Tuesday, November 15, 2011

You're Invited

Auggie's invitations
The bird was inspired by some cute cupcakes I saw on Pinterest months ago
Gramma, Grampa, Aunt Lindsay, Uncle Dustin,
Cole, Drake, Aunt Jamie, Uncle Zach, Nathan, Zoe
and Uncle Kristopher gave Auggie a rocking chair

He was in such a great mood during his party!

Laci, Libby, Aunt Stephanie and Auggie

Grampa, Cole and Drake

My inspiration (found on Pinterest) for Auggie's birthday bird on his invitations
cupcakes made by Gramma

Most of the sweets for the party!

Auggie's delicious birthday cake from Cake Junkie in Bryan

Auggie's smash cake
made by me

Auggie in front of his banner and presents

Such a happy one year old!

Auggie and MawMaw

Waiting on his cake!

He wasn't too sure what to do with the cake
This was after I smushed his hand into it
and then he got it!


Daddy trying to help him eat the cake

and then he realized what it was!


Look at that: you can basically see the sugar running through his veins!

Cohen (5) playing with Drake and Nathan (~2.5)

MawMaw and PawPaw and their grandchildren
Dusti, Jacob and Dylan
Cohen, Micah, Auggie, Laci, Ben and Libby

Playing with tissue paper

I got a little excited, too!

Laci and Auggie playing with the toy

Party guests

Helping Mommy with the paper

Playing with the little bit of paper he tore off

Auggie loved this little dog! He sings and moves around.
There's a video at the end

Reading a card

Listening to his All Black Bear from New Zealand do the Haka
from Fredy and Jenna

Chewing on a little cow from Aunt Melanie and Uncle Corey

Auggie also liked this little dog- his ears flap up and down

Reading some more cards

Playing with his dogs together

Aunt Jamie and the birthday boy

The birthday boy with his Gramma and Grampa

Jenna and Fredy travelled the furthest (excluding family)
Thank you SO much for coming!!
Auggie's birthday went so well! We had less people than I thought (about 50) but that was okay (at least for my nerves it was!). We had some great brisket (cooked by Dustin and Lauren of Smell Our Pits BBQ) and some yummy cake from Cake Junkie, pies from Mommo and cake pops from "Aunt" Kayla! Auggie was in such a great mood the entire day- even with one nap! I was very thankful he was happy with all the attention. I mean, who wouldn't love being held almost the whole day at that age?!

He was given so many nice things- toys, clothes, gifts cards and money! If you helped us celebrate, Thank You SO much for coming! We hope everyone had a great time!





Thursday, November 10, 2011

Today is the Big Day!

Can you believe it??

I can't!! The past year has flown by and I still can't get over it- Auggie turns ONE today! It really does seem like just yesterday, I went home from my last doctor's appointment crying to my mom about my doctor wanting to induce me the next day. Little did I know, I'd be crying a lot more and wondering what was going on that next night.

We have been so blessed with how Auggie's first year has been. We still aren't sure when surgeries will be done or when he'll get his BAHAs but we are so happy to have a healthy little boy. He's almost walking now- just taking steps here and there... But he's definitely trying! It seemed like a huge deal when Auggie was diagnosed with Treacher-Collins but it has only made life a little more interesting. We haven't had to deal with what most families have to go through with TCS and we are very thankful for that. He gets a few more doctor appointments and gets to wear a cool headband and that's about it for now. I love my little Auggie Bear so much! I can't imagine what our life would be like without him.

We will be celebrating with some of the Bryan/College Station Moms and Tots at the park this morning and then Saturday, we're having a big shindig with family and friends. I still can't believe Auggie turns one today... I'm sure you will get tired of me saying that!

I have compiled a few of Auggie's firsts (and other significant tid bits) from throughout 2010/2011. I know there are a few things I have missed- mostly when he met family and friends for the first time- but they are mostly there.

Enjoy!



Auggie was born November 10, 2010 at 11:22 pm.
He weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces and measured 19.5 inches long.
Auggie was diagnosed with Treacher-Collins Syndrome less than 12 hours after he was born.
Auggie had his first ambulance ride, 2 sleep studies and one bronchoscopy performed in the 12 days he was in the NICU at Dell Children’s Medical Center.
Celebrated his first Thanksgiving!


Auggie celebrated his first Christmas
He had his first bath in his little bath tub.
Auggie met his Great Grandma Rigby for the first time.


Auggie celebrated his first New Year!


Auggie celebrated his first Valentine’s Day.
Auggie saw his first snowfall!
Auggie attended his first rugby game (even if it was A&M).


