Surprise!!!

Jess's parents and I planned for the Rainers to come to Wake Forest to surprise Jess for his 25th birthday! They were able to come to the house a few hours before Jess came home from work. I was so nervous for Jess to walk through the door. We had been planning this for about 5 weeks, so I was really looking forward to it. Jess was surprised to say the least.

We had a great weekend! Friday night I made homemade pizza. Saturday, we played putt putt and then went to North Hills shopping center to shop and eat. Sunday Jess and I were able to go see a movie while the Rainers took care of Canon. Sunday evening we went to Red Lobster! Canon was defiantly spoiled with love and attention from his grandparents.

On Jess's birthday Canon, Jess, and I went out to eat Mexican and then came home for presents and blueberry cobbler! Once Canon went to bed Jess and I were able to watch a movie to end the night!

Hope you had a great birthday Jess!

I am so thankful for you and love you so much!

Love,

Rachel

Mr. E

Canon has a new beloved friend - Mr. E! He loves Mr. E and it is so cute to watch him hug the little thing.

He especially loves to eat its trunk.

Love,

Rachel

Canon's Surgery

First off I want to thank all of you for praying, the texts, phone calls, messages on facebook, and the encouragement. Thank you to the Chanclers for bringing us a meal tonight! I know it is going to be delicious!

Canon's surgery went well! We arrived at the hospital at 6 a.m. One of Jess's professors was there waiting for us when we got there to offer his support and prayers! Canon was able to sleep on the ride to the hospital and up until the time he had to go back to pre-op. We are so thankful for the hospital staff. All of our nurses were incredible and understanding! We knew that the surgery was minor, but when it is your child it doesn't seem minor. Anyway, I was worried Canon would be fussy due to not being able to eat, but he was a trooper! He had all of the nurses wrapped around his fingers! It was really hard to see them roll him away in the hospital/crib bed. He was just starring at Jess while they rolled him away. :( It was really good to have Dr. Lawson in the waiting room to talk with and pass the time after we said goodbye to Canon.

After about 50 minutes the Dr. came out to speak with us and gave us a thumbs up (literally). He showed us some pictures he took of his throat and let us know he does have lyrngomalacia and they also had to cut some tissue on his epiglottis which is called an epiglottoplasty. The good news is that this should take the gasping noises (stridor) away or make them a whole lot better! Canon is able to get oxygen much easier! Praise the Lord the surgery went well and this is all over with! We give God all of the glory!

Canon was really fussy and out of it when we went back to see him. It was sad to see him like that. I was able to take him right away and breastfeed him. He had a hard time eating between the hard cries, but eventually calmed down enough to get a little to eat. One of the doctors came in and told us they had a hard time finding a vein for the IV, so they had to stick him quite a few times. His feet, hands, and arms are bruised. We counted over 10 needle sticks. Poor baby! He has been fussy and still out of it now that we have been home, but is still smiling and playing! He is such a good baby!

Again thank you so much for all of the prayers!

Here is Canon while we were waiting.

Love,

Rachel

Yum Yum!

Canon is now eating solids. We started out with rice cereal once a day for a week, then went to two meals a day and introduced oatmeal in the mornings. After a couple of weeks of that we started introducing veggies. Canon actually doesn't like to eat solids in the mornings, so we do lunch and dinner. Canon has now had sweet potatoes, squash, and avocado. Today we are going to start green beans. I have decided to introduce most of the vegetables to Canon first before I start doing fruits with the exception of avocados. I have been reading through Super Baby Food in preparation to make my own baby food. I haven't made it yet because I want to make sure he likes the foods and isn't allergic before I spend the time to make the food. We were graciously given quite a bit of baby food from some good friends of ours here at the seminary. (You know who you are, so THANKS again! ) Canon is doing really well with eating. I feel like he eats too much, but he's always been a big eater (can you tell? ha!). I think if he could communicate with me he would tell me avocados have been his favorite thing he has had so far, well with the exception of when I let him lick my popsicle once and when a family friend let him suck on a jolly rancher without my knowledge until afterward. ha! Good thing I am much more laid back than I was even a year ago. Anyway, I am glad he is doing well with the food. We are borrowing a high chair right now and has been staying much more focused while eating in that thing rather than the bumbo. Oh, and Canon is also drinking water out of a sippy cup. It is amazing how he knows what to do. For him to really drink out of it I have to hold it up for him, but he drinks out of it.

