All is Well

Or at least a lot better. Luke is feeling much better. He's not even really coughing anymore. I've never seen a child get over the croup that fast. Austen coughed for weeks. Thank you to everyone who prayed for him")
Jeremy's finger is also better. All glued up and doing well.
I promise I will post pictures of Luke soon. He is growing so fast.

Luke Was Doing Well...

But now he is incredibly sick. He has the croup. It started when we came home from the doctor Thursday. He woke up with a fever, which is normal after shots, but it continued to get higher (103)as the night went on and he developed a barking cough. THe worse part is because his upper respiratory gets so inflamed he has a very difficult time breathing. Austen had the same thing though not so young and it is very scary when you know your child is not breathing well. It was bad enough that the triage nurse had us call 911 last night after listening to him breatheonver the phone. He had calmed down considerably by the time the rescue people arrived and we were able to treat him at home. Now his doctor has him on steroids to help control the inflammation so hopefully he can breath better.
Please pray that he will have a good night since the 2nd and 3rd nights are the worst and that the virus will leave his body quickly.

As soon as we got Luke calmed down today and taking a nap, Jeremy cut his finger open fixing Austen lunch and had to go to Urgent Care and get it super-glued back together. He is doing well now, he just can't put any pressure on it for awhile.
When it rains it pours:)
Praise God that HE is on His throne and in complete control!
He still takes care of us:)

Luke's Checkup

Luke had his 4 month checkup today. His doctor says he's doing great. Healthy and handsome:) HE weighs 16lb 3oz (80%), and he is 27 1/2 inches long. His height was greater than 97%, which means he's off the charts. HE gets it from both sides of the family.

The doctor couldn't tell me a whole lot about his ears, it's not her specialty, however she did say that his ear canals were bigger than they were before adn he seemed to be responding a lot better than the last time she saw him. He'll go back to his ENT in November.

Priase God for a good checkup. HE is good and he continues to take care of our family!

Pictures

by GIGIPAPPY

by GIGIPAPPY

by GIGIPAPPY

by GIGIPAPPY

by GIGIPAPPY

by GIGIPAPPY

Pictures

by GIGIPAPPY

by GIGIPAPPY

by GIGIPAPPY

by GIGIPAPPY

by GIGIPAPPY

Mountain Pictures

Gigi and Pappy took Austen on a great mountain adventure last weekend. We are still trying to figure out who had more fun:)
Here are some pictures of thier fun times:)
Enjoy!


by GIGIPAPPY

by GIGIPAPPY

by GIGIPAPPY

by GIGIPAPPY

Blessings

Our children really are blessings.
It is amazing to see how fast they are growing. Austen really is a "big girl" now. It seems she learns new things all the time. She absolutely LOVES Luke and is already protective over him. She is quite the little helper and loves to help me change his diaper. She even folds it the same way I do before throwing it away.
She loves church and asks to go everyday (until we get to the nursery and she realizes mommy and daddy are leaving; yes she still has some seperation anxiety:)
It seems like only yesterday she was Luke's age. I know it's a cliche but it's so true. She has also developed an addiction to yogurt. She would eat it non stop all day if I let her. When she wakes up in the morning, before her eyes are even open (I'm not kidding) I hear "Yogurt?" The same is true after her afternoon nap. For those of you with the same fetish you know that much yogurt can get a little pricey.
So I bought her some cookies thinking surely she'll like these more than yogurt. Now for all you nutrition nuts out there shaking your head at me; stop. I know they're not as healthy but they sure are a lot cheaper. Plus she's pretty healthy. Anyways it didn't work because she didn't want the cookies. She wanted...you guessed it: Yogurt. Go figure.

Luke is also doing well. He is absolutely the sweetest baby in the world. He smiles and coos and laughs. We have so much fun talking to him and watching him respond. We don't go back to his ENT until November but we are already seeing signs of his hearing improving. He responds to all types of sound and we are praising God for opening his ears.
I have been working on doing "tummy time" with Luke since his doctor has told me it is very important that he have tummy time every day. I tried to tell his doctor that he doesn't like tummy time but she seemed to think I should do it anyways:)So the other day Luke was having tummy time and I was encouraging him to push up with his little arms and turn over by himself. (Not because I really care if he does or not, I think he's still too little, but the doctor seems to think it's important, you know how doctor's are:) so here he is doing tummy time and I can tell he doesn't like it because he's fussy, not really crying but fussy.So I make sure he's OK and go to sweep the kitchen floor and let him have his time to himself. I walk back in the room a few minutes later to check on him and the little bug was fast asleep! He obviously was more concerned with nap time than tummy time:) Go figure, he is his mother's child:)

"Home"?

