Lawson Andrew & Amelia Paige

Baseball season is nearing the end and it has been a fun season. The Red Sox have done GREAT! Lawson has been playing first base and loves it. He has been hitting like a CHAMP! TWO homeruns in one of his games last week. We have decided against playing allstars this year. WHY??? Because Lawson would like to play TACKLE football! ...............ahhhhhhhhh! SCARY!!! MAYBE SCARIER FOR MOMMA THAN HIM:).

We had Amelia's 4 year old checkup yesterday. Though she was NOT a fan of having her finger stuck or getting 2 vaccines......she got a great report. She is in the 98% for height and 96% for weight. She is right on track with her milestones!

After her appointment, we went to get ice cream which made the shots feel MUCH better:)!

Yeaaaaa LAWSON! We were at MeMe & Pappy's beach place in Navarre Beach when Lawson had enough of riding in the wagon while going on family walks and bike rides. He was quite brave. It took one small push and me running beside him and he was off and hasn't stopped since. I was sure to warn him that everyone falls on their bike during the process....but he just has to get back on it. I was packing bandaids and Neosporin each ride we took, and much to my surprise, he didn't have 1 spill! We even went on a mile and a half ride to the pier and park and he didn't miss a beat:). I'm so proud of him. He continues to amaze me at each milestone and his determination to accomplish them all!

We had to seize the moment that there were no baseball practices or games, and head to the beach. It was just the 4 of us. We were naming all the things we did at the beach on the way to daycare this morning and...we covered a lot:).
- played in the sand
- threw the ball (football, tennis ball, bat and ball)
- flew kites
- saw someone catch a HUGE fish from the shore
- ate lots of seafood
- played on the playground, rode some rides, rode a mechanical bull (LAW...not mom), drove a remote control boat)
- visited the Bass Pro shop
- watched a movie and ate popcorn in the room before bed
- had dinner with MeMe & Pappy (they drove over from Navarre Saturday night)

We had a blast!! It was a much needed trip.

I'm so behind on my post but it seems like 2011 has been a whirl wind of events:). Where to start....

The house -- we closed on our house and moved in the beginning of February. Everyone slept like a dream our first night. I was a little concerned on how the kids would do sleeping upstairs because we have always been on the same level, but they did GREAT. Not a care in the world. They love their rooms and every night, during our prayers, they thank God for our new house. The morning after our first night, Amelia cried because she had to go to school. She kept saying, ...."but I like my new home...." We had such a routine of coming to check on it daily during the building process and leaving....she thought that we weren't coming back. I explained to her that we are sleeping here now.:) I'm so happy that they already feel so AT HOME in their new home. That is important to me.

Pop & Nana's - We can't thank Pop & Nana enough for welcoming us into their home during the building process. What a HUGE undertaking....coming home to peace and quiet to then trying to get used to 2 energetic children. There aren't enough words to explain how grateful we are for Nana & Pop. :) We do miss seeing them so much. AND --- I must say....I can't relate to all the ole in-law jokes. Mine are wonderful!

The kids -
Lawson is growing - growing - growing. He has grown 5 inches in a year and gained weight too. He has just started baseball and definitely has more confidents and maturity vs. last year. What a difference a year makes. He is learning so much at school. Working on presidents now. A funny about that...I asked him to brush his teeth and he sighhhed. I told him that his teeth would fall out if he didn't. He quickly came back with, "George Washington's teeth fell out and he had metal teeth then hippo teeth." I asked if he wanted metal of hippo teeth...he said "no ma'am....I'll go brush my teeth." Pretty funny. His teachers say that he is on a 2nd grade level in some areas. Which makes me SO proud. This past week I pulled out a preschool workbook and instead of reading before bed, we worked on this. It was some math, letters, patterns, etc. He breezed on through. GREAT JOB LAW!!
Amellia - she is growing so fast too. With the exceptions of wearing a pullup at night, Amelia is and has been officially potty trained for a month and a half now. YEAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! We are so proud of her! School is going well for her, she can say her ABC's - Count to 25+ - and definitely knows how to reason with you. Which is nice...."Amelia, you must eat your sandwich before getting a snack..." She gets that....which reduces a lot of whining:). As far as things that she is into these days --- She LOVES to sing and dance. And she LOVES animals.

