Monday, April 21, 2014

Happy 1st Birthday, Braylon!

I was super blessed to be able to experience pregnancy with some of my best friends. Laura & I had our little fellas about two weeks apart.

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No, it wasn’t planned (that would just be weird)….but YES, it was very, very COOL to be pregnant & deliver around the same time. It has been awesome watching our boys grow up together & experience similar milestones over the past year. I love sharing ideas & learning things from my mommy friends. She reminds me of things to pray for Jase that I haven’t thought of yet & shares things she is teaching him that I want to teach Jase. She loves Braylon more than life & is SUCH a wonderful mama!

I’m super thankful for their friendship and LOVE her precious little man!! His little smile is just adorable & I’m just gonna throw it out there that he is pretty crazy about me, too.

We semi-invited ourselves over today to celebrate his 1st birthday with them today because Jase & I will be out of town for his party. He was SO cute & very proud to tell us he is “one” as he held up his little finger. The boys had fun playing with all of Braylon’s toys & then grubbing out for dinner. Of course their favorite thing to do is try to lovingly poke each other’s eyeballs out & pet each other on the head.

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“Thanks for coming to my FIRRRRRST birthday!”

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Braylon is 1… Apparently Jase thinks he is 4. (We’re still working on “one.” Maybe he’ll get it by his 1st birthday.)

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Mommy & Baby BFFs!

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Happy 1st Birthday, Braylon!!!

Jase’s First Easter

Easter has always been my mom’s favorite holiday.

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It definitely has a special place in our hearts because of what it represents for us in our faith- what Jesus did on the cross to cover our sins and that he rose from the grave 3 days later. The story of the Crucifixion and Jesus’ resurrection is POWERFUL & life changing. It brings me to tears every year, and I want to strive to keep it at the forefront of my thoughts all year round as opposed to just on this ‘holiday.’ I also want to work to make sure Jase understands the true meaning. It is really easy (with any holiday) to get caught up in gifts & traditions & outfits…which are not bad things….but can easily overshadow the true meaning if we’re not careful.

We went to Good Friday service, but decided to skip out on the church Easter egg hunt Saturday morning because it was raining and indoors. (And honestly, I didn’t know if Jase would be big enough to hunt the eggs anyway.) Saturday night we went to dinner with Grandma & Grandpa Butler….they hooked Jase up with some Easter books (jackpot! We LOVE books) & Jase showed everybody how to put on a clinic. Seriously, I have NEVER seen a baby eat so much!

I knew this year would be tough because it’s our first holiday without Michael.

Sunday morning our entire family met at Stephanie’s church to watch her husband Jamie be baptized. What a BLESSING!! He recently gave his life to Christ & followed through with baptism, and we are so excited about the work the Lord is doing in their family.

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After service we all went to Stephanie’s house (after a short one hour detour Jonathan & I took to my parents’ house- somehow we missed the memo if was at my sister’s) to eat, dye eggs, & have an Easter egg hunt. The detour ended up being fine because Jase got to squeeze in a short nap.

I am SO thankful for these three sweet babies that bring SO MUCH JOY to our family. They have been a light for all of us during this difficult time.

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Presley (Michael & Ragan’s youngest) is such a lil cutie patootie! She looks so much like my brother.

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By the way… I was wrong about Jase. He TOTALLY got the concept of hunting eggs and loved putting them in his Easter basket. I guess all that time teaching him to pick up and put away his blocks & bath toys paid off….ha!

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He was super serious about his eggs and loved breaking them apart to see which eggs had candy.

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Cute little Presley & my precious great nephew (he’s great, but I ‘m actually his great Aunt) DJ. SO adorable in his hat!!

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Melt my heart. This little peanut has changed my whole world for the better!! I look at life totally different now that God has blessed me with sweet Jase.

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More egg hunting…

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Love my sisters!

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HAPPY EASTER from Butler, Party of 3!!

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“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...” –1 Peter 1:3

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Jase is 10 Months!!

You turned 10 months on March 8th! IMG_1101

Weight: You weigh 22.4 lbs. Unfortunately we know that from taking you to the doctor. Not sure about height- you seem to be growing into your height just a little. You still have some big hands & feet though. You’re in size 18 month clothing & can even fit in size 24 month footie pjs, and size 4 diapers. (Size 3’s are officially too small.)

Health: Poor little guy! This is your first time being for real sick. It started around March 28th with a little cough. We took you to the doctor on Monday, March 31st because it wasn’t getting better & you started having some green drainage. He said your ears looked great & lungs sounded good. You didn’t have a fever, so he told us what to watch for & to come back if any symptoms worsened. (He did say you were the most compliant baby he has ever seen. You sat perfectly still & let him look at you eyes, ears, nose, & throat. Such a big boy!) We took you back on Friday, April 4th because you weren’t getting any better and had a fever of 100.6 on Thursday night. You were so excited to see and talk to everyone in the office. Dr. Carey gave everything a thorough look & did some blood work. I kept waiting for you to cry when the nurse pricked your toe, but you just smiled and laughed at the her. She asked if you could come back in and give lessons & even Dr. Carey said she never heard a peep. You sure are a TOUGH little dude!! Unfortunately that makes it tricky to tell when you really don’t feel good. She prescribed your first antibiotic- Amoxicillin. I’m not happy about it but trust the doctors.

