The WORST decision I've ever made...

The best thing about Buddy was definitely his killer hair. He had the most fabulous locks. Whenever we would go out he was always attracting attention. Ladies were always stopping us to comment on his hair. It was to die for. These perfectly curled locks. I would just have to bath him and let it dry and it would spring into these perfect curls. The last I bathed him his wet hair came way past his shoulders. I knew I it was time for his first hair cut but I REALLY didn't want to do it.  Like really didn't want to.  Well today after the twins doctor appointment we bravely stepped into the barber shop on Base. The lady who took us to the chair was pretty hideous. Buddy had initially been crying prior to sitting in the chair so she seemed worried about cutting his hair but once we sat down he was fine.  This lady did a HORRIBLE job. It was uneven. It was a sad mess. I was almost in tears. It was awful. I knew immediately I had made a bad decision. His delicious curls were gone possibly forever. In my grief (yes grief) I took a picture of his curls on the floor. He had so much hair and now it was gone into a bad hack job! I was hoping once I got him home and tried to style it it would be better. It wasn't. I frantically texted my friend Heidi and told her I needed her help. Luckily she told me to come right over and she fixed it. It looked so much better but I just felt sad. I know this is silly to be this upset about it but I am. He had the best hair of anyone in the family. It was so sad after we got home he was doing his signature high step where his curls bounce and there were no curls to bounce. I have been doing double takes all day at him because he doesn't look like my Buddy anymore. My sister joked that we will have to call him Austin now cause Buddy is gone. Here is to hoping his hair grows back fast and curly again someday SOON!!!                              
                                                                     Before

and after

And I thought he was faking!!!

Well life is certainly never dull. I'm happy to report Buddy is doing really good since his surgery but of course another issue has popped up.  We just found out Keri has a pretty serious heart problem. Let's start from the beginning when he started complaining of chest pains. Now granted I didn't know what to think but I wasn't thinking it was anything serious. If we are being honest Keri can be a bit dramatic at times. Well he took a few trips to the ER over the course of a month for these chest pains and finally and Keri was telling me all these things the doctors said it could be.  Of COURSE I was thinking it was probably nothing and wasn't paying too much attention to it. (I know, pretty awful.) Well they ran some tests including a "tee" which is a scope that looks at your heart and they informed him he had bicuspid aortic valve.  Boy were we ALL shocked. Here is a quick summary of what bicuspid aortic valve is according to the internet:

The aortic valve is a one-way valve between the heart and the aorta, the main artery from the heart that distributes oxygen-rich blood to the body. Normally, the aortic valve has three small flaps or leaflets that open widely and close securely to regulate blood flow, allowing blood to flow from the heart to the aorta and preventing blood from flowing backwards into the heart.

. The bicuspid aortic valve may not be completely effective at stopping blood from leaking back into the heart. This is called aortic regurgitation. The aortic valve may also become stiff and not open up as well, causing the heart to have to pump harder than usual to get blood past the valve. The heart then must pump that same blood out again, causing strain on the heart’s lower left chamber, the left ventricle. Over time, the ventricle will dilate, or over-expand. The main symptom of aortic valve regurgitation is shortness of breath during exertion, like walking up stairs.

Okay, so there are 2 scary things about him having this condition. #1- He could be fine one minute and literally have a problem and die.  An athlete that has this condition could drop dead on the court. Keri says one of his favorite wrestlers that had this was driving a car and died. So the doctor told us if Keri has any chest pains small or big.. get into the ER as soon as possible. #2- The condition is hereditary so now we have to have all of our kids checked. The doctor had heard a heart murmur in Ashley when she was little so we are mostly concerned about her. Keri's sister has to get checked as well. Luckily today we had to take the twins in for their check ups so the pediatrician put in for referrals for all the kids to get checked. How they check is they do an ultrasound basically so now I'm thinking ahead to a technician trying to do an ultrasound on Buddy. Yeah that is so NOT going to go over well. 

