Pictures galore

So the rest of my week has been pretty quiet since I came home from the hospital. Daddy and mommy and I waited until noon on Wednesday for the neurosurgeon to come talk to us... he basically just said that there were no major blockages (thank goodness) in my head and that we can just go home and see our neurosurgeon, show him the MRI results, and let him decide what I need to do next! Since then I've just been hanging out with my Mamie and Pops and ALL the rest of the family at home :) We opened lots of fun presents and had some yummy meals and just play play play! 

Here are a few pictures and videos from my week... in no particular order :)

Tuckered out at the hospital

I finally fell asleep at 6pm

I didn't sleep for long before some much needed play time

Back at Cici and Grandpa's house for Christmas

Opening presents 

Aunt Mollie is SO funny

Tuckered out from opening gifts with daddy

Like my hospital attire?

Facetiming with Uncle Rich, Aunt Chris, and all my cousins at Gigi's place

Watching my handsome self on the iPad

Tired of car rides

Hanging out with daddy at the hospital! I don't know why they took me here, don't I look FINE?

Hi Aunt Mollie

Looking pathetic in my hospital gear and IV boot

Photo shoot at Gigi's place

Looking handsome don't you think

I'm getting good at standing :)

I got so tired I fell asleep in Cici's arms

My awesome family!!

Picture time with Gigi

Zoned out on some morphine after my MRI

Tired at the hospital

FINALLY on our way home from the hospital

Look at my cousins asleep on Aunt Kate

Recovering

On our way to Aunt Kieran's house

Daddy playing video games with Emma and Lilly

Daddy hanging out with Harper

Silly daddy

Mamie got me a new door swing.... and I LOVE it

Like the scratch I gave myself?

Hanging out with Mamie

My new caterpillar rocker

Silly Sebastian decided to sit on my lap

Picture time with mommy

Cute couple don't you think?

My pretty cousin Lilly and her mommy Aunt Katelynn

A not so happy Christmas

Well I have a good Christmas story and a bad Christmas story to tell. I'll start with the good story. I had a fabulous time at my Cici and Grandpa's house with my mommy and daddy and Aunt Mollie!! We went to visit my Gigi on Sunday and even facetimed with some of my cousins and aunties and uncles. Then we had some fun visitors come hang out at the house with us for the night. On Christmas Eve, we slept in nice and late and the first thing we did was open stockings, then we ate a super yummy breakfast, and finally we opened LOTS of fantastic presents!!! I got LOTS of fun toys and books and even a few handsome outfits :) After opening presents we made some fun Christmas ornaments while Cici and Grandpa cooked dinner, then we drove back up to St Bernadette's Catholic Church (where I got baptized) for Christmas mass! I did pretty good through mass but about halfway through I couldn't keep my eyes open and fell fast asleep on mommy :) When I woke up we were home and ate a yummmmmy Christmas dinner (well everyone else did, but I thought it smelled really good at least :)

After dinner we drove down to Charlotte to see my Mamie and pops and all my aunts and uncles and cousins!! Mommy and Emma and Lilly and Aunt Kelly read lots of Christmas stories before bed so we could dream about sugar plum fairies and Santa Claus in our sleep :) Unfortunately that is where my troubles began....

Once I fell asleep mommy was rubbing my head and noticed that my soft spot was a little bit raised. My neurosurgeon and neurologist always said to keep an eye on my soft spot in case it raised up, so mommy and daddy started worrying a little bit. They called the on call neurologist and he just said since I'm acting totally fine, that they could just keep an eye on me through the night. They measured my head to make sure it didn't grow bigger overnight and woke up every hour to check on me.

Santa DID come visit us last night and we all woke up to LOTS of fun presents and toys. My bump was still about the same size and I was acting like my normal happy self so mommy and daddy waited a while and we all opened some presents with the family! At 10am mommy called my pediatrician just to be sure I was okay and she told her to take me to the emergency room just in case....

So off we went to the Levine Children's Hospital in downtown Charlotte and we've been here ALL day! I didn't mind so much, in fact since no one tried to poke me I was in a pretty good mood meeting all these new nice people. Mommy and daddy talked to LOTS of nurses and four doctors before they decided to do a CT scan on me... That I was not too happy about. Not because it hurt, but because they held me down in this tight machine. How DARE they?? Luckily it only lasted a minute and I was all better once they let go. Unfortunately the scan was completely useless because without any old scans to compare it to, they don't know if my head looks worse with more fluid or not.

Sooooo after lots more consultations by doctors and neurosurgeons and Radiologists, they all decided I better stay and get an MRI. YUCK!! The first thing those mean old ladies did to me was hold me down again, but this time for an IV in my arm. Mommy told them to send their best nurses in to do the job but as usual, they missed on the first round. Mommy snuggled me and calmed me down but two minutes later they were at it again, this time in my foot. Thankfully daddy entertained me for most of round two and they did get the IV in, then they wrapped a funny looking boot around it to keep it safe.

