Batter UP!

Batter UP!

Hunter Sitton at the plate. 

  Yesterday, was casting day. The surgery staff called Thursday afternoon and filled us in on the scheduled time, along with the eating and drinking schedule. Normally, with little ones like Hunter, they ask you to stay in the hospital the night prior to surgery and they begin the casting as early as possible so that the waiting isn't so hard on them. The reason that they call it a casting surgery is that they undergo anesthesia. It's hard to believe that since October, yesterday was the fourth time that Hunter has received anesthesia, which is more than either James or I have had in our lifetimes. 

   Since they fit us into the schedule, his assigned casting time was 1:00 p.m. Since it was later in the day, we didn't have to stay in the hospital over night. but just had to arrive by 9:00 a.m., to fill out paperwork. We were told no food after midnight and no clear liquids after 10:00 a.m. Hard on a little nugget and his hungry tummy.

  Let me just reiterate how much we love Scottish Rite, the hospital, the staff, the ease and speed of things, and the comfort level exuded by the Scottish Rite community. It was a long, tough day, but they made things so wonderfully easy for our family. We checked in and were taken to a private room to relax and then they began the admission process. 

                        Not much to do in a hospital room. Time to start reorganizing the furniture.

  They started by asking us the common questions, checked his height and weight, gave him an I.D. bracelet and put him in a hospital gown. 

Playing with the remote and calling all the nurses.

Catching up on some reading while we wait.

  This sweet face was occupied for about 10 min and then he started to get upset. Who can blame him. I'm sure he was thinking "What are these crazy people doing to me?! I'm in a yellow dress and no one seems to hear that I'm HUNGRY! Where are my pancakes?!"

  They came to walk us down to surgery about 12:00 p.m. Before we made our way down, they had me give him some "goofy juice" by syringe. You would have thought that I was forcing him to eat brussel sprouts and liver with the way we had to hold him down to take the meds. It finally kicked in as we made our way down to the surgery area. He literally looked like he was drunk and then started cracking himself up. We are so blessed, because Hunter is almost always a happy boy. If he's not, you know something is terribly wrong. However, the goofy juice brought "Happy, happy, happy" to a whole new level.

  The nurses took him from my arms and told us that in about 45 minutes that they would page us to come see him. We went and tried to eat for the first time yesterday. James asked if I was okay and ready to give up my "squishy" hugs for the next year or so. I fell in his arms and tried to hold back my tears, I knew Hunter would be okay, but it is so difficult to see your baby in pain. I kept thinking about something that my friend Jules read and posted that I have copied and read over to myself many times from October until now. 

"Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things. Joy is a settled conviction ABOUT God. It's a quiet confidence IN God. And joy is a determined choice to give my praise TO God."

  I went over this phrase in my head as we waited and before I knew it we were being called down to go see our little man. The doctor came and spoke to us and said that everything had gone beautifully and that he was a perfect dream. He was asleep mind you :) We were then paged to go back to recovery to get him. He was crying with his eyes closed and a nurse was trying to comfort him. Apparently, she had tried to give him a bottle of apple juice and he had gotten more agitated. My little man has never really taken a bottle and went to a sippy cup at 6 months, so I can understand why he would be frustrated on top of everything he had just been through. We were all walked back to the room where we were to wait until he was fully awake and then they would conduct a standing X-ray to compare his curve numbers in cast to the numbers pre-cast. He had an IV in his arm, and they were trying to take his blood pressure. He became completely inconsolable and all of my tricks weren't cutting it. I tried to hold him tight, but with the new jacket he was sporting it was more difficult than I expected. James and I looked at each other with fear in our eyes. That was the only moment that we both thought, "Oh my, what have we done?!" Finally, he quieted down and peacefully fell asleep.