Eric & I
We are doing well! Eric is working really hard and enjoying his job. It has been a bit of relief getting in the house so that is one less thing for him to have to worry about.
I am doing well too. I started a new job in December. I now work at a Marketing Agency in Birmingham. Still working on the technical side. I like my new job. It is a definite change of pace and low stress.

I hope everyone is well that it has been a good start to 2011. I know that we are blessed beyond belief. THANK YOU LORD!

Big News to report --- This is Amelia's 3rd day to stay completely dry with no accidents. I thought I would be brave 2 weeks ago and send her to school with panties on....I thought she would do ok since she has been wearing panties at home for a couple of weeks now. Well ---- it wasn't a good day. I came home with 4 wet outfits and her looking like she had some leftover hoochie dress on when I picked her up. Granted, it was a cute dress at one time. But she has grown 3 inches since that was put in her cubbie months ago and now it looks like a shirt...so....it looked like she had no pants on when I picked her up. LOVELY. Anyway --- Over the weekend, she did great. She even told me when she needed to go when we were out and about. GREAT SIGN. SO -- This week I decided I would put on her panties and then a pullup over them....just in case. She has done great. I have been SO proud!! She says..."Princess's don't poopoo in their panties.....I a princess mommy."
GREAT JOB TO MY SWEET PRINCESS!!
Keep up the good work:)

Thanksgiving and Christmas were great. We have been living with Nana and Pop for over 2 months now. It has actually been GREAT...thanks to wonderful in-laws. :) What a blessing there are!

The house building has gone fairly well. They say they will be done mid January...we'll see about that. Still lots to do.

The kids, they are great. Christmas, they had a great time. It was funny...we got up Christmas morning and were going to ask Nana & Pop if they wanted to watch them see their things from Santa. Well, Lawson is SO excited --- runs downstairs as fast as he can to the Christmas tree.....he turns around with the saddest face EVER and said..."he didn't come.....Santa didn't come." We quickly told him that Santa brought them some goodies upstairs by our miniature tree. :).

We are so thankful for a great 2010. We have been blessed in so many ways this year and thank the good Lord for each and every one of them. Our families health, wonderful friends, selling our house, etc.....What an amazing God we serve!! We look forward to 2011.

GOALS --
* Potty train Amelia
* Continue to work with Lawson to prepare him for school in August
* FINISH the house!!!
* Find the perfect small group this semester
* Attend the annual Marriage Conference in February

just to name a few....

We look forward to enjoying 2011 with those that we love:)!

We took Lawson to his first Auburn football game today. He was a little quiet at first and just trying to take it all in. He experienced it all....
1 - The bookstore where he got a new AU hat.
2 - Tiger Walk where he climbed on Dad's shoulders and checked out Aubie and all the football players
3 - The new basketball arena where we cooled off and watched some of the AL game on tv
4 - Pre-game - where the band marched out, the eagle (Nova) flew, and the players warmed up
5 - The exciting game where we had a quick course on shaker etiquette:)
6 - After the victory -- ROLLED TOOMER"S CORNER
7 - He and Daddy had a refreshing milkshake from Cheeburger Cheeburger for the drive home
Finally made it home at 1am.......
LONG DAY but FUN DAY! Lawson did so well. He made it through the whole game and only got up for a snack. He loved the fact that it was just he, mom and dad.
He loved the experience and definitely wants to go back.
WAR EAGLE:)!!

I've been SO bad about posting updates this summer but I plan to get back on track. Life has been so hectic. In a nutshell, we've sold our house and are in the process of nailing down our next steps. It is exciting but hectic.

As far as the kiddos are concerned, they are GREAT. Growing at a CRAZY rate. We just had Lawson's Endocrine appointment and the doc was amazed at his growth. He is 50 lbs. and about 3.5 ft tall. He is in a size 5T.... right on track. He is still on his growth hormone shots each day. It hasn't gotten much easier like we thought it would but hey.....who would actually like a shot? All-in-all, he handles it well.