We’ve been using Little Noses Saline Spray in your nose, homemade vapor rub with essential oils on your feet (with socks on), a Cool Mist Humidifier when you sleep, & the aspirator as needed (although we try to limit it). Friday night (your first dose of antibiotic)your fever spiked to 102.6, so I talked to the nurse with the CHOA nurses’ hotline. They were very helpful and told me what to look out for. I alternated Motrin & Tylenol every 5 hours or so to keep the temperature down. It was a rough night’s sleep for you & me both. I just prayed and prayed over you every time you woke up.

No more fever after 24 hours on the antibiotics so we stopped with the Motrin & Tylenol. You’re still not all the way better, but we can hear all that junk breaking up. It would be so much easier if you knew how to cough, blow your nose on command of spit out the junk when you cough something up. You look so pitiful and we’ve been praying for you all the time. You don’t act like you feel too terribly bad,  but you’re definitely not your happy smiley self which breaks my heart.

They never told us officially what it is- just that there’s a lot of crud going around. Your blood work looked fine. They said it really looks like allergies or a sinus infection, but you’re a little young for both of those. My gut says sinus infection. They said you’re a little young for that, but that it is a possibility and that’s exactly what I think it is.

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Sleep: Other than the rough couple of nights while you were the sickest, you have been sleeping well. The “vapor rub” with essential oils is helping. You’d rather sleep in your bed than anywhere, but adjusted well for the naps you took while we were at Grammy’s this week.

The few times you wake yourself up early from a nap, it’s usually because you’ve pooped. And then of course there was this day… which was loads of fun for everyone involved….AKA me & you.

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Nursing/Eating: You seem to be somewhat weaning during your middle of the day feedings, as those are pretty short & you are eating more and more solids. Your daddy & I joke that you eat as much as we do! (But for real….you can put down some food!) You eat any and everything. Hopefully you’ll stay this great of an eater.

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You have started throwing food off your tray when you don’t want it…..time to get the paint stick out.

What You’re Up to: Oh my word, Jase….you are SOOOO much fun!!! Seriously, you have the coolest little personality and we are so in love with who God created you to be.

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You are hilarious and such a people person!! Everywhere we go, you look around at everyone waiting for them to talk to you. You’re pretty relentless until they say hi, and people are just drawn to you. Maybe because I pray Luke 2:52 over you daily.

You smile and talk to everyone. Love to wave, clap your hands, & say “hi.”

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You laugh a LOT & it is so hilarious to us every time. If I’m ever laughing at something you’re doing, you get tickled & giggle right along with me. You are so SILLY!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVCGoZCrT0s (Laughing with Daddy)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT7IdbkI9p8 (Back Porch Fun)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcj-Ya-1xLg (Laughing with Mommy)

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You’re also standing unassisted for a few seconds & walking (assisted) all over the place. You can pretty much run behind your wheeled toys.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x41mw4c8JjE (1st Day of Spring)

You can use utensils & a straw now. You absolutely HATE getting in your car seat and pretty much make a fuss every time we put you in there, but you’re fine once we get going. You’re obsessed with the stairs and LOVE to climb them!! I’m teaching you to come down too & you’re getting it figured out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqFSLeI_Z2M (New Game with Dad)

You are also very helpful & love to help me clean your tray & vacuum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vBdCXaUVuM (Mommy’s Helper)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCM5LAQRKIA (Helping Vacuum)

You also LOOOOOVE big kids!! You don’t pay much attention to other babies unless you try to poke their eye balls out. (Not sure what’s up with that?)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK2et27xIZQ (Hokey Pokey)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaBgn9BDrZU (Playing with Cousins)

Thoughts: Baby Jase…you MELT my heart!!! Even your daddy says “I hope we have a house full like Jase.” You’re the most precious little angel baby and we fall more in love every day, even when we didn’t think it was possible. That may sound cliché, but I MEAN it. You are such an easy, happy, sweet baby and we thank the LORD for you!

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This was a really, really tough last week for Mommy & Daddy and the rest of our family as we said goodbye to your Uncle Michael. You brought joy to us through this sad time. Our hearts our hurting so bad without him. My heart aches for your Grammy & Granddaddy so deeply because I know how much I love you and can’t imagine ever losing you. I’ve been praying for you and your future siblings non-stop since your uncle Michael went to be with the Lord.

You were very much a trooper at Grammy’s house too & stayed on your schedule for the for me while we spent a good bit of time over there. Thank you for doing that & even taking a few extra long naps so I could get things done to help out.

**Huge thank you to Renee, Kelly, & Jade for watching you during the services.

So thankful for you, my sweet, sweet boy. I love you more than words.