  This is the Mehta cast that Hunter now proudly adorns. My friend Katie suggested that it was almost like putting on the armor of God and I thought that was a good way to look at it, because God will certainly make him strong and courageous throughout this process. As you can see, the cast sits above his shoulders like a tank top. The upside down V is the top of a mushroom shaped tummy hole that they leave for expansion during eating and breathing and will allow us to get to him if we should ever have a choking emergency, which I pray that we never have. They place a shirt underneath the cast to protect the skin and it is long enough that it actually pulls down below the cast and wraps back upwards to cover the bottom half. The cast actually sits on his hip bones, so when looking at this picture, the end of the cast is where his diaper begins. Diapering will definitely be a challenge, but we will figure it out. Cast care and cleanliness is essential and any water is out of the question. Probably a little boy's dream...no baths for a year and a half..yes!

    He slept until about 4:15. The nurse came in and took off the drip line and we decided to wake him in order to try to get him to drink some liquids and take the standing X-ray. In my mind I kept thinking, "Don't poke a sleeping bear", but we woke him and he was only semi-angry. He quickly agreed to drink some juice and then we made our way to the X-ray room. James and I supported his arms and legs as he stood for the X-ray. Scottish Rite doesn't mess around. By the time we walked back to our room, our doctor's nurse already had a print out of the X-ray for us to view. We ordered Hunter some chicken nuggets and french fries, because they had to observe him eating before we left for the day to ensure that he didn't get sick.  Next his doctor came in and looked at Hunter sitting in the cast and decided that they needed to trim the edges above his thighs so that it wouldn't rub. They brought in the saw and while it was quick and painless, it was terrifying for Hunter. About that time the fries came in and thank goodness, because everyone knows that nuggets and fries are a cure all for most little boys. The doctor went over the copies of the X-rays with us at this point. 

    Prior to making the trip to Scottish Rite, Hunter had had two X-rays with his previous orthopedic. One X-ray was taken at the end of October and one was taken at the beginning of January. The first number that we were given by the initial ortho, I believe, was 37 degrees. We were told in January that the curve had increased 7 degrees from October until January. Generally curves greater than 20 degrees are observed because they likely may resolve on their own. Curves greater than 20 degrees are addressed with some form of treatment. 

(Mehta casting, while the most gentle and effective cure, is not common practice for all orthopedics. Reason being, a good number of orthopedic surgeons want to do surgery or use casting/bracing as a holding pattern prior to doing surgery. Remember, difference of philosophy. )

If a curve is greater than 40 degrees, it can be decreased, but may never become completely straight, but many get close. If you remember a previous post, I think something like .1% of children with Progressive Idiopathic Infantile Scoliosis have curves greater than 40 degrees. We knew we were probably in the danger zone. The more that I have read and the more parents that I have talked with whose children have this condition, made me have the realization that Hunter's X-rays with the first orthopedic were incorrectly done. An accurate X-ray can be done standing or lying down. The protocol is that the arms must be at the side and not pulled above the head. Duh...that makes sense when you think about it. If the arms are above the head then spine would be lengthened and the curve would appear straighter. His arms were pulled above his head in both previous X-rays. That in and of itself makes me want to scream! Again we are on the best path now, but incompetence makes me furious. Parents, please question what your child's doctor does or doesn't do for their ultimate well being. You are their voice and I can't stress that enough.  

  So, prior to our first X-ray at Scottish Rite, we knew that Hunter's numbers could very likely be much greater than what we had thought they were. His doctor solidified our fears as he told us that his curve was actually 60 degrees pre-cast. However, he also brought great JOY in the same sentence as he told us that his X-ray in cast showed that with the traction and compression of the cast that his curve was 28 degrees! I am tearing up right now as I write this. There is hope. God is good all the time!

                                         X-ray before casting at 60 degrees.

                                              X-ray in cast at 28 degrees.