Auggie met his Great Grandma and Great Grandpa for the first time.
He tried out rice cereal for the first time.
Auggie had his first ABR hearing test done at Dell Children’s Medical Center
Auggie got the okay from the doctor to see people!
Auggie rolled over for the first time.
Auggie met the Rigby side cousins.
Auggie had his first playdate- Mainly Music and Tanglewood Park
Auggie sat in his first swing.


Auggie went to Nacogdoches for the first time.
Auggie switched over to Similac Soy Formula when he was 5.5 months old.
He ate applesauce for the first time.
Auggie had his first sick day.
Auggie celebrated his first Easter with both sides of the family.
He met all his cousins up close and personal for the first time!
Auggie received his first BAHA- on loan from Miss Judy.
He went outside for the first time with his BAHA
Auggie met his friend, Colin, for the first time in Austin!


Auggie can get his feet to his mouth!
He kicks his legs against the ground when he's upset.
He liked to pull up on things- Mommy, Daddy, the coffee table, etc.


He started sleeping through the night consistently!
Auggie was diagnosed with eczema… finally!
Auggie had his ups and downs with food- some days he’d love it and most days he’d hate it.
Auggie started reacting to peek-a-boo.
We went on our first family vacation- to Georgia!
Auggie went out of state for the first time, too! Texas to Georgia, down to Florida and back home!
Auggie went to his first out-of-state beach-  Destin, Florida.
Auggie was an inch-worm before our trip and when we came back, he was pretty much crawling!
Auggie had his first ride on the Gator at MawMaw and PawPaw’s house.


Auggie celebrated his first 4th of July!
Auggie started crawling under things- mostly his exersaucer.
Auggie went to the Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley for the first time.
He found the musical door stoppers in our house.
Auggie attended his first Mainly Music Class with his BAHA.
He can sit himself down, pick something up and then pull himself back up.
Auggie started to sit up from the crawling position
He started realizing the BAHA was on his head.
Mommy found Auggie’s first tooth!

Auggie went on his first Siegmund Family Vacation to Corpus Christi.
At his 9 month check up, he weighed 16 pounds 11 ounces and measured 27.75 inches long.


Auggie started clapping his hands together.
Auggie began to recognize the sign for “milk”
He played on his first indoor playground
Auggie went to his first SFA Rugby Alumni game.


Auggie started to sign “dog” while looking for Aussie and Charley.
He can sign “milk” and “all done,” waves bye-bye, and started to say “ma ma.”
He started smacking his lips together.
He slid down a slide at the park for the first time.
He also started to climb up on things- the coffee table, into the laundry basket, up the back of the futon.
For Auggie’s first Halloween, he dressed up as a bear! We went to a few houses after a friend’s party.
He also went to the Pimpkin Patch several times for pictures!


Auggie has been taking steps since late October but really started taking more and more as his first birthday gets closer.
He amazes me every day- he is such a fast crawler and is so into watching people and knowing what is going on around him. I know he's going to make a difference one day... Those eyes know something special.


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Annual Craniofacial Check Up


Auggie had an appointment in Austin Monday morning with Dr. H. Never heard us talk about a Dr. H? Well, that's because he originally saw Dr. K and we really liked Dr. K. Between March and now, Dr. K moved on to work with only adults. We were disappointed to hear that (or at least I was). Dr. H is now Auggies craniofacial specialist. When we finally saw him (I'll explain that in a minute), Auggie had already fallen asleep so he tried to get a good look at him without waking up. The only time Auggie woke up was when Dr. H put the tongue depressor into his mouth to look at his palate. Auggie did not like that! He fought his nap until he was in the truck for our ride home around 2. 

We also saw Dr. Z (ENT doctor), Mary (nurse), Ashley (speech therapist) and Nick (social worker). Everyone said they were glad to see how well he's doing. Even some of the nurses, who we haven't seen since March, remembered Auggie. 

Auggie's appointment was scheduled for 11 am so we arrived about 20 minutes early. We didn't actually get back in an examination room until after 12:10! I was so annoyed. They ended up having a consult move from New York to central Texas so see Dr. H for Treacher Collins Syndrome. It would have been nice if they would have told us that. It was hard enough keeping Auggie entertained for that time without letting him crawl on the floor. 

Dr. H said he looked great and he doesn't think any surgeries or procedures need to be done until he gets his ears done (which will be around 7-10 years old). We're definitely happy about that! Dr. H talked about his jaw lengthening surgery being put off until he's done growing (around the time he's a teenager). I wish we could do it so Auggie doesn't have to remember it but I also want it to be done once and not have to redo it. Dr. H believes with the genetic make up and growth of TCS, once the bones are fixed, they want to automatically go back to their original state regardless of the surgeries.  So we'll be waiting for the jaw distraction.

Mary and Dr. H didn't think it was necessary for us to come back until next November (unless we have any problems before then). We went from seeing them every 2 weeks when Auggie was born, then every quarter and now it'll be annually! Great!

