2 Brothers Layne

Today has been one of the most enjoyable days in the last several days!!! Jonah finally had a good, long, nap. I must admit that I have been a slacker for the last few days. Tanya and Jonah have hung out most of the day all day; however, today Jonah has been exceptional happy. The most fun Jonah has had, it being in his jumper. This not only helps him with his bowel movements but also gives him some movement that he can control. He LOVES it. And that is an understatement. We also had another first today. We took our first family trip. Tanya and I in the front seats, Jonah and Jax in the back. We went to visit my parents in Riverside. Although only being an 8 minute trip, Jax thought it was an eternity. Jax is used to having the entire back seat to himself, now he only gets 1/3rd of the seat. Jonah takes up the middle, all other Jonahs stuff takes up the other 3rd, leaving the last third for Jax. The pictures are so funny. Jonah is fighting sleep to an extreme! We hope yo...

Today is Jonah's due date. So his adjusted age is now 1 year old. So this blog is playing a little bit catch-up. I have been taking photos and Videos of our cutie pie and then I'm too lazy to sit at the big computer to up-load the shots. There are three really cute videos. There is one of Jonah talking up a storm just before he decided to eat the camera. There is another that shows Jonah enjoying some Cool-Whip. Then the last one is Jonah getting his morning workout in the jumper. This is what he does while Mommy does her exercise video. Mommy's boys being SILLY! This was how we found Mamaw and Jonah when we got home from our date last night!

Since Mommy has been home, Jonah has made some big time developments. For starters, Jonah's tastes are getting better and better. Jonah has shown a lot of interest in eating whatever mom is eating. For example: Yesterday, Monday evening, Tanya was eating some beef stew for dinner. Jonah showed interest in it so Tanya gave him some broth. Jonah seemed to enjoy it for several tastes. He drank about 1 oz of water today from a cup, a regular cup not a sippy cup. Jonah also ate some whipping cream, off of a pumpkin pie Tanya was eating. Jonah loves playing in his jumper, and is starting to look for toys occasionally when they are dropped. My parents, Nana and Papa Layne, took Tanya and I out for dinner this evening. Very enjoyable!!! Grandma Rain watched Jonah, and was a little stressed after watching Tanya help Jonah through a reactive airway session; but, Jonah was mostly good for Loraine and when I got home they were both fast asleep on the couch. Jonah was put into bed a...

Today Jonah finally found relief in his bowels. Jonah had two big movements today. The first one was a semi-solid lump that would look like a lump of play dough. The second like a log. We think this is the reason for Jonah's fussiness the last few days. Today he only took two very short naps, totaling 30 minutes for both. However, after the bowel movements Jonah was a very happy baby again. We had some fun times today, but right now I can't remember what they were. Sorry. Yet, all is well in the little Layne household.

Last night was another long one for the three of us... As much as I hate loosing sleep, it is nice to have Jonah doing something normal for a change. This was the sight I came upon this morning. Aren't they soooo cute! Our little boy awoke this morning with the attitude of "I'm a big boy now!" That means that he doesn't have to take naps, sleep in his own bed, or be content to play quietly on the floor. Oh, no, Jonah has had a very long day with only an hour nap. He now enjoys screaming at the top of his lungs when he hears someone he want to play with to get their attention. Jonah has enjoyed playing all day with Mommy and Daddy and Gaga and Mamaw. It really is a lot of fun having Jonah doing some normal things!

Today has been an up and down day. Jonah loves to watch people and talk at them. But when Jonah gets so tired he can't sleep, that is a huge issue. Finally we put Jonah in our bed with both Tanya and I on each side of him and we all had a nap. This helped Jonah out a ton!!!! You know those babies that cry and cry and cry and cry and then they stop and they are asleep? This was Jonah today. He would wake up crying mid sleep, he must be having bad dreams, because we would pat him a few times and he would be fast asleep again. We get no sympathy from Tanya's parents when we say it has been a rough day. They reply, "Well, we did it with you." and then comment that Tanya was the worst baby of all their children. We laugh because now we get to be the "Normal" parents who get to struggle with everything, walking around like zombies wishing for Jonah to take a longer than normal nap so we can catch up on lost sleep. Today has been a very enjoyable day, in...