  We took the little man out of the hospital and are making our way home as we speak. He was a champ last night. A little uncomfortable but that is to be expected. Poor baby will have to relearn how to push himself up, walk, balance, etc. Last night James put Hunter on the floor and he looked like a turtle helplessly stuck on his back. Good thing Aunt Cara is an occupational therapist because we may need some training. I was able to put clothes on him and they seemed to fit. However, he has developed "noassatall" syndrome and I will promptly be buying him some toddler suspenders so that he doesn't show his baby plumber's pants to the world. Again, you've got to laugh when you can.

Love to you all. Thanks for following our little man's journey. Stay tuned for more adventures to come.

2nd inning...Sitton on Deck!

   In preparing for a competition or an upcoming challenge, it is imperative that you have a game plan. That game plan may change depending on the opponent or scenario, but ultimately it's reflective of your personnel and philosophy.
  With Progressive Infantile Scoliosis, the game plan is to seek treatment as soon as possible and preferably before the age of 2. With little nuggets like Hunter, they are growing at a rapid rate, and therefore the scoliosis can rapidly progress without treatment. The sooner you treat it, the better the chances of success. Without treatment, it can lead to a lifetime of problems with deformation of the ribs, reduced lung capacity, etc.
  You've met the personnel, our little man, Hunter, with a fighting heart. Now for the philosophy to beat this condition. PIS is a treatable scenario, but as I said before, it is very time sensitive. The ortho that we met in Houston was all about "wait and see". His philosophy was that you perform treatment as more of a holding pattern and precursor to surgery in the early teen years. I don't know about you, but I would rather come out fighting and try to score first, rather than sit back on defense. (Which, as a side note, is why I love the coaching style of Kevin Sumlin...love me some Aggie football! Whoop!)
  Through research, and information sent to me by Heather Hyatt-Montoya, the founder of ISOP, I learned of the studies of Dr. Min Mehta and her method of casting little ones with infantile scoliosis. Her mindset and philosophy was that with the cast, a child can have a gentle form of correction to guide or retrain the growth of the spine. Dr. Mehta personally trained the doctors at Scottish Rite. They adhere the Mehta torso casts in succession for a period of time determined by the severity of the curve and progress of the child. Each cast stays on a child for an average of about 8 weeks. Prior to being admitted to Scottish Rite, I had already made up my mind and heart that that was where we were supposed to be. We must allow him to be treated in the best environment possible in the most least invasive way,

February 19th  came...Sitton on Deck!

