Visit from Gramz

Jeremy's mom, aka Mom Z, aka Gramz, came to visit and help us during the last week of April (Tues-Sat). It was perfect timing because I had a school performance to direct that week, and Tanner got his DOC Band, so we needed a lot of help.

On Tuesday night, we took Mom to the farmer's market on Main Street in Huntington Beach. It's one of our favorite things to do!

On Weds, Tanner got his DOC band.
So now a little about the band, aka baby helmet... Tanner was born with a moderate to severe case of plagiocephaly, which means asymmetrical head. The entire back-right side of his head was really flat, caused by limited space in the womb; his head was pressed up against my pelvic bone for about 2 months in utero. This is not uncommon. Babies can also get plagiocephaly after birth by sleeping too much on one side of their head.

Anyway, we waited to see how much his head would round out on its own. Things improved a little, but after 6 months, I still felt like there were major issues. Everyone else, including my pediatrician and Jeremy, felt like it wasn't a big deal. But it bugged me a lot, and I kept getting this nagging feeling that I needed to take him to a specialist. I prayed a lot to know if I was just being overly worried or if this was something that I should be legitimately concerned about. Well, it just so happened that my great friend Chelsea got her baby a DOC band for her flat spot. That was an answer to my prayers, and I was inspired to make an appointment with some specialists.

The cranial specialists said that I've did all I can to keep it from getting worse, but it won't completely improve unless we get a helmet. His right ear, eye and forehead are too far forward, his forehead is sloped, his back right side is flat. Brain, eyes and ears are all normal functioning, but he is at risk for TMJ when older. Also glasses, hats, helmets will never fit correctly unless we get the helmet. Luckily, our insurance covered it, so we got him his band!

He will wear it for 3 months, 23 hours a day, only taking it off for bathtime. I'm sooo glad that MomZ was here when he got the band. I didn't anticipate how much work the first few days would be. Tanner sweat profusely with the band on, so she had to continually clean the band with rubbing alcohol, keep Tanner cool, monitor redness, etc. Luckily, Tanner--once again-- proved to be a great sport with change to his life. Even though he sweat tons, it barely seemed to bug him. We were told the first few nights would be sleepless, but Tanner slept normally without any complaint!  We're still getting used to what he looks like with it on. And it's still pretty loose on him (they said that's normal for the first while), so it falls in front of his eyes a lot. The poor guy has to sit back funny if he wants to see things above him. Thanks so much to Gramz for taking care of him those first few difficult days! She even watched him on Friday night while Jeremy and I went on a date to the temple!!

On Saturday, we all went to the LA Natural History Museum. Jeremy got in free for being a USC student. I got in free for being a teacher. Tanner got in free cuz he's a baby. Gramz ALMOST got in free for being a senior, but she still has 12 more years to reach their minimum age! 

 Tanner loved all the sights.

It was interesting to witness how people reacted to Tanner's helmet. Some people acted normal and said "what a cute baby", others just stared, some looked at us and then quickly looked away, and many kids passed us asking their parents about it. Some kids just flat out asked me "What's that thing on his head?" I love how children are so honest, it makes life easier. Without taking offense, I would tell them, "His head has a flat spot, so this helmet helps his head grow round." At church, everyone was worried it was a cast because his scull cracked open, haha.

 Dinosaur footsteps!

 My favorite was the rock exhibit!!

Out in the rose and flower garden.

Tanner had a blast with his Gramz all week. Not only did he play tons with her, he learned a lot from her, too. They played out on the grass everyday, went for walks, read books, sang songs and shopped at Target. Gramz taught him to say "uh-oh!" He now crawls around or eats toys while saying "AH-ohhh" and "UH-owe" over and over. She also taught Tanner how to play Peek-a-boo. The day after Mom left, I was changing Tanner's diaper. He grabbed a nearby blanket and slowly covered his eyes. Then he threw down his arms, ripping the blanket off his face. He quickly did this about 3 more times before I realized he was playing Peek-a-boo!  

Here's my favorite picture of the two pals-- studying a piece of grass together. 

We love, love, love you Gramz!! Thanks so much for playing with us and taking care of us!