Canon is sitting up now. He is getting steadier and steadier by the day.

Canon is also going through a clingy stage and has difficulty being away from me especially. I think its sweet, but hoping it is just a phase. I want him to need Jess and I, but I also want him to be comfortable playing in a room by himself. I think it might be getting a little better, but we will see!

I hope you all don't get bored with Canon updates all the time, but this is my life right now and I also want to "journal" about his life so I can remember everything that he is doing!

Here is a picture of Canon eating sweet potatoes for the first time!

Love,

Rachel

Look who is 6 Months Today!!

Canon continues to be such a blessing! I was rocking him just a few minutes ago before his nap (he has a hard time going down for a nap in the afternoon) and I was just starring at his face and tears just started filling my eyes. It is amazing how fast he is growing and how much of a blessing he is and continues to be in our lives. I could have never imagined how perfect a precious child could be. Some of you might know that early on in our pregnancy they thought Canon was a cyst (molar pregnancy) instead of a fetus. It was so scary and Jess and I mourned for our baby. Our mourning only lasted a couple of days while we waited for another ultrasound. Jess and I prayed for a miracle and the Lord gave it to us! During that next ultrasound the tech just looked at us and stated that there was a fetus and everything looked normal and on track (she wasn't supposed to tell us anything, but I think she felt badly for us). We were all in shock. What a precious gift the Lord gave us! We are so proud to be Canon's parents!

6 Month Milestones and Fun Facts

- Sitting up on own (only for a few seconds, but it gets longer daily)

-Today he has sat up on his own the most he ever has

-Started solids (has now had rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and squash

-Loves swinging

-Starting laughing and Jess and I would play peek-a-boo

-Now plays peek-a-boo with Jess and I whenever he is holding a burp cloth, blanket, or toy

-Went to "big" church with Jess and I a couple of times

-Wearing size 3 diapers

-Wearing 6 and 9 months clothes

-Smiles every time he sees us brush our teeth (he thinks its funny)

-Starting to put knees underneath him and pushes off with his feet in preparation to crawl

-Gets very concerned or cries when other babies are crying (I think he is going to be very compassionate)

-Chews on everything!!

-Does NOT like to be in his car seat when he is tired

-His hair continues to get more red as the weeks go on

Here are a lot of pictures that were taken today! He is such a ham!

Touchdown!

Playing in his jumperoo! He loves green frogs.

So handsome!

His 6 month birthday cake - ha!

We love you Canon! You mean more to your mom and dad than you will ever know!

Love,

Rachel

Poor Little Guy

I (Rachel) took Canon to the Ear Nose and Throat doctor this afternoon. I am so thankful the receptionist remembered me when they had a cancellation (we were able to get in 2 weeks earlier than expected).

So, anyway the dr. asked lots of questions and examined Canon. The dr. was concerned that he has long episodes (some lasting up to 30 minutes) of making these gasping noises (stridor). His recommendation is to do a procedure/surgery on Canon to see what is going on. The dr. will perform a laryngoscopy, bronchoscopy, and possibly do an epiglottidectomy. He thinks it is one of three things. One - when Canon was born he had a lot of fluid in his lungs, so they had to put a tube in his throat to get the fluid out. In doing this they could have caused trauma and there could be a cyst. If there is a cyst the dr. will remove or pop it. Two- Something could be wrong with his epiglottis and he would just cut the sides of it and that would allow the air passages to open up. This is called an epiglottidectomy. Three- The upper cartilage of the larynx could be collapsing when Canon is inhaling. There is nothing that can be done for this but growth. The older Canon gets the cartilage becomes more firm.

So with all that said Canon will be put to sleep and they will go through the mouth to do the procedure and when they determine what is going on they will do what in necessary to fix the problem. I wasn't prepared to hear that they will be putting him to sleep or possibly cutting on him, but again I am trying to put it in perspective and trust in the Lord.

Please be in prayer for Canon! Also please pray that Jess and I will have peace about Canon getting anesthesia and what they will find when they do the procedure.

Canon will have all of this done in 2 weeks. Thanks for the prayers!

Love,

Rachel

Laryngomalacia

What in the heck is laryngomalacia? I am glad you asked? And I will tell you what it is...

