankful to have Corbin. I had a migraine Saturday, and even though he had worked all day (and had to work the next day which was 7 day straight), he came home and took the kids outside to play so I could rest. I am truly blessed to have such an amazing man in my life.

Everything happens for a reason. This saying has been with me for a long time. While I have my doubts, it always seems to turn out exactly as that. I may doubt, I may fear, but life always has a funny way of working out.

Since I have been slacking lately... here is an overwhelming amount of pictures of our life in the last few weeks! :)

 OH Hallie and her fire hat!!                           And Corbin begging for food!

 

  Working on a big man sippy cup!                Sassy sister!

                          Begging for food...see a trend??    Hiding at Diane's house... how did he get in there??

                     Sister squeezing the crap out of brother! Waiting on his one year check up practicing standing!

 Out for mom's birthday!

 These two <3 Best of friends.

 Pick me up Momma!

 Ohhh what is in this basket I can destroy?!

 Again, I cannot believe how well they get along. It makes my heart melt into a million pieces!

 Beautiful fall days!!

A week of firsts!

First and foremost I apologize for the picture overload!!

Two days before Corbin's first birthday we took our first overnight trip away from him. The only reason I convinced my husband this was acceptable was because we were going to a MONDAY NIGHT CHIEFS GAME! Multiple reasons it was awesome, but most importantly it was the first game I had been to that the Chiefs actually won! :) It was a lot of fun to say the least!

Corbin is one now, and we survived our first night away. It was nice to have time with just my husband. With little people around us all the time, sometimes we get buried into being a mom and a dad and push being a husband and a wife to the back burner. I truly believe it is important for us to find those precious moments alone to remember all the reasons we first fell in love. Without that our family would be nothing. I can honestly say I don't know where I would be without Jon. He is my rock. Things have changed a lot from when I first met him but only for the better.

A few party pictures!! I didn't get as many as I had hoped (it always goes that way!). We were especially happy that Corbin was willing to dig into his cake. Just days before his party he decided it was okay to start feeding himself. This helped tremendously in ensuring a good smashed cake! :) Just one more reminder that he is improving daily, and we are so very blessed!

My best friend Courtney had a little girl just 7 weeks before Corbin was born. It is so neat to see them interact, but looking at them you would think there was a 6 month age difference! :) Look out Courtney & Logan... you have a smart and beautiful little girl! I know you would be chasing those boys away left and right!!

 Oh this little guy... I apologize for no pictures of Hallie. Corbin and I get to spend Wednesdays together while Hallie is in school. I try very hard not to work too much around the house and instead get to spend time working playing with Corbin! :) He loves his ride on puppy he got for his birthday from Grandma. His facial expressions are hilarious. But he is getting more stable on it every day. I am excited to see him using his own strength to pull himself forward and stay upright. He loves looking over the front when the lights and sounds are flashing. The little daredevil will hold onto the handle kick his feet up off the ground and lean backwards (like he is riding a bull). He makes me nervous, but I never am more than a foot away. His balance is improving, but he tends to throw himself off when he is done :)

 Holding an object in BOTH hands! Hooray... little victories!!

Self feeding is getting better daily. He had two full pancakes this morning. We have had spaghetti messes, veggies, fruits, and lots of snacks. I think he enjoys not having to wait on us to give him more bites! And after a couple of mishaps he is learning to only put one piece in at a time.

Okay one last update and I am off to bed. We spoke with the neurologist again. He is as baffled as we are. He wishes he could give us an answer, but reminded us it isn't that easy. At this point we have done as many tests as he sees fit. There are a couple more tests we can do down the road. Our game plan now is to continue therapy and working with Corbin as much as possible. He is making progress and not regressing which is extremely important. The next tests are more invasive such as a muscle biopsy. The Dr. doesn't want to put Corbin through that yet and said we might not see anything at this point. Usually characteristics they look for don't show up until around 2 or 3. There are a couple of other small tests we will do in the Spring when we go back for a follow up. I am frustrated. I want answers. However from another stand point maybe this is good. Corbin isn't "bad off." Our situation could be so much worse. If it was the Dr. would be much more aggressive instead of taking the wait and see approach. We aren't going back until April, and we will continue progressing.  We will not let this define who he is. He is Corbin. The happiest most loving little boy we could have ever imagined holding in our arms!

What a one-derful year it was!

February 10, 2013 - We had been discussing a mini getaway to Vegas. We had talked our friends, Adam & Alex, into going with us. It was exciting. I had never been to Vegas, and we were needing a vacation even if it was just a few days. Several months before we had decided we were ready to let our family grow. I had recently been to the Dr for some tests, one of which they checked to see if I was pregnant. The answer was no. So literally an hr after we booked the trip, I said to Jon we better make sure we aren't pregnant (we were leaving just 2 weeks later). He thought there was no way because the blood test had just said no. 5 tests later (after making a trip to Wal-Mart to get more) I had finally convinced my husband we were indeed having a baby.

May 21, 2013 - The ultrasound tech was getting all the body parts on picture. She has asked if we wanted to know the gender. We said of course! I said I thought it was a boy, Jon said he thought it was a girl because boys didn't happen very often in his family... about that time the ultrasound tech said well it looks like you are getting a boy!

September 30, 2013 - After contractions all weekend, I went in to have my labor augmented on Monday morning. I was having consistent contractions but no progress. The nurses all assured me I would have Chief on Monday, September 30.

October 1, 2013 - Corbin Jon Waters was born at 1:13 am and was perfect as he could possibly be. (he had to wait that extra hr and fifteen minutes to have an October birthday with his Mama!)

Fast forward... It has now been a year. And a long one! Corbin has had his shares of struggles. He screamed for the first 7 weeks of his life until the chiropractor and acid reflex meds finally saved him! Then came winter and his respiratory issues began. Then his ears. Then his developmental delays began appearing. Through all of this we have the happiest little guy. He is so easy going and content. He doesn't get angry (unless you don't feed him every couple of hours per his request). He loves everyone especially his sister. He has an usual fascination with hair, pulling hair, eating hair, touching hair.

We are so proud of him and all he has accomplished. We began therapy 4 months ago now. When we started, he wasn't good at holding his upper body up when placed on his belly. In fact he hated his belly. He wouldn't roll from his back to his belly. If you tried to sit him up, he immediately stiffened and threw himself backwards. Now he rolls wherever he needs to go until he figures out the whole crawling bit. He is getting stronger every day. We are working on standing, kneeling, and crawling. He is progressing so well and we couldn't be happier. Without our family, friends, doctors, and therapists fighting for Corbin none of this would be happening. We had a Dr who listened to our concerns, truly cared, and pushed for him to get the help and expertise he needed. We are so grateful. While we still have no "diagnosis", we will continue exhausting every test we can. So far all labs and genetic testing we have done have come back normal with the exception of his CK levels, AST, and ALT all being mildly elevated.

I took literally 80 pictures yesterday of the birthday boy. His personality is really starting to come out now. He has new faces daily. He LOVES snacks now and is beginning to self feed more and more every day. He is about 21 1/2 pounds, has 4 teeth through and working on the next 4. We can't wait to see what next year has in store for this little guy. We know he is going to accomplish big things! Happy birthday Corbin Jon! We are so lucky to be called your parents!