  Our consultation appointment with our doctor at Scottish Rite was early Wednesday morning. We made our way to the hospital and were instantly impressed with everyone we came in contact with. It was like being welcomed with open arms into a small town. We were escorted back to the Olympics themed waiting area (how timely and coincidental) and they began by checking his height, weight, and circumference of his head. Little man loves to be tickled but detests being poked and prodded. They measured the circumference of his head and he immediately pulled the tape off of his head and whined as if it were a terrible thing. Wearing a hat at this point in time is completely out of the question, but Daddy is still working on it.
     We were then taken to a basketball themed room, my kind of room ;) and waited to be seen by the doctor. His assistant came in and did a basic exam and said that the doctor would be in in a bit. Hunter, like most kids his age, is in to EVERYTHING. As prepared as you think you are, it never seems to be quite enough. He at a snack, read three books, watched a couple of videos on the iPad, colored, and we were still waiting. He then began opening all of the drawers and cabinets and trying to climb an abacus type toy that was attached to the wall. I completely understand that doctors are busy and if a doctor is visiting with us, I certainly want to be able to ask every question possible and have him spend ample time answering them, however, the combination of a toddler and a confined waiting room is pure torture. The scenario immediately made me call to mind a store front that we had seen the night before on the way to dinner. There was a medical weight loss store right next to a specialty chocolate shop. I'd bet money that someone has skipped their weigh in for a chocolate peanut butter cup. If doctors only knew that's how it feels waiting in a confined space with a toddler, when you can hear doctors and nurses moving around and talking outside your room. If they were chocolate lovers they might speed things up.
    Anyway, the doctor and his team finally came in and examined Hunter, watched him walk, held him. Hunter, of course, begins flirting with the nurse and then kissing me on the cheek to see what they would do. My grandparents gave me a charm for my charm bracelet one time that said 90% angel and I was given it and explained that the other 10% was little devil. Hunter's a cute little devil too, but we'll keep him!
  We asked a number of questions and the orthopedic said that he would like to have X-rays done and then move forward with casting as soon as possible. He indicated that Hunter will be in a cast for a minimum of 1 1/2 years and he removes and replaces the cast every two months in the same procedure, so he will undergo a lesser amount of anesthesia. Music to my ears!
He said that his schedule was pretty tight but was sure that they could work us in. His nurse piped up that she thought that they had an opening for Friday and that she would check and get back with us. Friday?! What a difference a doctor makes!
   We then made our way down the hallway to get an X-ray. While we were waiting to be called, a man came up and started smiling and talking with Hunter. He was taken with our little man and kept trying to get him to smile. He introduced himself as the Chairman of the Board at Scottish Rite. He had previously been a patient at Scottish Rite, as a child, and was a double amputee. He then introduced us to his friend, who was the former Chief of Staff at Scottish Rite. They both were trying to play "this little piggy" with Hunter's toes. Needless to say, I think we are in the right place for multiple reasons!
  Hunter completed the X-ray, was then measured for a scoliosis study, and was squeezed into the schedule for Friday. Praise God for leading us to Scottish Rite and giving the doctors the understanding of the sensitivity of time!
  We began preparing as best we could for Friday by buying clothes (he will have to go up a shirt size), diapers (he will have to go down a diaper size), things for the car trip home in case he gets sick, and things to occupy little man as best we can. After our appointment we went to the home of some of our friends so Hunter could rest and stretch his legs. Luckily, we have some friends that live about a mile or so from the hospital and they were happy to take us in for a few nights, so we wouldn't have to drive back to Houston. James and our friend, Keith, went to the store to go buy a few things for Hunter and then I would go later to finish up. I told them to buy diapers, apple juice, and something for little man to eat. They decided to head to Whole Foods down the street, which I'm sure Phil Robertson would call Yuppyville. They grabbed a few beers and walked and shopped. James said as they made their way to the diaper aisle, that a woman spotted them and asked if they needed help. He said she was looking at them as if she thought they were a couple. I told them that they should have played along with it and made up a storyline about adopting a child. I guess they didn't think it was as funny as I did. You've got to get a laugh when you can ;)
   We were on deck and forever grateful.

The 1st inning...rewind

And so it began...  