We are hoping everyone had a very merry Christmas!!!! What a day!! Last night Jonah was up until 1 am fussing over some gas bubbles in his tummy. He and I slept in the recliner until 4 am, when Mom came into relieve me. After Gaga was up he gave Jonah a blessing, and also Jonah was given some more milacon, He was still unsettled but was able to get some sleep. We got around to opening presents around 9 am this morning. This was a lot this morning for Jonah. Unwrapping gifts, noise, commotion, people, new textures to feel, combined with not enough sleep the night before and being up this morning without a nap made for a nasty concoction for an over-stimulated Jonah!!! He had to be isolated and rocked for about 4 hours before his little mind could comprehend and think again. Poor baby!!! He finally showed signs of being himself when we decided to have some family down time. We went into our bed and laid Jonah in the middle with each of us on his side and were...

It's the night before Christmas and all through the house you can hear Jonah SCREAMING he scared off the mouse! His tummy has been vented his diaper is changed by now Mommy's head is spinning she is feeling deranged! Now it's Daddy to the rescue he can always make it right that's why Daddy's leaving fill Mommy with such Fright! Now don't think I'm complaining we know it's what is best It's just that times like this put our faith to the test. This was my feeble attempt to write something as interesting as Dave. From our family to yours... Merry Christmas.

Two days before Christmas and all through the house, was strung Jonah's oxygen tubing, careful don't trip. Presents not wrapped yet; and probably won't be, just stuck in the corner and out of the way. A less pleasant Christmas than we've had in the past, With dad leaving for basic the time is going to fast. Stress levels are climbing, the eyes get more teary, Is it me, or do we all seem a little more dreary. Jonah is grand, what an amazing little boy, His smiles, giggles, and laughs bring nothing but joy. With parties to attend, only partial though, One will stay home with Jonah and not be able to go. It's just not the same when partially there, there in body not in heart, is it really that fair? Onward we go, press forward me must, through lifes hurdles climb over them must. To the next challenge, trust in each other. Grow ever closer as father and mother. give and receive both courage and strength walk side-by-side our stride must gain length. Apart we will be, fo...

Whew!!! We had a scare tonight. The power went out for close to an hour at our house. I suppose it was inspiration on Gaga's part to get the generator out of storage in August when we came home just in case. Tonight we fired it up to keep Jonah's condenser going. Yes we had oxygen tanks, but we didn't want the worry or hassle of getting up every few hours to see if the oxygen tank needed to be changed. Although the power outage was on for a short while, it still was scary, and helped prepare us for a bigger outage if there is one. Jonah had a special visitor today. Nanny, Tanya's maternal grandmother, came to help Mamaw tend Jonah. Jonah wasn't to sure of Nanny today so they had to lay Jonah on the floor so Nanny could talk to him. After a while Jonah warmed up to Nanny and they played with each other. I think both parties enjoyed themselves very much. So much, that Nanny has voluteered to come help Mamaw again on the 9th of January. I will have left f...

Today was a bit crazy for Jonah and I. We missed our OT appointment at 9 am because of some phone calls I had to make regarding Jonah's Medicaid. The OT was kind enough to return to our home and play for a little bit. I called my dad, papa Dennis, and asked if he would drive Jonah and I to Ogden to turn some papers in at the Work Force Service. I arrived there and found out that I had two options. I could fax the papers or mail them to the Central Imaging Unit. That was the most expensive fax I have ever and probably will ever send. Jonah was a champion. Papa watched Jonah while I ran into the building. Papa said it was easy, Jonah slept the entire time. I think Jonah's routine was interrupted enough that he coped with it by sleeping. Jonah didn't get a bath until after his 2 pm feeding. I forgot to mention the other day that Tanya has Jonah taking sips of water from a cup. She tried formula and Jonah does not like the taste of the formula. So onward and upwa...

Today was an especially happy day. Jonah played most of the day with a smile and a laugh. His chatter is improving greatly. It is a lot of fun to listen to him sing and talk to himself. He has such a good time. Tanya wrapped Jonah's gifts today; but before she wrapped them she had Jonah play with them to see if they are going to overstimulate him. They did not. We are gearing up for Jonah to be more infatuated with the shiny paper we bought just for him than his toys. We hope every one is going to have a happy Christmas! Yes it may be a meager one, but the meagerness we fell may only help us feel the trueness of the Christmas season. Giving instead of receiving, thinking of others more and ourselves less. Warm feelings in and of the heart, a time of year to bring us closer together. Tanya and I continue to enjoy these blessings because of the kindness of others. We are ever grateful for the help that comes our way, some known and some anonymous. Thank you!!!!!

