Today was THE day.

Today is THE day I have been waiting 22.5 years for.  Today is the day that changed my life.  Ya really, it is.  Not in the way like getting married or having a baby changes your life- but in a different way.  I have had a large birthmark (on my left arm, most of my back, a little on my chest, and from just below my knee down on my leg).  I am really wishing I had taken "before" pictures- but I really didn't think about it. 

Dr. only did a portion of my birthmark today.  He said he wanted to see I responded to the laser.  He did my upper arm and upper back today. 

First, it was not exactly the best feeling in the world- it hurt.  When Dr did my arm he had the laser on a 6, and that didn't really hurt at all, but when he did my back, he bumped it up to a 7 and that hurt pretty bad.  He finished up with a 6.5 on the rest of my back.  (I really have no idea what these numbers mean- other than a 7 hurt worse than a 6). 

Right after, it was really "stingy" and the spots were raised- and I have just been told the spots are called purpura.  I have been putting ice on the purpura all day, and it helps.  Right now I feel like I have a really bad sunburn. 

The purpura will last for up to 2 weeks and I will be ready for another treatment in 3-4 weeks.  I can't wait to see what it looks like when the purpura fades- and even with how painful it was, I am looking forward to the next treatment, I know (or at least I hope) with every treatment, my birthmark will get lighter and lighter and smaller and smaller. 

In case you would like to see, pics of "after" the treatment:  (these were immediately after so I am swallen)

You can clearly see the difference between the 7 (on back) and 6 (on arm),  I am hoping that with a little better pain management that I can have it all done with a 7 next time. 

Colton Stands!

It seems like Colton is doing new things everyday now!  Today he crawled over the couch, and pulled himself up to stand!  AND AND AND... I got it on video!  Not because I knew he was going to do this, but because he playing on the floor making the cutest sound :-)

mall monday

I had the best time today with my playgroup at the mall :)  coltonColton was so good and after the playdate, we went shopping and he fell asleep.  what a sweet heart he is.  I'm definitely looking forward to Wednesday's playdate.

Colton's 9 Month Check up was Today :-)

He is getting so big! 
Here are the "stats" from his 9 Month Check up:
Height: 28.5 inches (75%)
Weight: 20.14 lbs (50%)
Head Circumfrence 48.5 cm (which is huge)
Chest Circumfrence 48 cm
Temp: 98.2 F

He is FINALLY normal and not in the 90th% (or higher)! 

Dr. D gave me some advice on getting him to sleep through the night, and well I tried it and an hour later he is sleeping, but I am wide awake :-) 

I can take the crying, but Adam can't-- so it is hard to "stay tough" when someone is telling you to go and get him up and rock him.  He absolutely would not back to sleep, so after an hour of going in and trying to soothe him- I got him up, changed him, fed him and he is sleeping like a baby now :-)

Colton is CRAWLING!!

My Little Guy is a crawler now!!  I just can't believe it!  He has been "mobile" for about a month now, scooting himself where he wants to go.  But now he is belly up off the ground, crawling where he wants to go!  I am so proud of him :-D

Colton's First Easter

Wow!  What a busy day!  First, look how nice Adam and Colton look for Easter :-) 

We started out a little late, as usual, but we made it to church!  Colton is getting to the age that he can't sit through the entire service so smart daddy took him to one of the Sunday School rooms instead of the Nursery so Colton would not be exposed to all the germs from the other kids :-) 

Than we went to Grandma Marlene's and Grandpa Ken's for Easter Lunch with Adam's family.  Colton really enjoyed the Easter Egg hunt!  And Myleigh helped him find some eggs too :-)

(and of course that wasn't our only stop) NEXT we went to my Aunt Cindy's for Easter Dinner with my family.  It would be nice if it really were Easter "dinner" but really it was lunch.  Adam's family had Easter at 1 PM and my family had it at 2 PM... lovely right? 

THAN after that, we went to my mom's so Colton could get his Easter presents from Grandma Melissa and Grumpy Ron.  He got a lot of really nice presents for Easter but I was especially excited about the Recordable book from my mom. 

It is so nice that he somewhat knows what is going on now.  :-)

Back from Virginia Beach

It was SO nice to get away for a few days and just relax, just the three of us.  We took some nice walks to the beach and went out for a few nice meals, but mostly we just stayed around the hotel.  It is hard to vacation like we used to with a little one in tow.  We have to work around naps, feedings and bedtime now. 

