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!!