5 Months Old!

Mason is 5 months old today! He weighs 14 lbs 9 oz and is 25.5 inches long. Mason is now able to hold his head up for a couple minutes while laying on his tummy with his elbows under him. He holds his head up and will look around both directions like a champ. Mason can grasp things in his hands when I put things in there and he will reach out to grab things more than before. And of course the object goes straight into his mouth. He will flat out giggle when you get him going, it's hilarious. He loves momma and cries when I put him down or walk away. He continues to eat every two to three hours during the day and he wakes up 2-3 times during the night, but goes right back to sleep. Yesterday we had an occupational therapist come out to work with Mason for Early Intervention. She was really great with him. She taught me some techniques to use with Mason like using a small brush to stimulate him with by brushing. I will most likely be using it on his legs and feet, but you can use it anywhere. We don't know how much sensation he has in his lower extremities (feet and lower legs mainly) so any stimulation is great. We will be playing with different textures and toys to help Mason develop properly. The OT gave us these little rubber brush like things that you can put in baby's mouth so they can feel those textures in their mouth. I think they are mostly for babies who struggle eating or something, but in Mason's case we'll just use it for stimulation. I have a few toys that I am excited to introduce Mason to that I think he will like. Overall, Mason continues to do great. The OT thinks he is really doing great. She was impressed with his strength and enjoyed working with him. He was so good the entire time, being cooperative and happy.  Mason has an appointment at Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas for spina bifida clinic next month. So we look forward to getting Mason checked up on with neuro, PT, etc. He hasn't had a checkup at spina bifida clinic since January, so I am eager to get him checked out. Now that the weather is starting to cooperate, I am hoping we will be out and going for walks and enjoying some sunshine. We love Mason so much and it has been fun to be with him everyday and watch him grow.

Updates and our new chuch callings

Just a few things to update on. Since I last wrote we had Early Intervention come out and do an evaluation on Mason so we can get an occupational therapist to come visit him regularly. Things went well and the lady asked a ton of questions about Mason. After working with him a bit and talking they ranked Mason about 3 months, which is about right for his age at the time.

Then we celebrated Valentines Day! We kept it small and just went out to Red Lobster, which was delicious! Malone and I haven't been out to a nice restaurant in a while. Malone got me flowers and I wrote him a love letter. We had a really great time together. First V-day with our little guy!

Malone is still doing great at work. He has been given a lot of things to do that keep him busy. He usually has up to 4 projects going at a time that he is working on. Sometimes he gets a little overwhelmed with learning everything and trying not to miss anything. But with some time he'll get the hang of it.

Malone and I have been taking advantage of the gym here. We've been taking turns in the evenings to spend time at the gym while one of us hangs with Mason. And lately we have been trying to watch what we are eating and include more fruit and veggies in our diet. There isn't much to show for it yet, but hopefully it will eventually.

Recently Malone and I received callings at church. Malone was called to be in Weblows and I was called to be Primary pianist. Last Sunday was my first day as pianist, and it was a lot of fun! I didn't get a chance to practice beforehand, so I was a little rusty with my Primary songs. But kids don't care and no one else seemed to care if I messed up either. But I care! So Malone and I went to the church on Tuesday night so I could practice. It's nice to play piano again, I've missed it.

Mason is 4 months old!

Mason is doing awesome! He is getting so big now, I don't know where the time went. I haven't gotten Mason in for his 4 month checkup since we haven't gotten a pediatrician here yet. But Mason has certainly grown since he has moved up from size 1 diapers to size 2. He is wearing some 0-3 month stuff, but mainly 3-6 month and some 6 month stuff. He's got a lot of cute clothes to wear which is fun.

 Since moving to Texas, I have been spending everyday hanging out with Mason. He learned a new trick last week! He learned to roll over onto his tummy! I had just laid him down on the floor and went to do something in the kitchen, and when I looked up he was on his tummy. So I didn't get to see him do it the first time. But a few days ago he rolled over again and I saw him! Then two days ago he rolled over at least 5 times while we were playing. Mason and I play a lot during the day. I get his toys out and try to help him learn to grasp things. He's not great at grasping things yet, but is starting to show interest. He will lay there and reach out to touch things sometimes. If I put things in his hands he'll shove them in his mouth, as long as he can grasp it. He is super smiley, he kind of does a laugh. It's more like a squeal really.