Amelia is growing as well. She is a sassy thing and keeps us in stitches. HILARIOUS!! But at the same time --- DRAMA QUEEN. Last night she was carrying her baby doll around and a little wooden spoon from her play kitchen...pointing that spoon to her and saying "No No....I spank your leg." Not sure where she gets that from...:/. She is also in to telling Lawson when he does something that "get on my nerves". She is quite comical.

Each day we look forward to seeing what both of them come up with:). Should be a fun fall!

Lawson and Amelia moved up in class today. Lawson is now in the Challengers, the last class before becoming a School Ager....where has my baby gone?? And Amelia is in the Adventurers.
It is Summer break right now so the schedule is a bit more laid back and fun. Lawson's schedule is Monday - Swim Day, Tuesday - Bike Day, Wednesday - Movie Day. Amelia has movie day on Tuesday's and Water Play on Thursday.

When summer is over, the classes become more structured. Lawson will begin learning geography, math and reading. The other day he did tell me that China was far away. I asked him if he was enjoying his new class and he said, "well, yeah....all but the paperwork:)." Miss Allison, his main teacher, taught 3rd grade and definitely keeps the kids in line. I think he will learn a lot this year. So hard to believe that we are a year away from kindergarten.

In Amelia's class, they will focus on potty training. They will also have more group activities, music time, etc. Her and cousin Ava are in the same class. Some days they are best buds and other days they fight like sisters. They both are strong willed little girls that know exactly what they want. Should be interesting to watch them grow up so close in age:).

I've been really bad about keeping up with my journal entries and I have to get back on the ball. Anwyay -- I guess I'll give you a quick update on the kids.....

Lawson --- he is maturing so much. Sweet and laid back yet full of energy. He is full speed at whatever he does. He is so tall now and 50 lbs.!! CRAZY to know where he came from:). Though he is growing -- I am still savoring the times he wants me to lay with him before he goes to bed. We say our prayers and usually chat about the day. Then he snuggles up as close and he can. I LOVE it. Another part of the day that I savor is when he gets out of the bathtub. I wrap him up in his towel like a burrito and he says, "mom, get on your knees in the floor and hold me...warm me up." Then he made the comment the other day...."I always want you to do this mom." Talk about the little moments that mean so much...priceless. One last thing about Lawson, him and daddy are TIGHT!! They ride the four-wheeler, golf, mow the grass together... they have a lot of fun together and are big buddies!

Amelia -- she can be as sweet as pie or a wild child. She is a momma's girl, that is for sure. She is definitely a head strong leader. Which can be good in many ways --- and challenging in others:). She loves to play with her dolls and stuffed animals. The other day I put her down for a nap and I heard her talking to her bear, duck and doll. Saying, "You go to timeout? No talk- you understand me?" It did make me laugh. She is a love bug at night. We love to rock. And when she is done, she says, "pillow"....meaning --- I'm ready to get in my bed. I'm guessing that it is only a matter of time before we are moving to a big girl bed. I am keeping her confined as long as possible, ha.
Amelia loves daddy too. Especially when he gets home from work. All you hear is, "dadddddddyyyyy."

That is about all I have for now. Have a great day!!

Today we had a joint 2nd birthday party for Amelia and cousin Ava.
The girls are 19 days apart -
Ava - March 25 and
Amelia - April 13

It was SO MUCH FUN! We had a CandyLand themed party at Aunt Leslie's. We sent out 50 invitations (mainly family - and classmates). The final headcount was 74 people + a dog:).
We had chicken salad & PB&J sandwiches, dip/chips, cheese puffs (a kid favorite), fruit, veggie tray, LOTS of candy, cake & cookies. It was all really good and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

The kids played on the inflatable bouncer, in the pop-up tubes, on the riding toys and on the play system. The kids had a blast!!
Happy Belated Birthday Ava & Happy Early Birthday Amelia! We love you both SO much!!

Today was Lawson's 3rd field trip. It was to the zoo. It was so much fun seeing him interact with his friends while adventuring around the zoo.

