Found another CMS friend!

Liz contacted me via email and started her own blog! Another CMS friend! YAY!

Here is her blog address: http://cmsliz.blogspot.com/

And I love, love that our cms friends send pics! Liz..your beautiful!

Luke-Tricycle!

Hi loved ones, love you.

The following video is of Luke and his tricycle. The school allowed me to take this home with us to practice.

If you watch the video all the way through you'll get to listen to the high screeching pleasant sound wail that I hear all the time when I try to get him to work!!

Enjoy! Love you.

I call this video "Push".

Swine Break 09

I heard this title on Facebook! Totally cracked me up.

With Luke not in school......I am craving quiet time in the am. I took this video a few weeks ago to be funny! Little did I know it would not be funny 2 weeks later....Lord, get my son back in school...I need the relief. I hear "readeee" about 100x all before 9am! LOL...

Love you blog fam----be back with some fun pics!

I call this video "Precious Morning"

More Luke video

So hi. Well, we are homebound until further notice from daddy. Jonathan is freaking out over this swine flu. So....just us at home and at this point everyone has gotten me so scared to even go to the grocery store!

Ok...well, a good note. Watch this....Little Luke is just over the top progressing. Rapidly. Hence why I really hate missing school.

Enjoy---

P.S. I'm going to break it up a bit and let you guess what I would call this video. You really need to think on this. It's a tuffy! Love you! Yes....my big mister is amazing!

I call this video "_ _ _ _ _"

Well hi, how are you?

Ok, here is video of Luke. Stick with it. He gets better and better with his greeting.

My son is like his momma. He loves to greet. I'm grooming him for greeting in a church lobby!! LOL. My favorite thing to do in the whole wide world is to greet in a church lobby. Give me a badge and I'm so there. I love it. This said, listen carefully. He starts out by saying "Hi, how are you". Then...progresses to "Hi, how are you doing?". So adorable!

Here's my baby. I know..he's big boy. But..always my baby love.

I call this video: "Hi, how are you doing?".

Hannah (Luke sister!) lounging out!

Hi...I'm homebound. Can you tell? This video is so adorable. See sicky video below as well of the kids. My sweetie pie babes.

I call this video: "Hand Head".

Luke eating by himself! whoodeehooo!

This is Luke eating guacamole by himself! Luckily the guac. sticks to the spoon really well making it very easy for him to feed himself. :)

Our big boy! I call this video "Eating with a spoon".

Monkey boy..my little mister!

Ok....Luke story:

His took his little floating people in the bathtub and looked up at me and said "Ever-Body". I said "what honey?". He said "Ever-Body". I said..."did you just say EVERYBODY?!! He looked right back at me and said "EVEREEEBODY".

It's amazing. We are thrilled with his progress!! I love ya'll! fast blogging today!

I call these pictures: Diaper butt Pilates/Yoga Monkey boy

Luke walking part 2

Ok, so hi loved ones. Here I am again. 1 week later! LOL---however, I so wanted to leave Luke's walking up for an entire week so that anyone that might have missed it wouldn't have a chance! I wanted everyone to see it.

So....wow.

Luke is a little walking maniac. It's a blast. He's really going fast. Lulu is here staying with us for a few days and she was really impressed today. She says "he is RUNNNING". Just like Forest gump would say. LOL.
ok..so video power blogging here. See below. Love you! A

Ok, sit down...Luke is walking!

Dearest loved ones,

There will never be enough words to type the following news. It's so huge for us blog family that I literally cannot even remotely begin to write the words. Our baby is walking. Something that we've prayed for, begged for, hoped for, dreamed for, pondered for, worried for, scared for, doubted for, ---on and on. He's walking. Yes, it's true.

Luke is officially walking upright with his walker!

He's had this walker for a few weeks. I've tried and tried to get him to start walking with it. Finally today, he got right up and asked me to pull him to a stand in front of it and he took off. Luke became very GUMP LIKE. I was shocked and thrilled.

I call this picture below: "GUMP". LOL! He did not want to stop walking! ask my neighbor! A total nightmare going home!!

