We are Blessed!!!

I have been down over the past month or two... just emotionally having a child with a disability is hard sometimes. I see all the other mommy's out there that get to go and do so much with there children and for us, it is a chore to load Baker and all his equipment just to go to church. I just want to feel like a real mother sometimes, you know... I just want a normal life. Used to while we were still in the hospital, if I ever was sad or feeling down, it was easy to just look next door or at the child next to Baker and think how good we have it and how Blessed we are that Baker only has a muscle disorder. But (thanks be to God) Baker has been so healthy at home that we haven't had to be hospitalized or had very many clinic visits. So finding that support has been difficult. Nobody around here REALLY understands the challenges that we face daily. But this morning while checking blogger, I noticed a friends page and did some searching and somehow ended up on a web page that had SO many children with disabilities and there blog sites, and I just went through about 15 of them. I can relate to so many of there stories with the "roller coaster" that they speak of.

I just wanted to share a few pictures of the beginning and then a few now to show how far Baker has come!

That was right after he was born... before I had even seen him.
This is our first family photo... in Birmingham at UAB RNICUStill in the RNICU
This is my Baker Man now! This is his Birthday party... I still need to post all those pictures too!!!
Now that Baker is almost 13 months old, I feel that there is more that I need to do. I plan on getting some fundraisers started, Bowling with Baker and a Golf tournament or Softball hit-a-thon. I am also going to get some Lime green bracelets that say something on them. All the money is going to go to the MDA clinic. Lime Green is sorta Baker's new color (carseat) since it is the color for Muscular Dystrophy.
We have big Hopes and Dreams for Baker. So keep praying for him as God continues to Bless him and us Daily!!!!

A Mitchell Update!!!

I thought that lots of things have been going on other than Easter so I would post another blog that is full of everything!!! Lets start by telling you that Baker went to his First Rattlesnake Rodeo with his daddy!!! Derek said he did good but wasn't loving the sun being so bright. And everyone kept telling Derek that his nose was running (it always is running)
Also, Baker got his new big boy car seat!! He loves having the room! But we have to watch and make sure his head doesn't bounce in there. We got a lime green one because that is the color for muscular dystrophy... Baker has a form or MD. Baker's is called Myotubular Myopathy. (We hope to do a fund raiser during the summer to help fund research for different types of MD.)This next picture is just one of my favorite pictures... Derek is of course on the xbox, but this time he is holding Baker. Baker is loving it. He kept saying "Dadadadada" to get Derek's attention.This next picture is a funny story... I was holding Baker on evening and he saw a white stick sticking out of my mouth and kept trying to grab it until finally he ripped it right out of my mouth... and stuck it in his. Now Baker doesn't eat from his mouth so it was funny because he wouldn't let me take it away from him!!! We got video as well!!! These next few pictures are from Home Vent clinic... In Birmingham at Children's. This is the longest clinic and we get bored. So we have to pack lots of things and toys to keep Baker occupied. Luckily there is a tv in the room and I took this why he was watching cartoons!!!
This is a recent picture of Derek and I... well before Derek cut his hair and his beard... Now he doesn't look like a wooly booger!!! : )Notice in this one that Baker is still watching TV... I couldn't get his attention to take the picture!
After the Clinic visit we stopped to see Uncle Don and Aunt Val. I was hoping that everyone else would be there as well! I have missed them since we have been home. They became like close family! This is Natalie... She has grow SO much!!! She even gave Derek a kiss good bye this time even though he still had a beard!! (Long Story) And this is her little Brother Bentley! This was the first time that we got to see him. He was born about the time that we were getting ready to go home.
Well That is about it for right now!!! But be looking for more! Baker is about to have his First Birthday! I just can't believe it! The doctors can't either!!! He have overcome so much in his life! We love him Dearly!!!! But his party should be lots of fun!!! So check back!!!

Easter...

Well Baker's first Easter was an over all Great Day... nevertheless an exhausting day... We had places to be and people/family to see... It started off with a Bath and he loves bath time...

Then he had to see what the Easter Bunny brought him and look at his eggs... Also is a picture of his outfit... I never got a great shot with him wearing it!


Then we loaded up and off we went to Church... This next picture is a picture of Baker in his car seat wearing his bunny ears... I think he looks adorable... but his daddy doesn't like them at all!!
After church we went to Aunt Mary Anne's to eat and watched the kids play baseball in the field. Then we went to Derek's family... and it was HOT!!!! We had to find shade and I had to get him out of the stroller because he was sweating so... he started out on my lap...
Then we ended up on the ground... it was much cooler and he had fun with cousin Lexie!!!
Then we headed off to Brewton Alabama for Easter with my other side of the family... I didn't get any pictures there... sorry!!! But over all Easter was a fun day! I hope that Baker will enjoy it next year more!!!

Update!!!

