A lot of pictures to catch up.

These days get away from me so quickly. They are good days and long days and hard days and faster than fast days. 

As of right this minute, Benjamin is 8 and growing so much. Not just in size, but he is literally growing up and it's so bittersweet! He is such a good helper. He started playing baseball. He's in second grade and ready for summer! He loves science and reading things about science. He wants to work for NASA when he grows up. Benjamin wanted to make some money to save up for something, so he started cleaning out storm shelters for $10 on the weekends! He made $45 and was able to buy his long awaited technology device!

Andrew is 5, going on 15. But he will really be 6 in just a few weeks! It's been harder for me to watch Andrew get older than B.  I suppose you anticipate your older to always be older.  But Andrew growing is just a humble reminder that they don't stay babies. Andrew loves to play and play hard. He likes ninjas and legos and dressing up in whatever he thinks looks cool that day. He is in preK, but thinks he is in high school. ;) He usually styles his hair just so. 

Elise is 3 and we will survive it, I just know it! Somedays she seems so little and other days she must be closer to 23 that we realize. She loves helping and taking care of/bossing Caleb around. Although, she is also terrified of Caleb because he hits and bites her. Elise has a mind of her own and knows her opinions well. She loves babies and clothes and her blankie. She is a great sleeper and still sucks her thumb. She is a lover and so very compassionate and sweet. Her favorite color is pink, her favorite animal is an elephant and her favorite movie is Sing. Also, she misses nothing ever. 

Caleb is 20 months and quite a character.  He loves hard and plays hard and throws tantrums hard. He loves to be held and trying to keep up with the big kids. He sleeps pretty good and eats pretty poorly.  If he has no snacks whatsoever, he will eat great -- but he's always hungry and gets snacks. Caleb is the reason our pantry door is rigged closed :) Caleb is funny and has great rhythm. He loves monkeys and his blankie and his paci. Caleb gets so angry and also gives the sweetest hugs and kisses. 

Below is a random assortment of pictures from the last 3-4 months! :) 

I went to Chicago with KM and it rained. 

BUT we saw Hamilton, so best weekend no matter what. 

Caleb is destructive. 

Elise and Caleb love bathrooms. Bleh and ugh.

Elise loves to paint my nails and loves when I do hers!

Tea time with my girl.

They have a super sweet and super stressful relationship. I'm really glad they have each other!

See note about pantry above in Caleb's section. 

Making the most of daily chaos.

I literally think Elise is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. 

Benjamin enjoys helping in the kitchen and creating. 

Taking the baby thing to a new level.

First job, first pay!

Learning that saying "I'm bored" over and over will lead you to work. 

Caleb is ONE!

How can it be that our sweet Caleb is already ONE?! You can read his birth story here, if you want! He is a delight to our family and we all enjoy him.  He never lacks attention or help or whatever he wants, really.

Caleb is 20.5 pounds and 28 3/4 long -- by far our smallest baby by this time. BUT he's growing normally and super cute. He crawls everywhere and climbs when he can. He really enjoys stairs when he has the chance. He pulls himself up and is so pleased with himself each time.

He smiles at almost anyone.  He waves and points and claps.  He has four teeth and two that are on the way. He eats just about anything and likes snacks and water. His favorite things to eat are fig bars, meat and fruit. That seems pretty well rounded to me!

He loves his paci and blankets.  He likes being held and really loves me a lot. Not complaining at all. Because the feeling is mutual. He enjoys seeing daddy and snuggling with him.  Caleb loves having big brothers and they are super great to him and with him. Benjamin and Andrew always ask to hold him! Elise thinks she is the best momma and that I'm disposable. She didn't come out and say that, but her actions speak louder than words. {I'm laughing so much right now, but I'm also being completely honest!} She loves to care for Caleb and, truly, she does it well.

Here are some pictures to mark year ONE! We love this boy and are so very grateful that he is ours. The Lord was kinder than we deserve to give us this gift!!!

Side view of that restructured noggin! 

Caleb's 4 months post surgery follow up/update!

It's hard to believe that four months ago we were barely on the other side of Caleb's skull surgery.  We had just celebrated Thanksgiving and were trying to find a rhythm to life.  And I was most certainly starting to get a little stir crazy from being home all the time.

Four months ago, we watched as God's hand took what was suppose to be a long and rigid ride and made it a smooth sailing recovery. We had NO clue that Caleb would heal as well and as quickly as he did.  He had no clue, honestly, what to expect of him as he recovered.  {He was pretty delightful -- all things considered and took recovery like a champ!}

Right before surgery 11/19/2015 ~ Follow up appt 03/22/2016

God is faithful. God is kind. God answers prayers.
Never, ever stop believing that!
And Caleb will always be a brave soul and a little hero to me.

As a recap:  
*We were suppose to be in the hospital 3-4 days, it could have been up to 6. We were in the hospital for 48 hours.  Literally, we were driving away from the hospital 48 hours after I first stepped foot into the recovery room to see Caleb post surgery.

*Caleb's head and face didn't swell like it was suppose to.  He had minimal swelling the day after surgery and we were told it would get worse before it ever got better. We were prepared for Caleb's eyes to swell shut for a few days.  But that never happened. His swelling only went down and got better by two days post surgery!

*Caleb needed nothing more than tylenol to ease pain at home.  And that was only for five or six days.

*The area on the back of his head that retained all the fluid post surgery {which we affectionately called the "water bed"} was suppose to take around 8 weeks to reabsorb into his head.  We watched that little pocket of fluid dissolve completely by 11 days post surgery.

*Caleb's scar is so light! It's healing so beautifully.  Once his hair grows in a little more, you may never notice it.

L/R: immediately after surgery/one month before surgery/
both bottom pictures March 2016, 4 months post surgery

We saw Dr. Yaun last week and she was so delighted by Caleb's healing! She was also pretty delighted by Caleb himself :) Prior to this visit, she only knew Caleb from being 2-4 months old.  A seven month old is way more fun!

She commented on how well he is healing and that he seems to have NO developmental delays so far. She gave me some interesting stats on other types of craniosynostosis. I found out that, for whatever reason, saggital craniosynostosis rarely leads to delays. I was so glad to hear this and grateful that God was moving in Caleb's development.

Caleb's head does still have a little "point" to it in the back.  Obviously that wasn't the area of the skull she focused on removing, so there wasn't as much room for expansion back there. You would probably not notice, but I do.  I am aware that I will most likely always been more sensitive to Caleb's head shape and what it looks like than anyone else.

Dr. Yaun saw the "issue" I brought up and said we could do another surgery, but it would only be cosmetic.  That's clearly not something we want.  She also noted that as he grows, his head will likely expand a little more and it may become completely unnoticeable.  She also said his hair would hide more than just his scar :)

We go back in six months for another follow up and to make sure everything is healing and growing the correct way still.  It's so humbling to know this whole circumstance -- to know it in it's fullness and to know it as a memory. It's humbling and comforting to know grace so deeply and so abundantly.

God amazes me as He alone can heal and shape Caleb's head. He is worthy of all our praise.  His delicate handiwork on our sweet Caleb was no mistake and is not ever a defect in our eyes.  Caleb's craniosynostosis was a gift -- a hard and humbling and overwhelming and faith-filling gift.

Just a few recent pictures of Caleb so you can see how his head is changing and growing!