Woody's in the house!

Hello, my name is Woody  and I can't wait for Halloween!!! My mom tells me all the time that I am the cutest thing in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD.  What do you think? She also tells me that I am SUPER DUPER smart because of all the knowledge I have. :) I have to say, I am pretty smart!! Have I told you that I can't wait for Halloween? I know I can't eat any of the candy but I can certainly give it to my mommy.... since she loves me SOOOOOOOO much! :)  

The YMCA where my mommy and daddy work had a Halloween carnival last night and I had sooo much fun...minus the scary costumes. Those scared the crap out of me and I even cried a little bit. 





                        HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM WOODY!!!!

???????

Ok so I have been writing in my journal every time Landen throws up this month. Today is the 25th and he has thrown up 17 days out of the 25. I don't mean a little spit up either! What's sad is I have taken a few pictures of his vomit so I could show Jean and Dr Troup just how much throw up there is! Today we went to Shriner's Hospital in Greenville and had a UA and a CT series to look at his shunt and Urine. Let me tell you that Landen went completely ballistic during the CT. Midway through the procedure he threw up and they had to stop and clean him up and change everything on the table. Next I had to LAY ON TOP of my baby and hold his chin so tight that I left marks, just to get a good series of pictures. I had the aroma of spoiled pediasure on me, Landen's hair had that same aroma as well as his clothes and let's just say...The name Dr Troup made him freak the heck out. The rad. tech and nurse made a note that the next CT series he would need "sedation" oh how I love that word! I asked if I could be sedated too but they didn't like my sense of humor? ( It was a joke people)
Both test were completely normal. Huh?? Ok, so now what?  Possibly a MRI next week to evaluate his Chiari Malformation. Now we are just waiting on Dr Troup to call us and let us know what to do.

On a lighter note, Landen is doing great with his walker. Of course we have to help him get his right leg moving but he's standing all by himself and even pulls up to the walker in a standing position all by himself. This little guy has some upper body strength let me tell you. :)  We are still waiting on his wheelchair and I am hoping that it comes before Christmas.

Sometimes I feel like Landen gets treated like a "show dog". We think our little guy is a genius and the smartest cookie around so we like to show off everything that he knows. Today he showed Jean Brown(an amazingly smart woman at Shriner's..who we love and wouldn't know what we would do without her) all of his knowledge. He showed her where his eyes, ears, nose, hair, button (belly button), butt, back, and teeth were. He gave her "fist bumps" ( bubba taught him this), showed her how he can stand up, showed her all the sign language he knows and repeated several words and even told her what a sheep says. Of course this was AFTER all the tests were completed and NO Dr Troup around! :)   I love that he is learning so much but that just means that he is growing up...which makes me a very very sad momma!

I would post pictures of this past weekend at the pumpkin patch but the pictures were downloaded to daddy's work computer. Will post pictures soon!

Children's Wish Foundation

Landen had a wish come true... Children's Wish Foundation found us an amazing photographer who took our pictures. Her name is Jeni...take a look at the amazing job she did. This is just a sneak peak of the photos. There are over 100 pics but these are my favorites.
These pictures were taken at my parents farm in Rock Hill.

Whewww finally...an update

Ok, so I know it's been WELL over a month since I have last blogged but all you moms out there with special needs children know that you stay busy with therapy and other appts, your other children, sports for the kids, cooking, cleaning, homework, school projects, laundry, working(and yes, being a stay at home mom IS working) ALL while trying to keep your sanity and get a little bit of shut eye all before exhaustion sets in tomorrow...it's a never ending cycle.

Landen is doing well. He has recently had another bladder infection so we are doing the antibiotic thing again. He has a walker now(a loaner). This is the second loaner that we have used. We are trying to figure out what type of walker is going to be the best one for him. I really like this one, but I think we are going to have to go with the one that has a harness in it to help keep his right leg where it "should" be when he is trying to walk. All in all though he is doing great and taking steps... Go Landen.  He's been throwing up alot lately and I am praying, praying, praying that it is not his shunt malfunctioning again. He is the cutest thing ever and even though I am exhausted every day and can't wait to just get a few hrs of shut eye, I simply LOVE my life and would love to have more children!

For anyone that is contemplating being a "first time mom" Please read. This is like a "Job description" (I got this from a friend and added my own stuff)

FULL TIME MOM NEEDED (job description below) Do not apply if you cannot fulfill all duties!!!

1. You must first be willing to walk around the house in circles ALL day long, picking up the same things over and over and over and over and over and over.... you get my point.
2. You will serve as a fulltime waitress(without tips and courtesy of course)
3. MUST BE ABLE TO MULTI TASK: ex: clean up vomit from your toddler, clean poop off clothes, floor etc, fix dinner, do laundry, clean up food off the floor, pick up kids from school, do school projects(even though you finished school a LONG time ago), pay bills, etc...all by 5pm.
4. Be able to carry a purse or diaper bag 3x your body weight containing snacks, diapers, toys, extra clothes for when your toddler throws up everywhere, bandaids, tweezers and your personal items like a pad, which probably won't be there when you need it anyways.
5. You must look good in a pony-tail or just spray your hair and go if it's not long enough for a pony. You no longer have time to make yourself look good so a high quality look in 3 min or less is a must.
6. This goes for makeup too. You must be able to go into public without terrifying the people at Walmart or even your mail lady when you go to grab the mail(since this will be the highlight of your day). And by the way, brushing your teeth IS negotiable!!
7. It will be to your benefit if you enjoy endless crying and screaming, yelling, and whining that comes with EVERY age. (yes for real)
8. Must enjoy grocery shopping with a yelling toddler, 3 hr baseball games, shopping..but only for the kids now...It's no longer about you, fixing separate dinners b/c you have picky kids and eating your dinner cold.
9. You must be happy and have a good attitude at all times. (This will make your job easier)
10. Please know that you will NEVER be alone ever again! No time for peaceful showers, going to potty in peace, and most importantly you will NEVER be allowed to talk on the phone again without screaming or several interruptions.(Just saying...)
11. Must be willing to trade your romantic date nights with your kids baseball game, baseball practice, church activity, car pooling, drive through at Mcd's or a Highschool football game.
12. And lastly your heart must be extra large to hold the overwhelming love, countless wet and slobbery kisses and you must have strong arms to hold your children and be able to give lots of bear hugs. You must be able to stare at another human being in pure amazement, that God gave you the most amazingly beautiful miracle(s) and that He considered you worthy of taking care of one of His most important creations!!

If you can fill ALL these requirements, you will be a GREAT mom. If you apply and get the job, you will have to keep this job for a MINIMUM of 18 yrs! Oh, and you will not get paid in cash $$$$   payment is with kisses and hugs only!!!

One last thing... I decided to take this job FOREVER and it is the most rewarding job ever.

Here's a few pictures of me on the job! 


                 LANDEN CLIMBS ON EVERYTHING HE POSSIBLY CAN

                                WATCH ME WALK MOMMY!

                                   LANDEN'S NEWLY PAINTED ROOM AND WITH THOMAS

                                   MORE THOMAS THE TRAIN~

                                  HE LOVES WATCHING SID THE SCIENCE GUY

                                     THROWING ALL THE BALLS OUT AFTER I JUST PICKED THEM ALL UP

                             I TURN MY BACK FOR 2 SECONDS AND HE DUMPS THE CEREAL OUT AND EATS IT

                              HE WANTS TO WASH HIS HAIR LIKE HIS SISSY

                               DOING SOME FINGER PAINTING, WILL POST THE PICS WHEN FINISHED

             HEY LOOK, MY HANDS ARE DIRTY