2nd Set of Tubes and Adenoids

While I was out on maternity leave, Sawyer started getting ear infections again and she had one that we just couldn't seem to get rid of! We made an appointment with a new ENT since we didn't want to keep driving to our old one in Fort Worth. The new ENT, Dr. L. told us that Sawyer would need a new set of tubes (1st set were put in April 2013) and also recommended having her adenoids removed. Now, this poor girl has had more ear infections that I can count...I literally lost count. I used to keep track of them on my calendar and I just lost count between them all, there were that many! And here I thought breastfeeding was supposed to help prevent ear infections...11 months of breastfeeding and I've got the queen of ear infections on my hands! Bless my sweet child's heart!

We didn't waste any time and scheduled the surgery for Friday (we met with Dr. L on a Monday). I was a little nervous with how Sawyer would do when they had to take her from me because of the age she's at. You know, the age where they can't stand for Mommy or Daddy to leave...in Sawyer's case this also includes Nana. Thankfully, they gave her some medicine that kind of chilled her out (it's supposed to help with the separation anxiety). Once that medicine kicked in...she was sooo mellow and also a tad bit loopy. I felt bad for laughing at her a couple of times but it was just too funny! I wish I could've captured it on video but she was watching Mickey Mouse on my phone at the time.

She didn't cry at all when they took her back. She wouldn't lay down completely on the bed as they were taking her away...she held onto the rails to hold her shoulders and head up. She looked very uneasy but not upset. Once the surgery was over, Dr. L came out and filled us in. Apparently she had a polyp in one ear because of excessive scar tissue. When I asked what caused this, he said he had seen this before with the type of tubes our previous ENT used and that is why he never uses those specific tubes. He was confident that it wouldn't happen again with the tubes he put in her ears this time. Let's keep our fingers crossed! Everything else went fine with the exception of Sawyer's heck of time coming out of the anesthesia. Oh my word, that was ROUGH! She ended up pulling the IV out of her foot and scratching up my neck. I always knew my girl was strong, but holy moly it took all of my strength to keep her from falling out of my lap as I was holding her in recovery. Side note: like most children, Sawyer absolutely loathes restraint of any kind. That being said, when I was holding her she kept getting upset (totally understandable) and then would do the whole "toddler flailing/thrashing" is what I like to call it. Talk about feeling completely helpless as a mommy....

Bottom line is all is good with the world now! Since having the surgery, Sawyer's talking has really kicked into high gear. She's been talking for quite a while now and her vocabulary has been great. But since having the tubes, her speech has been MUCH clearer and she's putting 2-3 words together. She's quite the Chatty Cathy!

Looking cute in her gown

"Bubba" was there for support

3 Months Old Already!

I still can't believe our happy little guy is already three months old! Dusty and I have been so blessed to have had such happy babies. I remember Sawyer would smile so big, she looked like she just couldn't contain all of her happiness in that chunky little body of hers. She must have been giving her little brother some lesson because I actually think he can smile bigger than she did (totally didn't think that was possible). 

JT at 3 Months: 

rolled over at 11 weeks old (tummy to back)

started daycare on December 30th

got his ear molds removed on New Years Eve...no more rim kinks!

smiles the biggest smile I've ever seen! Just smile at him and he smiles back

sleeps from 8-2ish and then back asleep until I wake him up at 5:30 (on school days)

takes 4 oz bottles every two hours at daycare 

lights up when he sees his big sister--ring around the rosie is their favorite game (Sawyer spins his rock & play in circles as she sings "ashes ashes"

held his bottle on his own at daycare

laughed for the first time while sleeping. Papa can get some good laughs out of him too :)

discovered his hands

drools like CRAZY

tries to sit himself up when he's in his rock & play and while laying down

has made me love being a "boy mom". It's so much fun getting to be a "girl mom" AND  a "boy mom"

is getting all that gassy business under control...I've got a super happy baby on my hands, unless he's got a bubble in there...N.O. B.U.E.N.O! It's been a lot better though lately--YAY!

his hernia is starting to go down--looking more like a belly button now

has chubby cheeks!! Oh how I've missed having a chunky baby with rolls galore. Jansen's not there yet, but he's definitely been filling out. 3 months clothes are getting tight!

still doesn't like his big swing, but he tolerates the travel swing I keep in my bathroom while I get ready.

loves "standing" 

sitting in the bumbo has opened up a whole new world for him

My lumberjack

CHEEKS!

I wanted to cuddle in bed with this guy all day long

Mommy's first day back at work!

Just got the ear molds taken off for good!

His reaction when I asked if he was ready to go to daycare

Jansen Taylor Williams

 Jansen Taylor Williams was born Monday, October 21, 2013 at 7:53 AM. He weighed 7 lbs. 10z and was 20 inches long. I was shocked at his weight! I was so sure that he was going to weigh at least 9 lbs because of how hard it was on my body to carry him those last 6 weeks!! 

