Diagnosis

After going to the orthopedic surgeon today, we have an official diagnosis. Benjamin has congenital scoliosis. This means that he has a curve in his spine and vertabrae that are a little messed up. It also means he was born this way. The doctor said it was very minor. There is a 50/50 chance it will stay the same forever. He has to go back in 6 months to have the curve measured for changes.
We are currently praying about whether we need to move forward with the MRI or not. With it being scheduled for a week away, we have to make the decision quickly. Please pray for God to give us wisdom and discernment in this. We really don't want to put Ben through any unnecessary testing, but we also don't want to skip something and miss something that could be potentially harmful for our sweet boy.
Oh and something that's just cute. He stood from the middle of the room for the first time while waiting for the doctor. Way to go little man!

And just in case you are wondering, he has continued to be his wild self:

Climbing into the window seal/back of boys chairs

WOW, look what I can do!

This is FUN!

Pray for Ben/14 months update

Please be praying today for our appointment with the orthopaedic (or is it orthopedist? anyone?) We are going to Duke today at 1:00. We are hoping to get more info on whether he has progressive scoliosis or not. We are also hoping that maybe Duke can get us in for an MRI sooner that Wake Med.

Also, today marks Benjamin's 14th month! What a great way to celebrate, huh? Here are some really fun things he is doing right now:
*talking so much more- ball, elephant sound, meow, woof, ish (fish), eeeese (please), mah (more), dada, mama, buzzing for a bee, moo, NNNNACK (snack)
*squeals like a banshee- it's like a puppy that has found his voice (cute, yes. driving me a little crazy, yes)
*mischevious- (see picture above) also, he steals from Zeke every chance he gets, and RUNS as quickly as possible to escape (has MAJOR big brother envy)
*points to everything
*dances (video to come soon), it's especially cute in the car
*can point to his ears, eyes, nose, and belly (but only if he is in the mood)
*can squat to pick something off the floor and then stand back up
*LOVES to go outside
*getting really picky with eating, but has increased his liquids recently
*only real obsessions are his paci and eating (remember Zeke LOVED balls at this age? He doesn't really have something like that)
*wearing size 3 diapers, can wear some 12 month clothes (yay), but can still wear some 6 month shirts and most pants have to be 9 months or they fall right off
*he now has 6 teeth. Those three months of teething were actually for something. He has two on the front top and bottom and then surprised us by cutting his top molars next. Weird kid
*he puts his hands together when we pray
*does hand motions for tons of songs
*backs up to sit in your lap with a book - fave book right now is Goodnight Gorilla
*and as mentioned before, needs your prayers

1 year pics...a little late

It seems to be a trend for us to take pictures between a month and two months behind their actual birthday. We did Ben's one year and a couple Christmas ones of both boys (those will be poasted at a later date). To say that this wasn't the easist/best picture taking experience would be an understatement. BUT we did get some good shots.

Working it in the man chair

Doesn't he look so grown?

Our big bad 1 year old!

On the move

This picture shows random stuff in the background, but I think it's really cute

We did this shirt because Z wore it in his 6 month pics (yeah I said 6 months)

If you look closely, you can see little tears in his eyes, poor baby

Baby Got Back... Problems that is...

I know, I know... my title is completely inappropriate. But hey, I gotta find some humor somewhere in all of this

I just included this picture, for those of you who can't come to the blog with out one

If you need background please go read this post.





We went to the pediatric surgeon Friday. We saw his xrays and saw that his bottom 3 vertabrae are all out of whack. Two are fused and one is just funky shaped. The doctor also said there wasn't much "disc" between them. They are going to monitor him for progressive scoliosis (sp?) We have an MRI sceduled for December 15. This is to determine if there is anyting going on with his spinal cord. It could be that it is tethered. If that is the case he will need to have surgery. Depending on if he has scoliosis or not and the severity of it he may need surgery. So, no more real answers right now, but that is where we are. We still have our orthopaedic appointment next Tuesday at 1:00.





Our plan right now is to gather as much info as possible about our little guy and then we will analyze everything to make a decision. While it was scary to see our sons xray and see that his body is messed up, I could hear God whispering that He made him and that Benjamin is fearfully and wonderfully made. When we were sitting and hearing about a possiblity of having a major surgery with followups every 6 months for adjustments, I was busy listening while wrangling him from climbing the exam table and pulling down the curtains. So, the doctors may have been telling me that there is something "wrong" with my son, but God is telling me and showing me His truths through His word and just by watching my sweet boy.





We still covet your prayers as we are on this journey. I have appreciated all of you who have contacted me. I know I have not been so great about getting back to most of you, but trust me that I am holding them close to my heart.

Are you praying?

We are headed to Ben's first appointment at 10:30 with Dr. Phillips, the pediatric surgeon. Please be praying for our family and the doctor's wisdom. We know God loves Benjamin even more than we ever possibly could and we rest in the comfort of that knowledge.

Idols, Cars, and Little Baby Jesus

Run over and check out my hubby's blog today. Zeke is supplying Spence with a lifetime supply of sermon illustrations.

Angels and their babies

Lindsay and Melissa (and their immediate families) came in to spend Thanksgiving in Raleigh with the rest of their family. On Saturday after Thanksgiving we had a playdate. Lindsay and Dan have a little boy who is a year and a half named Alex. Melissa and Reade have a little boy who is also a year and a half named Brenner. Our four boys had a blast together. It was awesome to see our kids playing together. In order to get the picture of the four of them together though, we did have to resort to bribery with Cars in the background. You can tell by their zoned out faces, hehe Girls, I can't believe we are all grown up! We can't wait to have another playdate.

The redheads bonding

Dan and Brenner contemplated switching families

Our four boys!

Alex and Ben were so sweet together

Brenner and Zeke were not :)

The girls and their babies