Sweet Baby Girl!

At 2:35 this morning, July 30, I became an aunt for the 4th time.  I now have my second, beautiful niece.  Reagan Riley Mayes was born this morning weighing 6lbs 1oz and is 19 inches long.  Her proud daddy, my big brother, sent me her first picture just before 3am.  She is perfect.  She is the baby sister to Kash and William.  She has already been given a nickname by Tommy.  He calls her Rae Rae.  So now we have Uncle Lee Lee (Tommy), Aunt Jo Jo (me), Wee Wee (William) and Rae Rae.  We like nicknames apparently.

Being the only girl with two older brothers, I know a little bit about what she is going to be like.  She is going to be a tough cookie but she will be well protected by those two boys.  Jimmie says William saw her this morning and he doesn't think he realizes that she comes home with them.  But he'll figure it out soon and he will love her more than anything.  Kash is older and this is his second time to be a big brother, so I have no doubt that he is very excited and will take good care of her.  We hope to go and see them next weekend.  I can't wait to hold and snuggle with that sweet baby girl.  I think she already has her daddy wrapped around her finger.  Here are her first pictures.

July 28

On July 28, 1975, a baby boy was born, weighing in at a whopping 9lbs, 7oz.  He was given the name Jason Henry Mayes. (I'm probably going to catch a lot of flack for putting his middle name on here)  He was the second son to Chip and Carol Mayes and baby brother to Jimmie Mayes.  He later became a big brother to me.

Growing up with Jason was interesting to say the least.  He was always the life of the party, being voted Wittiest all four years of high school.  He was a member of the Kinder High School band, where he was the first chair trumpet player.  He made everyone laugh and always had a lot of friends.  And although he and I didn't always see eye to eye, I learned early on that when push came to shove, he would have my back. 

Happy Birthday, big brother. I hope your day has been special.

On July 28, 2005, my two month old baby boy went into surgery to get a tracheotomy.  We found out only the day before that it was necessary so we didn't have much time to prepare ourselves.  I remember being devastated when I found out.  The nurse in the NICU put a partition up around me so I could just hold my baby and cry. 

The next day, my parents came into town to be with us.  We all were able to kiss him goodbye as the nurses took him back to surgery.  He was crying because he hadn't been able to eat all day and it broke my heart.  I don't know how long the surgery lasted, but it felt like a very long time.  Finally we received word that the surgery was over and he had done well.  It would be a while before we were allowed to go in and see him.  I was not prepared for what I saw.  Because the new airway was fresh, it would take a little while before the track would be formed enough to change the trach.  So for the next week, they had to keep John completely still.  In order to do so, he was given a paralytic drug so he was unable to make any involuntary movements.  It was very difficult for me to see him that way and even harder not to be able to hold him or even touch him for the next week.

We were told that the trach was temporary and that he would probably only need it for 6 months to 1 year.  Fast forward 6 years and it's still there, although for a different reason.  It has become a part of our life and our daily routine.  It has made things much more difficult for us, but we know that it is necessary for him.  I don't know if or when he will be able to have the trach removed, but I will never forget that day, 6 years ago, when taking care of our son became a lot more difficult.

In honor of the two events that I will remember every year on this date, I wanted to post a few pictures of Jason and John together.

The first time they met.

Thanksgiving 2005

Christmas 2006

Technology...Love it or hate it?

With the technology we have available to us today, we are able to do so many incredible things. And one of the biggest ways that technology has changed our culture is in the way we communicate with each other. Today, I used modern technology to communicate in two diffent ways, and I have to say, I didn't have two good experiences.

I spent a good part of today working on updating the format and layout of my blog. I truly do love to blog and keep you all up to date on our lives, but I've always felt it was a little simple and plain. I just wanted to spruce it up a little. So I enlisted the help of a friend who has been blogging longer than me and who has a much better looking blog than I do. What I discovered is that it is hard and very frustrating to get it looking the way you want it. My friend was very patient with me as I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Once we finally got the header looking acceptable (and by we I mean she), I went to add it to my blog and it was huge. We couldn't figure out why or how to fix it. After trying over and over again, I finally noticed a box that said shrink to fit. So I checked it and what do you know. The picture wasn't so big any more. After she left, I spent more time working on backgrounds and colors and after a lot of head scratching, I got it to where it is acceptable. There is still one thing I can't figure out how to fix and I thing some of the design is a work in progress. But I had enough frustration for one day.