  At about 9 months of age, I started noticing that one side of Hunter's back looked like the musculature was stronger on one side than the other. I asked my sister, Aunt Cara is our resident pediatric occupational therapist, and she gave me a few things to implement and suggested that we continue to watch him and then refer to our pediatrician. At his one year appointment, our pediatrician didn't say that anything was out of the ordinary, so I pointed the curvature out to him. He immediately asked me to take Hunter upstairs to get an x-ray. He called me later that afternoon and said that he hadn't seen a child this young with scoliosis and referred me to an orthopedic. Then began the whirlwind. We met with an orthopedic soon thereafter, and were immediately told, without a complete examination mind you, that Hunter would never be able to play sports or do anything active. 
Um..hello! Don't decide our child's fate without a thorough examination or even knowing his fighting personality. Never mind the fact that if you look up the word "active" in the dictionary, that I'm pretty sure his picture is next to the definition.    The ortho ordered an MRI and said he wanted to sit, wait, and watch for 3 months to see how much the curve progressed. We were scheduled to reconvene at the beginning of January. I'm not an orthopedic, but I would think if you know it's progressing, you wouldn't wait to see how much it is progressing. That was of course, before I know what I know now. If you have a feeling in your heart and your gut, then listen.We completed the MRI about a week later, which in and of itself was a hard experience having your little undergo anesthesia for the first time. Thank God that our brother-in-law, Roger, is an anesthesiologist and was able to explain everything to me prior to and after the MRI. He has a gift for calming nerves and easing anxiety by logical explanation. So, when they walked me back in the MRI room and they explained that Hunter may act like he's suffocating and his eyes might roll back in his head, I was able to shake my head with confidence that I understood that it would be okay. Roger was right, it was probably harder on this Momma that it was on our little man.  The MRI revealed that his spinal cord was tethered and that you had several syrinx or cysts within the spinal cord. We were told that the syrinx were fairly common, but the tethered cord would have to be dealt with. Normally, the spinal cord hangs loose and is able to move freely with growth, but his was pulled taut. I believe that the spinal cord of most individuals extends to end between the L1/L2 vertebrae and Hunter's extended to the L4 vertebrae, so it was pulled abnormally low. We were then referred to a neurosurgeon, whose first available appointment was about six weeks after his MRI.    Sit and wait, sit and wait. 
I've decided, waiting is for the birds!  
Needless to say, Mama Bear came out and frantically started researching and looking for answers. In searching, my mom and I both came across a website for the Infantile Scoliosis Outreach Program (ISOP) and I found myself engrossed in all of the personal stories on their website. I reached out and called ISOP hoping that they could help me find some answers. That was the best phone call that I have made throughout this journey. Heather Montoya, the founder of ISOP, patiently listened and solidified my fear that waiting was NOT the answer. She asked for Hunter's information, x-rays, and a picture of our baby. She then took our info and spoke with the chief of staff at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, because they are the best fit for this condition. Shortly thereafter, Heather worked her magic and we received a call from Scottish Rite. We were told that Hunter needed to address the tethered cord issue before he could go through the admittance procedure for Scottish Rite. 

This is the picture that I sent Heather at ISOP and it was taken at the end of October 2013. Hunter is actually standing straight or straight for him anyway, while holding onto the coffee table. As you can see, the curve of his spine is very pronounced and has gotten much worse since then.
   December 17th came, and we met with the neurosurgeon, whom we adore and would love him to be Hunter's primary doctor. He has a wonderful bedside manner and great sense of humor. He was very matter of fact and told us that Hunter would have to have surgery sooner, rather than later, to release the tethered cord. James jokingly said, "We're available tomorrow", to which we were told that the surgery would actually very likely take place before the 1st of the year, especially since there were a lot of cancellations due to sickness. We received a call two days later on December 19th that he was scheduled for surgery on December 23rd and would be in the hospital until December 25th. 
Sit and wait, sit and wait, sprint! 
We were so thankful that the neurosurgeon was proactive and was able to get him in.   The surgery was stressful for Momma and Daddy, but very successful for Hunter. We stayed in the hospital from December 23rd through about noon on Christmas Day. "I love you Da"
Pre-surgery..."What have you people gotten me into?"
Directly after surgery..my sleeping angel.
Flirting with all the nurses in true Hunter form.
   I kept in contact with the nurse from Scottish Rite and as soon as Hunter was released after surgery we started moving forward with the paperwork for Scottish Rite. We were accepted into the Scottish Rite program and were assigned a consultation date of February 19th.   We still had our appointment with our orthopedic in Houston at the beginning of January, so James and I discussed and decided to keep the appointment to see what he had to say.  I'm an educator and coach at heart and am married to an engineer, so it's our nature to research and prepare. By this juncture, I had joined a Facebook group for parents of early onset scoliosis, and was completely engrossed in every aspect of this new found road that we were traveling. The great thing about internet research is that you have so much information at your fingertips, but the drawback is that I probably know just enough to be dangerous.   James and I went to our orthopedic appointment at the beginning of January armed with knowledge and I was ready to strike. I knew in my gut that we weren't supposed to be treated there, but felt as though I should peruse every inch to make certain we were on the right path for Hunter. I walked into the office with skepticism and left fuming. James asked if I wanted to be mad at him, but the truth is that I just wanted to be mad. Mad at the fact that, while I'm not a doctor/orthopedic, I know that our orthopedic hadn't done his homework. It is black and white to me. You can't profess and implement a philosophy and not believe in it and all of its parts. As a parent to a little man that can't yet speak for himself, I have to question and challenge, and honestly he didn't meet the grade. In parent/coach conferences, I used to always reassure every athlete's parents that they were their child's greatest advocate. That sentiment has never hit home more to me than it does now.  Luckily Scottish Rite was in the horizon and we are now onto bigger and better things. The lesson, advocate for your children and what you believe in. Don't settle for what someone tells you, research and learn the answer for yourself and challenge what you feel isn't right. Most importantly fight and listen to your heart.