A few days ago, Austen and I were eating breakfast (Berry Captain Crunch, our favotite:)as Jeremy was getting ready to leave for work. He grabbed his briefcase to head out the door when Austen looked up and said "Bye-Bye"? "Yes, honey", he responded. "Daddy has to go bye-bye." Austen then pleaded in the most adorable innocent little face, "Home"? imploring her daddy not to go to work but to stay home with us. It was too precious, and although Jeremy did go to work he was still talking about it that night at dinner. She really does hold a special place in his heart:)

Parenting Two:)

When I first discovered I was pregnant with Luke, a very wise person told me "Now the real parenting begins." I am now learning exactly what that means. I love having two children, however there are moments when you pull your hair out. (Those of you out there who have the same blessing know what I mean:) We have been potty training Austen all week and she is doing wonderful. She loves to potty and about every 15 minutes she wants to go. So it's 1:00 and I'm feeding Luke and sure enough I hear, "POtty?" "Yes, baby let's go potty" I say because I'm a good mother:) and put Luke down. Now Luke is crying because he's only had a mouthful of food. So the same thing happens 2 or 3 more times until I end up sitting on the floor outside the bathroom nursing Luke while "helping" Austen potty. I'm telling you mom's really should get a wonderwoman t-shirt to wear every so often:)
I think I may write a poem "An ode to mothers"
Check back next week and maybe my volunteer will have it posted:)

Tonya

Pictures Again

More Pictures:)

I have decided I'm going to recruit a volunteer to update my blog page for me. I simply cannot find the time. I know, it's sad.
Well, we have a lot to catch up on. Since the last time we talked Luke went to his ENT doctor and we were told his ear canals are tiny and that may be part of if not all of the problem. Although there are still no absolutes at this point, we took this as good news and are now waiting for little Luke to grow. Of course the rest of him is growing just fine. At his two month checkup he weighed 13lb 3oz and was 24 inches long. 89% for weight and 80% for height. I love that he has some fat on him because it means he's eating well and for all of you who were around when Austen was a baby you know we struggled with her being underweight and not eating well at all so this is a blessing:)

Austen is also doing well. She is so Austen. It is evident God has given her a precious personality that she will use for him one day. She is officially potty trained. She has gone two days without having aby accidents and has peed and pooped on the potty:)
That's a really big deal when you're potty training:) We are very proud of her and the "big girl" she is.

We also went to the beach on vacation so I am including some of those pictures:)

Luke's Hearing

Today we went back to Duke Children's Hospital to meet with the audiologist to conduct more tests on Luke's hearing. He did great this time. They need him to be a sleep so they can measure the brainwaves properly. He slept through an hour's worth of testing. Austen played with her nana (great-grandmother) in the lobby. The results for his hearing have not changed much. They were able to get a response above 35 dB in his left ear and only at 45 dB in his right ear. Both of these figures are not up to normal hearing ranges. They call this type of hearing loss conductive hearing loss, meaning there is something preventing the sound from reverberating off of the eardrum. They still are not ruling out the possibility of fluid and that is still the most logical explanation up to this point. We will now take him to an ENT where they will determine what is causing the obstruction behind the ear drum.. This could mean an MRI or other scans to see in his ear canal. If it is fluid they will remove the fluid and then conduct the test again at Duke to see how his hearing is. Please keep praying for Luke and his hearing.
While we were there they checked Austen as a precautionary measure. They take her into the sound proof room with speakers on each wall beside her. They call her name from one speaker and when she turns to the speaker a little bunny rabbit lights up that clangs a tamborine loudly. Evidently this is quite exciting for most children. However, for Austen that little bunny might as well have been the boogeyman. She screamed and clung to her daddy petrified. From then on every time a sound came out of the speaker she would jump and scream and would repeatedly say 'No'. By the time it was all over they knew she could hear not because she got excited but because she was shaking with fear. Poor girl. She did not even want a Blue's Clues Sticker with her favorite character, Mailbox. She was just ready to leave. She is growing so fast. Her Gi-gi and Pappy taught her over the weekend to say "aflac" whenever you ask her what a duck says. Yes the child is spoiled.