 

Mason has been able to hold his head up really well. I tried out his bumbo seat the other day, and he actually was able to sit in it for quite a while before he started getting tired. I might be a little early trying out the seat, but he really likes sitting up. Lately he has been waking up more at night. He use to sleep most of the night and wake up once around 4am. Now it's like 11:30pm, 2:00am, and somewhere around 5:00am. He has been getting sleepy at night around 8:30ish and is usually asleep before 10pm. Last time we checked his weight he was 12 lbs last month. My guess is he is around 13 or maybe 14 by now. And as far as I can tell and assume he is developing normally. His head seems to be doing well, his soft spot is still soft. Malone and I keep an eye on that constantly. If it ever starts to feel firm or full, that is a bad sign that his ETV isn't enough to maintain the flow of cerebral spinal fluid. So we feel his soft spot constantly to make sure it feels soft, which it does. He is such a happy baby. Just now I had him laying down on the floor while I did a few things around the apartment and he just sat there cooing to himself. It was so cute. I look at him and he just smiles and smiles. This little guy has me wrapped around his finger.

 

 

Texas

We are finally in Texas!! We spent our last weekend in Idaho doing a lot of packing. We had an ABF trailer dropped off at our house so we could load all our stuff and ship it to our new apartment in Texas. With a lot of help from family, we were able to load everything we own into our trailer. It is a little nerve wracking putting everything you own in a trailer, let someone take it and hope it all ends up where it's supposed to without any harm.

We decided to take a more southern route through Utah, New Mexico, and western Texas in hopes of avoiding bad roads in Wyoming and Colorado. Our first stop was in Salt Lake City where we stayed with my brother. The next morning we set off on a long drive to Farmington, New Mexico, which was about 6 1/2 hours from Salt Lake City. We wanted to keep our drives somewhat short for Mason's sake. I didn't want him in a car seat for too long on our drive. This part of the drive was Malone and my favorite because we got to go through Moab and see the a little bit of the cool rock formations in the Arches National Park. We eventually stopped in NM for the night. Not a fan of Farmington, at least the parts that we saw. Looked a little sketchy. The next morning we drove to Amarillo, TX. The drive through New Mexico was the worst! It was so boring and ugly. I have never seen that much sage brush in my life. And all the pretty rocky mountains turned into flat nothingness. Ugly. This was one of the longer drives, I think it was 7 hours or so. We did pass through Albuquerque, which was okay. Just a big ol city in the desert. I am so glad Malone didn't get a job in New Mexico! We reached Amarillo safe and sound. The next morning we grabbed breakfast at Denny's and headed out once more. This time to Lewisville, Texas our final destination! This was about a 5-6 hour drive from Amarillo. Texas is also quite flat like NM, and there is a lot of sagebrush in between cities.

But we reached Lewisville, and there were lots of trees! Even though everything is dead here right now during winter months, I think it'll be way pretty when it warms up. Warms up?! Yes it is like 30-40 degrees here most days. It's been quite cold and windy and rainy/snow mix here. A lot colder than I expected! There has been this arctic chill throughout the country right now. Way cold everywhere. We even had a little smidge of snow the other day, which of course was a big deal because this place isn't built for snow. The roads got extremely slick, people drive crazy and crash. Kind of reminds me of Rexburg, only the locals have or sense there. It's supposed to warm up again next week, thankfully. Anyway, we got here to our apartment that last day of driving and got checked in so we could move in the next day. We stayed in a hotel again that night because our trailer hadn't showed up with our stuff yet. The next morning the trailer showed up with our stuff! Yay! And very minimal damage as well, which was great. Malone started moving some stuff out of the trailer himself. I was in the apartment with Mason, since I didn't feel comfortable leaving him in the apartment by himself while we were hauling things in. Malone has a friend from school, named Duncan, that works at the same company as him. So Malone called him up to see if he could come help us move, but he couldn't come that day. But I guess Duncan mentioned we needed help to a buddy of his named Mike who works at the same company. And Mike called Malone and offered to help. So he came by and helped us move a few things for a couple hours that evening. Around dinner time he invited us over for dinner at his apartment. So Malone and I went, and we made some new friends! They were so nice! We stayed in a hotel again that night and came back the next morning to move more stuff. Mike showed up and brought his brother with him to help us move. And then a neighbor kid about 15 yrs old offered to help us out, which was so nice of him. We got everything moved in and it's taken us a while to get everything settled in, trying to find a place to put everything. Our apartment is a 2 bed 2 bath. Masons room serves as our storage room at the moment. We have a lot of stuff we are still trying to find a place for. It's tough going from a house to an apartment!