Trouble with the Curve

    As a sports enthusiast and former coach, James and I often find ourselves blissfully engrossed in the lore and competitive nature of an athletic storyline. There is generally a challenge that unfolds within the film, a few details that pull at your heartstrings, followed by a triumphantly motivational ending. We have been known to watch some over and over again. Dreamer, Trouble with the Curve, and Secretariat, are among the most recent favorites. Something about that winner's high at the end of a competition makes you want to rewind and relive. Never mind the fact, that my husband says I remind him of Leanne Tuohy from "The Blindside". I wish he was talking about her kind-hearted and selfless nature, but somehow I think he was talking more about her  strong-willed determination, sprinkled with a little bit of sass. Regardless of our love of sports, that type of storyline embodies how I’ve always felt our life story should unfold. 

  

  The premise of “Trouble with the Curve” starring Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, and Justin Timberlake, is to be able to deal with whatever life throws at you, adjust, and make the best of each situation.  Sometimes there are fast balls that come right over the center of the plate and sometimes there are curves and you must adjust. As Momma to our beautifully curious little boy, Hunter, we are always experiencing adventure in our little part of the world. Last week, it was literally like the movie "Finding Nemo", when we couldn't find one of our clown fish in our newly started salt water fish tank. Poor Hunter was crying in his high chair in the background, because he couldn't "help" or see what was going on. A couple of nights, it was Hunter learning the nuances of a hotel room: learning to flush the toilet repetitively, opening the door and running down the hallway to chase me, while I was getting ice, and now learning to peacefully sleep in his Thomas the Train blow-up travel bed, but I digress.   

   

  What James and I didn’t know, is that we would literally experience our own “Trouble with the Curve” so soon, as Hunter was recently diagnosed with progressive infantile scoliosis (PIS) and a tethered spinal cord in October 2013, at the age of 13 months.

   When most people hear the word "scoliosis" they immediately call to mind the spinal check done with most physicals during the early teen years. While this isn't totally off base, as scoliosis is a curvature of the spine and is most commonly detected during the teen years, it's not quite the scenario in our Hunter man's case. Below, I've listed some basics to kind of break everything down.

Progressive: increasing, growing, developing

Idiopathic: has no known cause, divided into 4 sub categories depending on occurrence- infantile, juvenile, adolescent, or adult

Infantile: generally identified between birth and age 3

Scoliosis: curvature of the spine

  Progressive Idiopathic Infantile Scoliosis is found in, I believe, about 1% of the idiopathic scoliosis population in children. When scoliosis is detected in the juvenile and adolescent years, it is most commonly detected in females. However, about 60% of all infantile idiopathic cases are male. Less than .1% have curves that measure greater than 40 degrees and Hunter is in that .1% 

  Hunter's situation was compounded with a tethered spinal cord. I will go more into our journey and that part of the story later, however he is considered idiopathic, because the tethered cord is not the main cause of the scoliosis. Often times, scoliosis is genetic, but in our scenario and to our knowledge, we have no family members on either side that have scoliosis. As his first doctor said, "I guess y'all kind of won the lottery." Not necessarily the lottery I was hoping to win, but at least this one will make us stronger and wiser.