We did get to check out the Aquarium, and I was SUPER excited to meet a fellow "bumpie" Kathleen (or Firefightersbride as some of you may know her).  She and Will joined us for our day trip.  I think the babies enjoyed all the pretty fish and us moms (and Adam) enjoyed chatting about our little ones. 

Virginia beach has been wonderful. going to the aquarium today :$

All Packed up

Well, my lovely family is all packed up to go on our little getaway to Virginia Beach.  I really hope we have a nice trip.  :-) 

Colton Said his first word today!

Colton Said "Dada" Today. 

1. I am SOOO excited to hear him talk.  And it was totally unexpected.
2.  I am SOOO sad he didn't say MaMa first :o(

Funny, he said it to Adam first, and I didn't believe him.  I seriously thought he was just making it up.  Than I was changing Colton's Diaper and he said "Da--- Dada" and I was like-- oh he's just babbleing-- and well now, that is ALL HE SAYS-- all day long he was saying "dada". 

Hopefully Mama will be soon :-)

Plastic Surgeon today...

Colton has a little skin tag on his ear so we took him to the plastic surgeon today to talk about getting it removed.

Here is how it went: Well first the Dr. asks who the patient is- I point to the little one :-)

And he says, "Oh I can see why already, and I see several issues"-- I am like WHAT?!  He proceed to point out the ripples along the cartlidge on his ear.  First, I didn't even notice those as a "defect" and secondly, who is going to "fix" those a baby? 

Obviously, we only discussed his skin tag today.  Which we can't do the sting thing because there is cartlidge in the skin tag, so it will need to be cut off. 

He said we can either do it with him awake, or put him sleep.  I really do not want my baby under anastesia, but I also do not want him to go through the trama of being held down for this minor procedure, so we opted to put him under for the surgrey.  He will not need an IV or anything and the surgrey will take no more than 5 minutes.  He will have the surgrey done in April, so he will be 9 months old. 

Well- for those of you who know me IRL, you probably noticed I have birthmarks, and a lot of them.  So that was brought up today at the plastic surgeon's office.  He actually noticed and thought I was breaking out in hives-- like most people do.

I talked to him about having them lasered off.  Well- it would be WAY too expensive for me to pay for it, so he is going to submit it to my insurance for review.  If they accept, which he doubts they will, than I will DEFINITELY have my birthmarks removed. 

I was thinking today, if they were removed, how much it would change my life.  If you do not have birthmarks like mine, than you do not know AT ALL what I am talking about.  And it is easy for the doctor and Hubby to say :: they are barely noticable:: ::you are lucky it is as light as it is:: and I am lucky that my birthmarks are not darker or on my face or worse-- but it is still something I have had to live with for 22 years. 

Okay, back to WHY I it would change my life.  You know when you meet someone who has a deformity or a scar or what ever and you do not mean to stare or you purposely look away.  This is how I feel ALL THE TIME- at first people do not notice the "purple arm" or the red splotchy back, but it only takes a few minutes and they do.  They almost like "study" it, wonder what is "wrong" with my arm.  Some rude people come out and ask, "is something wrong with your arm"  or will say "I think you have a rash" or I love this one in the summer time "You must have been out in the sun, you have sunburn"-- no it's not sunburn because this never goes away. 

I do not feel like an "ugly" person- I think I am an average looking girl, but I FEEL like people look at me like something is wrong with me. 

I wish I knew what it was like to BE a normal person all my life, and not have "over 1000 cms" of birth mark on my body-- and the Dr didn't even see my leg, or the Birthmark on my breast-- I think I would have had much more self esteem, and felt much better about myself during those awkward teenage years. 

I prayed EVERYDAY that my son would not have birthmarks like mine.  And I AM LUCKY he doesn't.  In my eyes, he is perfect and I AM LUCKY to have him.

All I can do is pray that the insurance will cover the surgrey, because I have been waiting 22 years to be "normal". 

So I broke down today

All the thoughts of Colton's birthday coming up really hit me while I was driving home today.  It is hard to believe he will be 8 months old this week.  It seems like just yesterday we were in the hospital with our brand new baby, now he is moving around, babbleing, and growing up way too fast.

First Teething Biscut!

Long Week--

Well, lets start off with YAY for another POTW win!  Above is the picture I entered.  :-)

Colton has been under the weather since Tuseday.  Fever and runny nose.  Now the poor guy has a hacking cough.  The pediatrican is seeing him tomorrow (hopefully in the morning), so we just have to get through tonight :-(  Poor little guy can't sleep because of his stuffy/runny nose and now this aweful cough. 