Hey!! I know it has be a while since I updated last. My bad! I'm not too good at keeping a blog up to date! But I will try to get better! Baker is now 10 months old and he is talking up a storm! Dadadadada and Nanananana... What about Mama?? : ) Oh well, that will come!! I am just so happy to hear him talking since we were so unsure about that.

We have decided that we have to get Baker a new car seat... he is WAY too big for his infant carrier. He weighs 22 pounds. We just never really got any use out of his infant seat... For 5 months he was in the hospital... We are trying to decide if we are gonna keep it or get rid of it... since we are still unsure about future children. Of course we want more but we don't want to go through this again... At least Baker still fits in his stroller. We took him for his first real stroller ride the other day and he LOVED it!!! He was kicking his legs and stayed awake for the whole ride... He looks so big in the stroller.

I guess since I am updating everyone I need to include Harley... She is getting so big Very fast!!! But she is a good dog. And minds me well!!! She is just so jealous of everyone's attention!!!

New member of the Family

Well Derek got his Valentines present from Baker this past week. Harley!!!


She is an CKC registered Great Dane! Solid black with a diamond on her chest. The mother was brown and weight around 140, and the dad was Grey and weight in at 190ish... Derek said that the Daddy, Titus, meet them down the road and he was jogging by our Tahoe and he was looking in the windows.


Derek has always wanted a Great Dane!! And since I stay home with Baker now, I figured it was a good time. And the price was right!!! We got her for a steal!! Baker loves Harley!! He likes to rub her fur!!

Baker's Surgery

After surgery


Just wanted to let everyone know that Baker's surgery went well Friday. He had tubes in his ears, a bronch scope down his throat, and a sedated hearing test done. We left Thursday night and headed to Birmingham. We had to be at the hospital at 5:30 the next morning so we decided that we would go up the night before and stay with Derek's Uncle Don. It is a challenge to take Baker on an overnight trip because we have to load up EVERYTHING!!! I know it is hard for all parents to load up baby stuff, so imagine doubling all there stuff!! But over all we did well... we didn't forget Anything!! The next morning we woke up and it was less than 10 degrees in Birmingham. So we bundled up and threw a blanket on Baker and loaded back up to head to Children's Hospital. Got there on time and we went straight back to get his lab work done. Baker has very bad veins and it is hard to get blood from him. After 3 sticks I asked if they could just get his blood when they started his iv while he was asleep. Thank goodness they agreed. We went into the small room that they put you in to wait and the nurse came in to answer a bunch of questions. And we waited about 10 min for Doctor Hill to get to the hospital. As soon as they took him into the surgery he was gone about 30 min and then he was in recovery. He did so well that they let us go on home. They said everything was perfect now!!! We were on the road traveling back home by 11:30!!! Just wanted to post!!!

Happy New Year!!!

This past year has been the hardest year by far for Derek and I!! The beginning of 2008 was good for us. We were expecting our first child on May 30, we had saved up some money to start looking for a house, and bought us a larger vehicle. Things were good! On May 13th Baker was born and we were expecting to hear him scream and for him to be perfect but things just didn't work out that way. He was born at 4:16 pm and by 9:30 that night he was loaded up and being flown to Birmingham's UAB hospital. They was the hardest thing that I have ever done was watch them take my child away from me while I was stuck there in Dothan. I was so scared of what the future looked like for us and so mad that God was putting us through this. All I heard while I was trying to sleep was our neighbors little baby screaming and the daddy singing to that baby... I tried not to cry because my mom was with me and I wanted to be strong. And I knew that God was with us, and he was not going to forsake us!!!

The next day was the start of a long journey for us as a family!!! Baker went through months of test, blood work, surgerys, and ups and downs, but thankfully he was a trooper and made it through for Derek and I. (And thanks to Derek for all his help and support. Expecially when I was in the hospital with my gall bladder for a week. He was going back and forth from hospital to hospital. And took tons of pictures and videos for me to look at. I don't know what I could have done without him!!) Now we are home for the second time and things are wonderful... We still have to deal with equipment and germs, and things that most people wouldn't even have to worry about. But Baker is an easy baby. He sleeps all night. And he is never fussy!!! And the best thing is that we are still at home thoughout this cold and flu season... so far!!! Every doctor told us that we would probably be back in the hospital during this time... But Baker likes his home better : )

We have big plans for 2009. Hopefully a HOUSE!!! We need more space for sure!! But that will be another challange in itself. Having to find a house and make sure it can be adapted for a wheelchair. But it should be fun!!! I am so thankful for this past year even though it has been hard at times. God has truly blessed us and enriched our lives greatly with this little boy!!! We have been through alot and seen alot worse. We have made lots of new friends that we met in the hospital and see at clinics. And we will forever be part of the Children's Hospital family!!


Happy New Year!!!