I'm going to fast forward to where we are now so I can start doing my monthly updates. Those of you that follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram have seen the countless number of pictures I've posted of him in the past two months! 

2 Months Old

-weighed 11 lbs. 13 oz at 2 month checkup 

-22 1/2 inches long

-nights look like this: 4 hour stretch of sleep, then up every 2 hours. I am praying we'll be getting more sleep by the time I go back to work. 2 weeks left!! :(

-he's a momma's boy and I love it! 

-will only take a bottle if you position him like he is nursing.

-starts daycare on Monday...eeeehhhh. I don't think I'm ready yet!

-smiles the biggest smile I've ever seen a baby smile. You can't help but melt when he smiles and coos at you :)

-my skinny little guy is starting to chunk up! His cheeks are growing by the day and he's filling out all over. I'm still not used to having a baby that doesn't have 3 rolls on each arm. hehe

-his ear molds come off next week. He got them on to smooth out the rim kinks he had...we had no idea that was something that could be done, but apparently it can! He has had them on since he was 2 weeks old. 

-His best naps are taken in his car seat after he's fallen asleep in the car.

-He is boycotting the Ergo now...I'm so not happy about this and am praying it's a short lived phase.

-He is the happiest baby unless he is gassy and unfortunately that happens A LOT! We should probably take out stock on Colic Calm and Tummy Calm. It's our saving grace! 

-His belly button herniated when he was in the NICU for rhinovirus (3 weeks old), but it looks like it's finally starting to go down. 

-He enjoys tummy time much more than Sawyer did. He'll even fall asleep sometimes!

-He reminds us so much of a little old man. He dozes in and out of sleep when he's nice and comfy. He has a receding hairline. And his ear molds look like hearing aids. I can't help but laugh sometimes at my cute little old man! 

-He is beginning to like the swing...he hasn't been a fan of it until recently. 

-Jansen celebrated his 1st Christmas! 

Our 1st Christmas as a family of four!

Happy boy on Christmas morning

Getting ready to go to Great Grandma's on Christmas Eve

Exciting News!!

For those of you who know what the colors black and gold mean to us....you're right! Sawyer is sporting Forney colors to represent her soon-to-be hometown! We are officially moving BACK to Forney!!! Dusty and I couldn't be more excited to be back with our families in our hometown.

The decision came in late October after months of "flirting" with the idea of moving back home. It literally was just one of those decisions where I can honestly say God put it on my heart that it was time to move back home. There was no more "Could we? Would we?" It was just a "This is it, it's time". I can pin point the exact moment when I knew. We were on our way home from Kaufman's Scarecrow Festival and Dusty mentioned that when he and Joey (my brother) were talking at the festival, Joey made a comment about us moving back home. As soon as the words left Dusty's mouth, it just clicked. I asked Dusty if he really wanted to, but I knew the answer was yes because he had been talking about it since Sawyer was born in April. Decision made!

Fast forward to March and our house is on the market, our new house in Forney will start being built any day now...just waiting on the permits from the city. I am currently on the hunt for a teaching job in Forney as well. Needless to say, between now and the end of June is going to be a little crazy! If I sit back and think about how stressful and crazy this all could get, I start to worry. However, Dusty and I are completely confident in leaving all of this in God's hands. We know He'll take care of us and everything will fall into place according to His plan. We've already seen His Hands working wonders this year and we just know it'll all be okay.

With all of that being said, it will be a bittersweet move for me. I am so excited for Sawyer to be able to grow up with her grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins right down the road! And I'm excited at the thought of hopefully being able to teach in Forney, which has always been a dream of mine. But on the flip side, it is going to be EXTREMELY hard for me to leave my amazing job. The people at my school have become like a second family to me and that family will be so hard to leave behind...not to mention the kiddos and parents that I've bonded with! I couldn't have asked for a better experience these past three years. I am more than thankful and blessed to have had the opportunity I've had there.

If everything goes according to plan, our Forney home will be ready for move-in mid to late June. I have a feeling they'll finish right around the same time we'll be leaving for our family vacation to Disney World...remember I said things are going to be a little crazy!

So Far Behind!! 9 & 10 Months

I apologize for being SO far behind in blog posts. I've missed Sawyer's 9 month post as well as her 10 month post! Needless to say, Sawyer is an overachiever at doing her job of keeping us busy. She is just so much fun that we can't get enough of her. I'd much rather be playing with her and loving on her than typing away on my computer...which is why my blogging has fallen to the wayside. Anyways, this post will be chock full of 2 months worth of Sawyer fun facts. Enjoy!!