    I believe that everything happens for a reason and that God blesses us when we can least imagine it. If you have the pleasure to meet our son, you will instantly be enamored by his huge personality and beautiful smiling face. I'm his Momma, so I can brag ;). Really though, he is the happiest and most determined little 17 month old that you have ever met. God has big plans for our little man, I am certain of that. James and I were talking with family recently and all agreed that he has the perfect personality for challenges such as those that he has, and will face. 

  When Hunter was born, James joked about us not receiving an instruction manual before leaving the hospital. We could sure use one about now. The truth is, you have to go with the flow and try to adapt to the curves that life throws you. God doesn’t always call the equipped, but equips the called. I am certain that He will equip us with the tools to be his parents and his advocates through this adventure.

Tractors, Trucks, and Toys.....There's nothing quite like Little Boys.

A wee bit of dirt 

and a devilish grin...

curious eyes and

spaghetti sauce chin...

A dollop of mud

behind his right ear, 

and a handful of worms

in his pocket I fear.

You see the knees 

through the holes in his jeans.

He likes ice cream 

but won't eat his beans.

He's made up of mud pies

and bubble gum kisses

and wonder at Christmas and birthday wishes.

And a heap of giggles, and wiggles, and love;

These are the things little boys are made of.

-Patsy Gaut

   Electronics high jacker, monkey climber, puppy lover, lego hoarder, mischievous smiler, Daddy chaser, Momma kisser......James and I never knew how much we would possibly love our Hunter man!
  This little man has brought us continuous smiles, sometimes tears, gray hair, and contagious laughter. We find ourselves jokingly pointing out things in Hunter that each of us did as children and let me tell you, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Luckily, we were both perfect children, so we have nothing to worry about ;)  We looked at each other yesterday afternoon and declared that we are in TROUBLE.
Little man is 17 months old and here are a few things that he has TAUGHT us in the last couple of weeks.


1) Ketchup is a side dish

I introduced Hunter to ketchup, which is my personal fav, and you would have thought from the look on his face, that I had been keeping this great secret from him. The first time he ate it with chicken nuggets, he decided to start licking the ketchup out of the dipping container and ended up with it up his nose, in his eyes, and all over his clothes. Now, every time that I put ketchup with his food, he just eats the ketchup and uses the fries like a spoon. I've decided I am going to count that as a vegetable serving for the day.

2) Pets won't take care of themselves
Hunter laughs with excitement at feeding his pups both his food and dog food. Sometimes, it's almost like he goes around shaking his head and thinking, "I have to do everything around here. Don't you people feed these dogs?"James and I do feed our dog children, but Hunter has taken personal pleasure in taking care of  them.  He will transport dog food by Hunter-handfuls to the dog bowls until they are filled. Last week, I caught him with a lego in one hand scooping water out of the dog's water container. He was trying to fill the empty dog food bowl with the water. It was like that commercial with the kid running down the hallway with the potty that had spilled throughout the house. He was so proud of himself. I tried to hide my emotions as I glanced at the slip and slide in our kitchen. How can you be mad at a little boy trying to take care of his puppy dogs?!

3) Wine + whine = no bueno
A couple of weeks ago we invited our neighbors over for dinner. We have the best neighbors and really enjoy spending time with them, but only get together every couple of months. Yes, our schedules are hectic, but we also need recovery time! Inevitably, we start testing some adult grapes while chatting about past lives, getaway destinations, politics, etc. and the next thing you know we are all over served. We taught the dogs to sleep later on these occasions, but age and children catch up with you. I woke up to a wine headache, cotton mouth, and a whining little boy at 6:00 a.m. after going to bed at 2:00 a.m. No Bueno! Children have no sympathy for hangovers...lesson learned.

