STL Appointments

Well, prayers were answered! Preston, Carson, and I survived the trip to St. Louis and Mom and Kellen survived the day alone in Dexter. We had a 'longer than planned' day in St. Louis. We started with appointments at 9 am and did not finish until 4 pm and that was non stop appointments. We started with plastic surgery, then to endocrinology, then the PT gym for a developmental assessment, and finally Nursery follow-up which consisted of the normal appointment, as well as a subsequent chest x-ray and lab draws. Carson was a trooper the whole time. Of course his schedule gets thrown off when you have appointments all morning with no nap. But he did amazing and LOVED playing in the PT gym with old friends (two therapists that saw him while he was still in the NICU). We then headed to Nursery follow up. Due to some of the secretions we had suctioned from his trach, the doctors felt we should swab him for the flu and check for any pneumonia or other infection, hence the chest Xray and lab work. Everything came back negative, meaning he just has a cold virus so we will just stay the course. Carson is such a trooper and always surprises the doctors, nurses, and therapists with how well he is doing!

Mom always comments on how weird it is to spend a day in Dexter when Carson is not here. It is much quieter and just SO different! Kellen crawled into the nursery several times looking for Carson. Such a sweet boy! We praise God everyday that even though there are many added stressors with the extra care for Carson, our life would just not be complete without him!

Some more pictures and a prayer request

I almost missed some of my favorite pics!! So here they are...Please also be praying that the boys can get past this little virus they caught. Both have ran fevers and have runny noses. Carson has appointments in STL on Thursday so I'm praying that he feels better for the trip.

Love this picture! Carson LOVES giving Kellen hugs but Kellen just ignores him : )

The next generation of bikers : ) We just need a side care for the monitor.

Dad got to join in for the evening walk while he was here.

Two Bundles of Joy

I can’t believe we are nearing the end of August. The Clark boys are continuing to be the joy of our lives…brightening our days with smiles, laughter, chatter, and Kellen’s new squealing! Carson is becoming more and more vocal and his babble sounds more and more like Kellen’s. This is a huge step because he only has one vocal cord (the right vocal cord’s nerve was severed with the removal of the mass) and his tongue and lip movement is not typical (again this is just an effect of nerve damage during surgery). Carson continues to sit really well and is improving on his standing balance, wanting to pull to stand with assistance, and is doing better on all fours. We continue to work on his feedings by mouth, which is one of the more frustrating aspects of his care. He originally would take a bottle, but since coming home he stopped doing that and does not do very well with spoon feeding. We believe some of this is due to oral defensiveness or aversion, meaning that he doesn’t do well with objects or food in his mouth. He gags VERY easily, sometimes even if the food is presented at his lips. But I believe the bigger issue is that his swallow function is not normal. He doesn’t swallow as frequently as he should and it also is not as effective. So prayers for this are greatly appreciated!!! We have follow up appointments on Thursday in St. Louis. I expect these appointments to go well. Carson broke 20 pounds this week and Kellen is holding steady at 18.5 pounds.

Kellen is SO much fun to watch explore everything. The keyword is WATCH : ) because he gets into everything and usually the things he is not supposed to. Overall, he is a really great little boy. He is much more content now that he can move around by himself. He is also doing much better pulling up on things and also lowering himself back down. He is starting to taste more table foods but we are concerned because he has yet to develop his taste for vanilla ice cream…can this be??? A Bunch and a Clark that does not like ice cream??? He seems to like chocolate better than vanilla.

Mom was in California this past week to enjoy a few days with her sisters and Dad came over to help for a few days during the week. We thoroughly enjoyed the time with ‘Poppy.’ He even showed us his cooking skills : ) by bringing his favorite, State Fair Corn Dogs…Shhhh, don’t tell Mom! : )

Carson directing the crew

Backseat rider tonight...he likes the front better:)

Aunt Jamey

How fun to see Uncle Tom & Aunt Jamey! So glad you stopped by!

Carson is going to give him a wet willy!

Dexter Bearcats!

Hands on the hips!

Reading books early in the morning

Kellen is showing Big Josh & Big James how to work the play station!

Feeding Kellen!

We love our Poppy!!

9 Months!!

Wow...it is hard to believe that the boys are 9 months old today! How times fly and it does my heart good to see how far we have come! At times, it feels like the progress is slow if not at a standstill but when I look back to even 3 months ago, I am amazed!!

Kellen is now mobile enough to be really dangerous! He is crawling and pulling up on anything he can get his hands on. The problem is that he is NOT so graceful with his descent...sometimes falling like he is a tree trunk : ) Bruises, bumps and scratches...here we come! Kellen still is not the greatest eater but is doing better and continues to gain weight. Praise the lord! He continues to show his personality, babbling non stop ("Bubububu...byebyebye...bababa...Mamama") and has taken to growling recently. I can't lie, this little boy is a bit spoiled and knows someone will come if he starts whining or whimpering : ) He continues to make us smile with his giggles, laughs, and other antics!

Carson has also made big strides...he is now getting really good at sitting up and just recently has shown a lot more interest in standing! He is also starting to make more sounds and voice fluctuations. He continues to be very attentive to things going on around him. He is a pretty happy boy! We continue to persevere on his feedings by mouth, although this is the one area that has been slower to progress. He only requires supplemental oxygen when he is sleeping now and this is only a minimal amount. His grins and laughter is contagious and brighten all of our days! We will go back to see some of the doctors at the end of this month.

Thanks again to everyone for the continued prayers! They have really helped to get us all to this point! Blessings to all as the summer comes to a close and school starts back up again!

Knocked the bear down trying to get away : )

Our sweet Kellen

"I'm coming Mom"

Little toes

So funny!

Happy boy!!

Coming over the couch (Carson wanted me to tell everyone that he was sinking into the middle of the couch...Kellen isn't really that much taller : )

Playing ball with Mimi & Papa

Our nightly walking crew : )

Playtime!