In her 9th and 10th month:

-graduated from army crawling to full out "you can't catch me" crawling

-pulls up on anything and everything

-waves bye-bye
-has started to cruise along the furniture

-might even quietly say bye-bye when you put her in the car seat. This has happened a handful of times but I still have to brag about it ;)

-blows kisses 

-eats ALMOST anything...still not a fan of carrots and sweet potatoes

-green veggies are her absolute FAVORITE...no kidding, this girl will choose asparagus, broccoli, peas and green beans over anything.

-underwent her first VCUG test and renal ultrasound. She has grade 1 reflux on one side and grade 2 on the other. That is a long story in itself. As for now, our prayers were answered and we are on observation until the next UTI.

-she has been deemed the "pacifier thief" at school

-diaper changes were a two-man job there for a brief period of time
-loves having her teeth brushed
- I am surprised if there is any bath water left in the tub at the end of her baths...she loves to splash!
-loves giving kisses...BIG open mouth kisses!
-is all about the dogs and her daddy
-had her first ER trip to Cook's. Double ear infection, upper respiratory infection and bronchiolitis were the culprit...that is why she has horrible circles/bags under her eyes in her 10 month picture
-says momma and dada :)

I'm going to stop there because if I add anymore, I won't have anything for her 11 month post which I'm due to post next week. We'll see if that one is on time ;)

8 months old!

At 8 months old, Sawyer....

-weighs close to 23 lbs

-has mastered the pincer grasp and loves to feed herself puffs, cheerios & -fruit and veggie chunks

-is ALLLLMOST officially crawling...she'll crawl a couple "steps" and then lay down and reach for what it is she's wanting

-likes to she tease Mommy & Daddy..we'll think she's about to crawl and then she just decides to sit up instead and smile at us. 

-met Santa Claus!! 

-upgraded to a new stroller :) we love our new UPPAbaby Cruz!!!

-still refuses pureed fruits or veggies

-loves her yobaby yogurt for breakfast

-had a smoothie for the first time...that girl uses a straw like a champ!

-got her first UTI :(

-has 8 teeth! 5 of those chompers were coming in all at once...whew! This led to Sawyer getting her very own amber teething necklace :)

-eats 3 solid meals a day with bottles/nursing in between

-wants to feed herself...she's start refusing if you try to put the food in her mouth

-enjoyed her first Christmas and New Years! 

-very rarely likes to hold still..this makes for difficult diaper changes

-laughs harder than ever when ticked on her ribs

7 months old

With every day that goes by, Sawyer continues to show her blossoming personality (even though I feel we've seen it since day 1). Sometimes I am just in awe of her...everything about her just blows me away. I am just head over heels in love with our sweet baby girl. From her beyond happy personality to the milestones she seems to be accomplishing left and right, I just couldn't be prouder of her.

7 months....7 months....it just sounds old! And let me tell you, this little girl thinks she's old too! Little missy decided she wasn't having that pureed food so we now feed her chunks of steamed fruits and veggies. No joke, I've got a shopping bag full of baby food that I'm going to give to daycare so it doesn't go to waste. After only making it through squash, sweet potatoes and carrots, Sawyer decided to go on a 2 week food strike....oh dear. No joke, this girl would not open her mouth for anything but cereal, bottles, mum mums or to nurse. We even decided to buy the baby bullet and start making our own baby food thinking that maybe she disliked the texture of the packaged food. NOPE...no change! The Dr. gave us the go ahead on finger foods to see if that would help and hallelujah she LOVES it! Sad to say that we aren't getting any use of the baby bullet we bought, but we do use the steamer and the food jars. Last night Sawyer was eating her avocados and apples in her high chair, looking as cute as ever with her pig tails in her hair and I just couldn't believe how old she looked to me! 7 months....where has the time gone?!

Right now Sawyer...

-weighs almost 22 lbs...wow!

-blows raspberries like crazy

-shows her preference over certain toys

-has started showing her stubborn side and temper (don't know who she got that from ha!)

-would rather sit on the floor and play with her toys than be held

-calms down when she hears patty cake. She'll stop crying for this but will start back up the second you stop!

-Head butts the ones she loves. It sounds violent but it's actually quite sweet and you can tell it's a loving gesture with the precious smile she gives you along with it.

-has started reaching out for people.

-has two top teeth coming in

-eats three meals a day including her milk in between the meals

-favorite foods are avocados, apples and sweet potatoes

-is so photogenic! She loves to smile for the camera :)

-is such a Daddy's girl. She laughs like crazy when he nuzzles into her neck & loves to play with him.

-enjoyed her first sleepover with her buddy Jordyn.

-likes to pull her headbands and bows off while we are in the car. Mommy has to wait to put them on whenever we get to where we are going.

-can get into the sitting position on her own. We looked at her monitor yesterday to find her sitting her in crib and then watched her lay back down and do it all over again! 

Happy 7 months Sawyer Marguerite!!