Moab, UT

New Mexico

Texas

Altivo enjoying our new apartment!

Got a little skiff of snow the other day

So, our first impressions of Texas. I have to say, I've been impressed! The people here have been nothing but kind. We went to church our first Sunday and the ward members were very friendly and inviting. So many came up to us wanting to meet us. We had a few members stop by our apartment to welcome us as well, a few faces I was able to recognize when we went to church our first day. Even out and about in town, the people have been really friendly. It has been easy to fit in here so far. Our bishop says people are friendly here because no one is actually from here. So many people move here from other places for work etc. Makes sense I guess. The weather here, like I said, has been cold, 40's mostly. But looking at the forecast it will warm up to the 60's and 70's this weekend and next week. We sampled a little southern BBQ as well and that's been delish! So I am looking forward to trying new food around here as well. So far so good here in Texas. We are enjoying our new life!

Mason fitting in with his cute cowboy outfit

Saying goodbye

We finally had to say goodbye to our home. Since Malone's offer in Texas, the last month or so has just blown by. After everyone was gone and all our things were cleared out, our house was empty and quiet. This was our first house Malone and I bought together. We have lived there longer than anywhere, 3 years and 5 months. We started our family there. It's Mason's first home. We both graduated from school while living there. There were so many memories, and we were just leaving this house empty. We got a realtor who is trying to sell the place for us while we are gone. It's weird to just leave our house to someone and hope it sells and in the meantime is taken care of. Even though I didn't want to live there forever, I loved that house. It as a sad goodbye. We didn't only have to say goodbye to our house, we had to say goodbye to our hometown too. We moved over 1,300 miles away from our closest family and friends to a place we had never been to. Into a city that is completely different than home with a community that is very diverse. The climate will be different, the landscape is totally different. As for Mason, we will have to find him new doctors for his condition, as well as a pediatrician which is a big deal. It is a huge change for us. 

This is our empty house in Rexburg



The last time I saw my house





 

Saying goodbye to family was even harder. We know we'll be back someday, but we don't know when. We won't be at family dinners on Sunday anymore and play games with my family. We won't be vising the range in West Yellowstone for a while, or hanging out at Malone's Dad's house eating crackers and cheese and talking. We will miss everyone so much. We had some tearful goodbyes.  But at the same time it's exciting to have a brand new start. To start a whole new chapter, a new life. To make new friends and meet new people. I never thought I would be this excited for a change this big. Normally I get anxiety with change, but not this time. Malone and I are so excited for a fresh start.

 

3 Months Old!

I can't believe our baby is finally 3 months old! Where does the time go? Malone and I think Mason is starting to teeth. He drools a lot now, sucks on his hands and is seems like he is starting to figure out how to hold things to his mouth. He certainly recognizes me and Malone. He just smiles and smiles. He is starting to giggle a tiny bit, which I think will be full swing this next month. We had his physical therapist over a week or so ago and she suggested that he needs to spend more time on his tummy and on his back so he can strengthen his muscles. He puts up with tummy time and  loves laying on his back. He is alert and awake most of the day and continues to sleep through the night. We put Mason to bed around 10:00 and he doesn't wake up again till about 4:00-5:00 am and then he goes right back to sleep till 8-9am sometimes. Mason is such a good baby!


Last week we all traveled down to Utah for another appointment at Primary's. This time he had to do a VCMG, which is basically a bladder test to see how well it is working. It tests records the pressure in the bladder, the amount of urine in the bladder, and function of the bladder neck which leads outside the body. It sounds kind of scary and complicated, but I was surprised how smoothly things went. We went into this room where they had a computer monitor, an x-ray, and a table. We laid Mason out on the table took off his diaper, and the techs inserted a catheter which fills the bladder with fluid and has a sensor that tells them how much pressure there is in there. They took x-rays as they went so they could see the fluid in the bladder. It was so interesting! Malone and I were able to stay and watch the whole thing. We had to dress up in these jumpsuits and wear lead vests and hairnets. To say the least, we looked ridiculous.  But Mason did amazing. He was so good the entire time! We were able to talk to the urologist right there and get his results immediately.