Also, every neighbor kid within our block ran down to us and would scream to their mom's "Luke is walking Luke is walking!". Darci's son ran in the house to tell her and Darci ran out. Just like on Forest Gump when everyone starting running behind Gump! LOL!!

Every step he takes..............literally TAKES..TAKES, TAKES my breath away.

Video below: I've watched it 10x already!

Loved ones, my eyes are full of tears. I am weepy, overjoyed, proud, crazy and passionately overwhelmed with emotion in reference to our big boy. I just want to say, "Thank you Lord". Thank you.

I love you all...A

SO MUCH MORE TO COME! I promise! Love you again, A

A lot and video

Oh family. So much going on. Hence, my title above. When it rains...it drenches around here. Like..soggy wet people.

What a day. And..it's 10:30pm and not over. Hannah is WIDE AWAKE! Like....whiny awake. It's maddening. Luke is finally out and I have to wake him up in 1 hour for his zopanex breathing treatment.

Last night was scary for me/jon. Luke woke up coughing like crazy...couldn't catch his breath and for the 1st time since the Mayo Clinic we had to suction Luke. 3x last night to be exact. The night before I had to get Lulu to assist me with suctioning and I felt horrible asking her to help. She was dead asleep on pain meds and I was freaked that Luke started doing this. Jon is finally back in town from business and he came back to the cry/sick house.

Long story very short, Luke has hand/foot mouth gunk. The Dr. said he's got blisters on his throat and we have to monitor him very close. His coughing fits freak me out. Literally.....freak me out.

So, it's late and I've got to work tomorrow. My first Denise job of the year and I cannot miss it. I'm just so dismayed by Luke going to school. He loves it, we love it and yet...3rd time he's been sick since Jan. 6th. That's a lot. And..every time so far Hannah gets it. Although...it's radical. She kicks sickness so fast. I think I'm really getting a good reality of Luke's stuff taking forever to heal versus Hannah. I didn't realize it until Hannah Bean.

This said, I'm so bummed by this.

On the Lulu front, she went home early am. She was glad. I'm sure of it. I really think she was not happy to be here. The minute I got her back here and comfortable..I was heading to the Dr. for Luke and it's been non-stop damage control on the kids ever since. I've had zero time to take care of her and I feel horrible about that.

Overall, I'm thinking she didn't have a great time as her last blog entry stating she was home did not include any updates about her stay at my house. Ummm, ok? Oh....and we had a little screaming match back and forth during one of Luke's suction episodes. She told me to calm down and I told her to be quiet and not tell me to calm down.

A drugged up post op patient telling me with post traumatic suction syndrome to calm down. Not a good mix.

Ok...so, that's the skinny. Or Fatty. Whichever you prefer. I feel seriously fat these days. Gotta lose this weight. ugh.

Just pray for Luke and Hannah blog family. A small prayer will do. I just want my bambino's to be healthy.

Ok...video of Lukester below getting his breathing treatment. He's so good! He says "all dun"..."all dun" when he's wanting it to stop. It's so sweet and heart wrenching at the same time. Our little mister.

I call this video: "Breathing Treatment by Penguin"

p.s. Lulu..you left your pillow and crocks.

Love you, A

More Luke talk and Hannah

Hi, good morning. Happy Tuesday. Well, it's early. I'm up. Trying to figure out what I'm going to blog today. I saw this picture of Hannah and cracked up. This was a full on body shot of her 3mth photo shoot that didn't make the editing cut. However, I love it.

Isn't she just heavenly to stare at. She's pristine. Perfect. Amazing. Can you tell we are in love. Desperate again for yet another child. (what is God doing to us with these little gifts He sends us...I swear they break your heart up in so many pieces that you can't recover. It's sublime.)

I call this photo:
"Flat on back"

Also..again, Luker talking below. He's my little talking bunny these days and it's so sweet. I love his voice. His little "no" and how I will start cutting his nails (which he hates) and then he'll say in his sweet little voice after 1 finger.."all done, all done". LOL. He's really trying so hard to communicate instead of screaming out of frustration. I can so see how my little man was frustrated because he couldn't talk. My sweet boy. I love him so such.