Today was Lawson's first t-ball game. We are actually coach pitch (3 strikes) and 1 chance to hot off the tee. He played 3rd base and did a great job. He made the first out of the season and got the first hit of the season.
We were so proud of him and he had a great time!!
We won! 21-20 --- GO WHITE SOX!

Lawson went on his 2nd field trip today. His class went to the McWane Center. Eric went on the field trip with him. They had a ball. They got to pet sharks, experienced the tornado tunnel, etc.

Lawson went on his first field trip. He went to the circus. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous...traveling on wet roads, being at the BJCC without Eric or myself....It isn't easy cutting the apron strings little at a time. :)
He did have a great time. His favorite part was the dirt bikes in the enclosed sphere.

Lawson moved up to the Pioneers class this week. He was really excited to be in the new class. Playing with some old friends. Lawson is the youngest in the class so most of the kids will be starting school next year.

Just a few ways that the Pioneers differs from the Early Learners (Lawson's old class):
* This class take field trips
* They begin to learn site words

Amelia did #2 in the potty twice this week. I know....lovely to talk about but a milestone in the potty training department. What a big girl:)!!

Lawson is recovering nicely from his surgery. Though his throat is VERY sore, it seems to be getting better each day.

I can already tell that it has made a difference in his sleeping. He is such a quiet sleeper and isn't waking up as often as he was.

Yeahhhhh --- So glad to have this behind us!!

What a brave boy Lawson was today....he had his tonsils and adenoids removed. He was having a really hard time with sinus drainage, tonsilitus and apnea episodes in his sleep (snoring too). Dr. Jebelez performed the surgery and said that he had never seen a set of adenoids that large on a child that small. He said he is VERY glad that he had the surgery. It will definitely make a difference.
Lawson was definitely a star patient!

The kids are growing SO fast.

Lawson, he amazes me everyday with his vocabulary and knowledge. He can write his name and is constantly saying things like, "ba - ba - ba....bear starts with b." The teachers at his school are amazing and really work with the kids to develop new skills.

Amelia, what a spit fire:). Her vocabulary is really coming along too. She is starting to put words together and comprehends EVERYTHING. She is so sassy and definitely likes things her way. Some differences b/t her and Lawson....

1 - She hates taking medicine...LAW is a PRO
2 - She acts like I am pulling her fingernails out when I am simply trying to cut them...LAW could care less
3 - She lays in the floor and has a complete come apart if you simply say, "no"...Lawson doesn't love it....but it isn't the end of the world
4 - She is tough but emotional....Lawson is more sensitive and tender hearted

In the same sense,
1 - She LOVES her baby dolls and blanket
2 - She is a complete love bug around bedtime
3 - She LOVES her brother!

It is so fun to watch them together!

Amelia tee-tee'd in the potty for the first time today! We felt that it was a bit early to introduce the potty but she has been really interested. So we got out Lawson's old potty. She liked standing on it, sitting on it and just trying to figure out how distructive she could be with it. Well, before bathtime, she sat on the potty. Much to our surprise, she tee-tee'd. We knew this by the loud obnoxious music that plays when the job is done. She REALLY got a kick out of the music coming from the potty. I was so shocked and Lawson and I clapped and praised her.

Happy Halloween! The kids have worn their costumes twice already and decided to change their minds on wearing them a third time to trick-or-treat. SO, Lawson wanted to be an Auburn football player and Amelia was an Auburn cheerleader. They were cute! We went over to some friends of ours, Greg, Lauren and Sawyer Nye's to trick-or-treat. They have a GREAT neighborhood to trick-or-treat in. And the kids have a blast playing together. Special thanks to them for having us over:).

It's the Fall Festival at school today. The kids dressed up in their costumes again and had fun with their friends. We are obviously getting our money's worth out of our costumes this year:).

The kids dressed up for Halloween to attend the Fall Festival at the Baptist Church in Trussville. Amelia was an adorable little bumble bee and Lawson was a super hero Power Ranger. They had a ball trunk-or-treating, jumping in the moonwalk and just checking out the other kid's costumes.

