Alright, Alright, Alright!

LJH! Alright, alright, alright! That was a chant from our junior high days and when Walker does something awesome we chant that to him!

We might not be rolling but dammit we're sitting!!

Swiming!

Walker LOVED it! He especially loved when Daddy would go underneath the water and pop up while shaking the water out of his hair. He thinks his Daddy is a star!

 He really didn't appreciate having to share the boat with his big cousin Adam. And he really was upset that he had to get out of the boat for big cousin Isabella.

"This is my boat"

"This boat is only big enough for ONE captain. Get outta my boat boy!"

Swimming really wore him out. He went down for an evening nap at 4pm and didn't wake up until 8 the following morning. He then proceeded to take a nice 3 hour nap following his breakfast.

9 Months!

Happy 9 month birthday!

Probably the best month so far! I know it just started but I can't wait to see more of this baby! He's so fun and his little personality is starting to come out. He's such a chill baby. Loves to just hang out and look around. He laughs a lot now and smiles all the time. He thinks his feet are the funniest thing. LOVES mixed fruit with oatmeal for breakfast and loves apples and chicken for dinner. He's not real excited about green beans but loves carrots. He loves to stand and jump and be outside.

He's still sleeping through the night and has added on an extra hour and an half. He know wakes up closer to 8-8:30. He loves bath time and when Daddy puts extra bubbles in there. He likes to play with his chain links and his dog that makes the crinkle noises. He LOVES our dogs! LOVES THEM! He likes when Buddy kisses him in the face and when he stops, Walker starts crying..(pictures to come).

It's hard to believe that his birthday is right around the corner. I think I'm in denial.

"What is Daddy doing back there?"

"Seriously, what is Daddy doing?"

DQ Miracle Treat Day

There's no doubt in our minds that Texas Children's Hospital saved our precious little Walker's life. Whenever we can, we try to give back in some way. I remember receiving a letter in the mail that a donation had been made to the Ronald McDonald House in Walker's name from my babysitter growing up, JA. We cried.

TCH is a magical place. Not magical like Walt Disney World but magical in the sense that miracles happen there. You see it all around you. There is no doubt that there is heartache but with every patient, I believe, they are finding cures and new treatments for future patients.

Participating Dairy Queens said that they would give proceeds of every blizzard they sold today to the Children's Miracle Network which helps children's hospitals. From the Dairy Queen Miracle Treat Day website, they say, "These donations have gone to support research and training, purchase equipment, and pay for uncompensated care, actions that align with their mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible".

I made a bribe to my Facebook friends to go out and get a Dairy Queen blizzard and take a picture of themselves with it and they would make the blog. And they did! Their purchases helped raise money for children's hospitals in their area.

THANK YOU!

Nurse Redora left a present for Walker the last night she worked. We miss her as well as Esther.

Did I mention this is an 18 month shirt. Must run small. We didn't get a picture with a blizzard because Walker threw up all over his shirt and himself.

Aunt Sissy and Cousin Izzy LOVE Baby Walkies!

Papa and Nana support Walker (Texas Ranger)!

Walker's bud C-Baby from Las Vegas!

Erin's twin girls, Q&A, spent time in the NICU also. Q&A had the same due date as Walker and they are 4 weeks a part in age. Erin and Q&A are from Colorado!

The new Mrs. W stopped and enjoyed a blizzard and thought about Walker while she was vacation as well.

Eva Diva is going to be a BIG sister to Walker's BFF's H&C that are due in November!

Little G and Alex showed their support for Walker too!

Stephanie showed her support in her very own way! :)

Amanda, from Virgina Beach, showed her support and even ate dairy! (She's not supposed to!)

Jessica and her husband are too cute for words with their matching blizzards!

Sweet Carla bought the whole fam a blizzard, well, maybe not little Sissy.

Whose Child Is This?

Oh mylanta! Walker has changed into his alter-ego! These teeth better start popping through.

Oh what a cute baby! He looks so comfy!

Yeah, you bet he was! This picture was taken Monday night at about 10. Walker was wide awake. Wouldn't go to sleep unless he was in our bed with both Mommy and Daddy. I thought it was a fluke and on Tuesday when he went to sleep at his regular bedtime, we were extra quiet.

