Tennessee Thanksgiving

We had an extra passenger this year while traveling to Tennessee for our annual family Thanksgiving. Kaz tested out his new car seat for the first time thanks to our 2 1/2 hour trudge down south. He has always been a great traveler and continued his streak in his new ride:)

Kaz got the chance to spend some great quality time with his great-grandparents and grandparents over the holiday. He was read to, sang to, walked around, and played with 24/7 during our stay. They definitely kept him entertained and even got to witness a few new talents of his...

                                  

Our boy likes to eat anything! We have yet to find something that he dislikes, however we have only introduced a few foods thus far. He seemed to like carrots, loves avocados, and just had his first taste of 

sweet potatoes served for Thanksgiving by his great-grandmother.

Kaz has many loves, but one that ranks at the top would be watching football with his daddy. Needless to say Kaz was a happy baby. The combination of food, football, and family are right up his alley.

All this to say, this Thanksgiving was a very special one for our family - the first of many traditions to come. 

 Heading for our annual, Day-after-Thanksgiving shopping trip

Always Thankful!

 My little "army man" all suited up for pics to send to his cousin Spencer, serving in Korea.

This Thanksgiving began early with a trip this weekend to Nashville, Tennessee with my dad and our family. We were greeted with food galore...and every bite was delicious! We did a little shopping in the mix of a whole lot of stuffing ourselves and visiting with each other:) Kaz got to spend lots of time with his cousin, Emil. He seemed to be in awe of all of his big cousin's mobility and stayed glued to every movement and sound that was made. We attempted to put them on the same couch for pictures together....it was all fun and games until someone got hurt. Emil likes to attack squeeze Kaz's face every time they are together;) We joked about how it will be interesting this time next year when Kaz can fend for himself. I have a feeling they will just grow up being big buddies.

 Thank goodness for cousins...lots of love!

We plan to head down south again this week to celebrate Thanksgiving with my mom's side. We look forward to sharing the family traditions with Kaz during the upcoming holiday season!:)

Kaz also had his 6 month check-up last week. He received the massive protocol list of shots + the flu vaccine and wasn't too happy afterwards....

Once again we left the doctors office feeling defeated because of some alarming news regarding his development. We continue to stay dedicated to prayer and keep a positive outlook on a successful future for our little man. We are in hopes that his physical therapy will do the job in strengthening his weakness. We know God has great things planned and are trusting in him to lead us each day.

"Be thankful in all circumstances" - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Mommy's Notes & Milestones!

Mommy's Notes was launched this past weekend at Grace's Holiday Open House. It was so nice being able to finally share my heart with others about this new ministry, in hopes of finding others that have a desire to help. We have started accepting donations and will begin the designing process for the journal in the near future. The final paperwork is being completed to make Mommy's Notes an official non-profit organization of it's own. It is a long, tedious process, but I know it will be worth it when lives are touched.

November 13th - Kaz had two major 1st on this day! He turned over all by himself (no fluke - actually ligit:). He also had a taste of his first food ever and did wonderful. We have now passed the world of carrots with flying colors and plan on heading towards avocados next week!

Hello half-year mark! (aka 4 months:)

Kaz is still defying the odds in the "preemie" world. He is 20 lbs. (90% in weight) and over 27 inches tall (70% in length). Based on data, he is off the charts for his gestational age of 4 months. Sometimes I question myself and the doctors when referring back to his due date of July 2nd, 2011, wondering if we were all wrong in predicting when his nine month journey should end. Then I think back to Kaz's first couple months of life and am quickly reminded of how fortunate we are that he survived. Every part that made up his body needed assistance in order to function properly. Everything from oxygen machines for consistent breathing, shots of medicine for speedy lung development, and staying in an incubator for weeks in a row are just a few reminders of his early arrival.  

We do however continue to monitor his developmental milestones where he continues to show weakness in an area or two. He hasn't quite mastered turning over but is getting so close and with just a little nudge from someone is able to flip himself onto his back. We have also been working on keeping his hands open to grasp things and continue to work with him using little exercises daily.

It seems as though every morning when I pick him up out of his crib he has somehow managed to grow and change overnight. We are dedicated in saying prayers daily regarding his physical milestones. He will begin physical therapy in the upcoming weeks and we are in hopes of seeing positive progress in gross and fine motor abilities in future months. I have come to the realization that we are on "Kaz time" and I'm just waiting around on him from now on (and helping as much as I can along the way;)

Kaz got to attend his first wedding ever this past weekend. I'm not so sure he remembers much other than the special room we went to because he can't seem to stop making noises at all the wrong times. Good thing we were back in the sound-proof quarters, considering as soon as the priest called for a moment of silence Kaz shouted out some random coo:)

What a blessing this boy has been to our lives already. It's amazing how one life can put so much into perspective. I know that I have grown in my faith as well as my character over this past 6 months. My hope is to raise Kaz knowing the importance of loving God with all his heart throughout his life.

My Stinker!

I found the costume pretty fitting...Kaz was a skunk for his first Halloween, aka - "my little stinker".
Since he can't consume the unhealthy crazy amounts of sugar as every other child walking from door to door, we decided to show the skunk off while handing out candy at our house for most of the night. Kaz loves to people watch, and he loved checking out all the cool costumes that showed up shouting "Trick or Treat". Of course we had to make a couple stops to visit his grandparents in Georgetown. Kaz got a little Halloween present that he could actually put to use when we got to ShaSha's (my mom).

Kaz had his major evaluation today with First Steps, where they observed all areas of development to see exactly where he measures up with same age peers. The results determined that he will require physical therapy to strengthen his core and continue to show him how to properly use his muscles in his upper body. Although the news wasn't entirely positive (for mommy), I am so grateful that we are able to be proactive and help with these issues as early as possible in hopes of fixing them quickly. As always, so thankful to have my little man here with us today and look so forward to celebrating future holidays with our family. I can't wait to show Kaz the importance of thankfulness and the appreciation of Christ's birth in the upcoming years, through the holidays:)