YES, one last birthday party to celebrate Lawson's birthday. I guess you could say that we celebrate all month, ha! This one was for the other side of the family. It was at Pop and Nana's house. We rented an inflatable water slide, in case it rained...b/c it has rained for 2 wks straight in AL, and the kids had a BLAST. Lawson was so pumped about the slide. He stayed on it so long that his lips were purple and shivering. We had a great crowd, in addition to the Wood's, Palmer's, sister's family and sister-in-law's family, Lawson had two classmates come and I had 3 of my girlfriends, their kids. The kids had a great time and the rain held off and it was pretty contained to being outside.
Special thanks to Pop and Nana for letting us have it at their house. It was all perfect!

MY BABY TURNS 4 TODAY!!! Just to think back to 4 years ago today, wow -- so many memories. What I then thought was the worst day of my life turned into the best. The memory of my miracle being born. A day that I will never forget and I'm so glad he will never remember. I look at him and see so much more than he will ever imagine... resilience, fight for life, love for life and soooo much more!

Lawson and I stayed up last night making ice cream cone cupcakes. You pour the batter into these ice cream cone molds, bake them, ice them and they look like cute little ice cream cones. Lawson did a GREAT job of adding all of the colorful sprinkles. He was very proud of them. So proud that he came running in our room the next morning with the container of them in his hand....and he was swinging them like, "come on, let's go." The cupcakes that we had stayed up late working so hard on, have now shifted to the side of the cake plate holder and it looks to be like a icing and sprinkle mess. I had to really control my thoughts and reaction at the moment...thinking....he was just excited and wanted to help. And who could get mad with him saying, "mommy, it's ok, they just a little smushed......we can still eat them." I had to withdraw the, "Honey, run by Publix on the way to school and grab 2 dozen PRETTY cupcakes and leave those here." He ended up taking them and sharing them with his friends.

Eric and I sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY to him before they left for school. He grinned the whole time and then told Eric, "Daddy, it sure was nice of you and mommy to sing Happy Birthday to me this morning:)" The simple minds of a child, priceless!

He had a FUN day!

Today we celebrated all of the September birthday's, which included Lawson, on my mom's side. We celebrated at my Aunt Mickie's house. We had such a great time visiting. Lawson had such a good time and REALLY loved his cupcakes. Special thanks to Mickie for hosting it and making all of the birthday folks feel extra special.

Lawson had his Endocrinologist appointment today and it went really well. The doctor was shocked and pleased with his growth. He is growing at rate of 100% as opposed to 2%, as reported before we started his growth hormone shots. Lawson has grown 3 inches since February. WOW!! The doctor checked his GH dosage and said it is still SO low that he is not going to adjust it. He is exceeding expectations. So we are sticking to the normal schedule, one shot before bed 6 nights a week.

As far as his Diabetes Insipidus is concerned, all of his bloodwork came back in the normal range. He seems to be doing well with his current doasge each day and no adjustments were made. He takes a Desmopression pill in the morning, at lunch and then we give him the liquid specila dilution at night (intranasally) so that it last him all through the night. He is doing great.

Lawson was a champ when it came to drawing his lab. He did cry and fight it a little but it quickly passed. It does get more difficult the older he gets. He seems to know what is coming well before they stick him. He actually starts asking on the way there, "mommy, are they going to stick me?" I hate that he has to go through it every 6 mths but it is better than what it was at the beginning.....once or twice a week.

Praise the Lord for a good checkup:)!

Lawson and Amelia started the fall semester at school. Lawson is still in the Early Learners and will focus on word recognition and writing his numbers and letters. He is really good at letter recognition and spells out everything. He is also curious about EVERYTHING. We tease that he will be an attorney when he grows up. He asks question after question and debates everything. Amelia moved up to A Step Up this semester. The big difference in this class is that she will now nap on a nap mat and she only takes one nap a day. She did GREAT on her first day. She took a 3 hour nap, ate a good lunch, did great at circle time and played with all of her friends (including her cousin, Ava, who moved up with her). Amelia is our little dare devil. She has no fear and will try, climb, and taste anything. She immitates anything that she see's. She LOVES to sing and dance and has a general love of life.