Once that was in, my afternoon was pretty quiet. I hung out in our room with mommy and daddy until almost four o'clock when they FINALLY put us in a pediatric room (which is really nice if I do say so myself!! Wish we'd had this nice of accommodations when I was in the NICU for five months!). We waited and waited and waited until FINALLY they came to get me for my MRI... The doctors really don't know what's going on. Since I'm acting so normal and my CT scan came back fine so far, the only thing they are worried about is a blockage of fluid in my brain. The doctor here says my CT scan looks like I may need a shunt in my head to drain extra fluid :( That's another surgery, which I DO NOT want to go through!! The thing is though, these doctors don't know what my brain looks like normally so they don't know if I have more or less than normal.

I'm currently dreaming DEEP dreams during my MRI while mommy and daddy wait for me to finish. We have to spend the night and wait for the radiologist to read my MRI in the morning, then they'll decide what I need to do next. Please say extra prayers that my MRI goes well and that my head is okay!! I want to go home and open the rest of my presents tomorrow and be with my family... And I don't don't don't want another surgery unless its absolutely necessary :(

Snow snow snow snow

Just a few pictures and videos of my day....

Mommy and I playing with the iPad

More of mommy and me and the iPad

my first SNOW

It was so windy we lost power for a WHOLE day

Cici and Grandpa's Christmas tree

My cozy spot on the couch

My handsome overalls

Shopping in Asheville with the family

Mommy and I shopping

My first REAL high chair in a restaurant experience

I look good in a hood :)

Well since the power was out at Cici and Grandpa's house even when we got home from Asheville, we had to get in the car again to go to Gigi's old house... luckily the power is finally back on at home

Home at last....

We are home at last :) At least our North Carolina home!! Mommy and daddy and I left around midnight last night.... something about wanting me to sleep for most of the car ride. Good thinking guys! Although by the 12th hour I was getting PRETTY antsy to get out of the car and had slept ENOUGH for the three of us (although mommy and daddy weren't feeling quite the same). Now we are relaxing, living the mountain life in good ole Spruce Pine, NC with my Cici and Grandpa! AND.... it's supposed to SNOW TOMORROW!!!!! I've never seen snow before, they tell me it's really cold and pretty though. :)

 

Down for the night ride

relaxing at Cici and Grandpas house

 

This week was a pretty busy one before we left. I went to work with mommy on Monday and honestly I think I had a case of the Mondays because I was V E R Y grumpy! I just couldn't get to sleep for my naps and I wanted to be at home watching football like we did on Sunday. Oh well.... on Tuesday we had a Christmas dinner with our fabulous neighbors who ended up giving me lots of fun gifts, even though they weren't supposed to!! They watch my puppy dog Aston while we are out of town and I gotta tell you, I think he likes their house more than our house. He was whining all day yesterday because he KNEW we were leaving... usually he whines because he's excited to come home with us, but now he whines because he just wants to go over to their house and he doesn't want to wait any longer! Last night they came to get him and he didn't even think twice about leaving us, he just booked it out the front door without so much as a good bye. TRAITOR! Oh well, at least he's happy while we are away!

 I finally fell asleep at work with mommy 

 

A little smile after my nap

On Tuesday I also went to see the Orthopaedist about my cramped fingers.... they were SUPER nice and took a funny x-ray right there in the office of my fingers and my hips (just to be sure they were growing right). Thankfully the doctor came back and said I'm PERFECT :) He said my hips were just fine and that the bones in my hand are just fine! He said he thinks the bands in my knuckles are just tight and I should/could just get a splint on my hand to help straighten them out. That kind of stinks, but at least that's ALL it is!!!! My OT says she can make a splint for me to use at night, so we'll see how that goes when we get back home in January.

Yesterday I went to work again with mommy and this time I decided to be a good boy flirt with the girls! There are LOTS of pretty ladies in mommy's office and I hung out with my Tia Jennie and Tia Yolima who were singing me songs in Spanish and teaching me new words in Spanish (mommy and I like to watch this new show on TV called Hola Bebe too where we learn new words in Spanish.... mommy says if we watch them over and over we're BOUND to learn at least some Spanish :) After work Mommy and I went to the Broward College graduation with my Auntie Kris to see all the new teachers walk across the stage... that darn mommy thinks if she exposes me to enough school SUPER early the seed will be planted and I'll be sure to go to college and be a SUPERSTAR student, hehehe.....

 

Getting in a quick nap before graduation

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend and I'm sure I'll be on to tell about my weekend adventures (and hopefully first snow stories). My Tio Pierce and Tia Pilar are flying to Spain tomorrow for a VERY special Christmas, so say an extra prayer that they have a safe flight! Also my BFF Jeremy is trying out the cannula again to see if he can get home by New Years.... please say an EXTRA BIG PRAYER that his lungs stay strong and he can come home soon!!!