Then, his monstrous alter-ego woke up with a vengeance at 9 and refused to go to bed. In fact he was screaming, not crying, for 2 hours. We were taking turns holding, swaying, and rocking all the while sushing. R got in trouble because he kept pulling the tail to the musical elephant that A&T got Walker. Every time he would pull the tail it would make this sound that Walker would pop his head off my shoulder and start smiling.

Since clearly he wasn't going to sleep, we put him in our bed to watch NY Med and relax. Walker enjoys watching TV. His blanket was in the way and he couldn't see the TV and got pretty upset. We moved the blanket and he was happy. He was tossing and turning and grabbing both of us. BUT, he was happy and not screaming. So he stayed put. Close to 11 he fell asleep and I was contemplating leaving him in the bed to ensure he would get some rest. I'm not one that is comfortable with co-sleeping so when he finally fell asleep I made a dangerous move and moved him to his bed.

He only woke a couple times and went back to sleep when I gave him his pacifier. He slept until 9 this morning. I'm one to believe that babies need a good 12 hours of sleep. He's being extra lazy, grouchy and lethargic today.

I curse you teeth! If Wilson Phillips wrote music about teething is would go something like this, "Break free, break free, from the gums".

Jumper!

Walker LOVES his jumper that he received as a "Welcome Home" present from R's apprenticeship program classmates.

Walker is currently teething. OUCH! You can see the teeth moving to the top. He's drooling which is causing barfing, he's restless which is causing over-tiredness. He's miserable. Even with Orajel. He does this thing where he sucks his bottom lip in and bites down really hard. When he lets go, his lip is purple.

 His jumper has a mirror and those shapes light up and play music. Walker stares at himself in the mirror. He gets pretty low to stare at the lights and at himself. I mean, look how cute he is! Who wouldn't want to stare at him?

"There's that cute baby again!"

"I'm loving the light show"

Wordless Wednesday

"Go ahead and pick that up for me in size 6m"

"What did Daddy say?"

"We aren't allowed at Target unsupervised? What the?"

Elecare

Walker's formula is called Elecare. We have a prescription for it and our dietitian gets it from a medical surplus store and it is delivered to our house. Great! Fantastic! Less hassle for me, right? No way. When Walker is out and we have to wait for them to deliver, it's stressful.

We went to the GI on the 6th of July, where they changed the prescription from 11 cans a month to 15 (Walker is eating more). We were given some samples to last us until they shipped it out. Perfect. Fast forward to yesterday when we only had a can left and the dietitian said it would arrive yesterday. So when we were over by the med center yesterday I decided since she talked with the company and they said yesterday that I would not stop. Today I regretted that decision.

We have to pre-make the formula because he takes it at 24 calories. R was only able to make 3 bottles, that only lasts us until 12. I waited until the last possible moment hoping it would show up and it never did. So I had to lug up my child and head to the med center for formula.

Walker "talked", or sang,  the whole ride there.  We pick it up and head home. When we got home I found Walker like this, see below. He had, somehow, taken his pull toy down and put it on as a bracelet. Stylish little one! He's so funny!

I make a bottle and put Walker to sleep. As I'm sitting down to start blogging, the UPS man pulls up and delivers the formula. Awesome.

Houston Museum of Natural Science

Walker went with his two cousin, Isabella and Adam. It was SO much fun! The paleontology exhibit is really nice. And dinosaurs were much larger than I could have imagined. We started off in the Warrior Tomb exhibit, Walker was less than enthused, see picture below.

They also have a butterfly exhibit that you can't take strollers in. I was not happy about that. But it's built like a rain forest. It's humid and hot and tons of different types of butterflies are fluttering around. Walker loved it! He kept leaning all the way back, almost of out of my arms, to see the butterfly flutter away!

We can't wait to go with Daddy and see the Titantic exhibit.

First Bath After Surgery

We had to wait two days to take the first patch off. We opted out of giving him a bath those two days...NEVER AGAIN!

 Walker loves his baths. LOVES THEM! He has a bath every night and we wash his hair every other day. He takes a bedtime bubble bath, gets lathered in bedtime lotion, has a bottle and sleeps the entire night. It just works for him and for us. The two nights we didn't give a bath, Momma was up almost every hour consoling or playing his crib soother. Terrible.

Just took the patch off and going for the heart next.

OUCH! Look how red! Walker didn't mind at all.

Wordless Wednesday

"I love to stand"

Happy Baby!

"I think I need to poop"

"What was that?"

"Yep, I pooped!"