Lawson is really into role play. He loves for us to build him a tent and for him to go in and out, taking our ice cream orders.

Today Eric and I were laying on the bed and he was taking our orders. We hear a thud and Lawson started whining. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "Ice cream man hurt his foot." Eric and I laughed at him referring to himself in 3rd person. Heeee.....he was really into his role.

Amelia had her 15 month checkup today. She is meeting all of the milestones for a 15 month old.

* She says 5+ words (i.e. Mommy, Daddy, Baby, Ball, Bow, Gun Gun, Nana, Bop, Meme, Pappy, Gaa (Grand), Nose, Eye, Ear, etc).
* She is walking unassisted. Actually running.
* She is picking up her food and showing interest in using a fork and spoon. Though it gets quite messy

She is growing like a little weed. She is actually the height of a two and a half year old and the weight of a two and a half - three year old. Her head circ. is in the 80th percentile.
Dr. Webster was very pleased with her growth and progress. She was thrilled to see that she is such a good eater of fruits and veggies.

Note - We did get 3 shots. She ran a low grade temp for several days. All-in-all, we had a good checkup!

Today we celebrated Amelia's 1st birthday. I originally planned for it to be at my in-laws house. The forecast called for rain so I had to resort to plan B.....Clearbranch, a nearby church gym. It turned out to be fine. We had a moonwalk, lots of food and CAKE! We had a great time with family and friends. We feel so blessed to have each and every one of you in our lives!

Special thanks to my sister, mom and mother-in-law who helped me with the party. I couldn't have done it without them!!

Amelia's 1st Birthday! What a great day. The year has flown by. Amelia has grown into the sweetest and most fun loving little girl. I love her sweet kisses. Along with her walking, she is starting to talk more, saying Mama - baby - ball - Dada. She has 6 teeth and 2 more are trying to work their way through. She imitates everything that you do (i.e. brushing your hair, putting on shoes, clapping,etc)

Her and Lawson play really well together. She follows him around and he keeps her laughing.

Guess who's walking? Yep, Miss Amelia is walking across the room now. She gets so tickled when we cheer her on during her wobbly steps:). Now that she is mastering this, she is on the move.

Lawson is on the move too. He doesn't even want to stop to eat. Throwing a ball, grabbing a bite of his dinner as he passes the table. We finally have had to threaten that Amelia will eat it and that lures him back:).

What inspired us to support the March of Dimes?

I would like to share the story of my son’s premature birth with you. I hope this will inspire you to support the Walk for Babies.

I apologize in advance if this is too detailed for many. Summing up this time in our life was not as easy as I thought it may be. So this is the abbreviated version…

* I’ll start by saying that I had a wonderful pregnancy. I drank my water, exercised, took my prenatal vitamins and went to all my dr. visits. There was never a moment where the doctor considered the pregnancy “high risk”

* This is why the shock of the events to come were completely unexpected.

* It all happened shortly after midnight on September 14, 2005. I was 26 weeks pregnant. I had severe cramps , which I now know were contractions, for several hours before calling the attending OBGYN. She asked me to come in to let her “check me out.”

* We drove to Brookwood thinking that they would simply examine me and send me home, telling me to “put my feet up and take it easy.”

Boy were we in for a big surprise!

* We arrived at L&D @ 4:18am where I was told to change into a gown. Before I could even change, my water broke and Lawson came into the world feet first @4:23am. He weighed 2 lbs. 6 oz and was 14.5 inches long. He took 3 breaths on his own, was intibated and whisked away to the NICU

Our world STOPPED!

* Eric and I were in compete shock, disbelief and praying that we would wake up from this bad dream. We thought, it wasn’t supposed to happen like this…no doctors, no IV’s, delivering my baby wearing my street clothes and a AU baseball cap.

* We had to wait an hour and a half before seeing him. The Neonatologist came by before we went to see him. The only thing I remember him saying was “Your baby is VERY sick and the next 48 hours are crucial.”

