this and that

This past weekend, my brother & sis-in-law and their two kiddos, Macey & Thomas, came to town. We all had an awesome time playing and catching up with each other. Sara (my SIL) had two appointments at MD Anderson here in Houston to discuss her pituitary tumor. She said the Neurosurgeon sounded very optimistic about removing the tumor successfully and in one piece. He said it's "nice & round" and should not be difficult removing. (Yeah, easy for him to say!) Anyway--they are still doing labs and other testing for her Endocrinologist and then they will hopefully schedule the surgery soon. Please continue to keep my sweet SIL in your thoughts and prayers. Other good news is, they (my bro & SIL) are moving to Houston! They are now living in Austin, but recently bought a house near us! It is literally walking distance away. I am so excited they will be so close.

Some things Coy is loving now: eating his hands, smiling and squealing, his bouncy chair, talking to him, sleeping at night!, and George the Girafee (his teething toy). Everyday he is doing new things. It is so much fun to watch him grow up.

Coy had two appointments this week. On Monday, he was seen by the Pulmonolgist. She thought he looked fantastic. Unfortunately, I was not feeling well, so Chris & my sister took him. They are too good to me. (Since Coy's birth, I have not been ill. I woke up Sunday with a sore throat and some congestion...of course I panicked because I had been kissing on Coy all weekend. Thankfully, he seems to be doing fine and I am already feelin better.) The pulmonologist basically said she did not feel he needed oxygen anymore, however, before she can officially say this, he needs to have a Sleep Study. This is where we will go stay overnight in the Sleep Lab and Coy will be monitored all night for his breathing, heart rate, saturations, etc. I hear it's lots of fun (insert sarcasm!). Hopefully, this will be scheduled soon.

Today, Coy was seen by the GI doctor. He thought he looked great and said his weight gain is terrific. He was 11 lbs 11 oz naked and was 22.5 inches long! I can't believe he's grown 10 inches since his birth! He is now fitting into 3 month clothes. I absolutely LOVE buying outfits for him and dressing him everyday. Coy still consisently has 3 nights per week where is he really fussy. It usually starts while feeding him is last bottle of the day. He then continues to cry if you aren't walking around with him or standing up while holding him. The GI doc increased the dose of Zantac, and if this persists, then we will go to something stronger.

Over the weekend, we made several trips out with Coy. He went to two more restaurants and on a shopping trip with me, Aunt Steph, and Grams Cook. I love being able to take him out more. It feels so nice to have him with me all the time. Chris and I just grinned so huge when we had him at a restaurant on Friday night. Chris carried in him in the car seat and said "Wow, this is amazing, we are the parents with the baby." It feels surreal to us. We are so thankful.

Since he is out and about more often, I have run into a question from strangers that I don't really know how to answer. I mean, I should know how to answer it, but how much detail do I go into? The question being, "Oh, how cute, how old is he?" Hmmm....I sigh, smile and say, "Well, he's about 6.5 months old, but he was born 17 weeks early..." They usually look at him again and while doing the math. One lady got so excited, she even called her friend over and said..."Look, this baby was born at 23 weeks...isn't that amazing?" I am so happy for others to see God's miracle out and about, in the flesh, with their own eyes. I want nothing more than to give God all the glory for Coy. He is a true miracle. And if he can lead one person to Him, then it's all worth explaining everything over and over. So, I guess I just answered my own question!

Today after taking Coy to the doctor, I was pulling out of a parking garage (the worst designed garage in America!) and accidentally hit a car. I didn't hit it hard, though. I was turning a corner too sharply and my back tire pulled off their license plate holder thing (they were backed in and their front bumper was sticking out into the lane) and left a little scratch. I am an honest person, so I left a note for the person to call me, so I could explain and tell them I would pay for the damage. The woman called me, and left a message on my voicemail. She seemed very nice and said it was a rental car and she was on her way to returning it. Chris called her back and her husband answered the phone. He tried to tell Chris that there was "great damage" to the car. There wasn't, it was really minor, no dents or anything, no one would call it "great damage." I snapped a picture of it just for proof. When Chris told the guy, "Sir, I have seen a picture of the damage, it is very minor," he said, "oh, okay...." It's sad that when trying to do the "right" thing, you have to protect yourself against people who try to take advantage of the situation. Anyway---don't know what we'll owe for it yet, but it shouldn't be much. And now Chris will be making fun of me for ages....I always complain about his driving. And now, I've hit a car it a parking garage. Oh well, it was a honest mistake!

(To answer a question from last week...we have 2 Maltese dogs, Dixie and Sugar Pie; they love Coy and always want to be near him. They were our "first babies" and love affection/attention...)