Doing Well

I know it has been a while since the last update. Who has time to update a blog:)
Luke is doing well. He now weighs a wopping 10lb 7 oz! He's growing way too fast!
We go back to Duke about his hearing August 1st so keep praying.
Austen loves being Luke's big sister. She now calls him Luke instead of only "baby" although she puts a "T" where the "K" should be so it sounds like Lute. So precious.
She is so much fun.
That's it for now. Pictures coming soon-Promise!

Big Sister!!

Austen loves being a big sister, we are not too sure how Luke enjoys being the little guy though. Austen constantly calls for "Baby." No matter how many times we tell her to say Luke she always refers to him as baby. During his nap times she walks to his bedroom door, points, and says "Baby, night-night." However, when Luke is up that is when the fun begins. She loves to give him kisses, and to point out his parts of the body. It's all fun and games until she gets to his eye. SHe also believes she is big enough to hold Luke by herself. We have even caught her a few times trying to pick him up. My boy is in for an intersting life.
It is a real blessing to have two kids. We are slowly begining to see the differences between the two. He is much more laid back than Austen ever was. He also loves to eat, wheras Austen never did. We cannot wait to see them grow and interact to one another, but one thing is for sure Austen loves being the big sister.
Since birth we have known that Luke has had some problems with his hearing. He failed three hearing test after delivery. We have being praying that this would be merely fluid from the womb. Today Luke went to the Duke Children's Hospital for some more thorough testing. They did the same hearing test as before and he still did not pass. They then placed nodes on his head while sending the stimuli hoping to measure brain waves from the hearing. He also failed this test. Both of those test have to do with what is known as the middle ear. Something is causing the hearing to be impaired but they still are not sure what. There are two problems that could be happening. One, he could still have fluid in both ears from dlivery causing the hearing problems, or his bone structure did not develop correctly. We are praying for nothing permanent and that it will merely be fluid that will pass with time. The good news is that Luke passed the outer ear test meaning the problem seems to be contained to the middle-ear. Continue to pray that his middle ear hearing will be restored.

The Complete Family

Here is a picture of the whole family (minus Romeo and the fish). Here is Austen with her new sunglasses she got from nana while Luke was being born. She really enjoys all the daddy time.

All Smiles

Luke went to his first doctor's appointment today. He had gained 2 oz. and was only 5 oz. away from birth weight. However, they were concerned that he has jaundice. His levels were at 13.5 which is not too high but still higher than normal. We go back to the doctor on monday for a level check. Until then he must lay in the sunshine in the house and eat often. Both of these he loves to do as evidenced by these pictures of his sunbathing after a feeding. All Smiles.

Like Father, Like Son

Well since Tonya is a little weak right now I have power over the blog. I couldn't resist posting this picture of Luke's "duck butt," Tonya's affectionate name for my hair. I must say he is styling here. Yes, I'm a proud daddy. Now where's Austen, time to do her hair.

Luke Jeremiah Minor

It's a Boy!!! Luke Jeremiah Minor was born at 8:23pm on June 20, 2006. He was 7lbs 13oz and 20 3/4" long. Both baby and mom are doing great.

Fun With Daddy

Happy Resurrection Day from the Minor's

It's A Boy!

Or at least that's what the ultrasound nurse told us:) She seemed pretty sure about it. We are very excited and we can't wait for him (what's his name I wonder? :) to be here. Austen is also very excited about her new little brother. She knows exactly where
"the baby" is- she loves to rub mommy's belly when we ask her where the baby is.

We are now working on getting the nursery ready (de ja vu) and are trying to agree on a color. I see compromise coming:)

Look at My Spoon

Austen has decided that she wants to eat with a spoon. This all began with yogurt cups and Grammy and Pappy's. Now Austen wants to eat yogurt all by herself. Over the past two weeks she has become quite proficient at eating the yogurt. We make her sit in the floor to eat the yogurt so she does not make a mess all over the house. We know she wants yogurt when she sits in the middle of the kitchen floor saying "more please."