Hairston haps is back...finally

The above pictures are from February-June of this last year

Well, it only took me 11 months to update our blog. Eeek, sorry. I am glad to be back. For some of you there are big updates that you have not heard about. Now, where to start...

I would say that this last 5 months has been pretty eventful in our home. Lance had surgery in August to correct his eyes. They look fabulous! He no longer wears glasses and he seems to see better. ...I just realized that some of you didn't know he even had glasses for a period. I posted older picts above...That same month he started preschool which he absolutely loves. His teacher is great with him and he is able to be around other children five days a week. That same week, John Michael started working at a fish hatchery as a Game and Fish Technician for the state. He has really enjoyed working again, being outdoors, and learning new things. It is fun for me to hear about all the different fish and wildlife out at the hatchery as well. I can tell that it has sparked a side of John Michael that was missing when he stayed at home with Lance. Don't get me wrong, he loved being at home with Lance and is a fabulous dad, but he missed working in his field.

Lance after his eye surgery before they cleared up. Look how straight they are though!

Lance had another surgery in September to correct for undescended testes. The surgery went well and he came out of it like a trooper. Our son is one tough cookie! Luckily no more surgeries expected for a while. He may have to have another revision of his eyes down the road, but time will tell.

The other big news in the Hairston household is that I am pregnant! Yep, we are expecting at baby around April 9th making me 19 weeks pregnant. Although this baby was not expected, we are thrilled. I have to admit this pregnancy has been kind of strange so far, but we are making it. During the first trimester we had some scares with several bleeds, but were able to get that under control. Then at 15 weeks I broke out with shingles. Yes, shingles! Can you believe it?! I am pretty much over that now. However, Monday I had a level II ultrasound to make sure the shingles had not affected the baby and left with greater concerns. Currently there are several concerns, but the greatest is that the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby is extremely low. So, guess how I am able to take time to update this blog? hee hee! You got it, I am on bed rest and drinking fluids like crazy!

Honestly, I was very worried and emotional Monday following the ultrasound. Since then I have calmed down and realized that my heavenly Daddy knows me, this baby, and all that is going on. I don't want to use the cliche of "Everything happens for a reason." Although I do believe that, but more like everything is going to be okay. No matter what the outcome, everything is going to be okay. I truly believe that the amniotic fluid could be restored and this baby end up being the healthiest baby alive. I also know that isn't always the plan for every baby. Either way, this child is deeply loved by our family.

I have been blessed with an amazing husband, family, and friends. I honestly can not put into words how much love and respect I have for my husband. He has been such a rock and man of integrity. I will stop before I get out of control. ha! God has just shown so many blessings through the trials.

So, are you wanting to see pictures of our wild little Lance?

Obviously before the surgery, but Lance is one outdoor guy. Here he has just enjoyed his first ice cream cone on his own. He was pretty proud. We have been saying "ice cream" (in Lance language) almost every day since. Ha!

Our latest pictures of our ringtail lemur from Halloween.

More Lance Tube

He is a fountain of blog material

Not too much going on here. Just some funny pics and videos we thought we should definitely post. Enjoy!

1)This is from Lance on his trampoline and the sun was shining out of the clouds provided an awesome background. I caught him mid-stride here.

2)We started looking at some clips we had from earlier this year and Lance was very fascinated.

3)I got this cool little aTm lighted fan for Christmas and Lance was seeing how it felt on his tongue. Ha. Btw, this picture was taken while he was on his little potty. He is taking major strides in the "poo poo in the potty" department over the last 7 days. Great signs of what will come.
4)This is from tonight. We left a Christmas gift of Lance's in Texas and it we got it in the mail today. He loves the drums. Thanks NaNa for sending the package!!

Videos! Something old, something new

One of Lance's many crazy moments. Rookie helped make this a very funny clip.

Surprisingly, Lance knows his boundaries and almost always stays away from the springs. He's getting more and more comfortable. He was kinda worn down in this clip.

Captions to pictures below

I tried to edit the last post to add captions to the pictures, but somehow it is not working at this time...so I will put them in this post. :o)

The first picture is of Lance in his skunk costume at therapy on Halloween. It was adorable. I wish you could have seen him walking around with the skunk tail. hee hee!

The second picture is when Lance started noticing each individual light on the Christmas tree. He makes his sound that means 'light' as he points to each one. It is really sweet.

Third...Lance and two of his cousins on Christmas morning when he received his rocking horse on springs. He has been having a ball with that for sure!

Fourth...He fell in love with a teddy bear that plays music at Target one day. Santa found out and put it in his stocking. This is him sharing with daddy. When the music plays he 'rocks it to sleep.'

Fifth...Lance's second time he bit into an apple. That day he decided to try every apple in the bowl. ha! He especially loves red apples.

It's a new year!

Hellllllooo!

Okay, where should we start...Halloween, Christmas? Sorry it has been so long guys! Since the last time we posted Lance has been an adorable skunk for Halloween (the cutest skunk I have ever seen.) We visited a few homes, but kept it pretty simple. We had Thanksgiving here in town at our cousin's home and then Oma and Opa were able to visit. Then the long awaited first Christmas. Lance has enjoyed the carols and lights everywhere. Other than that, he never really payed much attention. He wasn't even too excited about opening presents. This year he was just a little confused about what all the commotion was about. It was still fun having him there to share it with, though. Next year it will be great to see his excitement about the holidays and traditions. It should only get better. :o) We have been extremely blessed this year to be able to bring him home and share all of our lives with him. He has grown so much over the last 7 months.

Lance is now saying about 15 words consistently (even if no one but his family can understand them. hee hee) He can say: up, down, out, off, mama, dada, hi, bye, night night, help, more, banana, cracker, go, uh oh, quack, woof woof, please and maybe more that I can not think of right now. He is now wearing size 2T clothes and 7-8 shoe size!!!! What a growth curve! Our son is one amazing little boy. He is also quite comical. He keeps us laughing all the time. He is into everything except toys. Ha! Today he decided to climb to the top of the couch and reach as far as he could to grap the pendulum from the clock. Whew! You have to be ready all the time. We love that he is being a typical boy, though.

Some things Lance has overcome are being extremely scared of loud noises such as diesel trucks and motorcycles...he now ignores them or looks at us to make sure it is okay, spitting food out of his mouth...now he will give us what he does not want, he listens more each day, can bite crisp foods...now bites into an apple without it being cut, fear of being in crowds or around people he does not know...will run to poeple with open arms. Hmmm, so many other things that I can not put into words at this time. He is amazing. God is amazing for blessing him so much!

Happy New Years! It will be fun to see what this year holds!



Love you all,

John Michael, Karen, and Lance (Mattie and Rookie Woof! Woof!)