Few more pictures

Yay, Aaron is home and blogged! I just want to add a couple of my favorite pictures. The NAM is amazing (as Aaron said)!

This last week Everett got really sick and ended up in the ER on Friday morning. He is fine, but the hospital staff was a little scared of the device (only because they have never seen one before). They asked us to take it out. After we came home from the hospital, he was sleeping in the car seat and I was so shocked at how great his lips and nose looked. I only take the NAM out at night to quickly clean it and put it back in, so I really don't pay much attention every time. So, when I saw him I was thrilled and wanted to show you all how great he is looking.

Also, his surgery is scheduled!!! April 1 is the surgery date (seriously - it's not a joke). Our biggest chore now is to make sure he stays healthy until then.

Kinda funny too, a couple weeks ago the weather was in the 50's for a few days and so all the neighborhood kids were out and about (including us). I was excited to take Everett out for his first walks. All the kids were excited also to see the new baby - until....they saw that huge ball in his nose, oh and then realized the NAM was not actually his lip.

Most of them are early junior high age and know others with a cleft lip and palate, but there was this poor little second grade girl who was pretty scared. She stared at his lips the whole time with a look of horror. It was actually fun to answer all their questions (which were pretty funny too, "can he breath?"). All in all it was good for me to see kids reactions and to show them that he is just a normal baby. And we couldn't love him more!

Kambree actually told the orthodontist the other day when he was adjusting the NAM to not fix his lips because she likes him best like this (without the NAM).

Anyway, I am trying to stay above water still but getting better everyday. Thank you thank you Jeannine for the advice about the White Noise Machine - life saver, seriously! Even though he can't hear really clearly, it completely masks the big noises (like running feet on wood floor, screaming, and doorbells too)!

Long Overdue Update

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've posted, despite many appeals from Monica.

Seems like I have been traveling every week, but this week has brought a welcome break so while I'm in town I thought I would try to catch y'all up on a few things.

We had some family pictures taken (back in December - I already told you it's been a while). They turned out nice. We were lucky to have Anne and Floyd visiting to help out. I don't know about you, but family pictures is always like pulling teeth. Dominick and I ended up going the rounds over some bad behavior. Initially, the bad behavior was Dominick's, but it quickly digressed into a contest of who could behave worse. I'm ashamed of my self! Oh well. You win some, and most the time when you battle the kids you lose some.

Anyway, here are a few of the good pics that came out of the photos.

Okay, so some of the photos are better than others, but you get a sense of our goofy family from these type of shots.This is a good one of the kids all together. It was hard to synchronize the smiles!

I liked this formal shot of the family.

Future business man in training! Dominick loves to wear these shirts and ties. He looks for stuff that matches the shirts and ties I have. I have to say, we have good taste! Cowan men represent! As long as you ignore the big schnoz!

Let's see, what else have we been up to? Dominick is still plugging along at school. Kambree continues to be a princess at home! She can be a handful. Everett is a grump. We knew he was sick recently when he wouldn't fuss and cry nonstop. One of the things that is hard about spacing the kids 3 years apart is that you don't take advantage of efficiencies. You have to learn everything over again. I guess it is good that way, because I am pretty confident that if I remembered the sleep deprivation that a baby comes with I might not have signed on again.

I do have to say that I love the nights when Everett sleeps for 4 or 5 hours at a time. You have to be grateful for the little things. It does prove to be a bit of a drag though when it is 11:45 PM and Everett is wide eyed and bushy tailed and I know my alarm is going off at 5:30 AM. To add insult to injury when he goes to sleep at 12:00 AM he will wake up around 4:00 AM to 4:30 AM. That means sleep from then until the alarm has a snowball's chance in Helsinki, wait, not quite, maybe a snowball's chance in Death Valley.

Enough of me whining about missing sleep.

We have also been learning to (and when I say we, I really mean Monica) do several new things related to Everett's care. He wears a device in his mouth to help prepare his lips and nose for surgery and it also helps to pull his palate together. It is amazing to see the changes it is making to his face.

These pictures show (1) the NAM mouth device inserted in the mouth with the taping that pulls his lips together, (2) what his face looks like with the device out and the tape off (still has the skin tape on), and (3) a closer look at how much the right of his nose is opening up.

The NAM mouth device props up his nose on the right side where it used to be collapsed. It also makes his nose more symmetrical.