I did go see the counselor yesterday.  She is really nice.  Although I don't feel much better yet, she did say a lot of the same things other people are saying about DH.  Of course she only has my view on things, but hopefully he will eventually come with me. 

Yay for POTW Win!

Colton won 1st place in thebump's POTW (Pic of the week) contest this week.  Here is the pic I entered:

The Theme was "Daddy Dressed Me"

I put "Daddy forgot to dress me"  LOL

I love this little buddy :-*

dear colton,
wow!! today you were 7 months old! you are getting so big, and so cute! I love you Colton!
love, mom

well the lc, yevvon, advised me to give Colton his paci instead of getting him up and feeding him. he did go back to sleep with this method, but he woke up several times. hopefully each night will get better:)

today I met my group member, Jamie at panera, colton tagged along. he was so cute. I just love his laugh and his smile. funny how when he smiles, everything seems to be okay again. he is the light of my life- the only thing that really matters. Colton was overall pretty good though. he just wanted to be held. :).

looking forward to amandas pampered chef party next monday!! can't wait!

Colton is so smart!

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Colton's eyes look very brown today, could they be turning brown??

Actually DRINKING juice!

Today at "dinner" I gave Colton his juice in his Nuby cup.  Usually he bites it to make the juice come out- well not today!  He was actually DRINKING from the cup :-)  What a big boy he is getting to be!  He LOVES his toys- everyone is always say about how their little one doesn't actually play with toys.  Well not Colton, he will play with EVERYTHING!  It is funny to watch how much he concentrates on one thing. 

A little side note about other exciting thing that happened today:
I got my free mousepad in the mail today!  I was SUPER excited!  It came out very nice!  I also got an e-mail from MySavings saying they accepted me as an affiliate, which is AWESOME!  I will probably be spending the evening setting that up on my other blog ( jessicalovestosavemoney.blogspot.com ). 
I now have 50 followers on my other blog! 

Plaster Hand Print Today

Oh Boy!  Colton just didn't understand LOL.  But I did get 1 okay hand print-  he kept trying to "grab" the plaster.  What a cutie!  lol.  I think his favorite part was washing his hands in the sink afterwards.  He has never done that before so he was trying to play in the water. 

Of course he had the plaster everywhere so washing hands wasn't good enough- he had to have another bath!  But we had a good time making it!  I will definitely have him do it again on his 1st Birthday!  Maybe than he will understand a little better. 

Colton is starting to "scoot" around while he is laying on his belly- he can easily move in circle and roll from tummy to back.  Which he did SO many times today LOL. 

Avacado-- YUCK

Well I haven't given any to Colton yet-- but I cut it open and decided to taste it, I had to spit it out and than get a drink to get the nasty taste out of my mouth!  I guess I will make it tonight- add a little breastmilk for flavor, and see what he thinks- 

I received my review stuff from Lansinoh in the mail today!

On my other blog Jessica Loves to Save Money Lansinoh is sponsoring a Review and Giveaway!  I have been SUPER excited about this!  And yesterday FedEX dropped off a package from them!  They gave me nursing pads, soothies, and diaper rash cream to try out and review.  Today I took pics of everything, opened it up and checked everything out!  Now I can't wait until Colton Wakes up so I can try out the diaper rash cream :-)

Picture People is Closing :-(

Admanda, Madelyn, and Amanda's sister Emily came to visit Thursday!  We had a great time!  And while we were at the mall we stopped in Picture People so that Amanda could get Madi's picture taken.  And while we were there I learned Picture People will be closing on Sunday! 
I am SO sad!  I have only been there 4 times, but everytime I have come out with great photos!  Unfortunitely many stores in the Eastwood mall are closeing- it was disclosed that they are raising they lease fees and many stores just aren't willing to over pay.  It is sad that they worked so hard to remodel and it finally "looks" nice-- and now they aren't going to have stores that bring customers to their mall. 

Pics From Picture People:

Let me count thy ways...

Dear Colton,
There are so many things I love about you, you are the light of my life and I am so thankful for you!