So the next steps for Keri now is to go to UNC to get an cardiac MRI and a cardiac cauterization to determine how severe his bicuspid aortic valve is.  If it is severe he is looking at open heart surgery immediately to replace the valve. If it is moderate he can put off the surgery for about 5 years. This also means Keri will be getting medically retired from the military. 

So that is the big news right now in our family.  The silver lining in all of this is that if one of the kids does have this as well.. it will be discovered and fixed early on. And that is truly a blessing.

Trials of having a Buddy!

Let me start by saying I have a million pictures I need to post but that will come.  I was just sitting here amongst the chaos... you know Cambree demanding another cup AND a blanket because she is soooo cold.. Ashley standing on top of the kids picnic table talking a mile a minute in her Ashley babble... and sweet little Buddy.. who is quietly watching tv while sucking on a pacifier and clutching another one in his hands... and I thought now is the perfect time to update my blog,

My focus on this blog will mostly be Buddy. Curly, browned eyed, everybody-stops-and-comment- on-how -cute-he-is Buddy. Since the second week in July Buddy has been sick. One double ear infection after another. He has been in and out of the doctor and has had at least five double ear infections and scarlet fever (which is strep throat with a horrible "scarlet" rash) twice all since July. The worst part is we had been dealing with a pediatric doctor at Pope Health Clinic that twice told us his ear infection had cleared up and twice we had to take him into an Insta Care and ER to find out it was indeed not cleared up.  This lady kept telling us she was going to put in a referal to ENT and then never did.  It was just a mess. At Buddy's worse he was completely lethargic. He would literally lay on the bed all day not moving. For a toddler that is the most abnormal and saddest thing to watch in the world. The last ear infection he had happened to be when we were vacationing in Florida for Labor Day. Buddy was back to acting sick. Laying down with his ear to the floor to play. Not eating. Not sleeping. No energy. It was hard to watch. We took him into the Insta Care and surprise... double ear infection and strep throat.  That was our final straw.  We had just seen this pediatric doctor the day we left for Florida and she had said everything was cleared up.  Keri got on the phone and the best they could do for a referral was Oct 9th which was over a month away. The whole process was just so frustrating. We took Buddy in to a different clinic on Base and we got the doctor to help us be able to take Buddy off base somewhere since they clearly were too busy on base to worry about a 20 month old with chronic ear infections.

Yesterday we took the 50 minute drive to the city of Cary and finally saw the ENT.  It was decided in a hurry that not only did Buddy need tubes in his ears but he needed to have his adenoids out in order to help him finally start to feel better.  I was so relieved we were finally on the path to help Buddy feel like a normal person again.  We were able to schedule the surgery for Friday so we had to come up with a plan really quick.  The hospital is 50 minutes away from our house and we have to be there with Buddy at 5:45 am.  Naturally the issue would be what to do with Cams and Ashley during the surgery. The thought of having to take Buddy by myself was sad. My sister lives an hour and 40 minutes away but she had her sons birthday party that day. She offered to have us drop the kids off at her house but with all the driving it really wasn't the best solution. Luckily things came together fast and Keri's mother Dana booked her plane ticket to come out and help us.  What an amazing mother in law I have! We are so lucky she was able and more than willing to help us out!!  This took so much stress off of all of us! The next few days are going to be jammed packed as we get ready for the surgery.  I have to take Buddy back up for a pre op on Wednesday and Dana will be flying in on Thursday.  Keri and I thought it would be easiest if we get a hotel close to the hospital Thursday night so we aren't having to head out at like 3:30am to get there Friday morning.  Really I feel so blessed things have worked out and Buddy doesn't have to wait long to get the tubes in.  His tonsils were already red and swollen again at the visit so I'm sure getting his tonsils out will be coming in the next few years.  It kills me that you always have that one person in your family with the medical problems.  Lucky for me Cams & Ashley may be my little diva's but they are typically pretty healthy. As I write this Cambree has been battling bronchitis however.  How we get things like scarlet fever and bronchitis while we are home 95% of the time is beyond me however!

I will update everyone after the surgery on Buddy's progress. I look forward to the day I don't have to watch Buddy lay on the floor to play with his cars anymore!!