So this morning I went fishing with my dad up in Idaho. Yes, crazy I know; but, there was a heat wave going on today. By the time we arrived at the reservoir it was a whopping 19 degrees F. We thought about sun bathing but didn't want to scare off all the fish. As we, well my mom and dad ( I only caught 2 fish), began reeling in the monsters, I happen to bring in a 6 inch fish that is about 2 inches wide. My dad teased me, and still is teasing me about finding Nemo. Jonah had a rough day due to his darn teeth. He has been consistently on Tylenol and needed to be held most of the day. He and I did have a brief minute where we were both laying on the floor and singing to each other. Then I fell asleep and he watched me. Isn't it supposed to be the other way. Jonah is going to be such a watcher outer person. Jonah tends to have two melt downs a day. One at 9 pm, no big deal. The other at 4 am. This one is a big deal. It throws Tanya's and my sleep cycle off. G...

Big news, Jonah's first molar has broke through the skin today and he is MISERABLE with another very close to the surface. Dr. Null was very pleased with the progress Jonah has made since the last time. He was not concerned about Jonah's bone density but said that he did call his friend (an endocrinologist) and ran it past him to double check. This friend said that given Jonah's prematurity and his lengthy medical history it is not a big worry. Tanya has 2.5 days left of teaching!!! It is always hard to leave people you've grown to love but it is so exciting to think that I'll finally get to be a full time mommy! We found out today that the Navy will pay off all of Dave's student loans! Hooray, yet another blessing of doing what the Lord would have us do. (This is not the easy road, but it is the right road). Hope you enjoy the picture of our little marshmallow man. We bundled him all up to go from the car to the hospital. Poor guy could hardly move his a...

I either stress Jonah out so much that the only way he can cope with me is to sleep or his teeth really bother him enough that the only way to cope with them is to sleep. Mom tends to lean toward the latter of the two, she said when I called, "that the only smiles she has seen this afternoon is when I called after finishing with the Navy tonight." It is crazy in 19 days I will be sleeping in a hotel near the airport preparing to leave the next day. Tomorrow we meet with Dr. Null and we will hopefully have an answer to the bone density problem.

Again, Jonah slept in my arms or cried. He doesn't even want to put our fingers in his mouth. He is showing signs of a molar coming in and an incisor. Tylenol helps take the edge off so we don't have a screaming meme all day. To be honest, I enjoy cuddling with my little boy, A LOT!!! I am trying to get enough hugs and cuddles to last me for awhile, at least until I get a break and come home for a bit. I am still unclear how that works. I have heard both ways, that I will and may possible not have, time to come home after basic training. I guess it all depends on when my A-School, training, starts. This week has flown by. I keep checking the calendar, phone, or asking people what the day is. There is so much to do to get ready to go, but it all can wait except for my family. Tanya and Jonah had a trip this evening. Tanya enjoys watching the T.V. show "So You Think You Can Dance." She missed it last night due to her schools Christmas party. My sister was...

Tonight was Tanya's school party. It was very nice of Mamaw to watch Jonah so both of us could attend the party. It was a lot of fun. I received a phone call today from the navy asking if I wanted to leave for basic before Friday. I was a little to slow in telling them yes, and some one took the opportunity before I had the chance to. Jonah slept again most of the day. He is teething again and is having a pretty hard time with it. So for the next few days I am pretty sure he will be a clingy baby.

I am not sure what is up with Jonah. He slept most of the day away. I hope it is only that he is growing. I can't believe that Christmas is next week!!! Craziness. Time is flying, and soon it will be me in the back seat of a car crying like a baby on my way to boot camp. Dr. Stokes, the pediatrician, is concerned about Jonah's bone density and wants us to ask Dr. Null if he knows anything, and if not then she wants us to see an Endocrinologist (I hope I spelled that correctly). We see Dr. Null on Friday.

So if any one wants to have a late night party in Jonah's room, you are invited to come on over; well, maybe in a few years! Ha ha ha!!! Today has been a lot of fun for us. Especially at night. Jonah woke up just in time for us to fold his clothes and put them away. He is so fun to play with. He loves to laugh, and scream, and play, even more he loves to j//;,../.// bnm nm b n n, that was Jonah typing to you. Jonah loves mostly to tease. Jonah is moving from the stage of enjoying watching his cousins play to wanting to join in with them. Maybe in the summer time we can make this happen. He is continuing to improve on his rolling skills. This morning he was rolling from mom to dad and back, I think it is starting to click in his mind that he can roll and move somewhere else. On another note. Jonah has not been above 1 liter in a week. About the Sunday after Thanksgiving we started using Essential Oils on Jonah. They are supposed to help the cells repair themselves a...

