Sam Turner Praise

Quick update after Sam's eye exam: the tumors have shrunk in size 50%. Keep praying for continued blessings and healing. Thank you for your loving committment!~Haley

Sam Turner Update

This is long overdue and I apologize profusely. Sam is doing well. He had a chemo treatment last week and goes for an eye exam to monitor progress tomorrow morning. The previous treatment caused quite a scare as he had an allergic reaction to the drug they were using. He had to stay in the hospital for observation, but proved himself to be very resilient. Fortunately they found an equally effective drug that Sam was able to take without difficulty. Also with the previous treatment, Sam's platelet and white blood cell counts dropped pretty low which posed the threat for bleeding and infection--thankfully, he did not have any problems as a result. Pray that his counts would remain okay this go round and that the eye exam will show decreased tumor size or may we be so bold to ask for complete resolution! Thank you for your prayers!~Haley

Cowboy Up! Barrett is 3!

Barrett turned 3 on March 8. We tried to keep his actual birthday pretty low-key as his party was still a week away. All he wanted was to "go to the pancake place." So we went to IHOP and celebrated. The waitress gave him the royal treatment and he had a big time!

He didn't want to wait for the picture :)

If you look closely you can see that Jace enjoyed a few bites of pancake himself.

Friday, March 12

Part of our present to Barrett was rodeo tickets.

Ghee and Grandaddy got to come too!

The smile says it all--he had a great time!
We sat right next to the bucking chutes so he got to see the bull riding up close.

Jace loved the rodeo too! He was practically pulling his hair out with excitement and oh, the agony of defeat when the rider fell just shy of the 8 second mark.

Barrett asked every day for about 3 weeks if it was party day yet. He was so excited about his cowboy party and all that it would entail. At long last it arrived...

Sunday, March 14

The cowboy cake.

We also had cupcakes with cowboy boots, hats, sheriff's badges, and rifles on top.

Mommy with Bear and his new stick bull (from mommy and daddy).

The weather was a bit chilly and windy.

Jace spent much of the party napping out of the elements with Nana and Ghee.

Thankfully the weather didn't slow the kids down too much.

Here is the girls heat of stick horse racing.
They got to keep their horses and received a cowboy hat for finishing the race.

Next, the cowboys lassoed the giant horse (a gift from Ghee and Grandaddy).

They received a bandanna for their effort and skill; now their outfits were complete.

I will say that the hands down favorite was the bounce house

or "my jumpy thing" as Barrett affectionately named it.

It was hard to peel them away to open gifts.

Daddy, Mommy, and Bear Bear

We kept the "jumpy thing" for an hour after party time & some of the adults got to enjoy it too.

I think things went well regardless of the weather.

We were so blessed to have such a great turn out.

A BIG thank you to all our family and friends who made #3 as special as could be!

We feel quite loved.

Jace 9 months

I absolutley CANNOT believe my baby is 9 months old. It has gone by far too quickly and I find myself wishing time would slow down. He went for his 9 month check on Thurs. March 11. He weighed in at 18 lb. 8 oz. and was 28.5 in. long. He only gained 8 oz. since his 6 mos. check and so we are adding in an 8 0z. bottle daily and checking back in a month for a weight recheck.

Developmentally he is doing great. Here are a few of his accomplishments since his last check-up: He began army crawling at 7 and 1/2 months and then on Valentine's Day he began classic crawling on hands and knees. He pulls to a stand and is able to set self up into a sitting position on his own. He waves bye bye, loves to clap, and says mama and ada (dada) appropriately. He also mimics "hey". He eats a few solids and enjoys cheerios, puffs, and yogurt melts.

Still in nine month or 6-12 month clothing. Size 3 or 4 diapers.

Sleeps well at night--10 to 12 hrs. Generally takes 2 naps, one short and one medium to long nap.

He loves to be out and about and socialize. He is really a very easy and contented baby except for car rides, but this is MUCH improved. He is very busy and likes to be on the move or playing (entertains himself well), but also enjoys a good snuggle. He is already getting into everything and constantly grabbing at things and making messes. He is a bit of a dare devil and very tough. He will be keeping me on my toes for sure! Loving this stage.

Chompers

A pic of Jace's first tooth.

This was the lone chomper until the last week of February when he got 3 more in a week. OUCH!

Tub Time

The boys have recently started bathing together and they LOVE it. We have had to leave Jace in his baby tub still even though he sits very well. He is a dare devil and tries to swim.

Snow Day (Feb. 12, 2010)

My boys!

I had Jace all snug sitting on a blanket, out of the snow, under our magnolia tree. He seemed content enough, until...

he ventured into the snow and found that and the taste of dirt much more exciting!

Bear and I went back out after Jace laid down for a nap.

We had a snowball fight and built a snowman.

Our snowman. Barrett used the leaves for hair :)