Oh...Not to worry...I have 2 little talkers! Hannah is coming as well. She's on her coo'ing kick and I finally got some video of it. Every time I try to video her she'll stop immediately when she sees the video device! It's cute. She's so attentive and smart y'all. It's amazing. She's super alert and strong, strong! Her 3mth well appt. went great. She's 12.4 lbs and right on target. My pediatrician said again that her tone is above average for a DS kid. She's doing wonderfully. Sigh of relief there. I want her to be healthy!! So..thank you Jesus.

Ok..I love you blog family. I love, love, love, love, love you. Big hugs, A

Animal talk

Ok..you ready? Here goes: He says BYE in the end...don't miss it. We are thrilled blog family. Luke is cracking us up! I never thought I would get so excited on what a duck says. It's so fun!

I call this video: "GOOD BOYEEE". And..it's key you say this with a huge Texas accent.

Dang Monkey

Hey blog family, hope your weekend was eventful.

Mine was...well, stressful. Much to say on that front.

However, on a lighter Monday note...I decided to blog about Luke's latest.

Here lately, we can't seem to lose the monkey fetish in our household. As most of you know, Luke loves these little animals. He's been so fascinated with them that in the last year he had to always have one for the car, in the doctor's office, or grocery store. He could never leave home without carrying an animal.

Well, the last 2 months...he's been stuck on this monkey! At first, we thought the monkey would be a phase much like the Lion, giraffe and bird, but nooooooo, not this dang monkey. It's officially attached to his hands.

He takes a bath with it, scoots with it, rides in the car seat with it and SLEEPS WITH IT! I have to pry it out of his hands post sleep time.

My kid loves his monkey. Here you go. Monkey boy. (I'll blog about the 'stuff' tomorrow..too tired to blog 2nite) Love you, A

Cuz I'm cute and that's all there is to it!

Luke: I ain't lying. I'm cute. I know it. I scream, kick and get my way a lot. So what? I'm a baby. Well, at least my mom still says I am. So..I'm going to milk it. As long as possible. Ain't no baby girl gonna step on my turf. I'm cute..and that's all there is to it.

Mom: Stop taking Hannah's paci away from her mouth. I'll beat your butt mister. Stop that!

Bottomline: Luke is testing momma! Can you see it in his eyes below! Sneeky mister.

Pup chop muffin in PT therapy

Hi blog fam,

Ok. A much needed blog post for Luke. He's rocking it out in therapy. It's unbelievable. Luke has had a new Physical therapist for about 2 months now and she's amazing. He really likes her and works so hard for her. An answered prayer for us.

We are praying, praying he starts walking in the next few months. He's climbing on EVERYTHING, taking more risks than ever before and really becoming independent.

He's even starting to hug his regular therapists when they come in. Our little social bunny. (just like his momma) lol.

Ok...so brace yourself...it's amazing! We stand in awe of our mister!
Love you so much family,
A

Oh...one critical note: Notice the huge hole in the back of Luke's pants! That's right friends...Luke scooted a hole in his pants! You see?! I'm not the crazy no pants mother you think I am. I'm really not. There IS PURPOSE in the madness around here. My mister is a butt scootin hole pants fool. So extend grace loved ones! lol.

A Splash of Luke's new sister..Hannah Hope

Luke Smiling.....isn't he adorable?

This post is for the Grandparents of the family. A little spice of Hannah bean.

Of course, had to post Big Brother first. A close up shot of mister.

Photography by Ericka O'Malley.

Only one little issue with our photo shoot: Little Hannah is too strong! I can't believe I can actually type these words out. However, we missed the Anne Geddes approach of wadding up a newborn in various positions and they just lay there accordingly. Not happening with this little missy. We would fold up her legs under her belly and she would kick them out! So funny.So...flat on the back she goes. Enjoy--she's our angel girl.