Laryngomalacia (literally, "soft larynx") is a very common condition of infancy, in which the soft, immature cartilage of the upper larynx collapses inward during inhalation, causing airway obstruction. (From Wikipedia)

Why am I so concerned that you know what this is? Well, Canon has it (well we hope this is all it is anyway). We won't know for sure that he has this until he goes and sees the ears, nose, and throat doctor. He has to get a camera put down his nose to diagnose this. We are hoping this is all it is because with Canon's growth he will grow out of it. If this is not what it is, then there will be more series of tests and could possibly need surgery.

For the past 6 weeks Canon has been making gasping noises especially when he is laying down or eating solids. He started making the noises the day we started him on rice cereal so we decided to stop the cereal. The noises actually got better, so we thought he just wasn't ready for solids. Well the noises came back a few weeks later and were becoming more frequent. These noises literally stress Jess and I out. They cause us not to be able to breath - No joke. Canon doesn't seemed to be stressed out though. He just laughs and smiles like he normally does, so since it didn't seem to bother him we thought the noises were his "excited" noise. Last week he was making the gasping noise and I looked over and his upper lip was blue. I immediately picked him up and the lip went back to normal color. Well this weekend he gasped for like 30 minutes straight, so we decided to call the dr. today to see what was going on. Don't think I am a bad mom because I didn't call sooner, Canon never seemed to be in distress and just went along with his business while smiling and laughing.

The dr. seemed to know what was going on after I told her all the symptoms and that he did it while laying down and eating. She seems to really think that he has laryngomalacia, but wants to make sure. She doesn't seem too concerned. So we will keep you updated.

It may seem to some people that Canon has had a lot of things going on, but to be honest I don't really see it that way. He does have reflux and now he most likely has this, but man things could be so much worse. All these things are curable and will go away with time. I am so thankful for God's protection. Yea, the spitting up, coughing, having to have Canon elevated after he eats, and the gasping noises are all annoying at times, but Canon is healthy and so happy. Please don't think for one second that I don't feel badly for Canon and that I am hard hearted because I do feel badly for him and try my hardest to make him comfortable and happy, but I guess I am just putting it in perspective. I do wish that he didn't have any of these things, but am I so ever thankful that these are just minor things... The Lord has blessed our family so much and I praise Him for always protecting us!

I do feel very badly that Canon has to get a camera down his nose, I am not sure how I will handle that, so if you could be in prayer that he will get through it that would be great! Also, please be in prayer that this is the only thing that is going on, nothing else!!

Thanks!!

Love,

Rachel

I posted Easter pics earlier today, so don't forget to scroll down and see that post!

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter celebrating Jesus's Resurrection. We headed to church where we were able to bring one of Jess's co-workers with us! Our pastor did a wonderful job relaying the Easter message. Our prayer is that the unbelievers in the service were touched and will come to know Christ! We dressed Canon up for church and of course Jess and I thought he was the most handsome cutest little boy we have ever laid eyes on! We have been bringing him in the service with us the last couple of Sundays. Last Sunday he stayed with us the entire service, but this Sunday we just brought him in for the music then he went to the nursery. He does so well when he is in the service and enjoys the music and looking around at all of the people.

After church we headed to the Waggoners for Easter lunch! We ate some delicious food and had great fellowship! All three of us were able to take naps after getting home from lunch and really just enjoyed the day.

Here are some sweet pictures of Canon.

Love,

Rachel

The last few weeks...

I haven't written in a while, so I guess I will briefly update my many readers (sarcastic) on what we've been up to.

Canon started rice cereal last week. We had tried it once before, but we ended up stopping it after a week, due to it not going so well. This time around he has been doing great with it. We are now up to two meals a day - oatmeal in the morning and cereal at dinner time. We will start veggies next week.

Canon continues to be such a happy baby and is learning new things daily. Here are a few things he's just done or learned for the first time recently. Swinging on the swings at the neighborhood playground (he loves it), playing peek-a-boo with mommy and daddy, shaking his head no no no no (we don't say no when he does it though), and getting close to sitting on own.

This past Tuesday I was able to have a long over due catch up session with one of my cousins and her family! In 2003 I worked at a summer camp in Iowa. Camie and Tom run the camp, so I spent the entire summer with them and have missed them so. I am so thankful they were able to stop in Wake Forest to see me and meet Canon. That summer in Iowa was a turning point in my life, especially in my relationship with Christ.

This was taken right before we went to test drive a vehicle (more on that later) and a trip to the mall.

Here is picture from my mom's visit. I just had to add because I think it is super cute!

That is all for now! Thanks for reading.

Love,

Rachel