I figured I should post one last time before we become parents of two kids! I am being induced on Thursday (although I thought & hoped baby boy #2 would be here before then), and we are incredibly excited! The last 6-8 weeks have been an interesting transition for us as we learn to live with our 'new normal.' Our 'new normal' has introduced us to living with a new diet, living with an ostomy (I'll let you google it if you don't know what it is), and living with a hugely different perspective on life...in a good way. So, I think everyone knows by this point that my husband had a digestive disorder for the past 9.5 years that we could not get under control with conventional medication. Shortly after we moved back to Tulsa, we discovered we were out of options on medications (and quite frankly, did not feel comfortable with the remaining medications offered to us...side effects known to cause cancer). So, surgery was the final option & really the only "cure." So, we've gone through part one of a two-part surgery...part one removes the colon & creates an ostomy. Part two will occur after the small intestine has healed & removes the ostomy (thank goodness...while we are relieved for him to not be dealing with the pain of disease, living with an ostomy is rather challenging at times). We have learned so much through this process & we find it quite amazing that it takes what we feel is was a tragedy to learn to appreciate the right things in life. And to prioritize accordingly. I've mentioned before that one of the many reasons we wanted to move back to Tulsa was to lead healthier lives, but we had NO idea that this was the path we would be sent down. The old adage of 'if you don't have your health, you don't have anything' is incredibly truthful, powerful & not to be underestimated. So, onward we march with hopes for a healthier future, physically, spiritually, emotionally.
As I write this post, Cole is trying to put on his daddy's flip flops...and he put them on correctly! He never fails to impress me on the things he picks up on & what he has learned! Everyday with Cole is truly a treasure...he is so much fun to be around (except for the glimpses of the terrible-twos...haha!). He is walking like a pro & is actually running! When he first learned to walk, you could see in his eyes & in his step that the boy wanted to RUN! Well, after weeks of tripping, bruises & bumps, he finally knows how to run (albeit with the chest & belly stuck forward & on his tip-toes...its super cute!). His vocabulary grows by the week (he now says mama, dada, dog, zoe, milk, wheel, geese and a few others that are unintelligible, but we get the point). I found this cool website for ASL & they have a whole section for babies...it's amazing how much easier it is to communicate with him using sign language. My goal was to teach him one new one each week...well, I failed on that ;) But, we've got the 3 down that we use the most...milk, down & more. Here's the link: http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/aslpro.cgi
Cole has also learned to climb...he is quite the little monkey! But, I figure it's good exercise for him :) He's also learned to dance! If our connection wasn't so slow (I'm cheap & won't purchase the faster connection..haha!), I would upload a video of him dancing...he is quite the entertainer! We're also teaching him body parts & his favorite is his belly (he likes to pull up his shirt, just like every other kid, but he also likes to try & pull mine up too...not so cute!). He also likes to point out eyes, so if you hold him, be sure you don't get a little finger in your eye-he hasn't quite picked up on the 'don't poke other people's eye' lesson even though we go through it on a daily basis!
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