Now all technology is not so bad. For instance, I'd like to say to the person who developed skype, you are a genius. Tommy has been gone on a work trip since Thursday night of last week. Since he is out of the country, we don't get to talk very much. We do talk to each other once a day, but I know that John is missing his daddy. The other morning, we skyped with each other, but we only had a few minutes. John seemed more confused by the concept than anything. We didn't get the opportunity to skype yesterday since Tommy had a really long day. So this evening we tried again. This time as soon as John saw his daddy on the screen, he got very excited. We sat there for quite a while as the two of them had a nice conversation. He apparently had a lot to tell his daddy. He also laughed at him a lot. And when Tommy would lean in toward the screen, John would do the same thing. It was the highlight of my day to see him so happy to see his daddy's face. I wish I had some pictures of John's face or better yet a video of him. Maybe that would be a good update for Skype, to allow users to record a video of the conversation.

So you be the judge. Do you love how far technology has come over the last 10 years, or does it make you want to pull your hair out? I know one thing. Once I get my blog just the way I like it, I may never change it again.

Good start

I had to write an update after talking to John's therapist this morning. The first thing she said was that he likes things with a strong taste. I already knew that because he likes eating things that are a little spicy. Last week when working on chewing, she used something called a nook brush. She would put food on it and then let him bite on the brush so he can get the sensation of chewing while also tasting food. When I tried this at home, he did more grinding of his teeth than chewing up and down. This time she used a slim jim with food on the end for the same reason. Apparently he likes slim jims because he actually chewed up and down on it. This is a good start for him. She also said he is moving his tongue towards the food better. This is something everyone needs to be able to do. We all do it when eating but we just don't realize it.

The second thing they worked on was drinking from a cup. In the past we have concentrated on him drinking through a straw. But today she used something called a nosey cup. This is simply a small plastic cup with a notch cut out of the top rim where the nose would go. Again using something with a strong taste, cranberry juice, she was able to get him to drink 3 ounces out of that cup in a time span of about 5 minutes. I have never been able to get him to drink that much that quickly from anything but a bottle. This is something else for us to continue to work on. I actually have several of those cups at home that I had bought a long time ago when trying different things. In fact, over the years I have bought just about every kind of cup I could find trying to find something that he could use.

So needless to say, I have put slim jims and cranberry juice on my shopping list so we can continue to work on these things at home. Already he is showing more interest and more progress than he showed in the few years of doing OT in the past. I am very encouraged and excited about the progress John is showing. I can't wait to see what he does next week.

Getting started again

First of all, I am typing this on my iPad. It is very different. So if I have some spelling or punctuation mistakes, that is why. I will try not to type in my usual iPad/iPhone shorthand.

I am sitting in the waiting room at TCH west campus while John is at his occupational therapy appointment. We took a year off from all private therapies when he started kindergarten to let him adjust to the full day school schedule without wearing him out any more. I don't think I really intended to take the whole year off, but that's just the way that it worked out. Now that TCH has a hospital on our side of town, it is much easier to get to therapy. So I thought it was time to get him ba k into PT and OT during the summer so he'll be used to it again when school starts. Last week was our first OT session. Obviously I need to get back into the routine too because I completely forgot about it this morning and we were a little late getting here. Last week he had a good start so hopefully we can build on that and see some improvement with his eating. Some things we are working on is him recognizing that some foods have to be chewed before he can swallow it and drinking from a straw or cup. It's time to get rid of the bottle. We have to find a better way to get him drinking. And if I can stop Pureeing food, there would be a lot more options of food for him to eat. He would love trying new things and we could get him completely off of jarred food.

His PT evaluation isn't scheduled until August. We are still working on the walking and would like to get him a little more steady on his feet. Hopefully he hasn't lost too much since he stopped therapy last year and can pick up where he left off. I'll keep you updated on that progress when we start.

That's all for now. John should be about finished and will be coming out soon. Hoping his session was good today.

Happy Anniversary!

On June 30, 2001, I said "I Do" to the love of my life.  10 years later, he is still the love of my life and has also become my best friend.  Anytime something happens, good or bad, he's the first person I want to tell.  I would rather spend time with him than anyone else.  He makes me laugh (and sometimes cry).  Over these past 10 years, I have grown to love him more than I ever thought I would.