Thanks Auntie E...we love you.

Hope you enjoyed! She's becoming seriously alert this week. So fun to see. Love you all, A

The Mayo Clinic confirmed...

That Hannah does not carry the CMS gene mutation.

I got the email several days ago and wanted to post this as I know some of you were not aware.

My heart: Uggh, my heart. Well, I got sad. Then, I got sadder. Started thinking of 'well, she would have been healthy if it were not for downs'. Etc, etc. Lots of thoughts.

Many of you have said "I'm speechless". Well, know that we feel the same way still off and on. Just speechless and walking each day out.

I must say, she's incredibly strong. Very healthy. Just like a naturally healthy newborn. It's radical actually. Aside from the label of down syndrome, you would never really know.

I'm going to be bold and speak my mothers' intuition. She's going to be fine. She's going to be bright, smart and high functioning beyond what anyone could possibly see now.

I see it in her eyes when she looks at me. Just like when our little Luke could not move very much and a past therapist we had early on claimed he had neurological problems..."I boldly rebuked it, fired her and then said 'no, my child is in there..I know it, I see it, he has the will, God has shown me in his eyes'.

By God's grace and mercy...Luke is exactly what God showed me! Smart, bright and learning by the day.

I claim and profess boldly the same intuition that God gave me over my Hannah. She's going to be amazing. No specialists needed for momma.

Love you blog family...thanks for listening.

To God be the Glory,
A

Thanksgiving..our sweet dysfunction 1x a year!

Thanksgiving day. A day of hectic food cooking; rushing around and trying to meet the deadline eat time; loving the new baby; attempting to photograph a family portrait; and pretty much random fun in the Hughes household. I was feeling 'physically' ill off and on all day. This c-section stuff is a killer. Hope to feel back to normal soon.

So...let's begin blog family. I will try to make this quick..I'm in rush blog mode these days and I hope and trust my summary bullet points speak about our hearts and mind when posting.

Here goes...much love, A

All the pictures below are power blogged. I just put them up there for your viewing. I'll sum up the day and you can view the pics and figure it out! It was a good day.

• Attempt to take a family picture of me/jon and the kids. Total nightmare. Not surprising. Jon hates pics and is difficult through the whole process (to which I am greatly bitter about) and Luke is....well, same O Luke. Enough said. Hannah was the only one cooperative. Here's the best of the best below. *can you see my bitter smirk? LOL
• p.s. Ericka..this family shot above in front of the toys is actually quite appropriate. The toy box is our life these days. I actually love the background setting. :)
  
• Family member pics scattered throughout. I think you can figure them all out. Lulu is the blonde...my grandmother wore her cowboy shirt because she got 10% off at the Grocery store for wearing it. Gotta love that. (cracked me up)
  
• Josh and Ronya came and that was fun to see them. (ohhh, to have college romance love again) So fun to watch.
  
• Ericka/Lisa are always invited to our Thanksgiving. Thank you ladies for loving us 'just as we are'. We love having you. Picture of Lisa and Ericka below. I loved it.
  
• Random picture of Lisa and stuffed olive.
• Luke having a 'out of sync' moment! He hated the noise on his new laptop computer that grandma got him. :)


• Luke and Lulu.
  
• Momma and Luke time.
  
• Jon's kids and their kids. So fun to see them!


• Jon's skin funk picture.
  
• Uncle Josh and Luke time!
  
• Bubba and Pa
  
• Me sipping hot latte that Jon made with a dash of starbucks liquor..so good.

Lastly, INSANE GOOD food pictures. We are DANG good cooks people. We really are. Texas cooking at it's finest. I love Thanksgiving food,...turkey, sweet potatoes, corn casserole, apple spiced rum cider, aspargus casserole, green beans, mashed potatoes, cranberries, dressing (to die for from Lulu), deviled eggs and so on and so on. Aww, let's not forget the homemade pies from 'momma' my stepmom. She rocks those out.

Hope you enjoyed family...love you much. A

THANKSGIVING FOOD -------a glimpse of great cooking.