Today Tanya and I have spent more time away from Jonah, while at home, than we have ever spent before. We had two family parties to attend today. One was at 1 pm and the other was at 5:30 pm. The million dollar question was, "Where is Jonah?" It is rare that both Tanya and I are at a family function together. We teased them saying, "Oh, he's asleep in the car." We had a good laugh and then explained that grandma was watching him. We were fortunate today to have opposite family parties so the grandma not at the party could watch him. Thanks Grandmas for helping make our potentially last Christmas in Utah a great one!!!

Today started off with the nurse coming from IHC homecare to give the synergis shot to Jonah. It was supposed to happen yesterday, but she was waiting on information to see if she could give Jonah a flu shot. By the time she arrived at 9 am, both grandma's, Auntie and Zeke, Jonah, myself, and the nurse were here. It was a big croud for the nurse. It was kinda funny. Jonah did cry after his syrupy shot was given to him, but only for a minute. Shortly after this visit we had a therapy session over the internet. The PT kept commenting on how well Jonah is progressing. His stamina is improving both in lungs and in the muscular areas. We have a wedge that most people sleep on; we use this for Jonah to roll down. He rolled down all by himself today. It was a little fast, but he did it. We also practiced rolling from person to person. The therapist says that this will help him understand mobility and he may want to start rolling on his own. He almost rolled from his tummy to...

"Smiling" or "Cheezing it" I tried to help Jonah pull some silly faces but they didn't work out to well. I bet he thought, "Dad, what the heck are you doing!?! Stop it!!! maybe this caption for this one in his book could read "Nostalgic" Finally during the moments I knew Jonah was going to pull faces I took advantage of the situation. "Sad" Mommy says this one pulls at her heart strings. "Tired" "Angry" "Happy" I like these pictures. They make me laugh every time I look at them. Not much happened today. Jonah and I played hard for an hour this morning and Jonah was wiped out for the rest of the day. That sums up the day. We are excited for this coming saturday. We have two Christmas parties to attend. It will be exciting!!1

"Smiling" or "Cheezing it" I tried to help Jonah pull some silly faces but they didn't work out to well. I bet he thought, "Dad, what the heck are you doing!?! Stop it!!! maybe this caption for this one in his book could read "Nostalgic" Finally during the moments I knew Jonah was going to pull faces I took advantage of the situation. "Sad" Mommy says this one pulls at her heart strings. "Tired" "Angry" "Happy" This is a tired Jonah sitting in his corner chair. Another tired Jonah. We deliberately kept him awake so he would not stay up until midnight. This is Jonah playing in his corner chair. You can also see the Jingle bell bracelet cousin Matt made for his cousins. I continue to be amazed at how generous people are. We cannot begin to start naming people to give thanks to for fear that we may leave out some one. From Donations to prayers, our little family has been very blessed by the good hearted p...

Today cousin Matt brought over an early christmas gift. A bracelet with bells on it. It is just the right size to fit on his wrist. It was soo funny, we gave Jonah one of his teething rings to play with and when he would tap it on his leg it would jingle like a tambourine. We had a good time today playing and sleeping. 3 out of the 4 cousins came for a brief visit. It was fun. Jonah loves to watch his cousins play. I believe there is a development of a special friendship between Jonah and Maddy.

Sorry the pic is blurry. Jax is such a trooper!! Jonah: mmmmmm this ear looks good. Jax: please let me get up now. Jax: Ok, I will just lay here until I am told I can get up. It doesn't mean I have to like it though!!! Today has been an extremely joyful day. First of all, one of Jonah's cousins, Zeke and Auntie Alashandra, came for a visit. Today is the first time they have ever met. It was a wonderful first meeting for all. Jonah loves to watch his cousins play. The Reynolds family lives in Texas since this last August. Secondly, Jonah and I played the day away. We stood, and laughed, and rolled, and laughed, Jax even got in on the action. A vision lady came today from the Up to 3 program to check Jonah's vision. She told us what we know. Jonah is delayed in his development. Surprisingly this was not hard news to take. I think I have come to grips that Jonah may never be an all-star athlete. Yet, he will always be an All-star in my book!!!! So the title of t...

