Alexander's Update

Alexander had his scan today. It wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. Alexander was such a trooper. You can see that for infants they put them on the CAT scan like a bed, he lays right between it as it scans and takes a 3D image of his skull. He had to wear this tight little white cap so that the scan was clear and concise on his skull. The only hard part was that he had to hold completely still, we all know this is impossible for infants! So he cried quite a bit as he kept moving and so we had to reach in there and hold his head completely still as he was screaming his head off. We probably had to take 6 different scans because he kept moving. But we finally got a good one. Alexander has what is called plagiocephaly which is an uneven skull or sometimes known as "flat head". With Alexander it's mostly the top of his head and the right side of his forehead that bulges out further then the left side of his head. To correct this, he will have to wear a prosthetic helmet for 3 months which will move the plates in his head. He will wear it 23 hours a day and can only take it off for baths. The other issue Alexander has is what is called torticollis which literally means "twisted neck". Alexander has a hard time turning his neck to the left which we are working on, we work on that by feeding him so that his head and neck turn left as well as putting him to sleep on his left. Even when we speak to him, our physician has told us to stand to the left and talk to him so that he has to turn his head and get used to using those muscles on that side.

So what is the good news here people? That this is ALL treatable! That is the best news. This is a far cry from where we were at 2 weeks ago when we thought he was going to have to have surgery. We are very happy and relieved that we are on the track to get this treated.

Thank you for those of you who reached out to us the last few weeks - it really has meant the world to us. We love you all!!

P.S. What was really interesting was that our physician told us that this problem of babies having these types of heads is only common in the US since the campaign of SIDS started back in the late 80's. Other countries don't have this issue w/ their babies heads because they put them to sleep on their stomachs but the US doesn't and now they are seeing record high cases of what Alexander has.

Jack. and. Ava

Jack has many friends on our street...and he loves all of them. But this day, Ava came from across the street to play. They decided to run through the sprinklers with their clothes on...now how could a mom stop that? Forget swimsuits...embrace the moment and get wet!

four. months

Alexander...he melts my heart every day. I often find myself just staring at him in wonder. Parenthood is the most miraculous gift, truly.

Click the photo - it will just make you want to take a bite out of him, he is so adorable.

a. hike.

About a month ago...(yes, that is how far I am behind on photos and posting) we went up Big Cottonwood Canyon and went for a hike. We strapped Alexander into the baby bijorn and packed up water, our lunches and lots of sunscreen. We had never taken Jack hiking so it was a new experience for us. A few years ago I bought a book called "easy day hikes in Utah" so we looked through it and picked two and headed up the canyon. We had a good time, by the time we got to the second hike we came back to the car, put Alexander in the car seat and ate our lunch on the tailgate of Mike's truck. It was really a nice day.

jack. nate.

Nate, Abby, Cory and Steph came over for the weekend when we were home a few weeks ago. Jack and Nate had so much fun together...they were seriously two peas in a pod. They both started crying when we had to say goodbye.

Our. Family.

These shots were taken tonight! The most recent we've got! I can't believe how big Alexander is getting. 14 weeks old and he is such a joy. We just love him and Jack is a great big brother.

Jack took this first shot and we didn't even show him how, he is definitely taking after his mother in the photography field.

home.

We went home 2 weeks ago for my best friends wedding. Here are some random photos of our time. It was fun, my mom and Jack were playing dress up so then we all started getting involved!

Jacks. First. Day. Preschool.

Jack started preschool August 16th, this is his second year of preschool so he is already familiar with his school and even has some of his best friends that are in his class again. This year he goes 4 mornings a week whereas last year was just two mornings...his time is 8:15 - 11am.

Taken August 16, 2010

bath.time. Alexander.

Alexander loves his baths....I love the this second photo where his lips are all pursed, like he is really pondering something.

10. weeks. old.

I can't believe it's already been 10 weeks. This little guy is just so easy and makes me smile all day long. We just love him with all of our hearts. Though I did get a little sad last week when I went to grab a NB size (newborn) and realized he is too big for them now. Already outgrowing his first set of clothes. Not fair.

summer.time.

I took these shots a few weeks ago in California. Jack and Mike were having so much fun.

a. fresh. website.

I'm so excited to check another "to do" off my list. I updated and revamped my wedding + portrait website! I'm so excited to have this done. It's seriously the most time consuming thing ever. I hadn't updated it in probably 2 years I'm ashamed to say, so I had literally hundreds of images to go through..daunting to say the least. But I managed to weed my way through it the last couple of weeks and now it's complete!

Please check it out!

my website

Another thing I should mention is I have a friends/family discount off session fee + prints which is 25% off everything. For immediate family it's a free session + wholesale cost of prints.

California.

We juggled 2 kids for the first time and flew home a couple of weeks ago so that I could host my girlfriend's bridal shower. We had such a great time and it was so good to see my mom and dad and spend some quality time with them and with my girlfriends..here are just a few of the many photos from this day. We had the bridal shower at my house in the morning and then later that evening we met at a nail place and all had mani's and pedi's and drank mimosa's and then went out for the evening to great dinner and dancing.