2 month old Benjamin!

I can't believe little Benjamin is two months old! He is doing so well and at today's two month check up Doctor Stone said you would never know this child was sick if he didn't have his scar on his back. He weighed in right at 12 pounds today and was 80% in height and weight! Amazing!

His first sweet gummy grin and laugh started about 2 weeks ago and his brother Barrett is usually the one who can get the biggest grins! He also started cooing and "talking" to us a ton.

Last weekend we were able to run (Jerry) and walk (Melanie and the boys) in the 5k Children's hospital run. We wanted to share a pic of all the Red Mountain Church folks who were there!

Barrett had a big visit to the dentist for the first time a few weeks ago and was so big in the chair with his daddy as they "tickled" his teeth. We also wanted to add a few pics (and a video)of Barrett and Benjamin sharing the activity mat...a little scary! You will also see Barrett and Benjamin's little community group pal Miles Gresham borrowing the mat during this week's community group. We loved this pic with baby Miles and Benjamin hanging out during dinner. Miles is on the mat and Benjamin is in his bouncy seat (you can always tell which one is Benjamin with all that blond hair)!
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Hearing update

Just wanted to send a quick update that after a long day of testing yesterday at Children's they diagnosed Benjamin with mild to moderate hearing loss in the left ear and normal hearing in the right. We are so thankful that it is not more severe and will be doing regular checkups to make sure the loss does not get worse. We have a series of tests in six weeks to check him again to see where we are at and what our next step will be (whether to have him fitted for a hearing device, ect). He does have fluid on his ear that we are hoping will decrease (and possibly improve hearing...which would be wonderful).

Mother's Day 2008

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms reading this! I'm so thankful this year for our two amazing boys and for a lazy day enjoying them at home. Little Benjamin's birth and recovery has reminded Jerry and I just how out of control we are in life and how merciful God can be even when He doesn't have to be. I'm humbled more than ever this year at the sacrifices made and love my own mother has for my sister and me. I definitely see her through new eyes in this new season of life.

Jerry and I also celebrated our 7th anniversary this weekend. Thank God for a patient and sweet husband during all the ups and downs of this year. We celebrated both Mother's day, our anniversary and our newest little boy by having a talented photographer and friend, Jessica Chapman, come take pictures of our family (including our dogs Samford and Sydney). This is one of the pictures but you can see more (and Jessica's other beautiful work) at www.jessidesignstudio.com


An update on Benjamin this week...we went back to Children's hospital on Thursday for a retest of his hearing. He failed his left ear hearing test when we were in the hospital the first few weeks after he was born. On Thursday he failed the left ear again using two different tests. They are confident the right ear is functioning normally which is a huge blessing. A unilateral hearing loss (just one ear) should not cause any developmental or speech issues. But there have been studies that show that the use of a hearing aide in a child with unilateral loss does have great benefits but they recommend being fitted for an aide before they are 6 months old. We will be heading back for a test a week from Monday to see what degree of loss he has.

Day at the Zoo

The Grants celebrated Cinco de Mayo at the zoo with our friends the Finches. We helped Mrs. Angel celebrate her birthday and we rode the train and visited the new Kangaroo exhibit. Benjamin felt right at home with the roos as he rode around in his "pouch" aka sling.
We are so glad there is no need for a medical update today! We just wanted to share some new pics. Barrett loved riding the train with his pals Anne Lawson, Holland and Wells (and mommy Angel). They also had a chance to play in the water for the first time this year at the children's area. Daddy kept Benjamin safe from the wild 2-year olds!

MRI results!!!

We are so excited that the MRI came back showing no spinal abnormalities. Yippee! They didn't say anything about a cyst and did not see any evidence of a tethered cord. I asked our nurse who called with the results if anyone else had to read the results or consult on the images. She said she felt like it would be rare for the Neurosurgeon to find anything that the radiologist didn't see. We are so thankful!!! We will be seeing Dr. Barnhart again in six weeks so I guess we will find out then if tests of any kind are necessary in the future...but right now we are just celebrating this HUGE blessing!!!

MRI

We are home from Children's and the MRI process went well and we are awaiting results that will hopefully come tomorrow afternoon. Benjamin was the smallest MRI patient today so we were first in line. We arrived around 5:30 a.m. and we were home with him by 8:45 a.m. The nurses and doctor were wonderful and made us feel very at ease with the process. He was able to nurse when he got home and is now resting comfortably. We will update as soon as we hear something tomorrow.