Ahoy Matey!

All Dressed Up!

 We finally got to dress up Liam and I thought he was too cute, I had to take pictures...

 This is usually what happens when I put this little boy down

Adalyn is 2!

I can't believe we have had this fun little girl for 2 years!  Some things about Adalyn:
-She is ALL GIRL.  She loves anything girly.  Shoes, jewelry, princesses, babies, etc.
-She loves Cinderella right now and asks to watch it at least once a day.  She calls it "Ella Ella"
-She does this cutest thing where if she wants to say something she feels is important she gets right in your face and looks you straight in the eye and says it in her sweet little voice "Aden?" (Again)
-She really loves her Grandmas and Grandpas. 
-Loves "Ring around the rosie"
-She loves her brothers, but Kyson is probably her favorite.  Every night before bed she has to give Ky Ky a hug first, then Gavin, then Liam, then Dad and Mom, but Kyson is always first.
-She thinks Liam is so cute says "Tute!" when she sees him.
-Loves daddy right now, probably because mom is giving too much attention to Liam!  The other day she wouldn't let me buckle her in the car, but demanded dad do it.

 Loves those shoes!

 Us girls have to stick together!

Happy Birthday Dear Addi

 Since Adalyn's birthday was the same day that Liam was going in for surgery, we decided to celebrate it a few days earlier on Saturday.  We had all the family over and she had a blast!  She loves Cinderella right now, so it was a princess themed party and she sure got spoiled!
 

 Yummy cupcakes my friend Cherie made

 She was so serious here, didn't quite know what was going on

 But she sure enjoyed her cake!

 Loves her new shopping cart

 Our little Cinderella, or as she says it "ella ella"

Liam's surgery

  Today Liam went in for surgery on his right eye to remove the cataract.  I got Gavin on the bus to go to school, dropped Kyson off at a friend's house who will take him to school and then dropped Adalyn off at Autumn's.  Then we were on the road to Primary Children's Hospital.  We got there at 9:30, and for the next hour and half we were moved from room to room getting him ready and talking to his nurse, doctor and anesthesiologist.  Finally at 11:00 we walked with the anesthesiologist to the operating room doors, and there I handed my tiny baby to him and walked away.  Casey and I read while we waited and about 12:20 Doctor Young came and talked to us and said everything went great!  About 15 minutes later I was taken back to see him and there laying in this big hospital crib, hooked up to everything there lay my tiny sweet boy just a wiggling around.  No cries, just lots of wiggles.  They were having a hard time checking his oxygen because he was so wiggly, but as soon as mommy had him in her arms, he calmed right down and went to sleep.  We then moved to the recovery room and Casey was able to come back and we sat for about another hour and half trying to get him to eat and give him some oxygen before we could get discharged.  It took him about an hour to drink 2 oz because he was so tired.  He's been a sleepy little guy and doesn't seem to be in much pain!

Congenital Cataracts

 About a month ago, Casey was holding Liam and said, "Brynn, what is this in his eye?"  I went to look, and there was a large cloudy spot in his pupil.  I immediately went to my computer and googled "cataracts and Down syndrome"  and sure enough that was something that babies with Down syndrome could have.  I thought that it wasn't a big deal, and figured next time I was visiting the doctor, I'd ask him about it. That weekend I came down with strep and had to go visit the urgent care, and took Liam with me so the doctor could check his eyes.  He confirmed he had a cataract and referred me to a pediatric ophthalmologist. 

A few days later we visited a doctor at Timpanogos hospital.  He said that there is actually a cataract in both eyes, and they were so big, very little light was getting into his eye. He was pretty much blind.  Because of Liam's heart conditions, age, and size, he didn't feel confident with him and his team, so he referred us to a doctor at Primary Children's Hospital.  We were scheduled to see Dr. Dries from the Moran Eye Center three weeks later on January 27th. 

A few days ago, Casey's sweet Grandpa Jackson passed away and the funeral was scheduled for Monday.  I called Dr. Dries' office and tried to reschedule his appointment.  His next available appointment was March 31!  They said they would check with one of the other specialists at the Moran Eye Center and get back to me. I immediately got a call from another doctors office, Dr. Young, who said this is actually very serious and they would need to see him as soon as possible.  We scheduled an appointment the next day and have his surgery Monday (we'll have to miss the funeral anyway!  Sad!).  She will do one eye Monday, and then the following eye the following Monday.  The reason why it is so important to get this done is because the way his little brain is developing, if he doesn't use his eyes to see, his brain may not develope so he will never be able to use his eyes in the future. 

Dr. Young will take out his lens, and they won't put a new one in because he is so young and little, and research has been done and found out that they develop cataracts on the new lens.  So, this means he'll either have to wear glasses, or I'll have to put contact lenses in his eyes every day.  I don't know which one we'll do yet.  Either way, I'm glad my little guy will be able to actually see my face and know who his mommy is!

Loved

We all are in love with this sweet baby.  Every day, at least once, each one of my children say "Mom, I love Liam" or "Liam is so cute" or "I want to hold Liam".  He is such a blessing in our lives. 

Awake!

 It feels like Liam slept for the whole 1st month of his life.  It has been fun to see his little eyes open more and more.  He loves to lay flat on his back and let his arms move and kick his legs.  He is pretty strong and arches his back and it looks like he is trying to roll over. 

And, I know this post is titled "Awake"...but just a little news about sleeping, he gave me two nights of 8 hours!  He is an awesome sleeper!

Liam's 1 month old!

 I can't believe this little boy is already a month old!  It has been quite the month for us, between doctor visits and Christmas, it seems to have flown by so fast!  This last week we went in for his 1 month check-up and he is doing great gaining weight.  Just a little update on how he is doing:
-He is now 6lbs 10 oz and is 20 inches long.  He is still having a hard time nursing, but takes the bottle great so me and my pump have been great friends.
-He is now only on oxygen at nights, which is so wonderful!  I feel like I have a little bit more freedom now.
-He just got a shot to help prevent RSV and hopefully that will help ease my mind about him getting sick.
-We just found a cataract in his right eye, and will go see a pediatric opthamologist this week.

He still sleeps almost all day and night, but we have seen him awake more and more.  He is still such a good baby.  We are so lucky to have this sweet little boy with us!

 You can see the cataract in his right eye here...poor little guy!