We decided this was the best time to take our first ever overnight trip without John.  I have to say that I never thought this day would come, but we finally made it happen.  Well, I have to say that Tommy made it happen.  He planned all of the details and just told me where we were going.  He arranged for my parents to come and stay with John for the weekend.  It worked out perfectly that we were able to get away on July 4th weekend so it was a long weekend.  That gave us more time away since my parents didn't have to go home until Monday.  And he planned for us to stay two nights at Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop, Texas, which is just outside of Austin.  There is actually a funny story that goes with that.

When I took John for his 6 year check-up with his pediatrician, she asked me if we were getting out to the movies or dinner by ourselves like she had ordered us to do.  She is great and always making sure that we take care of ourselves as well as John.  I told her we were actually planning a trip for our anniversary.  She asked where we were going.  At the time we had a reservation at Barton Creek in Austin because when Tommy called Lost Pines, they were booked for the weekend.  So I told her that.  She asked if I wanted her to call Lost Pines and talk them into giving us a reservation.  She was dead serious.  I didn't think there was anything she could do, but I gave her the number to the resort and the dates that we wanted to check in and out.  A week or two later, she called one night and talked to Tommy.  She asked if we had heard from the resort and he told her we hadn't.  She said she would check into it.  The very next weekend, I got a call from the resort, telling us that they had spoken to Dr. Miller and they had a room available for us if we still wanted it.  By this time, we had changed our reservation to the Marriott Resort in San Antonio.  But since Dr. Miller did what she did for us, we thought we should go ahead and stay at Lost Pines.  So I have to say Kudos to you, Dr. Miller.  You are definitely our favorite doctor!

The weekend finally arrived and we actually didn't back out.  We have tried 2 or 3 times in the past to go away for the weekend, and we always changed our minds for some reason.  But this time we stuck to it.  We left on Saturday morning.  Since our official check-in time wasn't until 3:00, we took a round about way there.  We first went to Luling, Texas so we could stop at the Buc cees!  If you haven't been to a Buc ees, you have to some time.  They are only in Texas, and they are the biggest convenience store around.  They also have the cleanest public restrooms you will ever find.  They have a gigantic store attached where you can buy t-shirts and plenty of other things.  About 1/2 of John's wardrobe has come from Buc ees.  After we left from there, we drove a few miles down the road to Lockhart, Texas to eat some barbecue.  And then, since we were in the area, we decided to go to the outlet mall in San Marcos.  We only went into a couple of stores, but we both came away with new clothes.  Finally, we headed to the resort.

Once we got there and got checked in, we changed into our swimsuits and headed out to the pool.  They have a lazy river around the pool that is 1000 feet.  This is where we spent most of our weekend.  If you have never gotten into a tube, let me tell you there is no graceful way to get on or off of one.  That provided a few comedic moments for us.  Fortunately there are no pictures of it.  We stayed on the lazy river until about 6:00 that evening.  We had scheduled to do a sunset float on the Colorado River and we had to meet at 6:45 in the lobby.  The relaxing float we were expecting turned out to be a rafting trip where we actually had to paddle.  It was not a comfortable raft and it was hot and humid.  That was not what we wanted to do.  But we made it back to the resort and were finally able to get cleaned up.

The next day we actually slept in until 10:30.  I haven't slept that late in years.  So we had an early lunch and then took a walk around the property.  We eventually ended up back at the pool, where we spent most of the rest of the day.  That night we cleaned up and then went to their nicest restaurant for our anniversary dinner.  We decided to sit out on their balcony overlooking the grounds.  It was a nice night and we enjoyed a delicious dinner. 



We want to say a special thanks to the people who helped make this trip special.  First and foremost, to my parents for keeping John for the weekend.  It would never have been possible without them being willing to help out.  And I should say that when we got home, John acted like he hadn't missed us one minute.  He had a great time with Gram and Pop.  Also thanks to Dr. Miller for helping us get the reservation.  She went above and beyond typical pediatrician duties for us on this one.  But then again, she has done that since the day we met.  And a special thank you to our very dear friends who arranged for us to have a bottle of wine waiting for us in our room when we got there.  They were just as excited about our getaway as we were.  You guys Rock!!!

Although, it has been a very wild and crazy 10 years, I would do it all again.  I can't wait to see what the next ten years has in store for us.

My view of the pool

Lounging by the pool.

10 years of Marriage!