I love the way you look at me and smile every time.
I love the way you are so intent on things (the remote or your toys).
I love the way you laugh if I "cough" at you.
I love your giggle.
I love your tiny toes and chubby feet.
I love the way you can sit up really well-until you get excited and you forget to keep your balance.
I love the way you jump so hard in your jumperoo.
I love your slobbery kisses.
I love your toothless smile.
I love how you bite the sippy cup lid instead of sucking out the juice. (you still drank a 1/2 cup of juice this way today)
I love how you will hold your self up at tummy time, than suddenly you get lazy and just lay face first on the floor until I pick up.
I secretely love spending time with you at 4:30 in the morning- even if I have to sacrifice some sleep. 
I love how you always know where your "food" is and will eat any chance you get.  (my greedy little man lol)
I love the way you "hug" me even though I am pretty sure you just want to pull my hair.
I love holding while you are peacefully sleeping.
I love watching you sleep.
I love wondering "what is he thinking?"
I love the way you bite/attack Sophie.
I love it when I read you books and you insist on holding the book- even though than it makes it very difficult to read the book.
I love the way you instantly stop crying if I play "Strawberry Wine" and sing along for you.
I love it when I feed you and it's like you just can't wait for me to get the next bite to you.
I love every moment I get to spend with you.
I love when I give you a bath, you splash most of the water out of the tub (either on me or the carpet).
I love when I give you a bath how excited you get- your legs kicking like crazy.
I love how calm you are in the swimming pool- I can tell you love the water.
I love how chunky you look in your swim suit :-)
I love you VERY chunky thighs.
I love how you are always happy.
I love how you love my kisses! 
I love your chubby cheeks!
I love your bright eyes.
I love how you chew on your blankey.
I love how you like to chew on my fingers.
I love how anything I have you want it-- cell phone, or the key board like right now :-)
I love everything about you!

I Love You,
Mommy

PS There are so many more but you just woke up and require my attention right now :-)

Colton had his shots today :-(

Well I posted earlier (via my phone) Colton's stats for the Pediatrician appointment today- but I just wanted to let you know the other important details. 

FIRST- Omg, who would have thought that little chunker would have weighed in at UNDER 20 LBS!!  I certainly didn't!  His little chubs were hanging off the side of the scale, it was so cute!  :-)  Adam is still saying he thinks the scale was wrong- I'm sure it was correct though. 
It is seriously such a relief that he is starting to slow down, he is now in the 85% for his age- which is much better than 95% and 94% like before ;-) 

I got the okay for juice- Dr. says he doesn't NEED it, but if I want to give him some variety, juice is okay.  Adam and I need to go to Target to get him a Nuby sippy cup (and another mesh feeder too) - I want him to try that cup first.  And Dr. also said he can start on the Stage 2 foods that have 2 ingredients (Apple/pear)- Colton tried AppleBlueberry today, and LOVED IT!  YAY!  for new foods :-)

My mom taught Colton to "cough" last week- and yesterday she babysat so now he is "coughing" all the time.  Of course he wouldn't cough for the nurse today.  Why don't babies perform on conmand!  LOL. 

Just yesterday and today, Colton has started to really be able to balance himself sitting up.  I still can't leave his side while he is sitting up, but I have a feeling that day is coming very soon!

My little man is really growing up :-(/ :-)

Well, apparently this is national "De-Lurking Week" in the blog realm. Well it means it is time to come out of the closet!  If you lurk here frequently and don't post, here is your chance!  Feel free to comment, ask questions, or just say "hi!".  Say anything you'd like, no hard feelings here :-)

So what do you wanna know?? :)

Thanks, Mamma Maven in the Making for this idea!

Colton had his drs appointment: height 27.5 inches (75%), 19.2 lbs (85%), head circumfrence 46 cm, chest circumfrence 49 cm- growing strong!

testing from my phone :)

6 Months in Photos

Colton is getting SO big!  It is hard to believe he used to be so tiny.  The past 6 months have flown by, and I don't really know where the time has gone.  Colton laughs ALL THE TIME.  He rolls over, when he feels like it ;-).  His favorite activity is his jumperoo, oh wait... actually his favorite activity is nursing lol, which is probably why he is so chubby.  He loves to read with "Mama" and snuggle up.  Some toys he LOVES are Sophie the Giraffe, v-tech baby lap top, Elmo Live, V-tech learn and discover steering Wheel, soothing seahorse, and My Pal Scout. 

I just love my little man <3

Birth Weight 6 lbs 13 oz    ------------------- 6 Months weight >20 lbs

(Galen's B-day)

(He's crying because the browns stink)

My Birthday (10/6/09)

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Styffeller Christmas Party

Chase and Colton Checking each other out

Best Friends Visit Santa Together

My very Own Tractor!

I can open all my own presents, TY very much!

6 Months Old!