Today has been a pretty fun day. Jonah has played, and sang, and played, and rolled, and flirted, and played. It started off with a visit from Jonah to our bed, well Tanya brought him in to show dad what a Jonahquake would do (this is where Jonah jumps on the bed to shake it, to wake up the person in the bed). After I woke up, Jonah laid on my chest and tummy. I would stick out my tummy and Jonah would then roll off to see mom, whom was laying next to us. This went on for about ten minutes when Jonah decided after he rolled off my chest he would continue rolling over mom. It was pretty funny. Nana and Papa came by for a visit today. Nana brought a quilted blanked to Jonah. It is very pretty. We will work on getting a picture of it for tomorrow. Bed time was the best. While sleeping in Tanya's arms, Tanya would kiss Jonah and Jonah would kiss/suck back. It is sooo very funny. At first I thought he was kissing his lips, but after watching the video a couple of times, I ...

This is Jonah sleeping in my arms for his afternoon nap. Well was sleeping until the light was turned on and he pulled this funny face. Jonah sitting at the table on mom's lap. Today has been a pretty good day. Jonah has played and played and played. The videos are pretty funny. To help Jonah have a bowel movement we bring Jonahs knees up to squish his tummy, he does not like this very much. In one of the videos it shows Jonahs on and off switch. This is proof that his mother torments him!!!! Today at dinner time, we were having fun. We decided to take a picture of Jonah sitting on moms lap. You can barely see Jonah, well you can see his huge forehead, over the table. Love ya buddy!!! Enjoy the videos!!!

Poor Tanya, she has a sinus infection. She looks and sounds miserable. Jonah is such a trooper!! I swear he knows how we need him to act. I had to leave to run and Tanya watched Jonah. He chilled in her lap and they were able to take it easy!! Tanya now knows why Jonah despises the suction so much. Tanya's nose is red from blowing so much so she tried the BBG (baby booger grabber aka: suction machine). She pulled a lot of funny faces as she attempted to suck out her nose. Aunt Laurel came by for a quick minute to drop off some shoes she made for Jonah, shoes that would fit over his DAFOs. They are awesome!!! Thanks Laurel!!!

Today was a beautiful day, in a morbid sort of way. On a side note, isn't it weird that we are so focused on Jonah's bowel movements? So on to the day. . . It was a pretty pleasant day, Until 11 pm this evening. This is when Jonah started into another sort of fit. We tried most of everything. I think One of us will have to sleep in his room. Jonah's cousins came over today for an hour or so to eat lunch. They cleaned their carpets today and needed a place to go while they carpet dried. Jonah enjoyed watching his cousins eat, play, and walk around. Jonah stood tall and smiled at Maddy, who was born 2 days earlier than Jonah. She blew him kisses as she left. Maddy's mom said that doesn't happen very often. I found out about me leaving in December. There are no job openings for me to leave in December, unless I wanted to go in unclassified; which means that I would not have a specific job and would have to wait 2 years to re-classify for a specific job. To...

Our cute fun boy, and his cute teeth! Jonah sporting his new DAFOs (ankle/feet braces). Daddy picked them out a couple of weeks ago! A close up of the new DAFOs. The red strap has puppy dogs, base balls, and bats. The man who made them, Rocky Mountain Limb and Brace, put tread on the bottom because it is very hard to find shoes that will fit with these on. We've had to add tall socks to Jonah's Christmas wish list. All but 2 pair of his socks stop at the ankle. The pair he has on is from Old Navy... looks like we'll be making a stop there. Jonah's new crib arrived today! It is lovely! We are so pleased with it. It was a family project to get it all put together. The assembly was as smooth as silk! This is a view of the end of the bed from Jonah's doorway. The equipment you see is a big black back pack/diaper bag, the little red backpack is for his feeding pump when we're on the go. The red bag is hanging on his portable oxygen tank. Then at the o...

Today has been a rough day. Jonah went all day with out a bowel movement. When mom arrived home we gave him a suppository to help move things along. This worked pretty well. Jonah has calmed down, but still requires to be held or he cries. Poor little guy. Finally after 3 different diapers, Jonah finally felt better.

We had Jonah's gut motility test this morning and he was a CHAMP! The actual test took a full hour during which Jonah had to keep very still. Impossible! you might say, Thats what I thought until they brought out the sand bags! Yep, those white pillow cases over his arms and legs are filled with sand. Then to top it off he was Velcroed to the table. Luckily Jonah was very sleepy from staying up until midnight last night and slept through most of the test. After the test we went up to the 2nd floor to see Dr. Meyers (Jonah's Surgeon). She reviewed the test results from both tests and said that everything was pretty normal. She said that Jonah's tummy took 37 minutes to empty half way where as for you and I it would only take 20 minutes. So it is a little on the slow side but not enough to warrant medical intervention. We are supposed to burp his g-tube often and keep his feed set for an hour rather than 30 minutes. ...So, very good news!!! Jonah's new crib is ...