it's gonna be a bright, sunshiney day

I mentioned to Brooke earlier this week that I wanted to get a second opinion regarding Emery's eye issues. Her neighbor is a pediatric optometrist, whom she recommended. I called this afternoon to make an appointment and was lucky that they had a cancellation within the hour. We rushed up to Murray for the appointment and then down to Orem to pick up his glasses.

Good news on all fronts--

• the doctor today agreed with the initial diagnosis of esotropia in his left eye and astigmatisms in both eyes and confirmed the treatment of glasses and an eye patch
• he also said that those two things might correct the problem and surgery might not be necessary
• because I was a lot more calm at this appointment, I was able to get some of our questions answered-- like he is far sighted, so some of the tracking issues we were concerned about when he was a couple months old could have been because of that (he wouldn't follow objects and when you'd hold him close, he wouldn't make eye contact at all and would look away)
  
• the doctor we saw last week called me today and confirmed that the CT scan showed a dermoid cyst with no correlation to his eye troubles
• we have an appointment on February 18 to consult with the surgeon in regards to removing the cyst, which needs to be done as soon as possible

Emery was fitted for his glasses and immediately tried to pull them off in the store. However, after a minute or so, he seemed to relax with them on. After I handed him the glasses case, he happily left the glasses alone. I did take them off when I put him in the car, as I was concerned he'd grab them when I was driving. Here's some pics in the parking lot right after we picked them up:

When we got home, I put the glasses back on and fed him. He only played with them for a minute or two and then left them alone the rest of the night. The doctor today had told me that he probably wouldn't bother them too much once he realized he could see so much better. I didn't believe it, but it's true!

before dinner--

getting pjs on--

a little playtime before bed--

He's become so skilled at navigating the walker around the house. He can do 3 point turns to get himself out of a corner and he never runs into the door jams or walls. But tonight, it was obvious he was trying to get his bearings, given the new eye sight he has. It made me sad to think he's been living with blurry vision. I'm grateful he's able to see clearly now, but it will definitely take a little getting used to...

an hour in the walker

eight is great!

Eight months old today-- hard to believe!

Fun facts about Emery's growth right now:

• he weighs 23 1/2 lbs and is 29" long
• his favorite toy is his red elmo mirror that plays "you are my sunshine" and that we have attached to his walker
  
• he can sit up on his own, but often reaches for anything in sight and bonks his head as he falls to the ground
  
• he loves to eat gerber "apples, bananas, and strawberries" food for breakfast and green beans or peas for lunch
• he wears size 5 diapers and is growing out of his 12-18 month clothes
• he has discovered he can remove his hat and does so the second you put it on unless otherwise distracted
• he FINALLY enjoys tummy time and loves playing with his books, ball, and blocks on the ground
• he can push himself up with his arms and kicks his legs at the same time-- we think he'll be crawling soon
• he sleeps fabulously at night (13 hours on average!) but has a hard time with naps (max is an hour at a time)
  
• he scoots/rolls everywhere and can get an object across the room if he's interested
  
• he doesn't have stranger danger issues, although he doesn't usually smile when picked up unless provoked with a tickle or two
• he sleeps solely on his stomach-- I lay him down on his back and within 30 seconds, he's rolled over
  
• we love it when we can get him to laugh- he holds it in most of the time!
• he LOVES when daddy comes home and always bursts into a smile when he sees Nate after work
• he's super happy after a nap but can go downhill in an instant if tired
  

After last week's craziness, marking 8 months today seems even sweeter. We love our little guy to pieces and literally can't imagine life without him.

Here's some pics from this afternoon. Special thanks to Grandma Sue for the hat, Grandma Karen for the outfit, and Aunt Holly for the vest!

happy














sad

favorites

Now that he's feeling better, Emery's back in the saddle again. I can't begin to express how infatuated with his walker he is. Currently, his favorite spot is by the front door, next to the shoe basket. I can't fathom why. He stays there for awhile and then tries to back up, but realizes he's stuck. So he calls for mommy to rescue him and then does a couple of laps around the house, terrorizing Max.













His other recent obsession is the curtains in the kitchen. He grabs them with his tiny fists and waves his arms around in circles. He backs up, moves forward, grabs and lets go... this goes on for hours, with his faithful companion standing by.











He also loves anything that dangles, preferably zippers on coats and camera straps. Although he also goes for the camera lens every time-- so I guess he's not discriminating when it comes to anything within his reach.

















He's getting so big. We've noticed quite a change in his personality since the reflux has subsided these last 2 months. He's much more playful and independent. Most importantly, he's happy most of the time!