We also talked to Ashley, the speech therapist on the craniofacial team. She wants us to come back in May to see her for a speech evaluation. She was happy with his high pressure sounds (Gah and Huh) since he was diagnosed with a bubble palate when he was born. She wants us to work on Da, Ba and Pa sounds with him. But she was satisfied with what he's doing now. 

Hopefully once he starts seeing the speech therapist from ECI, he'll get some more practice. And hopefully, those visits start immediately after our appointment on the 15th and start twice a week. 

Last week, we ran into our first insurance issues in a few months. Auggie was supposed to meet with a pediatric dentist along with Dr. H yesterday but the dentist isn't in our network. We've had this appointment scheduled for at least 3 months and Thursday was the first they checked on our insurance. They offered a 40% discount if we paid out of pocket but that was still almost $300 for a fluoride treatment and check up. Auggie's teeth aren't bothering him more than usual so we're going to wait until we can upgrade our insurance to see if the dentist is in the network on that plan. 

We also found out our insurance doesn't want to pay the amount they said they would for Auggie's BAHAs. In early October, we found out Cochlear still hadn't released the adjustable band for the BAHA so we're still waiting. We decided to go ahead and order the processors (the BAHAs) without the band- I could make something, couldn't I? So the audiologist called back on Thursday and said the insurance won't pay as much. The office is trying to get them back down to what they had originally agreed on. I just don't get it... We want the BAHAs, so let us pay for them. If they're not going to go down, then just let us pay for them! 

What makes everything even more frustrating is, we need to send Auggie's current BAHA in to get serviced and tuned. But how do you willingly take away your son's hearing for weeks and not know exactly how long it'll take to get back? We were hoping to have his BAHAs by June. Well, that came and went but thankfully, we met Judy through Facebook. She let us borrow the one he has now. Then we thought he'd have 2 by his 1st birthday... Well, that's Thursday and I highly doubt we'll have them by then. It is all so very frustrating. We decided we'll most likely send the BAHA next week so maybe he'll have it by Christmas.

I guess that's all for new developments... for now. Let me know if you have any questions or anything isn't too clear! 

Looking at Gramma... "What to keep in my mouth?"

Making faces with Gramma last Thursday

Watching Jeopardy with Daddy

Strawberry-Kiwi yogurt face

He has so much fun putting things in buckets

Playing with food wrappers. He had so much fun!

"Aunt" Kayla let him destroy her DVD collection

He wouldn't take his eyes off the lady cutting our turkey at the deli

I ♥ this picture



Thursday, November 3, 2011

We're down to a Week!

I can't believe our little boy will be 1 in seven days!

I'm driving down to Cypress this morning to meet up with my mom and Drake at the Houston Outlets. My brother-in-law printed out some decorations and gave them to my mom so I'm picking them up and hanging out with them for a little bit.

Tim is venturing into work today. I hope it's more comfortable for him.

chewing on his booger sucker.. ewwwww


Standing up by himself!
He climbed into his toy bucket all by himself!


anddd... I got a haircut! YAY!


Tuesday, November 1, 2011

November is Here!

Are you in a candy coma this morning? Thankfully for us, Auggie's not old enough to eat candy yet! We managed to not buy any Halloween candy this year and have only eaten a handful or two of the sweets. 

We had an uneventful weekend. Honestly, right now I couldn't even tell you what we did without thinking about it! Hahah!

Jane, Sherwin and Jacob came up for a visit on Sunday. We all went out to eat with Aunt Sheila, Uncle Darrell and Darren. It made Sunday go by quickly! Saturday, we hung out with a few friends and their little ones. And that was about it. 

Auggie has been taking more steps. He even does some squats on his own to stand up. He's getting more adventurous about the steps and even climbing more. The other day I found him standing on top of my sewing machine looking out our opened window in the dining room! I'm slowly putting more and more things away or into our bedroom. 

Last night, we went over to our friends', Jen and Dan. They had a Halloween party and invited a few of the moms from the mom's group. It was a lot of fun. We went to a few houses to "Trick or Treat" but since we didn't want the leftover candy, I went back to the house sooner than most. I know Auggie had a good time. He only had one nap yesterday, so he was asleep by 8:30.  Auggie's nose started running late Friday, early Saturday. I'm sure it has to do with the cold front that came through. Luckily, it hasn't been too bad. We gave him benadryl before the party and it seems to have helped out.

Well, I'll leave you with some photos and I'll see you back here on Thursday!


Wearing a Monkey beanie at Target

Trying to eat his toes

A German Chocolate cupcake from
Cake Junkie in Bryan

Stuffy boy before the Halloween Party
Tired Pax and her daddy, Jud

Happy Halloween!