 Mason's bladder muscle looks very healthy and smooth. His bladder pressure is in the normal range and is able to evacuate almost all the urine. And most importantly the urine is not refluxing back into the kidneys at all! Such a beautiful x-ray! I guess it is common for urine to back up into the kidneys in SB kids. But Mason is doing so great! We won't know if he can really hold his urine until we reach that milestone during potty training, same with his bowel. But for now, Mason is at low risk for infection and the urologist told us we don't necessarily have to cath anymore. But it might be wise to continue it a couple times a week just in case later down the road we have to pick it up again. The urologist made it sound like things could change as Mason grows. And since Mason isn't voiding his bladder completely (which is normal for babies this age) it could keep his bladder from growing properly as he grows. So, Malone and I decided we will continue to cath Mason a couple times a week just to make sure we get all that urine out once in a while. But he is low risk for infection and low risk for kidney problems which is such a huge blessing.

We also did spina bifida clinic where we met with a few of his specialists. We talked to the dietician, who is happy with his growth. He is right on track! He is now 12.7 lbs and 23 3/4 inches long. We talked to the occupational therapist who was also happy with how he is doing. We will continue to help him strengthen his muscles by laying on his back and kicking like any normal baby does. Most importantly we talked to the neurosurgeon who was happy with Mason's head size and his soft spot is still soft, which means the ETV we did a couple months ago is holding up and maintaining the cerebral spinal fluid flow in his brain. Mason's head is a little on the big side on the growth charts, but nothing really abnormal. In fact, I was surprised when the doctor told us that, because I certainly don't think he has a big head. He's perfect in my eyes! We discussed with all the doctors that we'd be moving this month and they gave us information on who to contact in Texas and where to go for SB clinic when we get there. I am sad to leave all of Mason's doctors we've had from the beginning, but maybe the doctors in Texas will be great too. The neurosurgeon says that there are few doctors across the country who even know about ETV/CBC (the surgery Mason had on his brain to control Hydrocephalus) but there is a doctor in Houston who is familiar with it that we could see.  Houston is about 4 hours away, which is the same as what we've been doing going to Primary's. But there is an SB clinic a half hour away at Scottish Rite Children's hospital in Dallas that we can also go to, but their neurosurgeon may not be familiar with ETV/CBC. So we might just do the regular SB clinic in Dallas, and if the neurosurgeon there starts to feel worried about Mason's hydro, then we will go to Houston for a second opinion. Hopefully we won't have to and Mason maintains his hydro!


This baby amazes me everyday. I have said before that I have heard and seen what other SB babies have to deal with, and Mason is seriously a miracle. So far he doesn't have the problems these other babies do. I sometimes wonder if I am in denial, but he really is just a normal baby. I forget anything is even going on with him. When I see and hear of things going on with other SB babies, it scares me that he could have similar problems. But I just take it one day at a time and enjoy the health that he has. And really, he is a very healthy baby despite some of his little issues. I am so grateful for the health and strength he has and the strength he gives me everyday. I love his smiling face and the sweet spirit that he has. I sometimes wish I had made the decision to have kids sooner! But I know the timing was perfect for us and it was on the Lord's time as well.

Christmas!

CHRISTMAS! It was such a special holiday since we have a new addition to the family. Christmas Eve we spent time with Malone's family at his sister Holly's house in Sugar City. Her kids performed some songs on the piano and violin. We had dinner and just hung out most of the evening. All the grandkids opened gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Yarger and Papa Bullock. Mason was given a beautiful blessing outfit from Grandma Yarger. It was a white suite with tails, a vest, and a bow tie. It was a little big for him, but looked so cute! She also gave him some jammies to wear. Mason also received a Christmas bell from Papa Bullock, a little momento for his first Christmas to put on the tree. Malone and I received gifts from Holly. She gave me a program to use on the computer to make scrapbook pages. Malone got a drill bit set. Christmas day, Malone and I had Christmas morning at our house and then headed over to my parent's house for the day. We opened presents, played games, and spent a lot of quality time there. Malone gave me a really nice coat, and I gave him some clothes. We got Mason a jungle gym playmat, an outfit, shoes, socks, rings to play with, and some socks that jingle when he kicks.





Mason is still doing really great. He found his fists recently and we can hardly keep them out of his mouth. He smiles a lot more now and coos all the time. He is such a happy boy. His hair is getting longer, and I can tell the new stuff is a lighter blonde color. His eyes are still blue, we think they might stay that way now. Mason is getting really good at tracking things with his eyes and when something catches his attention, he really focuses on it. This past Sunday we had the opportunity to have Mason blessed in our ward. Many members of both sides of our family came as well as some friends. It was so nice to be with family we haven't seen in a while! Especially since Malone and I are leaving next month, this might be the last time we all get together for a long time.