4) Climbing isn't just for monkeys
Little man has taken to climbing...up the stairs, on top of his lego table, onto the couch, and into the dishwasher. The scary thing is that I know that this is just the beginning. Not just because he's a highly inquisitive little boy, but because I am a recovering climber. The first step is to admit the problem. I remember daily climbing up the well to get to the top of the pump house in my grandparents yard, only to jump off the roof into the grass to do it all over again. Apparently, I would also climb onto the kitchen countertops, open the cabinets, peel off the sticky squares that pad the wooden cabinets, and slam the doors closed. Like I said, we are in TROUBLE!

5) Sounds...the communication of little boys
Hunter loves to make sounds, as I'm sure most little people do. Hunter has taken to making them part of his show boating routine. There is the motorboat sound he makes when he purses his lips together and then there is tongue claps or tongue clicking, which he added to his repertoire of clapping, raising his arms up, and doing "twinkle twinkle" hands or as Jamey likes to say "show me the money" hands. He can do all of these on cue and loves to get a rise out of his audience, especially his cousins, Jack, Anne, and Ty. His newest sound is "AHhhhh". This sound mostly appears when he drinks juice. We had to get the kid to try some vegetables, so we bought a juicer for our benefit and gave him some on a whim. He loves it..who knew! When he drinks his juice in the morning out of his big boy cup, he swallows and says "AHhhh!" Pretty sure he learned that from Jamey, since that's the sound he makes when he drinks ice water or cold adult beverages, whichever you'd like to imagine he's drinking. Jamey says next thing you know he will be slapping me on the behind saying "Shake those money makers!" I told him that that's not going to fly in this house or in school for that matter. Pray for me people, I'm outnumbered by boys!

6) Slobbery kisses are the best
Little man started kissing. We had been working on blowing kisses and he's pretty much got that down. He's kind of selective to who he blows them to, but blowing kisses none the less. All of a sudden he started giving me slobbery kisses on the cheek. So far they have been pretty clean and I haven't gotten cookie crumb or peanut butter kisses yet. He is such a sweetheart and the cutest thing is, that he reserves the slobbery kisses for me and blowing kisses for others. I hope it stays that way for a long time, because our little man has stolen my heart.

The Sitton's

   I like to think that I am talking to you as I'm writing, so with this conversation, I'll give y'all some insight into our little family. Whether you are family, friends, acquaintances. new faces, or people we haven't had an opportunity to connect with in a while, it's good to catch up.

 Have y'all seen the picture with the toddler holding a phone with a post-it-note attached that says, "They asked for the man of the house, so I handed him the phone." As I saw that picture, I laughed out loud and thought about how true that sometimes feels.

    James and I share our home with our little man, Hunter, and our two goldens, Riley and Gauge. Let's be honest, between Hunter and the dogs, James and I don't have a chance. Life is a beautiful mess, between muddy paw prints on the floors, dog hair gracing our furniture, and the multitude of legos and tractors always underfoot, but we wouldn't have it any other way. 

Meet the family!


The Dog Children

    Riley (left) is our princess. She is spunky and affectionate, yet domineering, as she rules the roost and outsmarts her dog brother on a daily basis. Our Riley girl also has a strong motherly instinct and is very protective of Hunter.
   Gauge (right), on the other hand, is the most kind-hearted, loyal, and athletic dog that we've ever had. He's finally getting used to Hunter antagonizing him, as long as Hunter shares his food with him.  Needless to say, it's a win win for both parties.


Hunter

 
Our little man, Hunter, is inquisitive, mischievous, happy, laid back, busy, and into EVERYTHING. He has his daddy's mannerisms and I can already tell that he thinks like a future engineer. Hunter loves his dogs, books, tractors or anything with wheels. He is All boy. His laugh is contagious and his smile melts my heart.


The Hubs and I

"Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite." 

  James, affectionately known to family and friends as Jamey or Oso, is my partner in crime in this life that we happily share together.  I will tell you that I love him more every day, and seeing him with our son makes me love him even more. 

As you can see we have been blessed and are truly Sitton on a Gold Mine ;)