* It is hard to explain the feelings you have when you see your baby for the first time with so many wires and tubes on him. He was in an incubator and we could only visit for a short time.

* We were told that his heart, brain, lungs and kidneys were their main concern.

* We were slowly realizing how long and bumpy this road would be.

* Lawson was in the hospital for 3 months. On and off the ventilator for 33 days. Experiencing hypertension, brain bleeds, infections, jaundice, sodium issues and all the other issues that come alone with surviving life as a preemie in an NICU.

* We learned to never get to high on the good days or too low on the bad days. To take it day by day - - minute by minute.

* It was very difficult to think that it was our responsibility to protect our child. In this type of situation, there was nothing we could physically do.

* We realized that this was bigger than we were. And God was the only one that had complete control there. We prayed SO hard that he would work through the dr’s and nurses. We thanked him for every little milestone. And I mean EVERY milestone (tee-tee diapers, poop diapers, gaining 1 oz, etc)

* We got to hold Lawson for the first time when he was 1 month old. He wore clothes for the first time when he was 38 days old, took his first bottle when he was 48 days old.

* We moved “to the wall” (where the less critical babies were) when he was 2.5 months old. WHAT A MILESTONE.

* We were transferred to Children’s when he was 73 days old. This was to see a specialist for a rare condition that he has, diabetes insipidus.

* We finally went home when Lawson was 3 months old, December 14. The week of his actual due date. What a Christmas gift!!

* Eric and I are so thankful for all the many blessing that we received during this experience. We couldn’t have done it without family, friends and the March of Dimes. The March of Dimes developed surfactant which helps the lungs remain open to incoming air. Without this, the babies lungs stick together and they are unable to breath. This was an essential therapy given to Lawson and many other babies in the NICU.

* We later found the MofD does a lot of research on preterm deliveries. Knowing this now makes us proud supporters of the March of Dimes. We hope that our story will encourage you to support this great cause.

http://www.marchforbabies.org/lawsonandrew

Thank you!

Amelia is taking a couple of steps unassisted. She is a brave little one:). I guess she is trying to keep up with her active brother.

Amelia Paige is almost 10 months old now. She is a happy little girl who loves to laugh and dance. She is on the go ...to say the least. Pulling up on EVERYTHING and a really fast crawler. She is eating table food and loving it. She is REALLY teething now. Drooling a lot and fussy at times. She just cut her 3rd tooth (2 on the bottom and 1 that just broke through on the top). It is so weird to think about her with teeth. I am so used to her sweet gummy smile.
She is such a joy!

Today was Lawson's checkup with his Endocrinologist specialist, Dr. McCormick. We see him every 6 months for growth evaluation & bloodwork. They check all of his hormone levels and chart his growth to verify that he is on an upward climb. Lawson is growing at a rate of 96% (since his last visit where he was growing at a rate of 2%). The growth hormone is working quite well. Lawson is in the 68% for weight (35 lbs.) and 8% for his height (a little over 3 ft). The doctor was really pleased with his progress. He did not have to adjust his Diabetes Insipidus meds (DDAVP). They did up his Seizen (growth hormone) dosage to match his current size. Though it was a 2.5+ hour appointment, Lawson did really well. He wasn't happy about them drawing blood but a bag of Doritos helped him recover:).

Where has the time gone? Christmas already!

The kids are doing well and enjoying the Christmas season. Lawson has really gotten into decorating the tree and learning about each aspect of the season. (Christmas story, angels, trees, ornaments, etc) Amelia is just her sweet happy self. Watching her brother's every move and so close to crawling. She is on all fours rocking back and forth. Though she can't crawl forward, she moves backwards and side-to-side. She is really starting to enjoy some table food (sweet potatoes, pasta, green beans, etc). It is amazing to see her adapt to the texture so quickly.

This season has already been a lot less stressful than previous. Everyone is cutting back and really just enjoying the fellowship with one another. It is so nice to not be so caught up in the gifts and to actually sit back and remember the real reason for the season, the gift of Jesus!

I hope everyone has a very MERRY CHRISTMAS & a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!