Spring Outings

Los Angeles ZOO

 During my Spring Break, I went to the Zoo with Taryn, Christie and Christie's daughter. It was super fun because we all teach school together, and Christie's daughter is one of my students! The weather was perfect for us, we got to eat lunch next to the giraffes and lions, and we had lots of time to chat.

 Tanner was a super trooper. He was running a fever the night before and in the morning, but I decided to still go to the zoo. I gave him some tylenol and he did really well until about 3:30, which was perfect because we started leaving the park at 4:00. I knew it was probably better for him to be home, but I decided that life is too short to be sitting at home all the time with a sick baby. At this point, I was pretty sick and tired of ear infections, fevers and canceling all kinds of activities because of snotty noses and amoxicilin. So this time I decided that he was going to be sick no matter what, so we may as well enjoy ourselves watching animals out in the fresh air instead of watching TV cooped up in the house.

 I took the big stroller so that he could lay down for his naps. He actually slept a lot while at the zoo. What a good little baby!

 The Beach with The Nilssons

You might remember that awhile ago, I nannied for the Nilsson family with twin babies and a 2 year old. Well, that was actually 4 years ago! The family moved to Texas and then Utah. But they were in town during my Spring Break, so Tanner and I got to play with them at the beach!! It was so much fun to see how the girls have grown and to see their new baby boy, just 2 months older than Tanner.

 This was the first time that I let Tanner crawl and explore in the sand.

 The beach was FREEZING the day we went. So we huddled together under our towels.

 We warmed ourselves up with some hot chocolate at Johnny Rockets.

 The Twins, Brielle and Zoey! So grown up!

Above- Little Rylie is now 6 years old! Below-Tanner and Ryker had a fun time watching each other and playing in the sand together.

 Duffy Boat Trip- Newport Harbor

 Tanner and I were invited to ride on our friends' duffy boat! It's a little comercial boat with a motor, comfy seats, hooded top and plastic windows. It is only intended to ride around the harbor and up the river. We went with three other families from church, and it was super fun.

 We saw tons of pelicans, fish, seals and sea lions. These huge guys were just chilling on someone's dock!

Family Bike Ride to the Beach 

 Last Saturday, Jeremy and I rode our bikes to the beach with Tanner. It's about a 2.5 mile bike ride one way. We had a super fun time. We shopped at the street market, played in the sand, and ate a bunch of snacks. It was our first family time playing with Tanner in the sand.

 

Tanner loved watching the sand fall through his fingers. I was surprised though, he didn't try to eat the sand very much. I think it's because we stayed where the sand is dry, so all of it would fall out of his fingers before getting into his mouth.

Easter!

Easter is my favorite holiday. This year, we got to spend Easter Eve with Desha and the Summer cousins! It was especially nice to be with them shortly after Grandpa's memorial. The holiday was a beautiful (and needed) reminder of The Resurrection and that we will all be resurrected, too.

On Good Friday, I ate Hot Cross Buns. Yummy! But no one else liked them.
On Easter Eve, I served fish with honey sauce because Jesus ate fish and honeycomb with his apostles after he was resurrected. Desha made the sauce for the fish. We also had deviled eggs, veggies, salad, fruit and kuskus. For dessert we made and frosted sugar cookies together. Tanner got a taste of the frosting and wasn't too sure about it's texture.

Then, we made history by turning our mirror-wall into a giant game of Pictionary! We used dry erase markers, and drew all over the wall! You could see the drawings pretty well, and it made for some fun laughs. We started playing in teams, but then decided we liked it better just choosing our own words from the deck.

It was funny cuz both Shauna and Desha were really good at it, but in different ways. Shauna chose easy ones to draw and we would guess them within a few seconds. On the other hand, Desha chose the super complicated, abstract ones, and would end up covering the whole mirror with detailed drawings. And we could actually figure it out! 

On Easter Morning, Desha had to leave at the crack of dawn for the airport. Jeremy, Tanner and I went to church. Jeremy got picked up for the airport from church. He went to Kentucky for a school business competition. Tanner and I spent the day singing Easter songs and playing outside. It was a very peaceful Easter!