i told the witch doctor, i was in love with you...

as smiley as he is in this picture... he certainly wasnt at the begining of our stay! we originally were going to the dr. to get him checked out. he was having extreme temperatures of 102-104 WITH tylenol and ibeprophen. so we were worried about an infection. we were hoping we were going to get to go, get a blood test, and be on our merry way. they decided that they were going to do a shunt tap, and get a bacterial/viral culture. oh, my. i pray none of you ever ever have to witness a shunt tap. it was an absolutely horrible most aweful thing that a mother could go through. but, we got it done (and a big THANK YOU to my sweet cousin nort who came with and was able to sit with him through the 2nd shunt tap attempt, after i had to leave because i just couldnt bear it again. ) so after that, the dr's decided it'd be best for them to run more tests, so we were admitted until they could say that we were safe to go home. immediately after his mri, he had started breaking out in small (pimple size) red dots... we werent entirely sure what was going on. by that after noon it was a bitmore hive-ish. by the next morning he had huge welts. on his ears, cheeks, nose, in his hair line. his back, and his tummy. by this time, his temp had FINALLY after 5 days, broken! all of our cultures came back negartive (which confirmed it was viral) after some studying, and more tests they were able to find he had roseola. so it was good to finally have answers, but stunk that, there wasnt anything we could do about it.
as for a shunt update, the shunt tap didnt quite yield the results they were hoping. they couldnt get a lot of fluid (which is what they use to test for things) and that was both good and bad. good, because the shunt quit working (because it doesnt have to!!!) how great is that!!!!!!! bad, because they had to think, and review and evaluate if they needed to replace it. they feel confident that he shouldnt need a new one. so they will continue to observe him, via mri results, and once he is older/stronger, he should be able to have it removed!!!

i again, want to thank my cousin for being able to come with me. kyle wasnt able to go, which was hard on both of us! he and leon stayed home, which was probably for the best. because of leons age he wouldnt be allowed on the floor so we would have had to rent a room, and lord knows what we could have done to occupy him! all of the thoughts, the texts, the calls, checking on our little colt. it was once again, overwhelming to know how many of you think and pray for him!!! thank you from the bottom of our hearts! and i cant explain, how happy i was to wake up this morning next to kyle. and then, go to the kitchen and peek in ljs room and see him. sleeping with his tushy in the air. and know that colt is safe in sound, in his room too. our family has been through a lot, but we will continue to knock down any barrier that comes in our way :)

see? how could that NOT warm your heart?

Its my Party and I'll cry if i want to...

It's official. My "baby" isnt my baby anymore.

Little Colten, our Miracle who stressed us out more than we thought possible, little champ, is now, a toddler. although he doesnt "toddle" much, its a sad, happy moment for mommy. im so happy he's growing into such a little man. every milestone for him is twice as "BIG" as it usually would be. im still sad he isnt my baby anymore. He isnt walking, or even attempting to do it (on his own) if he is feeling brave he will scale the furniture but thats about it. So we are waiting patiently for that moment :)

so, THE BIRTHDAY! we were blessed to have a lot of friends and family join us for his Birthday party!!! Colten just LOVED ripping off the giftwrap!!! (Christmas should be fun, since we have to bribe LJ to open his gifts... little weirdo  <3 ) We couldnt have asked for a better day! Lots of food, laughs, and TREATS! Colten wasnt entirely sure of the whole singing happy birthday deal, but once he saw the flame for the candle he was excited! then, he realized he got to EAT the cupcake :)  The pic i posted was him eating the cake he got ON his actual BIRTHDAY. not the day of the party. it was a white cake, with cookie monster eating mini cookies, wishing him a happy birthday. oh. and did i mention that the i made the famous sesame street- street sign, except it was a custom street sign, with the name colten. yea... im THAT good. at the party we had sesame street cake pops, and sesame street cupcakes. it was a great day and we couldnt have asked for better people to share that day, the last year, our whole lives with <3 love you friends and family. to the moon and back!!!!!!

ok, ok. after writing how "good" i am... i suppose i better enclose a pic of these miraculous treats :)

so, feast your eyes on sesame street deliciousness.

Brought to you by the letter Y. Yummy!

oops. thats really small. but i dont know how to work this blog thingy yet, so sorry, its gunna have to stay that way :s   Stay tuned as we will certainly have more blogs to come. For sure for LJ's birthday, but who knows... maybe even one before then :)

In memory of Caylee

If you have tv. a radio. facebook. twitter... any type of contact to media/news, you wont "wonder" about what i blog about today. today, it is about ms. caylee anthony. today, at 1:15 a verdict, a very shocking verdict of not guilty spread "like wildfire" across the nation. Casey was found not guilty of first degree murder. not guilty of childabuse... i can only say, how. how can this be? how can such evidence be found... such increminating evidence, leave someone to believe that she is NOT guilty? my heart breaks for this little girl who has no "justice". i as a mother could NEVER. in my wildest dreams. even fathom doing something like that to a child, let alone, MY OWN child. that poor little girls life was cut short. Even if she was not guilty- how could a mother... who knows her child was missing, go out. party. not report it. not search night and day.... to me, not doing anything when seeing something bad happening, is just as bad as diong it yourself.  its just aweful. but what can we do? (other than sit in shock). well... all i ask is that we, try to show our respect for caylee. not only caylee, but every child who has been treated poorly. abused. and even, murdered. i would do anything to protect my children. i would die for my children. so to my followeres. to my readers. i ask this of you today... if youre a parent. an aunt, or uncle. a godparent, or a grandparent. even if you are a neighbor of a child... today, give them a special hug. a kiss. tell them you love them. children are a blessing. not everyone are ever blessed with one. some, have them and dont appreciate them. so today, please, appreciate children. every child. let them know how much they impact our lives. in presence and when they are gone.... today lets remember ms caylee. she has impacted many. at such a young age. with such a tragic way... she wont be forgotten...